The grower of trees, the gardener, the man born to farming,
whose hands reach into the ground and sprout,
to him the soil is a divine drug. He enters into death
yearly, and comes back rejoicing. He has seen the light lie down
in the dung heap, and rise again in the corn.
His thought passes along the row ends like a mole.
What miraculous seed has he swallowed
that the unending sentence of his love flows out of his mouth
like a vine clinging in the sunlight, and like water
descending in the dark?

-Wendell Berry, "The Man Born to Farming", 1998

This poem by Wendell Berry lingers in my senses, how beautifully - how truly - he evokes the lessons of the farming life; the ever-shifting landscape of a farmer's heart and mind, seasons of shadow and loss, wellspring and renewal. 

This year marks eight years that Alex and I have been farming. Eight years our full-time vocation, livelihood. and partnership among the dung and eggs and pasture, chickens and bees and cows. Every year brings it's own difficulties and blessed relief - this one battered us with wild weather, pandemic and unexpected choices and gifted us an egg-packing house, full water tanks and growing hope. 

Unlike Wendell, Alex and I were not born into farming; though at age 24 and 31 you could say we became re-born to it. Tending the earth, listening to it's wisdom, braving harsh realities and a steep learning curve (that contains to grow), rejoicing with our neighbours, our patrons, our landlords and our children when things come right - we realise how small and insignificant we are, yet with hands to ground, are closer to God, made whole. 


//
Seven years farming
Four years farming, an ode

An overdue making post with things made in winter and more recently in spring. Nights and mornings are still quite cold with delicious mild, sunny afternoons here and there. I think my making has reflected this balance of wanting to be warm and cozy and yet also anticipating the changes of the new season - and hopefully more short sleeves and sandal wearing! And though I said I never would, I have become a person who loves to wear a bit of pink... 

Oversize Kimono/Unfolding Jacket
Pattern by: Wiksten Made (Size S)
Fabric: Jacquard cotton by Merchant and Mills (outer) // Essex dyed linen/cotton from Robert Kauffman (inner)

I have admired this jacket for years and especially versions using the exquisitely made jacquard cotton from Merchant & Mills. I was able to purchase some of the latter in musky pink on sale (I also managed to get the inner fabric heavily discounted as it had some minor imperfections in the weave). I cut a size S, and was able to squeeze the jacket pieces into just two meters. The jacquard frays easily when cut and is definitely not the easiest fabric to sew with. I took my time and sewed it in stages over a few evenings. I absolutely love the finished jacket - it is so warm and cosy. It is designed to be oversize and can be worn over a few layers. It has this heaviness too, which I kind of like - literally pushing my body down and enfolding it in soft fibers. The boys call it my "pink cloud jacket" and it really is...

Linen Hinterland Dress 
Pattern by Sew Liberated
Fabric: Japanese washed linen

Another pattern I have long wanted to try. I decided to go for the sleeveless version without the button placket.  Its a simple, gathered skirt, dress, with two waist ties, bias binding on the neck and arm holes, darts at the bust and lovely, generously sized side pockets. The fabric is a medium weight linen and is great worn over long sleeve tops (such as the Lark Tees I made in autumn) or on warmer days on it's own with a cardigan. I tried extending the hem with a thick band (that took the length just above my ankles) but decided to unpick it and do a simple folded hem just past the knees instead. 

Gingham Array Shirt
Pattern: Array Shirt from Making magazine
Fabric: Linen/cotton blend

Excuse the crumples! I have made the array shirt a couple of times now and really love it's comfortable fit and how quickly it sews up. It is essentially a box shape with a bias-binded neck and folded hems for the sleeves and bottom. I love that it uses just-under a metre of fabric. I mistakingly sewed the bias neck band on the wrong side but decided I would leave it. Am I crazy? Probably.. 

Scrap Hats
Pattern: Serpentine Hat
Fabric: linen and cotton offcuts from my stash including part of an old dress. 

This is a super speedy, stash-busting hat pattern! I was need of some wide-brimmed sun hats now that the weather is warming up. I used fusible facing for the brim - to add a little structure - and am experimenting with threading a line of plastic wire around the edge (Top hat has the wire / second hat is without it).  I also used the inside-out method/hack that some people shared when using the pattern, whereby you join the inner + outer hats together and sew around the brim (right sides facing), then feed them through an opening in one side that was deliberately left un-sewn. I love that the hats are revisable and fit my head perfectly - I can't abide a too-tight or too-loose hat. 

