little grubs

Our weekend ...

2010-08-09T08:41:00.000+12:00

Finally got the top finished - woohooo!!!!!

Coconut, apricot and date loaves - delicious!

We had our fair shares of knocks and bumps this weekend

Drawing up a birthday list - and then literally drawing all over it!

A trip to the library yielded these lovely books

A little refashioning for Cassia

Hope you had a great weekend too! xx

Blueberry picking in summer ...

2010-08-04T09:47:00.000+12:00

I've been reading some lovely posts about blueberrying recently over at gardenmama and SouleMama and hearing the lovely things they do with them - blueberry buttermilk cake anyone?! It's bought back memories from January this year when we went blueberry picking at a local blueberry farm. I had never picked blueberries before, in fact I had never seen a blueberry bush, and although the day wasn't quite as sunny and carefree as pictured in the above two posts (in fact it was freezing - we got there very early, it was drizzling with rain and we were higher up the hill than we though) we had a great time and picked a whole bunch of blueberries. It was great picking for the whole family because there were ripe berries at all different heights so none of us was left wanting and even Cassia at 3 was able to pick a lot. We picked about 5 kilos (10 pounds) in just over an hour and they were quarter of the price of the little punnets available at the supermarket - and of course it goes without saying they were much, much tastier!

Lots were in our tummies before we left the farm, some were made into blueberry muffins that afternoon and a blueberry pie was baked shortly thereafter. Still more were frozen for using during the winter - delicious gently cooked up to top a bowl of steaming porridge - and the rest were used to make blueberry relish. It is so delicious, in fact that probably needs more emphasise - IT IS DELICIOUS!!!! In fact, although it's a relish recipe I also use it like jam. I find the sweetness of jam soon becomes too much for me but this is just right, of course it's great with meats, cheeses, thrown into bolognaise sauces. In fact the only limit to its uses is the fact that I only have one unopened jar left!!!!

The last remaining jar of bluebbery relish - don't you just love the Maia made label?!

And so the recipe:

BLUEBERRY RELISH

1 kg blueberries

500g sugar

3/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp ginger (instead of cayenne as stated in recipe)

1/2 tsp mixed spice (instead of allspice as stated in recipe)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup water

Roughly chop 1/2 a lemon's rind and together with pips tie up in a little muslin parcel

Put everything in large pot

Stir over low heat for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved

Bring to boil

Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, for 50-55 minutes or until relish is thick and syrupy

Spoon immediately into clean warm jars and seal

Turn jars upside down for 2 minutes and then invert and cool

Label and date

LEAVE FOR 1 MONTH

Store for up to 12 months

Refrigerate after opening and keep for 6 weeks (it won't last that long let me tell you!)

This made 3 jam jars full plus a bit leftover to eat straight away.

Now I just have to be patient for the next 5 months until we can go picking again! x

How lucky am I?

2010-08-03T19:15:00.001+12:00

I recently participated in my 2nd swap via blogland and I received all this lovely fabric!

Amy and I had decided on a swap - I sent her one of my reversible sunhats for her little girl and a pencil/work case for her and I received the fabric. Seeing as I was only expecting scraps you can imagine my great delight when I opened the package! Many thanks once again Amy.

For my birthday in February I was given a book voucher by my in-laws. Now as much as I love books it always takes me some time to use a voucher. You see there are just sooooo many books out there that I would like that I never can decide and the books in NZ are sooo expensive, but that's content for another post!! I had popped into our local PaperPlus a couple of times and eyed up a few books. So you can imagine my delight when I see a book I would really rather like with 25% off - I ended up paying just $1.24 for this beautiful book:

although in truth that $1.24 will turn into much, much more because of all the lovely quilts I now wish to make!

The one activity that we have done every term for Maia is swimming. This year Cassia started her lessons too. We just go to the local aquatic centre and they both enjoy it tremendously. The lessons aren't cheap so you can appreciate how happy I was to have won the draw for a term's worth of free lessons - theoretically they are Cassia's - but I'm not picky!

During the holidays we went away for a few days. One day we all head into Levin and I scoured the op shops whilst Craig and the girls went to the Adventure Park. For sometime now I have been looking for a grater which can be fastened to a unit and that the girls can use themselves. I've even been into a couple of 'proper' kitchen shops but to no avail. So I was very excited to see this in a new second hand shop I popped into:

Now I ummmmed and aaahed about whether to get it. It was $8 which to me, being so used to $1 bargains at our local Sallies, seemed quite expensive!!! Crazy really as I would have paid upto $40 in the shop if I had seen one. Then the grating drum it came with wasn't really the one I wanted ...... But it was so retro and so pristine I bit the bullet and bought it. I figured I could look on TradeMe for the other drums that go with it. Now, of course, finding it was lucky but what came next was more than luck. It was like op shopping karma - is there such a thing?!!!

I popped into a wee little op shop, the type that has very limited hours, only takes cash but can yield some real treasures. And what did I find in there ..........

Can you believe it? The other 4 grating drums all in mint condition. The price? 50c each - that's right 50c each. So for the grand total of $10 I have the whole set - woohooo!!!

And finally (this really has been a pretty full post eh?) this month is my month to be the Queen Bee at the Bee Seam Piecing Downunder.

So I've sent out the parcels and now just have to sit back and wait - sounds good doesn't it? I made one practice block and then a couple more to check I'd put enough fabric in the parcels. Good job I did that as it turns out because there probably wouldn't have been enough - ooops!

So as you can see I have had a lot to be grateful for recently. It's really helped putting this post together because I'm currently suffering from the horrid bug/virus that Cassia had last week and feeling rather sorry for myself! Hope you're having a good run of it too! x

PS The dinner I posted about earlier was just delicious!!!!!

What's for dinner tonight?

2010-08-03T13:20:00.000+12:00

Gingered Beef with Bay a recipe from the Ultimate Slow Cooker book by Sara Lewis

Much as I hate frying beef and onions at 8 o'clock in the morning when it comes to the middle of the afternoon I LOVE the fact that dinner is done, quietly cooking away and will be ready as needed. I had thought I would do some ginger egg fried rice with it, with the rice leftover from last night's tea, but as it's been cooking today I realise that, although there is a lot of ginger, the dish is more meditteranean with the bay leaves and balsamic vinegar. Maybe couscous, maybe jacket potatoes? Both easy and effortless!

The crock pot came out of the garage last week and I have been busily looking for recipes. The local library had about dozen books on the subject, of which 8 now sit on my unit! I wasn't aware of crock pots, aka slow cookers, until I came to New Zealand and my repertoire is somewhat small. I plan to try out a few of the delicious sounding recipes over the coming weeks and hopefully there'll be some winners in there.

And for pudding?

Fruit and greek yoghurt topped with homemade granola - yum!!!!

What are you and yours having to eat tonight? x

I thought I must be mad ....

2010-08-01T18:47:00.000+12:00

I was having a good sort out earlier this afternoon and came across this jigsaw.

I found it at an op shop ages ago and loved the retro kiwiana feel. So with the wind blowing, the rain lashing and the fire roaring it seemed like the perfect time to start the jigsaw.

With a little bit of hindrance and a lot of help from Maia we got going.

I thought it would take ages and had been thinking where I could keep it whilst working on it but it's done - finished before tea!

I love how kitsch it is and because Craig's a picture framer I'm going to frame it and hang it on my wall!

Hope you all had a great weekend. x

Just in time ...

2010-07-28T18:53:00.000+12:00

July seems to have whizzed by and I had a lot to do in it! The last couple of days have been spent catching up with all my quilting bees.

For Sarah in the ANZAC Bee. This was the first bee I signed up for and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Sarah was the last person in the bee so I would like to say a huge thanks to Amy over at Seven Stitches for organising it and introducing me to virtual quilting bees (VQBs).

Nova, in the Australsian Bee, wanted some wonky star in July so I happily obliged!

The newest bee I'm part off is the Bee Seam Piecing Downunder and Bec sent out the fabric with the wish for something traditional with a twist.

A job well done and all off in the post winging their way to Australia.

I am the queen bee for August in the Bee Seam Piecing Downunder so I've also had to get organised with my fabric choices and patterns. After discarding a couple of options I've decided on a traditional log cabin block made from fabric from vintage sheets and pillowcases.

I've been collecting vintage sheets since we returned to NZ and am very happy to seem them being put to some good use at last. I think these blocks will be alternated with a simple square within a square block and maybe it's time for me to try some free motion quilting! I already have a place earmarked for this quilt so hopefully it won't be too long in the making. x

So what's the news?

2010-07-27T20:48:00.000+12:00

Well that break was a little longer than anticipated but here we go again!

So what was my news? Well I've had my first order!!!!!!!!! Now this is very exciting for me and a realisation of a long held notion. Remember the market? Well, the person sat next to me knew someone and that someone happened to have a shop in Palmerston North and the person who sat next to me talked to that someone who has a shop and hey presto!!!!

Obviously a little more was involved but needless to say the someone with the shop now has some little grubs clothes hanging in it!!! Aaaaarghhhhh how excited am I?!!!!

The shop is Stork on George Street in Palmerston North - if anyone is passing have a look. They have the egg Maternity franchise, stock truly beautiful merino items by Nature Baby and now they have little grubs!

There are more photos over on my flickr pages if you fancy popping over.

It's so great to finally be able to share such good news after all the support I have had on these pages. Thank you so much once again! x

A few days away ...

2010-07-11T14:42:00.000+12:00

We went away to the beach for a couple of nights last week. I don't have many photos because the battery on my camera ran out but I do have lovely memories!

We had tea out the first night there which is a rare occurrence and so was wonderful!

Candle lit concerts by the children by the fireside

A walk along the beach into the southerly which could almost hold me up

No TV, no mobile and no computer

Op shopping in old and new stores and finding an absolute treasure - more on that later

A husband who did all the dishes

Being read to in the evening whilst crocheting - something I would truly recommend!

I didn't really want to come home which is quite good really because we're going back again tomorrow!! Why did we come home? Because I had some work to do. Work. Proper work. Consisting of sewing. For someone. All very exciting and I'll let you know soon.

Hope you all had a great weekend. x

Australian Damper Bread

2010-07-06T18:31:00.001+12:00

Thank you to all of you who left a comment on my last post. It's been really interesting to read what people are doing in their daily lives. I'm going to make the products tonight so will keep you posted.

I got this book out from the library on the weekend and it's full of delicious sounding breads - all without yeast so without all the waiting. Yeah, yeah I know that 'proper' bread making is great (having only recently discovered how to do it I have to admit I do love it) but these are breads you don't have to think about in advance.

The Australian Damper Bread caught my eye yesterday and it was the only recipe for which everything was in the house (not that hard really because it was only flour, salt and butter!!!).

Unfortunately we didn't have any prawns on hand to throw on the barbie! I made the cheese version and it was delicious!!!

From page to bowl to oven to table in 40 minutes - wonderful. It tasted great on its own and then with blueberry relish but would be really great with a chunky soup. x

Taking some baby steps ...

2010-07-05T12:17:00.000+12:00

We try to live lightly on this earth but we are a long way from perfect, the fact that we fly long haul will attest to this! But I think we have come a long way and take for normal what other people would see as, well not abnormal but more effort than they are perhaps willing to put in - does that make sense?

Whilst visiting a variety of blogs I like seeing what other people are doing in their efforts to be greener (not that I really like that word but I think you all know what I mean by it). Some people seem so far down the road that I think I could never catch up. But it's not really a race is it? In my opinion it's about doing what you can, when you can and fitting it into every day family life. I know that something that doesn't fit into the rhythm of our day won't last for long. We tend to have spurts of improvement and then reach a plateau doing all those 'normal' things until I read or see something and then I get motivated all over again to make some more changes. I'm always fascinated by those things that people find easy to do without/find an alternative for and those people struggle with - they are all so different, something I find easy and normal is difficult for another family.

I have been reducing our exposure to chemicals for many years and this took a huge step forward when we had children. I periodically go through the house trying to reduce our chemical footprint but then some do slip back in and some I have never tried to substitute before. I have two products which I don't like having in the house and I don't let my children anywhere near due to their toxicity, and that is dishwash powder and washing powder. I've just realised, as I've typed that, how weird it sounds:

"I don't let my children anywhere near them"

BUT

I use one to wash our dishes, which my children eat off,

and

I use one to wash our clothes in, which the children wear each day.

Doesn't quite add up eh?!

So inspiration has come from blogland once again. I have seen various recipes for household cleaners over the years but this one from ecoMILF caught my eye last Friday and on Saturday I went and bought the ingredients. It's nice to know someone's using it and likes using it so I thought I would give it a go. It will also be interesting to see how much it costs as that is a factor for us. However, even if it does cost a little more but we're reducing chemical consumption then that has to count. Of course I've also got to make it!!!

So, on the shopping list were bicarb of soda, washing soda, borax and Dr Bronner bars of soap. I made a substitution - the Dr Bronner soap was $8.49 each and the ecoSTORE were $3.50 each. I guess they'll do the same thing - we'll have to wait and see.

The other item in the photo is my knitted dishcloth, which I made over a year ago and haven't used yet!! I was so pleased with it that I didn't want to get it dirty - pretty silly really as that's why I made it. But now that I am a knitter (in the loosest sense of the term) I have decided to use it and make some more! And I also want to make some scouring clothese which I have seen recently over here, via Norwoods Walkabout (who by chance is making her own deodorant which I will have try later), and here.

So I have decided that for the month of July I am going to try and take some baby steps on my journey towards living lightly, or at least a little lighter

AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO ASK FOR YOUR HELP ......

As I mentioned earlier, each person and family is unique and each do things in different ways so I would love to know what you do to make your environment less toxic, to reduce your waste, to live lighter? It might just take a different slant on the same issue to make me see that it is something I could incorporate into my daily life. Maybe you have already posted about some issue and could leave a link in the comments, maybe you too are incorporating some new changes to your life - I would love to know how you get on.

