Friday Morning Sewing Club - Community Hub - Coffee & Chat

Had a brilliant morning with the Schoolie from the Salvation Army that we have at our  Primary, she is an inspirational whizz. A dynamo of a person, and one with a gorgeous heart. She has so many great ideas, and is so amazingly capable.
The sewing went sideways after a little while. It was a beautiful day, good coffee and a real desire amongst us to connect. We ended up teaching three of the mums how to knit. It was awesome, I love seeing people trying something new, and when they get what theyre doing, theyre away like a train ... Brilliance.
The cake was awesome (at this rate we might need the Zumba lessons after all!) and I went on to help with the childrens sausage sizzle. There, there was a need to learn what to do, and master the art of the sausage bread, sauce, sausage and wrap motions. I got there :-) Thanks Room 9. I hope you enjoyed them.

The Garden was abuzz at lunchtime with small and bigger people asking if they could help. Unfortunately nothing was planned, and I had one very keen young man helping me weed, compost and split the rhubarb, which had unfortunately started to rot in the crown. I hope we got to it soon enough, and the four pieces will take off. If not, I have a spare one in my own garden that I can place in the garden. The idea is to have rhubarb and custard at some stage. Im not sure they have enough for the whole school... yet. It will not take long if we continue adding the compost. The bokashi units look interesting. I peered into a couple today and wrinkled my nose. I know that smell (composting fruit) so this is good stuff for the soil.
We got some bread today from the leftovers at the sausage sizzle too, which will go down well in the bokashi. Ive seeded the garden with some of my worm farm inhabitants too, I know theyll love their new home, and work behind the scenes to bring the garden to success.

So thats me... all that.  A whole day doing fun things with neat, good people!
Im a bit stiff and sore, but there is half a babys hat knitted somewhere, and a whole garden dug over, waiting for its potatoes to go in next week...

Love to You all,
My Heart to Yours,
E BUTTERFLY
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Brrr Frost you say? ... KEEP WARM PEOPLE!!

Greetings from the bitterfly cold Garden City.
It certainly is frosty this week! Ive been a bit busy this week with one thing and another, and its proven to be a challenge not to run inside and find a warm place to tarry.
I dont mind the frosty mornings when I have a full complement of warm clothing, but where did that bitter wind swing from? It drops the temp down completely. Thank god for woollen hats.
And for the wonderful help our schools receive from KidsCan. You guys ROCK :-)
They have provided warm lined & waterproof jackets to some of our local schools, and these kids NEED the warmth provided... Have a read on their site - FINALLY a charity that HELPS LOCAL CHILDREN. It isnt sending money for food to children in Africa, It isnt helping wild animals survive and breed, it is putting children first. And I think its the right place to start - here. In NZ. Our children.
THANK YOU from a Mum who really appreciates you helping our neighbourhood!

Mr 12 and I had a great day yesterday, once the business side of things was over (doctor) I think half of Canterbury is at the doctors this week, Ive heard of so much ill health...
Keeping our houses warm is so hard! I know we are not as bad as some, but Weve doubled our efforts here. Having gaps in gib and holes in the floor doesnt help keep the heat in however. The heat pump IS struggling. One heat pump in a disorganized style of house like ours, is hopeless.


Ive heard of people putting bubble wrap on windows as insulation, to keep the heat in.
Theres also window insulation you can purchase... but whose got the extra dosh after paying the power bill?

Have a look HERE - Perhaps you qualify for the Red cross Winter Assistance Grant. Seriously. If in need - APPLY Because this is why the money is available... We cant have our elderly, sick and young people suffering.  Wear layers, gloves, hats, scarves...

IF you HAVE EXTRA gloves, hats, scarves, blankets, hot water bottles -  how about donating them?
It makes such a difference to someone who cant afford to get their own. The Salvation Army, the Red Cross, will take them. Im sure there are other places who will take them too, Church groups etc. 

Here in Canterbury we NEED to look after our own neighbourhoods, our children, our people.

