tiny happy

In the first photo above you can see my new plant friend. A beautiful ficus in a pot – a treat from my favourite local shop Next Stop Earth, bought to celebrate leaving my suburb for the first time in a while. I posted the same picture on Instagram, and a friend wrote that she had bought a similar-sized ficus a few years back, and now it was taller than her! I'm excited to see what will become of ours – I hope I can keep it healthy and happy.

In my last post I mentioned my new favourite cake, made from a recipe tucked into a hand-written letter from my friend Jenny. She kindly agreed to let me share it here, in case you feel like making it too! I like it because it has a lovely light texture and it's properly spicy and fruity. It's the best thing to eat with a cup of strong coffee on the side, for morning tea. It's also great to take on a hike or picnic, it probably keeps for ages in a tin and you can change up the fruit and spices according to what you have in the cupboard.

Jenny's fruit cake 

Simmer together for 10 mins:

175 grams butter
200 grams brown sugar
750 grams of mixed dried fruit (I usually use a combination of sultanas, mixed peel, currants, dried cranberries and dried cherries)
Grated rind and juice of one orange, and one lemon
100 mls brandy or black tea

Cool, then mix in:

85 grams of chopped toasted nuts
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
85 grams ground almonds
200 grams plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp each of cinnamon + mixed spice
1/2 tsp each of vanilla, almond extract and rosewater

Bake in a 20cm round tin lined with 2 layers of baking paper at 130 degrees Celcius for 2 hours, or until brown.

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In non-cake related news, I decided to start a new knitting project inspired by our shower curtain. I know, shower curtains are not exactly the stuff of mood boards, but I love the colours on ours (which, incidentally, cost $10 from the Warehouse last year). Every morning I look at the colours and wonder how I could use them in some sort of project. I had a look through my yarn stash and found some aligning colours, and settled on the Vertices Unite pattern by Stephen West. (Here are my notes so far).

I've loved working on it so far – and the colours really do bring me joy. 

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Last week I watched the newish TV series Normal People – have you seen it? I loved the book when I read it last year, but I must admit that i like the TV adaptation even more, and found it emotionally true to that age and stage of life (late teens – early 20s) and romantic of course. There's a Spotify playlist to listen to if you miss Marianne and Connell and their world! I've been listening to it while gardening.

I hope you're doing ok, and the stay-home life is manageable wherever you are. I'm missing people, mostly – my wider family and friends. And feeling so sad when I read the world news. I do hope you are well and keeping your spirits up.

See you again very soon,

M XX

Kia ora! How has your week been? It's stormy and cold here this evening – it has been for a while. Wintry weather makes it easier to stay at home I think – and harder, at the same time. Lockdown life is a bit darker when the days are short and the skies are gloomy. I hope you're keeping warm and well wherever you are.

One of my nieces had a birthday last month, and i wasn't able to send her a gift or go to her party due to the lockdown. But I made her a bunny instead and today I was able to send it on its way to her in the South Island. I used a ball of grey alpaca yarn and this pattern, which is called Bunny Odile and designed by Cinthia Vallet.

If you need a fun and super engaging project, I recommend it wholeheartedly! Even though it was a bit fiddly to make (the entire bunny is worked on a 2.5mm circular needle, and constructed as you go, with no seams to speak of) the pattern is so well thought-out and described that it is quite simple to knit. 

Once I'd finished the bunny, I made her a wee dress to wear from some leftover sock yarn. The pattern comes with a whole wardrobe of clothes to make for your bunny, including button-up one-piece pajamas, a textured jumper, and even tiny socks! Maybe I will make some more clothes if my niece enjoys playing with her bunny.

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A little while ago, my friend Jenny (who is a wonderful cook) wrote me a letter and included her favourite fruit cake recipe and since then I've made it quite a few times and it gets eaten up quickly around here! Jenny said she adapted her recipe from a Christmas cake on the BBC website – I wonder if it's this one? Her version uses half the quantities and a cup of black tea, some rosewater and almond extract instead of the alcohol – but I will try the BBC one at Christmas time to spice it up, literally!

