Blog Neglect!

Dylan Fly Fishing

While I have all good intentions to blog frequently, life has this habit of getting busy and I am the first to admit that when this happens the blog and the website are the first to be neglected.

We have had a few busy months with the business, picking up new stockists, researching products that will compliment my handknits and designing new patterns.  All of this I will share soon in it's own post.  This one is more of a catch up :)

Family life has been hectic, we have all been hit with the bugs and flus that are doing the rounds at the moment.  I have returned to work, doing what I did before Dylan's diagnosis and settling him into school at 5 years of age (I cannot believe that it was 6 years ago!).  Along with Natural Star, I am now working a 30hr week with 2 little new entrants with the same diagnosis as Dylan (ASD).  I am really loving it, life outside of the home!  Apart from the feeling more tired bit!

Dylan starts intermediate this coming year - which I know is going to be a hard couple of years for him and us as a family, the playground is not something he understands socially.  Thankfully we are seeing Alison Schroder - who runs Socially Speaking here in Christchurch.  There is the kids social clubs that Alison also runs that Dylan will be apart of.  This morning we have been to the Hospital Dentist as Dylan needed a tiny filling.  To have this done he has to be sedated and have a continuous supply of laughing gas for them to do it.  He is now lying on the sofa watching an endless supply of fishing DVDs.

Emma has her 6th birthday this month, she is such a girlie girl, but can also be such a tomboy.  This year we are having to make all the invitations (she is totally into crafts - I have trained her well, now she can tell her Dad that we are going shopping for supplies instead of me having to do it)!  Her favourite choice of clothes is dresses and skirts, as far as she is concerned these two items of clothing can be worn anywhere, even outside playing in the mud!  I am not allowed to buy clothes as a birthday present for her this year as she told me "Mum you won't buy what I like if I'm not there to help you", she also comes out with the quickest comebacks, the other day her father called her 'An Egg' she quick comeback was 'You Sausage'!

GIVEAWAY #7 - Sunday

Today is the last day of the 7 days of giveaways - congratulations to all the winners so far :)  Todays Giveaway is  - 7 lucky people will receive 2 patterns each of their choice. You need to comment on the Blog post and not the facebook post to be in with a chance.  You also need to be a fan of Natural Star on facebook.  The button is in on left hand side to visit the Natural Star facebook page :)

Good luck everyone!

GIVEAWAY #6 - Saturday

Saturday's Giveaway is....


1 lucky person will receive a black and grey merino striped beanie size 1-2yrs. See pic above.

All you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post, the lucky person will be published tomorrow via a comment on here and on facebook. Remember you need to be a fan of Natural Star on facebook. :) Click on the highlighted link to become a fan if not already :)

Comments need to be posted on the blog and not on facebook to be in with a chance :)

Have a great day everyone, guaranteed forecast for Christchurch today is YET MORE RAIN!!! 

GIVEAWAY #5 - Friday

Friday's Giveaway is....


1 lucky person will receive a pair of merino winter booties. See pic above. Colour is negiotable :)

All you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post, the lucky person will be published tomorrow via a comment on here and on facebook. Remember you need to be a fan of Natural Star on facebook. :) Click on the highlighted link to become a fan if not already :)

Comments need to be posted on the blog and not on facebook to be in with a chance :)

Have a great day everyone, guaranteed forecast for Christchurch today is YET MORE RAIN!!!

GIVEAWAY #4 - Thursday

Thursday's Giveaway is....

1 lucky person will receive a Raspberry headband size 6-12mths.  See pic above.

All you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post, the lucky person will be published tomorrow via a comment on here and on facebook. Remember you need to be a fan of Natural Star on facebook. :) Click on the highlighted link to become a fan if not already :)

Comments need to be posted on the blog and not on facebook to be in with a chance :)

Have a great day everyone, guaranteed forecast for most today is MORE RAIN!!!

GIVEAWAY #3 - Wednesday

Wednesday's Giveaway is....


1 lucky person will receive a Knitting Kit for the Square Tassel hat (this kit includes the pattern and 1 ball of cream 8ply merino wool - with the 1 ball of wool you can knit any of the sizes up to size  1-2yrs :) See pic above.

