I must admit that my fingers are a bit sore after some recent serious embroidery sessions. I rediscovered a basket filled with vintage embroidery yarns that I'd bought in Norway. It's quite fun to stitch with them- they feel sturdy and vibrant under the fingers and I like the strong effect you can make with…

I've been working on this set of embroidered pins over the last few weeks. Each one was inspired by a different native NZ plant, many of them ferns. They were commissioned by Pauanesia, a great little design store in Auckland and they're headed there now. It was great fun researching the plants and working out…

There seem to be magnolia trees flowering everywhere in our neighbourhood right now, and they look so beautiful I was getting jealous that we didn't have one in our backyard. There's not really room for any new big trees, but I managed to find this Little Gem magnolia plant, which I'm told will grow to…

I had a lot of fun painting these wooden bangles one evening recently, getting paint everywhere including my hair, and making a general mess. I found the natural wood bangles in a box at my local Spotlight shop (I think I bought the last 2 boxes sorry), sanded them a little, and used a thick…

I've been having some adventures in recycling lately. This bag and purse started out their life as a cotton eiderdown for a single bed- the kind that are less popular these days, lightly quilted and padded with batting. When I found the eiderdown looking sad at the second-hand store, I thought I'd give it a…

When I found this soft gingham cotton recently I knew it would be suitable for a come-on-blue-skies or hurry-up-spring kind of dress for K. And here is the dress it made. It's my own pattern, with big and stretchy side pockets and a loose-fitting style. And the bluest-blue cotton. The small girl is in a…

On Sunday, K went to visit my parents. She returned home with three straw and mud-covered eggs, a handful of small and perfect snowdrop flowers, and a tuft of sheep's fleece she found attached to a fence. It feels as though a warmer season is on its way soon.  My friend Lotus sent me the…

I was thrilled to 'embroider' the cover of the latest Extra Curricular magazine, which is fresh off the press this week. This issue has a stitch-making focus, so Ellie asked if I'd make a botanical winter embroidery for the cover design. I also wrote and drew a little stitch guide for beginner embroiderers, and a…

Louana gave me three of these small vintage linens a while back in the palest sea-green, each with a sprig of flowers embroidered on one corner. I copied the style of the original stitching and embroidered an all-over pattern on the linen, and made it up into a needlebook and matching pouch as part of…

I found the blue and cream dress in an op-shop back in the summer, and something about it was very familiar to me and I couldn't help buying it to alter. When I saw this post on Rummage (I love that blog) I remembered my blue dress languishing in the cupboard, and got cutting and…