tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90528554688801323032024-03-14T09:14:01.540+01:00Wild roses and blackberriesMy jewellery, beadwork, embroidery, photos – and cats.Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.comBlogger970125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-1198391229951598072016-03-27T22:21:00.000+02:002016-03-27T22:21:11.307+02:00Easter hellebore<br />
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I haven't blogged much in ages, but thought why not upload a couple of pics now that I was trying to get a few photos of my new hellebore.<br />
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I love hellebores, but it's more about admiring them in photos and flower shops than actually buying any as they're a bit pricey and I'm a bit broke. But this friday I went shopping and spotted some hellebores. The gorgeous purple and double ones were too expensive for me, but then my sis spotted a shelf with smaller hellebores that were on offer. Half price off, I think. So of cause I had to get one.<br />
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This is the one I really wanted but thought was beyond my price range at 200 SEK (approx. 17 GBP/22 EUR/24 USD). It was one of the big ones, perhaps three or four times the height of the one I bought. And a gorgeous, gorgeous colour.<br />
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So far the one I <i>did</i> get is indoors, but I'll have to figure out a good place to plant it outdoors. Not sure where to put it. Don't think they'll end up near our other hellebores, <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.se/2010/04/colour-of-hellebore.html#.Vvg_J-KLTcs" target="_blank">which look like this</a>. Don't want those colours together. Maybe there's place somewhere near some of the snowdrops – which, like the crocus, is really spreading out on the lawns nowadays – so they'll create some sort of spring flower corner. Maybe. We'll have to see.<br />
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Anyway, as you can see below I got an assistant when taking the photos. It's one of the kittens we accidentally got last summer. A little cutie, don't you think? I find it hard to get good pics of hellebores, but a little cat improves any photo.<br />
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For these photos – taken in poor light as heavy rain clouds started to cover the sky – I covered the plastic flower pot it came in with pieces of bark clad in moss that I took from some old logs lying behind the barn. Fastened them with a matching piece of embroidery floss.<br />
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One of the reasons for taking the photo was to test putting something on my relatively new Instragram account. Have thought about trying it out ever since getting a modern phone. Something easier than blogging, just putting a pic up every now and then, I thought, something to act as as an alternative to my blog for those who like it when I'm not in the mood to do proper blog posts. But so far it hasn't been able to really pull me in. A small phone that's slightly too old to be really useful for the purpose and my being a newbie with little time to learn has hampered me. (Also, I suck at taking photos with the phone. The camera in it is good, the photographer isn't.) I'm trying to keep it bilingual, with swedish as the "first language".<br />
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It's not very interesting right now, but if you're curious or want to see more pics for me, why not <a href="https://www.instagram.com/manekibeader/" target="_blank">check it out</a>?<br />
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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="6" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BDd1f04wQii/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Ännu en bild på min #julros (nu utan katt). Ser lite mer av den klädda krukan. Mossan och barken den sitter på tog jag från en bunke med gammalt bränne som vi har liggande. Bröt loss några lagom stora bitar och knöt fast med grönt brodergarn runt plastkrukan. Ett enkelt #pyssel för finare foto. Moss clad pot with #hellebore. #helleborus #garden #trädgård</a></div>
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Ett foto publicerat av maneki (@manekibeader) <time datetime="2016-03-27T18:15:52+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Mar 27, 2016 kl. 11:15 PDT</time></div>
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I'm so note comfortable with hashtags. Too many? Too few? Too generic? Too useless? Too unnecessary? I've got much to learn...<br />
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~*~</div>
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Oh, now that I'm doing a blog post I must of cause not forget to end this post by wishing you a<br />
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<br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;">H</span><span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;">a</span><span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;">ppy Easter!</span></h2>
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<span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;">.</span><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;">Glad påsk!</span></h2>
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Hope you're lucky enough to relax and enjoy some sunshine, budding flowers, a gentle spring breeze, birdsong and everything else one wish this season to bring.Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-12967323023144415252016-02-13T23:33:00.000+01:002016-02-13T23:33:09.679+01:00First snowdrops of the year<br />
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The other day the weather turned colder again after weeks of temperatures above zero, turning rain and heavy grey skies into white clouds, sunshine and blue sky. It's cold, but the sun is bright: the cats relly enjoyed sunbathing on the porch around noon. But, yes, still cold. There was frost here and there on the ground still in the afternoon, and not just in the northside shadows. And today was the day I got the urge to check the snowdrops. Was meaning to do it yesterday as I felt they'd probably budded, but never got around to it before dark. With the sun setting around 5 PM, there aren't yet many hours of sunlight when you oversleep... But today I remembered to have a look and I was right: the first snowdrops are beginning to bloom.<br />
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As I'm done it for several years, of cause I had to keep up with the snowdrop blog tradition even if I'm still not back blogging really. <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/snowdrops" target="_blank">The post from previous years can be found here</a>.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-42802884451639466372015-12-31T22:31:00.001+01:002015-12-31T22:31:33.523+01:00It's that day of the year again<br />
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I've ended up not blogging very much these last two years, but I haven't give up on my two "traditions" of <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/new%20year%27s%20eve" target="_blank">documenting the last day of the year</a> and <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/snowdrops" target="_blank">waiting for the first snowdrops</a> and so at least two times of the year I'll remember this blog.<br />
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This year, it's been a very warm December (one day, earlier in the month they claimed on the radio that many parts of Sweden had had the same temperature as on midsummer's eve). Snow on a couple of days, frost on others, but most of the days have been warm for the season. And rainy. This last week or so it's gotten a bit colder, with frost staying on north side of hills and in the shadows through the day. To top it all off, when I looked out the windows the sky was blue with just a few light clouds and the sun was shining, but I didn't see the wall of clouds moving in from the west so the sunlight disappeared far too early compared to my calculations. All in all, not the greatest weather to photograph (not even moody fog <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-last-light-of-year-and-wish-for.html" target="_blank">like last year</a>), but I do have a few more photos to show that back in <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/new-years-eve.html" target="_blank">2012</a>. You can't change the weather, just your own attitude towards it.<br />
