Festival Essentials

It's a few days till NYE partying begins

Other than the obvious denim cut offs, crochet singlets, jandals and emergency gumboots (much needed last year!)....there's a few essentials to add to your festival swag.

1. It's easier with a backpack especially one that opens up on top for easier access. You dont know how far you will be lugging your stuff from car to campsite, and over what farmland terrain.

2. A chilled mag, like the summer issue of Peppermint. A good book is ok, but hard to put down. If you want 5 mins of feet up time a mag is perfectly suited.

3. Drink bottle/thermos to keep water cold with ice

4. Woolly hat for evenings, or a surprise cold day

5. Old, well worn flats for dancing (jandals just do not make the cut in crowds)

6. Flower claw clip, easy to pull up that salty hair, and add a touch of summery colour!

7. Straw hat, mine is from Grey Lynn Fest years ago, flax woven with a hole in top perfect for those who wear their hair up in a high bun throughout summer.

8. Blue blockers - making all things golden.

9. Instruments, I have bells tied around my ankles and a shaker. akishh akisshh

10. Utility belt - not a fannypack or a bumbag, but a cooler version sewn by me, for festival dancing.

11. Fabric, useful for covering shoulders, or eye's when the sun is coming up. Wear as a head scarf, or for fashioning a dress, skirt or top. Fabric (try linen or lightweight cotton) is my TOP traveling item.

NOT PICTURED ABOVE BUT VERY IMPORTANTE'

* Extra batteries for the camera * Earplugs * Suncream * Togs togs undies & togs

Hauraki Rail Trail

Hauraki Rail Trail Adventure brought to you by Sarah 'Langbein' Lancaster - thats me!

Starting with a morning mix up of BUSY PEOPLES BREAD a must recipe to learn off by heart for busy people. SO easy and SO SO delicious. From the lovely Annabel Langbein The Free Range Cook.

We headed off on to the new cycling trail pretty much from our doorstep, 

a little out from Thames township (the path begins in Thames though)

The weather was perfect, no cyclone yet and no sunshine to burn shoulders and necks.

The path is all small gravel so it pays to have mountain bike wheels, 

and a cushy seat.

There were plenty of cattle stops ...

and we were recommended to 'hit them at speed' rather than walk your bike over.

Unfortunately my basket flew off after one - nothing was broken though!

We were headed with our basket of picnic goodies in search of some famous Matatoki Cheese 

Perhaps the goat who makes the cheese?

We tried 4 cheeses from the shop all were incredibly delish and went perfectly with the seedy fresh warm bread, salami, & dips we had bought at the Thames Market in the weekend. We shared a beer to wash it all down and topped it all off with Icecream!! - locally made in Waihi, thanks Thomas.

 

After our picnic feast on the lawn, we patted some bunnys and chickens and then headed back home much happier with the wind behind us. A good half day trip to do. I recommend it to all visitors to the Coro. The trail goes all the way to Paeroa (great antiques!) and through to Waikino in the Karangahake gorge (great swimming holes!) So go find yourself a bike basket now!

My New Creative Space

It's been a while since I linked up with a creative space post but as I have changed spaces completely this week, it is def time for a wee update

I've been in need of more...serenity... could you say surrounding my world, and the hustle bustle city life just wasn't gonna cut it over summer so I packed my (trillion) bags and headed home to the Coro

I have been 'allocated' a space in our boat shed/garage at home & I arrived to see a square of carpet, cobwebs eliminated from corners and a set up of scaffolding even for my sewing patterns!

This week I have been getting stuck in to make it feel a bit more like home, AKA unpack and make sure no ledge is left bare without an old mug, jar, or books...

I havent yet set up the 'mood board' that shall begin the summer of sewing 

but I did go so far as the admin of setting up an etsy account for selling some of my new wares.

Time for a cup of tea? I think so. Remembering the fun times as a young girl playing pretend library or supermarket, I have set up the space like a wee shop (dreamer!) where visitors can pull up a crate to share a cuppa over my low radiogram, and I am even going to make a sign for the entrance!

