Holiday

I’ve just come back from spending a few days near Kaiteriteri with family.

Bloggers Meet Up

There is a get together for NZ bloggers (big and small) happening at Christchurch in April this year.

I’m excited … with a dash of nervous. But I’m feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

I think it’s a fair guess to say that a lot of us are *gasp* introverts and therefore initially feeling a little out of our comfort zone. With a room full of like-minded people though, that should last about 30 seconds before we realise we’re in a room full of new friends.

So if you’re a blogger too, please come along! It’ll be amazing to meet some of you in person and hang out for a while.

School Report Revisited

While visiting my parents tonight, my Mum gave me my old high school reports.

It’s always interesting (amusing?) to look back and see how things have changed. Or not changed.

Here’s what my sewing teacher said about me 19 years ago:

Katrina is a quiet pleasant student who has been very creative in her practical work which has unfortunately meant her progress has been slow and she still has a long way to go to complete her clown. More thorough reading of instructions would have helped gain her more marks in a recent assignment.

Things I can glean/recall from this:

• I hated making that stupid clown. My “creativity” here was actually procrastination. Perhaps progress would have been quicker if we were making awesome dresses.
• What 15 year old wants a stuffed clown anyway? Those things are freaky.
• I’ve since learnt that most of the creative process happens in your head before you even start a project. This saves a lot of indecision later.
• Reading instructions has never been a strong point. My Typing teacher made a similar comment. Still an area I can improve on.

On a side note, my P.E. (physical eduction) teacher said “she needs to improve her overall fitness”. I guess some things never change.

Real Life Pin

Thankfully I saw this photo on Pinterest a while back. My jeans were worn through and the holes were getting bigger by the day.

Finished Slipcover

It’s finished! My pink couch now has a custom made slipcover and I love it. Fully washable and being cotton, this can easily be dyed if I find white a frustrating colour with the kids around. Now I just need some funky big cushions for it.

Sofa Slip-Cover – During

I’m in the midst of making a slip cover for my pink sofa out of painters canvas drop cloth (new ones, of course).

Old for New

 The top on the left had been such a favourite of mine. It flattered, disguised flaws and was gorgeous to wear. It seems I wore it too much though and the fabric began to disintegrate. Farewell dear friend.

Simplicity 2406

Just in case you didn’t notice, it’s been 3.5  months since my last post *hanging head in shame*.  It’s embarrassing.

I could talk about how busy life is with 2 kids, but Dee still manages to blog despite having 5 kids (her youngest is a newborn!) AND an online shop.  She quashes that excuse with  absolute poise and grace.

So instead of standing here nervously shifting and avoiding eye contact, I’m going to make amends by posting my latest projects to inspire you again.  Hooray!

Home Renovation

Well, it’s not a sewing project, but there’s nothing like a good before/after shot of a home renovation job.

We used to have carpet in our dining room.  While that works for some people, we’ve found it ghastly at mealtimes with the kids.  Nacho carpet, anyone?  Not to mention it was becoming threadbare by the french doors.  Many older NZ homes were built with native Rimu timber and I can’t fathom why they would vinyl and carpet over this gorgeous, rich wood.  It deserves to shine!

Summer Lovin’

Here’s what we’ve been up to over summer:

Adventures in the new sandpit

some maintenance around the house

a wonderful amount of this (with Little Man. I’m quite housetrained now, thanks)

and even a spot of this!

Summer totally rocks!