JardarMama

Demolition Woman

2012-02-01T23:26:00.000+01:00

Woman with Crowbar = Action!
Some might suffer from the illusion that I'm the kind of woman that mainly handles needles and crochet hooks and such haberdasheries - but I'm quite good with a crowbar, if I must say so myself. (It's my blog - so I can boast, right?)

First I attacked the ceiling and tore down the celotex boarding, that covered the original old wooden ceiling. It fought violently back and covered me with tons of mouse shit, accumulated over the last 60 or 70 years or so. Dis-gus-ting! - There were also lots of paper targets, for levelling. Kondrad, Dines, Aage and Hilmar apparently enjoyed a good shooting. I'd bet my money on Aage anytime, if he's still around.
Seeing the ceiling like that, I couldn't help but tearing down the wall paper too. Oh, it felt so good! And now we're back to basics: unburned clay, wood and plaster in the walls. Whitewash or linseed oil paint on the walls. That's what I love about this house. It's so honest.

At this point I kind of woke up. I don't know what happend - this wasn't planned at all! Perhaps I had some sort of temporary amnesiac craziness fit. You know what this means, don't you? Lots and lots of hours of work - planning, reconstructing, painting and, best of all, dreaming. I've got plans for this little workroom of mine. Oh yeah.

You know, if it wasn't for these beautiful mornings I probably could go mad. There's healing potential in the colours of a sunrise. Breathe in the colour deeply.

"Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning
and unallied with definite form,
can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways"
Oscar Wilde

Subzero!*

2012-01-29T00:52:00.000+01:00

... click the pictures to enlarge...

..................................................................................
* on the Celsius scale, that is.

Peacefully Stitching

2012-01-25T23:09:00.001+01:00

This embroidery box was a gift for a friend. It's an old cigar box covered in natural dyed cotton fabric with a bit of embroidery. The embroidery yarn is thrifted, and so is the scissors.

I so like reusing and repurposing. While making this I recollected memories of Inga, who smoked the cigars from the box. She was a friend of my mother and a very dramatic and choleric woman with a cigar hanging from her lip. I remembered, how I as a child collected tiny dutch tiles with blue printing on them, which was scattered amongst the pebbles, in their impressively large courtyard.

Everything in this little box has its own story to tell, and I hope it will whisper to the receiver and make her want to stitch a story of her own.

quietly making

2012-01-17T23:20:00.000+01:00

My youngest was sitting quietly by the yarn basket for a while. Finger knitting. Making jewelry for mama.

And mama was sitting quietly by night, drinking a glass of wine. Making a mobile of some of her small finds. And yes, it is a wasp nest. So delicate and perfect.

The Language of January

2012-01-16T23:38:00.000+01:00

The quiet language of January

ancient signs and ancient scripts

on wood and soil and ice

furs and feathers

fungus and feathered friends

rejoicing in singing flight

retreating in crystal covered caves

patiently waiting

slowly

inhaling

illuminating

2012-01-11T01:48:00.000+01:00

The absence of light seems to make me a bit preoccupied with it. I thought I'd better do something about it - something better than complaining. So I bought a couple of second hand lamps and made some new shades for them. The lamps are from Søholm and made in the 60ies, I think. I found them in a local secondhand shop for practically nothing. I love the blue glaze on both . The shades was yellowed plastic, so I got rid of them, but kept the wire frame for redecorating.

For this lamp I sacrificed a childrens book about animals. It has the lovely muted, soft colours of old fashioned printing which I like very much. We have tons of old childrens books, so I felt ok butchering it. (I did save a few goodies though, like the owl above the lamp. And the rest won't go to waste, the children are cutting it all up and are going to use it for various projects). When the light's on, you can see the backside of the paper, but I really don't mind about that (my little one doesn't agree, he says I ought to make another one). It's a bit tricky to make a perfect fit with the circles - so I didn't (it would probably involve some math skills I'm not blessed with). I've decided noone will notice any minor inaccuracies ...

Making this was easy peasy, just folding a length of vintage wallpaper, making holes near the top and string it. I folded without measuring, next time I'll bother to locate a ruler. Or then again, perhaps I won't. If you prefer straight lines and everything in order you should use a ruler if you want to make a lampshade. I really liked making these, even though untill recently I'd thought this kind of lamp was totally out. But now it's definitely in! Must try to find more lamps, I would like to try to make one with fabric too. Does anyone have some ideas for lampshades they'd like to share, please do!

epiphany/helligtrekonger

2012-01-06T01:58:00.000+01:00

We had a minor celebration tonight, mostly to mark the ending of yule. And because we like cake. It's actually a kringle, sweet bread with a filling of yummy stuff like cinnamon, shredded coconut, brown sugar, butter and marzipan. I made it round and kind of sun-wheel like, I think somebody forgot to do the right rituals around solstice - it's getting darker every day! Really! Well, hope my kringle can make a little difference, I feel like being in 'Night on Earth' - the scene where Roberto Benigni as the taxi driver drives at night with his sunglasses on. But hey, thats actually funny, so I guess I shouldn't be so bummed out about the darkness... (wait a second, I'll just have to locate my sunglasses. Now, that's better!)
Well, in order to keep things simple, I just made it ... well, simple. Ha. One kringle and three candles, since I didn't have a 'proper' helligtrekonger candle.
I rolled three balls of clay, squeezed the candles into them and placed them on a piece of bark. That's simple, right?! Kiddoes made the kings of bees wax, the kings were on a very long journey and one of the kings were kinda cute so he got married. And he also got a white horse, I think they forgot he was probably already married. Aren't all kings? Anyway, gotta love those kings.
Where was I, oh yes - one kringle, three candles and two cups of coffee = party! (you might wanna notice the fancy sugar design on the coffee). There's a golden coin in the kringle, and the one who gets it are king for the night. We could't eat it all up and didn't find the coin. Well, there's breakfast to look forward to then, maybe I'll be the lucky one and become a king tomorrow. Fingers crossed. And happy epiphany to you all!

Towards brighter days

2012-01-03T00:41:00.000+01:00

The world is still spinning, we're facing longer days and hopefully brighter too. We've spun directly into a new year and even though I feel this spinning is sometimes just a tad to the speedy side, it sure is wonderful to face yet another fresh year with lots of possibilities for growth and learning.

I haven't really made any special new year resolutions, except that I wil strive to be a better person all together. Yup, just that.

With the serious part of this post accomplished, I thought I'd show you the latest doll from JardarMama. Sitting in a windowsill enjoying the sunrise, I think she looks like a girl from a russian fairy tale. She might be called Olga or Anastasiya.

Her hair is natural dyed mohair, the bonnet is natural dyed nuno felt, trousers natural dyed silk and the top is organic linen with a repurposed piece of embroidery.

.: May 2012 be a happy, healthy, creative and healing year for us all:.

three more days

2011-12-21T21:35:00.001+01:00

... of waiting, baking, making, nibbling, wrapping, decorating, reading, playing ...

I've decided not to have a traditional yule tree this year. Instead we brought in some branches from a cut down tree and put them in a jug. Wrapped it all with some crochet pieces and laces, all of wich I inherited from my maternal grandmother. Decorated it with wool, straw, birch bark and all things natural. Mostly gifts from Nissen.

We've added Peppermint Bark to our favourite seasonal sweets - as have most of the blogging world, I expect - and no wonder! But the cookies with orange rind and hazelnuts are exceptional too.

A gift in the making, but perhaps you can guess what it is ...

.:Wish you all a lovely, magical and peaceful yule:.

White christmas

2011-12-07T22:14:00.001+01:00

White wool and white silk. A bit of simplicity in an overly mercantile oriented season. Wish you all a simple, quiet and lingering yule season.

In between

2011-11-22T21:24:00.001+01:00

The first morning right in the middle between autumn and winter. Ice crystals in dew drops. Cold crispness and golden tones. Queen Winter casually stroked the last japanese indigo while she absentminded passed my garden. She played a bit with some stones from the sea, they all had different ice drawings on them ...

Eco print goes goth ...

2011-11-20T21:59:00.001+01:00

... or at least I think this dress turned out kind of romantic goth. After too much thinking about plans, plants and methodes I resolutely took a break from my brain, went out and picked up some windfallen oak and mirabelle leaves and some wild rose leaves. Because that is what I have got outside my door.

I've decided I need another blog where I can write only about natural dyeing and the like. It'll be more like a logbook or notebook for my dyeing experiments and creations. If you want to join me there, please visit Tread gently on the Earth. I have moved over a couple of posts from this blog, but in the future there's not going to be any cross posting. See you!

