A lot has happened since I last posted. I graduated, for starters! After graduating, I headed to New Zealand for a holiday (my older sister bought a house there), before returning to Australia for work. A year later and I am back in New Zealand, once again for a Christmas holiday.
My younger sister and I made a gingerbread house, as is tradition...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48yKhymATGxxF5ymcYoSp0ESqgt92y-__wQ01AirqTMLXGM9cvclPkeMwtwH8coiVRqQkwOLkuo4RxZCWl_RphMi2GaX7Tred0nR8jNP7sItFE94uOj3vcxRy_RAy7biYP2OZ32cB1aI/s400/carterton_ninjabreadhouse.jpg)
Only this time, it featured banana-wielding ninjas, among other details....
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_k348u7JY5iUquqvBjnYyMLvm_T76a64_PKQBfcB8_0voK08v_sgQuYUMCvACvLj_UleH08zD6ABRexiqLV4KntEsh1usPelwVj-xK_KmBy5YxNjXnK1CszKU2pryUDnfzrKne9qfmM/s400/carterton_ninjabreadhouse_detail.jpg)
You could, in fact, call it a ninja bread house! Badoom boom ching!
It's been lovely to kick back after a very full-on year. I have been crafting, just not blogging. I hope to share some of my creative work from 2011 in the coming months.
In the meantime, I got up to a little crafting here!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJFGbnnKP2k-69eqGWRpBPppQAj1s38-jA0HqP2fiEI1OS-xQn7TFx-T3SsHNiNNYskyJLKut-RYZ_klPdn5q-uyZ0-2obI0lzdtbCZW2-0X-3658pdNIrz4r4-Gt-aU9muH6EY7B_3c/s400/pincushion_underconstruction.jpg)
My older sister and I bought a sewing machine for her house last year, and I calculate it has made about 80
Morsbags. To liven things up, I decided to make a little pincushion-in-a-basket. I picked up the cute basket from
Trade Aid and the fabric is left over from making
Morsbags.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyIUgRyNin4KeEgTyWCOdv2nANgvUoeuVhFli9qM9cgXckgH9FjEPeNz15i4R_OK5B2HogsTa-659_7LNn3Cq7vO2x5QyjiYEGcfXu8cYep_CwwjtpBg6wY4xKWdnaDJUpLE_w_tbEWY0/s400/pincushion_finished.jpg)
I winged the pattern and ended up having to make the insert smaller. Let's just say that it's a good thing that the basket is curved and you can't see the edges where I brought it in!
Also, it was fun stuffing the cushion with scraps of fabric (I had no filling), but it does mean that there's a bit of resistance when it comes to pushing in the pins. I'm sure it makes for an efficient pin bluntener if nothing else!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPZjqmDBhdJF6kg8Do73t141ptEQpaPwKO-dNdl0bCj6SLFD3URBiRMu4267II_MeUBp6kMwyCX-Hh08ihpLYxpWQeNVG_zqQpE7Om7DER4jfTVFHiZx3F8wCNqbByPLxwIfaPbWcBXic/s400/carterton_wall.jpg)
I'll leave you with a picture of some of the decorations up in my room here in New Zealand. On the left, the
2012 Frankie Calendar (a Chrissie present) and on the right, a tea towel I picked up from a local
op-shop. I'm loving greys and greens at the moment.
Happy new year, everyone!