tiny happy

making journal

recent posts

about

‘tiny happy’ was a journal of my handmade life from 2006-2025.

  • fair-isle

    Fairisle 1

    Fairisle 2 

    Fairisle 3

    Fairisle 4

    This is a new winter cardigan I sewed for Keira from an adult-size fairisle sweater which was beautifully made but had completely worn-out elbows. I found it at a flea market and saw that it was made from pure Shetland wool, so of course I had to get it to recycle. To make the neckband, I made a kind of bias strip from a leftover piece of soft wool fabric (that was, incidentally, from another recycled garment) and handsewed it on. It makes the cardigan a bit more appealing for the small girl to wear as the Shetland wool can be a little scratchy on the skin. And I was pleased to find a use for those sweet wooden buttons I'd been saving for something. It's still too warm to wear thick wool here yet, but I'm sure winter's not too far away.

    I often get emails asking about recycling wool garments into clothes for children. In particular, questions about finishing the seams. I do have an overlocker (serger) and use that on the interior seams so they last longer. But I've also used the zig-zag stitch on my machine with good results, and also left them unfinished (this is fine for many types of wool, especially if the fabric is slightly felted already.) For more recycled wool inspiration, I've found this flickr group, and this great blog.

    Wishing you a happy weekend.

  • stone and driftwood

    Grey 2

    Grey 1 

    Grey 3 

    I let Arlo choose his own wool from the yarn shop the other day, and he selected this lovely soft grey which I think is a mixture of merino and soy (i can't find the label anywhere- sorry). I knitted him this simple hat for winter using this great pattern, but I sized it down a bit for him (casting on 80 stitches instead). He seems pretty happy with it, and wore it on a trip to the beach. It's just the colour of stones and driftwood.

    Also this week, I am loving this by Australian musician Sia. It's a great song but the video makes me laugh and laugh.

  • gifts for girls

    Girls 1

    Girls 3

    Girls2

    Girls 4

    Girls 5

    Girls 6

    We seem to know many little girls who have had birthdays lately- mostly school friends of Keira's but some cousins too. I usually like to buy a new book or art supplies to give as a gift, but then feel like adding a small 'handmade something' as well. In the past I've made dolls, dress-ups for dancing, pencil cases and clothes. Here are some of the things I've made recently for friends of the children.

    – A colourful beaded necklace. Actually, K made this herself for her friend ('who only likes beautiful things, mum') by threading some chunky painted wooden beads onto thick elastic thread. Quick and easy.

    – Colourful buttons. I sewed these onto a card for a friend of K's who is keen on making and decorating things. She especially enjoys a hot glue gun so I thought some bright buttons might be welcome.

    – Homemade notebooks – these are super quick to make from a stack of folded printer paper, and a piece of decorative paper for the cover (I used vintage wallpaper) then a line of machine-stitching down the middle.

    – Chocolate moulds. This wasn't my idea but was given to K for her birthday by a friend of mine. She wrapped up a new chocolate mould with a block of dark chocolate and it made a perfect rainy afternoon activity a few weeks ago. There was a lot of pride about making such cool-looking chocolates to ration out to Tom and I.

    – Striped singlet top. I made this from a stretch cotton top that was too short for me. I traced around a vest of Keira's to get the overall shape and overlocked all the raw edges. Then, sewed a length of elasticated cotton lace around the edges to create the straps.

    So, there are a few ideas. What do you like to give children as gifts?

  • golden weather

    Golden 1

    Golden 4

    Golden 6

    Golden 5 

    Golden 3 

    Golden 2 

    The kids and I are having a holiday at my parent's place, in the country. The weather is golden here at the moment: the grass has dried out to yellow and the walnuts are ready to be gathered. It's so dark and quiet here at night-time, and there's so much space to roam during the day. In the last photo above, A and K are taking the dogs on an adventure 'into the woods'. It makes me happy because that's just what i used to do with my brothers and sisters. It doesn't seem that long ago.

  • may-weed

    May 1

    May 2

    May 4

    May 3 

    I picked this bunch of mayweed on the weekend from my sister's little farm, where we had a family Easter gathering. There were lots of autumnal wild things growing in the paddock but this was the prettiest. I did some mayweed embroidery for my shop update today: a small zipped case and a felt pin.

    Hope you're having a great week so far.

  • tulip-style

    Tulip 1

    Tulip 

    Tulip 2 

    Tulip book

    Yellow leaves

    Today when I was at the cafe a friend asked 'So, are you dreaming of Norway at the moment?' and I had to say that yes, I was. I've been remembering that relief of early spring, and the first yellows reappearing outside from under the snow. And how everyone bought tulips to display on their tables. Also, my trip to Krakow in Poland last Easter. There were lots of tulips blooming in the parks there.

    Again inspired by my lovely Swedish embroidery book, I made this matching set over the weekend: a small tribute to the European spring, and the return of yellow to the northern hemisphere. Tulip illustrations done on a vintage ceramic cup, plate and notecards. The yellow leaves in the picture above were taken here at the bottom of the world.

  • scherenschnitte

    Easter 2

    Easter 1 

    This is a little paper-cut I made while I was procrastinating over other work I should have been doing. I've long admired the beautiful scherenschnitte works of Amy Karol and Elsita Mora and couldn't resist trying it myself. I don't think I have the finecutting skills or patience to make really complicated papercuts but this small one was fun. I found the pattern in an old craft book of mine ('American Country', Time-Life Publishers, 1989.)

    Wishing you a happy Easter holiday if you celebrate it, dear blog
    friends. I hope to have a rest, hang out with lots of family and eat chocolate. Hope you can too.

  • working with leather

    Leather 2

    Leather 3 

    Leather 4 

    Leather 5 

    Leather 1 

    I found an old craft book a while ago from 1978 ('Crafts', edited by Mary Harding, Book Club Associates, London) and in it was a section about working with leather. I've not been drawn to leatherwork before, mostly because of my vegetarian tendencies (although I do eat meat occasionally and buy leather shoes but I make sure I'll wear them for a long time to get maximum use from the leather!) But then around the same time I bought a bag of recycled leather scraps from a leatherworker that would otherwise have been thrown away, and I really like the sturdy smoothness of the material. I've been slowly making various things from it: pencil cases and purses mostly. I like the way vintage lace looks when sewn onto the dark brown leather- it's a great contrast of textures. I made some new bags for this week's shop update from vintage fabrics, and added strong leather handles to them.

    If i have enough scraps left over I might have a go at the plaited leather belt from the 70's craft book. The plaiting part looks fun but I'm not sure about the buckles, etc.

    Hope you have a great Wednesday.

  • anemone

    White3

    White2 

    White1 

    When I was out walking, I found this flower growing on the street and picked a bit to take home. I think it's an anemone. (Please let me know if I'm wrong- it happens often!) The petals are so very delicate. If I touch them, they fall off. I think they are very beautiful.

  • new clothes

    New 1

    New 2 

    New 3 

    New 4 

    I've had fun this weekend making some new clothes for both of the children for autumn. Here are some things I made for Keira. There's a new skirt made from a vintage cotton/wool blend fabric, some tweed trousers/shorts (kind of like long shorts to wear with tights underneath maybe when it gets colder)- and a new scarf. The scarf is the biggest cheat ever- it's a beautiful lacy knit in grey angora wool- but I didn't knit it by hand. It was a large shawl collar on one of my cardigans that I was ready to repurpose, so I carefully unpicked the lace part, washed and blocked it, and voila.

    She seems pretty pleased with the new school clothes, so my weekend work is done. Hope you had a happy one too.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~