monkeys and fish

I've decided to send a small box of toys to Little Sprouts this year and I've started with some sock monkeys like these ones. I've now used up all my sock monkey making supplies so it's with sadness - but also relief - that these guys may be the last that I make.

To improve my toy making skills I borrowed Stuffed animals : from concept to construction by Abigail Patner Glassenberg from the library. You can find Abigail's website here. It's full of good advice, tutorials and some free patterns. The patterns in her book are also available to download here. I thought I'd start with the fish because it looked fairly simple but I struggled with some of the details and had to modify the design to get it finished. In the end it turned out ok. And I learnt a lot - always a good outcome.

Other things this week:
I cleaned out my supplies cupboard and have three cardboard boxes of stuff to donate,
I attended my son's graduation ceremony - a proud parenting moment,
I received a lovely handmade mothers' day card from my granddaughter who wrote under her name "2018 age 4" and
I ate my very first poke bowl.

I hope your week goes well. I'll be away next week visiting my mother-in-law who recently passed her driving test to renew her license. She'll be celebrating her 94th birthday next week.

Reading: Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall (the queen of crime) and Per Wahlöö - the first book in the Martin Beck series. First published in 1963. Swedish crime at its best.

cake and elephants

It's the middle of the feijoa season and we have an abundance. We've been giving them away to neighbours and workmates (isn't everybody at this time of year?) but still have too many. If you're in the same situation you might like to use some up by making this recipe for ginger and feijoa cake. It's delicious, moist, easy to make and uses up 500 grams of feijoa pulp. It's good with lemon icing and might be even better with the addition of walnuts.

I was hoping to have a small herd of elephants made but I'm afraid there's only two. I used this free pattern.

Reading: I've just started The last hours by Minette Walters. It's set in Dorset, England in 1348 and tells how the lady of the manor and her serfs survive the plague. Lady Anne is progressive in her ideas about equality, education, religion and healthcare possibly because Walters is writing from a modern perspective. The characters are (so far) predictable. The book is unbelievable but I don't want to stop reading it.

Watching: Wild, wild country on Netflix. This is a documentary series about guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the commune he established near the tiny, isolated town of Antelope, Oregon in the 1980s.

works in progress

It's wild and blustery day today. This is our first "significant winter storm" and the end of a lovely, long summer. Interestingly, today, as this storm blows in, New Zealand commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of its worst maritime disaster, the sinking of the inter-island ferry, the Wahine.

I have some things in progress to show you. I'm knitting another puerperium baby cardigan like these ones (here and here). But this time it's guilt-free knitting as I finally purchased the full pattern - Beyond puerperium - that goes from newborn size up to 2 year-old and includes 4-ply, 8-ply and 10-ply yarn options. The puerperium must be one of the most popular free patterns on Ravelry and I've wanted to acknowledge Kelly's generosity - by actually buying the pattern - for ages.

Plants are always works in progress, if you think about it, and I recently re-potted my ficus. This is my indoor plant success story; it's still alive - and flourishing - after being in my care for a whole year. I'm also very proud of the spider plant that I grew from a cutting. I love propagating plants - so easy really but so rewarding too. I have a few other cuttings ready to be potted up: another spider plant and some succulents and cacti.

The elephant is really just a spur of the moment try-out of a pattern I found. More on that next time.

Drinking: red bush (rooibos) tea

Listening: Border trilogy (podcast) on Radiolab - the background story to USA's protection of its southern border with Mexico

joy and comfort

New black and tan checked linen apron to replace this old work horse. I've added pockets this time.

And, with no particular baby in mind, a baby cardigan fresh off the needles - although a long time on the needles. I put off knitting those tiny sleeves for months and then had problems with the front button band that I did and undid four times and still didn't get the best finish. However this is a good free pattern that I'm likely to make again. Details here on Ravelry.