I Got the Blues

2011-11-09T00:16:00.001+01:00

... growing in my garden! I'm beyond thrilled - because it's hard to get the blues. Natural dye-wise, that is. But I got it, and am so proud!

I know it sounds silly being proud - but blue just wasn't a part of my natural dye world for more than ten years. And now I've grown blue - in my own garden - organically grown.

Cutting and filling this basket with Polygonum tinctorium from my own garden (not the 'real' indigo, it's also known as Japanese Indigo) - filled me with an exitement which can only be compared with the exitement I felt as a child before yule. And it smells so good too!

How to dye with Polygonum tinctorium:
I trimmed off the leaves and put them in the food processor with some cold water. Let it soak for half an hour with some vinegar added to the solution, then strained the liquid through a silk scarf and squeezed the pulp thoroughly. Added some more cold water and a bit of vinegar to the pulp, same procedure as before. Then the wetted yarn and sik scarfs were added to the dye bath. I let it soak for an hour, stirring occasionally. Squeezed it and let it hang to dry. It was wonderful to see the blues develop - slowly before my eyes.

After 1. dye bath ...

The silk scarf on the top and in the bottom is dyed with only Polygonum tinctorium. Number two from the top is the one used to strain and squeeze the liquid. It's a very strong turquoise. Number three and four is over dyed, ivy and birch leaves, I believe.

I really recommend trying to dye with this plant! It was easy to grow, the seeds sprouted right away (sowed in pots inside) - and I didn't do anything but planting them in a mostly sunny spot with lots of manure. We had a pretty cold, wet summer which they apparently liked.

The dyeing process was easy and fun. No boiling, chemicals or synthetic additives. Organically grown leaves, cold water and vinegar, that's all. And no stress or rushing, I baked a cake and made apple butter while dyeing.

I had to dig up and bring a couple of plants indoors, hoping they will make seeds for sowing next year. Fingers crossed!

In the 11th hour

2011-11-02T00:01:00.000+01:00

of the 1.11.11 I happend to see that the numbers on the visit counter was purely 1s
Remarkable! That must surely be a sign, right!

1 is a wondeful number - there's 1 Universe, 1 Earth, 1 spider in the web, 1 you and 1 me. That just about covers everything. But 1 is also for beginnings and starting afresh. So I'll start a little new something on the blog, a new series called 'For the Love of Wool'. Ta daa.

In a month it's our 4 year anniversary living in our little country house. We had many reasons for wanting to leave the city for the country life, one of the most vital reasons was that we wanted animals (and lots of them) to be a part of our daily life. My dream was to have sheep, because I Love Wool!! I really do. It has a great impact on my imagination, it makes my fingers itch for creating, it makes me want to do so many things.

This scarf is a product of my dreams. I sheared one of my sheep, I washed the wool in rain water, and dyed it with roots from the soil - with the warmth from the sun. The wool was sitting in a jar in my garden for a month or so. Then I carded it and spun it on a drop spindle, and lastly knitted a scarf for one of my daughters.

It is all about process, the final result is a bi product. It's about connecting to nature in a loving, creative, caring and mindful way. And thereby connecting in the same way to yourself.

Autumn it is ...

2011-10-30T21:10:00.000+01:00

... and I can feel the need for wool between my fingers (as well as covering most parts of my body - I prefer that wool to be knitted, though). This is an autumn wreath for our school, a bit of forest floor with a couple of mushrooms and gnomes. And Mother Nature in her autumn dress ...

Let me introduce you to these furry, silky cutesies, who are the newest additions to our household. Aren't they adorable? In a month I'll have to cut off all that soft, lovely fibres and make them look quite silly. They haven't got any names yet, so suggestions will be appreciated!

Small World

2011-10-28T23:49:00.000+02:00

I was pottering around in my garden one beautiful morning, picked up an apple laying in the glittering dewdrop adorned grass, and passing an small basket hanging in the Corkscrew Hazel I let the apple drop into the basket ... And then something happened, which made me stand still for a looong time. The apple dumping woke up some little guys living in the tree (i.e. sleeping in the shell in the 1st photo) and they were some very curious little critters.

{If you click on the pictures they enlarge, please try the 2nd and 3rd picture and see for yourself how charismatic and charming he .. or should I say she ... is}.

Crafting the Colour Wheel - V

2011-10-23T21:08:00.002+02:00

The project for May turned out to be a sort of golden compass or watch. It has a face that hasn't got any pointers, numbers or signs. Yet it is glimmering, and - I'm pretty sure - sometimes also tinkling, just a faint tiny tinkling. I've been wearing it in order to find out what sort of instrument or device it is. I believe it measures time, but not time in the ordinary way. It's more organic, and intuitive in its design. I may be wrong, but I think it really is a device that can tell me when it is time to sit down and enjoy the caress of a breeze on my face, or listen to wind playing in the treetops. Or when it's time (to make time) for being creative, to let imagination flow freely. It's actually quite a lovely device, one of the things I didn't realise I badly needed ...

On a more practical level it's made of natural dyed silk fabric (hazel leaves), vintage embroidery yarn, a smooth pebble from Vesterhavet and a couple of vintage amber pearls.

.......................................

Then staid the fervid wheels, and in his hand
He took the golden compasses, prepared
In God's eternal store, to circumscribe
This universe, and all created things:
One foot he centered, and the other turned
Round through the vast profundity obscure

(John Milton, from Paradise Lost)

Anorak

2011-10-10T20:46:00.000+02:00

I 'discovered' this felted wool anorak in my wardrobe, where it has been - practically unused - for ...well, about ten years. (Yrk, ten years??)
Even though I love the colour of natural, undyed wool it doesn't really look that good on me. Especially not the almost white wool from merino sheep. Why I've never thought of dyeing it before is beyond me - but I found myself fortuitously pulling it out of my closet - while - incidentally - being in possession of some eucalypt leaves. They don't normally grow in these parts of the world, but I've been wanting to try them out for a while now. And I'm glad I did!

And happy Autumn, by the way!

24 x eco dye

2011-10-05T22:42:00.000+02:00

Recently, I had an eco dye session with 24 1. graders! - 50% chaos - 50% fun - and here is the result:

I brought some leaves and flowers, and the children went out gathering some too. I made a great mistake, though. I brought some shredded madder root in a bag - and told them it was Magic Dust. Thinking, that a tiny sprinkle could give an interesting effect. Ha, ha, it surely did - those 6-7 year old little ones quite boldly poured the Magic Dust all over (a lot of Magic Dust must surely be better than just a little, right), resulting in a kind of dramatic effect. Could that be dragon blood?

Still, they had lots of fun, learned a bit about natural dyeing - and there are some really fine looking pieces too.

(The blue coloured leaf print above is Cotinus coggygria (parykbusk). Usually it gives some kind of purple colour, but combined with madder it seems to be more turquoise).

I pre-mordated the silk in a little bit of alum and cream of tartar (vinsten). Leaves, flowers et.c. was placed (with more or less care) upon the fabric. The fabric was then rolled tightly around a stick and secured with cotton yarn. Boiled in the school yard in an enamel pot on a bonfire for about an hour. Opened after two days (because longer is impossible to wait for small people). We're going to make table runners, wall hangings and perhaps an advent calender with the fabric - combined with some solid coloured natural dyed silk fabric - no madder!

Crafting the Colour Wheel - IX

2011-09-21T22:44:00.001+02:00

I thought I'd better show you the September project, even though I haven't shown you all of the previous months crafting projects. But since it's still september I thought it'd be quite appropriate. Not a ring this time - but another piece of jewelry.

It's really interesting how the given colours makes me make things I wouldn't have made otherwise, if it wasn't for this self applied challenge. A bit of blue wool, some golden embroidery yarn and a couple of handmade wooden pearls sort of stuck out of my crafting cupboard when looking for materials for this months project.

I can't really put my finger on it, but it like there's a sort of ancient feeling about this necklace - what do you think?

strolling

2011-09-12T21:44:00.001+02:00

Strolling in my garden and in our small woods while the sun is setting, trying to ignore weeds needing to be removed and toys that ought to be put in their proper place. Enjoying the golden glow from the low sun beams and the way it makes everything look enchanted. Flowers and leaves seem to radiate with an inner light in these short moments.

Gathering windfalls and picking a couple of flowers ...

Trying to capture a bit of their beauty to keep ...

some thoughts about being creative

2011-08-25T23:24:00.001+02:00

Over the years, I've found that creating, being creative, is almost as essential to me as eating. Crafting, or even making some sort of art - the state of being in contact with the Source of Ideas. The process of letting the everyday thoughts drift a little away from you, getting into a state of just being present, sensing and feeling. Or letting your intuition meet with nature. I don't know how to explain it, but we've all been in that state at some point, I'm sure.
The process of crafting is where I try to build a bridge between this Source of Ideas and this world. Where I strive to make this thing - a water colour painting or a knitted scarf, it doesn't matter - but what matters is to make the 'idea' become real and palpable - to make the idea come alive.

