tiny happy

plant-coloured

Two projects and some plants that I think might have subliminally inspired them.

I'm working on a new jumper - the design is the No Frills Sweater by Danish designer Petite Knit. It's a very simple raglan-style with minimal shaping, kind of designed to be loose-fitting and fitted around the wrists and hem. The special thing about this garment will be the yarn - I'm using some dark green merino hand-dyed by my friend Nikki. She gave me three skeins of it for my birthday last year and I fell in love with its dark fern green vibes immediately. I wasn't sure what to make for a long while, and then I realised it would be perfect fro this pattern, if i had some mohair in a similar colour. So I commissioned Nikki to dye some to match, and I think that must be one of her specialties, because she did an amazing job. The mohair skeins are slightly different shade, but the two work beautifully together to create a really deep colour. It's like knitting with silky ferns! I absolutely love it and know it will be a very special thing to wear.

Another project, though one recently finished, was a skirt made in a brownish-mauve - definitely the same colour family as the hellebores above, picked from the garden! They are so beautiful right now. (For the rest of the year they're mostly all leaves). For the skirt, I used the Estuary Skirt pattern by Sew Liberated designs. It was easy to make over a couple of evenings. I used to try and race through sewing projects and get stress myself out a bit in the process. These days I try to take a bit longer in the hope of a better result. I allowed one evening just for the buttonholes on this skirt and I can report that they are all evenly placed! 

I bought the PDF pattern and am glad I did as I'm sure I'll use it several more times. I think it would look great in a wool fabric for winter, or even a lightweight something for a dressy summer occasion? My favourite part of the design is the comfy elasticated panel at the back of the skirt, but smooth waistband at the front. Clever!

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Working on my projects lately, I've been enjoying catching up on podcasts and the odd bit of new music. Something that combines both is Radio NZ's Mixtape series - have you heard it? It's a bit like another favourite of mine, the BBC's Desert Island Disks, but obviously with a NZ flavour. Last weekend I listened to the Mixtape with musician Hinewehi Mohi and loved the hour spent with her. I recommend having a listen if you're a fan too.

I hope you're enjoying this early spring season, and finding time to do things you love. See you again very soon. 

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birkin sweater + early spring

Kia ora,

Today's blog is coming to you from a stormy eve in early spring. I hope it finds you well, dear reader.

I finished a knitting project last month and realised I hadn't yet shared it here on the blog. It's a jumper, made from Caitlin Hunter's ''Birkin'' design that I first saw in an early issue of Laine magazine and knew I had to knit it. 

For this garment, I used a range of fingering-weight yarns, mostly from Holst Garn and some from Jamieson's of Shetland. I also adjusted the pattern a little so the yoke was less deep - for fit reasons. I'm so happy with my finished jumper and have been wearing it a lot! I'm almost tempted to make another - I was thinking in black with colourful flowers, or perhaps in grey, with white flowers. In the meantime I'm really enjoying this version, and have been wearing it over my favourite linen dress mostly.

You can find more details, including links to the pattern and yarn, here on my Ravelry page.

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In my last post, I mentioned a book I had found that showcases antique quilts from the state of Nebraska, and that I'd include a picture of my favourite quilt for its pages. That's the last photo you see displayed above - isn't it a beauty? It looks like each panel is made from a piece of cloth in various shades of pink, green, grey or blue, then heavily embroidered and appliqued with plants and animals. I find it endlessly inspiring and would love to try to make something inspired by it one day.

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Last weekend we packed the car up with kids and books and escaped the city for a quick break. I've included a photo of the gorgeous wee seaside house (a classic art deco bach) we rented for one night. While at Foxton Beach we ate quite a lot of ice-cream, did some knitting, read some books, walked along the beach twice, sat under cabbage trees in the sun and watched a pair of horses ride through the waves. It was wonderful!

Non-crafty life has been rather full lately, and I feel as though I don't have as much to report here as I'd like! I do have some projects on the go and hope to make more as the weather warms up and the days get a little longer. What are you working on at the moment?

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I've been reading Novel About my Wife by Emily Perkins which I'm definitely into - the writing is beautiful, although the story is quite dark. And I've discovered the latest season of the British show Mum - I absolutely loved the first two, so am looking forward to making my way through that.

