Must be a month of Sundays (or more?) since I last wrote here! What beautiful sun-days we've had over the past month. I'm feeling very grateful for a few weeks off from work, lots of good family adventures and hang-outs, books read, outdoor coffees had with summer knitting to hand.
I hope this finds you doing very well too, wherever you are in the world. The first photos I've posted above are collages from our summer holiday in Te Wai Pounamu - the South Island. We had some dreamy warm days, berries and icecream, sea swims, walks and I even managed to read a few books - heavenly.
I've also shared a few simple small gifts I made before Christmas. My son Arlo has recently become interested in painting and drawing, the first time since childhood I think! I bought him a small watercolour journal and brushes and made him up a custom set of watercolour paints from my collection of tubes. I wrote a bit about making my own set a while ago, in this post. It's been heartwarming to see him using his paints already.
I used up lots of cotton and linen yarn odds and ends by making a bunch of cleaning cloths. Every time I started to run out of a yarn, I held it with another one, and it created a slightly messy-looking gradient effect that almost resembles little landscape paintings. And they're just for cleaning, so they don't have to be perfectly made! I pair these with a glass bottle of all-purpose cleaner which can be made like this:
= = = Into a 250ml bottle, place 1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, a few drops of tea tree oil and a few drops of lavender oil. Top it up with water, put the lid on and gently shake to mix. = = =
In the last photo above you can see a knitting project I was working on as we travelled around on our summer trip. It's just a simple sleeveless top and I used some Fibra Natura yarn called 'Papyrus' and a pattern called Kaisla by Finnish designer Veera Välimäki. The design is for a beautiful long dress, but I only had enough yarn (and patience, to be honest) for a top. I will show the finished piece in my next post - hopefully soon!
There's so much horror and pain in the world right now, it's unbelievable that I get to sit in the sun with my knitting while others are having their homes and families torn apart. I'm sending my heart straight to the Middle East, every day praying for an immediate ceasefire.
Sending love to you, friends,
M