Tiny Lovely

Our new addition

2012-02-15T19:49:00.002-08:00

Introducing Corrin Tom who arrived on the 1st February. The proud bid sister has been loving 'helping' look after her wee brother.

His first day.

And doing what he does best sleep :)

My creative space: Darwinia again :)

2011-11-30T13:45:00.000-08:00

So I did knit another Darwinia dress again like I promised, this time in some lovely bendigo woolen mills cotton in a discontinued colour called Damask Rose I bought from a destash on ravelry. It was my first go knitting in cotton and I must say I'm hooked

It's going to a lovely wee dress that Tess will get lots of use in summer and layered in the cooler months. As you can see she is quite chuffed with it and loves her sunnies too.
Sorry November I didn't mean to neglect the wee blog again but I have been busy creating, more photos to come :)

For more creative spaces look here

Blogtober: Creative space

2011-10-19T23:25:00.001-07:00

I finished another wee baby knit last night. This one was for a new wee girl next door. I used another wonderful pattern by Tikki called Darwinia which has two different bodice types and two different skirt variations. A pattern I have been meaning to knit for awhile and now I can't wait to knit it in a Tessa sized version in cotton. I'm just waiting on some special yarn to arrive so I can get into it, I'm trying to start thinking ahead for christmas. I can't believe it's only weeks away really.

I'm quite pleased with how this wee dress turned out, it certainly isn't a colour I would normally go for, but I'm definitely warming to it.

For more creative spaces look here.

Blogtober: KCWC, Eden

2011-10-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

Last week I finished Tessa's little vest, perfect for spring weather. I used the simple but well written called Eden's Adam by Tikki. A very popular pattern if you have a look on ravelry.

I used the last of the Family Roots, Wisteria that I bought from a Coop and contrasted it with Woolganics Krishna. I love this colour combination.

And lastly another big sister little sibling set of pants. These were made from my lovely Mum's fabric stash. My sister and I always loved this fabric and always had fights over, hehe.

Blogtober: KCWC, another Charlie Tunic

2011-10-15T00:14:00.000-07:00

Well this rather rumpled looking top (she had just been for a 30min ride in the carseat) is my second Charlie Tunic. This time I used a heavier weight quilting cotton for the main and some gingham from my lovely MILs stash. I used a size 2 this time and didn't do french seams so it should last all summer. It was definitely out of my comfort zone for colours and clashing potential but I do think it kind of works. Again I added length and spiced it up with cute shirred gathered pockets from the Made website. Which are much easier to sew than they look. In fact I'm really becoming a convert to sewing with shirring elastic, great for quick projects.

We went to our local Spring show and this is Tessa having her very first ride on the Merry-Go-Round. You can't tell from the photo but she is rapt and having a great time.

Blogtober: KCWC, Creative Space

2011-10-14T01:19:00.000-07:00

So the other day I finished my first attempt of sewing the Charlie Tunic from the MadebyRae Blog. It's great unisex pattern that goes from size 12months to 5years, great value for money.

I was quite pleased with how it turned out. I used some lovely blue chambray cotton for the contrast facings etc. For the main fabric I pulled a couple of pillowcases in a sweet floral print out of my vintage stash and I had quite a bit left over from the second pillowcase.

Although there are quite a few steps to the pattern, there are great photo instructions to help you along the way. I enjoyed this pattern so much I have already finished the second version.

This version was a size 12-18months with french seam as I had black thread on the overlocker. I really should have have changed it to white as this cute top won't fit the whole summer most likely. The only thing I really recommend changing when using this pattern would be to lengthen it by about 5cm or 2inchs. Otherwise I can't wait to sew my third version, maybe dress length with cap sleeves.
For more Creative Spaces visit here.

Blogtober: KCWC, a few stripy things

2011-10-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry to be a little late in posting for the Kids Clothing Week Challenge, but I have been participating and keeping up with an average of an hour of sewing per day. I have been on a roll, which is satisfying even if my photography is lacking, quite embarrassing not helped by the grey days and my simple point and click digital camera (gift genies if you are reading a lovely Digital SLR camera would be a wonderful christmas present, hehe).

Anyway this first finished project is a wee dress I refashioned from a skivvy using the Playdate Dress tutorial from the wonderful blog called Craftiness is not optional. I discovered this blog on the Kids clothing week challenge central Elsiemarley blog where you can get inspiration from lots of talented people from around the world.

Another refashion from a long sleeved top to cute and comfy PJ or lounge pants. I especially like the fold over waist band, great for the changing tummy sizes of toddlers.

And a cute big sister, little sibling matching pants. Again a refashion from a long sleeve top, a great way of getting more interesting fabrics than available in local fabric shops. I used another favourite waistband technique of mine, fold over elastic. So easy to use and cancels out the fiddly step of pushing elastic through a fabric casing. But make sure you stretch the elastic as you sew and use a stretch straight stitch if you have it or a zigzag stitch if you don't.
More sewing finished projects tomorrow, happy creating!

Blogtober: Kids clothing week challenge

2011-10-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

Well its time for the fall (spring here in the southern hemisphere) Kids clothing week challenge over at the lovely Elsie Marley Blog. Over a 300 have entered this time around.
The aim of the week is to spend an hour per day sewing for the kids in your life, by just doing that hour its amazing what you can get done. I'm sure handcrafting in general would be ok, ie knitting etc.
Well I have nearly managed the requirement but I must take some photos soon to post, although the grey days aren't ideal .
The above wee hat I knitted at the beginning of the year but have shared yet. Don't you just love the curls. The pattern is the popular Poppy hat pattern which is quite clever as it is created by short row shaping.
So have a look a what everyone has been creating for Kids clothing week challenge and I will be back soon with a post of some of my sewing creations.

Blogtober: Upcycled Hooded vest

2011-10-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, Tessa needed a little something extra to keep her warm. This is what I came up with, an adapted version of Anna Maria Horners' 'Baby in the Hood Jacket' from her second book Handmade Beginnings. This book has lots of interesting projects and I definitely recommend it.

I removed the sleeves for easier toddler movement and omitted the elastic in the hood. I also used a much heavier fabric, recycled wool blankets for the outer and a flannel pillowcase for the lining. Because their wasn't anything suitable in the button stash I had to buy some new and before I could sew the last one on my helpful assistant lost it. Oh well I think it wouldn't have been done up that high anyway.

Blogtober: Creative Space: the start of a handmade stash

2011-10-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Well this is the start of a much needed handmade stash of fitted nappies. As you may have guessed we will be welcoming a new sweet and cuddling addition to our family soon. A small explanation for the very quite blog of late. The big day will be sometime at the end of January. Tessa is very excited and asks continually when Bubby will be arriving and we say after Christmas when it's hot with big smiles.

I'm quite pleased with how these nappies turned out, quite simple really. I used a free pattern from the TNN or The nappy network, what a wealth of information this New Zealand website is.
Now to get a production line going, I wonder how many of these I should make? Any suggestions? Lots I would think :D

For more creative spaces check this out

Blogtober: Baby Boom

2011-10-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

Well the start of our local wee baby boom has begun, with three girls born in as many weeks.
Very sweet and I have been busy knitting up a storm. The above top is an adaptation of the Dueling Wands pattern by the talented Kelly Brooker. I added puff sleeves and a sweet heart lace insert to girl it up.

A more unisex option is the above Young Einstein by Julie Stanfield, which experimented with and steeked. Cutting knitting is certainly not for the faint hearted, arghh but it was quite interesting and I enjoyed it. The sweet little stranded hat in Benji by Sheryl Greenfield, I loved learning two handed stranded knitting and knitted one for Tessa straight away. Very unlike me to the same pattern twice in a row.

And finally a more boyish colourway, I knitted a short sleeved Puerperium cardi by Kelly Brooker also. So practical for newborns and very cute.

Now to figure out what the next girly baby knit will be.

Blogtober: Hanging at the beach

2011-10-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we decided to go down to beach, it was lovely. Tessa really enjoyed herself and I always love seeing the delight on her face as she squelches her fingers and toes in the sand. It always surprises me how much cooler the sea breeze makes us feel, which is refreshing in summer, not so much in late winter.

She really didn't want to go home, not that I can blame her. I'm planning for us to go to the beach more often this summer as she is at a wonderful age. Where she is more confident and curious about everything around her. Everyday I really want to burn the neat memories of her discovering everything around her into my mind. I really feel the need to record this, so I'm going to take a whole lot more photos as it already feels like her short wee life is racing by.

So my poor blog I have neglected you of late, I have decided to make it up to you and I have joined Blogtober. Which is the daily blog posting for the month of October, joined by lots of lovely bloggers from around the world. A great way to meet new people and discover new blogs.
If this sounds interesting join the fun at Tinniegirls blog and sign up.

Blossom

2011-07-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

I was surprised to find the first blossom of the season the other day in the middle July. It's from our lonely surviving Almond tree of a group of nine we planted in winter 2008. Honestly I'm not normally such a bad tree murderer. But that was the summer I was very pregnant with Tess and carrying buckets of water up the hill in that condition in the heat really wasn't going to happen. Not to mention the fact that sheep were in the paddock before I realized that they thought the trees were very good scratching posts. I have learnt from that and if anymore fruit trees are to be planted in that paddock they need protection, when I dare try again, hehe.

In the last week or so it has been soup weather, really it's soup season so have a go they really are quite easy. For the above luscious tomato soup I used the recipe from Tiny Happy which she posted this week and served it with some yummy feta spread on a toasted roll. A very simple but a effective recipe which makes it easy to whip up quickly for an easy lunch.

And this soup I made on a whim just adding different seasoning as I went. I started with most of a pumpkin cut up into small pieces for faster cooking, chicken stock and onions, then I added cumin, thyme, and curry powder to taste (which sweetens it up quite nicely). When the pumpkin was soft I whizzed the soup to a smooth constancy with the stick whizz. And added some frozen spinach, and let this heat though and finally added some sour cream just before serving. You could use yogurt or cream instead, a friend suggested lemon juice which would also give it a lovely zing.

