tiny happy

homely things

The title of this post is a bit... obvious. But, here we are. Never has there been such a home-bound time for all of us, I expect. I hope you're safe and well wherever you are.

Here are some things from my past fortnight. 

I finished a pair of socks for Keira. The first of the pair took I think a whole year to knit, but then the second was done in a few days. Why do I drag things out like that? Never mind. The finished socks are quite nice actually - I used this yarn (from Holland Road Yarn Company) in a heathery pink and dark grey for the contrasting heels and toes, and this free pattern - Hermione's Favourite Socks on Ravelry.

In the second photo, you can see some books I've been enjoying over the past month. I've owned all of them (except Making is Connecting - that's on loan from my friend Miriam) for ages, but it's so good to have book-friends around the house to revisit when you need them.

You can also see a plate of pikelets (aka the simplest morning tea ever) just before they were quickly eaten with jam and butter. I've tried a few different recipes for these lately, but the plainest one is probably my favourite:

Whisk together 1 egg and 1/4 cup sugar / Sift in 1 cup flour and 1 tsp baking powder / Tip in 3/4 cup milk and whisk everything till smooth while heating up a frying pan / Drop spoonfuls of mixture into pan and cook on either side for a couple of minutes / Keep warm in a clean tea towel until ready to service with butter or cream and jam.

+ + + + + + + + + + + +

I also took a day or so to work on my hexagon quilt top - a (very) long term project that I would love to finish soon! I had an idea to sew myself a small thimble from some soft leather scraps and that's really made the job easier. The piece is nearly as big as a queen-sized bed now, so I need to work out how to add a small border and then quilt it. Not daunting at all! Haha.

= = = = = = = = = = = =

The kids and I spent a lovely morning digging through boxes of my old CDs. Lots were from their early childhood (Elizabeth Mitchell's You Are my Little Bird, Putamayo folk song collections, Bob Marley and the enduring favourite that played in our car for several years, Colors Are Brighter). It made me realise how much music I bought back in the days before streaming services. 

Even though we can stream all the albums we own on CD and vinyl, we agreed that it was fun to have a stack by the stereo to remind us to play them in their entirety.

In that box of music, I found my Fiona Apple albums - such treasures to me in my teenage years. That same day, I saw that she had released a new one - Fetch the Bolt Cutters. It's pretty powerful and addictive to listen to. This is a great track to start with.

= = = = = = = = = = = =

I've been watching a little TV - last week it was Unorthodox - have you seen it? I found it really engaging and haunting and of course it led to lots of background reading immediately afterwards. We've also watched Roma - the story of a family in 1970's Mexico, which I thought was beautiful too.

Take good care, and I'll see you again soon, XX

light coming in

Hello! 

Here are a few scenes from my past week. Looking back through the photos I took, I seem to have had a thing for light - there are lots of pictures of sun shining through the windows and golden afternoon light in the garden. On the weekend I walked to the top of Mount Victoria and looked out over the city and harbour. It was nearly silent, with no boats in the water and very few cars on the street, and light reflecting off the windows of the buildings.

Are you on the look-out for light, too? These days can feel very dark when you tune in to what's happening to so many people around the world. My heart goes out to everyone who is sick and those who have lost loved ones. It's such a scary time for so many families.

+ + + + + + + + +

I'm sharing a few projects in this post - diversions that have kept my hands and heart occupied between the work days and Zoom calls and what feels like endless cooking and dishes. I really feel very lucky to have a well-stocked craft supply stash to dive into in the evenings! And of course I've been staying up way too late to work on projects.

The knitted set is for a new baby in my family. I made a possum yarn cardigan (from a very well-used book: Simple Knits for Cherished Babies by Erika Knight) and sewed on some pearly buttons and a small embroidered sprig as well. The hat is from the Tin Can Knits ''barley light'' pattern, and the socks are these ones. (Both the hat and sock design are free patterns and great for using up leftover yarns.)

Because we haven't been able to post things for a month, it's possible these clothes will be too small for their intended recipient. So I might make another set in time for when we can use the mail system again. No real hardship - I love making baby things.

On the weekend, we had a bit of a family session of drawing and painting at the kitchen table. Everyone joined in except Arlo, who refused. I did a bit of lino cutting but the results weren't very good. Keira carved rubber stamps with her favourite band names and printed t-shirts with them, and Tom did some wood-cutting. It was a very nice day and an unusual family activity but we might do it again next weekend.

= = = = = = = = = =

Have you listened to Dolly Parton's America? It's a 9-part podcast and I loved every episode. 

Take care friends, and thanks as always for visiting me here.

easter scenes

Kia ora friends, how are you doing this week?

I wanted to write a little something here, but now I'm sitting at my screen, i can't think of the right words. I'm not sure that i have much to say, really, except hello and thank you for visiting me here.

