packing it up

My life is in boxes at the moment, well at least a good portion of my belongings are. I've just spent the day packing in anticipation of moving out of the flat on Saturday- I'm very much over it by now!. I know that I will miss it and will probably get all sentimental about it. Sewing machines have been stored, excess bits and pieces gone, and a growing charity pile is forming. And despite all this, I'm yet to find a flat to move onto- a few potentials though. I'm hovering over my cellphone like a teenager waiting to hear from her date...

Flat hunting is a strange thing- you meet an amazing amount of people and peer into an interesting number of houses- some relatively loveley, some definately not! There is always good stories to tell- I remember looking at a shockingly bad one when I lived in Wellington- it was in the Aro Valley and up a million step step stairs in the hillside. The place turned out to be dark, damp and very much a boy flat- and then it turns out my future flatmate had also seen the place and given it an immediate no.
Yet I just have to remember that on the other side, for the people finding a flatmate, that there is also a good number of potential flatmates (and crazy people who you just know that you wouldn't want to live with). I think that the right flat will find me. Optimistic here!

And the worst thing is that you can emotionally move in, you know, when you start thinking of how you will decorate your potential room- in my case this is not helped by a small pile of interior decorating magazines scattered on the floor. Very distracting, but I'm no Martha Stewart...!

Anyway, I'm going to start a new embroidery- a piece for my littlest niece...

hiatus

In case you have'nt noticed, I've been busy enough to not blog. In the next few weeks, things are set to get busier workwise, and in between that I have to find a new flat to live in. So my crafting time is set to be sporadic, and I'm left with little to post about.

See you in the calm time.

excitement

One motif to go on the embroidery for my niece... something small, but perfectly formed to work with the...


...the tree...birds...the fairy...the snail...button flowers...the cat...the puppy...two little mice...the sun...the moon...the little red house...the ladybird...the clouds that I love...the loopy lettering...the pink poodle...my little niece in embroidery at the centre of it all...stars and love-hearts...butterflies and bumblebees...the little silver-web spider...the owl in the tree...and many, many tiny stitches...


I am so excited about finishing this- but no pictures yet!. When (and just when) this is finished, I will turn it into a cushion- another project in itself...then I will show you..

if you happen to live in Melbourne...

...The Haints of Dean Hall are playing their trans-Tasman mix of alt- country at:

Friday 14 Sepetmber - at the Edinburgh Castle, Brunswick, with Pikelet, Bendan J Black and Maudita..

Saturday 15 Sepetmber- at the Wesley Anne, Northcote with Seth Rees, Zoe Randell, and Look Bird! Lament.

Catch you there!

home again

I'm all back from Sydney now, and still adjusting to being back in NZ and am settling back into my daily dearly routine. I have been back to the real world for one measly day of work (then the weekend!)... I walked and I walked, bused, trained, planed and ferried here there and everywhere! Priscilla was a mad mad musical- the costumes were kind of insane and were worth seeing.

Then I struggled to pack my bags home due to some shopping.....

But can someone please explain this????

A.P.E.C. Wow, what a time to be in Sydney. George W Bush and 650(!) of his entourage were in town, as well as additional presidents and prime ministers from other countries... All this of course meant security. As in fortress style security and lots of cops everywhere. They even cordoned off the Opera House as they were using it as a venue, which was a little strange to see- normally the place is milling with tourists taking photos left, right and centre. And taped over rubbish bins in case anyone had the sense to put something suspicious in it. Crikey. Of course it gave everyone something to talk about.I missed out on all the protests though- I'm still not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing- nonetheless it would have been quite a sight for Anna in tourist mode... I of course was concerned that I would not get around the shops...

But on a brighter note:


The Hoppers. Or skippys. Or roo's. These two slightly bewildered and naive looking kangaroos and their joeys ended up coming home with me. My two nieces were delighted!

Holiday Craft. Do you think that I could be away from craft on holiday. No, not at all. As I was travelling with my parents, I knew that I would not be out and about every night. So I took this embroidery along with me. This came from a transfer that was with a 70's Needlewoman magazine, that I was going to put my own spin on it. It had been tempting me for a while, so I had a little start on it.
Of course I somehow left Sydney with some fabric... I found this black Tom Hedqvist fabric in a Finnish design store in Bondi Junction- I can't remember the name of the shop sorry! I have no idea of what I will do with it, but I love the slightly woodblock-ish feel about it, and the fact that it reminds me of books.


Cute as a Teapot. In my on-going mission to beautify my life ( I am reading far too many 'beautiful house' type magazines) I have purchased a teapot. Very cute. Lovely colour. Now soon I think that I will be on some kind of mission to re-organise and de-clutter and somehow turn a section of my room into a workable studio (instead of the mountain of clutter that it is)



The Shoes. I found myself yet another pair of mary-jane style shoes with a little heel. This is my third such pair of this style of shoe... But the nude colour would look fantastic with black tights or jeans. I am in a slight scrunchy-toe moment until I break them in (uh-oh).

It is still nice to be home- I got into the local thing this weekend and walked up to Kingsland village, got lunch from one of the cafes, and had a peek in Mixt and Royal Jewellery Studio- very nice pieces there. I'm still getting lots of ideas for design-y, craft-y stuff, but I have to remember to slow down and keep everything realistic. And clear my craft back-log!!!!

I was delighted to hear that Carrie has received my swap and loves the pincushion (I loved working on it too. Am planning to make a few more)!