tiny happy

Ke te pehea koe? How are you? 

I'm sitting here typing this in a dress + sweater + shawl + tights + handknit socks combo. It's the first of July! I can't say I dislike having so many ways to wear wool, all at once. I hope you are keeping warm, or enjoying mid-summer, depending on where you are!

Here are a few projects I've been working on lately:

+ + A gingham linen dress, using my own pattern (really a mash-up of a few patterns – the skirt + pockets from this one, the sleeves from this and the bodice self-drafted. The fabric was a wonderful find from my local shop – The Fabric Store one Sunday afternoon. I think I used a bit less than 1.5 metres in the end.

= = A jumper for the winter (if I can finish it in time!) This is the Morel Sweater by the Danish designer Lærke of FiberTales. I'm knitting from a cone of natural (light fingering weight wool) from Holst Garn and am holding a strand of that together with a strand of hand-dyed silk-mohair from my friend Nikki's company, Dark Harbour Yarn.

I love this design and really want to wear the finished garment but I'm finding the knitting to be slow going! The pattern includes a few different charts, so I need to sit down and concentrate when I'm working on it. I've realised that so much of my knitting happens because I'm doing it around other things – talking, hanging out with friends, drinking coffee, watching TV or listening to something. My goal is to put some decent time aside to work on it this coming week.

::: This is not one of my projects per se, but rather a gift from Keira to me! I've been collected big landscape paintings from op shops and hanging together on one wall in our living room (you can see how it looks here). Keira made me a small painting of a nearby landscape – our street, looking towards the bus tunnel. It's a view I look at every morning on my way to work so I love this wee painting!

>> Finally, I've included a photo of a quick knit from the weekend: this is a wee baby bear bonnet made with two strands of yarn: hand-dyed merino-linen from Union Fibre and a strand of mohair-silk. I love making this pattern up for new babies in our circle! This one is a little big for its recipient, even though I made the smallest size, so I do hope it will fit next winter.

I hope you are keeping well and finding time to work on your creative projects! I'd love to hear what you're up to, if you have time to leave a comment. 

Spotify sent me this short piece of music on my 'Discover Weekly' (Who by Christina Galisatus) and it made me smile. I thought you might like it too! 

Till next time. With love,
Melissa