Quick sew camara strap cover

On Wednesday last week I found myself in a little bit of a pickle with having to throw together a present for a friend, these things have a tendency to creep up on me, especially if it is in the first week of the month and I have just turned the page of the calendar. So what do you give a girl who is currently studying to be a photographer, well ideally a crocheted camera strap, but with little time at my disposal I chose a quick sew camera strap.

 

It was thrown together very quickly, and most probably not my best sewing, but it certainly has a bit of character and I like that. It is such an easy and quick gift to make and to be honest I like it so much that I will be making one for my own Canon SRL soon. There are quite a few tutorial around, but I followed this lovely tute.

 

 

The only thing I changed was to do all the sewing with right-sides facing and turned the whole strap out, so no stitching is visible apart from the ends.

 

Hope you are all having a good Monday? It's been a very wet day here, which has meant a day of board games, musical statues, and charades with the kids, oh such fun!

 

I will be back soon with a little crochet creation. Thank you for all your lovely comments on my previous couple of posts and a big welcome for my new followers I really hope you enjoy your little visits here.

 

 

Warm wishes

Hannapat

xoxo

 

Sleepydust video

Just quickly wanted to send this link from my phone whilst lying in bed resting. I'm so fortunate that I am no longer completely housebound and bedbound, and I hold on to every bit of hope that I can grab. If you have a moment please watch this link as it says so much! 

http://youtu.be/r0w9-eQ_fKQ

Warm wishes

Hannapat

Xoxo

Liebster award nomination

I was so surprised on Sunday when I read the lovely Leanne's blog to learn that she has very kindly nominated me for the Liebster award. I have to confess, that this is all new to me, but as I thoroughly enjoyed learning a little bit more about this lovely lady behind this fab blog, I thought I would succumb to the challenge.

 

 

So here goes!



Eleven random facts about myself
 

1. I talk too much when I am nervous.
 

2. I generally laugh when people (including me) fall or when little accidents happen (not good I know!)
 

3. My favourite food is Thai food.
 

4. Back in the day, I used to sing Opera, something I would love to do again one day.
 

5. My first language is Afrikaans, which is very similar to Dutch (hence all the grammer & spelling errors plastered all over this blog!)
 

6. My favourite book is 'To kill a mockingbird' by Harper Lee.
 

7. I wear orthotics everyday as I broke my ankle in the same place twice, once on a bike when I was 10, and once falling off a sea cliff whilst  rock climbing in Poole, Dorset when I was 27. So wearing dainty and pretty open toe shoes doesn't really happen often.
 

8. Speaking of shoes, I am most definitely a shoe girl and have quite a few pairs of shoes, very few that see any action today I must add. Today its more my birkenstocks that my feet gravitate to.
 

9. I had a pretty close encounter with a bear when he woke me up as he brushed past my sleeping bag whilst I was lying sleeping in the open air half way on our way up to the top of Half Dome, Yosemite. Seconds later we learnt that he had stolen a fair bit of food.

 

10. I am definitely a fabrics lover and would love a room filled from floor to ceiling with shelves filled with fabrics and wool. I will add  here that I feel much the same about books!

 

11. I absolutely LOVE mountain biking and single tracking, but these days I get my buzz from my crochet hook and sewing machine instead.

 

 

 

Eleven Questions To Answer from Leanne

Are you a morning person?
No, I am most definitely a girl who prefers to burn the midnight oil. I love lying in in the morning and back in the day I used to have more energy as the day went on. These days its early to bed for me and I am still not great in the morning. I have however always enjoyed early mornings whenever we camped or travelled around the world, but I'm not hardwired for it.

What is your favourite fruit?
By a long shot it is a Mango and other tropical fruit. I will add that since being pregnant with Josh I craved gala apples and ever since I get a little anxious if we don't have enough apples in the house as I generally eat around two-four a day, fortunately I am happy to eat Braeburns again.

