Keira was given this wooden envelope template for her birthday. By me, that is. Umm yes, it's possible I bought my daughter a gift that I wanted to use myself. But in my defence, she had seen them in the shop a few times and asked me for one.  Anyway, we've had some good times…

I did some sewing on the weekend, and tried out the Hemlock pattern by Grainline (you can download it here) to make two new tops. I was first inspired by this post by Felicia. What a great pattern. It was originally designed for knits, but can also be made up in woven fabrics. I made…

This is my latest finished project: new curtains for the sleep-out (spare room). I should say new/old curtains really, because I used some fairly old fabric to make them. I'd been hoarding it for ages (since this post) but it was already old before I stashed it away (probably from the 1950s-60s, I'd say). When…

:: Pre-washing some new fabrics bought last week. My idea is to make a couple of new things to wear to work. The striped fabric is silky grey, with embroidered cream and black patterns. :: Nasturtiums are very much at home in our garden.  :: Isn't this a beautiful-looking salad? I'm going to make it tomorrow night.…

These photos were taken this evening on a walk in the neighbourhood. I wanted to take some pictures of the kids but they were not into it. However they did point out some things that would make good shots: 'look at that strange garage!' 'that must be at least 150 steps', 'what about those people…

Some more treasures from inside this parcel:  :: blue-skies garland which is now adorning the walls of Arlo's blue bedroom :: a collection of vintage fabrics. I have plans for them already… Wishing you a happy and relaxing weekend!

Just a little of what Helen tucked inside the parcel I wrote about yesterday… A copy of Betty, a gorgeous, new (to me) magazine from London, and a collection of handmade zines as well as a copy of Bill Manhire's beautiful Under The Influence. The zines include the hand-stamped BE HERE          …

It's properly autumnal here in Wellington; golden light lazily gazing through the window onto the kitchen table, soup on the stove, kids bringing home pocketfuls of acorns. After school today, I made them some of this to drink for the first time since last winter. It's always nice to mark the seasons with special foods…

(above: Phoebe Blouse. Photo by Anna Allen) Anna Allen is a talented young designer/maker who specialises in original handmade clothing. Via a tip-off from a friend on Instagram, I found a photo of a beautiful blouse she made for a customer, using Spoonflower fabric.  Read more about Anna's 'Phoebe Blouse' on her blog. The fabric…

My daughter Keira turned ten over the weekend. Ten! It's still amazing to me- it seems only a few days ago that I was trying to get her to stand still for these ninth-birthday photos. She agreed to be still for two seconds on her way down the steps to school this morning. Mostly so…