dinsdag 29 april 2014

something red !

Ohhhhh what fun it was
when I received that wonderful envelope today !

both sides looked magnificent 
I think it was a joy to the postman as well

Inside was my third little felted piece
of our felting-exchange

(in fact it was the piece that belonged to March
but the maker already warned me that it would be later
due to all kind of things,
ha : she kind of lost it .... hi, hi, hi)

Well, it was more than worth waiting for !
Thank you very much Helma.

I studied all sides 
and admired all the stitching
(by machine and by hand)
and then I even discovered a tiny snap
so you can open it up !

Of course I had to take pictures 
together with my little garden owl !

I think they look great together, don't they !

Thanks again, Helma !

maandag 28 april 2014

child's play

The sun came out again today !
 
So good to enjoy some sunshine in the garden.
 
While I was sitting there
I decided to take some pictures
of the wonderful little jungle next to the water, of
Solomon's seal
 
(Polygonatum multiflorum)
 
Then I heard some children playing
on the other side of the little canal :
they have a week of school holiday
and exploring the water's edge is always fun !
 
A little later one of them came back
took off his shoes (again) ...
 
en stepped carefully into the water
 
... a little fisherman ?
(I don't think he was looking for a fish
like the one on his Tshirt !)
 
*
In the afternoon daughter and her three children came by.
 
The little one liked my shoes so much
 
that he wanted to try them on
 
but walking wasn't that easy !
 
He also found the baskets that were used on Easter
but there were no hidden chocolate eggs left !
What a pity.
 
 
 
 

zondag 27 april 2014

exchange

Due to my clumsiness
with the kitchen knife,
I'm a bit late with my felting exchange
(but it might be just in time
if it gets in the mail tomorrow)
 
My theme for this month was
"nature"
(it even could be abstract)
 
 
This picture, that I took in the beginning of the month,
I had as inspiration.
 
I used Bergschafwolle
It comes in batting and is easy to lay out
 
I Always lay out on a template so I know
it will be postcard size after felting
 
 
Wet after a few rolls and drying with the template under it
to compare the size.
 
Ready to go in the mail,
only with a few stitches as focus.
 
*
Yesterday
it was the first "Kings day" in Holland
since we now have a king instead of a queen.
Lots of things are organized, but ...
we just did some cycling in the nearby surroundings.
 
(ha, love these cows with their big white stripe
like they're bandaged !)
 
Some of our famous windmills
were adorned with the national flag
because of the special day
 
;-)
 


dinsdag 22 april 2014

a fun day

 
Yesterday
the Easter Bunny had a lot of fun
hiding the chocolate eggs,
this time for real.
 
Though there were drops of rain through the day
that didn't interfere
with the "big search"
 
 
For the little one it was all new
and he didn't quite understand what
big sister and big brother were doing all the time :
he liked his little basket
but didn't want anything in it
 
and threw the egg out as soon as
it was put in his basket.
 
Mister Bunny had an easy job hiding the eggs :
the garden is lush and green already.
 
HA !
you may not see his face clearly
but due to the raindrops
a slug
had climbed on top of one of the eggs
(yuk)
.....
 
After the first bite
 
the little one liked what "Easter eggs" tasts like.
 
*
 
Today I received my next
RED
piece of the felting-exchange
 
Ahhh, so sorry it doesn't fit my wrist ...
 
It came with a lovely card in colour
 
Thanks very much Joke !
 
 
(my own piece I'll have to send  this month
is a bit late due to the nasty encounter with the knife,
but will now soon be ready)

zondag 20 april 2014

ready ... GO !

 
Yesterday evening
my Easter Bunny looked finished
 
but was not !
 
When making a wet felted animal like this
you build up the whole figure with
soft gentle felting
...
Later on
 
the rubbing gets a lot harsher ...
 
and a very good soak afterwards !
(and then ... still a lot of harsh rolling in a towel)
 
But now,
after all weathered hardships,
mister Bunny is quite ready
for his important task tomorrow :
hiding yummy chocolate eggs
for the grandchildren !
 
