tiny happy

birdcages and ladybirds

                  

We had a powercut on Sunday night and I spent most of the time staring into the fireplace, mesmerised by the flickering light. When it was time for the children to go to bed, we lined candles up along their rocking horse so they could see the pictures in their storybook. It's a cliche of course, but it really is amazing how much we rely on electricity. I tried to do some knitting but the wool was tangled and I couldn't see well enough to sort it out. It made me wonder how women in the past managed their knitting, sewing and embroidery by candlelight- because surely night-time was mainly when they did this kind of work? I have even more respect for our crafting ancestors now...

This package arrived today, all the way from BC, Canada, as part of a little swap I did with new blogger Nomayne. She makes and sells sweet little needlecord bonnets for small girls, and she sent one for K in return for a pair of baby shoes for her youngest daughter. She was kind enough to also send a beautiful hand-embroidered placemat, a copy of Canadian House and Home and some buttons and velvet ribbon... such treats! Thank you, Nomayne.

Keira will not take the bonnet off:

It's lined in a pink cotton print, and features little dragonfly embroidery on the brim and this at the nape of the neck:

And also arriving in our letterbox over the weekend (how lucky am I?)...

Some great Japanese linen/cotton I bought from Matatabi to make some baby shoes (I think...)

...and this amazing print from Aunty Cookie. I don't know if I can cut into it so it might end up in a frame on the wall.

my family in cups

Tom's. Handmade in our town and irregular, with a dip on one side.

Mine. Dark green with tiny raised polka dots. It's small so i can have more cups of coffee without feeling too guilty.

Arlo's. He also insists on using it for water when he is painting.

Keira's 'bumble cup'. The perfect size for a two year old's hands.

Hope your weekend is the kind that allows time for sitting around the table, drinking tea...

a walk in the woods

I love the contrast of our native plants with the introduced trees and shrubs at this time of year- they make a beautiful display in the park:

 

...all within a metre of each other...

I updated my etsy shop today with some new work: 'a walk in the woods' set. It's lovely to be able to stock my little shop up all at once, and i've always liked doing things in 'sets.' I didn't manage to finish the batch of children's cords I was working on, but hope to do that over the next week.

Here are a few of the things I've been making...

acorn baby shoes

'nature cameos'... rustic little linen brooches

a new batch of leafy bags

And in other news, I felt it was high time we had some lemon curd on toast for morning tea. I had a bowl of lemons, eggs in the fridge and two willing 'stirrers' and an hour or so later...

(Dad, there is a jar waiting here for you, especially if you bring us more lemons)

I wrote about making this last year, (I can't believe it was a year ago already!) so if you feel like making some too, my version is here.  Think I'll go and make some toast right now, actually...

pine trees on a hill

(illustrations by Richard Scarry, 1955)

We're spending lots of time talking and thinking about leaves, trees and acorns lately (you may have noticed), and after an evening walk underneath a hillside planted in pine trees, I was inspired to make a little stencilled top for K. (You can find out a bit more about freezer-paper-stencils here, if they're new to you)

She seems to like it, so there might be some more in the works for other small friends we have...

I'm planning on updating my rather sad-looking etsy shop tomorrow, with a foresty-themed collection: bags, baby shoes, brooches and kid's pants. Lots of brown, green, and things with leaves and acorns... I've loved working on them.

leaf-strings and new music

Tom was in Wellington over the long weekend, and he brought back this Joanna Newsom album for me:

Although I adore her music, I hadn't heard this particular record in its entirety. It's not often we buy new music anymore, so i am especially excited about this one. I listened to it on repeat last night while doing some hand-sewing. The lyrics/poetry are amazing. The cover design is a painting by Benjamin Vierling.

The children and I spent some time pottering in the garden today. Many of the autumn leaves have fallen now and most of them covering our path are a brilliant red. A and K gathered up a pile of their favourites, and we brought them inside.

We sandwiched them between two layers of clear seal, then cut out each one with a border of seal around it, then strung them on thread, ready to hang in their bedroom.

A little way to save that autumnal goodness...

scissors at the ready

Here are my new fabric finds for the week.  I love thinking about what I might do with each piece, but I'm not sure if i'm brave enough to cut into them yet...

sturdy Sanderson linen, from 1982

fine vintage linen/cotton, i think

cotton flannel

medium weight linen

I'm often asked where I get my old fabrics from. Most are from op-shops or the Recycling Centre (the second and third pieces above were from there), but I also have a favourite antique/vintage shop in town, which is where I found the green and brown linen. The piece at the top I found on Trade Me which is a bit like E-Bay for NZers. Hunting for old fabric can take up a lot of time but it's worth it!

I've had a great day hanging out with my beautiful neices, including baby Fern:

Enjoy the weekend!