gardenia

at last Professor Pucci (gardenia) has flowered. I wish I could capture it's fragrance online. It's divine!

coromandel

an inspired family day trip to Coromandel ( roughly 3 hours drive from Auckland) and then a somewhat challenging 14 km drive on a windy, gravel road through the Coromandel Forest Park to find this beautiful, unspoiled beach.

cyberstalkers

                                             

yes the cyberstalkers are at it. Here's a snippet of the type of stuff being posted on the internet:
Perhaps sometime while she is dressing one of her dolls or taking her daughter to netball practice, she will draw deep into her legal training and realise that what she is doing is neither helpful for her or her supposed idol...

When they started stalking, I decided that I would speak out despite my personal circumstances. I do not know these people, having never met, associated nor spoken to them before. I believe that they are stalking me in a concerted effort to silence a family member. 

And so, Kent Parker, you and your associates are on notice to stop cyberstalking and harassing my self and my family. 

reflections

as this year comes to an end, I've been reflecting on my 2010 plans that I blogged about here. Here's a quick sum up of how I went this year:

• Frequent blogging - I only just managed to keep it up this year. The cyber stalkers threw me off my stride and almost killed my blogging mojo.
• Improve knitting skills - no progress this year. I didn't knit a thing.
• Etsy shop 100% - I sold direct to customers so the etsy shop is quiet.
• Gocco printing - no progress at all. I recycled and repurposed used cards & stationery.
• More personal sewing - this was a successful year for 'me' sewing. Hope to do more in 2011.
• No unfinished projects - successfully achieved.
• Crafting for charity - achieved.

huge thanks and big hugs to all of you who've visited me here this year. See you next year 2011...

holidays

Christmas was lovely. We spent the day with family - enjoyed a fabulous lunch - then snoozed in the shade while the children played with their new toys and gadgets.

Now that the holidays are here, like most Kiwi families, we'll be making trips to the beach most days for  swimming and fishing. All great summer fun!

  

2011

like most people, at the beginning of each new year, I like to look back and review what I have or haven't achieved. It's my personal 'reality check' time. Here's my 2010 plans and my thoughts on how I did...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. I'm frequent blogging. I kept it up this year. A mid year crisis with cyber stalkers changed my approach to blogging. The stalking hasn't stopped so I'm more conscious of what I blog about.
2. improve knitting  
3. improve knitting skills goes onto 2010 list.
4.  
5. etsy & felt shops at 100% I'm ditching the felt shop & keeping the etsy store. This year I'm doing a lot more sewing for ball jointed dolls.
7.  
8. try gocco printing this stays on the list. I'd like to produce my own stationary, notecards and even christmas cards this year.
10.  
11. try scrapbooking again this gets kicked off the list. I'm not that into scrapbooking so I'll stick with my plan to only scrapbook christmas photos.
13.  
14. more personal sewing this one is a real biggie and needs to stay on the 2010 list. 2009 started off well and then my sewing inspiration fizzled leaving me completely unmotivated to sew. On the plus side, I lost a total of 18.5 kgs ( thats about 40 lbs) which added more sewing challenges to the mix. Later in the year, my sewing mojo returned and I sewed clothing for my growing 13 year old daughter.
15.  
16. no unfinished projects another to stay on the list. I'm embarassed to admit that I still have some 2008 ufo's in my sewing basket to complete. Getting them done is a priority.
18.  
19. reduce wool & fabric stash done! about 3 big boxes of wool was donated to the Middlemore hospital charity knitters and several black bags of fabric to the local hospice shop.
21.  
22. continue charity knitting another for the 2010 list. Although I didn't knit a great deal last year, I did contribute 4 christmas shoeboxes and 9 christmas gifts to the K-Mart wishing tree appeal. So this years plan is to continue crafting for charity.

 

 

and there you have it, my 2010 plans.

