tiny happy

I had to adjust a gorgeous old velveteen skirt to fit better and, with the strip I had left over, I made this little pen case and patched K's favourite jeans. She is very much a jeans-and-hoody girl these days, but her jeans are always getting holes in the knees so hopefully these thick, velveteen patches will be sturdier than most! She is very pleased to be wearing them again- they'd been sitting by my sewing machine for weeks.

I think printed cotton velveteen must be the best fabric ever.

I came across this video last night- the oldest flash mob ever, which just happens to be in Auckland, NZ. Very cute, and it just shows there really is no excuse for not moving around more.

Have a great weekend.

We stayed in an alpine hut over the weekend, and the kids did some skiing. I loved the shape of the mountains. I spent quite a lot of time staring at those outlines (I'm not a skiier, but I liked knitting and watching.) 

I was thinking that some home baking would have been a good idea, but I ran out of time before we left. So I had to make amends upon our return- above we have flapjack, which is the current lunchbox favourite around here. I think flapjacks are also a kind of American pancake, but my Mum would always make us this oaty version in a giant roasting pan, and we would carve chunks of it for our lunchboxes or to give to the hungry farm workers when they were having a break from haymaking. It seems healthy, what with all those oats and all, but actually it is a bit of a homage to butter and sugar (or golden syrup, really.) I use this recipe, but take care to cook the butter mixture for about ten minutes or longer, until it is dark brown in colour, and that results in a firmer end product. Although it's still quite crumbly, in a delicious sort of way.

All this cold winter weather made me think of wool embroidery, so I worked some anemone-type flowers onto some vintage wool fabric I had lying around, and voila- the result was this bag and matching case. It was rather therapeutic to work by the heater while looking out the window at the wind and rain.

Another cheering thing right now is the public library, which we visit as a family every Sunday. It's great now that the kids are old enough to sit down and read while Tom and I browse for books. Very civilised, don't you think? Anyway, on my last visit there, I found this graphic novel by Vanessa Davis: Make Me a Woman. It is brilliant, and I felt it completely spoke to my sense of humour. I recommend it highly.

Enjoy your weekend, lovely readers.

A little golden light for a rainy, grey day. It's pretty cold out there, but at least there's only a month to go before spring now. That is a very happy thought.

I had today at home, and I made a few new things for my shop. A yellow rose purse and a cushion cover with some native birds, and a map of important places. And on the way home from school, the kids helped me pick these wild (mustard?) flowers from the pavement.

I hope you're having a golden Tuesday.

The sun came out this morning, and when I was joyfully hanging out the washing, I found this miniature daffodil under the trampoline. Silly old daffodil.

Today was National Poetry Day. I celebrated by reading from this book on the bus, attending a poetry reading at a book shop, writing a poem at a street stall promoting creative writing, and spent five minutes listening to an enthusiastic guy on the street shout out his impromptu ode to biscuits.

Here is my favourite Janet Frame poem, to mark the occasion.

I take into my arms more than I can bear to hold

I take into my arms more than I can bear to hold

I am toppled by the world

a creation of ladders, pianos, stairs cut into the rock

a devouring world of teeth where even the common snail

eats the heart out of a forest

as you and I do, who are human, at night

yet still i take into my arms more than I can bear to hold.

– Janet Frame, from The Goose Bath poems, Vintage, 2006.

A windy, rainy stomp home from school this afternoon inspired a bit of chocolate mixing and whisking- the nicest thing to drink in the depths of winter, we think. I first wrote about this a couple of years ago here– and I used a recipe from an old copy of The Vegetarian Epicure, by Anna Thomas. I modified the recipe a bit, but it's basically this one. 

And speaking of chocolate, I think these 'building blocks' look rather lovely. Might have to make those next.

This is a little crystals pouch I made for Tom's cousin, who turned 11 this weekend. She is really into crystals and gemstones, as are my kids, so A and K chose her a few and we made a little safekeeping pouch for them from silk. This silk was printed with the end-of-a-pencil eraser and some yellow ink. A wooden button and ribbon fastens the pouch, and it's lined in brown gingham for strength.

I like that the kids are so into gems because when I was little I found them fascinating. Also, fossils and rocks and shells from faraway places. It's strange how when we get older, we have to try harder to find the magic in these things. Well, I do, anyway.

Do you know The Magnetic Fields? The first song I heard by them was this quirky and amazing one, and then I discovered I Don't Want To Get Over You.

Tucked behind the shed, I found a raggedy little wintersweet bush. I couldn't believe my luck, as not much is growing around here right now. I snipped off a branch and brought it inside. It has a deeply comforting sweet/citrus scent.

The flowers inspired a bit of watercolour work, and that in turn led to some stamp-carving from rubber. And so I have this simple little wintersweet flower print, made with yellow textile ink on natural linen. It's very July-in-NZ, don't you think?

I'm really loving pinterest right now- when the working (studying) hours and long and grey, ten minutes playing on my pinboards at night is the best medicine, I think. My boards are here- does anything take your fancy?

Happy weekend!

It was the stormiest day in a long while today, so I was appreciating these two very spring-like things: an old patchwork quilt that I found second-hand (with lots of ink stains) which I recycled into a tote bag and pen case- i hope it's happier like that.

Also these beautiful double-narcissi (I think) lending a bit of spring to the house. They're the colour of clotted cream and I found them at this gorgeous little Wellington store- They have new flowers every weekend, so i can't wait to see what's there next Friday.

Have a great new week, and stay out of the rain…

Marigolds seem to be the only flower-type things in our garden right now, and are certainly the most colourful of the winter-enduring plants. I picked a few and then embroidered yellow ones on some recycled wool fabric, in order to make these phone cases for my shop. I made one for my own phone too as it's starting to look a bit worse for wear these days… it travels in my bag, on the bus, etc each day and gets a good workout.

And here is a song for today. I used to thrash this PJ Harvey album back when I was student (for the first time, that is) and then today my ipod chose this song at random. When I got home and turned on the radio, they were playing it too. Perhaps everyone's bad fortune is slipping away.