Lost and Found

In the Autumn of this year I attended a mini quilt symposium at Picton. Because of my stress levels at the time, I didn't want to be loaded down with sewing machine, cutting mat, masses of fabric and a head full of instructions, so I chose to attend a class for three days with the tutor Donna Stewart who works in merino wool and dyes the colours herself, working her quilts from the native flowers and fauna she sees around her. Her class was all handstitching and all we needed to take was scissors, a ruler and some hand sewing needles.

I came home after that time, relaxed and happy that I had completed a project , with another one of botannical native flowers almost finished, and lots of inspiration.

My little quilt sat around for a few days and then just as I was trying to decide whether to frame it or not, it completely disappeared, and much to my astonishment and annoyance I was unable to find it again.

That is until last night when I was browsing my bookshelf and espied an old gardening book that had been given to me by Uncle Allan, with appropiate pages marked very carefully. Taking it down and leafing through it I was delighted to find my little quilt that I had made at the symposium. There it was tucked up and folded inside the middle of the book.!! I have no idea how it came to be there, so that is even more scary!

This is the rata flowerand this the kowhai.

The little bird in the quilt is the fantail.

This week I collected my new glasses from the Optician, and I rather think that they might be responsible for some of the things I have been finding.

Maybe they will help me to find other important things that I have missed along the way.

Perhaps I will find my figure that has been missing for the last year or so....I am certainly seeing more clearly!

More, And Now

It is my birthday today and I am spending it doing all my favorite things.

More of this doodling, yes, I have found that others do it too, and there is even a book written about it, it is called doodle stitching.

Reading,

A favorite poem to share by Lauris Edmond

Wellington Letter

More and more she cries, at two years

old, and more again- more plums more

trees more nests and eggs ( and squawking

hens) more pips and melons dribbling

from more lips, more dancing on the roof

more night more day, sun splintering

through cracks of early morning doors,

more floors more bare feet curling on

their woody sheen, more arms and elbows

toes, and breasts, more white and smooth

more round and small, more slips of grassy tips and petal shine, more

gold and black and rosy, smell of feathers

warm,wet,more scrape of gravel, kiss

of dust, more soft sour sharp-sweet,

more shooting stars more midnights,

milk and apples, mountains, cats' meows

and mornings - more, she says. And now.

I do believe that even though I have turned fifty two today, I am still very much the two year old in this loved poem. The "smell of feathers" reminds me of a dear little blue budgie I had as a pet when I was a young girl. His name was Nickie, and he would perch on my finger and allow me to kiss him, and I would breathe in deeply the smell of his warm feathered little body. Delicious.

I have had some birthday surprises already in the post, look at this from Melissa

A beautiful cushion made by her own fair hands, wool felted and a really lovely linen backing.

And,

The most gorgeous belt ever seen in this hemisphere!

From Noa Noa in Norway, and it fits perfectly!

From myself, from purl .This arrived in my letterbox today ( perfect timing) and I have put the skeins in different rooms of the house to see if I can photograph the true colours..I can't.

This photo was taken in the bathroom and what looks like blue is a really deep inky purple.

They are for the Babette blanket I am making,

More to come in the next post.

Threads

Playing around with fabrics and threads is always a good stress buster, and I have been rushing through the last couple of weeks, feeling a little like Alice, running after The White Rabbit.

Today I stole some time ( when I should, no could, have been working on a hundred other work related things) to play with this:

some KF scraps left over from A Summer Sea and a few embroidery threads.

After this little piece is completed I am going to be on the lookout for some paisley fabrics. It might be fun to embellish the paisley prints in the same way.

To make it easier to work on I stabilised the fabric with some fine "iron on lawn interfacing". As you can see I didn't have very long to work on it, but it was fun to play for a while and to stop rushing about.

I plied my two full bobbins of the green romney fibre and it made a skein big enough to knit a couple of pairs of fingerless mitts, or maybe a hat for the winter like this one .

I started on the other sleeve for Melissa's Arisaig at the weekend.

I am so tired of this particular project, and when it is finally finished then I shall expect her to wear it every day for at least three months , yep, that should be enough I think. After that she can do what she likes with it. No, a better idea would be to keep it for Keira as an heirloom!!! Only kidding Melissa...don't worry. I just hope it will fit and that you will like it.

The Jacaranda Tree

There is a street that I drive through on the way to do my shopping. It has become very familiar over the years, but this is the time of year that I love passing by the most.

There are several large jacaranda trees growing outside people's houses, quite close in fact. The abundant blossoms give a wonderful purply shade to those who loiter underneath the branches.

I think it was three years ago that I planted our own Jacaranda tree in the garden. It is growing well and seems to be healthy and happy, but there are no signs of the characteristic blue and purple flowers yet.

About the same time I started stitching a Jacaranda tree.

See the bird perched on a branch. I bought this from a dear little haberdashery shop in Orvieto in Italy. I would have loved to linger to gaze at the many button trays displayed so tantalizingly but the bus was waiting to leave, and I felt very fortunate to be clutching my tiny purchase as I clambered on board.

Maybe the Jacaranda tree growing in my garden will decide to flower when I finish the stitching!

