ice ... and stitch ... and dye

ICE

and The Netherlands goes crazy !

Though there are still a lot of restrictions
due to Corona (Covid)
everybody wants to take part in the ice fun !!!!!
Ice skating is HOT here !

For me it was a great opportunity
to prune some branches of the Buddleja and Malus (wild apple)
that hung too far over the water to reach from the garden !

So yesterday I was out on the ice with my garden shears
(earlier the sun was out but just then it was bitter cold !)

Ha, later the sun was back
and it all looks a lot friendlier

(some more needs to be taken off)


And because the sun gave a lot of depth to the stitching
I made another picture of the finished eco-printed linen piece

Now I "only" have to make the A4 book
for which this will be the front cover.

Then, today,

just when I was ready to start a new eco-print lay-out,
family arrived !
So much fun to be able to use the back door, haha !

Time for the boys to put on skates
and for me to make some tea and hot chocolate
and find some cookies.

FUN for everyone !

After they were gone I had time for the printing
but also for some snow dyeing
(a first for me)

The first lay-out and the result after steaming

the end result
(already dry because it is very thin silk)

another beginning

After aproximately two weeks of ice and snow

it started raining warm water last Sunday.

The neat white covering 

disappeared rapidly over night.

But look what I discovered this morning

Little green sprouts sticking up their heads through the mud :

covered by the thick snow blanket 

they were probably getting ready,

thinking the time would be right

.....

we'll see, in the near future ...

The bright yellow Eranthis (winterakoniet) are always the first to pop up.


(Aaaaah ... still a loooong wait for Sus .....)

*

EXTRA
There is an important but not so nice story here for people who like felting !

a rose ... and a beginning

Since it's almost the end of the month

I had to make haste to finish 

the little felting-exchange piece.

Ha, just like last month

I made a serious mistake 

so I had to do it all over again

(that's learning ... is it ?)

I had to make something with flowers or leaves

and it just jumped into my mind :

a rose

is a rose

is a rose

(the first ánd second attempt)

Almost dry and waiting for a few stitches ...

it's on its way now to J.

*

Last Stitch'nBitch-Saturday I went to Rotterdam,

but if the weather had been as bad as it would turn out later

I probably would have stayed at home !!!

Snow and an icy wind :

not so nice when you're on your bike ! 

We were five, who defied the bad weather ...

and ofcourse it was fun 

as I showed my trumpet flowers of Loani Prior

I got an e-mail of the "Queen" 

about the pattern of her double-knitted scarf !

Though it took me quite some time looking at You-Tube 

to manage the double-knit

.....

I started a gauge swatch today

(with two skeins of Noro Kureyon Sock 

that were patiently waiting in my stash)

with the result 

a "positive" and "negative" side

.....

yeeeeaaaah !

Thanks Loani !

trumpets

Last weekend we sounded the "trumpets"

for our birthday boy :

9 years old !

Blowing the candles 

(and making a wish ... ?)

*

And there were other "trumpets" that I found here.

When I'm honest I must confess 

that I'm not thát keen on tea cosies myself ...

Though I must really laugh when I see all those fun designs 

Loani Prior comes up with :

she really is the Queen of tea cosies !!!

But these little trumpet flowers came with a free pattern 

I simply hád to try

A little leftover Noro Kureyon Sock did the trick

Mmmmmmmmm ...

lovely little trumpets !

*

In the garden we have lots of food for the birds,

they badly need it, in this snowy cold wintertime !

Sparrows, finches, all kinds of tits and the occasional robin,

blackbirds, starlings and turtledoves ...

While the water is frozen

the moorhens often seek a safe place high up on the pergola

... because there are cats wandering around on the ice !!!

(Aaaaah just too bad : all that snow makes the ice

unsuitable for skating ...)

for Penny

Penny in Canada showed a fantastic looking Blue Jay

we don't have that bird here

but we have a

"Vlaamse Gaai" 

I do think that's the same kind of bird

which is mostly found in woodlands.

We don't have much woods here in the west of our small country

but fortunately these birds visit us in wintertime in our garden.

Man is making all the birds very happy by providing

delicious food for them!

Thus we are rewarded by many feathered visitors.

Ta Daaa !

Well .... it was more like pfffffft ... than ta daaaa this morning

but I made it in time !

Though my hands were shaking doing the last stitches

and the thread got entangled time and again

and I had no time to do the name on the back in stitches

so I just wrote it in pen

pfffffft

"show me your teeth"

Lots of teeth, not only in the horse's mouth, but also on top and bottom

many different tiny scraps and many stitches for all the patients

drops of blood

a bit of sunshine

( for another six months without the dentist

ánd for a healthy pair of teeth )

For the backing I had two pieces of red fabric

I opted for the blood-red with white dots,

 the opposite of the white strip with the red dots on the front,

for the obvious reason ...

and this morning :

snowflakes were falling !!!

( thát's why it had to be the red with the white dots backing )

;-)

( Willem said he liked it, that it was special ...

... that's what hé was as a dentist ! )