Angels at the Airport

This is the favourite tree in the Auckland Airport Shopping Centre Carpark dressed up for Christmas with peg and pipe cleaner angel dolls



 

Amigurumi Christmas Trees

Last year I made the team I work with little amigurumi snowmen.

This year I've made them each a little Christmas Tree with crocheted tinsel and some beads for baubles.

A few months ago I had quite a giggle from this Readers Digest book from the 70's that said to use a tongue depressor to make a lacy crochet stitch well, you'll never guess what I found at my local craft store.......

Guess what I'm going to be trying out this week :-)

It is summer - it really is....

It's thundering and lightening and pouring with rain.
Today it's just the humidity that proves the season we're in...  not like last weeks trip to The Mount  :-)



Pretty Pacific views

 

Pohutakawa is out before Christmas -
I think that means we're in for a long summer :-)

Mount Maunganui Main Beach

Christmas Bunting

I love fabric, and I'd love to be able to do amazing things with it, and after the various failed experiments I really should know that it's really not my thing - and yet I still can't resist....

Bunting. Surely even I can cut out some triangles and sew them on some bias tape?

Things I learned. 

I bough the wrong width bias tape - the fatter stuff would have been easier so I could  fold it over the top of the triangles - in the end I had to sew 2 lots together.

It really does pay to take time cutting out the triangles so they are all the same size (it's not only my sewing skills that need to be improved)

Putting your foot down on the sewing machine and closing your eyes can sometimes make a straighter line than if you look.

And a mere 4 hours and (not too much stress) later we have 10 meters of Christmas bunting to decorate with :-)

Luckily for my mediocre sewing skills, bunting is usually not close enough for anyone to see the mistakes

Crocheting for All Hallows Eve

It's a long weekend, my special shawl order is finished, blocked and ready to go, the granny blanket request is 80% done and I'm looking for a little fill in project to do.

It's coming up Halloween, and I do love to make little things to leave here, there and everywhere, as well as give to unsuspecting workmates, so I'm about to start making these cool looking skulls. 

And also some of these cute little spiders :-)

 

The pattens for both can be found on the Lion Brand website & Ravelry

Auckland Diwali Festival

Diwali or Deepavali (row of lamps) is an ancient Indian festival that is celebrated throughout India and in Indian communities around the world.  This was the first time we'd been to the Auckland festival, and what a treat it was (even with the weather bomb).

There was a heap of delicious food stalls with gorgeous vegetarian offerings and different Indian sweets.  We had onion bahji (my all time favourite), samosas, pakoras, dahl thingees (whatever they were they were yum!) and some mango laksa to cool the mouth after the heat of the spice.

Rows of food stalls up Queen Street

And OMG The Bling!  
If I had smaller hands my arms would be rattling with the sounds of multiple bangles tinkling away whilst I typed.  Instead my thumb knuckles are slightly sore from trying to push the beautiful sparkly things on to my chunky wrists.  
I wonder if there is a hand and wrist diet I could do??

Aotea Square & the main stage

On the main stage there were singers when we first arrived and then came the fabulous dancers, unfortunately I couldn't get close enough to get a good photo, so this is  'general ambiance' in between squally showers

A Handmade Shopping Affair

If you pop by regularly you'd know that I sell my crochet creations on Felt and Etsy.  One of the things it has made me more aware of for myself is the want/need to buy handmade goods directly from the people who make them, just as I want people to buy from me. 

I've been incredibly fortunate recently to have bought some incredibly gorgeous creations (all for myself!) so I thought I might share :-)

A Bit of Mystery

Based in Huntly and is a great shop on felt that has loads of bags  from recycled mens ties, this is the one I bought, it's a perfect size, beautifully finished - I love it so much!
 

trash footwear

 Based in Raglan, all their shoes are made from recycled or upcylced material.  I loved it that he could tell me where the material for mine came from :-)  I got some ballet shoes in a lovely retro purpley flower material and some boots which have green leather (where the brown is) and a fab red and green tartan

 

By Nature

Based on Waiheke Island the lovely Mel is showing off a petticoat made from bamboo cotton.  Mine is black without the lace panel. Made to measure, it's the most comfortable piece of underwear I own!

