Thirteen

My neice Caitlyn has been visiting us from Australia over the school holidays.

At thirteen, she seems so grown up compared to my girls. She is so much fun and takes the most wonderful photographs. I love seeing her perspective and getting a glimpse into the relationship between the cousins.

Some of her photos are highly staged.

 And others are just about the moment.

My parents and Caitlyn just left for the airport to go home. We'll miss them so much but it's been fantastic having them here for the holidays. Now I just have to figure out a way to cheer up Maddy and Eloise!

Beach Break

We just got back from a much needed weekend break at the beach.

There's nothing quite like a weekend away from the housework, TV (and the sewing machine!) to recharge energy levels! Hope you had a great weekend too.

The cushion

It's raining. Again. No surprise there for the depths of an Auckland winter! It was beautiful first thing this morning though, so I grabbed my camera, the bag and the cushion and headed down to the beach.

I've finished the cushion as you can see. This is the second item for the Corban Estate summer school I'll be teaching at in February 2011.

You can just about see the two tone black fabric I used for the fantail applique. It really adds a lovely depth.

The beach is just around the corner from our house but I haven't been down there in ages. I think a family trip there this weekend is order! Hope you have a great weekend.

Kraftbomb tomorrow!

Kraftbomb tomorrow and I'm rather excited! It was too sunny today to

stay inside and craft so we went here instead:

Kare Kare beach ... just stunning.

The beach was wonderful and the last minute dinner invitation from friends was even better.

It may well be a late night for me though. I have a couple more

of these new dollies to finish off before bed.

Hope to see you tomorrow.

Kraftbomb. Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Rd. 11am-2pm.

Flying kites at Karaka Bay Beach

Boy is it cold today. We had a trip to the beach planned despite the big freeze that seems to have come over the city this morning.

The girls begged so we decided to go to one of my favourite places in Auckland, Karaka Bay Beach. I love this beach.

It has a huge place in history being one of the places where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840.

You drive down what appears to be a dead end street and walk down a tiny and very steep path to one of the biggest surprises Auckland has to offer .

There is an incredible community down here. Baches built by pushing wheelbarrows of building materials down the steep slope teeter against the cliff. Next door, an enormous architect designed home was barged and helicoptered in piece by piece. That one was recently up for sale but apparently the potential new owner didn't like the idea of parking his merc so far away. At one end of the beach is the most beautiful pohutakawa tree. A friend who lives down there told us it was about 500 years old (she said that one saw Rangitoto erupt). Branches regularly fall off the tree in storms. She was a surgeon in a former life and now loves the art of bonsai. She took one of the fallen branches and made cuttings several years ago. Of the 8 cuttings she took, one survived and she put it in a pot to train it to be a bonsai. The tree cutting didn't want to be a bonsaii for long so she planted it on her lawn and is training the branches out low and wide so she can climb it to read books in the sun when she is old. What a fabulous plan.