« December 2013 | Main | February 2014 »
You didn't see me I was falling apart
I was a white girl in a crowd of white girls in the park
You didn't see me I was falling apart
I was a television version of a person with a broken heart
- 'Pink Rabbits', The National (a great song to listen to through the headphones while out walking, in case you're looking for one.)
This is a dress I made to wear to work this year. I used the same pattern as this one, because I like the fit and pockets and it was already sitting on my desk, cut out, from last time (might as well admit it.)
For this dress I used a drapey kind of linen/cotton in a dark purple, grape sort of colour. The pockets and bodice lining is made from a fine cotton lawn in a foresty green print that I've loved for a long time. And it's always good to have a secret happy lining inside a plain garment.
Some years ago, I sewed a dress from this piece of green fabric but I can't find the link to that post anymore (archives getting so big!)
I liked wearing the green dress (a simple tunic style) but one day I had the realisation that, when paired with tights and a belt, it looked eerily similar to a Peter Pan costume and after that I didn't feel like wearing it so often. So I cut it up and used the fabric for this dress, which I'm likely to wear without fear of channelling a book character.
Three old soda bottles arrived in my letterbox from Kelly (after this post) and they boast that lovely thick glass and interesting texture like that first one I dug out from the side of the road. Tom's Mum, Clare, stayed with us last week and bought red gladioli to display in each bottle. Elegant, non?
One bottle has the faded label: JUCY and another says 'This bottle is the property of Thomson Lewis and Co Ltd, Artesian Water, Wellington, Petone & Wanganui.
I'm wishing for a return of the days when we sent food packaging back to the factory for re-use.
We have a new family table. This is a piece that was constructed by Tom and his Dad (who is a fine furniture designer and maker) in his workshop over the summer holiday. A few years ago, with such a table in mind, the pair selected and put aside some elm planks. They started designing the table over Christmas, Dave constructed and finished it and yesterday Tom's Mum brought it with her to Wellington and some kind, strong friends, helped carry it up to the house.
It's solid, smooth, and has a beautiful grain. We'll be able to have big dinner parties and all sit at the same table. There's room for all the family to sit around and work on their own projects. After owning 'characterful', op-shopped tables for about 12 years, I still can't believe it's ours.
Over the summer holiday, we spent a day at my sister's farmlet, an hour's drive away from town. Her family home is a small wooden cottage that was a public-school-dental-clinic in a former life.
Together with her husband and four daughters, she takes care of a wide variety of farm animals and birds. She also plays in folk music bands and teaches the violin to local kids. But her garden is the thing I most like to inspect when I visit.
There are always new trees, flowers, shrubs and herbs to ask her about, and she grows them all from cuttings and by collecting heirloom-plant seeds from her friends' gardens. Each season she digs up a new bit of ground to plant things in, so the vegetable patch is a big, wonderful tangle of this and that.
These beauties are hidden wallpapers at my family's beach house. In the 1970s, my grandparents built the house and wallpapered every room and cupboard with bright prints (There were also curtains with different prints but they are long gone now.) Most of the house was painted in neutral colours in the 90s, but inside the cupboards, you can see the archeological remains of groovy wallpaper.
I got some card sets printed with a yellow floral theme, since that is my favourite at the moment. In each set, there are two chamomile cards (taken in the South Island over Christmas) and two cards with this yellow South African Leucospermum flower, which smells like manuka honey.
Happy new week, friends.
The coriander plants have quickly gone to seed in the summer heat. They are coordinating with the wallpaper print in the kitchen.
Have you seen these beautiful photos? A mother in Russia captures her two young children with their animal friends.
I made this simple garment with the office in mind. It was actually something I had been looking for when out shopping: a plain black linen top. It was a happy moment when I realised I could just make one and there was even some linen waiting on the shelf (love it when that happens- but it is rare.)
I copied the gathered-yoke bodice from a dress I made years ago and used some tissue-weight linen which was extremely difficult to work with, I have to admit. I had to suck it up and make French seams to stop the whole thing from completely unravelling. Here's hoping it holds together for a while- and the weather does too so I can happily wear it before the autumn!
I'm going through a passionate '80s Peter Gabriel phase' at the moment. This is my favourite song right now- I think it's beautiful but I don't understand the cabbage-themed video clip at all.
a) a tangle of wildflowers in a field at my sister's place
b) I made this new summer blanket: it's a secondhand candlewick cotton bedspread, washed a few times, then mended in a few places with Liberty lawn patches. Cosy and cool at the same time.
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments and emails about my last post. I'm working my way through replying to them all and feel so grateful to have so much support.
And hooray for keeping archives- I've already been consulting old pages for recipes and notes on projects. As predicted, cake recipes are my most looked-up information.
I'm looking forward to the new year that is stretching ahead.