Blue mountains etc

2011-06-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

Some gorgeous shots of the Blue Mountains, we were lucky enough to have a stunning, clear day when we visited on our wee holiday to Australia. We went to visit family and surprised my lovely SIL for her 30th birthday. She just thought my MIL was coming to visit for ten days but it was her hubby's brilliant idea that Tessa, Ian and I come too and surprise her. And boy was she surprised it was so fun and we had a lovely time.

The famous three sisters, rock formation.

We went to this really great wildlife 45mins south of Wollongong. Where you could buy bags of animal food and feed quite a range of the animals, from goats and emus to kangaroos and alpacas.

Tessa was fascinated, and really enjoyed the kangaroos which were tame enough to get up close and personal. Here she is with her Uncle and Aunty feeding this friendly and hungry kangaroo.

We also stayed two nights in Sydney at Darling Harbour and did the tourist things like go on the ferry to manly beach and have their famous fish n chips. We went to the opera house and had a look, it really is quite stunning architecture. I really enjoyed the restaurants we had Italian the first night and Spanish the second night for the birthday dinner, the Tapas were very popular.
Were very lucky to get home as the very disruptive ash cloud arrived as we were about to fly home.

Pizza making, Tessa style

2011-06-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Tessa and I made Daddy his favourite, pizza mmm. Something great to make when your food supplies are getting low, although I would preferred a few more veges, hehe.

Tessa had a great time, sampling at every stage. She followed instructions well and didn't want to miss out on any step.

Here is the yummy finished product, mmm tasty.

The slightly out of order pics, but you get the idea. I think her favourite part was the rolling, something she like to do a lot, whether it's rolling on the floor or rolling toys along.

Autumn Gold

2011-05-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

Well I was looking a few photos on my camera and I thought I would brighten a dreary day and post a few from autumn in the garden. The above is a shot of the nz native hibiscus (the proper name eludes me at the moment). It's quite a subtle pale yellow bloom which only last for a day and the plant is frost tender, but it seems to keep going in our garden every season as it self sows really nicely.

Above is a sweet little nasturtium which you will probably recognize the shape. But this once is a love red orange cultivar which I bought in a mixed punnet a few years ago. Like the hibiscus above it's managed to survive in my garden as it's also a great self seeder.

I just love her gorgeous semi golden curly locks, don't you.

And Tansy above is a great companion plant for stone fruit trees. I have it planted around an early heritage peach called 'Orion' which fruits in early December, which is a lovely start to summer.

And finally this gorgeous golden miniature sunflower is such good value for an annual as is keeps blooming for a long time. Helped along by the sweet Tessa and her deadheading (bringing mummy pretty flowers). Hope you have a lovely weekend filled with a little golden happiness.

Tessa

2011-05-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

To celebrate mother's day, my sweet wee girl!!

Some more test knitting

2011-04-14T01:20:00.000-07:00

I think this year is fast becoming the year of the test knit. These are my sixth and seven finished test knits for the year so far and I have another two tests on the needles. I guess I work much better with a deadline. And I love the little thrill of being one of the first few to knit a new pattern.

The sweet twirly skirt above is my test of the Tropical Fish Skirt from the very prolific and talented pattern designers Elena Nodel. It was a great stash buster knit, I used some lovely Cleckheaton country paintbox variegated purples and a plum for the trim.

The above and below pics show the test of the Sweet As ... pattern by Amber Bertram. I knit this a month or so ago in size 3, it had a unusual and new to me construction, top-down set in sleeves. This was a gift knit for a different little girl to the gorgeous model in the photos.

Pre birthday celebrations

2011-03-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks Tessa and four little boys celebrated an early second group birthday.
We all met at antenatal yoga class and have meeting every week since the babies were about six weeks old. It has been really lovely to have other parents to relate to as we went through challenges and fun of raising our first babies.

The really yummy birthday cake, but they were more interested in motorbikes, hehe. Who needs themed parties when you can just celebrate on a farm with awesome sheds.

I made felt birthday crowns for everyone with their initial on the top. Although keeping them on the kids was a little challenging. They were quite simple and there are heaps of tutorials on the internet if you interested.

The gorgeous Rori, younger brother of one of the birthday boys.

Everyone had a great time and it was great for all the dads to catch up too.

Yarn dying

2011-02-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

I have finally managed some yarn dying this week. The above skein is 150gm of Naturally Sensation merino 8ply. I'm quite pleased with it, now that I have wound it up into skeins, but when I had originally finished I was discouraged.
I used food colours as I have done in the past, but I tried a new and quite interesting technique for setting the colour.
Solar heat, I did this by hand painting the yarn as you would for the steam setting technique and wrapping in clingfilm. But instead of steam setting I lay the skeins in a polystyrene box lined with reflective building paper (aluminum foil would work too) and put it outside in a sunny position and covered with a piece of glass and left it for a couple of days. This works even faster if you have hot sunny days like we have had lately.

The above (out of focus but was closest to colour) pic shows the largest batch I have experimented with 800gm of 10ply Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury yarn. I love this yarn, and it's really affordable, soft and quite hard wearing. I'm not the only one if you have a look at the many projects on Ravelry.
Now to decide which cardi to knit for winter. A few on my long list are Rosamund's cardi (not sure as this colour is so dark and the the cable details will be lost), Tea leaves, Juliette (8ply pattern) and Kerrera (I'm not sure there enough). Have a look at the links and tell me what you think?

This is the wonderful swift I bought off Julia last month with some xmas money my lovely Mum gave me. It's brilliant you can change the size of the skein and wind it up with ease, it's so much faster than put the skein on the back of a change and hand winding. If you check out her blog you can win one along with a whole lot of other lovely knitty goodies to help support a little girl called Hope who has cancer.
Hope Osborne is a little Wellington girl turning 4 in almost a week who was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago. Since then she's gone through countless painful and difficult procedures and earned 900 beads as a badge of her journey with child cancer. Please support her and her family in their time of need and head over to Juila's blog and donate.

Ariane Dreams

2011-02-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

In January I was lucky enough to test knit the Adriane Dreams pattern by Anne McCrea, she has done a wonderful job with designing this pattern. It has so many options, three different lace patterns for the skirt, four different lengths, heaps of edging options and sizes written for 8ply or 10ply. The sizes are a great range from 3months to 14-16yrs, so this is a very economical and well written pattern.

I really enjoyed knitting this pattern and the instructions were simple and easy to understand, especially for a beginner lace knitter like myself.

I used bamboo yarn which is great for summer but cotton or wool yarns would be suitable too, probably better, as bamboo doesn't have as much spring. The straps might stretch more with this yarn than wool or cotton. I can see this getting lots of wear over long sleeved tops in winter too.

At the beach

2011-02-06T00:02:00.000-08:00

Wow we have had some scorcher days lately, getting up to 40 degrees. The best place to be is down at the beach. Everyone else around the country has been suffering too, what do you do to escape the heat?

Tessa just loved the beach checking out shells and bits of seaweed as we walked along down to the rocks. But the rock pools were even better, we found the smallest Hermit crabs and collected a few mussels. I wonder if Tess is a little unusual in that she love mussels at her age. Starting them young on different flavours and textures must be the way to go.

I can't believe this is my first post of the year, but then again it is summer holidays and everything grounds down to a halt here.

This week school went back, which wouldn't normally affect us. But this time I took Tess down to the local preschool for the first time and boy did she love it. From paint to playdough and the biggest sandpit out, she was in heaven. It made feel like I had been neglecting that stuff a little bit, but I guess she was ready to play with lots of kids her age more often. It's two mornings a week which suits a really well and only five minutes down the road. Normally we had to travel into town which is only 30mins, but does get a little too much more than a couple of days a week.

Hansel and Gretel Dress

2010-12-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

I knitted an adaptation of the Kaia Babydoll dress a couple of days ago, it was a nice and quick project. I was inspired by the AliGknits version's of this pattern I've seen lately, she recommended casting on in the size smaller and then increasing to the size you want. I did this but there was still a bit too much gaping at the neckline so added shirring elastic, this worked a treat.

I used an 8ply bamboo/cotton yarn called Bella baby layette, doubled on size 6mm needles. I then hand sewed the fabric skirt which was originally a very cute apron I found at an opp-shop.

Tessa really does love her Pusscats and like to make sure they are very well fed and watered.

Summer Yarn Swap

2010-12-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

This was the yarn I dyed up for the summer yarn swap, that was organized by the lovely Hannah of Rainbow Child and Red Riding Hood Yarns.

My lucky swap recipient is Kate from Chevgirl. I used berry colour tones for a summer berries theme, added some yummy berry chocolate logs and wildberry tea. I also gifted Kate a pattern on ravelry that I had been looking at for awhile. The sweet Spring Garden Tee by Alana Dakos of the wonderful blog Nevernotknitting.

I dyed 200gms of pure wool with Queens food colouring in the crockpot, wow was it fun and amazing to think what you can do with something as simple as food colouring and vinegar. It was my first attempt at semisolid colours but it didn't work very well as I didn't use enough dye. So I overdyed using the steam method, on the stove.

Summer Pants

2010-11-21T13:16:00.000-08:00

I have been busy sewing some cute summer pants lately. With upcycled linen and cute cotton prints. The sweet smurf pants Tessa finally fit just in time for summer, I can't take credit for. I bought them from the lovely Hanna of CraftyKin from her felt shop a few months ago.

These cute Owl and Tree fern pants were made for one of Tessa's little friends at Kindermusik, they are in size 18months and were inspired by Anna Maria Horner's Quick Change Pants from her gorgeous new book Handmade Beginnings.

Meet Milly

2010-11-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

Tessa is quite excited to have a new knitted friend.