(he did a bit of a try-out today)
 
He did it quite well
 
so he enjoyed the sun afterwards
with his basket emptied.
 
*
 
Ahhhhhhhh
 I couldn't help myself : simply HAD to make this picture
 
of the lovely sock yarn daughter is knitting with
and the gorgeous Bluebells !



vrijdag 18 april 2014

easter bunny

Some people are really good sock knitters.
A friend is.
She brought me this on my birthday
 
(only 24 stitches instead of the "normal" 60)
 
The last few days the cold came back.
So I was inside reading this time
(Ordinary people  by Judith Guest)
 because I cut my own finger
while cleaning the big kitchen knife.
Stupid.
Yes, it was.
 
Today I finally did some felting again
(with one surgical glove on my right hand)
 
Though it doesn't look like much yet
it's gonna be an
easter bunny
 
(I'm following Gabi's Filzhase PDF again)
 

There doesn't seem to be much progress
but many thin layers have been added
 
He's not finished yet
 
 but some weird splashes of colour are there
.....
 
 
(I hope he's ready to perform his duty, soon)
 
Wish you all
Happy Eastern
 
(with some Sunshine and yummy chocolate eggs)
 
 

maandag 14 april 2014

birthday (14 - 4 - 14)

Ha !
This time the special date
coincides with ...
my birthday
 
I was awakened by a (creaky) voice singing Happy Birthday
(well, try for yourself, you're probably not a great singer in the morning either)
 
and a wonderful bunch of flowers
 
Family and friends visiting
 
brought lovely presents
(and more flowers !)
 
Guests for lunch, guests for dinner,
a wonderful day.
 
It often happens on this day that we can sit outside in the garden,
alas, it was much too cold and windy.
But
inside the sun was warm !!!
 
 
And the little one : 
was playing with everything that was around.
Turning the table upside down is easy,
sitting in it is fun,
but 

getting out again ...
seemed a bit of a problem !

vrijdag 11 april 2014

Stolpersteine

 
Today we experienced a sad and emotional day.
 
 
My sister-in-law applied for the placing of three
 
(stumbling blocks)
 
in the city of Dordrecht
in front of the house where her and my husbands
grandfather, uncle and aunt
had last lived
before they were taken away
and killed in Auschwitz.
 
Her and my husband's and two brothers'  mother Sofia
survived the war.

 
She had lived in that house with her father,
two brothers and sister,
their mother had died some years before the war.
 
 

She had married just before the war began
and had moved to Rotterdam
where she had her first son
(my husband)
Her oldest brother went into hiding
and survived too.
 
Her father, younger brother and sister
never came back.
 
For them
the German artist and initiator of  "Stolpersteine"
placed three little stones
in front of their last home :
for us and everyone else
to remember.

 
Three great-grandchildren of Meijer De Liver
each gave a stone
which Gunter then put in the pavement


 
My sister-in-law held a short speech
and a friend finally
said kaddish
for Meijer, Mozes and Rosette


Amen

 

woensdag 9 april 2014

stitch and ..... ?

 
Sometimes all the other plans are going on hold
when something else jumps to my mind :
I thought ...
I needed to make something special
for a special friend.
 
Though I had serious felting plans for today,
this project came up
and got priority.
 
 
 A tiny sketch is most of the time enough for me
 
After that I made a new stash
of "wonder-undered" polyester velvet.
 
(first time round I didn't heat up the iron enough
or didn't stay on the stuff long enough to make
the wonder-under (vliesofix) stick ...
btw : always use baking paper to avoid
nasty things happening to your iron !) 
 
 
After all the preparatory steps
 
the stitching is the really fun part !
 
 
This is the back side
 
 
 
The stitching is done
and you know what ?
 
I really don't know yet if I will burn this one too
.......
 
(and no overall view,
this will be in the mail soon
and when it arrived safely
you'll see)
 
 
And now I'm off to my mandala evening
 
;-)