holidays

Fall Finalé

| poppypeach

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I am into a knitting groove obviously because the weather has a lot to do with it but I have really been inspired by the UK television series ‘Outlander’ with all the amazing knitwear in the costumes. This big cowl capelet was inspired by the main character and knitted flat and double stranded so it is super warm. It can be worn bundled up or as a capelet around the shoulders. As I was wandering outside with it the other day I managed to catch a Japanese Maple leaf.

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One thing I love about this year is the Fall colours the leaves of the gingko fallen to the ground are like moth wings.

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This week it was the finale of teaching the Arts Focus Sewing class and we finished with the kids making pipe cleaner dolls. I love the creativity of the kids when they make this project, some just want to make a naked superhero with a cape or others want to dress up their doll and even braid their hair. 12 out of the 26 kids I had in the class were K and 1st grade and having to sew with all the fine motor and focus these kids did a wonderful job and were so enthusiastic!

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Friday we enjoyed our holiday boutique at school from 3pm to 5:30pm – the turnout was fabulous! I really enjoyed chatting with friends I never see anymore and the focus this year was on kid vendors. The adults were there to inspire the kids and it was so good to hear that one of my sewing students had her table sewing scarves and accessories inspired by the scarf she purchased from me last year. It is so good to see sewing skills passed on and the kids create their own little ventures.

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Yes Bella just say what I mean – I have been preparing packages for Christmas to send to Australia and yes it is always a mission to do but once it is done, party! Here is Bella ready to go on a priority mail trip somewhere fun! Well, we will be too when we head on over to Whidbey Island this Friday, looking forward to some rest and relaxation and looking after 3 kitties but we will be missing out little fur babies 😦

Makers Gonna Make

| poppypeach

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Last week I was in a flurry of making for a show with the Mountain View Parents Association on Saturday. It is a new energy of folks so it should be fun and the bonus is that it is at the community centre. I have made a lot of pouches for your glasses plus little coin or credit card purses that fit neatly into your pocket or evening bag. As I was chatting with my son I found this great little tool box he made with the scouts and I bought it off him for my table display. I had some gold spray paint and here it is living a new life holding my handmade goods.

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Some information on the holiday show here that I will be doing this weekend – if you are coming mention this post and get 20% off your total order. Shop local this holiday and support local makers – all good for everyone!

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As I was a bit of a busy bee this week with the sewing and then teaching at the end of the week and then I had to cook as a long lost friend was coming over for dinner – the week was over. Then came the weekend and now I am focussing on my studies!

The pic above is an amazing Green Tea Soba Noodle Salad I made on Thursday.

Ingredients

Green Tea Soba Noodles

Zucchini

Carrot

Watermelon Radish / Radish

Red Cabbage

Chickpeas

Coconut oil

For the chickpeas

Miso

Olive oil

Warm Water

For finishing

Sesame Oil

Method

  1. Cook your green tea soba noodles in boiling water following the packet instructions – I buy a brand from Australia.
  2.  Cut up all your veggies – I like mine raw – add them to a big bowl. Reserving the watermelon radish for finishing the dish
  3. Have your chick peas cooked and ready (use canned chickpeas, otherwise soak them overnight and cook them in a pressure cooker) and in a bowl mix the miso, olive oil and warm water slowly to create a sauce consistency. Add to the chickpeas and coat them in the sauce.
  4. In an iron skillet add some coconut oil and cook the miso coated chickpeas.
  5. Keeping an eye on the roll them around on the skillet until they look cooked – careful they do not burn!
  6. Take the chickpeas off the heat while you are draining the noodles with cold water. Add the drained noodles to the big bowl of vegetables and mix together.
  7. Pour a dressing amount of sesame oil over the veggies and coat them until they are shiny.
  8. Top with the chickpeas and watermelon radish and enjoy!

Such a super easy recipe and great for a weeknight – the prep is what takes the longest. Of course you can sub whatever vegetables you have on hand for any season – all it takes is some imagination!

And to finish my post this week with some inspiration I heard on the radio this morning from a favourite place of mine in the world – Hobart, Tasmania. This little boy is sewing teddy bears for charity and he taught himself to sew, I was so happy to hear this story it gives me hope for all those little fingers I teach sewing that it will not be a lost art after all!