See you soon!
M

quilts + cats

Hello!

It's still hand-knit sock season here. I haven't felt like knitting any lately, but I have been wearing them, even to the office! I snapped the third photo above on my lunch break the other day. I realised I was wearing wool at every level - these socks, woolen trousers, hand-knit sweater, shawl and hat! Everything was knitted when I was feeling excited about the winter ahead, the way you do sometimes towards the end of summer. But now I'm very ready for the cold to fade away. 

A very small project I completed this week was the little cat you can see at the top of this page. I made it for Tom's cousin Becky who had a birthday recently. She liked this wee cat I made last year, and so I made a note to make her one. I used the same pattern - ''Fern the Cat'' by Erika Barrett, in Making Magazine (Issue 4: Lines)

Other projects on the go include the baby quilts i mentioned in my previous post - I'm not quite ready to show those yet, but they are in progress! I'm also knitting a hot water bottle cover, which seems to be taking longer than I thought it would, and a sweater in dark green merino and mohair - one strand of each, held together. That's another one making slow progress. I don't really mind though.

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Last weekend Keira and I headed to a big annual second-hand book fair in the city and had a great time digging through the boxes of sheet music, vinyl, magazines and poetry, especially. In the ''lifestyle'' section, I found a brand new copy of a hardcover book called Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers by Patricia Cox Crews and Ronald Clinton Naugle.

I'm thrilled to have this in my collection- it's a beauty. A selection of antique handmade quilts are featured, along with an essay about the person who made it, and their family background in the state of Nebraska. My favourite is a hand-embroidered and appliqued piece made from different wool fabrics in 1864 by a Mrs Schacht from Westphalia, Germany, and brough to Cook, Otoe County in the 1870s. The wool panels feature different birds, animals and plants in greens, pinks and browns. I also love the ''Lone Star Variation'' design you can see above. 

I couldn't find a picture of the German quilt online, so I'll include a photo in my next blog post.

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In other book news, I've been helping to organise an author event happening this week (this one, if you're in Wellington, and feel like joining us!) and so have been reading through the Telesā series of books by Samoan writer Lani Wendt Young. I haven't read much romance, but these books are sometimes described as ''a Pasifika Twilight'' and I've been enjoying them! 

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Through the headphones: I've been listening to the new album by Bon Iver, called i,i. Perfect for the bus journey home from work on a cold dark night. Here's just one of the songs, in case you're after a small taste.

I hope you have a lovely week. See you very soon.

lately

Hello! I hope this dispatch finds you well, wherever you are.

I've been feeling slightly lazy about writing here... so I thought I'd just upload some pictures instead, while I wait for my words to come back. Here are a few things I've been doing lately, from top to bottom:

= = Tom brought me back this copy of Hounds of Love on vinyl after a trip away recently. It's probably my favourite Kate Bush album, so a bit of a treat to add to my collection. (And I had to pose with it in the wintry rainy garden, in my favourite wildflowers dress, for full effect ;)

+ + This is a bit of embroidery I started in a class at Craft Camp (I wrote more about that in my previous post) and finished when I got home. It's quite satisfying to stitch in wool yarn! Here I used some leftovers from a knitting project (I'll show you the finished jumper in my next post) on a medium-weight grey/mauve linen. Not sure what I'll do with it yet.

- - - It's midwinter and we've had a good dose of rain lately. But all in all, it's been a mild season, and the jasmine outside our kitchen seems to be quite happy.

= = This is a beautiful little dish made by my friend Lizzie. She sent it to me recently and it's the perfect thing for my everyday earrings. (Lizzie's exhibition ''Nature Table'' has just opened in Sydney!)

+ + Here's a bit of recent work done on my slowest project of all time - the hand-stitched hexagon quilt. I'm making this from old clothes and bedding cotton. I don't often get it out (because I resent having to put it away again) but I do hope to make some more progress on it soon. 

In other news, Tom and I have been watching the final season of Orange is The New Black, very slowly, in order to make it last longer. I've found this series a rather moving and important one over the years. I'll miss it! Also, the second season of Australian show The Let Down which takes me back to those early parenting days.

