bye for now

Well, I have not posted in almost 2 months and after this I don't think I'll be posting anytime soon. I have enjoyed taking a break from crafting and blogging. I am also very busy with little miss Isa. She is rolling all over the place, that is how she gets around. I don't think she will ever crawl. I am enjoying watching her turn into a little person and I don't want to compromise my time with her. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and hope the New Year has treated you well. Bye for now.

just need some elves

I can't believe it's been almost a month since a last post, time is going too quick. I have been busy, sewing Christmas presents like a woman gone mad. I finally got inspired last week when Melissa had a few ladies over to rummage through a massive pile of fabric she was giving away. I burrowed 'Simple Sewing' by Lotta Jansdotter from a friend. Nothing like new fabric and a book on sewing to get you motivated. I find sewing a difficult craft for me because I am not perfect at it. Far from it actually. But I found this book really good. Easy projects, the patterns are easy to follow and it was a good way for me to get to know my sewing machine. I'll have to post pictures of the finished projects after Christmas, due to them being presents and all.

a chair for the princess

Yesterday, we made a trip to the recycling center and found this high chair. It is in amazing condition. We seem to always have good luck finding things for Isabella there. Now she can sit with us instead of on our laps for dinner.
The trip to Wellington was lovely. We had such a nice time visiting with friends and Matt's show went really well. Whenever I visit there, it has been sunny and warm (a fluke) and everything about the place makes me want to live there. One day in the future, perhaps.
I woke at 3am completely wired, thinking about Christmas presents of all things. I better start making things. Any ideas for gifts to give the in laws?

new addiction

I have been neglecting my blog due to my new addiction, face book. I don't spend much time on the computer at all, but now it seems I am happy to stay up that extra hour just to spend time looking up friends from kindergarten to high school. Oh so sad, but so much fun.



I have had some jewellery up at a local cafe for a bit and it seems to be going well. I haven't sold any necklaces, maby I should drop the prices, but the earrings seem to be flying out the door. So last week I made some more earrings to put up and with in a few days most of them have sold! Everyone seems to like the bubble gum earrings. So I better make some more.
We are heading to Wellington this weekend because Matt is playing at a punk fest there. I am so excited for us to have a break from the day to day stuff. And we get to visit some good friends, have yummy breakfast and do some much needed retail therapy. For all of you with the long weekend, hope you have a good one.

sun, veg and bubs

What happened to the week?! All of a sudden it's Friday again. I don't know how that happens. Today, I managed to get outside and do a bit of gardening in the sun. I've planted some herbs, cucumber and zuchini so far. Not much room for it, but we will see how it goes. Isabella spent some time under the umbrella and she managed to help me weed a bit too.

and the cuffs go to...

Well, you made it easy on me. Four cuffs to give away and four people in need of them. Nikki, Helen, Kimberlie and Ali! Just give me an email with your address and I will post them next week.



Last week, Isabella had slept through the night for about 5 days in a row. This was amazing to say the least. I felt...almost....normal. Being the first good nights sleep that I'd had in about a year, I woke Matt up at 6 am to tell him. I remember walking around the house that day, feeling like I could break into song at any moment, like they do in musicals. What a different week this ones been! She doesn't want to sleep. Not day, not night, not at all! Oh well, at least I had that brief moment of sanity. And I guess she can get away with it cause she's so damn cute!

charity and music

I had time (wow!time!) to search around for some new blogs and found this one that everyone should have a look at. It's things like this that really make me want to get out there and do more for the community and people in need. Lucky I had just done a big clean out of my jewellery supplies. Now I know what to do with all these extra beads, clasps, etc.

At the moment, I am listening to a burrowed Flip Grater cd. This is my first listen and I am really liking it. Some of it reminds me of PJ Harvey. So if you like that kind of music, I suggest checking her myspace page out. She has got a good vegan cookbook as well!

I must go. I can hear wee Isa talking to herself in her cot. I think she is trying to omit her morning naps.

give aways

This is a quilt that I started for little Isa. I am hoping to finish it buy Christmas. We will see. At the moment, she is lying next to me on the floor playing with her elephant and making some serious gurgling noises.