I'll post again once I've made the products and costed them out and then again once we're using them - I have to say I am very excited by it all!!! x

My creative space ....

2010-07-01T10:59:00.000+12:00

This week the focus has moved from fabric to yarn. I have crocheted up a whole load of flowers to make into a scarf for me, I've knitted a scarf for Craig and I have knitted a dress for Cassia.

So here it is, being modelled (in the very loosest sense of the word!) by someone who really didn't want to put it on this morning and certainly did not want to put on clothes that it might actually go with!!!!!

There's a few mistakes and I didn't really follow the pattern strictly but I'm so PROUD!!! I've always been very envious of people who can knit so I thought it was about time I taught myself. I've been able to make long, straight rows of knitting (aka scarves) for a while but was a bit daunted by shaping, however I took it slowly and achieved this!!! On to bigger and better things I think. I guess the knitting bug could be pretty addictive eh?! x

For lots more lovely creative spaces head over to kootoyoo x

What have I been up to?

2010-06-30T18:15:00.000+12:00

Can you guess what's been keeping me busy the last couple of days? xx

The last couple of days .....

2010-06-26T19:41:00.000+12:00

have produced a lot of highs and a few lows!

On Thursday morning Cassia woke me up with this beautiful picture:

"Mummy, it's you and friends when you went to Fairyland when you were younger. You went over the rainbow. That's a cricket ant on the rainbow. He just slides around." HIGH.

Spending Thursday morning on my own with Maia - going into the city, to the library and out to lunch. HIGH.

I decided to bake and thought I could improve the standard ANZAC biscuit by adding sultanas and chocolate chips. You would have thought it would work right?

It didn't! But that could also be due to the fact that butter goes from "melt slowly" to "boil vigourously" very quickly - whoops! Oh and did I mention they burnt a little in the oven too?! LOW!

Being invited out by some girls and sharing a bottle of wine with them. Feeling like I'm part of the real world again - definitely a HIGH.

Cassia wanting to sleep with me on Thursday night. It could have been a HIGH but it definitely turned into a LOW when she was unsettled all night and I hardly got any sleep.

Feeling so tired on Friday was a LOW but sitting on the sofa with the girls and doing some crochet was a HIGH.

Receiving this delightful pincushion from Nova HIGH, HIGH, HIGH!

Figuring out an easy crochet flower pattern and being able to turn one:

into a bouquet even in a sleep induced stupor. HIGH

Husband deciding to do some jobs that needed doing around the house. HIGH.

Husband causing a huge water leak and not knowing where the stopcock was - so, so LOW!

Getting a knock on the door at 5.30pm and being invited to play hooky with two girlfriends by going for a coffee. A much needed HIGH. xx

A wonderful swap ...

2010-06-26T19:38:00.000+12:00

The great thing about blogging is finding people who make things you like and who are happy to swap their things for your things!

This was only my second swap and I love them. That reminds me that I must show my first swap to you because I was very, very lucky (when I received it my computer had died a horrible death and was in the shop all week!).

So how did it happen? The lovely Nova, over at a cuppa and a catch up, mentioned that she liked my rainbow bunting and I know how much I liked her pincushions so I asked if she would like to swap. I felt a little cheeky but luckily she loved the idea. She gave me the choice of what I wanted (how cool is that?) but I said I would love a surprise. And what a surprise it was!

How cool is that?!!!!!!

And the back's wonderful as well.

It is sitting very proudly right next to my machine with just the 3 pins in! I have to let you in on a little secret - in all the years I have sewn I have never had a pincushion. So now I have - and what a pincushion it is!

Thanks so much Nova - do you get the idea that I L.O.V.E. it?!!!!!!! xx

PS I'm totally open to the idea of swaps - for TOTALLY OPEN read WOULD DEARLY LIKE TO DO MORE SWAPS!!! So if anyone sees anything they like maybe you'd like to do a swap - I know I certainly would. Let me know! x

My creative space ....

2010-06-24T08:23:00.000+12:00

Having seen some of the crochet loveliness that has been around the creative spaces the last couple of weeks (to see more this week head on over to Kirsty's, our lovely host) I was very tempted to get hooking again. So last Thursday evening I dusted off my hooks, found some yarn and made these:

Unfortunately in my haste and with both girls tucked up in bed I winged it on the size. The result? Too big for Cassia and too small for Maia. Very quick and easy to do so will make them both some more this coming week once I have finished what has really been taking up my week!

My creative space this week is all about hearts. I joined the ANZAC Bee earlier this year and for my month I asked for hearts, hearts and more hearts. This is what I received:

1. ANZAC Bee March block 2, 2. ANZAC Bee March block 1, 3. hearts for Abi, 4. heart block, 5. Abigail's blox 001, 6. Abigail's blox 002, 7. Abigails heart block, 8. Abigails heart block, 9. Abigails heart block, 10. IMG_3382, 11. Abi's block, 12. Hearts 006, 13. Hearts 003, 14. Hearts 005, 15. Hearts 002, 16. Hearts for Abi <3, 17. ANZAC Bee - March Blocks - Blue Heart, 18. ANZAC Bee - March Blocks - Brown Heart, 19. ANZAC Bee - March Blocks - stripy detail, 20. ANZAC Bee - March Blocks - Stripy Heart

Aren't they all just gorgeous?!!! (And thanks to Nova for telling me how to do a mosaic - I think they could become quite addictive!).

They were all returned to me by April and have been languishing on the shelf. So this week has been all about making the most of the blocks.

This is where I'm at as of today:

Phew!!! What a job it has been but one that I'm really enjoying. I've still a few blocks to make and then I need to join the rows and then I need to ......... OK so you won't see it finished in this space next week but it shouldn't be toooo far away!

Hope you've all had a great week creating. x

Op shop finds and a couple more blocks ...

2010-06-23T14:39:00.000+12:00

One of the weekend's garage sale was more like an English jumble sale - in a church halls and mostly clothes piled high on trestles. Unlike an English jumble sale there was no queue to get in, no entry fee and you could fill a bag up for $2 - how can you not like that. Most of the things I found are to be used for the material - silk, linen, wool and a couple of stripy jersey tops to make some trousers for the girls.

a small selection of my finds!

and a couple of items were put in the bag solely for the buttons!

Some vintage embroidered doilies from the local op shop

Embroidery detail

Now you might be asking isn't the second photo just another close up shot? Well you would be right! But it's the BACK of the doily. Can you believe it? The neatness of the work is amazing - and I got the whole set for 50c!

I'm still working away on my quilt top from the ANZAC Bee - it's maybe about 2/3 done now! A couple of extra blocks I've made:

appliqueed tumbling hearts block

paper pieced heart awaiting border

I can't seem to be able to get into anything but the heart quilt so I had better get it finished soon to allow some other creating into my life! (And also get the kitchen table and spare bed back!!!!) xx

Learning something new ...

2010-06-22T14:12:00.001+12:00

I love learning new things. It's especially great when the raw materials are from your garden, you go to a friend's to learn, children and grown ups learn together, you share some food and you come away with something very pretty!

Freshly harvested harakeke leaves (flax leaves)

Flax flower

Close up of flax flower - so easy - when you know how!

Raranga, or flax weaving, is a traditional Maori custom. They used it for the everyday to the ceremonial and there are lots of traditions and customs that go with it. One tradition I learnt today is that each time you try a different type of weaving the item you make should be given away. So the flower in the middle is my second attempt, on the right is Maia's first attempt (she didn't want to give hers away at all!) and on the left is my first attempt at simple weaving - which I have to find a recipient for!

If you're interested in seeing more images of flax weaving click here. So many beautiful things to make so little time to do it!!! x

EDITED TO ADD: The flax flowers are actually called putiputi and there's a tutorial over here if you fancy making one. xx

What a wonderful weekend ...

2010-06-20T18:31:00.000+12:00

including lots of my favourite things.

Saturday was filled with:

garage sales

op shoppping

coffee

clear blue sunny skies

washing drying outside in winter - including some of my garage sales finds

outside playing

being able to have the windows and doors open all day

our beautiful rosemary which will be full of the beautiful flowers from now until December

playing about with my ANZAC Bee blocks

sewing

Sunday dawned grey and wet so a day inside was called for, including:

cleaning

friends for morning tea and playing

sorting through my op shop finds

reading the Sunday papers

more coffee

a little bit more sewing on my quilt top

cooking something new for tea.

chicken and mushroom pie followed by ice cream - delicious!

All in all a lovely time had by all. How was yours? x

The birds and the bees ......

2010-06-18T15:11:00.000+12:00

The birds are courtesy of Maia and Cassia, made this week at the library pre-schoolers song, dance and craft morning, or as my girls call it "the dancing library"!

The bees are courtesy of me and are this month's block for the Australasian Bee. Monika, aka Miss Monny Quilts, wanted boxy stars and sent us the fabric and the instructions. I thought it looked a little complicated but I followed the instructions carefully and it turned out alright!

I've really enjoyed being part of the Anzac Bee and Australasian Bee this year. In fact I've enjoyed them so much that I have just signed up for another .... The Bee Seam Piecing Downunder! I was somewhat hesitant to join my first bee seeing as I only started quilting last October but I took the plunge and have loved every minute. I have been challenged in the blocks I've made, both in the subject matter and in the colours. But nothing beats the little parcels of fabric that arrive in my postbox each month - it's wonderful!!! So if you've been thinking about and haven't signed up just yet ..... GO AND DO IT!!!!! If you're looking for a bee to join try over here. If they all seem full at the moment keep popping back because people are starting up new ones all the time. Happy sewing! x

My creative space ...

2010-06-17T09:55:00.001+12:00

is in the bathroom this week.

Although I don't like full curtains in the bathroom I knew I wanted something at the window as we came into winter. So the answer? A patchwork blind of course!

So 280 squares later I have a blind! Originally it was going to be two curtain panels with tab tops but after I'd made one and put it up it looked wrong. I took it apart and then made the patchwork top bigger by just adding on. That's what I love about patchwork - it's very forgiving and you can change your mind all the way through.

The fabric is mostly vintage Laura Ashley pieces that were originally used for soft furnishings in the houses we grew up in. I love using them and remembering mine and my brothers' and sister's bedrooms. The lining was some thrifted unbleached calico so I just LOVE that there's nothing new in it.

I didn't want the formality of a roman blind so I just made some straps to tie underneath the blind as I rolled it up. Having never made something like this I was pretty pleased with the outcome. The curtain pole is an old piece of dowelling from the second hand shop and it's attached to the wall by two old large brass cup hooks we had in the garage. So totally vintage, thrifted, recycled and upcycled - I LOVE IT!!!!

This was one of the unfinished projects I had on the go when I mentioned it here - so that's another off the list - hurray! Also, due to the fact the market was sooooo quiet on the weekend I managed to get the binding sewn onto another quilt that was on the list - now I just have to take a few photos so show.

For lots more creativity head over to Kirsty's ..... x

The little buggers got them .......

2010-06-16T18:57:00.000+12:00

no, not the girls ...... the birds!

Back here I was confused that we had strawberries ripening in winter. Well the birds couldn't believe their luck and had them! Serve me right for waiting until they were totally ripe! x

And the winner is .....

2010-06-14T17:32:00.000+12:00

Angelina over at Norwood Walkabouts!!! This is a new blog to me and if you haven't been there already you might like to check it out. I love finding new blogs and seeing what's going on in other places and countries.

Thanks once again for all the lovely comments - they are very much appreciated! x

How was it for you?!

2010-06-14T12:09:00.000+12:00

Firstly, thank you all for all your kind words and wonderful comments. If the market had been based on those alone I would have sold out twice over!!!! But in reality things were a little bit different! Well to be honest they were very different.

It was very slow and I nowhere near covered the cost of the stall - those are the cold hard facts! So have I learnt anything from it? Was there any good to come out of it? Well I think so.

"Mummy, do I look my best?"

The best thing was that Maia had a ball and she sold lots of her things! Some of the other stallholders had their homeschooled children with them and they all had a wonderful time playing together.

Maia's stall and her wares!

A mixed ramlbing of my thoughts follows below:

It took a lot more time to get everything together than I thought. If I wasn't actually sewing I was thinking about it and all the things I had to do. I realised how much it took me away from my family mentally even though I was there physically.

Familiarity breeds contempt! Making one of an item is totally different to making several! By the time I had made a few of an item I didn't really like it anymore.

You become very familiar with what you are making and think that everyone else will be too. Of course they are not and I think I should have labelled some of the things to say what they were!!! However, I was totally taken back by the following conversation between an older lady who approached the stall and picked up one of the rabbits:

Lady: "What are these?"

Me: "They are toy rabbits"

Lady: "Well, what do you do with them?"

Me: "Well ....... you play with them!"

When I recounted this conversation over tea, Maia looked at me and said "Why didn't you tell her you play with them!!!" Thank goodness for children!

Because it was a 3 day market and quiet expensive to get a stall I checked it out last year. I went to both the June and November ones and they were BUSY. I remember thinking how good it was that I hadn't taken the girls because it was so busy - let alone a buggy. This year was quiet, quiet, quiet. The ladies around me had done the market before and said it was quiet - in fact one of the stallholders said it was the quietest market in the 10 years he'd been doing it. So what can you do?

I met some lovely people and they all local too! One of them gave me a contact for a shop in Palmerston North so I will talk with them later this week.

Maybe you'd like to check them out:

Rachel at hummingbird

Carmen at SmashPalace

Francine at Cocobaby

The ladies who seemed most interested in what I was selling were all sewers!!! So of course they weren't going to buy something from me when they could make it themselves!

People inspected your clothes with intense scrutiny. I don't really mind this because I'm very proud of how I make things and the insides look almost as good as the outsides however, do they do this in a shop?! I know I do and when you look are things mass produced in China the insides are awful, but I'm sure most people don't and yet they inspect them when at a market.

