preparations ...

September sped past

though I very much enjoyed the lots of sunshine.

The garden was my place for most of the time.

Stitching, reading and also 

the necessary working, to remove

part of the jungle that formed during the wet summer

and the warm "Indian Summer" that followed.

Because I accidentally found out

that there was a walnut tree, very close by, that was being pruned

I gave the dying with natural materials

another go.

(I must confess I'm NOT very good at it ...)

Hmmmm ... the bundles looked very promising,

the pans were a long time on the stove,

and wool had to be washed too

...

no spiffy results to show
(yet)

Furthermore I'm preparing more pieces to stitch,

and, most importantly,

preparing for what comes next month :

October = Pink Ribbon month for me !

I've been thinking long about what to make this time.

I don't want to repeat myself,

but finding something that can be made in a day

ánd sells (because that is essential !)

and can easily be sent in an envelope

.....

something textile

that's for sure !!!

ehhhh ..... 

NO

you really have to wait till tomorrow 

;-)

wordless Wednesday

Sunday and Stitch

Yesterday I went to Rotterdam.

(of course by boat)

Right in the center they are still building :

high rise buildings

because the the building plots are limited

and extremely expensive

These buildings are just on a strip

where there are some small harbor basins,

which are not really in use anymore.

(though the big cruise ships moor there in the river)

Old warehouses are converted into apartments

I thought there was a fun market :

vintage and craft.

The clutter some people throw out

is a find for others.

There wasn't much I liked

(I have enough clutter of my own at home !)

And no craft whatsoever. 

So I had more time to visit a friend

who wasn't able to visit our party

The trip on the boat was just right

for some more stitching :

just a plastic zip lock bag with some thread,

my piece and scissors kept me busy all the way

I continued today

And I think I'm nearly done ...

*
You might remember what happened to my dear
New Dawn rose in July ?

Look at her NOW :

green and in bloom again !

if you only could smell
.........

:-)

PARTY !!!

Oh my, what a weekend !!!

In April I had my birthday with a nice round number

and Man will soon have his birthday,

also a nice number,

so we wanted to throw a big

PARTY 

this summer.

Yesterday was the DAY !

A lot of our friends and relatives

were able to come

to the "THEETUIN" in Rijsoord

for a sumptuous lunch there.

For the children there

was lots they could do, outside or inside.

The lunch ánd dessert buffet

was outstanding.

(One of our friends even made a song for us !)

We had such a good time

having all these dear people together !

The weather

(we really have an "Indian Summer" right now)

was nice too, though not too hot yesterday.

So

THANK  YOU  ALL !

Ada, Anita, Anja, Anne Julia, Bob, Brenda,

Damian, Daniëlle, Danny, Delphine, Dylan, Gene,

Hans, Harold, Ilse, Jaïr, Jan, Jeannet, Jef, Joke,

Lara, Larisa, Lia, Luuk,

Maartje, Madelon, Marijke, Mario, Marja, Mick, Mireille,

Naylsa, Nina, Onno, Patrick, 

René, Rhonda, Roos,

Sacha, Silvia, Sophia, Sven,

Valerie, Willem en Yvonne,

it was a day to remember !!!

(most of them gone now as goodbye present .....  ;-) ..... )

*

On Saturday daughter and I

plus the two big grandchildren

were with out stall with felt and other stuff

on the "Open Monumenten Dag" near Oud-Beijerland.

The sun was shining all day and we were glad

there were some big walnut trees for some shadow.

Working n the shade it was better than in the sun !

We met some lovely people,

stall holders and customers,

but I was pleasantly surprised

when someone called out my name :

My dear blogging-friend Sandra,

she's the one who convinced me to go blogging, 

at the end of Jude's "Beasts" class ...

We finally met in real life !!!

What a bonus to a lovely day !

*

And of course busy with new things ...

(necklace in the making) 

August(us) in September ...

Yesterday we had a special day

with our "Alpaca" knitting group.

Every month we go to one of the members,

but once a year we go to

"Villa Augustus"

a lovely restaurant / hotel in Dordrecht.

In August some of us were away on holiday,

so this special "Villa Augustus - day" was

the first Saturday in September this time.

Because it was cloudy we were inside at first,

but after the sun came out we moved to the terras !

The vegetable / flower garden

looked gorgeous !

I didn't do much knitting :

I took the last of my paper strips to make

more hexahedrons
for the good-luck-charms
(ji xiang hua)

I have plenty now ...

All finished !

September ?

Oh my, September already indeed !

Not much stitching was done after

"Vincent's Cat" was finished.

(that's the way it is with me :

I need some time-out before I can start

on something new ...)

Though I've been doing the "Dong"

folded good-luck charms

(I need a lot of them)

so busy with that.

Ien  Rappoldt's little booklet

 (so far 38)

Another one nearly finished.

This one close up.

It is fun finding new ways of wrapping them

.... uhmm ....

kind of addictive !