wardrobe wednesday?

 A photo from last week( yep i'm a dork!) , dressed up for our wedding anniversary date. 38 weeks +6 days All Thrifted! A glassons maxi dress from the recycle centre, ditto the belt and the cropped jacket was from a flea market ($5) about 5 years ago! On my feet? leather jandals a friend gave me  at teachers college about the time I met my husband... 11 years ago?  married for 9 years now, and its all good. We've been through some challenges: poorness, post natal depresssion,  everyday life  with 3 young kids etc, but  as they say keep talking to each other, and we are lucky  enough to have heaps in common in terms of philosphy etc.

 And in other sharing, some dresses for the girls, using up old sock wool and fabric from op shops. cute and old fashioned I think? And adds a bit of warmth to the chest area, which seems appropriate due to the grey autumnal weather we've been having this week ( which I love), candles  at the meal table, cosy crafting inside and brisk walks outside ( haven't done that yet as I can't walk much!). The pattern is this one from ravelry, that I upsized by using bigger needles and for Anoushka knitting more increases and cms for the length. For Maaike I striped it to use up  what I had left from a pair of socks I made for my sister last year and missed out the lace pattern.

 I think I'm nesting... yesterday I made tomato sauce ( green, because of all the stink bugs!), two carrot and zucchini cakes and a fruit crumble from  fruit from my garden! Rhubarb, raspberries, blackberries and white flesh peaches that blew down in the storm last week. Yum!  The kids made pipecleaner fairyfolk, and painted the airdried clay gnomes they made last week,  and changed and made nature tables all over the house. Today I pickled garlic indian style, chased rabbits, made  yoghurt , finished two t shirts for the baby and a skirt for me. I am knitting a pair of socks for me and working on some autumnal decor for the house... and waiting ... patiently!?




 P.s struggling with techno stuff, heres the link for wardrobe wednesday

secret squirreling and a celebration

(Maaike the gnome-fairy, modelling the gnome hat I finally made with my first art-yarn attempt from here ).

Our eldest daughter, Anoushka, turned six in the weekend, and we have been so focused on preparing for it that I haven't had time to post for a while, sorry! We have made a stand on commercialism-free gifts for the last three christmases(e.g, handmade or thrifted), and I often make somethingfor the children's birthdays, but this time the only thing we bought for her was handmade by the local Steiner/Waldorf school's doll making group as a fundraiser, so in other words, handmade by someone else. Of course this means lots of time investure instead of dollars.

 Anoushka had been asking for more farm animals,(waldorf style), so I made a family of cows using wool felt and tweed fabrics,using the book of patterns sew soft toys , and to complement the farmyard theme, my husband made fences from a branch donated by a friend, and a forest of trees, using patterns and instructions from Wee Folk Art,

We decorated the house with flowers and a ring with fairies and butterflies. I made her a red riding hood cape, in rainbow colours from  a living crafts mag, and a dress using bits and pieces, ruffles and lace and an old linen table cloth ( more photos to come maybe).

  We had  a whole lot of families here for her party, where we dyed some yarn as an activity, which the children ( and mamas) really enjoyed. Above are the results, drying before they all went home. I love how they were all different and  beautiful.

more crafts

 A friend had a beautiful baby girl last week... Welcome Nia Grace! I made her this vest.To hide or accent the fact that the pinks are all different ( I just used what I had in my stash), I crocheted a flower to match all the colours. The buttons too, are from my stash!

 And now to share a project we have been working on for about a month: A playscape! I have been inspired by many different places. The idea I saw first in the LIVING CRafts Mag about a year ago and then recently I saw it again , although in a different form on the RYTHYM of the HOME site. 

 Together with the children I felted the mat in stages that fit the bubble wrap i had, then stitched on felted pebbles ( bought), made pumpkins and a cave.  the bushes were made by the children by making pompoms, and the grass was  crocheted with an extra row of loops n top.  There are more trees coming and then I'll stitch some hessian to the bottom for added strength and longevity!

happy Birthday to you....

A little bit of anarchy anyone?  So  amowhawk for him lest likely to actually get a real one ( not sure I'd want him to anyway); a way of dressing up for adults; a way of saying 'F' you to  the system when you want to!  Pattern from  the book Domiknitrix.  

The kids made badges , by drawing little pictures ( quite a challenge for some of them) and we used my badge making kit from Spotlight to finish them off.  Some images are only half a picture, but still look pretty funky we think.

 He also got breakfast pancakes, a mushroom kit and some spending money for the dump shops in Nelson tomorrow.  Have a nice weekend!

Shh, Struan don't look!

Incognito from here  for a birthday coming up soon. I have some more "cheeky" knitting patterns up my sleeve for him too. Question is , will he wear it to school?

Pav perfection! And I made it! It just didn't sit right that he had success and I didn't. Recipe from Edmonds cook book ( A NZ classic).

AWWW! What more can I say? ( He lives outside now, We've weather-proofed his house, and he's proven his survival instinct. 

a catch up

Finished: Some mitts for me! Pattern is Reading Mitts on Ravelry.

Maaike's fourth birthday started bright and early.

results of a painting morning from us four that are home during daylight hours.

They really enjoyed the painting, though at times the process overwhelmed me!  Note to self:Next time have it all set up before toddler starts washing hands in water jar and 4 year old paints the table! Also art smocks would be good!

 I am tired but inspired this week after hooking up with some other home schoolers and talking about what they do. Actually just knowing there are others like us, even if we all do things our own way is good. There are even other homeschoolers down the street! ( Believe me our road is so rural, its surprises me sometimes there is anyone down the street, especially on foggy mornings!)

So inspired I am and have to knuckle down and provide more for the children, and do it alongside I think. Not lessons as such but definately experiences with variety as the spice of life?

