A few months ago, I was honoured to be nominated for this competition on the RikRak Studio blog. I have you lovely readers to thank, because in the end I finished second in one of the events. Thank you again for your votes back then. My prize was a voucher at this great etsy shop- Peppermint…

The cosmos flowering continues unabated in the garden, and I couldn't resist bringing some inside to paint. I matched them up with some more favourite plants, (none of them seasonally accurate, but never mind that) and got them printed into cards for my etsy shop. I like their smooth and shiny surfaces- the backs are…

I was thrilled when Ellie asked me to write a pattern for the latest issue of her magazine, Extra Curricular. We settled on the idea of a sleep mask, which is always a handy item to have in summer. I'm sure if i had sewn one earlier, my last international flight would have been happier,…

I found this Japanese anemone while out walking: there are a few anemone-clumps I know of around town. They inspired some new illustrated coffee cups: these are vintage cream ceramic with hand-drawn anemones clustered near the handles on each one. I added them to my shop update today. I think I need to plant some…

It rained and it rained, and then it stopped. The clouds lightened and some light pushed through, and the birds came back, swooping and calling. All of this made it hard for me to settle down and work, for some reason. So I spent far too long hand-stitching this tiny bird pin. A bluebird made…

Some things from the weekend that is now over: giant tomatoes from the farmer's market (feet in picture are for scale), a last tangle of sweet peas in the garden, blackcurrant jelly made by J, red geraniums from the front porch. Gorgeous autumnal harvest. Now I'd better go, because I have a lot of sauce…

I couldn't believe my luck when I found a big piece of this 1960's fabric in the opshop last week. It's a kind of polished cotton/sateen with big brown roses painted on black, watercolour style. It's really the kind of fabric i only dream of finding for $3. (Sorry, fellow op-shoppers!)  I made an autumny…