Saturday, 21 April 2012

gray to full colour

these photos represent the transformation occurring in the garden----gray/ brown to full-blown Kodachrome! This pic of floor tiles was taken in my grandparent's original barn/ garage in Aalten, Holland
....a tiled floor in a lovely shop in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden

....in one of the most amazing bakeries in the world, FABRIEK, at Hornstull subway stop, Stockholm, Sweden

...one of the many beautiful floors in the home of Carl Milles at Millesgarden, Sweden

'keep the street clean'------Dinxperlo, Holland


door hardware in Carl Mille's home

busy beehives in Rosendal Tradgard, Djurgarden, Stockholm, Sweden

.....one of the many beautiful canals in Amsterdam

Narcissus  'Thalia' in the garden this morning after some much-needed rain

......fresh green leaf buds in Amsterdam

colourful vintage shop in the Jordaan area of Amsterdam

one of the hellebores in the garden started from seed

my first rug hooking project--- a wonderful design by Karla Gerard--available at merryhookerwoolens.com. It may take me the rest of my life to finish it......

Magnolia 'Leonard Messel'

colourful wheels in Amsterdam


Narcissus 'Fortissimo'

one of my prized vintage finds in Sweden--a leafy green candelabra for $7.00



flower market in Amsterdam

I'll take all of them.....

Is it possible to have withdrawl from cardamon bulle, or blueberry cardamon bulle? Yes, it definitely is, especially when they are made by Fabriek

Tuesday, 6 March 2012

full moon



tonight is a full moon, and temperatures are starting to warm up. knitting is still an obsession this time of year, and there are at least 10 projects on needles....

this pair of handwarmers have a cuff made of some favourite handspun silk, soy and wool

i just developed a few rolls of film from my fish eye, and of course most pictures are out-of-season.  love this one of plastic-wrapped bales in Brighton--they almost look space age

one of my projects is a pair of lace gloves designed by Anniki Leppik. the pattern was purchased on ravelry, and is based on Estonian lace; it is a breeze to knit as her instructions are line by line. the pattern can be found under woolmint on ravelry


i'm using 'Invernal' by Aslan trends--a rabbit angora, merino, polyamide blend that is incredibly soft to the touch

somehow I don't think this little guy is knitting....

Tuesday, 14 February 2012

I spot a heart......









snow pattern on willow tree, pink amaryllis, west Cobourg beach on a windy day, felted slippers, knitting projects, Leslie's horse Guinn, Leslie's donkey Willum, Willum's eye, a kiss on Valentine's Day from Willum

Saturday, 28 January 2012

Snow!

....that beautiful barn on Workman road taken with a fish-eye lens.....

.....and today when it started to snow...

wow! did it snow for awhile; the pier was busy

....the beach was stormy

a different view of 'the barn'

birdhouse finial in the garden

Knight's apple trees's

playhouse door

had time to spin a little wool this week.....

I gave myself a pat on the back the day I finished the wool---I walked over 8 miles according to my pedometer!  Then I realized I had the pedometer on while spinning the wool...oh well, too bad I ate that extra muffin....

finished David's slouch hat....now I just need to finish the other 15 projects I have on needles

Wednesday, 4 January 2012

new year's traditions....

love the playhouse lit up at this time of year

heart-shaped stone finial on a birdhouse
Mom sent me home with my own bottle of home made advocaat...too bad I am the only one who likes it here! Whooooo!

Mom also sent us home with a bag of oliebollen....she only made 250 this year!


made some poffertjes for lunch with homemade jam


thought it was time to melt down the bee wax cappings....

we don't have a solar melter, so I simmered the cappings in water in a large pan.  The wax floated to the top,  I skimmed it off and put it in a smaller container.  Adam has a friend who works in encaustic painting, and I told her we would have WAY TOO MUCH WAX as it was in a 20 Litre pail when we started....

....little did I know the HUGE PAIL would melt down to a 4 litre tub, or not quite 3 3/4 lbs. of wax.  Here Adam is straining the last bit of wax through a nylon (I told him it would build character)

the finished product--smells great & looks good.  We'll be giving it to Sierra so that she can create something beautiful with Cobourg beeswax

Dorothy & Nigel bought this sweater for Archie for Christmas & today was a great day to wear it....

.......it was frigid on the beach this morning!


One of our greatest traditions--Brian throwing the Christmas tree out the front door.  This might be the first year without snow to throw it into in many years!