I am a very bad blogger. I apologise. 

As time is now a bit precious, i've decided to list most of my fabric on dirty old trademe. Yuck. But had to be done, i suppose. My listings can be found here, should you be interested. More will be added later tonight.

Two and a half weeks to go and am starting to get the freak out happening. The fact one of my dearest friends has taken the afternoon of my arrival off so he can meet me at the airport means the excitement is now balanced with the freaking. 

And OutdoorKnit organisation has become a part-time job, with organising London taking up the rest of my time. Which reminds me... i was going to research snowboarding in Scotland...

Woops, missed a day on the great fabric fire sale. Never fear, another day is here!

So above are three cottons - the one in the top right hand corner is quite light, and the other two are quilting/craft weight. Now because i'm lazy i haven't measured them. They're not huge, but they're not tiny either. Again, $5 plus p&p (about a dollar, i'd guess). email me at tashbarneveld at hotmail dot com if you're keen. The spotties from the other day are still available too.

You may remember my ranting about how crappy my year was last year. It was crap. I'm now all focussed on the future, and making the most of all opportunities. Which involves, of course, reading my horoscope and ignoring all the ones which are bad or i don't like.

I haven't had reason to ignore many, in fact i've pulled a few out of the paper just because they've been so good. (nikki, these are all yours too!)

Here's a selection:

Today's, on msn:

Don't let things bother you, dear Sagittarius. Have confidence that you are on the right track...

hmm i seem to have lost one of them. oops. oh well.

Here's my 2009 one from the Sunday Star Times:

'...2009 represents the first year of an astonishing climb. You could be the next Bill Gates. It's all possible now.'

How appropriate. I wonder if I should try get a job at Microsoft...or at least finish filling in the London job applications i've got...

it's a fire...SALE

I was procrastinating from taking photos and putting all my bits and pieces up on trademe (what a drag) and had a brainwave - so you all get first dibs!

So, this is the plan:

Each day, for as many days as it takes, I will put up an item for sale, right here. Should said item take your fancy, email me at tashbarneveldathotmaildotcom and the first person who puts their hand up, wins. I'll then correspond with the winner, and we can do the whole money deposit/detail exchange thing.

Each photo will be accompanied by measurements, fabric type, and a price. To make it fun, days will be picked at random for the fabric to be free! yep, FREE!  

Of course i'm all into sharing so let all your friends know...bloggy and otherwise.

so...first up:

large blue spots: 57cm x 45cm, 100% cotton (is a quilting weight cotton)

lavender gingham: 24cm x 100cm, poly cotton (light weight)

pale pink with white spots: an odd, odd shape - one section 26cm x 35cm, another section 50cm x 60cm, is a cotton mix, and one side is brushed. Is about the same weight as the blue spots, but softer. Has a few small marks but should wash out. Is vintage - i remember it from when i was about 8!

Sale price: $5 plus postage (about a dollar)

Apologies

I found Tessuti here. They have Japanese cotton fabrics. and gorgeous silks. And deliver anywhere in NZ. Damn i need to find new flatmates to i can treat myself...

I just scrubbed the bath. It kind of helped.

Grey day and fabric stashing

I do have a life, sometimes!

Ah, thank you wellington for the rain. Really appreciate it. No Aro Fair today, and i highly doubt it will be on tomorrow either. Bummer. Not sure when the next market will be now...

So instead of marketing, i headed out fabric stash enhancing with a friend. We picked up some gorgeous Ricochet wool suiting from Global Fabrics so there will be a sewing sesh tomorrow in order to help her make a work skirt. I'm a disbeliever in patterns when it comes to skirts so fingers crossed i haven't lost the knack of making it up as i go along. 

And i have so many sewing ideas i my head, but as usual there aren't any patterns around that fit in with my vision. I'm thinking i should bite the bullet and do a pattern making course somewhere. 

Hmm half an hour til earth hour. Because i'm such a boring nana at the moment, i'm at home. Not so sure how knitting in the dark will work. Or how keen my environmentally-ignorant flatmate will be on doing her make up in the dark, hehe.

woohoo photos

Finally! She says

mmm pretty hydrangeas

recent stash enhancing fabric - same old story - who knows what will be made from either?

Late christmas present from my bro in Sydney...

progress on thermal (now on its way after 4 frogs)

and there has been plenty of magazine love in this house lately...

all together now - mmmmm johnny depp...