A slab of Jenny's fruit cake with black coffee at morning tea time really has been lighting up my days lately. I'll ask her if i can share her magical recipe here on the blog soon, because i think you'd like it too.

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And in other news, I finally worked the border on my hexagon quilt. After some indecision, I decided to hand-applique the quilt top to 5" strips of grey linen. I had considered just trimming down the hexagons and attaching the border by machine, but I'm glad I went with the hand-sewn option as it's more in keeping with the style. And it adds a little more size to the quilt top, too.

Over the past week, I read Ten Minutes and Thirty-Eight Seconds in This Strange World, by Elif Shafak. I really enjoyed it – heartbreaking though it was. But it was also a welcome journey to Turkey, a country I would love to visit one day even if the likelihood of that is far into the future. The heroine of the story, Tequila Leila, is dead at the beginning of the book, and the story traces her journey from birth. 

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And finally, here's a song from my early teenage years that's still a comfort: Kare Kare, by Crowded House. It's about this place; a beauty.

The title of this post is a bit… obvious. But, here we are. Never has there been such a home-bound time for all of us, I expect. I hope you're safe and well wherever you are.

Here are some things from my past fortnight. 

I finished a pair of socks for Keira. The first of the pair took I think a whole year to knit, but then the second was done in a few days. Why do I drag things out like that? Never mind. The finished socks are quite nice actually – I used this yarn (from Holland Road Yarn Company) in a heathery pink and dark grey for the contrasting heels and toes, and this free pattern – Hermione's Favourite Socks on Ravelry.

In the second photo, you can see some books I've been enjoying over the past month. I've owned all of them (except Making is Connecting – that's on loan from my friend Miriam) for ages, but it's so good to have book-friends around the house to revisit when you need them.

You can also see a plate of pikelets (aka the simplest morning tea ever) just before they were quickly eaten with jam and butter. I've tried a few different recipes for these lately, but the plainest one is probably my favourite:

Whisk together 1 egg and 1/4 cup sugar / Sift in 1 cup flour and 1 tsp baking powder / Tip in 3/4 cup milk and whisk everything till smooth while heating up a frying pan / Drop spoonfuls of mixture into pan and cook on either side for a couple of minutes / Keep warm in a clean tea towel until ready to service with butter or cream and jam.

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I also took a day or so to work on my hexagon quilt top – a (very) long term project that I would love to finish soon! I had an idea to sew myself a small thimble from some soft leather scraps and that's really made the job easier. The piece is nearly as big as a queen-sized bed now, so I need to work out how to add a small border and then quilt it. Not daunting at all! Haha.

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The kids and I spent a lovely morning digging through boxes of my old CDs. Lots were from their early childhood (Elizabeth Mitchell's You Are my Little Bird, Putamayo folk song collections, Bob Marley and the enduring favourite that played in our car for several years, Colors Are Brighter). It made me realise how much music I bought back in the days before streaming services. 

Even though we can stream all the albums we own on CD and vinyl, we agreed that it was fun to have a stack by the stereo to remind us to play them in their entirety.

In that box of music, I found my Fiona Apple albums – such treasures to me in my teenage years. That same day, I saw that she had released a new one – Fetch the Bolt Cutters. It's pretty powerful and addictive to listen to. This is a great track to start with.

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I've been watching a little TV – last week it was Unorthodox – have you seen it? I found it really engaging and haunting and of course it led to lots of background reading immediately afterwards. We've also watched Roma – the story of a family in 1970's Mexico, which I thought was beautiful too.

Take good care, and I'll see you again soon, XX

Hello! 

Here are a few scenes from my past week. Looking back through the photos I took, I seem to have had a thing for light – there are lots of pictures of sun shining through the windows and golden afternoon light in the garden. On the weekend I walked to the top of Mount Victoria and looked out over the city and harbour. It was nearly silent, with no boats in the water and very few cars on the street, and light reflecting off the windows of the buildings.

Are you on the look-out for light, too? These days can feel very dark when you tune in to what's happening to so many people around the world. My heart goes out to everyone who is sick and those who have lost loved ones. It's such a scary time for so many families.