All you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post, the lucky person will be published tomorrow via a comment on here and on facebook. Remember you need to be a fan of Natural Star on facebook. :) Click on the highlighted link to become a fan if not already :)

Comments need to be posted on the blog and not on facebook to be in with a chance :)

Have a great day everyone, guaranteed foremost for most today is RAIN!!!  

GIVEAWAY #2 - Tuesday

Tuesday's Giveaway is....


1 luck person will receive a Grace Beanie size 1-2yrs :)  See pic above.

All you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post, the lucky person will be published tomorrow via a comment on here and on facebook. Remember you need to be a fan of Natural Star on facebook. :)  Click on the highlighted link to become a fan if not already :)

Comments need to be posted on the blog and not on facebook to be in with a chance :)

Have a great day everyone, although for most of us it is going to be a wet one!

Giveaway Day #1 - Monday

Monday's Giveaway is....

1 pattern of choice to 7 lucky people.

All you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post, winners will be published tomorrow via a comment on here and on facebook.  Remember you need to be a fan of Natural Star on facebook. :)

7 DAYS OF GIVEAWAYS!!!

I have managed to reach the 700 mark for people who "like" the Natural Star page on facebook....YAY! 

So, in honour of this momentous occassion I have decided to do some giveaways, in fact, 7 Days of Giveaways!  All you have to do on each day is leave a comment at the bottom of the giveaway.  You must be a fan of Natural Star on facebook to be in with a chance of winning.  The draws will be done via random org.

The winner or winners of each giveaway will be announced the following day at the bottom of the comments and also on facebook.

As, I am returning back to the hourly paid workforce on Wednesday this week - the winners names will be published late afternoon or evening from Wednesday onwards.  Because comments are moderated please be patient if it takes a while to show.

Thank you all so much for your support!

Brenda x

Emma's first Duathalon and School Disco

Emma had a really busy friday this week.  First up in the morning was her first major sporting event at school.

She had a lot of fun and is looking forward to the school cross country in a couple of weeks.  After recovering from biking and running around the school track (there was a lot of heavy puffing noises running to the finishing line) she raced home and got ready for her first school disco.  I was relieved that the day had arrived as it is all she has talked about for the last week!  Her big brother is totally over it!

Emma had a ball and was on the dance floor as soon as she was able to get in the doors.  When I went back to pick her up I found her break dancing - not something I taught her or am even capable of doing!  On the way home all she could talk about was the next disco - whenever that happens.

Time to play catch up!

The last couple of months have been pretty busy and sadly the blogging has been neglected! 

Both kids have settled into school really well this year, lots of school trips happening.  I was even lucky enough to see 4 Tarantula spiders on one of those trips!!! (I am not practicularly fond of household spiders).  On Monday Dylan is off to Arthurs Pass for the day with his class trip this term.

We have some new stockists on board with the Natural Star Brand and the website has been updated with a shopping cart.  It is still a work in progress with more products and features to be uploaded.  There are new stockists to add to the stockists page etc etc.  I am also adding a wholesale/re-seller page to the website which will be password access only.

I am also toying with the idea of being more regular on the Market scene.  I know from experience that this is very time consuming and a big committment...and I do rely on my weekends to play catch up and have time off with the family.  Maybe I could make it a family affair lol - somehow I don't think that would wear well with the two men in the family.  Emma would love to do it!

My patterns have been selling really well on E-patterns Central and Annie's Attic...I really need to devote more time to writing up and designing new products and patterns.  I have a pile of bits of paper that need to be typed up and then test knitted.  I also have a few new designs on the needles.  I call in multi tasking, my husband calls in confusing and why don't I just do one project at a time!  But I get bored with one project at a time.  We have taken on 4 new knitters in the last month...yay!  I have a fantastic team of ladies who are all beautiful knitters and love and care about the products as much as I do :)

Habitat Baby - New Stockist

Habitat Baby offers beautifully styled bedding and accessories to suit the homes and lifestyles of today’s parents. There are three dreamy ranges available – Wish, Colour Fusion and Spring. All are created from fresh, beautiful, 100% cotton fabrics, sourced from around the world, that bring Habitat Baby designs to life.