The thing is, I often find it hard to find the time to make these 'creations' happen. A full time job, a half time study, three kids and a husband - not to mention sheep, cats, chickens, a dog and a big (overgrown) garden. Oh, and a very old house very much in need of maintenance and renovation. (Phew, how did all those things enter my life..). I'm not complaining, just trying to summon up, and I'm sure a lot of people have a much longer list than I do. So, how to make room for being creative, crafting, making stuff, wandering the paths of inspiration and joyful ideas. Well, thats just the thing, isn't it; there's no answer to that. No easy way of fixing it (unless one wants to get rid of all of the above mentioned people, animals and stuff - and I sure don't) - so I guess the solution (for me) is to make it flow just a little bit more into the everyday. Making room for it somehow - and being grateful when I succeed.

With this in mind, I've gifted myself a Hahnemühle sketch book. Perhaps a creative 'diary' can be a sort of channel for making the crafting time flow just a tad more in my direction.

Here is a couple of clutches I did manage to finish today. Even though it's a fairly simple project, it did take some time, but I'm happy with the result.

I used a pattern from the book Bend-The-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. The fabric is natural dyed, reused linen, and the buttons I made from a branch of laburnum. The embroidery on the backsides are inspired by the buttons; laburnum seed pods - and leaves. A simple free hand, primitive sort of embroidery using this embroidery yarn.

Looks like the other clutch, but this one has a natural dyed lining, and I'm so in love with the greys achieved with natural dyes. They are somehow so much more 'alive' than greys from chemical dyes.

Silent Sunday

2011-08-14T18:34:00.000+02:00

Crafting the Colour Wheel - III & IV

2011-08-12T19:27:00.001+02:00

I have a bit of catching up to do because of my long absence from blogging. This is the March and April experiments inspired by this post by Sarah from Quince & Quire.

I have no idea why I ended up making rings, not being a 'ring person' at all. But I like wearing these, they feel kind of nice on my fingers. (Oh, I did make a necklace as well ...) ...

Faroese knitting

2011-08-08T23:55:00.000+02:00

I went to an exhibition in Copenhagen featuring faroese knitting done be the late Katrina Maria Hansen and designer Jóhanna av Steinum. Katrina knitted traditional faroese garments, but she also knitted some very remarkable and artistic blankets using left over yarn.

The blankets almost looked like they were painted, made with a brush instead of knitting needles. Studying them at at close hand and then from a distance made me think of the brush strokes used by the Impressionistic painters. But in her very own and unique colour choice.

Steinum was the one discovering Katrinas work. She got inspired by Katrinas style and designed a serie of knitting. The dresses were awesome. I need a dress like this!

The clever people behind this exhibition wisely predicted that looking at all the knitted stuff could cause an irresistable urge for a pair of knitting needles. In a corner you could sit down to knit a couple of rounds with some giant needles. Looking at the pictures now makes my fingers itch ...

*****************

If you'd like to visit the exhibition, you can find it here.

Silent Sunday

2011-08-07T23:46:00.002+02:00

Just a few glimpses from my garden ...

Tiny Treasures

2011-08-04T23:32:00.000+02:00

We had a big surprise the other day - or rather, five small surprises. This very small - but also very determinant - hen, returned from a long absence and proudly presented these lovely tiny treasures. We had thought her eaten by the fox, a fact that didn't lessen our surprise. But oh, I understand her being so proud. Aren't they adorable? - See the little yellow rump on the guy to the right?

Another tiny treasure found by little S. He thinks »it's enormously cute«. It is, isn't it? When we took the pics, we could almost hear its tiny voice: "Here's looking at you, kid". It's a Phalera bucephala ... or is it turning into one? ... anyway, it'll become a lovely moth someday soon. In danish it's called Måneplet - which means Moon spot. It has golden spots on the wings that looks like tiny moons. We put it in the beech hedge after studying it, since it likes to eat beech and birch leaves.

And this is a little vase for tiny flower treasures. Made from a thimble that used to belong to my grandmother. It doesn't fit my finger, so I'm happy to have found a new purpose for it. I made a fitted bag and 'chain' for the thimble in crochet with embroidery yarn. In order to keep the flowers moist, I wrap a tuft of wool around the stems and splash it with a bit of water before inserting them in the thimble. It works fine as a transportable flower arrangement, except when folk dancing.

kick-start-ing

2011-07-29T23:11:00.002+02:00

It's been quite some time since I wrote a post here. Right in the middle of Poppytalks colour week something happened. One of my kids went safe and sound to bed the night of the pink, and woke up in the early morning - very sick. We had some hard months back then, lots of anxiety, frustration, being in hospital with one child while trying to take care of the others. Finally getting an diagnosis, coping with that, and facing a long period with heavy medication. Dealing with the fact that in order to make your child well again, you have to poison her. We're still waiting for her total recovery, but she's ... well, if not actually better or well, she's being damn strong and absolutely wonderful.

I've always been grateful for my children being well, healthy, safe and sound. I think I've been aware of the fact that being able to feed my children plenty of fresh, healthy organic food every day and clothe them, to live in a democratic country, to live in a part of the world where natural disasters are extremely rare and where education is for everybody and for free - is both a rare and a precious thing. Still, an experience like this, well, it simply gives gratefulness a new meaning altogether.

I found that having a sick child somehow 'draws' energy like nothing else. Hence the long blog break. It also clarified what's important to me. I already knew, but I suppose being reminded of the really important things in life is also something to be grateful for - especially when the story has an happy end. Like I know ours will have.

Life hasn't been all about sickness and misery, she's been up and about for quite some time now, but we've been enjoying life, each others and the summer holidays. But as life is getting back to normal, I thought I'd better kick start this blog before it's too late.

If I think too much about what to blog about, I'm never getting at it. (I can proof it, you know!) - So without further ado: Last night I made supper and put it in a basket. Put the children and the dog in the car and drove to a nearby lake where we enjoyed the food, played in the water ...

... made a bit of yarn ...

... and made a mental note to self about doing this more often. No complicated picnic baskets, no getting elaborate about stuff or going to fancy places. Simply: food in basket, find a place in nature nearby and enjoy ourselves!

Another thing to do more often is to sit down for a creative moment, inspired by nature and the moment. By myself or with one or more children. When - obviously - one has something else to do. Like laundry, cleaning, tidying, well the never ending usual stuff. One has to distinguish between what's important and what can wait. In this case the latter can definitely wait!

Today my eldest daughter and I had a moment like that, sitting quietly outside, drawing and painting some of the edible flowers from the garden.

Moments like these are so precious - and luckily a kind of moments that we can make happen.

Spring colours - pink

2011-04-12T22:15:00.000+02:00

Pink is the daughter of Red. She's more delicate and less powerfull than her mother. She makes us think of love, vitality and ... spring.

Spring colours - yellow

2011-04-06T23:55:00.001+02:00

Happy, sunny yellow! - I love yellow so. Didn't use to, untill I began dyeing with plants. Lots of plants yields yellow dye, in an astounding range of nuances. Impossible not to give in to it's charm! There ought to be as many words for yellow as the eskimos have for snow. Well, there might just be a place like that on this earth for what I know.

Yellow is the colour of the sun. And like the sun, the yellow colour radiates, it extends and outshines all other colours.

When we look at a yellow colour, we get warm inside, it makes us happy and enlivens us. Fills us with energy, just as real sunlight does.

Yellow symbolizes happiness, cheerfulness ...

... sensitivity ...

... creativity and wisdom.

That's why I want to paint everything yellow. Or, why don't we all - we could make this world a brighter and happier place with a bit of paint!*

..............................

(*bear over with me, I just ate a box of Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk - and combined with a small overdose of yellow I might just be a bit overwrought).

Spring colours - green

2011-04-05T19:12:00.000+02:00

I'm not really a sucker for chain letters, tv series, facebook and things like that. You know, where there's a danger of being lemming-ized. I'm afraid of being drawn into boring repititions and doing stuff I don't really feel like doing. Or worse, doing something that aren't like me.

Don't wanna make a big issue out of nothing, but that's just how i feel about it. Anyway, there's a kind of chain blogging going on at poppytalk - which actually started yesterday - but I fell asleep on the couch too exhausted to even think of blogging yesterday.

The last couple of weeks I've outside a lot. Don't wanna miss the yearly 'big bang', no. It's hard though, just turn your back to something for a minute, and it sprouts, blooms or unfold something.

