ice ... and stitch ... and dye

ICE

and The Netherlands goes crazy !

Though there are still a lot of restrictions
due to Corona (Covid)
everybody wants to take part in the ice fun !!!!!
Ice skating is HOT here !

For me it was a great opportunity
to prune some branches of the Buddleja and Malus (wild apple)
that hung too far over the water to reach from the garden !

So yesterday I was out on the ice with my garden shears
(earlier the sun was out but just then it was bitter cold !)

Ha, later the sun was back
and it all looks a lot friendlier

(some more needs to be taken off)


And because the sun gave a lot of depth to the stitching
I made another picture of the finished eco-printed linen piece

Now I "only" have to make the A4 book
for which this will be the front cover.

Then, today,

just when I was ready to start a new eco-print lay-out,
family arrived !
So much fun to be able to use the back door, haha !

Time for the boys to put on skates
and for me to make some tea and hot chocolate
and find some cookies.

FUN for everyone !

After they were gone I had time for the printing
but also for some snow dyeing
(a first for me)

The first lay-out and the result after steaming

the end result
(already dry because it is very thin silk)

a tiny bit of flu ...

No, it's not very bad

but no appetite at all

and lots of sleep

...

so only a little of January

that was left

We had ice !!!

Though not very thick

so NO big tours

(that's what a LOT of Dutch people LOVE)

And of course we had our bird guests :

*

Made just a few stitches for

"a year of stitches : 2017"

*

Some new zig-zag socks

And you might have problems transporting your

W.I.P socks when you use small sock needles :

this solves that problem !

(so I made a few more of these pouches)

(hmmmm making it an early night again)

another beginning

After aproximately two weeks of ice and snow

it started raining warm water last Sunday.

The neat white covering 

disappeared rapidly over night.

But look what I discovered this morning

Little green sprouts sticking up their heads through the mud :

covered by the thick snow blanket 

they were probably getting ready,

thinking the time would be right

.....

we'll see, in the near future ...

The bright yellow Eranthis (winterakoniet) are always the first to pop up.


(Aaaaah ... still a loooong wait for Sus .....)

*

EXTRA
There is an important but not so nice story here for people who like felting !

trumpets

Last weekend we sounded the "trumpets"

for our birthday boy :

9 years old !

Blowing the candles 

(and making a wish ... ?)

*

And there were other "trumpets" that I found here.

When I'm honest I must confess 

that I'm not thát keen on tea cosies myself ...

Though I must really laugh when I see all those fun designs 

Loani Prior comes up with :

she really is the Queen of tea cosies !!!

But these little trumpet flowers came with a free pattern 

I simply hád to try

A little leftover Noro Kureyon Sock did the trick

Mmmmmmmmm ...

lovely little trumpets !

*

In the garden we have lots of food for the birds,

they badly need it, in this snowy cold wintertime !

Sparrows, finches, all kinds of tits and the occasional robin,

blackbirds, starlings and turtledoves ...

While the water is frozen

the moorhens often seek a safe place high up on the pergola

... because there are cats wandering around on the ice !!!

(Aaaaah just too bad : all that snow makes the ice

unsuitable for skating ...)