Are you superstitious?
No, not in any way shape or form!

 

What is your favourite smell?
This is a tricky question for me as smells form a very important part of my life and memories, so there are many smell that I love and I would class as favourites, but if I had to chose, I would say the start of Spring and the smell of sweetpeas.

Rock chick or hippy chick?
Another tricky one. I definitely started off as a hippy chick when I was young and spent my days dreaming of Jim Morrison (youth hey?!), entranced in the voices of Cat Stevens, Don McClain, Rodriquez (whom has now after all these years jumped to fame with his album 'Searching for Sugar Man', the album known to me as 'Sugar Man' twenty five years ago). Since going to Uni, I certainly discovered the Rock Chick within and that's never gone away. So even though I have fond memories of wearing wide bells and big peace signs whilst listening to The Doors, I love ROCK!!

Do you have any pets?
Yes, we have a Jack Russel called Bryn and a cat called Sinbad and we continue to dream of a few chickens in the backyard.

Where is the furthest from home that you've travelled?
Back in the day when South Africa was home, then the furthest would have been the UK or Thailand, but since living in the UK its definitely California.

Do you read a paper?
I love reading the paper and so enjoy it when I do, but these days, since having the children anyway, that doesn't really happen. My hubby got me a subscription to The Week a few months ago so I can keep track of the news, and although I flick through and read what I can, with little time at my disposal I generally choose to spend my time making things.
 

What was your favourite TV programme as a child?
In South Africa we had this wonderful programme called 'Liewe Heksie', which translated means 'Lovely Witch' and it was such a sweet programme. A couple of years ago a friend in South Africa kindly sent me the whole series on DVD, so our kids could watch it, but needless to say they didn't understand any of it. Here is a bit more info and here is the link to watch a little if you're interested.

Flora or fauna?
They go hand in hand and for me I love them equally.

What is your favourite Madonna song?
There are quite a few Madonna songs that I love, such as 'Pappa don't preach' and 'Hung up' from Confessions on a dance floor. But lately I can't help myself singing material girl, maybe because I am constantly surrounded by the stuff (:-)).
 

Now for the eleven questions for the three blogs that I am nominating.

1. If you won the Lottery, what would the first thing be that you buy?
2. What is your favourite band or singer?
3. Are you impulse or do you like routine?
4. What is your favourite item of clothing?
5. What is your favourite holiday destination?
5. What would you prefer, sitting on top of a mountain or sitting on a beach?
6. What is your favourite thing that you have ever made?
7. Do you have a favourite author?
8. What is your earliest childhood memory?
9. What is your favourite movie of all time?
10. Do you have a favourite artist?
11. Who has been your biggest inspiration in your life?

Choosing three blogs to nominate has been tricky as there are so many blogs that I love and bloggers that have been so supportive of my little corner in blogland, but for this award I have nominated:

1. Vintage Bird Girl
2. Chrissie Crafts
3. Dorothy's Room

Hope you have enjoyed it as much as I did and thanks Leanne for the very kind nomination. If you're not familiar with Leanne's blog please pop over to have a look, she is a great writer and wonderful gardener amongst many other talents!

Wishing you all a lovely and cozy weekend.

Warm Wishes

Hannapat

xoxox

 

July Treacle Market

Thanks to an unexpected turn of events over the weekend, we were home, which meant that I could do my usual trip to the Treacle market. I am sure some of you have read about this lovely market in the posts I wrote here and here and will know that I love this market, which is full of wonderful vintage treasures and creations by very talented people. The market is in the centre of Macclesfield and takes place on the last Sunday of every month.

 

I love the Tweedy's stall, which is always filled with some wonderful bits. Don't you just love this ironing board?! I have been having my eye on one for many months, but from a different place, so watch this space, I might just get lucky in months to come (just need a few pennies!). This basket with the leather flap was perfect and I can just see it filled with some lemonade, a good magazine and some yarn to enjoy somewhere along a babbling brook, a girl can but dream, right?!