 

 

 

christmas

take care and happy holidays to you all!

retro kiwi bach

the traditional kiwi bach is a wonderful thing to behold. It's very existence is precious to so many New Zealanders who look forward to escaping the rat race and being able to relax during the holidays with family. Time & structured daily routines have no place. Mismatching seems to be the orders of the day with a hodge podge of architecture, furniture, crockery and bed linen that evokes a deliberate anti style feeling. Sadly, although the well worn family baches still exist, they are gradually being removed and replaced by holiday homes that boast style and comfort just like home. Recognising the importance of the iconic kiwi bach, the local regional council have taken steps to preserve some baches for the enjoyment of all. The Graham bach based at the Scandrett Bay Regional Park is one of them. Step inside and the retro decor has you immediately transported back to the 70s. A very groovy way to get into a holidaying frame of mind.

matakana market

the Matakana street market can fill a person with loads of shopping madness. Here's a look at what I bought...

 fab retro clock in great working order.

 complete vintage sewing kit

vintage faux tortoise shell dressing table set

vintage Kader dolls x 2

and then there's the Matakana Farmers market where there's yummy things galore...

designer fabrics galore

after posting my ornaments for the kiwi christmas swap last week, I couldn't resist popping into the Designer Fabrics shop next to the post office for a quick look. Much to my delight, I had timed my visit perfectly. Pete had just got in some gorgeous printed cotton voiles, which I bought to make up into summer dresses. As new stock comes in fortnightly, it looks like I'll be visiting Designer Fabrics more often.

ornaments on the way

inspired by a vintage community cookbook, I made these retro styled mini aprons for my kiwi ornament swap. They were a lot of fun to make!

catching up

this week I celebrated a birthday, my true love gardenias are starting to flower in abundance, struggled with a awful head cold, starting work on the bach and

finished my kiwi ornament swap items. Here's a hint for those who can't wait (although I've refined the finished product since the one pictured was made). All my ornaments were made from 100% recycled & repurposed materials. I'll be posting my ornaments on Monday and then sharing photos of what I made on Wednesday next week.  

building 101

this is the type of house that we're wanting to build in Samoa. It's styled along the lines of the traditional Kiwi bach. It would be constructed as much as possible from demolition and salvaged materials which would be shipped from New Zealand. I'm a beginner when it comes to the construction and building of houses. So I ask a lot of questions. In some ways the process is a lot like the construction of a garment. Only on a much bigger scale. All interesting stuff!

ornaments on the go

the challenge of doing the kiwi ornament swap is to make sure that I produce 5 identical things. I can't tell you what I'm making yet (that would spoil the fun for those in my group who might be peeking).
Here's a hint - it's red, rockabilly retro.

more roses

this morning I took the time to smell the roses as well as photograph them. This year we hired a rose specialist to prune and tend to our garden roses. They were a little neglected and in need of TLC. We've stuck to the schedule of feeding etc and now they're looking spectacular!

samoan fale

this is our Samoan fale - the first building to be built on our family property in Samoa. It's a modern version of a faleo'o (traditional house) and is found just meters from the waters edge and the swimming rock pool.

plastic fanstastic

Miss 3 came home from kindergarden today with the most gorgeous necklace, that she had made for me to wear. She called it the 'plastic fanstastic' necklace. So I put it on straight away and we went out grocery shopping. I received some really nice compliments that made my little Miss feel as pleased as punch. Now she thinks that I should have some earrings and a bracelet to match. Which I'll of course wear with pride!

divine dresses

I've just discovered Eley Kishimoto dresses (featured in NZ Herald Viva 10/11/2010). They're stocked here in New Zealand at the Children of Vision boutique in Karangahape Road, Auckland. I love the idea of dresses in bold prints and this London based label is well known for it's lavish use of pattern and colour. My favourite is this geometric chevron print dress (pictured) in a bold red and white silk with black yoke and sleeves. A very bold contrast statement indeed! At $665, this dress is set to challenge my dress allowance so I'm going to have to consider making an inspired version of my own. The best thing about this style dress is that it still looks good with a cardi when it gets cooler and can be worn as a tunic too.

vintage roses

this year the vintage roses in our garden are making a brilliant debut of soft pinks. I love their large blooms and sweetly scented petals. Reminds me of everything whimsical.

the 'undie cover' nightie

I had to take a break from my caftan sewing as the slippery, slidey chiffon was wearing my sewing nerves thin. So I thought I'd make something fun instead and digging through the fabric collection I came across this cotton voile print. I can't honestly remember buying it and I obviously didn't look too closely at the print. Let's face it, where would one wear such a fabric? In a moment of inspiration I thought I'd make a long length nightie. I've nickednamed this the "undie cover nightie" in honour of the undergarments printed on the fabric.