Reading:
The gentle art of Swedish death cleaning : how to free yourself and your family from a lifetime of clutter by Margareta Magnusson. The idea is that you ought to sort your stuff out before you move out of the large family home into a smaller apartment and, preferably, before you die so that other people (probably your grieving children) don't have to do it for you. Margareta doesn't give a lot of detailed advice but chats away in a lovely friendly way. I was very fond of her by the time I finished her book. She suggests you should start your decluttering early (at about 65 years of age), take your time and focus on one room at a time.***

Goodbye, things : the new Japanese minimalism by Fumio Sasaki who is a serious minimalist and lives in a tiny apartment in Tokyo with very few possessions. Even if you're not interested in living in such a seemingly extreme way this book is worthwhile to get us thinking about consumerism. In the 2013 documentary My stuff by Petri Luukkainen, Petri puts everything he owns into a storage unit. He can retrieve one thing a day for a year to discover just how much he really needs. It turns out he could get by with 100 things but needed 200 to live with some “joy and comfort".***

dressing the bear

Sewing for Woe Bear - a dress (made using this free pattern) and self-drafted matching bloomers. Gingham always reminds me - in a good way - of Sylvanian Families. These grey rabbits belonged to my children and are now cared for my granddaughter. I like that. I wonder if some of the toys that she has now might one day be enjoyed by her children.

Nigella in the garden. I planted it mainly because I love its common name - love-in-a-mist, devil-in-a-bush. I think the name came about because the flower sits in a 'mist' of delicate, dill-like foliage. The devil is the horned seed head, also surrounded by foliage. Not a grandiose statement plant. But quietly intriguing. And a good self-seeder.


Reading: Knots and crosses by Ian Rankin. This is the first book in the Inspector Rebus series - mindless page-turner crime. Great reading and plenty more where this came from. ****

Watching: Transparent - a comedy-drama web series created by Jill Soloway about a Los Angeles family and their lives following the discovery that the person they knew as their father is a transgender woman. *****

Eating: At last - feijoas. Although spoiled somewhat this year by the "alien invader" guava moth larvae (those little worms that get inside the fruit)

hem

Autumn is coming. The weather is still mostly lovely but maybe ever so slightly cooler. I'm feeling less like rushing off to swim in the surf and more like doing inside things. So I've started off with some simple sewing - hemming linen to make tea towels. I love linen tea towels - extra absorbent and long lasting. I have a few 'vintage' ones found in op shops - but sometimes it's nice to make your own. (Any excuse to visit the fabric store). The hardest part is finding linen fabric at the right weight - not too fine (too absorbent) but, also, not too weighty.

And more hand hemmed hankies - cut from a graphic leafy floral found in a scrap bundle bought from Jet in Greytown on our recent holiday. One hankie finished and one in progress. One to keep and one to give.

Reading: 
Another year of Plumdog by Emma Chichester Clark. Horray, more adventures of Plumdog! This is a delightful comic/graphic novel diary written from a dog's perspective. Compulsory reading for anyone who has enjoyed the company of a dog. *****

Remodelista : the organized home by Julie Carlson and Margot Guralnick. I cannot tell you how much I love this book. It is full of simple ideas - and beautiful ways - to tame the chaos in your home. I want to fill my pantry shelves with jars of chick peas and rice.*****

summer

This is my granddaughter's much loved bear showing off his new summer clothes made by me. I say they are for him but, really, they are for her. There's been much secrecy to get everything made in time for christmas as she doesn't like to be without his company for long and I needed him for fittings. He is such an odd shape but by sewing for him I've learnt quite a bit - mainly by trial and error - about pattern drafting like working out how to make sandals for a bear that doesn't really have feet!

Reading: Anything is possible by Elizabeth Strout. This is a short story collection in the style of Olive Kitteridge but the stories revolve around the character Lucy Barton (from My name is Lucy Barton). A beautifully written and compelling book. ***** 

Watching: Mindhunter on Netflix. Based on the true crime book of the same name. Two FBI agents interview serial killers to help them develop a method for criminal profiling. ****

Happy holidays to you. I wish you safe travels and good times. 

shortbread

A new apron for Gus - just like this one - made from her kindergarten fundraiser tea towel. It's very cute with each child's self-portrait printed on it.

And cranberry shortbread cookies. The recipe is available in Donna Hay's The christmas issue Dec/Jan 2018. Really good. I made them to take to a thanksgiving dinner at the across-the-road neighbours. A nice christmas gift too for family, friends, or neighbours.

Watching: Alias Grace on Netflix. This is based on Margaret Atwood's book of the same name. It's a fictionalised telling of the murders in 1843 of Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery in Canada. Grace Marks was a servant in the Kinnear household and was only sixteen when she and James McDermott were accused of the murders. ****

Have a lovely week.

bears and mountains

Three things:
1. Sewing: At last I've done it - made something from a Japanese sewing book. It's dress "T" from Girls style book by Yoshiko Tsukiori. A summer dress in a cotton print for my granddaughter. It's a simple pattern. The only fussy bit was the bias binding around the armholes and neck that I stitched by hand. 

