woensdag 19 augustus 2015

First Lesson

What better to do when you are seven and bored, than learn to knit? She took it up remarkably quickly.


I really enjoyed spending some time home with the kids this summer. I also did some Susan Branch inspired water color painting, just for fun.

Marieke's initial, with her favorite flower, the forget-me-not.

A card with my favorite garden quote. I plan to send it to Susan Branch, to thank her for inspiring me to pick up my painting brush and have some fun.

dinsdag 18 augustus 2015

Flowers from the garden.

I love picking flowers from my garden to bring color and life into our house. Fresh flowers, especially ones you have grown in and picked from your own garden, give a special kind of energy in the home.

Dahlia Twilight Time.

On the home altar, together with some cornflower and Consilida.

The pink and yellow go perfectly with my little Virgin and Child statue.

She recently got a new, handmade lace doily to stand on.

I have some pictures of another little bouquet, but Picasa is acting all funny, and I can't seem to upload them right now, maybe tomorrow.

maandag 17 augustus 2015

Clover dress for Cas


We just returned from a two week camping trip in East Sussex. It's been quite a while since we went on a 'real' holiday. By that I mean the kind of holiday where there is a little bit of adventure and discovery. In the last 10 years I spent a lot of time being pregnant and nursing. That means I was often too tired to even think of going on an adventure, and holidays were mostly spent in a comfortable little cottage near a swimming pool: fun for the kids and relaxing for us parents. But this year our youngest turned two without me being pregnant of the next baby, and he's been sleeping through the night since March, so in April I started planning our trip.
And we had a wonderful time. We camped at a lovely little family camping, with just the basics and lovely views over the fields. We visited lots of beautiful gardens and old castles. We spent time with my dearest friend, who is also godmother to Felix and lives nearby.
We flew kites, on the beach and on the campsite. We had a camp fire! We sang songs in the car.

Dawn on our campsite.

Great Dixter gardens: like being immersed in a sea of color.

Bodiam castle.

Rowing on the river Rother.

White garden at Sissinghurst.

Cottage garden.

Seven Sisters.

Another day, another discovery!

Scotney castle.

Romance!

Picnic with a view.

Lillies at Pashley Manor gardens.
I had brought lots of books and my knitting with me, to ward of boredom, but I hardly read or knitted. We were just to busy having fun and relaxing. Really, sometimes I just sat there, at the campsite, with a book in my lap, but not reading. Just sitting there, feeling like summer was enough. I did finish another dress for Cas, Lucas's little fox. In the instructions it's an autumn leaves dress, but I made it in summery colors and renamed it Clover Dress.

Look at my lovely new dress, it matches the turf on the camping!

I think I'll go for a stroll.

And maybe pick a flower!

Where is that little fox off to?