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 !

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)

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

at Stephen's blog "Sri "

(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 :

Art Quilts in Nederland  by Henk Lijding.

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 !!!)

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 )

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

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 !!!

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 

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 !

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)