the necessity of creating

Alice Walker once said:

»Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul«. 

I believe she's right, but I also believe, that attempting; striving to create beauty restores your soul as well. The act of simply working with your hands, searching the inner stillness, while quietly listening, is healing you. I find I need to do this, maybe not every day, but as often as possible. I need to work with my hands, to create, and maybe create beauty, in order to feel whole and be at peace.

It doesn't really matter what my hands are doing, or what they are working with. As long as what I'm doing somehow feels like a prayer, or like I'm in conversation with something or somebody else, it restores my soul. Well, that, and working with materials, that I find beautiful and inspiring, such as natural materials.

I recently felt the need for trying something new, specifically for trying to make something of clay. And it is such a wonderful matter to work with. Even though I really enjoyed the process, I didn't find that what I made was beautiful. Nevertheless, I like the organic feeling and the colours, which happen to go well with my natural dyed fabrics. And actually, seeing the pictures now, makes me look with new eyes, and I think I can appreciate my first attempts better. I'm eager to make some more!

What restores your soul?

Linen, kittens & a walk in the woods

I was given some handspun linen yarn, a gift from Bodil. She teaches in the medieval art of nalbinding (nålebinding), and she made these pretty covers for glass jars from the linen yarn - in nalbinding!

This necklace is made using that linen yarn and a crochet hook, adorned with a few amber pearls and pieced together with some eco dyed silk scraps. The soft and light kind of jewellery that I've realised is much more my style than gold and silver ...

The tiny mushrooms looks like jewellery too, wish I could wear them as well ...

Overcoming the Fear of Squareness

Suffering from Quadratumphobia might not be that bad, you say? Well, it does cause a bit of discomfort if you live in a perfectly square house and also when trying to make square objects of any kind. The house thing is no longer an issue since we moved into this old house of ours, where everything is very off-level. Like very. Lego isn't an option at all, but I can live with that. But sometimes a woman can have the need for creating square things, like a purse, for instance. I've worked with this phobia of mine, and made a few square things:

All fabric: natural dyed, of course and using re-used fabrics. The purse on the top is made from the trousers my husband wore when we were married. Romantic, eh? Batting: old linens. Zippers: from second hand stores. I have a thing with old zippers. Embroidery yarn: second hand too.
Dragonfly: (deceased) found by little S under a pallet in a pet shop. He has a thing with bugs & insects. (He does not suffer from Acarophobia). 
I found an on-line phobia list - it's kind of funny. How about Barophobia- Fear of gravity? Or Disposophobia- Fear of throwing stuff out ... – DANG! I just realised I've got another phobia!! Well, never mind about that - that's one of the good phobias!
If the Quadratumphobia doesn't prevent me from making more square things like these – do you think I could sell them?

The No-Waste Scarf

When I was created – in the melting pot, you know, I think they used a outdated housewife mold from the 50ies or there about. Throwing things away, food, clothes - well anytning - is just something I cannot do. I guess it was also just the way of things when I grew up, 'no biggie' as they say nowadays; we didn't make a big deal out of it - just the ordinary life.

Lately I've realised it actually makes me quite modern. All that re-using, mending, composting, thrifting, homemade, 'stop the food waste' thinking that the western world is finally beginning to get the grip on, well, that's more or less everyday life here ...

No-Waste Scarf

 This scarf was made of something I actually was on the verge of throwing out. I found a bag with some wool I've dyed with madder root at some point, and then forgot about (or repressed). The thing is - the wool was short-stapled and not soft at all (like steele wool), and I wondered what I've been thinking about when I chose to dye it. Beats me. Not wanting to let the wool – and the water, soap, madder root, energy for heating it all up and time spent on it already go to waste, I decided to make something usefull from it. So I carded it with some angora and silk I had laying around, in order to make it softer and more skin-friendly, spun it chunky and softly on the drop spindle and knitted a very simple scarf-in-the-round. And I used every little bit of it up.

