tiny happy

macrame and moomins

Hello friends! It feels like a while since I was last here. 

We went to visit family and friends down South for a week during the October school holidays, which now, of course, feels like a different month altogether, but we're still in October for a bit! Time is taking on new forms this year. I hope you're doing very well and managing ok, wherever you happen to be in this world.

Since I last wrote here, I celebrated my 40th birthday. I have to admit to feeling a bit of trepidation about getting older but also gratitude and excitement for what's to come. This decade feels great so far, and the other good thing about a birthday is the chance it brings to catch up with friends and clink a glass or two together. 

I was also very spoiled and want to tell you about the amazing gifts and treats I received but I feel I must space them out a bit! Blog content for a month, at least...! In the photos above you can see the little morning tea I had with Keira on my actual birthday. She was home from school and it was my day off from the office, so we drank black coffee and ate the Moomin biscuits she'd bought for that very purpose. 

I've also included a picture of our two happy kitchen plants (they are currently nameless but the varieties are Scindapsus trebi and Tradescantia zebrina. Keira's very keen on propagating plants these days and takes good care of this pair - they have grown a lot in recent weeks!

I finished my reunion cardigan that I showed in my last post - it's knitted up in Zealana Kauri possum-merino yarn. It's already had quite a bit of wear but I know it will be a staple next autumn and winter. You can find a link to the pattern (by Brienne Moody) and other details  here on my Ravelry page.

Also, cause why not, I included a photo of a tiny embroidered sprig of flowers for you. This was stitched specifically for my friend Miriam.

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As far as non-craft-related news goes: I was given a copy of the big and beautiful Wild Honey: Reading NZ Women's Poetry by my workmates on my birthday. I love local poetry and have been enjoying dipping into this comprehensive book every day. It really is a beauty and I recommend it to anyone interested in NZ writers.

Through my headphones, I've discovered and fallen completely in love with the band Talk Talk's later albums, especially Laughing Stock. This piece, in particular, has become an everyday listen/meditation for me: New Grass. 

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more plants + stitches

It's spring, and the days are getting lighter all the time. I know life is getting colder, and harder, in many other places in the world. I hope this finds you well, dear reader.

I'm doing my usual spring thing, which is to find blossoms, petals and leaves in my embroidery work without realising it... there's something subliminal happening in Wellington at this time of the year, I think.

Above you can see some photos of things I've been working on lately: some embroidery (the stitching is finished but the making-up-into-project-bags is on hold for a bit) and a cardigan I've been knitting.

I'm using the Reunion pattern by Brienne Moody for the cardigan, which is a simple raglan shape and slightly cropped body. I'm making mine with a bit more ease than suggested in the pattern, and I think it's going to be very cosy! More details on my Ravelry page here.

In book news, I'm just finishing a novel called This Happy by Niamh Campbell, which I think has gorgeous style, and a memoir by a poet who grew up on a tobacco farm near Motueka in NZ's South Island: A Fish in the Swim of the World by Ben Brown.

I'd love to hear what you're ready, and what you're making, if you fancy leaving a comment below? 

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Here are two songs I'm listening to through the headphones these days:  Woman, by Cat Power

... and a bit of Perfume Genius.

See you again soon!

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