zondag 30 juli 2017

new felt

Some of the hand dyed wool
we bought in Hoorn
is now used to make something new :
wrist warmers
(like the ones I made some time ago)



(wool with silk)

(these were the ones I made at Katia Mokeyeva's workshop)

And because it is such fun
(and because there is more hand dyed wool in our stash)
there came another pair


*

Luckily creativity runs in the family !

Granddaughter bought some simple black shoes ...

Now they're not simple anymore, but 
BEAUTIFUL !

With the use of a white Posca pen, a lot of time and her skills
she changed them into these !!!

(she's got talent !)
*

I the garden things keep changing
lots of pinks again.


Though the heavy rains of the last few days
aren't very nice to the phlox
and they all hang their heads,  heavy with raindrops

In our "green" water next to the garden
the coots are having their nth bunch of youngsters ...


(four on the day before yesterday ...
today I saw only three !)


woensdag 26 juli 2017

playing with colour

Ohhhh, I've been planning to do this for soooo long
and never came to it ...
(until now)



Perhaps all the wonderful stuff
gave me the last push

I know :
I love all the natural dying stuff I see and hear about
(surely after that indigo workshop)
BUT
I don't have enough room ( and pans, electric hob)
nor do I have the skills (and recipes)
to do so successfully.
So I stuck to the "good old" Procion dye
(I did that with a good friend some years ago)

Preparing the dye (with mouth cap and gloves)

Strands of cotton and silk waiting on cling film.

First one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . then a lot more
waiting for 24 hours.

First harvest of the wonderful silk
(looks like normal cotton embroidery floss :
only 8 strands instead of 6,
and thinner !)


YUMMY !

Started with the second batch today !

:-)




woensdag 19 juli 2017

a day in Hoorn ...

Weavers market in Hoorn
only once a year on a Wednesday in July ...
Many "textile-friends" 
have that date fixed in their calendar !

Daughter and I were going by our friend Caroline's car,
a one and a half hour drive from Rotterdam.

A warm and sunny day
(though the weather forecast wasn't that pleasant for the afternoon ...)

There were already lots and lots of people when we arrived !
We split because Caroline waited for some more friends
that were coming from other places.


colours !

peg loom and wooden printing blocks

"Kantha" (inside of a jacket)

"Kantha" (outside of another one)

Soooo much to see ...
sooooo many goodies ...
I know there were others (that I know) on the market
but I hardly saw a familiar face,
only lovely "STUFF"

The five of us had a good lunch near the harbor ...

(no ... no eel ...
they were just bringing these inside, from the "IJsselmeer")

... on a (wobbly) boat, with a view on the harbor mouth
where lots of sailboats were seeking refuge
for the foretold bad weather)

(bad weather that didn't come)

Then back to the market !

Where there was some lady, that makes beautiful shrouds out of felt, for burial



And more stalls with more lovely items.

In the end of the afternoon it was so hot again
that we went home before it all ended.

At home Man waited with hommmme mmmmmade Lasagna !!!
Mmmmmmmmmmmm !

Time to see what goodies the two of us had

A hand dyed shawl, cotton scrim, wool with silk,
silk hankies, labradorite pendant, drop spindle and some
special closures for felted bags.
Abundance ! 

HAPPY

Because of the sweltering heat in the afternoon
the toads (eight or nine) came out for diner ...
probably flying ants.


What a day !

zondag 9 juli 2017

only one night ...

We visited family this evening
(uhhhhm already yesterday ...)
The sun went down with a silver lined cloud
while on the other side the full moon rose,
big on the horizon ...
a lovely night !
Just like some nights ago when we were surprised
by no less than six BIG flowers
flowers of the night
big as the full moon !

Five flowers + the "moon" of my flash light.
(number six is more to the right)


It's easy to know that the flowers opened :
a heavy sweet scent tells it all !


almost 20 cm  (8") !

But ....
only a beauty for one night ...

the very next morning it's over