Sometimes projects are just an angels breath from completion.  These little pegs had been sitting painted for a while, waiting for wings, skirts and faces.  I imagined skirts made from slices of lightly coloured vintage embroidery and paper doily wings.  Consulting my drawers of damaged, vintage embroidery, I found other ideas. 

A hand embroidered table cloth, too long in the napisan was waiting for me.  It had been so long bleached that the thread work and hems were dissolving, but still not long enough to remove whatever the tenacious stain had been.  The white on white details remind me of feathers and so wings they were.  The tattered edges became an underskirt for each modest angel, with just the smallest whisper of cotton lace over the top.  My very own mini host of mini angels.

My favourite part of a blanket would have to be the satin along the edges. These cushions celebrate blanket ribbon in all it's hues and leave the satin edge free for little hands to explore.

Growing up, we only slept with blankets when were at my grandparents. There is a certain security in going to sleep with the satin edges clutched between fingers.  For me, it means that, even though I'm away from home, I've been tucked in by someone who cares.

These cushions are made out of a collection of blanket samples for Onehunga Woollen Mills.  Each came with its name written on a small adhesive label.  In stops and starts I have been sewing the name of each colour onto it's respective sample since 2010.  We have everything from the blues of  seascape and navy, to the very pale whites of natural and eggshell.

And as an added bonus, they are nice to snuggle up with too.

 Before...

A beautiful basket of threads from the church garage sale.  I carefully took it home and wound up the threads, trying to imagine a world where you would need so many reels of orange, coral or variegated pink threads.  There were even the sweetest little reels holding only 12 yards of thread, dearly marked "Nora". The basket is now nestled next to the couch awaiting it's next adventure. It looks like I have a little bit of sewing ahead of me..

If you've met my Dad, you would swear these old fisherman paintings are all of him, from the sun reddened cheeks to the blue eyes*.

When I saw this forlorn tapestry at the back of local bazaar,** I knew exactly where it needed to go. I asked Mum for some off-cuts from a recently upholstered chair.  She was little confused when I promised to give them back.  I did give them back, eventually, just in a slightly different form.  The cushion now takes pride of place at my parents home by the beach.

This image has been a part of my family for a long time.  Nana used to have a faded re-production print of it in her lounge.  She swore it was really a painting of a distant relative. There might have been some truth in it but I never could get to the bottom of it.  I tried goggle searching the image but coudn't come up with any original.  It seams the old fisherman is has become folklore.  These little fisher-babys, on the other hand, certainly look like something I might be related to.


*Fortunately the pipe and smoking has only ever been a prop.  Though, a bubble pipe could be a pretty cool Fathers day gift at some point.

**Come to think of it, Graham, the Bazaar shop keeper would make a great fisherman too.

I'm getting wrapped up in organising a High Tea.  I'm loving the combination of gorgeous embroidered linen, beloved china and sumptuous baking. I felt we needed a logo and came up with this bit of stitching.

Before I wander off to dream about little cakes, what would your perfect High Tea include? Is it club sandwiches and macaroons, or scones and cream.  Tea cosies on the table or silver teapots? What would tempt you? Let me know. as the menu is still in the making.

For a while our house was swimming with fishes, dolphins and sharks.  Little E had marvelled at the sharks at Kelly Tarlton's.  We saw stingrays, moray eels and baby carpet sharks.  She was drawing them for weeks afterwards.

I snatched aside one of her sketches in January, to turn it into this embroidery.  I kept the sketch close as I copied it, but now cannot find it for the life of me.  I adored the various textures of a 4 year old's rapid felt pen colouring.  With two slightly mismatched blues and sketchy stitches, you can get some idea of the pen running out as she drew the picture.

The only thing left to do was to turn it into a  teacosy to be sent to Nana.  She wraps her tea pot with a knitted cosy and then pops another over the top. Of course, we had to give this a try before posting the new cosy.  I'm pleased to report the cosy works and the super hot tea went really well with stroopwafels.  These are a new treat in our house, where the steam from a super hot cup of tea is used to soften the syrupy filling, before the stroopwafels are eaten, hot and syrupy.

This week I put the finishing touches on this embroidery. While it may appear to be a small thing, its completion marks the end of something bigger. This is the last piece that I will stitch on the train to work.

I am trading the commute that sees me leaving home at 6am only to return at 6pm, travelling almost 2hrs door to door, for a new job that is a mere 20 minutes up the road.

The kids are excited and my dearest is delighted. They met me in town on Thursday to help me pack up from work. With boxes in the car, we headed for home.

Before starting the new job, there are few adjustments to be made. I will eventually reset the alarm clock. It's 5:30 chirping on my first day off was more than unwelcome. On the other hand,while my body clock resets, I might just try and make the most of these few minutes of peace before the household wakes.

I find it really hard to cut into someone else's embroidery. While admiring the works that other people have made out of thrifted embroideries, my inner Nana gasps at small acts of crafting sacrilege.

Perhaps it was beyond help. Perhaps this is better that being holed up in drawer. I tell myself little consolations and move on, admiring the crafter's daring and bravery.