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But first, a little DIY I made for christmas. We don't have an outdoor christmas tree this year either so instead I bought some string lights and made a tree shaped decoration on the still boarded up window (with the cat hole). As a reference, I think it's 60-something cm tall and the lights used are <a href="http://www.xn--ob-eka.se/jul/julbelysning/ljusslingor/ljusslinga-3502740" target="_blank">these</a>. It's been a tad stormy since I put it up so it's not in the same pristine condition as it was, but it still looks decent enough, especially seen from the road.<br />
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<i>[click pic for a close-up, where you can see how the lights </i></div>
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<i>have been strung in the left pic, which was taken </i><i>in the </i></div>
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<i>afternoon rather than at night like the other two were.]</i></div>
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I don't have a long new year's wish for you this year. I simply wish that 2016 will bring you much joy and happiness, may it be a year when dreams come true and new dreams are born. May 2016 be everything you hope for and much more!<br />
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<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-4961001727921349682015-02-07T21:24:00.002+01:002015-02-07T21:24:42.607+01:00First snowdrop buds<br />
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I'm still not back blogging for various reasons (most lately because I got ill for a week), but I can't give up on my blog traditions, such as noting when the snowdrops pop up in the garden every winter/spring. If you want to compare with previous years, you can find all snowdrop posts <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.se/search/label/snowdrops" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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I spent much of january bemoaning the lack of a white winter, mostly because otherwise the winters here are wet, chilly, foggy and very dark. Miserable to put it plainly. But then we got a little snow and these last couple of weeks it's even stayed instead of melting away as fast as it's come.<br />
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The other day, after recovering from a week in bed, I started thinking about the snowdrops that surely must have started to pierce through the soil under snow at that point. And so last night, it started to really thaw again. One of the first things I did this windy morning was therefore to check out the snowdrops and sure enough, they've started to bud!<br />
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<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-20504142762800413522014-12-31T19:16:00.001+01:002016-04-26T11:41:58.867+02:00The last light of the year, and a wish for the year to come<br />
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I haven't blogged much this year, but of cause I have to return with the traditional new year's eve post. I'll be the sixth year now that I do this photo post, the posts from the previous years can be found <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.com/2009/12/cold-new-years-eve-beautiful-day.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Unfortunately, unlike during the first years of this tradition, the weather hasn't been on our side. We got frost on boxing day and then some light snow after that, but then it started thawing again and today it's just been grey, wet and foggy. Hopefully the pics won't be too dark and dull. Was aiming for for the serene and melancholic, though you might have to be a fellow november child to really enjoy these silent, fog veiled winter landscapes. (Even I prefer the fog and rain to end with november, though, so the winter months can be white. Frost white or snow white, either is fine, it just has to be white. You need something that lights up the short, dark days.)<br />
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One a positive note, though, the warm winter means you can get som fairytale/troll forest pics even after autumn. And it makes those pretty little snowberries more visible.<br />
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Last year, I ended the new year's post with<a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.se/2013/12/a-new-years-wish.html#.VKQ1syuG-8U" target="_blank"> a long wish</a>, coloured by what happened in my life. Though aiming for a positive wish, in a way the darkness in the heart that wished it shone through. It reflected perhaps more the lack of direction in my life and the negativity in my mind than anything else. It was a wish for others in my situation and not perhaps for everyone. This year, I'll just cut out the most positive bit for you, in a slightly new version:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2929; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">So my new year's wish for you is thus: May 2015 be a year filled with dreams that come true, happiness, adventures, courage and many new opportunities. May you wander along your path in life, your north star to follow, be it one you're already on or a new one that is just found. May you create and thrive and grow.</span></i> </blockquote>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">Happy New Year!</span></h2>
<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-3699787775211703242014-12-24T17:10:00.001+01:002014-12-24T17:10:25.440+01:00God jul! Merry christmas!<br />
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My blog hiatus has lasted longed than planned and I still haven't really gotten the motivation and spare time to blog back, but of cause I have to pop in and wish you all a lovely holiday. It looks like it'll be another christmas without snow here, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of you who are longing for a white christmas.<br />
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And I'll end this short post the same way I did last year:<br />
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #2a2929; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: center;">
<i><b>I wish you all a God Jul, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! </b></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #2a2929; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: center;">
<i><b>May you all have a joyous and peaceful holiday </b></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #2a2929; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: center;">
<i><b>together with the ones you love.</b></i></div>
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<i><b> </b></i></div>
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<i><b> </b></i></div>
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Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-79257878521578784262014-10-09T15:49:00.001+02:002014-10-09T15:49:38.678+02:00Just a short note<br />
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I thought I had to just write something short to explain why not much new is popping up on this blog this autumn. Have mentioned it in a comment here or on another blog, but might as well tell you all.<br />
