Scarf or shawl

Look at this column - it is my newest shawl

made of Kid Silk by Drops Design

 - 
The length is 150 cm lovely cosy and soft - nevertheless I am happy

not to have to wear it - because we are in the middle of spring

The apple-tree looks promising for a good crop - but please slowly -

in autumn - a long way still

And what looks like late snow are just the blossom leaves



Fabrication of purses will always be a favorite of mine

This one went to Karin N. A Japanese fabric - those fabrics which

I bought in Japan long ago don‘t go well together with our usual 

patchwork materials

Another one underwent a small embellishment

following the print of the fabric.

Adding some stitches

But then I think some embellishment would not

be wrong and I started to make stitched detached leaves

I used some woven picot stitch versions

as I took them from Sharon B‘s stitch dictionary

 http://pintangle.com/stitch-dictionary/

sketching the stitches into my own book of stitches with samples

From left to right:

woven picot - two-pronged picot - closed-base needle-woven picot - drizzle stitch

The two-pronged woven picot I found in Kate Sinton‘s „Stumpwork“

For the apple stem the drizzle stitch is just the thing.


The needle is not nicely drawn - anyway take out the thread from the needle 

and make buttonhole stitches around the needle. Finally you thread the needle

again and pull the thread through all the buttonhole stitches.





Aren‘t the drizzle stitches just like withered apple blossoms? 

Another one - the apple purse

A little embellishmet on the difficult purse

difficult because of it tinyness

It is the same as in the last post.

 

and the new one - the apple purse -  much easier to sew now 

that I know the trick

and I made it bigger - I started with a fabric piece 18 x 23 cm.

Purse

What looks like an exotic object is showing my trouble with

this mini-purse.

I tried to sew this pattern (thank you Edith) and had the idea 

to set in a batting afterwards.

I turned the little purse over and over again to understand

how to insert the yellow fabric for the batting.

I finally gave in and stitched it down by hand

and now it looks like this.



The zipper is running diagonally across the edge

And it is really mini and has a key ring inside.

A handmade doll and utensil of an old time

I want to have this doll in my blog - she is sitting on the open chimney and

looking at me whenever I pass there and this is about x-times a day. 

As if she was asking:

Won‘t you play with me - or something the like, or where is my mum?

It is dear daughter‘s (DD) creation from about 30 years ago - 

She is sitting next to a jug from Sicily.

This is a beautiful instrument - it is for combing wool or maybe hemp - 

we found it on a French marché aux puces - a fleamarket 

Unserious people call it mother-in-law seat - 

I wouldn‘t have allowed mine to sit on it - (see a picture of her below)

The nails are handmade - forged - and square

The whole board is looking like this

and from the backside like this

A close-up of the backside - square nails which reach to the

front and are about 10 cm long. The nails are hand-forged. 

I know nothing about the age - I guess more than a hundred years.

The circles look like embellishment - they probably came from using the

board

And more old things

This photo is about 100 years old and it is DH‘s family

One of the girls is his mother - the eldest

I finished „wild liberty“ named for the many Liberty fabrics

and it is looking wild, I know - the next one will be made with

more of a system - if ever - those five corners to fit together are asking

a lot of patience!

EPP - English paper piecing - sewn by hand over paper - 

except for the final finish which is done by machine

Happy Easter to you all

It is the one we chose in exchange for the farmhouse in France

The snow is the same - but it is 300 m lower and easy to reach

We will drvie about 90 minutes.

It is the Black Forest - Schwarzwald, South Germany

I am standing in the garden and looking to the neigbours‘ ground

There won‘t be much gardening - which I like -  there is no fence - which I like, too.

The little play house will belong to us.

I like already the village and the castle which is about 300 m away

I think we will spend lovely holidays and weekends here, with family and friends

The caste in the village

and how it looked in old times

The fir trees are huge - and dark - hence the name Black Forest.

I couldn’t help but take this idyllic encampment on a Sunday afternoon at the

grandparents‘ - after a good meal - but also after the straining olympic games at night

on the sofa - not to forget the visit to the disco with friends - (the younger one of them) 

While all this is happening I am sewing something in the evenings

EPP - English paper piecing - all by hand

trying out - does it fit?

No —- not yet

trying - sewing - turning around

I can‘t tell yet what it will be.

In January and February

It is sold  - our farmhouse. We had it nearly 23 years and have 

now many lovely memories

While waiting at the notary‘s office - swinging with 

our feet

This is hanging above our heads

At home we are in a funny mood (some days later)

It is carnaval at our gymnastics.We did our exercises -

but afterwards - sparkling wine and not little

But what I like most is to enjoy myself in my

studio - this is a cosmetic bag - not my idea

If you are interested here is the link:

https://www.pattydoo.de/blog/2013/09/kosmetiktasche-dawanda/

With the pattern to download

It is made in a few hours - but oh my dear - it

is a lot of fiddling nevertheless

I might still doing some handstitching on it to flatten

the seams.

But then in the weeks before - I knitted socks .... enough....

for grandsons LL and YL

Below are YL‘s feet - they, the socks, fit well

The second pair i for LL who is coming sometimes on 

Sundays - for lunch with us - and to play football - he grew

up in the United States and is studying now in our town

Karlsruhe

The end!

Water

Two days ago people in our French village woke up 

to this surprise. Our young friendly neighbour sent us 

the photos - as we are not able to be there because of health issues.

The village road -

and behind the house - the last flooding seems

to have been 30 years ago.

We deposited our furniture from the farmhouse in the barn

ajoining the house - we hope the damage will be not too bad. 

There are boxes and boxes full stuff gathered during lovely

summer stays in the Vosges - also many books - dictionaries and

non-fiction - about nature and wild animals and the region.

We got these absolutely charming New Year whishes from

the future proprietors of the farm house. Their 3 year old son

built the snowman. He is a love of a boy and the snowman tells

it all. We are happy that our so well cared of farmhouse will

be in good hands in a few weeks.

Meanwhile I am using the recovering time of DH

to work on a combined fabric-paper book.

Teapot and cup made by pulled stitches, but helas -

the fabric did not give itself to be pulled - so it looks

like stitched

Stitches everywhere

I love to do some needle lace