Kreativ Blogger Award

I have received a Kreativ Blogger Award from the wonderfully talented Natasha aka as Piper + Lily.  I feel completely honoured to have received this, considering the company I am in.  Thank you Natasha!

This is now the award works:

1.  Copy the picture and post it on your blog.

2.  Thank the person that gave it to you and link to their blog.

3.  Write 7 things about yourself that we don't know.

4.  Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to.

5.  Link to those 7 other bloggers.

6.  Notify your 7 bloggers.

Ok, 7 things that you may not know about me!

1.  I have an identical twin sister.

2.  I will be 40 this year!  Not much of the year left either :)

3.  In a previous life I was a chef for about 13 years, give or take the odd break.  After that I worked for Group Special education (GSE) in early intervention before deciding to be a SAHM, now I am a WAHM :)

4.  As a teenager I was heavily into sport, my weekends used to be filled with running, hockey, netball and basketball.  Now I find it really hard to get motivated to go to the gym!

5.  I spent 3 good years living on the Chatham Islands.

6.  I have three chickens living in my backyard, who provide us with an abundance of eggs, Sandy who is named after  Graham Sinclairs wife (fishing guru to my son - but as I informed him that the chickens were girls, he decided that Graham's wife Sandy was a more appropriate choice), Miley and Hannah (I have a five year old daughter that has discovered the world of Hannah Montana).

7.  My favourite takeaways are Indian :)  Thankfully they are my husbands and kids favourite takeaway as well.

Now, for my 7 bloggers that I would like to pass this award on to are in no particular order!

Mee a Bee - Jacqui is a super talented lady, making designer messenger bags among other things for kids.  Her work is of the highest quality and the fabrics that she uses are gorgeous.  A Mee a Bee bag is a must for every child.  Her blog makes for pretty good reading as well!

How Tweet it is to be a Chick - Christine has the most adorable and well made accessories with both all the little girls and the bigger girls.  I have some for Emma and they are stunning!

Imba - Catherine from Imba design is another sewing superstar.  Her designs and fabrics are gorgeous.  I am always wishing that Emma was still a baby so that I could dress her in Imba designs clothing.  Her bibs are a must have baby fashion accessory!

Made it Baby - Amy and Suzan are the faces behind Made it Baby, another two very talented ladies behind the sewing machine.  I love their style and the fabric choices that they use.

Sticky Tiki - Kim and her partner design the most amazing Wall Decals printed on fabric.

Little Lizzies - Not only is Amanda from Little Lizzies super talented behind the sewing machine, she also knows how to using a set of knitting needles.  I love her designs.  Amanda uses recycled and vintage fabrics as much as possible.

Sew Katiepie - Kate is the creator of the lovely Sew Katiepie range.   Kate's range features the most gorgeous Kimono style wrap cardis and hoodies made in NZ merino!

Queenstown Road Trip

I am now just getting back into the swing of things after having a wonderful weekend away with just my husbands company.  Emma went for her first sleepover at Grandma and grandads...and better still....she enjoyed it so much that she can not wait to do it again!  Dylan went to his Nannies and had a great time, although he brought the tummy bug back into our house! (Not so good).

We chose to go to Queenstown even though it was just an overnight stay, it was more about the drive and spending time with each other, plus for me - NO COOKING.  (Dylan is on a restricted diet which means everything is pre-thought and life pretty much revolves around meal times - will it seems that way).

For those that know us well, will know that we are car enthusiasts, mainly of the vintage variety (we have two, one that is for sale and a newly acquired toy to do up).  For this trip we were able to borrow my father in law's convertible.  (About as cosy as it gets!) 

We spent all saturday driving and eating our way to Queenstown.  We stopped off at some fantastic cafes on the way, one in Fairlie which is new.  But my fav one was The Tin Goose in Cromwell.  Weather going down was a bit dismal, we only managed to have the hood down for about 15mins.  The return trip on Sunday faired better weather wise and we had the hood down most of the time.  There is just something magical about feeling the breeze and sun on your face when travelling in an open car.

New Stockist and a Pattern Giveaway!

I am thrilled to announce that 4 of the Natural Star patterns are available online at Patterns Only. Their order arrived the other day and they have them up on the site already.  Prices are in AUD.  The patterns they have in stock are the Rolled brim beanie with flower, babies first headband, babies first blanket and the winter booties.

                           

You can also visit their Blog and enter their giveaway for one of the above Natural Star patterns.  The hardest part will be deciding which one!  The winner will be drawn on the 20th October 2009.

New Product Photographs

I love my new product photographs by Chantelle Bliss from Forever Bliss Photography who is Sydney's leading black and white fine art portrait studio.  The award winning Chantelle is amazing behind the lens of a camera, capturing the very essence of every photo.  Here is a few of the stunning product photographs that Chantelle recently sent me.

Chantelle is highly sort after and I would definitely recommend her to all those wanting beautiful memories of those gorgeous newborn and family photographs. 

The latest pattern release

                               

I have finally got around to having this pattern test knitted after having sold so many pairs of these adorable winter booties over the last 18 months or so.  Life gets so busy, and I get so many ideas that most times I seem to jump from one project to the next, without actually completing the first project.  In most instances it is with my patterns.  But due to customer pressure (I have many customers asking when such and such pattern is going to be ready - so this school holidays I am devoting any spare time I have to tidying up my patterns so that they can be passed onto the test knitters. 

You can purchase this pattern on Etsy, my website, Felt

My baby is no longer my baby - she's 5!

Emma turned five last weekend (has to be the fastest 5 years I have experienced) it does not seem that long ago that I was holding her in my arms for the first time! 

The above pic is Emma on her new toy.  She tells me that the bike, her baby bag from Jacqui at Mee a Bee and a complete set of Beatrix Potter Audio Storybooks (from Grandma and Grandad) are the best things that she has ever gotten and that she wants to turn 5 everyday!  I will post a pic of her with her new baby bag when I can get her to stand still enough to take a good photo (Jacqui's work deserves good photos!).

We had the typical birthday party befitting a 5 year old girl, fancy dress (there was a fairy coming to visit - who was worth her weight in gold as she entertained 9 little fairy girls, a fireman and a pirate).

 

 Cupcakes were on the menu!

As was face painting!

But this is my favourite pic - Dylan and Emma ready for school on her first day at school! She later that day lost her first tooth also!  A big week for Emma.  She loves school and is so proud of her uniform.

I feel so blessed to have such two wonderful kids! :)

 

Emma's Cookies....the finished product

As promised here is the finished product.  There were a heap more of them but the preschool teachers got spoilt for afternoon tea.  Emma went to preschool armed with a container of biscuits for her teachers.
She did really well, Dad enjoyed them and while he dropped Emma off at preschool for the afternoon, I got stuck with the clean up, typical!!

Hmmm these would be good for supper tonight, but sadly for me (not Emma or her Dad) these are not gluten free.