Yesterday I wandered around home in the late afternoon sun, taking photos of various flowering plants which define spring in our NZ native garden. 

Of course our birds are a little cray-cray right now (it’s the season), insects are abundant & the warm afternoon means the air is filled with the sweet honey like perfumes of night opening, moth pollinated flowers. 

Most NZ native trees are not deciduous, not all of them flower during the day & they are not dependant on bees for pollination. 
In addition, not all of them are spring flowering.

Today, despite the weather yet again taking a turn back to winter, let's celebrate NZ spring flowering plants & the abundant, diverse insect life with whom they live & thrive. 

They are mostly not showy; often teeny, tiny flowers & you will need to slow down, let your nose lead you & look closely . . . 

I challenge anyone who lives in Aotearoa/ NZ to go see how many of these plants you can find in your area - or look for ones specific to your own area. 

Anyone ?!
Yeah - nah, me neither !

I thought it would be fun to do a little abstract painting . . . well 3 actually - if you count the one I'm also painting over 
& it was fun
​for a little while
& then I lost interest

I ran out of enthusiasm for placing layer upon layer & kept wanting to break rule #1 which is that nothing is 'precious'. I kept liking what I had done so didn't want to cover it up which, therefore, makes it 'precious'.

I'm pretty sure rule #2 is when you lose 'direction' with your 'painting' it's ok just to put it aside til you decide whether or not it's finished
Hahahaha; I find that hilarious & also exactly what I've done with them.

Backstrap loom weaving WOW what an adventure !

I have a very clear vision for what I want to achieve with the loom so I got a terrible fright with my 1st foray into the technique, which was working up to be a beautiful dense strap & absolutely, totally almost the polar opposite of what I see in my head.

​A little further reading & being able to borrow a rigid heddle from Isla has been a godsend as it enabled me to warp up again & thankfully the fabric I'm making is more the style I'm after.

This month I really have been using what I have available to me (or can borrow) which is great as it means I have to be resourceful & think beyond the beautifully made tapestry bobbins that I don't have to the 2 small wooden sporks, from a long ago takeaway dinner, that I do have & they make the most wonderful little bobbins/shuttles.
However, not all sporks are made equal & one of my little companions is a bit rough on it's back surface which means it's a little catchy on the warp & this is not ideal. 
I need to see if perhaps I can sand it a little smoother. 

Originally I was using an old hunting ammo belt as my backstrap which was amazingly comfortable & worked fabulously but unfortunately the smell of the gun oil was overwhelming & it had go !
​I found an old denim tie & that is working well in the interim while I weave myself a new one. 

Hugh has been teasing me mercilessly about being a quilter which I actually don't mind at all.
​The techniques quilters use are absolutely fascinating to me & I've been very happily playing with needle appliqué techniques, sashiko & boro stitching, hand stitch quilting techniques & most recently QAYG (quilt as you go) which basically makes patchwork pieces.
I love them all.
Creation, reparation*, decoration, exploration, expression, connection . . . .
I say yes, yes, yes, to all of the above.

also collaboration . . . but more about that another time ;)

We are having a superb winter this year.
Sharp cold nights followed by gorgeous sunny days followed by sharp cold nights.
Perfect for preparing sites for planting, cleaning harakeke & getting plants ready to divide & replant.
​This also means it's perfect time for making muka.
Currently the studio is filled with the luscious smell of green & I'm happily spending my days listening to music & stripping beautiful soft long silky fibres from my favourite plant.

It's been a funny old month filled with creative explorations which in the first instance don't seem to have any connection at all.
I'm happy to follow these whims of mine as I absolutely trust my instincts & I know that it will weave together in time. 
 
talk again soon
​Sal x

April has been a good month & I don't usually do this but today I went looking for autumn.

Things are definitely changing in an autumnal way.
The signs are the usual ones.

​The sunset tonight was almost directly west, we’ve harvested feijoa & pumpkins, the leeks are ready & the tomatoes are ending, the days are noticeably shorter, the sun rises later, the late afternoon & nights are cooler, the angle of the sun is now low enough that the light reaches right to the back of the room & we’ve had the 1st snowfall on the mountain.

In autumn, the harakeke seed pods are empty of seed & almost threadbare, the rengarenga still hold seed but that may be only because of the cobwebs, the corokia has beautiful little yellow berries, the seed heads on the hebe are chaff & the Tawa has new growth.

In our native forest, which is evergreen, the changes are less obvious - in fact some of them, like the new growth on the Tawa seem incongruous & I’ve realised I have been overlooking many.

Every morning the grass is quite wet underfoot but the sun is consistently shining & the winds are minimal.