Lavage Handcrafted Soap Boutique

Based in Wellington, and with a factory shop in Plimmerton, the amazing Jayne comes up with brill creative treats for your body.  A great fan of Lavage I use her handmade soaps and body mist daily. And fighting off my germs a few weeks ago, this eucalyptus soy Melt Me was great to burn in the room. 

These are just a few of my recent purchases.  Jewellery would need a couple of posts just for itself, what with the fab earrings, nose rings, ring rings, bracelets, pendants and brooches I'm a bit of an accessory nut! :-) Shamefully I haven't keep a note of everyone I have bought from from I strongly recommend having a look on www.felt.co.nz there is something to suit everyones tastes!

Tui's are chattering

Finally, the weather is warming up, the sun is shining and the birds are singing

Tui

Walking in the Manurewa Botanical Gardens this morning and there were loads and loads of Tui's chattering away and taking advantage of all of the lovely blossoms.

Spring blossoms

I love this green oasis in the midst of urban sprawl, and even though it's a stones throw from the motorway and the steady drone of traffic, you can find a spot, concentrate on the birds singing and be transported anywhere.  Having tea in a rose garden in England, lounging under a palm in the Pacific or on a bush walk in New Zealand.

Tmelord Ted

I first became a Timelords assistant when Ted visited me in hospital when I was first born.

We had many amazing adventures and heartfelt conversations for the first 20 odd years of my life.  

Ted always watched over me whilst I slept, fighting trolls and dragons that lived in the wardrobe and under the bed.  He also understood my teenage angst like no-one else.

Ted retired to my parents loft about 20 years ago, which was the same time that I got married and was no longer free to go on adventures around the Universe.

Ted was very tired and incredibly worn out! (There were many adventures!) And had tried to regenerate a number of times with the help of my mums old nylon tights (c1976)

As with all Timelords, his unquenching thirst for adventure and knowledge of all things amazing meant that he wouldn't be retired for ever.  And so this weekend began his regeneration with the help of New Zealand Wool......

And now, Timelord Ted is taking a few months to come to terms with the many changes in this world, and decide on how he will forge into the future....

Afternoon Tea @ The Langham

Today was my sisters 40th birthday, so we celebrated in olde English style with Afternoon Tea.  The tradition was reputedly started by Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford in the 1840s and first served at The Langham in London in 1865.

 

The service was wonderful, very attentive, the tea was yummy, they provided the leaves on the side of the pot to inspect and have a whiff of.  This pic is of the savouries & scones, the deserts came on a gorgeous old creaky trolley.  My favourite taste of the day were the savoury macaroons, which were apple and blue cheese.

In another part of the hotel they were setting up for a corporate function and had pictures of movie stars and a red carpet.  

I got to have my picture with Cary Grant.  
Now if only he'd drive me around Rome on my Vespa....

A week in crochet

Isis Shawl - made from a yarn called Fern

Exterminate that spare loo roll with the Dalek loo roll cover doll :-)

A gorgeous Russian pattern that was great fun to try and understand

The Olympics for Crocheting?

Yes! And for knitting, weaving & dyeing yarn too.

Ravelry is a fab place which I know that I've talked about before, and they are hosting their own 'all for fun' version of the Olympics.  I have entered 4 of the games and am gearing up for tomorrow morning when it's international cast on/hooking time as the Opening Ceremony begins.

I'm crocheting a lacy shawl, a pair of hexagon motif slippers,  a dalek egg cosy and I'm frogging (i.e. undoing - a fab 'technical term'. Named fogging because aapparently if you undo knitting it makes a kind of ribbit sound) a poncho I've fallen out with.

(It never ceases to amaze me about how geeky I can be with my crocheting - it's such a fantastic feeling!)

Enjoy the opening ceremony!  And in the spirit of geekiness, UFOs and my love of The Doctor.  Here is a photo of a lift that is in a building in Wellington that I fell in love with the other weekend :-)

A Make Over

Three years ago I went with my good friend Jo to pick up some material to re-upholster her dining room chairs.  This weekend on a visit to Tauranga and we actually did it!  (It has been a three year project plan.....)  

 

Before

We dismantled the chairs and did the bottoms first with lots of goes at trying to get the corners tidy, lots of little tacks and a good blob of fabric glue. 

