Sunday 29 September 2013

Upgrade

Hi There,
These holidays I am going to try and upgrade my blog.  I want to add a little bit more of me in there.  At the moment it is very much the standard blogger set up with basic colours.  So here's hoping I can get it how I want. 

As you can see I have added a rather big and colourful header.  I found a photo editing site called picmonkey  that I used to make the header.  It was a massive time waster but loads of fun trying to choose how I wanted things to look.  I'm not sure if I like it.  A work in progress I think.

Good fun!

Lxx

Friday 27 September 2013

Holidays

Hi There,
Relief is the word that springs to mind this week.

Relief that the dear America's Cup that has gripped the country for the past I don't know how many weeks, has now finished and we can all get back to 'normal' life.  Sadness though as we lost.

Relief also that term three is done and dusted.  Me (a primary school teacher) and the little lovelies (primary school kiddies) can rest to our hearts content.  No more early morning starts!  We can wear our p.j's till noon if we feel the need.  Oh the excitement!

I will now have time to crochet too.  I have been so busy working lately that my creative side has been neglected.  I hate that feeling you get when you haven't picked up some delicious yarn and a hook and created something new for awhile.  I do start to get a little cranky.  So school holidays are a great time to get on and create.

I might even dust off the sewing machines and make me something. A dress maybe. Something summery and flowery I feel. Hmmm... something to ponder.

Someone else has got me pondering other ideas too.  I was just over at Hettie Brown's blog.  I have decided I also want to collect barkcloth (fabrics look divine!) and have a go at making a vintage looking blanket. What she has made is so delicious,  I WANT ONE!   I wonder if I can find barkcloth in New Zealand?  Oh I love the holidays because ideas start a flowing.

I better go and embark on my two week cram fest of creative goodness...
I hope the next two weeks allow you a chance to get creative too.

Lxx


Thursday 19 September 2013

A Giggle...

Hi There,
I had to share.


How many times have people (including hubby) said to me, "what are you knitting?"

Argh!!!  I don't knit.  The thought of trying to navigate two needles is too much for me.  One hook is plenty.

I do admire knitters though.  Like crocheters, they are a very creative bunch who make some wonderful things. Check out Little Cotton Rabbits.  Oh she makes the sweetest animals.   I am now waiting patiently to purchase one of her beautiful creations.

My mum tried to teach me once to knit but it was a complete disaster. Tantrums followed.  Not to say I haven't thrown a few crocheting tantrums over the years when things don't work.  But that is the fun of it right?  Seeing if you can get to the end with a lovely piece of work with your sanity still intact.

Anyway, I better go and vacuum before I can carry on creating...
So whether you crochet or knit...keep doing what you do and enjoy.

Lxx


Wednesday 18 September 2013

Family Additions

Hi There,
This post has taken a little while to put together.  The new additions had to be wrangled into position.  Then my little assistant had to 'fluff' around with props until it was 'just right'.
So without further ado... 
I would like to introduce Quincy and Quentin Quack.

Assistant's photo

Two delightful little duckies I whipped up, in between grumbling about my pink cot blanket.  Which by the way is now sitting under the crochet table waiting patiently to be finished.  I just keep getting distracted! 

Back to Quincy and Quentin. I found the pattern from Itsy Bitsy Spider blog.  They were so much fun and my two lovelies have had hours of fun playing with them.  My littlest lovely has even made him a nest on the end of her bed "so he can be safe."
I love it.

Also, I would like to introduce Owly and Owlo.

Owly on the right, Owlo on left
Another quick fun project I found at Daisy Cottage blog.  I did change the design a little as I didn't want the owls to have legs.  I wanted them to be more like a pillow, easier to snuggle.  After making Owly I decided to make the ears differently on Owlo.  I made them more longer and pointer which I think works better. 

Also instead of stuffing straight into Owlo I made a little black bag which I stuffed then put inside the crocheted shell.  This means the white stuffing doesn't show through and it sits better.

My littlest lovely (The Assistant) picked the colours.  Why black you might ask? I am not sure but as the crocheter I just do as I am told! I wanted bright yellows, blues and reds...sigh... I will have to make one for myself one day all girlie with LOADS of flowers...One day. Perhaps when the pink cot blanket is finished.

Both ducks and owls were super fast to do and have satisfied my craving to finish something QUICK!

After that little break I might just continue on making some little hats before I tackle the pink cot blanket.


Lxx

Saturday 14 September 2013

Spring

Hi There,
Holy Moly! Spring has arrived with a whopping big punch.
The poor South Island of NZ this week has been hit with a mighty storm full of rain, lightening and VERY strong winds. Flooding, power outages and fallen trees have been the norm for the last few days. Not fun.



Up here in Auckland we have had a great amount of rain but nothing like the rest of the country.  I don't mind the rain as long as I can stay home and snuggle down beside the heater.  But alas, that is NEVER the case. My lovely littlies have to get to school somehow! Oh well at least the garden is happy.

Spring vege patch- photo taken through rainy window

Look at it all clean and tidy ready to be filled with Summer yumminess. Can't wait!

Previous Summer gardens...


I realised after scrolling through thousands of photos, I tend not to take photos of my garden.  This is very sad as past years I have had some bumper crops.  I remember one year having so many tomatoes I ended up learning how to preserve!
So starting this year I will start to take more photos of my little patch...

