tiny happy

Here are three things I made with my hands recently:

a) a botanical sampler designed and embroidered for a customer on the other side of the world, featuring various favourite plants. 

b) set of three new baby knits: a bonnet (from this pattern), booties (discussed here) and a little animal friend (from this pattern.) All knit in fine alpaca yarn.

c) some drawstring and zipped bags for my Mum, sewn from remnants from her handwoven projects. These were a bit tricky to make as the yarn was prone to unravel, but I've seen them in use already, so hopefully they'll last for a while.

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An old favourite song for your Wednesday evening: Pulaski at Night, Andrew Bird.

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I hope you're having a good week. What are you working on right now?

I wrote last year about the garment-sewing book Everyday Style by Lotta Jansdotter and I'm continuing to use it now and again to make various pieces of clothing.

One thing I made at the end of last year is the 'Pilvi' jacket/coat and I've worn it lots of times since. It's turned out to be a very useful summer layer. In the book, this design is made up in crisp cotton drill (the jacket version) and in thick wool (as a coat) and looks beautiful but I knew I wouldn't have much use for a coat that doesn't fasten.

So I made my Pilvi in some rayon crepe in a dark purple-charcoal colour and it's sort of like a loose and drapey cardigan to wear over dresses and tops. I cropped it a bit and the sleeves are 3/4 length.

Love it when I'm able to make something that is simple and useful! Might even make a second one, in a different colour.

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A few things I'm enjoying looking at, these days:

Fine Little Day blog

Naomi Ito instagram

tricobsession pinterest board by Nicole

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Over the summer holiday my mother and I visited Broomfields, which is a lovely craft store specialising in needlework kits and supplies.

I bought some mottled grey linen and hand dyed 'Simply Shaker' threads in the beautifully-named shades of 'crystal lake' and 'cucumber' to use during the year ahead. And I also got a special Danish needlepoint kit which I'm very excited about cracking open (thanks Mum).

I used some of the linen and thread to do a bit of free-form embroidery this weekend. It's quite a treat having new supplies to play with.

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Also this week I was lucky enough to see Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds play live here in Wellington and it was a wonderful night. His new album Skeleton Tree is a current favourite and the gig included fantastic live versions of some of those songs, (this, the title track, was my favourite) as well as some older stuff. Heartbreaking and beautiful.

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In the new year, we set off on a tramping (hiking) trip with friends.

We try to do this together at least annually but sometimes weather and other circumstances prevent it. However this year, the sky was clear and everything fell into place.

We were walking in the Cobb Valley of Kahurangi National Park, which is one of my favourite tramping spots. The walk ascends into sub-alpine then true alpine conditions and I love seeing the trees, shrubs and flowers change with the conditions. At the highest point we reached there were no plants to speak of, just noisy kea circling the scree cliffs. It's a fantastic place to spend the new year and do some good thinking.

This year we saw different types of gentian, hebe, native daisies and orchids. A forest of native beech trees with a lush fern carpet (3rd photo above). Fields of tussock with bright yellow bulbinella flowers (4th photo)

I sadly regretted not bringing a botanical book to help me identify everything, but I did bring a pencil and notebook and got a chance to do some sketching with Keira. We were both wearing our warmest hand-knits and sheltering under a tiny windswept tree!

Back at home, I've been referring to my books to identify and improve the drawings I did and am hoping to translate some into embroidery this year if I can.

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Hello! Happy new year to you, dear ones.

I've been away on a family holiday in the South Island, spending lots of time with family and friends. It's been pretty amazing actually: days of warmth and sunshine, sea swimming and beach walking. We we went tramping up to the top of a mountain and slept amongst clumps of tussock and thought it might snow. We had lots of beautiful summery food such as berry ice cream and barbequed fish and salads and corn on the cob. 

I did a little knitting on our travels – I made a pair of socks for my sister. (Ravelry notes can be found here). These were made from this pattern, and some gorgeous cashmere yarn from Old Maiden Aunt yarns. I used some leftover sock yarn in green for contrast heels and toes and together the colours remind me a bit of olive leaves.

