Our local Christmas parade was very entertaining and diverse this year.  It was a brilliant day and we had a friend visiting from Gisborne so we got to show her how the community comes together and drives slowly down the main street with the help of the local brass and pipe band.  Then it was home to smell the sweetpeas and to have lunch in the garden. 

I have been meaning to send a photo of our cat to the pet page in the saturday Dominion for ages.  He loves to help out when I hang the towels on the line, if helping is the right word!

I recently put a painting into an exhibition at Aratoi in Masterton for their 'Little Jewels'.  One of my crocheted flowers was the subject.  There were loads of beautiful little jewels on display from all around the Wairarapa.

I am busy making another tea cozy for an outlet I have in Wellington called Vessel.  They have lots of great ceramics and are getting into stocking more textiles work.  Also I have just purchased a knitting machine which is all very exciting.  I bought it off a lovely women who belongs to knitting machine club.  I am looking forward to creating on my new machine!

My knitting needles are calling so Merry Christmas and a Happy Happy New Year!

In october I went to a gathering of craft/object makers, writers, collectors, curators and students.

 It was called Volume and over the weekend we heard from various speakers on the position of craft in the art world.  It was great to hear about what people are creating and to meet like-minded folk who appreciate and obsess over making stuff, like me.

The doors of mainstream galleries and museums are being opened wider to people like me who take crafts and skills, in my case learnt as a child, and turn them into objects that can be sold on a venue of high art.

Many of us learnt domestic hand crafts from mothers, fathers, grandparents and aunties.  I can't begin to explain how happy I am Mum thought these things were important and I guess, part of growing up in the 60's and 70's.  It's just what you did.

My thanks goes to those at the Hawkes Bay Art Gallery and Museum who made this event a success.  Part of the weekend was a Buy, Sell or Swap Craft Market.  It was fun and I have put up photos of some of my creations.  I came home with some treasures and my stock slightly depleted.  Yay!   

It was nice to be home again.  My garden is always very welcoming, weeds and all!

This is my first post and as I love to take photos I thought that would be a good place to start - all are things that I have made or grown in my garden.  I love my garden  and at the moment it is lush and green and gorgeous.  In this warm late spring my sweetpeas are just starting to bloom and the rose "Charles De Mill" is showing how lovely it really is.

Textiles is another love.  Knitting, crochet, sewing and more.  My round knitted cushions look great against the stones in front of my studio.  They look like a bunch of kina or sea urchins who have been stranded by an outgoing tide.  

My frog jug enjoyed a head full of sweetpeas and my clay birds are now residing on stakes in the garden and looking very much at home.