This tray cloth was truly beyond help. One set of three baskets was eaten away by a mysterious substance. In other places you could see the embroidery thread was all but gone where it had been ironed over and over. I tried to take a photo. It really didn't turn out. so you will have to believe me on this. I carefully cut around two of the intact baskets and some fragments of garlands to put this together, before raiding my button collection for the final touch.

Little did I think that four lots of 3 inches makes for a really big pincushion. In hindsight I could have made this smaller, but despite my initial daring, I can't bring my self to slice up these little baskets. One day, I might be brave enough but for now I will listen respectfully, to my inner Nana.

I have always wonted to give chicken scratch embroidery a go. Occasionally, I find a table cloth or apron in the opshop with the distinctive stitched gingham.

After finding this darling dress, I felt it needed a little something to look less like a school uniform. The chicken scratch pattern is from Alicia Paulson's* "Embroidery Companion" and was originally meant for shelf edging. While I probably wouldn't recommend chicken scratch on such a small scale gingham, or polycotton for that matter (must remember to read the label first), I do like how this has turned out. Next stop a table cloth, I think.

I am loving this book at the moment. The patterns are just wonderful and I really love how she has utilised a wide range of sources and inspirations. You will find black-work sitting next to Ukrainian folk embroidery. I don't know what an experienced embroiderer would make of it, but for me, right now, as I begin to experiment, it is a great place to start. Alicia's encouragement to start with stitching something you love, leaves me with twitchy fingers and threads.

*Have you been reading along on Posy gets Cosy? Her journey to parenthood has had me both on the edge of my seat and in tears over the last few months.

My latest attempt at something new - reverse applique. I thought the reverse of this scarf* was looking a little drab and so I got to cutting it out. Granted, it is not the most technically advanced reverse applique - no needle turned edges here, but it is a start. Can I admit that I really enjoyed the running stitch join? I am tempted to try my hand at some Kantha embroidery at some point


* based on the design in Sewing Green by Betz White, review here.

Following from my resolution to try something new, here is the my first mini quilt. Amongst something news are:

• Diamond piecing -as I can't resist strip piecing at the best of times, I used diagonally cut strips.
• Pearl cotton quilting -wonderfully quick and so brilliant.
• Insert seams - I've lived in fear of them for years but really, they do get easier with practice. Perhaps I should have practised somewhere other than the final piece.

It was my first time in a doll quilt swap. I was blown away by the community around the whole swap. There were messages and encouragement galore. I'd certainly give it another try if I get a chance.

Also, now that I have had word that it has arrived, here is the finished quilt.

I often become infatuated with colours, in a school girl crush way. This crush started simply enough with my daughter's drawing box.

The orange and purple just seemed to be resonating. The combination had struck a chord with me and suddenly I was seeing it every where. If I wasn't seeing it, I was making it happen. It was months into this infatuation that I realised that my shoes had been orange and purple all along.

I’ve put the Bah Humbug away and am getting onto the swing of preparations. First up are these embroidered birds that I have made for the Kiwi Ornament Swap. They have been based on the garland pattern from Scandinavian Needlework.


I have taken a few liberties with their backs as I was short of wool felt. Instead of an unstitched white backing, they have swatches of red and white fabric to cover my embroidery. I hadn’t anticipated the pink tones from our summer sun shining through and maybe next time would go with a cream on cream background. The project was just the right size for my daily commute and I was so carried away that I used every inch of the felt that I had to make extra birds for myself and a garland to send to some friends overseas.

For more Christmas Swapping, check out the flickr pool over here.

This is not an earth shattering heart break, not a momentous one, merely a small breath taking moment. I caught my breath and held myself still for a moment when I saw this.

There have been mice in my linen drawer. It appears that they have a refined taste for hand embroidery and cotton lawn. The embroidered throw over did not fare well. The rest of the linens and the mouse traps I set lay untouched. I tried bacon, I tried peanut butter but as I said, these mice are refined.

There have been other signs too. Occasionally my fabric drawers have rendered up a sample that looks like it has been attacked by a 3 year old with blunt scissors. In fact, this is what I told myself it was the first 3 times. I set a mouse trap there too, on the off chance something might happen.

I am bold, but squeamish when confronted with these little things. I once scooped a mouse out of my cutlery drawer. In my not so calm state, I knew that 1 - I didn’t want to kill it and 2- I didn’t want it in my flat. I ran to the street and threw it as far as I could before I could stop to think just what might have happened when the thing landed.

I imagine troupes of mice filing past my little traps and giggling at my efforts. I know a simple trap with extra buttery mashed potato or a plate of warm custard would have me in an instant. I get the feeling these mice do not think with their stomachs in the same way that I do.

In the end I relented and rather than sacrificing any more treasures, I set some poison carefully, beyond the reach of little fingers. I dread the thought of the girls trying to rescue the chalky blocks. For now my linen drawer appears to be safe. The poison might have worked or it could be that the weather has improved and they have moved outside. Maybe I’ll set another trap just to be sure.

