tiny happy

I grew these everlasting flowers (sometimes called 'straw flowers') but the wind snapped the plant in half so I've brought them inside to admire. I found some orange ones of these growing wild and have been trying to grow them ever since. I love their papery layers, and the way they almost look like someone made them for a school project. A friend of mine is living in Perth and I saw a photo of her surrounded by a field of everlasting flowers, it was very beautiful.

I also found some half-embroidered linen and sewed it up into some simple little pouches. I feel like I should probably finish off the embroideries but it would take so long and I'd never do them justice. By making something from the pieces, it's like the work is captured for its next life.

I've been thinking about life cycles a lot this week as there has been a death in Tom's extended family, so it's a very sad time for everyone and the kids and I have been writing lists of the good things we did together with J. I remember him a few Christmases ago, standing barefoot in the sea with his trousers rolled up, squinting in the sun. It's funny how these memories come back to us long after the time they took place.

This song is my choice of the week, Bay of Skaill by The Magnetic North.

The kids wanted me to make something for the school fair which takes place at the end of this week (more details here– please come along, locals!) and I've been helping out with the crafty stuff at the fair. I've also made a few things for the table, including these soft rabbits and owls. They're all made from recycled cardigans and sweaters, with embroidered features. It was very pleasing to be able to use old textiles in this way. I'm hoping to finish a few more of these before the fair on Friday evening.

The rabbits have soft silky fabrics inside their ears so they're nice to stroke. That's very important, you know.

The kids and I went to see the spring plants at the Botanical Gardens the other day, but they enjoyed the lily pond most of all. Gazing at goldfish never gets old, it would seem. 

All those gorgeous lilies, combined with the spring flowers outside the greenhouse, inspired me to make some more pins from felt. These are some new pieces, made from coloured wool felt with vintage buttons and a bit of embroidery. 

I will be teaching a workshop on making felt pins here in early December- I will write more about that soon.

And here is an upbeat and slightly addictive song by Cat Power to start off the weekend.

I was given a sweet gift from my friend Karuna– a set of leaf stamps and some inks in earthy colours. I had a lot of fun printing up pieces of linen last night, and now i have a lot of things covered in ferns and maple leaves. Although in this picture they look quite faint, in real life they are more colourful and I keep getting distracted from other work thinking about more leaf-printed objects I could make.

First things first though- keeping a small tribe of children fed after school. The kids and their friends always demolish plates of pikelets if I make them- and they are quite delicious, I must admit. Do you ever make them? 

PIKELETS: Sift together 1 cup of flour, 1 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt. In another bowl whisk one big egg with 1/4 cup sugar. Add dry ingredients and 3/4 milk. Whisk till smooth then fry spoonfuls of the mixture in a buttered pan till golden. And don't forget some jam and butter (the kids' input there.)

I found this piece of buttercup printed linen neatly folded underneath a stack of other fabric, and since our lawn is covered in buttercups right now, I thought it a good time to feature it on this little bag.

I recently made myself a couple of these linen pouches to keep belongings sorted- there's one for pens, etc and another for my sunglasses and lipbalm, etc. It's good to have things tidy in my everyday satchel for the first time in my life! 

I have a couple of public service announcements…

– The first one is that there will be a fabulous textile/making retreat called The Makerie in April next year in Boulder, CO. There will be classes galore and teachers like Amy Butler and Cal Patch. You can also apply for a scholarship to take part – there are more details about that here.

– A bit closer to home (for me, anyway) is the final Fabric-a-brac fair which will be held tomorrow at the Berhampore School Hall in Wellington from 12. The lovely Josie is stepping down from organising this fair, so if you are interested in helping keep this worthy and fun event running you can contact her here.

Craft 2.0 was great fun on the weekend- thank you for the support and it was nice to meet so many blog readers and fellow makers. It was cosy up in the theatre with the rain and wind putting on a show outside- classic Wellington stuff.

Today my mind has been in the USA- my journalism class has been writing live online coverage of election day and we've really been digging in to all sorts of issues and perspectives. My fingers are crossed for you over there, I bet there is a fair bit of nervousness while you wait for the results.

This popped up in my facebook feed this morning- I like subscribing to Bob Dylan.

I managed to make a few little bird pins for my shop, using the very last of the antique illustrations I had been saving. Hope is the thing with feathers, and all that.

Now my shift is over it's time to get back to something very simple- a spot of knitting. I'm making some washcloths from soft cream cotton yarn- I hope to give them as Christmas gifts, along with some handmade soap. That simple meditative garter stitch is a calming one, I can tell you.

A few last-minute preparations for my table at Craft 2.0 tomorrow. I have been collecting old, printed linen for a while now and finally finished a collection of cushions to take along with me. Thought I'd make the most of living in the same city as a craft fair as usually I have to fit everything into a small suitcase for the plane. So I will have some new cards, some cushions and a few pairs of baby shoes for my table tomorrow. More details about the fair can be found here. Also, thanks to Sue who wrote this article for the Wellingtonista about the event.

I wonder when I will be a real grown-up and learn to manage my time better? This must have been the busiest week of the year, quite apart from getting ready for the craft fair, as tonight we are helping the kids throw a combined party for their friends (with a spooky-ish feeling, hence the candles in jars which I'm placing all over the house.) I can also, with much relief, tick 'learning shorthand' off my list as I've finally reached the speed required in my study to stop having to attend shorthand lessons. I've never felt so relieved to finish learning something! It was very difficult and took over my brain for at least 3 months. Big respect to all those secretaries and journalists out there.

Back to making streamers and lanterns. Wishing you a very happy weekend.

I was given a present last week, wrapped by Helen in this amazing vintage botanical wallpaper. Those pop flowers and general cheerfulness of the colours used inspired these wool cases, all hand-embroidered in brightly coloured wool. I used scraps of wool fabric in dark colours for the actual purses. They are all a bit different and were made for my table at this weekend's Craft 2.0 fair. It should be a fabulous event and I would love to to see you if you're in town.

Here's a new song for you, if you feel like one: Marilyn by Bat for Lashes. Thank you, Nick.

This week I made up a stack of bright and new cotton clothes for children in Uganda. I was at the library the other day when I saw a poster for Make a Difference as part of the Global Volunteer Network, which appealed to me- after all, I always have my machine set up and ready to go. After a few emails to Karen, she'd arranged for the unsewn garments plus instructions to be delivered to me, and they were very simple to put together.

If you'd be interested in doing a bit of sewing for Make a Difference, you can email Karen through her site here.

Wishing you a bright and cheerful weekend. We're planning a trip to a cousin's school fair, a walk on the beach, and some waffles for breakfast on Saturday. Nothing too taxing.

As promised, here are two more salads from the spring-time kitchen. Thank you for your suggestions last week– they all sound brilliant, and quite a few are now in my hand-written recipe book. Will be sure to report back soon.

Here are two new salads I made over the weekend. The first was inspired by my friend Jenny, who wrote about her favourite nicoise in my first salad post.

I didn't have quite the same ingredients to hand, so this is how i made it: assorted salad leaves and herbs, steamed baby new potatoes, chopped boiled eggs, pieces of smoked fish. I made a dressing from mayonaise and lots of lime juice to finish.

The second salad recipe was originally from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries I think, but that book is at my sisters' house so I might well have forgotten something integral.

It consists of baby spinach leaves, a tin of cannellini beans (rinsed several times to free them from that slimy tin liquid), halved olives and chopped pancetta. Over the top: a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, salt and pepper and chopped herbs.

(Incidentally, have you seen this amazing collection of NS recipes over at the Guardian? I love his writing.)