Morning Tea and Crochet.

 Yesterday I had a morning tea for my cousin/sister-in-law (yes, it's all legal but our children are 1st  and 2nd cousins) as she and her family are going to live in France for a year.... lucky things. One of our friends turned up with a container filled to the brim with madeleines - I think that this has to be one of the prettiest bowls of baking that has ever been in our house.  I would have been quite happy to chase people away just so that I could keep admiring them. 

 My next tiny project is to crochet my hair dresser's logo for his new salon. He is the best hair dresser in the world and next week I have an appointment to undergo a big change... photos will follow.

 This morning Hugo piled all of the cushions up on a chair so that he could be "extra comfy". I made him pause so that I could take a photo.

 The finished sphere - Usually I stuff them, but instead this time used a polystyrene ball that has literally been rolling around our house for the past few weeks. I love how perfectly spherical it becomes.

And this has been my favourite read over the last few months. I devoured it in the space of two days because it was so addictive and am now almost feeling at a bit of a loose end because it so entirely took over my life. "The Age of Miracles" tells the story of a family as the Earth's rotation begins to slow and the 24 hour clock becomes theoretical if not obsolete. Written from the point of view of a 12 year old girl, it truly is spellbinding.

Anyhoo, time to hang out the washing.

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

Teenage Stanley...

 This is teenage Stanley. I have crocheted him for a school library fundraiser where we are hoping to gather enough pieces of money to buy some large cushions to strew about the floor. Our school is just a little one and runs without an official librarian, so on a Tuesday I open the library at lunchtime so the kids can have extra book time. 

There is a core group of very, very cool kids who come and hang out and they have started up their own group called 'B.L.inc' - Book Lovers Incorporated. They are so funny and passionate about the library and it was their idea for me to crochet a rabbit. Unfortunately, this raffle is just school wide but it would be sooo much fun to hold one for the wider and dare I say... 'internationaler' community one day.

 So here is Stanley as a teenager, wearing a cape (as I am sure all teenagers would like to do) and carrying a satchel which is going to have something special in it.

 He is such a wonderful explorer.

And so interested in nature!

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

Lots and Lots of Stanley Rabbits.

This is where Archie would like me to talk about the Stanley clones (I had to write that out because he was looking over my shoulder). Seeing them all lined up together makes me think they are some kind of jazz gang - a rabbit version of the Rat Pack.

I have big apologies to make for my absence on the blog - life has been very busy as it can be and it insisted on coming first. So I think it is a very good sign that this afternoon I have time to sit in front of the computer and do this. It is sooooo good to be back.

Although now it is time to get dinner on...

Lots and lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

And the Winner is....

 Well done Crafty Mermaid - could you please email me with your details and I will send out the hand wash to you!

Aside from drawing names from hats, I have also been packing a suitcase... 

Thank you so much everybody for entering into the giveaway - I can't wait to have another one soon.

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

Crochet Bonsai Trees.

 Here are a couple of the crochet trees I have been working on, jammed in amongst leftover terrarium plants.

 I'm pretty happy with how they are working out....

 Truth is, I let out a squeal or two.

Bonsai trees are expensive and require lots of care. These ones aren't and don't.

Lots and lots of love,

Kate.

p.s. Don't forget to pop your name down for the giveaway - I will draw it tomorrow afternoon!

Terrarium Life.

 Yesterday our next door neighbour came to visit, bringing with her the most amazing terrarium I have ever seen. Of course, the boys and I were completely and utterly inspired  and had to make our own versions today using little Lego minifigures.

 Archie's project really made me laugh - he was lucky enough to get the scottish 'minifig' and set it up so that he was stuck in peat. He certainly looks very grumpy...

 It is hard to see in this photo but he has big bushy eyebrows set on a very cranky slant.

 Hugo ended up with a dragon slaying girl - we have to pop a couple of dragons in there for her to find... or to find her.

 And we finally managed to buy 'Bunny Guy' - He is my favourite. 

Lots and lots of love,

Kate xxooxxooxx.

p.s. Don't forget to enter into my giveaway in the post below - the draw is on Friday!

A Giveaway!

 This parcel arrived for me in the mail the other day - the most divine set of cleansing handwash and moisturiser from the New Zealand company, Banks & Co Botanicals. They were very kind to email earlier in the week asking if I would like to test drive their new 'Luxe' range and I said yes because a. it is made in New Zealand, b. owned by New Zealanders and c. phenoxyethanol free;  paraben free;  and sulphate free. I have extremely sensitive skin and regularly break out in reactive rashes, making me paranoid about applying petrochemical based cosmetics to my skin.... strange that.

 Anyhoo - after a week of using the most divinely scented moisturizer (Peony and Rata) - my skin is happy. Apparently it has an oil in it called Meadowfoam which is rich with Vitamin E AND is grown down in Southland.

Banks & Co were very generous in sending two bottles and so I am able to use the Cleansing Hand Wash for a giveaway. The only catch however, is that the bottles are made from gloriously thick glass and would be terrible heavy to send overseas. As a result, the giveaway will be for New Zealand residents only. However, international readers are welcome to enter the competition on behalf of any New Zealand friends or family they may have here. All you would have to do if you win the draw would be to email me with the intended recipient's name and address. 

To enter, please leave your name in the comment section below and I will draw the winner from a hat next Friday (the 13th...).

As for other news, I have been very busy growing a forest of crochet and wool. The trees are still needing trunks, but they will sprout with time.

Lots of love and good luck,
Kate xxooxx.

Hurrah for the First Rainy Day!!!

 Isn't it funny how the first rainy day of a stretch that threatens to hang around for a while is the most snuggly day possible. I know my sanity levels may start to change as the week goes on, but for now, it has been wonderful. Today I finished my bigger hot air balloon... Stanley is enjoying it already.... And had a visit from my amazingly talented next door neighbour.

 This is what she made for me - a mini Mona Lisa Rabbit oil painting!!!!! Can you imagine how many times I would have flipped in a row if I could???

 It proved to be a very difficult task to show not only how small this painting is....

But also how detailed it is. I am honoured and humbled and most of all, happy to be me because I get to own it. Thank you Dominique - you are the best neighbour ever! Did I also happen to mention that she bought me chocolates (as a congratulations for getting into my first ever exhibition - which she is also in (but of course)) And some milk for a cup of tea because I had run out. 

Time to read a story and tuck in my big boy,
Lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.

Sundays...

 Today has been the snoozy, cozy Sunday we have all been needing. Here are the boys, snuggled into my bed with the Ipod which THEY SHARED HAPPILY. It is so easy to catch a moment in blogland and not explain how rare that moment may be. This photos of two boys peacefully talking about a game is actually a hen's tooth.

 This photo however, is not. Hugo has lost his two front teeth and instead of being adorable, he keeps hissing and jumping out from things like a juvenile vampire.... There hasn't been a sweet smile in front of the camera since they fell out. Um, by the way, we don't let him watch vampire movies - it's just something that comes naturally to all children - I think - or hope. It's normal right?

 When I haven't been spying on my boys (they have been very interesting today - they even packed bags and headed out on the farm for a couple of hours), I have been doing the staring at fabric thing. You know how sometimes if you stare enough, the puzzle pieces start coming together. I love Liberty and Nani Iro very much. They make a very nice family. 

Wahoo - I have just cracked the recipe for really good gluten-free crackers (by accident - let's just say that there was something fundamentally wrong with the bread dough I was trying to make) and I will post the recipe this week. Hugo is thrilled - sometimes rice crackers aren't all they are cracked up to be...

Lots and lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.