I didn't enjoy being behind a market stall!! I also found it very hard to engage in the necessary small talk. It might have been different if it had been busy and there was a constant flow of people. I don't like it when stallholders pounce on me so I was very aware of that. I also think that with the things I was selling someone either will like it or not you can't sell it to them as it were. Does that make sense? One of the stalls nearby was selling drink syrups and dips so of course they had an opener "Can I tempt you with a taste?" but you can't really do that with fabric!

Where does that leave me now? Maybe felt or etsy or maybe just have swaps. I see so many lovely things in blogland that maybe I should ask if people would like to swap (in fact I have one going with the lovely Nova at the moment) so maybe that's the way to go.

So now I have some time for me, for Craig, for the children, for cooking, for baking (well actually I did that already yesterday Banana and Choc Chip muffins and pear crumble - yummmmm!). Oh and for some crochet because I've been seeing some lovely things on our others people's creative spaces. xx

My creative space ...

2010-06-10T09:57:00.000+12:00

has been very busy these last few weeks. I'm heading off to a market tomorrow (well just going down the road really - Feilding Craft Market, Civic Centre, Feilding running from Friday to Sunday) and have been knee deep in preparations.

Wrap around reversible baby/toddler dresses

If you fancy seeing some of things either scroll down or click here for cushions, here for neckwarmers and pencil cases or here for bunting! Sounds rather eclectic writing it down like that doesn't it?!

Made from linen/cotton mix fabric originally from a ladies shirt

The checked fabric is thrifted cotton

The buttons are vintage mother of pearl

And the hanger is thrifted!!!

Hence why there is a little scrap cotton tie around the hanger -

otherwise it keeps falling through the hole!

The idea was to sell children's clothes made from vintage and recycled material but as I was making them I realised you've no real idea what size to make and you only have a limited amount of fabric of each pattern. I have a bit of a problem cutting into fabric at the best of time, see here, and so thought that if I had some clothes for sale but then advertised that I would custom make clothes from their choice of fabric. Don't know how that will go but here's hoping!

The beige linen is from ladies skirt

The floral cotton is from a vintage pillowcase

The buttons are from my stash

The little applique bird is on the back of this one as a little surprise!

For more market items you may like to click here.

In celebration I am running a giveaway, see here for what's up for grabs, but leave a comment anywhere this week for an entry!

Phew! And of course one last, but very much not the least, link - Kirsty over at kootoyoo is the very lovely lady who runs this each week - thanks so much! Pop over there to have a look at other people's lovely creative spaces .... x

Cushions al fresco!

2010-06-09T19:47:00.000+12:00

The sun was actually shining today so I took the cushions out for some air!

These fronts were made after Viv's month on the Australasian Bee, click here for a squizz. Finally got backs and zips done and we now have cushions. The zips was a huge "yippee" for me - they're really not as hard as I thought .... no, really they weren't!

Maia's handprint finally made up into a cushion

Cassia's handprint finally made up into a wall hanging

These two handprint blocks, which were made back here, are now finally finished. The girls love them which is the main thing!

And finally a ta-da moment!!!! Remember this? Well I then went on to make one for myself, see over here. I was pretty pleased with how the front came out but restrained myself from showing it. Well now please excuse the lack of restraint. I love it, I LOVE it, I L.O.V.E. it -d o you get the picture?

This makes me so happy. A bit like Nova feels about this quilt (and who wouldn't be happy with that?!) then this makes me happy. Really happy. And next week I hope to make another one to go with it, and then maybe another and another ....

So how does this link into the market? I'm obviously not selling my new love however, I thought if I liked them so much ... then maybe someone else would like them too ... and ... maybe that someone would like me to make them one ... and ... maybe they would like to pay me to do it! Do you think it's a possibility? xx

Keeping necks and pencils (!!) warm ...

2010-06-08T19:29:00.000+12:00

I've wanted to make some neck warmers for a while now and used the market as the reason! The prototype was made for Maia and she loves it so I thought I would make some more to sell. The outside patchwork is from cotton from thrifted or offcut material and it is lined with flannette cotton, again thrifted. They are finished with a vintage button from my stash!

Thumbs up from Maia and I love them for the reason that they keep little necks warm with no worries about long scarf ends flying around and getting trapped .... In fact I think I'll make one up in adult size for me next week!

Some patchwork pencil cases made up from vintage sheets and pillowcases. Again I made some for the girls a couple of months ago and they have had great reviews, from the girls and their friends - so here's hoping!

And now for a photo that makes me very happy. After bemoaning to and commiserating with fellow bloggers over the phenomenon that is detailed below I was very happy to get this snap.

The phenomenon as experienced by this crafty mama, although I think you will all have a variety on the theme!

Mum decides to make something for child

Child likes the idea of having something made just for them

Mum feels good that she is making something for them

Mum finishes the something

Child looks at the something as if it is a monster/disgusting/cat poo (delete as appropriate)

Child will not try the something on

Mum bribes child to try the something on so they can get a photo

Either bribery fails and the photo is taken sans child or bribery works but the photo is ruined by child's face

So for the detail:

Maia, on the left, is wearing a hat I crocheted for her over 2 years ago. In fact this item is an exception to the phenomenon mentioned above, she has always loved it. She's also wearing the new patchwork neck warmer made last week.

Cassia, on the right, is wearing a neck warmer I crocheted her last year (the matching beanie is still in the wardrobe but with the temps right down low now I better get it out!).

The other reason I love this photo - my two girls are together - usually when the camera comes out they run as far from each other as possible! x

PS Don't forget the giveaway I'm running to celebrate my first ever market!

I'm off to a market ...

2010-06-07T14:39:00.000+12:00

the Feilding Craft Market in fact. Now it is technically my first market (I try to forget the one I attended at the beginning of Decmber where no-one came and then I was surrounded by a motorcycle club - yes it really did happen and I really am trying to forget!!!). So, allowing for my bit of artistic licence, this is my first market!!!!

Wonder what's being made here?!

I'm excited, nervous, busy, tired, challenged to name but a few. I was feeling rather reluctant to tell you that I'm doing a market but then I thought that was ridiculous because you may just be able to offer me some advice, tips, support ..... a shoulder to cry on!

Rainbow bunting

I would really appreciate any comments or feedback on the items I show this week. Of course, it's not all one-sided I will also be having a GIVEAWAY!!!!! What's up for grabs? Bunting of course! There is the rather lovely rainbow bunting as featured above and below or you may choose a more calming bunting made from reclaimed embroidered linens and doilies, which you can see over here or down below. The choice is yours.

So how do you enter? Just leave a comment. In fact, every comment left this week, on any post, will result in ONE ENTRY TO THE DRAW. If you fancy a few more then why not mention this giveaway on your blog and get 3 extra entries!

Bunting made with reclaimed vintage table runner which was worn in places

Bunting close up

All clear? Wonderful! Well good luck with the draw and of course good luck to me!!! xx

PS For more bunting madness don't forget to click here!

Beautiful Blogger Award and 10 things about me ....

2010-06-04T18:42:00.001+12:00

Many thanks to Pippa over at When I Get The Time for this award. She is someone I got to 'know' when I was in UK and regularly on The Green Parent Forum (for "regularly" read nearly all the time!).

Now I have to pass the award on to ten more blogs. Find my list below, some blogs I've been reading since I first found blogland (almost 2 years ago now) and others more recent finds!

a cuppa and a catch up

clutterpunk

Craftykin

Heart Felt

Highway Cottage

Lovely Living

lovestitches

Paradise Lost

Seven Stitches

The Slightly Mad Quilt Lady

Now for the 10 things about me:

1. When I was a little girl I heard about a place in Australia where everyone lived underground. When I was 15 I read another article about the same place and knew I wanted to go there. I have been to Coober Pedy and it was everything I imagined and more.

2. I have camped on a glacier in Iceland

3. My dad owned and trained a horse that ran in the Grand National

4. I would love to build a strawbale house

5. I have a much older brother and sister and was introduced to their music at a very early age. I was probably the only 7 year old in my class to go into school on Monday having listened to the Top 40 and knowing what was No 1

6. I'm a pisces

7. I met Craig on Valentine's Day

8. I have seen an opera at The Opera House

9. I had to go to the hospital when I was little to have a bead removed from my nose

10. I love books and I love reading and currently have 7 library memberships

It's a mystery????

2010-06-03T15:26:00.001+12:00

The toadstool may well have been magical, but this is just a mystery!

Today is the 3rd day of June.

That's the 3rd day of winter in NZ.

It's been cold.

We've had frosts.

It's been raining, heavily, for the last few days.

And we have two tone strawberries!!!!! x

PS Have you been to Garden Mama's blog. It's one I used to read, and have rediscovered now I'm back in blogland, and loved for its calmness, photography and sense of joy. An added incentive? She's running a wonderful giveaway - but be in quick, time's almost up!

My creative space ...

2010-06-03T11:19:00.001+12:00

is shared with Maia this morning.

Inspired by seeing Claire's mandalas, over here, we did a couple ourselves. One in crayon and one in pastels.

Photo Credit: Maia

The circular shapes reminded me of the compass drawings I used to spend hours in as a child so we found the compass and I made some. Maia was amazed. These called for water colours.

The finished articles - Maia's on the left, mine on the right.

The artist with her work!

Hope that you are all having a lovely creative week. To see what others at getting up to pop over to Kirsty's.

Thinking about the good things ...

2010-06-02T12:36:00.000+12:00

It's raining. It's raining very hard and has been for a fair few days now. Over the last month one or other of us has been sick. The washing seems never ending .............

It could be very easy to dwell on 'bad' things but I have decided to think about the 'good' things and give thanks!

First up thanks to Pippa from When I Get The Time who has awarded me a Beautiful Blogger Award - more about that in the next post.

Thanks to my girls who are just wonderful!!! They are going through a phase where they love being together, whether it is creating, playing, exploring, imagining. This last week they have been very busy with imaginative play, using any and everything they find or make for their stories and adventures. This last week we have variously been in fairyland (they got there on the 'family' witches' broomsticks because they missed the plane), mermaid land, princess land, hospital, pen school (this is featuring a lot at the moment and comprises of all the different felt tips being real and having great adventures!), dressing up land, at the vets, in a cafe ..... in fact now I think about it again I don't know where we haven't been. All it takes is a little something to spark their imagination and off they go.

Yesterday Maia decided to make a treasure hunt for me! Treasure hunts are great events at our house and the girls love them. They started with photos and are now words and some very basic stylised drawings. The girls have bags they collect up the clues in and I think the journey is more rewarding than the actual 'treasure' for them (although the lollipops they found yesterday went down quite well!).

The little drawings on the right are Maia's clues (a chair and a newspaper if you can't quite make them out!) and they led to my treasure - this wonderful picture. Not to be outdone Cassia made Mummy some treasure too. Hers are featured on the left hand side and are a ring and then the tiniest piece of paper she had cut out and coloured. Very special treasure indeed!

Thanks to Kellie in The Australasian Bee for introducing me to quilt as you go - it is my new thing!!!! Yesterday I was able to make another quilt as you go block. I made a 17" square to make into a cushion.

The coloured strips are leftover from Kellie's block plus a few I had in my stash. The white border is old cotton sheeting which I just found this week in the op shop. I love the feel of it - it feels so substantial and I love that I'm reusing someone else's cast offs! I decided to try a buttoned up back and was very happy with the results.

I already had the buttons and I thought the different colours go well with the bright colourful front. Just got to put it together and then I'll be sure to post a pic!

And then a thanks to me!!! Yes I have actually made myself something recently. The little bag I made here has come in very handy as a portable work bag.

It's small but fits in all the things you need to make hexagons perfectly! It's had a few outings this week and more hexagon flowers are being produced! Due to my impatient nature I needed to do something with a flower rather than just keep them all for a bigger project so I made myself a needlecase.

I've never had one before and hated never being able to find a needle easily, if at all! Now they are all together in one place, by my machine, in a lovely new home. Best of all it was made by me all from scraps! x

WARNING: Quilting can seriously affect your health ..

2010-05-31T18:55:00.001+12:00

No, it really can. Last week my shoulder was sore, in fact it was more than sore. I could hardly move it and when I turned over in my sleep the pain woke me up (you can imagine how happy I was!). It was like I had pulled a muscle or sprained it but I couldn't think of anything I had done to cause it. I couldn't sew for a few days (so that certainly didn't help on the happy stakes!) and then on Friday I thought I HAD to do something so I thought I'd just cut some scraps into 2" squares. The second I went to cut I realised what had cause my sore shoulder - rotary cutting. Not just normal rotary cutting - I've since figured out rotary cutting with a very blunt blade!!!! So take the advice of Ms Lottie which I recently read over here and change your cutting blade. It now feels like a hot knife through butter - bliss!

I managed to do some sewing yesterday and made up the blocks for Kellie for her month in the Australasian Bee. She asked for a block, or two, of quilt as you go, as shown in the this tutorial.

You can see that I got so carried away with the lovely, gorgeous fabrics that I left very little room for the border - ooops! Kellie had fussy cut the squares for the centre and then it was literally place and quilt.

A little tip for you if you are going to try this technique:

if you are using white as the border colour

make sure you trim the second to last round of fabric very neatly and as small as possible

so that it doesn't show through the white.

Something I learnt the hard way!!!!!

And best of all for me? The very lovely Kellie said we could keep the scraps - and she sent quite a bit of material. Lucky, lucky me!

I LOVED making these blocks - very satisfying and quite quick (although if you were organising all the materials and batting it would take that much longer). This is what I'm really enjoying about the quilting bees over on flickr - being introduced to new techniques and trying blocks and colour combinations you wouldn't necessarily do yourself. You also get to 'meet' some great people!

They're multiplying like rabbits!!

2010-05-30T16:27:00.000+12:00

Maybe that's because they ARE rabbits!

It started with this one:

and progressed to this:

which became these:

Please let me introduce

Bemble Bunny

Belinda Bunny

Lucy Bunny

Bella Bunny

Bertram Bunny

and

Bouncy Bunny.

