sewing – Plum Kitchen

Hello again and hello 2025! I thought I’d begin the year with good intentions for my wee blog , I’m making a start with an absolute monster of a post, so please do pour yourself something delish and get comfy.

I’ve so far managed a trip to Sri Lanka and the Maldives AND two new dresses . Dear reader I may have peaked . Let’s start with a lovely new frock…

This is the Coni Tunic by Tessuti patterns, an absolute corker of a holiday dress (or sitting at home wishing you were on hols dress) . It’s a quick sew, with no tricky fastenings, super easy sleeves and can be made with or without pockets.

My first version is in a gorgeous Indian Block Cotton from Merchant & Mills , I brought this on hols in the UK last year intending to make PJ’s, but it seemed too pretty to hide away. Perfect and light for a summer dress. I didn’t have enough fabric to make binding so used a contrast linen scrap from my stash which I think works perfectly .

The side splits are a little higher than I realised so in the interests of modesty I actually wore this on hols over wide black linen pants, it looked really good, of course I forgot to take a photo (but it did, really!)

Version two is in a navy linen gingham from The Fabric Store (currently on sale) . This fabric is a delight to sew and wear, breezy but totally opaque , and perfect for any holiday spills (I wore a white tee shirt on my flight to Sri Lanka & two curries in was really questioning that particular life choice)*

My only mods were to lower the side split about 10 cm/4 inches, still easy to walk in but keeps my knees between me and my maker.

Did I mention I’ve been on hols? Mr D works with several lovely Sri Lankan collegues who have been encouraging us to travel there, so finally we (i.e. me) made it happen. Friends, its AMAZING. Beautiful countryside, friendly people, incredible wildlife, the FOOD!!! We actually did this Food Tour, which I highly recommend.

The food is varied, with lots of vegetables (I loved the varied vegetable curries especially) and not a small amount of spice!

A vege market in Dambulla I wish I could visit every week

The great thing about doing a specialist food tour was visiting peoples homes, to watch cooking demos and sometimes participate (yay!)

How they manage the heat on these stoves , amazing!

I know its a cliché to say “people were lovely” but honestly, they really were, in quite a laid back way (no hard selling, even the guy at the cave temples trying to sell me a necklace smiled and walked away when I said no thank you!) Not once did I feel threatened in anyway or unsafe. Ok except maybe crossing the road, I needed to hustle.

There is even have living proof my husband cooked…I suspect we may not see this replicated at home (our delightful Sri Lanka host in Kandy had a tad more patience than I…)

Was there Tea? Oh yes, All the Tea in Sri Lanka kids, its delicious, everywhere and comes in every variety from Builders to fancy Silver & Gold leaf, the nuances I must say were sadly lost on this philistine (yes I have mine milky with lotsa sugar…)

When not stuffing my face & quaffing the national beverage we were seeing some amazing countryside …

Some even more glorious wildlife…

And climbing things! We made an early morning visit to Sigiriya, Ok I didn’t actually climb Lion rock, (Mr Douglas did!) I went up part way, then was helped down by our lovely guide and enjoyed a coffee from his friends coffee cart while listening to birds and watching the local monkeys, honestly, one of the nicest ways to start the day .

After the delights of Sri Lanka, we had five days in the Maldives, basically replicating delighted sloths. Eating, drinking, reading and discussing the cocktail list. It was magnificent! Highly recommend Cora Cora Maldives

In between that busy schedule, I even managed a few swims (Sheila May swimwear for the win!) and a bike ride.

Reading was a top priority of course, first up a book I was delighted to find in our room on arrival

I really enjoy Felicity Cloaks’ How to Cook the Perfect column in the Guardian, so was thrilled to find this, a really enjoyable read following her around France on her trusty steed Eddy, sampling some delicious food and being far more stoic in the face of rain & breakdowns than I ever could.

I also enjoyed The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley, about a Wellness Retreat opening that goes HORRIBLY wrong, and The Fury by Alix Michaelides , set on a Greek Island full of glamour and bad life choices . I bet they regretted the white top too…

All in all it was a marvelous week, although lets just say leaving the resort was a tad bumpier then I may have liked (thanks GOODNESS for a glass of champagne at breakfast!!)

Hmmm….