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I'm sharing a few projects in this post – diversions that have kept my hands and heart occupied between the work days and Zoom calls and what feels like endless cooking and dishes. I really feel very lucky to have a well-stocked craft supply stash to dive into in the evenings! And of course I've been staying up way too late to work on projects.

The knitted set is for a new baby in my family. I made a possum yarn cardigan (from a very well-used book: Simple Knits for Cherished Babies by Erika Knight) and sewed on some pearly buttons and a small embroidered sprig as well. The hat is from the Tin Can Knits ''barley light'' pattern, and the socks are these ones. (Both the hat and sock design are free patterns and great for using up leftover yarns.)

Because we haven't been able to post things for a month, it's possible these clothes will be too small for their intended recipient. So I might make another set in time for when we can use the mail system again. No real hardship – I love making baby things.

On the weekend, we had a bit of a family session of drawing and painting at the kitchen table. Everyone joined in except Arlo, who refused. I did a bit of lino cutting but the results weren't very good. Keira carved rubber stamps with her favourite band names and printed t-shirts with them, and Tom did some wood-cutting. It was a very nice day and an unusual family activity but we might do it again next weekend.

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Have you listened to Dolly Parton's America? It's a 9-part podcast and I loved every episode. 

Take care friends, and thanks as always for visiting me here.

Kia ora friends, how are you doing this week?

I wanted to write a little something here, but now I'm sitting at my screen, i can't think of the right words. I'm not sure that i have much to say, really, except hello and thank you for visiting me here.

Instead I thought I'd share a few scenes from my weekend. Tom made hot cross buns (from this recipe) and they were delicious! Especially toasted the next day, with butter and marmalade and black coffee. 

I started knitting a rabbit from the Bunny Odile pattern which is very cleverly constructed and written. I'm using some grey alpaca yarn. I had this dream of making one for all of my baby nieces for Easter but failed that goal on so many counts. Instead, I'm half way through one bunny, and Easter has now passed. Never mind!

And I finished the jacket I was working on in my last post. This one was made using the Tamarack pattern by Grainline Studio, and various pieces of scrap fabric – some old work shirts and Liberty lawn leftovers. Wooden buttons stolen from a skirt I don't often wear. I used a wool/cotton batting inside, lightweight black cotton on the outside, and quilted it in a diamond pattern. The finished jacket is roomy and light and my new favourite thing to wear on my daily walk about the neighbourhood. 

I share these projects with you not because I think we should be maximising this unusual stay-at-home time to be as productive as possible. If anything, I feel quite the opposite. I think that working on my creative projects has been an unconscious way of calming my mind and helping me to concentrate on one day at a time. I hope that you're able to spend this time in the manner that suits you best, and that you have everything you need right now.

See you again soon.

X X X M

Kia ora! How are you? I wanted to send a dispatch through the interwebs – a warm hello from my house to yours. From this second week staying home (apart from a walk around the block every day) I know one thing for sure: I'll not take the beautiful faces of my friends for granted after this stay-home period. Nor my family members' faces! I miss them all, and I know you miss your loved ones. 

I hope you are doing well and managing to stay calm and happy, despite the huge changes all around. My heart goes out to those who are ill or have family and friends suffering from the virus. Sending you strength and love!

I'm finding it comforting to look at pictures of other people's stay-home life right now, and nicely distracting to think about creative projects. If you do too, this post is for you. I'll try to post more often than usual.

I've got two projects to show today. The first is a pair of socks i knitted for my son Arlo who is now 16. He has really big feet! That's my excuse for why it took me nearly 5 months (!) to knit these socks for him. They were mostly sitting, half-finished, in the bottom of my bag and I worked a round or two every now and then. But with this extra time on the weekends not spent doing the usual busy things, I was able to finish them. The yarn is 'Honest Sock' by my friend and local dyer Bonnie (Union Fibre), and the pattern is one I always use: Wise Hilda's Basic Ribbed Sock, which is free on Ravelry. They are great everyday socks and the ribbed pattern means they stay in shape well. 

