tiny happy

Thank you for joining in with the giveaway over the weekend. It was fun to read your comments and I have a year's worth of new books and music to check out now, which was all part of my sneaky plan. 

In my next post, I'm going to compile a list of everyone's favourites for easy reference, but of course you can check out the comments section if you want to see them now.

I drew 3 names with a random number generator: Camilla, Ariadne and Chloe. 

Thought I'd show you some vibrant greens from the garden – the first handful of fardenlosa beans harvested this summer (thanks Jo for the envelope of beans last autumn) and the leaves of an aquilegia plant. This particular plant seems to love its shady and damp situation - unlike most plants I try to grow…

I thought it would be nice to start the year with a giveaway – please consider this a small thank you for visiting my blog. 

I have three parcels to send out – one with a copy of my book, one with cards and one with a dress I made. I've never worn it but want to gift it to a bright-frock-loving person.

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The knee-length dress is handmade from a pattern called 'Socialite' (but I promise you don't have to be one to wear it) and lightweight silk cotton in blue and pink, with a fine geometric print. It has side pockets and is about a 'medium' or NZ size 12, or smaller. It would be great for summer with sandals but also with a long cardy and tights in cooler weather, I reckon.

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Sweet and Simple Handmade was published in 2013 and has 25 projects to make for babies and children. All the paper patterns are included in a pocket in the back. You can read more about it here (and you can find it in my shop too).

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I have some of photo-cards to send to the third winner. Ferns, lupins, and some favourite Wellington seascapes.

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To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment below and tell me/us the music you're enjoying listening to these days. Or a book you recently finished and enjoyed. 

I'll send the parcels to anywhere in the world and after drawing 3 names randomly after the weekend, I'll email to work out who would prefer what.
Thanks again for reading and for your support of my work.

X X X X X Happy 2016 X X X X X

Even though it's very simple to embroider, a vine with leaves and small flowers will always remain a favourite stitching subject for me.

I embroidered this plain black summer top with some tiny yellow flowers, inspired by yellow fennel in bloom along Wellington's South Coast. 'Twas a bit tricky to work with ordinary thread on stretch cotton. But I like being able to add a bit of handmade wonk to otherwise standard-issue garments.

A group of us trekked up to the Ataturk Memorial on the weekend – what a dramatic and beautiful spot! Native flaxes and shrubs were pushing through the flowering gorse and scrub.

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In my next post, I will hold a special giveaway to celebrate a fresh new year. See you then, dear readers.

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I had the nicest time one afternoon this week just sitting at the kitchen table, making these pressed-flower sun catchers.

The project idea came from the most recent issue of Extra Curricular magazine (#18) and a piece written by Isabella Pachter, with photos by my pal Sonya. 

I made three sun-catchers, and used up all the pressed flowers I had been saving in a heavy book, including buttercups, clover, pansies and ferns. 

And of course now I've had to press another big batch of flowers so I can make one for all my friends: this time, nasturtium blooms and leaves, hydrangea petals and daisies from the lawn. 

A friend gave me an armful of white lisianthus stems. They're kind of like casual roses. I love them.

And late last year, Helen gifted me the vintage pincushion you can see in the last photo above. It's made from wool felt with hand-embroidery, and filled with sand (good for keeping needles sharp). I think the little extra piece of felt at the top is for tucking into your belt or tying around your wrist to keep the pins close by. (Is that right, Helen?)

This beautiful little sewing treasure, together with the other flowers from the garden at the moment (geraniums, alyssum, iceberg roses) suddenly inspired me to do some embroidery: a free-form sampler of sorts, white thread on black linen. 

Both Arlo and Keira have loved to draw and paint since they could hold crayons, but lately Keira has been especially interested in trying all sorts of art-making, and has been attending drawing classes in town too (these ones, which she loves).

It's a special thing to watch a child grow up and develop a deep interest in and love for something. She is quite dedicated, and spends a lot of time at her desk, sketching faces, animals and people in different situations.

She's also into graffiti, and there's a lot of it on walls around our community (for example garage doors and alleyways) and of course in the city itself (both 'authority-approved' and otherwise.)

One of her holiday projects is 'doing graffiti' (painting a mural is not quite correct, she told me) on an old wall at our place. Tom bought her the spray-paints and today she's been planning a design and practising with the cans. 

K gave me the bird painting for Christmas. She said it's for my office wall, but I like the look of it against the bedroom wallpaper.

Happy new year to you! I hope you had a relaxing summer break if you're on this side of the world.

I was lucky enough to visit family all over the top of the South Island, and ventured to Golden Bay and the West Coast too. Everywhere was so warm and bright, with sparkling blue sea and sky, people on holiday, berries, stone-fruit and icecream. Idyllic.

Despite the heat I managed to get some knitting done (it was such a luxury to not be working/getting distracted by everyday concerns) – I finally finished the '3-color cowl' I'd started in the spring, with the help of my super-quick-knitting Mum, who knitted the last bit for me (thanks Mum!)

I used leftover yarn from this project for a matching set that I think will be very cosy and useful to wear to work this winter. The original pattern by Joji Locatelli employs acid green to complement two grey shades which I love, but in the end I decided (rather conservatively) to use an ice-blue for the contrasting colour. You can see my Ravelry notes, including yarn used, here.

I'm so happy to be back home and in this online space again. Thanks for your messages over the break! Happy 2016, dear readers.

Wishing you a very happy Christmas and new year season, if you celebrate it.

It's the end of the working year here, and I'm off to spend time with family and friends and have a computer break for a few weeks. 

Other activities I hope to fill these days with include reading, knitting, eating summer fruit, hiking, swimming in the sea, talking and drinking wine. Though not necessarily in that order.

I hope you have a relaxing break too, wherever you are in the world. 

Thank you for reading my blog this year. See you in 2016.

Sending love,
Melissa

Geraniums are growing in the back garden – I have some pink and some white. Geraniums are trusty, timeless flowers that remind me of childhood (my sister and I tried to make 'beautiful perfume' from them on numerous occasions.)

Also pictured: a Christmas present to myself: a new summer top I made from Nani Iro (the piece i bought back here) in sea/sky colours. I feel almost as though this fabric was designed especially for me. I used the Scout Tee pattern.

Some more favourite things these days include:

H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald – a beautifully written book about the grieving process and nature.

The Haunted Man  by Bat for Lashes - my current walking music

These sweet tarts – I hope to make before Christmas (if there's time..!)

How are your holiday preparations coming along? I've been making a few gifts which has proved to be a happy antidote to the usual hustle and bustle that can be expected around these parts at the end of the year. 

Here are a few recent makes:

* A string of elephants, made from linen with patterned ears. For a baby's bedroom.

* Hand-knitted wash-cloths made from cotton yarn in various colours. Some squares are just plain garter stitch, others are worked in moss-stitch. I've made pairs of these for friends and wrapped them together with nice soap. I like that it's a practical gift that will get used up, but also that it's so relaxing to knit at the end of a busy rushing sort of day. The best kind of craft.

*This is a sock-knitting case, for someone who is rather a whizz with four tiny needles and carries in-progress socks wherever she goes. I used a piece of vintage linen I'd been hoarding because I love the embroidery and I think (hope) she will too.

I liked this piece by Pip: Nine ways to lift your spirits and not freak out at Christmas. Quite appropriate for me to read this week, and maybe you, too?