My sewing space has been taunting me. There are so many projects lined up across the couch that I’ve forgotten when I was last able to sit on it. I have even indulged in offsite storage. My Mother’s spare room is overflowing with boxes of fabric I have run out of room for. Recently, she has threatened to spring clean. It was when she mentioned making a pyre that I knew it was time act.

Sometimes I have no idea where to start. My inner geek is wondering if I should be making a spreadsheet of costs incurred, cost to complete and time to complete before checking the important criteria - desire to complete. There are the children’s skivvies cut and ready to sew for winter wardrobes, the reclaimed tapestries waiting to be loved again and numerous unfinished projects. Then there are bounteous piles of fabric pulled from my collection simply because I have an idea. My inner geek wants to get them sorted, my bossier hoarder is resisting for fear that this means I have to give up on something.

In the mean time I am casting around for projects that I have started and already have all the materials needed to finish. This sampler cushion meets that bill.


The sampler pattern is from Jenny Hart’s Embroidered Effects. It was started earlier this year. The log cabin blocks are part of a wonder bundle from Joanna and I received the embroidered buttons are from Lorna in our swap earlier this year. Everything else I just had on hand – a cushion inner with a dated cover, half a metre of cotton duck (thrifted) to stabilise the pieces and a meagre fat quarter of blue hazelnut fabric.


It turns out my Mother was talking about making a pile rather than a pyre. My mental image of forlorn projects throwing themselves on a burning heap has been dashed. While the urgency is gone, I still need to get some things sorted. The spreadsheet is starting to sound almost reasonable*.


If you listening carefully you can hear my dearest chuckling in the background and mumbling something along the lines of "You SO would do a spreadsheet"

From the moment I saw this pattern, I knew I had to try it. Mum showed it to me some months back and I was smitten. It’s taken from her hallowed “Hand Book of Stitches” by Grete Peterson and Elsie Svennas. It was one of the first embroidery books she bought. It took a while, a sampler and an embroidered birthday present, between showing me and allowing me to borrow it.

Can you believe this book was initially published in Danish in 1959?


The sampler is an array of filler stitches including satin, padded satin, fishbone, leaf and surface satin stitched with pearle cotton. I have wanted to use a light leafy green but there was very limited selection of colours in the store. I've grown to like this pale minty green and think I might be using a lot more of it. While I’m not a master, at least I now know which ones were easier, quicker or even prettier.

The southerlies have set in. Sometimes keeping warm means the tracksuit pants you forgot at the bottom of the drawer and a big blanket, other times keeping warm is an excuse to dress up. Over the weekend, while the sun was out, I was fortunate enough to stumble across the vintage car club waiting to take part in the Arbour Day parade. These ladies know how to keep warm with a smile.


These outfits and cars come out when the occasion permits – Art Deco Weekends in Napier, Vintage Car Rallies and Heading to the Local Car Museum with friends. The partners were standing around admiring handy work and wax jobs.

The accessories just add to it –

Hats with delicate beading

And crochet gloves that make my heart skip a beat. Crochet and I don’t get along, but these gloves have me reconsidering, if only to practise such delicate feather stitch.

However, when it comes down to it, it’s the smile that makes the outfit.

We have had the pleasure of regular visits from a pirate. I’m learning new things about this pirate so I thought I should share:

This one is a friendly pirate

Pirates like dancing to Hip Hop (especially Swing by Savage).

Pirates dance better when wearing skirt.

Pirates are good at keeping their boats tidy (little girls often aren’t).

Pirates carry suitcases (the one we met at the library did, so this one does too)

They growl “Yo Ho Ho Bottle of Rum” when excited, or just “Bottle of Rum” when angry (I blame the library pirate for that one too. I’ve looked and still can’t find any bottles around here).

Pirates do not like to stay still (especially when you are holding camera and asking nicely)

The pirate costume is a result of a mum who is not keen on skulls and remembering, with an hour to spare, that the pirate party required dressing up. E has loved it ever since.

These little sketches have found their way into my daily commute. They fit so neatly into my bag each day, I think I might miss them. Little E is taking great delight in seeing her pictures turned into something else. I love how they capture a few fleeting moments in her perception. One early picture shows a number of arms, legs and very importantly hair while the later ones definitely only have two of each limb and if your very special, glasses too.

These were stitched for my Mother's Birthday present. It's a big birthday, with a nought in it. According to Little E, Grandma is now 3.

On another note - the winner of the give away is number 1 - Viv of Highway Cottage. She suggested that my bag should filled with hexagons. I think I could do that.

I’ve been thinking about keeping warm and making a hot water bottle cover. When I found some black wool bouclé in my stash I thought I had hit the jackpot. It looked good too. I carefully modelled it on my daughter’s hot water bottle (hottie) just to be sure.


However, did you know that hotties come in slightly different sizes? I didn’t until I tried to post the cover and a new hottie off to my sister. Next time, I’ll make the cover out of something with a little stretch. For now, my sister will just have to be on the look out for a hottie that fits.