Went to see some great stand-up comedy over the weekend- Stuart Goldsmith and James Acaster who were both hilarious. When I got home, I did some 'research' and found this routine– the ready-to-eat apricots being my favourite part. I've been working on a set of small felt pins to take with me to this event.…

It was a rainy and cold afternoon, and there was much homework and music practice and house work to be done. So the kids and I spent three hours digging through my basket of wool, making pompoms. Keira made a finger-knitted chain from some hand-spun wool while Arlo and I became an efficient pompom making…

I'll be teaching some workshops at HANDMADE again this year, and two will involve making this bear from my book. Want to join us? I've been making up some bears as samples and was reminded how enjoyable it is to work with linen and to make toys. The class is also a 'junior-friendly', which means…

Hope you had a good Mother's Day yesterday, if you were celebrating. It was a shiny golden day here, complete with homemade cards (with original acrostic poems) and breakfast in bed (black coffee and white chocolate the kids bought from the corner shop- really) and a forest-walk to gather pinecones for the fireplace, followed by…

Working from home this afternoon, and in the last hour before school pick-up, I decided coffee and knitting was in order. Our resident teenager has requested an 'ear-warmer' type of garment to wear this winter (keeps hair intact and whistling wind out of the ears- at least that's the idea) so I'm knitting her one…

Knitting is something I love to do but hardly ever make time for- probably in part due to the many disappointments of my past failed projects. But a late-night Ravelry browsing session led me to this hat pattern, and I happened to have all the materials on hand, so I cast on for this hat.…

There was a window of time to do some gardening over the weekend, and I planted handfuls of anemone bulbs (the picture on the packet promises paintbox-coloured blooms in spring- here's hoping) as well as a raggedy Japanese anemone plant which is getting whipped by the Wellington wind as I type.  Here are some anemone…

I am very slow to the party, and have just discovered the wonderful work of Beci Orpin. I found her latest book, Home, at the library and have been poring over the pages ever since. I really like the playful nature of the projects, styling and the friendly unpretentiousness of Beci's writing. Here are two…

"Mama, why do you always use the grey and black threads?," asked someone recently. So I'm trying to remember the other colours in my embroidery supplies tin. This free-form embroidery was worked one evening after dinner, by the fire, while supervising maths homework. (Not really supervising, the children left me and my maths skills behind…

Couldn't resist sharing some more vistas from our trip to the sea. These were breathlessly taken while hiking a precariously steep path, wondering to myself whether I really needed the camera and down jacket. The view at the top, and the childrens' delight at having trekked up there, was worth it. My favourite part: looking…