Sweet Mary

 Last Saturday I ran a Sweet Mary stall at the Taniwha Spring Market in Central Hawkes Bay. Its a few years since I have sold at market and I have to say it was very nice chatting to old and new friends. I am gently easing back into the world of making and selling direct so only plan to attend one more event this year. This will run for three days in Havelock North on the 12th,13th and 14th November at the Function Centre  next to the library. For up to date information follow my Instagram feed, click on THIS link.

   Rescuing and reusing vintage linens to make my lavender filled sachets is what I do. The idea came one day when once again I arrived home from op shopping with a stash of stained and rust spotted vintage linens. Still beautiful but no longer used for their original purpose. I also have to credit my mum with the idea too as she long ago suggested it as a way of repurposing linens embroidered by my grandmother. Every piece I find is laundered and ironed ready for the next stage of cutting and sewing. For many years I have grown and harvested lavender for use in these beautiful sachets. To view and purchase Sweet Mary items please refer to my Instagram account, top right of this blog. Its a delightful labour of love with the emphasis firmly at the love end.

Each year we harvest our five large lavender plants which once dried will give me enough lavender rubbings for my vintage style lavender sachets. These plants grow in perfect conditions at a friend's lifestyle property. I planted them about four years ago and from memory they are Grosso but as I can't find the original tags I'm not absolutely sure. I also grow a few plants in my garden to top up this harvest, ending up with about 2 kilos of the dried rubbings. At present the only outlet for my lavender sachets are from a beautiful shop in Havelock North (NZ) called The Garden Marke t,  which is  packed full of an eclectic mix of vintage items for your home and garden. For more recent updates follow me HERE on Instagram.

Something old, something new, something grown, something handmade, quite a bit of love, have a very Merry Christmas to all. If you are new to my occasional blog keep in touch through my Instagram account, click HERE .

These days you can find me on Instagram by either clicking on the "red" sweetmarynz link under the Instagram heading top right of this page or if you are on Insta yourself, find me under the same: sweetmarynz. Happy following.

This past year we moved house, our son married, our daughter will be married in a few weeks, lost a much loved family member and a new job for my husband. Its been a lot in a year and not too much time or inclination for crafting. But as Christmas approaches I have put together a little bit of handmade bling. Click HERE   or on the felt. icon (right) to look.