- - - Did you see this article on the Guardian, A stitch in time: how craftivists found their voice? If not, you should have a read. My favourite quote, from Sarah Corbett of the Craftivist Collective, whose work is featured:

“Punk means different bands to different people in the same way craftivism does,” explains Corbett. “And my approach is not aggressive or loud, it’s gentle protest – and I mean that in a non-fluffy sense. It’s not impassive or weak. It’s bloody hard to be gentle in your approach as an activist, to have self-control when you’re angry. It’s about being tough of mind and kind in heart.”

It's given me lots to think about.

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As for books, I've been reading Wild Honey, which is a beautiful new book about NZ women's poetry. And thinking a lot about patchwork, for some reason! Could be that the lid on my box of fabric off-cuts can no longer be closed, so I need to do something with 200 small pieces of fabric. At the same time, there are some new babies-in-progress in my family and friend-circle, who might just be in the market for a cot quilt one day soon. I'll keep you posted.

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winter comforts

Hello! I hope this finds you and keeping warm if you're in the wintry Antipodes, like me. It's equally likely you're in the middle of a heatwave, which is impossible to imagine from here at my desk where i'm wrapped in a knitted shawl! 

The last time I wrote on here, I was getting ready to head to Craft Camp. I can report that it was a fabulous weekend! I was lucky enough to make some new friends and get super inspired by the talks, teachers, and crafty projects we were immersed in for three days. Tash (also director of Holland Road Yarn) and her hardworking team did an amazing job of creating a welcoming, calm and interesting space. I especially enjoyed listening to the presentations by weaver Verenoa Hetet, writer Nadine Hura and lace knitter Margaret Stove about their work.

My only regret is not taking some classes myself - on offer were yarn dyeing, photography, mindfulness and loom weaving. I believe there will be another Craft Camp next year - it comes highly recommended by me.

I thought I'd share some of my recent projects here. This winter I've knitted two new things for Tom (but not a jumper, despite him requesting one with a colourwork yoke! I'm still thinking about that). I made him a pair of socks using beautiful yarn by Bonnie of Union Fibre in the Loch colourway. Contrary to my terrible photo above, this yarn is quite complex and rich to look at, and it's even hard to describe - it's somewhere between a grey and blue with flecks of brown and yellow. I used leftover bits and bobs from other socks to knit the heels, toes and cuffs of this pair. And this pattern, as always (with the addition of a 1X1 ribbed cuff).

Tom also needed a new hat, so I made him one in some black DK yarn I bought a while ago at the Woolyarn sale (I used the same yarn for this jumper of mine - I'm not sure of the composition.) For this super basic ribbed hat i used this free pattern from the Purl Soho site.

And lastly, you'll see the wee cushion I sewed up from a piece of needle punching I showed in a previous post. With a woolen front, striped linen back and wool stuffing it's rather pleasing, despite its small size. I recently ordered myself a copy of the beautiful Arounna Khounnoraj book on the craft and it's inspired me to make a bigger frame and try more things with my needle punch tool. 

Here's a song I'm loving at the moment, and saw described as ''George Harrison meets Karen Carpenter'' - Andromeda, by Weyes Blood.

See  you next week! X X X

 

socks n roses

Kia ora! Hope July is treating you well in your part of the world.

Look at those beautiful socks my dear friend Felicia knitted for me. They arrived in the post as a complete surprise and totally made my week. I mean, look at them! They're beautiful. I think she may have used the pattern ''Emily's Favourite Socks'' (found here on Rav).  Thank you Felicia for this super generous and practical gift.

When I went outside yesterday morning before work, the sun was just getting started too, and playing with the roses that grow against the side of our kitchen wall. I had to capture those complicated shadows.

I'm heading off shortly to join in the fun at Craft Camp! I can't wait to make some new friends and learn some news things. And just have some generally crafty company. I'll be teaching two workshops on wool embroidery. In the last photo above you can see the stitch sampler I've prepared, and the car is packed with baskets of yarn, hoops and fabric. And chocolate-chip cookies. I'll be sure to report back next week.

P.S If you're in the Wellington/Hutt region, you might want to head to Capital FibreFest tomorrow. It looks wonderful.

last week in june

If it's the last week in June, the days must be slowly stretching out again. I hope you've been keeping warm and well, wherever you are.

