Lucky Me.

All you crafty ladies will understand why I love this gift so much. It's hand made by Marion Valentine ( Manawatu ) from New Zealand Alpaca wool and silk. It is a brooch ( quite large for that ) or could be pinned to a bag. I think it might be a Clematis flower  - it has 4 petals on top of 4 more petals. The colour is devine and has hints of purple and many shades of blue. My Sister gave me this along with a tiny piece of blue Hogland glass ( the same colour as the flower ) and 2 fat quarters. What a lovely gift.
           My other lovely gift ( that I asked for ) was Annabel Langbein's  "The Free Range Cook."

      Prabably because there are just so many cooking programmes on TV from every corner of the globe I am well over most of them, BUT this year on NZ  TV was the series from which this book has been made. Maybe it is because Annabel says she is a COOK not A CHEF that  I like what she makes. On the TV series the NZ scenery where she lives and collects her fresh ingredients was fabulous. Some of these same scenes are the illustrations in this book. The photography is amazing and the book cover just wants to be stroked - it smells nice too ( most important with a book )  Maybe its only drawback is its weight ( over 1.5 kgs ). I am currently reading it not just browsing and I intend to make some of the recipes..
If you don't know about this lady check out her website .   There are video clips about her garden that you can watch. She has a huge fabulous garden with many raised beds ( yes ) and grows fruit and nuts, buys local meat, seafood, wine etc. ( what a great NZ ambassador ! )
 She has to be a favourite with me along with Al Brown and Steve Logan.( for the same reasons )