Lately I have had so many things on my brain that I feel like I am fumbling around getting the odd things done in a constant daze. I keep on saying to myself “how do you eat an elephant” (not that i WOULD eat an elephant, but thats beside the point) I felt like sharing that I watched a funny little movie the other day, that sufficiently distracted me from my abundance of brain activity and I happily finished a pair of socks I have been knitting.

We watched “Flash Gordon” whilst eating a delicious pizza. I made the superior amazing pizza crust (it was rather good to spin around into a circle apparently) and Kylie put the topping on. It was a perfect pizza, we are very pleased with our Christmas prezzy pizza stone (good guess Gill) the pizza crust was crispy even in the middle!

Flash Gordon was hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed the “Oooo Flash” moments as the woman watched in awe of his superior strength and display of human nature. The delightful wooden acting (i don’t think there was any other way to act with such a script) and great 1980 set design (little fact, i was born  in 1980, which means I’m 30 soon!). All in all a good wee night.

I finished the socks and have now started The famous “Central Park Hoodie” I now know why its so popular is sooo fun to knit and after two pairs of socks with tiny tiny stitches, the wonderful FAT yarn and easy knitting is like walking on air. I wake up in the morning and think “O I wonder how much of my hoodie I will knit today” I won’t be modeling the socks yet, I want to block them first. But sock blockers are SILLY prices, so I am going to make one. Add that to the list of things to do that makes my brain overload.

Reporting from Christmas Land in Te Puke. We have driven up to a warmer, wetter climate. Kylie’s Mum and Dads place. There is a big tree in the living room with a Christmas village and railway tracks complete with a Christmas train. There are lights outside on the trees and shubs with Santa’s sleigh being pulled by reindeer on the roof.

Today I have put together some of my favorite tutorials for christmas tree ornaments.. or ones that can be used for that. Some I would love to make for the tree next year. This may be the last post before the new years, busy holidaying. Wish you all a Merry Christmas and Wonderful New Years… I am off to the beach! Been hankering for some swimming for awhile… Love a NZ Christmas!

1.Christmas Birds 2. Pom poms (for garlands and hanging off the tree.. plus little “flowers”) 3. Dragon Boats 4. Circus theme Christmas Tree decorations on “design sponge”, the very cool topper on “once wed“ 5. Fabric pom pom garland (could use for anything) 6. For the knitters, little sweaters (thanks to buzzy bee) 7. Mini Terrariums

Little note to add: Twentycentmixture has just put together a really nice list of ornament ideas and Tutorials!

O and I was featured on Studio Home! Yay! Thanks lots Julia!

This year is I was slightly more enthused on the decoration front. Probably something to do with moving in with the boyfriend and becoming all domestic, or it could be that I am getting old and I am feeling like part of being grown up is decorating at Christmas. Regardless I have begun a Christmas decoration collection. The budget was blown this year on a fake tree, yes, i know, i know.. but one of us sneezes uncontrollably as soon as they go outside and the other one of us just can’t BREATH when its too dusty or polleny, Christmas trees INSIDE  just speak all sorts of wrong to a hay fever and asthma ridden person…


Due to the big budget blow out I had to make everything else. The theory is, as the years go by i will make a few more each year to add to our collection and eventually we will have an abundance of decorations. So this years start is some hand painted (by me) balls for the tree. Some pom poms by Kylie and a few others I have yet to finish. The ‘piesta resistance’ is my garland made out of pom poms and fabric yo yos including a bit of ribbon and some Christmas lights twinkling through. It looks rather sparse still but I will keep making decorations until Christmas time.

Blogland has been delivering on the decoration tutorials I have been linking like a crazy lady. I plan on adding to it and summing the best that I have found of them up on the blog a bit later. So if you have come across any or have written any let me know.

I am updating the shop at the moment with many New Zealandy images. Its been fun playing with their colours this time. All of them are up in Felt, a few left to go in Etsy..

Well it might not be “officially” spring yet, but the flowers are sure fooled. The unusually warmer weather means more flowers, more walks, more bike rides and less pollution from chimneys! Pretty happy all round really.

Another thing thats got me all excited is my new printer. I fired it up end of week last week and have been busy printing off possible prints to sell. I have all sorts of tentative plans so mostly going to try lots of different shops, ways of marketing and just go from there. I will be selling more than photo prints too. I hope to start selling prints of paintings and illustrations also. There is even the possibility of combo-ing with a friend at lyttleton markets.. maybe.

The last few weekends i have been attending a weaving course at the arts center. I got to borrow a four shaft loom and generally had a good time playing with different weaves and learning to read the patterns. After being a little disappointed with how i didn’t enjoy using a rigid heddle loom that much through another course i did last year, i was happily surprised that i enjoyed this one so much… we did a “sampler” playing with different patterns to create different effects. Here is a little closeup of the unwashed slightly wrinkly piece:

I hope everyone has a good week! My guy is coming back for good tonight, he has been working overseas for the last year or so. I have been getting him back for one week every two weeks, but its still not the same. So excited about him coming home for good… so we will be hectic getting ready for our USA holiday in the coming days, followed by coming back home from the US and setting out to move in together and starting to build a house. So grown up! Ha ha.. anyways, here are some more spring photos, heres wishing everyone a fabulous week!

