summer turning into fall

Always when the last days of summer are upon us

 something changes

in the smell of the garden :

more "earththy"

The temperature was still rather good,

though the sun was hardly there,

so it was excellent weather

to work in the garden.

Verbena bonariensis

(they always prefer a narrow crack instead of open ground)

... and lots of busy spinners weaving sticky threads

I also visited my dear garden friend R

who is my great garden-inspiration !

she really has green fingers 

It was fun to finally visit her allotment

where she grows vegetables but also lots of flowers

Mmmmmmm

I went home with some plants,

cucumbers, blackberries and raspberries 

change of season ?

A few days ago I found the first bright red leaf

of one of the trees in our garden.

I thought that a bit early

for halfway August !

But you never know for sure with this time of the year

all of a sudden the earth smells different,

a lot more spiders hanging around

(to catch you in the morning, when you're not aware of them yet)

a little earlier dark in the evening

...

Yes, certainly the first signs

of the change from summer to autumn.

Perhaps thát's why I chose these colours for a new bag

the day before yesterday

flaming autumn colours

( well ... I also like red hair ! )

And for this bag Fiona gave me a little push towards "nuno" felting again.

Daughter and I collected a lot of thin vintage shawls

in all different colours, but most of the time

we use them for nuno felted shawls or wraps.

For this bag I found a matching colour shawl

and although it's not silk, it did okay.

On the bottom and on the flap I joined some felted "tails"

For the front and the back I used four thin layers of wool roving

so now the size turned out better than with the red "Kaffe Fassett" bag

one third shrinkage is what we get most of the time

when we do all things right

( that's why we make the template so much bigger )

 So after rinsing out the soap properly

and a bit of vinegar in the last rinsing water

I left it drying a bit in the bathroom

But I had to look how it fits to my new socks

( up till the toe in yesterday's Stitch'nBitch company and on the fast ferry,

and the last tip this morning )

well .. quite a match

( but if someone might like it very much I might sell it )

The strap for this bag is still in the making,

like the one for the red "not - a - clutch" bag.

a bit of stitching ... a bit of sauna

"November" is taking shape,

the little trees in the distance are done.

I love how the middle one turned out :

made with a bundle of old embroidery thread

At the bottom I doubled the threads and pinned them down

and devided the ends into branches, big and smaller ones,

then I stitched the lot.

The ends of the threads that were too long

I put in a needle and took them to the backside.

For the big tree in front I tried several strips of brown fabric

At first I thought to piece the trunk between the background pieces

but I decided against it because then the size would not be right

( all the journal quilts are cut the same size : 21 x 30 cm )

I just placed the tree trunk on top of the background

folded it and stitched it down with extra space,

to pleat it down while stitching.

( I still need to think where to put my magic thread in this one )

When the Novemder day is cold and gloomy we always decide

to end it in our warm and cosy sauna.

So that's what we did today.



faces, faces

My original plan was to stop with the October journal quilt

because I didn't know very well how to continue.

Then in the garden, I saw what was left of my New Dawn Rose:

lots of rose-hips in bright greenish orange

 ... then I knew how to go on with the faces !

(not all in a "rosy" mood)

One piece of fabric was replaced by another orange scrap:

and I drew and stitched some faces on a piece of dark blue fabric

like we learned in Jude's "Beasts class"

And here is the finished journal quilt for October

with lots of faces ....  ;-)

Now I could really set my mind on November!

Weeks ago I already made the sketches for November and December

(....and the still missing August ...)

The grays and blues and browns were chosen

and brought downstairs (to accompany the stacks already there)

The pieces for the background are picked but not yet sewn together

for I don't know if I do "patches" or "appliqué"

... probably a bit of both ...

Lately I thought my scissors needed to be sharpened

because it didn't cut very well at the point ....

NOW I'm not so sure anymore ........

( I think I have to ask Jude to "send" me a magic feather )

Here is the start of a little piece of November

It's always hard to judge how big the pieces must be

in order to fit together nicely

( that is: without making a pattern ! )

lion stitches

Back again to stitching !

( There is still a lot of knitting on the needles,

 but that has to wait for in between moments )

The lion has its new backing and I am stitching mostly

with my self dyed bambu thread.

It's by far not as smooth as silk or even cotton embroidery thread

but it is strong enough and the colour is exactly what I need.

I love the way the colour slowly moves from yellow to green and back again

I'm really pleased with it !

A gentle yellow-green breeze is swirling through the air 

 The garden is at its end :

almost all those beautiful red and golden leaves have fallen down.

What stays are the memories of flowers :

Echinacea ...

Eupatorium ...

although this litlle Campanula (that flowers for the third time now)

is probably thinking that

the cold days will not yet arrive.

colourful autumn

This is the last day of October and the trees in our garden

are in their most beautiful coloured coat.

It only lasts a few more days like this ... then the leaves

will be dropping slowly, or fast, when the wind starts playing.

The very first "beast" I made in Jude's class was never finished.

The lion was there, looking at me ... I was looking back at him

... and I was not content.

I thought I might know what to do with him in the end.

 I know now ( or: I think I do )

He is to be my "July" journal quilt as intended,

but I started to take off most of the fabric he was basted on

and added the batting I used on the other ones

then it's back to the stitching !!

                                                      



"September" is also taking shape although things can still change.

( I might add some weaving, it's only pinned down)

friends in October

Today I was away with a looooong-time-no-see friend.

She lives in the east of our (small) country and came with her husband

who had something to do in Rotterdam.The weather forcast was heavy rain showers

but there were also big splashes of sunshine, but ....... we didn't see any of it :

 we talked and talked ... had lunch ... talked some more ... had coffee and talked .....

We had a great day together !!! It's good to see old friends again.

October : fall, leaves colouring, pumpkins ..... and a good tome for witches !

This little lady (who stayed with me) was one of the seven I made last year

from a pattern I bought at the same fair as we went to last Friday.

All the other witches found good homes somewhere else !!!

(this time I bought the pattern of a Ladybug .....)