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First I didn't blog because I was under the weather with all that's happened these last 12 months -- and now I don't blog because I'm spending the mornings working on one of those unemployment activities one sometimes end up in. It's not easy getting up early in the mornings when you're a night owl -- and then I have a relatively long walk to the bus so I end up being a tad tired when I get home. And, also, there's less time for me to be on the computer blogging now that I don't get home until 14 o'clock every day. E-mails, catching up on blogs etc I follow and writing for my other blog takes precedence, unfortunately.<br />
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So, to conclude, I haven't abandoned this blog for ever, nor am I not writing here because I'm still feeling down or am stuck in dark and dreary mood. It's mostly a matter of time now. Hopefully I'll soon get used to my new schedule and find room for blogging too. (But then again, I keep saying stuff like that all the time and then things get in the way and I end up not blogging much anyway...)<br />
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Because I haven't shared anything silly our cats have done in ages, here's a pic for you to play "where's the cats?" with. That's Julle next by the door, but what do you think of Ubbi's new best spot for an afternoon nap? (Pic's from september: it's been a bit too cold and rainy lately so he prefers the bed now. And, yes, it's easy for him to get to his napping place, but it's been difficult for him to get back in the same way -- not that that stopped him from jumping up there again the next day.)Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-47116254924407414392014-09-08T19:36:00.001+02:002014-09-08T19:36:28.804+02:00Flower bead photo<br />
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Ok, I can't just keep blogging about negative things (be it stuff that's happened, my mood or accidents like today) so to balance it up a bit today, here's a pic of some autumnal flower beads.<br />
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Colours are amber, crystal champagne, smoke topaz and aqua celsian (at least I'm 99 % sure of that last one). I've had these beads for some years now and it was probably two years ago that I put the mix together -- or, to be precise, added the aqua/teal beads to the other beads, which I bought at the same time. It's probably about time I use the mix soon, don't you think?Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-44868115312841696492014-09-08T19:28:00.000+02:002014-09-15T16:57:07.606+02:00Cats, beads and cameras -- not a good combination!<br />
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Many things have kept me from the blog since I said I was back. Today I tried to shape up and focus on my blogs by taking some bead photos I've been meaning to get done for ages. Now that my other blog is back on schedule, I can't keep postponing it.<br />
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Unfortunately, if you sit outdoors taking photos because of the good light here, you will attract cats -- something I wrote about in <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.se/2014/01/outdoor-photography-with-cats.html#.VA3FJfl_u8U" target="_blank">this post</a> (with pics of how it can look). Today I attracted Mimi and Figge. Mimi and photo set-ups are like moths and lamps -- she just have to get into them and sit in them! -- so I did my best to keep her and her dirty little paws as far away as possible. Which meant trying to make her lie down on the other side of the table. But while I was taking photos, she saw an opportunity to edge closer and closer. Finally, she was so close she bumped my set-up (one of <a href="http://www.lightcase.co.uk/" target="_blank">these</a>) when sitting down. You know, in that way cats do when they're offended because you don't focus on them when they want you to. Now that wasn't too much of a problem: I'm used to it and held on to the set-up.<br />
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No, the problem was when I had taken my last photo and was getting ready to turn off the camera and put all the beads back. I looked down at the camera for a few seconds -- seconds Mimi used to headbutt the lightweight plastic set-up off the table, spreading my little beads (silky beads, 4 mm cubes, 6/0s and 9/0s) on the old and dirty cracked concrete "terrace" where I was sitting. Well, not just on it: I was sitting by the edge so some beads probably fell down below -- in a field of weed, nettles and Himalayan balsam. Gaaah!<br />
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We're not going into what carefully chosen words I screamed... After banging me fist in the table, which achieved nothing but hurting my hand. Not even a satisfying loud bang. And my hand still hurts now, hours later...<br />
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Anyway, I managed to rescue most of the beads. Four silky beads are still lost as are two 4 mm lavender cube beads and an unknown, but luckily small, amount of the seeds.<br />
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I really like being able to sit outdoors, taking bead photos, as the light is better than anything I have indoors, but it sure does have its drawbacks... (For another -- not cat related -- example of this, see <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.se/2010/07/outdoor-bead-photography.html" target="_blank">this post I wrote in 2010</a>.)<br />
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So not a disaster, but it still feels like I'm having a Tycho Brahe day as I've had computer problems the rest of the afternoon. Really frustrating, headache-inducing software crashing type of problems. To top it all off, I accidentally deleted a browser add-on I find really useful when I was planning on removing another, which I suspect is causing the browser to run slowly and crash. And now I can't find it again.The computer mouse is just this far from being put in a meat grinder as it's getting inpossible to left click without it either interpreting it as a double (or triple) click or no click at all. This is the problem with living in the countryside: I can't just pop in to the nearest store to pick up a new one and ordering online cost money for shipping and take days. It just keeps getting better and better...<br />
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So a lot of time and energy focused on stuff like that instead of on blogging, editing photos etc. Still, hope to be able to show some pics soon and get back into blogging. It's also the reason why I haven't had much time to answer comments and e-mails these last couple of weeks.<br />
<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-3402323780948824452014-08-30T16:51:00.001+02:002014-08-30T16:51:15.077+02:00Höstmys<div style="text-align: center;">
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We'll... First I say I'm back blogging -- and then I don't say anthing more for days? I was planning of posting more, but I got a call wednesday evening asking if I could work thursday-friday and so I've had to get up early, which I don't enjoy, to pick potatoes from 7 Am to 4 PM, which left me tired with sore back and leg muscles. So not much time spent online these last few days as I've pretty much come home, found something to eat and then fall asleep.<br />
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But I thought I'd just post a glimpse of the autumn pinboard mentioned in the last post. (Should perhaps point out that "autumn poetry" isn't a translation of höstmys, it's just two different autumnal words I put together when naming the board.) Before, autumn has mostly been about trees and nature so all autumn related pins ended up in the tree and flower pinboard, but this time I started thinking about all that's great about autumn and felt I just have to collect it all in a dedicated pinboard -- books, warm drinks, open fires, cozy blankets, warm socks, apple picking, leaves, october dew and november frost.<br />
