New additions.....

 Now that the school holidays are over I've been keeping busy designing and sewing new items for my shop. I added these 3 writing/journalling compendiums last week made with some more of those vibrant Bali batiks that I am constantly drawn to work with.

The covers of each one are made up of small pieces sewn together 'improv' style then embellished with various machine embroidery stitches which all takes a bit of time but is one of my favourite steps of making these compendiums up.

Yesterday I received a custom order for one of these compendiums in the colour combo of red/orange/yellow and in an A4 size. I rummaged through my stash and came to the sad conclusion that I did not have enough of those colours in my stash so of course a shopping trip was called for. It just so happens that there is a shop about an hours drive away that stock a wonderful range of true Balinese batiks and at reasonable prices. The shop is called "Wrights fabrics" in Morrinsville and has been around for years and the owners are really friendly and helpful. One of the fabrics that I had chosen had a cut in the middle of it so they gave me extra to compensate along with a further extra piece that had been cut previously but tucked into the roll. Once paid for my fabrics were not stuffed into the usual generic plastic bag but carefully wrapped in good old fashioned brown paper. Love that :-) And now my stash of batiks is much more colour balanced :-)

A favourite beach.....

Last week I took the girls away on a 4 night camping holiday at my favourite beach. Yes we do live on the beautiful Coromandel with many beautiful beaches nearby not to mention our beach here in Whangamata but  this particular beach is where we holidayed as a family when I was a child in a family bach so it holds special memories for me. It is on the wild west coast just outside Auckland and is quite famous for it's wild surf and because of that it has a reality TV programme filmed there. So all of you local readers will have guessed already that it is Piha I am talking about. West coast beaches differ from the East coast beaches with their black iron sand. We stayed in the Piha domain camping ground and scored a nice quiet spot with our own little Pohutakawa tree for shade which also held up our makeshift clothesline. I tried to take the above photo without the girls noticing but as you can see Amelia spotted me and tried to make out she was camera shy by hiding behind her shirt.

This is Piha beach viewed from the southern end looking north past the iconic Lion Rock which separates North Piha from South Piha. Lion Rock is actually an eroded neck of a volcano that erupted 16 million years ago. I never knew that as a kid, all I knew was that you could climb to the top and that I was never allowed to because I was too young. Seemed so unfair at the time.

This photo was taken from halfway up Lion rock looking south across the main Piha beach and out towards 'The Gap' another well known landmark in Piha. The large rock formation on the right is known as 'Camel rock' and 'Nun rock' is the end rock formation on the seaward side of Camel rock.

This passage through Camel rock is known as 'The keyhole' and is used by keen fishermen to walk through at low tide to access the rocks on the seaward side. Caitlin and I waded through the surprisingly warm water looking at the little crabs and starfish living in the shallows.

So top on my list of must things to do was to take the girls up Lion rock since I had never been allowed to when staying here as a kid. You used to be able to climb all the way to the top of the lion's head but some rock erosion has made the last 1/4 up and around the head too dangerous. I was quite happy to be able to climb 3 quarters of it anyway as the views are stunning in all directions.

My girls taking in the view halfway up looking northwards.

Another reason I like Piha is because there are numerous bush walks in the surrounding bush clad hills. The most well known and used walk is up to the Kitekite waterfalls at the end of Glen Esk road. Every year we stayed there in my childhood summer holidays we did this walk. The falls cascade over 6 stages and end in a  large pool at the bottom. It is a 1/2 hour up-hill walk so Caitlin and I (Amelia was not so brave) cooled off in this very cold but refreshing pool.......

 .......swimming under the cascading sheet of water as it hits the pool. 

 This is an ancient kauri stump situated at the beginning of the falls walk which you can walk under and through to its hollow centre.

An large old rata tree with some cool knarly roots.

Another bush walk we did was the Maungaroa Lookout track that gave us some beautiful views out over the coastline and beyond. This was one of the longest walks we did (almost 2 hours) and the girls were getting a little tired and grumpy towards the end but thankfully Cailtin started spotting some native lizards (skinks)  in the leaf mulch on the paths and a couple of  kereru (native wood pigeon) which kept their minds occupied. 

These last 3 photos were some of the views we took in on the Mercer bay loop walk we did on our last day. I have never done this walk before but it is a short drive from Piha. It is a loop walk along some 700 metre tall cliff tops with various lookout points along the way taking in some spectacular views up and down the coast.

 This photo and the next few are taken on a walk we did one evening that takes you over the hill to look out over 'the gap' Both the girls were uncharacteristically keen to pose for photos by themselves and with each other and I let them click away on my camera.

 They will kill me for putting this one up on my blog but I love seeing them having so much fun together.

 And yes this is one of 'me' and Amelia. I have decided to put more of 'me' into and onto my blog this year so no more hiding behind the camera :-) Notice the bandage on my left leg? Yes I unfortunately badly pulled my calf muscle a few days beforehand and was worried I wouldn't be able to do any walking while away but it has thankfully healed quite quickly although I have not been able to run again yet. I had been looking forward to doing some early morning runs with Amelia around Piha but it was just not to be :-(

 And 'me' and Cailtin. To get an idea of how high we actually are, see the specks in the water to the left of me? They are surfers waiting for the perfect wave in the evening light.

