Holiday things

Still not much craft flying from my hands.
But I've been eating yum pizza from Il Buco.


And I bought this Trixie Delicious plate at December Kraftbomb. I just love it!

I spent Xmas Day at my big brother's with family -
and sheeps

and goatee oatee oats

(Christmas lunch was totally vegetarian - and delicious.)

And today I climbed to the summit of Rangitoto.
This photo shows the view looking back towards Auckland City and Cheltenham beach.
The bright red blossoms in the foreground are Pohutukawa (New Zealand Christmas tree).

Happy holidays!

Absolutely, positively

I had a wonderful time in Wellington. Meet baby Baxter and caught up with old friends. Best long weekend ever!

Stayed here ...

with this view of Island Bay ...

bought these ...

and went to Yayoi Kusama's exhibition, Mirrored Years at the City Gallery.

It's worth the trip to Wellington - totally idiosyncratic and inspiring.

Also got a copy of this softie mag from Minerva bookshop ...

See inside here.

The quilt, peonies and Wellington

The quilt is finished! I'm pleased with the result - especially the green binding. I'd like to say something profound along the lines of what-I-learned-from-quilting but, really, I just went through the steps and got to the end. Although I did learn that mistakes don't matter and actually add to the quilt's handmade charm. And I admit I wasn't too taken with this project at the beginning but now I find myself thinking about my next quilt...

I'm off to Wellington tomorrow to meet Baxter - the quilt giftee.

And here are some peonies - probably the blousiest flowers of all - but so beautiful.

Rubbish blogger

This little bunny - about to help herself to some fresh greens - has been my only craft creation in weeks. She's now out of the garden and into the chubby hands of baby Ben.

I've been sewing curtains for my daughter, visiting family in Northland, going to the dentist :( and not getting a WOF for my car. And the quilt hasn't progressed at all.

But I have seen some good films:

• Attack the gas station
• Milk
• Serial Mom

So, I guess it hasn't been all bad.

Craft = process

I've wanted to make a quilt for years and now that I've started one I'm not sure if I like the process. And it's all about the process! First, there was the nightmare of choosing the fabrics. This sounds like it would be fun but really...Then there's the frustration of accurately cutting out all the patchwork bits. Apparently it's easier if you use a rotary cutter but they cost $$$$ so scissors had to do. I snipped away hoping that a bit of wonkiness would add to the quilt's handcrafted charm. Anyway, I've made good progress and finished the top. Hoorah!


And, actually, I'm quite pleased with it. However, I’m now up to the tricky bit – putting all the layers together and doing the quilting. By hand. Why did I take this on? So it’s off to the specialist quilt shop this weekend to get more stuff - quilters needles and thread and hoop. I’ve been freaking out about how long it’s taking. Baby is due Nov 15. I should have it finished by then, right?

Anyway… Enough wingeing from me. How’s this for sweaters of desire from luflux? Time to finish that quilt and get out the knitting needles. Grrrr.

I'm back

Had a fabulous trip. This is my favourite photo - a highland terrier - taken in Edinburgh. You can see other photos here, if you want.

Didn’t make it to either of the London craft fairs. When you live in a city with a rubbish public transport system, you assume that every other city is efficient – that you can get on the tube and zap across London in next to no time. I’d forgotten that, in fact, it can takes ages. We landed at Heathrow and the day was all but over by the time we got to our friends in Wimbledon.

Since I’ve been back I’ve turned into a domestic goddess - of sorts. I even cleaned the fridge! Now I’m about to begin making my very first quilt - for a friend’s first grandchild due in November. It’s a simple beginners quilt taken from 'Quilts, baby!' And here are my fabrics – all washed and ready to cut. Wooo.

Bye bye...

I'm off to the UK today - London, Scotland, Oxford - for three weeks. I'm frantically doing all that last minute stuff. I need to wash my hair and return my library books. And pack. And I still haven't hemmed my new jeans. Ahhhhhh!
But for some cute overload take a look at Natasha Fadeeva's felted animals.
OK. Bye.

Crafting in London

I am so excited. I'm off to London on Friday and discovered today that there are two craft fairs happening the day we arrive: Bust Magazine craftacular and Tea and make.
Oh, the anticipation...