L xx



Sunday 8 September 2013

5000 Poppies Update


Hi There,
So it is official.  The New Zealand satellite group for the 5000 poppies project is now up and running.
I am still a little freaked out about the prospect of trying to pull this off. But I will give it my best shot.

I am now up to three crocheted and one knitted poppy.  Slow start I know but once I get flyers out there it may pick up.  If not I think I will be making them all myself. That's only 263 a month or 65 a week or 9 a day.  That is achievable right?

I do have a plan though.

1.         To write to the 419 women's sections of the R.S.A explaining my ambitious plan and hope that the lovely ladies will jump on board and crochet/knit to their hearts content.

2.         To write to the Auckland War Memorial Museum and hope they too jump on board and allow 5000 poppies to be displayed on the top floor of the Museum where all the names of fallen soldiers and war displays are.

3.        To send out flyers to all yarn stores and knitting/crocheting groups in New Zealand to again see it they would be happy to contribute.

I hope now you can see why I might be freaking out just a little bit at this task.

And now a plea from me to you...

If you are reading this and are a keen crocheter or knitter or someone who is keen to give something new a go for a good cause please please please go to the link below and print off the pattern and go go go for it.

5000poppies.wordpress.com/new-zealand/

NB:  The address on the pattern and submission form is incorrect as it still has the Australian address printed.  It should read:

Lisa Wallace
C/O ITAV
1 Saunders Place
Avondale 1026
Auckland
New Zealand

I truly wholeheartedly would appreciate it.

Lxx

Saturday 7 September 2013

Melbourne

Melbourne by day



Melbourne by night











Hi There,
To celebrate turning 40 this year, two of my best friends from High School and I decided to celebrate with a trip to Melbourne, Australia last weekend.

Boy was it fun!  It was lovely to spend time with great friends and talk and laugh without any commitments or interruptions.  The sleep-ins were lovely too!

I have been to Melbourne before but this time I got to shop!  OH how we shopped!  One of the friends I went with is an expert shopper. If there was a degree available in it she would graduate with the highest of honours.   We tried to have a rule to only go into the shops that weren't in New Zealand.  We failed. 

Another delicious thing about the trip was the weather it was warm.  Well 25-26 degrees is pretty warm for winters temperature. I had to drag my winter arms into the sunshine.  I think they went into shock!

St Kilda

When we weren't shopping we were eating.  We found neat places to eat. Lygon Street for Italian...yummo!...St Kilda for sunshine and wine... Riverside restaurant for tapas... Roof top garden bar for bubbles...I could go on.  
One place I liked was a little coffee house that does the most amazing sweet treats.  I really wanted to take a photo of the inside but felt a little foolish so I snuck a snap of my stash instead...

Sweet treats to keep me going

And when I turned around this is the view I saw.  Beautiful.  I love old churches and houses.  Well anything old with some history I love.

Look at that gorgeous blue sky

Another exciting thing I dragged my two friends to was the Monet Exhibition.  Swoon...
He and the Impressionists have to be one of my favourite artists/movements.  I love how they didn't want to conform to the normal way, or the perceived way of painting instead opting for the outdoors where they experimented with colour, light and subjects and produced some amazing works of art.  


Even though we had to line up for awhile, my back was KILLING me and there were LOADS of people it was so worth it.  Just to see the brush strokes on the canvas, the colours he used and how he made that canvas come to life was quite overwhelming.  I know it may sound crazy, but just being there knowing he once stood in-front of that canvas and painted for days on end to get an image I was now seeing was quite...amazing really.  Oh my poor friends!  Sigh.


PixCell-Red Deer by Kohei Nawa

Another thing I liked, silly really was the signs for the trams.  WHY?? Not sure.  Maybe they tell a story of where we went and what we saw.  Anyway, I liked them.





On our many walks around town we found this awesome shop called T2 which sold nothing but...tea.  Really you say, yeap!  My kind of cool place.


I guzzled down some pomegranate and apple delicious tea and oohhed and ahhhed over the teapots...I LOVE TEAPOTS!  I resisted the urge to buy one for my teapot collection.  But they were sooo pretty.

So after four days of mammoth shopping, walking and eating ourselves silly we reluctantly dragged our weary bodies back to NZ ...to the rain, early morning starts, school runs, after school activities and so on...Sigh...I love holidays...till next time...

Lxx

Baking

Hi There,
Yesterday I was madly baking for my little lovelies disco.  It is always nice to do baking for others or for a fundraiser. 
In the end I made 24 chocoblock chocolate muffins and 24 banana muffins.  I couldn't call them cupcakes as they were far too big.  I also made russian fudge which my oldest lovely requested.




At the disco everything disappeared very quickly which is a nice feeling. Good to see everyone eating something homemade and delicious.

I have to share with you one of my favourite muffin/cupcake recipes.
When you are pushed for time and desperate for something yum these never fail to impress.  The great thing about them is you can put ALL the ingredients into a bowl and blend for 3-5 minutes and bake for 20 minutes and they are done!  Easy!

So here you go...
225g butter
225g caster sugar
225g self raising flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4 eggs
225g mashed bananas
(add chocolate chips if you desire) 

Put all above ingredients into a bowl and mix with a mixer for 3-5 minutes.  Then pour into muffin/cupcake cases and cook for 20 minutes till golden.


Then enjoy uniced or...
Vanilla buttercream icing on top!  Oh yes even better!
You will need: 
250g butter
250g icing sugar 
Then mix till fluffy and pale then pipe or spoon on top.

Delicious!

Enjoy,
Lxx