I hope you've had a good new year so far. I'm looking forward to sharing my projects and adventures here throughout 2017.

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Dear friends,

Wishing you a very happy Christmas, if you celebrate it.
I hope that 2017 brings you love and peace.

See you back here in mid-January.

M

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I set aside some time this year to make a few Christmas gifts for family and friends. Here are some of the things I've made for people who (I'm pretty sure) don't read my blog.

Both Tom and I come from quite large families and both sets do a kind of 'secret santa' present arrangement where everyone draws one name and buys a gift for that person at Christmas. But I like to give small handmade things to other family members if I can because it's fun and I love present making and wrapping. Though of course I completely understand that many of us would rather not be hanging around the sewing machine and ironing board right now!

 Anyway, this year I made quite a few 'project bags' for the crafty people in my life, but also for the kids' school and music teachers. The one in the first photo above was made with beautiful sturdy linen with a painterly print designed by the Rifle Paper Company. You can see more of their fabrics here. I saved a bit of the 'birch floral' to make a knitting case for myself in the new year. 🙂

The little booties were knit up in green alpaca yarn, along with a few other things, for a friend having a baby soon. The pattern is called 'Hodge' and is a free one on Ravelry – I was really impressed with the clever design. The cuff of each slipper folds over and underneath is a tighter ribbed section to help keep them snug around a baby's ankle.

I had quite a bit of dried lavender from Marlborough and used it to make some sets of lavender sachets. In the photo above you can see some made from vintage linen with finely-worked cross-stitch – for an aunt who loves daffodils. 

And I had some beautiful Liberty Tana lawn that I felt must become pillowcases – I made them from this pattern. The Liberty design is called 'Daniel DJ' which is a bit of a strange name but it features suns and clouds in grey and pale red and has an old-fashioned illustration feel I think.

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And while I've been working away, I've been listening to this album which I think is my making-music of the moment: Malibu by Anderson Paak.

Hope you are enjoying this time of year too! What are you working on?

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Here are a few snaps from the last few days. I finally finished work for the year and we've had a few end-of-year gatherings and friend meet-ups which is always good for the heart.

I made a new top for summer, using this pattern (the simplest version of it – with a straight hem and no pockets or anything) and some vintage fabric I found last year at Fabricabrac. It's a drapey sort of cotton with a dusky-pink floral print that reminds me of my grandmother. I don't usually wear pink, but I can make an exception for this print I think.

Due to the amount of fabric I had, the top is quite short in length but I think it will be good to wear over summer dresses as a loose, drapey layer.

I also used up some scraps of cotton in green and pink to make the garland you can see in the second photo above. It's a little present for my niece's bedroom, but I had to test it out in our courtyard first.

Also needing testing: Keira's batch of dark-chocolate-dipped strawberries made for a party. Is there anything nicer to eat at this time of year? She ran out of strawberries so also dipped the segments from five mandarins.

Hello! Hope your December is going well so far.

There's been a lot to do around here (as I'm sure there has been in your neck of the woods also) as school and work and other activities finish up for the year.

I've carved out some time to do a bit of Christmas-present-making – and have finished some small knitted items, as well as a few decorations, baking and sweets.

Next on the list: a couple of handmade market bags for a couple of people I have in mind.

It occurred to me that everything I'm making appears elsewhere on this blog, and so here are the links to the patterns or recipes, in case you're in the mood for a spot of making too.

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:: :: :: embroidered decorations :: :: :: 

Are you making anything this year, and if so, what's the plan?

I haven't got much to show in the way of finished projects this week – I have been working away on things but most of them are intended as Christmas gifts. 

I did however find this glorious old cake platter in the op-shop next door to my workplace, and had to make a chocolate cake to place on it when I got home.

The cake is just a plain recipe but two-layers sandwiched together with berries and cream in the middle, and the plate is marked 'Lord Nelson Pottery' on the back and has gold leaves printed around the edge.

Another very good thing is that there is a tangle of sweet peas in the garden at the moment – self seeded from last year, so effort-free as well. 

This is a beautiful article that I enjoyed recently and thought you might, too – On Optimism and Despair, by Zadie Smith.

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