tiny happy

letterbox lovelies

Some amazing mail arrived today all the way from the United States, which is starting to seem closer all the time...

A while ago, Kelli and I arranged a bag-swap, and mine arrived yesterday from Arizona. I'm pretty thrilled with it I have to say. Thank you Kelli!

She made me a Covington Bag in beautiful dark brown and green colours (my favourite!) The inside is lined with a tiny green floral print. I love it.

But then she also sent gifts for everyone in the family! Tops for Arlo and Keira (Arlo's excited to wear his to kindy today), chocolate for Tom (umm, not pictured, for obvious reasons), and trim and music-to-sew-to for me! Thanks again Kelli, you were so kind.

This parcel was a complete surprise. It came from Laura over at Spectacles, and was filled with lovely craft-related stuff for me- a sweet vintage pattern for a child's cape (I'm thinking of a Little Red Riding Hood costume for Keira?), vintage trim, craft magazine about aprons, and beautiful stationary. The cards were made by her grandmother and feature intricate botanical drawings of plants. And the gift-tags were made by Laura herself using her own hand-carved stamps. She also included lovely train and animal stickers for Arlo (he's 'saving' them) and children's books as well. One is called 'If you're afraid of the dark, remember the night rainbow' and has incredible illustrations and text. Thank you for everything, Laura! I can't wait to have some coffee and look at my new magazine. Just have to spend the afternoon at kindy first!

One last thing: my friend Rhiannon has just started a new blog: Toast and Cupcakes, which is a good thing, because she is going to move away soon, and this way I'll be able to keep a good eye on her.

rain and gingerbread

I loved yesterday's post by Soulepapa about a rainy day indoors with small children. Kayaking in the garden? Awesome.

I could relate (not with the paddling, though, sadly) because yesterday we had such a day- no real plans to go out, and children cooped indoors feeling a little stir-crazy.

Arlo and I made gingerbread in the afternoon while Keira slept, which took up a good chunk of time, and filled the house with a yummy spiciness. So I recommend this activity if you ever find yourself desperate to entertain children on a rainy day, and kayaking in a puddle is not an option.

Here's our recipe:

Gingerbread biscuits

50ml golden syrup

125g butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

2 cups plain flour

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tsp baking soda

Heat the syrup in a small pot until runny. Cream butter and sugar, add the egg yolk then mix in dry ingredients gradually until well combined. Then add the warmed syrup, and knead the mixture (it is quite sticky at this stage.) Roll out and cut into shapes. (Thanks to Laura for sending us our much-loved lion and flower-shaped cookie cutters.) Bake on a tray lined with baking paper at 190 degrees celsius for 10-15 mins until golden brown, let cool and decorate if wished.

Arlo loves doing this bit.

By this stage, he'd lost interest in baking and was playing with his trains, so we didn't decorate these. But Christmas-themed cookies might be fun to make in December.

smaller is simpler

I tried to make a pair of pants for myself last night. I had seen a lovely pair in Wellington belonging to my friend Jess, with whom we stayed while there, and a few more being worn by various people around the city, so that's where I stole the idea. In my mind, it would all be so simple- make a pair of pants, chop off the top, add a simple wide band of stretch-cotton, and voila... comfy pants that would fit no matter what my hips were doing that week.

But in reality, they turned out not-so-well. The band at the top is not quite small enough, yet there seems to be a lot of puckering where it meets the top of the pants. And the legs appear to be slightly tapered, not sure what's up with that. When I tried them on, Tom remarked they'd make great pajamas. And I think he's right, because they probably shouldn't leave the house with me. I've never had any success making adult's clothes, perhaps because I'm too impatient and hurry the steps, and always try to make some kind of alteration in the pattern. And it feels like such a waste of fabric, for the garment not to turn out properly, adding to the insult of a failed project.

So I made some new pants for Keira instead.

I much prefer making clothes for little people. And Keira doesn't seem to mind if her pants are a bit tapered around the ankles, and wide in the bum. She's used to it!

poppies

Last night I was feeling grateful to be home. The afternoon was drawn-out and lazy, and the evening sun shone through the french doors in the kitchen while I made dinner. And I picked the first summer salad from our garden! Mesclun, spinach, mint, flat-leafed parsley and nasturtiums.