Millie is knitted from Jean Goodhowe's Twin dressing-up doll pattern

Just because I'm loving her sweet curls at the moment and I know they won't last.

Tessa loves carrying Milly around but her head is so heavy from all the hair that it just flops over, I think I will sew it down to the neck a bit to see if that helps.

So the pattern has all the info for knitting lots of clothes for the dolly. But by the time I had finished sewing on the last of the hair, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to use Tessa's old clothes to dress Milly.

The Baby Expo

2010-11-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

The first Gisborne Baby Expo was on Saturday. Thanks to all the hard work of three amazing Mums, Jacquie, Sarah and Janet, what a great day!!
Well all the hard work is over, and I couldn't have done it with out you Mum, I can't thank you enough. What a wonderful day, it started out freezing so we were lucky to have so many people come though. It was a lot of fun and I managed to catch up with heaps of people I haven't seen in a long time.

Here are few pic's of the table!

I quite like how the sign turned out, the bunting is so cute and effective.

Thank you Gisborne for your amazing support!!
We sold about a third of out stock, which was wonderful I am so chuffed for my first event like this. I learnt a lot about what people are looking for too, which will great to give me ideas for stocking my shop. I will be updating the shop over the next week with the stock left over and I think I might have a go with selling on Facebook too. Has anyone else had much success that way?

Some custom sewing pics

2010-10-02T13:25:00.001-07:00

Here are a few photos from some custom sewing I did a couple of months ago.

A cute hoodie vest made from upcycled wool jumpers and some leather offcuts for a sweet little fantail patch. Don't you think my model has a gorgeous smile :)

Some cute waterproof pants made from PUL, I have made overalls too which have been popular.

And this is my favourite a cute little pair of pants also made from upcycled wool jumpers with sweet little scotty dog applique.

I will post a Kids sewing week round up in the next day or so to share what I got up to.

Kids Clothing Week Challenge

2010-09-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

I discovered this wonderful challenge in blogland, which is to sew/create for an hour a day to make clothes for your kids or any kids this week.
I decided it was just the inspiration (kick in the pants I needed) to get organized for the Baby Expo that I have got a table at in November. I am quite excited it will be interesting to see how much I can achieve. Join in if you like and there is a flicker group to show off your creations too. There is a great selection of tutorials if you would like some inspiration.

My Creative Space

2010-08-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

These last couple of days have been lovely and sunny, so Tessa and I have been out in the garden. We managed to clear out some of the vege garden beds, which has been really overdue. I want to dig in some compost and blood n bone to improve the soil, then the fun part will start. Planting! I bought a few seedlings to get us started, but only wintery stuff as its still too early to get carried away. Broccoli, cabbage and lettuce.

Tessa also 'helped' feed the chooks and collect the eggs. As you can see she also discovered what is inside the egg.

Poor chooks Tessa likes to help feed them quite literally and trys to catch them and put the grain in their beaks.

The latest addition to my shop

2010-08-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

I finally added something else to my shop, not for the lack of trying though. I have to admit I'm really quite a techno-phobe especially when it's to do with my camera. I have only just figured out how to adjust my camera so I take shots that are compatible (small enough) that I can load them onto my felt shop.

Ok, enough of that. This is a sweet little chocolate wool Cardi that I upcycled from an old wool cardi. With a cute hand sewn little owl applique, it's so soft and I hope will keep someone's wee one warm soon. It's size 9-12mth approx, and the measurements are:
Middle of the back to the cuff: 37cm
Under the arm to the hem: 20cm

As this is made from a recycled woolly cardi you know it's a one off and no one else will have one the same.

{this moment}

2010-08-06T01:03:00.000-07:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by the SouleMama blog

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!

*** *** ***

Creative Space - A fresh batch of Bibs

2010-08-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today I have been experimenting with a little bit of dying. Well trying to dye opp-shop woolies, the first attempt was in the washing machine with a nice dark green machine dylon dye. Umm maybe it would be a very good idea to read the fine print, at the bottom "does not dye wool". Second try I hope will be more successful, will have to wait and see. I used a denim blue hand dye dylon which does dye wool.

Above is a pic of the custom order for one of my little reversible merino bomber hats. The sweet little model/recipient is in our Kindermusik class which is every Tuesday morning. Tessa loves music and gets very excited each tuesday when I tell her its music today. She has really thrived on it and has great rhythm unlike her parents, hehe.

Another order of Bandana Bibs completed for the website I supply. I have two sizes, 0-12mth and 12mth+. I started making them after we had so much trouble with Tessa's teething rash, they were great as they sit just under the chin catching all that dribble.
I have been trying out my new toy a SNAP PRESS, yay no more bashed thumbs as I hammer on snaps. And much faster too.

Check out more creative spaces at Kirsty's

Upcycled woolies

2010-07-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

I recently completed a couple of custom orders from friends. The above is a cute little hoodie vest with a leather scrap fantail applique made from recycled wool jumpers. I love this colour combination and it really suits him.

And the second was a sweet long sleeved hoodie for a boy who just adores tractors. It's miles too big, but that way he can wear it longer. This is also made from old wool jumpers. I really enjoy working with wool and other natural fabrics, especially when it upcycles something unwanted into something loved.

FO Milo and Ripley

2010-07-20T00:10:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Milo by Georgie Hallam

Yarn: Cleckheaton Country Silk (discontinued) 8ply, 1 1/3 50gm balls. I got this yarn for a bargain from our local yarn shop, yay for discontinued yarn 11 balls for $3/ball.

I can't say enough good things about this pattern what a gorgeous vest so simple but very cute. The option of five easy cables is great for anyone wanting try cables for the first time. I knitted this up in the 3 month size with a little extra length to fit for a bit longer. Something I do with most of the kids knits I do. The aran cable looks great and I can't wait to try one of the other cables, maybe the owls.
This is a gift for our friends having their second wee boy due next week. Our weekly friday mummy and baby catch up group are giving her a surprise baby shower tomorrow afternoon I can't wait. Second babies don't seem to get as much fuss and adoration as the first so we thought we do a little something to make her feel pampered and special.

Pattern: Ripley by Ysolda

Yarn: Naturally Sensation 10ply yarn, about half a ball

Another knit I finished lately, a cute hat for my gorgeous sister's birthday last month, modeled by my lovely MIL. Hopefully I will get some photos of the hat modeled on Sis (hint hint). What a nice knit, simple and interesting enough for TV watching without being too complicated. My first of Ysolda's amazing patterns she is so talented. I bought her Whimsical Little Knits ebook and I can't wait to try the rest.

I have a few other WIP (works in progress) on the needles at the moment. Including Young Einstein hooded cardi for Tessa, a little ruffle scarf for myself and an Earflap hat for little bro's birthday. Hopefully I will have a few more FO (finished objects) to share by the end of the month.

My Creative Space

2010-07-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

In my creative space this week I finished knitting my first attempt at pattern design. It's not perfect by any means but a nice start I think.

This wee knitted dress features a rib bodice for lots of room for growth, the idea is that it might fit for two or more seasons. The contrast edges and waist band is done in reverse stockinette to create a nice roll effect. With a dramatic ruffle on the skirt it creates a sense of fun.

The yarn I used was about 250gm Shepherd merino 8ply in chocolate, and 75gm Shepherd baby merino 4ply in pink, held double.
The pattern is still in notebook scribble stage but I think I will have something sorted soon. Hopefully I might even get some help with pattern testing from the amazing testers on ravelry, if anyone is interested.

I am not sure of a name for this pattern any ideas?

A couple of handmade gifts

2010-06-23T01:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a few gifts I have made lately and actually remembered
to take photos of before wrapping. Above is a size 3-6mth merino bomber hat in charcoal grey and dusky pink. I can't wait to see if it fits ok.

And above is a pair of merino pants I refashioned out of the sleeves of a wrap top. I used a piece of elastic and attached cotton tape to the end, this is trial to improve waist bands, I think this might be the answer. Hopefully they will last awhile with this style of waistband, babies grow so fast. Normally I wouldn't have a 'V" section in the front as well the back but I was a bit distracted at the cutting out stage. Oh well I think it still turned out ok.

Away

2010-06-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

We got away for a much needed break a couple of weekends ago. To Rotorua, it was cold and wet the whole time, but it was bliss to just relax and spend some time together. As you can see Tessa really enjoyed it, especially chasing mummy with the camera. We got a room with a spa bath mmm it was great soaking and Tessa had great fun splashing us.

I got to go to some yarn shops and spotlight, which we don't have here. It was great I spent far to much but it was so much fun. I was like a kid in a candy shop, heaven.
I even splashed out and bought some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK to knit Tessa a cardi design that has been rattling around in my head. The yarn is so soft I can't wait to cast on, I must hurry up finish some of what I have on the needles at the moment

My Creative Space

2010-05-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Introducing my new design, Merino Wool Bomber Hats.

A sweet soft Bomber hat to keep your gorgeous one warm, made from soft New Zealand merino and lined in a contrasting colour. An affordable option giving you two hats for the price of one.

I developed these hats after the frustration of our daughter getting cold ears and I loved the cute knitted hats in this style. So I trialed a merino fabric version with great success we got eight orders in the first week.
These sweet hats seem to stay on longer than other beanie styles, this is maybe because they are not quite as tight fitting.

With twelve colours to choose from, you are sure to find a colour combination that matches most of your babies clothes.
Current colours stocked include Cream, Charcoal grey, Spinach green, Ruby red, Dark chocolate, Dusky pink, Turquiose, Olive Green, Berry pink, Navy blue, light pink and sky blue.

Five sizes are available including
Newborn
3-6m
6-9m
9-12m
12m+

A unique gift for new babies or any babies in your life

I am currently developing larger sizes and welcome any interest.
Custom orders are always welcome.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions at tiny.lovelyathotmail.com

Made to order for just $19

These boots are made for walking

2010-05-15T03:24:00.000-07:00

Our gorgeous girl learnt to walk last week, we are so proud of her. She is still a bit wobbly but getting more steady by the day. She is quite pleased herself, and loves all the praise.