But the colours! There aren't many, yet they make such a great impression. This time of year you can feel how the colours nourish and inspires your soul.

New Chicks in Town

2011-04-03T23:04:00.000+02:00

Well, not so much town - but new chicks, and busy too. Really hard to get a sharp shot of their heads, they're SO fast moving! - But look at this pretty lady, she has got a beard!

My eldest daughter claims chickens are as smart as - or even smarter - than dogs. Um, I'm not really sure I believe that to be true. But then again ...

This little chick is actually pretty smart. Whenever she sees a spade she comes running, because spade means worms. Once she egerly jumped up and sat on the spade while I was digging, wanting to be the first to spot the worms.

But the best part must be the eggs. Because eggs means cake, right! But they are also a joy to look at, with their perfect shape and lovely subtle colours. My children can always tell which chick laid which egg. Truly! They all have just a slightly different size, shape and colour, and some have freckles too. It's good to know exactly who laid the boiled egg in your lunch box, you know.

And for the lovers of birch bark a couple of close ups of the birch bark basket. My maternal aunt made it, it's sewn with very fine roots from a spruce tree.

I like it so much I think I could eat it. But I won't!

March

2011-03-31T22:20:00.000+02:00

Cold in the beginning ...

Glowing in the end ...

Full of small wonders in the middle ...

And big glowing super wonder full moon ...

And once in a while, the special cold northern spring low sun beam - and shadows!

And craniums proudly brought home by my little guy from an nearby fox earth

Crafting the Colour wheel - February

2011-02-26T22:59:00.000+01:00

February crafting project was born right after January. A neat little project, like the month that inspired it. I wanted to make a mounting for a stone in crochet, like the jeweller with a precious gem (like I did with the January necklace). It seemed to me the ring came together by it's own force, no need for me to gather materials or seeking inspiration first. It was almost as if there were some sort of elfish influence at work.

My preciousssssss ...

Make this night loveable

2011-02-25T00:43:00.000+01:00

I was minding my own business. Feeding the sheep, fetching hay in the shed, carrying it through the garden. The usual stuff. But I had this uncanny feeling of being watched. There was nobody else but me around, the only sounds was my footsteps. But still ...

Instinctively I stopped and gazed up in the sky. Instantly my eyes met with the one watching me. Oh, it was Her, the Moon!

Make this night loveable,
Moon, and with eye single
Looking down from up there
Bless me, One especial
And friends everywhere.

With a cloudless brightness
Surround our absences;
Innocent be our sleeps,
Watched by great still spaces,
White hills, glittering deeps.

Parted by circumstance,
Grant each your indulgence
That we may meet in dreams
For talk, for dalliance,
By warm hearths, by cool streams.

Shine lest tonight any,
In the dark suddenly,
Wake alone in a bed
To hear his own fury
Wishing his love were dead.

W. H. Auden, 1953

V, from Five Songs

I like this poem, it's so beautiful in the beginning. At the end it is overtaken with melancholy and unhappy love. But that's what the Moon is about, too.

Good Night!

Crafting the Colour wheel - January

2011-02-21T17:41:00.001+01:00

In the beginning of the year, Sarah from Quince & Quire wrote this post about colours and it struck an ore of creativity in me. I happily accepted her invitation to join her in a year of being inspired by the Wheel of the Year and the Wheel of the Colours.

There aren't any rules, yet I made a couple of guidelines for myself - I prefer fredom within a couple of limits, it makes everything a bit easier. Again - as with Crafting for Myself - I'll use materials solely from the stash as well as materials provided by Mother Nature. Preferably a litte of both for each crafting project; one for each month of the year.

So without further ado I present to you my January crafting project:

January, February, March and April colour strips. There was no thinking involved in choosing the colours for each month, I just grabbed a paint brush and went with the flow.

Little S went with the flow as well - I think his colour strips are much better than mine.

I actually took the long way round, as is often the case when trying to make things simple, but ended up with this necklace. A stone from this trip to the sea (a wonderful reminder of summer in the middle of winter), a bit of embroidery yarn and a strip of wool fabric, eco dyed with rose leaves and overdyed with a bit of indigo.

Waldorf doll - Rose

2011-02-14T21:54:00.000+01:00

Born in the middle of winter; a little rosebud. Sweet and summery in the midst of all the cold and the snow. She didn't even want to wear her little green boots, but jauntily kicked them off before the photo session.
Yarn and nuno felt is natural dyed. Pattern from this book, like Pearl.

If you'd like to see more pictures, you can also find me here, at Flickr.

.:And happy heart day to you all!:.

Homemade update

2011-02-06T17:01:00.002+01:00

Perhaps you remember that I set myself the task to make 12 things for me (apparently I forgot it was possible to make stuff for myself when I had kids) - and that I had to use materials entirely from my stash. Somehow I never got around to show you the last four items. But here they are:

#9: ring, crochet, embroidery thread and some tiny sequins made from amber.

#10: 'boob cozy', crochet, wool yarn from the stash. I ran out of yarn, so I had to make the edging with some scrap yarn. But you wouldn't notice if I hadn't told you, right?!,

#11: Jolly Rancher skirt, crochet, pattern can be found here.

#12: The world wide famous Lacy Baktus shawl. My first attempt of spinning (drop spindle) and knitting with wool from my own sheep.

The Magic of Winter

2011-01-28T00:16:00.000+01:00

So far this winter has been quite unusual. We've had snow, and lots of snow, I think the last time we had a winter like this was when I was a little school girl. The rhythm of the year - spring, summer, autumn, winter - feels more complete and satisfying when there's actually a 'real' winter. Now that we live where we can see the horizon, we have been able to fully immerse ourselves in the 'nature' of winter.

Cold, bright and glittering days, blue sky above and white stars below.

The light of a full moon reflected from every surface of the earth in a night so quiet that you can almost hear the distant voices of the stars singing.

Or magical days where the whole world seems to be full of snow and mist, the silence is intense and you can feel the cold as a thousand tiny kisses on your cheeks.

I went for a walk a magical day like this, there were no sounds except for the crunching from underneath my boots and my own inhalations and exhalations. Earth and sky was covered with a single sheet of sparkling veil, and the trees seemed of an unearthly kind, floating above the earth. Walking, breathing, in this vastness of silence, I had an experience of becoming deeply relaxed and centered in myself. And yet I felt a connection with every sparkling snowflake around me, feeling in tune with the slow breathing of a sleeping Mother Nature.

All the glittering, beautifully intricate ice crystals are water; transformed. If you open your mind, transformation is a gift you can receive. You know, we're all sparkling, glittering perfect beings, but mostly we need a bit of help to realise it. Let Winter whisper the magic words into your inner ear.

..............................................................

There is nothing in the world as quiet as snow,
when it gently descends through the air,
   muffles your steps
   hushes, gently hushes
the voices that speak too loud.

There is nothing in the world of a purity like snow's,
swan's down from the white wings of Heaven,
   On your hand a flake
   is like dew of tears,
White thoughts quietly tread in dance.

There is nothing in the world that can gentle like snow,
quietly you listen to the silent ringing.
   Oh, so fine a sound,
   peals of silver bells,
rings within your innermost heart.

Helge Rode (1896)
Translation from Danish to English copyright © 2006 by Camilla Bugge

sweetness

2011-01-13T14:35:00.001+01:00

... being grateful for the little things that sweetens my day ...

outside: a generous sprinkle of sugar on every surface

.:Picture in the catalogue by finnish photographic artist Aino kannisto:.

inside: enjoying a quiet moment with a cuppa coffee and a favourite sweet snack. Dates filled with almond butter.

............................................................

'Knowing life is short

enjoy it day by day

moment after moment'

Suzuki Roshi

Welcome, 2011

2011-01-05T01:45:00.000+01:00

Another turn of the Wheel, and a year as new and fresh as the glittering white snow that lies as far as the eye can reach. Ready for play and joy - and as rich in possibilities as the cold whiteness around us is rich in crystals! Let's take a long, slow and deep breath, all the way down to our toes, stretch our arms and embrace the year of 2011!

That felt good, didn't it?

And now I change topic. Just like that. We have to get on with this new year, there's so many things to do. This weekend we removed the ornaments and finery from our yule tree, and chopped it up. This tree wasn't an ordinary yule tree. No, it was actually the top of a big spruce from a windbreak nearby. A kind neighbour let us cut it down on christmas day, since we happend to be unable to go anywhere because of an old fashioned snow storm. We had great fun pulling the tree home on our sledge, hardly able to see through the whirling snow, while being pushed by a playful and somewhat inclement wind.

