life (and death) in the garden

It's always like that :

after a busy time at the sewing machine

comes a quiet time of not sewing at all.

Besides 

the garden needed a really good clean out !

Things to remove,

cut off,
take cuttings for a friend and put them in pots,

and I even did some replanting :

the Acanthus spicata

that didn't anything but getting mildew, finally had to go,

and I put something else in that spot

(with nice dark red leaves)

This family, with a bossy father in front, came by while I was busy

I love these still fluffy youngsters !

This blackbird youngster didn't make it though.

Flies, ants and slugs were having their little party,

I'll watch it in the next couple of days ...

And this one ?

Was he being brave or just simply stupid ???

Just there, in front of the open door

with just the screen door between him and the cat ?

Well, 

the cat, the gray sister, was very intently looking

at what was sitting there, just outside on the door mat !

(she never ever did catch a mouse)

So one life spared !

Inside my Princess-of-the-Night gave another fragrant flower

She had a bigger pot with new potting compost

(..... I think she liked that   :-) .....)

*

So, 

though it was mostly reading and working in the garden,

I had to finish the raffle that came at the end

of Sara's Doll Challenge :

make an accessory for the doll of the next one in line

on the e-mail list

(and for me that was Evelien)

She made two dolls,

so I thought : why not make two small items,

one for each doll.

the start ...

(I'll place the other pictures when she tells me the envelope arrived)

weavers market in Hoorn

I was very lucky today :

my friend Caroline (of the felting-exchange) had told me

she was going to the "weavers market" in Hoorn

and when I asked, I could go with her !!!

Yippeeeee !

(I had never been there, but heard a lot about it)

A steady drizzle accompanied us to Hoorn

and it only grew worse.

(We met another felting-exchange friend,

Paulien, who lives in that neighbourhood

and much later Anneke who came by train)

Umbrellas up, but it got only wetter,

so after the first few stalls we stopped for coffee !

Mmmmmmmm

these colours make you happy !

"Rest in Felt"

Does that say what it looks like ?

Yes, this lady makes winding sheets (graveclothes) out of felt !

This particular one she has made for her mother,

still very healthy ... and 84 !

The mother explicitly asked for it

and wanted lots of flowers.

So special !

Here we had lunch,

waited for number four of our party,

and I also found my long-time-no-see blogging friend Siets !

It was dry, so on we went.

There were many more lovely stalls

but ... I was too busy 

(feeling all the goodies 

and buying some)

to take more pictures !

Thanks ladies, especially Caroline,

for this wonderful day !

7 - 7 - 15 .... after a busy weekend ...

Yesterday was a really quiet day

I needed that 

after this busy weekend !

It was HOT

and on Saturday we (Man and me) 

went to the sheepfold in Ermelo

where we were meeting 

six women of the last felting-exchange group 

(ha : a very appropriate meeting place)

It was so hot this last week

that the sheep were kept inside the sheepfold 

in stead of going on the moors !!!

(luckily they were without their thick coat,

except of course the lambs !)

In the shade of a lovely big oak tree

we had coffee and a pot luck lunch !

We could admire all the work that was made during the year

and then took it home again with us

after deciding it had been FUN :

so there will be another felting-exchange !

*

Later that day daughter and I made the last preparations

for the next day on the MAF-festival market

Last stitches on some items for me

and daughter made a lovely "lettuce" jacket

for the little white felted bunny :

the prize for the lottery for the benefit of the 

"Nationaal bossenfonds"

(forest fund)

(he will soon go to little Tessa, who guessed correctly

how many felted balls were in the jar !)

So, after a short (HOT) night we went to Zeewolde ...

we built our tent

and attended the opening with the other stallholders and staff

Then we started with our first mini workshop :

felting a small cuff ...

... and then stitching it with lots of beads and sequins !

(hmmmmm : lucky to be in the shade of the tent !!!)

All went well

and everybody was happy
until at five o'clock .....

the foretold thunderstorm came nearer !

Lots of people (and some stallholders) had already disappeared 

but it seemed the real storm would pass by at some distance ...

It did,

but not the wind !

The wind got hold of  our tent

and it was blown down, while we were grasping it ...

pfffft : our strong neighbour stallholder rescued us !

Within seven minutes it was all over :

the wind had disappeared and the sun came back 

Not one thing damaged of our goodies

(and just some rings torn off the tent)

so all ended well

;-)

And it all ended with a fire and a celebration

for Mother Earth

What a wonderful day

*

Today there were some other artists of our family busy

the litle one "discovered" painting 

(with a bucket of water and a brush)

though he rather wanted to paint like his big sister ...

She showed us earlier this zentangle in her sketchbook

and her painting ended up like this !

So the little one did some more paiting on the paving slabs

(and was happy with it)

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 !

it's not easy being green

It's only logical :

when you like it when you do something

you do it again.

After the mermaid was finished
(I did sew on some more sequins and beads)

I started on a new doll right away !

I had some more ideas in my mind after I had noticed 

that other mermaid on the pinterest board ...

a green man or woman !

You could say, this one is not green of envy, but green of ivy

(that's because I came across this dried ivy leaf in a book ...)

Then I thought about that wonderful BBC programme

"It's not easy being green"

where Dick Strawbridge is focusing on how to live

an environmental friendly, low impact life !

And of course there were the faces ...

the ones I did during Jude Hill's Patchwork Beasts Class

Faces for beasts, for who or whatever ...

never used, untill now.

The leaf, the head and the face

but .... I wasn't happy with the way the leaf veins turned out ...

so I pulled out the light green merino !

(a lot to choose from)

This is more like the original colour.

She got arms and legs, I made a template for a backside

of brown wool, then stitched the two sides together

and filled it loosely up with more wool.

Mrs. Green 

Well isn't it a coincidence that I made this green lady

at this moment ?

Today and tomorrow are special "SAVE OUR SOILS" days !

or here

(hmmmm ... they say : coincidence does not exist)

a far away friend and a new challenge

It's not always important 

how close by or far away friends are,

more important is the feeling they give you !

Today arrived a little package from the US.

I was told it would be coming,

even knew a bit what was in it.

But to really hold it in your hands 

is special !

Nancy made something for me because of her blogaversary

(a year ago ! yes : she started when she knew 

who it would be for ...)

A real  s l o w  cloth piece 

(just like we learned from Jude Hill, right Nancy ?)

a tiny woven pouch

and a sweet card.

Such a gift really warms the heart !

Thank you so much Nancy !!!

*

While I was busy working on items 

we could take to the summer festival,

Sara Lechner started another "Challenge"

a hanging doll this time.

I was so busy doing other things, that I only had time

to look through the first two instructions

and glance at the pinterest board sometimes.

I didn't even have time for instruction number three

.......

But, last Monday I took the "Embellisher"

and the stuff I had collected during the first week

and made a start.

My plan was, not to make a doll exactly like Sara's,

but : a mermaid.

(hmmmmm ... I discovered someone else ended up

with a mermaid as well, but I decided to stick with my original plan)

Growing

Front and back of the same lady

(I could work a bit differently because I had seen lesson one ánd two !)

One side of the body fixed with the embellisher

the other side sewn together.

The face is embroidered on the wool itself, and a tiny blue extra cap

to fasten the hair on.

For now, "swimming" in the garden

A sideview with the tangle of seaweed-like hair

It was another fun "Challenge" Sara !

THANKS !