Congratulations Honey you are so clever and special.

She is wearing my first knitted FO (finished object) of the year, I know terrible but I seem to be easily distracted hence the six or so WIPs (work in progress) on the go.

Anyway the pattern I used is Tikki’s well written Eden’s Adam.

It can be knitted up in 4ply, 8ply and 10ply cotton or wool yarns. With an amazing 14 different sizes NB up to child size 10.

Tessa’s version above I knitted size 18m with my first try of hand dying which I was quite pleased with. And Shepherd baby wool 4ply in a coordinating lime green. I knitted the ruffle by increasing kfb of each stitch and carried on in a lace pattern which I think was lost in the multicoloured yarn, also it have sit better if I had knitted the ruffle twice as long. Oh well we live and learn, next time I will know. It was my second time using circular needles and I am hooked it seems so much faster and smoother than straights.

A belated birthday post

2010-04-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

Our sweet tiny lovely Tessa turned one this month, so hard to believe it's already been a year. She has grown so much and her amazing cheeky personality has really blossomed, I think she will keep us on our toes as she grows up.
Here she is in her new trolley that her clever aunty and uncle made. What a brilliant job they did, worth the late night as it was her favorite present by far. She has already learnt how to turn corners and back up when she hits the wall. She is so close to walking and has taken a few steps already.

The owl birthday cake I made her, carrot cake with too runny cream cheese icing. Oh well there will be many more birthdays for me to practice and perfect it. She has an owl soft toy that she loves to cuddle and squish up to, so I thought that would be a simple idea for her cake.

Tessa opening presents with mummy's assistance. She didn't really get into it as she was so tired the poor wee thing (shh Tessa you could try have longer day sleeps, just bit longer). Next year I bet she will tear into the presents without any help at all. Thanks to everyone for the lovely presents she has been enjoying them. She seems to be getting a nice collection of peter rabbit toys and books the lucky thing.

We look forward to another amazing year with you our tiny lovely Tessa.

Eastwoodhill

2010-04-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

A couple of friends and their gorgeous little boys spent the day with us at Eastwoodhill arboretum for their easter centennial celebrations. It was a lovely day and we had a picnic lunch. The arboretum was beautiful but I got a little distracted with taking photos of our darlings. Hopefully we will being going again in a couple weeks and I will take some photos of the amazing trees, especially now the stunning autumn colours have fully developed.

Here is Tessa contemplating her empty marmite sandwich container wonder where they all disappeared to. I made hot cross buns for the first time, which everyone enjoyed. One of the other lovely mums bought the most gorgeous scrummy homemade jam to go with them. Peach and Vanilla pod, honestly this is the best jam I have ever tasted, it was like summer captured in a jar. I must get the recipe, hopefully I will be allowed to share it with you.

They are very good at 'sharing', which is good except for all the colds getting passed around. Oh well I guess it is immune system building, as long as the colds aren't too nasty.

wedding

2010-03-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

So I have finally got a couple of photos from the eagerly awaited family wedding I mentioned in earlier posts. The above shot has our darling Tessa and her Gran (my mother in law, the best that anyone could ask for). Tessa is wearing the dress I made for her, out of lovely and light white muslin with vintage ricrac and eyelet edging. The edging and ricrac is from my grandmother's sewing stash that I managed to get bits and pieces of from over the years, there is some wonderful bright coloured buttons and zips from the seventies which I am still figuring out what to create with.

This shot shows the Happy Couple, the Mother in Law and hubby and I. The bride looks stunning and the dress looks amazing. As you may have guessed I didn't manage to sew my own dress, but I would have loved to. Instead I had to spend a lot more than I would have liked on this lovely dress, the ties at the front can tied in many ways which makes it quite wearable. It is a New Zealand label, Kate Matheson.
The wedding was beautiful and the weather even held out, against family tradition. Including ours, the last four generations of weddings have had rain or flooding. It was wonderful coming back to this venue for the reception, we also had ours here two years ago. The owner does a brilliant job, grows all his own produce and carves the delicious ham, beef and serves my favorite scrumptious salmon at the buffet table. You can tell that he is proud of what he does.
Desert was a choice of three which were also very delicious, I chose the baileys cheesecake.

mmmm

2010-03-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the longish absence, I have been otherwise occupied and felt like I didn't have much to say. Anyway here are a couple of photos from the cooking I did to help with wedding (more about that next time). Above is Aunt Anne's decadent chocolate rum truffles, they turned out very scrumptious and were quite popular. And below is Alison Holist's christmas nut pies. Both were deceptively simple, as long as you followed the recipe well. I would make them again for another special occasion. A bonus is that both can made ahead and frozen till needed, ideal for someone that seems to under estimate how long everything will take.

Chasing cats

2010-02-19T22:12:00.000-08:00

Tessa has been really enjoying playing with our cats lately. It has been great teaching her to be gentle and pat the nice puss.

They don't always co operate and stay still, so Tessa has to creep up on kitty.

As you can imagine it dosen't always end well, and tears result. Poor wee Tessa. It is quite lovely watching her learn so much as the moment. The other day she was teasing the other cat with my necklace, she was in fits of giggles. It was so gorgeous.

My Creative Space

2010-02-03T19:37:00.000-08:00

I found these brilliant buttons last month when I visiting my mum for her birthday, Tessa and I surprised her which really quite special. Anyway we went shopping at this really really amazing yarn shop, and these are what I came away with. My self control was quite good for once which is very unusal as normally I would have to buy some yarn any yarn to add to my stash. Anyway getting off topic, these gorgeous wooden heart buttons just had to come with me, I took all they had left. I am thinking a cute little pinafore dresses for Tessa this winter, or maybe to decorate a sweet knitted hat.

I got these gorgeous rose buttons at the same time I just love them. I think a cardy for me, when I finally get around to deciding which one to knit either Mr Greanjeans modified similar to this or the Febuary lady sweater also lengthened. I have 18 50gm balls of cleakheaton country silk yarn, in a charcoal grey with flecks of a lighter grey silk through it, quite a rustic colour.

This is something else I have sneaking away to sew, its not quite finished but I thought I would like to share. A sweet wee dress for Tessa to wear to my sister in laws wedding. Its made from lovely light muslin. The lining is from a muslin wrap of Tessa's that we didn't need, so this is kind of a refashion.

A close up of some of the detailing.

Choosing fabric, maybe you can help?

2010-02-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

Maybe you could help me
I am a little stuck and I need some girly advice, I need to choose what fabric I should use to make myself something, to wear to my sister in laws wedding in March. This is what I have narrowed it down to, three fabrics. Keeping in mind I am a red head, (not bright orange, more of a strawberry blond) with a pale complexion with more than my fair share of freckles, hehe.
The first is probably my favorite a gorgeous chiffon 2m with beautiful colour( this is see through but I have some black muslin I can line it with). But I am a little bit chicken to wear this much colour especially since I am still carrying quite a lot of post baby weight, maybe better on the bottom half.
The second is another lovely fabric silk chiffon 5m, a beautiful grape colour (also see through I could also use the black muslin as lining).
And the last is quite a nice leaf print cotton 2m, a more subdued colour which I would be a little more comfortable with but possibly not dressy enough for a wedding.

Now the patterns, the above one I was thinking of doing the third from the left on the bottom, possibly for any of the fabrics but would probably best in the second one, the grape silk. But since I am still breastfeeding a bit of alteration would be needed for easier access. I could also shorten this pattern and wear it as a top with skirt the pattern below.

This pattern A I thought would also be suitable for the grape silk fabric, but the body fabric is supposed to a knit fabric. I could just add bit to the width for ease and this might work.

This pattern would probably suit the first fabric in either view C or B

And this pattern I really like the the skirt A, which would suit either of the first two fabrics

And the last pattern I promise. I like either view B or E. The fabric could be any of the three

So what do you think? Any ideas? Advice? would be very much appreciated. Please help me I would love to hear all your thoughts.

My creative space

2010-01-29T22:19:00.000-08:00

Well I managed to sneak a bit sewing into this week here and there and finished this cute little bodysuit for Tessa. It's made from organic cotton knit fabric on sale at the local fabric shop, I was most impressed and at this price of $7.50m, I am actually a little skeptical about its authenticity. But I will hope that it is what I have been led to believe as it's just what I needed. As you can see Tessa's skin flares up with teething and the constant dribble has irritated her skin so she has had weeks of a horrible rash on her chest too, I have tried everything, so I thought some organic cotton might help. Tessa is needing the next size up bodysuit for this coming season, it's still quite roomy which is great. I also added a bit of length to make room for cloth nappies.

The sweet little owl was made from fabric scraps I had picked up from the opp shop. After I made this one, I did a whole lot of owl sketches and I will attempt an even cuter little owl next time.

Tessa Tuesday

2010-01-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when your baby wrestles you for your camera.

Revenge of the teething drool monster.

Such sweet smile.

She has the funniest fascination with my tummy button.

And she really likes it when you blow on her face.

A little bit of vege

2010-01-21T23:54:00.000-08:00

This is my tiny bit of a vegetable garden, all that I have managed to get growing this season. It has been quite productive though with lettuce, silverbeet, onions, zucchini and beans to name a few. I am really looking forward to the tomatoes and capsicum, it will be great if I can bottle a few tomatoes since I use so much in cooking.

I have done a little bit of companion planting. With marigolds to repel nematodes and other pests. And cleome, the spider plant to attract the vegetable bug away from the tomatoes. It's lovely to brighten up the vege garden with these flowers and know they have a purpose too.

These red bunching onions have been really good value, they keep multiplying even when you harvest the onions off the side of the plant.

mmmm baking

2010-01-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

Yum yum I made the best chocolate brownie ever (not being modest or anything, hehe). The recipe was the coconut chocolate brownie from the classic Edmond's cookbook, but with a brilliant addition of fresh gorgeous raspberries from the South Island.

