Kelsy - formerly Faiako

@kelsy

Write, illustrate, play music, create. Faiako before - working in broader education now. PsA, 3 tabby cats, duckposter. she/her. I look after the garment sewing feed + lots of Aotearoa feeds. faiako- 🐦🐘 faiako1-🧵

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Bluesky

¿Es tu perfil?Reclámalo y kelsy.dirty.social es tuyo.Reclamar perfil

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· 3d

I've been listening to Ardal O'Hanlon's cosy mystery "A Plot to Die For" and it's pretty fun. Plus he reads it. I've laughed out loud a lot. Also starting Triumph of the Shipyard Girls and I've picked up Murder and Mojitos from the library! I really loved this one about subversive football.

Screenshot of the Storygraph app showing the book "The Scandalous Ladies Football Club" by Frances Quinn. And a five star rating.

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· 9d

Gonna cut out the most flamboyant pair of wool #sewliberatedarthurpants later on 👀 I had dug up some complementary checks which I thought I might need, but in fact I think I can get all the pieces solely from this, as it's a broadcloth. I won't be mad if I have to draw on the B team though.

A length of wool tartan is hanging from a ceiling rack. It is all in shades of green, adding up to an emerald overall I'd say

Two more check fabrics, the top one a wool twill check, and the bottom a cotton check (larger format), both Madras style and in tones of emerald green through to pink

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· 14d

#garmentsewing I love collecting tags, and making tags, and I do genuinely enjoy sewing them on and yet somehow most of my projects get left unlabeled. Then I collect up a whole bunch of them and try to nail them all down at once. I've got like 6 so far in this go round 🥳 this one's for you Toni 😸🇳🇿

I'm wearing a knee length yellow hoodie. There's a colourful tag on the side of the kangaroo pocket...

There's the garment laid on the ironing board.

Close up of the tag which says "insert Toni here" with a stylised pictograph of a cat face. There's also a little foldover croissant tag which is tucked in behind the upper short end of the tag

Here is me wearing the hoodie. Toni the cat peers out from inside the kangaroo pocket.

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· 15d

Twiggy loves stationery. I find this highly relatable 😂😸🇳🇿

A tabby cat with white socks and green eyes is laying on her side on a white desk on top of some papers and next to a laptop. Her head is resting gently on a grey stapler.

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· 17d

Okay so I have spent three days on a garment I don't love tbh 😂😅 a toile really but STILL #simplicitysewings8014 This is indeed flannelette. I thought it'd maybe be a warm WFH garment (it does this, sorta) or a nightie (not enough ease in the bodice). #garmentsewing whinge continues below lol.

I'm wearing a pale blue dress/robe, knee length. It has a stand collar. My hands are in my pockets.

Closer view with the tie around my waist. The dress has no buttons so the cuffs are standing open 🤷🏻‍♀️

The back. It has a yoke across upper back with a gathered centre back. The hem is quite curved up at the sides.

My hand on the ironing board showing the 6" deep hem facing (beautiful. Prob my best hem facing yet. I did not use the actual pattern pieces, drafted for the extra depth & direct match)

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· 20d

This morning we ran into him and he said, "I'm worried about Goosey! Haven't seen her!" and I said oh I know where she is! So then he stopped at the other pond on his way out. She saw him first and took up honking and RAN to meet him. He said, "Goosey!!!" and it was just a 10/10 wholesome reunion.

Mrs Goose and Marge loafing on the grass for a nap

At the edge of the pond (Goldie the golden mallard hen in the background)

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· 20d

...they've broken up! Mrs Goose now hangs out on the other pond. Maybe because it's goose mating season? There is also a chap who cycles in every single day to give these two, + Jimmy the cockatoo & duck Dorothy, cashew nuts. Mrs Goose and Marge are v. dainty, nibbling each one from his hand.

Goosey on her own, peers over the edge of the jetty

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· 20d

Bear with me for the most delightful tableau. At the park, a Canada goose (Mrs Goose/Large Charge/Goosey) has been best friends with a muscovy (Marge) since her nasty husband was disappeared by the council right before Carols by Candlelight lol. They were ALWAYS together, but in the last week...

A Canada goose and a Muscovy duck on the grass

Now the Muscovy is looking at the camera. The goose has a broken wing (which is now much improved but still not flying capable)

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· 25d

Here's a parry video featuring another audacious female flying over & Ngaire defending the field (sound on! They're so sassy. I'm a yapper too though soz 😂). After we walked off Lefty followed us and very delicately landed at my feet, so I left him another wee handful of grain for a treat. #nzbirds

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jul 14

Here's the problem with cutting out a thing in the evening that's going to be a quick sew: I just finish it 🤷🏻‍♀️ especially when it's something I'm despo to wear to bed. Hooded nightie woohoo! Started cut out *checks notes* 3h ago haha

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 28

Well, I made up my new bandinos - one for the lovely gal gardener and one for me, and one for ?? A spare anyway. So warm! They have two layers of merino interlock. It becomes hilariously mallard-mating-plumage once I add my snood too 💀 #garmentsewing Next to try: mittens 👀

I'm wearing a deep green bandino, which is a headband made from merino interlock fabric. My ponytail is pulled out over the top.

