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

Crafty bliss!

After a fairly wild week of snowy weather, it was nice to finally get out and about and hit the shops for a treat. I have been wanting to visit an emporium in a nearby city for a while so a friend and I jumped in the car and managed to escape most of the rain storms on the way. I didn't really know what to expect so I was hugely pleased when I spotted all the crafty bits and pieces! I bought some fab wooden buttons - but I could really have gone crazy buying loads more. Next time perhaps ...

The wall of buttons was tucked away around a corner, so when I discovered it I think I might have actually squealed out loud!! So many choices, in every colour imaginable. Then there was the ribbon wall ...

And just when I thought I'd seen enough buttons, I turn another corner and there's another wall of them. This time it was all the kids buttons and more decorative bits and bobs. Amazing!

This is a closer up look at the ones I bought on this trip. The tulip ones are destined for a lovely green cardi I have. The buttons on it are perfectly fine already, but these will look even better. The other ones will wait for another project I have in mind.

Another treat I bought earlier in the week was this pretty bangle. It's bright, glittery and covered in roses. I love it! I've worn it every day this week - because the weather has been so gloomy - I've needed as much colour on me and around me as possible. I also had some fantastic op shops finds this week but I completely forgot to take pics of them. A gorgeous light grey merino cardi, a silk skirt (amazing!) and a fab wrap top. Talk about fab bargains!! I will pop them on my next post!

I just had to pop this pic in to end with as my back garden turned white during the week. I know you lovely folk who live with snow year in year out will think this is quite a piddly little snowfall but for us here in Wellington - it was substantial and we're all still talking about it! It was exciting for my small folk and quite a novelty for us bigger folk too!

Big news this week in our household - Mr 6 lost his very first tooth! The tooth fairy has visited and he is still carrying his $2 coin around that she left him. I'm loving the slightly different way some of his words sound through the new gap. Gorgeous!

I was absent minded and posted without adding a note about my good luck this week! I was the lucky winner of a fab giveaway here! I am so hugely grateful to LeeAnn - it really made my week!

I will be a bit late with my usual post next week. I will explain why in my next instalment! So until then, I hope you all have a fabulous week!

Leah
xx

Colourful things this week

Over the last week I have made time to sort through some of my craft bits and pieces which are currently tucked away in boxes throughout the house. I'm hoping that I can transform a corner of my spare room into a creative space with some fab shelving to put lots of colourful things on to get me inspired. So I started with something easy ... buttons. Lots of lovely buttons! I knew it was worth saving all those coffee jars - they are the perfect size to house this wee collection. The small folk have been having a great time playing with them too. One jar at a time mind you, it took long enough to sort them out the first time around - I don't want to do that again in a hurry!
Next up will be wool then fabric. Yikes - I think I might scare myself by how much of both things I have hidden away!

There have been quite a few more hexagons made, here are just a few of them as I was trying to see what they will look like joined. I was umming and aahing about whether to join them as I go - but decided against it as I like to play around with the colours once they are all complete. With my granny square blanket the whole family had their say about which square should go where - I think this will be the same! I'm still not entirely in love with these but I know the finished look will be fab. I did however spot an amazing granny square bed cover during the week (on Pixie's blog) which I think is out of the latest Mollie Makes magazine. Now I want to make one like that instead. For the first time in a long while I am experiencing project commitment issues. Time to make a decision. Aargh!

So to take my mind off crochet for a second, I turned to baking. Delicious vanilla cupcakes with very, very pink icing - yummo! I had found these cute cupcake papers while out shopping earlier that day and just had to make some as soon as I got home. They are circus themed and oh so adorable.

They made two small folk very happy when they got one for an afternoon tea treat.
And speaking of afternoon tea treats ...

I joined some fabulous girlfriends for a high tea treat on Saturday afternoon. A wonderful opportunity to dress up and get the heels out from the back of the wardrobe! We went to Hippopotamus restaurant which is part of the Museum Hotel here in Wellington. It was my first time there and it was truly gorgeous. The surroundings are colourful and playful and the food is amazing. All the waiting staff were French and the accents made the food sound even better when they talked us through the tiers of the cake stand.

Delicious!

The Museum Hotel is known as the art hotel and it blew me away. Every wall had something amazing on it and the darkened surroundings meant the art stood out even more. This chandelier was incredible. It's hard to see in the pic but all the strands are made of tiny glass beads/shapes. Gorgeous.

This was one of my favourite pieces - beautiful native New Zealand flora. Oh to be wealthy enough to own such gorgeous art.

