The day the sun came out!

Got a few nice snaps of the girls looking at some delicate fungi on our last day in Katikati…

Ramona and Audrey..  ”These are so ephemeral are they not?”

“Why, yes!”

“Wohoo!  Sunshine!”

“Look at these ones, tiny aren’t they?”

From us all, “Good bye Katikati, hello sunny Auckland!”

Happy new year!

You might have been following what has been called our worst maritime disaster, the container ship MV Rena ran aground in October, resutling in oil slicks, damage to marine life debris washing up on beaches..

A couple of days ago the ship broke apart, and there were reports of containers washing up on Waihi Beach.  We were staying not far off so it was something to see.  See that pile up there ^ bits of wood, a sack of milk powder and sachets of instant rice, gross!  The sack of milk powder is covered in oil, on such a pristine beach, brought me to tears.  The scale of pollution was overwhelming.

The next day we were heading home so stopped off to see how things were going..  I was very impressed to see the clean up was thorough.  The thing is, I wanted to help, with two littlees in tow, it was not practical, nor did I have any gloves, or somewhere to put the stuff!  It went from this:

to this

and this

to this

Hard to believe it was so long ago now, and we are seeing wash up and pollution as far north as Waihi Beach, and dissapointing to hear that the ship is still leaking oil.

Just a couple more images from my recently acquired Successful Dressmaking book.

Love these illustrations, so simple.

All the tools…

What did you do on boxing day?

We went to the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki!

Come on!  Lets go!

Stop messing around Nancy and Iris!

The girls are all into gardening and flowers, so this work was a BIG hit.  Red, by Choi Jeong Hwa, who is also the artist behind Flower Chandelier, is a stunning piece and looks great outside the new entrance.  Fragile and bright in contrast to the city architecture and all that concrete.

There is also a cool art station for kids, you can play around with some fun stuff along side a sparkling Reuben Patterson wall…

Choice!

Luna checking out Len Lye’s Universe.  So cool to have her experience works I’ve come to know so well.

Before all the renovation work even began there was a lot of talk about making our art gallery a ‘world class’ art space and a destination. That phrase got bandied around a lot – particularly as the cost of the project grew.

But this is a world class gallery and so worth a visit, so get along over the summer holidays while it’s quieter than usual.

More treats from mums house!

An oldie and a goodie, Successful Dressmaking, this is my bedtime reading.  I have plenty to learn, so it’s good to have a book to refer to at the moment, and I LOVE the illustrations.

These are the inside cover images…

And this one, the only colour plate.

I remember reading this when I was a kid.

Exciting stuff, this is a big event for local craftsy folk like me, it’s a great day to get your gift shopping done, with some of the best in local talent all in one place selling their wares.

I’m pretty much all packed and ready to go, with just a couple more orders to fill, I have some goodies for you!  My Cupcake Pincushion Sewing Kits have been popular with buyers on Felt.co.nz, and my new Hanging Strawberry Sewing Kits have been a hit for people looking for an activity for a child or craftsy friend…  I’ll have plenty available on the day, all ready to go!

Cupcake Pincushion Sewing Kits…

A kit box for Hanging Strawberries…

See you there!!

Saturday 10th December 2011
11am to 3pm
Aotea Centre, THE EDGE
Auckland Central
Gold coin entry donation

(Yes, I know, I should have pressed it properly… but I may not have had any photos til next year!)

This maybe my favourite dress.  It was far easier than I thought it would be to make, though the fabric was tricky to cut accurately and moved somewhat no matter how many pins I used.

I made the largest/tall size on the pattern, including the longer skirt, I also allowed extra fabric on the front top and skirt panels (on the center fold) which worked ok on the skirt, but gave me more fabric than I needed in the bust (this was based on my estimated adjustments considering the my measurements and those noted on the pattern) and was fairly close.  However the next time I make this one I will get a better fit!  I also had to increase the darts in the top considerably, again I think this was because I allowed a little extra while cutting.

This the first dress I have made that is in two sections, a top and skirt, and it was not too bad, just a bit tricky lining it all up in the end, but I think this gave a good and comfortable fit in the end.

I’m trying to use what ever I have at hand as far as notions go, and so this baby is fitted with a hot pink invisible zip (which is mostly invisible I have to say – phew!) and as I do not have a suitable belt buckle I made the belt longer and tie it on the side (which hides the pretty pleats a bit though, so I am looking out for a buckle to suit).

I was a bit unsure of the style, as far as how well it would suit me, and the fabric was a gamble, it was not the first choice, though I’m happy now!  I learned I need to slow down a wee bit, I took the time to carefully finish all the facings in the top, however I neglected the inside raw edges in my enthusiasm to complete it, so need to address those before I’m leaving threads behind me wherever I go with it.

Here are those lovely pleats…

On to the next dress!

Hey do read Kiwi Mummy Blogs?

I’ve been on there for a while and I have the honor of doing a giveaway!  Wohoo!  I have one of my new Hanging Strawberry Sewing kits to giveaway to some lucky punk, and that could be you.  You could sew up your own string of strawberries or give it as a gift to a keen craftsy type.  This kit is for a small string of three strawberries.

You just need to visit the giveaways page, over here, post a comment and you’re in, you have until Dec 11th, so get on over there!

You’ve seen my festive little Hanging Strawberry Sewing Kits already?  The kits come complete with all you need, including soft corn fiber stuffing, but did you know I make kits without stuffing, to save you on postage?  These are great little gifts, and post well, I will be listing them on Felt and Etsy over the next couple of days…

Of course, you can still buy the cool noodle box kits too!  That’s them up there..

Can you imagine some of these hanging around your place?  They look so pretty…

I will have these little treats available at the next couple of markets, the Gladstone School Christmas Market, Thursday 1st December, from 5 pm – 9 pm, address: 8 Seaview Terrace, Mt Albert.

And at the Auckland Art and Craft Fair, Saturday 10th December, 11 am – 3 pm, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE, Auckland Central.

Here’s my artists interview!  Here!

I have a new sun hat!  Made up using a variation on a 1993 pattern for a fold up brimmed hat, using a beautiful piece of a vintage sheet, it was another fun experiment…

It’s all cut out here, I made no major alterations to the pattern, though I used felt to reinforce the brim and in the end the entire hat is lined or backed with felt.  I was after a really wide brimmed hat, and I did not hem the edge as directed, planning to use the bias binding as the edge.  Which was fine, only the pattern had not allowed for my extra width of brim and so I had to add an extra section of binding at the end.

I used a small section of a vintage sheet, which was getting a little worn, but is such a pretty and summery print.

Here’s the picture from the original pattern…  (not so into the massive bow and rose look).

And here’s the finished deal, I love it, but it is really quite floppy, so will make another with a firmer brim.  I will also make it more circular, Audrey Hepburn styles.