tiny happy

There's one sweet manuka plant in our garden, and I used it as inspiration to embroider these stems on some dark berry-coloured linen. The plant gets pretty bashed around in the wind, but it seems quite hardy, thankfully. I've always loved manuka trees- we used to have a big one by the front door in a previous house. 

This week I've been feeling grateful for the spring sunshine and light. Watching The Bridge (Swedish version) and eating almond chocolate at night. Reading a book about tuatara.  Enjoying being home with the children + teenager. Doing a little spring cleaning. (only a little, mind you.)

The spring sun shining in the windows this morning seemed occasion enough to make some shortbread for a neighbour, and some for us. After all, who doesn't love the buttery crisp of shortbread? I added lemon to a favourite old recipe, and used the rim of a small cup to cut circles from the dough. 

LEMONY SHORTBREAD

250 grams butter, softened but not melted

1 cup icing sugar

1 cup cornflour

2 cups plain flour + a pinch of salt

grated rind of two lemons

Cream butter and icing sugar together (I find it easiest to make this mixture in a big bowl with a hand-held electric beater). Sift together the cornflour, flour and salt, and stir in the lemon rind. Scrape the butter mixture into the flour mixture and lightly mix. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead a little until you have a coherent dough. Press with your hands (or roll) to 1 cm thick. Cut shortbread into shapes and place on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Prick with a fork. Bake at 150 degrees celcius until pale golden (about 20 mins.)

How is your week going? We've been lucky enough to have a few days of sunshine, and I've started walking to work which is pretty joyful after a winter on the bus. Especially when I can blast Kate Bush on the headphones and stop for coffee (occasionally) when I reach the edge of the city. 

It's also meant a few afternoons pottering around the garden: we are now the proud caretakers of a few baby fruit trees- a lemon, lime, mandarin and feijoa. Please be kind, Wellington wind.

Here is a little clip of Picasso working in his studio in 1949.

And here is a collection of 200 free documentaries you could watch. I think we'll make some tea and choose one for tonight (I like the look of Bed Peace.)

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Hello lovely people. Hope you've had a great week.

Sorting through some old fabrics, I found this great print with parsley seeds (I think) and so made it up into a 'project bag' for the etsy shop, along with some other things. Every item has been made from recycled textiles, my favourite kind of making.

We have lots of gone-to-seed parsley in the garden these days, I don't have the heart to pull it out, due to its beauty. Have made some pesto with it though.

I've had a few emails about the little shop lately. Some I haven't answered yet. I want to say, I love making things to send around the world, and I will continue to do so, but updates will be sporadic as I find life getting fuller and fuller these days. Baby shoes will hopefully be made and listed soon.

Thank you for your ongoing interest in and support of my work.

And now for the weekend. Enjoy it, dear readers!

 Here are a couple of happy scenes from the weekend.

The eleven-year-old is really into food- it's a serious pursuit for him. (Eating, that is.) So I'm trying to do cooking with him as often as we can. We spent a cosy morning making scones and biscuits and I think he can make them by himself next time. He was pretty proud of the result.

I'm knitting a cardigan, this one, which I chose because I had the yarn ready to go (from another project that never eventuated) and I like the garter stitch simple style. I might make the sleeves full-length though, if i have enough yarn. I've had this cardy on my 'would-love-to-knit' list since I first saw Amanda's version a few years ago. Isn't that colour beautiful on her?

Feel like a virtual trip to New Zealand? Here's a beautiful song + video for your Monday: A Break in the Weather by David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights.

This print was a special Craft Sessions farewell present designed by Mara from Printspace. Craft is joy.

(She also designed this one, last year.)

More spring lightness can be found in our garden and in wild places around the suburb this week. Climbing roses, roadside freesias, and delicate daphne flowering in a pot by the back door.

Have a lovely weekend!

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(photos by Felicia Semple, embroidery by Alichia of Hearth Collective)

I got home from Melbourne and The Craft Sessions event and have been on a bit of a high ever since- what a fabulous time, place, space. I didn't take my camera because my bag was too full and I knew there would be lots of great photos from the weekend. If you'd like to see more, check out TCS blog, or instagram feed.

The event was pretty special. Just rooms packed with happy people doing what they love the most. I met old friends from last year and some new ones, learned a little about weaving and photography, drank wine and knitted some of a blue cardigan. I also taught a free-form patchwork class. We cut up old clothes for fabric and made flying geese and star blocks for a whole day. 

How beautiful is this embroidery? Alichia picked some branches from the garden and got to work straight away. I had a big class full of women: some had embroidered before and some were completely new to it. But by the end of the day, everyone had a beautiful, original piece of work. I was so proud. But really, all I did was provide the stitch diagrams, encouragement, and cups of tea. On our worktables, we had branches of wattle, grevillea, eucalyptus leaves, flowers and gumnuts. I really like Australian plants.

I'm heading to Melbourne today to take part in this fabulous event: The Craft Sessions. I'll be teaching two classes: Embroidery from the natural world, and Freedom patchwork.

I'm looking forward to seeing friends from last year, and meeting new ones from this year. If you want to have a glimpse into last year's event, click here.

See you next week, dear readers.

Finished a big deadline at work. It's the start of spring. Deep breath. 

Arvo Part: Spiegel im Spiegel.

First official day of spring in our half of the world… happy spring, fellow Southern Hemispherites.

This is a project bag I made for a friend who is an accomplished cook and nutritionist. I wanted to make her something to keep her current crochet projects in. My own little kitchen garden inspired me in my botanical embroidery here: I've worked various herbs and some chamomile and nasturtium flowers too, free-form, on some natural linen.