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It was actually after starting to think about buying a new pair (over) knee socks that I finally created the board -- and hence why one of the first pins included some warm purple socks. Nothing makes you feel better on a cold, wet day than warms socks and fluffy blankets. The winter before last, I picked up a pair of over knee socks, which I've never owned before and loved how great it was to use long socks during winter, when wearing skirts can be a bit chilly. So this winter I, at times, kept my eyes open for another pair of cheap knee socks, but the once I wanted were sold out, and then it got warmer and I forgot about it. Until it got so cold and rainy now in august. Last weekend I had to put on the long socks as it was getting too cold for short skirts, but my long skirts were all in the laundry basket. It was so cozy to sit with warm socks on my feet and wrapped in a blanket, reading comics (can't read Tolstoy and Bronte all the time) with lit candles around the room, that I started thinking about getting more long socks and warm winter socks now that it got so cold. And that helped me get into that "cold months are cozy" mood.<br />
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I am looking forward to autumn now -- even more once I decide on which warm socks to buy -- and hopefully it'll start showing on the blog once the leaves start turning and the apples need picking. </div>
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Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-68667324836545490232014-08-26T17:00:00.003+02:002014-08-26T18:14:19.567+02:00After rain<br />
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Several times have I though about sitting down and writing a new blog post, but every time something has failed me. I haven't abandoned this blog, but ever since Knatti's death I haven't been in the mood to write. For one reason or another, it hasn't been the same reason every day. I've felt drained, my mind has been unhappy, laced with guilt and worries [which is what I'll call it for the sake of this blog].<br />
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It was like everything that's happened since last august piled up and Knatti was the final straw. I just couldn't find the energy for things, not for making nor for writing anything (including replies on the kind comments I got from blog readers on that last post before disappearing off the blog). Then came the extremely hot days of July that drained my body rather than my mind -- sunny summer days are lovely, but it was too hot for me. I tried several times to jump start my creativity. Usually it's just a matter of getting started, gaining momentum and then the enthusiasm takes over, rekindle the passion. But this time, it didn't really work. I haven't even picked up my camera very often, which has usually been a way of battling creative ruts with its instant satisfaction and motivation to go for walks, get the body working.<br />
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The few things I started didn't enthuse me, the results were poor and left me feeling blue and useless rather than pushing me to do something else, something more. I just got frustrated and then not doing anything made me feel guilty and tired. While I have enjoyed many of the summer days, those feelings of guilt and tiredness have almost always been there. Not always all-consuming, often almost gone or just like a dull feeling in the back of the head. It certainly haven't been a deeply depressing time and I've had some good times, but the energy levels have often been low and it's easy to forget the good days when feeling down. So despite all the good and great days, it feels like I've wasted a summer. You can't rewind time and there's always a kind of guilt in feeling you've wasted time.<br />
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Those grey clouds in my mind also affected my writing. I've posted on my other blog throughout the summer, but it was pretty much done on autopilot. A few times I felt like posting here, but the words didn't come, or I lost energy sitting down in front of the blank computer screen. I didn't feel any enthusiasm about blogging.<br />
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I have however pinned. Pinning is easy, effortless but still rewarding. I can still get really into searching for things, looking around websites for new finds etc. So pinning has kept me from feel too listless, it's given me something to do. Something FUN to do. I've also found myself getting back to an interest I've had before, but which is even more expensive than beading or cats: perfume. Especially niche perfumes. When you can't make anything else work, scents are really great pick-me-ups. They can remind one of cherished memories, happy things, favourite places, they can paint a picture for you or transport you to another place, they can calm you down or make you feel warm and cozy. In my usual way, taking up a hobby or getting a new/renewed interest in something means immersing myself. Partially it's a matter of money: if you can't buy all that you want, you can at least read up on it and that's what I've done. So far I've got a list of over 570 perfumes I want to try after reading fragrance pyramids and reviews. That's not counting the half dozen samples already bought.<br />
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Especially two of the perfumes really helped my mood. One was an aquatic/marine rose fragrance that was a great soothing, calming and cooling scent for the sunny days and one was a warm, cozy woody vanilla for the rainy and cold days and, especially, nights. Because the weather turned, not just changed a little but did almost a 180 degree turn. And not for the better.<br />
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In mid-august the tropical heat of July turned into quite the opposite. The temperatures plummeted, it started raining every day, we got the gale-force winds of late autumn and everything was just wet and chilly. It was more like mid-october than mid-august! Felt like the weather lasted for ages, but of cause it's just been a couple of weeks. Warm socks and cozy vanilla perfume has kept the grey outside from building up too much inside me, but it's still been some dreary weeks.<br />
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A few days ago, I started an autumn pinboard to try an pick myself up as I usually do love autumn a lot and at the same time the weather changed. The heavy grey skies are -- literally -- gone with the wind. Today the sun is shining, the sky is a brilliant blue only partially obscured by clouds that are more white than grey, there's just a slight, crisp wind and the last rain is now only visible as drops on the leaves and grass. The combination of the two has really brightened my mind. It still feels more like october than august, but at least it feels like sunny october days.<br />
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And that's where I'm at right now. Feeling like things are getting a little better. My mood, the weather. I'm looking forward to a beautiful autumn and I hope it'll also make me feel better. Some sunshine, crisp but gentle winds, apple picking, grape eating and forest walks is what I need now to recharge my batteries and air out all the bad thoughts -- and these are the perfect days for it now. Things feel a bit brighter now.<br />
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<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-81644889610430703522014-06-24T14:10:00.000+02:002014-06-24T14:10:14.151+02:00Crying over Knatti: part 2<br />
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There was of cause no miracle to be had. On monday morning, Knatti was even worse. It was painful to see him suffer and painful to feel like we abandoned him when he needed us near him the most. While I grieve that he had to die, what breaks my heart is feeling that he spent his last days detached from his safety, from his family and home. Someone pointed out that we always die alone, even if we're surrounded by loved ones, but Knatti also suffered his last time alone and that pains me to think of. We were of cause there when he got that final, lethal injection that stopped his heart, but those were just his last minutes. When he was so ill I don't even know if he fully understood that we were there or if he was too ill to be comforted by our presence.<br />