(All naming rights go to Maia)

It surely must be magical ...

2010-05-27T18:17:00.000+12:00

but we couldn't decide exactly what it was!

Maia was convinced it was a fairy house.

Is that a door just behind the leaf?

Cassia thought it could be a fairy tramp (I see her point!) or it could be a fairy dining table

Maybe a fairy rain shelter?

What do you think? x

Learning ...

2010-05-23T19:20:00.000+12:00

it's well known that a lot of learning can occur through watching and imitation. Well the proof is in the pudding!

My first hexagon flower in about 25 years!!! I managed to make this whilst nursing Cassia through her tummy bug on Friday. If I'm honest we had a lovely afternoon! In the lounge, with the fire roaring and watching a film - with a bit of stitching for me it was great!

The following morning Maia made this:

A hexagon flower for Mum!

And, not to be outdone by her sister, Cassia then made this!

We've since 'sprouted' many more hexagon flowers at our house! x

Why do "yucky things" always come in the middle of the night?

2010-05-21T14:45:00.000+12:00

In the pitch black? And with no warning?

Yes I have a sick child!!! Cassia was up in the night vomiting, or as she calls it "yucky things came out of me"! Last week it was Maia and now it's Cassia. It's just funny how it always happens in the middle of the night so everything in close proximity, especially the pillow and duvet, get covered!!!

I can't really complain though because neither of my girls are very "sicky". Maia is now 5 1/2 and has only been physically sick three times and last night was the first time for Cassia at 3 1/2.

Good news from yesterday was that I received a lovely parcel of fabric to make this month's blocks in the Australasian Bee. It's a quilt as you go type which I've never made before so I'm really looking forward to giving it a go. Although it might be a good idea to wait until tomorrow as I am very bleary eyed and heavy headed!

Wishing you a better start to the weekend than mine! x

Maia made ...

2010-05-19T20:36:00.000+12:00

On Good Friday we were given a very large bag of apples and I decided to stew them. There were still some left on Easter Morning so I sat at the kitchen table to peel them and Maia sat with me. She drew the picture she saw - how cool is that?!

An impromptu picture for Mum - the kind I love the best!

The bag that was started here is almost finished - the button is yet to be sewn on. The girls were great and I thought they created really good bags. It's quite amazing just what children can do when given the right environment and encouragement.

More sewing. Amazing to think that Maia did all the sewing herself. At first I didn't know whether I should sit there besides her but then I knew that I would find it VERY hard to stop butting in so I left. Maia would call me when she had finished the bit she was working on and together we would look at the book and see what the next step was. I sewed on the brooch fastening on the back and cut out the small corners of the M but apart from that it is all "Maia Made"!

You might not know what this is! Maia asked if she could have a couple of zips and off she went. She made me a pencil case out of a zip, paper, felt tips and sellotape!!!

It now is now on my desk and houses a very special thing - a piece of glass I saw blown at Poole Pottery just before I got married! Who knew I needed just such a pencil case?!

Some people!

And now for something Mama made for Maia ...

I had found a linen/cotton shirt at the op shop that I never wore and, inspired by the creations over at Wardrobe Refashion, I thought I would make Maia a dress. No pattern, no instructions just plain sewing. I was really pleased with how it turned out, although I certainly didn't like using the bias binding (which I just happened to have in the same colour - amazing what op shops and hoarding can achieve!). However, I have one small problem - she doesn't like it and won't wear it, in fact won't actually try it on .... and neither will her sister! Oh well hopefully I'll have more luck next time. x

From the garden ...

2010-05-17T19:57:00.000+12:00

Fresh from our garden we have beetroot and carrots and yams kindly given by a neighbour. I've never had yams before, in fact I have never seen yams before, so that will be something new to try tomorrow. I'm new to growing veggies so was very pleased when everything grew this year. We had tomatoes, runner beans, dwarf beans, peas, rocket, lettuce, courgette, beetroot, carrots and strawberries. The only thing that really didn't grow at all was the spring onions. The first lot of beetroot we harvested I roasted with balsamic vinegar and then mixed with local feta and mint - absolutely delicious!!!! These beetroot are now much bigger so it'll be interesting to see how they taste. Especially this one:

Our plum tree had lots of blossoms and lots of fruit but they took so long to ripen that the birds got them first. I think Maia was the only one of us to have a plum from our tree. Our lemon tree was moved, ultimately for it's own good, but I don't think it liked it very much! We've had some blossom on it since the move but no fruit yet - fingers crossed!

The other fruit tree we have is the feijoa. This is a prolific producer but I don't really like them - luckily Craig and the girls do! Having said that I made some delicious feijoa muffins last year and we just looked up the recipe after tea tonight. Craig said he couldn't believe that it's been a year already since we had them last. There's something very reassuring about celebrating different seasons with the foods and looking forward to the harvests. I can tell you that I'm already looking forward to next January/February when we can go and pick our own blueberries again!

We've also saved some seed this year. Don't you just love Maia's label "MAGIC BEANS MAIA APRIL 2010"?! Being new to growing veggies I have once again been absolutely amazed at the whole process. You take a small seed/bean etc and then they grow. I love seeing the first shoots of green and wondering what the leaves will look like. They then grow and, hopefully, bear fruit and will then give you seeds to plant again the following year to bear more fruit. I know this isn't rocket science and I know that this IS what happens but it amazes me just the same - it's just like magic!!!!

Bush and beach

2010-05-13T20:15:00.000+12:00

Otaki Gorge

We went on an outdoor survival course on Sunday. It was run by the local home educators group and it was WONDERFUL!!!! The location, the people, the weather ..... what more can I say it was awesome.

It was intended for 5-10 year olds but families, of course, were welcome. Cassia became an honorary 5 year old for the day and did a great job of keeping up with the older children.

Otaki Gorge

The day's activities included finding shelter (whilst being a wolf! Yes they really did go around on all fours with the guy taking the day!!), hide and seek, bush trails, drinking water from the river (as the aforementioned wolves!), drinking water from the river in bamboo cups which the children had finished off, lunch, hunting for hazelnuts and cracking them open on rocks taken from the rover earlier, making a fire and lighting it and then baking damper bread on sticks over the fire. Sound tiring? It was, but so great. The children revelled in the freedom and responsibility they were given and did a lot of things for the first time (me too actually - first time I've drank roof water and first time I've baked and eaten damper bread. We also were able to go inside the yurt that the people have just installed and are living in. What a wonderful space it was.) If you had asked me whether a 3 year old could make and light a fire I would have answered no. BUT given the right circumstances they can - and the look on her face was wondrous!

I took lots of photos but because there were lots of children around I didn't like to use them on this blog.

The Monday morning was spent lazily getting up and heading down the beach. The surf was great, the sun was shining and there was no-one else on the beach - life doesn't get any better!

A rather large post sticking in the dunes that Cassia thought she could knock down

A little smiley crab face!

This is the first time that I've found one intact and I just love them!

How apt ...

2010-05-08T09:53:00.000+12:00

that I should find this book at a garage sale this morning when we are off on an Outdoor Survival Course tomorrow! I know I should have been getting ready to go but garage sales are few and far between in this little town at the moment so I just had to go and have a look! More goodies to show next week. Now we really are going ..... x

Life is great ...

2010-05-07T20:30:00.001+12:00

when your 5 1/2!

Especially when your space hopper has just been fully pumped up again!

Even when you're hopping so high that you lose your hat!

Maia has gone through a HUGE stage of development recently. The other week she was riding her bike, with training wheels. We went round to a friend's and on the way home I asked her if she would like Daddy to take off the training wheels and take her up the school to have a go on the playground. She did. However, before her dad had even stood up from taking the training wheels she was off riding.

Yes, I'll write that again - SHE WAS RIDING. She was riding her bike around the garden. Not just in straight lines, she was riding and turning and going around things. We asked her how she had done it and she just said her feet knew what to do!

How does this happen? In the past I have always been somewhat sceptical when I have heard people say "Oh, little Billy just did x, y or z" you always think "Yeah, right sure he did!". But I give you my word, Maia DID just ride her bike! And she hasn't stopped since!

Jokes are also featuring a lot in our household. Most of them of the "knock knock" variety and not making much sense to mum and dad but cracking up the girls! However, Maia came out with this beauty the other day:

Why did the banana go to the doctors?

Because he wasn't peeling very well!!!!!!

Well it had both her dad and I laughing!

We're away to the beach for a couple of nights and an outdoor survival course on Sunday. Wishing you all a great weekend. x

PS I've also managed to cross another of the undone quilt projects of my list but no photos yet so will share next week. x

It's all about quilts ...

2010-05-06T15:12:00.000+12:00

I took a night class in patchwork and quilting at the end of last year and I am now officially addicted! How do I know? Well last week we had a get together of the class at the tutor's house to see what we had done and to continue sewing. I jokingly said asked the tutor how many quilts she had on the go (Answer: she couldn't quite remember!) but then realised the joke was on me when I counted up patchwork/quilting projects I have on the go (not even mentioning those I have in my head!). Answer: 7 (and I only started in October!).

So this week I have been doing a lot on the quilting front.

I was lucky enough to sneak a place on the ANZAC Bee, run by the lovely Amy over at Seven Stitches, after someone had to drop out and so these are the blocks for Margaret. They are going to be made into a Paintbox Quilt inspired by this one over at Oh, Fransson! So now I have another one to add to that list in my head!

Having enjoyed my first two months of the ANZAC Bee so much I felt I needed to join another one. I was happy to spot another Aussie/Kiwi alliance run by Jo at Sparkly Green Knickers (don't you just love that name?!) and so the Australasian Bee was formed. Last month Viv set us this challenge and having made my blocks for her I was keen to make some for myself. So a variation on a theme resulted in:

One is destined to become a wall hanging and the other cushion cover. Pretty cute eh?

So lots done but obviously none of the aforementioned quilt projects! Well I have now got one of them crossed of my list.

I was browsing the web one day (as we are all prone to do) and saw this tutorial for a crazy nine-patch on Oh, Fransson! I had to give it a go and I had to give it a go there and then. The top was cut and pieced in a couple of hours and then sat on the shelf until this week. The end result:

This is only the second piece I've quilted so I was pretty pleased with it. You can see it's got a border on it because I didn't quite measure the initial square quite right and I've just done outline quilting along the seams and then echoes the triangular shape of the pieced blocks on the plain blocks. I love the way the original is quilted all over but I thought if I was going to get it finished at any stage this year then it would have to be straight lines!

1 down 6 more to go - watch this space!! x

2010-05-04T16:00:00.006+12:00

The day started with making this:

Inspired by a bag I received in my first ever swap I wanted to make a pattern suitable for children for the homeschool sewing group at my house today!

Pattern decided, people arrived, 3 adults, 4 girls, 2 toddlers and 2 babies later we ended up with these:

Maia was the youngest girl who wanted to sew and I was so surprised at what she could do although I guess she's seen it enough times!!! It was great to see all three girls working at the bags. Lunch called and so we decided to leave the finishing off for next week when I think we'll have 3 very proud little girls. x

PS The other thing I'm all about at the moment is quilting - one of my blocks even made it onto someone else's blog today - check it out!!! From one very proud newbie quilter!

I want to come back if I may?

2010-05-03T20:25:00.003+12:00

It's been quite some time but I think I'm ready to come back here.

I tried a few other places but never got into my stride so then I thought why not go back?

So much has been happening but if I dwell on that I'll never get a post done. So I'll start today. The blog page needs some work but why let that put me off - if I do nothing will ever get done.

I have to admit I have got so much more done since I haven't been blogging but then someone mentioned that they kept up on their blog reading by google reader (thanks Amy!) so I've decided to give that a go and start up mine in the process.

It's going to be lovely to catch up with some old faces (no offence intended) and see what they and their families are doing and making.

So that's it - no pictures, no fanfare, just a return. x

A bag for the birthday boy ...

2009-08-01T14:07:00.005+12:00

Many thanks for replies to my previous post - I now know what little boys like!! As I was running out of time I rather surprised myself with deciding to make a bag!

The brown cord and green cotton were thrifted earlier this year.

It all looked rather plain until I added the train.

This is the first bag I've made so I was really pleased with how it turned out- especially since I didn't use a pattern. I've found that when using thrifted fabric you have to make something for the fabric rather than use the fabric to make a certain pattern - does that make sense?!!!

Anyhow, I really enjoyed making it and seeing it turned out well has definitely spurred me on to trying out some other things.

Giveaway results and thanks

2009-07-30T17:26:00.003+12:00

And the winner is .....

... Michelle. Thanks for all the comments and congrats!

And I was also the lucky recipient of a box full of goodies earlier this week:

a box full of thrifted woollen jumpers which were already felted!!! A huge big thank you to Amy of Seven Stitches who mentioned she had a rather large stash and very generously donated some to me! Thanks so much Amy - I will now have to put them to good use! xx

What are little boys made of?

2009-07-28T16:33:00.002+12:00

I have a very quick question for you.

What do little boys like?

I have been making presents for the last couple of years but this is the first time that I have to make a present for a little boy and I don't know what to do - we don't know many little boys!!! He's one of Maia's friends from Kindy and has just turned 5. If anyone can think of something to make, something quick and easy that is because it's his party on Sunday!, then I really would appreciate some advice! Many thanks. x

Giveaway Reminder

2009-07-27T08:35:00.003+12:00

Just to remind you that I am currently running a 1st birthday giveaway for a little dress and reversible sunhat. Click here and leave a comment to be in the draw. The winner will be picked on Wednesday. Good luck!!!

Crafting with 2 pre-schoolers ...

2009-07-24T18:47:00.007+12:00

It's the perennial question that crafters, who are mothers, ask - to craft or not to craft (when the children are in the vicinity)?!

Sometimes I'm in the mood for children and sometimes I'm not. Sometimes it feels like I will never get anything done because I have the children with me and sometimes it doesn't. Do you snatch 5 minutes whilst they are happily engaged in another activity? Do you engage them in your activity and realise that progress will be MUCH slower? Do you wait until they are all tucked up in bed? And then realise that you're just too damn tired to do it yourself?

