Celebrating

Hiya dear ones,

Some time ago I met a new blogger and a new transplant to NZ. She was in the mama phase, dipping her toe into the water of making, trying sewing out, making new friends, living in a new country, being brave ...

As she taught herself to sew she discovered that she loved paper piecing and designing patterns. She has slowly honed her craft, started to sell her patterns and build a community of people who love her and her work.

One of Juliet's amazing patterns.

Recently she announced that she is writing a book and has a contract - I just about popped with excitement when I heard that.

I'm so incredibly proud of Juliet.

I feel like the lesson of being her friend, and this journey she's been on is...
never stop being a learner, 
don't think if you don't have it worked out by now you never will, 
that it's too late, 
or that you have nothing left to discover about yourself and your creative talents

I can't wait to see her book and celebrate with her. But for today I am so thrilled to have met her through blogging and for the incredible inspiration she is to me.

love you more than the smell of a new book xxx

19/52 - Mother's Day - where it's at

Ahh... mothers day, day of breakfast in bed, sweet cards, gumboots, slippers (yes I know, 2 pairs of shoes!!) and our lovely church did family photos for Mother's Day.

I have been looking forward to a family photo ALL week. I even made sure we sort of matched and everyone had clean faces. We got to church early so we could have our photo before it all turned to chaos.

And we came away with five photos and .... drumroll.....in every photo one of the boys looks like something is wrong with him!

Happy Mother's Day aye? A mother's love is that un-explainable kind that still manages to think her kids are adorable even though they ruin the first family photos they've had taken in about 6 years.

So here are the weekly photos - if I had better photo editing skills I would have superimposed the best ones of the boys from each photo to make one 'perfect'one.

But after all isn't that the point - there is no perfect family. Even behind perfect photos, beautiful clothes, lovely homes, fantastic activities, behind achievements and accolades and 'I love you cards', behind all our beautiful facades and even our genuine love, laughter and natural good looks, ahem, there is still imperfection. We are all found at the end of ourselves from time to time. Cross words and grumpy silences still show us we're not there yet.

And that is the essence of families - imperfect people loving each other with all the love we have to muster, loving each other with passion and laughter, loving each other in failures and tears and car sickness and nightmares and wet beds.... this is what love is, that we love in spite of all good reason to do otherwise. This is the gift of motherhood - knowing that at the end of yourself when you are ready to shout obscenities and crumple into a sobbing heap you will always, always find something in yourself to love your children, to hold them when they fall and to lose your breath at their sleeping perfection.

This is motherhood. This is what being a family is.

love you more than a perfect family photo xxxx

How Things Unfold

Last night I spent a most pleasant evening in the company of some beautiful women swapping gifts, stories, laughs and sharing calories together.

This wonderful selection of chch bloggers:

It's interesting how unexpectedly friendship creeps up. These women are very dear to me, I like them and I like the things I learn from them. I didn't think about the fact that last night was probably the last (and first for some of them) I would see them for quite a while. I'm glad about that because I would have been a bit (lot) emotional.

And so I sit here eating left over lolly cake and brownie for breakfast and I reflect on how much I might have missed out on if I hadn't taken that step out from behind the screen.

What richness of shared experiences, stories laughed at, pieces of someone's pyjamas! I might now have.

Christchurch bloggers I am so thrilled to be counted among your company. Privileged in the things I have learnt from you. Honored that you would be prepared to share your real life journeys with me.

You are fascinating, intelligent, interesting, creative, talented, kind and hilarious women. I am grateful for the parts you play in my story.

xxxx

love you more than eating naughty leftovers for breakfast xxx

(photos care of Sophie, used without permission - yeah I know I love living on the edge like that!!)

Bloggers Connecting - the first reflections

As the extrovert I am ready for a quiet week so I can only imagine how much some others will want some space and quiet in their lives this week too.

Things I loved about this weekend:

Creativity - the name badges were amazing - every one different - I love how put to the same task we each produce something unique, original and with our own stamp on it. I'll be pinning as many as I see in photos onto the pinterest board I created for ideas. Let's inspire the world!

