nz green buttons

loving

2012-02-14T11:26:00.002+13:00

Happy Valentines day! We don't celebrate it much here, not like in America. I sometimes wish we did when I see all the cute ideas for class valentine gifts on Pinerest, like this one, or this. So in the absence of Valentines love here, I thought I'd share something I'm loving at the moment, this space in our lounge.

The one good thing about all the rain and cold weather over Christmas and the new year was all the time I spent crocheting! Some days that's all I did, aside from making meals for the family. It meant that I worked up this blanket/throw (the blue one on the couch) in a few short days. The pattern is Solas Caomh, which is Irish for "tender comfort". I found the pattern in a book in my local library called "The best of Interweave crochet". I really liked working on it and I was surprised how quickly it worked up (especially once I started reading the pattern, rather than just doing what I thought it said). You can find my ravelry notes here.

The framed images are all from blogging friends, from the top, left to right we have: A Kokeshi screen print by Lisa Stubbs, you can find her etsy shop here. Red shoes by Dee, that I was super lucky to win in a giveaway from her blog, little did she know just how much I love red and mary jane shoes!!! Next is the stunning portrait that Stella did of my little man and his woof. I can't even put into words how well she captured him and how much we all love it. Finally there is a gocco printed card by Melissa of tiny happy which I love for it's simplicity.

harvest

2012-02-13T11:34:00.000+13:00

Most of the garden seemed to like the cooler and wet start to the Summer. We had lots and lots of berries! Most of which are taking up a lot of space in our small freezer, I feel a jam session coming on. It saved me watering the garden (I'm hoping for a small water bill). One crop didn't seem to like it much, my blackcurrants, the one in the picture is the one and only that survived this year, and I ended picking it too early and it was super tart and I didn't finish it.

Beans have been (as every year) the biggest hit far and above all the berries, as far as the kids are concerned. I mainly planted "King of the blues" from Kings Seeds. A nice smooth runner bean that is a purple colour that turns green once cooked. Yum! Our favourite way of eating them is lightly boiled or steamed with a tiny bit of butter, a big squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt. I could eat them like that every day. But as you can see some just like to eat them out of the garden, rain, or sun. Just like last year.

slowly

2012-02-10T17:52:00.000+13:00

I'm sorry it's been so long. I've been getting nice emails asking me if we are all alright and I thought that was a sign to make my way back into this space. I've been enjoying the relaxed summer atmosphere and just living!

Over the holiday time we've had a birthday and my little one has turned three. It's meant that last week he started a few mornings a week at a local preschool. It's the same one miss E went to and it's like I've never been away. I really loved the walk to preschool and almost mourned it once miss E started school last year and we found ourselves walking in a different direction. The walk to preschool takes in some special sights including spying on some local chickens hidden behind a fence, walking along the estuary looking at all the different birds, checking the tide level and then up a big (big in toddler terms) hill. I'm loving walking it again and sharing the sights with my little man. I'm also enjoying a few short hours of quiet in the house.

I've got lots to share so I'll make an effort to be back soon!

Happy weekend!

and to all a good night!

2011-12-24T23:35:00.000+13:00

The berries are ready, some edible gifts have been made and distributed. It's late and I've played Santa. Now to get a little bit of sleep before the wee ones awake with excitement.

Thank you for stopping by this year, I've so enjoyed reading all your comments and reading your blogs. I wish you and your families a very merry festive season! I hope it's a happy and safe one. xxx

night lights

2011-12-20T21:51:00.003+13:00

We were lucky enough for the weather to clear last Friday night and we headed into the city to see Motat's Christmas night. It was amazing, and so much fun. We don't often go out at night so for the kids (and me for that matter) that was a real treat. They had so much fun having a tram ride and checking out all the activities at Motat, and I was in love with seeing it all lit up with fairy lights. We also checked out the lights on Franklin Road, for those not from Auckland it's an inner city street (mainly with Villa and Bungalow type houses) that goes all out decorating their houses with lights. It's amazing to see all the different things people come up with, and how magical it can seem when everyone gets involved. We arrived home with two sleeping babes that we bundled off to bed without them waking. Something I want to do every festive season!

It's not too late to catch the Motat Christmas light nights, the last ones are this Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th night - 8-11pm

caper

2011-12-15T15:01:00.000+13:00

I bought Meg McElwee's book Growing up sew liberated a while ago and I've been trying to find some time to get sewing from it. The first project I tackled was the hooded play cape, a little something to pop under the tree for miss E. I was lucky to be given a lot of fabric earlier this year when a friend was going overseas. I used some of that for this cape, a lovely blue silk and a pretty patterned fabric. I'm pretty sure she'll love it and I can't wait to see her running around the garden in it! Lets hope the weather on Christmas morning is much better than today, it's raining and raining and it makes me stress a little about the big family Christmas planned for my little house! Rain, rain go away!

winners

2011-12-13T09:16:00.000+13:00

Just popping in to annouce the winners from my snowflake giveaway. The international winner is Mousy Brown! and the local winner is Hannah! Congratulations to you both and thanks to everyone who commented, it was lovely to read them all. Mr A drew the names out of a bowl (in case you are wondering) with a lot of miming from me as to what he was supposed to be doing.

Hannah can you please email me with your address please? Mousy Brown I'll pop yours in the post this week!

Thanks again everyone

2011-12-11T22:28:00.001+13:00

*big sigh* The Auckland art and craft fair is done and dusted and what a great day! It was so busy that I didn't get a chance to check out many of the other stalls. I want to say a huge" thank you!" to everyone who stopped by to say hello (and those who couldn't make it and wished me well) and support me and of course the organisers too. It was much busier than the December fair last year, and I was blown away with the sales too (yay!!!!). My suitcase of goods was much lighter when it came time to pack up.

I did manage a few quick purchases though, from some neighbouring stall holders. I picked up some lovely 4ply cotton from Happy go knitty and some beautiful poppy cards by Melissa of Tiny Happy. I got a coaster from my neighbour stall holder, Rock and roller coasters - Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell, a big favourite of, can you guess? My two year old Son! My last purchase was a tea cup bird feeder for our garden, by Helen Kerrigan. we filled it with some alpine strawberries for the local birds. I hope they enjoy them :)

It's nice that it's all over now and I can concentrate on making some Christmas gifts for family and friends and start to relax a bit and enjoy the season!

Don't forget about my giveaway! Thanks to everyone who has commented so far, I'll draw the winners sometime late tomorrow.

let it snow

2011-12-08T20:59:00.000+13:00

I've been making lots of these snowflakes, for the Christmas ornament swap, for presents and for the Auckland art and craft fair this weekend. They are crocheted and then stiffened with a fabric stiffener. I'm hoping that there will be a few left over to hang up here at home. I have however put a couple aside to offer as a giveaway to you dear blog readers! I'll draw one overseas winner and one NZ winner and send each a snowflake and perhaps a few other little treats too. Just leave a comment on this post and say what country you are from (and perhaps what your favourite holiday tradition is?) and I'll pop you in the draw. You don't have to have a blog to enter either. I'll draw the names on Monday, hopefully giving the overseas winner a chance to hang their snowflake before Christmas!

sweet

2011-12-07T20:46:00.000+13:00

After making the banana/nutella iceblocks it got me thinking of other banana combinations. I tried banana/apricot yoghurt/maple syrup (a tiny bit) combo with great success! Well my taste testers certainly didn't have any complaints! Yum!!!

I made some apricot and orange balls this week too. A nice sweet treat that you can keep in the freezer for months (if they last that long). Great for popping in a tin or nice jar as a Christmas present.

Apricot and Orange balls
250-300g of dried apricots chopped roughly
rind of 1 orange (peeled off with a vegetable peeler)
2 Tablespoons of orange juice
1/2 or 1/4 cup caster sugar
1 3/4 Cup coconut

In a food processor chop the orange rind and caster sugar. Add the apricots and orange juice and pulse till the apricots are nice and small. Add 1 cup of coconut and pulse. With wet hands shape into little balls, and roll in the remaining coconut. I keep mine in the fridge or freezer until I'm ready to gift them (or eat them!!) YUM!!!

spirit

2011-12-06T11:23:00.000+13:00

It seems that the Christmas spirit is slow at arriving this year. I haven't sent a single Christmas card, I wasn't getting excited at the thought of putting up decorations or our tree. But it's slowly starting to gain momentum. We've had our local Santa Parade and it was so neat watching the kids enjoy it, mr A being that much older now (nearly 3) and totally excited by it all. He hardly stopped waving and clapping. So this week I'm going to make an effort to get into the fun of the season so I've started some Christmas sweet treat making to give as gifts for Pippins leaders and teachers etc. Hopefully I'll find some time to post some of the recipes too.

