The Power of the Sun

Resident Eco-Geek and his red-headed sidekick made a solar oven from the instructions at Sunny Cooker. Autumn in the Hutt Valley is perhaps not the best time to experiment with this form of appropriate technology but they're having fun. The most exciting thing we've done is boil water in my cast iron fondue pot. I think we'll move on to actually cooking something in it next;-)

Memento

Hubby and I waited 21 years to see our very favourite rock band eva! They were the seminal sound of our getting together and growing up into adult years. I don't think I've ever been to another concert where all the other people were the same age and looked/dressed like us;-) And everyone knew all the lyrics and sung them loudly the whole way through. Brilliant! I guess they'd had 21 years to learn them well. So of course we had to shell out a zillion dollars for the CD of the concert so we can inflict the memory (except for the songs with the very obvious rude words) on our kids.

Laptop Cozy

After 11 years of huckery, slow, old PC, we finally gave in and bought a zippy new laptop. Fun! Today I made it a pretty cozy using this tutorial. The fabric is Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossom. I'm still learning how to use the walking foot to actually quilt things on my machine.

I made a matching drawstring bag for the cords. If you've never done French seams for a tidy finish then check out this simple tutorial. Gotta love the interwebs for improving ones crafting.

(Confession: Somehow I've ended up with the exterior of the cozy about 1" longer than the quilted interior. I'm not sure if it's my dud measuring or something to do with quilting the inside. Anyhooo...not gonna change it.)

Homework

I haven't had dead-line "homework" since I did post-grad study over 11 years ago (oh, how I miss using the brain I once had!). This year I decided to finally do a beginners patchwork course at my local quilting store. I have an evening class once a month then actual sewing homework to finish before the next one.

The big girl is impatiently awaiting her finished sampler quilt. She will be waiting a wee while. I'm using Amy Butler's new Love range in Soul.

Knitted Critters

The love my children have for knitted critters bemuses me. I'm happy to run with it as I enjoy producing these little guys;-)

Dinosaurs for Mr Five. They even get snuggled into bed with him at night.

Mummy and Baby Hedgehog for our autumn nature display. I was tempted to snuggle these in bed with me!

Easter in Lego

Yup - that is Lego Jesus on a Lego cross complete with a hinge at the bottom for ease of Roman hoisting.

I also got given a Lego basket of Lego Easter eggs in bed this morning but it was reclaimed for parts before I could grab a photo.

This wee man can spend a full adult work day building his Lego creations. If only he got paid for it!

(Disclaimer: We rent this house, so no, I did not choose the attractive curtains in the background.)