dinsdag 25 juni 2019

transformation

Transformation mostly takes effort and time

Last week in the garden I was checking
the leaves of the Polygonatum
(or Salomon's Seal)
which are eaten every year by caterpillars
of (not even a butterfly but) some black saw fly
and I saw this :

a bright orange ladybug
with long orange wings showing from under the shields.
He (or she) was resting on its old cocoon.

 After two and a half hour the wings were folded under
and there were vague dots appearing


Again that time later he still sat there,
but ready to go, it seamed !
(probably still resting after the hard work !)

*

Also last week I did more felting
and tried something a dear blogging friend in Germany did.

Danke schön Brigitte, du machst das so wunderbar !

This transformation from wool to felt
takes a lot of effort and time !

phase 1

phase 2 and 3

End result, still drying
(with the helping stitches still in)

Hmmmmm ... why stop at one ???

*

Today again some felting :
my "rolling" assistant (of way back)
needed some presents for his two teachers
for the end of this school year ...
(he was home with us early, because of the heatwave here in Holland !)

Well, why not try some real felting this time !
A tiny bag for a phone perhaps ???

He laid the wool himself for the first one
(and I started on the second)
Rubbing
rolling
counting

utter concentration !

And the result were two wonderful phone cases !

My phone (in plastic) in one ...
and the tiniest of toads on the other !
They still need a button for closure,
that will be next when they're dry !

*

And finally something very remarkable :
double special fundraising !!!

In Holland we have lots of water :
rivers, lakes, canals, you name it.
In winter it is good for ice skating (if it's cold enough)
and in summer for swimming.
We have a special ice skating tour in the northern part Friesland
that goes along eleven cities
and is more than 200 km long !!!

The former Olympic champion open-water-swimming
Maarten van der Weijden
(38)
tried this special eleven-cities-tour SWIMMING last year
(and "failed" after +/- 160 km)

Last Friday he started, and after almost
200 km and 70 hours of swimming
he arrived on Sunday in Leeuwarden

The last report so far was that he raised
€ 5.1 million
for cancer research !

Oh boy !
that's some fundraising !!!!!!!

(Maarten had, and was cured from cancer, when he was 19)

vrijdag 21 juni 2019

solstice

Today is the  l o n g e s t  day,
at least in the Northern hemisphere,
summer solstice.
(and the longest night Down Under)

I've been felting
trying some new (in fact old) things 
and it worked out just as I intended
(which isn't always the case)



HAPPY  SOLSTICE  !



a few steps to get there ...



I will be doing some more felting
in the next few days
trying things I wanted for some time
(hope they work out just like this one)

woensdag 19 juni 2019

19 - 6 - 19 (summer garden)

The year is almost halfway gone
some sunny days 
so we're enjoying the garden.

But there's been enough rain for some super growth,
so lots of "too much" into the green-bin.
(Though I put three loads in the bin
you can't see where it came from in the garden !)

Lychnis coronaria pops up along the edges,
love the silver and magenta !

My beauty : New Dawn ... sooo fragrant !
(no black spot yet ...)

Ornitogalum magnum goes well with the Trifolium rubens !

View from the balcony with contrasting tree leaves
(Ginkgo, Malus, Acer and Sambucus)

Some visiting friends

And many blue and white Campanula persicifolia

(we had some big thunderstorms today ...
more rain
so more growth to come   ;-)  !)



maandag 10 juni 2019

such a lovely Sunday !

This Sunday 
seemed a good SUNNY choice
between two nót so good days
(though the weather today wasn't as bad as some feared :
the heavy rain came MUCH later than predicted !)

We had to drive quite a bit
but traffic on an early Sunday
is really low !

Upon arrival at the Art Market in Brummen,
(a lovely quiet little town in the east of Holland)
it turned out to be a well organized event !!!
(so happy with that after the failure in Buren !)
The sun was shining,
unloading our things
bringing the car to the nearby parking,
furnishing the stall (with helpful neighbours)
and enough time to have a look around
at the other participants !
(with lots of different and good quality art)
There was theater, and music
and a place to have a drink on the central market place,
and all our stalls around that.





So many lovely things
fantastic painted wooden bowls, silver jewelry,
paper art, bright dot-painting,
funky lamps and ceramics
and lots and lots of paintings.

(and me ready to start)

Oh YES !
we had a wonderful sunny day in BRUMMEN
with lots of nice people, interesting talks
and sweet customers !

I hope my customers will enjoy
their purchases for a long and happy time

THANK YOU !

(and thank you Pinksterfestival Brummen !)


vrijdag 7 juni 2019

ready and waiting

One day left till the 
Art Market in BRUMMEN
this Sunday.

One day to check on the last bits.

Today I finished the last wet felted birds

(great spotted)  woodpecker


Making feet for the birds : finally knew how




And a new felted necklace
(because felting is such fun !)

Great to use again the knowledge
of what Judit Pòcs taught us years ago.


zondag 2 juni 2019

June

How time flies ... and

in a week we will have another market
(Sunday June 9)

This time the Pinksterfestival BRUMMEN :
four days of fun, music thearter and
on Sunday the Art Market !

I love my little wet felted birds
so I brought down my "Bergschaf" wool
to start some new ones.

Ahhhh ... it looks like a sad little dead bird
but I can assure you
he'll be okay !

The robin and the wagtail
in their first stage

Then came another favorite of mine,
a woodpecker (grote bonte specht)
who sometimes visits the peanut butter jar
in winter !

(could work outside today !)
I will soon sew on his eyes, make his feet,
and then find a nice trunk to sit on !

Can't stop enjoying my garden !

something "new" almost every day !

Nigella damascena
(love-in-the-mist)
isn't it a beauty ?