BLOGTOBER Giveaway!!! be in quick!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!