tiny happy

in the post

Some nice things came in the mail this week. Suzanne, based in Scotland, writes a blog called Fieldy where she documents her adventures in making beautiful, functional things from Harris Tweed (check out her cushion covers- beautiful). I commented a while ago that i liked this make-up bag, and she was kind enough to send it to me! It's beautifully made- the front is like a little colour-study in wool. It doesn't matter that I don't have any make-up, because I can think of many other things i can tote around in here.

She also sent me this sweet little scotty dog toy and some green and brown trim. Thank you, S.

And last week, these little birds arrived from the States. I discovered a new etsy shop- Paulabirdy- a couple of weeks ago, fell in love with the little prints in there and ordered a few for Christmas presents for the children and one of their best friends. I love the old fashioned-ness of nursery alphabets, and Paula Gibbs' branch and bird version is a sweet interpretation. You can buy the whole alphabet, or little prints of individual letters. 

a little jacket

This is a little jacket/cardigan I made for K over the weekend. I used the sleeves from an old merino sweater of mine, and the back and fronts are cut from a grey woollen dress. Then I sewed in plastic snaps to secure the inside piece, and big black vintage buttons on the outside.

It's for that in-between weather we seem to be having at the moment- not quite winter, definitely not warm and sunny all the time either. Some warm weather must be on its way, right?

Keira is going through that phase where it's very uncool to wear anything vaguely 'warm'- so jackets and cardigans are peeled off whenever I'm not looking. Hopefully it will take her a while to work out how to take this off though. 

Have you seen the work of Elsa Mora? I have been reading her blog and admiring her artwork for a while now- she makes amazing things. She made an intricate replica of Frida Kahlo's home- complete with paintings on the walls, tiny furniture and birds perched on the roof- to teach her daughter about Kahlo's life and work. And she shares some of her latest gallery show on her blog- it's very beautiful and fine work. She also has an etsy shop, Elsita. I'm going to buy one of her prints, but i can't decide whch I like best!

slow going

I first fell in love with knitting when I was pregnant with Arlo. Before that, I knew how, but was yet to be truly inspired by it. But once I realised how satisfying it was to make garments from scratch like this- choosing a design, yarn, colour, recipient, I was obsessed.

Lately, though, I haven't been making time for it. This is all I have to show of Keira's winter hat this year. Yes, I know winter is officially finished (though it's still cold enough to wear a hat most days), but I enjoy the process of knitting so much, I'm trying to do a couple of rows each day.

The hat is in a beret/tam-style, with thin random stripes. It's in this book, along with some really nice designs- simple children's garments in muted colours, and very much vintage-inspired. The kind of clothes you hope to find in the op shop, but usually don't.

So now, to fit in a few more rows before starting dinner...   

from table to legs

 

Thank you for your kind words yesterday. It means a lot to know i'm not alone, and today has been better. New start, deep breaths. I like to remind myself that it's not supposed to be easy to have children. Really, that's pretty clear from the start.

These heavy, velvety roses were a gift from a friend yesterday. I love to examine their layers, and the way each petal seems both random yet mathematically arranged around its center. They're something I often tried to draw as a child, but never managed to capture properly. 

In the package from Helen that arrived yesterday, I found a long, quilted table runner made from two layers of vintage cotton with padding inside. So naturally, I had to make a winter skirt.

This is for Keira, and was very easy to do- just one seam down the back, a casing for elastic, then enough threaded through to fit snugly. I left the original ruffle around the bottom. I wonder if anyone will guess it was a long placemat in its former life?

It's reversible too- handy.

evening walk

We went for a family evening walk along the river last night- it was lovely, until one of us sank into tantrum-mode and had to be carried home screaming. Often these days, I think I'm not cut out to be a mother. I'm finding the two year old stuff very trying right now...

I did have time to take photos of this beautiful bark though. I really like bark.

Is it strange to be thinking 'autumny' thoughts, when we are in spring? That's what reading northern hemisphere blogs does to me, I can't help it. Although, it probably doesn't help that with climate change, it's easy to forget what season we're supposed to be in. In any case, when I opened up a package from my friend Helen this morning and saw this green wool cardigan, the first thing I thought was 'evening walks in autumn by the river.' She also sent vintage fabric and reading material. Thank you, Helen- my week is looking up...

