Breaking News & Giveaway!

Well today was a day of great excitement and joy...

Time to officially announce we are having our very first baby!

After months of feeling green, and starting to not fit my clothes, we finally found out that the growing bump is going to be a little baby girl!
Thanks to everyone who has shared in our celebration already!

We are so ridiculously happy and to celebrate a GIVE-AWAY is in order...

As she is due on St Patrick's Day - I will be giving away a little zippered purse I made and embroidered with tiny clover/shamrock leaves for good luck!


To enter all you have to do is...
Leave a comment on this post telling me some of your favourite girl's names...

If you don't have a blog you are still welcome to enter, just leave your email address in your comment. International entries welcome too.

Each of the following will get you an EXTRA entry ...
* Become a 'follower' on my blog
* 'Like' my Big Little facebook page (simply click the facebook "like" button on the left)
* Put my giveaway button on your blog

Giveaway will close in a week - Friday 5th November 2010 at 7pm NZ time.
Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.

Strawberries

Such a beautiful Labour weekend was a lovely time to be in the garden.

I decided to pot up my 14 strawberry runners which sprouted from our three plants last year. It will be some time before the fruit will be ready but it surely was a promise that summer is on it's way!

On the Sunday we took a wee trip to Ohope and on the way back as fate would have it, we passed some strawberry fields! I couldn't resist stopping for a bit of "Pick Your Own" of some of the beautiful red ripe fruit.

It was an hour of pure bliss - out in the sunshine with my honey, picking gorgeous strawberries warm from the sun and eating a few along the way with no rush to be anywhere in particular. Heaven.



Although I had devoured a considerable amount of strawberries, there was still enough left to have with meringues and cream with my Mum and Dad later in the afternoon!

Pink French Cotton

A wee while ago, I was lucky enough to find (in a bargain box) some absolutely beautiful vintage quilted French cotton fabric.

The texture in the fabric was so lovely, that I wanted to make a simple style garment which would show off the detail.


After searching diligently for some time for a perfect vintage pattern to use, I finally found one in a second hand shop (50 cents!) for a really sweet jacket. The 60's pattern actually included an entire infant's layout and I also adore the dress on the bottom right corner - that might be another project shortly!


I decided to make the simple little kimono jacket (the blue one on the right hand side) and chose a neutral striped cotton lining in order not to overpower the design on the outer fabric.



The fabric called for generous ties which looked luxurious so velvet ribbon was the obvious choice, however, I felt it needed just a little extra something without being too bold.

I hunted around in my vintage button jar and found 4 little pearl buttons which I think just finished it off perfectly.

A lovely, charming, elegant little garment, which will be part of my shop update this week. (If only I knew I was having a girl!)

Black Doris Chocolate Cake

It was a rainy Sunday today - a perfect chance to bake a decadent cake for afternoon tea with some friends. I love cakes, they seem so celebratory, they almost create their own occasion.

This plum cake featured in the latest cuisine magazine caught my attention a few weeks ago, and I have been drooling over it ever since... I love the way the plums look so luscious on the top of the cake, yet so simple.

I was lucky to get a chance to take this photo before it was devoured. We had a lovely afternoon catching up with each others news and generally enjoying doing nothing much!

The texture was divine, really velvety, and the combination of tart cherries and sweet chocolate was so good! I used Green & Blacks organic chocolate (85% cocoa solids)

The recipe is available in the October 2010 Cuisine magazine.

Gifts in the Post

Last week I received a lovely package in the post from Christchurch, from which I made these darling little shoes.


A lovely lady Kath, had read the article in the Herald and seen some of my work online. She contacted me to donate a bunch of her late great aunt's embroideries as they "were just taking up space in the cupboards!"

What a treat! So many lovely things to make into special little shoes.

After chatting for a wee while online, it turns out she is heading over to London shortly to welcome a new grand-baby. I decided to make her a special little pair of reversible newborn shoes from some of her own embroideries to say thanks and repay her kindness.


I made another identical pair from the remaining 2 napkins which are available here.

I can't wait to get stuck in and make some pretty things from these lovely pieces. I was thinking I might make some needle cases featuring the embroidery on the front, some Christmas ornaments and other pretty little gift ideas ready for Christmas gift giving.

Thanks Kath, your package was received with such delight!

Buttercups

These pretty little buttercups were growing by the side of the road.
I just had to stop and collect some.

They are making my sewing desk very happy and cheerful today!

On The Front Page!

I was so delighted to find that my little Snowflake Pixie Hat made it to the front page on Etsy, and has had over 1350 views! Wow, how very exciting to have so much traffic in my little shop...

