prairie mouse

kitchener stitch

waiting for this finishing technique are my nearly 6 socks. i can never remember how to do it and rely on stitch witch on you tube to lead me along. i thought if i did 6 at once it might cement it once and for all. yeah right!

i had a birthday a few days ago and prairie surprised me by making my favourite cake - rose levy beranbaum's chocolate stresuel cake. that dark bittersweet streusel in the middle makes me swoon and the cake itself is so soft and silken. thank you my girl! background fabric - a b-day t-towel from my lovely sis in law.

and, i took this the other day on our way to whangamata. te aroha is an edwardian spa town nestled, literally, at the base of mt te aroha at the bottom of the coromanel penninsula. its a tiny little town and is stunning the way the mountain soars above it. it has a northern exposure feel to it - big wide streets with not a lot going on. i want to go there when this cute store is open!

the rabbit pattern is in production and i will post that really soon for you - thank you all for the rabbit love!!

cotton reel rabbits

i have been making these bunnies with easter in mind. of course i should have been doing this a week ago but, well, you know! they stand about 3" high from the tips of their ears to their fluffy bunny tails.

here are their formal portarits.............

papa avec carrot

mama and baby

a back view to show you mama showing off her tail

and, the brother bunny i his handknit cardy

mama and papa 

mama outside with baby and pram - some fresh air for the little one

a new location and some nice long bunny shadows 

hush now, go to sleep

family

looks like the rabbits have a visitor with an easter carrot

once i started taking photos i just couldn't stop!

pop in over easter as i am sure there will be more goings on in the burrow! and, would you care for the pattern? they are very quick and easy to make!

and, a thank you to michael who put a new banner up for me using some sweet vintage wallpaper i was given (thank you kay!) 

i wish you happy times however you celebrate this holiday x

moth to the flame

i've been meaning to post these photos for a while - a month almost. i had seen these fluttering around the net here and there and thought that i would have a go at making one for prairie's birthday as i thought them so very beautiful. you can't stop at one though can you?! i gathered up some little thrifted cloths and very gingerly cut into them. i mean very. once i had cut i was away and really enjoyed making them. then there was the pinning which i did with a bit of hesitation - they were feeling slightly real at this point! i ran out of time though, and did not get the box frame made. maybe while she is away at camp.....................

nuclear free apron

in 1984 our then prime minister david lange (rip) banned nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships within a 22.2km radius of our shores.

on july 10,1985 the greenpeace ship, the rainbow warrior, was blown up in the port of auckland.

why the history? well, it all came about when i was helping prairie pack for camp. her class are off to a permaculture farm for their camp next week and one of the activities is cooking. she is really looking forward to this and i thought, a girl needs an apron. so, we went to the cupboard and looked. i suggested burlap (as a joke!) then gently led her to the linen. she wanted something bright for the pocket and ties so i dug around and found some hand screen printed fabric. it was made in the 80s in auckland, new zealand by a couple who called themselves 'footprints' in the middle of all the nuclearness. i had bought the fabric and made a gathered skirt and have always held onto to it though stopped wearing it many years ago!

in a waldorf school, part of the curriculum is a main lesson which is taught every morning and each subject lasts for four weeks. the lesson they are on is 'rights and responsibilities' so the fabric seems timely.

it will be a quiet week without our girl.

i got prairie to choose a button and it is perfect. i bought it at tinsel trading a few years ago - vintage bakelite. it reminds me of pounamu which is a new zealand jade also known as greenstone.

 

 

curds and whey

thank you for the cheese love yesterday! sally, karen and colleen, the book is a magazine called 'world sweet world' - issue #8 which i have had lying around for ever waiting to make the cheese. i think the ricotta isn't strictly ricotta per se but a version of queso fresco. milk brought to a certain temperature, the acid added to split the curds and whey then drained. the paneer was the same thing, drained then pressed in a block. prairie had it for dinner last night with some onion, garlic and cubes of buttercup gently stewed with a little vegetable stock then the cubes of paneer added at the end with some chopped parsley. it was beautiful - i would never buy it again. there was a lot of whey left over which i saved and boiled the potatoes in last night. 

these are the paneer curds. they were like little milky clouds. 

the whole food course i am doing is a 3 month, 12 module affair with the lovely heather from beauty that moves. she ran a 30 day vegan course last year which was very popular (i didn't do that one myself). i am really enjoying the course and find that i am making changes in the way we eat without it being too much of a big deal. i really like heather's flexible, non labeled approach to this huge subject. something i have found is the amazing amount of dishes (we are dishwasher free) and the most frequent visitor to the sink are jars as i work towards a plastic free kitchen.

have a wonderful weekend x

 

 

in my kitchen

last weekend we went out to the farm and picked up 50 litres of raw milk - right out of the tank. it was very cool being so close to the source. 20 litres went to a couple of friends and we were left with 30 litres. doesn't look so much on the farm but at home in the kitchen, we were awash! we froze quite a bit and made yoghurt. this morning i have made yogurt and is all tucked up in the slow cooker, there is ,some ricotta on the go and after that, i'll make some paneer. with the whole foods course i am taking, the milk fits in perfectly.

yoghurt wrapped in a towel then a sack (more to make it look pretty than for insulation!)

and the pumpkin vine on the deck has a baby - it seems to be hanging in (haha) there. might have to make it a shelf!

back to sit on my tuffet!

whanga

whangamata - my go to beach where i have been going since i was a teenager. its about two and a bit hours away at the bottom of the coromandel penninsula. a couple of weeks ago, on a whim, we threw some things in a bag and headed down for the night.

it was late afternoon when we got there - quite overcast and misty which i love. we went for a big walk up and down the beach - always with feet in the water no matter what the weather is doing.

i must add (or i will be in trouble!) that the photo below was taken by prairie!

some refreshments for the journey! like old times!

michael wrote our names in the sand - i don't think my name has ever been written so big!

and a shell ring - always a must!

back to the city until the next whim!

 

pot mitt

tommy is going to a friend's birthday party tonight. nadia likes to bake so along with the cupcake cases he wants to get, i made a pot mitt out of a coffee sack, some vintage fabric (do you remember this kay?!) and some homemade bias. i would quite like to keep it!

dip

a batch of freshly dipped candles. there has been a fair amount of cappings being processed going on around here. lots of nosy bees coming in to check it out. lots of rounding up and directing them back outside to their little pink and blue house.

autumn. not ready to let the summer go yet but am knitting socks. hang on, i always have a pair on the go these days. more than one pair. three.

got our first raw milk this week. tommy has a constant moustache! i haven't even made yoghurt yet its going so fast. it is, beautiful. 

baby jack

this elephant is dubai bound - my cousin has had a baby and my aunt is going to visit so the elephant is travelling with her!