I am doing a big clean out and am sorting through the craft and jewellery stash. I have found so many half finished projects. I think with most of them I'll have to take them apart and start over. But I found a lot of finished things just lying around, not being worn by anyone. So, since they didn't sell on Etsy and I can't be bothered spending the time to re post them up there, I've decided to give my knitted cuffs away. If anyone is interested, just leave a comment with your name and the colour you like and I'll announce the winners on Friday.

four season scarf

I sent my sister a parcel for her and the kids birthdays in July. I necklace for Oona, a school bag for Aiden and a 4 season scarf for my sis. I embroidered 4 sections of the scarf with different flowers keeping the season theme in mind. I don't know why, but I enjoy embroidering. I guess it's because it's fiddly, intricate and takes forever to finish.

To be honest, I wish I had kept this scarf for myself. I think I unconsciously made it with myself in mind, not my sister. I know it's not really her style, but I hope she still enjoys it.

I went on an early morning (7:30) walk with the dog and Isabella. It's pretty cloudy but not too cold. I would love to role out of bed and have the motivation to do this every morning, we will see.

birthdays

It was my birthday yesterday.I had a lot of surprises in store. One of them being a little party with some close friends. I enjoyed the good company, afternoon champagne and watching the children playing outside in the 'rain' with their umbrellas.


A few months ago I had seen this blue guitar in a shop window and had mentioned that I would learn how to play if I owned that guitar. The last thing I expected was for my hubby to get it for me for my birthday! But what a lovely surprise. Now I have to hold up my end of the deal and learn how to play.


I also got some really lovely gifts from my lovely friends. These flowers have reminded me that Spring is my favorite season. I think flowers can change the whole atmosphere of a room. I'm going to try and have fresh flowers in the house over the next few months.


Yesterday has restored my faith in birthdays. I haven't really had a good one for a few years. After being pregnant for last years, I had come to terms with the fact that it will most likely just end up being another day. But it was more then that thanks to Matt and good friends.

stars and crescent moons

Isabella has finally learned how to sleep. Well, really, I finally learned how to tell when she needs to sleep. This means that I get a few hours in the day to myself. I know, you're all saying 'sleep!' but I do get a good nights sleep and a rest during the day. So, I had time and the motivation to make something. I made this stars and crescent moon thingy to hang over Isabella's cot. And she loves to stare at it as she drifts off to slumber. All the sleep she has been doing lately has her and I in a much better mood. She is such a happy baby now the she's not over tired all the time. Who knew babies her age are only supposed to be up for an hour or so at a time? Not me.

A quick catch up

One big mess that I would love to organize.


One finished glove, the other, hopefully knitted before winter ends.


One beautiful baby girl enjoying a sunny Sunday.

Again, I have taken a long break from my blog. One, we have little Isabella to keep us busy. Two, the spare room that the computer lives in is frigid at best. And three, we had a few weeks of visitors. My mum came from Oregon to visit the new grand baby. I hadn't seen her in almost 2 years and I had such a nice time with her. She gave Matt and I some much needed tips to try with Isa and a lot of calm to some frantic situations. And Matt's mum came to stay for a week, too. I hope that the Nana's had a good time with us.
I have not even thought about crafting. The table I work at is under a huge pile of things. I don't think I'll get to make anything anytime soon either. I am still trying to get Thank yous and announcements written out. I had to register Isabella's birth and it took me a week just to get my first name on the form! Having a wee one is amazing, but wow, time exists in a whole new way. I can't imagine what it would be like to be a single mum or to not have the support of my hubby. Thinking about it makes me appreciate what I've got.
Oh, and thanks to Helen and Rachael for the surprise parcel. So many lovely things, I will have to post about them another time.