Meltdown

more apologies for boring and sporadic posts - life is getting the better of me!

I had a cranky attack yesterday afternoon - i was so sick of doing stuff that 'had' to be done rather than what i wanted to and all i wanted to do was sew. Didn't get near the sewing machine until 4pm yesterday, after discovering i had lost my giant white thread in some moving box so i went for a stash enlarging mission. not that i could afford it. picked up some gorg printed cotton at global fabrics, and some AWESOME cotton flannelette at Arthur Toye - photos will follow later, promise. It was one of those prints where i knew that if i didn't snaffle some there and then i'd miss out.

Got some bags half made, the boy is cleaning the printing screens this arvo, bring on the fun!
but until then, i have mega mega work load. So i should really do that.

is it friday already?

man this is awkward - lying on the bed, resting on my elbows to type on the laptop.

Not sure how i'm still functioning really - has been the maddest week. And was a super mad day today - fridays always are at work, which is a bit of a killer.

But somehow i managed to make a pattern and do masses of ironing (stash got washed and dried today) and a little bit of cutting out. Hopefully i'll be able to dedicate sunday to sewing...oh can't wait! plan for tomorrow - out to petone fair, maybe try and hunt out some drawers and a desk for the flat (my clothes have nowhere to live), and then see if i can sell some clothes to recycle boutique before spending all my money again at the global fabrics sale. mmmmmmmmmmmm fabric. might see what knit world has going at the same time...

next week we should have the mac all set up and i'll be back to more regular posting - have a fab weekend!

I am tired.

We spent all weekend moving and cleaning. We got it all done, except for some of the unpacking. Feel my enthusiasm for having our own STUDY! At the moment it's full of boxes, and we have no desk for the computer or sewing machine, but we'll get there.
It took us 4 freaking hours to clean our old flat, it was so painful. Then, to prove how fantastic (not) our old tenancy agency is, I was told that we would get a full bond refund because the place looked amazing, then when tim went to get the paper work signed off the same guy tried to weasel carpet cleaning costs out of him. Um, no! Especially after telling me i'd get a full refund. Clever. Glad to be rid of them.

Was way too busy to get back to the Fabric Warehouse sale, which is a good thing, as i've literally just scored myself a set of printing screens and squeegees for an awesome price...bring it on!

uh oh. i think i need a dedicated fabric fund

I can see myself expanding my stash quite rapidly if i'm not careful...but i haven't bought loads of fabric just because in ages. I used to work for a fabric shop and constantly spent too much ofmy  wages on fabric, but i love it. I love to walk around stores and touch all the different textures, feel the weight, drool over prints.  I keep hearing about the Global Fabrics sale and think i may have to visit tomorrow (yay for Waitangi) in the midst of packing and cleaning. But i figure seeing as the boy just made a rather large and completely redundant purchase without asking me, i can indulge all i like. So there.

And then i'll get to test out my new washing machine by washing it all...mmmm

stashtastic

Well, the Martinborough fair didn't go quite as well as we'd hoped, but we still came away with a small profit, and we got a really good response to our ipod covers. We think our target audience is  a little narrow, so we're going to expand our range of products for the next one in March. Which means i got to expand my stash at the Fabric warehouse sale today. If you love fabric, GO. It's on till the 10th of feb. I think i may go back yet...there were so many beautiful silks and things that i would love to just have...(in my new sewing room, woop woop!)

Just randomly - a painting i picked up at the statue barn. So much wrong with it, but i love the colours, and it's so nice and homey.

Pre-stash expanding, we had our first try of the new(ish) Zarbo's on Chaffer's dock. Man, does it really take 20 minutes to make a coffee? It wasn't that busy...but the wait was forgotten with one sip - my hot chocolate was divine and tim was in palpatations over his long machiatto. All is forgiven Zarbo's. 

Now all is go on packing - we got ourselves a loverly french couple as our flatties. Think my french may improve this year...So our lounge is a mess and i have my recently engaged friend coming over to lemon crunch muffins at 3...better get to it.

ephemera

Am a bit hungover today. Shall i share the exploits?

I finished work on Friday, headed home and then picked my brother and his new(ish) girlfriend up from the airport. It is so good to see him again, even though it has only been about 6 months. But still. From there we had fish and chips, all the 

kids in one room - man we take up a lot of space now! All bar one are out of school and over 5 foot 9, it's bizarre. Had a few too many wines, did some grocery shopping with my sister and had the best sleep ever...