Sun setting taken from the northern side of Lion rock.

Sunsets taken at The Gap lookout.

I hope you have enjoyed this rather long post dedicated to 'Piha'. I so enjoyed showing my girls around and re-living some fond childhood memories. It was perfect weather the whole time we were away and we came back more tanned than when we left along with feeling a little more refreshed, rested and ready to enjoy what 2013 has to offer us.

As from tomorrow they are both back at school so I am looking forward to getting back into some serious sewing and some more regular blogging of course. 

Vintage embroidery inheritance...

 My Mother recently passed on all her embroidered doilies and table mats to me knowing that not only would I look after them in the right way but would appreciate all the beautiful hand work that was put into all these pieces. The above thatched cottage was embroidered by my Mother as a piece for a competition. I love all the pretty old fashioned cottage garden flowers and the unique cottage shape to this piece.

 I remember this 'breakfast tray cloth' from my childhood. When we were sick we would get meals on a tray and sometimes this cloth would be on it. 

 There is quite a few dressing table sets in this collection and this one is one of my favourites. I love the delicate pink colour of the flowers which I imagine was quite a bit brighter when it was first embroidered and I love the all the work that has been put into these flowers plus the delicate crochet edging that is on most of these pieces.

 And this piece is just pretty in the simplicity of the design and stitches used

 And this set is another favourite simply because I love poppies. 

I'm looking forward to putting these to use around my home but will rotate them regularly and keep them away from direct sunlight to preserve them further. So inspiring aren't they. Maybe I will one day have the time to sit and embroider something to add to this collection and pass on to my girls.

A belated Happy New Year post.......

Vintage embroidery from my Mother's collection on my newest vintage leather suitcase

I don't usually do a New Years post but I'm kinda glad last year is over and I'm looking forward to 2013 being a lot more positive, and filled with lots of possibilities of good things coming our way in other words a "a glass half full" attitude :-)
I can really related to these sentiments on Kate Spain's New Years post which you can read here.....and yes I'm going to try to live with the awareness that every new day is truly a gift to be savoured.

Source: katespaindesigns.blogspot.co.nz via Catherine on Pinterest 

Love the messages on this poster..........

My Christmas present to myself this year was the above lidded glass jar filled with vintage cotton reels that I bought over here. I have to say it was the cotton reels that I was drawn to not really the jar but I like it anyway.

And I also caved in and bought this vintage leather suitcase which is in pretty good condition considering its age.... plus as a bonus I had the option of taking the middle suitcase in the photo below for free.

It is now full of all my Christmas decorations keeping them safe from being damaged.
The vintage embroidery shown in the first photo was meant to be a part of this post but I think it deserves a post of its own so I'll be back in a couple of days or maybe even tomorrow with some more photos of what is in that pile.
Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and hoping that its already off to a good start for you.

Parental Christmas gifts.....

 I didn't make as many handmade gifts this year as last year just because of time constraints but I did make an exception with my parents as they are probably my biggest fans (as they should be of course :-) and really appreciate my handmade gifts. So this year for my Mother I made this writing compendium based on the one  I made here. I picked out some pretty floral prints that I thought she would like and embellished the outer cover with some ric-rac and machine embroidery.

 A while back now I raided my Mothers button tin so I thought it was only appropriate to chose a button from her past and this button is such a pretty one don't you think?

 I've had this hen fabric for ages and since my Mother likes hens I decided it was the perfect use for it.

 And here's the back with some pretty blue and grey ric-rac that coordinates perfectly with these pretty prints.

 Now my Dad was pretty easy too as he admired my bible cover so I made covers for two of his three bibles. These are fairly quick to whip up once I've made the fabric choices and the pieces are cut out.

My favourite detail is the ribbon bookmark on this cover where I have simply combined the purple woven tape with the aqua ric-rac.

 Here's the back of each cover. As you can see I used some lovely vibrant Bali Batik's and I tried to avoid anything too feminine or pretty.
Suffice to say they were both happy with their respective gifts made with love :-)

New Boho Bags .....

  

Here's the latest versions of my Boho bag which I first made here and here. I finished them just a few days before Christmas. I just love working with these vibrant and colourful batiks, most of which come from Bali. Not quite sure which one I like best but apart from the pretty and colourful assortment of batiks used I love this style of bag and it's handy features. It sits nicely on the hip and is a great size to hold everything that a girl needs but not too big to feel cumbersome when it's full.

Inside is a zipped pocket to store things that you want to keep safe and secure and a handy lanyard with a hook for keeping your keys not only safe but easy to access when you need them. There is nothing more annoying than fishing around the bottom of your bag for your keys when you need them quickly don't you think :-)

The two straps tie together at the top therefore making it adjustable to your preferred length and also alowing it to be worn across the body or on one shoulder.

On the outside there is a pocket on each side which are perfect for holding sunglasses or a cellphone etc... 

For the enclosure on these bags I chose a simple loop and a large handmade button. These bags are now available for sale here in my etsy shop along with the navy version here.

And of course these cute little zippered pouches coordinate perfectly and can be hooked on to the hook/lanyard inside each bag.

Okay since it's once again unbearably hot outside here today we're off to the beach for a cooling dip and maybe a little snooze while I work on my tan :-)