I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Christmas, that the holidays treat you well and you have joy and peace in your life. I had a good Christmas. Very quiet, just me, Matt and the dog. But I savored it, because it will be the last quiet one for many years to come. My mind has been somewhere else this year, so I didn't get into the spirit much, but what really upset me is that I forgot Solstice. I always make a point to acknowledge Solstice, I used to celebrate it with my family and friends back home. Realising this makes me miss those friends and my family, oh so far away, so if yours are near, relish it.


Anyways, Matt's favorite present was this baby-t I made him. I tried dyeing it black(he loves black) and it ended up this streaky grey/blue. The streaky bits suit the shirt because it looks like grease stains, like the baby has been working on the car with it's papa. I just had to ad the Motorhead logo(Matt likes them lots). You always think boys will grow out of loving heavy metal and black, but some just don't.

a few good links

These are some brooches that I have been selling at the market. They are made with fimo. They have a better colour selection of fimo now, then when I was a kid.
The baby really doesn't feel like posting anything else today, so I thought I would give a few links to some blogs I have recently stumbled upon.

Beesnest is a great read with lovely photos.

All buttoned up does really amazing quilts and had a post on fabric boxes.

Abigail Percy's jewellery makes jewellery to be admired.

Mental health day

This weekend, we had two work Christmas parties. One of them was out of town, so we stayed the night at a hostel in Motueka. We went to their local Sunday market, at which I saw about 20 people from Nelson. And then we spent the day driving to one of my favorite beaches, Pohara. I know summer is coming, cause I have a sunburn and bug bites.


Matt and I still have our Christmas tree from last year, which was planted in a pot that was way to small for it's growing roots. So I have re potted it, and brought it inside to decorate. It is about a foot taller and grown crooked, but it is a Christmas tree just the same. I imagine we will hall this tree around with us until we buy a house where we can plant it.
Something we don't have is decorations. I made this felt tree the other night which I thoroughly enjoyed, reminds me of the good old hand sewing days. I decided to try to sew some felt on to a t-shirt for my niece's Christmas present. A pink and purple (her fav colours) flower.
We have had such a busy week, I have taken a 'mental health day' off work. I plan on getting our Christmas cards ready to send out, I know, just a little procrastination. I've got some other errands to run, but I think I will squeeze in taking the dog to the beach and going to the library.

denial

The other day, I made my very first shirt. No pattern, just kind of winged it. I had one mistake towards the end, a twisted strap, but I unpicked and fixed it. When I was finished, I was so pleased with myself. Isn't it pretty?



Am I in denial? Did I not think to make sure the shirt would actually fit my new puffy self? Well, as you can see, I am sad. That is my best pout, I am not pulling an Angelina Jolie. I will have to take this to a clothes swap and hope someone with a smaller frame enjoys it.

french toast and earings

I sat at my jewellery desk for the first time in a while yesterday. I came up with these earings. The discs are bone and wood. I really like how they have turned out, so I might just have to make some for the market stall. I am thinking that pendants in this style might look good as well.

After visiting Creative Kismet, I have been on a search for

yummy vegan french toast. I finally found one at Recipe Zaar. One thing I would omit/change, do not send 1 husband to store for stale french bread. Your outcome will be fresh unsliced whole meal bread.
1 cup soy milk
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp nutri yeast/brewers yeast
1 tsp vanilla extact
1 tsp cinnamon
Mix it all together, dip in bread, cook up, suggested serving with maple syrup and strawberries. I was really surprised how this tasted like the french toast I used to have as a kid, you'd never know it was vegan.

okay, now the crafty bits

This is a "quilt" that I have been working on for Matt and myself. I know, you're thinking I should be making quilts for the baby. Well, this is the first project I have ever used a sewing machine for and I figure making mistakes on things for me is okay. Mistakes oh plenty! The main one being the squares are not all the same size. Please, anyone who knows how to quilt, don't look to closely at this picture. This is very difficult for me because I am a bit of a perfectionist, but this is a learning experience, right? I am learning that all those fancy expensive quilting tools might be a good purchase.

dear new blog

Oh, how good it feels to have a blog again. I have just started to regain my creative thoughts and energy to pursue them. My lack of motivation was due to the first few months of pregnancy. The last thing I felt like doing was making things, let alone sitting at the computer to write about them. But now that I am feeling better, I am happy to get back into it. Happy to share and happy to see what everyone else has been up to.
I have my first favour to ask! I am new to 'blogger' and can't seem to write a paragraph, then post a picture. It will only let me put the pics at the top of the page(next post is my example). Can anyone tell me how to get the pics below my paragraph, or is this just the way it is?