( Please note, do not continue reading this post if you do not agree with organic food production).

I tried out this lovely cocoa for the first time. It provided a great result and it is so nice to have some more organic food options in this small town, well done trade aid. And bonus to support fair trade and sustainable practices. Next it would be nice for a wider range of staple organic food options to be stocked in the supermarkets. Maybe even, dare I say it organic butter, or a wider selection in other organic foods. I am becoming more and more concerned with the vast amount of chemicals we come into contact with everyday with out any choice, it seems a small cost to pay a little bit extra for adding organic food to the day to day menu. It has reassuring to see more information about this in mainstream media such as the dirty dozen.

:: A present for my new (old) clothesline

2010-01-12T00:21:00.000-08:00

Yippee I have a new clothesline. I know it sounds strange to be so excited something so domestic and mundane. But if you saw how frustrating the other one was, imagine sheets trailing on the grass collecting clippings and not being able to fit everything (with all the extra washing Tessa creates, hehe) then you would understand.

So I made a simple pegs basket from this tutorial, it was quick and easy. Perfect for my small window of opportunity, baby sleep time. I used a lovely old curtain already lined from the op shop and a baby clotheshanger which is much easier than breaking the ends of a full sized one.

Now all I need to do is plant something fragrant underneath and hanging washing will be a little bit more wonderful.

:: A quick refashion

2010-01-08T23:20:00.000-08:00

This was a very easy refashion. Which is perfect when you only have a little bit time up your sleeve. Take two faded misshapen singlets that you no longer wear and a pair of pinking shears. Cut up into what ever shapes you like and you have a stack of handy cleaning cloths. These could also be good as nappy wipes or dish cloths.

In hindsight they would have better if I had cut them it a bit larger. The different colours could be used for different uses, such as kitchen and bathroom. I had got low on dishcloths so this is what I came up with. If you don't have pinking sheers you could edge with an overlocker or zigzag stitch on your sewing machine.

Red Devil

2010-01-07T18:35:00.000-08:00

Our little devil is so sweet she loves plums so much that she stole this one straight out of my hands. It was the last of our christmas plums. I think they might Black Doris, its a wonderful old rustic enormous tree. They are so wonderful and sweet with a delicious dark flesh and skin.

She is quite clever feeding herself and I think she knows it. Hehe

Needless to say it took a while to clean up. It is really good that Tessa is enjoying such wholesome food, there is nothing better than homegrown goodness. It is so simple to avoid the awful shop bought baby food, with a little planning of course (I know it not always easy especially at the beginning). I just put aside a little of what we are having for dinner before seasoning it. Then whiz it up with a stick whiz (I think that is what its called) to what ever consistency that baby requires and voila! For example tonight we had sweetcorn on the cob, carrots, potatoes and sausages. So I cut the corn off the cob and along with the carrots whizzed it up. Since I don't really want Tessa to eat sausages (I know they are rubbish but sometimes that all you have) I added half a can of tuna. This turned out really quite yummy with a lovely flavour from the tuna. Tessa agreed and polished off the lot. There was plenty left over so I froze it in ice cubes. This allows you to defrost what you want later for other meals when you are short of time. None of this advice is anything really new but it is good practical stuff for new parents.

a bit of this and a bit of that

2010-01-03T23:04:00.000-08:00

We have been loving our little wooden block train lately, a great toy for a range of ages. The neighbour's three year daughter loved it when they were over for a playdate the other week. It was great this year at Tessa's first christmas, that she received some really lovely wooden toys and other gifts. It was nice that the family had kind of got the hint that wooden rather plastic was more appropriate for toy selection. A lasting and quality, more green choice.

Tessa loves paying on her "inside horsey'!! especially when he gallops around the room.

I was lucky to escape to the sewing room the other day while Daddy had some quality time with our little lovely Tessa. This is some of what I managed to achieve. Four tri-fold nappy inserts made of hemp and bamboo. They feel so soft and absorbent.

Resolution Solution

2009-12-31T17:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone !!!!

This is also my 50th post which is brilliant, it has come around so fast even with my sporadic posting habits.
I had such a big list of New Years Resolutions that I wanted to make, but I know how unlikely it is that I will stick to them. So I decided to do a little something for the planet, the wallet and help improve my sewing skills. I thought a two month resolution would realistic, so here it is.

To celebrate both these momentous occasions I have decided to take the Wardrode Refashion Pledge!

The Pledge

I, Rebecca pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed Rebecca.

To make it a little more interesting this pledge will include Tessa too.

The Rules

1.

No buying new! (handmade is excepted; So this allows for Etsy purchases etc!!) All clothing must be Recycled, Renovated, Preloved or Thrifted, or Handmade only for the term. Employment related and special needs clothing (ie sports, school), shoes and undies are excepted from the rules, although you are encouraged to have a go at making these.
2.

In extreme circumstances, maybe a special event, or the worlds greatest and most amazing never to be repeated sale that you simply can not pass up, you may use the Get out of Refashionista Jail Free card. You are able to use this card once during the 2 month part of your contract; ie 1 for 2 months, 2 for 4 months etc. Of course you need to fess up on the blog and display the button!
3.

You must post on the blog at least once a week to let the community know what you've been up to. This will not only give you brag points, but inspire and encorouge others! Of course you need to display the button on your blog and have copied the pledge in at least one post, and provide a link to your pledge under the button.
4.

You need to be honest and admit when you've fallen off the Refashionista Wagon! Go directly to Refashionista Jail, do not pass GO and do not collect $200! Apply for parole once there.

a successful refashion

2009-12-30T20:00:00.000-08:00

Well kind of anyway. This is my first refashion for the year. It began as a merino skivvy top which I picked up from the local salvation army shop for $6.

And ended up as two pairs of baby pants. The left pair turned out rather well, but the pair of the right might still need a bit more work. I think I will shorten the legs, because I really can't imagine Tessa will grow that tall before next winter hehe.
A pretty good result that used most of the top to create two warm pairs of pants for $6.

oh no

2009-12-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

We are mobile. Just in the last couple of days Tessa has found out how much more fun and interesting life is now that she can get to the other side of the room under her own steam.

She dosen't have a traditional crawl yet, it is more like a catapillar crawl. She gets up on all fours stretches and slumps forward and repeats.

She hung out with me in the kitchen while I cooked dinner, now the pantry door stays shut and the cats are fed outside. Much to their irritation. Tessa really enjoyed talking to her reflection on the oven door, good thing I wasn't using it. I think a safety gate will be an excellent idea for next time.

A Paper Bag

2009-12-12T22:19:00.000-08:00

The simplest things can be the best sort of baby toys. Much better than the plastic rubbish that society trys to push at parents. Tessa was throughly entertained the other day by this paper bag.

It was great for shaking.

And even better for chewing.

Also pretty good for wacking.

a spot of fishing

2009-12-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

A couple weekends ago we had our first BBQ down at the Bach for the summer, it was lovely. A very hot day and I really savoured a beer it was really good.

Anyway while we were waiting for the others to get back from kayak fishing, hubby decided to do a bit of fishing of his own. Poor thing got a bit wet and didn't have much luck, he really needed some decent bait.

But Tessa and I enjoyed watching and really appreciated the seabreeze

Summer

2009-11-29T14:09:00.000-08:00

We have had some lovely hot days this week it already feels like summer. To escape the heat Tessa and I spent the afternoon under our trio of big shady trees. A crabapple, flowering cherry and michalia.

Tessa really enjoyed playing with crunchy leaves, the texture as they crumpled feels wonderful, especially in the mouth (woops).

Some lovely cheeky smiles. She is wearing a sweet little op-shop top and a smart little cotton rainbow crochet sunhat.

What big teeth you have my darling and the third one cut through yesterday.

Love the detailing on this sweet top and such a light fabric perfect for toasty hot summer days.

photos

2009-11-28T11:34:00.000-08:00

Some more photos from our trip to whangarei.

A somewhat blurry photo of Phoebe the gorgeous family Jack Russell. She kept moving around so the photo just dosen't do her justice or show her vibrant personality. Tessa and Phoebe hit it off straight away, Phoebe didn't even mind the excited wacking and earpulling. Such a sweet little dog. Tessa loves animals and didn't even mind when her Gran's cairn terrior Poppy wanted to give her a kiss, woops. A real farm girl she is turning out to be, hehe.

One of the many pretty daylilies in Aunty Linda's lovely garden, this was my favourite.

The awesome swing set that they built themselves, very study and will last forever.

And the huge sandpit, with a shade sail over top for cooler sandpit fun in summer. They have a lovely home with lots of great stuff for kids to get outside and play, I hope we can steal a few ideas for Tessa gets bigger.

we are back!!!

2009-11-21T22:52:00.000-08:00

Tessa and I went for a lovely holiday to Whangarei last week. To introduce Tessa to some of the family. It was really nice to catch up with everyone. Tessa was fine for her first plane ride and even fell asleep on the way home.

Here is my favourite photo, a gorgeous photo of Tessa and her great grandfather. She loved having a cuddle and really enjoyed playing a neat tapping game.

Some more photos of Tessa and granddad.

A family photo of four generations, Aunty Linda, me, granddad and Tessa.

A photo with with my cousin Tyler holding Tessa. My camera wasn't taking the best photos at the time hopefully I can get better photos from the others cameras.

Thank you for having us Linda, Shane, Tyler and Kaleb we really enjoyed.

mmmm

2009-11-13T23:57:00.000-08:00

Mmmmm banana after weeks of screwing her face up at banana, Tessa finally decided it was yummy. She had two helpings of banana mixed with baby rice. Here are some sweet photos of Tessa enjoying her dinner.

She really enjoys playing with her spoon too.

She has even mastered drinking out of her sippy cup too, clever wee girl!