Saturday involved cleaning and baking pre-afternoon tea, which was meant to be reasonably posh like until tim came home with a box of coronas. Out of all the people who came, only one had a cup of coffee and one had tea. All the rest of us were boozing. Good, good times. Too much food, lots of sun and catching up. 

Eventually my older brother turned up after a day of shopping, and invited us to go for dinner at Nicolinis, not only the best italian restaurant around, but his old place of employ. Of course we'd all eaten too much already and hadn't booked so we didn't get there til around 10, so had the wait staff sitting with us eating their dinner, and then Raffaele himself joined us. I treated myself to the most divine banquet of pescatora - seafood, beautiful seafood. Tim hates anything you have to shell that comes from the ocean so it was a rare moment where absolutely had to take the opportunity. we wobbled home around midnight, and we paid for it this morning...to the point where i succumbed to a pie, an extreme rarity.

We've just been to yet another of the boy's family's houses for nibbles and drinks and sweltering in the sun. I think Wellington is a bit confused and has decided to provide us with weather that is more appropriate for Nelson, but it is wonderful for all these afternoon events we've been going to. 

Am now biding my time before going out to meet some old school friends for dinner, one is here on a flying visit from Auckland before heading off to the Philippines - lucky thing! So have finally managed to get labels done for all my presents, and the boy is about to learn just how carried away i got...hmmm....

I'm sure there was something deep and meaningful i was going to mention. Hmm... Despite all that i've been trying to do to get myself to actually 'feel' like it's Christmas, it still hasn't sunk in. My presents are almost al organised, there have been myriad family and friend gatherings, and yet...it just isn't the same from when i was a kid. I'm sure when all the madness that is present opening is under way, and my nine year old brother is running around going nuts on chocolate, and my stomach feels like it will pop, and we go for a walk to look at the Christmas lights to work it off, then, i am sure it will feel like Christmas. But i think once you get a certain age you really have to make an effort to feel that true vibe. In an odd moment of insight, I said to tim that Christmas only really happens if you make the effort. I get so sick of these people who go on about how much they hate Christmas, all the stress and what have you. By forcing myself to start making presents in early November, this year it has been a breeze. And i actually enjoy Christmas shopping, and baking, and cooking, and hanging out with all my favourite people. Yes, all those parties get a bit tedious, but i've taken advantage of every single one and used it as the only relaxation time i've had in months. Just sitting back quietly, watching everyone else and listening to their conversations, talking to people. it's the same reason i love the markets - i don't have to do anything at all but sit there. I feel like a total marshmallow after all that food and alcohol, but i'm going to use my two week break to make sure i get back in the exercise habit. Really people who tell everyone who will listen how much they hate this time of year need to get over it. I could go into a whole other reason as to how that can be seen as entirely selfish, but i won't.

on a final note, i happened upon the most fantastic garage sale yesterday. Check out what i picked up for $2 (and she didn't even want that much for it!). I honesty could have walked away with a giant box of fabric. Thank goodness i had that rational thought of...oh, um, where on earth would i store it all?!

A painted velvet cushion cover...
And this fabric. No idea what to do with it, of course...

And the fabric i bought in Paraparam the other weekend. How cool are the trucks!!

righty-o i better get on to tidying myself up for dinner. Have a fantastic Christmas...hopefully will post shortly after. :)

three things for an evening

Toasty in front of the heater last week with my fave red shoes that i really should replace...
The fabric i shouldn't have bought from a few blogs ago - i have no idea what i'm going to do with it (isn't that always the way with your favourite fabrics?!) so it's complementing my pile of mags on the table at the mo. And the beginnings of a pair of arm warmers to go with my snowboarding set up. There's nothing worse than getting ice down your wrist!

mmmmmmm lolly cake - for those who have never had it before (oh the humanity!) it's pretty simple:

crush one packet of malt biscuits

melt about 200grams of butter (no idea what this is in pounds sorry!)

chop a bag of eskimo lollies (hard marshmallow things)

throw in half a tin of condensed milk

mix it up, roll it up, roll in coconut and put in the fridge for a few hours. easy peasy!

And i finished the scarf in the photo - it was a sick day project - and got lots of nice comments on it when i wore it to work this week. :)