tiny happy

ice cream colours

Upon purchase of three beautiful skeins of silk/merino yarn, I decided I’d have to make another 3-colour cowl (I knitted this one as a gift last summer).

The yarn was hand-dyed by my friend Nikki, who runs Dark Harbour just up the road from me, so I was able to choose them in person which was a treat. I wouldn't usually pick pink as a colour to wear, but when I saw it on a shelf together with the greys, I couldn't resist. Here are my Ravelry notes for the cowl.

I love the ice cream pink of the contrast panel, and it’s nice to break away (albeit momentarily) from my usual colour scheme. 

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And speaking of ice cream, Keira has been doing her usual summer experimentation with ice-blocks moulds in the quest to find the perfect after-school frozen treat for when she arrives home after walking up several hills in her hot school uniform.

This current prototype was made by blending together one cup each of frozen blueberries, natural yoghurt and vanilla ice cream in the food processor, before spooning into the moulds. 

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embroidered garments and a scholarship

I'm starting to get excited about my trip to Melbourne at the end of March. I'll be teaching workshops along with Felicia Semple and Elizabeth Barnett at this event, and I'm starting to gather materials and inspiration for the work we'll do there.

As well as stitch guides and instructions for the projects, I'm hoping to find space in my suitcase for a couple of botanical books, as I love sharing them with embroidery students. The book Wildflowers of Britain was a recent-ish gift from my friend Emma - thanks again E!

One of my workshops will involve making an embroidered garment - so I've been experimenting with patterns and designs for that. Above you can see my latest make - a gathered top with embroidered yoke.

For this I used the Alice pattern by Tessuti, but made a few changes. These included shortening the armholes, sewing French seams and hand-stitching the yoke lining, and reducing some width and length in both bodice and top. I also removed the sleeves after deciding they didn't quite suit my version, and replaced them with a narrow hand-sewn bias edging.

I chose some silk crepe fabric in dark grey because I wanted something drapey and I found that really nice to embroider on.

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To one keen maker who is unable to attend due to financial reasons, Felicia is offering a scholarship place at this retreat, which is really exciting. You can read more about that here on the official site. 

I think there may also be one or two paid places available due to last-minute changes - more details here.

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shades of pink

The summer has been so grey and cold, that when the warmth does appear it's almost a surprise.

We had a day like that today - cicadas singing, even, and I managed to knit a few rows sitting outside in the garden. I've nearly finished the cowl I've been working on this month.

And this evening, there was a melted-icecream pink sunset to watch from my bedroom window. Not bad at all.

And speaking of colourful things, I saw a link to this knitted blanket pattern today - what a fantastic way to use up the yarn leftover from other projects. Quite tempted to cast one on...

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sun catcher

We've not had many summery days here in Wellington, but I wanted to capture a little bit of sun when it appeared recently. Perhaps some warm weather is still on its way, like a parcel lost in the post?

I made a few sun catchers (details here) with flowers pressed back at the start of the season. One for a friend and one for our kitchen window, featuring hydrangea petals and a carnation, pansies and fuschia.

I couldn't resist ordering a copy of Laine magazine from Scandinavia - it features beautiful knitting patterns, photography and writing. You can see the patterns included here on Ravelry. I love the 'Nordic arrows shawl' but I think the cardigan might be my first cast-on.

I took the second photo above while we were in the South Island last weekend, for a friend's wedding. After the ceremony, my sisters-in-law and I walked up into the valley behind the crowd with our glasses of wine, where the light was like honey.

sea tones

My kind friend Poppy let me borrow one of her tapestry weaving looms and gave me a lesson on how to use it. I must admit I found it more difficult than I'd been expecting. I used to get frustrated easily and give up when faced with a new challenge, but I'm happy to report I have (a little) more patience as I get older. It's so good to learn new things - and I hope it will help me to be a better teacher, too.

Anyway, I enjoyed sifting through my yarn scraps basket and weaving this little piece in sea-inspired colours and I'm planning on buying my own loom soon.

Poppy does beautiful work - she is an accomplished weaver but has been painting for many years - you can check out her work on Instagram and she also here.

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My companion while weaving: Every man needs a companion, Father John Misty.

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summer-inspired

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a) Some Sunday morning knitting with blueberries. I'm making another one of these cowls (the first one I made was a gift). It won't be long before autumn is here again...

b) A linen project bag for my etsy shop, inspired by current side-of-the-road flowers...

c) A late crop of sweet peas from the garden - I love the dark velvety purple of them.

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sets of things

Here are three things I made with my hands recently:

a) a botanical sampler designed and embroidered for a customer on the other side of the world, featuring various favourite plants. 

b) set of three new baby knits: a bonnet (from this pattern), booties (discussed here) and a little animal friend (from this pattern.) All knit in fine alpaca yarn.

c) some drawstring and zipped bags for my Mum, sewn from remnants from her handwoven projects. These were a bit tricky to make as the yarn was prone to unravel, but I've seen them in use already, so hopefully they'll last for a while.

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An old favourite song for your Wednesday evening: Pulaski at Night, Andrew Bird.

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I hope you're having a good week. What are you working on right now?