I like knitting for Arlo because he's always appreciative and wears handmade things all the time. The other socks I'd knitted for him were completely worn through, so he needed a new pair for winter.

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The other project you can see above is an almost-finished Tamarack Jacket. The pattern is by Grainline Studio and I bought it several years ago but really only felt like tackling it last month. I cut the pieces out then it sat on my desk until the weekend, when I fully immersed myself in the project. It's a lot of work – you hand-baste then machine quilt all the pieces, insert welt pockets, construct then cover all the interior seams with bias binding. 

Because I wanted to use only materials I already had, I ended up sewing scrap fabric together to make the lining pieces, including some floral Liberty cotton and fabric from two old shirts of Tom's. I also used up some Liberty bias binding I'd been saving for something, but made the rest of the binding from the same fabric as the exterior. That fabric is quite a lightweight black cotton dress fabric, with a fine black stitched embroidery to give it a bit of texture. I was worried my fabric choices would be too lightweight, but I'm happy with the weight and feel of the quilted pieces.

Hopefully I'll be able to show you the finished jacket in my next post! If you're looking for an ''involved'' make for these days, I'd recommend this jacket. You do need to have patience and a good space to spread your work out on, though. Just a friendly warning! 

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And lastly, Keira made a rather tried-and-true recipe over the weekend: this any-kind-of-fruit cake, first published on my blog in 2011. The recipe is super simple and makes two! You can use up any fruit you have, just by slicing it and pressing it on to the surface of the cake. Keira's version used up feijoas, berries and sliced almonds. We recommend it for breakfast, with coffee…

A few other things I enjoyed this week:

Getting Through a Pandemic with Old-Fashioned Crafts (on The Atlantic)

Novelists pick books to inspire you (the Guardian)

Revisiting this Fleet Foxes album (hard to explain why it's so soothing, but it is!)

Cressida Cowell reads her book How To Train Your Dragon (for any children who love being read to?)

This free hat pattern that I'm keen to cast on (simple rib, slipped stitches, a fast knit and looks so cosy)

This timeless and impossible to resist song by Bill Withers (RIP) 

Take care friends,

M XXX

Hello! How are you?

The world feels so big right now – we're sharing the experience of sheltering in our homes during this pandemic and tracking the numbers of those suffering every day. But at the same time, our own lives are smaller than ever. Staying close within ''our bubble'' as our Prime Minster would say, and reducing contact with others as much as possible.

I hope you're feeling well and happy. And safe, wherever you might be. 

Of course, in a time like this, those of us with indoor hobbies like textile crafts, listening to music and reading will find life a bit easier. I've never been more grateful for my bookshelf, and craft supplies and the like. I hope that you're able to access the things you need to keep you comfortable and happy right now, friends.

I've also been lucky enough to be able to keep my job, but just do it from home. So while it doesn't feel like I have lots more time on my hands, I do have the time that I would have spent commuting to and from work, and the time that would otherwise be spent at events, parties, kids' activities, etc. So I have found that I've finished off some projects. 

I wanted to share some pictures from my week with you. Some were taken on my early-evening walks around the neighborhood. Yesterday I came across a huge wall of mint-green succulents I'd not seen before. And the day before, I climbed a small hill to look at our suburb from a new angle. Small but beautiful novelties.

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In my last post, I showed the start of an Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket I was making from some handspun yarn. I finished it last week. Such a clever design, and a fun knit too. I have tucked this aside for one of my nieces. It will be on her way to her as soon as we are able to post things again. Hopefully before it's too small for her!

And in extremely practical craft news, I finally replaced a peg bag that had been left outside too often and was completely worn through. For the new version, I used some blue striped linen and a kind of envelope opening in the front. There's a small hole in the top where a wooden coat hanger can be fitted so the bag can hang on the washing line. The simplest make but also one I'll use nearly every day! I'm quite fond of projects like that.

One stormy day on the weekend, Keira asked if she could do some knitting with me. It's a very rare occurrence so she was probably bored. But I was happy to document the moment nevertheless. You can see that she opted to knit her first sock – she's using some self-striping Opal sock yarn and the magic loop method. I'm making a pair of Hermione's Socks.