There's no other reason for this picture, other that to introduce you to Skatkat, also known as Monsieur Skattekat, named after the trumpet playing cat in Aristocats. We had five kittens this summer (well, one of our lady cats did) and he's the one that we couldn't part with. Don't be fooled by that innocent look, he had a very busy week climbing that tree, throwing ornaments around for our dog to chew on. They were very succesfull in raiding that tree.

Back to the chopped up tree. The very top was to thin on this tree, but the next level had a fine size, so we peeled off the soft bark. With a screw eye in the top of it, it makes a splendid hanger. It will make jewellry, silk scarfs, yarn, drying herbs and flowers - (continue the list yourself) - look so much better!

Last yule I used it as an advent wreath ...

The lower part of the tree can easily transform into lovely and practical coat hooks. These were gifts from a friend. The remains of the tree is now transformed into a diversion for sheep and two small horses. Vitamins included.

I hope you feel inspired to make something useful and pretty from your tree - or your neighbours!

A Very Special Art Class

2010-12-14T00:01:00.003+01:00

I would like to invite all of you to an art class with a very special teacher. I'm a great admirer of her work and grab every opportunity to enjoy her art. She's eccentric, exceptional, temperamental and extremely talented. There's gossip related to all charismatic artists, and you can hear the publicity talk about a certain rudeness or harshness - but we don't pay attention to such talk!
She's a real annoyance to art collectors, though, since her work for the most part is inestimable. But here is your chance to acquire a piece of art by her hand - for free!

Let me introduce to you an artist as bright and beautiful as her art: Queen Winter!

This class is special since every piece of art will be an unique collaboration; you do the painting and she does the magic!

So lets get started! Here's what you'll need:

• Of uttermost importance: make sure before you start that the temperature outside is below the freezing-point!

• Watercolours ( I love Living Colours, based on plant dyes, but what you have is fine)

• Watercolour paint brush

• Watercolour paper

• Some sort of hardbord - I use masonite

• Masking tape

• A tub a bit bigger than the size of your paper. Or you can use a zink or bathtub - anything that can hold water.

Soak the paper in the tub for about 20 minutes. Carefully lift it out of the water and place it on the hardboard. Dap a bit with a clean towel if the paper is very wet.

And now you let your creativity on the loose.

The trick is to end up with a slightly wet paper. Too much excess water will not dry up in the cold and your beautiful art may thaw once inside a warm house. Yet if the paper is too dry the Queen will have nothing to work her magic on. Hard to explain - you'll have to give it a try!

When you are satisfied with your work, fasten the paper to the hardboard with a piece of masking tape on each corner of the paper. Now place your art outside until dry.

Here we threw some Maldon sea salt crystals on the paper after painting and before placing outside. The paper was a bit on the wet side, but I think the effect is kind of peculiar.

You can click on the pictures for a better look at the crystals. If you have any questions please feel free to ask! I hope you will try this out, and if you do, please leave a comment or a link below!

Meanwhile

2010-12-06T20:02:00.000+01:00

Uh, oh, well, I just have to jump in. Being away from the blog for so long makes it difficult for me to pick up where I left. I didn't plan to be away for more than three months. (Three??!!) It just happend. In fact, what happend was The Good Life. Apparently The Good Life also is a busy life. But in a good way.

My life is so full, and I find as I grow older I also find it more beautiful and multifaceted and rich in many ways (not money-wise, though). It's an intense way of living, and I find that one has to be very careful about spending too much time in cyberspace, since it diminishes the feeling of being earth bound (grounded) and also weekens the ability of being present in a mindful way. Anyway, that's how I feel about it. But I think there's still good things to be found in cyberspace, and I'm still gonna blog. Yet in a sporadic and random manner - as usual, right?

King Winter and his lovely Queen are visiting our part of the world, which is quite unusual at this time of the year.

Everything seems a bit more charming when they're around.

And even though it seems almost against the natural laws, Mother Nature shows her power and presents flowers for Her Majesty to enjoy. And I enjoy my share as well!

I love my little »secret garden« in the summer, and even if the roses are now covered with snow, there's still some magical about it ...

We've had another very important visitor recently, which I have to share with you. A visit of great importance and swiftness. My youngest lost his first tooth and then she came - late at night when everybody was asleep - the toothfairy. I think it's common knowledge that the toothfairy loves little white shining teeth, and that she lives in a very great big castle made of childrens teeth. Every night she flies around and picks up the teeth that children has placed under their pillows. And in return for the teeth that she treasures so much, she gives small gifts of equal value. I think that perhaps she has a good eye to my little one, because when he woke up in the morning he found not only a gift - a doll so he could see what the toothfairy looks like - but in the little bag she carried was ... his own tooth! - He had such a hard time letting go of that tooth, and I think she wanted to acknowledge the fact that he found the strength to give it away. And she'll be rewarded too, because there'll be many more tiny white teeth to be found under his pillow in the next years to come.

Eco colour - now with kids

2010-09-03T17:21:00.002+02:00

I'm a bit obsessed with mending, and I try not to discard clothes or fabric - (well, anything at all) that can be of some use. When it comes to childrens clothes, I feel the necessity for re-using the strongest. Children grow up so fast, and are in need of new clothes quite often. They wear out their clothes by crawling, climbing and playing (or I certainly hope they do). And some parents are quite occupied by childrens fashion and consequently replace their chidrens wardrobe regularly. The latter seems to be quite prevalent in these parts of the world. So much fabric - so little used. Let's use it all up, shall we?

Well, all that mending and other initiativs to re-use their clothes may just not be something children take notice of, unless they're actually involved in doing so. And I feel the importance of not only living sustainable (or trying my best to) - but also encourage my children to understand the concepts of sustainability. Not by telling them, but by simply doing it.

We went for a walk in an nearby area, formerly gravel pits and now an recreational area not being cultivated or interfered with in any way. Everything growing there has come up from seeds waiting in the soil for years.

We picked and gathered what we felt like, some windfallen leaves and twigs from the ground, and also gently picked some flowers and small twigs from bushes.

We had some not so good looking woolen underwear that needed refreshment. I soaked them in (cold) water added a little bit of Alum for a couple of days. Rinsed and squeezed them - and now they were ready to adorn with our findings. I didn't take pictures, but the children were free to do as they pleased, placing leaves, flowers and some berries on the fabric where they wanted to. As was I.
When we were satisfied with our work, we rolled up the under shirts tightly and secured the bundles with some string.

A couple of days before a kind neigbour allowed us to pick some twigs of their Berberis - (vulgaris, I think). Quite a pricking sort of schrub. Twigs and leaves had been soaking for a day and then simmered an hour or so before leaving it for another day to get all the potential dye stuff from the leaves. Then we put our bundles in this »soup«, put it over the heat and let it simmer for an hour. The most challenging part was to let the bundles stay in the pot to the following day - but we managed!

I think the result is lovely, the kids had fun and we're going to do this a lot more.

Eco colour

2010-08-21T00:50:00.001+02:00

I recently bought this book - by India Flint - as a birthday present for myself. After more than ten years of increasing devotion and love for natural dyeing I finally found a book in which a deep respect, consideration and responsibility for Mother Earth goes hand in hand with thoroughness, knowledge, ingenuity, and a talent for storytelling. She has a wonderful sense of beauty, and the ability to create fabrics and clothes that are both rustic and magical in their beauty.
I am in awe, and deeply inspired by this talented woman!

This is some of my initial experiments dyed on wool and silk fabrics.

Since my children were babes I've been saving their woolen stockings (or is it called tights/leggins) and underwear. I have a hard time throwing anything away, and even more so things that has been such a comfort and joy and kept my babes snug and protected. So I cut up (the remnants of) their discarded (read: several times mended and worn to pieces) clothes and drop the little pieces in a dye bath once in a while. Someday I hope to make a quilt. I would like to have a quilt made from fabric that has sucked up some of the softness and warmth of my babies skin to comfort me when I get old.

Re-using has - for my part - entered a new era. Here is my first try with Indias method, and I'm so happy with the result. My youngest had outgrown this silk cap and wool/silk undershirt. Too good for cutting up, so I bundled it with some Acer pseudoplatanus (da: ahorn) leaves and seed pods. The cap is dyed with leaves of Solidago canadensis - goldenrod (da: gyldenris). A happy, bright yellow.

After some eco dyeing it is suitable for a little fairy creature of some sort.

I'm so happy to have found a kindred spirit through a book, as well as new inspiration for natural dyeing in many years to come!

Signs II

2010-08-17T23:33:00.001+02:00

.:picture taken by my 12 year old daughter:.

The pictures in yesterdays post was taken a lovely day at Vesterhavet (the North Sea). True to my nature I spend my time at the beach in a kind of ackward stooping, long-winded gait, head moving from side to side (I'm sure I must look like a strange kind of long-legged bird seen from a distance).

