Another Cake Decorating Course

I have started another cake decorating course

I am doing a Fondant class.  I love working with fondant and it is great learning the techniques. The cake above is one I made from my Mother In law for Mother Day. It is a mini cake.. with a Fondant Bow.... 

and this is the bow I made after the class...

Also I have been on the crochet hook again... After dyeing this merino and plying it... so much fun I made these two cute little beanies.

and another.....

Have a great day

Hand dyed Hand spun Art Yarn

My hubby thinks I should start selling my art yarns.

Im thinking seriously about this..

At first I was going to just make these up and then create babywear with them but hubby has suggested I look at selling them.

This is a New Zealand merino hand dyed and spun by me...  mixed with a 100% commercial wool and crochet thread 

 This is also New Zealand Merino hand dyed and spun my me plyed with a hand dyed silk thread.

 I am totally in love with my new found craft. I find it so satisfying and so very relaxing

 This is also New Zealand merino plyed with the same colour way 

Just wanted to put it out there and find out if there would be any interest

I have been working on some ideas to make with this yarn... will tell you abit about that soon.

I have also made contact with a lady that sells patterns for beanies etc made with this type of art yarn, that I can link people to if the interest is there.

I am very aware that my interests are not only quilting, doll making, beading, sewing etc.. I am abit of a 'jack of all trades" ... I simply cannot just do ONE thing at a time. I can be crocheting one day, dyeing one day, drawing another... My family simply dont know what to do with me sometimes... lol  it is quite funny

I am wanting to incorporate all my skills into what I do. I am exploring and experimenting alot with different things. The quilt I have been working on incorporated, crochet, applique and embroidery. Im loving that.. so you will see all types of things on my blog from now on

Any how... I hope those of you who are doing the Tilda Sew Along a ready for that..

Not long now....

What Have I been up to?

I have a been up to quite abit lately.

I made this Annie type doll for a showcase I am in this week on Facebook. I love the challenge of showcases. I love to put my creative thinking cap on and look to come up with some One of A Kind type of things... this is my first ever one and I have booked into 4 so far.

The doll above dosent have a name as yet.. I had better put my thinking cap on to come up with that before she goes on sale. The showcase is of a Cartoon Theme for children... there is lots of lovely things that have been created by lots of handcrafters here in New Zealand and Australia. 

We have also been away. 

A friend has a lovely place in Queenstown New Zealand we were able to stay in

We had a lovely time down there

We had beautiful weather and the trees are starting to turn beautiful colours with Autumn

I am an animal lover.

I have also recently become very much in love with fibre art. I love to spin, dye and ply wool. I love to do things with fabric, wool, cotton and embroidery thread together. I have been experimenting. So while we were away I got to pat an Alpaca.. their fleece is so soft and they are the most amazing colours.

I have been spinning abit of Alpaca latley and it is sooo soft and warm.. 

This is a hat I made for a friends little baby due in a few weeks.

This is Sophia with a cute little hat and scarf set.

I made these matching hats for these precious little girls recently. What little cuties they are! 

and in the process of getting stock together for my website I made this newborn dress. This is made from lovely hand-dyed machine washable wool

I had some dyed wool roving left over after I had done some spinning... so I made this cute little rose out of it..... I thought it would be a cute little addition to my beanie hats I am making.

So I have been busy busy... there is alot more to show you but this post would be super long if I did..

Have a great day

Dyeing, Spinning Crochet and Sewing

This is a Birth to 3 month Beanie

Hand dyed

Hand spun New Zealand Merino

With hand dyed silk and hand dyed cotton threads

In the dye pot

After it has dried

After it is spun up with a silk thread

All crocheted up

Im also working on a little boy baby carseat blanket. I am in love with this fabric

Home Spun Baby

As some of you know, I purchased a spinning wheel I while back.

Well I got spinning and dyeing some wool. What alot of fun this was. 

I have always had a love for creating gorgeous gifts for babies. I have sold many of my creations over the years. I am looking at making up stock for my website for special Limited Edition Baby and Toddler Items.

The photo above is made out of 100% New Zealand Wool. It is a chunky spun yarn and I dyed it pink... I called it Coconut Ice, as this is what it looks like.

I knitted the hat and crocheted a mini blanket to be used for a carseat. It is extremely warm.

A closer look at the little hat

and the blanket... 

As a trial I dyed up some wool in the colour orange. This is another mini carseat blanket made from 100% New Zealand Wool.  Hmmm I'm not too sure on the orange in a baby blanket.. I may be unpicking this and doing something else with it.

Also, over the weekend my hubby and I took a trip to Sydney for our 26th Wedding Anniversary.

When there last year we discovered a cute little button shop at The Rocks. In there is a treasure trove of antique vintage buttons.... all unused, sourced from all over Europe. 

The above buttons are from the 70's

These buttons are French from the 60's

These are just vintage.. I cannot tell you what era

I also had a fabulous time looking around the markets at The Rocks.. I found a fibre artist there that did weaving, dyeing etc and purchased a few things from her too.

We had a fabulous time, as we always do when we go to Sydney, with fantastic weather.

Have a great day

Sewing and Dyeing

I recently got this fabric  for the website.

I decided to make some of it into cushions. It is a lovely linen fabric and I just love the print.

It is a nice addition to me TV room

Also, as some of you know I recently purchased a spinning wheel.

I have spun the wool, which I love doing.

I love to be rustic and artistic with it and not perfect, as I am far from a perfectionist. So I let the wool twist and I let it be chunky. 

So today I had a dyeing day.

I have had the dye for a number of weeks and was too nervous to give it a try.

Today I just decided to follow the instructions as it specified and go about it bit by bit.

Im in love... Coconut Ice is my very first batch of handspun and hand dyed wool. I am hooked. Oh my gosh am I ever.

Not too sure what Im going to make with this. Im looking at creating a line of baby prop clothing. So maybe it will end up in some hats and booties.

Have a great day

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