Photo a day for a week: Day 7

This birthday cake (for my mother - not a five year old as the candles suggest) is the final photo of my week of photos. Good to end with a celebration. I don't know how people have managed a photo a day for a year or more!

Photo a day for a week: Day 6

The nasty grater bit my finger! Then I accidentally stood on the mop handle and broke it! I'm a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Grrrrrr

Photo a day for a week: Day 5

Mr Mingus rolling around in the litter tray. He does this nearly every time we change the litter.

Photo a day for a week: Day 4

It's been a dull, cloudy day so not too many photo ops. But here's a new moopi - a birthday gift. Moopi has been sitting on the little Chinese cupboard in the hall - with a friend - waiting for the handover.

Photo a day for a week: Day 3

I don't know what this tree is. It's hard to tell when there are no leaves. But it's covered in prickly seed pods that look like pom-poms. It's a delight - a delightful pom-pom tree!

Photo a day for a week: Day 2

Mrs Dog does her laundry.

Photo a day for a week: Day 1

A photo a day for a week may not seem like much of a challenge. But, for me, I think it will be!
Here's Mr Mingus sitting in the window - probably he's going to look for birds.

Goodbye, my flower.

It's with happiness that I say goodbye to this fellow who has found himself - or herself - a good home. How could anyone say no after looking into those red eyes? S/he's been known only by way of description as "purple flower". I've never managed to come up with names for any of my things. I see that lots of crafters do name their creations in appealing and imaginative ways but I've never been able to pull it off. So I've left it up to the new owners. After all some of the joy in "adopting" a toy/pet/whatever is finding that perfect name - the one that sums up the essence of the creature's character. Occasionally I get to find out the chosen name and have been so amazed I'm considering it a condition of adoption.

Crochet a-go-go

I've taught myself to crochet. Well, at least a bit of basic stuff. I used this great book.
And then I went on to make this strawberry!


The pattern is from "Tasty crochet" by Rose Langlitz. I just added the seeds. If you're into faux food, there are some cozy crochet moments in this book - really cute mushrooms, carrots, asparagus, pears, sushi... even falafel!

Anyway the reason for crochet was to make a cap for my acorn guy.

I've now been bitten by the crochet bug and amigurumi has never looked so tempting.

New friends

I finally finished the little green guy! And he's turned out well. He was made on a cold, bleak day - hence the scarf - and was inspired by the cat, Mr. Mingus, who kept me company during the construction process. He is a bit like the cat - fat and cute. I'm tempted to also call him Mr. Mingus but someone has suggested Jean-Paul...


The inspiration for his friend was clowns but as he evolved he became a mixture of clown, skittle and frog! But still he has his own quirky charm, I think.

Ukulele schmukulele

Today I had my first ever ukulele lesson - free at the library as part of New Zealand Music Month. And, what's more, I've gone and bought my own ukulele. How's that for dedication?

Monkey

I'm such an infrequent blogger. Mainly because I'm an infrequent crafter. And that's because life just takes over. Usually in a good way.

Anyway I have managed one project. A friend asked me to make her a brown sock monkey - my first commission! It's a birthday gift for her friend.

The very first softie I made was a sock monkey so it was quite
nice to make another. I used this pattern changing the embroidery a bit. Of course the heart and initials were specified by my friend - it's a monkey of love afterall.

Happy birthday "A".

Easter with Mini-Moopy

What's Easter without rabbits? I made these from a Nest Studio pattern - because they are adorably cute and sooo easy to make. But mainly as a diversion from my Drip Project. I needed some instant gratification.

Drips

Here are the drips I've been working on for a while. I'm still trying to get the shape right - maybe a little fatter. I've made a four segment pattern but maybe I should try six to get a rounder, fuller shape. I've filled them with pellets so they're sort of fluid - like drippy things.
The silver one is a gift. It was meant to be water but reminds me of mercury. (Remember "accidentally" spilling mercury in the school science lab just so you could try to pick up the globules?) It's ended up with quite a serious expression. But who knows what the face of a drop of water would look like - if it had a face?

The best thing is I've finally made my own labels using an ink jet. The instructions are in Alicia Paulson's book, Stitched in time. Easy. And not a bad result.

Animoto