a bit of nature . . . and a visitor

Though it has been too cold
(we even turned on the central heating yesterday
which we never ever did in May !)
there has been a fair amount of rain lately
so the garden
EXPLODED 

Greens all around and lots of blue too :
forget-me-nots, bluebells and the Camassia !

*

This morning I heard some tap-tap-tap outside
and didn't know where it came from :
no one was busy with a hammer . . .
But then I found the maker of that sound !!!

*

For the Stitch Club workshop by Saima Kaur
I made some fish 

(this will probably become a pencil case)
*

And last but not least :
we had a very special visitor last Wednesday !
Leslie Gabriëlse,
from whom we bought a magnificent tapestry more than ten years ago,
brought us the original sketches of his design !

gold is a metal . . .

The Stitch Club workshop of these last two weeks
by Hanny Newton
was a bit of a problem for me
because I didn't have the gold passing thread
that you need for it.

But gold is a metal
and metal things I have . . .
(in my box of screws
and nails
and washers
and other things I might need again some day)

So I turned the goldwork
into metalwork !

First I stitched the washers and rings
some funny spring and some coins
onto the light blue shot cotton fabric
The embroidery hoop I started with was too small :
normally you can replace the hoop
to the next space you need to stitch
. . . . .
NOT  SO  WITH  METAL PIECES !!!

Luckily I had a slightly bigger hoop
that did the trick,
though in the end, when couching threads
I had to take it out of the hoop 
to do the edges and corners.

I added some safety pins to the collection
and even found some push buttons on the sidewalk
(they were waiting there to be found by me !)

memorial day

In a sober ceremony
these family members,
and many others
were returned home to Dordrecht.

eco-printing

Yesterday was a wonderful day
for daughter and me :
a LIVE workshop eco-printing
with Carla van Belle !
The weather looked fine in the morning but it was very cold,
it was more like the first day of March
than the first of May !!!
The workshop was outside in the garden
so no big problems considering Covid
but we needed our warm sweaters and coats !

Lots of preparations were made at home beforehand.
We made four different samples in the morning.
I was glad that I had some experience already
from Caroline Nixon's Stitch Club workshop !

After lunch we could work on something of our own choice.
Daughter had an old silk camisole
and I had an old white cotton blouse.

We were really lucky that our garden is facing south,
that means all plants are slightly earlier
than somewhere else.
I had collected leaves of the New Dawn rose
and many kinds of Geraniums.
Daughter had found a bunch of Eucalyptus in the flower shop.

When working with stuff like this,
it is always difficult to remember to take pictures regularly . . .
so hardly anything of the process.
(never mind . . . if you're interested : take a workshop
it is really FUN !!!)

When we had had another cup of coffee / tea with some sweets
and had seen lots of Carla's beautiful work
(when all our stuff was bundled up and steaming in the pot)




the first bundles could be opened up and admired !

Daughter was quite happy with the result !

But I took my bundle home to let it cool down over night 
and promised to show pictures later.

Washed and ironed :

and the back

Daughter's silk camisole !


HAPPY !!!

THANKS, Carla for a lovely workshop !