Late summer pinks

These are some of the zinnia's that I managed to rescue from the snails, in lovely shades of pink.

I was hoping to post some images of my leaf & lace throw instead, but I can't. The third block is almost finished, but I made a mistake somewhere, and I don't really know which part/row to unravel... I really have to find some courage to start working on it again:-)

Early autumn colors

One of my New Year's resolutions was to sow zinnia's, and they're in full bloom right now :-) And the dahlia's are back too! Together, they add a little splash of early autumn colors to my table.

I realize I haven't been writing about needlework on this blog for quite some time now. It's because I finished my medieval smocked apron (see tutorial on Medieval Silkwork).

Swedish summer colors

I'm back from my holiday in Sweden and Denmark, and once more, I completely fell in love with the light and the shades of soft blue, gray, white and green. I took this image in Krusmynta Garden, a lovely herb garden/ tea garden close to the beach. This seaside corner under the pear trees really makes me happy. Maybe I should print this out come November, when it's cold and dark here :-)

Th. de Dillmont art nouveau embroidery book, 1895

images from Dillmont, Th. de, ed D.M.C. Motifs pour Broderies [1, Mulhouse, Dollfus-Mieg & Cie, [c.1895], 112 pgs, download part 1 , part 2

A few weeks ago, I found a copy of a Th. De Dillmont art nouveau embroidery book in an open air book fair (one of those things I love about summer!). Because the weather is so bad, I haven't taken pictures of it yet. I did find a similar copy online, so you can get an idea of what it looks like. It's really worth taking a look at the transfer sheets at the end of the book. I may not like the colors that were used in the examples, but the transfers really show the designs and those are definitely inspiring!

July colors: pea and mint

Last week I wrote about my blog break, but since then, I realized I like blogging way too much. Let's just say I will probably write less frequently :-).

This is my first pea harvest ever: only a handful, but delicious and in a wonderful shade of green.

ps: yes, I'm experimenting with borders, text and picture size :-)

A blog break

I've decided that I'm taking a blog break, because there is too much on my plate right now: preparing a conference, finishing my current job and finding a new one, travelling between the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Sweden, taking driving lessons (I do have a licence, but I haven't driven for ten years..). I hope to be back early Autumn :-)

First leaf & lace square finished

I finished my first leaf & lace square, and I pinned it onto a cushion to see what it looks like. I just love the way the leafs seem to float on top of the square :-) In the end, I decided to use a soft cream yarn instead of green. I will always love cream, whereas I'm not so sure of green...

The yarn is a Dutch brand, Lammy Ibiza, to be knitted with needles size 6. The square measures 50*50 cm. I'm thinking about making a throw with 9 squares. It's much quicker than the crocheted throw I just finished :-)