Remembering the small things - Blackberry Hunting

 This afternoon what started out as a common whinge in our house "I'm booorrred!" resulted in blackberry hunting.

Our neighbour had mentioned a couple of weeks ago we were welcome to pick his brambles at the bottom of his land.

There was a bit of convincing and assurance needed, as one such child was a bit unsure of the large ram

 Here he is sussing out the situation

 

And the ram? he couldn't have cared less ( he's actually ours...on loan )

 

Nevertheless walking the boundary line and making their way into the long grass, I chuckled as I watched on.

Little J sampling a whole lot more than picking, and Mr B straight to business....he's a doer!

And the end result 

 

Slim pickings for our planned pie.  

I had it on good authority that most of them passed a certain boys lips rather than the bucket! hehe

So off they went down our land this time, to our small patch, but this time because Mr B tripped, all their efforts fell into a large fresh cowpat!! 

Luckily I always keep frozen berries in the freezer.  

So that combined with our whole entire apple harvest this year  

( a whole 3 apples! ) we had enough to make a crumble

This is the childhood I've dreamt for our kids for such a long time, and it's small moments like this that I want to hold onto and remember for years to come, hopefully they will too!

Ending our meal tonight with my crochet on my lap and a delicious hot crumble was a nice distraction :)

Conquering Crochet Friday - Many projects on the go

So it's been awhile since I posted one of these Conquering Crochet Fridays, and it's not for the lack of any projects on the go.
As in my title there are possibly TOO many on the go!

Though I'll let you be the judge of whats too many.

 But first up, a finished crochet project from months ago which I never got around to sharing  
(man that line is becoming a bit of a broken record!)

My first attempt at a garment in crochet....

Pattern: Aunt Jen's Sweater Pattern

I ripped and restarted this several times, and the end result has been incredibly small! So small I'm sure there's no way any of my babies would have fit into this....hence it's now a dolly cardy!

 

or this case a monkey cardigan!

And then fast forward to few weeks ago... what started with the talk of a NZ crochet mood blanket along on Instagram, ended up with me picking up my hook again and deciding to start on some hexagons as my weekly mood block

Pattern: Join as you go Hexie from Lucys Attic 24

I've wanted to do a hexie blanket like this for such a long time.
This crochet along seemed to be the perfect opportunity to start.
I think we're in week 5? so I'm a bit ahead.....but hey what can I say..

it's addictive!

Then because I was initially diligent and sticking to my one Hexie a week ( only lasted 3 weeks ) I needed some more crochet to do in the between days, and thats where this was created...

 

This is destined to be a cushion, as I feel like I need something to brighten up my drab brown and beige lounge scheme.
It so desperately needs to change, so I'm thinking beachy/bachy vintage?! 

This is to be my starting point, a rainbowy, bright and happy cushion!

And then....yes one more! The piece de resistance!

I ordered this yarn from RRHY's in September, (so worth the wait!) dreaming of crocheting it into a Hooded Capelet which I had mentioned before, and which the lovely Louana, ( seriously she is lovely and generous!) sent me the pattern! 
So Louana here you are, I have started it!

I have been a bit confused in a few places, but putting down my hook for a couple of days did the trick and now I'm well on my way!

I can't wait to finish this and take photo's of my little girl wearing this!

The red really does lend itself to Red Riding Hood! 
Maybe a dress to match? Cheesy?? nah....cute!! :)

Handmade Christmas for Our Children - Dolls Accessories

Well what can I say, apart from the fact that I have a lot of projects waiting to share.

 

So many I've even considered crammin them all into one post just to catch up! 

But I just don't feel that would do each of them justice, considering the time some of them took to create.....so it's dribs and drabs when I can find the time, and time for sitting infront of the computer is currently occupied finding worksheets for homeschool, which by the way after three days so far has been pretty good.....

well in reality, really good for two of my boys. As for my third it has been a bit of touch and go.

Yesterday was a write off due to major anxieties and phobias, but all we could do is take note of what we could have done differently and continue to take it day by and day.   

( the last three months has been exhausting for us all )

However already we can see we this homeschooling lark looks to be the right path for us.

Moving on, since time on my wee blog is precious these days.

Before making the Doxie dogs for my Lil miss, there were three other items I made which were on the original list.