Side view. It's like 12cm wide or so - loads of real estate so the ears can't be escaping in the cold

Now I'm wearing the bandino with my snood. The snood is also merino interlock but in purple.

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 27

Well that didn't take long #garmentsewing #burdastyle104Sep25 - for all your cat holding needs

I'm on a couch wearing my handmade yellow hoodie dress, and there's an entire cat in the pocket. Well her tail is sticking out

Another view and you can see her cute little white dipped nose poking out

In this one she's got the pocket facing wrapped very closely around her eyes so she looks kind of like a nun. Mother Purresa as Eddie suggested

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 24

Also idk if you've ever wanted to watch a Paradise duck go to town on some porridge but I'll leave this here just in case. Another morning at the pūtangitangi buffet

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 21

Aren't they such darlings 🥹🥹 I can't wait for chickie season!!

Ngaire, a very beautiful shelduck, is on the left with a tray of food. She has a red body and white head and black bill. Her husband Lefty is on the right with his head in the trough. He's a mishmash of black shades.

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 20

I dug through my current collection of remnants to find knit bits big enough for making undies. There actually weren't many, surprisingly. I used: #daughterjudystagebrief for the top two (high waist, like 90s mum cut) #greenstylebillieshort for merino boxers. No side seams! I rate both patterns.

Three pairs of underwear are hanging up. The top one is navy with red polka dots. The second is pale blue with white illustrations of sea creatures. The bottom one is bright green, a boxer cut made of wool with a rayon knit waistband and gusset. This one has a full height centre piece.

The backs. They all have visible gussets and the boxers have a centre back seam

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 16

Okay so 2h t-shirts on the overlocker are junk food but #garmentsewing today feels like going to the bistro for some lovely steak and salad and beurre maître d'hôtel. ✅ The Featherweight ✅ Liberty poplin ✅ Crisp white shirt There was one small snag... Cut out two left sleeves. No major 🫣🤫

A darling little black sewing machine midway through sewing an underarm seam. The fabric is white/grey with a tiny ditsy vine and flowers pattern

Shirt try on. There's a rectangular patch on the sleeve head (and another at back underarm that's not visible).

The sleeve pattern lays on top of what I actually cut out (the mirror image). The placket and pleats are in the wrong spot too lol but we're ignoring those, it's going to be *artfully asymmetrical*. I did fix the sleeve head with those patches

I'm holding the cut out sleeve up to the light and you can see the hemmed patches and the preexisting (wrong) sleeve head behind.

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 13

Yes! Sometimes they toddle over and their feet are properly encased in frost, dear little guys. They're clearly kept plenty warm by the feather outfits but they also clearly appreciate a hot breakfast!! Check out how well splattered Ngaire was by the end of breakfast 😂😂

Picture shows two shelducks. The male is on the left and he's all black with a brown tail. He's stalking towards a dish of grain and looking intently focused on it. On the right is the female, auburn body with perfect white head. She also has a whole lot of white splatter on her visible side, which is from her boyfriend enjoying his duck porridge earlier

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 13

In #garmentsewing news I cut out another oversized merino T-shirt. This is just another mystery merino knit from marketplace and it does feature the classic thermal pinstripe even. These are really deeply unfashionable but I've been wearing the green one constantly so thought a second was warranted!

I'm wearing a tshirt dress, or long tunic, that falls to mid thigh length. It's blue. I'm wearing it over navy polkadot pants (actually a jumpsuit) and my hand is on my hip

Side view. The shoulder is dropped. I look inexplicably baffled

The back. The shirt has a boxy fit. Which it should, being #greenstyleboxytee

Now I'm wearing the jumpsuit over the top and this is the best bit because underneath I'm still merino wrapped all the way down over my hips. Adaptive sewing!

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 12

I have sewing content, but first, pūtangitangi! Confession.. on Very Cold Mornings I've been adding hot water to make some of the grain mix into porridge. Lefty: obsessed, hungry, messy. Ngaire, me: splattered Yesterday's arrival here too because it features some great shelduck chat and tail wags.

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 12

The #greenstylemonacotank (which I tested) is an excellent basic. It's got all these views - 3 neckline options and 2 straps. This is the square neckline and racer back and there's a placket on there though you really can't see it 😂 The binding technique is pretty easy to get a great finish with too

I'm wearing a purple tank top with a square neckline. The fabric is printed with patchworked flower patterns. There's a placket at centre front with purple snaps. My hands are in my pockets and I'm wearing deep red pants.

I've untucked it so you can see it's hip length more or less

Zoomed in on the back so you can see the binding AND goosebumps aplenty

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 10

Did you think I'd stopped filming the pūtangitangi? Wrong! Here's a compilation from a few days ago and the day before that (two takeoffs!). My favourite part is when Ngaire is yelling, set to take off & harass another shelduck - meanwhile Lefty is on board but gets distracted by more food. Bless 🪶🇳🇿

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 9

Then another basics project: merino long sleeves. I want to do one more of these I think. I've cut the #greenstyleboxytee with an extra 4 1/2" length on top of the longest cut (next time I might go 6") so that there's extra wool for wrapping around my dodgy hips. A success, based on today's walk.

