Sweet Mary

  Last Saturday's market was our last for the season, returning again on the first Saturday in September. Its the first year we have had this break and as I think it is a good idea to recharge the creative batteries, I have decided to have a break too. Just for a few months and I too will be back blogging in the spring - see you in September. I will be doing the Winter Warm Up in Napier on June 13th and 14th so keep an eye on THIS page for details nearer the time. Remember, if you need a Sweet Mary lavender heart during my break, you can buy from my FELT shop, click on the FELT icon on the right.

Lavender Hearts If you can't manage a visit to my Sweet Mary stall at the monthly Craft&Design Market in Havelock North, you can now buy my lavender filled fabric hearts from my FELT online shop. Click on the big FELT box - top right of the page.

Gifted passionfruits, home grown eggs, butter and sugar all join together to make a once a year treat of Nigella's Passionfruit Curd . Sublime.

Foccacia Sesame seed covered bread sticks ready to be baked. Sour dough after kneading, ready for shaping. Hot Cross buns, bread sticks, sourdough and yeast buns, foccacia, pretty flowers. French St. Plum Jam On a blustery Saturday afternoon in Hawkes Bay, a friend and I set off to attend a bread making workshop at the Farmhouse Kitchen just out of Havelock North village. We were both pretty keen to learn how to make sourdough bread, which we did, but also to brush up our basic bread making skills. Pauline taught our small, eager group how to make all of the above breads ( lots of handy hints) with her husband Chris teaching us all about the sourdough and most importantly how to get the sourdough starter started! We even came home with a small jar of the starter to feed and nurture now knowing that a good starter is the key to good sourdough bread. I loved it all and felt I was  like a slightly annoying child wanting to be part of every little thing - read: ve...

On Monday, my helpful other half and myself visited our friends at the extremely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Department ... at 14 Hastings Street, Napier. We were there to take photos of Sweet Mary lavender hearts but also had to take some of the shop as it looks so wonderful, packed with an eclectic mix of handmade goodness for you to enjoy and purchase. Please visit - they have sweeties too!

Today is the beginning a very busy eight days for me so I thought I would remind you all now about the extremely fabulous Craft&Design Market which will be around Hawthorne Coffee shop as usual, in Havelock North village. It starts at 9 and finishes at 1pm.

Lavender Hearts. Trak's beautiful hydrangeas at the market. Yesterday was a very warm and sunny day in Hawkes Bay, just the right sort of day to visit the Craft&Design Market in Havelock North. It was a busy day on my stall, selling vintage haberdashery and my handmade lavender filled hearts. This year I have made a big effort to make my hearts using a wide variety of vintage inspired flowery fabrics which provided quite a bit of amusement as people tried to choose, especially one little girl who couldn't decide on just the right one for her grandma. I also had a very special visitor come by for a chat and a hug x