Ready for the fun stage

Stripped of the layers of old paint these 3 retro dining chairs are now ready for their makeover. There is the odd chip in various places which I think will just add to their charm. Now that they are in their bare wood condition I can really appreciate the lovely simple design and wish I had more to makeover. Can't wait to get started on the painting stage now.

Maple walnut banana muffins

Ummm yes I do have a surplus of bananas at the moment due to them being on special this week. When they get too ripe I will freeze some for baking and making smoothies later. Frozen bananas make the best smoothies :-)

Tonight I whipped up these golden muffins as I already had the oven on to cook a quiche for our dinner. This also means I have a ready made semi-healthy option for desert and something quick to put in the girls lunch-boxes tomorrow. 

Maple walnut banana muffins.

• 2 1/2 cups of self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup soft brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 2 small overripe bananas mashed
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup vanilla yoghurt
• 70 gm walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 180C . Sift flour and baking soda into a bowl, stir in oats and brown sugar. Beat together eggs, maple syrup, oil and yoghurt then gently fold into the dry ingredients together with the mashed bananas until mixture is just combined. Do not over mix unless you want your muffins to have little mountains in the middle of them :-)

Spoon the muffin mixture into muffin tins lined with muffin paper-cases.( I always use muffin paper-cases as it makes cleaning the muffin pan much easier)  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked and golden.  Enjoy!

Meet Leo....

 A few weeks ago now Amelia's cat "Boots" also known as "Fat-cat" was run over on the main road which is on the other side of the grove of redwood trees that borders the back of out property. This of course left us with just one cat who seemed a little lost at first without her sister but then seemed to enjoy being the 'only cat' in the house. We decided she needed some company so yesterday Amelia adopted "Leo" who was free to a good home.

 Our other cat "Shimmer" is not that impressed but I'm sure she will come around eventually...how could she not??

 "Leo" was originally going to be "Misty" but then the girls noticed 'she' was actually a 'he' ;-)

Yes this little ball of cuteness has us all captivated with every move he makes.

Works in progress....

 There is something very satisfying in scraping off bubbled paint. I'm feeling very grateful for the sunny weather so I can do this messy job outside in the fresh air and sunshine.

These chairs are my new project for the next week. They have been hiding in an old bach which has now been sold and the owners were having a clean out over the Easter break. I have a different plan for each one which involves some new oilcloth and padding for the seat and decorative painting on the frames. 

Just a little bit of sewing.....

 These four cushion covers are at this moment making their way to a new home in North Carolina.  They were a custom order which as you may know I love to do as it means I get to find out a little bit about the person I'm sewing for. These covers are going to a rustic stone cabin and will bring a little spring into their owners lounge.

 The backs are just a simple envelope closure with a little of the spring flowers print added to the edges.

 

 The fronts are backed with a light layer of batting then quilted with random wavy lines in coloured embroidery threads.

 And this quilt top is what I've been working on this week. It's once again a custom order and will eventually be making its way to Ireland . I pretty much had creative license on this baby girls quilt except that it should be predominately blue and the fabrics should have a very modern vibe to them so I have included fabrics from Amy Butler and Heather Bailey who just happen to be 2 of my favourite fabric designers.

I have used a traditional patchwork pattern called 'tumbler' and I thankfully had the foresight to cut out enough blocks to make 2 quilts so one will be up for sale in my online shops. I am planning to hand-quilt this little quilt in simple swirly circles.

A good days work.....

 Yes I can finally reveal another finished re-upholstered chair and yes this is the twin of this chair that I recovered a couple of months back.  I had to wait until my neighbour who generously helps me out and lets me use his workshop had some free time in his work load plus I too have been busy working on orders from my Etsy shop. Last Saturday we were finally able to get together and work on it for most of the day and then on Friday I put the final touch of applying the braiding to the bottom edges. 

I have to say I was a little nervous about starting this chair as I thought I may have forgotten all the techniques I had been shown, not to mention using the super fast industrial sewing machine again but most things came back to me and I seem to be getting used to using a bigger faster sewing machine. Just like learning to drive a car, the more you do it the more you get used to it and it becomes second nature eventually.

 I am pleased with how it turned out too. The fabrics are still quite a bold look but a little more mellow than the other chair. These photos are taken in our backyard and are kindly photo-bombed by Amelia's cat.

So now that I've finished these chairs I guess I need to think of what my next furniture re-do will be next???

A Perfect few days....

Nearly 2 weeks ago now I had the privilege of spending 3 days and nights out on a beautiful yacht with some special friends. We had talked about going sailing a few times but this time the weather was perfect and the time seemed right even though I only had a couple of hours to organise myself, my girls and pack what I thought I might need. I like doing things spontaneous or unplanned. It makes life more interesting don't you think :-)

We ate quite a few scallops and I even ate some raw,  finding them surprisingly sweet. We sailed as far north as the Mercury islands where Ngaire and I paddled around in kayaks on crystal clear blue waters while Lloyd dived for our dinner.

We stopped off at Slipper Island and walked to the lighthouse....

...My friend Ngaire and I......excuse my wind blown hair, I forgot to bring my hairbrush so had to be content with running my fingers through it each morning ;-)

We took in stunning views, like this one looking out to the Alderman islands......

....and to the other side looking back towards Tairua and Pauanui 

and further south to the beautiful long and often deserted beach of Opoutere.

And I'll finish with this beautiful sunset taken on the second night from where we were anchored just off Great Mercury island.