Imogen Tee 
Pattern: Carrie Bostik Hodge
Yarn: Ochre Yarn 5ply, 304 Range (merino + yak) colourway "gem"

I knit this short sleeve tee with a group of three friends in a KAL (Knit-along). It was such a pleasure to see the progress of all our versions (using four different colours and kinds of yarn) - and is clearly a versatile and flattering pattern. I couldn't resist this warm, chocolatey brown yarn from my local fair-trade Ochre-yarn lady. It is a blend of merino wool and yak and is extremely soft and delicious. The panel of lace in the middle of the tee kept the project interesting enough all the way through without being overwhelming or mundane. I highly recommend it.

Super Comfortable Cotton Leggings
Pattern: Avery Leggings by Helen's Closet Patterns
Fabric: European Cotton Elastane Jersey, Melange "putty" colour

Finally some handmade leggings! A friend shared this pattern with me and it is perfect. I find myself intimated by the prospect of sewing jersey fabrics but then soon discover how straightforward it is with the right tension and stitch-style - and I loooove how jersey fabrics don't fray on you. The pattern is well written and I  love the addition of a gusset and wide waist band. I will wear these under skirts and dresses, the perfect layer for sprinter weather.

What have you been making lately?

September brings springtime. Sunshine. Daffodils. New leaves. Electric green. Open Windows. Tiny birds. Vaccinations. Birthdays. Snap dragons. School holidays. Busy bees. Sprouting broccoli. Suprise calfs. Forget-me-nots. Bluebells. Baby leeks. Island cubbies. Afternoon walks. Tadpoles. Valerian. Hopeful dreams //

Winter ending and all about us glimmers of colour and life emerging: growing grass and velvety moss a shocking green which months of soaking rain will bring. There's blue through skeleton trees, that if you look carefully reveal tiny shoots and buds.  The garden gifts us lettuce, spinach and broccoli florets and the fattest worms we've ever seen. Longer days means more eggs laid and outdoor rambles before tea. I spy a rainbow on the fridge and all manner of drawings plastered above boys' beds. So much good food on our tables, freuqent celebrations for little things. And everywhere we look daffodils and jonquils blooming. Thankful // 

Midwinter is damp and overcast and my hands ache in the cold // We enter our fifth lockdown and return to the rollercoaster of big feelings and disappointments, slowness and exasperation // The heater is lit every day and kept glowing hot over night, and the nook beside it is perfectly cat shaped // Wood cut from trees that blew over in the storm are stacked up to dry // Craft brings much comfort - face masks for friends and family, a colorful beret from leftover yarn scraps and a thin nae shawl in a delicious deep red // Hope is a short walk every day on my own, ruby rose hips on a dry vine, wax flowers on the kitchen bench, flower buds on the Chinese quince // Hope is everything beautiful and true and praiseworthy, the Good Shepherd who leads me gently on, in everything we can't see yet, a cup of hot tea, a ray of sunshine on the cheek // 

Down by the river
no boys playing,
banks submerged with rain -
everything rushing,
gushing, gurgling,
sodden and soaking,
debris caught and foaming. 

I watch the water
mesmerised,
it's a funny kind of sympathy
she reflecting me:
that spilling out, forcefully, 
an overflow of feelings
days of rain and howling winds bring -
of wondering, half-sleeping,
weeks of lockdown and isolation
familiar paths, unsettling us
again and again.

I'm a mess of worry and relief
we know we're the lucky ones
with animals safe, with house in tact 
that's dry and warm -
spirit within us, hovering,
rest and disturbance. 

Down by the river
I'm a woman lingering, 
listening to the flow -
birds are singing,
darting in the trees
and on my face
blessed sun, shining.

