Goodies!!!

It's the holidays thank goodness!!!
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(I had to leave this space so you have time to appreciate the importance this holds lol I so needed a break...)

As to be expected, the weather as simply awful. How on earth will I get the boys outside?!?! I have raked my brain to come up with a sensible, educational holiday programme that extends beyond each of them staring at a screen, thank goodness there are some appropriate movies running at the cinema, and if the weather improves, we might be able to go to Russell for the Birdman Festival (in the middle of winter watch crazy people trying to fly crazy creations into the freezing water of the Bay of Islands - I don't know how much that says about my level of intelligence either, but desperate times require desperate measures...). Not much to do around here in winter I'm afraid, no museums, school holiday courses etc.

Oldest DS has already been on break for a week, his school started earlier in January to allow for 3 weeks in winter, so by now his blood sugar levels (and his behaviour some of the time) are truly awful as always in the holidays, but mid July we're getting him on an insulin pump and hope that this will make a difference. He will be 12 this Tuesday, just another year until official teenagedoom starts...

Isn't it amazing what you can tell about a person by their folded washing? Youngest DS ("Little T") on the left, always on the go, always heaps of dirty clothes. Middle DS in the middle, he is a darling and will look after his clothes so usually little washing. On the right his highness, oldest DS ("Big T"), who will wear each item only once no matter how clean it still is :-)

We've obviously gotten too acclimatised - look at that pile of socks!

We started the holidays with a trip to the next bigger city, Whangarei, an hour drive south, and the majority of our spending was at the shoe shop - time for the boys to move beyond cheap sport shoes to leather type shoes with laces except - the bad mother never taught her boys how to tie laces! Thank goodness for 'springers', laces that look like springs and somehow twirl themselves together. By the looks of it they will not last so maybe I need to start teaching them anyway...

I got myself some gloves for the snow as I will accompany middle DS' class on their trip to Mt. Ruapehu as well as a smart cover for the new iPad - in pink so none of the boys will ever claim to their mates it is theirs lol. Poor DH got nothing :-( He has to go back to work tomorrow so I better make sure he gets decent dinners while I am off work!

Over the last week I got a couple of lovely packets in the mail - each accompanied by a gorgeous card, makes me feel so bad that I never sent any cards with my FQs!

This one is from Rebecca, it is hand carved and printed on light blue batik - isn't it just amazing?

This gorgeous one is from Emily, it whispers 'handbag, handbag' to me lol

I finished my stripey LC before June was over, so another Sew It's Finished item off the list:

With cat Crystal

Closer up of large stipple on the polar fleece backing

That lounge is starting to look more coordinated, and there are still some more leftovers that could add to the currently two cushion covers

Today I tried to repair what our white little monster cute cat Crystal wrecked - the sheer curtain in the bedroom. At almost 4.50m wide for half of it, I will attack the other half another day:

I substituted the bottom part across the whole width with a satin type black fabric. Not perfect but ok - and cheaper than replacing the whole lot she might only shred again.

Now I will have to think about what I will be working on over the next two weeks... Pastel tessellation? More cushion covers? (well, they might become a last resort for when I haven't got my monthly finish for Sew It's Finished) Portrait of middle DS? Abstract representation of cherry blossom in the area where I grew up in Germany? Too many choices...

Happy Sewing!