father Christmas and my grandmother

I have a picture of my grandmother that I cherish.  It is a very old photograph, all in sepia colours (brown and yellow)  In the picture she is only 12 years old, wearing her best dress and a silk bow in her hair.  She was the eldest of 12 children.  You can see her earnest face.  In front of her are one of her (many) brothers and sisters.   My grandmother was born in 1908, and she lived a great life.  She lived through a first worldwar when she was a little girl of 6, and the battlefield was right here in Flanders Fields... and a second worldwar when she was married and mother of 5 children herself.  When she was 16, she was sent to the capital, Brussels, to be a servant to a wealthy family.  That's were she taught herself to speak French.  And that's where she made so many beautiful embroidery to fill her evenings.
When my mum married, she came to live with us and she took care of me when my mum was at work.  She taught me all about knitting, crocheting and embroidery, even before I could write...  Now I've put father christmas next to her picture.  Her name is Madeleine Vanhoutte, but I called her mémé.  Maybe one day I should write a book about her life, it's such a complicated, but nice story.

I found this lovely old frame, just right for her picture ! 

happy birthday dad !

My father celebrates his 75th birthday today. 
wishing you a fantastic birthday, dad !

home made christmas decorations - zelfgemaakte kerstversieringen

I have finished decorating my house.  This year I was planning to keep it very simple, like in those fine home decorating magazines.  No tree.  No frills.  No sparkles.  Just a delicate touch of reds and greens and a few nice objects to create the festive atmosphere.  But then the eldest son was complaining : when we were kids, you used to make it really cosy, mum.  (he means the excess and overload of frills I was guilty of in the past...)  Hmm.  Then I got this great idea :  I told him that if he wanted a xmas tree filled with balls and lightbulbs, he'd have to do it himself.  Being a 19-year old boy, with a big talent for making a mess of his room and very little talent as a decorator, I never expected him to actually do this.   Think again, mum...   So now there is - again! - a fully loaded xmas tree in our living room.  And to be honest, I am quite pleased with it.  I suppose the chique minimalist design that I love so much in magazines is ok for other people's houses...
This one however is now again filled to the roof with all the stuff we accumulated over the past years.   Many of it is crafted by the kids when they were little, and some of it by me.  May I invite you ?

styrofoam with small pieces of fabric pinned to it

I made some muffins too...

years ago I was in a patchwork frenzy...

with left over red buttons you can make this

a gift from my niece when she was little

the doily is hand knitted lace

Christmas cat...

I just want to sleep...

Merry Christmas to you all !

button wednesday

Inspired by the 'Button Lady's' of Zsazsazsu, Fleur Fatale and Kraplap, I had a go at making some rings and brooches with old vintage buttons.  Some of them belonged to my grandmother, and I am proud that I can wear them now.  It was fun to do and gives me the good  feeling of recycling and using some of the stuff I keep in boxes, labelled 'one day I will make something really nice with this'.

these are 2 brooches. 

the little button on the top is made of Czech glass

Thanks for the idea ladies !  I really enjoyed myself making these. I told my mum, and she said she had a box filled with old buttons too.  So maybe there will be more of these...

As you can see I used a better camera this time.  In stead of my super simple and rather outdated camera, I used my husbands  sophisticated camera with a billion little buttons and menus that keep confusing me.  Sometimes I am very blond... I know...

tilda snowmen christmas decorations

Dear readers,

some time ago I bought a book showing me how to make the most beautiful Xmas decorations.  It was written by a Norwegian girl called Tone Finnanger.  Unfortunately the text was also in Norwegian... But the designs are clearly explained with step by step 'how to's and besides, I'm quite used to reading patterns.

don't you just love this ?

So this weekend I tried to make the snowmen on page 22.

It wasn't very hard work : the patterns are small, but correct.  I enjoyed making the little pijama's.  To colour the faces, I used some of my  blush, and a special textile felt tip pen in dark brown for the eyes.  I haven't made the noses yet : still trying to figure out how I can make a small carrot nose...
 
this is the result :

If you like these, be sure to visit her website !
in Dutch : http://www.dehandwerksite.nl/Webwinkel-Page-80405/Over-Tilda.html
in English : http://tildasworld.com/
in Belgium : many of her patterns and fabrics are for sale at 'De Banier'.

warm hats - gebreide muts

Oostende is met z'n -14°C officieel uitgeroepen tot koudste plek in Europa !  Lucky me...
 Maar dat wil zeggen dat iedereen die zijn neus buiten durft steken, een warme muts op heeft, een dikke sjaal en stevige schoenen.  Mijn warme mutsen hebben succes !    Mijn zus had een mooi (gratis-) patroon gevonden op ravelry : de 'Opus Spicatum' ontworpen door Kate Osborn. Een prachtig kleurenpatroon, ik was meteen verkocht.  Het is een 'tam', dat wil zeggen zo'n doorzakmodel dat een beetje op een baret lijkt die je achteraan op je kruin draagt. Ik heb er  2 gebreid, op naalden 5, dat gaat lekker snel vooruit. Heel goed gelukt, en super warm !

Well, my hometown Oostende is now officially the coldest place in Europe.  We are not used to this cold at all !   - 14 ° C was measured this weekend.  That means everybody is wearing protection : warm hats and scarfs everywhere.  So my hats are very much in demand right now.  I knitted 2 more.  My sister found this great free pattern on ravelry, and I was immediately fond of the nice pattern.  it's called opus spicatum and the designer is Kate Osborn. I found it very quick & easy :  2 skeins of wool and needles nr 5.   The model is a tam, very fashionable amongst the young.  So here are the pictures :

If you are keen to try one yourself : click here for the free pattern :
http://www.kelbournewoolens.com/opusspicatum.html

lavendelzakjes - christmas gifts

hallo iedereen

het is véél te koud om buiten te lopen, dus heb ik me geïnstalleerd aan mijn werktafel en heb 2 kleine kerstcadeautjes gemaakt.  Ik had een maand geleden de laatste restjes lavendel van mijn plantjes geknipt en te drogen gelegd.  Dat is nu helemaal gelukt, het geurt heerlijk.  Ik was van plan om er geurzakjes mee te maken, en die onder de kerstboom te leggen voor mijn moeder.  (ma, als je dit leest, sla dit stukje even over, anders is de verrassing eraf...)  Ik heb een restje aida stof gebruikt en wat vilt en dit is het geurige resultaat :



Hi everybody,

It is freezing cold outside, just right for an afternoon of crafting.  A few weeks ago I cut off all the lavender in my pots and spread it out to dry.  That worked fine, it's now crispy dry and smells delicious.  I made a few little scented sachets as a small Xmas gift for my mum.  (Stop reading mum, it'll spoil the surprise...)