Instead I thought I'd share a few scenes from my weekend. Tom made hot cross buns (from this recipe) and they were delicious! Especially toasted the next day, with butter and marmalade and black coffee. 

I started knitting a rabbit from the Bunny Odile pattern which is very cleverly constructed and written. I'm using some grey alpaca yarn. I had this dream of making one for all of my baby nieces for Easter but failed that goal on so many counts. Instead, I'm half way through one bunny, and Easter has now passed. Never mind!

And I finished the jacket I was working on in my last post. This one was made using the Tamarack pattern by Grainline Studio, and various pieces of scrap fabric - some old work shirts and Liberty lawn leftovers. Wooden buttons stolen from a skirt I don't often wear. I used a wool/cotton batting inside, lightweight black cotton on the outside, and quilted it in a diamond pattern. The finished jacket is roomy and light and my new favourite thing to wear on my daily walk about the neighbourhood. 

I share these projects with you not because I think we should be maximising this unusual stay-at-home time to be as productive as possible. If anything, I feel quite the opposite. I think that working on my creative projects has been an unconscious way of calming my mind and helping me to concentrate on one day at a time. I hope that you're able to spend this time in the manner that suits you best, and that you have everything you need right now.

See you again soon.

X X X M

 

through the mist

Kia ora! How are you? I wanted to send a dispatch through the interwebs - a warm hello from my house to yours. From this second week staying home (apart from a walk around the block every day) I know one thing for sure: I'll not take the beautiful faces of my friends for granted after this stay-home period. Nor my family members' faces! I miss them all, and I know you miss your loved ones. 

I hope you are doing well and managing to stay calm and happy, despite the huge changes all around. My heart goes out to those who are ill or have family and friends suffering from the virus. Sending you strength and love!

I'm finding it comforting to look at pictures of other people's stay-home life right now, and nicely distracting to think about creative projects. If you do too, this post is for you. I'll try to post more often than usual.

I've got two projects to show today. The first is a pair of socks i knitted for my son Arlo who is now 16. He has really big feet! That's my excuse for why it took me nearly 5 months (!) to knit these socks for him. They were mostly sitting, half-finished, in the bottom of my bag and I worked a round or two every now and then. But with this extra time on the weekends not spent doing the usual busy things, I was able to finish them. The yarn is 'Honest Sock' by my friend and local dyer Bonnie (Union Fibre), and the pattern is one I always use: Wise Hilda's Basic Ribbed Sock, which is free on Ravelry. They are great everyday socks and the ribbed pattern means they stay in shape well. 

I like knitting for Arlo because he's always appreciative and wears handmade things all the time. The other socks I'd knitted for him were completely worn through, so he needed a new pair for winter.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + +

The other project you can see above is an almost-finished Tamarack Jacket. The pattern is by Grainline Studio and I bought it several years ago but really only felt like tackling it last month. I cut the pieces out then it sat on my desk until the weekend, when I fully immersed myself in the project. It's a lot of work - you hand-baste then machine quilt all the pieces, insert welt pockets, construct then cover all the interior seams with bias binding. 

Because I wanted to use only materials I already had, I ended up sewing scrap fabric together to make the lining pieces, including some floral Liberty cotton and fabric from two old shirts of Tom's. I also used up some Liberty bias binding I'd been saving for something, but made the rest of the binding from the same fabric as the exterior. That fabric is quite a lightweight black cotton dress fabric, with a fine black stitched embroidery to give it a bit of texture. I was worried my fabric choices would be too lightweight, but I'm happy with the weight and feel of the quilted pieces.

Hopefully I'll be able to show you the finished jacket in my next post! If you're looking for an ''involved'' make for these days, I'd recommend this jacket. You do need to have patience and a good space to spread your work out on, though. Just a friendly warning! 

= = = = = = = = = = = = 

And lastly, Keira made a rather tried-and-true recipe over the weekend: this any-kind-of-fruit cake, first published on my blog in 2011. The recipe is super simple and makes two! You can use up any fruit you have, just by slicing it and pressing it on to the surface of the cake. Keira's version used up feijoas, berries and sliced almonds. We recommend it for breakfast, with coffee...

A few other things I enjoyed this week:

Getting Through a Pandemic with Old-Fashioned Crafts (on The Atlantic)

Novelists pick books to inspire you (the Guardian)

Revisiting this Fleet Foxes album (hard to explain why it's so soothing, but it is!)

Cressida Cowell reads her book How To Train Your Dragon (for any children who love being read to?)

This free hat pattern that I'm keen to cast on (simple rib, slipped stitches, a fast knit and looks so cosy)

This timeless and impossible to resist song by Bill Withers (RIP) 

Take care friends,

M XXX