forced rest

The last half of July has been quiet,

it has been a forced rest :

hardly any work has come out of my hands.

Pain high up in my back makes it hard to do any

felting, stitching, knitting, crochet ...

even cooking ..... (but Man is a great help !!!)

I have had backache before,

but most probably it was triggered this time

by all the heavy watering cans that brought my garden relief

in the HOT  SUMMER  DAYS !

(It's really too hot and too dry over here)

So the new necklace I had started earlier

is progressing  V E R Y     s..l..o..w..l..y 

Even sitting in a straight-back chair

I have to stop after one or two stitched beads ...

But

at last

Still need to make a closure.

*

Though it was most of the time too 

HOT

to come outside,

the garden was lovely in the morning these last few days.

Counting butterflies for the "Vlinderstichting"

for ten days, so they know in the end

a bit more, which butterflies go where ...

I was lucky :

a Swallowtail (Koninginnepage)

in our garden, a rare visitor !

(and I lucky, catching it like this !)

*

Despite the heat,

daughter has been very busy at her sewing machine !

the suit for Hiccup the Dragon rider

is nearly finished !

(and a little trolley bag will be transformed

into "Toothless" )

YES, she's góód !

:-)

18 - 7 - 18

Some fishy business ...

These last few days I've been busy felting fishes.

On Saturday August 18, I will have a stall

at the Textile Market "Verweven" in Zierikzee

Because Zierikzee is so close to the sea

I thought I should make some fishes to take with me there.

(I made some fishes before, but there was only one left)

It's hard to believe I made a tiny ("pink") fish last October

with the template that lies on the blue/yellow one ...

Fish in progress ...

(no logic in it : but these fish are drying ...)

*

Daughter is making a new outfit

for her youngest when they go to Castle Fest

the first Sunday in August :

last year (you might remember) he was a dragon ...

Now he will be "Hiccup" the dragon rider !!!

(from "How to train your dragon 2"  from DreamWorks)

part one

(the original)

A very skillful daughter,

a shop with not too expensive fabrics,

a tiny bit of my stash,

and a lot of time

.....

what a fierce dragon rider our grandson will be !

stitching in the sun

The weather is  w a r m .

I can hardly remember the last time it rained ...

(a week ago some very light drizzle ...

but you couldn't call that rain, when you asked the plants !)

Luckily there's water next to our garden !

So a lot of heavy watering cans every morning and evening.

Stitching is fine

(though in the shadow of the sunscreen !)

Silk, cotton, rayon and some beads on bourette silk

And because I had some more of that silk

I made a cuff too

Youngest grandson helped with another present

for the teacher that he is leaving.

The group he was is is called "the Guppies"

so his mom knitted six (his age now) little fishes.

He wanted to have hearts attached to them :

three silver ones (from my stash) and three he made himself,

of shrinking foil !
(Krimpie Dinkie)

The shrinking foil was such fun

that he made some more !

(the cat he kept for himself !!!)

*

Just saw something AMAZING on another blog :
the Gaia Mother Tree 
by the Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto
in the main railway station of Zürich, Switserland !

(more pictures on this blog !)
and here too !

youngsters

We're already in the second half of the year ...

time flies.

I've been busy making new textile jewels,

bigger ones than my Pink Ribbon's this time,

using all kind of textile "beads".

Like the ones in the last post.

The bright blue one is finished

and another pale blue one.

Little pieces of black-and-white fabric

are waiting to become the next one.

(I'll have a Textile-art Market in August

and one in September)

But today daughter was busy on my sewing machine

to make a farewell present

for the schoolteacher of her youngest.

The children that move to the next grade

did some drawing with textile crayons !

The teacher can lean on a sweet memory cushion.

While most of us enjoy the warm sunny weather

the garden is longing for a good bit of rain.

The drought gives already problems :

like forest fires, trees losing their leaves,

yellow lawns, desperate farmers ...

We heard of birds leaving their nests and young

in the eastern part of the country,

but here some of them are doing still fine !

A young blackbird waiting by our front door

for mum or dad to come with something juicy.

The grebe family passed by in the water.

Must be hard to find any fish under the duckweed ...

And this evening, just before we had our outside dinner,

a bunch of eight blue tits came by to forage

in the garden : no corner or crevice remained unexamined !

(ha, one even sat on my (still empty) dinner plate !)

*

So all the young ones seem rather happy here !

summer solstice

Ohhhhh, not much summer right now :

a cold north wind and no sun.

So I made a bit of  "summer" myself !

Little bits and pieces for a new necklace.

Daughter and I also did the last brushstrokes

on the window next to the door at school.

(looks like a bit of summer here ...)

 So, HAPPY  SOLSTICE ! 

*

(Oh yes, totally forgot my special date post on the 18th,

well ... what about it ... not very important,

that's how days rush by sometimes !)

colours ...

This week daughter and I were busy at school.

It's the school where I worked,

where daughter went,

and the grandchildren

(now only the youngest)

When I worked at school, I loved to use the windows

as a third (fourth) wall, and painted on them

whenever I needed it in a theme.

Later on, others asked me to decorate their windows as well !

When daughter "took over" that task I always helped her out.

The painting at the entrance door was damaged

(by scratchy little fingers)

and because the white paint we used

for some unknown cause started to peel ...

So, time to do the painting once again.

Some background, and then it's done !

*

The garden thrives ...

not only the flowers, but the tiny visitors as well !

Each year the Polygonatum is attacked by caterpillars,

it was no different this year

They start at the juicy seedpods

and then work from the top down ...

Well,

if you want butterflies ...

you have to endure these little buggers !

Of all the plants I bought through the years

a  LOT  disappeared, while others thrived

(and became too many sometimes)

I thought I'd lost this beauty

a Sanguisorba (menziesii, I think)

until I found it here again on the stairs to the water !

Must leave it there, I can't move it !

(NO .... my stairs are not very tidy !!!)

And in the water :

another beauty struggling ...

This Campanula lactiflora "Prichard's variety" is slowly getting bigger !

*

When Man is too busy with his "colours"

Bella surely has her ways to persuade him

to pay more attention to her !

"You have to pet me ..."

(Alpaca) knitting club

After our Alpaca farm friend stopped

having us every first Saturday of the month

we smoothly changed into the habit

of hosting our group in turn

(we are 12 so that is no problem)

Today was my turn again

Sadly sitting in the garden was no option,

but there is room enough inside

We were (only) eight this time.

After the first round of coffee and tea

we always have a show-and-tell round

(the last pic : my everlasting socks, little knitting at the moment !)

A wonderful getting-together !

Thanks ladies !

Later I found a new Campanula : a blue one ...

the white ones were there a bit earlier

And ooooooh that rose ...

Wet, from a loooong night of rain !