tiny happy

Hello! I hope this dispatch finds you well, wherever you are.

I've been feeling slightly lazy about writing here… so I thought I'd just upload some pictures instead, while I wait for my words to come back. Here are a few things I've been doing lately, from top to bottom:

= = Tom brought me back this copy of Hounds of Love on vinyl after a trip away recently. It's probably my favourite Kate Bush album, so a bit of a treat to add to my collection. (And I had to pose with it in the wintry rainy garden, in my favourite wildflowers dress, for full effect 😉

+ + This is a bit of embroidery I started in a class at Craft Camp (I wrote more about that in my previous post) and finished when I got home. It's quite satisfying to stitch in wool yarn! Here I used some leftovers from a knitting project (I'll show you the finished jumper in my next post) on a medium-weight grey/mauve linen. Not sure what I'll do with it yet.

– – – It's midwinter and we've had a good dose of rain lately. But all in all, it's been a mild season, and the jasmine outside our kitchen seems to be quite happy.

= = This is a beautiful little dish made by my friend Lizzie. She sent it to me recently and it's the perfect thing for my everyday earrings. (Lizzie's exhibition ''Nature Table'' has just opened in Sydney!)

+ + Here's a bit of recent work done on my slowest project of all time – the hand-stitched hexagon quilt. I'm making this from old clothes and bedding cotton. I don't often get it out (because I resent having to put it away again) but I do hope to make some more progress on it soon. 

In other news, Tom and I have been watching the final season of Orange is The New Black, very slowly, in order to make it last longer. I've found this series a rather moving and important one over the years. I'll miss it! Also, the second season of Australian show The Let Down which takes me back to those early parenting days.

– – – Did you see this article on the Guardian, A stitch in time: how craftivists found their voice? If not, you should have a read. My favourite quote, from Sarah Corbett of the Craftivist Collective, whose work is featured:

“Punk means different bands to different people in the same way craftivism does,” explains Corbett. “And my approach is not aggressive or loud, it’s gentle protest – and I mean that in a non-fluffy sense. It’s not impassive or weak. It’s bloody hard to be gentle in your approach as an activist, to have self-control when you’re angry. It’s about being tough of mind and kind in heart.”

It's given me lots to think about.

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As for books, I've been reading Wild Honey, which is a beautiful new book about NZ women's poetry. And thinking a lot about patchwork, for some reason! Could be that the lid on my box of fabric off-cuts can no longer be closed, so I need to do something with 200 small pieces of fabric. At the same time, there are some new babies-in-progress in my family and friend-circle, who might just be in the market for a cot quilt one day soon. I'll keep you posted.

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