post from a "mumager"

I have neglected my blog, as I have neglected my knitting, spinning and everything else to do with my fibre passions! But for a good cause I believe, and not for to much longer.
I have become what somebody described a few days ago as a "mumager". Meaning I have been facilitating my two talented singing daughters and their music project Charm of Finches.
A beautiful delicate project, involving much love, trust, enthusiasm and support from many people, friends and strangers!
Last November Mabel decided she wanted 2014 to be the year she recorded her music. It coincided with her being given her Year 8 project to consider over the Christmas holidays, in which time we enlisted the help of a lovely new friend who offered to record the girls. From a few casual home recordings in the hills burnt onto a few blank CDs for friends with hand drawn covers, the project grew, and after an astounding Pozible crowd funding campaign involving many hours of planning, recording, filming, listening, photographing, performing, sewing and stitching, the project is almost coming to it's conclusion with the official launch in two week. It's been huge and fun, wholly creative and exciting!
Here are some highlights in picture:

That first recording session in a proper studio with Fraser at the Aviary, after they won battle of the bands last year, giving the girls a taste of recording!

Recording glockenspiel at The Aviary

Recording at Emotion Studios, doing the songs with guitar and both vocals all at once to capture the live feel and the sister chemistry

Photos with the most marvellous Mara Ripani, who made it so much fun! 7am on Black Rock beach in winter!!

Ivy at the early session in the hills near Hurstbridge with Mike.

Filmiing Wild Mountain Thyme, Anna's song request for her Pozible reward.

Performing with Clare Bowditch after winning the Winter Secrets comp.

Mabel's artwork for the CD booklet.

And in two weeks, the girls will play  a concert to launch this little EP with six beautiful heartful songs into the world. In actual fact, the music has already begun its own life in the universe, already playing in lounge rooms and kitchens and cars all around the world. I love that idea the most. Whether  you are writing a book, making a  film, painting a picture or recording music or some other creation, once that little piece of you has burst out of its egg, it will have adventures you will never dream of, and many times, never even know of!

and the music: you can listen here!

I'm proud, I'm excited, I'm amazed,  I'm in awe of my girls, I'm grateful for all the wonderful people in my girls' life who made this project a success. I'm a wee bit tired right now, and I must now go and sew some bento bags and post them off to the last Pozible supporters patiently waiting for their CD!

birthday post

::today is my birthday.
I really wanted to cast off the jumper/sweater I have been knitting for my big girl before my birthday arrived.  I cast on in February!  It's finally off the needles and she wore it to school this morning happily! The "misti alpaca" is divine and squishy and warm and an amazing rich toasty brown.  I added length by picking up stitches with a pale grey silk/merino/angora for a rib, though it's very hard to see in the photo.
Annabel Sweater by Carrie Bostick Hoge
Ravelry notes here.

::the reason I was so keen to cast off the jumper was that I really wanted to cast on a new project with my new wool, some divine Shibui Cima in the fjord colour which I bought from our local; yarn store (LYS) just for the colour!!! yep. I am planning a Woodland Shawl after a glorious coffee date with my dear friend oggling together over my knitting patterns, which hilariously someone mistook for my PhD!! I have more patterns from Ravery than I could possibly complete in three lifetimes! I quite like the sound of Doctor of Knitting, don't you?

:: my birthday table which greeted me this morning with my present: a Tibetan singing bowl! It's divine, literally, and sings most mysteriously and enlivingly a perfect mellow C sharp!

::of course I treated myself: to a membership to the Australian greens, because they speak for me and are incredible and I want my children to have a real woodland to walk through with their children; and, a subscription to pom pom quarterly...what a great mag! not just eye candy, oh what eye candy! great interesting inspiring articles! what's not to love!

::my life has been rather dominated by my role as unofficial band manager for my dear talented singing birds. It's all been happening, with their crowdfunding campaign being a stunning success, their recording done and dusted, and the artwork for their EP being created by a beautiful and generous local artist this week! It's all very exciting and inspiring, and sometimes time consuming. So my knitting has been on the back burner.
Here are my pics of the cold wintry photo shoot on the beach last Sunday morning with Mara Ripani, our dear friend and photographer of young girls extraordinaire!

 bbrrrrrrrrr...the things you do in the name of ART!
connecting with Ginny for her Yarn Along

capturing the soul

My two dear talented girls went into the recording studio last week. recording is a tricky thing. capturing the soul of a song, giving a performance you are happy with to set in stone, preparing to  send a little boats of preciousness off to sea. They coped so well, sang their hearts out (repeatedly, at times), and I believe caught a bit of magic. I'm so in awe of these two dear people.

They were blessed to be working with two beautiful men with so much experience and such big hearts.
Hopefully we will be launching their crowd funding campaign tomorrow. It's been so much fun planning that as well.

We also frolicked in a forest filming their lovely campaign video. It was so fun and free and beautiful.
Then the girls played a small concert in my friend's lovely old 1862  church which is now his home.

I haven't had much time to knit, but it will return when this big project settles down a bit! I am spinning wheel-less, which has been odd but probably well timed, considering my pre-occupation with the girls' music. But one little gem of a wheel is coming to me soon, and my fingers await eagerly to start again!