Starting with a set of finger puppets.

My little girls fingers for the longest time have been her imaginary friends....they walk, talk, give each other hugs and kisses and even have fights too!....so finger puppets seemed like the obvious choice.

I planned to make a cow and a sheep aswell, but never got there in the end, due to Doxie dog distractions.  

 

The idea behind this was also to teach and remind her categories, such as farm animals, woodland animals, sea creatures etc and it could coincide nicely with her SLT sessions.

Then there were a set of blankets

 

because she was using tea towels, clothing (undies even) and pieces of fabric to wrap up every toy she could find.

 

The blankets have been put to good use everyday since!

And lastly, but actually the first to complete, was another Tikki Knit The Poppy Dolls cardigan.  

 

I was looking through my Instagram feed and saw a bunch of these that Deb had knitted up and was inspired.  It was cast on that evening.

A really quick and fun knit.

Another item on my list but that I didn't get to in the end was a baby doll sling.

I may feel the urge to make one for her before now and her birthday, 

or maybe, I'll get distracted with something else.

 

This post has been brought to you by copious amounts of interruptions of magic tricks, to keep the peace ;)

Joining in with Leonie at Sunshine x 3

 

 

A Handmade Christmas for Our Children - Doxie Dogs

Now that I have found my camera charger, I've been able to take some pics to share with you all my last minute handmade Christmas presents I made last year.

For our 2013 Christmas we decided to cut costs and make the kids their Christmas presents, that and reduce the amount of cheap plastic crap entering our home!

Mike had the two eldest boys to make for, and I made for the two youngest.

All the boys got to be part of the process, deciding what they would like.  I have to say I may have had a mild panic attack when a particular wish list was compiled!....but I'll tell you more about that another day..

For my Lil Miss though I decided to keep it a surprise, because afterall she's still little, and the mystery of presents are so much fun!

So I compiled a list and set to making all these things a few days before christmas.......yip, I left it till the last minute again! But I've figured, I do work best under pressure.

My little girl is dog crazy! so when I remembered this little Doxie Dog Necklace that I pinned on Pinterest a while ago, I knew I had to add that to the last minute to do list!

This took a couple of hours sitting on the couch in the evening handsewing, which was very satisfying!

That night as I was heading off to dream land, I thought up an idea for a doxie dog pillow.

It wasn't on the list but I just couldn't get it out of my head so the next day when I saw a pink doily that Cat had sent me in a little package, the ideas came flooding in, before I had time to rationlise adding yet another present onto the list, I had drafted a pattern up, sewed it together and my two legged dog was born!

 Mike keeps mocking me about that fact! The two legged dog probably would have been better off with four.....but hey it was a last minute rush and all, supposed to be a pillow...therefore I reckon it works.

My favourite part is the vintage button eyes, they are from my Nana's button jar.

Mum reminisced once she saw them, remembering one of Nana's garments that they once adorned.

 And for my dog mad girl it was a success! 

She loved, and still loves it!

Joining in with Leonie this week from Sunshine x 3

December is over Phew!

Its been a rush here, with the end of school and

getting ready for Mikes Mum and sister to stay over Christmas at my Mums all the while Mum is having renovations.  

Feeling blessed to receive these lovely handmade decorations from the two Leonies!! Left This lovely house from Leonie at Kiwi at Heart blog and Right Leonie from Sunshine x 3 blog  creating six of these cute crochet baubles for our tree

   The original plan was for them to stay at ours, but time crept up on us and our garage/office/guestroom was and is still far from finished.

  sneaky peeking at the first of the presents

Then we entered into a new year with a great gathering at our neighbours.....carrying sleeping children back into their beds at 2am on New Years day!!.....plus during these weeks there were the many various visitors dropping in to see us, and a neglected garden going crazy with all the rain....huge marrows and cucumbers coming out of our ears!

And with all this, straight after school finished one by one all the children and Mike succumbed to some nasty bugs that have been floating around

 

 Quiet reading time on Christmas day

 and then I of course was the last to fall sick on Boxing day, with a nasty strep throat......urgh!!

 

 playing against Nana with his new hockey puck table made by Dad

I put my downfall down to too many late late nights into the wee hours before Christmas day as I stitched up a storm creating Handmade Christmas presents for my kiddos 

(last minute crafting is the way I roll )

The sore throat sucked! but getting my creativity back was AWESOME!