A taste of the summer to come. Lovely. Also, while i was in the garden, I noticed the poppies had started to bloom- such bright shocks of red. Look at this one, dusty with pollen.

And then that made me think of Craftwerk again. I met Sarah Laing, of this beautiful website: Poppyshock. She shared a table with my friend Helen (Stripy Sock Studio), and together they had some fine offerings for sale. Helen had made colourful fabric brooches and miniature paintings done on smooth pieces of wood. And Sarah had copies of a beautiful children's book she had made: Black and White, Day and Night, peg dolls complete with their own poems and hand-painted box, and brooches. Rhiannon bought us two poppyshock pins. I wish I'd had more time to appreciate everything, and visit the stalls for longer than a minute. (notes for next time.)

back in the sunny south

I got back from my trip to Wellington to attend Craftwerk this afternoon. I had a wonderful time at the show, met some great crafty people and visited old friends, sold some stuff, and heard some fresh live music.

Things got a bit frantic there, especially at the start of the event, so I didn't get any decent photos. Here are a few blurry offerings that I managed to sneakily snap when my hands were free. They really are quite terrible pictures, but you might get the idea of it.

lovely shoppers at our stall

It's nice to be back in the South Island again after some very rough weather up there in the lower North. Rhiannon and I had an extra day and a half in the capital, waiting for the skies to clear and a flight to return home on. Many, many thanks are due to my friends Adam, Jess and baby Millie for giving us shelter for two nights, and driving us around a lot, in their windy, wild city. Oh, and Mum, Dad and the new Thomas the Tank engine train set, for looking after Arlo and Keira for an extra two days while Tom was at work...

(You can see some more Craftwerk photos at the Flickr page here)

crafting it up

Thank you for all your kind, supportive comments about me going to Craftwerk this weekend, I think you've made the difference between me being able to act calmly and with sanity today and tomorrow, rather than overcome with nerves. I am still quite nervous, though. I have to try and remember to breathe normally, also to not get too hyped up tomorrow at the fair itself. I remember last year, when I first started doing my weekly craft fair at the local market, I would get so hyped up and excited/nervous, that I would sometimes say strange things to people. And probably make them feel nervous and wierd too. Like once, a woman was looking at the baby shoes I had made, and said 'Oh you make some lovely things!' And i said 'thank you! So do you!' And then an awkward silence followed. But I hope to learn from that this time.

Here are some bags I finished today, which I'll take along with me tomorrow. They're made using my usual tote-bag patten and a real mixture of recycled and vintage fabrics. The bag on the right is mostly 1950s barkcloth, with grey velveteen which I think was an off-cut from some car seat covers. And children's brushed-cotton print inside.

If you're going to be in Wellington tomorrow, come and say hi, because I'd love to meet you.

busy ms. mouse

Last night Tom and I went to see Anika Moa play at a small, cosy little venue in town, and it was the most enjoyable concert I'd been to in ages. I think she is one of the best female songwriters we have, and she has a voice to match. And she's funny! I was thinking, blissed out on a bottle of wine (ahem, three glasses, as Tom pointed out later), looking up at her and her guitar, how purely Kiwi she is, and how attractive I find that. Oh, and her, too (sorry, Tom, but I'm sure you agree with me here.) By that I mean that her sense of humour revolves almost entirely around putting herself down, imitating others and laughing at her own jokes. She is brilliant.

I like looking at the faces of the other people in the audience at a concert, and I saw one woman gazing at her intently, mouthing all the words as Anika sang them. And another woman reached over and her put her hand on the leg of the woman sitting next to her. A friend of Tom's, who was standing quite close to the stage, turned with her back to Anika and took a picture of them both on her cellphone.

