Category: Uncategorized

  • A brief hiatus

    This week we are away to Whangerei where I am giving a talk at the Costume and Textile Association of New Zealand Symposium. The talk is on Shetland Tweed and it is the first time I have spoken at the Symposium. After that we are travelling northwards for a week or so. The blog will…

  • Wally Dion

    If you like quilting, here is an artist who makes quilts with a difference… Read more: Wally Dion Thank you to our reader who sent this link in to share.

  • The Spotify playlist this week

    Each week a curated list of music and sounds is created to go along with the blog. Each of the pieces reflects something on the blog, sometimes obviously and sometimes less so. To listen click on the Player button above. Full subscriptions will hear all the pieces, free subscriptions will hear the audio with advertising…

  • Feedback on the blog

    Many thanks to everyone who responded to last week’s request for feedback. It is appreciated. Some things readers said… Phew! That is a good amount of great feedback, isn’t it? There are some things that people have suggested might make the blog better to read. These are technical things such as the placement of the…

  • A request

    Dear gentle readers, Every so often I ask you what you would like to see more of on the blog, and what you don’t like. As our seasons change and we slip into winter in the Southern Hemisphere, with indoor pursuits taking over our leisure time, it seems an opportune moment to ask that question.…

  • A visit to Nelson

    Last weekend, Easter, we spent some time in Nelson and this week the blog is all about the things we found up there. I hope you enjoy the articles. Thank you to everyone who sent messages last week to us. We appreciate the thoughts.

  • Waitangi Day

    This Tuesday is a holiday in Aotearoa New Zealand for Waitangi Day. The history of this holiday is complex, not to mention contested. It is the day when Te Tiriti o Waitangi/ the Treaty of Waitangi began to be signed. This agreement between Māori tribes and the British Crown is considered to be the founding…

  • The blog’s return

    The blog’s return

    Happy New Year. dear readers! I hope you have had a good break and enjoyed some peaceful time over the festivities. The fireworks for New Year celebrations were rained off in Greymouth but on Friday this week the town gathered on the top of the floodwall that lines the river to watch the display. It…

  • Appropriation or appreciation – finding new ways to share

    For the past couple of weeks the blog has been looking at the thorny issue of appropriation: when does using someone else’s culture become “theft” and when is it actually an acknowledgement of the value inherent in the objects of that culture? What is actually at stake when we make use of culture to create?…

  • Last week’s links

    Last week there was a hiccough on the blog. Well, actually, to tell the truth, it was more than a hiccough. The blog and its associated website decided to go down completely and nothing could resurrect it. So, once again, welcome to a new website and blog! Fingers crossed that this time it is all…