 

 

All these lovely bits belonged to a stall run by a very friendly lady called Penny. Her stall was packed with the most wonderful array of things that I could happily have spend a fortune on. There were tinned baths, a great selection of baskets , a lovely outside table set with gorgeous vintage china and these wonderful glass bottles, oh my!! Not to mention some very lovely rugs. I did make a couple of purchases here, which I will share with you shortly.

 

 

 

Then there was the lovely and also dear friend Saffron from Freddy and Violet, who makes the most wonderful oilcloth, leather and cotton bags as well as many other beautiful things. She is incredibly talented and she now has her website Freddy and Violet up and running so do pop over to have a look at her wonderful creations.

 

This is my friend Vanessa minutes before buying this lovely old double school desk that Saffron has revamped into a modern vintage desk, just perfect for any boys room.

 

This mirror had already sold, grrr! It seemed like a good opportunity to snap my yellow shoes, which I am just loving at the moment. Even though I have had them for over 9 years, they are fitting in so well with this year's summer colour-love of yellow. What is your colour-love this summer, and does it tend to change year to year?

 

 

Don't you just love this gorgeous blue cake stand (above) from the lovely Wanda's stall Fizzy Vintage. This is one of the lovely cake stands that Wanda kindly lent me for my vintage tea party that I mentioned here. I would so love to add this to my collection, but I am sure it will be snapped up very soon and go to a lovely home. If you haven't popped over to her website, please do, but make sure to have a dribble bib handy as you are sure to drool!

 

 

For any retro lover, this is the stall for you. These two ladies have some lovely retro bits and I generally struggle not to spend a couple of pounds here. I just love that dog!! I have to confess that I was very restrained this month as I have been spending a great deal of money on fabric lately, but more on that another day. It was a really lovely market day this month and although I didn't get round all the stalls, I thoroughly enjoyed the ones I visited in the company of a great friend.

 

So now on to my little purchases. For those who follow me on Instagram you will already know that after five years of waiting we are finally having all our external doors and windows painted as well as our utility room and downstairs toilet. I know that this is only painting, but I have been waiting for this moment for so long, that its actually making me feel rather giddy, sad I know! So with a little lick of paint, I hope to prettify our little utility space, which is filled with white electric goods, dog basket, cat & dog food stuff and pairs and pairs of shoes and wellies (in a rather small space I have to add!). Its not the prettiest corner in the house, but I hope that with a little shelf and a bit of tlc it can look a little better. The challenge here was to find a small shelf with rather unusual measurements in the style I like! Well look no further as my visit to the treacle market and Penny's stall delivered just what I was after and to top it, for once I don't even need to sand and paint it as it is already grey and to my taste, hooray!!

 

 

  

I also splurged (well all of £3 worth) on a lovely vintage red pinny by Ladygay. I am not familiar with this clothing brand, but would be very interested to find out if anyone knows a little more about it. I also managed to find another cotton reel filled with lovely cotton, to add to my collection.

 

 

My final purchase was a very gorgeous French glass bowl, which immediately called for being filled with quick and easy-to-make chocolate mousse. 

 

 

 

 

This chocolate mousse is super easy and very quick and a big hit with our family. The bonus, it's dairy free, yippee! For any of you interested in trying this recipe, you can find it on line here.

 

The school holidays are in full swing and time is flying with the first week gone already. We are all loving the more relaxed mornings and generally the kids are just loving being at home. My little batteries are feeling a little more taxed than usual and time for creative ventures are pretty hit and miss, but there are a few bits that I will share with you soon. In the meantime, wishing you all a creative and happy week wherever you are.

 

Warm wishes

Hannapat

xoxo

 

 

 

Vintage teaparty

Despite turning 40 in June, it took some time to actually get around to organising a little gathering with some close friends. I didn't really fancy sitting around a table in a restaurant and with all this glorious weather we've been blessed with lately a vintage afternoon tea party with the girls seemed the perfect way to celebrate.