We use our hot water bottles and extra blankets at night. And theres no way its a fashion competition when going to bed, its layers baby!, any colour but layers... ooh la la, trendy!  Little One has leg warmers this year to put over her pants. She loves them, and Ive had several comments on the idea. The thing is - I  upcycled a black mohair jersey (adults) to make them... I used the arms, cut them off the jersey, measured how long I needed them, to just above her knee, then I cuffed them, with elastic in the hem, top and bottom, and they work nicely. Toasty warm. Im tempted to make myself some wrist warmers too... Mr 12 isnt interested, he would rather die than be seen in something Mum made *grin* oh. Except for his beanie. His ears are warm... and theres no chance of earache with that much snuggly wool  around his head.
Again I say... Thank God for the generosity of SHEEP - Thanks for wool  LMAO 


Fill them up in the mornings - CEREAL is great, with some fruit, but PORRIDGE is hot, sticks to their ribs, is digested slowly and fills them up for longer... Warm Porridge ... yumm!!
My kids are ALWAYS eating at this time of the year. Noodles, Fruit, Toast, Pikelets, Scones... The kids love helping make things.
Variety is good.

The kids seed envelope stuffing

DONT FORGET ... If you want some seeds to help you with next seasons garden, drop me a line
There are plenty available, and I want to share with you! 
Thank You for reading my blog.
I wish I could do more to help where it is needed.
Take care, and remember Hugs keep you Warm :)

Love
E BUTTERFLY
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Quick Linky Link! FELT.co.nz

Another place to spend a morning browsing with coffee....
Felting and Fabric Artists - http://felt.co.nz/

Take care,
EB
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Long Shaking Nights, Cold days...

Have just been out, on my way inside, to check on the plants.

Have suffered no losses so far, thanks to the shelter.

Early days tho.  I see the strawberries have taken off, dancing across the garden and digging in whereever they like. Some even have flowers which makes me kind of keen to nurture them, strawberries in winter sounds awesome! I bet the birds think so too, and quite frankly, they need them more than we do.

Its been very cold today, another sign of impending doom (lol) theres obviously more where that came from and Im not sure Im a winter person. I feel sorry for the school kids with shorts on :(

We had a shaky night - just one, but close, and rather sharp and shallow, which meant I had a small person by my side afterward, which kept me quite warm!

While waiting in hospital hallways of late, Ive felt the need to be getting my Knit on, so Im getting rid of the stash to knit some hats... 

At the moment, I need a good hat eh! Still Im in good company, and I cant knit them fast enough to keep my fingers warm...

Riding on, getting those fingers clacking!
See you next time, not sure when! :)
E B

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Things Ive been making for Christmas...

A bit of a craft nut - thats me. I like to see what others do, seldom completing things myself... I have no enthusiasm to start something now,
I love seeing others projects though!
One of my favourite places is 
www.oneprettything.com

Im a knitter, and several of my favourite places inspire me. Im fortunate that here in NZ, yarn and wool is relatively inexpensive. Being a bit of a scrooge, and choosing to recycle, I have also discovered places I can purchase cheaper secondhand wool or there is always recycled sweaters/jerseys that can be unpicked for desirable yarn to be re-used.
Ive started knitting for Christmas. Mainly for the girls and their dollies - so much easier to do when you can finish things within an hour or two, they dont take up much yarn, and dont need a lot of concentration to complete... so here we go, the photos...
These ones I intend to sell, each set takes a day to complete usually!

 

Some places to go, if youre a dolly-knitter like me

... not all are free, but reasonably priced, and they email you your patterns, so no matter if you are International! 

Cant be more simple, using credit card or paypal! (I am not affiliated with any of these by the way, I love pointing people in the right direction for dolls stuff!)

www.danielbingham.com - Barbie or 16inch Doll Patterns .PDF files

www.ravelry.com - People, toys and dolls

www.etsy.com - Patterns and all kinds of handmade things!

http://www.theretroknittingcompany.co.uk/dollspatterns.html  Some great PDF Files!

http://www.stickatillbarbie.se/ - ABSOLUTELY Awesome site for Barbie!

http://www.sindyclothes.com/Sindy%20Knitting%20Patterns.htm - This site is AWESOME

Well, back to the needles...
Hope all is well with You and Yours!

Take care
EB

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