I hope you’ve had a marvelous/gentle/not too crappy start to 2025, and remember, some days its a very good idea to have Champagne at breakfast, you never know what you could have to do before lunch…

Kristina

* Can recommend a good wash then hanging your garment in bright direct sunshine, works as treat on turmeric stains (yes, really) . Just don’t leave your Tee shirt unattended on a hotel balcony in Kandy, a monkey might just try and steal it (also, yes, really…)

Hello friends. Now I’m not going to pretend for a minute that I went to hospital just so I could get flowers. No , I went to hospital to get a shiny new hip (well, I’m not actually sure if it’s shiny, but it’s definitely new, and it’s definitely a hip). The flowers from my dear BFF are a nice added bonus!

I was born with a left hip deformity which has gradually got worse, to the point where I was more shuffling than walking (painfully). Happily I was referred for a full hip replacement in Feb of last year when I was still pretty mobile. The op was six weeks ago, and while I’m on crutches (and still shuffling) it is improving, whoop.

In a rare instance of life imitating art, my surgeon really is a “Mcdreamy”, I however, was not looking quite so glam on the ward…

Three nights in Mercy and I managed to read three books , yay! New hip, gorgeous and exceedingly competent surgeon, delightful nurses, good food (really, you ring anytime between 7am & 7pm and order off the menu, it’s like room service) and nothing to pay but parking, gotta love the Public health service 🙂

Back home, and in between naps, rehab exercises and swearing at my crutches I’ve had time to do some gentle stitching, which has been rather lovely.

First up was a wee kit my sister found in her storage unit, I’ve not done crewel work before so this was new. I of course didn’t read the instructions properly and ended up using too much of the dark green wool, the leaf on the right is actually done using embroidery thread mixed with the bit of the green wool I had left, I think it works pretty well? I do love the raspberries, French knots are my absolute fav stitch.

My next project was rather more involved. This sampler is from a kit by Rebecca at Textile Tours of Paris, isn’t it gorgeous. The kit is the Samplers of Seduction, and includes all the materials for stitching, and hours of video tutorials. Rebecca trained in Paris and has worked at some of the famous Haute Couture houses, she is also a wonderful teacher. I found the whole process incredibly relaxing but informative , giving me confidence for more stitching adventures!

Rebecca has a new embroidery course coming out this year which I will definitely be signing up to, in the meantime I just have to dream about getting back to Paris & doing a tour. Sign up for her newsletter for more great tips and dream of Paris too…

My next project (in between marathon Murder She Write & Midsummer Murder marathons obviously…) was a kit from Australia based Wattle and Loom . I first saw these on Instagram and was intrigued. The kit includes the pattern, backing fabric and lots of smaller pieces including pretty Liberty prints for cutting and stitching down. I have been keen to try this method using my own (vast!) collection of scraps but it was great to see how it was put together and the pattern created. I will frame this one for our bedroom.

So what else has been occurring at the Plum Towers Rehab Ward?

I actually made these before I went into Hospital, an experiment with some fabric scraps and hand and machine embroidery. I adore hydrangeas so it was fun to play around with inspiration from my garden , I hope to make more. The cute bud vase is by Deborah Sweeny from Sweet Acorns in Wellington (excellent speedy delivery and packaging too)

Speaking of flowers, this gorgeous bunch were from Julie and her amazing garden, check out her dahlias (and some excellent sewing too!) The vase , which my husband is not convinced about , is from Bolt of Cloth in Christchurch. I love it 🙂

Highly recommend this BEAUTIFUL book by New Zealand textile artist Fleur Woods, very inspiring . I’d love to do one of her workshops, but in the meantime the book is choc full of gorgeous images and inspiration, I’m obsessed with the pink and green/aqua on the cover. Go on, treat yourself .

Speaking of books, my hospital reading list :

A Death in the Parish by Rev Richard Coles, this is the second in the Daniel Clement mystery series, very gentle but absorbing read with a good mystery. I really enjoyed the first one Murder before Evensong

The Queen of Poisons by Robert Thorogood, I’m absolutely loving this series, from the man who brought us the fab Death in Paradise TV show no less. This is the third in the series, I have read & loved them all. I even visited Marlow on hols last year, and of course went to the bookshop mentioned in the book! Yes that is me grinning like an idiot…

The Maid by Nita Prose , this book is a delight, Molly is a clever determined young woman and I adored her. Read and enjoy

This is my post hospital treat, I have enjoyed so many of Bettany Hughes‘ TV shows I knew I would enjoy her writing. Its a treat, she is so knowledgeable but relaxed and entertaining at the same time. If you’ve ever been even vaguely interested in the Seven Wonders you will enjoy this one.

I think that’s it from me, it’s feeling very autumnal here in Auckland all of a sudden, the clocks change in a couple of weeks so I shall spend that time trying to remember how to change the clock on the oven, wish me luck…

Kristina x

Tag Archives: sewing

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