 

A piece a Week – My Signature Sari Skirt

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Playing around with circle skirts I discovered that with the incredible drape that a Sari has it makes a perfect skirt. The hem on these lovely fun skirts are over 6 yards so it takes me an hour to apply the finish to the hem. This is my favorite as I love the colors and mix of the patterns. This was added to my collection for my final Holiday Gift Show last weekend – how good it feels to be able to relax now! 
Get swinging in this Sari – which sold to a friend for their grand daughter as a gift! 

At my friends house we had a holiday and gift boutique which was fun meeting some new people in a pocket of Los Altos I am familiar with my acupuncturist and grocery store there. Ideally I think with shows at home, publicity is key and maybe shoot for earlier in the season when shopping is on peoples minds. I think last weekend was just for last minute gifts with a lower price tag. Still it is always a learning experience with each show that I do. 

My table of goodies ready for sale

Last week was also the final class for the Fall session of our Arts Focus classes at school! It was so good to see the kids really enjoy making the pipe cleaner dolls – so much imagination in  making them. The first pic is of the group quilt project that the children made the squares for and they were quilting buttons on it to complete the quilt before binding. What an amazing achievement for the whole class to work on two quilts. Next up in January is the Art Show at City Hall and that is always exciting to see each art class present their works.

A pipe cleaner doll by a 2nd grade boy

Love the hair on this pipe cleaner doll made by a 3rd grade girl 

Oh and how can I forget on Thursday night last week the kids had project night and they each presented to me their projects that they have been working on in class. My son working on this amazing Family Trip Project and virtually booked all the flights, accommodation and activities using his math skills for us to go to Lanai, Hawaii (I don’t know how we can access the place 98% of it is owned by some rich guy). He also presented a 3D printed project which was a holder for his ear buds for his computer – they got to use engineering and design skills, how lucky is this 10 year old – working on real world projects!!

My daughter designed a habitat for a venus fly trap – check one of them out here, looking very healthy indeed. The project was fascinating learning about what the fly trap needs to survive. I had to try and catch a fruit fly with tweezers to feed this guy on project night – maybe I will have to employ my Karate and chopsticks next time to be successful (watch The Karate Kid).

Feed me Seymour!! (Little Shop of Horrors – reference)

I was so happy on Sunday I went for a bike ride but by the time I reached half way and turned around I saw this huge grey cloud I rode straight into and got drenched by the rain, it felt so good!! 

NaBloPoMo – Day 5 – Infinite number of loops

| poppypeach
Today is my workday at home in the craft room and I am making some stock for the upcoming trunk show I will be having next week. I have been discovering some interesting prints around the place and making them into scarves. As scarves are a favourite accessory of mine I figure they make great gifts 🙂 with the holiday season just around the corner – I cannot believe it is November already.

Finding the time to get this done has been a bit tricky with crazy stuff like some one trying to steal my car on the weekend – totally random things out of my control that happen! The car would not start as the ignition was jammed with a screwdriver?!? Anyway the local police tell me that the reason there is a spike in crime is due to the non violent offenders out on the street trying to get their next hit. Everyone lock your doors and be extra vigilant. Hey it may be time to get some new wheels, who knows??

So here are my scarves all together hanging on my mannequin.

A multitude of colours

It is time for a holiday sale!

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a new apron for holiday cooking?

It’s that time of the year again – shopping for gifts for your family and friends. From now until the 30th November (a 10 day sale) I will be offering 20% off everything in the store. Yay so click on nerdwallet link on this page or my etsy page and enter this code HOLIDAZE2012.

Terrariums of the season

| poppypeach
Butterfly and berrys

Bluebird of happiness

Cardinals and acorns

Ivy and glitter blue bird

My terrarium experiment with real plants went a bit mouldy and didn’t really work out, so it is time for Plan B. Still using the sheet moss I bought and some play dough to form the landscape I found some lovely seasonal decorations at the local craft store. These coloured birds are super cute so they are now hanging out on some pussy willow. The terrariums this time with their artificial lifeforms will stay free of mould and look gorgeous and glittery for months to come. Glitter – it must be the influence of my daughter and her love for fairies 🙂

Come on down for some gifts for ya pals!

| poppypeach

Hello folks, just a message from Mr Ash to say come on over to my school with your list of holiday gifts for this years Holiday Boutique, – 10% of sales goes back to my school! My mum has a stall there selling accessories, decorations, shrugs and scarves – crafted out of yarn and upcycled materials. Here is a sample of a bracelet, it looks cool with my dragonfly tattoo! Here is the address for Stevenson PACT so come on by on Thursday November 17th 2011 from 12:30pm to 6:00pm for some great holiday specials.