The prize has arrived

2009-11-12T23:50:00.000-08:00

Here is the blogtober giveaway prize that Sam of Sam Snippets won. I'm so glad you liked it. It was a wedding themed craft giveaway.

With something borrowed........

Something Blue.....

Something old.......

Something new.....

Well the something Borrowed was not really borrowed, a gorgeous rose embroidered tablecloth which seemed appropriate as roses are the most popular wedding flowers.

The something Blue was some lovely blue 8ply wool yarn.

The something Old was a sweet little half finished rose cross stitch with all the thread needed to finish, that I picked up at a an op-shop.

And the something New was a little zip bag I made inspired by tinyhappy. That I lined with silk left from sewing my wedding dress last autumn and decorated with a lace doily from my ever increasing collection.

Ruby Red

2009-11-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

How can anyone resist the lucious fragrant ruby red rose 'Ingrid Bergman'. I was in the supermarket last week and it just begged to come home with me.

Not that I need anymore roses. But this rose has long stems and large scented blooms of the gorgeous dark ruby red colour that I was looking for, and its disease resistant too which is a an added bonus.

Now to figure where I can plant (squeeze) it in the garden.

latest fabric finds

2009-11-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

My latest finds at the local op-shops, some gorgeous fabrics.

A really lovely fringed seventies single bedspread, its quite a nice heavy weight cotton, I think it will be perfect for Tessa to play on under shady trees in the summer. It was so hot today it already feels like summer.

A gorgeous rose cotton print on one side and a really lovely blue cotton floral on the other side of this single duvet cover. What a find, I think it will be perfect for a couple of summer skirts for me.

Another brilliant find was this very sweet fairy flanellette single sheet, I can't decide if I should cut into it and make Tessa some cosy winter PJs for next winter or leave it for when she moves into a big girls bed. The purple floral is a pillowcase just the right size for a little wee summer dress for Tessa. The green and pink floral is a lovely little tablecloth with a few holes I didn't notice, maybe another little summer dress?

And winner is!!!!!

2009-11-02T22:59:00.000-08:00

Tessa was very helpful and chose the winner for the giveaway again.

First she had to look at a bunch of entries, then ....

She chose the winner by tasting, well done Tessa

The winner is Sam of Sam's Snippets her favourite wedding memory was...

Sam said...
my fav memory -- feeling like a princess

Congradulations!

Thanks to everyone who entered, hope you all had a lovely blogtober.

Sam, if you could email me with your postage details to illicium@hotmail.com I will send your prize out as soon as possible.

A sweet little dress

2009-10-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

This is the prize for my last giveaway with a baby theme, Chevgirl won it and she chose the pinafore dress. I adjusted an Amy Butler pattern from my Little stitches for littles one's book to an 18m size.

I made it with fabric left over from Tessa's Quilt which is still to be completed. The covered buttons turned out well for an afterthought from struggling to find just the right buttons. I found them at our local red cross op shop and covered them in the fabric from the skirt. (strange lighting made the dress different colours I think its closer to true colour in the top photo).

The cute bloomers turned rather well, I think I will have to make Tessa a set for summer.

Don't forget to enter my latest giveaway with wedding theme which ends soon!

Yay yarn!

2009-10-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at crochet and it wasn't as difficult as I imagined. It is the beginning of a grannie square blanket (what a funny weird name).

I used some left over merino 4ply print yarn, which is quite cosy and lovely, that I used to make Tessa a baby blanket with lace edging when I was pregnant. I think this grannie square blanket will be great for using up little bits and pieces left over from other projects floating around my yarn stash.

On tuesday it was pouring with rain and we were in town getting the car serviced, so I had to stop in at the yarn shop to feed Tessa. So of course I had to buy some yarn especially when I found these on sale. A 8ply wool silk blend at $3.00 per ball in the perfect colour I had been looking for to finally knit something for myself. I purchased it thinking I would make the beautiful Backbone vest I found in a Knit1 magazine I got last year, but I think I'm not quite experienced enough to tackle this one yet. So I think I will knit something else probably a cardi with sleeves maybe even a hood as this gorgeous yarn is just so cheap. I looked on ravelry these are couple of possibles I found this one which looks great and this one or possibly even this one. But I still like the idea of one with cables so I cast on for something totally different some mary jane slippers a quick knit to get me motivated.

I also found this lovely 100% wool yarn there was only four balls left and at the same awesome low price of $3.00 per ball I just had to snap them up too. Not sure what to knit with them I think it look good in the yarn stash for now.

Some cute photos of Tessa playing in her toy basket she loves pulling everything out and examining each toy. It has been great for keeping her happy when she starts to get a bit irritable.

More spring highlights

2009-10-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

There is some gorgeous spring flowers in the garden at the moment. Here a few of my favourites.
The lovely soldier poppy or flanders poppy is another for it I think. It now self sows every autumn and flowers with brilliant red flowers in spring.

One of our favourite roses of which I am not sure of its name. We four plants in a raised bed next to the courtyard. They finally got pruned late this winter and are looking so much heathier this season.

And these lovely bulbs are in the same garden, I'm not sure what they are called. I think its Peruvian lily, if you have any ideas what it might be called please leave a comment.

BLOGTOBER Giveaway!!! be in quick!!!

2009-10-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

Well it's the last week of Blogtober and it has been great. I've read plenty of amazing blogs and entered heaps of giveaways, there was some awesome prizes wow! I haven't quite managed the post a day but I came very close.

Anyway to celebrate this last week of blogtober and all the lovely weddings and engagements of friends and family that keep popping up lately.

We are having a wedding themed craft giveaway!!

To enter make a comment with your favourite wedding memory and you get one entry.

Become a follower and get two entries.

Post about this giveaway on your blog (and let me know) and you get three entries.

The prize will be crafty goodness in the themes of:

Something borrowed ......
Something blue ......
Something old ......
Something new ........

Good Luck!!!

The giveaway will be drawn this time next week, 2nd november 10am New Zealand time.

Here's a photo from our wedding in may last year it was a lovely autumn wedding.

What's on my needles

2009-10-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have been getting a bit of knitting done lately which is quite satisfying. I have to stop half way through something else and immediately cast on for this Owl Baby Vest, the very sweeet owl cables just stole my heart. I used a 50 50 wool cotton yarn, which has come up quite nicely and will be a lot cooler for Tessa as we are coming into summer here. It is sized as 9-12m and I added some length to it, which is something I now do for most baby pattern. I like vests for babies a lot as they are very useful and practical for crawling bubbas and so they don't get too hot.

Just need to finish the two armbands and do some embroidery to define a couple of the sweet owl cables. I also decided to carry the owl cables all the way around on the back as well because when Tessa is crawling it would be nice to still see the cabling.

I also finished this Stripe Kitty Cat it has turned out rather sweet and was a good chance to practice my rather lacking embroidery skills.

spring show

2009-10-23T01:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the Gisborne spring agricultural and pastoral show. It was a lovely day out for the family. DH entered some lambs into four different classes and had great results he got two seconds and a third. This was really special because it was his first time entering and first year managing the farm. There was plenty to see at the show, among the usual sideshows and rides I found these.

They are very cute jungle finger puppets. The detail is amazing, what was just as amazing was the huge bin fill of the with all sorts of types including cartoon characters such as the simpsons. Ther was some great craft areas with competitions for knitting to cake decoration to decorated sand plate. It was such a shame my camera batteries went flat so I didn't get any photos to share with you.

Here is a photo Tessa just because she is so sweet and cute. She has been getting very good on her tummy and rolling a lot.

spring garden highlights

2009-10-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Some lovely snaps from around our garden. Amazing colour coming out at the moment, even with just the nz native plantings.

This is my favourite flowering manuka, it is called Leptospernum 'Crimson Glory', grows 1 -2m tall and flowers for a long time in spring with gorgeous double red flowers.

Another favourite is the Renga Renga lily or Arthropodium cirratum 'Matapouri Bay'. It grows around 60cm tall and is excellent for dry shade.

Quite a rare plant in shops now a days is the variegated Karo, Pittosporum crassifolium 'Variegata'. It grows to around 2.5m a lot smaller that the standard Karo. It's lovely white varigation is perfect for lifting a shady corner and it grows reasonably slow so can be planted easily in a small garden.

This is an area of garden that was totally cleared out and replanted two summers ago. It had too many roses planted in poor clay soil that looked quite old, it was in need of a restoration. The plants have established well and look quite good. The white mass of flowers are Hebe 'Wiri Mist' 50cm which is one of the better lasting hebes it keeps it shape well and is less inclined to go leggy. Behind the hebes is Muelenbeckia astonii another of my favourites, it is a very hardy divaricating plant which handles dry summers very well ( I while post a close up soon). To improve the clay soil I spread Gypsum and blood and bone around to help break up the soil and improve drainage. The blood and bone attracts worms which are essential to soil health.

More great Op-Shop finds

2009-10-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

Some gorgeous wee summer dresses to add to Tessa's evergrowing collection. The one on the left is a very sweet handmade one possibly from a recycled sheet.

The dress on the right has very lovely embroidery of a train with circus animals with cute blue gingham.

In the suitcase are some handy glass jars to use in the sewing room maybe to store buttons. A really good find was the pie dish, I haven't seen them before in op-shop just what I had needed. And the start of my tea cup collection, I love the sweet striped blue one.

Sorry about the terrible lighting in the photos they just don't do it proper justice. It was just before a big thunderstorm came sweeping through, we could see the black clouds coming across the paddocks. DH saw horizontal lightening which is rather awesome wish we got photos of that.

Sweet books

2009-10-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Well last week at the local Sally's I found an amazing haul of gorgeous childrens books. Some that remind me of the books my parents had growing and some that were from when I was growing up. I have been quietly developing quite a good sized collection since Tessa arrived and this was an excellent boost to her little library.