In other news, I had my artist interview over on the Auckland Art and Craft fair blog over the weekend, you can have a peek here. Only a few days to go now!!!!

other

2011-12-02T23:03:00.001+13:00

I seem to be in denial that the Auckland Art and Craft fair is just (and ONLY one) week away. I've got most things done, just a few bits here and there, but I know sometimes it's the little things that take the longest.

This week however I've been making a start on some Christmas gifts, I tried a new crochet pattern. The Diamond slouch beanie by Holland designs (a lovely local and talented crochet designer), a present for a friend in a cold northern hemisphere location(my Ravelry notes here). I've also started (and actually finished since taking this progress pic) a wee embroidery based on this pin. I've blurred the initials to protect the identity of the recipient just in case they might be having a sneak peak!

Happy weekend friends! I'm going to have to drag out all the Christmas decorations this weekend and try and get into the festive spirit, it's taking a little while to kick in this year.

life changed?

2011-11-30T20:51:00.000+13:00

Life changed? Well I'm not sure but it certainly is a yum recipe. It started with this pin, you can find the recipe instructions here, although it is really just two ingredients mixed together. 6 Bananas and 1 cup of Nutella, in a blender and popped into the freezer. Now I must explain that when I pinned it I thought it would be something that I would try in the future sometime (seemed a bit decadent and indulgent), but a couple of things happened. First we got a several large bunches of bananas delivered in our fruit/vege box and then Nutella was on a super special so it just seemed the right time to try it. All I can say is YUM!

today

2011-11-29T21:31:00.000+13:00

Strawberries - podding peas - cornflowers - bliss!

sharing is caring

2011-11-29T21:29:00.000+13:00

Did you see my post on my tea cup candles? Well when I bought my wick holders I bought a pack of 50, it was the smallest amount I could find, but I was really wondering would I ever make 50 candles??? Well I think not, I've made 10 with my 1kg of soy wax. I even made a couple in some pretty etched wine glasses that I thrifted, after seeing some in a magazine. So instead of leaving all these wick holders in the garage for many years, I'm going to offer some to you dear blog readers.

I've got 3 packs of 10 holders that I'm happy to post to anyone in New Zealand so you too could have a go at making some candles.The first three people to leave a comment below saying they would like some get them! Just email me your delivery details too and I'll pop them in the post for you!

Sale!

2011-11-23T20:01:00.000+13:00

I'm having a little sale in my Etsy shop. I'm not planning on making any more ceramic and crochet necklaces in the future, a bit too fiddly and I'm excited about moving on to new things. So if you've had your eye on one, now is the time to buy.

set

2011-11-23T13:33:00.000+13:00

I LOVE this fabric by Melissa from Tiny Happy, I think she might have some in her Etsy store if you happen to need some! I imagine a beautiful fifties style dress made with this fabric with a big red belt, but for now my little fat quarter has stretched to this set (with a little bit left over too). The set is a drawstring bag, a covered notebook and a set of hair ties. The hair ties were made with some of those buttons that you cover with fabric and a small length of elastic. I made them for miss E for Christmas, she seems to like things to match and form a set, so I'm hoping this fits the bill!

tea time

2011-11-22T13:14:00.000+13:00

For me Christmas means handmade presents as much as I can, when I can. This year for some friends and family I'm making some candle tea cups. It's not a new idea, I'm sure most (if not all of you) have seen them either at markets or online. The great part is that it's quite easy to make them and not too expensive either. I've been looking out for lonely teacups at the thrift stores all year and slowly gathered a collection, I had a strict budget of no more than $2 a cup which saw most cups being left behind, seems the thrift stores think lonely cups are worth a lot more than me! I got most of my supplies from here and a few from Trademe. I used soy wax.

I melted the wax in an old tin can on the lid of my crock pot while I had some chickpeas soaking. But of course you can pop the can in a saucepan of water and melt it that way! They were very quick to make and I think they look great (even if I do say so myself). I'm hoping that they will be gratefully received! Is it just me or is Christmas creeping up ever so fast?

musty

2011-11-18T13:57:00.000+13:00

I love to use old children's books in my crafting, ones where the spines have been broken, ones where there is some "original" art work inside, ones that seem a little unloved. The problem with these books is they have often come out of "hiding" before they hit the shelves at the local thrift stores and they smell, well, like they've been hiding! At first I used to stick the whole book outside on a sunny day, often for many, many days till the musty smell had gone. Now I have a new system. I remove any pages that I think I'd use and pop the rest in the recycling bin. I punch a hole in the top corner of each page and pop a metal "snap it" ring through and pop them on the clothes line. That way they can flap about nicely in the breeze and freshen up, and I'm not worried about local cats sitting on them. It seems to work quite well and I can snap the rings onto a coat hanger and hang the whole lot up! Easy.

I found a couple of books by Joan Walsh Anglund, they have the sweetest illustrations! When I did a quick search on Joan, I found this link with some printable paper dolls that look very sweet.

merry berry

2011-11-17T13:09:00.000+13:00

I've been pretty slack in the garden this year, few seeds have been sowed and few crops planted. One area that I have put some effort into is our berry patch. Over Winter a row of trees along a fence up and died on me and I was left with a narrow strip to do something with. I planted out my Boysenberry that last year I had wrapped around a tripod. My lovely husband put up some wires for me to train it along. Underneath I planted out lots of Strawberry plants that were getting a bit squashed in their other spot. I mulched the lot with pine needles from a park close to our house. The strawberries are going crazy! We are getting quite a big bowl every second day at the moment. I pick them and leave them on the kitchen bench for the little ones to help themselves, the leftovers I freeze with the hope of making some strawberry jam as Christmas presents and our family favourite -strawberry and apple crumble!

weekending

2011-11-16T21:49:00.000+13:00

We had a fabulous weekend Pippins* trip to Paeroa where miss E was able to take part in all sorts of "Pioneering" type activities, she made a candle, wooden button, little boat, a Quill, made some butter, pikelets on an outdoor fire. She got a chance to dress up in period costume too and a ride on a paddle boat. It was lots of fun and the weather was perfect. When asked what her favourite activity was, "washing the clothes" was the reply! (that's her with her head down (and cap on) scrubbing away).

*Pippins is for girls aged 5 and 6 as part of the Girl Guides - A fabulous organisation!

Gala

2011-11-15T14:18:00.000+13:00

I had fun at my market last Friday. Sales were a bit on the slow side, but it was busy all night which was good, and the time flew by. It's not too long now till the Auckland Art and Craft Fair (keep an eye on the blog over the coming weeks, they've just started the Artist interviews and the first one is already up) and I'm working on a few new pieces for that, hopefully I'll have some to share over the next few days.

On Saturday a local church was having their gala day, from past experiences I knew that it's a great place to pick up some bargains. I had some inside knowledge past on to me earlier in the week that they had lots of good donations this time, which made me sure that I had to fit a visit in. Well, I wasn't quite prepared for all the goodness I was going to find! I found some really amazing vintage card games, miss E loves the "Panda's party" a jigsaw card game and my favorite is the "Happy Families" - games $0.20c each!!!!!!! I found a Moorcroft trinket box with a magnolia flower on it, bargain $1!!!! Big bag of vintage books for upcycling, some cute wooden egg cups, a stool to recover and the list goes on! It would have been much more if I didn't have the kids with me, and we hadn't walked down without the pram! Once I got home I felt that I had unearthed some real treasures and couldn't quite believe my luck. It certainly makes up for slow sales at the market!

granny

2011-11-11T11:51:00.000+13:00

I've been busy with a new medium lately. It's a fabric stiffener that is waterproof and non toxic. I'd seen it at my local fabric store many times but the samples that they had were just not my thing and I hadn't thought more about how I could apply it to things I wanted to make. Then I thought - what about making my crochet hard? Since then I've been, well hooked! I've made a bunch of granny square pendants and some snowflakes for the markets I've got coming up and some other super secret projects too.

For anyone interested - today is free shipping day for Spoonflower in the Asia/Pacific region. So if you have ever thought about having a go and printing some fabric - now is your chance to have a go without the added expense of shipping. I got some of miss E's art worked printed to turn into Christmas presents, I was very pleased with the quality of it and how easy the site was to use. You can read that post here.

I got my binding sorted (thanks for all the kind comments). I wasn't entirely happy with the outcome, but they aren't such a total mess now. So I'm happy to move on now.

