woensdag 30 september 2015

preparations for October

This last day of September 
makes me look back 
and wonder where all that September went ...
I remember now
and one of the best things was definately that 
big red moon 
that kept me out of bed,
it was fascinating and magical !

This picture hardly shows how wonderful it really was  :-)

But the last day of September also means
that tomorrow is 
October
and my fifth Blogaversary !

But more important for me is another
Pink Ribbon
October

Just like last year's October I want to dedicate
a whole month to breast cancer awareness.
This year I will not draw a daily mandala like I did last year
but :
there will be a little felted item you can buy
 and so donate to the Pink Ribbon fund,
money that is needed for research, treatment and aftercare
of breast cancer patients.

You probably now (by now) that felting
is a rather wet business
which means I have to work in advance
to have a new (finished = embroidered) object for each and every day !

So I did some work already
(and have to do that again to keep gettng items ready to finish off !)



(See you tomorrow at the start of
Pink Ribbon October, day 1)

vrijdag 25 september 2015

PassionFilz - felt exhibition

Last week on Friday, I was on my way to Haarlem
to the felt exhibition at " meervilt!" there
  of the book "Passion Filz" 
with German (or German speaking) felters.
But
when I met with my UK friend Jane in front of the Rotterdam Central Station

.....
there were NO TRAINS going 
(due to some alert on the Thalys)

We had a cup of coffee and a chat near the station
but even after an hour there was no sign of any trains leaving.
So we said we could maybe go this week.
Jane went yesterday but I couldn't join her then.
Because the exhibition is only till Saturday next week 
I decided to go today (again by bike - boat - bike - train)
But
when I arrived at the landing stage of the boat
there was NO BOAT going to Rotterdam
because the river was closed by the fire brigade 
because of a fire in an old shipyard !
In fact the boat that started earlier to R'dam 
came back and went to Dordrecht.
Well I thought it wasn't meant to be ....
but then I thought I could go to Dordrecht and get the train to Haarlem
;-)

(ha, I even had an earlier train via that route !)

And I'm really glad it all worked out !
(sorry, I hardly have any names)


Dagmar Binder









Mmmmmm ... my dear friend  Gabi Mazaracis

(the inside of a bowl    and      some mixed media)

And  Meervilt!  is also a :

well-stocked SHOP !

I'm so glad it all worked out in the end ,
it was worthwhile the trip !

woensdag 23 september 2015

like in the old days ...

Last Monday
daughter started a big commission :
paintings on the windows of all the class rooms
of the school her children attend (ed)

It is the same school where I've worked happily 
all the years we lived in this village
untill I retired in '07
Painting on the windows was something I did
when we needed illustrations
for the themes that we were working along in our group
(age 4  - 6)
After I retired my old collegues
asked (on a regular basis) to help out again with it

This summer the school had a major refurbishment :
ALL the windows (and the roof)
were replaced.
That meant of course that all the window paintings
that were still there, were gone !!!

But this time it's the next generation
that is willing to do the (big) work !
(and I'm allowed to help her)

On Monday we started with the outline 
on four windows, today we started in colour.



(and outside the sheep are keeping the grass short !)
(hmmmm ... I hate that colour they chose for the roof
and you can see that not all the windows are there yet ...
neither is the front door !!!)

While daughter had an early start,
I came a bit later and started in the second class room


(the design is inspired by the illustrations of Dagmar Stam
and the drawings I made myself during all those years at school)

At the end of the morning daughter could almost start on the back ground ...

and the little one 
(not at school yet ... for he's only 3 years and 4 months)
loved to be in the classroom, watch the bigger children ...
and his mum painting.

Late in the afternoon we left for today, not yet finished ...

.....
To be continued !



dinsdag 15 september 2015

what a gift ... !

Sometimes you can be so amazed 
about the love and care
some person just sends you.

Something,
made with imagination, skill and love
(I'm sure of that !)
lands safely on your doorstep.

Send to you from the other side of the world.

Thank you sooooo much Mo
for this wonderful gift

(ahhhh do you see that rainbow of the tiniest beads on the right ?) 

It came in a package from Australia
with a special Cat card,
Mo also made

Mo is a gifted artist (among a lot of other things)
who makes these wonderful talismans
out of the most amazing little pieces of bone, tendrils,
beads, buttons, feathers
and lots more.
(just click on the name Moon Star under the first picture
and she tells you what it was made of precisely !)

And the fun part is that I remember seeing
this lovely Moon Star on her blog,
loving what wonder she worked again
.....
nót knowing (how could I)
that this little wonder
would come to me 
!

I love it even more because there are used
little snippets given by persons that are also dear to me !

Mo,
what a gift !

maandag 14 september 2015

the green one ...

Although there wasn't much time last week
I had set my mind on making another
small belt pouch
after I finished the blue and the red one.
I thought it could be ready in time 
before the festival on Saturday
.....

With all the "ideas" in place late Wednesday afternoon ...

... I could start softly, carefully on Thursday 
with the first bit of felting.
Lately I use a piece of net to place over the work
(otherwise I use two small plastic bags
on my hands in the beginning)

Finding the plactic veins wasn't easy.
Then I went to the sink
(where I can be more splashy with water than on the dining table)

And thank you SUN, for being there to speed up
the drying process !

Yes, we were enjoying the sun too!

But that night I thought that somehow the little pouch
wasn't quite finished yet ...

( I had tried on the aqua one with a belt that afternoon

but for the green one I wanted something more ... )

So it was very late when I finally went to bed that night
but ... quite satisfied with what I had made :

and it had all of the sunny Friday to get totally dry !

The leaf flap close up


:-)

woensdag 9 september 2015

9 - 9 - 15 ... red and green

Oh my, September already !
We have some sunshine again,
but in the garden you can feel autumn getting nearer.

My last Alliums ...

they found a "better" spot :
between the paving stones instead of open ground
(where I put them)

and my Black Elderberry

(with its dark red foliage and pink blossom)
and shining berries

*
Still going strong with the little felted pouches.
I owed a better image of the first
bluish-green one
(or is it greenish blue ?)

closed, and the double flap open
to reveal the tiny "secret" pocket
(I'm not too keen on the push button
but it keeps the flaps well closed, and I see no other option)

I tried it on with a black leather belt
and it looks quite nice
(I think)

Then I started on a RED pouch.

The inside colours ..... and a rather tricky bottom part,

little pocket at the front side ..... and a tunnel at the back,

removing the template ..... and working inside out.

And here is "RED"
(ha, love the rusted garden bird behind / on top of it !)

Two belt pouches ...
(might be fun to wear with a Medieval costume for example ...)

In my bed last night
I thought of many more little pouches
(though there isn't much time ...)

A GREEN one would be nice too  ;-)

bag, flap, pocket

The front side of the flap.

All nice packed up ...
that's how far I got before dinner,
till I had to go away for the first Mandala evening for this season.

(to be comtinued)