The Childrens Bedside Book has lovely colour illustrated classic fairy tales. As does the Childrens Annual which also has games and sweet peoms too. Such as the following:

My Poor Tree
What happened to you, my poor tree,
You look so cold and bare!
And scattered round are all the leaves
That once you use to wear!
"I'm ready for a long, long sleep,
Through winter's snow and rain.
But I'll wake up again spring
And wear green leaves again!"

Inika Allock

I loved Dr Suess and the Spot books as a child, but Paddington is extra special because it reminds me of Grandmother who used love his stories.

But this was my favourite find. 'If mice could Fly' a book we used to love as children, I especially love the brilliant illustrations portraying how the mice can get the best of the cats who are forever trying to catch them.

Finally finished

2009-10-18T00:52:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished sewing Tessa sleep sak. She has been needing it for a while now, because developed the habit of wriggling out of her blankets. Not unusual for babies her age, but a little difficult to keep her warm. Hopefully it will also help with her new fun game of rolling over and getting her arm stuck in the side of the cot in the middle of the night, hehe.

I made it out of merino medium weight knit, which feels lovely and soft but is awful to sew, hence the marathon effort it has taken to sew. I used the trick I was taught for sewing zips in when I designed and sewed my wedding dress last year. First hand sew the seam shut with contrasting thread then hand sew zip in place (I think this is called basting). Then machine sew the zip in as usual , unpick hand sewn thread and viola, a well put in zip. But somehow with merino knit that moves all over the place I didn't quite manage it this time. Hehe hence the interesting photography, to make the shoddy sewing less obvious.

Now I will give full credit to the high prices charged for these online, totally worth the extra money.

Oh and a big thanks to everyone who entered the Blogtober Giveaway. There is another in the planning stages before the end of the month, so watch this space!

And Winner is !!!!!!!

2009-10-16T22:50:00.000-07:00

Congradulations 'Chevgirl' aka Kate Eades you have won our Blogtober giveaway. Your prize will be in the post as soon I have your postage details. Email me at illicium@hotmail.com.

Tessa had the honours of selecting the winner and she did a great job too.

Sorry I missed a couple of posts for blogtober we have had a little internet trouble I will try to keep up for the rest of blogtober.

Native Tee's

2009-10-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

A quick craft fix I did the other day. My first go at applique. I had a few too many tshirts for Tessa so thought I would smarten them up and sell them on http://www.felt.co.nz/ . I have used a New Zealand native plant quilt fabric which conveniently had separate designs with borders perfect to cut up.

This year's Blogtober has been great and I have been loving looking at a whole lot of new amazing craft blogs. Here are few of my favourites:

- http://www.littleecofootprints.typepad.com/

- http://www.thriftnestsew.blogspot.com/

- http://www.meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com/

- http://www.ttwinkle.blogspot.com/

- http://www.theprincessandthemonkey.blogspot.com/

- www.spoonfullofsugargirls.blogspot.com

There are so many more creative interesting blogs still to discover. Great for looking at while having a cuppa.

Don't forget to enter our Blogtober Giveaway, only two more days Good Luck!

fresh air and eggs

2009-10-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

Our chooks having been laying well this spring. They are young birds and came into lay mid march at about six months old and havn't really stopped producing since.

So when I couldn't find any eggs for a few days I noticed the black chook was missing and I looked around and found her sitting on a whole clutch of eggs (see below). She was doing such a good job of trying to hatch her babies but alas it was not to be as there is no rooster to do the deed. So seven lovely eggs were collected not all of them were hers as you can see with the different coloured eggs.

I managed a spot of gardening today and here is a shot of Tessa enjoying the fresh air, what a gorgeous cheeky smile (not that I'm biased or anything, hehe).

Half Year Birthday

2009-10-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

Tessa sitting up all by herself for the first time, she has good timing because she did it on her half year birthday. You are a very sweet and special girl my beautiful daughter Tessa. May all your dreams come true. We had a few friends over to celebrate which was fun and Tessa loved all the different faces.

Here is the bag I made from Amy Butler's amazing craft book Little Stitches for Little Ones that I wrote about in the last post. It's called the Everything Bag I guess because of the obvious that it has so many pockets and is a great size to carry all the baby essentials.

It was made with a lovely light denim with grey, pink and white stripes. Which is very effective and one of my favourite colour combinations so cute for little girls too. The lining is a sweet little nursery themed print with rocking horses, rattles and teddy bears in a pale pink stripe. The pattern didn't call for bias binding along the top edge but I think it just finishes the bag quite nicely.

The best craft book ever

2009-10-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

Well one of the best, I treated myself when I was pregnant. Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones is well laid out with good instructions. There are projects for every type of sewer from beginner to the more experienced. Gorgeous photography illustrates the twenty baby related projects.

As you can see I have great plans of trying most of the projects. I have made the everything bag with an amazing amount pockets just perfect for a nappy back ( photo to come later) and plan to complete many more with a few works in progress.

Here is some detail from the book. Also her fabrics are to die for and this book shows a great selection. I wish there was a better availablity of her fabric here in New Zealand.

stuff happening here

2009-10-09T18:46:00.001-07:00

From Meet Me At Mikes! from the ever-blogging, ever-tweeting Pip. How does she have the time?

Making: many things including for Tessa a knitted owl vest, Merino star sleep sak, Quilt for her new room, hemp bibs and things to put on my soon to be new shop on http://www.felt.co.nz
Cooking: Roasted vege couscous salad with feta cheese and balsamic vinegarette, handemade beef patties, gingerbread, and trying to make some babyfood that Tessa will like, so far the shop stuff is too popular
Drinking: healtheries lemon and ginger with an apple twist, also endless cups of bournvita
Reading: Just finished, in the middle of the night New Moon the sequel to Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. Just thinking about starting Queen of swords by Sara Donati the fifth in the Into the wilderness series which I have enjoyed immensely. Also lots of craft magazines especially World sweet world check put there blog http://www.worldsweetworld.wordpress.com
Wanting: A clean house and the time to get stuck into the vege garden
Looking: out the window at the garden that calls to me for attention but enjoying the spring flowers.
Playing: blowing raspberries on Tessa's tummy with lots of giggles
Wasting: Time on the internet when I need to get everything organised for the BBQ tonight.
Sewing: Summer clothes for myself and developing breastfeeding tops that are cooler to wear.
Wishing: For more hours in the day and motivation to use them wisely
Enjoying: Catching up with friends and family
Waiting: For the sun to come out
Liking: Blogtober so many new interesting blogs to follow!!!
Wondering: If Hubby might like a cuppa too
Loving: Being a mother, the best thing ever!!!
Hoping: to visit my grandfather next month to introduce him to his first great grandchild
Marvelling: At how Tessa has grown in her short six months of life
Needing: to get myself organised for christmas with my family
Smelling: the veges roasting for the above salad
Wearing: My favorite op shop wool cardi, print tee, comfy jeans and sloppy slippers (argh very fabulous, not)
Following: Lots of blogs
Noticing: the cat circling at my feet wanting to be fed
Knowing: I need to exercise more, a lot more
Thinking: How lucky we all are
Bookmarking: Many blogs to check out later
Opening: Lots cupboards trying to find my favourite cup
Giggling: at sweet Tessa as she screws her face up at pureed apples
Feeling: Content
Join in!

Woolies of the week

2009-10-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

Woolies of the week...

Three cute little knitted finds from the local op-shops/thrift shops. A sweet little lace pattern cardi, I think I might dye it to cover a few stains if I can't remove them. Any ideas on how to remove stains in knitted garments would be appreciated. I love the red and grey stripe raglan jersey what a nice colour combination. The multi coloured wool jersey is quite cute, I am not sure how much I like this type wool colouring though I think its growing on me.

My recent goodies from the local red cross shop, what an interesting find. A gorgeous cross stitch nearly completed and all the thread to finish it. I like the old bits of card that thread has been wrapped around.

wriggling and jiggling

2009-10-08T00:29:00.000-07:00

This is how I found Tessa the other morning when I went to get her out of bed, she was squealing talking to her teddy. She has really got quite good at shuffling she hardly ever stays under blankies now. So have finally had to make her a sleep sack to keep her warmer. I have used merino knit fabric and have nearly finished, I just have to put the zips I picked up today.

This is Tessa and Daddy discovering what the rattle will do and feel like when you bang it. Very sweet watching them together concentrating on the important things.

And finally here is Tessa taking her jolly jumper for a spin, she hasn't quite figured out the jumping but has sort ballet spin happening

Blogtober Giveaway

2009-10-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Blogtober and our gorgeous Tessa turning six months old we are going to have a giveaway.

So its going to be a baby themed giveaway. I haven't decided exactly what yet but are a few ideas.
- Hemp/cotton bibs
- knitted toys
- patchwork cotton rattle ball
- Pinafore dress with vintage fabrics
- Cute little merino pants
- Ellie the elephant

Leave a comment with what you might like and you get one entry but if you become a follower you get three entrys.
This give away ends on the 16th October.
Good Luck!!!!

Spring Bonus

2009-10-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

I love spring especially in the garden. There is many lovely things about spring the blossoms the new life all around. You can feel everything waking up and warming up.

This one of first irises of the season, very pretty. I love the spring bulbs they give a lot of colour and beauty without much effort.

Even more of bonus is our first home grown asparagus. This was lovely and fresh for dinner and worth the two year wait after planting the crowns. It will be exciting when my other aspargus (of which some are purple) that I grew from seed start producing next year. This the best my vege garden has to offer at the moment sadly I can't wait to get into it soon.

quilt for a new room

2009-10-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a quilt for Tessa to celebrate her moving into her own room. I had hoped to be finished when she turned six months old this weekend. I think I just finish it in time, possibly.

These are the fabrics I chose, I quite like the combination of pinks, grays and blues. But I think the flat denim blue may be a bit too dark it will hopefully turn out fine when its finished

The quilt blocks are now all pieced together and I am a lot happier with the colour combinations. I think it will look quite sweet when it's finished. I have some special ideas for the backing piece, you have to wait and see.