I'm going to take some pics of mine later in the week - here's one of our award winners though:

Inclusiveness - if I could choose a 'theme' that I wanted most for this weekend (and my life!) it would be inclusiveness. I was so, so proud of the way each woman there chose to talk, connect, include, notice others. I have no doubt that comes from a place of beauty inside you.

Beautiful Gail:

Enthusiasm - some people do enthusiasm quietly (we all know that isn't me) but... every time, every challenge, every opportunity - wide open embrace. Even under extreme duress on the dance-o-mat!! I love that people came ready for all of it and by doing and trying and having a go you created an atmosphere of enthusiasm.

Deb and I - enthusiasm plus!! :o)

There are a million other things I loved.... namely talking to you, meeting you, seeing some bloggers again, putting a face/name to a blog, having some of you stay over, having some of you visit my place, learning some new stuff, getting a goodie bag and 3 wonderful swap partners..... yeah there is more too but mainly it's people and you are all so pretty - even more pretty than your photos had me believe you were.

I'm sure there are going to be some more posts to come... but this is my first off.... 'oh I loved it' reflections...

Sending you all an enormous, safe-for-non-huggers, cyber squeeze.

and stealing all my photos from others because I didn't pull my camera out once the whole weekend. (too busy talking loudly) do add your shots to the drop box too - thanks so much to all who have shared

Things I Know Nothing About

When it comes to blogging I'm kinda clueless..... last night while we were talking about Around the Table (5 weekends away!!!!!!!) and all the boring jobs that no one will even think about if things go well there was conversations about google reader closing

and stuff like that and I kind of tuned out and then today it seemed it was the talk of the blogs. Mainly they were talking about Bloglovin (they must have run out of g's when they named it!).

Apparently you can transfer it all over there and if you want to follow me this is how you do it (I think....not an expert) yeah so now I am there as Create Hope Inspire....

hopefully and stuff :o)

Follow Create Hope Inspire blog with Bloglovin

Lines Between Virtual and Real

I'm one of those people who always has room for another friend. I'm not necessarily great at keeping in touch with you all the time or remembering your birthday or seeing you every week (or even year) but for me that makes no difference in the 'how I feel about you stakes'. I know it doesn't work this way for everyone. Some people like a few (very few) close friends. Some people walk closely together in terms of time and communication. People like this probably don't find friendships with people like me very easy. Others have lots of friends and still manage the great balance of contact and regular check ins.

 I just like to have lots of friends and pick up from wherever we left off and make a lot of noise and hopefully induce some laughter and encouragement along the way.

Since I have started blogging I have made a new circle of friends. For me these online/virtual relationships don't take the place of in-life relationships but they introduce me to people I'd like to have in my real life circles. If the opportunity arises I want to cross that blurry line from virtual to real (maybe it's a bit like the velveteen rabbit!!)

This weekend I have been away with some beautiful, talented, creative, smart, life-giving women and all bar one I would never have met (or started a friendship with) outside of blogging.

Although I'll never meet the authors of all the blogs I read and certainly though I enjoy reading many blogs there are definitely those who I think 'I'd have a great coffee date with you'.

I want to live my life accountab-ly and with integrity both online and in real life and when we talked this weekend one of the girls said that my virtual voice and my real voice married up for her. This made me very happy.

A weekend of talking, crafting and making the transition between the velveteen and the real was such a great time and I realise that these virtual relationships bring energy to me and challenge me to be the best of me.

Do you take time out with girl friends?
Do you believe in the transition between online and real?
Would you go away for a weekend with people you haven't 'met'?

Thanks so much to Leonie and Cat for their invitation and for all the work they did to make it a gorgeous weekend.
And to Laura and Sammy and Simoney who thought we were worth travelling to spend time with
and to Juliet and Deb who are part of what makes Christchurch bloggers a wonderful, exciting group of women (even the ones I haven't met in real life yet!!).

Some photos from the weekend and some I took on the plane this morning - there are advantages to early starts after all!! (Deb and Juliet took most of the photos so hopefully they will do their own post and there are a few on Cat's blog already).

and the Award Goes to....