I've got my first market tonight, wish me luck, I'm a wee bit nervous!

grrr

2011-11-08T22:31:00.000+13:00

So today I was going to show you some pics of some spiral bound notebooks that I've been making as Christmas gifts. I made them from some floral art vintage books, card I had and blank white paper. They looked great with the binding clips on before I took them to the binding shop. Mr A and I took a walk into town today to pick them up and then stopped in at the park. I was distracted with the school pickup/homework/dinner making/ bath-bedtime routine and just now had a chance to sit down and look at the finished result. Grrrr, they are totally stuffed! and that I feel is quite a polite expression for what that binding shop has done. Holes are not complete and lots of the pages are swinging free. Extra holes that binding stops and just doesn't go through and I'm feeling really sad about it all. Not only because all these vintage pages have been ruined, but because now I have to go back to the shop and have a bit of a rant. If I was my single no kids self, I'd just forget about it, move on, make some more and find a new binding shop. But I'm not so I feel I need to get my money back or some how get them to fix it. Grrrrrrrrr!

The pic has nothing to do with this post, but shows some cute little cups that I picked up at my local Salvation Army store. The kids love them and have little races and present them as prizes. My poppies are in flower (the few plants that survived the snail attacks!) and we've been enjoying picking them to pop in vases around the house.

Back to the binding shop I go - wish me luck - I need it!

scandi

2011-11-07T13:52:00.000+13:00

I've been so busy working on things for the markets that I've got coming up (and dare I say it Christmas) that I've been forgetting to pop in here and show you what I've been working on. I love all things Scandinavian, and I was inspired to make these crochet pendants. I must say they look much better in real life and yes my embroidery still looks very "rustic" in real life too! I'm planning to make some bigger ones to hang on our Christmas tree this year, hopefully my embroidery looks ok on a bigger scale!

Hope you had a good weekend ! I've got a few more new projects to share this week so see you tomorrow.

2011-11-01T11:51:00.000+13:00

I finally finished off my crochet yolk top, it was an improvised design and I'm quite pleased with it. The fabric part at the bottom is from a linen skirt that I got from my local Salvation Army store and I used some organic cotton for the crochet yolk. It's the same front and back making it perfect to grab on a busy morning!

After seeing an advertisement in Frankie magazine for "Crochet Modern Vintage" crochet pattern book I really wanted it, I picked it up at my local yarn store. It's got 15 patterns and I'm totally smitten with the brown poncho, I think I'll have to save hard to make it though, the pattern uses 16 balls! I really like the necklaces and I whipped up the owl one when I really should have been crafting for my up (and fast approaching) markets.

Did you see this picture on Stella's blog? It's my little man and I'm super happy with the amazing job she's done. I'm looking forward to getting the original in my hands and finding a nice frame for it. Gosh she's so clever!

production line

2011-10-26T14:02:00.000+13:00

Over the school holidays I didn't have much chance to craft for the upcoming craft fairs I've got. I couldn't do much with two little ones needed me to make huts, snacks etc for them all the day long, but I could start a little production line. I started to cut up some of the vintage linens I've got saved up to make notebooks from, the linens all are a bit worse for wear, stains, holes, even paint marks. I got a big stack all cut up ready to sew over the past few weeks, and now the sewing has begun! The best part of a production line is that all of a sudden you have a whole bunch finished! I haven't really made any of these notebooks since the last fair in December last year and I'd forgotten how fun they were to sew. This time around I tried hard to keep little details from the linen in the finished objects, like the crochet boarders. The inside front and back is like a little pocket to tuck receipts or little notes in. The top photo shows about half of the notebooks I've got finished, they were a best seller so I want to make super sure I've got a good supply of them made.

holiday

2011-10-24T20:39:00.000+13:00

Today marks the last day of the school holidays and it's also a national holiday here, Labour day. I think many New Zealanders will be happy in the fact it's a public holiday today, after the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup last night, I imagine that there might be some tired heads today.

With the sun shining brightly we headed out to a local beach this afternoon, the kids had a swim (it was a wee bit cold for me though) and I did a little bit of crochet on the beach. I've got a couple of craft fairs coming up and I'm trying to make the most of every spare bit of time. The first fair is in a couple of weeks at my daughter's school and the other is....... the Auckland Art and Craft fair! I hope to catch up with some local readers there, so book the date in! Saturday the 10th of December. Is it just me or is Christmas creeping up mighty quickly?

underneath

2011-10-13T10:48:00.001+13:00

This was my favourite sculpture from the sculpture trail at the Auckland Botanic gardens on the weekend. A carpet of flowers made with "caution/danger/keepout" tape and plastic bags and what looks like a green twine. No surprises that this "needlecraft" sculpture was my favourite, I loved how it looked so different from a distance compared to close up. The artist is Mia Hamilton and I found a link to another "needlecraft" inspired sculpture that she did here, giant french knitting! Amazing. Makes me want to sculpture a GIANT Doily like this one, or maybe decorate a tree like this .

p.s - just found this little article on Mia too

weekending

2011-10-11T21:06:00.000+13:00

We had a very busy weekend, tractor rides, pony rides, visiting relatives, thrift shopping, farmers market, the first real fruit ice creams of the season and the list goes on. The highlight for me and the kids was visiting the Auckland Botanical Gardens, the cherry blossom trees were in full bloom and it was nothing short of magical (my little point and shoot doesn't do them justice at all- seriously magical!). They looked amazing and it was so amazing to walk below them, several families were having picnics underneath and it seemed like the perfect spot to have one.

It was the opening weekend of their sculpture trail and we really enjoyed spotting sculptures in the distance trying to work out what they were made of and then getting up close and admiring them. Little legs meant we didn't get a chance to explore them all but that gives us a good excuse to go again soon.

usborne guide

2011-10-07T13:07:00.000+13:00

Make your own jewellery - an Usborne guide published in 1987 has got to be the book I read most as a child. I was 8 years old in 87' and I can't imagine ever getting rid of this book even though it's a bit dated now. As a child I wanted to make everything on every page, the sunflower seed earrings, the rhinestone brooches, the brightly coloured paper mache necklaces! I did actually make many of the projects in the book, begging my mum to buy me the supplies I needed. The model looked so cool (to my 8 year old self) and I wanted to be just like her.

Going through my book shelf recently I came across this book and got inspired all over again by the projects. I really liked the aeroplane necklace and for years I've been looking for some suitable to make a necklace with. I haven't found any yet, but it go me thinking what else I could hang from a chain/necklace. I've got a very small collection on little teacups and bits and pieces from toy tea sets and thought they would look sweet hanging from a chain. I've made one so far (and run out of chain) but hope to make some more (once I've had a trip to spotlight).

Do you have any favourite childhood crafting books?

sharp

2011-10-06T20:26:00.001+13:00

There aren't many gadgets or things to buy in the world of crochet (luckily as the yarn is a big enough expense!) so when I heard about a special hook I was keen to know more. It's a sharp crochet hook, designed to push through fabric easily, to crochet borders etc on fabric. It arrived in my letterbox last week and I was keen to try it out.

I'm finding it really hard to find summer tops in natural fabrics this year (ones within my budget that is) and I thought I'd have a go at making my own. I cut up a top I had in my wardrobe that I liked the style but not the print to get a pattern. This is my "calico" and first attempt at using the pattern, I think it needs a few changes but it is good enough to wear. I made it from some soft striped linen that was only $2.50 a metre from Designer Textiles (have you been there yet?). I used the hook to crochet a border on the hem. I was impressed with how the hook worked and found it easy to use. I think a firmer weave fabric would make it easier though. I've got all sorts of ideas in my head now about making some summer skirts for miss E a bit like these ones.

I've started another top too with a crochet bodice a bit like this one, but as I was in such a hurry and I'm not so much into measuring, and I was making it up as I went along - it didn't quite work the first time. So I had to undo most of it and start again, which means of course it is taking longer - should have just measured!

ho ho ho #2

2011-10-04T12:36:00.000+13:00

There is also this Christmas swap going too. You get partnered with just one person (great if you don't want to make lots of ornaments to send) and it's open internationally too. You can sign up here

ho ho ho

2011-10-03T08:51:00.000+13:00

I've signed up again for the Kiwi Christmas Swap, it was lots of fun opening all the little parcels last year. A job perfect for miss E! I'm really looking forward to adding some more handmade decorations to my tree this year too. Pop over to Sew Funky to sign up!

celebrate

2011-09-28T20:59:00.000+13:00

It seems my resolve to blog more has gone out the window along with my resolve to eat less home baking and finding time to exercise more all that slackness aside, earlier this week I celebrated a my birthday.I must say the best thing about having a birthday at this time of year is the bouquets I receive from my Nana's garden. Isn't it just lovely? I had a birthday and was a wee bit spoilt, with some thoughtful gifts and Indian takeaways for dinner, yum!