My W.I.P s are some homespun socks for Anoushka ( two at a a time on circs, how hard can it be?), spinning some raw fleece in the grease and trying to learn to handcard from  googled sites; videos aren't any good for slow dial up like this!

The blanket for girls is taking some time out and I am trying to find time for sewing overpants , new cushion covers for  lounge, an obi belt for me and more pants for the young lad. 

what inspires you and what are you making?

Birthday preparations

 Seeing as I hadn't realised just how fast a fourth birthday has crept up I have been rather stressed and busy!
Last weekend we were lucky enough to have my father visiting too so lovely busy times.  Have more cooking and baking to do for tomorrow....

more yarn

 Maaike started trying to knit earlier in the year, but needed a bit of help, but yesterday, while I was untangling bits of wool she found her knitting and polished off four whole rows with only a quick reminder of the rhyme we use. the shot is a bit grainy though, woops!I had a play on my spinning wheel ( a new to me one, donated by a colleague of my husband, rescued from her garage), playing with how skinny I could make the singles, using scrap bits of fibre that a few months ago I couldn't spin, plying them together etc. Fun!

 The two fibres used here are in natural colours but I have no idea what sheep they came  from. Finally confirmation of moving day! This friday we finally move our stuff into our rural rental and start to make it our home!

Opshop finds and knitted things

In between holiday (though of course we are not on holiday) accommodation on Monday we went into Richmond and it was one of those good days for second hand and junk finds! Great even!

Some lovely old copies of one of my favourite series of books; little women by Louisa M. Alcott, a great vintage book called Pookie and the Gypsies. Some old cot sheets, a beautiful tea tray, some old half finished linens and rolls of embroidery floss. Not pictured, some old cups and bowls.

This week I finished some mittens for Maaike using some of my prettiest yarn  leftovers and some of the samples from my Blendy yarn sampler box. But don't look too closely, as I obviously didn't conccentrate hard enough making the second mitten and she has two the same.... the pattern is playground mitts from Ravelry. she doesn't seem to mind...

In April was Tobin's birthday and I think i forgot to post photos of the things I knitted for him ( that he hasn't the patience to wear yet), so here they are!

A hat from tot toppers, and more playground mittens, but adjusted for a smaller size. Just fewer rows really , all the shaping I kept the same. His I managed to get right!

On the house front, It seems that we will get to move  into our rented Dovedale home, but we are still not sure when... It was supposed to be today, but we are kind of lucky its not as it is actually raining here in sunny nelson today! Pouring!Have a nice weekend, I'll be knitting, off to the nelson library and baking fresh bread today. You?

breathe out

Hedgerow socks from Ravelry.

Saartje-inspired bootees also found on Ravelry. ( The whole family now have a pair each, mum and dad included! watch out you could get a pair next, they are addictive and quick!)

Still life in kitchen.
A change of scene this week ( we really are gypsys at the moment!). A bach in Kina Beach near Tasman, kindly organised by a friend and just in time for my sanity. Even better, just 50 metres from the beach!Its the little things that make this resting space wonderful: grass, trees and tuis(native birds with beautiful song) feeding from them, a full size fridge, and oven, space for the children to play away from my feet.
Its been good for the whole family, for even though the change is hard particularly for the smallest in the family, the space has been good for everyone's creativity. Anouhska has started to read books on her own ( fiercely on her own), accepting help only on her terms. not surprising really as that is how i find most children are about learning new skills. How often have we heard wee toddlers saying emphatically "I Do it!!!"

knitting updates

A blanket for the girls bed. pattern from living crafts magazine.

A little bit of knittinghas been done in the days following the easter fair, and lots during! Trade could have been better, but it was great to get this pattern finished! The following pics are of my "Victoria vest" by the Rare yarns company, made with wool  I found on trade me for fifteen dollars for one kilo, and spun myself as singles.  I didn't wash the yarn to set the twist but did block the vest after finishing and am super happy with how the yarn responded, fluffing up and stretching out nicely.

Also some photos of where we are at the moment. Beautiful Mapua!

Enjoy the rest of the week or autumn holidays! I'm off to find some needles to complete some more knitting projects!

more beautiful wool pics

my cowl, and earrings my husband bought for our anniversary. sorry no pic of my face, i haven't presented myself yet! But I have milked a goat, he he!

Autumn calling!

The children thought the slightly chillier mornings and faint colouring of the poplar leaves mean that it is high time to make an autumnal nature table display. Nice work don't you think? It was completely self directed, and we are looking forward to some nature walks to collect more leaves etc as they fall.

 I've started sewing  for the easter fair, inspired by retro sheets and pinnies, and bias binding and ric rac. lots more projects in mind, lets see how far I get!






 Ive also been knitting up this  wool. it has turned into a cowl style scarf, with a twist ( unintentional, but makes it drape nicely), and I am completely in love with the colours, it is like knitting molten gold, or autumn leaves and so soft! My son was stroking it this morning as he had his wake -up -nurse.  I'll try and get a photo soon of me wearing it.
 I have been busy this week looking after a friends farmlet: milking her goat and feeding chickens etc. I love it. I spent a year in Australia on a farm stay outdoor centre attached to a high school where we had a myriad of animals to see to every morning;  including teaching the students who came on camp to milk cows by hand. It made quite an impact, and I think has  made the yearning for a country life unignorable!

Friends

  A morning tea with friends, babies and a baby to come (soon), knitting,  Talking, food and herbal tea, and this morining, an email from a friend that moved away, perfect. Now an afternoon , for sewing!

 (the light is not great ( nor is  my camera), but this is the vest for Maaike, from the wool she dyed).

 Sorry to miss you Gill!