grey and white crochet...

I learnt to crochet when I was a child and it is a craft that I have very much enjoyed over the years. When I was in teacher training college in the late 60's a friend and I used to make some pocket money by selling crochet vests and little cardies in a local shop - they would probably be quite trendy again now! Granny squares are one of my favourite things to crochet, which is lucky because after I recently made Joy a colourful rug, Clare also requested one. She asked for one created from white wool with various shades of grey (to either go in her grey and white bedroom or with the grey sofa covers she uses in winter) and I decided to use a pattern I had never tried before called African Flower. It is a scrap project in that I didn't work out exactly what colours I would use and how many balls of wool I would need, but I am just buying and using whatever greys I find on my travels. I do most of my crocheting on buses and the metro here in Dubai and also on plane trips and in airports. It makes all that waiting around feel much quicker. The worst bit of crochet is sewing in the ends, so I try to do it as I go along, but am often much too keen to see what the next combinations of colours is going to look like to be bothered!

If you have a sudden desire to pick up a crochet hook again there are lots of places to look for help and inspiration - youtube has lots of good tutorials (both beginner and advanced) and pinterest is chock-a-block full of crochet images. But one of my favourite places to visit is a lovely blog called Attic24 by the talented Lucy, who posts loads of gorgeous crochet projects and inspiring tutorials.

halfway to 70...

We think there is nothing better than sending someone a handwritten card to say "Happy Birthday", "I Love You", or just "Hello". But sometimes a quick text message or email just needs to be sent and so we love the Cartolina iPhone app that makes a simple message look ever so much prettier. This design is just one of the gorgeous, vintage-inpsired designs available to personalise.

It really is Joy's birthday today and she really is half way to 70. WIth her husband away on business, she is celebrating by watching old Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers movies with a glass or two of wine! We grew up on these gems, and all the old musicals, and can still recite many of the lines and songs. Sad, but true!

we're back...

We've just had the most wonderful week - we couldn't recommend Fiji highly enough. We stayed at Fiji Beach Resort and Spa (run by Hilton) which was completely family friendly and had a lovely relaxed vibe. The rooms were very stylish (think modern free-standing baths, coffee machines and spacious tropical rooms decorated in cool neutrals) and staff incredibly helpful and friendly. There were loads of activities such as fish feeding, tug of war, coconut demonstrations, and beach games which the kids could join in as they wished without having to be signed into a kids club (although this was also an option). The food was fantastic, the spa was delightful and the sunsets at "Happy Hour" were just magical.

Sketching on the balcony after lunch...

Cousins and best of friends...

Back to reality with a thud... certainly no chocolates appearing on our pillows here at home!

what's in a name?...

We often get asked why we called our business mondocherry and what made us start in the first place, so I thought I would fill you all in on a bit of background. 5 and a bit years ago, Clare and her family (then 4 children, now 6) moved back to Brisbane after a number of years living interstate and overseas. Mum (Sue) had just retired from working as a teacher-aide and I was just taking maternity leave from my teaching job to have my first baby (I now have 2). We started spending a lot of time together - we had lots to catch up on!! - and we all get on really well and think alike.

I had been making and selling fabric bags embellished with beads and sequins, and Mum and Clare started helping out. We then experimented with some fabric covered canvases and when we started getting orders via word of mouth we thought maybe we should make it more than a hobby. Setting up our own business was a huge step as none of us have any sort of marketing/sales/business experience (Mum and I trained as early childhood teachers and Clare studied pure mathematics and law at uni - totally useless!) and it has been a steep learning curve ever since. While we were trying to think of a name for our new business, we were working with a fabric called 'mondo' and it came in a red or 'cherry' colour way. So we used to call each other up and say "What time are we meeting up to do the mondocherry?" and after a while the name just stuck!

We have had such fun working together over the last five years. All three of us need a creative outlet in order to stay sane, and being involved with markets and the blogging community has enabled us to meet lots of lovely people. We haven't always get things right first time and we have evolved a lot, but I guess most things do. We do know how lucky we are to be working with people we love, doing something that we enjoy, and still getting to spend lots of time with our families.

So there you have a potted summary of mondocherry and there are no cherries involved! I thought about posting a photo of the three of us but it is almost impossible to find one that we all like (isn't it funny how judgemental you are of yourself in a photo?). So instead I thought I'd post a photo of these pom pom cherries I made to make a gift look a little more special. I had forgotten how enjoyable it is to make pom poms so I might have to experiment some more...