Colourful Bits and Pieces

I am so happy ... a wonderful new store has recently opened and it stocks the most gorgeous fabrics and trims.  And best of all it's just 5 minutes from my home.  Stitchbird have a lovely online service, but there is something about being able to see things, to feel them and to wander around with a curtain swatch in your hand desperately trying to match up fabrics to make cushions!!  I was a bit overwhelmed - because I loved everything in there.  I couldn't walk away without buying these beautiful ribbons.  They will form part of the cushion decoration once I decide on a fabric (a seemingly impossible task given the choices!!).  

I was in a stationery shop looking at kids gift ideas when I spotted this adorable range of kids craft products.  Cheap as chips and totally gorgeous.  These buttons had to come home with me - they are the exact colours I use for my tea cosies - so now I will have ample supplies for my tea cosy fastenings.  

And speaking of tea cosies, I made yet another one over the weekend!  I have a few more teapots to make cosies for and then I will have to wait for another decent sale to purchase more teapots.  I like them to fit nicely so I can't just make a random cosy in the hope it will fit any old teapot.  

 Rainbow stripes are just what is needed on this freezing cold, rainy day!!

Crikey it sounds as if all I have done this week is shop!  But because it was Queen's Birthday weekend - all the stores had massive sales, so I took advantage of the savings.  I have been wanting this book for over a year now but it was too expensive.  So when I spotted it on Sunday for 30% off I couldn't refuse.  It was the last one in the store so I think it was meant to be!!  I love it and can't wait to have a go at some of these squares.  Here are few of my faves so far ....

I especially love this bobble pattern.  In fact, this was the clincher in making me buy the book.  I've had a go at 'inventing' a bobble stitch so it will be nice to find out how it is actually done!!

Some of them seem fairly simple and some of them send my brain into a complete and utter muddle!

I shall leave you this week with some calorie laden pics.  I completely forgot to show you these from way back at Easter time.  I had the most stunning high tea with dear friends Ange & Nicky (hi lovely girls!!) at this beautiful cafe in Petone called Sweetpea.  The cupcake cabinet was beyond belief.

 Now that's a cupcake!!  But clearly it's a healthy one because it has fruit on it!

 Very girly.  I'm loving the icing-to-cupcake ratio here.

 The light shades were made from old jars and bottles - really clever.

The high tea was filling enough, but no, there was more.  When it was time to leave, you got to choose one of those amazing cupcakes to take home.  Delicious!  I can't wait to go back there sometime soon.

I am off to pick up my crochet hook and finish my cat as part of Annaboo's CAL.  And then I really need to make more of an effort to finish my huge blanket.  It is absolutely freezing here at the moment, so a lovely big blanket on my bed is what is called for.  Not to mention the fact that working on a blanket keeps you toasty warm - just perfect!!!

Have a fabulous week all!  See you soon.
Leah
xxxx

A bit quiet ...

Aaah, it's lovely to be back spending some time on the computer!  I have been a bit under the weather recently but am feeling more like myself again now and bursting to get stuck into some new projects.  I have missed reading all my favourite blogs and will have to start a serious catch up!  

I know it sounds mad but I was beginning to wonder if my crochet hook had the power to change the weather .... because it seems as soon as I start a warm, woolly project when we're having freezing cold southerlies, the weather instantly improves!  On Sunday Miss 4 requested a mini version of my wristwarmers and sure enough Monday was sunny and warm.  The same goes for the woolly hats I made last week, the sun came out almost instantly.  If only that were true, I'd walk around with a ball of wool and a crochet hook constantly just to enjoy every last scrap of sunshine before the dreary weather kicks in for Winter.  Daylight savings finishes here this weekend which is always so depressing.  Dark evenings - blah!!  

So even though it is a gorgeous day, madam is wearing her wee gloves and asked me to put mine on too for the pic.  I think these look absolutely adorable in a mini size!  Miss 4 was very specific about which rainbow colours she wanted - I think she chose well.  I just made the foundation chain long enough to fit her wee wrist which was 21ch from memory with a 4mm hook and DK wool.

