Pattern Friday number 15, inspired by green and leaves and branches, this time. There's not much else in the garden these days. This week's 'pattern friday' is a day late. Got a bit preoccupied yesterday with other work, deadlines, etc but today the sun is shining, the coffee's made, The Magnetic Fields songs are playing,…

The Craft Sessions is a creative retreat in Australia's Yarra Valley featuring peace, friendship and knitting. Also embroidery, sewing, yoga and delicious food. Can you think of a nicer way to welcome in spring? I am very excited to be teaching at this weekend in October. It will be my first visit to Melbourne/Victoria! I'm…

I'm still on a stationery buzz. That crazy old falling-apart gardening book I mentioned here as helped fuel my interest in making cards and envelopes. I think it's because the images are too nice to pop in the recycling bin but aren't of much use in their current form. And because I like to have…

Bright spots from my weekend: – peachy flowers to celebrate being a mum for ten years (thank you Tom) – tights + boots weather (got to find something good about this storm) – sun sparkling through ferns for a bit on sunday morning – went shopping with my sisters (it's warm and light inside shops,…

Here's a simple painted pattern for today. We're in the midst of a winter storm and I went outside this morning and got all sorts of leaves and twigs in my hair. This pattern was inspired by that. Wellington is wild on the best of days, but I've never seen it like this before. Keep…

I made a few things for Arlo's birthday yesterday- some involved quite a bit of of chocolate, butter, etc. Arlo is a very big fan of cake. Any kind of cake: fruit, nut, carrot, special or plain- he's not fussy and he loves them all. But for his birthday he requested a chocolate cake 'with…

Arlo turns ten today- ten! It's hard to believe a decade has passed, yet at the same time not surprising at all. Tom jokes that he feels 50 years old these days. My friend Kylie took this photo of A wrapped up in his baby blanket. My Mum spun lots of different fleeces to make…

Tiny scissors are what I used to make this collage- and also glue and brown card. Plus the cover of the Sunday magazine that comes inside the weekend newspaper. There's something therapeutic about working on a small-scale and fiddly project like this. Especially when there are many other tasks to be done, things like dishes…

Happy Friday. Here's a painterly, blue pattern for today. I've been reading about Leeanne Shapton and her design work (I wrote about her a few years ago) and looking at her beautiful painted book covers. I really like her style. Today's pattern was definitely Shapton-inspired. I am about to start reading Was She Pretty, and hopefully…

I've been trying to write letters, lately. Along with everyone in the world, I love receiving letters. But I don't write enough myself. The old email is just too easy and (sad to say) sometimes the act of handwriting (as opposed to typing) can feel laborious and foreign. But I'm determined to write more paper…