prairie mouse

twenty years and one - the bunting

we have celebrated tommy's big day and though i am happy to have the event behind me, it was a great party. although the actual celebration is slightly archaic (the kids can drink here at 18) i do believe our lives run in seven year cycles and this was a biggie. 

i made bunting. lots of bunting. and the odd decoration. you can't go wrong with some fraying linen and gingham ribbon. 

bunting with strips of linen hand stitched to a length of twine

how could i stop there? i ripped up and old sheet and crocheted a long length of chain stitch. then i couldn't help myself and crocheted into the chain to make the pennants.

i very much enjoyed this and crocheted away till the first guest arrived (almost)

i can't bear to take it down now so we'll enjoy it for just a little longer. 

 

more pond

greetings and a happy 2014! hot summer here - days spent looking for cool corners. we have a 21st for t coming up so there is lots going on inside and out. i love dressing a house for a gathering!

the pond i am so happy with and the lilies are going crazy. they look like they are trying climb right on out of there and we have a bud ready to bloom - fingers crossed its a birthday lily! the rabbit has it's party necklace on and the herbs planted either side are singing in this heat.

stay cool, or toastie as the case may be x

pond

this has been a work in progress for some time but last night michael finished the seat. done. the herbs i have planted either side have gone crazy as have the waterlilies that i brought home from whangamata from a friends pond. they haven't flowered yet but thinking they may not yet as they are spending their energy establishing themselves. we have tiny goldfish in there that are successfully keeping the mosquito wrigglers at bay. when you do manage a glimpse they are so cute whizzing around in their tiny school of three. i hope you are having a restful time after the rush - i always find it takes a few days to unwind, slow down, and i'm not really aware of this until i literally feel the calm rolling in. long may it last!

scenes from a tree

being the southern hemisphere our christmas is one of warmth. our solstice is summer and the longest day. our tree was/is traditionally pine but lately the firs and spruces have been creeping in and this year i bought a small potted norway spruce which will, hopefully, survive to see another christmas. i miss the pine smell but i love the look of the spruce.

my junker jane star - i love her work

and shrek - an old favourite with the kids

prairie's heart she stitched when she was three (i did the lettering but she went around the edge!) and her salt dough gingerbread boy

tommy's santa he made when he was five. i love the oldies the very best

and my favourite sugared fruit and a glimpse of some wooden beads

the ornaments seem to be such a measure of time especially the things the children have made. like the years all bundled together, small hanging memories.

time for coffee and a ricciarelli cookie methinks!

new life

to an embroidery thrifted last week. $3 for such beautiful fine work. even the back of it was a masterpiece. i couldn't leave it there so brought it home with thoughts of making it into a cushion cover for michael's mother. she loves the colour blue, birds and is a damn fine stitcher herself so will appreciate the work that has gone into it. working with pieces like this is something i love doing. i love that there is a story woven in with those threads but one that i will never know. i love that i am creating the next piece of the tale. 

munk and making

munk has made an appearance on my facebook page this festive season but thought i'd bring him over here as well - if you have been popping in on the blog over the years you will have met munk before. special guy this little felt character. at one stage he and prairie were never separated which was nerve wracking at times especially when he went missing at school for a day. i felt sick. i have just restitched his mouth and this follows many fixed arms, legs, ears. he started life as a finger puppet but was soon stuffed and stitched and turned into a 'real boy'!! needless to say but will anyway - 'love you munk'

and some seasonal stitching (summer here in the antipodes!) for a special young friend whose beautiful dad left us all not so very long ago. he was a surfer so i found some surf fabric i have had tucked away since the 80s. the natural linen is lined with it giving a faint hint of the design.

and because i can never resist a close up or a ruffle

 

 

i hope your festivities are humming along whatever you are doing x

tiny pillows

the other day in my never ending attempt to clean and sort my house these little cross stitch images rose to the surface after wating patiently for i would say, two decades. they were in great condition so i set to and made them into tiny pillows with linen backs. i thought i would hang them on the tree but always a sucker for something tiny, i left them as they were. they look like prairie schooler to me - most likely as i  stitched everything prairie schooler that i could lay my hands on in those days (hence the name of my daughter!)

bear

apologies for going off the air. truth - had to get around to paying the typepad bill. done now for another year.

this winter just gone i bought some boiled merino wool to make a sweater and don't know how i would have got by without it. i tend to do that with clothes. wear them to death. but, the sweater remains whole (with the odd hole on the seams that need tending) if not a little thicker from the odd wash when i could manage to get it off my back for a day. its beautiful fabric and the most amazing colour - a very very dark brown. i digress. a few days a go a friend asked me if i had any toys suitable for a new baby to sell. well yes but i fancied making something. so i did. out of the scraps. my friend was going to a baby shower and the recipient was her daughters (who resides in the big apple) best friend. the sweater for the bear is made from the ever wonderful koigu yarn that the daughter bought in nyc at soho for me - that made the little knitted item extra special. 

my friend said the mummy to be was thrillled and it was the only toy anyone gave her - everyone else gifted clothing. another has been ordered!

new frock

i needed a new dress. i wanted zakka so trawled pinterst for inspiration. plenty! some beautiful linen from the fabric store and i was away. actually i sat petrified with scissors poised. i didn't have a pattern but i had made a few sketches. i cut the ruffle first. strips - that i could handle! after that i just had to hold my breath and with some basic measurements, cut. 

it feels amazing to wear. the linen has a lovely weight to it and hangs. its very soft and i love being enveloped in such a generous amount of fabric.

$48.40 including thread. 

i dig a ruffle, 'specially a raw edged one. much eye rolling from prairie here - probably as much for the ruffle as the close up. she is always teasing me about my close up shots!

and the basketry continues - left over fabric and ruffle - whats a girl to do?! it was really nice to work with. 

i hope you are having a weekend thats a good one x

early stocking

moving on from the basketry i decided to get a little trickier and make a christmas stocking. i like with crocheting, that its easy to make a shape and if it doesn't work its no biggie to rip it back and try again. there were quite a few trys with the heel of this till i got it to a place i was happy with. don't ask me what i did though as i didn't write it down!

tommy and prairie have been nagging me to tell y'all that i have a facebook page. so to get them off my back, heres the link. and, an enormous thank you to kelsey for setting it up for me, gently encouraging me to keep it updated and answering my sos e mails!!