2. Yoga: I've been practicing yoga at home for a year now averaging one class a week. I'm not consistent. I have bursts of regular practice and then weeks with none but I benefit from my practice and always feel great afterwards. I keep a yoga diary - a small notebook where I jot down my thoughts about the poses or my mood or quotes from the teacher (Melissa West) that I find inspiring or helpful. I'd recommend the diary even if, like me, you're not really a diary kind of person.

3. Dancing: of the extraordinary variety by the tiny (5mm) peacock spider and the science behind it, if you're interested.

Watching:
No ordinary Sheila - inspiring film about the life of New Zealand natural historian, writer and illustrator Sheila Natusch. The pages above are from her book Wild fare for wilderness foragers (1979). She was a true adventurer and free spirit. There is a lovely interview with her on Radio New Zealand.

Maudie starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke about popular Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis. Brought me to tears.

Reading: Autumn by Ali Smith. Short listed for this year's Man Booker Prize. It's about Elisabeth, a 32-year-old lecturer in art history and Daniel Gluck, 101-years-old and dying in an assisted care facility. He was her neighbour and confidant when she was a child. He introduced her to “arty art” and taught her to always be reading a book. The story travels between the past and present and is, apparently, an exploration of how we experience time. I found much of this book really clever and amusing but other bits mystifying.

drops

Another bundle of baby things ready to deliver to Little Sprouts. I think I've already posted about most of the makes but what's new is the grey striped merino baby wrap like this one and the pink singlet. The singlet is knitted in the round - I used a baby merino yarn - and has a button opening on one shoulder. It's a free pattern from Drops Design available here and on Ravelry.

Other things

• quilt
• play mat
• crochet blanket
• sock monkeys
• puerperium cardigan

 

I'm pretty keen on Japanese sewing books and own quite a few even though I have never made a single thing from any of them. I recently discovered Easy cute straight sewing by Yoshiko Tsukiori. It has 27 designs for dresses, jackets, pants, tops etc but comes without printed patterns as the construction of all the garments is based on straight lines (mainly rectangles) so you simply follow the dimensions and draft your own. Unfortunately it seems to be available only in Japanese. The diagrams are sufficiently detailed so that you could probably work from them without the text. However I have found a useful free, printable PDF list of common sewing terms translated from Japanese into English here on the Japanese Sewing Books website - which also has a cute Instagram feed @japanesesewingbooks and reviews (with flip-through videos) of many, many Japanese sewing books. I'm not sure if I have the confidence but I'd like to think I could wear some of the very oversized and loose fitting garments from this book.

blossoms

We have two ornamental cherry trees in the front garden that look amazing - and attract dozens of bees - for the short time that they are in full bloom. Which is now. So we celebrated hanami in the rain yesterday with a small family gathering. Hanami (flower viewing) is a Japanese custom to enjoy the transient beauty of flowers and is usually celebrated with a picnic beneath blossoming cherry trees. Unfortunately we had to have our "picnic" indoors.

And the top for quilt #4 is done. It's a variation on this one. I'm going to focus on sewing for a bit. I've had sore hands that seem to improve if I don't do much for a while. Probably an RSI thing but so frustrating. It seems that crochet in particular and knitting are bad for me.

Some good news is that a local supermarket chain is going to stop supplying plastic carry bags by the end of 2018. I hope this will just be the start and that other supermarkets will follow and that eventually all plastic bags will be banned.

Reading: My father's wake by Kevin Toolis. This is part biography and part thinking about death and dying. The author, who is Irish, believes the wake embraces death as a normal part of living. Whereas the Anglo-Saxon world lives in denial of it. Not as gloomy as it might sound.

red

Some more hankies - like these ones. I've probably got enough now but it's a little bit of happiness to take a handmade hankie out of my pocket. The two outer ones are re-purposed cotton shirts that didn't make the cut (or did?) in a recent wardrobe declutter.

And a balloon in the bathroom. It's a portrait drawn by my granddaughter of my son simultaneously smiling and frowning.

The colours of this post remind me of a joke my father used to like to tell. What's black and white and red (read) all over? Answer: a newspaper.
And a childhood favourite of my son: What's red and invisible? Answer: No tomatoes!

Reading: This house of grief by Helen Garner. This is the harrowing true story of the trial of a man who drove his car into a dam killing his three young children. It's heartbreaking to read in parts but written in such a way that I almost feel like I'm on the jury. Was it a deliberate act or an accident?