I had some great thrift finds this week ( nice to have some birthday money up my sleeve for some guilt-free thrift shopping), some green ceramics for my shelves (they are mostly covered by cards in this photo unfortunately) and a cute wooden bowl and I think this is a dibber? yeah? A thing for planting seeds? Even if that isn't what it is, it's what I'm going to use it for. I do feel a bit bad about getting it all muddy though.

floral

2011-09-23T20:57:00.000+12:00

I used to think that florals were a bit stuffy and dare I say it "granny" like. But my tastes have changed a bit over the years and I'm a bit kinder to florals these days. At this time of year it's hard to escape flowers and the images of them. I finally found a stool to recover at the thrift store. I was going to paint the legs of the stool white but in the interest of time and budget constraints, I'm learning to like the unpainted legs. I've had this needlepoint for quite a while (thrifted of course) and unfortunately it wasn't quite big enough to cover the stool. So I added a bit of denim on one end. Now I just have to find the perfect spot for it.

The weather was nice and sunny today, making me want to get out and get stuck into the garden. There are definite signs of that burst of Spring growth starting, not long now till the garden comes out of hibernation.

Happy weekend!

worldwide

2011-09-20T12:58:00.000+12:00

I had no intentions of being away this long, but illness and other stuff has meant my time in this space has been scant lately. It doesn't mean that I haven't been busy, so I do have lots to share and hopefully I'll get around to taking some photos to show you what I've been up to.

One little addition to our home is this map, it was free in an issue of Frankie recently. We have a number of relatives and friends in far flung (and not so far flung) places and it's kind of an abstract idea to little ones. We get lots of questions about exactly where these people are and how far away from us they are. I mounted it on some foam board and popped it in a frame without glass so we can change pins around as people move and add in some if need be. I added a couple of hooks underneath with a sting line so we can peg up the postcards as they arrive in the letterbox. It's all quite exciting to a 5 year old and we anxiously await the next postcards!

sprung

2011-09-06T19:46:00.000+12:00

It really seems like Spring has arrived! mr A and I spent the day with my Nana (Granny) to my kids. We walked home in the sun with some treats from her garden, freesia's and mr A wouldn't let go of the swede that he dug up with her. A perfect way to get in to Spring.

notes of crochet

2011-09-02T21:08:00.001+12:00

I was gifted a single size crochet bedspread, it's really like a super sized doily. It's seen better days and it's probably a "cutter", someone has already been cutting it. But I really don't feel like I can cut it up. I think I'm going to try and fix it - crazy you say? Well yes super crazy! But I don't intend to stick to the pattern, I thought I could go through my doily collection and patch it with them and add some crochet of my own where patching won't work. It seems a giant task but here's the thing - there are NO crochet machines. So someone has sat there and crocheted this bedspread in superfine crochet cotton and it seems fitting to spend some time to fix it. Whenever you see crochet tops in a chain store (or any clothes store for that matter) it's been crocheted by a person ( there are no machines to crochet unlike knitting), I'm almost 100% sure that the person who crocheted it was paid VERY little to do so and that their working conditions weren't what you or I would expect. That is why I never buy any "chain store" crochet clothes, I just see some poor person crocheting their heart out to fill an order for some country far away. It's something to think about.

I was mentioned by a couple of lovely ladies on their blogs recently, Hanna from craftykin wrote a lovely post about some necklaces that I made for her and her sisters. Also Dee gave me a little mention about one of my necklaces here. Thank you both!

Happy weekend!

as a wee note: I've searched for "crochet machines" on the internet and it seems that there are some, however when you go and look at what the machines can produce - it's actually knitting! or a "crochet-like" trim.

magnet

2011-08-30T21:33:00.000+12:00

I was totally inspired by this post by Dee, about using a tray from the thrift store as a magnet board. This wasn't however what I had in mind while searching for one. I was looking for something that might look good with a makeover of mod podge and fabric, but I loved the design on this one so much I didn't have the heart to cover it up - so the hunt goes on. This lives in my pantry now, the perfect place for my shopping list and recipes to try. Things I want handy but not necessarily on the fridge for all to see. For a hanger I used "liquid nails" and a pull tab from a tin can. I have a warning though, while you wait for the "liquid nails" to dry to leave it anywhere near a curious five year old, needless to say it doesn't look as neat on the back as I would have hoped - lucky it's just the back huh?

See that little certificate at the bottom? Well I recently made a scarf for my neighbour from her Angora rabbit homespun yarn and at a national rabbit show she went to, entered it into the knit/crochet garment section. It won first prize! I was certainly amazed as I didn't even know that she was entering it. What a nice surprise.

time

2011-08-29T21:11:00.000+12:00

It's funny how time can sometimes slip through your fingers, I started this shawl quite a few months ago. Working on it a bit each week at a creative fibre group I go to on a Monday night. The bulk of it worked up very quickly but it's lay unfinished for quite a few weeks now. The thing is tomorrow I have to hand it in for a local competition. So all of a sudden after weeks of inactivity it's finished, washed a blocked and labelled. Only thing is I've got no one on hand (other than a two year old)to take a photo of it for me from behind as I intended it to be worn, so you have to settle for a terrible self portrait. It's shawl size but it's worked in lace weight yarn (50/50 silk merino) from Jess of "Spinning a yarn" so it can also work quite well as a scarf too (so you could easily wear it around your neck as I am here). The yarn is stunning, Jess dyes it and this colour way is lilac, you can find her etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/spinningayarn

It's great to have it finished, another item checked off the list. Now to get on to the rest of the long list of "to do's"

The pattern is an improvised one by the way - sorry no link :(

silver

2011-08-23T19:46:00.000+12:00

Recently my local Salvation Army store was overflowing with silver, framed needlepoint and some fabulous vintage fabric in pristine condition. I got the feeling that they all came from the same person and perhaps a deceased estate, which seemed really sad. All these lovely collections ending up there, but it was nice for me to have a peek through all the collections. I picked up a little something from each collection, a lovely framed needlepoint of nasturtiums, some amazing fabric that I'll share once I get back into sewing mode and this silver centerpiece. I've been looking for a centerpiece for sometime and never seen anything that I liked or any centerpieces for that matter. Anyway I thought that this was perfect for what I was looking for, it's got a bit in the middle for pushing flower stems through but it can also be removed if you want to fill it with something other than flowers or float a flower in the middle. We celebrated my husband's birthday last week and the kids loved eating by candlelight, so much so we have been eating by candlelight ever since!

I'm really looking forward to bringing it out lighting the candles at many more celebrations in the years ahead.

for the birds - part 3

2011-08-21T19:56:00.000+12:00

Each year in Winter we have been feeding our local wild birds - by local I mean the ones that visit our garden. We made pinecone feeders the first year : http://nzgreenbuttons.blogspot.com/2009/08/for-birds.html ( I still can't get the hyperlink to work sorry). Last year we made bird cake and hung it in bags, but this year I was inspired by something that I saw on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/pin/118534946/ . It was really easy to do and instead of using straws to make holes I just used the end of a wooden spoon. We hung them up using some hemp twine from Trade Aid. They look nice on the bare Winter branches, a bit like decorations.

No birds have taken advantage of the free food yet, but just like previous years I know that once they find it it won't take long till it's all gone.

Edith & I

2011-08-19T10:13:00.000+12:00

I love Edith Holden's botanical work, it's stunning and I so wish that I could paint like she did. I recently purchased (from Trademe) a book about her life called " The Edwardian Lady", it was really interesting to read more about her life and to discover that we share the same birthday. Edith died tragically as she was gathering botanical samples to paint at Kew at the age of 48. Like many artists she found fame long after her death, in her case nearly 60 years later when her book was published "The country diary of a Edwardian lady".

I had a very tatty copy of that book almost every page had fallen out from it's binding and when I discovered a copy in much better condition at a local secondhand book sale it had sat quite forgotten on a shelf. It was hard to cut up the pages as I love the images so much, but as I do have another copy now it seemed a sensible thing to do. A friend is heading overseas and wants to take some of my stitched cards with her to give as gifts so I've made a bunch of Edith Holden ones for her to take. I also abandoned the sewing machine for some of them and hand sewed some of the images on for a very "rustic" look, I love how some of the images wrap around the card and the stitching shows through. I've bundled them up in groups, like birds and "bramble" ones and pretty wildflowers. I do have some spare that I'll hopefully pop in my etsy shop over the next few days.

