tiny happy

(above: Sampling of 'embroidery from the natural world' stitched by me; Felicia's hand-quilting; barn embroidery by Elizabeth Barnett.)

I'm very excited to tell you about Slow Stitching in the Barn, a new Craft Sessions retreat to be held in March next year.

The traditional September Craft Sessions retreat sells out so quickly each year that Felicia wanted to hold something similar but different – Slow Stitching in the Barn, as you might imagine, will focus purely on stitches with some drawing and painting too.

In Felicia's own words:

"… where I came to was that I really wanted the opportunity to dive deep into a particular discipline or craft for a whole weekend. I wanted us to have more time to have a deeper focus in one area. Once I got started on this train of thought, the ideas kept flowing. More topics, and more crafts, and more special events where we come together to connect and focus."

This special retreat will feature workshops in hand-quilting, embroidery both traditional and free-form, and some drawing and painting if you want to, all held at this beautiful place.

I'll be teaching, together with The Craft Sessions' Felicia Semple and artist Elizabeth Barnett.

We will be offering some specially designed projects including a hand-quilted piece, needlebooks, project bags, samplers, embroidered garments and watercolour painting, and all the materials will be provided.

Registration for this retreat opens on Sunday November 13, and there are lots more details to be found here and some more here.

There's also a giveaway running on the Craft Sessions blog – an embroidery parcel consisting of a hoop, linen and beautiful threads. Just click here to leave a comment and enter.

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I would absolutely love to see you at Slow Stitching in the Barn – I think it's going to be quite special.

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I hope you've had a lovely long weekend if you are a fellow New Zealander. It's Labour Weekend here – the official time to celebrate the advent of the eight-hour working day and to plant tomatoes and other summer crops.

I've been mostly doing the above, as well as spending time with some friends and family. And catching up on a few things, including sewing up some half-finished pieces for my etsy shop (you can see them in the photo above) and drinking coffee outside with Tom.

I also discovered the music of the Brad Mehldau Trio, this track in particular – perfection!

Hello and happy October! Hope this finds you well, lovely reader.

I'm knitting some socks for Tom. They make a good project to carry around and sneak a few rows on every now and then (such as in my lunch break at work and on the bus). But they are taking a really long time! I'm worried I will contract a terrible case of 'second sock syndrome' when I finally finish the first one. Will be sure to keep you posted on this nail biting situation.

In the last photo above you can see some beautiful aquilegia (columbine) flowers that are having their moment in the garden. They've self-seeded from last year. But here is the strange thing: last summer they were a dark purple and yellow colour (I even have blog evidence). Do you know anything about this?

It's spring here in Wellington and that means even wilder weather, and asparagus. We love eating it around here, and it's nice to have a vegetable that is truly seasonal – it's not common to find asparagus for sale at any other time of the year. 

Anyway, asparagus tart is a favourite easy-to-make supper and if someone brings a bunch of asparagus home with them, I can have this ready in nearly half an hour. Here's the recipe:

SPRING FLING ASPARAGUS TART

1 1/4 cups plain flour
a pinch of salt
75 grams cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup milk
splash of malt or white vinegar
1 bunch of fresh asparagus

3 eggs
salt and cracked pepper
handful of grated cheddar cheese or crumbled feta
chopped fresh parsley and mint

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius and dust an oven tray with flour.
Make the pastry by placing flour, salt and butter in a food processor, and blitzing until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the splash of vinegar to the milk and let sit for half a minute or so. Add to flour and mix until a pastry ball is formed. (Add a little more flour or milk if too wet or dry). Roll pastry out into a rectangle a smidge bigger than the oven tray and lay the pastry over it. Fold the edges in to make a border. Trim asparagus and lay width-ways along the pastry.

Beat the eggs then mix in the salt and pepper, grated cheese and herbs. Pour this mixture over the asparagus carefully so it doesn't escape the pastry border. Bake for around 15-20 minutes, until it is golden and the pastry is crispy. Serve with salad and peas or broad beans. 

Happy spring times!

I haven't finished much in the craft department lately, except a collection of little gifts to post off to friends having new babies. I think that my friends and wider family are keeping the population of New Zealand healthy these days, haha.

Making baby gifts is a good way to get a craft fix, don't you think? Here are a few things recently finished:

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'Pebble' vest, knitted for my workmate's first baby. I used this yarn and the Pebble vest pattern. And of course rainbow buttons, just because.

Some big-eared elephants (using this pattern) and little spring hats (pattern is 'Modern Bonnet' from my own book) sewn from recycled clothes…! The merino wool fabric on the outside was once a skirt that didn't fit any longer, and the linings are from striped cotton t-shirts so they're very soft and cosy. 

A little newborn hat made from this free pattern, and knitted from Rowan sock yarn leftover from this project.

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Apart from making small things for new humans, I've also been enjoying this Tiny Desk concert by Hayley Bonar.

