The Skies on Fire Tonight



Moments like these remind me our little sacrifices are worth it

Looking forward to a gorgeous day tommorow.

I'm not the only one? Aye!?

I'm supposed to be knitting gloves, but I got a little sidetracked......

Bow coming soon...

This is far more exciting than plain black fingerless gloves.... right!?

And while I'm in such a distracted mood, why not a bit of fun for the boys on Pixlr.... :)



My Creative Space - A Lick of Paint

This wall has been doing my head in ever since we bought this place.... the faux wood panelling is so overpowering in such a tiny room... so this morning after waving goodbye to the boys on the bus, I drove back down the drive, kicked my gumboots off and with my pjays still on ( yes! one of those mornings ) dishes still on the table, I set to the wall with gusto...... a couple of hours later with only one drip of paint on my pjays and a smear on Lil Misses I have finished two coats, and its looking much brighter!

The wall extends further than this.... just thought the dirty dishes and mess to the side were best be left out for a more aesthetically pleasing photo :)

I have actually become quite attached to the boating wallpaper, plus stripping painted wallpaper is such a pain!

  The house is full of it...the boys have seagulls in their room and Lil Miss and us have a swan/forest/lake scene 

 you can see that one in the background of these photos here

Our tiny 2 bedroom home was a bach in its former life and resided somewhere near Mangawhai beach. 

One day when we have the money it will be extended to a 5 bedroom house ( dreaming of the day )

But till then I am going to enjoy decorating with a retro/vintage/beach bach theme ( thats a mouthful! )

Next wall to tackle is this.

It's time I found a better desk too!

As for other creative pursuits....

the tunic I was making for me has been abandoned, and a new dress cut out.... the booties are nearly finished ( procrastinating! )

Mr B and I have the wall hanging on hiatus and I am about to start knitting a pair of gloves for Big J's upcoming birthday ( at his request )...

I can't believe he will be 10!!

For more real creative spaces see here

Liebster Blog Award

I checked my emails yesterday to find a nice surprise...

I have been a awarded

award by Debra from Sew Little Time - Thankyou!

Its for showing off bloggers with 200 or less followers and giving your readers an insight to other great blogs.
 Once recieving the award the bloggers must then pass on the love to 5 other bloggers that they love to read

Here's the rules:

The Liebster Conventions says that :

1. Thank your award presenter on your blog and link back to him/her

2. Copy and paste the award to your blog

3. Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that you think deserve to be recognized

4. Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog

5. Have faith that your follower will spread the love too!

So here we go.....

1.  First off has to be Juliet from Tartan Kiwi.... I always look forward to see what she is up to next... so often we seem to be in the same frame of mind, sometimes scary infact.... lol
I have been known to acuse her of possibly placing a hidden camera in my house!
  Always lovely projects on the go and I'm also loving all the busy bags ideas that she is creating at the moment :)

2.  Cat from Catalina's Cottage.... responsible for the fun Modern Sampler Quilt Bee that most of NZ and a few Aussie's are taking part in.    Her blog consists of lots of quilty goodness to peruse with a big love for Tilda projects. 
At the moment you can follow her and her family through Europe for their long awaited family vacation... To say I'm jealous is a understatement!

3.  Nin from The Wardrobe.... loads of projects to inspire and I love reading about the behind the scenes of a local indie seller... something I think many of us would love to do.... but are still at the dreaming stage!

4.  Miriam from Create Hope Inspire..... well the title says it all!

She has had alot of influence over the way that I have been thinking lately, especially with her Be the Mama I Want to Be posts... add to that some great Wardrobe Wednesday posts and loads of crafty projects.

5.   Mend and Make New.... I have just started following Jenny since the KCWC, her use of vintage fabrics and upcycled clothes for her cute adorable kiddies is inspiring....
something I used to do before my blog and have lost track of! I'm now eyeing up a few old merino tops

So grab a cuppa, sit down and go check them out... they may end up being a favourite of yours too :)

Got the All Clear

Just a quick note to say I can breathe a sigh of relief now.

Today I went to a long awaited hospital appointment at the Hospital Neurology Department.... I have been plagued with symptoms that lead me down this path of the unknown for the last year and in the last few months this day had been looming in the background...their have been many unanswered questions.

But luckily for me, the outcome is far brighter than possibly the others who shared the waiting room with me....

Mine just consists of lots of physio for my shoulder and diagnosis of carpel and tarsal tunnel syndrome which my family and I can definately live with..... phew! thats a huge weight of my shoulders!

Off to make pancake batter for tommorow morning :)

Kids!!

I'm loving that living here my kids are able to enjoy being kids.