After a very bad start to the week weather-wise, it even snowed (a teeny tiny bit) here in Auckland! It's a stunning day today, clear skies and lots of sun, I'm heading out into the garden to make the most of it. Happy weekend!

milky

2011-08-17T20:59:00.000+12:00

I was quite excited when I saw this lidded pot at the local Salvation Army store. I thought it was a vintage piece of milk glass and I'm sure I'd seen something similar in a Martha Stewart magazine. I popped it in the pram and headed home to wash it up. As I did I spotted something that disappointed me somewhat a maker's mark or in this case a brand on the bottom, can you guess who made my piece of milk glass???? - Avon! I am a little disappointed that it's not as old as I thought, but I still like it. It's on my bedside table at the moment but with two little ones who like to visit for snuggles in the morning it might need to find a new resting place.

Have you had any fabulous finds at the thrift store that weren't quite what you thought when you got them home? No? Just me then.

new week

2011-08-14T21:11:00.000+12:00

I really don't know what went wrong this week, it started off so well. I've been trying hard to keep on top of domestic duties, like clearing the bench of all dishes before bed and organising dinner early or better still in the crock pot. It's a nice feeling to start the day with a clean bench and the morning seems to go so much better. The start of the week went well, bench cleared, washing hung out and put away (rather than just left in a heap on the couch or in a basket) dinner in the crock pot for the first few days = very little dinner dishes to complete, I was feeling quite smug about how organised I was becoming. Then snap, come Wednesday it all turned to custard and quite quickly. By Thursday there was washing everywhere, I found myself making breakfast amongst dirty dishes and also the clean ones that I hadn't put away. I cut up some grapefruit and soaked it overnight to make some marmalade, then discovered that I just couldn't fit the cooking in and had to pop it in the fridge till the following day( I hoped). The dishwasher was empty, but no dirty dishes seemed to be making it in, I was quickly running out of bench space all together. Then Mr A headed outside, ignoring all the mess, we made the most of some sunshine and got to work in the garden, planting and digging together (and mr A, pulling out the plants I'd just planted).

The thing with the housework is it NEVER ends, there will always be more dishes, dinners to cook, washing to fold and toilets to clean. But there won't always be sunshine to garden with your two year old, working together in some winter sunshine. A new week lies ahead, maybe I might be more organised and have a clean and tidy bench or maybe I might just leave it and make the most of some sunshine instead.

I did get around to finish making some marmalade and also some lemon curd, but the bench was a total mess when I'd finished, that's why they are cooling on the windowsill!

updated

2011-08-10T13:30:00.000+12:00

I've added a few more Orchid upcycled cards to my etsy shop, a few people asked if I had anymore so I thought I better get a move on and get some listed. I've got a few more things to list too so keep an eye out.

That's all for today, the sun is shining outside and I'm keen to make the most of it!

citrus love

2011-08-08T13:19:00.000+12:00

There has been lots of citrus love around here lately, lemon curd, preserved lemons, fresh grapefruit and oranges too. It seems it all can't get eaten and used fast enough. My friend gave me some grapefruit and inside the bag she included a great recipe that I'm excited to share as it's so EASY and well, we all need some easy in our lives. So here it goes:

Natalie's magic orange cake

1 whole orange washed and chopped roughly
125g melted butter
1 C sugar
2 med/large eggs
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 t Baking powder ( or 1 1/2 cup of self raising flour)

Preheat the oven to 180 oC

Put all the ingredients into a food processor, yip that's it.

Pour into a cake tin or loaf pan or muffin pans. Cook until springs back when touched. I've found that is around 35 mins for a cake or 15-20 mins for muffins.

You can ice it or drizzle some orange syrup over it or leave it plain. I have made it with a grapefruit instead of a orange and it was nice if you like a tangy muffin. I've also made a version with a cup of grated carrot in it and some raisins as muffins for the school lunchbox. It seems to freeze well too! Yum!!!

clear

2011-08-02T20:21:00.000+12:00

The last day of the school holidays was the most stunning day (weather-wise) that we've had in a very long time. Wanting to make the most of it we headed to a local beach to have some fish and chips for lunch. Miss E was very keen and waded into the water! There were actually children swimming! in July! You know like July as in the middle of Winter! Admittedly it was very warm in the sun but still. It was great fun and all the talk on the way home was about the up and coming warm weather and lots more trips to the beach. A perfect way to end the holidays.

walk

2011-07-29T20:22:00.000+12:00

We went for a walk in the local botanic gardens today. It's the last day of the school holidays and it was nice to get the kids out for a walk. There were many signs that spring is really on it's way, daffodils budding (flowering in places) magnolias in bloom and a slight change in the light. We saw a peacock and lots of ducks were spotted too. I found these seeds from a Titoki tree, a NZ native to show the children, when I was little our house had a small Titoki tree by the letterbox many years later when I went back to have a look at our old house I was stunned by how tall it had grown over the years. I remember as a small child being fascinated by the seeds, seems that the fascination doesn't end in childhood, aren't they just amazing?

Have a safe and happy weekend.

holidays

2011-07-25T21:42:00.000+12:00

Rainy holidays at home, can be fun with just some coloured rice I've discovered! Miss E and I coloured the rice by shaking it in a bottle until the rice absorbed all the colour - the fun and noisy part. Once we made a few batches of different coloured rice, we layered some (briefly) in a jar, if I had been quicker off the mark I probably would have set aside a jar to fill with the layers that we could have put on the windowsill. But the layers were quickly shaken up! We also made some pictures by "drawing" with glue and then sprinkling the rice over the glue. Lots of fun on a rainy day and with things you've probably got on hand, always a bonus.

crack

2011-07-21T22:04:00.000+12:00

I found this plate the other day, very pretty but cracked unfortunately. So over the weekend I plan on transforming it into some crochet covered pendants for an up coming market. I hope the weather is rainy otherwise I might just have to sort out my garden instead.

with thanks

2011-07-19T13:52:00.000+12:00

My lovely neighbour Kerstin delivered a large lot of homespun wool to me last week. It's a mixture of Angora (from the rabbits that she breeds) and merino with silk. It's so lovely to crochet with and I feel VERY spoilt. I made some beanie style hats for the kids first from an improvised design. Luckily they were very quick to make, as soon as I had finished one, there was a request for another matching one. To stop arguments I crocheted a flower for miss E's one and a circle to put on mr A's one. They love them to bits, thanks again Kerstin! She has a website and a blog that you can find here: www.vivelly-stud.com ( I still can't get the linky thing to work! is it just me?) She sells her lovely Angora fibre too, I must say that it's so soft and warm and spins beautifully with the added bonus of it needing no carding.

I've still got quite a bit left, I'm just trying to decide what to make next.....

friday finds

2011-07-15T20:42:00.000+12:00

The weather continues to keep us tucked up indoors, rain, rain and more rain. There was a little break in the weather today and mr A and I took a trip around the local thrift stores, something that he isn't that excited about. He stood in the door way of the first one and flatly refused to enter much to the amusement of everyone except me. But he softened after a while and we actually had quite a nice outing (the bribe of a fluffy at the end seemed to work wonders). I was quite excited to find this tablecloth, I thought it was quite unusual. It's large and has a bouquet on each corner. I love it, but it's got a few stains and some other issues so it's destined to be re purposed in some way, just not sure what I'll make yet.

Happy weekend friends!

and the winner is......

2011-07-15T20:37:00.000+12:00

Congratulations Clare! Miss E drew your name out of the hat! Let me know your address and I'll get the prize off to you. Thanks for all your kind comments on my two years of blogging.

pin it

2011-07-14T21:43:00.001+12:00

I've been working on a couple of things for a local showcase. The first one that I've completed is this doily inspired rug. I was inspired by this one:http://pinterest.com/pin/42019818/ (I can't seem to get the link thingy to work today, grrrrr computers) , but instead of using a thick rope I used a continuous strip of fabric that I cut from a tube of knit fabric. I love how fast crochet grows when working with a large hook ( I used a size 10mm), I'm hoping to make some to add to my etsy shop over the coming months. I might make another for me too, I think it would make a great bathmat.

spoonflower

2011-07-12T20:36:00.000+12:00

I've really wanted to have a try of Spoonflower's services for quite a while. I really felt nervous about using anything I designed myself, I was worried that I wouldn't be happy with it. So when they recently had a special with free shipping I decided I'd have a try but I asked miss E if she would draw something for me to use. She got busy drawing all sorts of little pictures for me. I thought if it was something she designed that we could use the fabric to make Christmas presents for relatives, think little zip purses and notebook covers.

