Christmas Xstitch Pillow
I’m sorry I’ve been a bit slack on sharing all my handmade christmas stories with you all. So just to drag it out even more, I’m going to do it in pieces.
This pillow was a present for Tara made by my partner’s stepmum, otherwise known as Pen Pen. It’s beautifully stitched and it must have taken her months to do. Either that or she’s a much quicker stitcher than me 
And it’s gorgeous. It is all cross stitch and there’s beaded bits around the border.
How awesome is that?
And yes, Tara will be one next week!
Waitangi Day in Melbourne
Tena koutou nga Tangata e tautoko ana te kaupapa Tino Rangatiratanga me te Mana Motuhake o Aotearoa
To show our solidarity for the kaupapa of Tino Rangatiratanga we will be assembling outside the NZ settler consulate this Waitangi Day where we will proudly display our Tino Rangatiratanga (Maori Sovereignty) flag.
* The Treaty of Waitangi still remains to be honoured 168 years after its signing
* The NZ Settler Governments refusal to sign the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous peoples.
* The recent human rights abuses of the peoples of Tuhoe by the NZ settler state.
Nau Mai Haere Mai
Consulate-General of New Zealand
Suite 2, North Level 3 350 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3001
1pm Wednesday 6th of February 2008
Ka Whawhai tonu matou ake tonu atu !!!!!
contact Sina on 9504 8449 for more info
or mail uriohau at gmail dot com
Freedom Fighter
Lately the saying ‘one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’ has been coming to mind a fair bit. Ignoring the gender stupidity of that statement, I finally got motivated to make something in that vein. Actually I made this a little while ago but haven’t gotten around to posting this until now.
So I got a whole pile of crafty stuff through Melbourne freecycle and one of the many exciting things was a tshirt that had been cut off just below the arm pits (god knows why…). So I decided to put one of the sleeves to good use by making a wrist cuff out of it.
Technical Interlude
Yeah sorry about that folks.
See I give the impression that I know heaps about computers and shit. But really I’m just pretending. Anything flash I do is usually done by some friendly boy. Although I did make the gallery all by myself!
Thanks HEAPS to the friendly boy who fixed my site (again).
Kiss Stitch
OK here’s a pattern for you die-hard bogans. It’s a wee bit of work but if you start with black fabric it would dramatically reduce the amount of work to do and it will look very, very cool.
This came from obsolete on the craftster forums and I think it is so way cool. It was originally a rug pattern but obviously works just as well as a cross stitch pattern. There’s some old school gaming patterns as well as the full version of this one here.
So tempted to put some Kiss on right now but my partner is sitting next to me and I’m not sure he’s a fan…
Crafty Decor
OK so the wee one is seriously on the move now. She can get from one end of the house to the other in about 30 seconds. Whew! So we’ve been sorting our barricades to keep her to one area of the house (and prepare her for anti-summit demos). Luckily for us we have the most open plan house in the world so it took a bit of work.
One of the areas we wanted to fence off was too wide for all the baby safety gates you can buy so we decided it would be just as easy to make something. (Take note dad: this is some impressive home handyman stuff!). I was in charge of decorating and used pictures from a couple of old childrens story books.
Presenting the Great Wall of Tara!
And here’s Tara laughing at the thought of how long it will take her to figure out how to climb over it.
State of the Planet
One year I will make it to Waiheke for the annual State of the Planet speech. In the meantime, at least I get to read it.
“We welcome all fellow travellers. But to paraphrase Dylan,
“The old order is agein’ – if you can’t give us a hand with the new one, get out of the way.” “
Welcome to the Green Party’s fourth Picnic for the Planet. Once again, to talk about the State of the Planet we have come to Waiheke – an island within an island state, a paradise of sun and sea and laid back lifestyle, grapes and olives and alternative ways of doing things. What’s more, Waiheke has just become the first place in New Zealand to be formally named as a transition town with active programmes to reduce the community’s dependence on oil.
Continue Reading →
Pfft Patriarchy
This is the one you’ve all been waiting for! Yip, it’s the next cross stitch kit!
Same Venue, Different Time, Different Name
car·tel
–noun Continue Reading →
1. an international syndicate, combine, or trust formed esp. to regulate prices and output in some field of business.
2. a coalition of political or special-interest groups having a common cause, as to encourage the passage of a certain law.
3. a written agreement between belligerents, esp. for the exchange of prisoners.
4. a written challenge to a duel.
5. a radical craft market in Melbourne, Australia.
Crafty Mama!
And I’m not talking about me, but my mama!
Check out this cool recycled cork board noticeboard my mum made. It was made out of all the wine corks she collected. She assures me it was a very hard job 
It was given as a gift to my uncle and aunty and this is what it looks like on the wall of their new house!
Groovy eh? Hopefully they stick something on it soon..
And while we’re on the subject, Mum is doing the Ironman in March so if you’re in Taupo on the day, cheer extra hard for all the Janet’s going by, one of them is my mum!