Dream Catchers and Other Things

My very clever friend Maddy came to my house today with this amazing dream catcher that she made. I was so blown away that the camera suddenly appeared in my hands before my head had even considered taking its photo!

 The detailing that has gone into it AND the colour scheme is just sublime.

Gaaahhhh - if Miss Haversham was ever to turn into a dream catcher I think she would look like this.

 AND cowrie shells - my sister and I were obsessed with finding them at the beach when we were little. 

 It's huge too. She is selling them here although I don't think this is up on the web yet. By the way, this is not a sponsored post, I am just so impressed and inspired my my friend and I thought you would like to see what she is up to.

 In the meantime, your Christmas present is so near to completion. The final stages of a pattern always suprise me by how time consuming they can be. Thank goodness it is so much fun.

Lots and lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.

Beds, Family and Other Things.

The past few days have been very special. My brother has been visiting from Perth and the boys have been in heaven. As he was packing to leave this morning, I noticed that they had been doing some special decorating on the blackboard wall. Note the spooky hand coming up behind the bed. I hooted.

 I love having guests to stay, I relish the time spent catching up.... AND all the fun that goes into cooking for visitors and having big dinners and pushing beyond the repertoire of quick and easy meals that makes for an easy family life.

 The roses were excited too. They couldn't wait to show off on the table.

And we got to use our new birthday knives!!!

Anyhoo, having driven my brother up to the airport, it's now time for me to get the crochet hook out and finish working up my next Christmas pattern for you!

Lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.

Treats...

I have a treat coming up for you next week. 

Lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.

Spring Joy!

As you probably know by now, I am mad about my roses and nothing fills me with more joy than the first flush of the season. This year they've been joined by my ranunculus in pride of place on the kitchen table. 

Now, for some other things.... I made batch of scones for the boys' afternoon tea. Australia has a great tradition of pumpkin scones which is one of my favourite afternoon treats. This batch varied slightly as we had a half consumed tin of creamed corn left on the bench (?????). An idle "I wonder" moment creamed corn scones were made. I know they don't sound amazing but they were absolutely delicious. Especially with whipped cream and plum jam.

Hugo had a friend over  on the weekend and they had a little tea party in the Stanley house. I was so touched when I saw their scene. It's lovely having an 8 year old. He and his friends are little enough to see the magic in it but old enough to play gently and respect the delicate nature of Stanley's things.

 I couldn't end this post without a photo of my favourite red roses, the bush given as an engagement present from my mum. Their fragrance is out of this world.

Lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.

Macrame and Other Exciting Things.

This weekend has had Archie and I doing lots of macrame together. I found this neon string at the hardware store and am so in love with it that I'm surprised I haven't knitted a suit for Jonno to wear yet. He would look so fancy. Instead I've been knotting up jars with it. They glow.

This jar is my favourite. I have some L.E.D. tea lights to pop in there so I can't wait for the next warm evening.

Can you imagine.

Archie has taken to macrame like a duck to water. He spends a lot of his time learning new knots... as you do when you're 11 and an assistant patrol leader at Scouts.

And today my yarn from Black Sheep Wools arrived. I can't wait to show you the Christmas project we're working on together but I need to whip this batch into shape first.... 

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.

Spring Snippets.

It's mid Spring now in New Zealand and the air has suddenly turned warm. Archie sat up in the studio with me today. I crocheted and he read - pure bliss. What you can't see behind Archie is the deck which is festooned with wisteria and the fragrance wafted in all morning.

The wisteria creeps its way across the pergola too, so you can imagine how much tea I am trying to drink under it at the moment.

My little puppy niece snoozing on the couch. I am so obsessed.

 And my amazingo, fantastico birthday present from my neighbour - she made it! I love it!

Whether you are in Spring or Autumn, I hope that the season is embracing you too.

Lots and lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

My Studio.

This weekend (being the weekend of birthdays), I had the absolute joy of having Jonno up in my studio with power tools (that sentence didn't quite play out the way I planned). For far too long the studio has been an awkward dumping ground for all the unwanted or hard to categorise junk in the house. Nothing creative has gone on there for an age. And so, with the boys away, we tackled it.You can see the results above. Note the bench jutting across the room - that's from Jonno's childhood kitchen!