I was really impressed how easy the Spoonflower website was to use (using a very simple design) and I was able to lay it up how I wanted quite quickly. I think I might actually have a go and order some with my own design! Scary.

The reaction to the arrival was precious, " I just love it!" with the biggest widest eyes possible for the longest time " I just don't know what to say!" This from my five year old who just doesn't stop talking. So yes, I think the result is perfect.

2 years

2011-07-11T12:33:00.000+12:00

Hard to believe that I've been blogging for two years now, it seems both a very short and a long time simultaneously. I'd like to thank you for stopping by for all those posts some 300+ of them. So I've got a little giveaway organised. There are a couple of my "stitch in time" cards, a stitched notebook with a botanical cover and a little patch that I made by crocheting around the edge of some fabric by Tiny Happy. You could sew the patch on a bag or to cover a stain, it's backed with vilene to make it a bit sturdier.

All you have to do is leave a comment in this post and I'll draw a name out sometime on Friday. This giveaway is open to any blog readers worldwide!

Thanks again for stopping by!

weekending

2011-07-11T11:49:00.000+12:00

A snapshot of our weekend, collecting pine needles from a nearby park to mulch our strawberry patch, baking some pretzels and something sweet for afternoon tea. There was a birthday party to go to, a cafe visit, lots of rain (and heaps of wind) and a small amount of cleaning too.

Pop back later for the giveaway post that I promised.

house shoes

2011-07-08T13:05:00.000+12:00

I went on a two month student exchange to Germany when I was 17. It was over Christmas time and it was the coldest winter there in around 20 years. While I was there my host family gave me the use of some red felt "house shoes", I loved them! While I was there I was looking out for a similar pair to buy to take home with me, but I didn't find any. I was thinking about them just the other day (as you do!) and I thought about having a go at making something similar.

I picked up a thickly felted woollen red jumper at the local Salvation army recently and I thought I'd have a go with that. I am quite pleased with how they turned out (although nothing like the house shoes I was loaned), they certainly keep my feet warm. If I made a second pair I'd make them quite a bit smaller, due to the slight stretch of the felted wool they are a tiny bit loose. I crocheted around the edge of them with some matching crochet cotton to finish them off.

I've just realised that I've past my two year blogging anniversary so to celebrate I'll do a little giveaway on Monday, so do check back.

Have a happy weekend! I'm hoping for a little less rain.

splash

2011-07-07T18:04:00.000+12:00

I sometimes forget to slow down. I sometimes seem to jam so much into each day, always thinking about what I need to do next that I forget to just stop and live in the moment. But this morning after mr A and I had dropped of miss E to school we discovered a big puddle. He spent a good 15 minutes jumping and playing in it and I didn't mind a bit. I wasn't thinking of all the washing at home to do, or what I was going to cook for dinner or anything else other than how happy he was splashing about. I was so taken about all the smiles he was getting as cars drove past, young and old seemed to enjoy watching him splash about. I think it was a timely reminder to stop, slow down and enjoy the puddles in life.

prints

2011-07-02T19:42:00.000+12:00

I was very flattered when Melissa asked if she could use one of my photos on her blog, um yes! It's the one above where I used some of her lovely "Vita" fabric in black to make a cushion with. You can read her post here and if you are a fan of her fabrics you can find her new Flickr group here.

Blog posts have been few and far between lately - but hopefully that will change next week.
Happy weekend!

mini makeover

2011-06-25T19:44:00.000+12:00

I'm giving my sewing space a mini makeover. It's nestled into the corner of our bedroom, once mr A came along it was goodbye to the spare room. The table I've been using for many years is a Formica table that has splashes of paint all over it and rather unappealing, not so great to have in your bedroom day in and day out. I sew and cut out my work with a stack of towels on the table top working as an ironing board and a place to pin too. To makeover the table I stapled down a double layer of towelling and then a layer of a thrifted woollen blanket. The top layer is a piece of green cotton (with a linen look) fabric. To make sure it doesn't get covered with bits of visoflex and vilene when I iron on it I've made a little slip cover of the same fabric that I can easily wash and protect the bottom layer.

As it was just a mini-makeover I didn't paint the legs of the table, I got out some of Wendyl Nissen's peppermint paste and a scourer and the paint just scrubbed off! That had the added bonus of our room smelling delicious too. It's now a much more pleasant place to sit and sew.

a stitch in time

2011-06-23T22:31:00.000+12:00

I love to have a stack of blank cards at hand to send and give to friends. I'd recently come to the bottom of my stack and needed to replenish my stocks. All my book buying at secondhand sales means I've often got lots of books for upcycling into cards. I had a lovely embroidery book that was falling to pieces and me with no talent for embroidery lead me to start with that one. I can see me sending little notes to other crafty friends, who knows maybe they could learn a new stitch?

I also had a very pretty botanical book that had a great section on Orchids. Stunning illustrations that must have taken many, many hours to complete.

I've got a bit of a surplus of cards now so I added a few sets in my Etsy shop.

lovely mail

2011-06-22T22:00:00.000+12:00

I love getting mail, seems a bit of a rarity these days. This week I got a couple of lovely things arrive in my letter box. The first was a brooch from the Flowerpress brooch swap. I love it! It goes with my favourite cardi and I think I'll wear it a lot. It was sent by Megan from Australia.

The second wasn't much of a surprise as I bought it from etsy. It's some of Melissa's fabric called "planting seeds". It reminds me of picnics and making huts in the backyard, I'm looking forward to Summer already I think.

black vita

2011-06-21T12:16:00.000+12:00

Despite my lack of posting, I have been very busy crafting. It's just that it's been soooooooooo rainy that I never seem to get enough light to take photos of the end product. But a little sun shone through, just enough to take some photos of this cushion I made. I used a thrifted red wool skirt for the main part and some of Melissa's beautiful Vita fabric in black for the appliques. I am so in love with all her fabrics! and some more arrived in my letterbox yesterday - oh the excitement!

To made the crochet appliques I ironed on some vilene to the back of the fabric, cut out the a pleasing shape, blanket stitched around, then crocheted around the edge . All those little stitches were perfect to do while watching a DVD with the kids while we were stuck inside. I made many more appliques from the same piece of fabric, I'm thinking they would look nice on a skirt for miss E or on a zip purse too.

red & green

2011-06-14T20:26:00.000+12:00

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that I'd won this amazing watercolour from Dee. Red is my favourite colour and I do have a soft spot for Maryjane type shoes. Now I just have to find the perfect wall space for it, for now it's nestled on a shelf in the lounge and makes me smile when I see it. Thanks again Dee, I love it to pieces!

So that's the red and the green is the spinach smoothies that we have been enjoying. The lovely Hannah from Craftykin shared the recipe on her blog and we have been enjoying them ever since. Super duper yum and a great way of getting more greens into all of us, even if they don't photograph well.

art and craft

2011-06-13T22:39:00.000+12:00

I was very lucky to visit the Auckland Art and Craft fair over the weekend. So many beautiful crafted things and clever makers. I bought this embroidered pin from the lovely Melissa from Tiny happy. I have another of her embroidered brooches, a feather one on grey felt and I wear it a lot, so now I have two that I can wear so my feather one won't get worn out.

It was really busy when I went there and didn't get a really good chance to look at all the beautiful things on display, which is a good thing for my wallet!

Swapped

2011-06-12T20:19:00.001+12:00

This is the brooch I made for the flowerpress brooch swap, for my swap partner in Australia. There isn't really any sense of scale in the photo, but the button is quite large. I really enjoyed making it, there is something nice and relaxing about crocheting in a circle. I've got a few more of these in different stages, with all this rainy weather I might just get them finished off this week.

warmth #1

2011-06-09T12:35:00.000+12:00

The very cold winter weather is yet to hit us here, we've had a lot of rain and quite warm weather for this time of the year. But I'm sure there are cooler days ahead. I've wanted to make some small lap blankets to keep in the lounge for ages, combine that with an overflowing basket of thrifted felted woollen jumpers/cardigans and you get a patchwork wool blanket!

