Hello! I hope your week is going well.  It's been a properly wintry one here, although the mornings are getting a little bit lighter every day. This morning I had to take a photo when I pulled the curtains open – look at how the mountains are edged so beautifully in light! Last week I…

There's not much flowering in the garden these days, but there is this shrub – I'm not sure what it is, maybe a kind of manuka, or Erica? I spent a rainy afternoon recently embroidery small sprigs of this mystery plant onto linen, which was quite a pleasing activity. I usually like to listen to…

Hello friends, how are you? I'm typing from the kitchen table with coffee nearby and winter sun momentarily beaming in, which is rather blissful. I haven't had much to write about lately, mostly because there's been limited light to take photos, school holidays, stormy weather and flu in the house. But anyway, onto better topics!…

Hello friends, how are you? I'm typing from the kitchen table with coffee nearby and winter sun momentarily beaming in, which is rather blissful. I haven't had much to write about lately, mostly because there's been limited light to take photos, school holidays, stormy weather and flu in the house. But anyway, onto better topics!…

I finished knitting another small garment recently, this time for the new baby boy of some old friends. For this I used soft alpaca yarn in an oatmeal shade, and wooden buttons. I began with this pattern, but made some changes, namely, converting the whole cardigan into garter stitch. (More details here on my Ravelry…

Thank you for your thoughtful messages after my last post. I so appreciate them! It feels as though the days are slowly, slightly, getting longer and lighter. It's still dark when we get home from work but it helps to know that technically spring is a bit closer. I don't have much to show this…

It was so hard, but we had to say goodbye to my grandmother last week.  She was quite unwell in the second half of her life but she faced it directly with humour and courage and never complained. She had a special talent for finding something worthwhile and fun in every situation, even when she…

Happy Matariki - Māori New Year to you! It's the shortest day here today, and the sun has been shining on regardless. We celebrated our winter solstice baby's birthday – Arlo turned 14 the other day (not such a baby anymore), and apart from that, I don't have much to report from these parts. I made…

Hello and Happy Wednesday to you. Thank you for entering the book giveaway from my last post, for a copy of Helen Lehndorf's new book Write to the Centre. I drew a winner randomly and that was number 10… Sally! Congratulations Sally, I will email you shortly. I found it really interesting to read the…

Hello! I hope you're having a nice weekend. Mine has been filled with cosy activities so far – a family movie night, coffee with friends, Fabricabrac and a day spent drinking tea and chatting by the fire with Constança. Couldn't ask for a nicer weekend, really! I also have a giveaway, thanks to Helen Lehndorf,…