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Logically, I know we did the only thing that could be done to try and save his life, but it doesn't change the fact that with the outcome being what it was, this left him very alone in a strange place, subjected to needles and pains without us, those who should protect him from everything bad and soothe him when in pains, for what in a cat's mind must have been a very long time. I can't undo that, I can't turn back time. I can't even persuade myself that it was the right thing to do, the only chance he had, as I can't ignore how that decision determined how his last days became. And I don't want anyone else to try and persuade me.<br />
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And regardless of how he died, there's also another thing: he derserved more years. He wasn't old. He was the kindest of cats, who never harmed anyone who got into fights. Life is unfair, that's just the way it is. And Knatti's short life is just one more example of that. Had life been fair, he'd still have most of his years in front of him. He died too young. That's the long and the short of it: he deserved more years. Many more years.<br />
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I posted photos of him in the last post, but missed this one, which shows how sweet he was. It's Knatti with his new baby brother sleeping by his side. He always was the kindest, the one most likely to accept new kittens -- even when they became older, more mischievous, and wanted to play (which includes things like ear biting, which often render them a slap by the adult cats, but not from Knatti). He placidly accepted them, even when more wild than the other big cats, including their moms, found tolerable. Maybe it was only fitting that he got a grave beside some of the youngest kittens in our cat cemetary.<br />
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To end this post, I've picked out a few of the pics we took last week when Julle and Knatti came with my sis and I up in the hill. Of all cats, those two are the ones that appreciated our forest walks the most. They loved tagging along (Julle, of cause, still does), not least as they got us to themselves. Two peaceful cats that otherwise are pushed aside by the tougher ones. So in a way it's fitting that the last images of him is in a place and a situation he enjoyed so much. Never in a million years did I on that day think it would be the last time I sat with him in my lap, watching the sunset and stroking his fur on a beautiful, quiet summer evening.<br />
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Oh, sweetheart...Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-57118188608242151072014-06-22T14:55:00.000+02:002014-06-22T22:31:10.988+02:00Crying over Knatti<br />
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It feels like this blog way too often becomes a place for me to cry over cats. This time it's Knatti, sweet, shy little Knatti who has always been the most peaceful of our cats. He's still alive, though just barely hanging on, but unless a miracle happens, there's nothing more to do than take that horrible decision pet owners sometimes have to face.<br />
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Knatti went missing earlier this week and while we tried to tell ourselves he was ok, we did worry sooner than we would've with many of the others. Partially because Knatti almost always come in to us 2-3 times a day and is around the house at night, more or less regularly, and partially because he's had a history of sensitive stomach so we want to see him (and feed him) as often as possible to make sure he's ok. I haven't counted, but he was gone at least 48 hours and some more before suddenly turning up yesterday afternoon -- in such a bad condition. I've never seen a cat so dehydrated -- sure, they can be gone and come home dying, but this has happened so, so fast! -- he was in a horrible state and I don't know how he managed to make it home to us. He refused to eat or drink and there was nothing else to do, but hope the vet was in on the biggest summer holiday of the year.<br />
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The verdict was grim from the beginning: he was in such a bad state that the vet feared the kidneys were gone and that nothing could be done to help him, but put him on IV to give him a chance. Today I spoke to the vet and the news were just as bad as yesterday. Worse. The treatment hasn't worked (so far), he's not showing the improvements he should be showing at this poing, and we were told to discuss letting him go. He'll stay one more night -- and I'm so sad to have to leave him in an unknown environment for so long, being ill and probably feeling unsecure in this place with new people, new smells, new animals. After all, he came home to be near us and this is how we repay him, leaving him somewhere he doesn't understand -- somewhere that in the end can't save him. I want him at home, in bed where we could comfort him and soothe him. Unless a miracle happens now, tomorrow will be his last day.<br />
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(To make matters worse, all mom can go on about is the vet bill, which I'm paying solo, and questioning if we can afford it. If she had her way, Knatti would've been put down already yesterday to minimize both vet costs and the number of cats we have.)<br />
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That above is the newest pic of Knatti I have here. Have taken a few more just a few days ago, but they're on my sister's camera. Below are a few more pics, which I've shown on the blog before.<br />
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Evening addendum: I couldn't sleep well last night and when I did I dreamed of Knatti. Knatti being scared by thunder during the night, us trying to get to Knatti but being unable. Then I woke early and spent most of the morning feel sick and worried, with a big lump churning in the stomach. I tried to distract my mind during the afternoon, perhaps even try to hope for that miracle. A late miracle, but not too late. Now it's almost evening again. Last night I was at least partially able to fall asleep in the evening from the shock of seeing the state Knatti was in, the emotional turmoil, but also from feeling he was in the right hands (even if the verdict was negative already then). This night I don't know how to sleep, know that tomorrow we'll have to decide Knatti's fate and there seem to be only one thing to do. Only hours left -- and he'll spend them alone, so far from us and we so far from him.<br />
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The hardest part right now -- especially now that it's soon night -- is that he's at the vets still receiving treatment, one more dark night away, and my heart is breaking because I can't shake off the feeling that he's feeling abandoned and alone, perhaps being not just ill but scared in that strange place without familiar faces or scents (he has a blanket from home so I hope it's a tiny comfort). Facing the fact he'll most likely die very soon isn't easy, but as long as it isn't happening right now I can push it away. Right now I'm crying over him feeling abandoned and frightened by all that's happening: the illness, our taking him to a strange, unknown place and not coming back. I want to hold him in my arms and soothe him and tell him everything's going to be ok. Heck, if possible I would've told the vet I'd spend the night on the floor next to him. Not only can't I make him healthy, I can't even give him comfort because I'm not with him. It just hurts so much thinking of him so alone and uneasy. He doesn't know what's happening to him, where he is, where we are, if we'll even come back. It feels light he was lightyears away from me when he should be at home, safe. If not from illness so safe in the sense of being wrapped in love, familiar surroundings and a peaceful athmosphere.<br />