 

it's raining again

I tried to cheer up our dark and slightly dreary living room (the walls are painted dark blue) with some new cushions last week. Making these was quick and easy, and a fun way to use up small pieces of left over barkcloth and wool fabric. Here they are with my in-house model, demonstrating the comfiness of the feather pillow:

And some pink ones- made from an old curtain and a linen tablecloth.

To make the one on the right, I used an idea from Bend the Rules Sewing (ahem, yes- another one) where I did a bit of free-motion quilting and hand-stitching onto the top piece of fabric, before sewing it onto the wool cover. Most of the cushions have envelope-backs, which I think is the easiest to make and to have around little people.

The children have had a lot less sleep than usual this weekend, and it's showing, if you know what i mean. For extra fun, this morning K and I are off to help out at Arlo's kindergarten, in the rain... wish us luck! 

 

maui's dolphins

Maui's Dolphin caught in a net, photo from Care for the Wild International

An email from a friend and a programme i heard last night on National Radio reminded me about the plight of the Maui's dolphins (Popoto)- a subspecies of Hector dolphins, found off the northwest coast of NZ. The Maui's Dolphins are the world's rarest marine mammals. In the 1970's, there were over 26,000 of them, but we now have only about 111 left, an estimated 25 of which are thought to be breeding females. The reason for their sharp decline in numbers? Set net fishing. Dolphins cannot detect the fine nets in the water, and once they have swum into one and become entangled, they drown. A set net ban is in place in part of the dolphin's area, but not in harbours, and also, dolphins near the South Island are being drowned in coastal trawl nets. They also die from general marine pollution, and from being struck by boats.

DOC and the Ministry of Fisheries have recently released a Draft Threat Management Plan for the species. The public has been invited to comment on the plan by Oct 24th. To show your support for OPTION 3 in the plan (the highest level of protection for the creatures) you can write to: hectorstmp AT biodiversity (dot) govt (dot) nz

There's a list of other ways in which you can help here. These include writing to the Minister of Fisheries, and of Conservation, signing this petition, and becoming a supporter of WWF.

It would be so great to have your help in this! It seems horribly sad to let these beautiful mammals drown in nets - we must do everything we can to help preserve them.

the kind of crafts they do when i'm not around

They called this 'Two Little Boats in a Polluted Sea'.

bird pockets

Here's a little pinafore I made for Keira from some crisp brown cotton, and vintage bird fabric I've had in my stash for a while for the pockets and facings. I'm thinking it would be an equally good piece to have in winter too, made in wool with a soft cotton lining. I used this Simplicity pattern from 1978:

I've always loved this square neck style, and am wondering if an adult version of this would be acceptable? It ties at the back, ready for wearing over anything else you might have on... kind of like an apron which I suppose is why I like this style so much.

 

In other news, I'm really enjoying the new album by Arcade Fire, Neon Bible. I love the full orchestral force of it- accordians, choirs, organs, dark religious themes.  Here's a clip for 'My body is a cage'- ahh, so dramatic and good.

morning mist

early morning 'plant steam' rising from our garden

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I had a great day- with lots of chocolate-eating, rainy weather (my favourite) and catching up with friends. In the evening, Tom and I went out for dinner. The food was seriously gorgeous, and I got to try out this little clutch purse - yet another project from this book (will i ever tire of it?):

I used some hand-dyed brown cotton, and lined it in a tiny floral print my Mum gave me a while ago. And of course a fabric-covered button to match. I really liked the idea of lining this in cotton flannel (rather than interfacing) - it gives a much nicer weight and feel to it.

(grey and yellow- a new favourite colour combination.)

I put a few things in my shop today, and noticed an overload of floweriness, it must be this spring weather making me do it. I'm looking forward to seeing some 'real' flowers pop up in our garden soon- they seem late this year, although look what has happened this week to the tree outside our bedroom window...

I like to imagine the tree has tyed ribbons in her hair, to celebrate the sun and rain.