tiny happy

book of sketches

This is New Zealand is a Garden by Joyce Blake. I was sent a copy by Deb earlier this month, who found it second-hand and thought I might like it. The book was published in 1982 (I've since discovered that the author is Sir Peter Blake's mother) and features sketches and paintings of plants around New Zealand- the locations are a bit random (Northland, Takaka, Wellington, Te Awamutu, Moeraki and a few others) which makes it all the more appealing, I think. Like a proper holiday trip around the place. Deb kindly marked the pages she thought I might especially like.

The fishing hut in Whagaruru (second-to-last picture above) is my favourite: corrugated iron structure with orange tarpaulin roof and casual woodcarving nearby. Deeply familiar though I've never been there.

summer liberty

I've had this Liberty lawn sitting on the shelf for ages, but never got the courage to snip into it until last night. After all, what good does it do sitting on a shelf?

I made this very simple summer top using half of it. I was sent the retro stripy bias binding from a kind reader, M in Adelaide. It has chocolate and cream diagonal stripes and is a lot more fun than a plain binding, in my opinion. 

This top is another example of me just making something up and going along with it. After cutting, I couldn't believe I had done that to my beloved Liberty treasure. But it worked out okay, and the top fits nicely. Although the binding required a couple of episodes of Miranda to complete. What a brilliant laugh that show is. 

blueberry lemonade

Everyone was complaining about the heat today, which I must admit is not a common problem here in Wellington. I started making some lemonade but came across some blueberries in the freezer, which suddenly seemed like a match made in heaven to me. Blueberries, lemons, ice, picnic blanket under the lemon tree... you get the idea.

Here is how I made it, in case you're keen for some pink lemonade too. (The traditional lemon and barley recipe is here.)

BLUEBERRY LEMONADE

6-7 lemons (about 1 cup of juice)

100 grams sugar

1 cup blueberries, frozen or fresh

Squeeze the lemons into a medium-sized saucepan (don't worry about straining the juice at this point.) 

Tip the sugar and blueberries into a food processor, add one spoonful of the lemon juice, and whizz till blended.

Transfer the sugar mixture into the saucepan and cook everything on a low heat for 10 minutes or so, until you have a syrup and the sugar is completely dissolved.

Strain the mixture through a sieve into a large jug. You might need to use a spoon to extract all the syrup from the berry/lemon remnants.

Pour the strained syrup into jars or bottles (my mixture made 1 and a half maple syrup bottles full.)

Dilute in a jug with water or soda water, mint leaves and ice. (I'm thinking we might try it with vodka a bit later on.) Cheers!

geranium tinted

Grey and rainy here, but these pinks are cheering, don't you think? The geranium plant was painted from one that lives in a terracotta pot on a balcony. And some silky fabric with bright pink arrows. I'm thinking a summer dress or top, what do you think?

Anticipating this gig downtown tonight... Dirty Projectors, all the way from Brooklyn, New York. This is my current favourite track from the new DP album, I hope they'll play it.

country side

We went out of town for a day with my brother and sister-in-law, the sun shone brightly and there was ice-cream, bread and wine to try. Also a lake to stand on the edge of, cider to drink, tiny craft and second-hand shops to peer into.

When I got home, I did some painting (the last picture, above.) The second-to-last picture shows a painted-wood screen that was in one of the places we visited. Black with birds, poppies and ghost-dresses. The paint was slightly chipped and worn, it was beautiful.

pigeon-grey

I sewed a new strap onto my camera- something that I'd been meaning to do for a while. The original strap was plasticy and scratchy, you know the type. I came across some wide bird-printed twill tape in a drawer, sent by a kind reader. I'm quite pleased that I can carry these birds around with me on a daily basis, and I'm sure the camera is happier, too.

The second picture above was taken by my friend Nikki, who has a soft spot for pigeons. I said they would be right at home here on my blog. And the last is a photo-postcard by Tina, who lives near the beach up north. It's a kind of portal into a serene place.

Happy weekend to you.

golden weather

A golden evening, even though the rain won't stop falling. I quite like summer rain, though. It gives me an excuse to light candles (little paua shells are just right for tea lights, don't you think?) and dig out another painting from the summer holiday. This was kind of a shrubby daisy plant with pale lemon petals and slightly raggedy foliage.

My strawflowers don't like the rain though, they are closed up - almost like a shell.

Watching, reading and listening.

sight and scent

The first picture above was taken in the garden of Tom's family home. That lavender row, in full sunlight, was quite something to behold. It was swarming with bees and smelled divine. While we stayed there, Clare let me use a wooden watercolour paint box that had belonged to her parents who were both artists. I mooched around in the garden, painting a few of the plants for as long as I could handle the sun. Needless to say, it was a very good way to spend a morning. 

Back in Wellington, I found I had a little dried lavender left although it's not from Clare's plants, it's from the Marlborough Sounds. I made it into a pair of drawer sachets, in honour of our lavendery holiday and those busy bees.

I found this photo on Pinterest recently- do you think it could be real? I think it would make a calming place to walk, if so.

tiny mention

I was pretty thrilled to find this little corner about my shop in the latest issue of Frankie. It's my favourite magazine, with its blend of craft and design, art and words. Hooray and thank you!

How has the beginning of January been going for you? I've started on a work placement at a newspaper (as part of my journalism training) and am enjoying it very much. So far I have interviewed an archery expert, a playwright, and a writer who arrived here from Poland in 1944. I am enjoying hearing and writing their stories. (It's not all like that, though- there are also some local government issues and court appearances that need investigating.)

I came across some very beautiful music recently. It's an NPR Tiny Desk concert, featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma and a group of string-playing, bluegrass-flavoured friends. 15 minutes of goodness.

beach life

Seals and whales, fruit cake and horses, rockpools and sand dunes, hydrangeas and shorts, limes and lemons, tents and birds' nests.

Summer holidays drawing to a close around these parts. Hope you are well, I'll be back a little more regularly from tomorrow.

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