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It just pains me to think that we can't give him that now. We try to give him something else, a chance to live, but it's such a slim chance that it's hard to not just see the unease and ordeal we're putting him through by leaving him at the vet's for treatment this long. I don't want him to worry, to be scared or feel abandoned tonight. It must seem like forever to him since we left him, since we (in his eyes) left him, dumped him, never to return. He came home because he wanted to be near us, to have us help him and we did that by removing him further from us -- in distance and time -- than he's ever been.Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-85212886350028422192014-06-20T12:24:00.003+02:002014-06-20T12:24:53.977+02:00Happy Midsummer's eve!<br />
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Hope you're having a lovely midsummer's eve and weekend!</div>
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<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-7683605738410358142014-06-09T17:12:00.000+02:002014-06-09T17:35:39.487+02:00Thinking of making a needle book and maschma<br />
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I feel like I tend to blog about things I'm thinking of doing rather than showing the results of what I have done. Partially it's because I procrastinate, partially it's a matter of not having the time to do it so I'm stuck just thinking about it and partially it's because I write to try and sort out things I hesitate about. Writing about it sorts out the thoughts -- at it gives you motivation to produce a result once you declare to the world what you are about to to do as well as it's an opportunity to ask others for input.<br />
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If you follow this blog you must have noticed that the idea of a needle book and thread storage have come up. Last time I mentioned making a maschma, for example. This post is about those thoughts once again.<br />
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I've been thinking of making a needle book for some time now, but never come up with a good design. Because I have both beading needles and hand embroidery needles it's also a matter of whether to make one book for all the needles or make two separate ones. Right now I'm thinking of doing one just for my beading needles as they make up 80 % of all my needles (and most of my embroidery needles are collected in one place anyway as I bought them in a silk ribbon embroidery collection -- the big yellow package).<br />
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Being a tool junkie extends to needles too: I have at least half a dozen of needle packages, not including a zip-lock bag of collapsible-eye needles, DIY wire needles and a big-eye needle. There's the regular long beading needles in size ranging from 10 to 15 (!), sharp bead embroidery needles, ballpoint bead emboidery needles and curved needles. Have I forgotten any now? Regardless, right now I just put all the needle packages in the organza bag, having tied them together with a string through the holes at the top (most packages have a hole, if not I punch one).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBaLAEueLAHA449pIrYT5RzdVJDiTAZo1haw713HX12Z9PoFCnTNy2N7a4pqmaHO66t0hOeM8sbazFZKxKbqyi3AWBAJyX094OElkbgUZDZQmRl3vl21WVqpjPTQowsXtlCr9zNXq4Hs/s1600/sydda+tekniker+n%25C3%25A5l+o+tr%25C3%25A5d.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBaLAEueLAHA449pIrYT5RzdVJDiTAZo1haw713HX12Z9PoFCnTNy2N7a4pqmaHO66t0hOeM8sbazFZKxKbqyi3AWBAJyX094OElkbgUZDZQmRl3vl21WVqpjPTQowsXtlCr9zNXq4Hs/s1600/sydda+tekniker+n%25C3%25A5l+o+tr%25C3%25A5d.JPG" /></a></div>
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But what about the threads? The main reason I stick with this organza bag solution is that it all fits in it, all my needles and all my beading threads, and it's easy to carry from one spot to another. It's just that they're all jumbled, I'd like a bit more order. Just as with my seed bead storage dilemma, it's a question of finding a good, cheap -- and easy to carry -- solution that can accomodate different shapes and sizes as I use more than one type of beading thread. There's the K.O. spools, but also carded thicker K.O. thread and smaller bobbins (One-G etc). Plus a couple of big spools of YLI jean thread and medium-sized spools of a Gütermann thread I use for bead crochet.<br />
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It's still easyier to find the right thread so I'll make the needle book project a priority over this: removing the needles, the organza bag might be as good a solution as any with the amount of beading threads I have.<br />
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But my ideas doesn't end there...<br />
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Apparently, one thing that's become popular among embroiderers in Sweden recently is making a marsma or maschma; a small embellished roll or tote for emboidery paraphernalia (needles, scissors, threads), probably of sami origin, one might call it. And I think it might be very useful for me as a seedbeader too as I like to bead in couches, beds and everywhere else where I can't take my whole bead stash with me. So one of my newest ideas is to sketch a maschma with room for a couple of tubes or flip-top boxes of beads, one or two bead thread bobbins and a pair of scissors. (Did I forget something?) So far I haven't figured out the design or even what material I want to use. And partially I procrastinate because I love to embroider, but don't really enjoy sewing.<br />
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To illustrate what a maschma looks like, here's a screenshot of a picture googling I did in order to find some inspiration for my beader's maschma. Click on it for the full size.<br />
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Looking at the pics I'm thinking that with the right material it could double as a small bead mat too. I rarely use bead mats (hence why everything here has a few stray seed beads embedded in them), but they can be useful so why not? I like things with double -- or more -- purposes. A bit like the Helen Gibb kit for a needle case with bead pad [which not longer is available on her website so no pic to show].<br />
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These are some of the things I'm thinking about while working -- it might not be a fun or wellpaid job, but at least I'm free to think, sketch ideas in my head etc while I'm doing it. Not that I always think of beads and stitching, of cause, but it's a recurring theme most days. I might not be showing many finished items as I'm focusing on other things right now, but I have so many ideas buzzing in my head. If only I could cure my bad habit of procrastinating...Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-92084068548517124152014-06-07T20:55:00.002+02:002014-06-07T20:55:54.984+02:00Finally, some cat piccies!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I could've shown you some pics from the garden as I've taken a few, but it feels like ages since I did a cat post so here's some pics of Ubbi that I took this afternoon. Blurry once as he was in playful mood, running up and down the branches of the small ash tree.<br />
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<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-26497211979720194742014-06-07T18:46:00.001+02:002014-06-07T18:46:43.908+02:00Challenge WIPs<br />
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So... I tried keep up with <a href="http://humblebeads.blogspot.se/search/label/Mojo%20Challenge" target="_blank">Heather Powers' Jewelry Making Mojo Challenge</a>, but because of the schedule it ended up being in the middle of a busy period so this far, this last week of the twelve, I've only finished a few pieces and have a few WIPs that's somewhere between finished and barely started on.<br />
