Starry Night

A couple of frosty nights have prompted me to get out my winter woollies.

When I first moved to Ripple Bay I was amazed by the crystal clear night sky - no city lights - no smog - just an amazing view of the Milky Way, Southern Cross and thousands of tiny far-away stars. Of course in winter this weather makes for chilly nights (but beautiful days).

Last night was no exception. I lay snuggled up in bed looking out at the cloudless sky listening to the calls from our resident Morepork (New Zealand native owl). I'm sure he (she?) was telling me to get on with my latest project: slipper socks.

I love these ones I found on Felt. However my crocheting skills are sadly lacking so I think I will have a nosy around in my local op shop and transform a crocheted blanket. Finished off with some funky buttons, I will have very happy and fashionable toes!

Winter in the Bay

 Here in the Bay, Winter has arrived. Winter means many unexpected things, Orchids, trees laden with Mandarins; and all kinds of things washed up on to the beach to be recycled or reused, like this piece of rope which will come in handy in the garden somewhen. 

The colours in the orchids would make sumptuous fabric for curtains and so I had a go at painting them (orchids not curtains!), trying out some water colour crayons. Two sick children this week and some surprisingly tranquil moments sitting and chatting with them, drawing and painting and drinking coffee/hot chocolates as necessary.

....and here the last sun of the day just catches the waves breaking. I was going to write about finding happiness in small things, but somehow these things don't seem so small after all. Happy weekending, Blue x

The Summer of the Spud

Gosh my potatoes did well this season ... I think it must have been The Summer of The Spud! I was so encouraged by my first harvest in January that I immediately planted another batch.

However the colder weather caught up with them, so when I put the fork into the ground this weekend I unearthed some beautifully formed marbles.

 While they tasted very nice in a tortilla, the real success was my homemade chips made from store bought potatoes (sigh!):

Thinly slice peeled potatoes and lay out on a baking tray.
Spray with a little olive oil and cook for 20 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius.

They got the big thumbs up from the nippers.

Weekend giveaway

It would be very hard to say which is my favourite form of making and creating. This week has been a sewing week and one of my projects was a cushion cover with some very seasonal fabric I have been longing to use and frightened to cut into. I also used up the last piece of a thrift shop find, an old tweed style dressing gown, complete with original cord, which has been recreated into many small things in my house.

There is something very satisfying in dreaming up and completing something all made from things already in the house!

I was given a second copy of NZ House and Garden by a lovely friend. This month's issue features ideas and inspiration from Melissa of Tiny Happy who writes a craft blog about making and recycling. I love to see what she is up to and where she is getting her inspiration. Leave a comment about your favourite blog and I will send my extra copy of NZ House and Garden to you wherever you are in the world.

Happy reading, Blue x

Weed eater

I recently purchased a new weed eater.

Well - six actually.

Bottoms Up!

And to be honest, they don't discriminate between weeds and non-weeds.

I'm on the hunt for some good names - any ideas?

Long Weekend

paper plaster tape in use

All our plans for the long weekend had to be shelved at the last minute as one by one we all got the dreaded lurgy. The upside to this was a big blank canvas for hanging about together and getting stuff done. I finally picked up a Blue silk quilt which has been waiting for some hand-stitch quilting and I got a fair amount done, it is such an easy thing to pick up and put down. There is something therapeutic about small handstitches on a big scale, meditation for the mind of a sort I suppose. I am using up some paper tape left over from our plaster board venture last year, it works a treat for marking out the straight lines for sewing.