So I have soooo much to show you.....but here is just little a sneak peek till next time......

Custom Dress Done!

Well blog posts have been few and far between for me......and I haven't read anyone's blog in a while either, I am actually dreading seeing how much posts are awaiting in my reader!! Eeek!

We've made a life changing decision in the last few weeks that has had me all in a daze, researching and writing exemption letters that felt more like essays!

As of next year we will be homeschooling all of our children!!! 

Big Leap I know!

Been instagramming a lot!
 
And if you had asked me a couple of months ago would I?.

I would have given you a hell no!! and a screwed up face in reply!

But to be honest it is something I have contemplated over the years, but I just never had the courage to carry out.....but recently I have been putting myself first, trying to heal my back with the help of my Osteopaths and Yoga, and changing my diet to help heal my stomach by reducing gluten, dairy, and sugar and introducing sourdough, homemade yoghurt, and water kefir ( next on the list is sauerkraut! )

The result has been a lot more energy and confidence in myself......hence the life changing decision!  Double EEEEEKKK!  

( adopted the Eeek's  from Cat and never going back hehe )

But I also have stopped by to show you my latest creation, a little bit of eye candy!

For the Blessing Deb Auction I entered my dress making services as part of a Auction Item.  And this week I finally sent the dress off to Sammy who was the auction winner........so so so late!

I made this custom summer dress for her little girl.  The only proviso's that Sammy gave me was it needed to be roomy enough to fit a merino under, and that her little girl had spring colouring....the rest was in my hands!

So I drafted up this dress and made it with this cute spotty cotton lawn print and teamed it with the watermelon pink.

I added shirring in the back for a good fit, but still allows stretch when needed and made the straps adjustable.

The straps feed through two loops in the back and then tie into a bow....hence adjustable!

I also loved making the pin tucked hemline, and I think I'll give that a go again on one of my daughters dresses.

 

In fact I was really tempted to keep it! ( slaps hand! ) Even mum told me too!! Naughty influence!!

The dress is fully lined and the cotton lawn makes the skirt drape lovely, so I'll definitely be buying some more!

And because I was soooooo late in sending this to her, and some major guilt pangs set in! (Sammy was wonderful, didn't ask about it at all! so kind )  

I decided to make a little purse/bag out of the remnants.  

 

On the outside I used a variegated thread to create a Kantha Quilt effect, and the inside is the main dress fabric.....the bow was added for the final touch!

This morning I got an email from Sammy, saying she was ecstatic with everything!.....I was very touched by her reply :) 

Isn't it lovely when you get such a response!?

Linking in for the first time in Agggeeessss!!! 

with the lovely Leonie at Sunshine x 3

And Andrea at The Train to Crazy 
with Make it Wear it

NOW I better go catchup on all your blogs!! :))

Mudsliding and life....

Hello there, I took a longer break than I expected

but then again I didn't expect to be so overwhelmed with how busy life has become.

 

We've had pet and show days...earthworks... building...Beekeeping lessons....worm farms started....

 

rock walls started.....an endless amount of seedlings planted, impromptu dinner parties.....the list goes on and on

And there doesn't seem to be a week that there isn't at least a couple of appointments thrown into the mix aswell.

 

  

Recent revelations about my little girl had shaken things up too 
and threw me off track for a while.

 

 It's sent us down a different path than I imagined for her 

 

 But I feel like I'm nearly at peace with it.

 These challenges that my children will face in life is not what I imagined for them and not what I would have chosen either

 

  

But one thing I do have the choice of, is creating a childhood which is fun, secure and loving.

This is why we moved here, to be closer to my mum, closer to nature and by pure chance we got to be part of a awesome neighbourhood to boot!

This is my life, its hectic, challenging, chaotic, but full with lots of fun moments which is just what I did imagine for my kids.

These are photos from today...with a little bit of rain this week we decided to have a dam christening mud slide party!  We invited the neighbours.....but I think the idea of the clean up may have put them off.......clay everywhere!!!

No worries though, tonight they're coming over for our bonfire night.......bangers on the BBQ bangers in the sky and marshmallows toasting on the bonfire :)