This one is for my husband (um, yes there is quite a few patches from a pinkish jumper, but he doesn't mind) who likes to keep warm. After I cut out all the squares I was left with lots of small scrappy bits so I cut out some shapes and sewed them on the top too - they worked out handy to sew over some holes and stains that I couldn't get out. It is super duper warm and was making me quite hot as I was sewing on the binding (a thrifted linen shirt cut into strips). The backing is a thick cotton from Spotlight that was on sale. I'm quite pleased with it and on to my next one so when the cold hits we'll be nice and cosy.

warmth

2011-06-04T21:20:00.000+12:00

It seems to have got just that much cooler this week. I'm working on some "warming" sewing projects, some lap blankets for the lounge so each family member has something to snuggle up in and hopefully some draught stoppers for the doors to stop the warmth escaping. So with all the cold and snuggly thoughts in mind, it's hard to wrap my head around what I found in my garden yesterday. Strawberries in winter? I can't quite believe it.

walk

2011-06-01T20:55:00.000+12:00

We made the most of the beautiful Autumn day today, out for a walk in a park near our house. We'll more of a chase from my point of view as the little one took off at a tremendous pace, a nice change from the rainy days we have been having.

do you ever

2011-05-30T12:29:00.000+12:00

Do you ever get 3/4 of the way through a craft project then realise, you just don't like it?

or look at your children and wonder when they got so big and grown up?

or how amazing nature is to produce such amazing and diverse plants?

progress

2011-05-27T12:45:00.000+12:00

Seems that progress is very slow around here this week. I think these rainy days we are having don't help progress too much at all, I just feel like curling up under a cozy blanket. I have however made some progress, I've finished off my brooch for the brooch swap and I'm also finished my tea towel for the swap too. Now I just have to find some time to wrap them up nicely and send them on their way.

Happy weekend.

covered toes

2011-05-19T20:45:00.000+12:00

Today was the first day day in a very long time that I covered up my toes. The cold weather has finally reached my feet and I reached for some socks and boots today. It kind of makes me a bit sad, but before I know it the spring will arrive and my toes will once again be free.

lucky

2011-05-18T22:25:00.000+12:00

On the weekend I had a lucky thrift find. I found a great stack of embroidered linen and these tapestries all for less than a price of a coffee. I couldn't believe my luck. Now I've got a plan in mind for these and the ones that are already in my stash. Now to find the time to put the plan into action. So many people have put so many hours into these tapestries it seems only right to make something with them that will be seen rather than just tucked away unfinished.

And yes I'm making a BIG rug with the red fabric "yarn".

beginning

2011-05-17T13:09:00.000+12:00

The beginning of a big project - big hook, big fabric "yarn", big, big, big! Any guesses?

woven washcloth pattern

2011-05-15T19:14:00.000+12:00

This is the washcloth pattern that I have been using to make a big stack of washcloths. It gives a nice woven look texture, great for using as a facecloth or in the kitchen. I've used the same pattern (and hook size) with 4ply and 8ply cotton, the 8ply gives a chunkier look and feel to the cloth. I don't think gauge is so important with a washcloth so I haven't included one, but my cloths are around 16cm square (6.5 inches)

Written in American terms.

Size 3.5mm hook

FPDC - Front post double crochet, BPDC - Back post double crochet

Ch 32
Foundation row: DC in 3rd chain from hook (counts as DC), DC in each chain to the end. Chain 3 (30 DC)
Row 1: FPDC in the first two stitches, BPDC in the next two stitches, repeat to end with a DC in the top of 3 chain from foundation row. Chain 3, turn.

Row 2: BPDC in the first two stitches, FPDC in the next two stitches, repeat to end with a DC in top of 3 chain from previous row.

Row 3: Repeat row 2

Row 4: Repeat row 1

Row 5: Repeat row 1 , continue working the pattern until you have a square cloth

Finishing: Work a row of SC around the edge of cloth, working two SC along the sides where you crocheted 3 chain. Weave in the ends! Make one, make a stack! They make fantastic gifts for young and old. Crochet a few and wrap with some nice baby soap for a gift for a new baby or some with a tea towel or apron for someone who loves baking. A few bright ones with some bubble bath will make a child beg for their mum to put the bath on straight away (yes that did happen)

Ashford

2011-05-12T20:17:00.000+12:00

This is the before photo - fingers crossed there will be an "after" one. I found this Ashford doll's pram in the local Salvation Army today. It needs a bit of love, some of the small cane parts have broken off and it needs a good clean and perhaps a paint job. Funny thing is the kids have played with it all afternoon with no alterations (other than me giving it a quick clean) so maybe it's "loved" just as it is. I didn't know Ashford made children's toys, I thought they only made spinning wheels.

Pop back tomorrow when I'll be sharing my favourite pattern for dishcloths, I've been working my way through my cotton stash making a big pile of them.

lightbulb

2011-05-11T20:58:00.000+12:00

A little light bulb went off in my head the other day. It has always annoyed me when I crochet shapes to stuff and the stuffing (the white fibre fill kind of stuffing) shows through the stitches, it just doesn't look right. All of a sudden I thought why don't I stuff the shapes with dyed wool roving to match the colour of the yarn that I've used. It isn't so clear to see in the photo above but this was the first project I've tried it with, the one on the right is stuffed with the dyed wool. I'm quite excited about this discovery although I'm sure that someone must have already discovered it!

You can find the free hear pattern here.

weekending

2011-05-09T12:18:00.001+12:00

A few snaps from our weekend, a very decadent cake! some perfume making by miss E and I found some quiet time to finish off a scarf. I really enjoyed this weekend, so much so, I'm already looking forward to the next one!

swapping

2011-05-06T21:08:00.000+12:00

just a couple of things I've signed up for, in case you are interested to. Click on the pictures to take you to the sign up pages.

deadline

2011-05-06T12:14:00.000+12:00

The farm is nearly finished and some animals have arrived to check out the progress. There are just a few more things to do and then it's all finished, another row of crocheted carrots, weave in some loose ends of thread, and sew a pocket on the back so it will fold up into it's own case. It's a really rainy day today so I think I'll get a chance to finish it all off.

Happy weekend to you! and if you are a mother, happy mother's day for Sunday- I'm hoping for a lie in.

progress

2011-05-04T20:59:00.000+12:00

I have been working on what seems like a ton of things all at once, which simply means that nothing is ever finished off and I have lots of people breathing down my neck. One such person is a five year old girl who desperately wants her farm mat finished so she can play with it. Well I'm certainly keen to get her to stop breathing down my neck so I've set a goal to have it finished on the weekend. Then I can get onto some other crafting, sounds like a win,win to me!

( I feel bad I've just looked up the other post to link to and it's nearly a year since she asked for it! No wonder she's keen to have it finished, what a bad mum.)

yes

2011-04-29T20:35:00.000+12:00

Yes, sun filled day today and we made a special outing to our local park. It was so good to get out and burn off some energy. A perfect ending to the holidays.

I'm not a royalist but I thought I'd make a little something to eat with some tea tonight as I watch (well crochet and watch) the royal wedding. I made a batch of cupcakes to decorate with miss E and a friend she had over. Their cupcakes were quite colourful and diverse in their decoration. I however was inspired by Kate's (Diana's) engagement ring, a stunning sapphire set with diamonds, I was pleasantly surprised when my husband (without being prompted) recognised this inspiration before he quickly ate a couple of them.

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!

wet

2011-04-28T20:47:00.000+12:00

If these school holidays had a theme it would be "wet". It's been frustrating for all, no trips to the park and lots of inside play and all of us wishing that it would stop raining for a day or so. Today wasn't much different. After a short walk down to the library it started to rain so we took shelter in the library cafe till it cleared enough to walk home without getting soaked. Then I was lucky enough to make it to a local secondhand book sale where I really lucked out. I got the above two books by Edith Holden (one I already have but it was in very poor condition) but these are both in very good condition. We got a stack of golden and kids books and a couple of good children's craft books too All for less than it cost for the three of us to have a coffee, two fluffies and share a gingerbread man, so I was very pleased (almost makes up for two weeks of rain).

The afternoon was spent watching a DVD from the library and working on some more crochet dishcloths, they are a bit addictive and the perfect little project for a cold, wet day.

today

2011-04-27T20:45:00.000+12:00

Edible? Not sure but I'm going to find out, do you know what they are? But these,

definitely are ! The recipe was shared by Hanna, I can report that they are a big hit in our house and I'm dreaming up some different variations too, they look like bad for you truffles but they have very little in them that would make a nutritionist cringe (at least that's what I think, maybe a nutritionist would disagree) I really think you should try some.

over

2011-04-25T20:04:00.000+12:00

Well the Easter weekend is over now and I didn't get around to sharing many Easter things last week, I just went by in a blur. I did however fit in some time to make some Hot cross buns, I used a recipe that Jess from Spinning a Yarn shared on her blog. It makes delicious buns that disappeared quite quickly, it seems a much better recipe than all the others I've tried and makes very light fluffy buns. I'm thinking of making them not only at Easter but over the winter as a warm weekend treat.

