With love from Texas

While feeding the younguns breakfast this morning a parcel arrived for us all the way from Texas. Some very special friends of ours from waaaaay back are living over there and they obviously felt the need to show the Boksers some love by sending some goodies for us. Bless their cotton-pickin socks!

The Pingu toy is actually Luca's and we left it in Italy when we had a summer holiday together last year. They fortunately happened to find it and took it all the way back to New York and it was then packed up in their move to Texas shortly after.
So one of the gifts today was a photo journal titled "Pingu's Trip Around The World" and it's FULL of photos and captions and little stories of Pingu's time away from Luca since last summer.

So flippin cute. So flippin creative. I'm SO feeling the love with the amount of time that must have gone into this little project.

It's also given me an 'itch' and a tingle in my fingers to get creating again. I've got so many projects that I'm only half way through completing and it's really starting to frustrate me. I mean, come on Brigitte, your youngest is nearly 6 months old, what have you been doing all this time??...

Staring at me in the corner of the room is a jersey I'm knitting for Luca for the winter that's just been.......

I also tried my hand at scrapbooking while on holiday in NZ - the idea was to record days and events as a holiday memory for Luca and Beni. I've got up to Day 5 and still have over 4 weeks to complete.

But while I was in NZ I got inspired again. It was a good feeling. Inspired to make my home look lovelier just through little 'touches' here and there (gotta love those NZ House and Garden mags, I became addicted).
Unfortunately I have yet to start doing this though as I still haven't even unpacked properly! And the weird yet wonderful and slightly crazy thing is this doesn't really bother me (...ok... maybe just a little bit... but I'm doing pretty good at ignoring it really).

I picked up these at the Mangakino Op Shop for $5 - A complete collection of 'Golden Hands' manuals which is "The complete knitting, dressmaking and needlecraft guide" first published in 1966.

I remember my mum having these and I used to look through them all the time. She was impressed (and possibly envious) of my good buying on that particular day.

These books include ideas and designs such as the following:

Hold me back...

Woof Woof Ladies!

 Titled "Italian Smocking Neglige". Beautiful. Sexy. Yet Demure...

Although I mock there are actually some pretty groovy items (as you would expect from 1966) and great tips on everything from dressmaking pattern drafting, crochet stitches, beading, lace work, quilting, upholstery etc etc.
Just a couple of things I'm keen to put my hand to are these:

It's a crocheted rug - I hope I'm not the only one who thinks this is funky-cool.

This is a knitted heirloom baby's blanket

My wonderful and gorgeous Nana went to be with her Lord at the end of last year and my mum gave us all little bits and bobs of nanas that we really treasure and are a very special reminder of a very special lady. Mum has items of nanas that were given to nana by her own mother and even by her grandmother. Beautiful things, handcrafted things. Things that speak volumes of the generations of mothers and grandmothers who took pride even in the small things which they laboured over for many hours in order for their homes to look lovely and their children to be clothed smartly and in warmth.
This significant event in my life has made me come to appreciate so much more the value in family heirlooms and in leaving a legacy. And so that's why I would like to think I can, even now, start to be making some beautiful things such as this for my children, and even my grandchildren (scary thought though that is!).

So watch this space as I shall endeavour to impress you all with my craftyness skills!...

And a big big big THANK YOU to our wonderful Texan/Kiwi friends for sending over these gifts. We feel loved and I feel inspired! X