We've had friends staying for the last couple and they left mid-morning. We had a brilliant time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, however 4 adults, 4 children under 5, 2 dogs and exceedingly heavy rain does mean a certain amount of tiredness!!! Added to that a few bottles drunk, great food eaten and lots of talking - well you get the picture! Can you actually get a hangover from talking? It certainly feels like I have had one today.

So the name of the game today was to t.a.k.e. i.t. s.l.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.w.w.w.w.w. but having not done any sewing for a few days I was tempted. I took the bull by the horns and decided to start filling the patches I had made for my puff patchwork blanket. Maia was happily involved in writing 'letters' and drawing pictures for her penpal and Cassia was put to work!

The filling for the patches is the inside of an old pillow. Now, this is a compromise. I know it's not a natural material which would be my preference but it is re-using something I already have so I go with it. When old pillows become lumpy and uncomfortable they can be thrown in the washing machine and then the filling is good to fill things with! I decided to let Cassia into the pillowcase of filling. All good to begin with and she actually did fill some of the pockets however, it was not long before the filling became snow and was scattered about everywhere!

Maia then realised that we were playing with 'fluff' and decided she wanted to help too. Now to be fair she did really help and filled lots of the pockets whilst I sewed them up. My two little helpers, or is that one little helper and one little hinderer?!

On reflection was it worth it? So I had a lot of 'fluff' to tidy up and had to be the 'fluff' monitor a couple of times but, today, it was definitely worth it. I got all 108 filled and closed - hurray!!!!!

My Creative Space

2009-07-23T11:46:00.003+12:00

Another litte case full of sewing goodness!! I mentioned on this post about my oldest WIP so here it is in progress. To date all the patches are assembled (108) and 10 are now filled and closed.

Not that I'm expecting to do too much over the next few days because we have a houseful of guests - and I'm loving it!!!

Pop over to Kirsty's to see some more creative spaces.

Reminder: 1st brithday giveaway - either scroll down or click here

The results of a busy Sunday ...

2009-07-22T11:39:00.006+12:00

On Sunday we had a very quiet stay at home day and I got lots achieved - playing, cleaning, baking, mending and sewing. I made a start on a puff patchwork blanket, my eldest WIP, and did some bits and pieces for the children. I found two pretty ballerina skirts in the ardrobe when I was at home and claimed them! Even though they had never been worn the elastic had deteriorated so I replaced it and have two happy little fairies/ballerinas (they're so quick I don't have a photo yet!). And to go with the skirts some fairy leggings.

Fairy leggings? I bought both girls 4 pairs of tights last winter in the UK and they were worn A LOT. They came back with me from the most recent trip and have been worn this NZ winter. That's a lot of wear and I could only darn the toes so many times before they really became unwearable. But it was only the toes that were worn through so I thought I'd try and make leggings. I cut the feet off just above the heel shaping and did a plain zig-zag around the raw edge. The unexpected result? A lovely lettuce edge which gave rise to fairy leggings!

And if you think that you've seen this bum before somewhere else you would be right - here!

And for the easiest refashion in the world? Take one pair of pyjama bottoms that are too small for your youngest (even if she didn't have them pulled all the way up her tummy like an old man!)

and put a little trim from your stash around the bottom and hey presto you have a pair of summer pedal pushers for your eldest. So is this refashion? Upcycle? Recycle? Or just a good old hand me down - or hand me up in this case.

I do apologise for the pictures but they do look quite nice in real life!

I also turned the stitching which could be seen here into a bookmark.

It's for my mum for her birthday so features Maia's drawing of Nannan and a balloon. I backed it with a very simple patchwork piece. The pink sawn fabric I had as a child and the pink fabric on the ends was some leftovers from the first blanket I made Maia.

Don't you love how you can add some history and personalise homemade items? x

little grubs is 1 and I am having a giveaway!!!

2009-07-22T09:46:00.008+12:00

little grubs turned 1 whilst we were on holiday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

I can't believe that a year has passed already - we sure have fitted a lot into that year. I've had a look through my posts and it has been great to have a record of our family life and things I've made and, of course, my various thrift finds! It would have been nice to have had a record of the move to NZ but only having dial up at the beach put an end to the blogging for a while.

I have come across many amazing blogs in my travels and never cease to be amazed by the creativity, love, passion for life that I see in the posts. And as for crafty inspiration ........ my poor little mind is in overdrive regularly!!!! I haven't met any bloggers in person but I've learnt alot about people from their blogs and have received much support back.

So a HUGE big thank you for anyone who visits this little page! It really is lovely to know that people pop over here and I truly appreciate all the comments. So regular commenters and newbie commenters alike maybe you'd like to leave a comment on this post and be in for a chance to win a Birthday Giveaway because no birthday's complete without presents!!!

I've got a little dress and matching reversible hat up for grabs. I made the dress from a thrifted sheet and added 2 buttons from my stash and used the same material for the hat with the other side from a pillowcase. It would fit a little girl upto about 3 and is great as a sundress or in the colder months with a top underneath. So with no further ado I give you the dress - ta da!!

And the hat!

Obviously I will finish this (having someone to send it to will prompt me to get it done at last!). And the dress in action? I have a willing model but one who doesn't really take instruction, who am I kidding she doesn't take ANY instruction - she's what you'd call a freestyle model!!!

I'll leave this open for a week and then pick a winner so leave a comment and be in to win!!!!!

The Desert Road

2009-07-21T18:14:00.004+12:00

When we left our house to head up the island there was thick ice on the car. We travelled through sun, fog and cloud and then we came to the Desert Road. It was spectacular. I love the road at any time but had never been through it in the middle of winter so it was great to see it in all its glory.

Mount Ruapehu

Mount Ngauruhoe

Cassia and Maia enjoying the snow!

If you see in the foreground of the above picture there is a grey grainy scree on the ground (I'm not a geologist so bear with me for the right words!). When you walked on it it crackled and your footprints left this on the ground:

It was like little ice needles under the surface of the ground. I've never seen anything like this before and it was fascinating and beautiful to see.

If anyone knows the correct term for this phenomenom then I'd be much obliged!

We're back!

2009-07-20T18:25:00.005+12:00

All back safe and sound after a lovely week away. We had a great time and I've some great photos of the mountain to post but will do that tomorrow. This is just a quick post to say many thanks to Hanna from Crafty Kin for the brooch I won in her giveaway. It arrived just before we left for our holiday and it's gorgeous! Thanks Hanna!

I have also been awarded my first bloggy award, "One Lovely Blog", from the lovely Gina at Clutterpunk. Thanks so much I'm really touched!! I've just realised that I've been blogging here for a year now (with a couple of absences!) and I've loved it. Thanks for reading and all the comments. x

Now it's my turn to pass on the award, so here goes to fellow kiwi bloggers:

Little Miss Flossy at Another Day in Paradise

Hanna at Crafty Kin

Julie at Dreaming of Daisies

Janelle at Heart Felt

Lien at Lovely Living

Steph at Lovestitches

Amy at Seven Stitches

Gabes at SweetP Knits

Have a pop over to them - you might just see something you like!

As for crafting? Well even my lovely travel craft case didn't inspire me to craft whilst I was away which was very surprising. However, Sunday was my day - I was in the mood and achieved lots. Still haven't taken photos but will get them posted tomorrow.

One of the things I decided to work on was my eldest WIP. In March 2005 I finished a puff patchwork blanket and decided straight away to make another. I bought the material and I cut out all the squares and then put them in a bag! I have dipped into the bag over the years to use some of the patches but there was still enough to make a small blanket as originally intended.

I had to cut out the backing squares, for which I used the curtain lining cut offs, and then started sewing.

60 done so far with 48 still to go, then there's just the small matter of stuffing them, closing them, joining them and backing them. Easy - if it takes as long as it has done already it'll be finished in 2013!

My creative space

2009-07-09T11:23:00.007+12:00

We're off on holiday (and a little bit of crafting is coming too!)

We're going away tomorrow for a week's holiday - hurray!!!! Up to the sunny Bay of Plenty (oh please let it be the sunny Bay of Plenty!). Although there'll be lots to do up there I still might have the urge to be crafty so I've packed a little case (in fact it's the first and only thing packed so far!).

The case's contents:

2 embroidery hoops

linen offcuts

embroidery silks

scissors

material marker

ball of chunky colourful yarn

bamboo knitting needles

And the best about it to me? The case was found at a garage sale for $1, the embroidery hoops, linen and silks were all received via Freecycle, the yarn is new but was reduced and the bamboo needles cost me 50c, yes that's right reduced to 50c. So a whole case of loveliness for very little money - what more could you ask?!

All packed and ready to go! Until we get back - au revoir! x

PS To check out lots of other lovely creative spaces take a peek over here.

A bit of NZ politics!

2009-07-08T20:10:00.004+12:00

The NZ Government have (or are going to) cut funding for continuing education.

http://www.stopnightclasscuts.org.nz/

Click on the link above to find out how to voice your displeasure!

EDITED: Thanks Steph for the heads up the link is now correct - ooops!

I'm a very lucky lady ...

2009-07-08T15:13:00.007+12:00

I've been very lucky recently so thought I would share with you.

Last week I was lucky enough to win this giveaway on Craftykin - my first ever blog giveaway so I was very excited to hear the news and can't wait to receive the brooch!

Then I found a surprise package in the post box:

A box of crochet patterns and wonderful written letter from the lovely Julie over at Dreaming of Daisies. Not expected, total surprise and I absolutely love it! Many, many thanks. x

The garage sales have not been very forthcoming recently, in fact there haven't actually been many in our little town. So on Saturday when I saw 5 advertised I was quite excited. I trawled around 4 in the cold, early morning and wondered what on earth I was doing - should I go to the last or not? Of course I should and thank goodness. I got a wooden blackboard/whiteboard easel which I am going to repaint and give to Maia for her birthday (hence no pics!) and some lovely linen.

Two aprons - the one on the left is actually quite marked on the white fabric but I will re-use the the floral applique and ties on another one.

And if you saw this post you'll know I've taken rather a liking to linen teatowels so was very pleased to find this little lot!

The one with 1967 was in brand new condition, you can just imagine someone being given it for Christmas and then not wanting to use it, to keep it for best! So in 2009 it is finally going to be used for its intended purpose.

A very cheesy colourful one. "It starts when you sink in his arms and ends with your arms in the sink"! And my favourite:

"Oxford Street Illuminations" - when we were younger my Mum and Dad used to take us down to London before Christmast and I used to think the lights were amazing so I just love, love, love this one! x

A granola recipe

2009-07-08T08:20:00.004+12:00

Back here I made some granola and finally I've got the recipe up! As far as it is a recipe - I must have orginally had one to follow but that's been lost in one of the many moves. It's a very 'fluid' recipe - by that I mean you can really use what you like and what you have in the cupboards. I know that's not much help to those who like to follow a recipe but it'll give you an idea.

For this particular batch I used:

1 cup of rolled oats

dessicated coconut - a little shaken over the oats

slivered almonds

chopped apricots - what was left in the packet

sultanas

Mix these all together in a bowl

a knob of butter - about 20g

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

2 tbsp honey

Gently heat these ingredients until combined

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix

Spread on baking sheet and bake for about 12-15 at 160 degrees

The basic ingredients are oats and then build from around there. Alternative dry ingredients are:

sunflower seeds

pumpkin seeds

sesame seeds

walnuts

pecans

macadamia

For the wet ingredients you can use the following:

instead of butter I have used cold pressed veg or nut oil - hazlenut and wlanut oil are particularly nice and grape seed oil works well too - the finished granola has a slightly different texture but if you're worried about saturated animal fat it's a good alternative

sugar - you can use as little or as much as you like, I think you do need some but the choice is up to you

the honey can be replaced by maple syrup which works really well and I guess you could use golden syrup but I've never tried this

When I've tried to write down what I put in and the measurements it always turns out that the batch is OK but not one I'd want to repeat! And when I've tried to make double the measurements, because it really doesn't last that long, it's not been that nice either!

If anyone has any other ideas for ingredients or methods then I've love to hear them because I love making this - it's a sweet tasty treat that's easy to make and not 'bad' for you - what more can you ask?!

Curtains, curtains and a little something else

2009-07-06T18:20:00.011+12:00

So these are what I spent all day yesterday making and they kept us nice and cosy last night.

After much messing around with this material here I decided that I would just have to go out and buy some curtain material. I have been looking for second hand curtains or suitable material since February and it's just not turning up! So I went to Spotlight, they had 20% off everything last week, and I bought the fabric for the lounge and our bedroom. It's not really what I wanted but then I figured that sometimes you have to compromise on your principles, and if that compromise is going to keep you warm and keep you sane then it must be worth it right?!

Craig was working on his parents' new house today and his Mum said that she'd have the girls so I have had a whole day to myself (they left at 7am and they're not back yet - 6.30pm!). I decamped to the kitchen and set about making curtains for our bedroom.

There's 1 large window and 2 small, high windows so I concentrated on the small ones today. American Idiot by Green Day got me through the cutting and side hems. The Offspring/Ixnay on the Hombre took me to fully hemmed and ready to have the pleats in.

The music then went off whilst I concentrated on getting the pleats right. One of they things I dislike about making curtains is the amount of pinning required so I was very pleased today that I didn't use one pin until this stage!

Once the pleats are sewn they are stuffed and then pin hooks put in. Ta da!!! Two pairs of finshed curtains - by 12.15pm. How much can you get done when you don't have two hinderers, sorry helpers, with you?!!!!

Sorry no pics of them up and in place but there's no curtain poles up yet. I could have put them up but Craig had all the tools with him so that's a nice job for him tomorrow!!!

And now for something completely different! The idea is from Creative Family by Amanda Soule and I love how it's turned out. Maia drew straight onto the fabric and then I stitched around it. I think it will become a small pillow for Maia's bed. Lots more of these planned - just got to get Maia drawing.