I'm sorry, but my stylist had the day off - and likewise the photographer, my hairbrush and mascara ... you get my point, right? - But my newly turned 8 year old was luckily available, and he did it all for free. Well, skipping the styling and make-up and went for the fun camera part - but for free! I know I've said it before - but there's just something very satisfying in using things up to the last thread - or making stuff from scratch, from materials that could have - but didn't - go to waste.

handle with love

I've come to believe that mending is an art form, really, it requires manual skills, knowledge about different materials and their interaction - as well as a bit of imagination. It's a good way to think about a sometimes tiresome task, isn't it, pretending it's an art form ... but a somewhat forgotten art form, though. Anyway, this cardigan of mine is so loved that it's almost worn to pieces, but not quite. I'm determined to really wear it to pieces, so elbow patches was the first step in that direction. I considered several ways of doing it, patches can say so much about a person without words, you know, and I really didn't want my patches to say something about me that I didn't like. Ahem. Finally I opted for the exceptional loving, totally homemade version. Remember these babes? Yummy fleece, I tell you! I've spun some of it - and that's what I used for the patches.

Another way of mending, like mending socks. Only it's a dress and embroidery yarn. It works well, I think, considering it's a very lightweight silk/cotton dress, and the mends are quite visible on the front of the dress. But I'll wear it proudly.

Lastly, this is (some of) my work in progress. Some spinning, both on wheel and spindle. The dark yarn is also from the before mentioned twins - together with some bunny fleece, making it tweedy, and oh so soft. The yarn on the spindle is a blend of a superlative longstapled wool from Gaia - more bunny fleece and some natural dyed wool (from Gaia's mother Karla, I think). It's both silky shiny and matte at the same time, and variated in colour since I just toss some fibres on the hand carders.
The granny square is a part of a project I made up for easy-bringing-along-to-the-beach-or-going-by-car-etc. So this square is 1 out of something like 280 squares for a blanket. That's a whole lot. Perhaps someone I know will get pregnant and then I could settle for a baby blanket instead. Allways look at the bright side!

This is what the sky looked like last night. The purple colours in the upper part of the picture looks like my natural dyed purple, I think. Or is it the other way around?

Catching Dreams

Dreamcatcher; magnolia leaf, embroidery yarn & feather.

A while back I received a parcel. It had travelled all the way from the beautiful Pacific Northwest, US, to my humble doorstep. That's quite a good way, you know. Ellen sent it, and it was an act of pure kindness and consideration. There was some wonderful magnolia leaves in it, as well as some other lovely, thoughtful gifts. An unexpected gift like that, from a person whom you have never met in real life,  from somebody that lives on the other side of Our Mother ... well, it inspires hopefulness. Hope for us Earthlings and hope for the future. It's amazing how a kind act can bring so much joy and inspiration.

My muse's been busy elsewhere lately (well, I don't know where she's been actually (or if she's been busy at all - I'm kind of guessing here) but she seems to have returned, tickling and teasing me when I'm working in the garden. How are you supposed to react? Hey, thanks! Let me just throw this spade away and let's get started? Or; Hey, thanks! - Let med just finish this and I'll be happy to oblige you. How about tonight? Hm?

If you haven't already, I really recommend listening to this, a talk about nurturing creativity:

 

Domestic chores on hold

Sometimes a woman needs to quit the domestic chores for a while - and just sit down and read. And re-read. ... And knit ...
So that's just what I've been up to lately.

Reading and re-reading:

Barbara Kingsolver: 'The Bean Trees', 'Pigs in Heaven' and 'Prodigal Summer'

Priscilla Cogan: 'Winona's Web', 'Compass of the Heart' and 'Crack at Dusk, Crook of Dawn'

 ... and India Flint: 'Second Skin'

Knitting mittens on two sticks, I'll never go back to four! Free pattern here, including pattern for both two and four sticks (using my own natural dyed yarn; walnut and indigo for these).

And the Rikke Hat for me, using some vintage yarn I had lying around, just enough for the hat and a little mouse. Free pattern too - here !

It isn't a coincidence I've never posted a photo of myself here before. I have a strong aversion to being pictured, not really sure why. But here's a snap of a bit of me, in the sunset and all.