Heart Felt

Dreaming of a Kiwi Xmas

I have finally posted off my last pay-it-forward gift, it was a lot of fun putting the parcels together.  I made a handmade tea towel from the rest of my beloved retro farmyard fabric, a set of winter and spring Heart Felt postcards and being so close to Christmas I made a hand sewn felt Xmas decoration for their trees ~ all parceled up in little bags made from the pages of an old vintage children's book.




 




If you are interested in taking part in pay-it-forward, keep an eye out on their blogs for when they announce their pay-it-forward draw. 

It was fun making the felt Xmas decorations and I will be making a set for our tree this year and also some as gifts for friends and family.  I started to think up of other designs I could make.  Because Xmas falls during our summer here in New Zealand, snow, holly and reindeer seem slightly obsolete.  So I made a Pohutukawa flower which flowers during Xmas and in our garden we have these lovely Ponga fronds sprouting at the moment which reminded me of this classic New Zealand children's Christmas song and  of candy canes too.




So this is my set of Kiwi inspired felt Xmas tree decorations.  I will also be selling them on Felt if you are interested in purchasing a set for yourself or as a gift.

Pay-it-forward

Sorry about the delay, but Heather, Mazzy, Briar, Gabrielle and Marlya you will be the lucky participants in the pay-it-forward giveaway.  Email me with your addresses and in the next few weeks and you will receive a Heart Felt parcel!  In return you need to select five readers from your blog to 'pay-it-forward'!

Photographs: A visit to a neighboring farm

 

Sewing for baby

The recent horrible weather has given me the opportunity to get the sewing machine out and sew some new things for our baby due in four weeks.  

I have found this book wonderful.  Simple but funky patterns for beginner sewers like myself.  A couple of projects were challenging but I feel my confidence has grown since trying them out and the results being reasonably successful.  

 

The book is laid out beautifully ~ it's worth getting hold of a copy just to have a flick through.

All the fabrics I used were the pieces I found in thrift stores last month along with the cotton.  The only things I bought new were elastic, some binding and the two anchor buttons. (I was hoping to find a couple of old retro ones in Mum's old button tin ~ but with no success)

Teeny-tiny goody-two-shoes ~ project by Allison Jones ~ page 12.

 

Cutest ever baby knickers ~ project by Nichola Prested ~ page 52

 

Yoga pants for happy babies ~ project by Shannon Lamden ~ page 100

I have so much of the retro farmyard fabric I made this pinafore for Sadie using an old 1970s pattern that was given to me.  We call it her 'farm dress'.

I also tried out Melissa's wrap dress tutorial to make a dress for a little girl called Poppy.  It's the first time I have used binding (which I bought ~ didn't have the confidence to make my own) It's not perfect ~ but for my first go I'm reasonably happy.  I hope Poppy doesn't mind being a model for my experimental sewing projects.

Thrift finds Aug/Sep

I have a bit of catching up to do ~ showing off my thrift finds for the past two months.

Some real Kiwiana~ retro biscuit tin featuring a gorgeous picture of a Tui.  The Tui's are out in force at the moment, getting drunk on the nectar from the flowering Kowhai trees.  They are quite a delight!

 Some funky retro tin kitchen canisters. 

  

I have been sewing this week and soon I will show you what I've been making with this fabric and this piece of vintage embroidery.

  
 

A gorgeous Meakin platter and a simple jug.

 Beautiful handmade apron with bright coloured butterflies.  I haven't worn it yet because it won't tie up around my huge belly!

 

These remind me so much of Mum's sewing box as a child ~ I love that they are on wooden spools and the colours are wonderful!

And thank-you to Hanna ~ I had a wonderful time opening my 'Crafty Kin' parcel.  Such lovely crafty goodness ~ it was part of the 'pay-it-forward' giveaway.

 
If you would like to take part in this ~ please say so in your comment and will select five peoples names to send a crafty parcel too.  If your name is selected you then have to return the gesture and send a parcel to 5 people.  I will randomly pick five peoples names on Monday.  Good-luck! xx

 

 

What we have been up to....

We are still here ~ but having major problems getting on-line.  We are now connected, but our internet link is super slow making up-loading photographs and blogging particularly hard.  Thank goodness for our wonderful libraries here!