** warning this post is pretty much all me, me, me and photos of me***  Turn away now if you find yourself inclined!

Some time ago lovely Laura of Hootnz awarded me with a bloggers award. Laura is a crafter and country-home maker extraordinaire. She is also a very friendly reader. (Think of a blogging award as sort of like a chain-letter of love without the nasty threats if you don't pass it on! :o)

The Liebester Blog Award is for showing off bloggers with 200 or less followers and giving your readers an insight to other great blogs.

Then on Wednesday one of the lovely ladies who link up uber Stylist Sarah awarded me with a sunshine blogger award. Sarah is a stunning woman who is a stylist and wears her wardrobe so well. Stylish T to T (top to toe!) This award is for bloggers for their amazing style, their engaging writing, or their inspiring attitude… or all three!

You have to answer 10 questions about yourself (talk about myself? - why yes I'd love to!!) and then pass it on.

Here are Sarah's questions for me:

1.      Why did you originally start your blog? - to complete 100 creative challenges with a friend. Then I discovered I liked it so much I simply kept on going.

2.      Why do you continue to blog? What inspires you to keep going? For me first and foremost my blog allows me to record that there is more than 'playing mum' going on in my life. I find it hard to quantify 'what I do all day?' questions. Clearly my house is not tidier or cleaner than other people's. What do I do? This blog is me answering that questions with the answers to that question that matter to me.(which is why cleaning doesn't feature!) The great satisfaction of looking back over each year recorded in such a way keeps me going, and so does the thought that you'll know if I don't do what I said I would.... call it internet accountability.

3.      What is the most treasured item in your closet? How/why did you acquire it? How can I pick one thing? I guess my wedding dress is a biggie. Most of my most favourite wardrobe items are handmade - endless pleasure, made for me, to suit my style.

4.      What is your signature style piece? I have a bright orange coat I made from furnishing fabric that is probably a 'signature piece' and another coat I made from hand dyed old blankets with needle felting and appliqué - they both get a lot of comments when I wear them.

5.      What movie/TV shows do you find most inspires your style? I haven't watched it but I think Mad Men style is pretty awesome. 

6.      Got any great pics of your sense of style as a kiddo? - Sadly no pics but my mama was always distressed by my obsession with mixing pieces (think woolen tights, summer skirt and miss-matched something else!), I also refused to wear pants for a long time (because they cut me in half) even on the farm. I always remember I didn't want expensive or labels I just wanted lots of clothes and to be always mixing them up differently. I am still someone who craves a huge amount of variety in my wardrobe and my life.

7.      “I can’t believe I ever wore…” a waistcoat and leggings with fuzzy animal print.

8.      Fill in the blank: “My biggest personal style hurdle is my large shoulders and big bust. I jump this hurdle by trying to no add too much volume to the top of my body.”

9.      What era of style do you most identify with and why? 1950s all the way. The shapes, the fabrics, the dressing up for life and swanning about in a pinny the baking. It suits my body shape best. What's not to love?

10.  What is the best advice you would give to a newbie blogger? 1. Know why you blog. 2. be friendly. 3. Write with your own voice and embrace who you are - the world needs you, not a copy of someone else.

I would like to pass the award on to some amazing Christchurch bloggers - there are a lot of us and they are all amazing bloggers but I have limited myself to these -   I would like to nominate (and 3 words I would use to describe them)

Naomi - all round creative, beautiful, related!

Deb - generous in bucket-loads, makes amazing quilts, incredibly insightful

Sophie - refreshing, generous,creative

Max - thrifty, creative, doll-house DIYer

Juliet - talented, quilter, always up for a challenge

Nin - designer, generous, maker

Becky - inspiring mama, creative, interesting

they may or may not choose to participate but here are 10 questions I'd love them to answer.

1. Why the title for your blog?

2. What piece of clothing works the hardest in your wardrobe?

3. If you had to choose only 3 pieces of clothing to wear for the next month (underwear excluded) what pieces would you choose?

