I noticed a bit of a mustard-yellow theme going on in today's shop update– I think I must be trying to warm up somehow and thinking golden thoughts. We have old-fashioned printed yellow roses and little gold embroideries- including one I stitched on Mother's Day because the kids gave me a little bottle filled with…

This morning I joined in with a small community craft group and had a great time hanging out with some new women and preschoolers. One of the women, Rachelle, is organising The Great Sock Money Challenge, which is a special mission that involves sewing up enough characterful sock monkeys to give to sick children in…

Happy Mother's Day for yesterday, if you observed it. It's pretty nice, I think, to have a day set aside for acknowledging everyone who looks after others, even if it's not just 'mothers'. I was given this stem of cream orchids from my family- don't you just love their waxy vanilla petals, speckled with pink?…

I spent some of today sewing at the machine. I've made some clothes for friends' children- some warm winter things such as corduroy pants and skirts. Plus a crossover cardigan from some recycled cashmere I was lucky to find in the second-hand shop, and some Liberty lawn-type cotton that I made bias trim from. It…

Here is some leafy green goodness from our holiday as an antidote for the cold rainy weather here. Looking at those leafy scenes from the island are nearly enough to warm me up, but I think the heater is also in order. I made a couple of things for today's shop update from some Japanese…

Here are a few photos of the island wedding of my brother, T and his partner S. The flowers in the bouquets and decorations were pretty gorgeous and the scent was amazing- there were frangipani, bougainvillea, gardenia, oleander and hibiscus stems and extras for our hair, too. The actual ceremony took place in a little…

We arrived home from our holiday on the weekend and I must admit that the Wellington climate came as a shock- it was so warm on our island.  What a beautiful place- at the information centre there was a brochure advising us to take off our watches and instead observe 'island time', and there was…