thirty

 

it has been the coldest january in southern Germany since 1987,

so for 30 years.

 

 

but what i did not suppose: i enjoyed it.

because it brought snow that turned not into mud after two days,

the harshness provided a good grip without becoming slippery.

many People were cross-country skiing (not me;)),

but it was good for Walking, too.

super fresh air.

i forgot the dreary days (the glass is half full, you know;)) -

we had quite some sunshine in between.

but cold. always freezing grades.

the nights often with double-Digit minus Celsius grades.

(edit: via Ulrike i came to tabea´s blog with the challenge to Show a view from the same Point throughout the year - twelve photos, one each month. as i come along here quite often on my Walking route, i choose this one to be my first photo...)

 

time for nice warm Drinks when coming back home...

 

 

the last Weekend the sun invited for a last White walk,

as now the temperatures are rising and rain will destroy the White beauty.

 

steadily my heap of number patches is growing...

 

and combined with "blank" patches i started sewing some of them together -

the beginning of a new blanket.

 

all hand-sewn, of course.

 

Meditation, joy...

fabric scraps getting a new life

 

i normally do not choose a word of the year,

but seems the word came to me by itself.

should be something like Reorganisation, Recycling etc

 

 

above you see some of my fabric scraps (here already organized in ziplock bags).

i think i will better use them this way (as you see on top of the post: ~ a4 sized Piece... i built it up from the edges to the center).

before sorting the scraps they were all in one bag, and i just grubbed into that. not very effective, causing more and more fraying and actually the bag was quite neglected...)

 

where does she have all that stuff from, you may ask...

haha, when we have our sewing retreats,

i´m the one who watches the waste basket and always cries "you can´t throw out that!"

... meanwhile some of my sewing pals come to ask in advance...: "can i...?")

fun treasure hunt!

(and this way i also get Colors i normally would not buy myself.)

 

 

sometimes there are beautiful words on the selvedges...

 

first i thought "thimbleberries" was a fairy tale word or such...

but then i looked it up and they really exist.

... but only in northern america and they are too delicate to be shipped.

 

 

and of course, the selvedge that was apt to TSFT:

ha! the Color symbols (2 only) were not circles (as usual),

but Little tea Cups :)

 

and a second Piece was built the same way:

 

reorganisation

(from the early 20th century - moscow)

 

that is the Situation...

 

 

the herbs and the ginkgos in the pots are covered,

and the snow Looks good as Long as it is fresh...

 

i wanted to go to munich at the Weekend for having a brunch meeting with my stamppals,

but the weather was not on my side. winter storm and snow,

so i thought i better would stay at home.

and go on with my reorganization of stuff here.

it seems endless...  ;)

 

i came across a box of these old Video tapes... good for nothing anymore, as we don´t even have a player left.

so i decided to throw out the tapes and considered the Containers could get a second life...

 

i searched for my gesso. it was dried in the bottle. (if i only had half the Money back of all the paints i bought and which dried before i could use them up... sigh.)

so i took the White acrylic paint.

 

 

i started to cover one front with a napkin and postal stamps -

then i thought i might glue some of These wrappers together

and take this for a mail collector.

 

if the size fits, i can also use it as a depository for journals

(here my capolan altered book, fits perfectly).

 

at this Point the Containers were not yet glued together.

 

i decided to make 4 equal looking sides, as this was the perfect using up of a napkin.

working on the sides of course is easier before glueing them together -

and for working on the box itself it is better to Keep a Video tape inside for Stabilisation.

i measured the size the sides would have when taking 5 wrappers in a row.

 

 

not much hustle, just a few postal related stamps and neocolor II.

 

next step was to fix the Containers with double sided tape.

you better have 2 Video tapes left for this step,

as again this is better for the Stabilisation of the boxes.

 

glueing on the side Panels...

 

and done!

 

maybe i will make more of These, as my napkin box is quite well-stocked;)

and that is my mug of the week.

enough snow for now;)

winter is here

 

it was really cold here the last days (down to -16°celsius)

and we have snow now.

good for winter sports enthusiasts, but i prefer non slippery roads;)

 

 

not really arrived in the new year yet...

going through my stashes (trying to get a bit organized) and through my WIP pieces i found this one (i don´t even remember when i started it...) and thought it was high time to "Frame" it.

the Little bits and pieces already were sewn on, just the blue border to make. 

 

i have some some more Votive hearts (bought in an antique shop; they are from the first half of the 20th century) - so i´m planning to make a series.

this heart measures 10 cm (4 Inch), the whole square is about 20 cm (8 Inch).

 

i love blue, and i love These selvedges on some fabrics,

so this one was perfect for me. Little wooden beads going with the Colors of the rest of the piece...

 

sewed my monogram onto the backside and called it done. 

as we had celebrated Christmas with the "nuclear familiy" (the 4 of us),

we decided to meet with some of the "in-laws" on sunday. we enjoyed lunch in a Restaurant (with my mandatory pils;)). the fried sweet potatoes were a nice decoration.

quiet transition

(brushes selfmade, font brush up too,

texture shadowhouse)

 

though we had a lot of fog the last days (with cold temperatures, thus the frozen crystals on the trees and shrubs), the new year´s day was very sunny.

 

the only sunny day last week was thursday,

and with the new moon it was perfect for trimming the apple tree

(which was the work of son#1 - i had to cut all the small branches to fit into the bio-waste Container... it took three days just for the small sprig...)

 

 

i found a fast and easy recipe for Kaki jam (Süddeutsche Zeitung).

enough for 4,5 glasses.

very very yummy!!

 

so no time for art making.

at the end of the year i machine washed all the Cloth i had eco-dyed over the last weeks:

 ~~~~~~~

new year´s eve we spent with friends.

it was such a freshness in the air, so five of us had planned to have a walk before eating.

the house of the friends where we gathered is near a forest.

it was really dark (we had to shine a torch to see the path).

it was almost impossible to get acceptable photos (flashlight was not an Option in this mood!),

but i tried... and used some of them for my digital contribution for ajj ("tell me a Story"):

 

 

on our path along the fields and through the forest...

(the framing snowflake texture is from siennaphotodesigns and stands for all the frozen trees, of which i could not get a good photo)

 

 

in the forest there is a small Votive chapel, which is frequented by People praying to holy Mary and thanking for her help... there must have been visitors this day, as quite some candles were burning, so you could see the chapel from afar. a somehow mysterious look.

 

 

along our way there also was a Wood shed (open on one side, depositary of firewood). we had planned to make a Little stop there and taken a thermos jug with us, filled with hot apricot liqueur (für meine deutschen leser: marillenlikör... aaaaahhh, soooo gut!).

with some whipped cream and cinnamon added it tasted soooo delicious!

(i know, you have to look very closely to see the Scene)

 

then we finished our walking round and enjoyed the rest of the evening inside.

the midnight fireworks around us were really hard to see because of all the fog, wasted Money.

 

now lets hope for a good 2017.

best wishes!!!