Quilt Ahoy!

Uh oh, I've well and truly turned a corner and fallen off the edge into the abyss that is madness. I'm going to attempt to make a quilt. Not a fan-dangled, fiddly, measured out, fat quarter thing - just some fabric scraps sewn together. But all this with my brain that jumps from project to project faster then I change my undies? Jeez. Sometimes I wonder why I set myself up for defeat. But honestly, blogging about it can only be the most likely way of giving me an incentive to see it through... holding myself accountable and all that stuff! Here goes...

Softie

With all the tragic events unfolding in Christchurch this week, I've felt so guilty about heading off to work each day and seemingly acting as if nothing has happened. I've been coming home each night and found myself fixated to the tv screen, watching horror after horror pass before me. It's the most awful feeling isn't it? Feeling helpless really sucks! So I decided that I would just attempt to do my part in a small way - and I've made a little softie for the 'Softies for Christchurch' appeal. She's a cute wee bunny, a nice and simple pattern that I got from here. I don't have the patience or skills like some of you talented crafters out there! But it's a little something anyway.

*Tee hee look at his massive fluffy tush! A little out of proportion but oh well!

It's All Mine

This is the Ngaio Rue 'Tart' pendant, and it's all mine! Lucky, lucky me.

If you are in Wellington you can find one of your very own right here, and if you're anywhere else she's selling them here!

Summer Lovin'

This is my all time favourite time of year. And I've missed it while I've been overseas. Because no where can I find those glorious late summer sun baked afternoons like I do in NZ. It's always those small things that I hold close to my heart, just the tid bits that I find floating in a lazy Saturday afternoon. And because I'm back living with the 'rents for the time being, it's even better. It's like I've time travelled back to the days of being a little girl - when weekends seemed to arch on forever, filled with wonderful sights, smells and projects.

I love that I can always find Mum at some point during the day, saucing or stewing or baking in the kitchen, filling the house with glorious tastes and smells.

I love that the cats seem to feel the 'weekend' spirit too, and they repeatedly alternate between lazing in a sunny spot to cooling in the shade.

I love that the washing stays on the line until the last slithers of sunshine have slipped away, leaving the towels crisp and crunchy.

I love that my Dad is always outside; always watering, or always mowing... the smells of the cool water on the hot concrete driveway and the freshly mown lawn are to die for.

And the part I love the best that I return to religiously every sunny weekend day, is my afternoon nap. Back in the bedroom I spent my first 20 years in, I lie in my crumpled duvet as the sun pours in and the breeze whispers through the open windows. I soak in it. I drift away. It's truely the thing I love the most.

*Apologies for the poor photo quality, all snapped on my phone!

Girl Crush - 'Robyn'

I have crushed on Robyn since 'Show Me Love' from waaaayy back in the day. Now I'm crushin' again. And I really really want to be in this video.

Happy Valentines Day - again!

Maybe this post is for those in the world for whom it is still Valentines Day, because I just realised I had an even more appropriate photo then the one I posted yesterday! It's a love lock that we spotted (amongst thousands of others) on a bridge in Paris over the Seine. We struck these on famous bridges all over the world, but initially in Sydney, and at first we had no idea what the significance was until a friend clued us in.
Us kiwis, we must be so unromantic! Sheesh!

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day lovers... Mwah mwah!

Experi-Mental

I've been experimenting with a slightly more abstracted style then I normally draw with. And then the paints came out. I hate painting. Only because I always feel I ruin my drawings once they're painted. Must practice some more. Practice, practice, practice...

Resolutions - Making Progress

Remember how I said one of my 'resolutions' (if I have to call it that), is to get a bit more serious about my drawing and start an online shop? Well yesterday I took a major leap in that direction because I got a new toy.

After a lot of research and moollah, I am now the very excited new owner of a Canon Pixma Pro 9500 mark II printer, which in a nutshell means when it comes to getting top quality prints made of my drawings, I can do it myself instead of forking out squillions for someone else to do it. I have full control. Yusss! It has 10 pigment ink cartridges so the prints won't fade like regular home printer ink, and it's designed especially for photography and fine art printing, both A4 and A3. Yikes! Do I sound like a walking sales brochure much?

So here's to the start of my little enterprise. Just gotta pull finger and get some things drawn that are suitable for selling!

Ngaio Rue

I consider myself super lucky to work where I do, but my job comes with some serious dangers.

We are first and foremost, an interior design office, but we also have a retail space which showcases tons of great kiwi design talent. And that's where I have to practice restraint every day.

Last week, we got a parcel in the mail from the talented Ngaio Rue. It was chock full of a collection of her beautiful hand tatted necklaces and earrings. I can't even begin to describe the detail in these, they're fantastic! And I have my eye on this one. It's my fav. I almost didn't want to put it out in the shop cos' I want it all to myself. I'd better not catch anyone attempting to buy it... look out!

Draw What You See, Not What You Know

                            'Legs in bath, taps in reflection'

Many years ago, aged 8, while struggling to draw a paua shell, my art teacher said, 'Draw what you see, not what you know.' So yesterday, in the bath, I did just that.

Colouring Outside the Lines: All Things Bees

As some of you may or may not know, my Dad is a bee guru. That's him there, doing what he loves to do best. Bee keep. I spent a lot of my childhood avoiding the back section of our yard for fear of bee-stings from his many beehives. And boy have my sisters and I had our share of those stings. Mum would always get grumpy at the bee poo all over the sheets on the washing line. Dad eventually caved and moved his hives off site, and now has them scattered all over various places in Wellington.

I've always had a love hate relationship with those bees. The idea of creating a scrumptious product in a very natural way has always been intriguing, but I've watched way too many horror films of killer bee swarms to warrant showing much more of an interest. When I was little I would go as far as helping Dad to spin the honey comb frames in the extractor machine to collect the honey, and that was about it.

A couple of months ago, Dad became interested in a new hiving method, called a top bar hive, as opposed to those multi coloured boxes that we see on rural roadsides around the place. This method encourages the bees to create their own comb, instead of using the man made wax comb provided by a beekeeper in a standard hive. The frames hang inside the hive in such a way that the comb is formed in a natural 'V' or teardrop shape - essentially letting the bees form it to whatever shape they would like! This idea is gaining massive popularity as more and more people are looking to find the most natural way of producing honey as possible, and by letting the bees create their own comb, it is a big step in that direction. It's really fascinating stuff!

So Dad has harnessed this interest, and set about building a top bar hive. Today his new bee colony moved in. I decided to harden up, step outside my comfort zone and follow along. And I lasted pretty well, standing only a couple of metres from the hive taking photos, until a bunch of bees decided I was more interesting then their new home, and began crawling down my neck. That's when I ran, arms flailing in the opposite direction. But I'm still determined to keep following Dad's progress, so there will be more to come in the future!

Things I'm Lovin' Lately...

Growing tomatoes in pots outside... successfully, and getting to eat them!

Sales at Spotlight where I can get enough fabric to make 5 pieces of clothing for only $30! What to make, what to make!?

Walking into the family room to see this mess on the floor...

Only to find this hiding inside it...!

Finally getting around to making pillows out of the two fabric offcuts I've had knocking around for two and a half YEARS!

Beating a certain someone at bowling last night. Now that's a rare occurance, you gotta cherish these small moments!

So that's pretty much me for the week, I'm looking forward to reading your lists too!