We have been super busy exploring and adventuring ~ here are some of the highlights of our week.

Gathering wild spring flowers

Feeding our new family additions ~ six chicks who will hopefully start laying eggs for us in the next few months. (a small dream come true to own our own chickens)

Enjoying the glorious weather before the cold snap hit us with unexpected cold and in some places snow!

Our day out in Wellington where the kids enjoyed running up and down the pier at one of our favorite places ~ Petone.

Hope you all had a great week. xx

The bike ride

Making the most of no rain and a reasonably mild day for winter, we went out for a bike ride.

Charlie was sure he saw a squirrel in the oak tree eating acorns (we don't have squirrels in New Zealand, it was probably a bird)

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Sadie going down hill.......

We checked out the daffodil patch - not long until this corner will be bursting with yellow spring gold.

Some treasures we found on our ride, gum nuts, gum flowers (the Tui birds are feasting on these flowers at the moment), a cicada shell and a prickly seed pod of some kind.

A big 'thank-you' to Gabrielle for Charlie's hat (he calls it his 'hunting hat') and for Sadie's adorable pinafore with a very funky mushroom on the front (excuse Sadie's runny nose and grumpy look, she was ready to go home at this point)  They have been both made out of recycled wool blankets so they are super warm, just right for this time of year.

Winter fruit picking

I just love the seasons, especially the seasonal fruit and vegetables.  At the moment we are enjoying Kiwi Fruit from a friends garden and sweet juicy Mandarins from Grandma's garden.

The Kiwi Fruit is not a usual fruit you see growing in someones backyard, they are more prolific up north where they are grown on farms.  This is a very old vine, so the fruit are slightly smaller and much hairier than the commercially grown ones found in the stores.  Sadie adores them and she didn't need much encouragement to help in the gathering.

She helped our friend Glen carry the baskets and buckets back to the house.

The little pixie hat Sadie is wearing today is made from a recycled pure wool jumper.  I found this tutorial and it really only takes 10 minutes or so to put it together.  I bought the jumper from a thrift store and I will get two hats out of one $4 jumper.  I have added my own touch with the felt heart and vintage buttons on the side.  With the next one I think I will try an alternative option for the neck ties - these were too chunky for under Sadie's neck.

Later on Charlie and I went to Grandma's to swap some Kiwi Fruit for some Mandarins.  Grandma's Mandarin tree grows down the back of her garden near a stream.  It is laden with fruit this year to Charlie's delight!

I was a a bit camera happy today - so there are a lot more photographs on my Flickr. xx

Facing my Sewing Fears

I'm not a procrastinator, I just have so many things I want to do and not enough time.  Last year I started out learning to sew using a machine.   I made this, and this, this and this.  But I haven't had my sewing machine out for months now.  The longer I was leaving it the more nervous I was becoming. I was scared that I had forgotten the little knowledge I had gained.  Thrifted fabric was beginning to pile up, waiting for me to turn it into something.

Last week I picked up this divine piece of fabric from the thrift shop, it's just a small piece - enough to make Sadie a dress.  It was enough to motivate me to get the machine out and face my fear.

      

To warm myself up I decided to make some pants with some plain fabric that was given to me.  I used this tutorial for a pair of "10-minute trousers".  Pleasantly surprised how well and easy they were to put together it motivated me to cut into a piece of one of my thrifted fabrics.

My next sewing project was inspired from one of our favorite dress tops made by Anknel & Burblets. It's a simple but effective design using elastic and a cute beaded drawstring around the neck.

  

Now I was on a roll and felt brave enough to cut into my favorite thrifted fabric using the same design again.

 

One pair of pants, two dress tops for an afternoons work and seven months of being fearful of my sewing machine - I'm happy and hopefully over my fear. xx

O.E. 2002

O.E. stands for "overseas experience", something most young Kiwis aspire to do sometime in their lives.  In June 2002, Ian and I did exactly that.  We put our lives on hold in New Zealand and traveled to the United Kingdom on a six month adventure.  Ian was between jobs, my boss agreed to give me leave without pay and we were recently engaged.  It was an exciting time in our lives and recently I have been reliving the experience through my travel journal.