A visit to the Habitat Baby website will reveal a blissful collection of bedding and accessories, including pillows, lampshades and wall art. Most popular at Habitat Baby are the beautiful cot sets, consisting of a

classic cot quilt, fitted sheet and patchwork decorative pillow - certain to be the crowning glory of any nursery!

 

You will also find Natural Star Products are now available at Habitat Baby.  Carla is stocking a range of beanies for both boys and girls, as well as some our beautiful flower shoes to match the Emma and Bamboo Beanies.  Visit Habitat Baby to stock up on your winter handknits and beautiful bedding and accessories to create the most adorable nursery.

                                          

If you are in Melbourne for the weekend of the 5-7 March 2010 make sure you schedule in a visit to The Baby Show.  Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, Melbourne. Where you will find Habitat Baby and can see in person the gorgeous products that are on her website.

MillaRuby Designs - New Stockist

I am thrilled that Caddie from MillaRuby Designs is now stocking our Natural Star Booties.  A few of which are custom made in different colours specially for MillaRuby.

Caddie has a gorgeous website MillaRuby Designs offering Handmade clothing, toys and accessories for the stylish and hip. Click here to view Caddie's stunning creations. Definitely stylish and hip!

Also, if you are in Perth on Sunday the 21st March, stop by Matilda's Market, Cottesloe Civic Centre, 109 Broome St, Cottesloe.  9am to 1pm.  Where Caddie will be selling her creations and a selection of Natural Star Beanies.

Yummy Mummies & Mini Me

Yummy Mummies & Mini Me has a brand new website for 2010 that is looking absolutely gorgeous.  Bec stocks some of the most amazing products for Yummy mummies and children.  You will find Pram Rock, Baby Base Ink, Cheeki Charlee and Natural Star (we are thrilled to be one of the new stockists for 2010!) just to name a few of the wonderful array of stockists that Bec has on the website.

The Yummy Mummies & Mini Me Blog is also worth the follow.  It is regularly updated with news worthy reading and is fast becoming one of my favourites!

2010!

Hello 2010!  We have successfully survived 2009 as a business and as a family.

Emma loves school and has now spent three months going to school.  She is not to sure on the holiday side of things as most mornings after her shower she asks "Can I put my uniform on today Mum?"  I cannot remember being that enthusiastic about school and I know for certain that her brother wasn't.                                 

Dylan has made huge progress after a really busy year of new therapists - mainly in the area of expressing himself especially with the anxieties.  There now seems to be a bit more logic.  He is now able to tell us which part of his body is sick as usually he will have a tummy ache but in reality after 10 mins of the parents doing detective work we find out that he has a sore ankle.  He can now also rate his anxiety level and depending on the level can, with help, put a strategy in place as to what could make it better.  It helps that his anxiety rating is based on the sizes of different fish.  With all this happening the meltdowns (due to the frustration of not being able to tell us what he wants) are now few and far between.  2010 is looking good from here.

I find the talking thing with Dylan fascinating as this kid can talk all day and generally does.  But to tell us how he is feeling, what is going on inside his head is a major hurdle for him.  It is common on the spectrum but I still find it fascinating that a kid that is so verbal has trouble expressing himself.  It is the same with the emotional feelings...happy, sad or angry are fine.  But the others like - guilty, offended, etc the more subtle gestures just go over the top of his head.  He IS looking forward to school after the holidays - not a bad achievement at year 6!

The business had a really good 2009 with lots of new stockists and over 50% of this years sales were from returning customers, along with the new customers.  This year is also another year of lots happening at Natural Star headquarters. We have a couple of new B+M stockists coming onboard with the brand in the early part of the year.  The next three months are going to be busy with new patterns being released soon and I am currently working on the finishing touches of the new designs for release in Feb/March.  I am so excited about these new designs...but will blog more on them later.  This year will also see the arrival of another new product - Natural Star Knitting Kits!

2010 is also the year that I promise to try and blog more!

Wishing you all a safe and prosperous 2010!