I also finally got an artwork framed – you can see it hanging in our kitchen in the photo above. The piece is by Tom's maternal grandfather who was an artist and designer based in the UK and working mostly between the 1940's and the 80's. This particular piece depicts a place he visited in Majorca, Spain, and worked in graphic pastels. I'm so happy to have it framed and on the wall, and in such a busy part of the house so we can look at it every day.

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A few links you might like:

The other night, some friends and I stayed up late to listen to some music together (through our screens) – Nadia Reid Live. You can listen again here, if you like!

And this coming Thursday evening (NZ time), you can hear part 2.

If you're a sock knitter, you might like to download this beautiful free pattern: Woodland Walk Socks. I'm thinking about casting them on too.

Audible have made a selection of their audio books free to listen to, including classics, folk stories, and children's books. You can find them here.

A very simple and cheap dinner we made the other night: red lentil soup + ciabatta. We used this recipe for the soup and this tried and true method for the bread.

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How are you filling this time spent indoors? Are you working on any new or interesting projects? Perhaps you're trying to finish off some neglected ones, or work your way through a book you've always meant to read. I'd love to hear from you, if you have time to leave a comment below!

Sending lots of love to you.
M

If you're reading this blog, the chances are good that you enjoy a bit of textile making, music, books and the like. There has never been a better time to get stuck in to these activities, but I so wish it was for a different reason than keeping away from each other to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Wherever you are in the world, I hope you're well and safe, and not feeling too lonely. I'm sending love and good vibes from my screen to yours!

I thought I'd share a few photos from life here lately:

+ + In amongst so much sad and frightening news, there was something joyful: I had a beautiful wee niece born this morning. It will be a while before I meet her in real life, but in the meantime I'm knitting her some winter clothes and admiring her through photos. In the first photo above, you can see I'm knitting her a Baby Surprise Jacket, from a 1968 Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern. I've not knitted this before, and I must admit I'm finding the pattern a little trickier than others I've tried (it was written in a time when knitters were expected to know a lot more) and I'm using a ball of handspun gradient merino wool that was a gift from my Mum.

= = I've been finding comfort in my pot plants – i'm getting a nice wee collection of indoor ones, and trying to remember to look after my outdoor ones too. Question: how many indoor plants are too many? 

+ + This time of year is such a special one. I love the early-morning sky outside the bedroom window (fiery-red/maroon on a clear day, and sometimes a pastel pink gradient) and it's also Keira's birthday. On the weekend, we celebrated her 15th! Three of her cousins came to stay and the girls went to see Aldous Harding and Weyes Blood as part of the NZ Festival.

In these strange and uncertain times, here are my suggestions of comforting things to listen to/try/do:

This beautiful knitting pattern, by Japanese designer Eri, is free to download until Sunday.

This vegetable lasagne. I'm going to make it tonight.

The Gentle Knitter podcast on Youtube

Until March 31, all of Whitney Hayward's knitting patterns for Harrisville Tweed are free to download. There are some real beauties! I love this hat and this cardigan, especially.

Make a needlebook for a friend or yourself? Here's a pattern I wrote for Sweet Magazine a while back

Moonchild, NPR Tiny Desk Concert

Some nice, simple, free sewing patterns from the Fabric Store

Pressing flowers and leaves (you could make gift tags or cards like these or  these)

Life-long favourite piece of music to listen to in anxious times: The Lark Ascending, Vaughan Williams

I'd love to hear what you're up to these strange days, friends. I'm feeling deeply grateful for human connections and the internet, and where these two combine: our amazing online community of makers and writers. X X X

Kia ora! I hope this finds you very well.

I've been a bit quiet on the blog front, mostly because I didn't feel there was much to report. I have been slowly knitting on a top/sweater that I think will be just the thing for autumn. But as usual, it's taking me ages to finish it, but I suppose that's what happens when you only knit in front of your evening episode of Breaking Bad and at no other time. (Tom and I are watching the last season because we seem to have missed that when we watched the others years ago).

