Welcome, 2011

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

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!

Sow cress ...

... 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 ...

Tutorial: How to plant dye (easter) eggs

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

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!

Outdoors: trailing

When the snow is just a layer of fine powder, it's an excellent opportunity for finding out who's been visiting - the kind of visitors that doesn't knock on the door ...
So we went outdoors in search of trails. And: joy & glee - there were trails everywhere!

What could this be? - ah, our own cat Alva: she loves to sit on woodpiles ... let's see what else she's been up to!

... hm - elementary, my dear Watson!

Very determent little fellow with a brisk pace ...

... suddenly vanished from the surface of the earth. Hm! Oh, he went up in a tree - a pheasant!

This little guy had been tottering about - apparently with no clue where to go...

This guy was even smaller. Either he found the layer of snow to be very deep - or he was so tired he had to haul himself forward through it.

Hooray - BIG footprints!

Oh! Somebody took a nap here, we might even interrupt in the middle of it.

The trail went as the crow flies to and from the little spot with melted snow.

We simply had to follow the trail - over the fields we went in our search ...

... only stopping to examin some leftovers - rotten apples for a snack!

Finally! There she was, but not on her own. A doe with her fawns! She wasn't happy about us approaching, so they moved farther away.

My little strong-minded boy in resolute pursuit of three tiny dots in the horizon.

:: :: :: ::

Please take your time to let trails lead you to new places. Let your child tell you what he sees and what he thinks. Tell him stories from your own childhood; perhaps you were trailing with your dad too, or you once stumbled upon a sleeping fox in the woods. Try not to explain everything and bring reference books along. Let your child experience the magic of Mother Nature telling her own stories. And marvel at his natural ability for listening.

Brownish

Even though I find it a bit hard to let go of summer, I still find that autumn perhaps is my favourite time of year. I find that autumn makes me sigh a bit more than usual, and more often my eyes seek the horizon, you know, with these long distance, lingering glances with a hand under the chin. A lovely bitter sweet feeling of letting go of something while change is forcing its way into your mind, and a last you have to surrender and focus on new possibilities and joys!
Perhaps this time of year corresponds with a (mostly hidden) melancholic part in me …

I tried dyeing with walnut hulls for the first time. So many lovely brownish colors, and as easy as pie! If you haven't tried natural dyeing before, this is the time to start!

You can use the hulls fresh and green (walnuts inside), and in every stage of decay from fresh to black and... well, rotten. You can even use some of the leaves as well.

Put the hulls in a large pot, cover with water and let it soak for a couple of days. Put the pot on the fire and bring it to a boil, let it simmer for an hour or so. Let it rest to the next day. Strain. If there's any dregs in the dye bath then strain again through a piece of old cotton fabric.


Now you can add yarn, silk scarves or wool fleece. To avoid blemishes, let it soak in cold water for a couple of hours before adding to the dye bath. Bring slowly to a simmer, and use a stick or similar to move the items gently in the dye bath to ensure even take-up of the dye.

Let it all cool. Now is the time to put on a pair of rubber/plastic gloves before you gently squeeze the fibres. Rince in cold water until the water is clear.

You can also make beautiful ink from the hulls, you can see how to here, at Quince & Quire.

Time for woolen undies, warm wool knit and natural dyed silk scarves!