Capital and Crochet.

Crochet Fox Purse.

Before Christmas I had a small stack of magazines and 3 new books lying next to my comfy chair ; waiting for the festive days to be over and relaxing time. The anticipation is very nice!

One was a "Mollie Makes"magazine in a pack with a "Simply Crochet". Well the crochet magazine was lovely and I actually made several of the projects in it, while we were staying with our eldest in Wellington.

 I like to be able to do something with my hands while staying somewhere, and although I usually help her with chores at her student flat, she insisted this time I don't, and frankly I didn't feel like playing mother to a bunch of (young) adults.

 So I sat and crocheted from a pattern.

 Which is a challenge by itself.

The magazine has a section in the back how to do each stitch and differences between U.S.A. and U.K. names. Perfect!

Of course I had to change some things, it had sleeping eyes in the pattern. And I added fluffy yarn around the edges so the fox looked furry. 

Exactly big enough to hold my cellphone.

I also made a bracelet cuff with pink and little beads from the magazine, which I wore when going out on New Years' Eve. Our daughter took us to a bar with good live music, we played silly games while drinking gin and tonics. The bar had a retro lounge with sofas and booths to sit. It is a whole new feeling going out drinking with your daughter!

I left the bracelet for her flatmate, to say thanks for using her room, which was tidy and clean and comfy.

Treasure Hunt Showcase

Little thrifting finds from Wellington.

Not expecting to find any opshops open in Wellington around the festive days, since there is always a lack of volunteers, we were pleasantly surprised and had a good fossick around in half a dozen of them. 

We found some crochet yarns for me, a new suit for the Man(perfect fit) and a c.d.player, an illustrated Middle-Earth map and Tolkien illustrated postcards for my brother Jack ( he didn't have those yet in his collection, score!).

Above you will see a self healing cutting mat for stanley knives or rotary blades, which are not cheap when new ($1). To be used for paper cutting.

A box of mainly glass beads and retro buttons ($5). To be used for anything.

2 purple and red candle decorations ($1). To be pulled apart for miniature scenes.

2 Purple striped vintage linen napkins with embroidered black swans (50cts each). For zip pouches.

A bunch of satin and beaded flower appliques ($1). For anything.

A few metres of old red grossgrain ribbon ($0.50). For book binding or strengthening a hat edge.

As you can see opshopping turns into a really creative experience for me: I get new ideas, by looking for new uses for an item, instead of the intended purpose.

And fossicking is totally therapeutic, not to mention a family sport...

Waiting for our pies and coffee in Island Bay, Wellington.

Of course we had plenty of coffees and lunches in cafes in our 3 days away, that is one of the delights in Wellington, and the weather was brilliant. I actually got sunburned!
It was really good to see my hard working husband just relax and go with the flow.

The old shop facades there.

The area of Island Bay was very quaint, I love the old buildings. Still with all their power lines above ground.

An old fake-marble building.

This one would have been from the early 1900's. A bit posh! With its' fake pillars. The back of the building is probably wood.

Awesome mural by BMD

And there is art everywhere. An awesome mural in a parking area. Very clever painting: the "quilted" inside of the "cat" looks like crumpled fabric and the shadow of the "worm" gives it depth.

 There are several around town by these street artists.
Always something new to see in Wellington!