It's a very good posture for stretching the long muscles at the back side of your thighs, and also the ideal pose for finding the desired smooth pebbles and stones.

Well, to pick up from yesterdays post, this particular day I drove home after a long and wonderful day at the beach, with a lovely little collection of silky round beach stones. The day after that I spent thrifting, and having the best of luck (in my humble opinion) finding a couple of bags with old embroidery yarn. A specific danish embroidery yarn called Almue yarn - »almue« meaning common people, villagers or rustic. It's a single threaded, mat and humble yarn in colours that looks like the ones you get from dyeing with plants.

Naturally I had to play with stones and yarn ...

No signs, no, just pure glee and utter contentment with my small finds. But then, obviously, I saw a sign. No soaring eagles or dancing beetles, but this post on a favourite blog; resurrection fern.
And then I realised that I was given a sign. I found the stones and the yarn for a reason:

You have to give in to these signs. To let go and follow the indicated directions. Maybe it will keep leading you further on. You never know, but truly, it's an adventure. There's no stop signs, it's the »move forward-be open minded-creative-creating-enjoying« kind of signs.

Signs

2010-08-17T00:38:00.001+02:00

There's a special kind of signs that can have many appearances. One day it may mean nothing to you, the next it's answering a question you haven't yet asked or guiding your soul and mind into new understanding or reinvigorated inspiration.

.:A long forgotten and weather-beaten sign post in the wilderness of the woods:.

They can appear in the form of burning bushes, and flashes of lightning, or in the more subtle category; a soaring bird of prey, a cloud with a special shape, a beautiful flower found in an unexpected place, a smooth stone picked up on a walk by the beach. In music, rain, childrens laughter, a handshake, an old womans wonderful smile, in the wise words of a friend.

I've seen signs in times of changes, I've been guided, comforted, enlightened and answered. Mostly I see the signs when in contact with Mother Nature, while taking a walk in the woods or wandering along the beach.

Sometimes the signs comes in a row, little hints, one thing leading to another, untill you get the point.

You gather the threads and ends up with this neat little web in which you read the signs as clearly as mirror glass.

Then there's the signs that speaks directly to your creativity. That makes your imagination wander along new, refreshing paths.

Letting my eyes follow lines in the landscape, rolling waves, winding paths and swaying trees awakens my feeling of inspiration and creativity. And then the eye gets caught by a special thing or sight and stirs something within me. And perhaps conjuring a new idea, an idea of creation. These I call the inspirational signs.

.:To be continued - tomorrow:.

Another Wash Wednesday

2010-07-07T23:43:00.000+02:00

Hanging up the laundry can be quite meditative, and I find that the well known movements of bending down, picking up, shaking and unfurling the fabric, and fastening with the clothes pegs usually makes me feel at peace and grounded. Sometimes it's simply a matter of sensing the rhythm of my movements, feeling my breathing slowing down a bit and my thoughts relaxing and not being occupied with things I have to do next. And sometimes it makes my thoughts wander in time and place.

I often find myself thinking about the past while hanging up my laundry. I have a lot of really old dish towels, towels, table napkins, table cloths and bed clothes. Some thrifted, and some inherited. Being in this almost altered state of mind makes me feel sort of connected to the women who made these things. I wonder about the initials carefully and beautifully embroidered at towels and linens. I appreciate all the time and solicitude put into making and decorating everyday items. And I feel thankful for having them, and thankful because all of these handmades reminds me of the necessity of taking care of things and mending - not discarding!

I especially treasure the things my grand mother made. She knitted these towels, and as they're used and becoming worn and thin I treasure them even more.

These towels also brings my thoughts back in time, but not that far back. They were used for swaddeling one of my babies right after being born. I clearly remember searching out the softest, organic towels for my unborn. And how they were warmed in the oven while I gave birth, at home in a big round bath tub. And how she was wrapped the minute she emerged from the water. Hanging on the line now they're still glowing with the light that enveloped us right after the birth.

(picture taken by my 5 year old:)

The other day I suddenly found myself being around ten years old, and back in my childhood home. I was hanging up the laundry, and I reached down for the clothes pegs in the pocket of an apron tied around my waist. I vaguely remembered some green chequered fabric ... - Why on earth didn't I have an apron like that now? So I went to my fabric stash and found some old bed linen I rescued from being cut up and used for cleaning purposes by my mother in law. And some bias tape I thrifted a long time ago finally found its purpose.

It was fun making this, I just took a couple of measurements and drew a couple of lines directly on the fabric before cutting. And now I can wear the exact bed linen my husband slept in as a teenager! How great is that?!
I'm adding this to the other - about 8 things, i guess - I'm making for myself. So this is item #9 in my challenge of making ten things for myself solely made from fabric etc from my stash.

Wash Wednesday

2010-06-24T01:10:00.000+02:00

Nicole from the poetic and beautiful blog GardenMama is planning a book featuring clothslines from all over the world. Her fascination of clotheslines is something I happen to share, so i thought I'd share mine ...

laundry painted golden by the sunset

I treasure my clothesline, the mere sight of clean clothes waving in a breeze, the smell of cleanness (and perhaps a drop of essential oil for the joy of it) and the feel of damp and cool hands while hanging up the clothes makes me feel at peace.

Queen Anne's Lace through towel

My clotheslines stretches between a couple of old apple trees, to a giant willow tree and to the back of a shed that houses our chickens. I have to walk through the entire garden and through a hedge to get there. It's like walking into some shadowy, private place, and even though I sometimes postpone my »visits« there, I always have this feeling of settling down and enjoying the task.

vintage, apples & sunset

I'm perfectly happy being the owner of an full automatic washing machine. I often think of my grand mother not having one, being a mother of four when disposable diapers wasn't an option. Even my own mother didn't have a washing machine when my brother an I was in the diapering age. She had a big pot for diapers and had to wash every other day, stirring and boiling.

Being a task of free will, I am happy to wash clothes by hand. Especially wool and silks. Washing by hand is something children of all ages enjoy, and it is quite a popular occupation in my home. I've placed some washbowls and some washboards and a small drying rack on my terrace, and a lot of washing is taking place outside in the sun.

If you would like to wonder too ...

2010-06-17T23:27:00.002+02:00

... about the inconceivable, infinite vastness of beautiful diversity of the children of Mother Earth:

I wonder ...

2010-06-17T00:50:00.000+02:00

When my children is asleep - or at least lying in their beds trying to - I like to take a stroll in my garden. Not to pick up toys or weeding. Simply sensing the change of atmosphere. Wandering, smelling, touching, relaxing - and wondering ...

... if I could dye wool in the colours of the sky and the clouds ...

... if the doe in the meadow next to my garden is hiding her kid somewhere near ...

... if the lamb in the sky is lost or merely adventuring ...

... if I ever will be able to take a proper shot of this puppy of mine ...

... if the beauty and delicacy of tiny flowers will ever cease to amaze and astonish me ...

... if faries are riding the horses in the summer nights - when I'm not looking ...

... if drying oneself in a sun dried towel, with the scent of freshly cut hay, isn't one of the finest luxuries of summer ...

I hope you're wondering too!

absence & presence

2010-06-13T00:52:00.001+02:00

Yes, I'm a bad blogger, guilty of neglecting this little space of mine. You see, it's the time of year that simply makes it impossible for me to take my eyes of what's happening - out there in the real world. Everything is in such a hurry, growing so fast and changing so rapidly that I might miss important things in the blink of an eye. Like last year, I need to take a break in order to suck it all in and let it take my breath away.
A pretty good reason for not blogging - in my opinion.

But in this quiet, late hour I thought I'd share a bit of the things that pleases my eyes right now (if there's still any stopping by to share with):

And totally unrelated - or perhaps not - I've been thinking about things I'd like to blog more about, so I've decided to make another series. (I'm one of those poor devils lacking a TV, and consequently endless series of soaps and all that crap. I wonder if I could risk developing some sort of involuntary series discharge, »seriesitis« or something, caused by insufficient (TV) series consumation?) - Anyway, I hereby announce a coming series at JardarMama:

.: For the Love of Wool :.

April in pictures - April 30th

2010-04-30T23:50:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 29th

2010-04-29T13:30:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 28th

2010-04-29T13:28:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 27th

2010-04-27T22:58:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 26th

2010-04-26T20:24:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 25th

2010-04-25T20:53:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 24th

2010-04-24T22:07:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 23rd

2010-04-23T22:34:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 22nd

2010-04-22T21:16:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

Mother Earth Day

2010-04-22T14:53:00.002+02:00

Well, I added »Mother« to the official name, but that's what I call Her. She nourishes, protects, educates us and add a whole lot of magic to it all. She is beyond explanation, in her abundance of beauty and wonders. She has got lots of faces in all ages. Her wardrobe is outstanding in its uniqueness, with the uttermost richness in the details. She is also extremely old and fragile, so we have to nourish and protect her too!