The Arts Festival is now all go in my wee home town. I went into town on Sunday to help with the installation of the crochet flowers that have now started “growing” around the square. It was a typical sunny and crispy Christchurch winter day, with the added Arts Festival buzz. All the stands are up, the “ice dome” (temporary skating rink) is working and wonderful Jazz music could be heard filtering out the Telstra Clear venue as we sewed and strung up our goodies. People happily wandering around soaking up the atmosphere.

The vines are knitted, leaves and flowers crocheted. The vines are sewn on. Flowers pinned, so that people can “pick” the flowers and attach them to their jackets, shirts or whatever they are wearing. A little bit of brightness for the winter season. They look great! If they stay in good condition they may make it to the New Brighton library. I loved the vines so much, I was imagining creating my own for my office. Which can be as pretty and girly as i want, seee… its MY lady cave. I can crochet and knit flowers whenever i feel like a small pretty crafty project, they can “bloom” on my vine and when i am tired of them they can be given away…

The “slip” Project Website

Arts Festival Website

The flickr Set

What can I say, crochet is on the brain. The colours and pictures inspire…

Emma Lamb

Sara Aires

Brigitte Read She has a cool flower tutorial here

Wow, just found a list of posts and tutorials on all things crafty, a rather chunky portion of its crochet. “Craft Stylish” Linda Permann..
Some picks:
How to crochet a flower part 1
How to crochet and flower part 2 (embellishing)

Finally the last one i found thanks to Linda Permann some whimsical toys crocheted and sewn by Sweet Nellie, check out her etsy shop

For this years Arts Festival a local cool Christchurch crafty chick Lucy Arnold is organizing a bunch of us crochet peoples to make some flowers to “grow” up some trees around the square (website/blog). Crochet flowers are quick and satisfying to do, so I’m obviously in! I am not sure what I like more, the growing amount of colours in a yarny flowery pile or the churning through a bunch of flowers at once. Feeling quite satisfied that I can achieve something yarny and colourful in such a short amount of time. Happy *sigh*.

I have been looking around for patterns, because I tend do have fun going on my tangents wondering what would happen if i chained a few more and attached it here and there, crochet is so easy to make the odd thing up, the quickly pull apart and try again. At this rate I will not win the most crochet flowers rumoured competition, but I will do my share anyhow.

Some cute-si crochet patterns out there..

• Lion Brand
• Fable handmade
• Lily
• Crochet leaves
• Crochet Leaf video (and more)
• Autumn oak leaves
• crochet rose and leaves
• Attic24

I have had a sweater sitting in my wardrobe, unworn for about a year now. It took FOUR YEARS to knit. Because I could not follow the instructions, because it was too hard, because as I knit it, in my bones, I knew it wasn’t working. But did I listen to me? NOooo. I made it, sewed it up, blocked it. Tried it on, then never wore it again. A couple of weekends ago I went to see my family in Murchison, my mother has a particularly large sweater that drooped in funny places that she needed to unravel aswell. So we rip rip RIPPED together. The result, a new batch of yarn to use on a project we will actually wear! 

BEFORE

AFTER

As a side note, I mentioned on twitter that I smashed the coffee plunger one morning, I was particularly ruffled by this because i had JUST knit the silliest cozy to keep it warm in the cold winter months. This story does have a happy ending, i found another plunger, made FULLY out of stainless steel, that fits it perfectly. Sigh of relief… The yarn was a lone ball in a stash my friend Jess off loaded before moving to Auckland.

Ravlery project notes: I found a random ball of yarn in my stash that i thought would look OK when I spilt coffee on it. I then knit a tension square and figured out, after measuring the plungers height and diameter, how many stitches across it had to be, then knit until it was tall enough. I added some p2 k2 rib on the top and bottom and a garter stitch edge.

When I told some crafty ladies in my acquaintance that I was creating my button collection by buying boxes of buttons off trade me, several said that they had tried and found themselves the owners of many many white buttons. If your at a loss for what to do with them all, why not make a picture on black felt/fabric? This artist, Lauren Levy, has some amazing work!

Find the artist Lauren Levy here. Thanks to craftzine

I am very excited, kinda don’t believe I am traveling to such a crazy destination, Japan is on my “to do” list, but I never thought I could ever afford it and now I am off to spend two weeks there! In honor of the occasion i have done some sewing… I made myself a clutch and a little ticket/passport wallet out of fabric I brought in Melbourne, the clutches scooter fabric is (funnily enough) a Japanese designer print! I will do my best at posting while I am over there, even if its just piccies.