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One piece that's finished or not depending on how you look at it is this circular thing.<br />
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Inspired by Heather Kingsley-Heath's books on albion stitch (which I <a href="http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-albion-stitch-books-1-2.html" target="_blank">reviewed here</a>), I wanted to make something with inspiration from etruscan jewellery for the week 9 assignment "ancient history". If you google etruscan jewellery, you'll soon find a lot of circular pendants and earrings and it's those designs I had in made when making this piece.<br />
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The design is very simple, partially because I didn't follow any pattern so this was just a first test. At first, the design ended with a row of picots, but while it looked very pretty it didn't feel etruscan. All etruscan designs I saw had a clean cut edge. So I added a final row of beads, which I really screwed up, getting the bead count wrong so it doesn't lay flat as well as having to back engineer the thread path, making the thread too visible.<br />
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I'm hoping the next version will look better.<br />
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The second assignment I'm working on is the week 8 colour palette inspiration challenge. For it, I picked out a random palette that caught my eye. It happened to be this one from Pattern Pod (from <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/153122456055300149" target="_blank">this pin</a>).<br />
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Not my usual type of colour scheme, but still not too out there. After looking through the bead stash and deciding I would have to start focus on my favourite techniques even if they're slow (I often stick to stringing and simple wire wrapping in short challenges in order to be sure I can finish it in time, but many times it just ends up with me being unhappy as it isn't my forte). In this case it meant hand embroidery and I have just the perfect colours of cotton floss of the palette. Finding a silk sample, I even found some grey to use.<br />
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Now... That's as far as I've come... I have a design -- flower with light yellow details for a small round brooch or pendant -- but haven't started embroidering it yet.<br />
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The metal component you can see in the first pic was just something I took out as the colour combos in this old WIP is roughly the same as in the palette and the floss -- which made it a good fit for the extra challenge of the week, which was to make two pieces using the same palette, but with different proportions between the colours.<br />
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Apart from that I'm also working on a few jewelry redos as per the week 5 assignment, but they haven't come very far either. I'm just creating WIPs at the moment -- and dreaming of starting a new big project, but feeling it'd better be left until after the harvest season is over. There's also other ideas like making a maschma/marsma that'll have to wait a bit -- though that's mostly a matter of procrastinating because I'm not that fond of sewing. Embroidering -- yes! Sewing -- meh...Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-71622049176032686032014-06-02T21:27:00.004+02:002014-06-02T21:27:49.940+02:00Snapshot from the garden<br />
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Oh, I haven't forgotten my dear little blog, it's just that I'm busy at the moment. As are many who are in one way or another involved in agriculture this time of year. So this is just a short note to say I'm still here and I hope to get time to blog soon (I have a few things I want to show). Until then, here's a photo from the garden taken a few days ago. It's pretty wild and unruly this year for obvious reasons and a few unexpected ones, but that's how I like gardens anyway so I'm really enjoying it. Even when the grass on the lawn is taller than a cat's tail (you should see them jump through it when they're in a hurry, too hurried to walk through the jungle).Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-67903376919238805592014-05-25T16:59:00.001+02:002016-04-26T11:43:12.685+02:00Organic wrap bracelet (Jewelry Making Mojo Challenge)<br />
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Beacause of the time of year, I've not been good at keeping up with the Jewelry Making Mojo Challenge every week. I still have a WIP from the colour palette week, never got far with the redo assignment and the ancient inspiration week never got beyond a few sketches and a favourite civilization. But this week, I felt it was about time to actually start doing something, regardless of potato work. I ended up with a very simple piece, but on the other hand I like simple jewellery -- and it felt like the right style for the brand I chose.<br />
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The <a href="http://humblebeads.blogspot.se/2014/05/mojo-challenge-week-10-fashion-beads.html" target="_blank">assignment of the week</a> was to "Create a piece of jewelry inspired by your favorite clothing catalog or online store". Well, I'm not sure I have a favourite. What little money I have, I spend on beads and not clothes. The clothes I shop are mostly affordable basics like tops and cardies. But even if my interest in fashion is lukewarm to say the least, I do have taste preferences and ever since encounting mori kei, I've got a bit of interest in clothes back. Fashion is boring, personal style is fun. So it's finding interesting styles and gets me interested in clothes. Something that's easy to see if looking at my <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/manekibeader/hair-and-clothes/" target="_blank">Hair & clothes pinboard</a> (yeah... hair's another thing I'm not much into, mostly because I suck at making nice updos and don't like to spend time curling, straightening, drying etc).<br />
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Anyway, for this assignment, I went to my pinboard and started looking through it. What to choose? One of the lagenlook/romantic country inspired brands (Östebro, Aurea Vita, Ewa i Walla, Rundholz, Ivey Abitz etc) as they're so earthy and poetic? Artka for colourful, "ethnic" (yeah, don't like that word but as it's useful...) inspiration? No, in the end I went with a brand that makes nice, simple clothes for every day: <a href="http://www.braintreeclothing.com/" target="_blank">Braintree</a>, a brand of organic, ethical clothing.<br />
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I wanted to do something that matches summer outfits like <a href="http://www.braintreeclothing.com/women/summer-14/adria-cropped-cardi-3.html" target="_blank">this </a>-- and of cause something that'd follow the same ethics as the brand. It had to be organic. Now, I'm embarrassed to say I don't have that much organic stringing materials (not to mention organic floss: do you know how hard it is to find organic or fairtrade cotton embroidery thread??), but I did find a ball of cotton yarn from Marks & Kattens (M&K Eco) which I felt was a good fit for the clothes.<br />
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It would've been pretty to finish the simple wrap bracelet off with a shiny metal charm, but I wanted to stick with the theme and go for something more green. Much metal is recycled today, but it wasn't enough for this design. So I went with an old wooden lentil bead. Wood is of cause only green if the forestry is responsible. Still, green enough for this design.<br />
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After making the first bracelet, I also made a second using a laser cut birch wood pendant I've had lying around for ages. Thought the motif suited the ideas behind the design.<br />