Listening/watching: Podcast Wardrobe crisis with Clare Press episode Disentangling style from fashion with Elisa Goodkind and Lily Mandelbaum from StyleLikeU. This is truly amazing. Everything I've felt about clothing and the fashion industry is so clearly articulated. Their What's underneath project on YouTube is so worth watching - short video interviews of (mostly) women talking about self image.

birds and apples

A visit to the zoo this week followed by a walk through a local park to see the birds. This particular park has a lake and is always full of birds and, at this time of year, you can see cygnets, goslings and coot chicks.

And a play mat for Little Sprouts made from some of these fabrics and a surplus-to-needs quilted mattress protector as wadding. To make: cut the backing, top and wadding to size and make a quilt sandwich. But, instead of quilting, simply sew the layers together all around the edge, curve the corners and attach double fold bias binding. No need to quilt as the mattress protector is already quilted. Tutorial here to make a mat without binding.

Watching: Three (!) movies this week: 
Love is strange (2014) starring John Lithgow as Ben and Alfred Molina as George - an ageing gay couple who have been together for decades but after George is fired from his teaching job they are forced to stay with friends separately while they sell their apartment and look for cheaper housing.

Leviathan (2014) Set in a bleak coastal town on the Barents Sea, Kolya decides to fight the corrupt mayor when he is told that his house and land will be seized. A powerful slow burner that I've been thinking about all day.

Frances Ha (2012) Quirky movie about a dancer trying to make it in New York City. One of my all time favourite films.

Drinking: Three ginger tea by Pukka. It's "a warming swirl of organic ginger, galangal and golden tumeric". Infuse for at least 10 minutes - spicy and delicious.

marbles and monkeys

Marble painting - drop a marble into paint, roll it around on a piece of paper on a tray and - ta-dah! - art. We had hours of fun with this book, Recipes for play: fun ideas for small hands and big imaginations written by New Zealander Rachel Sumner. Loads of simple ideas for pre-schoolers.

Sock monkeys - done. Pattern for cutting layout here. Variations - including the cute folded ears - alternative layout and detailed construction method with photos here. I'm especially fond of the plain grey one which I thought might turn out to be a bit boring.

Reading: The stranger in the woods by Michael Finkel. True story of Christopher Knight who disappeared to live alone in the woods for twenty-seven years.

Watching: The witness - documentary about Kitty Genovese who in 1964 was stabbed to death on a New York City street while, apparently, thirty-eight people witnessed her murder and did nothing.

fine spells

A short, quick visit to the Waikato last Sunday - in the rain - to catch up with some friends and see their new house near Cambridge. It's a long house so most of the rooms get that wonderful view of the river. We stayed the night in Hamilton - pre-dinner dessert at Duck Island, dinner at Dough Bros, and an excellent breakfast at Milton's Canteen (great name for a cafe in Hamilton, don't you think?)

Some new fabric - a couple of "vintage" prints that I'm very pleased with, a couple from Spotlight and an impulse buy of bright blue linen from The Fabric Store. All fabrics washed and ironed and ready for sewing.

And, in a moment of madness and for no reason whatsoever, I made a rabbit. The pattern and instructions are in Made for baby: cute sewn gifts by Ayda Algin.

Reading:  
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance (a memoir) by Elna Baker. Baker is a Mormon living in New York and looking for a husband. She goes on a diet and only after losing a huge amount of weight discovers the miseries the world inflicts on fat people.

Urban jungle : living and styling with plants by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff

everyday

Six blue linen napkins. Finished. I started making them maybe three years ago but stopped when I had problems with the corners. As I'd already cut out the napkins and cut the corners diagonally I was committed to continue with mitred corners. I decided to hand stitch the hems so that I could tweak the corners as I went to get them right. I'm pleased with my effort. I find it such a relief to complete abandoned projects.

I've set myself a thirty day challenge - to draw every day - and to this end I bought Draw every day, draw every way by Jennifer Orkin Lewis. Actually I bought this book ages ago (end of last year?) as I've wanted to get back into drawing for some time but lacked the motivation. But it seems the book alone wasn't enough to get me started. I'm hoping that drawing every day for thirty days will create a drawing habit.

Reading: Let's explore diabetes with owls by David Sedaris - a collection of essay that manage to be simultaneously (a bit) funny and (a bit) wise.