I finished a new hat in a shade of Wellington-harbour-blue: it's the 'Jul Hat' by Jenny Gordy (of Wiksten) – you can find the pattern here. I love the simple stitch pattern and the fit is just right – if not a little slouchy, but that's fine. I even got Arlo to snap a photo…

  I had a length of black silk velvet tucked away in a suitcase for a long time. Years, probably. I finally cut into it and sewed it up into this wintry dress – and its already been worn to two parties. I used the same pattern as this I did for this dress, and…

Seasonally-appropriate: a quick and cosy knit (two nights in front of Scandinavian tv drama) to wear with the rest of my black office clothes: a drop-stitch cowl. I made one of these last year for my sister – fun, quick and easy, and importantly, warm and cosy. Autumnal win… (although, please excuse the weed-rich bricks…

Keira was sceptical of the new hat I was knitting for her, but now that it's finished, she likes it and hasn't taken it off since. And it should keep this little football player's ears warm on the sidelines for the wintry mornings coming up. I used this pattern, with a finer yarn and smaller…

– A new Wiksten top, because I wear the last one I made so often. This time I used bright floral fabric from this shop. A bit of bright happiness for the wardrobe. – With every school holiday comes the request, 'Can we make cupcakes today, pleeease Mama?' And so we made these very simple little…

This cardboard 'silk tidy' was given to me by Helen – isn't it lovely? It already had some colourful threads attached, but I filled it up with some others that were tangled up in my thread tin. Helen also sent a great old needlework booklet from the 1950s, with stitch diagrams and an essay entitled…

I made a simple work dress from some drapey silk crepe type material in greyish-purple, cream and black. It's not really what I would usually choose. But I felt like something different for autumn. It's already proved quite a useful garment: I just throw it over a plain black slip dress, tights and boots. I…

(photos by Felicia Semple) I'm excited to tell you that The Craft Sessions will be happening again this year, in September. And i'll be teaching two classes: 'Embroidery 101: Project Bag' (a new class), and 'Embroidery from the Natural World' (returning for its third year in a row!) The Craft Sessions is a creative retreat…

It's getting cooler here which means knitting time. I'm here to tell you there's nothing nicer than sitting on the sofa watching this (or something similar) with glass of wine and knitting close by. Although you probably knew that already. Here are a few small knits I've been working on lately. One Jane (ravelry link) hat…