Hope you had a good long weekend friends.

today

2011-04-19T21:59:00.000+12:00

for the basket

2011-04-17T20:50:00.000+12:00

I've been making some of these fabric covered eggs today to have in a bowl as Easter decorations. Here are some instructions if you want to make your own. I found that I got better at covering the eggs as I went along so don't worry if your first ones aren't perfect, it's all part of the charm of handmade!

You will need: Some blown eggs, Mod podge, paint brush, fabric, scissors (not your best sewing ones)

1: Cut a piece of fabric to wrap around your egg, it needs to be long enough at each end to reach the end of the egg. If unsure make it a bit bigger you can always trim the extra off later.

2: We need to cut some triangles out of the fabric so it will wrap around the egg nicely. I folded the fabric down the middle so each end was cut the same (and twice as fast). They don't have to bee even, but make sure you leave a band across the centre that is uncut.3: Paint on the mod podge around the middle of the egg. Place it on the fabric and check that each end will be covered by fabric once pulled up.

4: Wrap the fabric the whole way around the egg. You might find that the triangles that you cut aren't deep enough, the fabric will pucker as you wrap it around. So if you need to cut some little slits do that now. (this is why I suggest not using your best shears, just in case some mod podge gets on them)

5: Your egg should look like the below picture at both ends now. Paint on some mod podge on the egg and wrap the triangle points down so the egg is all covered.

6: Once all the points are down, paint over a layer of mod podge over it to seal it. I'm not the most patient crafter so I do both ends at the same time, but it does work better if you do one end and then leave that to dry and then do the other end. You can just place it in an empty egg carton to dry and then do the other end. If you are like me you have this sticky thing that you've got to place somewhere to dry without it sticking to something. Please be patient!

Hope that is easy to follow, make them with your favourite fabrics and they are a decoration that you might want to have out all year round! Best part is that they pop into an egg carton to keep them safe when you don't want to have them out.

hop to it

2011-04-15T22:57:00.000+12:00

Hopefully I'll find some time over the next few days to share some Easter goodness, I'm not promising though cause the school holidays have just begun and, well, you know how that might go. I'm hoping to share some fabric covered eggs (big promise there, I haven't actually made any yet) and some Easter baking. I made some of these for family and friends last year, something quick and easy and little hands could help too. Anyway hope you have a happy weekend friends!

golden weather

2011-04-12T22:03:00.000+12:00

The weather is really golden at the moment, crisp Autumn days with clear blue skies and hardly a breeze at all, and sun that is warm but not harsh. I've been making the most of such days working in the garden, clearing away crops that have done their dash and getting the ground ready for some winter crops. Spreading compost and planting seeds. Luckily I'm not the only one in the family that likes being outside in this weather, while the kids play happily I'm enjoying a couple of books I got in a secondhand book sale on the weekend.

a wee story

2011-04-08T20:18:00.000+12:00

There once was a lady who had many, many feijoas. They were piled up in bowls all over her bench so there was hardly room to butter toast in the morning. The funny thing is this lady doesn't even have a feijoa tree. Some of the feijoas came to her house from relatives, some from friends, some from strangers and some were even smuggled in by her daughter in her school hat. The bowls they groaned with the fruit and the smell of the feijoas wafted through the house, until...... Her husband said "enough" So the lady (who didn't want to waste any) got busy. She chopped and she chopped and she chopped. She peeled and peeled and peeled. She mashed and mashed and mashed. Then she baked and baked and baked. She stirred and stirred and stirred. Until there was only one bowl of feijoas left for eating fresh and once again there was room on her kitchen bench for buttering the toast. The lady's pantry was filled with, jars of feijoa chutney, feijoa paste (all the stirring! Every 3 minutes for 3 hours ahem, she is probably not going to make that again), feijoa chutney, feijoa and poppy seed muffins, some feijoa and apple crumble and some mashed feijoas went into the freezer. The lady is now going to take a "feijoa" break and has been instructed by her husband to say "no" to any further offers of feijoas. Well I'm sure you guessed that lady is me! and yes I will be saying "no" to any more kind offers of feijoas, all that stirring, chopping, mashing etc was quite hard work.

Do you have a favourite feijoa recipe to share? I do still have a few for trying a new recipe with! Happy weekend friends!

open home

2011-04-07T19:52:00.000+12:00

Let me take you on a tour of our new home. It was built in 1979 by Fisher Price and it's from the Woodsey Collection. There is great indoor/outdoor flow, a large kitchen with a well stocked pantry. Unfortunately most of the chattels are missing, no broom, no table or chairs and it doesn't come with the family of Squirrels either. However it's in great condition and probably had just one lady owner (ok it's sounding like a car now). Now it has a new lady owner who loves it to bits and has moved a small family of teddy bears in.

eggy

2011-04-05T21:13:00.001+12:00

I finished off some more Easter eggs (link to the pattern here). I made a little basket to hold them all in too, it's crocheted from some factory off cuts, t-shirt type material cut into strips. It has been quite the tempting centerpiece for little hands, it's been on our kitchen table. It disappears and then there is an impromptu Easter egg hunt with me trying to round up all the eggs hidden away all over the place and lots of giggles while they send me in the wrong direction (and while I pretend I can't see them when they are right in front of me). Then there was a suggestion that every egg that I've made should be replaced with a chocolate one for the finder, hmm the jury is out on that one. A concern was raised that perhaps these would be the only Easter eggs this year by a certain little miss E (with the most serious face I've ever seen), but I reassured her that there would be some chocolate ones too.

highs and lows

2011-04-04T22:01:00.000+12:00

Highs, finding a great chair to recover, some great thrift finds, flour jar and a skirt for miss E, sunny crisp autumn days, late evening trips to the park before daylight savings ended. Getting out in the garden planting for winter. Lows, trying a new recipe that was a massive fail and ended with the oven needing cleaning (yup massive fail), daylight savings ending and all of a sudden it feels like winter. So there have been more highs than lows and that's how I like it!

autumn bounty

2011-03-28T20:35:00.000+13:00

I think I love the autumn harvest much more than the summer one. Forraged feijoas on the way home from school, apples from my uncle's house ( needing all the "eaten" bits taken out) and yellow guavas from our neighbours tree that drops it's fruit under our washing line. We are also picking lots of raspberries from our garden too. The red guava jam I made last week didn't set that well. While a little disappointed all is not lost, we still like it on our toast and it was delicious swirled through our apple cobbler tonight! I'm hoping for more luck with the yellow guavas, I've collected just about enough for a batch of jam and I've never had the yellow guava jam not set. But there is always a first time eh?

grey

2011-03-25T20:52:00.000+13:00

It was a grey, rainy day. Mr A and I were tucked up inside, he happily playing with his duplo and I made a start on some crochet Easter eggs for, well, Easter! I love how Europeans decorate for Easter, it's a much bigger celebration for them with it being spring time and all. I've finished just a few but I'm really keen to have a big bowl of them on the table by the time Easter rolls around. If you want to make some here is the link to the free pattern.

Happy weekend everyone!

guava

2011-03-24T21:54:00.000+13:00

Miss E and I collected a big bag of guavas from a nearby garden (a neighbour of a relative that I rang to ask first - I didn't just forrage for them this time). While we were picking them up I looked into the tree, there I spied this little nest filled with ...... Guavas! It looked so cute but I didn't get my camera out as my hands were rather sticky with ripe guavas. So we gently picked it out of the tree to take home. We have been looking for a little nest for our nature corner but haven't been able to find one, I even crocheted one a long time ago to fill the gap.

I made the jam tonight, I've never had much luck making jelly and it seems to leave so much behind. But to be honest I've not had a lot of luck with jam either, fingers crossed this batch sets.

of love

2011-03-23T21:10:00.000+13:00

Over the weekend I crocheted these washcloths for the gift of love appeal. I made them with some cotton that I had in my stash in various patterns that I made up. Nothing special pattern-wise, but I really do love crocheting a basket weave type of stitch. On one of them I added a little patch with some fabric from Melissa of tiny happy, I love it so much I'm really tempted to keep it for myself but someone in Christchurch needs it more.