We had the leftovers of an Antarctic storm blowing through town over the weekend, so it seemed a good time to settle in by the fire and do a bit of stitching. I finally finished this cross-stitch sampler that I started in the Christmas holidays and have worked on now and then since. I've learned…

I made a batch of russian fudge as a thank-you gift this week for a friend. Hooo boy is it ever sweet and creamy. Trying a piece made me think of my Dad, who has an amazing tolerance of sweet things and so I wrapped a batch up for him, too. I used this great…

Can you believe I was lucky enough to be gifted part of a hexagon quilt last week? Thank you again, L. This patchwork was made by L when her children were small, and it includes some fabrics I remember from my own childhood. She sent a note with the quilt saying that she'd used some…

A while back I found this piece of pale pink linen- I think it was probably a placemat in a past life. It had a good weight to it, and an embroidered woven pattern worked around the edge in dark grey and white. Like I did back here, I got inspired by the previous stitches…

Thought you might enjoy a quick flick through my newest book, Knitting 24/7, which was a gift from my Mum. I don't knit nearly as often as I would like to these days but I continue to buy yarn and bookmark patterns for some utopian knitting future I have in my imagination… it will happen!…

I've had a fear of sewing with fine knits for ages, but decided to conquer that fear recently by sewing up this striped dress. The fabric is a fine navy and white jersey knit that I was lucky enough to find at the op-shop in one long length. I took a risk and just cut…

Just channelling a bit of summertime here from a frosty little place at the bottom of the world. These cushion covers were made from my small collection of vintage poppy-printed fabrics. They're part of my shop update today.  Dreaming of resting against one of these on a garden swingseat, lemonade in hand and accompanied by…

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from a kind blog-reader letting me know about a fabric sale in a private home nearby. An elderly woman had moved into a rest home and her family were clearing out her house for sale. She had loved to sew and knit and they were looking…

I've just finished reading the memoir Toast by Nigel Slater at the moment as his cookbooks are among my favourites. There's a brilliant bit in there about how his stepmother made gorgeous lemon meringue pies, but jealously guarded her recipe from the young Nigel who longed to learn to make one. He would creep past the kitchen…