hot in July

While summer solstice was a kind of drizzly day,

at the end of June and now in July

the summer is in full swing :

it's HOT !

We keep the doors and windows closed

to keep the heat out as much as possible

only to open them up very late in the evening.

Last night it stayed well over 25 degrees

...

Lots of time to make some new items

for the MAF-Festival (and market)

this Sunday :

a "dance" waistband 

(leastwise : there are tiny bells sewn onto it,

so it jingles as you move)

(MAF : Mother Earth Family festival)

It was so much fun to look for bright and "bling" goodies

in my vast stash.

But some of the ribbon (also with the pompons) I bought

last week on the Rotterdam weekly market.

I lóve those tiny pompons

except :

I  DON'T like it that my thread

catches time and again behind them !!!

I just need to sew on the bands to tie it.

A detailed peek.

And here is another one in blue

That little "baby" ...  is just a matching cuff

Another detail.

Of course the cuff has a little bell too !

And yet another, in black and white.

It was hard to find some good black-and-white flowers

(I didn't have a big felted one)

so I took this gorgeous big silk peony and bow

as a bright pink accent.

I sat in the garden just now,
sewing on the black and white one in the last daylight,
listening to the quiet, lazy songs of several blackbirds
singing their latest tunes
.... mmmmmm
warm summer nights !

a process

Last week I started on a bigger painting (50 x 50)

I did a new layer of colour

(on an old sunset try-out)

Over the new layer I did some stamps and dripping,

then I covered it with masking tape strips,

then a thin wisp with a roller.

             Part of and then                   all of the masking tape removed.

Yet another bit of paint over it with the roller.

Then I took my home made foam stencils and masks.

Slowly the first layer, the drips and the tape is disappearing ...

Now it is standing against the wall and waiting for me to proceed.

(oh ... the "before")

*

But today, I just made another cuff 

(and brooch)

for a new dress I have

:-)

a bit of everything

I'm still busy with my cuffs,

but because I had to mount one of my "Solstice" quiltlets

on a canvas (it's sold)

I took out my acrylic paints as well today.

(ahhhhhh ... that's been really a long time, but

that will get a follow-up now, I think)

Here are some of my special "Night" cuffs :

three Full Moons and one Starry Night.

Amazing :

the one on the left I made specially for Daughter !

(you can see the delicate thin wrist she has :

always looking for a bracelet .... but hard to find one that fits !)

(ha, one could throw a ball ...)

* 

Because it's school holiday here, the grandchildren 

are here on the days that Daughter is working.

The oldest is quite clever with her phone, Youtube and a crochet hook

(and Granny has some yarn)

This will be an amigurumi Little Bigfoot Bunny ...

and you can see she's skillful in doing her hair too !

*

Late this afternoon Daughter came in with a sad face 

she had been doing her laundry

and when she opened the machine

she saw to her horrer

her beautiful new felted hat lying on top of everything else

GRRRRRRRRRRR !!!

It must have slipped in with the clothes she put in the machine !

She came by so we could put it on the hat mold

PFFFFFFT

The hat was washed

but, thank heavens, it still fitted !

What a relief 

She must have done a pretty good job in the first place !!!

Earth day

Isn't that a bit ridiculous

one day only ?

I think we should be a bit more aware

of what this little blue marble in the vast universe

means to us.

We should be more careful what we do,

what we use up, change, spoil, pollute,

thinking we can go on without end

...

Earth is very good for us

and we are only part of this vast mechanism called life

part of it

!

An "Earth" cuff to celebrate this day

(in the making)

and a brooch

And here they are finished

;-)

colours .....

After I started with the few cuffs I made

out of the boxful of  fabric strips

it is almost as if I can't stop :

I have so many gorgeous fabrics in my (giant) stash !

It is so tempting to make new colour combinatons ...

It's like creating a new little story
over and over again.

The one on the right is finished,

the one on the left I finished late in the evening

because it fits só well to the yellow/green "Spring"sweater

that I wanted to wear to the Stitch'n Bitch yesterday.

Uhhhhm ..... I couldn't help it but had to make

a matching brooch too !

Today I finished of the ones that were only halfway done.

It took a lot of time

but I love them all to be neat when they're up for sale on the market !

Spring, Dusk, Seaglass and Dawn

The finished batch so far ...

(in front of my collection of children's picture books)

(I'm thinking about some earthy colours too to complete it ...)

I can  NEVER  resist taking a picture

when the Prunus (flowering cherry) is in bloom

...

SPRING  !

quiet ( 69 )

Today I celebrated a very quiet birthday.

No matter what I do next :

even when I stand on my head,

that will not change my age 

69 is 69

Well, sometimes you just don't want the fuss of a  b i g  party,

and this was a time like that.

Just Man, a few dear friends and some family

and LOTS of sunshine in the garden

made it in a beautiful day !

;-)

A rather early start with some presents

And the eggs a friend gave (yes, from her own chickens)

made a good lunch.

And of course there was ...

yummy cake !

*

In the past week I was busy making some good use 

of my box of fabric strips again

Mmmmmm 

vibrant reds and blues and turquoise for contrast

one cuff finished.

(Ohhhhh ... I have still so much more lovely fabrics !)

(to be continued)

playing with leftovers

 

We had a lovely party last Saturday

and brother-in-law liked

his stitch-and-burn piece.

 

(the "60" wasn't too obvious :

I had to point it out to him)

 

After the burning I'd cut the work out of the bigger piece of lutradur.

So I had some leftovers to play with

 

the polyester velvet snippets and the painted "wonder under" (vliesofix)

 

all ironed in place with some sheer on top

 

Then I did the machine stitching and sewed on a button

 

I didn't burn this time :

the edges of the burning are rather sharp !

 

a finished hand cuff

 

;-)

 

 

Furthermore I enjoyed another sunny day in the garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



oooh ... the blues

Well,

noooo ... 

nót what you might think 

not thát blues,

I am very happy at the moment.

thése blues

my "holy" blues !

I've finished my ultramarine blue bag !!!

Yesterday I felted the "failure" inside pocket and

today I cut it to the right size and stitched it (yes, sorry ...) in the bag,

the felt is really dense and thick so that was not a problem.

Now all is finished

( and I will be totally blue when I go out )