Clearly still SO MUCH to unpack... & so is the joys of having a crafty creative space I guess.

See more of said great spaces here.

Moving Day

As a dreamer, hoarder, crafting eco warrior... It becomes a bit of a task to pack such little bits and bobs and sticks and weird shaped things into containers and then into a few car loads and a trailor...

But with some cut throat 'you dont really need this' help I managed to do it.

Quote of the day being: "whats in this box?" - "little boxes, with littler boxes in them"

Before I left my flat I took a walk down my street to say goodbye to my favourite flowers.

and took a moment to reflect on having Auckland's best vintage cafe on my corner...

and screamed and jumped a bit when I saw this sign on the neighbouring shop

 - the shop space I pictured as my own!

...and before I could officially leave the west suburbs, some crazy lady drove into me and munted up my poor rolly, a story for another time but can you imagine said little bits and bobs and sticks and weird shaped things flying everywhere inside my car! Crumbs!

The First Langos of Summer...

 Yum! Where'd you...? Over there! Silo Park Food Market!

Course completed.

Yesterday was my last day in the patternmaking classroom!

Woo! Course Completed!

Box 5/5 fabric scraps... wins over tired el studiante'

Crochet much?

I have found the perfect recipient for this card...

The person driving this car....

A lovely local night market

My darling Mr Oratia teaches a class of year 2's (thats cute lil 6 year olds) and tonight the junior syndicate at his school had a wee xmas market. 

Each class made something to sell at a table: scarecrows, cupcakes, plant pots, mobiles, mosaics & more. Most stalls had stuff made out of other which I loved of course. Some very inventive craft and recycling was to be enjoyed.

 Mr Oratia and his class made planters out of milk bottles. I got a whole bunch of lettuces! yum!

& I found these wonderful wire mobiles - the shiny tin lids perfect for scaring the birds away from my lettuce youngin's. woop!

 & to top it all off, great music & warm food.

Thanks Oratia Primary School Jn'rs! You guys are crafty kids!

The day after...

What usually falls on the same day as Kraftbomb is my local Titirangi Village Market, they had an extra special one today pre xmas. The sun was out, and I am officially on market 'holiday' now. Delightful!

 I've lost my voice and other such woe's so I didn't last too long with the throngs of xmas shoppers we got some snacks and headed for a sunny grassy patch to lay and...... wait for it.... relax! ahh yes guilt free kicking back time non sewing non stamping non envelope making bliss.

 I bought some more handmade ceramic buttons - I used my last ones on this jacket!

And nicely photo-bombing there is the first ever pouch I made just last week.

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope all fellow vendors of yesterdays fair had a fab day of r&r. xx

The grand ol Fair

Crook as a dog, slurping down mugs of lemsip I managed to get through the day I have been working towards and waiting for for a long long time. Auckland Art & Craft Fair wowee I finally made it! It has been an amazing year starting out in March with just 5 cards on my tiny table, to here filling a table 2.4m long with 200 cards and other such goodies. I remember 2010 and last years fairs where I oogled at all the goodies & the creative bloggers I adored like celebs, and little did I know one year later I would be setting up my own table of goodies next to crafty idols that are now such sweet pals! 

Its been a good year crafty world xx

Sew Love Tea Do

                                                               Learn to SEW

      and LOVE the earth

                                                       over a cup of TEA

                                                                 we can DO good

I get such a buzz out of teaching people how to sew, spreading the word of mending and making do rather than buying new & working together over a cup of tea, sewing can be a lot of good fun!

At First Thursday last week there was a lot of fun had at the Say No To Plastic Bags table, where people overcame their fear of sewing machines, had a go, and made something for them themselves!

2013 there are real sewing workshops coming!!

My sewing machines and I are going to be mobile so I can tiki tour about where craft needs us most. 

Classes will be coming to your neighbourhood - you just need to get in touch

sewloveteado@gmail.com

(With a blogsite on its way when there are more info and pictures to share)

so... you could go from looking and feeling like this...

to a bit more like this..

What you reck?