Thank you for all your good wishes for the fair I attended on the weekend. It was really well organised and supported, and I left the big city feeling inspired by the lovely things I'd seen there. It looks like Auckland has a fabulous crafty scene, and i got to meet Heleen and…

    I made some velveteen rabbits this week: two are blue and one is black with black and cream polka-dot ears. I love how long and touchable the rabbits' ears are. A few rabbits, and the illustrated cups were the last things i wanted to make for my table at the Auckland Art and…

      After yesterday's post, I had a few emails asking if I could share my bread recipe. I do love to make my own bread, but I am also quite lazy. Luckily I have discovered a very easy and quick way to make a loaf of sourdough or ciabatta without too much effort or…

    Tom's aunt Fini gave the children a great vintage book called 'Indoor and Outdoor Gardening for Young People' by Cynthia and Alvin Koehler (1969) along with a packet of cress seeds. These seeds have been Keira's pet project over the past week- she helped to plant them in a plastic container, water them…

    When I was packing for our house move, I discovered that I owned a lot of ceramic pieces- especially jugs and cups. Really, lots of them. I was brave and donated many to the second-hand store, but kept my favourite ones.  Turns out they fit perfectly on the mantlepiece and noone seems to…

      It's been a busy weekend here- I managed to get some things made for my table at this show on Saturday, including some new needlebooks and a collection of pencil cases made from brightly coloured linen.  The house was filled up with children for a good part of the weekend- running around…

    I've been doing a bit of embroidery today, inspired by bits and bobs from the winter garden. Slowly but surely making some linen needlebooks for my stall at the Auckland Art and Craft Fair. I've been feeling a little reluctant to venture into my sewing room these days – it's much warmer by…

        The children and I discovered a rough walking-track near our house which had recently been cleared. Growing wild next to a tree stump, I found a strawflower plant. I haven't seen these flowers in a long time, but I remember them growing in my Mum's garden when I was a child. They are…

    A good thing about our new house is that it has two lemon trees in the garden and they're fairly laden right now in midwinter. The kids are on holiday from school this week, so we've been doing a bit of baking. This morning we made lemon cookies with our own lemons.  We…

    Keira's been asking to learn the violin for months now, so I bought a tiny 1/4-sized one online and my Mum has kindly offered to give her lessons. So far she is practicing holding the bow and instrument, putting rosin on the bow, and opening and shutting the case. It's all very exciting.…