Sunny garden lunches and hydrangeas in the afternoon

a little project

Me and my dear friend Hannah have been working on a little project and getting involved with NZ Eco Fashion Week Exposed. It's just a TINY bit exciting!

Over the next few weeks... we are making simple garments with sublimate printing, natural dye, and shibori patterning. Hopefully!

At the moment... we are sorting out garment patterns (mostly Hannahs job thankfully!) and testing colour with natural dyes. Here are a few of my initial experiments x

Dye colour test swatches with a lovely pink from madder root 

Collecting onion skin from generous Mr. Wilson

Onion skins create a warm golden yellow 

Silver dollar eucalyptus from Mt Victoria

Soft orange and pink colours from the eucalyptus dyebath 

 And even softer colours with mordants

Have a look at us on Facebook!

welcome May

Oh Hello, it's May don't you know?

Have I told you how much I love Autumn? I really really do. And I think it's one of the very best things about it already being May. I just can't get over how crazy fast this year is flying by.

This was such a beautiful morning...

just after the dawn service on ANZAC day.

i miss autumn

One of the things I miss most about living down in Christchurch is autumn. It's so beautiful to walk through Hagley Park, in the crisp April air, carrying a handful of crunchy leaves home in my pockets. I'm a little sad that Wellington doesn't have the same gorgeous Autumn leaves and I always find it surprising just how colourful the city becomes when I go home.

Pretty Autumn leaves in Tuam Street, Christchurch

One of my favourite words is 'autumnal' it just has a warm and soft sound and it's especially wonderful when my dear friend Laura uses it to describe something lovely.

Still... we do have stunning bright red pohutakawa trees all through summer in Wellington. It helps a little.

the long straight road to geraldine

Last week we got out of town. We flew down to Christchurch to pick up our new old car from my brother. He feed us a home-cooked meal and gave us a warm bed to sleep in.  In the morning we drove on to Geraldine to visit James' brother. I loved the window views driving down, checking out the farm and hanging out with the massive cows, and a VERY yummy pizza. James loved the bunny hunt and driving the dirt bike. We did a lot of driving over the week so we are especially grateful that the car is ridiculously economical to run. I love the South Island. Everything about reminds me of camping trips. It's the sound of magpies, the way the light falls when the sun goes down, the smell of grass and saw dust and sheds. All that's missing is burnt toast and marmite.

yellow gorse flowers are beautiful in summer salads

sometimes the thing you need most is the world in a face full of stinging sandy wind. it's also a walk with your hands buried deep in your pockets, a few rockpools with sea anemones to explore and a slightly gritty icecream.

a VERY wet winter in wellington

It has been a VERY wet winter in wellington. I live in a small cave in the hills of Mount Cook and have recently found out that the rain has been flooding my bedroom for quite sometime. I wish I felt the same way about having the rain in my bedroom as Mr. Jeremy feels about the pond in his larder, but unfortunately i do not and neither does my bronchitis. Still... there's nothing like a little inspiration.

"Once upon a time there was a frog called Mr. Jeremy Fisher; he lived in a little damp house amongst the buttercups at the edge of the pond. The water was all slippy-sloppy in the larder and in the back passage. But Mr. Jeremy liked getting his feet wet; nobody ever scolded him, and he never caught a cold!"

from The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher by Beatrix Potter

patience is a virtue

"Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Her Secret is Patience, 2009 by Janet Echelman. found here.