Was my lovely little model Macy, the reason why my snowflake hat, mittens and shoes sold out on the day they were listed?!

It is so gratifying and pleasurable to know people are enjoying and supporting hand made goodies made from reclaimed vintage items.

I have decided to make one last snowflake pixie hat with the last of the felted lambswool and angora jumper, so if you missed out on the first one, you might still be lucky...

Winter Wonderland Cape

I have been beavering away this week, putting the finishing touches on my Winter Wonderland Cape. I am so pleased with the end result - a beautifully thick, warm winter cape with a pixie style hood, and it's magical winter scene.


On the left side is a little girl wrapped up in her pink hooded coat, skirt and woolly scarf, having a wonderful time ice skating on the frozen lake. She admires the twinkling Christmas tree...


A happy snowman takes pride of place outside her house (she knows it is her house because it has a pink door!) which is covered with a dusting of snow - there are even snowflakes still falling!


The scene is entirely hand cut from small left over pieces of felt, and hand stitched on with hundreds of tiny, tiny stitches. The winter scene itself took over 10 hours simply to cut out and stitch on.

It is lined in a soft brushed cotton, with a pretty floral pattern. The entire cape is actually reversible, so you can also wear the floral side out, perhaps on one of those chilly spring days. It fastens with an over sized happy yellow button.


The blue fabric is 100% pure New Zealand wool and was reclaimed from a pair of woollen trousers in perfect condition, manufactured at the Wanganui Woolen Mill.

The Wanganui Woolen Mill is a historic icon in New Zealand. I understand it opened around 1920 when the wool industry in NZ was very strong, and finally closed it's doors in the 80's. These trousers have quite a history, at the very least the fabric must be nearly 30 years old making this garment a piece of NZ history!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I found this pair, which such a gorgeous blue colour and in virtually new condition. Such a find, and I was honoured to recreate a beautiful heirloom garment which can be passed from one generation to the next.

I will be listing this heirloom cape in my shop tomorrow, hopefully it will find a lovely new home!

Blossoms & Gardens

The blossoms are so magnificent at the moment! These pictures were taken in the Otumoetai Rail Reserve where a dedicated bunch of volunteers are setting up a wonderful community garden.

They had a quick build there last weekend and I thought their wonderful effort shouldn't go unnoticed... You can see the beginning of the garden beds in the pic below. Someone told me the timber for the beds was donated by a local farmer, from trees grown on his farm. Great stuff!

I plan to donate some of my heritage tomato seedlings when the weather is warm enough to plant them out! Roll on summer...

Stop The Press!

The trend for hobbies and habits of yesteryear is back in vogue according to Nicky Pellegrino and Big Little is right up there!

I was delighted to be interviewed by Nicky for her article in the Herald this week "Embrace Your Inner Nanna". Click here for the full article.

Lisa of BigLittle in Tauranga sells the baby shoes and zip purses she makes from vintage finds through her shop on popular US website Etsy.com. She's become passionate about recycling beautiful old pieces of fabric into something functional.

"In the 1950s and 1960s in New Zealand there was a lot of amazing handwork done because no one had the money to buy things," she says. "So much care and love went into making pieces that aren't used any more because no one has doilies and tray cloths. This is a way to make them useful again. I go round the op shops at least once a week looking for natural fabrics like linen, cotton, wool, and especially anything embroidered. The other day I found a gorgeous fabric embroidered with violets and was so excited I snatched it off the shelf like I was at a Boxing Day sale and there were 10 people behind me trying to get it!"

Currently she's making a pair of baby shoes out of an old silk tie that belonged to a customer's late husband. "It's a piece of family history and very meaningful to her. She's going to give the shoes to her daughter who's pregnant."

A lot of time goes into these one-of-a-kind pieces, so it's far from a fast way to make money, but for many it has become a passion. All over the country they're cross-stitching, wood-turning, and crocheting, turning over spare rooms and garages to Nana's old hobbies and finding satisfaction in creating things themselves.

I have really enjoyed creating lovely little things from recycled materials for my little shop. Many others must also be enjoying these hobbies and habits of yesteryear, as I can hardly keep my shop stocked!

Thanks for your amazing support.

Pinking Shears

When going through a box of things the other day I found my Grans pinking shears! Imagine my delight, as I haven't any of my own and I don't enjoy those pesky fraying bits on the edges of fabric...

I was reading the attached leaflet and had a wee chuckle over the wording on the back of the brochure. "Pinking shears work for people in almost every country all around the globe. They forge another link in this compact modern world".

I wonder what they would have thought of the internet and blogging when these were made!