I'm wearing a bright!! 😎 kelly green long sleeved T-shirt. Its hem is below my hip line, nearly at crotch point. It's got a high neckline, a loose fit, and a dropped shoulder.

The back, drop shoulder seam is more visible. The hem is 1" on sleeves and bodice, I find this is the length where they stop doing the flip up thing.

I'm now in black leggings (RTW), lifting my green T-shirt up and you can see another green T-shirt below, which is the #greenstyletinytee I posted about just earlier.

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 9

March of the t-shirts (June of the t-shirts lol) continues. I've made a couple of rolling projects on Threadloop for basics. Baby tees like this one, of which I cut out.. 5? I'm replacing a lot of subpar and/or dying RTW. This is Ecovero viscose knit which I love #garmentsewing #greenstyletinytee

I'm wearing a green long sleeved and fitted T-shirt. It has an abstract pattern of blobs of green in different colours over a black background. The cut is to the waist with a high neckline. My hands are on my hips.

I'm showing the back but it's to be expected, nothing fancy. Just a tshirt. My bottom half is the #helensclosetwinslowculottes though

The front again more zoomed in. The shoulder seam is on the actual shoulder, not dropped,but ofc you can't actually tell because of the busy print lol

The back and I'm midway through raising my arms in facetious jazz hands

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 5

I might be reading too much into it but it absolutely cracks me up how chatty Ngaire and Lefty are. Here's the welcoming committee routine, and listen to Lefty's satisfied little meeps after he's done stuffing himself 🥹 Note also how they pick all the split peas out of the mix first! 🪶🇳🇿

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 4

She also matches (and I say she but really - 3 carbon copies with identical markings) the regular mallard hen plumage, but like a yellow version of it! Like she's been filtered. Delightful, she's even got a lighter teal+ gold shift wing patch. Ok it seems we have a high rate of leucistic hens here??

Screenshot of Facebook comment.

"So.... most domestic ducks have mallards in their makeup. A Mallard × domestic is not technically a hybrid.
The leucistic birds (in general, every type of bird can be leucistic) are usually a very rare pure breed, but have a genetic condition where the pigment cells in their feathers don't work ( thats the short version)
Where Mallards are concerned, at least in NZ, the rate of hens with leucisim is much higher.
This is probably because there is domestic breeds of ducks that have been line breed for their leucistic traits and I would think a fair amount of leucistic Mallards have domestic influence in them and that is what's responsible for their color. Especially with leucistic birds in parks, where there's often a leucistic domestic duck.
Another interesting fact... leucistic hens are far more common than leucistic drakes. This is because, to get a leucistic drake, you need a pair to mate that both carry the leucistic gene.
So, say a leucistic hen has Ducklings, all those birds now carry the leucistic gene, even though the hens are the only ones showing it. If one of the Drakes from that hen mate back to her or another hen that carry the leucistic gene, then you could get leucistic Drakes aswell."

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 4

Hmm I've just had a nosy at mallard Pekin crosses and no matching plumage as yet. & no Pekin ducks about the town - maybe on ponds out of town but I'm doubtful. But good shout! With a parent carrying the relevant leucism gene, less rare within a population. (Bonus baby Goldie pics!)

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 4

And don't worry, if you came for pūtangitangi videos I've got you covered. 🪶🇳🇿

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 4

Aren't they beautiful 😍😍😍🪶🇳🇿 Ngaire and Lefty are such park main characters and it's such a lovely vibe sitting down with them of a morning.

A white headed, chestnut bodied pūtangitangi/ paradise shelduck stands in dewy grass.

a male pūtangitangi/ paradise shelduck stands in the grass. He is entirely black aside from some chestnut tail feathers.

Now he's looking directly at the camera and you can see his beady eye

Both ducks are visible with a plastic container of grain. Ngaire the female is hovering over it.

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 3

More duck content: -Here is, I think, a duck with vitiligo?! She's new to the park, saw her first this morning. -More Goldie content, who knows which Goldie at this point - my beauties Ngaire & Lefty, who were so stunning in the sun and dew this morning. I've got a video too...

A mallard female, brown, as usual, except she has large patches of white feathers including a white ring around her neck, a white wing patch feather, and in the other side (not visible) she has a larger white wing patch

Goldie, a golden mallard female, dabbling in a pond among fallen yellow leaves. She has a long cream stripe down her back wings. She has a mallard drake next to her.

Goldie and her boyfriend again, now they're facing towards the camera

Ngaire, a pūtangitangi/Paradise shelduck, is in the foreground on a dewy lawn. She has a chestnut/auburn body, and a white head with black bill. Lefty, a black male shelduck, stands behind her looking to the left. His tail is visible with some chestnut feathers that match Ngaire

Kelsy - formerly Faiako@kelsy· Jun 3

Look this is really crap bird photography, except that it features THREE GOLDEN DUCKS. You read that right team, the leucistic Goldies are multiplying! I'm assuming they're all sisters from different clutches #nzbirds We spotted number 3 for the first time yesterday. Today they're all hanging out!