And a few more hats have been made, this one was a test run of a new pattern I was trying.  I love adding all these wee pretty bits to girls hats.  Boys hats are bit more limited aren't they?  I usually add my little teddy bear design (the tutorial is here) to the newborn ones to jazz them up a bit and I'm starting to play around with some stripes to make the older boys hats look a bit cooler.  Now I just have to get myself organised and pop them in my little shop.

I was hugely excited this morning when the library called to say they'd got in a book I'd requested.  I love Kirstie (and Phil too in their other series!!!) and am really, really enjoying her latest series which has been running here for a few weeks.  So I'm very eager to sit down tomorrow with a large cup of tea and read through this gorgeous book for more inspiration.

I know I should be spending all my time trying to finish my whopper blanket but sometimes you just need a little diversion.  So another tea cosy has been planned, wool chosen and pot selected.  For the first time I am going to use some darker colours and I'm really looking forward to it.  You can see from my little obsession below that rainbow colours are my usual thing!!  I will hopefully have it finished to show you next week.  I also have a story to share with you then about one of my jet-setting tea cosies!!

Well that's about it from me for now.  Miss 4 is sitting across the table from me making jewellery with paper and glittery jewels so I'm going to join her.

Have a fabulous week everyone, see you again soon.
Leah
xxxx

What a fabulous weekend!

Before I start rambling on about my weekend and boring you with a million pictures, I just wanted to pop a pic on with my blanket progress.  I am really, really loving working on this and it is steadily growing.  All the required colour variations have been made so it's just a case of repeating them now which is great as it means the only decision I have to make is where to put each square.  No more having to think about what colour should go next in the rounds!!

I can't wait to have this on my bed for winter - it is going to make the room look so cosy and inviting - well that's the plan anyway!  I am looking forward to this evening when I can plonk myself down for the entire night with my hook in hand.  Project Runway is on tonight and I am a complete addict, as are most of my girlfriends, so it's a good excuse to sit and crochet at the same time.  Fantastic! Then tomorrow morning we all chat and compare notes about the show, convincing ourselves we could do a better job than some of the contestants! So now I'll tell you about my weekend ...

My husband was lucky enough to receive a fabulous invitation to an event at Government House on Saturday.  As he was invited by the event sponsor, it also included a tour of this stunning venue and VIP treatment for the rest of the day (woohoo!).  I live less than 5 minutes from Government House and I have never been there so I was beyond excited.  I managed to keep my cool for all of about 20 minutes then the camera came out and I took more photos that your average tourist!  I wasn't alone though - there were lots of cameras doing exactly the same.  The event was an outdoor concert performed by the Wellington Orchestra and it was held on the front lawn.  I will warn you now - there are quite a few photos!!

Government House is the official residence of the Governor-General, the representative of the Queen of New Zealand.  It was built between 1908 and 1910 but has recently been hugely refurbished and only re-opened in March 2011.

The grounds are stunning - I still can't believe how substantial this property is when all I've ever seen from the road is the gates!  Just beautiful.  Our current Governor-General His Excellency Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae was seated only a few metres from me so I was on my best behaviour.  I thought it was lovely that he told us that Boots the vice regal cat, had been tucked away safely indoors so he wouldn't get such a fright when the 16 cannons went off during the 1812 Overture.  Boots might have been less frightened, but personally I just about fell off my chair!!  Even though I knew to expect the cannons, I didn't realise that they were on the slope just up behind our seats!!!  Blimey it was loud.  I was filming it in anticipation, and looking at it now all you can see or hear is my camera shaking violently every time there was a boom and the occasional swear word - oops!

Inside it was just beautiful.  I'm so chuffed that somehow I managed to get most of these pics with no other people in them even though our group was fairly large.  This pic was in the main entry/hallway.

The very grand, long dining room.  Each chair back was hand embroidered with a different crest for different regions of New Zealand.

 I loved this red fireplace!

 Lots of historical paintings.

 Beautiful Maori carvings.