 Paint brush and pencils storage - gaaaahhhhh!!!

 The big man himself. Note the paper dispenser he made for me. Grrrrrr.

 Hooks.

A table to crochet and paint at - with chairs!!!!! Maybe it's time to get serious about giving crochet lessons. 

Jars for washi tape and towel rails for tissue paper - this has streamlined the Stanley book wrapping sooooo much.

This was one of my little projects - I've had this box since I was little and with a couple of hooks and some chain, it's now handy storage - I thought I was pretty clever with the string next to it too!

 Jonno put in a bookshelf next to the guest bed (also in the studio) and I propped up an old steamer trunk to become a bedside table.

Most satisfying reorganisation of a room ever. I've still got lots of bits to show you so will start taking the next batch of photos.

Lots and lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.

It's My Birthday (and I can play with Lego if I want to....).

Today is my birthday. Yay. It's a quiet one this year, so many exciting things have happened over the past 12 months that a low key celebration is absolutely sublime. In fact, it's such a quiet one that I am blogging at the moment rather than out at the movies with Jonno (the calves escaped down to the estuary so we had a change of plans). The boys departed at lunch time for a weekend of adventure with their grandparents and cousins, so this weekend will be about getting my studio back in order. I so hope I have some wonderful photos to take of it by Sunday.

Considering that we are only catching up with a few friends over the weekend, Jonno and I will also be eating a lot of cake. This year I made a hummingbird cake with lemon cream cheese icing for the top and raspberry cream cheese icing for the centre. It is so, so, so delicious - hopefully the boys won't be expecting anything upon their return.

 I'm also feeling the luckiest person in the world as the boys gave me this Lego ice-cream truck that I've been beside myself over. It is utterly inspirational and I can't wait to crochet something similar. Have you ever seen such a Lego-ey piece of art!

 Beautiful birthday table.

 My new birthday mug - thank you Gaga and Pa! The tea tastes particularly scrumptious!

 New birthday books - reviews next week!

Archie being oh-so-helpful. What a boy!

Lots and lots of love,
Kate. xxooxx.

Crocheting with the Boys.

 Today a dream came true, Hugo learnt how to crochet. He still has a long way to go but the 'click' happened for him. Wahoo! Sitting at the table with my two boys while we had hot drinks and crocheted was beyond my wildest dreams. I'm still smiling all these hours later.

Yesterday my neighbour popped by with her new book by Mr. Finch and the teeniest, tiniest plate of macarons ever.  By the way, the book is utterly sublime and if you ever have the chance to read it, seize it. No patterns but amazing photography of his work so far. I tried to hide the book so it could live with us but to no avail..... I can't wait to see it again. 

Archie made a little crochet kite this morning. He thinks it would be a wonderful project for beginners so we will write the pattern up at some stage together and post it.

Crochet can be pretty intense you know....

Lots and lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.

A Quick Round Up of Greedy For Colour Christmas Projects and Patterns!

I know it seems crazy to start thinking about Christmas. After all, October only popped up in the calendar a couple of days ago. But, as all crafters know, October is the month to really, really, really get making if you would like it to be  Christmas ready. I've put it off my making before only to regret it later. So come on, let's get going.

This year I am working on a Christmas project (to be revealed soon) and I'm delighted to say that Black Sheep Wools have very kindly offered to contribute the yarn needed for my project at a special rate! Wahoo!!!! So keep an eye out for the pattern which will be coming soon.

For the meantime, here are some projects from the past few years.....

 Crochet Christmas Baubles.

 Crochet Balls -   Instructions for making the wreath aren't included but I tracked down some photos of  the construction process which I'll share next week.

 Christmas Crochet Advent Bunting.

 Mini Hot Air Balloons - this is one of my favourite decorations to hang on the tree.

 Confetti Style Pompoms.

 A Christmas Star - this would make a lovely garland.

 Angel Wings - I always think these would make a wonderful decoration hanging from a mini, handmade wire coat hanger. 

Crochet Apples - perfect for a Christmas tree, look at the colours!!!

 Here are a couple of easy washi tape ideas.

And if you don't feel like decorating a tree this year, you could always hang your lighter decorations from the roof using washi tape to secure them. 

I hope something from the round-up has tickled your fancy and has you thinking Christmas thoughts!

Lots and lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.