I am off to visit my favourite op shop tomorrow in the hunt for treasures. So no second hand bargains to show you so far this week. However I did spot these lovely beads at a local shop a few days ago. They were only $2.50 - incredible and they look fab. The green is quite bright but didn't photograph so well. I love them! Now if I could find some red ones I would be over the moon!

I did have one naughty splurge this week. I have subscribed to Mollie Makes so that I can get a copy direct from the UK as there is no guarantee it will be stocked here in New Zealand. From what I have seen on other blogs recently - it is a fabulous mag and I absolutely can't wait to see it in real life! I just wish I'd been able to see the first two issues, oh well, I'm sure the future ones will be just as wonderful.

Thank you so much to Grateful 4 Crochet for giving me this award. It was so lovely to receive this and has made my day! If you haven't seen this lovely blog already, you should definitely take a look. I really love the way we find our way to different blogs - always fun and more than a little addictive.
Have a fabulous week!

Mother's Day & My New Cowl

I have been trying to finish this cowl all week but have only just managed to grab a few minutes to complete it. I absolutely love the finished item and can't wait to wear it! It's made of gorgeous pure New Zealand wool and is the loveliest mocha colour. I initially had visions of it being much wider so it could drape down one shoulder but remembered I had only bought 2 balls of wool so didn't have enough this time. And I'd bought the wool at the other end of the country when I was in Auckland so I couldn't just pop out and get some more - aaargh. I'm sure you can relate to that frustration! Anyway - a slightly less-wide version it is and it still looks fab. I have also made an extra band to draw one side together. It gives the cowl some variety, you can wear it plain and bunched around your neck, pulled up over your head to keep your ears warm or with the band wrapped around for a different look altogether.

And it's a great way to show off your favourite brooch/pin collection. This is one of the button brooches I made recently - it goes with the cowl perfectly. I haven't pulled the band too tight in this pic but it looks just a fab pulled in quite firmly. So here it is in separate bits. It was a nice easy project and I'm definitely going to make another one.

Using my favourite 4mm hook and double knit wool, I started with 52 chains which includes 2 turning chains, then DC each row (now 50 ch) working under the stitch. Keep working in DC rows until your cowl is approximately 60cm long. I then crocheted the seam together from the wrong side to give a smooth finish.

The additional band/cuff was made with 12 chains which includes 2 turning chains, then DC each row (now 10 ch) until you reach the desired length to fit around your cowl, taking into account a generous overlap so you can fasten it. Mine is approximately 30 cm with a good overlap so I can play with it and have a bit of variety in the way it fastens.

It's Mother's Day here today and my small people have made me feel like the best mum on earth. They were very eager to wake up this morning and bring me their special cards. Mr 6 is a bit of a charmer!Miss 3 (who will be Miss 4 next weekend!) drew a very fetching picture of me. That's me at the front with the big smile and long hair of course. The small one in the corner with the spiky hair is apparently Daddy. Handsome huh!!

The small folk have gone on an outing with Dad for the afternoon so I have had a lovely time in the kitchen making some treats for when they get home. For dessert tonight I have made this delicious Lemon Posset. I only tried this very recently at a wedding and I absolutely love it. Thank you to my dear friend Ange for letting me raid her lemon tree! These have to be the juiciest lemons I've ever cut into. Delicious.Next up is a tweaked version of a New Zealand classic - ANZAC biscuits. I have been making these for years and years the classic way, without the chocolate, and they are delicious. The chocolate was a recent addition one day when Miss 3 and Mr 6 couldn't agree on what sort of biscuits they wanted me to make, ANZACs or chocolate chip cookies, so in a fit of frustration I united the recipes and by crikey they are gorgeous! If you'd like to try this recipe - here it is:

100g butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup coconut
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon hot water

Melt the butter and golden syrup together in a saucepan. In another bowl mix together the sugar, flour, coconut and rolled oats (and chocolate if desired). Add the butter and golden syrup mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water then add to the mixture. Stir well. Roll into small balls and flatten with the palm of your hand and place on a greased or lined oven tray. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes or until golden. YUM!
I have been meaning to show you these little cuties for ages so while I remember, here they are. Another way to use up your lovely old buttons. Mix and match your buttons into little stacks, glue them on top of each other and then glue a magnet to the back. Voila - easy peasy magnets.

These usually live on my fridge but as it is currently covered in kindy artwork, it was a bit messy to photograph. I tried to take a lovely photo of them lazing on a pretty plate but the magnets kept chasing each other and sticking together - hilarious. So that's why they are on my jug - not at all where they normally live!

Have a fabulous week!