tiny happy

pattern friday- 7

This pattern is a day late- yesterday got busy- and was actually inspired by a video game Arlo and I played at this brilliant exhibition last week - (it was our third time there- it's finished now sadly). I simply can't remember the name of the game- but it featured a desolate landscape and flurries of petals (pink, magnolia-style) sweeping along mountains and sand- maybe you know of it? Arlo was into playing all the games of course, and it was a fun thing for us to do together.

I found this photography project moving and beautiful. Four sisters, photographed in black and white by Nicholas Nixon every year for 36 years. I think my sisters and I should start a project like this too.

apricots

Second week of the school holidays here, and so far we've been drawing and eating. For the past year or so, I've not spent the school holidays at home with the kids, so I'm treasuring this mooching-around time. Arlo is always drawing these days. Mainly medieval scenes complete with castles and knights, but I liked these portraits he did of Tom and I too. Not a sword or shield in sight, either.

And to fuel all this drawing, I've been doing a bit of baking. Above is a plate of apricot buns, a new favourite. I made them using this recipe, except I replaced the peel and currants for a handful of dried apricots, chopped then soaked for a while in boiling water to soften. The finished buns, cut in half with butter and apricot jam is a pretty nice morning tea, I think.

heathery grey

I knitted this hat recently- it is a more successful version of this attempt (my knitting skill/patience is limited these days!) It was useful on the ferry trip we took last week and will no doubt be well worn this winter. The pattern is one I'd meaning to try for ages- Beatrice Hat by Hadley (scroll down a bit and the free pattern link is in the right sidebar.) Hadley's hat has knitted leaves to decorate it, and while I love that idea, I ran out of time before going away so I finished the hat without them.

The yarn is Jo Sharp Alpaca Kid Lustre (thanks Mum) in 'Cork' colourway and some grey handspun for the stripe and pompom.

Now I've finished this little knit I feel like doing much more! Watching TV/films is much better with needles in hand, at this time of the year, anyway. I have my eye on these, these and this sea-blue blanket.

: : : : my wellington : : : : lelu

Brenzen Fuerst & Lize Immelman of Lelu Boutique, Kilbirnie, Wellington

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Welcome to My Wellington, a special blog post I'll write every now and then. I want to explore this beautiful colourful city of mine, beginning with my favourite places in Newtown/Kilbirnie (where I live) then stretching out to other parts of the city. I'm often asked by visitors to NZ about where to shop and what to see. So eventually I hope to have a collection of these posts to gather together. It's also a good way to celebrate our first 18 months-ish in this bustling community. Please note: the places I write about are 100% of my choosing. I'm not sponsored in any way, I just genuinely like them. 

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Our first stop on the tour is Lelu, a sunny little shop in Kilbirnie village. Lelu belongs to Brenzen and Lize, who first met at antenatal group and decided to go into business together. The name of the shop combines Leonie and Luca, their two year old daughters, and the store is very much a tribute to the joy and love of small people. There's a wide selection of beautiful shoes and slippers, toys, books and clothing. Some of the pieces are handmade by NZ designers. Many others are sourced from Europe. Brenzen and Lize say they choose everything carefully: things they love, things their children love and things they'd love to give as gifts. It's a real 'aunty's store': I found many things I wanted to buy for my neices and friends' babies. I think my favourites were the woven doll-houses imported from France (you can see these below.)

Also at Lelu, Brenzen's partner Daniel (an animator and artist at Weta Digital, working on The Hobbit) is exhibiting a collection of joyful artworks inspired by toddlers and fatherhood:

Below are some photos I snapped on a sunny Friday afternoon at Lelu, but you can also visit them online.

Lelu: The Baby Boutique, 70 Rongotai Road, Kilbirnie Wellington 6022, New Zealand.

pattern friday- 6

Pattern Friday for today was inspired by the bare trees and leaves all around us this April. We've just returned from a trip to the South Island, and the forests down there were particularly beautiful: swirling leaves and reaching branches, everything golden and in transition.

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If you are in Wellington, you might want to check out Fabricabrac which will be held at Massey University Great Hall tomorrow, 9am-12.30. My fabric shelves are looking pretty healthy, but I do love to go along and look at all the gems.

Wishing you a very happy weekend ahead.

 

two second-hand finds

Just wanted to share these two lovely second-hand finds of mine.

The ceramic dish will hold my hair clips or something similar. It's a Johnson Brothers pattern with the finest pinky sea shells and coral.

And a weighty tome: Plants and Animals, published 1974 in Prague. I'll scan some pictures in soon. I know you'll like them.

For some very beautiful botanical painting click on this: White Clover by Yasuko Enjyoji.

warm hands

Hot chocolate season has begun again in our house. It's always a favourite treat, especially for when the kids have friends over after school. I think I've written about this every year so I'm sorry about the repetition. But I also wanted to show off these great new (to me) cups sent by Helen. They're perfect for small hands to wrap around.

I have developed a simpler way to make this drink. Into a medium-sized pot put 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 Tb cornflour and 1/3 cup water, plus a few scrapings from a vanilla bean and whisk together till smooth. 

Slowly warm up on the stovetop and gradually whisk in 4 cups milk (this makes four good servings but you could add less milk if you prefer.) Heat the hot chocolate over a medium heat, whisking all the while to make sure it's smooth. When it's slightly thickened, pour into mugs and let cool a little before giving to kids. Or adults- everyone likes it!

The chandelier and ornate ceiling in the top photo are not in my house. They were in the most beautiful grand old villa I visited a couple of weeks ago. They're warming just to look at, don't you think?

Happy new week, blog friends.

 

pattern friday- 5

Ended up with a bit of a crazy Friday today, rushing from one place to the next. But I did come across this feathery pattern of mine in an old book- I'd been using it as a bookmark. It's a faded watercolour on cream card. 

If you're in need of some bright new music, you can find the newest album by Wellington band The Phoenix Foundation, Fandango, streaming live on the Guardian. I especially love the track Thames Soup. 

Happy weekend to you!

 

berries + clover

This one has more of a late-summer theme: here I've stitched some favourite botanicals including faithful old clover. I made both this embroidery and yesterday's into small pouches for keeping precious things in, like jewellery or milk teeth. I wish now that I'd stored my kids' milk teeth separately- they've all gotten mixed up in a general 'tooth purse'- sharp little pearls gathered together.

I attended this poetry reading yesterday- it was beautiful to see my friend Helen read her work with Maria McMillan. Even though you might read poetry a lot, there's something completely different about hearing the poet read her own work aloud. This was one of my favourites- Poem Without the L-Word.

Yesterday was a pretty good one all around, actually. Last night, NZ Parliament finally passed the legislation to make same-sex marriage legal. Feeling very proud and pleased for future generations.

autumn collection

This is a small embroidery I did last week while the country was still in drought- lots of dry grass and hardly any mushrooms to be seen, considering it's April.

That seems to have changed now- the rain has begun in earnest. Which is a very good thing for everyone, our tiny garden included.

If you are in Wellington you might want to check out this year's HANDMADE event- it's always a great, inspiring time and it's happening again this June.

I'll be teaching two classes- making baby pants from my book (third class down on this page) and simple printing, (scroll down to see the class) which sold out last year and was lots of fun. The tickets seem to be selling out quickly this time around - I'd love to see you there.