This is a vest I knitted for Tessa in the 6 month size of the Oz Vest pattern from Lousia Harding's Book Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. It was an easy knit and I enjoyed learning a couple of new techniques, picking up stitches and knitting in the round with DPNs. But think the sizing is a little strange as this vest will easily fit her next winter when she is one, which is ok i will admit to adding length but only because the proportion or it needed it.

Ellie

2009-10-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to share my latest creation, Ellie the elephant. I made her out of recycled wool blankets I have been collecting from the op-shops around town. One of the little babies from our friday catch up was moving away and I thought a handemade gift would be a perfect little memento of our weekly get togethers which I have been enjoying so much. It will be sad to see them go, we will miss you guys.
Watch this space, there will be more little friends for Ellie soon.

This little piggy

2009-10-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist taking a photo of Tessa's wee toes. She has been enjoying the warmer days withe socks off and loves playing piggy went to market.

Cheeky Tessa loves to stick out her tongue, exploring everything with her mouth. She has now rolled over yay!! Only a matter of time before she gets mobile time to start baby proofing the house hehe watch out world Tessa will be on the prowl.

crafty fun and mayhem

2009-09-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

Poor Tessa has just woken up and is not impressed with camera. She looks gorgeous though snuggling under great grandma's crochet blanket, love the stripey border. Wish I could crochet but I think I have enough craft obsessions to master.

I made this sleep sack a month for a dear wee girl our one year old friend. She had been waking up in the night crying and sitting up getting cold and not being able to lie down again. Hopefully this will help stop her getting so cold. It's made with a cotton fleece outer and merino knit lining, all from my stash which helps the budget. The star is my first go applique and I think it was a success.

This is my yarn stash after I finally sorted out the corner it was in. The basket came from a picnic set we were given for a wedding present which wasn't doing much in the cupboard so I thought I put it to use. Since taking this photo more yarn has been purchased and soon there won't be enough room. Oh well it looks nice and I love the thrill of buying more yarn with numerous projects in mind. Since discovering www.ravelry.com my knitting dreams have got a wee bit out of control, hehe I know I am not alone in this.

Granny's gorgeous knits

2009-09-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

A very cute big girl photo of Tessa sitting up. She is wearing Granny's gorgeous knitted set. A moss stitch hat , a cute collared cardi with a diamond pattern in garter stitch on stocking stitch, sweet little stocking stitch pants and the cutest little booties. This set is all knitted with merino bambino 4ply yarn I think the colour is called pastel prints. I will post a close up soon.

Velvet Sweetheart

2009-09-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

This is the Velvet sweetheart dress made for our neighbour's cute three year old little girl's birthaday present.

It is made out of navy velvet fabric lined with a sweet blue floral cotton from my fabric stash, I think my mother gave it to me. I found the perfect sky blue mother of pearl buttons for it at the local sewing shop.

I didn't have a pattern so took a size 2 dress and traced around it sizing up by adding a about 5cm all around. Then I tapered the skirt in a bit as there wasn't quite enough fabric.

sorry about the bad photos they don't the detail as well as they should.

A very special week

2009-09-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

We have had quite a busy week like most people do but a few special things have happened.

My lovely MIL came down and helped prune my roses with was brilliant and quite satisfying. It is a bit late in the season but they missed out last year, so like they say better late than never. It was easier to see where to prune as the buds had already started to shoot. We pruned them quite hard but this will hopefully rejuvenate the plants. I got a good lesson in technique as sadly my rose pruning skills are a bit lacking.

I finally finished making my baby wrap, you would it wouldn't be to difficult and it wasn't really. It was made from two lengths of cotton knit fabric 4.5- 5m by 50 - 55cm (two colours look quite nice)
- These are sewn right sides together down the long sides and turned right sides out.
- Then the end are cut in a triangle shape and folded in an sewn.
- Lining up the two pieces to be measured the same width all along and pinned on a polished wooden floor was a bit tricky ( after I finished of course I had the idea to tape the the bottom layer to floor to stop movement).

After a lesson in tieing the wrap from a few local girls we took it for test walk and Tessa and I went down to see daddy at the sheep yards and help chase sheep. A success I think and I wish I made it sooner.

Yesterday I purchased my first digital camera, I'm so excited, it's red. I even managed to bargain the price and get $40 off. I am quite pleased with myself. I have to wait till Sunday to pick it up as there wasn't any red ones in stock.

A special thing happened a few days ago one of my friends had her first baby a gorgeous wee boy called Jett.

The most special thing of the week to occur was the wedding of my best friend. Now this wasn't your run of the mill type wedding. It was wedding disguised as the groom's 30Th birthday party.
At about 7pm the announcement was made that there was going to be a wedding, everyone looked around wondering who it was going to be. Then the stars of the show was announced and the crowd roared with approval and happiness.
Tables and chairs were moved and an aisle was created and we sat and waited for the bridal party to arrive. Now I haven't told you that this was a fancy dress birthday party. Someone heard the car and the music started and the guests hold their breaths and a Robot an two rocks stars come through the door and everyone bursts into laughter, the poor robot trys to melt into the crowd but it's just not possible.
Then someone does here the bridal car and the amazing surprise wedding begins. First the two bridesmaid dressed in little black dresses come down the aisle one after the other. Then the gorgeous 13month daughter of the bride and groom come down the aisle wearing the same wee dress that the bride wore for her mother's wedding, carried by her grandmother. And finally beeeeautiful amazing bride walks down the aisle wearing white strapless gown with silver threading over the bodice and skirt, carrying a bouquet of white roses and chrysanthemums.
And the ceremony began with beautiful vows written by the couple, and when it came to the rings the poor groom dropped his but picked it up quickly saying 5 second rule and everyone laughter. It was beautiful amazing wedding which I felt honored to be a part of and let in on the secret, I did the flowers which turned out quite well. From all the compliments they got. Congratulation's and I wish you all the best !!!!!!!!

spring has risen

2009-08-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

Yay we have risen from the depths of winter to the beautiful arrival of spring. All the amazing blossom has burst with promose of delicious fruit in summer. Everything is growing before our eyes I'm sure I can actually see the grass growing. This is nice and a relief as the farm has been getting quite short on grass. I am quite aware that time is running out for pruning the roses, hence I was even more upset when the steers kept breaking into the garden and demolishing (pruning so kindly, yeah right) everything in sight that they didn't prune my roses.

Many things are happening around here I am thinking of giving Tessa her first taste of solids soon which is exciting and sad at the same time she will be leaving the gorgeous milk baby stage and starting the cute big girl solids stage. She is getting quite close to rolling over, nearly there three quarters over but not knowing what to do with her arm.

On a sadder note our eldest cat poor mr kitty has broken his front right leg. We have no idea how this happened but he is now stuck inside for 8 weeks so he can't get his cast wet. Poor thing has to drag is cast around and you can hear coming from across the room. He stands next to the door and meows for us to let him out, it breaks my heart.

Must go miss tiny lovely is in need of my attention.

SMILES

2009-08-21T16:38:00.001-07:00

Yay some decent smiles caught on camera, so gorgeous, all it took was the south island grandparents to visit. Grandpa's first meeting with little Tessa. She loves playing sit ups hehe. what a sweetie (not that I'm biased or anything).

craftiness

2009-08-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some examples of recent craftiness.

As mentioned in an earlier post the need for a birthday gift with meaning personalised cushion for a wee girls bedroom. This was quite simple to make, thankfully when you have the inspiration strike the night before the party.

The first step was cut out the background shape in this case a cute heart.

Next find all the appropriate letters and hope there is enough, arrange in colours that look kind of right with with cute little stars surrounding. Then spend awhile glueing felt letters down batting curious cats away who just want to 'help'. The next step is cut out a square in the chosen main fabric in contrasting colour to the background shape, this square is estimated in size by squashing down the cushion insert and guessing with the tape measure if you don't have the measurements on the insert packaging or if you recycling an old cushion use the old cover as a pattern.

For the back an envelope opening is created by cutting two pieces 3/4 sized of the front square. These are then hemmed and the top overlap can be decorated as wished. The background shape is sewn to the front piece and pinned right sides together with the back pieces make sure the top overlap of the back pieces is touching the front piece. The last step is to sew all four edges and open out cushion cover and insert the cushion and voila! cute original birthday gift.

The knitted objects above were quick and fun to make. The ball with different textures and bell inside will be great for Tessa to roll around as she gets more mobile and sits up. The sweet little ladybug is just the right size for Tessa to hold and has crinkly plastic inside for extra tactile fun.

Photos

2009-08-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Yay I have sorted some photos out and scanned a few so here they are.

The first is the best success I have had at capturing a smile with my film camera as it takes too long and the flash goes with each shot giving Tessa a bit of a fright.

The second is Tessa peeking out from a cuddle with dad so cute.

The third photo is Tessa climbing mount dad (sorry cheesy I know hehe) and the third photo is Tessa all ready for bed having cuddles with me.

(sorry about the crazy layout will get the hang of this soon).

Birthdays

2009-08-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

Birthday season is upon us well that is exaggerating but we have gone to two little girls first birthday parties in the last couple weeks. It was lovely catching up with a lot people that i hadn't seen Tessa's arrival.
This got me inspired I wanted to give presents that are unique are not just going to be a forgotten mess of broken plastic toys. So the solution was to make something what I came up with was a personalied cushion to go in their bedroom. They are made with a fold over back (similar to a pillowcase) for easy access if they need to be washed and I sewed a big coloured heart on the front with the little girl full name glued on in felt letters. I also put their date of birth in felt letters on the back. I will photos as soon as I can (Im still in the dark ages and only have a film camera which I scan photos from).
A exciting thing happen last weekend (well it was for me and after all the hype you may be let down) I was able to get in the vege garden and weed, dig and plant. I put in red bunching onions, parsley and three type of brassicas. I managed to finish between showers of rain before it really started. Perfect they were nicely watered in without any effort