I've done it ...

2009-07-05T18:58:00.004+12:00

It's cold, wet and windy outside but I don't care because we have curtains in the lounge!!! After a long day making them I am looking forward to sitting down with the fire going, some Whittakers chocolate and Grey's Anatomy. Some photos tomorrow. x

A couple of sneaky peeks!

2009-07-04T18:15:00.002+12:00

Some linen found this morning at a local garage sale

Something that's been in my head for a long time and may almost be at fruition!

Crocheted winter warmers

2009-07-04T17:33:00.006+12:00

Obviously Cassia wasn't really in the mood to model - you're supposed to be looking at her feet not her bum!

Here's a slightly better shot:

Though why I made them in grey and blue - I don't know! Maia then wanted a pair so I made some in much more respectable girly colours of purple and pink, and she was a much more willing model!

I guess this is why I will always favour crochet over knitting - because I know what I'm doing! I can alter patterns, I can size patterns up and down, I can even make up my own patterns and when something goes wrong I know how to put it right. I know I could learn to do all this with knitting but right now it seems a step too far.

And finally, some winter warmers for Cassia.

We have one child scarf in the house and it gets argued over almost daily so I thought it was high time to make Cassia her own. However Cassia has (how shall I put it nicely?) a bloody clumsy streak so I thought a neck warmer as opposed to a full length scarf would suit her better. A quick and easy double crochet neck warmer with a button hole and wooden button from my stash. But it was just calling out for a companion so a matching hat was called for!

And just so that you can see the set properly:

Hope you are all having a great weekend. x

I don't know what IT's called ....

2009-07-03T18:04:00.004+12:00

but I know I definitely have IT!

IT starts at the op shop or garage sale. I see some fabric - vintage, pretty, curtain, remnant, kitchen or bedlinen). I get it off the shelf, I look at it, I feel it and, more often than not, I smell it too! I begin to imagine what I will do with it. And, at that moment in time, I do truly believe that I WILL do something with it. It usually comes with a pretty low price tag and I walk out very happy with my latest fabric purchase.

The fabric then gets washed, dried, ironed and into my sewing room (sometimes that can happen the same day whilst at others it takes much longer!).

And this is when IT happens. I didn't own the fabric until that day; it didn't cost me much; for goodness sake someone else has thrown it out so it's not really that precious. But it becomes precious to me, very precious. In fact so precious that quite often I don't want to cut into it!

What happens if I cut into it and my idea/pattern doesn't work? What if I make something with the fabric and then realise that it would have been much better for another project? What if, what if, what if?

I'm drowning in fabric (well that's a bit of poetic licence) and yet can't cut into it.

Does anyone know what this is called? And, more importantly, does anyone know how to solve IT?!!!!!

Kiddies Activities

2009-06-30T17:42:00.008+12:00

Lots of photos in this post!

We seem to have been busy, busy, busy lately so over the last few days I've made a point of doing kiddy things with the girls - and we've had a lot of fun.

Using these to draw on the patio (and the planters and the bench seats and the decking!):

Maia's pavement art. Don't you love how she signs her work?

She actually does this right at the start!

Then onto some painting:

When we were out that morning Cassia said that she'd like to do painting and hey presto in the Sallies was a canvas already painted black!!! Having seen Janelle's children painting on similar over at Heart Felt I bought it and Cassia produced this:

Next a bit of gluing and sticking (we cut out all the butterflies and insects when we were back in UK and bought them back with us!)

When Maia got back from Kindy she saw the paint and of course wanted a go! She made these two lovely cards for two little girls:

and today she wrote in them:

I'm off to my first Parent's Centre meeting tomorrow and we have to bring a plate so I thought we'd do some baking this afternoon. Delicious Ginger Crunch:

You can see there are some squares missing but as Maia says "We can't do the baking and then not have some, that's not really fair!" - luckily I agreed with her!

Definitions

2009-06-29T12:13:00.003+12:00

The little grubs definition of peacefulness:

a few days away at the beach with no phone, no mobile reception, no computer and no TV - absolute bliss!

The little grubs definition of frustration:

wanting to work on the garden (I know I should be planting garlic and strawberries already) but being faced with this:

Probably more frustrating is having actually cleared some beds and planted some lavender only to find it looking like this:

The little grubs definition of delicious:

handmade granola atop stewed apple with greek yoghurt - yum!

For the definition of craftstipation click here!

My creative space ...

2009-06-25T09:54:00.010+12:00

Having seen a few of these over the last couple of weeks I thought I would play along too.

It's all crochet at the moment. It's just too cold to leave the room which has the fire in and I don't really want to bring the sewing machine, and all the associated paraphanelia, into the lounge!

Brown and pistachio Mary Jane slippers from here - I've reworked one and I'm happy with it just have to finish the second one

Bag of odds and ends that were used for making this blanket

Bag of purple and pink yarn originally used to make a blanket for Cassia and I've a few ideas for the leftovers

Green hexagons - I started this in the UK and love it but I bought new yarn, albeit on special for 100% merino, for it and when I worked out what it would cost to make a cot size blanket, let alone a single size like I originally intended, I decided to make it into a bag - obviously this happend yet but the thrifted handles might be called into action soon

Some new heart patterns I've been playing with and a shockingly bright yellow doily! Please excuse the colour it was the thinnest cotton I had, from a bag of thrifted cottons, and having never made a doily before I thought I would try with this first

The grey and blue yarn is making some crochet slippers for Cassia

A stripy neck warmer for Cassia

and finally, and probably most importantly a book and a pen - I always think I'll remember what I've done but of course I don't so I'm going to try to write things down so that I don't have to re-work it all out when I crochet the second or subsequent items!

And, surprisingly, all this fits into this bag (a recent and very wonderful thrift find):

which is pretty lucky because we're heading to the beach today for a couple of days so it's all ready to go!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend. x

To see other creative spaces click here.

A new addition to the family ...

2009-06-24T16:49:00.002+12:00

well 4 in fact! They came to us via the Sallies for the princely sun of 50c. Mum has unfortunately lost an arm and a leg, and the way my children play the other members of the family may soon follow suit. They are settling in nicely and have been happily adopted by Maia and Cassia. Cassia is so taken by them that one or other (or all!) sometimes end up in bed with her! x

I finally admit defeat!

2009-06-23T17:23:00.004+12:00

I'm not very good at admitting defeat but these curtains have beaten me I'm afraid to say! I had 7 curtains of various sizes and conditions and I thought it would be more than enough to fit the windows in one of the rooms in the house. I thought, I measured, I thought some more and I finally thought I had it. The scissors got to work and I was happy. It was always going to be a jigsaw to get them done (they were too short for our windows and even a simple border top and bottom wasn't going to suffice) but I reckoned I'd done it. I even sewed one side. I assumed that both sides would be made the same (that's how I make curtains) but of course they weren't. The border they had put on was all out of pattern match. I could have carried on and I could now have something at our window BUT I stopped. I realised that no matter what I did I wouldn't be happy with them - they would always look like a botch job - and that although they only cost me $7 they were going to take a lot of time and energy. So back to the drawing board on that one and still very cold rooms without curtains!

In fact I was so fed up with them I have folded it all up and put it up in a high cupboard - I don't even want to look at the fabric at the moment! The only good use I can think of at the moment is if a local production of The Sound of Music is performed and I could make the von Trapp children's outifts to run on the hills!

A sucker for punishment ...

2009-06-17T18:50:00.003+12:00

I finally got these curtains finished (apologies for the rubbish photos I just wanted to give proof!):

and I've now started on this material for another set!!!

A lot of ripping, washing, ironing and jigsaw piecing to see if I can use the material for any of our windows!

What kind of collector are you?

2009-06-15T14:46:00.008+12:00

I saw the title on the spine of the book and just had to get it out from the library:

A Passion for Collecting - Caroline Clifton-Mogg

Now seeing as most blogs I've read feature collecting (aka hoarding) in one form or another I thought you might like to see, according to the book, what kind of collector you are!!

The Antiquarian ...

collector is the direct descendant of the Renaissance and eighteenth-century devotees, and is lured by the siren call of the classical and the antique. The Antiquarian collects everything from fragments of ancient art to shiny neo-classical pieces

The Explorer ...

collector is a natural discoverer. While today this may not mean travel to uncharted polar or tropical regions, the Explorer's interest is still global - a fascination for objects strange and different, which illustrate the beauty of other lives

The Inheritor ...

collector is a person with a past; it may be an actual past represented by an existing, inherited collection, or it might simply be a keen sense of the past. In either case, the Inheritor is commited to collecting in the manner of his forebears, maintaining a tradition

The Perfectionist ...

collector will only consider acquiring the most perfect example of its kind - depending, of course, on the definition of perfect. It may be rarity or flawless condition or great beauty. But whatever the definition, the Perfectionist will accept nothing less

The Naturalist ...

collector is really one of nature's enquirers, fascinated by and drawn to objects from the natural world, whether mineral, flora or fauna. From shells and fossils to feathers and flowers, the variety and beauty of natural life is worthy of endless study

The Utilitarian ...

collector is one who sees beauty in the commonplace, and who revels in the practical and familiar objects that are a necessary part of our daily lives. From rolling pins to radiators, the Utilitarian appreciates and understands the pure simplicity of function and form

The Enthusiast ...

collector is that sympathetic character, the all-rounder, who cannot resist accumulating everything and anything that appeals. Imaginative and artistic, Enthusiasts are always on the brink of another collection to keep them enthralled - until inspiration strikes anew

The Decorator ...

collector is that talented person who has the ability to invest every collection - no matter how unpromising - with interest and charm. And when it comes to display, where the less perceptive proceed with caution, the Decorator designs with consummate style

The Miniaturist ...
collector is the descendatn of those keepers of legendary cabinets of curiosities, where the charm of the diminutive was celebrated. The modern Miniaturist is fascinated by the tiny, the delicate and the beautifully made, whether it is of china, glass, metal or wood

Me? Well definitely the Enthusaist, with a lot of Utilitarian and some Naturalist, Inheritor and Explorer thrown in for good measure!

So what type are you? x

June is for finishing - crochet blanket

2009-06-14T13:51:00.005+12:00

At the beginning of the year I read on someone's blog (sorry for no mention here but I can't remember whose!) that they were going to use up everything they already had before buying anymore (they were talking about wool I think but it really could apply to anything!). I thought this was a great idea and decided to use up all my wool bits to make a blanket.

Little did I know how much wool a single sized crochet blanket was going to take! Not only did I use up all of my bits and pieces I had to go and buy other people's odds and ends too! So it's finally finished:

To begin with I didn't know if I was going to like it. I'm not very good at doing random and this certainly was!

It was literally use up one bit and start with another. Sometimes I did finish on the end of the row but there are colour changes midway through rows too. When I ran out of yarn I kept thinking "Oh well that's big enough" but Maia had already taken a liking to it and had asked for it for her bed so I kept hunting for the yarn and crochetting on!

What a good use of odds and ends and practical too. Hopefully it'll be keeping us warm for many years to come. Do I like it now? I certainly do.

OK so I said it was finished but there are some ends that still need to be darned in but in my mind it's finished for now - it's on the bed, it'll keep us warm and that's all that matters for now.

This was a really easy thing to have on the go - you could just pick it up and do a few rows here and there, it came away with us a couple of times and it was something that you didn't have to think about - you knew what you were doing and there was no pattern - great for those evenings when you're brain dead after a full-on day with the children!

Now I just have to tackle all my other WIPs! x

An Epic Meme!

2009-06-13T19:16:00.002+12:00

I was tagged for this epic meme by Janelle at Heart Felt. So after some deliberation here goes:

What is your current obsession?
Op shop trawling and finding bargains

What was the most interesting thing you did today?
Craig told me about a place in the city called ARC – Art Recycling Centre. It’s tucked out the back of Square Edge Gallery and it’s AWESOME. Lots and lots of interesting things to buy – so, so cheaply.

What are you wearing today?
Thrifted jeans, handmade woollen socks, thermal, jumper from my mum, very pretty green/yellow necklace purchased at car boot in UK.

What's for dinner?
Just had it - homemade pizza with lots of help from the girls

What's the last thing you bought?
World Sweet World winter issue

What are you listening to right now?
Goodnight Nurse; Top Ten Hits of the 70s; ABBA

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
New Zealand – that’s why we came back!!! Exactly where? Not quite sure – maybe Otago Peninsula or maybe Coromandel or maybe Motueka …..

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
A desert island – somewhere with no other people and just the sound of the waves lapping on the shore with lovely clear warm blue waters to swim in

Which language do you want to learn?
Te Reo Maori

What's your favorite quote (for now)?
"We did not inherit the earth from our ancestors. We are borrowing her from our children"
- Seneca proverb

What is your favorite color?
Red and green at the moment

What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
My recently made handknitted scarf – it’s on me constantly even indoors when it’s cold

What's your favourite magazine?
Toss up between Good and World Sweet World

If you had £100 now, what would you spend it on?
A pair of leather winter boots

Describe your personal style?
What personal style?!

What are you going to do after this?
Watch the ABs play France

What's your favorite fruit?
Strawberries in summer and pears in winter

What inspires you?
People coping with adversirty; people standing up for what they believe in; lots and lots of crafty/green mothers who I’m finding in blogland

Your favourite books?
Too, too many to list. Two books that are really inspiring me at the moment are Recycled Home by Mark and Sally Bailey and Off-grid by Nick Rosen.

Do you collect anything?
Oh so many things!!!! Retro suitcases; aprons; embroidered linens; fabric; baskets; children's chairs – just to name a few

What are you currently reading?
Off-grid by Nick Rosen; various craft/sewing books from library; Good; World Sweet World

What makes you follow a blog?
Great pictures; interesting and innovative crafts, especially using recycled materials; sustainable/eco living; seeing what other families living the way that I dream off

What do you love most about where you currently live?
The country – my little family is much, much happier being here – we all have smiles, the space and cleanliness, the freedom the girls can have here, the people. The town – we can walk everywhere. The house – an awesome woodburner, space to get a veggie patch going

I'm now supposed to tag eight more people:

Lien (Lovely Living); Steph (Lovestitches); Becks (Different Choices); Gina (Clutterpunk); everyone else has been tagged already! If anyone's reading this who wants to play along then consider yourself tagged!

