I spent a bit of time in the garden over the weekend, digging and pruning and planting.
When I came inside in the evening, I made these garden-inspired coffee cups. I found some spring-green ceramic ink and it was too hard to resist using it.
I think my favourite thing about early spring is the smell of the garden: the flowers waking up, the bulbs unfurling. (And the freshly cut grass of the next door garden too.)
There's a small but wide window above our bed for which I'd hoped to buy a roman blind. I looked all over town and couldn't find a ready-made blind to fit. But then I remembered that last year, my self-sufficient sister decked out her entire house in blinds that she had made herself. When I asked her about it, she waved her hand casually and said it was easy- 'anyone could do it.' Turns out it wasn't so easy for me. I bought some warm curtain fabric to fit the window. I got all the little rings, strings and a book about blind-making. But how to put them all together was beyond me.
Then I got this great book from the library, and realised I could make a simpler window covering that was just a rectangle of fabric with hooks, that could be looped up during the day and unlooped at night. For some reason, it ended up being one of the trickiest thing I've sewn in years, and I have no idea why, except to say that I'm seriously lacking skill when it comes to making practical things. (I'd rather sew a lined chiffon dress than a curtain, for example.) I thought I'd measured and cut the fabric carefully, but the finished result was rather lop-sided and wonky. And the fabric I chose to line the blind was more drapey than the other layer, and kept shifting and moving while I was sewing them together, which resulted in many unpickings and swear words. Hopefully, no one will ever look too closely at it and I'll just pretend this was already in the house when we moved in.
I sewed a new green dress, to brighten up the end of winter-time. And it really has, because it's a warm and comfy one to wear with the old merino top, cardigan, tights and boots combo. I used a medium-weight cotton denim fabric with a little stretch in it. It was a lucky $2 find from the the op-shop a while ago. The dress is version A from the commercial pattern New Look #6803. The best thing about the design is the big side-pockets which are fast becoming a dress-requirement for me. Plus, it was pretty easy to make.
Also included in the pattern were directions to make a fabric obi-style belt, which I did from a piece of vintage grey wool fabric. The dress is rather boxy and loose, so the belt gives it a bit more shape. I'm thinking this dress would pattern will come in handy when sewing lighter-weight summer dresses too. Although I must admit, summer still feels a long way away.
Hope you have a great weekend, blog-friends.
A bit of serious spring-divining is going on here, I think that's how i can best explain all the flowers I'm documenting on the blog. The amazing furry ones in the top picture are a kind of flannel flower from a friend's garden. They originate from Australia, I think. And the jasmine is from our garden. For my shop update this week, I made a small collection of pleated bags from my old, favourite pattern. I used recycled linen for all of them, except the cotton ticking. The bag in the front is made from old British Sanderson-printed linen. (I secretly long to furnish my house throughout in Sanderson linen.)
Tom's Mum brought me these tiny violets from her garden on the weekend. For something so small, the scent of a violet is amazing! I love them.
A new top was made (well, bought) for K one day when she was home from school last week. I got her to make a design that we could print onto the front, and she drew some hearts, hugs and kisses. As five year old girls are liable to do. I traced the drawing onto freezer paper, cut it out into a stencil and mixed up fabric inks, trying to match the colours on her drawing. (I think I first learned of this technique from this blog post by the clever angry chicken, back in 2006.)
Et voila, a new top to wear to school.
x, x, x, o, o, o.
So much rain! There's water pouring down the hill and flooding the streets. It is a good day to be inside with the fire going, though. I spent a bit of time today making this cushion cover for a friend. The front is thick wool jersey fabric in a charcoal colour and the back is cotton lawn. I found the piece of crochet at the recycling centre and washed it till it was clean and cream again. Small projects like these are pretty satisfying, especially when I can showcase a little item from the past that had been neglected.
Also, the new Arcade Fire album arrived in the mail this week and it's so great- very Springsteen-esque (if that's a term?) and I love the lyrics and themes running through the songs, too. Is it just me, or is Canada a treasure-trove of good bands?
Wishing you a very happy weekend.
It's never too early in the morning for a bit of creativity, don't you know.
I hope you're having a good Thursday!
I made some differently-sized zip cases for my shop update today, and realised afterwards that they make a rather colour-coordinated collection. I seem to do that every week- subliminal colour groupings.
We have two big camellia trees outside and little K likes to pick the flowers and bring them in for me. Almost always without stems. But we found a good display solution- a pudding bowl of water. I love tree-roses.
We've also made jam drops today, from this recipe. Bottled strawberry jam from last summer. It's been patiently waiting all winter for me to open it.
I ordered some seeds online in anticipation of spring gardening, and some extras to send to friends around the country who enjoy growing things. The seeds arrived in bulk quantities, and I wanted to divide them into individual packets, so I made my own seed envelopes. They are just kraft-paper 'wage envelopes', with small watercolour paintings on each: shirley poppies, native flowering manuka and wildflower mixes. I'm looking forward to sending these off to faraway gardens, and getting some planted in our garden, too!
Hope you're having a good Tuesday afternoon.
tiny happy 