Hope this finds you well and having a good week!

I've found it difficult to make my way here, lately, for a number of reasons (work and school holidays being the primary ones). But today I've managed to find some time to share this beautiful glossy red ranunculus, a gift from a friend. 

I do love the design aesthetic of these spring flowers, the way they are coloured like a definite decision, and their slow unfurling. 

I also wanted to show you some very special yarn: Purl Soho Flax Down in the most beautiful soft grey-mauve shade which I think is named 'grey fig.' My friend S was recently in New York and she brought it back for me. I adore it but haven't settled on what to do with it yet – I'm thinking a cowl, to take advantage of its softness. What would you make with such a beauty?

I also thought I'd share this recipe for a pear and walnut tart, made in a hurry for lunch-dessert today. I'm quite pleased with this invention (though I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of it!). It's more of a 'method' really, which I'll describe below.

Have a lovely new week ahead!

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Pear and walnut tart

Filo pastry
3-4 pears
Handful of walnuts
25 grams butter, melted
2 generous spoonfuls of honey
1 tsp ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Place baking paper on 2 baking trays and set aside. 
Place the honey and cardamom in a small saucepan and heat until liquid. Stir and let cool. 
Peel and thinly slice pears, then place fruit in honey mixture and gently combine so that each piece is coated.
Brush 4-5 filo pastry sheets with melted butter and stack together. Make either one tart or cut into 4 pieces. Fold edges in a bit to make a border and brush again with melted butter. 
Using your hands, take the sticky pear pieces and lay them out within the border. Scatter over chopped walnuts, and drizzle over any remaining honey mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden and serve with natural yoghurt or cream.

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I got some new postcards printed with photos taken recently – some have embroidery and others a sprig of late-summer flowers on them. I like to keep my stock of cards up, as they're very useful to have on hand for impromptu gift-giving and the like. I also enjoy wrapping them up with my etsy orders.

Also above: hellebores in my parents' garden. Just because.

Have a lovely weekend!

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My mum made this quilt for Arlo a few years ago and she asked for a picture of it because her friend wants to make something similar. I realised I'd never photographed it before and that is probably because Arlo's had it on his bed every night since he received it. Which I think was in 2011.

I'm afraid to say I can't remember the name of the design, but I think the cottons fabrics are mostly Japanese in origin. It's a beautiful quilt.

Also pictured above: a small play with watercolour paints. It's the school holidays so all the paints, pens, papers and glues are out of the cupboard and on the kitchen table. Happiness!

A favourite place to visit during my workday lunch break is The Fabric Store and even more so now that they stock fabrics from Liberty of London. Even though I've been admiring these for ages I don't usually buy any because I feel like I need to have a clear project in mind before cutting in to it.

But the other day I saw this print and had to get some. It's called 'Josephine's Garden' and was only stocked in a cotton knit – like a t-shirt weight. I didn't like my chances of neatly sewing a t-shirt so I made two pillowcases (this pattern) instead. I've never had knit-fabric pillowcases before but they're actually lovely – soft and light.

The print made me think of Scandinavian summertime and how buttercups and clover grow in a tangle along the roadside. I found  an old photo of some wildflowers I brought inside after a walk one afternoon, 7 years ago now.

Here is a new favourite song of mine: Deer Eyes by Danish band Lowly.

Hope you're having a relaxing weekend, wherever you are.

I probably shouldn't have said spring had arrived because it's been chased away again by storms and cold – but that's just good encouragement to keep knitting by the fire…

I've finished another little baby garment gift – this one is a cardigan made from alpaca/silk yarn and I'll wrap it up with this bonnet to make a set.

In the second photo above, you can see the new vase I bought at the op-shop next to my office. I love its simple style and shape. Handmade pottery, too! 

It's a bit dangerous having such a good second-hand shop right next door to my work. I have a workmate who loves to look around in there too, so he and I pop down for a quick break most afternoons. 

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This entire album by Radiohead has been bringing me a lot of joy these days, but especially this song with its bossa nova beat: Present Tense, and the video for Daydreaming in which we follow along through doors and floors and over mountains.

Hope this finds you well and keeping warm, dear reader.

Hello! I hope your week is going well so far. Here are a couple of small makes I finished recently.

One botanical embroidery (I've just planted some tansy in the garden – so I had to capture it) and a little bonnet for a new baby.

The embroidery was worked free-style, but for the infant hat I used this pattern, and some baby alpaca/silk yarn. I modified the pattern by omitting the 'bear ears' (I love them but I thought the recipient would prefer the classic bonnet style) and working i-cord ties.

A few things I've noticed around the traps lately, that you might like too:

+ + + My grandfather Roald Dahl, the magician, by Sophie Dahl

+ + + Mummates, a new online Kiwi mums network 

+ + + The Instagram account of this Swedish textile artist

+ + + Orange fennel + mint slaw (with crispy fish tacos) on Homegrown Kitchen

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