Here's a couple of details for you.

Happy Mother Earth Day!

April in pictures - April 21th

2010-04-21T22:57:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 20th

2010-04-20T19:55:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 19th

2010-04-19T20:57:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 18th

2010-04-18T21:59:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 17th

2010-04-18T21:58:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 16th

2010-04-16T21:11:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 15th

2010-04-16T12:25:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 14th

2010-04-14T21:40:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 13th

2010-04-13T23:25:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 12th

2010-04-13T13:43:00.001+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 11th

2010-04-11T22:15:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 10th

2010-04-10T22:13:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 9th

2010-04-09T22:06:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 8th

2010-04-08T21:57:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 7th

2010-04-07T21:11:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 6th

2010-04-06T22:41:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 5th

2010-04-05T20:23:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

Sow cress ...

2010-04-05T14:07:00.001+02:00

... and why not enjoy some rainbow colours as well! I used some of my plant dyed wool - and organic seeds.

Off to boil some eggs and take a walk in the tiny cress forest ...

April 4th

2010-04-04T21:40:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 3rd

2010-04-04T00:48:00.001+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 2nd

2010-04-02T23:11:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

April in pictures - April 1th

2010-04-01T23:52:00.000+02:00

This month I'll try to capture a single moment every day. A moment of being present, of being here, now. Pictures from a simple, ordinary everyday.

Tutorial: How to plant dye (easter) eggs

2010-04-01T23:41:00.002+02:00

You'll need:

· eggs - I don't blow them out, but you could do that if you want them to hang.
· alum (alun)
· paper towel
· aluminum foil
· dyestuff: I used logwood (blåtræ), cochineal (cochenille) and turmeric (gurkemeje). You can use other dye stuffs for dyeing wool/silk.
· leaves and flower petals
· a pot to dye in

THESE EGGS ARE NOT MEANT TO BE EATEN - SOLELY PLEASURE FOR THE EYES!!

I think the pictures almost says it all, but here it goes:

· Tear aluminum foil to appropriate size for wrapping your eggs.
· Paper towel (double or triple layer) cut in approximately the same size. Moist the towel by sprinkling a bit of water on it. It doesn't need to be soaking wet.
· Sprinkle a pinch of alum on the moist paper towel. Use a tea spoon. Do not let small children handle alum - (it isn't poisonous, it's a salt extracted from clay, but anyway).

· place your leaves and flowers on the eggs. You can also draw on the eggs with a (colourless) bee wax crayon or similar - or wrap rubber bands around the eggs.

· Carefully wrap the eggs, first in the kitchen towel. And finish off with wrapping it all securely in the aluminum foil.
· Place the eggs in a pot, cover with water. If you use blown eggs, you'll need to press them down with a plate or a small pot lid.
· Bring the water to a simmer and let it simmer for several hours. (I think 6-7 hours will do, but the longer you boil them, the longer they'll last). Blown eggs can do with a couple of hours.
· Turn off the heat and let cool.
· Enjoy unwrapping the eggs. This is so much fun and definitely the best part of it all - according to my children.
· If necessary, carefully rinse the eggs in cold water.

They won't last forever (since they aren't blown out). That's how it's supposed to be. Next year we'll make new ones.

Please feel free to ask if you have any questions!

Earth Day

2010-03-28T22:43:00.001+02:00

Our Earth Hour turned into an Earth Day. We were out all day, and had another round in our long term fight with the remnants of the hawthorn from the »the Sleeping Beauty«. We built a huge fire and made supper.

... and plant dyed some easter eggs. We placed the pot in the embers and let it stay there overnight.

Even though we were quite exhausted after a busy day outdoors, we wanted to feel how Earth Hour was like indoors as well, so we lit some candles and read a chapter of Mumitroldene/Moomin before going to bed.

This morning the girls fetched the pot, and we had a feast opening the little parcels with dyed eggs. Opening only one at the time to really savour the delight - oh so pretty they were.

We dyed these eggs with logwood (blåtræ) and placed small leaves here and there.

It's amazing how many colours there are, the dyestuff from the logwood must mix with something in the little leaves ...

This one is dyed with purple crocus flowers though. It's the chlorophyll that makes it green.
(If you click on the pictures you can se more details - and you'll also see I've got a crap camera)

If anyone would like to know how to do this, I'll be glad to make an tutorial!

Earth Hour

2010-03-27T13:48:00.000+01:00

Tonight at 8.30 pm (local time) people all over the world will show their support for climate action and turn out their lights for one hour. You can read more about it here.

As a child, visiting my grandmother - my mothers mother - we used to sit quietly in what she called »mørkningen« - the darkening. In the twilight we'd sit together with some needlework or knitting that didn't require light, while day turned into night. I loved that hour. The peace and quiet, but also an almost magical feeling caused by the fading light. She told me she used to sit in mørkningen with her mother, and that her mother (my tip oldemor/great great grandmother) did it as well.

I don't expect that we, by turning out the lights for an hour tonight, will have an huge impact on politicians and other people with the power to make positive changes for the benefit of the environment. But I know it can have an huge impact on my own children, making it an event in our home.
Taking this action is just a small thing to do for the love of Mother Earth. But in order to change things we need to do something - to act, to think differently about everyday things, let love guide our actions in order to protect Mother Earth.

Spring for real

2010-03-24T13:37:00.001+01:00

There are so many spring signs all around; buds ready to burst, snowdrops, crocuses and winter aconites popping up everywhere, and small insects and bees emerging from cracks and crevices.

But this (unexpected) sign of spring that met our eyes when we got up yesterday morning almost beats it all.

And not only one, but two there was ... a boy and a girl - look at her white cheeks!

Unexpected indeed! - We didn't expect lambs untill easter - and we certainly didn't expect black lambs. The conclusion must be, that somebody had a romantic assignation with someone without my permission! Well, apparently they didn't feel the need to get a licence before being romantic and all.
But it's hard to be annoyed for real looking at this adorable couple.

.:: Happy spring for real, everyone! ::.

Our day - equinox

2010-03-21T00:12:00.002+01:00

Our day. No words, just the atmosphere in pictures.

Mama's playing

2010-03-04T21:22:00.006+01:00

Do you remember the feeling of being deeply engaged in play and hectically busy trying to make all your wonderful and exciting ideas happen? - I so love watching my children play, listening to their eager voices making plans, discussing and making agreements about the roles and the plot. And the flurry of activity to make the set up, the gathering of all the stuff needed. The incredible power of fantasy involved, where things are made or remade to serve a certain purpose. Oh, I do remember that feeling. And I'm thankfully reliving it, and trying my best to incorporate that special feeling in my grown up life. There's a great word for that feeling. Fantasy, right?

The tiny glowing light bulbs that suddenly emerged in my garden, waked by the first spring like smile on the face of the sun, made me feel so exited and inspired I had to do something.

And while the children went out in search of more of the yellow bulbs, I went to my sewing basket for needle and thread ...

... and made a brooch. Playing with ideas, materials and colours. Made it all up along the way. And had a great time, being aware of and enjoying that special feeling from my childhood.

The green fabric is wool, plant dyed with common reed (phragmites australis/tagrør), underneath's a scrap of linen (from the trousers my husband wore at our wedding) and the black fabric is from an old wool cardigan. Now adorning one of my latest lucky thrift finds; a spring jacket.

Have you experienced this feeling lately? Please leave a comment and share!

lost & knitting

2010-03-02T00:35:00.006+01:00

The last couple of weeks I've been lost. Lost in parallel worlds. Absorbed in dangerous adventures, enthralled in magical forests and buried in good smelling sheets of paper.
Yes, I've been reading. Really lost-for-the-world reading. Cooking & reading. Brushing teeth & reading. Wishing knitting & reading (and perhaps driving & reading) was possible!

Well, my bad conscience brought me back to this world. And great gifts from my mom.

She spun some lovely merino ...

... and asked me to knit something for little S from it.

But the knitting needles was just for me. Handmade knitting needles! Made from the brown core of a branch of a laburnum tree (guldregn). If you're the lucky owner of such a tree (or know somebody that are) now is the time to cut a branch or two, before spring makes the the sap rise.
Just carve off the bark and outer wood till you reach the darker wood (the outer wood is yellow, so you won't be in doubt). Make points and some sort of rounded ends. Smooth and polish with sandpaper.

My mom calls them dogma knitting needles. Says they're meant for knitting with unwashed, unspun wool! Well, I don't know about that, but I sure love these knitting needles!

