All around

Walking to a meeting in the city I encountered this rather relaxed café nestled in a beautiful old villa, amidst the bustle of the traffic.. Sadly I had to hurry passed, but hope to stop by one day.

Then further down the block a building with a rather plain street façade, had this interesting grill along the side which just lifted it into another zone of architectural interest.

And finally, on my weekend shopping travels, I came across this lovely window leading up to a store with charming cloud like lights floating in the stairwell.

 

This little piggy went to market ...

Preparing for my next craft market, I thought I would try some crocheting. This craft seems to really  be making a revival! I still have and use a crocheted blanket I made from a bag of wool my mother had stored and that I found years and years and years ago. The blanket graces the bottom of my bed and is my cat's favourite spot to snooze in the morning sun.

My crochet hook has been in storage for quite some time! After digging around in boxes under the house to find it, its since been quite fun rediscovering a craft I thought was long gone.

A modern digital influence - kisses and hugs to grace a cushion cover...

'clasps' of crocheted wool for my electronic device storage sleeves.

 

Little ooglies - reborn

There seems to be a spate of weird and wonderful soft toys 'materialising' in craft books and on market tables around the place. The book "Made & sold" has some fun examples.

I played around with trying to make some odd looking softies from upcycled t-shirt and sheet material. Do my 'little ooglies' need arms?

 

Long live libraries

It feels like Christmas when I get back from the library with my haul of books for the week. We are so lucky in Auckland to have such an amazing availability of public libraries. There is nothing better than having to decide which book to plunge into next - oh the choice, the choice! Of course the greatest challenge is finding the time.

My latest inspiration is a young artist based in San Francisco called Mati Rose McDonough  who encourages her readers to "show the world your magic". Her book  "Daring adventures in paint" is a fresh and bright take on paint techniques for backgrounds on board. She mixes her media resulting in collages with colour contrasts that make her simplicity of design pop.

Her whimsy rubbed off on me and so I tried some of her suggestions.

Summer sublime

Crafting takes a break when the garden whispers and beckons.

adi & bert goes to market

Dipping my toe into retail before Christmas. Tough times out there for crafters, but it was a fun day.

Auckland love

When you love your city and surrounds, it makes living there such a pleasure. This design is a tribute to Auckland and North Island summers. Upcycled an old map book I found in the car and printed a lino cut fantail onto the sheet. The most fun is trying out a technique and then using the off-cuts and turning them into something totally unplanned.