Early June is quiet and cold. Rain and wind shakes off what remains of the autumn leaves. I watch boys ride bikes around puddles and muddy their knees. Slowly, I clear out the garden of weeds and dead things, add to the bonfire pile and compost heap. Mulch the broccoli and leeks. Sow beans, peas, lettuce and carrot seeds. Prune the roses and the plum tree. I spy the green tips of bulbs emerging, hyacinth and daffodils. Inside the wood heater is kept stoked and warm. We mark off the days until the lockdown lifts, then the days until the school holidays, how long till spring begins. I bake often - for hunger and comfort, elevenses and afternoon tea. Winter is reading in bed with a hot water bottle on your chest and socks on your feet. Winter is slowing down whether you want to or not, feeling the cold and savouring heat //
​
​
Banana, Coconut + Raspberry Bread
125 butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar // OR 1 cup honey or maple syrup
2 ripe bananas
4 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup rice flour + 3/4 tapioca starch // OR 1 + 1/2 cups GF plain flour mix
​1/2 cup coconut flour // OR desiccated coconut for a rougher texture
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 
2 teaspoons GF baking powder
1 cup frozen raspberries // OR berries of your choice // OR 100g chopped dark chocolate
Makes 1 large loaf
- - -
In a large bowl or mixer cream together butter and sugar - followed by mashed bananas, eggs and olive oil. Mix in flours, spices and baking powder. It should be a thick batter consistency. Finally gently stir in raspberries. Pour mixture into a high-sided loaf tin that has been well-greased (or lined with baking paper - I usually just squash a rectangle of baking paper into the tin) and make in a moderate oven at 180'c for 45 mins - 1 hour. It will be ready once a skewer or knife inserted into the centre of the bread comes out clean. 

​
GF Anzacs with a twist
2 cups quinoa flakes
1 cup puffed amaranth 
1 cup desiccated coconut
zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup GF plain four // OR 1/2 cup each rice flour and tapioca starch
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
200g butter
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
- - -

Preheat moderate oven to 180'c. Place quinoa, amaranth, coconut, flour, zest, cinnamon, flour and brown sugar in a large bowl. Meanwhile heat the butter and honey in a saucepan over a low heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and stir in bicarb soda (it will fizz up a bit) - tip wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Shape a heaped tablespoon of mixture into paper-lined oven trays (I ended up with four trays of cookies). Use a fork to flatten the tops and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. Cool and store in an airtight container - they last ages! 

Me Made May is a month-long festival of people wearing their handmade clothes. I so enjoy seeing what people are making, wearing, mending and rediscovering. A friend asked me to share some of my outfits so I decided to challenge myself to wearing handmade things for a whole week:

Day one
Lark Tee in cotton stretch fabric which I found at an op-shop for $1
Trillium (Washi) dress which I made last year, in beautiful blue double cotton gauze by Nani Iro
Sibella Cardigan which I also made last year using Ochre yarn's fair-trade merino-yak-silk blend yarn
Seaside Shawl which I finished earlier this year and is being worn almost every day! The silk-cotton blend yarn which I bought years ago at Bendigo Woollen Mills is very stretchy, light and soft and doesn't pill at all. 

Day Two
Lark Tee in a bark-coloured merino wool knit from the Fabric Store that my sister generously bought for me and which is incredibly warm. 
Tamarack jacket which I made last year using a lovely brown linen-cotton blend from Robert Kaufmanm and some cotton gauze and quilt-weight wadding that I had scraps of in my stash. Each panel of the jacket was individually quilted before piecing them together and attaching bias by hand. Affectionately called "the dog jacket" it's rather warm but a little stiffer than I was hoping. 

Day Three:
Lark Tee in striped polyester cotton that a friend gave me and was my initial test of the Lark pattern. Makes a lovely layer under dresses like this one - which is the Trillium (Washi) Dress in dark blue linen that I had leftover from another project. The generous, side-seamed pockets are the best bit of course. 

Day Four:
​My newly finished Felix Cardigan over one of the three Wiksten Shift tops I have sewn and wear all the time. This one is made from soft Japanese cotton that has these lovely little embroidered pink spots on it. 

Day Five
Channelling the Boy Scout here, and not at all sure if it works but going to try anyway. Lark Tee in cotton jersey and a well-loved linen skirt (see below for my modifications to it), with my Seaside shawl. 

Day Six:
My striped Lark tee again with lots of warm woollens - Felix Cardigan, fingerless mitts I crocheted for Alex a few years ago and a recently knit Bisbis Beret in mohair and wool. 

Late autumn is the sight of healthy mama cows and some seventy plus calves grazing the pasture as the sun sets // the crunch of leaves underfoot and the damp, dewy morning air // weeding out the veggie beds, and harvesting every tomato red, green and in between // it's the sound of boys playing cubbies in the ash tree and the smell of wood smoke, of fresh paint. on the walls of the spare room // It's the golden glow of dusk on the trees, the bonfire pile growing // and the cool wind whispering a slow, sad song of a season ending.