 I think this room was one of my favourites - it had a lovely feeling of calm about it.

 I can only begin to imagine the famous folk who have been in these rooms!

 The view out onto the back garden - looking out onto Wellington city.

 Now this chair would look good at the end of my dining table!

This room really made me oooh and aaah.  This is where all the action happens with big events including our honours lists, when folk are given titles etc.  Mmmm Dame Leah - for her services to crochet .... I don't think that's likely!

Imagine attending a party in this room - just gorgeous!

 Not such a great pic, but the view to the gardens were just lovely.

And this is the back lawn!  We were greeted on this balcony and thankfully we were given beautiful sunhats which came in very handy later in the day.  When we arrived it was freezing so we had dressed for the cold.  By the time the concert started 3 hours later it was absolutely roasting and even the posh fellas around me had kicked off their shoes and socks.  All I was worried about was fainting in the heat and everyone thinking that I'd had too much to drink when I hadn't had anything!!  Thankfully I kept my cool with the help of my programme being used as a fan.  Boy it was hot.

I love this shot.  I don't think we were necessarily meant to see it but I couldn't help but get a pic.  One of the panels was being worked on and underneath were lots of signatures and scribbles collected over the years.  I wonder what else is hiding behind these walls?

This is the back of the house where we had our drinks.  I told you there'd be lots of pics didn't I!  It was such an amazing day - I want to have them here as a memory.

Then on Sunday it was my lovely mother and father-in-law's 50th wedding anniversary!  What a truly fantastic milestone.  My husband is one of five children and they all arranged the most lovely party.  I made the cake and was thrilled with how it turned out.  The only blip was that I'd ordered a tiny floral arrangement to go on the top corner of the cake but when it turned up it was huge.  It doesn't look that big in the background here but it was!  Luckily we had bought some little artificial ones as back up.  I have a serious dislike (to put it politely) of fake flowers but these ended up looking quite sweet.  And as the rest of the family pointed out, they can be kept as a memory forever.  My mum-in-law even had her wedding dress, shoes, headgear and wedding telegrams on display.  Miss 4 got to try on the wedding dress while standing on a chair.  She thought she was the bees knees.  Happy Anniversary Jo & Ian!

Right - I'm off now to do some quick baking as I have a few girlfriends popping in for morning tea.  I just love this new cookbook I got earlier in the week at a crazy bargain price - the photography is so pretty and the pages are matt so they feel quite old fashioned.  Love it!

Before I go I just want to say a huge thank you to Kristen from Cozy Things for passing on a lovely award to me!  I'm sure you've already seen her stunning blog but if you haven't you must whizz over there immediately!  Especially to see these - I have revisited this post many times and can't wait to make some too.  Talk about gorgeous.

And also a huge thank you to TwoLuLa  for passing on an award too!  It made my day ladies - thank you so very much.  

Thank you for making it to the end of this rather long post!  Have a fabulous week everyone - see you next week.

Leah
xxxx

Birthday goodies!

Well it's official - I am now 40! Although I have taught my small folk to tell people I am only 28 - it's not really lying, it's just a bit of creative maths. I had a fabulous birthday, lots of lovely gifts and treats. Don't you love these gorgeous measuring cups! My sister-in-law gave me these - little did she know I've had my eye on them for ages.



My dearest friend gave me the most wonderful bag of goodies including this delightful book. This is the book I was talking about in a previous post - where my body butter recipe originally came from it turns out. It is full of wonderful old fashioned tips, household hints and recipes. I'm really looking forward to having some quiet time next week when school goes back, so I can sit and have a really good read.

I was also given some gorgeous tea - a beautiful New Zealand Breakfast mix which I tried last night. It was absolutely beautiful. The other one is Earl Grey Blue Flower which is my all time favourite. Brewing a pot of this is just such a treat. Having it in a vintage tea cup makes it taste even better! So it is perfect timing that I am going to start making a beautiful tea cosy in the next week which I'm sure will make the tea taste better still. Can't wait to get started on it but it will have to wait a few more days while I finish off another project first.