So Tread Softly...

use what you have

Today is a Bank Holiday and we've spent most of it in the garden planting the vegetables that should see us through the summer months. Last year we were pretty much self sufficient when it came to salads and vegetables. We now have 5 vegetable beds (with a sixth one on the way next weekend) but we've still managed to run out of space, so I've been hunting around the garage and garden for vessels to plant in.
Old clay pipes are just perfect for garlic.

I added a few to our herb garden. Mint, chives and parsley look very at home in them.

I adore old terracotta flower pots. This one I picked up at a garage sale for 10cents. The metal wall sconce was a dollar.
We tend to use mixed leaves everyday. These wooden fruit boxes sit just outside our back door so that we can grab handfuls of salad whenever we need it.
I found this metal laundry bucket at the local Op Shop. Mr Tread Softly drilled some holes in the bottom for me and I planted a beach grass and some white trailing labelia which, in time, should spill over the top of the rim.

Using what you have instead of spending goodness knows how much on pots from the garden centre, kind of makes complete sense to me.

Before I sign off, do you mind another photo of Trumpet? It's just that he was looking particularly photogenic today!

Until next time..

found

green jug :                 second-hand shop, littlehampton, nz
flowers and herbs :     self seeded wild garden at home
wooden piece :           raumati south beach, nz
pumice :                    taupo shoreline, nz
pebble :                     dungeness beach, uk

Thank you to those of you who commented on the last post. I try really hard to reply to them all individually but this is just one of those weeks when time is running away with me. Know that I appreciate each and every one of them.

porch-life

My front porch is still a novelty. You get them in the UK but generally, there they tend to be the size of a tall cupboard and enclosed. The sort of place where you hang your coat and take off your shoes. Here, however, you can sit on them all day long and sew. At least, that's what I've been doing and today was no exception.

It usually begins with breakfast on the porch and then, if the sun is shining and I have hand sewing or embroidery to do, that's where I'll stay. It's fast becoming a favourite place of mine. I listen to the birds, watch the world go by, although it is a very quiet, no exit avenue, and dream mainly! I can quite easily lose myself in the stitches. Actually, thinking about, it's quite meditative.

Do you have a favourite place to sit and simply be?

Until next time...

studio update

Remember the old garage and car port from a few weeks ago? Well it's all starting to look a wee bit different now. Still a way to go but thought that you'd like a visual update.

This is how it was looking a month ago from the side:

 

A couple of weeks ago from the back:

And today from the back:

View from what will be the front door. I need to build a path leading to it:

I've started buying old pieces of furniture so that I can display my handmades in the area that will be open to the public. I've just recovered this neat little chair:

Will keep you posted as to when developments occur.
Until next time...

the lavender post

 
Several people have asked me recently where I get the lavender from to fill my embroidered squares and hearts. I'm more than happy to share. In fact, today I made the trip out to see Dinah and Richard who run Hauiti in Martinborough, as I was running low on lavender myself. Their farm is just breathtaking and it's never a chore to drive out there. Take a look at the photo gallery on their site and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, Dinah generously agreed to my taking a few photographs so that those of you across the seas could see exactly where I've just been this morning.

You know what? Each day when I open my eyes, I think about how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful area of New Zealand. Feel free to come visit!

hand-made

As from next Tuesday I just have 6 more weeks left at dress making class before the end of the Adult Ed academic year. I'm seriously considering enrolling again next year as it seems to be the only time when I allow myself to make things for me. I've recently completed a tunic top that my sewing tutor will be pleased to hear, I've worn several times already. I like to layer it.

 

Look at my feet! A touch of the Mary Poppins methinks! Here's a closer look at the finished garment. It's made from fine knit in an olive green which is my favourite colour to wear.

 

I took the pattern from an existing tunic of mine but I added the little inverted pleats that create a soft drape at the front bodice. I've been playing around with printing photos onto fabric  and decided to sew a label onto the outside of the tunic. It's a photo of my Grandma and her Mum so my Great Grandmother.

 

I know that I like to be colour co-ordinated, but this is ridiculous! My current knitting project matches my tunic top!

 

Until next time...

seasonal

Asparagus season is here! I think that it has to be my favourite vegetable. Good job really because we'll be eating a lot of it over the next few weeks. One of the great things about living here is that we eat in season. Right now you can get peaches and plums in the supermarket that have been shipped in from California but really, why would you want to? Eating only what's in season and locally produced makes fruit and vegetable a real treat. We look forward to them.

I thought that I'd miss going to Tescos and being able to get whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it and for a while, I did. But now, the seasonal way makes more sense, so much more sense.

Steph spotted the redwork embroidery in the last post and asked for a closer look. These little cushions are filled with Wairarapa lavender that smell divine.

 

I've been working in pastel shades as well. Great for taking onto the front proch and sitting in the sun.

 

Until next time...

on my table

What a lovely welcome back that was. Thank you so much for your comments. It was really nice to wake up to them the next morning.

Spring in New Zealand is beautiful right now. The doors and windows are flung open and breaks are taken sitting on the front porch listening to the tui's.

I'm working towards the Hawkes Bay 2008 Hospice Holly Trail which, I see, is sold out already. I've started off making the little things that travel well. It means that I can nip off to friends for tea and cake and take my work with me.

 

It's now 6.30pm. We put the clocks forward at the weekend so it's still light and bright outside. In fact, it's almost flip flop weather ('jandels' if your a kiwi reading this!) On my crafting table right now I have a selection of beaded hearts for the stall. They take forever but I think that they look so pretty hanging from a door handle or a hook.

I really must give you a studio update soon. It's coming along wonderfully well and it looks as though we might even make the end of November deadline. Did I say that outloud?!

Until next time...