(above: Sampling of 'embroidery from the natural world' stitched by me; Felicia's hand-quilting; barn embroidery by Elizabeth Barnett.) I'm very excited to tell you about Slow Stitching in the Barn, a new Craft Sessions retreat to be held in March next year. The traditional September Craft Sessions retreat sells out so quickly each year that…

I hope you've had a lovely long weekend if you are a fellow New Zealander. It's Labour Weekend here – the official time to celebrate the advent of the eight-hour working day and to plant tomatoes and other summer crops. I've been mostly doing the above, as well as spending time with some friends and…

Hello and happy October! Hope this finds you well, lovely reader. I'm knitting some socks for Tom. They make a good project to carry around and sneak a few rows on every now and then (such as in my lunch break at work and on the bus). But they are taking a really long time! I'm…

I haven't finished much in the craft department lately, except a collection of little gifts to post off to friends having new babies. I think that my friends and wider family are keeping the population of New Zealand healthy these days, haha. Making baby gifts is a good way to get a craft fix, don't you…

I've found it difficult to make my way here, lately, for a number of reasons (work and school holidays being the primary ones). But today I've managed to find some time to share this beautiful glossy red ranunculus, a gift from a friend.  I do love the design aesthetic of these spring flowers, the way…

I got some new postcards printed with photos taken recently – some have embroidery and others a sprig of late-summer flowers on them. I like to keep my stock of cards up, as they're very useful to have on hand for impromptu gift-giving and the like. I also enjoy wrapping them up with my etsy…

My mum made this quilt for Arlo a few years ago and she asked for a picture of it because her friend wants to make something similar. I realised I'd never photographed it before and that is probably because Arlo's had it on his bed every night since he received it. Which I think was in 2011.…

A favourite place to visit during my workday lunch break is The Fabric Store and even more so now that they stock fabrics from Liberty of London. Even though I've been admiring these for ages I don't usually buy any because I feel like I need to have a clear project in mind before cutting in…

I probably shouldn't have said spring had arrived because it's been chased away again by storms and cold – but that's just good encouragement to keep knitting by the fire… I've finished another little baby garment gift – this one is a cardigan made from alpaca/silk yarn and I'll wrap it up with this bonnet…

Hello! I hope your week is going well so far. Here are a couple of small makes I finished recently. One botanical embroidery (I've just planted some tansy in the garden – so I had to capture it) and a little bonnet for a new baby. The embroidery was worked free-style, but for the infant…