prairie mouse

freida frosting

way down here what we get on the supermarket shelves is tres limited compared to the US. i grew up on american tv, seventeen and snoopy so i know the iconic brands but am unable to get them.to fill this gap, an american woman has opened a store she calls 'martha's backyard' where she brings in products for homesick americans and people like me. of course this rubs off on prairie who spied a pillsbury 'funfetti' box cake and had to make it. i left her to it. the result.........

one piece at a time is more than enough!

this afternoon i installed the spring window at salvage. i will post those pictures tomorrow. just wanted prairie to have a little cake glory first!

historical stitching

once upon there was a bird called morocco. the little bird with the big name. the big name, the big heart and the very big adventures. i'm saving those for another day but thought i would show you the embroidery from morocco's cover. my love affair with burlap began some time ago! morocco was tommy's bird and was a finch. when tommy was little he was fascinated with birds and drew me these pictures so i could put them around the cover. of course morocco, bless his big heart, has long since flown but is so fondly remembered.

a parrot

a kiwi - our national bird

i love this one - the kakapo, another native bird. a great big flightless parrot, its name meaning night parrot as it is nocturnal. critically endangered, there are only 125 left. 

and a bird we don't have here, the macaw. a big fav with the boy.

the birds are on the front and back of the cover and on the sides we put trees. wish i could draw a tree like that!

so there you go - stitchin' from 10 years ago. don't think we'll be replacing the finch in a hurry though, our cats would go bananas. i might turn the cover into a tote.

wallflower

on the weekend we lived up to a long made promise to prairie and put up some 'all paper' in her room. she was given a roll ages ago (emma!) and i think it came from urban outfitters. 'all' meaning multi usage but you knew that! we only put it up on a small portion of the wall, the piece that comes out around her closet. it was fun, cheap and has given the room a real lift. one happy customer here!

what to do with the left over paste? i just couldn't throw it away so i put it in a preserving jar (yes susie - its the honey jar but i'll wash it out really well!). it looked so pretty with all those bubbles. i wanted to suspend something in it (but didn't - must not watch so many x file reruns) instead it got a pretty label and a springtime shoot!

sneak peek

a little something i am working on. just had to snap a snippet of it. all will be revealed soon!

fresh supplies

the courier delivered a large package yesterday full of goodies i had ordered from winterwood. they are based in australia and have the most beautiful felt - ever! not to mention the other craft supplies. i've stocked up on my dolls and can't wait to get into this handmade nepalese felt! i have added their logo to my sidebar so you can click and go straight there.

tonight i am going to see 'handmade nation'. it is finally showing here for one night on the big screen in auckland so am looking forward to a night out with the stitching fraternity!