What to do on a rainy day.

What to do on a rainy day?

Why finish off all your unfinished things of course! The Magpie Cat thought it was a good idea, especially if I was going to sot down to model my completed embellished Nana cardy.

Whipped up this little number last night because I thought the fabrics went so well together. The little birdies were actually a tea towel. Not any more :P

Made this from an embroidered linen tablecloth that I didn't really have a use for as a table cloth (too small). Looks much better as a pini.

Over this, or just by itself? What do you think?

The Magpie Cat gave up and went to sleep. I took the opportunity to put some lace on her head so she'd look like Queen Victoria. As you do...

The Last Cowboy.

I've been having a bit of a play around with my picture editing software, so forgive me if it's all a bit OTT at the moment. I expect the novelty will ware off eventually :P

As promised, here is makeover number two, with the vintage cowboy look. It's not CK fabric, but a similar, much cheaper version. Cath Kidston fabric is so expensive here because of the exchange rate. I think it's about $140 a metre, which is about 70 pounds UK.

This old clown is a childhood favourite, and will never be parted with. He was crocheted from an old pattern used for fetes and gala day novelties. He was bought for Callum at such a gala day/fete by my Great Auntie Beth.

Here he is again with Golly, who has a bit of an instability at c3/c4 and has to be very careful how he wobbles his neck!!! He was made by my Mum. She makes everyone a Golly, and laughs in the face of political correctness (or perhaps she just likes scaring little children?). She got really iffy about them taking Noddy books out of libraries in the 1980s too.

My Rosewood cottage quilt, which is way too girly and nothing to do with cowboys, but just needed a home, as did the dolly's pram. See my rabbit? It's the same as Vintage Vicki's one. http://vickislittleworld.blogspot.com/

This is my Country Rows quilt. I may have mentioned that it took me three years to complete and I never want to see another bleeding needleturn ladybug EVER in my life again - EVER!
But I love it and it was worth the effort, really it was...

It's all very simple and minimal for Magpie Chic really, but I like it that way. And less is more for blokes really, when they have to endure cabbage roses and Cath Kidston and shabby chic everywhere else in the house I suppose.


Thanks for dropping in blogchics. See you next time.

An Angel's Story

I love to start projects. I've said so before. There's nothing like the anticipation of beginning something. I' m not so good at the in between parts. Some of my quilts have taken three years to complete. But complete them I did! I learned perseverance from Hubby who ALWAYS finishes things. His sometimes take twenty years mind. His racing mini took that long, and then that's not strictly true, 'cos it's always blown up, needing modifying or a new piston or something! Spends a lot of time fixing it anyway, way more than racing it.

This is my latest quilt project. An Angel's Story, designed by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched.

I've only made the first little angel so far, but I'm all prepared.

Isn't she just so cute?

By the way.... I've finished my knitting. That's for the next installment:P

Had great fun taking thousands of photos in outdoor settings and playing for ages with my camera, which seems to be behaving itself very well now I've mastered the art of using the memory card when the other way won't work!

Thanks for calling in.

Today's blog was brought to you by the colour blue.

Callum's birthday cake.

My beautiful blue plumbago which is flowering madly at the moment.

I think this is a little campanula.

Plumbago against the old iron fence.

I just bought this from www.shabbyfufu.com
It's just so lovely.

Have a great weekend everybody.

21 Today!

There have been a few times in your life when I thought we might lose you. When you were a tiny baby, fighting off a massive infection that threatened to overwhelm you, through your first transplant, and when the second transplant didn't go ahead this February ....


But through all of that we have gained a whole load of experiences that we would never have had; mostly good, and had a whole network of people come into our lives, that we never would have met; had it not been for you. You've taught us so many lessons in patience, acceptance and perseverance.

Through the good times...

The not so good times....

The "Barlies experiments"...

The logistics of coming home with a weeks worth of dialysis gear in your little Toyota corolla (Nana car :P).

Your enjoyment of my cooking...

A special birthday dinner....

By just being you. Congratulations Callum on making it this far! Love from Mum.

To crochet in bed on a cold autumn morning.

I've re-discovered crochet, and it's so fun. I found a tutorial on posy about how to make the Granny blanket squares, and I've been making Granny squares every spare moment. I love the way they look like licorice all sorts. I'll do a link to the tutorail in the side bar, cause i haven't mastered the linky thing in posting yet. Any advice would be helpful from all you techy blog chicks out there.

It's much more fun to crochet Granny squares in bed on a cold autumn morning than it is to get up (except to make toast and marmalade). No good reading the paper either, because it'll just tell me how cold it's going to be outside. I'd rather make Granny squares.

I'm not very good at understanding all the instructions yet, so had to get my Mum to make these beautiful little flowers for me. She is extremely proficient at crochet!! Probably, she should really get a gong for services to very complicated crochet!!! I shall nominate her. I think you just email the Governor General. And seeing as he's not going to Poland now because of the Icelandic volcano, I'm sure he'll have time to think about my request.

Happy autumn everybody!

Seem to have gotten rid of the ghost!

I don't know why, but after about the fifteenth re-install, and with your mouth held the right way, it all seems to work ... most of the time. And if it doesn't, I just plug in the memory card and voila! Isn't technology wonderful :P

Bedroom Makeovers - my favourite!

It's a dark old day today, so the lighting isn't the best for photos, but it's going to be a bit like that from now on, because it's autumn here in the Southern Hemisphere blog chics!!!
I told you about my yearning for a 50's ballerina bedroom.... Well, here it is!
That's nature's compensation for mothers when their off spring leave home. They get to do a bedroom makeover - what fun!! I spent ages sourcing the Carlotta Edwards
prints at the local auction, Trade Me (NZ equivalent of E Bay) and a lovely antique shop in Eltham called The Bank.

The Highland Lassie is probably having an identity crisis in her new room, but those are the sacrifices one makes for art :P

I made this porcelain doll for "she who is proficient at separating eggs" for Christmas one year, and had to go to an AWFUL lot of trouble to find the pattern for the bleeding socks! Do not examine closely, they are not symmetrical - or do so at your own risk anyhow, I hate to think what Hubby thought of those socks at the time. He gets quite discombobulated with things that aren't symmetrical, and the whole shabby chic painting thing just makes him go , "why?" But he's ok about it after a while, and just raises his eyebrows and carries on. That's probably his version of "Keep Calm and Carry On". He'd have been great in 1940s Britain. We watched that 1940s programme on sky, and Hubby was astonished at that man's lack of air raid building skills. Just astonished! he's have had it up and running with a fully functional turbo charger and remote controlled toilet in half the time!

I can't resist decorating in every room with tea cups.

Highland Lassie was inspired by my daughter's ten years of Highland dancing, and my ten years of purgatory locked up with the stage mothers at competitions!!! Glad that's over, but I do love the bagpipes. Gets all those Celtic genes I own all stirred up :P

Hope you enjoyed your peek into the Magpie Chic res. I'm so inspired by everyone else's photos. You're all truly amazing, and I spend hours on the flikr!! Blog about my boy's 1950's Cow Boy pad later. He's coming home today. I'm so excited. He turns 21 on Wednesday.