I would also love some suggestions considering the yarn and what to knit. I'd love to make a vest for S, but I need some inspiration and/or a great knitting pattern for handmade yarn.

Love and embroidery

2010-02-14T20:42:00.006+01:00

I've made a crown to celebrate Valentine's Day - some vintage ribbon with hearts and a little embroidered bird singing of love.

As a side note here on Valentine's Day, I'm always thinking of my beloved grandmother while embroidering. She died a couple of years ago, and all of her embroidery yarn and her sewing box went to me. And even though my embroidery skills are very poor compared to hers I think she would be happy knowing I'm having as much fun with the yarn as I'm sure she had.

I also made a crown in celebration of winter - well, maybe it isn't so obvious but to me it's winter birds flying in a wintry landscape - and some winter stars!

Now I'll go and see if the love of my life would care to join me for a glass of wine and Love Actually (link to pics and music from the movie on YouTube) - a suitable amusement for Valentine's Day, right? Love that movie ...

Waldorf doll - Pearl

2010-02-09T11:53:00.005+01:00

Recently it occured to me, that I haven't ever taken pictures of the dolls I make (and sell). And all of the - well, many, many toys and other playing acessories I've made since I had children. I think I'll have to remember once in a while in the future. Because I so easily forgets all about what I've made. This is for my bad memory :)

This doll is a 32 cm high, and have jointed limbs. It's the first doll I've made with this pattern from this book. I like jointed limbs, since it makes it easier for the dolls to sit. And all little mothers like their babies to sit nicely in their chairs.

Her hair is made of mohair bouclé and she has got a silk scarf that I plant dyed with logwood (blåtræ).

Her dress is made of linen with embroidery and a scrap of silk appliquéd on the front. Her boots are knitted with angora yarn. So soft.

The diapers are made from a piece of nuno felt - which means wool felted onto fabric, in this case I used cotton gauze, then wool and some silk fibres on top.

The hat is crocheted and the underwear is knitted with some plant dyed wool/mohair yarn.

I make the features very simple and try to give the dolls a gentle and sweet expression. This doll already lives with her new little mother and I've been told she is very much loved and never left alone. It is such a satisfaction and joy to make dolls and toys for children that inspires to meaningful play.

The Lovely Queen Winter

2010-02-07T20:38:00.006+01:00

I was wondering why it is we only talk about King Winter. It seems to me the beauty of winter can't entirely be the doing of a masculine being.

Trees dressed in an abundance of tiny delicate white silvery pearls ...

Mystic glittering mist drifting about in intriguing ways, teasingly dancing between trees and over meadows ...

Paintings of dramatic feather like art on windows ...

... ice flowers ...

... and landscapes made of ice and crystal rocks where small people are caught in the ice and frozen to blue shadows ... (can you see them?)

And when I found this crown made of ice in the garden, I just knew I was right: there certainly is a Queen Winter.

I'm sure her beauty and loveliness is beyond my imagination, but nevertheless I had to try to make her image in wool and silk.

And make a little indoors winter landscape for her with silk and lots of crystals...

Can you feel the cold?

..............:Happy beautiful feminine winter!:...........

Overload - and going crazy with colors

2010-02-01T22:39:00.006+01:00

Sometimes I feel so inspired I can't sleep. I have a note book and a pencil lying next to my bed, ready to receive some of the overload (read: inspiration and ideas), to spare my poor head from inundation. If the note book discharge doesn't do the trick, I may get up in the late hours and cast on some stitches pretending to start a new project. Yes, I know, a weird way of fooling myself indeed. But usually it works.

I've found, upon entering this blog world of creative inspiration, that sometimes I can feel a little nausea - trying to cope with the crazy amount of ideas I get from all over the world. Uh, gonna try that soup! - Have to make a needle felted bird! - Must knit that cardigan! - I need to bake that cake now! - Oh, can I do something to my home (like in ten minutes) to make it look like hers? - Why don't I live on the other side of the world in the mountains, raising angora gaots - or something ... - You know what I mean?

And then I take a (blog) break -both reading and writing. And get a lot of things done. And give myself time to become more rooted, to realize what it is I really want to do. To become aware of the Great Plans in my life once more. - You may say that possibly I'm too easily distracted, and you may be right. But anyway, I think it's okay to be a little aware of the danger of getting lost in cyberspace :)

And now to something totally different:

A dear friend invited me to join her for a weekend in pure bliss: two days doing nothing else but dyeing with plants. Well, nothing else but eating wonderful food and having lovely talks while dyeing.

New life to my advent wreath - now converted into a yarn hanger!

Mostly I dye during summer and knit during winter, but this weekend was such a lovely splash of colors in all the whiteness of the snow.

Dyeing with plants makes me feel like flying in the sunset. Really!

.:Pictures from the other day, taking a walk with my youngest in the sunset in search of trails:.

Hot jewelry

2010-01-20T23:55:00.004+01:00

I love jewelry, but don't like wearing it much. It feels so impractical and uncomfortable and it gets in my way when I'm working. So. I've been wanting to try to make soft and warm - and well, more practical - jewelry for a long time. Using wool felt and yarn. Embroidery thread, vintage buttons, amber, sea shells, ... oh, just about all the small things I like to collect, things I have lying around in my house in little boxes and bowls. You know!

This is my first try - a necklace, or rather a collar.

Crocheted in the round with some handspun organic alpaca, a leftover from a scarf. Silvery stems in freehand embroidery and leaves of wool felt.

The back side closure is a couple of vintage buttons. It is such a soft and light feeling wearing this. And if not hot, it actually feels quite warm on the neck.

Not fancy and not elegant. Rather simple and primitive, but I like it a lot!

(- and this is item #8 of things I've made for myself)

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Update: skirt & hat

2010-01-18T12:12:00.006+01:00

I never got around to blog about more things I made for myself. So here's a little update. Ta daa: #6 aka thrifted hat spiced up with embroidery and application
& #7 linen skirt with ehm ... bieser - sorry, don't know the english term for that.

I thrifted this lovely old angora/wool hat, but felt kind of old wearing it (know what I mean?) so I had to do something. A little embroidery and a lot of tiny plant dyed felt leaves did the trick, I think.

Didn't use any pattern or anything, just picked up a needle and went ahead. The pic doesn't do it justice, I'm rather satisfied with it actually.

No less than three pics needed to show you this ultra simple skirt! I had some lovely brown linen fabric in my stash, which I probably bought for making pants for one of the children.

Cut on the bias, elastic in waist and finished with .. eh, bieser. I don't think I've made a skirt for myself since school! So stupid of me, this was so quick and easy - and fun too! I didn't even buy a pattern, just traced another skirt I liked.

I love my new skirt. I restrained from adding flower power pockets and other fancy stuff, I think I'd ruin the simple organic tree-like quality doing so. But there better be some more fabric in that stash for another skirt, so I can go crazy with my new bias tape maker thingy :)

Indoors: nestling & snuggling

2010-01-15T22:12:00.007+01:00

It seems to me that we enjoy all the indoor activities so much more, when there's so much more winter outside than usual. Wet boots and mittens all over the house. A blaze in the stove and - ahem - a considerable amount of cookies, cakes and sweets devoured while reading and knitting. Oh, well, at least the dried apples are very healthy!

We've tried eating snow as well - with maple syrup - like they do in The little House on the Prairie. Despite the somewhat quizzical expression on A's face, they licked the bowls!

I haven't quite gotten around to clean out all the cupboards and every nook and cranny in the house. But I do give it a thorough thought now and then, while knitting or scanning the seed catalogues and making grand plans for the garden to come!

But once in a while I do get around to dust of a corner and refresh the seasonal decoration.

S made this little snow cone doll in her kindergarten ... oh, it must be 5 or 6 years ago ... it has such an adorable expression. There's something truly special to dolls made by small children. She got a little help, of course, but it still has got that something, that uniquely childish - vulnerable - quality.

Little S has entered a new phase in the art of playing. He's deeply concentrated, and senses absolutely nothing of whatever's going on around him. Whispering frantically or singing loudly he's entirely absorbed in his own private world. I love to watch him so engaged in meaningful play.

This is my chair. I'm planning on spending more time in it in the nearest future - knitting!

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Happy weekend, everyone!

Outdoors: Hail King Winter

2010-01-12T22:56:00.006+01:00

Oh, King Winter, the beauty of Your kingdom and all the joys to be having there! I want to thank You for the divinely beautiful lace curtains that You draped around my house. And thank You for the abundance of snow and ice for sledding and ice skating. The beauty of it all, the wonderful reflections of light and the joys of playing and exploring truly makes my heart sing.