I've found this month to be particularly packed with things happening, all in a good way really, just life stuff. You know.

Arlo turned 16, which necessitated several parties and dinners and other marking-points (we like to celebrate things) and we've had an exchange student, V, from Argentina staying with us, which has been fun. It's nearly the end of the school term so the days seems shorter and busier for all of us (and technically, I guess they are shorter.)

Anyway, here are some things from my work table from the past couple of weeks. I've also been knitting away on my Birkin Sweater, though it's rather slow going! I hope to have some progress to show soon. Hopefully I can finish it before summer arrives again.

::: Some punch-needle work, using mostly undyed and naturally-dyed yarn. The pink was from avocado stones that I used to dye some threads and wool last summer. I might turn this piece into a cushion sometime soon.

X X X Chocolate-chip cookies. Just because, we have lots of hungry kids in our house these days. I used this trusty recipe (the trick is getting them out of the oven at exactly the right time to create a chewy and soft texture). It's always a bit hit and miss for me! But they seem to get eaten regardless.

>/>/> A new book of poems by Vana Manasiadis, I was sent to read for work. I'm really enjoying it (and isn't the cover beautiful).

::: Some project bags I made recently for my etsy shop. They've all been sent to new destinations now, but I plan to make some more soon. The fabrics are mostly prints i bought in Osaka in March, teamed with linen and cotton fabrics I already had.

X X X A walk to the top of a hill near our house, with the winter sunshine weak and low like a reading lamp. It was a beautiful day to show our exchange student our small city.

>/>/> A spot of free-form embroidery, and a cup of tea. One of my favourite ways to pass an afternoon!

See you next week.

soft + warm things

I realised I hadn't yet blogged about a jumper I finished knitting in May so I've included some pictures of it here. One with the garment sitting neatly on the windowsill, and the other showing it worn, with the afternoon sun shining directly in my face.

To make this I used the Ranunculus pattern and held two strands of yarn together while knitting: some fine wool/cotton in a light grey colour, and some super-luxurious mohair/silk in a dark grey colour. The effect is a slighty-marled, super soft and warm dream of a thing to wear!  The beautiful mohair was a birthday gift from my friend Nikki - she hand-dyes very gorgeous yarns just up the road from where I live. Thank you Nikki, and thank you to the designer of this pattern, Midori Hirose. This was my second iteration of this design (you can see my first one here) I'm sure I will knit it again one day soon.

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I found this bouquet of beautiful autumnal-wintry branches and flowers at a grocery shop in town last week and since I was on my way to visit a friend I couldn't help buying them to bring along with me! Also couldn't resist taking a quick snap of the colours against concrete. 

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A small project worked on this week was a stack of hot water bottle covers. It's that time of the year all right although it hasn't been terribly cold yet. But enough to wear coats and fill up a hot water bottle for the bed.

A few years ago, I made lots of these but they needed replacing when I pulled them out of the cupboard last week. I love to recycle wool garments that have been moth-eaten or otherwise worn out. The kids handed over some jumpers they'd grown out of, complete with holey elbows. It's satisfying to make something useful from something past its usefulness!

I wrote up a super simple pattern/tutorial for these a few years ago - you can find it here, in case you're in the mood for a quick and easy upcycling project...

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With hot water bottle weather comes the delicious chance to spend more time in bed generally - earlier nights, longer (weekend) mornings, and the odd post-work-before-cooking-dinner lie down. I've been reading a collection of essays by Zadie Smith, Feel Free, which I really like. Also a book of poems about the Whanganui River, Flow, by Airini Beautrais and a collection of stories, Black Marks on the White Page, edited by Tina Makereti and Witi Ihimaera. All three of these volumes contain small pieces of writing - essays, poems, short stories, which are perfect for small snatched reading times.

And because I outed myself as a keen TV watcher in my last post, I wanted to add that I've watched the newest additions to the Black Mirror series and have just begun Fleabag. Both very good!

I hope you have a lovely week with lots of time to do the things you want to do. 

a sunday in june

I braved the cold and did some gardening this weekend. Our poor little garden is mostly starved of attention at this time of year, mostly because of the weather, busy life reasons, and daylight hours (or lack thereof). But I should make the effort to dig in the dirt more often and weed around the plants more often. It really makes me happy! I planted some winter herbs and salad greens, silverbeet, spring onions, and sugar snap peas. I also uncovered a sweet white cyclamen that had been hiding out under some weeds. Isn't it beautiful?