 

 

 

All my lovely and special friends were amazing, they all baked (gluten and dairy free especially for me, which was such a lovely touch!) and brought food and drink for us all to indulge in. I made my favourite chocolate brownies, which I have mentioned here. I also made the best lemon drizzle that I have ever eaten which I wrote about here and for anyone interested in the recipe I will do a post with the recipe soon.

 

I had to be very disciplined and spend the morning in bed as usual. A couple of my besties came early to help with setting the table and doing the final touches. I hung the bunting the night before and got everything ready so it was just a case of setting the table and waiting for all the cakes to arrive.

 

 

I used my lovely vintage cake stand (the one with the brownies on), but one of my friends, owner of Fizzy Vintage kindly brought another couple for us to use. Do pop over to her website, she has the most amazing vintage china and whenever I see her I am generally overcome with the urge to add a little more to my collection, I find the whole vintage china thing rather addictive, I must confess.

 

 

 

I filled my new decoupage mayo jars with some flowers from the garden and they looked so lovely. It was a shame that we constantly had to keep rescuing them from being blown over by the wind. It made me giggle really, all week we have had the loveliest and hottest weather with not a breeze in sight, but of course as soon as there are flowers on a table things changed, most definitely Murphy's law, as we would say in South Africa.

We enjoyed some Pimm's, courtesy of the lovely Emma and served in her Grandmother's jug, wearing her Grandmother's dress, got to love that frock!! I normally don't drink, purely for health reasons, but one has to make a little exception for a big occasion and I felt it would be rather rude not to enjoy a small glass of the lovely Pimm's in the company of such lovely woman. On this note I want to say just how much I love woman, I am definitely a feminist of sorts and often feel so lucky to be a woman. I love the inner strength I so often see in woman, the passion they have for life and the skill and talent they so often exhibit during a normal day. This does not mean that I don't think men are strong and talented and amazing, I do, but there is something rather special about woman and I feel incredibly lucky to be one and to be surrounded by such wonderful woman in my life.

 

 

 

It was such a wonderful afternoon with my lovely friends, which soon flew by and before we could say bliss, the men and children arrived for the braai (bbq) (I think we could've happily carried on without them for at least another couple of hours to be honest and felt a little shocked that time had flown by so quickly).  The calm girlie chatter and laughter quickly turned into noisy screams and fortunately more laughter as the kids stripped off, jumped in the paddling pool, ran around, bounced on the trampoline, ate cake and played games.

 

 The oldies carried on chatting and the garden suddenly felt really full and very busy, but in a very lovely way.

Prosecco and Champagne was opened and copious bottles enjoyed by all and the next course was served with more puddings and cake to follow. It truly was a feast fit for a King. Much later on marshmallows were toasted on the fire by the kids who eagerly awaited their next turn.

 

The conversation continued into the late hours, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to rope in the boys to show off some muscle and move our chiminea that's been in our front garden ever since we moved in. A couple of beers helped their level of enthusiam and within no time all the girls were huddled around a lovely warm glow from the chiminea.

The party ended with the kids doing several versions of Gangham style and a little wrestling (what is it with this song and kids?!).

 

Hours later once everyone had left and the kids were tucked up in bed, I enjoyed a quiet moment in front of the warm chiminea with the man I love more than words will ever say, reflecting on a wonderful day shared with the very special people in my life.

 

 

 

 

It truly was a wonderful day, thanks to my lovely friends and amazing hubby. Thanks to everyone for making it so special and for making such a lovely effort to make it a day to remember.

 

The holidays have officially started and my tears shed about little E leaving preschool. Now its time to make the most of these last few weeks together.

 

Wishing you all a happy and creative week wherever you are. A big welcome to my new followers and thank you to everyone for always leaving such lovely comments, I really appreciate each and every one of them.

 

Warm wishes

Hannapat

xoxo