A much needed family outing

2009-06-09T19:55:00.005+12:00

Sunday morning dawned cold but sunny (and I do mean cold - thick frost on the ground) so we took ourselves off to the nearest beach which we had yet to explore.

A little walk to the beach

My family on the beach - enjoying the fresh air and sun!

Important treasure in little hands

Found while beachcombing

A series of photos of the same shell:

Good job we went too because Craig and Maia now have the flu that's been circulting our house and the rain has come!

I did it!

2009-06-06T18:26:00.005+12:00

I got the Mary Jane slippers finished last night. Hurray - a project started and finished in one day! Although as you can see they're not quite symmetrical!

The pattern didn't say how much yarn to use so I thought that one ball of each would be plenty (in fact I was already planning what I was going to make with what was left!) - obviously it wasn't! However, they are finished and kept my feet lovely and warm last night. I actually changed the finishing and closure on the second so I guess at some stage I'll undo them and get two slippers the same. However, last night I really wanted to prove to myself that I could do a project in a day because I have way too many unfinished things laying around. In fact tomorrow I'm going to join Gabes from sweetp knits in her June is for finishing and sort out all my WIP and try to work through those before starting anything else! x

I'm so happy ...

2009-06-05T16:28:00.006+12:00

that I thought I'd do two posts in one day!

I'm feeling a bit better today (many thanks for all the good wishes) and so wanted to do something crafty. I've been getting withdrawal symptoms - all this blog hopping and insipration has been great but not being able to do anything has been really hard. On my travels I found this pattern for Mary Jane slippers and thought they'd be perfect for today. I still have that kind of head that if you lean forward it feels like it's going to explode so a bit of gently crocheting on the sofa seemed a good idea.

Pattern - sorted

Wool - I don't have a big wool stash so Cassia and I ventured into town for some (and a coffee!)

Result - see below!

The button's not exactly the one I'd have chosen but I had it and it's now sewn on (as opposed to waiting for the perfect button and the slippers taking residence in a box/cupboard/under my sewing table until kingdon come!). Now the eagle eyed of you out there will notice that there is only one slipper - you're right! OK I know I may be a bit premature in posting about something which I'm so happy about because it all came together in a day but I know I can start and finish the right foot today. Check back tomorrow to see if I've succeeded in my challenge! x

Thrifting happiness ...

2009-06-05T09:33:00.006+12:00

Yesterday I mentioned a 1/2 price sale at our local Sallies - so of course I had to buy!! Nothing like a spot of good thrifting to make you feel a bit better!

First thing I saw were these pretty little glasses at the bargain price of 25c each:

I aim to limit the amount of plastic in our house and certainly haven't bought anything plastic for a long time. Subsequently the girls have been drinking out of glass and china since they were old enough to hold it (I mean I hate the taste of drinks that have been in plastic so wouldn't little ones?!) so these are a great addition to our collection of 'small glasses'.

Next up were men's ties - 50c each.

Since I very quickly made this skirt for Maia for Kindy (JUST REALISED I NEVER SHOWED THIS SKIRT SO WILL HAVE TO POST LATER!!!) I've been on the lookout for some more because with a little thought, preparation and careful sewing I think I could make something quite nice! But the price of things, especially men's ties has stopped me buying any. The most expensive I've come across yet in a op shop was back in the UK recently - 2.75 pounds, that's about NZ$7.40!!!!!!!! Now I could have a huge rant about this but luckily for me someone else has done it!!! Take a look at what Steph at lovestitches has to say over here. Couldn't have put it better myself!

Next stop - the material/linen area and this stash of fabric:

And then to the last aisle where all the bedding, sheets and curtains are hung up and I came across all of this!!! A pair of unlined curtain in this fabric. Each one measures 3 1/2 ft by 11ft (no I didn't measure them but an old tag was still attached!). So skinny and long but I loved the fabric - not sure whether these are destined for curtains or alternative use yet.

And then this fabric - much heavier and warmer than the first:

and much more of it!

There are 7 'bigger' curtains and 2 'smaller' curtains, some have sun fading on some areas and some are made better than others! However, I'm sure that with all the fabric available I'll be able to make some curtains for somewhere! And for $7, that's right $7 it's not a fortune if they don't work out. I was talking to someone at the weekend who paid $32.50/metre for curtain material so I am very, very happy with this purchase. It may not have been my first choice of fabric if I had been in a shop but I think they will make up really nice ance suit our style of house (1930s Californian bungalow).

So to add it all up I got everything shown, oh and the little one below, for $21 - now if that wasn't good bargain hunting I don't know what is!

A great little winter warmer ...

2009-06-04T18:09:00.005+12:00

Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup

I wasn't really in the mood for cooking tea tonight but since I had just popped out to the Sallies I was obviously 'well enough' to cook for my family! It was a good job I went to because they were having a 1/2 price sale - can you believe that an op shop is having a sale?!!!! Lots of lovely goodies to share but all the excitement and cooking has tired me out so you'll have to wait until tomorrow.

For now a lovely recipe. I borrowed The Soup Bible from the library last week and this is from it. Originally it was Corn and Crab Meat Soup, but does offer the alternative of chicken instead of crab meat. We had some roast chicken leftovers so I whipped it up! Here's the recipe - my amendments are on bold:

Serves 4 (two hungry adults and two children!)

115g chicken

1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh root ginger (if you like ginger I would use twice this)

finely chopped garlic - I would add some garlic in with the ginger next time

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp cornflour

2 egg whites

600ml vegetable stock

225g can creamed sweetcorn (I used a full can 400g?)

salt and pepper to taste

chopped spring onions to garnish

Mix chicken and ginger and garlic in a bowl
Blend milk and cornflour until smooth
Beat egg whites until frothy
Add cornflour mixture to egg whites and beat again until smooth
Bring stock to boil in saucepan
Add creamed sweetcorn to pan and bring to boil again
Stir in chicken mixture and stir gently until blended
Season to taste
Sprinkle with spring onions to serve

Now a question - what to do with the egg yolks? I think I'm right in saying you could make mayonnaise but we're not great fans so the only thing I can think of is to add to other eggs for scrambled eggs. Any other ideas? x

Pen Pal wanted

2009-06-04T14:26:00.002+12:00

Every day my two little girls run to the post box to check the mail, more often than not it leads to arguments between them but I won't go there!

When Maia gets to check the post box on her own she's always disappointed that there's nothing for her (not that we get any exciting mail either). So I just wondered if any of you out there had a little one who'd like a pen pal. Obviously they won't be exchaning fully fledged letters but Maia loves drawing/painting etc and would love to receive some in return.

If anyone's interested maybe leave a comment or e-mail. Many thanks. xx

A post about the credit crunch ...

2009-06-03T19:14:00.003+12:00

Not much going on at our house today! However, I have managed to do some blog hopping and found this awesome post on a blog called Wardrobe Refashion. I too was wondering how the governments can say spend, spend, spend your way out of the recession - was it not too much spending that caused it in the first place?!!! Think I'll be popping back there too because 'Wardrobe Resfashioning' is something right up my street.

It was inevitable really ....

2009-06-02T09:28:00.003+12:00

Maia caught a cold shortly after we returned from the UK.
She very generously gave it to her Dad a few days later.
Cassia was next in line, although her's was a lot worse than her sister's and her Dad's.
Cassia was getting better at the end of last week and I thought we could start June out and about.
This morning, of course, I wake up with it!
If I have what Cassia had I now know why she was so ill and grumpy - isn't hindsight wonderful?
So here starts the 4th week of sickness in our house - aaaarrrrghhhhhhh!

Welcome winter!

2009-06-01T11:01:00.008+12:00

Today heralds the official start of winter, and with the snow coming down on the mountains all around us it certainly felt like it yesterday. Some things that we're going to count on this winter. First and foremost is this:

Generally New Zealand houses don't have central heating so you rely on the woodburner a lot. This is the first house where we've lived in in NZ that has such a great fire - and we've a woodshed full of dry, seasoned wood to boot! However, the fire is only in the living area so for the bedrooms you need these:

flannelette sheets! I tried my best to find some second hand but the local op shops were not forthcoming, and when it gets so cold at night you can't really wait for them to turn up. So these are new but so worth every cent when you get into them at night! However, I was more imaginative when it came to Maia's bed:

When Maia was born we had brushed cotton wraps which we used for wrapping her. They were then used for Cassia and have now been re-invented into a patchwork top sheet for her bed and a pillowcase. I was pretty pleased with this little conversion - it cost me nothing and it took about 10 minutes! Even with flannelette sheets you still need lots of these:

the left one has such beautiful colours that I would really like to turn it into something but it has only been loaned to us so it just looks pretty on the bed! The right one was an op shop find and has been cut up into a single blanket and the other half will be used for something, eventually!

The pink blanket is one I made for Maia when she was born - it took me months - what was I doing? The bottom one was one my mum nade to use up her scraps and which Maia took possession of when we were home recently!

This is still a work in progress but may be called into action if it get too much colder!

And this is one I relieved my mum off when we were back - daughters are good like that I find! It was crocheted by my Nan and I hadn't seen it before. It's lovely to have something made by my Nan in my house. In fact there's three generations of crochetetd blankets in my house - pretty cool eh? So for outside of the house we'll need these:

these (with not a handmade one in sight unfortunately!):

these:

and these:

And finally if all else fails this little lot can help boost you up!

Numbers

2009-05-31T15:26:00.007+12:00

Yesterday's post got me thinking about the number of curtains I have actually made, so whilst in the shower this morning I totted them up. Which set me thinking on the number of times we've moved and the houses we've lived in. Here's the answers!

No of curtains made: 44 pairs

No of houses I've lived in: 29 (plus a 1963 split screen VW Kombi - now that was cool!)

No of times I've moved: 40 (I've moved out of and into some houses several times - but that's another story!)

No of times we've bought and sold houses: 12

No of times we've moved since children: 13 (Maia is 4y 9m and Cassia is 2y 8m!) so I felt some empathy towards Gabes when she posted this

No of boxes I've packed: too numerous to count

No of items broken whilst moving: 5 - that must be something of a miracle

No of hours spent packing/unpacking/setting up house/contacting utility companies etc: ENDLESS

So you would kind of think that we'd be over the whole house/moving thing. Well long haul travel has unsettled me somewhat and I saw an awesome building in the local paper this week. It was in Dannevirke and seeing as we've never been to Dannevirke I thought it was worth the drive, and as we were driving there I thought it was worth having a look at!

You can see it here if you like - isn't it fabulous!!!

I then spent last night trawling the internet for other buildings like it - and there's one almost exactly the same in Stratford, click here, the pretty cool Waitomo Times building in Te Kuiti and this awesome building from a bygone era in Temuka. The bad thing is that Craig's as bad as I am so neither of us reins the other in - in fact we kind of egg each other on!!!

On more normal matters I've a couple of thank yous. First to Little Miss Flossy for pointing me to this page, recipes for feijoas (and don't you just love the name of the blog Thinking About Food - I find I'm doing that all the time at the moment!). We were going to bake the cake yesterday and then I realised that I didn't have the sour cream but my family certainly enjoyed the apple and feijoa crumble I made for them on Friday night. Also thanks to Kylie, who I came across last night by following the Sew Mama Sew giveaway(which I found out about from reading Craftykin - this blog reading/following/seeing where you end sure is addictive!), who pointed me here to see just what you can do with selvedges. Awesome but I think the dress may be a step too far for me!

The saga that is curtain making ...

2009-05-30T18:43:00.003+12:00

I have made many curtains in my life: small ones and large ones; floral ones and stripy ones; ones I am very happy with and ones I'm not so happy with, but none have vexed me as much as the pair I'm making at the moment!

The material looks innocuous enough. In fact I was very pleased to find it because it was on special at $6/metre. It's lovely good quality, thick material. And therein lies the problem - it wasn't really curtain material but I thought I would use it as such! There have been several casualties. First off two needles.

This is unheard of for me. In fact I'm somewhat ignorant about needles and their various functions. I learnt to sew from my mother and she doesn't believe in changing needles very often. In fact she only ever used to change them when one broke, hence why she never liked altering jeans because inevitably the heavy denim would break one of her needles! Now I guess I just thought that they were very expensive but they're not! One lady's since told me that one needle lasts for 10 hours of sewing and then last week another lady said she uses a new needle for every project!! So the silver lining to my broken needles was that I actually then used the right needle for the material and how much easier the sewing was. Note to self - always use the right needle for the right project! The next casualty? My finger!

A pin hook went straight into my finger joint - now I know it doesn't look much but it really hurt! The last casualty has been my head!!! I've not enjoyed making these curtains at all. They have already taken me a week and I've still only finished one!!!

Here's the proof! Tying up the curtains to set the pleats is a great use for the selvedges, however I've always wondered what else I can do with it when I cut it off. Do any of you crafty people have any ideas?

OK I know there's only one up there but I guess it was worth it when I see them up.

I can now knit ...

2009-05-29T19:12:00.002+12:00

Now I know the photos aren't the best quality but I am soooo proud of these items I just had to share them with you. I did some knitting whilst I was in the UK so here goes!

A scarf - now I know that this must be one of the easiest, actually the easiest, thing to make but I love it. My mum had been given one ball of wool from a friend and I knitted it on lovely big chunky wooden needles. It took me two evenings and I've worn it so much. I can't believe how great it is to actually make something for yourself and wear it!

I then thought I needed a challenge so knitted a dishcloth!

The large heart does have a mistake in it but I really enjoyed following a pattern and knitting this. It was lovely knitting with my mum who helped me when I realised I'd made mistakes and showed me how to correct them.