Imaginary play has increased,

and they spend alot more time outdoors

I'm also loving that hair grows back fast

 Mr B is one creative lad.....

so creative that his brother came out of the bathroom this evening with half of his fringe gone!

Yes gone!!!!!!

and it's school photo's tommorrow :)

Yes I could have shouted...... and any other day I probably would have... but tonight I couldn't help but laugh ---- hard!

Sorry no photo for you... as I dealt to straight away....

And it's better... but I'm no hairdresser. 

All I can say is I'm just thankful I put a stop to it when I did...

next in the line for a makeover was Lil Miss!!!!

My Creative Space - Multiple Projects

# Edit: I found the original seller if you would like to purchase your own
handle and pattern for this bag below

Lots of projects on the go at the moment

But first this bag is from my creative space last week.... I didn't get photos until Sunday..... so here's my Mothers Day pressie for Mum

I bought the metal frame years ago at the Hamilton Craft and Quilt Fair, and ever since I have made a summer or winter bag to slot on to it for Mum, so far the tally is four... she love's this bag,

and always gets loads of comments on each style... and best of all A couple of fat quarters is all it takes, so I always have enough in my stash to sew one up.

As for this week I have been knitting little pink things for a little niece due soon overseas.... a little bonnet awaiting some ribbon and the first of a pair of Saartjes booties.

Also on the go is a tunic for me, a cardigan knitted in 2ply for me ( it's lingering in the corner ) and then there is also Mr B's

( AKA middle B... decided to change his name )

wall hanging that we are both chipping away at :)

For more creative spaces see here



Boys Knitting

So there's a bit of a stigma about boys knitting...

however when your boys have grown up around you always with needles and wool not far from your side... one of them is eventually going to want to learn to knit!

This is Middle B's second attempt at knitting.... his first was last year and ended abrubtly with alot of frustration and tears... a few months later and he was ready to pick up the needles again.

It's not been easy to teach, and I definately needed to keep my cool.... as he often lost his.  But slowly but surely as the wrist warmer grew, the knitting improved... and his 'custom made holes' at the start made the perfect button holes :)

Today he proudly wore it to school ... and like all his creations, this is likely to be worn until it breaks or wears out.

Now I have been persuaded to help in his latest project.

The other day when we were in the library,

he picked up a sewing and knitting book for kids,

 after alot of dreaming the next project has already been decided

Tonight we picked the fabrics and HE ironed them!

( never hurts to teach boys that one )

Tommorow night we will start to cut and sew

My new favourite Timesaver!

Warning: This may make any little helpers redundant of their job

Look what arrived in my mailbox last week......

I am so in love with this not only because the fabrics are just my cup of tea... but it is just so handy to have..

sorry did I say handy?.... I meant indispensable!

I have already given this peg apron a pretty good test run in it's short time with me.....with 4 kids and one still in nappies

( she's stubborn, still working on that one )

it sure has had it's fair share of use.

It has halved the time of hanging out my washing, not to mention saved my poor back! If you don't already own one....you should! Anything to cut down on time doing the laundry, right?

Well this is what you will find;  

there will be, no more wrestling with multiple pegs in your hand, no more walking back and forth or swinging a clothes line around to get the pegs from that plastic peg basket... no more searching for pegs in the bottom of the washing basket that were left over from last time you brought in the washing in a rush....

or for me recently .... no more bending down for pegs in the icecream container! 
I think you get the idea :)

Now, I simply grab multiple sets of clothing and pop them into the crook of my arm and peg them out, four or five lots at a time...

Oh.. and taking the washing in?

It's even faster... you almost don't need your washing basket at all.

 And if you live in a high wind area?

I can asure you, fighting with the washing flapping in your face,

 is that more tolerable.

So where can you get one? Here in New Zealand and they're handmade by a fellow blogger 

Nin from The Wardrobe

After the pleasure of owning one of these,  I offered to write a review for Nin, as why shouldn't something like this be shared around... so if I've tempted you....
 I can say without a doubt I highly recommend you buy one and why stop there....what about purchasing one as a gift?... this would make the perfect gift for a new mum.  
If only I had one 10yrs ago.

Maybe then I wouldn't have had such an aversion to hanging out the washing.... back then the drier had much more appeal.

And if floral is not your cup of tea... 
Nin has many other choices available... here are just a few

Found here

Found Here

Found Here

More selections can be found here on Felt.co.nz

Also I must note : if you are a fellow sewer like me,

this may already have been on your 'to do' list for eons....

But it's likely there are far more other pretty projects that will take pride of place.... so thanks to Nin, she has now given us the option to buy a beautifully stitched one and at an affordable price :)