4. Which blog do you find consistently inspires you? (could be your faith, your craft, design, clothing, or just general attitude)

5. On a menu what can you never resist?

6. If you could choose 3 words to describe yourself what would they be?

7. What colour can you never go past?

8. City Apartment, Country Mansion, Beach House, Wild Wilderness - which would you choose for a holiday?

9. Best piece of advice you have ever been given

10. Collections - did you have one as a child? Do you have one now?

Please visit their blogs and pop in on Laura and Sarah too you won't regret it. 

(unless you are supposed to be cooking dinner or watching your child do a dangerous move on the trampoline in which case I take no responsibility for burnt pizza or injured children!)

Spring Creeps Up All Lovely On Us

I so enjoy the slower pace in the holidays - the making fun wherever we find it. The washing of bears in the sunshine, finding new hidey holes with little friends, going to Clip n Climb with Uncle A.

Sadly The Atlas begun his summer football season by blowing his knee out but he is a very good patient and the sort that still tries to help out and is most grateful for anything done on his behalf. (I'm also selfishly super grateful he didn't do this just before the 2 of us go away on a very special trip in a couple of weeks).

We also really enjoyed mum's shop number 2 with Flip running the shop. Unfortunately all our customers pulled out with sickness but we still had our friend from next door and Daddy was happy to part with some of his pocket money too. Our neighbour who came is so delightful. He walked in and said, 'Wow what a great selection.'

The mail box has been exciting this week too - I received this amazing and generous parcel from Lara whose giveaway I won a while ago. Very excited and inspired about what I might make.

And my new blog card - oh and ah! I know it is a little ridiculous seeing as this blog is a fancy rather than anything serious but as I am often banging on about it to people I thought this is an easier way than trying to find paper to write it on when I tell someone about it. And it's double sided and printed on 100% recycled paper and including postage with a voucher it only cost me $6.... so it's a fancy but no more than a cup of coffee fancy - no judging 'kay? and it has a quote I feel is rather apt for my life.

I can't believe we are already at the end of the first week of holidays!


happy Friday lovelies - may the weekend treat you well x Miriam x

Make My Week #34 - More Money Cuffs and a Giveaway

So after you were all so lovely about my wrist cuffs I thought one would make a perfect giveaway for August. These are the latest ones I have made using the same tutorial as last time.

I've also made a little brooch for the winner of my last giveaway but I won't reveal that until it is safely with its new owner. I do like it though I might have to make one for myself even.

If you are a Christchurch person I would love to encourage you to get along to Crafty Christchurch in the GeoDome in Hagley Park - starting tonight and going through the weekend. Some of the Chch bloggers are going tonight if you want to gatecrash.

To see other crafty makes click on the creative spaces button on the right

to enter the giveaway let me know which money cuff fabric you like best if you follow this blog and want 2 entries just leave 2 comments (by email, or google reader/connect thingy! or however else you might follow). The photo with the cuffs open is the most representative of their actual colours. Have another cut out in the green seersucker (wrinkly) fabric as well so you have to imagine that one!

I am going to give away 2 of these one for anyone who enters and the other for followers of my blog. Not because I want you all to follow, unless you actually want to, in which case welcome!! but I want to acknowledge all the encouragement I get from you choosing to come along for the journey.

to see more of the things I've been making go here

and if you don't want to enter please feel free just to leave a lovely comment but don't tell me which one you like best (clearly I love comments)

There are daffodils springing up in the garden - Spring is around the corner!

Why Yes I am Looking Great - Thanks for noticing!

As you know I am fairly new to blogger and I'm not familiar with layouts, templates and all the computer jargon-y stuff! And yet, I am sporting a new header and a fancy new colour scheme......

Let me let you in on a little secret - Sophie Slim. Sophie is a Christchurch Mama, Blogger and all around computer designer expert type and she's been pimping my blog.

What's even cooler is that this same Sophie is doing a series on how to make your own blog more gorgeous. She also has a great giveaway to have your own header sorted if you are keen.

Head over and meet Sophie and her gorgeous blog.