I thought for prosperity I would share my journal as a blog.  I will be adding entries gradually over the next six months.  You can link to my travel blog www.heartfeltnz@blogspot.com or just click on the link on the left of this blog.  

At the time I didn't have a good camera, so many of the photographs will be from other sources and any sentences in square brackets [like this] will be sentences I have added to make my journal more sensible to my readers.  Hope you will take the time and visit now and then over the next few months.

xx

An epic Meme

The lovely Megan of the Frou Frou kind has tagged me for this rather long but interesting Meme. So here is goes...

What is your current obsession?

Thinking about spring, selling our house and the new baby. 

What was the most interesting thing you did today?

Today I took Sadie to the town pool for a swim, it was a lot of fun.  She calls it the “pool pool”.

What are you wearing today?

A bright red merino top with a thrifted wool grey dress, striped tights, boots, red bead necklace and I have my hair in pigtails.

 

What's for dinner?

Tonight is the day before I go shopping, so it will be whatever I can put together from nothing -  (that’s my specialty).

What would you eat for your last meal?

Anything my mum use to cook for us when we were kids + one of her homemade puddings.  

What's the last thing you bought?

Today I bought an old wire cooling rack for cakes and biscuits and a flour sieve from the thrift store.

What are you listening to right now?

Some obscure band on the turntable that Ian found on vinyl record this morning at the thrift store.

What do you think of the person who tagged you?

Megan is one of the bravest and strongest woman blogging right now. xx

 

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?

It would be a cottage in the Lake District in the UK

.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

Somewhere warm –Tahiti would do nicely.  

Which language do you want to learn?

Probably French and Maori would be useful. 

What's your favorite quote (for now)?

The computer says Noooooooooooo (from the comedy Little Britain)  

 

What is your favorite color?

Green, it’s been my favorite color for ages.

 

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?

My winter coats and right now my maternity jeans.

What is your dream job?

I have my dream job – being a mother and a part time librarian.  

What's your favorite magazine?

At the moment it would be the New Zealand magazine called "Good"

If you had £100 now, what would you spend it on?

Right now it would be gorgeous/funky maternity clothes……..but I'm not sure if the exist.

Describe your personal style?

Ecliptic, this year I made a personal vow that I would only buy thrift or hand made. I love vintage, I love pretty fabrics, I love funky colors – it depends how I feel when I get up in the morning.  

What are you going to do after this?

Charlie wants me to read him some stories.

What are your favorite films?

I love the film Orlando – I could watch it over and over again. 

What's your favorite fruit?

What ever is in season. Berries in the summer, apples in the autumn.  

What inspires you?

Watching my children absorb absolutely everything around them, they are like little sponges and they are fascinated by the little things in life.  I’m also inspired by the seasons and the beautiful country we live in. 

Your favorite books?

The Magicians Nephew by C.S. Lewis.  It was the first book I read as a child on my own.  Also an obscure book called Pippin’s journal, it’s the only book I have read more than once.

Do you collect anything?

Vintage illustrated children's books.

What are you currently reading?

Small Fry outdoors, inspiration for being outdoors with kids by Susie Cameron and its companion book Small Fry – inspiration for cooking with kids also by Susie Cameron. 

Go to your book shelf, take down the first book with a red spine you see, turn to page 26 and type out the first line:

“It was not possible, for the thorns held them fast as if with hands so that the young men were trapped, unable to free themselves, and they all died a wretched death.”  

From a book called The Fairy Tales” illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators, Jan Pienkowski.

What makes you follow a blog?

I follow blogs that inspire me either by their alternative lifestyle or by the area and country that they live in.  If they can take gorgeous photographs – I’m hooked.  

 

What do you love most about where you currently live?

The changing seasons, the beauty of the countryside and the snow on the ranges.

The rules:
1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.
2. Tag eight other people.  

I tag: Amy (Seven Stitches) ; Gabrielle (Life in our busy household) ; Julie (Dreaming of Daisies) ; Abi (Little Grubs) ; Steph (Love Stitches) ; Keri (Songs of Light) ; Lucy (Speckled Egg) and Gabes (SweetP Knits)

But only if you want to play. xx