This Fox has been a-thrifting......

Thrifted treasure!

........and aren't these just such little sweeties!!  I just about skipped for joy as I left the shop.  They are stained in places but nothing that a good wash cant get rid of.  I think old doilies and napkins are such treasure. I'm looking forward to crafting with these.......but I am pretty sure I that cutting into the little cloth with a cottage and little bridge is not possibility!

This Fox has also been a-sewing.....



Unfinished sewing project






I fetched my sewing machine from the doctor with glee at the start of the week. I grinned like the Cheshire cat all the way home. With my sewing machine away all of last week i felt so fidgety. It was so odd not have it there, just in case an inspirational project needed to be started.  This is unfinished project from a sewing course I took last year. It's a ruffled shirt. The fabric is thrifted and is oh so soft. I'm really looking forward to finishing it.











This Fox has also been a-knitting...............

...........Slowly, slowly is this blanket growing.  Ah well, they say good things take time!

Reminiscing..... to indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events.

It is raining cats and dogs today so i have been browsing through some of my old photos from the last two or three years. I thought i would share some of my favourite photos with you.

Starting with a super cutey.!!!! This wee fella is my donkey Jake, he is a lot bigger than this now and lives with my parents down south. Sadly too large and altogether rascallish to live with me in the Sky Den.
Oh my he is handsome. My parents have three donkeys are my they are spoilt and loved. I do miss them (both the donkeys and my parents!).

Jake and his Mama

Have you ever been to Tunnel Beach in Dunedin, Otago? It is a magical place. After a trek down the hill you find a tunnel cut into the hillside, you follow the steps down and walk out into the loveliest cove. Very popular in the summer. The beach has a tragic story behind it... In the 1870s workmen employed by John Cargill, a son of Captain William Cargill, excavated a tunnel down to a secluded beach so that the Cargill families could bathe in privacy. Story sourced from here.
I do believe that Captain Cargill's daughter tragically drowned at Tunnel Beach. That may just be a local legend though.

Mr. Fox halfway down the track to Tunnel Bea

These photos were taken on January 1st 2010, it was a great day to visit Tunnel Beach. Photos can't really capture how wonderful it really is.





Here comes the Snow!!

This photo was taken when my family celebrated Mama Fox's Birthday on-board the Taieri Gorge Railway Train. It was a winters day.....as we reached the top of the gorge a huge cloud filled with snow came rolling in. It was so much fun to be on-board such a wonderful old train all safe, snug and together watching the snow fall! I highly recommend the trip, I have been on the train trip three times and would go again. It is amazing.

Well that's enough tripping down memory lane, housework and dinner beckons!!

Slow progress

Well so much for crafting while i was away....not that it mattered. We holidayed 100%. Feeling wonderful and fighting foxy fit for it. I really don't think there are better holidays than the ones spent with family or friends in the middle of nowhere.

A little stowaway managed to find his way back to Auckland somehow though; curious indeed. Will let him away with it cos he's so darn cute and helpful too. Here he is showing off the measley progress made on my log cabin knitted blanket..

The Stow-away

No  more holidays planned as yet, although I'm hoping (and saving hard!) to head across the ditch to see my sister who recently made the move to Melbourne. Even though we have lived in different cities for a year now, it really tugs on heart to think she is in another country.

Mr. Fox and I had a quiet weekend as I was On-call for work (we can't venture to far from home or the car). We did have a super scrummy Sunday brunch at home though and enjoyed the evening view from the Sky den.

Mmmm Brunch

Ahh who could ask for a better view ??

Aren't I lucky to live where I do?!!

Dual purpose

My laundry basket is perfect for holding whatever crafting project I'm working on,  especially if it's crochet or knitting. It seems to be the perfect size to hold all the balls of yarn in place but big enough to see all the colours....and it doesn't flop closed like a bag.

It only just occurred to me today that this may not be what everyone does with their laundry basket, especially because its a real pain tossing my project onto the couch every time I need to actually put washing in it!!

The washing basket Cuckoo

At the moment I have a Log Cabin blanket jumping in and out of my laundry basket. I'm trying out the technique I found in this book. Have been plodding along with it in front of the TV...a couple of mistake but nothing that I'll get my foxy tail in a twist about. It feels great to use up some of my stash and have a pattern that doesn't involve too much unpicking.

This is a perfect project for taking on holiday.....and that's what I'm doing tomorrow after work. The next four days will be spent with friends, hopefully with lots of laughter and sunshine.....and just a little bit of crafting

Thank you Assistant Ellie...

Yes, thanks Ellie my sweet assistant. Didn't she do a lovely job of presenting my newly finished Bath Pouf....This is the second one i have made. I found the inspiration at Very Purple Person in the 'crochet' archives then followed the link to Ravelry for the pattern.
This one is a little too packed with ruffles due to a brain fade that means there are about 3x the amount of double crochets than there should be!! Lol lets hope that it means extra bubbles!

Have been feeling very industrious today...went for a run and sewed in all those pesky tails on the twenty something little cotton face pads made yesterday. Even cleaned the windows. Isn't it funny how sparkling clean windows make a home feel extra clean...that and a shiny stainless steel kettle on the bench!

I never got to show off the fabric baskets I made for my family and friends this Christmas. So here goes....i found a tutorial here at Pink Penguin and modified it a bit (no lovely patchwork tho due to Christmas creeping up so sneaky fast!). I really enjoyed making these, love how they show off fabrics and that they stand upright without being rigid. Definitely want to make some more of these...if only my Janome wasn't making some reluctant sounds. As soon as the holiday period is over I will taking wee Janome for a servicing.

Fabric basket with some fabrics I got for Christmas

I'm planning to sneak in a little more crafting tomorrow before heading back to work. I hope that you are managing to do something creative these holidays too.

Start as you mean to go on

2011!!

 It's here already.  Farewell to 2010 and welcome to the next twelve months....i hope they are half as good as the last.

My Christmas was wonderful.  I spent it with my family, my handsome Mr. Fox and his lovely Mum. Mama Fox had the Home Den looking so festive and cosy. She whipped up a feast fit for a King and we all ate way more than we should of. There were presents galore and i was thoroughly spoilt with some lovely goodies.

It was wonderful to be home again so soon after i left. Four days were not enough!! So with Christmas over for another year and January just beginning you can get on with enjoying  the Summer. Although those little jobs don't go away do they?...

Summer housework

But at least with a view like mine even jobs like the washing and housework aren't too much of a chore. And of course there is always time for a little bit crochet



These are little cotton pads waiting to have their tails tucked in. I had made some of these months ago and have found them really handy for removing eye make-up. They are a quick wee project and are super for using up scraps of cotton yarn.

Mr. Fox and I welcoming the New Year in with friends; watching the spectacular fireworks display from the top of the Sky Tower and a barge in the Harbour. The Sky Den was a perfect vantage point and I am already really excited about next year!!

Keeping New Years Resolutions are not a strong point of mine, i tend to peteer out around March! But i do intend to get into blogging regularly....that and go for more than one run a week!! I have a feeling that i may  be more likely to keep up with the first.

Happy New Year everyone