Sweet Mary

For the last few days I have been washing, ironing and sorting through my stash of vintage linen. Its an eclectic (or just mad!) mix of inherited pieces and collected by me along the way. After this weekend I will probably have more. I am in Auckland over the next few days to see my dear friend Kate and to go to the Vintage Textile Fair . We went for the first time last year and loved it so much we have made a date to go every year if possible. I have my comfy shoes, clothes and backpack packed as its pretty crowded with ladies on a mission. Can't wait. I may have to make something with my linen stash and thought this idea was pretty perfect.

If all goes well these gorgeously pink bags should be brimming with strawberries come summer and especially bountiful for the Christmas table . After dreaming about the trailing harvest to come I decided to raise the bags well off the ground so have sat them on the old day bed. Just what it was made for! Come to think of it, the day bed shape will be handy when I have to net the strawbs from the birds.My husband thinks the bags are a "bit pink" but I have convinced him that the pink will look pretty peeping out from underneath the greenery to come. There were three strawberry plant choices at the garden centre and after reading the decriptions I settled for Supreme which apparently like fairly tight packing which is just what they have got.

I have been making oilcloth noticeboards for Sweet Mary although the one below is a special present for my daughter. She has a bit of a black and white theme going on in her bedroom so when I was gifted this gorgeous piece of fabric I had a fair idea what I was going to use it for. Hope she likes it! I am away for a few days so a friend is going to run my Sweet Mary stall this Saturday. She is Nic from Coulter&Coulter and will have her stall right next to mine at the: Craft&Design Market: Saturday, 20th August 9.00am - 12.30pm around Hawthorne coffee shop, 23 Napier Rd, Havelock Nth Cash and Cheques only

For the past few days I have been reading. My friend Kerry has written a book and I asked if I could read it. Once I started, I could hardly put it down so just gave in and every spare moment I have been engrossed in the story. Its good and I really hope she can get it published. Maisy, aka blanket or cushion girl was happy to keep me company.

Just picked up the new cards for this month's Craft&Design Market at Hawthorne coffee shop in Havelock North. Double click (maybe a double click) on the above photo and you should be able to read the list of stall holders who will be there including myself of course and my friend Nic from Coulter and Coulter. It will be the first public outing for the beautiful products that Nic and her husband produce. Fe of Global Piece organises this event and although this is only the second market it promises to be a "must do" village experience.

This morning we had a frosty start that has turned into a beautiful sunny Hawke's Bay day. Something in the air sent me into a frenzy of washing. These new fabrics are from Tone Finnanger's Tilda range and you can buy them here . I am not sure what I will use them for yet but that is always how I operate, buy the fabric first, look at it for ages then decide how I will use it. I have finally finished covering most of the garden with a layer of peahay/lucerne mix. Its an excellent soil conditioner and as I was unsure how often the soil had been fed in the past I thought it would be a good idea to lay it down. The above bed has a lot of clay so I am adding as much mulch and feed as I can get my hands on in the hope that I will have more success with my cottage garden look this spring and summer. This vegetable bed will also need an overhaul in the spring but over this winter has been producing a nice range of herbs, lettuce, chard and cavelo nero to keep the two of us happy an...