The design is called Virginia, by Jonna Hietala and it's a pattern from Laine magazine, issue 6. I loved it the first time I saw it – just the simplicity of the design, the wide neckline, and the way the hand-dyed yarn really is the star of the show. The yarn I'm using is some DK-weight that Mum and I dyed together while I was staying with her over the New Year break. We were going for a peachy-brown tone, but ended up with more of a rose colour, which we then over-dyed with darker browns and pinks a few times. The end result was this variegated plum-chocolate-rose vibe and I really like it! I have no idea how I'd get the same colour again though, so hopefully I'll have enough yarn to finish the garment.

I'm just working the bottom twisted rib section now, then will pick up and knit the sleeves. It would be lovely to have this for autumn wear – I think I'll enjoy wearing it with a long linen skirt or trousers for work.

It was really fun to have a go dyeing yarns with Mum. She has a great set up for it – a lovely big stove top and space to store the dyes, and we dried the skeins on the deck in the sun. It gave me even more respect for the people I know who dye full-time for their job – it must be so tricky getting the colours to be uniform every time, and to organise everything! I feel I would soon have a lot of yarn tied up in a terrible tangle, if it was me.

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Also in January, we were the unlucky recipients of a burst pipe in our spare room (this is the place where family and friends often stay when they're in town. It also houses our laundry and I had some craft supplies stored in there too). The water sprayed everywhere, meaning we had to strip everything back to the joists behind the walls, and the concrete floor. We've just now managed to get it back to how it was and in the second-to-last photo I've included a shot of a very pleasing wee bookshelf that Tom built! I popped a few of my favourite books from the past year on it. This little scene is so pleasing, it's almost possible to forget the other elements of the project that need sorting out. Focus on the bookshelf!

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And lastly, look at this lovely wee gift I received from my friend Lizzie. She lives near Melbourne, and the card features a painting of the town she lives in. She also included a super sweet linen pin for my cardigan and a ceramic star she made too. I'm hoping to see Lizzie 'in real life' very soon. X X X

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Some other things from this week:

I've started work on a Tamarack Jacket, after dreaming of making one for a long time. Set myself the challenge of using only what I had among my existing supplies. I hope to have some progress to show in my next post!

I've known of the music of Anais Mitchell for years now, but have only just found her NPR Tiny Desk Concert. If you like folk music and story/songs, I think you'll love listening to this.

RIP, Jeanette Fitzsimons. You were a true inspiration.

Here are some images captured by my phone over the last few weeks. Except the first one, with rose shadows. That was taken this time last year, but it beautifully sums up the slightly cooler, darker mornings creeping in.

I've been working on my punch needle frame, getting a few pieces underway for an event coming up later this year (more details soon!) Above you can see a small finished project: a wee mat/pot holder type of thing. There are so many people making beautiful graphic work with punch needles these days. What I'm going for with my work is a slightly softer, muted look, almost inspired by watercolour paintings, rather than crisp and bold outlines (as much as I love that style, especially the work by Arounna Khounnoraj and Rose Pearlman). I'm still learning and playing with this craft, and enjoying mixing up my mediums.

If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know that I have two teenage kids, but lately our home has been humming with more teenagers. We have a friend of Arlo's living with us for a bit, and their friends are often visiting too. I love having them in the house: their strong and thoughtful opinions, their different perspectives on the world, and the way they wolf down any food I make (though this is, admittedly, a mixed blessing). A couple of weeks ago, Keira and her friend stayed up really late to make the cherry pie you see above. I had already gone to bed when it came out of the oven, but had a piece for breakfast with coffee and knitting on the side. So good!

The knitting you see to the side there is a project I'll show in my next post. I hope I'll have made a bit of progress on it by then! I'm knitting a very simple pullover top that I hope will be perfect for autumn. The yarn is some that my mum and I hand-dyed over the summer holiday, and is incidentally quite reminiscent of cherry juice.

We're in the middle of our national arts festival here, and I've been lucky enough to go to some wonderful events, and have more lined up (helped by my day-job in the arts sector). On Monday, Tom and I went to see Kate Tempest perform and it was a really special one. I recommend listening to her, if you haven't already! Here is a song from her latest album.

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