This is actually happening!!

So - I'm on the website!!

Hello to you if you are visiting me from The Finders Keepers website. I'm very excited that my profile has gone up and that the lovely photos taken by Barton Taylor are looking good online.

http://www.thefinderskeepers.com/madebykilljoy.php

I just has a feeling that I would see my profile on there today. No idea how long it has been up, but I will make far more effort to update my blog from now on. I am, however, more active on Instagram so if you would like to see some bird making - please follow me @madebykilloy or with the hashtag #madebykilljoy. See you soon, xx

To market, to market....

I first went to The Finders Keepers markets way back when they were called Hope St Markets and were held in Surry Hills at Sticky bar. They were only a small market then with maybe 20 stalls but there was live music, a bar and a great atmosphere. I could tell these markets were onto something and when applications opened for the following year, I promptly applied. I was rejected. And relieved. I don't think I was really ready for a market stall in the mid 2000's.

I kept going to these markets and every year they grew in size. They moved from Sticky to Paddington Town Hall and then they changed their name to The Finders Keepers and took up residence at the beautiful Carriageworks in Eveleigh. I was still in love with these markets and their stall holders.

Now The Finders Keepers have moved to The Australian Technology Park in Redfern and will be there again in December for the second year. Last year when we went, I was heavily pregnant. In fact, it was my due date but my babe had shown no intentions of moving house so we went to the markets anyway.

After much deliberation, I decided to reapply for a market stall. I'd finally gotten over my previous rejection. I frantically applied very late on the final night in March. I went to bed hoping my application had gone through. It hadn't. Again, it wasn't meant to be.....

Third time lucky, I applied in July for the dangerously busy pre Christmas market in December. This time, I was organised. I took nice photos. I thought carefully about what to write on my form. I went into it with a clear head mostly because my baby was now sleeping a lot better and feeding from me far less. I felt a little bit more in control and a whole lot more positive.

Late one night in August, my phone beeped softly with an incoming email. I knew this was it but I rolled over and tried to sleep some more. It was a lovely surprise in the morning to read I'd been accepted. When I showed my husband, he laughed and said "well, now what are you going to do?". Good question. 

Guess I better start making some more birds......

Bird Hiatus

I have a good excuse for not making any birds for the past year or so. I was busy making a baby!

During my pregnancy I came down with a case of Carpal Tunnel in my hands towards the last 4 months. I would wake in the morning unable to make a fist with my hands and found brushing my hair, teeth, using scissors and writing a wee bit tricky and painful. Everyone said once the baby came, the CT would go away. Yes! I thought. Two things to look forward to.

My beautiful little boy Finlay arrived, but the wrist pain (albeit just in my right hand) stayed and got worse. I struggled to pick him up even. He didn't sleep much and all creative pursuits went on indefinite hold.

But - as always - this too shall pass. Finn (7 months) now enjoys a sleep or two during the day, I am managing my wrist with a brace and I am back making birds. Hooray! Here they are below, xx

Hello Spectrum SMH!

Lovely article about 'Australiana' in this weekends SMH Spectrum on page 26. Featuring Julie Paterson from Cloth Fabric and some little KillJoy birds. And - if you scan the airlink (the actual photo with your iPhone) there's a video featuring Julie and a close up of a whole FLOCK of madebykiljoy birds. Go enjoy it now!

Endangered Birds for Cloth

As part of my collaboration with Cloth Fabric, Julie requested I made her a range of birds that are endangered using her lovely Cloth Fabric scraps.

Here are some facts about a few of the birds I have made so far....

The Buff Breasted Quail

The Buff-breasted Button-quail is a large, plump and pale-eyed button-quail. Fully-grown males measure about 18 cm in length, and are slightly smaller than fully-grown females, which measure 19 to 22 cm in length (Marchant & Higgins 1993). 

The adults have rufous-brown upperparts; a white chin and throat; a pale olive-buff breast; an off-white belly; off-white tail coverts and flanks; a brown bill, with bluish-white cutting edge and lower mandible; yellow irides; and yellow legs and feet (Macdonald 1971; Marchant & Higgins 1993). They have white streaks and black bars on the back and shoulders, and white spots on the wings. The wings, when extended in flight, are grey-black above (on the outer and trailing edges), and light grey below (Marchant & Higgins 1993). 

Distribution of the Button Quail in Australia

The Buff-breasted Button-quail occurs in north-eastern Queensland. It is one of the least known birds in Australia, and has only been recorded in the Iron Range and near Coen, Cooktown, Musgrave, Mount Molloy, Mareeba, Chillagoe and Ingham 

This is my version of a Buff Breasted Quail made from Cloth Fabrics, 100% wool felt and twig legs.

The Ground Parrot

The Ground Parrot is a distinctive, slender parrot which is so shy and elusive that it is not usually seen unless it is flushed out from cover. It is a bright grass-green with black and yellow markings and a prominent pale yellow wing bar. The tail is long and barred with yellow. It has a small red band on the lower forehead. The Ground Parrot is also known as the Swamp Parrot or Button-grass Parrot.

Distribution of the Western Ground Parrot in Australia

This species is among the rarest bird species in the world. The first photo of the Western Ground Parrot in the wild was taken in 2004. This species has rapidly declined between 1990 and 2009 from about 400 individuals to 110 individuals. Most individuals (~100) are found in the Cape Arid National Park

This is my version of a Ground Parrot made from Cloth Fabrics, 100% wool felt and twig legs.

The Little Tern

The Little Tern is mainly white with a dark crown, pale grey back and upperwings. The eye is dark brown. When breeding, the bill is yellow, the crown black with a short, pointed white brow and the black eye-line reaches the bill. In non-breeding plumage, the crown is mottled with white and the bill blackish. The wing tips are two-toned grey to black on the outer primaries

Distribution of the Little Tern in Australia

In Australia, the Little Tern occurs from Shark Bay in Western Australia, around northern and eastern Australia, to the east coast of Tasmania and around to the Gulf of St Vincent in South Australia.

Within NSW, an eastern subspecies of the Little Tern predominately occurs and was once quite common. However, recent records indicate that Little Terns now exist in a medium-sized, non-breeding population and a small, threatened breeding population. 

This is my version of a Little Tern made from Cloth Fabrics, 100% wool felt and twig legs.