Flowers and a Poem

I woke today feeling very sad, probably because the last thing I saw last night before I went to bed was the late night news. So much suffering and persecution going on around the world, the latest images in Burma of the monks being murdered, the war in Iraq, the ongoing troubles in Palestine, Zambabwe...the horror of it all is overwhelming and relentless. A little closer to home is my Mum's close friend who has MS and is now dying. She has been in the rest home for the same length of time as my Mum and they have such a lot in common. My Mum is going to miss her so much, especially her smile shining through all the pain.
I spent some time in my garden, listening to the birds and immersing myself in the colours and scents around me. That helped to calm me down a little.
A first rose showing it's face and fragrance for me, and the bees.
I had completely forgotten about this little plant's existence. During the winter it is a low green ground cover and then come Spring this flower pops through.
Some lavender for the bees

Then some flowers for inside the house

This is a poem that I enjoyed today by Holly Hughes

Mind Wanting More

Only a beige slat of sun

above the horizon, like a shade pulled
not quite down.Otherwise,

clouds. Sea rippled here and

there. Birds reluctant to fly.

The mind wants a shaft of sun to

stir the grey porridge of clouds,

an osprey to stitch the sea to sky

with it's barred wings, some dramatic

music: a symphony, perhaps

a Chinese gong.

But the mind always

wants more than it has -

one more bright day of sun,

one more clear night in bed

with the moon; one more hour

to get the words right; one

more chance for the heart in hiding

to emerge from its thicket

in dried grasses-as if this quiet day

with its tentative light weren't enough,

as if joy weren't all strewn around.

I found this poem in a book titled Dancing with Joy. A compilation of poems edited by Roger Housden. It is a library book but I think I shall buy a copy, there are so many poems that I know I will want to read over and over again.

Then because this is a crafty blog, here are a few flowers I added to a different garden today:

A Precious Palette

I must have known something very special was going to happen today, because I woke early and decided to go to the gym , so I could spend the rest of the day tackling this:

Yesterday I finished warping up and put the warp on the back beam all ready for threading the heddles today.I am using a different method this time...putting the warp on from back to front instead of front to back which is how I've done it before. So it is all a little bit scary and I feel somewhat unsure and slightly anxious about the whole procedure.I wish there was a visual tutorial somewhere, or even better someone standing alongside of me telling me the way to go. Instead I am relying on a couple of books written by seasoned weavers. We will see, I am sure it will all be OK.

Anyway , my mind was full of this when I arrived home from the gym and collected the post .

A parcel from Caireen from The Patchwork Dress was there in the mailbox waiting for me and imagine my excitement when I opened it to find all this treasure.!

My heart was racing, and I am sorry to say Caireen, that I mindlessly ate the fudge whilst unwrapping all these jewels.

While I had my shower ( a great place to think and decide momentous matters ) I thought I would like to do a series of pictures . Scottish landscapes and some of the Marlborough Sounds(which is so similar to Scotland and her lochs). Little scenic pictures in wool,with the colours of the hills and the water, and of course the beautiful heather and wildflowers. Caireen wrote a card with this wonderful gift and the dear little bird, and she talked about Willow. It reminded me of this little arbour made of Willow

I mght have to embroider one of these in the landscape too. I have done very little freehand embroidery, but I am sure once I start I will be totally hooked. My Aunt has always embroidered beautiful pictures from photos and paintings that she has admired. Joyce did this embroidery of our youngest daughter Sarah , jumping on the trampoline when she was six.

Yes, this beautiful palette of colour that Caireen has so generously given, gives me endless possibilities.

Thank you so much Caireen, you marvellous girl !

Being Crafty

A new issue of knitty ( Fall 2007) has come out today, so go and have a peep if you are into knitting.I love the light and airy shawl named Muir, and there are some other innovative and "quick to knit up" designs there too.

Today we are unable to go outside, it is pouring down, but I am delighted.

Basil is not so pleased

On Wednesday afternoon I decided that I wasn't going to be missed if I took off for some solo time for a couple of days in my favorite place.

Did a little gardening yesterday but mainly I have been very crafty.This is my activities table:

and the rain has proven very fortuitous.

I shall head home this afternoon, refreshed and uplifted, all ready for the busy weekend.

Hoping you all have a lovely weekend and can spend some quiet time being crafty too.!

Beautiful Cashmere

I believe it is called startitis. I woke with it quite early in the morning yesterday and it plagued me all day. The sun was shining and the garden was beckoning, but the startitis had a firm grip and I found myself feverishly looking through my collection of Spin Off and Interweave Knits magazines until the compulsion abated when I was able to start this:

Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A Clark , from Interweave Knits Fall 2006 and I am using my lovely Addi circular needles size 3.50. What a blissed out night, knitting this and watching Emma on TV.

The wool that I am using for the shawl is something very special that I also purchased from knit1london....100% cashmere from Devon Fine Fibres , this is the softest wool I have ever had the pleasure of knitting, it is exquisite !

Earlier in the day when the startitis was at it's most urgent I spent a comfy hour curled up on the window seat feeling a guilty pleasure as I started the first stitching on this from Bothy Threads ...a William Morris design that I bought from a gorgeous litttle shop in Edinburgh.

Bothy : a hut or cottage in which labourers lodge together.

Today I am happy to say that I am now back to normal and plan on finishing this for my favorite grandson ( yes, I can say favorite because he is our only grandson, all the other grandies are little girls !)