Thoughts

I've been living in Greymouth for a couple of months now and I've learned a few things:

It can be really cold, but it can also be surprisingly warm.

It rains plenty, but not as much as I expected, and a warm fire makes everything better.

It's true, Westcoasters really ARE very friendly.

The local science teacher makes great beer.

And moving house and settling a family into a completely new area is not very conducive to nurturing a creative mojo.

But I believe we are slowly getting there. Of course there has been some ups and downs and a few moments of 'what the heck have we done', but every day I'm feeling a little less of a visitor.

I've started work at the local hospital and my husband is busy renovating the house we bought. The kids are slowly settling into school and we are all trying to explore the area as much as we can in our free moments. There are lots of walks to do and the scenery is stunning, with plenty to inspire me and get me thinking about how I could portray cloud and rain with fabric and thread.

Moving to a new area has made me think about how we find our people. How do we connect with people we don't know? I'm lucky that I have my husband, who I also consider one of my closest friends, to talk to and find connection with. But what if I didn't have him? Where would I go and what would I do to make friends and find someone to talk to? I feel for my kids, who only have each other, and they are teenagers so I wouldn't say they are best of buddies! The expectation that they will just be able to find new friends is a big one, and I think I am guilty of unfairly assuming that it would be easy for them.

Hold tight to your friends and loved ones, they are not necessarily that easy to find again if you lose them...

---

Stitches

At some point, you have to buckle down and just do the work. As I mentioned above, moving house is not particularly conducive to nurturing a creative practice, but I realised that I was starting to use that as an excuse. As Pablo Picasso once said, "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working."

So I have begun to spend time each day in my studio, such as it is, and just working, whether I feel like it or not. And the funny thing is, the more often I work, the more often I feel like it!

I have a new small piece featuring birds and thorns just about at the quilting stage. I hope to share pictures of it in my next newsletter.

I was pleased to come back from The Great NZ Quilt Show in May with an award. My skeleton quilt, made entirely of recycled or upcycled textiles (apart from the batting), won a merit award. Called 'Consumption Extinction', this quilt is a comment on fast fashion and the contribution this bad habit of ours is making towards our looming climate crisis.

The quilt on the left is called 'Thicket' and also uses upcycled textiles. The stag skull is constructed from a table linen with a cutout design. I find I'm drawn to old linens in op shops. I wonder about their makers, their previous owners, the tables they adorned and the stories they were part of. And it feels right to use them in a new way to continue their story.

---

(I'm a bit of a bird freak, so every month I intend to profile one of NZ's cool, unique, special, wondrous, fabulous birds)

This newsletter is brought to you by...

The weka, (apparently also known as the woodhen, but I've never heard it called that!)

• Believes flight is overrated
• Bit of a kleptomaniac
• Dedicated Daddy

I've chosen the weka as this newsletters ambassador because we didn't see them where we lived in Northland, but here in Greymouth they are common and we hear them every evening. They make a weeeeeeek, weeeeeeek call. You can hear it for yourself by following this link and then choosing the 'hybrid weka, evening calls' option under sounds.

The weka is a flightless brown bird belonging to the rail family. They are about the size of a chicken, weighing up to 1.4kg. Curious, watchful and often attracted to human activity, they will make the most of any opportunity to pilfer food or objects that attract them. The photo series above is taken on a walkway in Greymouth as the weka got closer and closer and then bit my husbands finger, probably thinking he was offering food!

They have beady red eyes and the weka around here have pink or buff legs. They are mostly dark brown with darker barring on their wings and backs and grey on their heads and throats, but I've also seen a very dark brown one that seemed almost black. The sexes are difficult to tell apart, but the male does most of the parental care after sharing the incubation of 2-4 eggs with the female.

Being ground dwelling they are vulnerable to predation from dogs, cats, stoats etc but they are also pretty tough and have been known to take on a stoat and win.

Weka were an important resource for Māori who used them for their meat, skin, oil and feathers. Maukoroa is a red paint that Māori made with red clay and weka or shark oil.

If you'd like to see a photo of a leucistic (white) weka, head over the the Department of Conversation blog here.

---

Thanks for staying to the end! It really does make me happy to know that you're reading my thoughts. If you'd like to continue the conversation, please hit reply and send me an email. You can also find me hanging out on Facebook and Instagram.