Well, Isabella is due today. I wonder what it would have been like if she had decided not to come early. Would my labour still have been 37 1/2 hours? And would the medical side of things been such a factor? I have had a few reads of the hospital report and it brings me to tears to think about how we could have lost her. But all is well. The first week was a bit to serene, not much crying and heaps of sleep. This week, little Bella has found her voice and has opted for less sleep, for both her and us. She has already put on more then half a pound, which is great for a wee thing like her. I know I will just love watching her grow up, see who she becomes. One of the best things about newborns is when they do adult things, like sneeze or yawn. And they say they don't know what a smile is, but I reckon I 've already seen a few on her face.
Not much crafting, can you imagine why? I have been trying to make her some booties and a hat, but it is taking me longer then I had expected. Thank you everyone for the congratulations on her arrival.

an unexpected arrival

I imagine I won't be posting much over the next few weeks as we had an early arrival of our baby girl. Isabella Eve was born on May 6 at 5:23pm. It was a long labour, but I won't go into details just now. Words can't express the way I feel, I have never been in love with something so much. My husband wrote a blog here, he is a bit more articulate at the moment.

a sunny day at last

I awoke this morning with the urge to paint. This is odd, because I am not a painter and I sure as hell can't draw. I took a water colour class about 7 years ago and that was the last time I have held a paint brush to paper. I figured I must do whatever my pregnant self is feeling like at the moment, so I went and bought some acrylics and canvas paper. Our bedroom walls are pretty much bare at the moment, so I thought I would let the flowers on our curtains inspire me. I am not quite finished and I don't know how I feel about it, but I did enjoy doing it. It was the first sunny day in a while and so I sat outside and painted. I never realised it would be so relaxing. My painting may look juvenile but I enjoyed it so much that I will continue to paint on a regular bases.

bogan baby

Matt and I went to...spotlight....the other day and he found this skull flannel material. He wanted me to make a baby blanket out of it. I really shouldn't be encouraging the bogan lifestyle, but here it is. I actually think it's cute, and it will go well with the Motorhead onesy.

Je suis un lapin

Wow, it has not warmed up at all today. Not much natural sunlight to take pictures in either. I finished the bunny. He is so very soft. I didn't follow the pattern exactly. I wanted to make him stripy and with floppy ears. I enjoyed knitting something other then a scarf and I guess I like how he turned out.

I also started making these 'baby announcement' cards. I was so excited when I woke up at 4am and thought of this idea. But I don't know about how they look now that I have made a few. It is that old side of the fist trick, dipped in fabric paint, pressed on fabric and then sewed onto a card. Does it look like a babies foot to you? That is the point I was trying to get across. Speaking of babies feet, the novelty of getting kicked in the stomach 80 times a day has warn off.

Last night, I had a baby shower with some friends. We went to my favorite Indian restaurant. It was so nice to go out and be social, I enjoyed it so much. Amongst the good conversation and yummy food, I/baby got given some amazing hand made gifts. I was very touched and felt loved. But the best gift given was...a box of condoms(not pictured). Like Melissa, I too went home so full and had a really hard time sleeping.

loved and not so loved

Yesterday was ANZAC day and we went to a friends bbq. I think we all ate way to much food for lunch and then continued to stuff ourselves full of cakes. It was a beautiful sunny day, a good one to spend with friends. Needless to say, no crafting yesterday. I thought I might share a few things about my house. Well, one thing I love and another...ah.. not so much loved thing.

We live in an old renevated villa. They kept all the old doors and moldings on the inside of the house. And I am pleased to say they kept the ones on the outside too. I love the front of our house, but we don't spend a single moment out here. The reason being that it is a very busy street and there is no privacy. We often wake up to beer cans and rubbish thrown over the fence on Sunday mornings. I still would like to put some planters and maby a bench out there because at the moment , it doesn't even look like anyone lives here. Whenever I move into a place, I always think 'if I owned it, I would do', well in this case it would be planting a lot of tall trees in the front.

One thing that is not so loved, these curtains! They are so hideous. Luckily, for the rest of the house, we have been able to find decent looking curtains and these are just in the spare room. It is one of those things I am always looking for second hand.