tiny happy

I love this time of year for its quietness. Winter in Wellington is not quiet in the way I remember Norwegian winters being, with their sound-proofing blankets of snow laid down fresh each morning. Here, winter storms batter the house constantly and the windows rattle at night. But there are quiet things: the delicate crackling and popping of the wood stove when everyone else has gone to bed. Cold Saturday mornings when no one is rushing off in their cars. A general quiet, turning inward I see in the people I know. Energy preservation for the next season.

I hope you are keeping well and warm wherever you might be. I thought today I'd share some of my latest projects. The silk dress right at the top of this post was not finished recently, but rather in the autumn. The fabric is a fine black silk chiffon I bought at The Fabric Store a year ago. I was dreaming of a silk dress but didn't feel ready to cut into it for a while. In the end, I decided to free-style the design, cutting it from the fabric length that I had (which from memory was 1.5 metres). Because the fabric is sheer, I decided on a triangular design for the bodice, which I could have planned more carefully but it turned out fine in the end. The dress is finished with French seams and hand-sewn bias edgings throughout and the hem finishes at my knee. I have only worn it a couple of times but I layered it with tights, boots, a black slip underneath and a long black cardigan. I love dressing in black from top to toe on occasion – it feels very natural and cosy to me.

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The chrysanthemums at the top of this post were brought home on Arlo's birthday by Tom. He always brings back a bunch of blooms on the kids' birthdays, and we set up a little shrine of sorts. This year we were lucky to have Arlo home from university on that day and celebrate his 19th in person. He's a good sport about me bringing out the baby photos every year on his birthday.

Among his gifts, I included a new hat made using the Brume pattern by Melody Hoffman (Ravelry link here). I chose a lovely squishy wool yarn from Miss Maude in Greytown, bought in Wairarapa when I was there at a book festival for work. The yarn is called Sesia Pura Lana Ecologica and it's from Italy. I think this new hat will be pretty cosy and possibly essential for the Dunedin winter time.

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A dear friend of mine has just had a new baby, and I've included a picture of two little sets I made for her that I know have now arrived safely. One set (in grey alpaca) is intended for winter use, and the patterns are the 'baby bear bonnet' and the 'hodge booties' (a free pattern on Rav). The cream set is a bit bigger and knitted up in a cotton-merino for spring and the patterns I used are the 'Anker's bonnet' and 'Greemy baby booties.' Ravelry link here.

I've also included photos of a recent read mentioned in my last post (So far, for now, by Fiona Kidman) and yet another granny square on the go – this one was being worked in a cosy corner of our local laundromat. Our own washing machine was out of action for a while, but I loved my laundromat time – warm, friendly, and an excellent opportunity to fit some crochet into the day! 

Finally, I'll leave you with a beautiful quote I rediscovered recently:

"Any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents & capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so"

– Doris Lessing