dinsdag 30 april 2013

first and last

We have a new 
KING

This morning his mother Queen Beatrix abdicated
so now her eldest son Willem Alexander
had his first day as King

*

While watching tv 
I did my last stitches to close the seam on my Boro jacket




(this was yesterday, when there were still some pinns in the sleeve)

Tomorrow I'll will wear it !



zondag 28 april 2013

felting-exchange and ... the BOOK

It has been a busy month in certain ways
(not always concerning textiles)
But when you have lots of things you have to give your attention to,
other things remain undone :
like : my felt-exchange piece for this month
(it will be the first thing I do
after my boro jacket is finished)

I, on the other hand, recieved my felted "sunny" piece !

Thank you Jolan !!!
(a very appropriate photo was there to accompany it!)
*

On Friday we brought my quilt to Gouda
(in the rain, so no sight-seeing)
and I could take a look into the new book !
Then the next day a packet came,
there it was :
the BOOK 

 a wonderful cover with work of Willy Doreleijers


(a peek inside  ...  ;-) ...)

Ha, the next "stop" is May 1 in Arti Legi 
(Markt 27,  Gouda)
the most wonderful building 
for all this fine work !
(mmmmmmm, I'm very proud indeed)



donderdag 25 april 2013

boro, nearly there

Stitch by stitch
my Boro jacket is getting to the end,
"the end" that I think is the end

Originally boro is a kind of mending
old valued textile pieces.
To see some real boro, you have to look
(he has a gallery in New York, USA, 
were he has lots of antique Japanese textiles)

Of course you've realized by now my Boro isn't about mending
it's more about decoration, embellishment.

A certain kind of applique is used by Nadia 
She is a blogging friend I found (most probably ... I'm not quite sure ...)
through one of Jude Hill's classes.
I asked Nadia if I could try "her" technique 
on my jacket ...
She said I could !
;-)

So here is the result Nadia 

(still busy in the garden in the warm sunshine)

... and done !

Ha, I found another spot, at the bottom of the front 
that I wasn't very happy with :
so there will be a bit more "needle turn applique"
*

The rain on Tuesday gave a wonderful sight in the garden :


thousands of tiny droplets everywhere !
*

On Wednesday night we had a wonderful show in Rotterdam Luxor by 
Karin Bloemen 
O boy, she can sing
... ánd she's funny too !
(it was a special show about the 125 year old theatre Carré in Amsterdam :
lots of famous diva's were impersonated by "La Bloemen" )
*

Late this evening I had to go behind my sewing machine :
I couldn't find the slipcover for the quilt
that is selected for the new book :


I have to bring the quilt to Gouda tomorrow,
where next Wednesday on May 1 the book is presented
and the exhibition starts !


(I'm thrilled !!!)


maandag 22 april 2013

Monday blues

Some days you will remember,
some days you just would like to forget
Some days are good,
some are bad,
some have a bit of both
.....

*
There was sunshine today 
so there is more blue in the garden 




But there was more colour :


... and more blues (of another kind) :

left pocket entrance

right pocket entrance
and ...
the name 
(on the side seam)

(just some more "bits"  Lynne )


zondag 21 april 2013

another week

Sometimes, time goes by so quickly it seems,
that it's hard to keep track 
of all the things 
you did
.....

There was this lovely day on Tuesday
when I went to the Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam, 
with my dear friend M.
as my birthday present 
;-)

Craftsmanship and artists through time 

Oooooh ... so many beautiful items.
GO THERE
if you can !
*
The garden is beginning to look blue again
with the sunshine we have
(from time to time)


*
I started some flower petals 
for my Boro jacket
(on the machine !)

... so not every piece of fabric I use is blue ...
...

And of course I have been stitching tiny stitches

.....

that was the week that was



zondag 14 april 2013

SUN day

Though the day started 
with a bit of rain,
it soon turned for the better when the 
SUN
came out,
a perfect day for me, like a present.
There were lots of other presents


beautiful flowers 


and lots of dear people 
to brighten up the day even more.

Daughter gave me some of her homespun yarn and

a Mother Earth
with roots and wings
("roots and wings" like there were here)


Daughter also brought the rinsed home spun yarns
she dyed yesterday

like a wonderful rainbow !!!


zaterdag 13 april 2013

felting Friday and spinning Saturday

Yesterday I had such a lovely day :
a felting Friday with a dear friend !
Well,
we did a lot of talking,
did a little bit of felting,
had a lovely lunch,
and did móre talking
.....
ideas and possibilities and deliberations


by far not finished !!!

We also enjoyed the birds on the bird feeder

(they're só happy it's still full)
...
and there were some special (in advance) 

birthday presents !!!
(sweet pea seedlings, real gingerbread from the UK,
and the beeeaaauuutiful Kidsilk Haze Stripe yarn)
Thanks Jane !

*
Today was spinning Saturday
Noooooooooo !
not for me, but for daughter
She enjoyed her "own day" very much

while I enjoyed baby sitting 
(almost 11 months now, and showing two of his six teeth !)


Tomorrow will be a sunny day !
Hurray 

donderdag 11 april 2013

boro boro

Handstitching 
is  s l o w  stitching
It's a kind of meditative activity
(though I lóve free stitching on my machine
this kind of boro stitching I'm doing now 
is really something else)


The loveliest piece of Megamendung silk Jude once send me
is like a pair of wings on the back of the jacket.
When it was glue-stitched I didn't like the way it suddenly stopped
at the edge of the silk strip that once became the top of an evening dress
.......
so I made white (silk) running stitches 
to connect it with the piece of embroidered cotton
that was intended to become a Mexican skirt
(but never wás one)

Sometimes the ideas that pop up in my head are so many,
the stitching just goes too slowly !!!
But now that a lot of pieces are attached to the background 
I can easier make my choices.



It really is FUN !






zaterdag 6 april 2013

tiny .... tinier .... tiniest

Some weeks ago at the Stich'nBitch group in Rotterdam,
my dear friend Hermien brought something with her to show us.
She furnishes old fashioned miniature houses
ánd dresses the little dolls who inhabit 
those houses.

We were in awe when we saw the tiny elegant creature
and the little cloths she was wearing :
knitted clothes !

I asked Hermien if she could bring one again
so I could bring my camera and take some pictures
to show them here on my blog ...
and she agreed !

Today she brought even three little dolls !

The proud "mama"
and rightly so !

(just wait till you see them up close)

Now isn't thát is a gorgeous woman !!!

(with a cup of coffee for the right size ...)

Just look at the cardigan, skirt and knickers
...
knitted on special made needles of about 1 mm !

Hermien knits only a few rows at a time
and under a magnifying glass

And here the tiniest little baby

What a wonderful piece of work, Hermien !!!

Really something to be proud of !

!!!

(Hermien does some normal knitting too : 
sweaters, for children in South Africa)
*

(o yes ... I was knitting too :
the usual pair of socks, for my grandson this time,
ánd some secret present in the same colour)