Inspired by plants (spring flowers in particular - though it's much too early to be thinking about them), I made something new to wear to work. It's a camisole-top top, made from drapey black rayon-crepe fabric, and embroidered around the neckline with plants like lily-of-the-valley and leafy branches. To make the top, I used the Ogden Cami pattern, which I've used a few times, it's a good one! I'm hoping to wear this over long-sleeved tops for the office. I have a black and white striped merino top that I think will be a good match. 

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Another finished project from last month was this little hat that I knitted for my baby niece. She turned one and I wanted to include something handmade in her birthday gift. I used the Beloved Aran pattern (free on Ravelry) and held together a strand of grey angora rabbit yarn with pale pink Rowan Kidsilk Haze. The result was a super lightweight and soft fabric. The colour is a bit like the inside of a sea shell. I made the pom pom from some yarn I dyed with avocado in the summer. My Ravelry notes are here (and here - for when I made two hats from this pattern last winter).

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I have some ambitious making plans for this winter, but I'm not sure I'll be able to fit everything in! On my wish-list is a linen dress, a Birkin Sweater (I'm currently about 1/8th of the way through), some hot water bottle covers, slippers and some embroidered project bags. I also have half a punch-needle piece to complete. If only the days and nights were a little longer! 

As well as knitting and sitting by the fire, this time of year is perfect for watching something good on TV, don't you think? Tom, the kids and I have just finished watching the newish mini-series of Les Miserables together. So sad but quite excellent, I thought! We also saw the James Acaster Netflix special together, which we found to be brilliant, and now often-quoted in our house. ('Too good for a free banana' is a particular favourite.) I also watched the NZ show The Casketeers while doing some late-knitting over a week or so. I absolutely loved it.

 

no planet b

A few pictures from the past week:

A and K took part in Friday's School Strike 4 Climate, and they let me take a quick snap before they left for the bus. 

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I finished making the slippers I mentioned in last week's post - they are not the most beautiful things ever but have been worn every day since they came off the needles! They are made from the marled DK-weight yarn I showed in my previous post, and for the largest pair (Tom's) I held that together with odds and ends of sock yarn, to make them extra sturdy and long-lasting. He wore right through the last pair I made him!

I used this pattern (to find the instructions, follow the link in the comments section) but made a few changes which I've described here on my Ravelry page.

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In the last photo above you can see an embroidery I've been working on lately. The fabric is a soft natural linen, and I used rustic wool yarn instead of the usual cotton or silk thread to stitch the plants and patterns. 

This piece is part of my planning for the workshops I'll teach at Craft Camp, a new weekend retreat organised by Tash and Rachel of Holland Road Yarn, in mid-July. I'm really excited to be attending this special weekend, where there will be photography, weaving, embroidery workshops along with other talks and activities on offer. 

Craft Camp is aimed at knitters who want to try some new crafts, so i thought embroidering with wool yarn would be a good thing to offer in my classes. You can use any yarn for embroidery, but for this piece i used some lace-weight and fingering-weight yarns. It's the perfect way to use up small amounts of leftovers that wouldn't stretch very far in a knitted item.

I think there are still a few Craft Camp tickets left, including some day-passes (the standard ticket includes on-site accommodation). More details here.

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Books and music have been my loyal companions this week. I'm just finishing reading Normal People by Sally Rooney, having recently read and enjoyed her novel Conversations with Friends. I know both books, but especially Normal People, have been receiving a lot of attention lately and I must admit that I was curious to find out more. I found myself really sinking in to the world in both novels, which for me is always the mark of an excellent read.

Also on my bedside table: the latest issue of Making magazine (#7: Desert), thanks to the kids who bought it for me for Mother's Day a few weeks ago. Flicking through the pages has me dreaming of all the projects I want to start, including but not limited to gemoetric-inspired fine-knit shawls, linen dresses and printed leather tool cases.

I love the new album by the Brooklyn-based band Big Thief - it's a beauty. Especially this song.

I hope you have a good week! <3