Hey Pōneke/Te Awakairangi? Go outside, look up.

So, I started knitting a jersey the week I turned 40. With a great effort of will-power, I finished it the week I turned 50. Two and a half months later It is not yet blocked and stitched up. Anyone want to join a club where we finish each others nearly done projects and hand them back complete?

I really, really wish that people running markets didn't rely on Facebook for comms and signing into a Google account to apply.

Making waves

Don’t forget to watch out for drop bears!

Because I know some of you like to see evidence of sewing… Today is a wallet day.

Crocheting a wee lizard 🧶🇳🇿🦎 #crochet

Look what’s just arrived!

I’ve been pretty quiet about the current election campaign… in keeping with my policy of keeping out of politics. However I will admit I made an exception a few years ago, and took on the mantle as campaign manager for Ngutu Pare in 2017. I am, and always will be, #TeamWrybill #NgutuPare4Life

Hear me out - Give Ngutu pare/wrybill your vote for #BOTY. The ONLY birds worldwide with a laterally curved bill! That's a serious kink. Also when they murmurate the whole flock flashes from silver to white, it's spectacular. They are also Bi-landers dividing their time between North and South.

I just fused a piece of interfacing to my ElnaPress. That’s how I’m getting on. 😖

Boiling the jug to make myself a hot lemon drink and then guess what time it is? (It's been a while, hasn't it...) I have two wallets and a coin purse to make. Who is going to ask me how I'm getting on in an hour? And who is going to add to my list by ordering something? (She asks, hopefully 😅)

🇳🇿🧶 Dived deep into the stash for the latest project: a super soft and light ‘sweatshirt’ in Noro Akari and Malabrigo silk mohair. On its own, Akari is nice enough, comfortable but not particularly special. Combined with silk mohair and knitted on larger than recommended needles it’s dreamy.

As immortalised in @thesewphist.bsky.social's marvellous disco kererū tea towel

Hi! It’s wet. It’s raining. I’m out running errands right now, but I guess this means when I get home there is no excuse for me to not knuckle down and do product photography. These lamps will finally be available online when we launch. I need photos that don’t look like NZ was left of the map!

#Kai Sunday dinner.

#BirdoftheYear 🇳🇿

I got this beautiful wool alpaca blend from a ribbon and rose sale and it’s now a hat and a vest. I finished the vest today but the hat has long since gone to the recipient - my youngest moko. 🧶🪡🇳🇿

Did we just have a wee wobble?

I was just looking though old photos on FB, and you know, fashion in the last 5 years has had nap dresses and flounces etc but they're not me. But if the world wasn't such a terrible place, and this didn't have connotations, I think I'd quite like to spend a summer swanning around dressed like this.

This little cutie was the fourth illustration I created for my own fabrics. Always my mum's favourite, for years it was the slowest seller, and I nearly retired the design. After my mum died, suddenly I noticed that more people were picking the tauhou. So far this year, tauhou is #1 for my sales!

Today was a very good day for spotting Tuatara big and small, and I saw my first Pōpokotea. What nature held you enthralled today?

Starting to like what you see in our posts? Subscribe to our email list now so we can alert you when we go live!

So, part of the reason for the new business structure is that my beloved R, who has a great eye for water scenes, wanted in on the tea towel action! We'll have 4 new designs — 3 from me, 1 from him — available for pre-order when the website launches.

I miss the days of concise writing on the internet. If I want info on something quite specialised, I probably don't need 6 paragraphs telling me what fabric is and the same on what a specific printing process is before the AI forgets to actually tell me if you can use that process on that fabric.

So, part of the reason for the new business structure is that my beloved R, who has a great eye for water scenes, wanted in on the tea towel action! We'll have 4 new designs — 3 from me, 1 from him — available for pre-order when the website launches.

Heads up that there's a new game from Waffle. I'm going in for my first attempt. puzzlist.com/stackdown/

Blossom Valley is not quite at full splendour yet, but should be in the next few days. Hot tip, if you come midweek you can wander without all the crowds.

See a magnolia post a magnolia

Enrich a movie by adding your pick for #BirdOfTheYear: Ngutupare Dynamite

It's all go around here right now.

Ok, charge your batteries folks, Ngā Kurakura o Hinenuitepō Aurora Australis looks like she's going to be putting on a wee show tonight. Sorry I can't say how far north this will be. But Kp5 isn't normally visible north of ChCh

Somebody has found herself a sweet spot in the sun.

#Kai Dinner.

I'm making ginger crunch, and it looks like we're getting down to the bottom of the tin of golden syrup that I'm pretty sure we've had for the whole duration of our marriage (19 years coming up soon), if not longer. At this rate, someone might need to give us a new one for our 20th anniversary.

Can I avoid paying any money to Meta this year for advertising? Our #BeerAdventCalendar Early Bird Pre-Sale is well underway and I've sold half our supply. Use the coupon code of WHOOSH25 through 18 September to save 20% on your pre-orders from us. www.kererubrewing.co.nz/shop/beer/be...

Kia ora, hope you're all having a lovely Saturday! Here's a wee reminder that we're busy setting up a new website that will feature both Ryan and my work. We'd be ever so grateful if you signed up to our email list so we can let you know when it's ready. 🪶🏖️

#Kai Dinner.

My daughter needs a few more survey takers for her Year 13 assignment - it's looking at can musicians make a living off music streaming services in 2025 If you can spare 5 mins it'd be greatly appreciated! bit.ly/46usr1v

Today’s wildlife treats: toutouwai and juvenile tuatara!

Oh dear. I just realised that I forgot that I’d washed the trousers I was intending to wear today yesterday, and didn’t hang them on the rack when I did the other few garments last night.

Ok, tonight I'm doing an assignment on tuatara. Please tell me your favourite things about tuatara. (I have materials to work from, I just like hearing people's favourite things about our native flora and fauna.)

There's still a way to go on getting the website set up, but if you'd like to get an email telling you when we go live, you can now subscribe to our mailing list. You'll find it right there on the home page, easy as! birdandbeach.co.nz

I can hear my mother’s voice, “6 feet from the tv!”

Preparing to launch a new website is hard work! Some of the product photography on my old website is a bit dated and amateurish, so hopefully the new site will look like a bit of a glow-up.

#Kai Dinner.

I can’t remember if I’ve ever made burger buns before, so can I claim this as a valid first attempt? I looked through a bunch of recipe books and only came across brioche buns, but I did find a recipe for a soy and linseed loaf, and I had linseed to use up, so… I could probably have made 8.

One of the things we love about where we live is the abundance of bird life for an urban area. Ryan is day-job wfh today, and I just got called into the living room because he’d spotted this majestic kārearea wheeling around.

Finally put together the flat pack under bed drawers I bought back in June to match the ones I got for the other side of the bed two years ago. I might actually get around to tidying my room this week! (First I have to wait for the glue to dry, because we’ve learnt that the screws aren’t enough.)

R is sitting on the couch in my usual spot, and I am sitting in his normal armchair with my feet up on the footstool, and Pīata is very confused by this because there is a very inviting lap in the right spot but it is not the right lap. (She only sits on his lap, I’m only good for lying on in bed.)