We also sanded down the highly varnished table and stained it with a Rimu stain

 

After

Very happy with the result :-)

 

I also heard a new name for WIP's this weekend, UFO (unfinished object) and PHD (projects half done) I like these new names.  I do believe that this one had been a UFO.

Snot

The snot has taken over

It’s fuddeling my head

My eyes and nose are streaming

Used tissues surround my bed

Vicks™ is my perfume

It’s battling with the snot

Along with Nurofen™ Cold and Flu

They’re giving it all they’ve got!

I haven’t even crocheted

That’s how bad it’s been

Which is probably really a good thing

Who would want anything tinged with green?

When is enough, enough?

When we're talking about yarn, that's obvious - it's never enough (cue The Cure)

What about Crochet books? 

I seem to have come across a few fabulous ones lately, and I suppose at some point I'll start to see the same old things. And will that make it enough?  
For example: I found this book in Onehunga today

A present for Lauree White on 1st April 1974 -I wonder how many of the things she made...

What a fantastic coat!

What made up my mind to buy it?  A similar pattern to those socks that were in the Vogue Crochet mag I received in the post just recently. 

Diamond Jubilee Weekend

It's been a few decades now since we left the UK to settle in our new home on the opposite side of the world.  And even though we've been here longer than there, some things can still make us home sick :-)  

Flying the flag(s)

Patriotic Cup Cakes

Waikato weather pretending to be the same as the UK

Wearing Red, White, Blue and the Union Jack

Fab Find!

Pukekohe Salvation Army Shop - only five buckaroos for this fabulous retro bible of stuff to do with yarn!

I like this page in particular because the explanation of how to work it says (and I quote): "can be worked neatly over a large tongue depressor or ruler"  Like we all have tongue depressors at our disposal! 
 

I love this book in a way that words can't describe :-D

Vogue

My pre-ordered Vogue Knitting Crochet 2012 Special Collectors Issue arrived in the post this morning.  Tres excitement!

First was "I'm going to make these fabulous socks!"

Followed a few more pages in by an:

 "OMG what an amazing granny square dress! I have to have it!"

Bet you can't guess what I'm doing for the rest of the weekend?

If you guessed drooling over the magazine and not doing any actual crocheting, you're probably going to be pretty close :-)

Container Looks Lovely

I talked late last year about a massive yarn bomb taking place in Christchurch:

"To protect us from more rock fall, massive shipping containers are now lining the Sumner and Redcliffs strreets. It is necessary however not a beautiful sight, but we can change it!

Container Love is about prettying up these metal giant boxes.
The idea is to turn the unpleasant look of the containers into a positive feature for people to enjoy and comment on.
The present project is a GIANT CONTAINER COSY made entirely out of knitted or crocheted squares"

Today it was finished

Container Love

I see a couple of my squares :-) 

If you're in the Christchurch/Sumner area I'd suggest it might be quite a cool thing to go and have a look at

A Mulitcultural Festival and Crafty Day

Today I had a craft stall at the Buddhas Day Multicultural Festival at the temple in Botany Downs.

My sister convinced me it was a good way to use up some of our fabric squares whilst getting some good karma (all proceeds to the temple).  So off I went with a bag full of squares, needles, scissors, felt and brooch backs.

We made $85 (which wasn't too bad for gold coin donations) whilst teaching loads of people how to make fabric flower brooches (the majority of them kids, which aggravated my child allergies).

A lot of the parents told me how they had had to learn basic sewing at school and they thought it was great we were teaching the kids because they don't learn the basics any more. I wonder why these parents aren't showing them?
 
The day also including eating some gorgeous vegetarian food, making paper fish and my favourite; a Chinese knot dragon fly - I feel a renewed urge to learn macramé :-) 

I also feel like I need a weekend to recover!

Easter Monday Afternoon Tea

The places were set with Royal Dalton, Colclough and Royal Albert cups, saucers & tea plates

Fancy plates were piled high with sandwiches filled with cucumber, egg with cress and smoked salmon with cream cheese. 

Cake stands showed off freshly baked scones, pistachio macaroons, potato cakes, devilish chocolate cake and mini spinach & parmesan muffins. 

Bunting was hung, and the tea was poured.....