And finally a shot of Maia this morning. She got herself ready for Kindy and proceeded to announce "I'm cool aren't I?"!!!!!

Outside at last!

2009-05-27T18:39:00.004+12:00

The rain stopped, the temperature increased, the sun came out and so did we!

The girls soaking up the sun! Have a peek in the carport and there's a blue floral sheet hanging out to dry. My $2 bargain today - destined to be a little girl's dress and some bag lining I think! We reused some beer crates from the tip as planter boxes for some little pohutukawas. I need to find some sacking to cover up the rather nasty black plastic which is lining them!

From our garden today. Unfortunately I don't like feijoas but Craig and the girls do so they are ploughing through them. Having said I don't like them the feijoa muffins I made last week were quite edible (in fact so edible I had 3!). The lemon tree is only small but is full of fruit at all different stages of ripening. I still get a huge kick out of being able to go into my garden and pick a lemon - there's not an abundance of lemon trees in the middle of England! So what to do with all the lemons? If anyone has a good lemon curd recipe then I would love to know - I think that would be a winner in this house. Many thanks.

Our Trip Part 2 - The Girls

2009-05-26T16:39:00.006+12:00

How do you get two girls, two suitcases, two handluggage bags and a picnic from the domestic terminal to the international terminal at Auckland airport? We walked like this! To be honest this was what I was most worried about - all the bags and two little girls but we managed admirably!

A quiet moment on the plane. I realised I took way too much hand luggage - I think I had things for every eventuality and then some. Maia and Cassia are now of the age that TV amuses them for a long time and Cassia's best coping mechanism for long haul flights? To fall asleep for most of it!

Two very startled girls during the treasure hunt I did on Easter Sunday. Maia loves them - the kind where you put picture/word clues around the house/garden and they lead you to the next one. It was the first time that Cassia joined in and she loved it too. And at the end of the treasure hunt? A chocolate bunny. I have to admit that I have never bought the girls an easter egg yet and a small chocolate bunny seemed to thrill them just as much.

We visited a few National Trust properties near my parents and this photo shows Cassia in the hedge. And I mean she was really was in the middle of a huge hedge having found a little entrance to push through further down the path!

What do little girls get up to with their older cousins?

Two little flower fairies in a beautiful blooming magnolia tree.

I think my two daughters may have a future packing down in the front row! Hit them hard and low!

Good tackle!

Cassia about to play in the garden before breakfast in her pyjamas - isn't that what holidays are all about?!

Out Trip Part 1 - Nature

2009-05-25T19:55:00.008+12:00

We left a very mild autumn and arrived in a fully fledged spring! The snowdrops were well and truly over, the daffodils were almost past there best and the tulips were already standing proud.

I love the beautiful forget-me-nots and the girls seemed to aswell because they were in every posy they picked!

There were a fair few of these around already too!

Luckily I managed to catch Maia before she blew them all away into the garden - her Grandad wouldn't have been too pleased!

These little seedlings were popping up through the gravel on the drive under the large pine trees. They were absolutely beautiful - the outer curved leaves almost like a fortress around what will become the plant. The dew was still inside the structure but you can't really see it now the photos have been resized!

A glorious sunrise - one (maybe the only) advantage of having jetlag is being up before every else and savouring the day as it starts - totally unsullied by what is to come and full of promise.

Will it ever come back......?!!!!

2009-05-24T15:05:00.002+12:00

This was the sky on the day we left. What has happened to it whilst we've been away? Are we ever going to see it again?

We returned to NZ 2 weeks ago and have settled back in nicely. The girls readjusted quicker than I but then they are remarkably resilient creatures! The trip was good - the girls were amazing. On both legs of the journey they didn't whinge, grizzle or cry once. Whoops that's a lie -Maia did when we dotted down at Auckland from Palmerston North and I elbowed her in the temple whilst putting on my rucksack but I'd say that was understandable!

We've gots lots of photos to share and news to tell but I thought I'd do a quick post first to get back into it. It's funny how quickly you get out of posting or even reading blogs so I've a lot of catching up to do. Looking forward to reading all the recent posts of those blogs I follow and maybe having the time to dip into some others. Here's hoping I can get some blogging mojo happening! x

Settling in, but ......

2009-04-02T18:27:00.005+13:00

We were getting quite settled in to our new house and life. Maia has settled in really well at Kindy and Cassia and I are going to a few playgroups in town. Craig is really enjoying his course, Furniture Making and Design, and has already bought back an awesome coffee table! I have been working my way through the things I want too, especially ticking off some of my 37 Things. Now you just know there's a but coming don't you?! And you would be right - the girls and I are heading back to the UK on Sunday!

Pretty big 'but' eh? I always knew there would be a trip back at some stage this year but I wasn't planning it quite so soon. However, due to family reasons we're going back now. The plan is for 4 weeks in the UK - but as they say plans are made to be broken - so we're not setting anything in concrete just now. Craig is staying in NZ so it goes without saying that we are all going to miss him terribly - Maia has already had a fair few upset moments when she thinks about her daddy not coming too. It's at those times that my heart strings get pulled so tight I think they are going to snap. I want my life to be here in NZ but my extended family is in the UK so life is never going to be plain sailing. Then you add in illness and it becomes something of a rollercoaster.

So in a nutshell there's an update! Wishing you all the best and a very happy Easter. x

And the winner is ...

2009-03-17T14:09:00.005+13:00

We were waiting for a certain little someone to wake up from their nap, then all the names went in an eggbox (what else could we have used?!!), the little one drawing the name put on her little chick hat and she got down to business!

Not that you can see it very clearly on the photo but the winner is Heartfelt. Congratulations Janelle the eggs will be with you very shortly. Thanks to everyone who left a comment - it's really lovely to hear from you all. x

PS A happy St Patrick's Day to you all too! Being from Irish heritage I usually try to do something for St Paddy's Day and to show the girls their ancestry. This year it has come up on us a bit quick so it's just a bit of baking for tea - Irish Soda Bread - never made it before so will let you know how it turns out!

An unexpected walk

2009-03-16T08:56:00.007+13:00

We set out yesterday to drive through the Manawatu Gorge and explore the other side. We got as far as Ashhurst and the car started making funny noises. Things didn't seem as though they were going to turn out very well when we opened the bonnet and there was some smoke/steam - not a great sign. Needless to say it doesn't put you in a very good mood and a few choice words were aimed at all and sundry!

Fortunately for us we had pulled into the parking area just by Ashhurst Domain so I thought we could all do with getting out for a walk and cooling off. I'm very glad we did. There was a track lined with eucalyptus trees. I love the scent from the leaves and Maia was amazed that you could just bend the leaf in half and such a beautiful smell would come out. I also love the way their bark strips off revealing the pure trunk behind it. Now if only I could think of something to do with all the bark strippings that were on the floor!

There was quite a chilly wind blowing but in the sun was glorious. These little fellas thought so too!

We don't get cicadas in England so I'm entranced by them. I only recently saw one as close as this and the colours on them are amazing. I can't believe how much noise just one of these creatures can make. The girls, of course, find them fascinating but want to prod and poke them - what is it about little ones little fingers?!!!!

Then we came across this lookout. The wetland area was awash with pukekos, which I think are amazing. I remember when I first saw one I thought they were so cute and the name is great. They have blue feathers with a white dash underneath their tail and bright red beak and legs. I guess you could say they are a bigger, different colour version of a moorhen! - although I don't think they are the same family. The mountains on the left are the Ruahines and on the right are the Tararuas - the Manawatu Gorge runs through them. On both sides there are wind farms. If you look really closely you can see the windmills on the left! My girls are fascinated by them and so am I. I think there is some majestic beauty in them standing tall on the mountain ridges. The fact they can provide electricity from a renewable, 'free' source is just awesome. Apparently you can get close to them up another road so will have to explore further.

And you can't go on a walk like that without bringing something home. 4 beautiful big pine cones still attached to the branch!

Aren't the colours wonderful?

And the car? When we got bak we were able to check everything in the engine and it looked as though the coolant levels and power steering fluid levels were low. We hadn't checked them recently but it had just had a service so you don't think you have to! Lesson learnt there. Luckily there was a garage in Ashhurst with someone who knows about cards working. Topped everything up and made it home. Fingers crossed we've figured out the problem! x

Sayings and giveaway

2009-03-15T19:20:00.003+13:00

We have been so busy today that I've not had time to post and I'm too tired now!! Just a quick reminder about the giveaway I have going at the moment - leave a comment on this post and go in to win some Easter bunting.

Thought I'd just share these 2 little sayings with you, that I think are oh so true!

"The only normal people are ones you don't know yet" - Joe Ancis

"Friendship is when people know all about you but like you anyway" - Anon

A cautionary tale about smugness ...

2009-03-14T14:54:00.002+13:00

Yesterday I dusted the crockpot off. I don't particularly like making my tea first thing in the morning, there's just something about handling meat at that time of the day, but when it's all done and cooking I'm always pleased I've bothered. It also means that you can go out for the afternoon knowing that you'll be coming back to tea. Some days I find mid/late afternoon a really hard time to deal with. I'm tired, the children are tired, if arguments are going to happen it tends to be at that time if day.

So yesterday I suggested a walk at 3 o'clock. We had found a new duck pond earlier in the day so I thought I would get a few jobs done, we'd feed the ducks and we'd all be happy.

It was all going to plan. Walk done. Jobs done. Ducks fed. Then I thought why not go to the park aswell, I've nothing to rush home for. The girls raced ahead delighted at the prospect of playing in a new park. I meandered slowly behind drinking in the sunny afternoon, thinking I really should have bought some crochet to do whilst the girls played. I found a seat and sat down feeling, yes you guessed it, very smug - it was one of those rare 'all's right with the world' moments.

Then I noticed that Maia had already been up and down the slide 3 times whilst Cassia was just standing at the top. "Cass, what's wrong honey?" "Done wees." Now sometimes this means 'I need to do a wee' and sometimes it actually means 'I have done a wee'. I went to look and there was a lovely puddle, wet trousers, knickers, shoes - the whole caboodle. I hadn't taken a change of clothes - the bubble was well and truly burst!

Small celebrations and a giveaway ...

2009-03-12T16:28:00.011+13:00

The world seems to be getting more crazy each day, in fact I don't really like to watch the news anymore because it seems like all there is is bad news and the bad seems to be getting worse than ever, if you know what I mean!

So I have decided to celebrate the small things, I guess a way of counting your blessings. Here goes:

1) we started in our garden today and went from this:

to this:

with plenty of these:

"long worm mummy, looonnnnnngggg!"

"this is mummy worm, mummy"

one very relieved worm back in the soil!

with none of the threatened rain:

2) Cassia wet her knickers today, but on the wooden floor not on the new carpet!

3) What's better than finding one of these?

Finding two of them of course! And for only $3.50 each they were a fantastic buy for my little girls. I had thoughts of repainting them but that can wait because they like them just the way they are.

4) Having an idea and trying it and it works! I wanted to crochet an egg shape. When I googled it I came up with lots of patterns but they were for 3D eggs and I just wanted 2D so I took my heart pattern and figured out the rest. It only took 2 attempts and I had an egg shape! Hurray!

So that nicely leads on to the giveaway! This is my 100th post - wow I can't really believe it so let's celebrate. Leave a comment before Monday you can be in to win the giveaway. What is it? Well it's crocheted eggs of course! 7 different eggs made into a bunting - sorry no photo of it hanging - the light is fading and I was lucky to even get this one!

I've got me some worms!!!

2009-03-11T15:49:00.008+13:00

I finally have some worms to eat our kitchen scraps! I read about worm farms years ago and have always wanted one but, having never settled anywhere, it's taken until now to get them. This really was quite an easy item to cross off my 37 Things because I knew I was getting them - you see they were my birthday present! Everyone I've told that too thinks I'm somewhat crazy but when you've wanted something for as long as I have then I was delighted to have them for my birthday!

We went for a Worm-A-Round worm farm in the end, mainly because they were designed and are manufcatured locally and I'd also heard good things about them. When I first got back to NZ I picked up a leaflet at the local tip shop which states that Palmerston North City Council have placed a Worm-A-Round unit in every school in the city - pretty progressive eh? We picked our up from their agent in Palmerston North but I believe that they are available at Mitre10 and Bunnings.

Basically there are two trays that sit on top of each other. They each have a tray with holes in that sits on a ledge, this is so that the worm wee, aka as vermijuice and leachate, can trickle down to the bottom tray and be taken out by the tap. The photo shows the first tray in place.

The worms like newspaper!! Shredded newspaper is used as their initial bedding, which was soaked in water in a bucket, wrung out and then placed in the tray. The girls loved this bit. In fact whilst it was soaking Cassia sat outside and played happily in the bucket for about an hour - she wasn't a pretty sight afterwards but at least there was no arguing for a while! Then for the fun bit - opening the worm parcel!

I got tiger worms from Wormz Away in Christchurch. They were by far the cheapest supplier and I ordered 500g which is about 2000 worms and they arrived by courier last week! They were safely parcelled up in their little package and surrounded by the shredded paper which you use for the bedding. The girls were enthralled:

Maia had first dibs, followed by Cassia:

The worms were then very pleased to be settling into their new home, with no chubby little fingers poking at them!

They eat upto their own weight in food scraps every day so once they have settled in, reproduced and reached their optimum population (around 8000) they should be able to handle nearly all of our food waste. Apparently they will also eat tissues and hair - does anyone else put these in? So one week on it now looks like this!

I'm still can't quite believe that they are going to turn this lot into something that's really good for the garden! Each day we have fed the worms and the girls are taking this very seriously! In fact I have to have two bowls with equal amounts of food in for them each to give to the worms. I have to say the other night it almost looked like a ancient offering ritual with both girls holding their bowls before them and walking quietly and solemnly to the great and mighty worms! Long may this interest continue. Maia's already invited everyone at Kindy to 'come and see my worms'!