I'm trying not to feel too frantic today, getting ready for Craftwerk which will be on Monday afternoon. I'm booked in to do my regular maket stall, too, which is tomorrow morning. This afternoon, while Keira has been sleeping, Arlo helped me replenish my bag supplies:

I make them from old, falling-apart children's books, reinforced with card at the top, and taped up around the sides. Tom used to have the job of making these for my stall, and he would spend a lot of time making those special ones that fold out to have a square base. I loved them, but he has grown tired of making them I think, and I don't have the patience for all that measuring and folding. So my bags are a lot simpler.

My friend Rhiannon gave me some that she had made, to help me out. This is my favourite, made from an old Richard Scarry activity book:

At the top of the page it says 'Ms Mouse loves to make clothes for all her friends' dolls.' And then there is Ms. Mouse at the bottom, busy at her sewing machine asking, 'Did I miss anybody?' And look at how happy all her mice friends are, with their well-dressed dolls.

some things

...from the last few days:

a bag with amazing teapot applique and vintage fabric, given to me on my birthday by Rhiannon.

a swap from Dairne of Baibin which is going to a friend of mine overseas- a beautiful crocheted baby hat and booties, and...

this pretty crocheted flower brooch for me, so I can still wear a little wool over summer. Thank you, Dairne!

Some new pictures I made for the bathroom wall, using clear glass frames and pages from a vintage book about butterflies.

and lastly, a picture of me by the window, taken by Arlo, because I don't think I've put one of myself on here yet. And since i readily post photos of the children, it's only fair.

thank you, and where are you?

Thank you for all the kind birthday wishes for yesterday. Not being one to enjoy a lot of limelight, I always approach my birthday with some trepidation, but yesterday reminded me of why birthdays are so good: the wonderful people in my life who celebrate it with me. It's a good reminder to be thankful for life, and family and friends. Thank you, everyone!

Now, the 'where are you?' bit of this post: on Saturday at the craft market, I took a custom order for a woman visiting from Wellington, which she paid for. I wrote down the order carefully and her address, and last night I made the order and went to address the parcel, but couldn't find the piece of paper with her name and address. I have absolutely no way of contacting her, except through the remote possibility that she might google the label on the baby shoes she bought, and read this post. If you're reading, nice lady who bought the blossom-print shoes, please leave me a comment with your details, or email me at ( quiet DOT cricket at yahoo dot com. ) I am feeling terrible about this, and still hold out hope that the piece of brown paper might show up somewhere. My fear is that because it was quite a windy afternoon, it may now be blown to the other side of town.

In other Wellington news, my birthday present from Tom was air tickets to the big smoke to participate in the next Craftwerk show, on Monday 23rd October (Labour Day.) My friend Rhiannon and I will go together and share a site, and we're very excited about meeting all our fellow NZ crafty friends (and maybe some blog-friends, too?) How much stuff can I make in a week do you think?

a party dress

It was my birthday today, and I had the most wonderful day.  Breakfast in bed with babies, (hmm, sorry Tom, about the scrambled eggs on your pillow), wonderful cards and presents from lots of friends, and a party during the day with mine and Tom's families, friends and lots of babies and toddlers. I even got to hold the two newborn babies in our circle of friends... what more could i ask for?

I had thought about making myself a dress now that the weather is getting so much warmer, but I spent last night making this little one for Keira instead. I'm 'working up the confidence' to tackle adult clothing. One day I will.

It's a plain sleeveless dress made from printed cotton muslin with brown flowers. The pattern called for a narrow, hand-sewn bias binding trim around the neckline and armholes, which was a bit time-consuming but strangely satisfying. The back yoke closes with small vintage snaps. I used this old pattern, from 1977:

Realising the dress would be very sheer and lightweight, I also made this skirt, from brown Indian cotton, to be worn under it. Or on its own, with a t-shirt or something.

I used the skirt piece of the dress pattern, sewn up with a narrow elastic casing so it would sit below the hem of the dress itself, like a second layer. Keira seemed to enjoy wearing it today, and because it was a birthday party I let her choose from my necklace collection. She surprised and slightly scared me by choosing a string of wooden beads that matched, like, perfectly. She's really into accessories, and has been hinting that she'd like her ears pierced, but I feel strange about letting her do it before I have mine done. Perhaps I should, now that I'm in my 'mid-to-late twenties'.