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The design can perhaps be a tad dull, but I'm seeing them as stackable bracelets to be combines with others -- and I had to make due with what I had at home. You take what you have.<br />
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Because the bracelets wrap three times around the wrist, they're also a suitable size for a necklace if one wishes to use it that way instead. Perhaps adding charms or pendants according to whatever fits the outfit of the day. One could of cause do that when wearing them like bracelets too if it feels too plain like this.<br />
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<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-1432568552646559182014-05-21T20:21:00.002+02:002014-05-21T20:36:02.595+02:00Review: Albion stitch (books 1 & 2)<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><br /><span style="color: #741b47;">It's summer and harvest season and I've been too busy/tired/uninspired to blog much, but now it's high time to post the english version of my review of Heather Kingsley-Heaths books on her albion stitch. Hope you enjoy it and that it'll give you something interesting to read until I get back blogging! And, yes, I hope to have something made in this stitch to show later this summer.</span></i></blockquote>
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<b>Title:</b> Albion Stitch & Albion Stitch: Book Two<br />
<b>Author:</b> Heather Kingsley-Heath<br />
<b>Publisher and year:</b> The Useful Booklet Company, 2009 & 2010<br />
<b>Number of pages:</b> 64<br />
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<b>Summary:</b> An introduction to and exploration of a new bead-weaving stitch created by the author. The books teaches you the basics and many variations of the stitch in 19+21 projects.<br />
<b>Pros:</b> Fun to learn a new, less common technique and seeing how versatile it is. Didactic and inspiring structure with chapters and moodboard pages. Diverse style of the projects and handy spiral spine.<br />
<b>Cons:</b> None.<br />
<b>Recommended for:</b> Seedbeaders who want to learn a new stitch. Both beginners and more experienced beaders can find fun and inspiring projects here.</blockquote>
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Off-loom bead weaving is perhaps one of the most interesting beading techniques, or rather group of techniques as the term includes a host of stitches. Some of the stitches are very well known and spread while others are more obscure. Many basic stitches are very old and have independently developed in different parts of the world, but there are also stitches that's been created and developed by single individual in modern times. One example of the latter is albion stitch, which was created by british beader Heather Kingsley-Heath. She has presented her stitch to the beading community through two books: <i>Albion Stitch -- An introduction to the new beadwork stitch</i> and <i>Albion Stitch Book Two -- Developing the new beadwork stitch</i>. As the second books is a direct sequel to the first, I'll review them together.<br />
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The books might look little, but don't let size or page numbers deceive you -- these books are packed with technique variations and projects, but also pure inspiration as every chapter begins with a moodboard focusing on colour (book 1) and shapes (book 2). In the first book, the albion stitch is introduced to the beader. First the basics and albion stitch glossary are covered in clear illustrations. After that, you'll find eight chapters, each introducing a new variation of the basic stitch through all in all 19 projects. You'll learn how to make simple changes to the basic technique, vary the length of the stitches, stitch circular and tubular variations, make beaded beads and created curves. If you then want to take the stitch a step further, you continue with the second book, which focus on more dimensional beadwork, including beaded bezels, waves (see book cover above), cubes and containers (bowls, boxes), flowers and leaves and, finally, birds and insects.<br />
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Above you can see a (somewhat poorly scanned) picture of the first two pages of chapter six in the first book with the citrus inspired moodboard on the left and introduction to the next step, tubular albion stitch, on the right. Each chapter has its own theme, which set the mood for the projects in it. Both the moodboards and projects are very varied in style and colour combinations, which contributes to making the book such a great read. Unlike some books it's not just variations on a theme when it comes to colour and/or style -- here, you can find everything from brilliant clear colours like about and minimalist projects to neutral palettes and romantic filigree-inspired patterns. Here's pretty much something for every taste.<br />
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(In the scanned image, you can also see the clear advantage of spiral-bound books: when you open a page and put it on the table, It'll remain open. No need to hold the pages down to prevent them from slamming shut. Very handy, but not very common in how-to books.)<br />
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Now, I often say I prefer technique books to project books, but in this case, the structure of the book, where projects are used to develop the stitch step by step, is so good that I wouldn't want it any other way. On top of that, the above mentioned varied patterns and inspirational pages makes the book not just teach you something new, it also boost your creativity.<br />
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I have of cause not tested all the patterns, but so far I've found the instructions easy to follow. In most cases, the text is completed with clear illustrations (in some of the more advanced patterns, partial illustrations are used in a few cases, but on the other hand the text is clear) and the basics are explained in a very clear and educational manner. Because of the structure of the stitch, it needs a partially new terminology -- foundation row, stalk, tip, spacer row, anchor row -- on top of the general bead-weaving glossary. As with all terminology, it can feel like a lot to learn in one go, but if you follow the steps and look a the illustrations you'll soon learn/get used to it. Both books have a glossary in the beginning so you don't need to go back to the first book when reading and making projects from the second one.<br />
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So should you buy and read both the books at the same time, you might ask by now. Personally, I really liked having book 2 there when turning the last page of book 1 as the second book focused on the kind of dimensional beadwork I enjoy the most. If you're a beginner at bead weaving, book 1 can be enough, but if you're a more experienced seedbeader you'll probably like to have both books as the second book will provide you with more challenging and exciting shapes. Could an experienced seedbeader perhaps even skip directly to book 2? I don't know as I started with the first books, but as the terminology is covered in both books it'd probably not be impossible.<br />
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Regardless if you choose to read only the first book or both, though, I think you'll find it a rewarding read. There are many beadwork stitches and albion stitch was a fun technique to add to the ones I already know. It already has found its place among my other favourites, which I hope it'll now complete well. I thoroughly enjoyed the books and the techniques as an intermediate seedbeaders and I think I'd enjoy it just as much as a beginner. I was itching to pick up my needle and thread after just a few pages!<br />
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Footnote: You can buy the Albion Stitch books in some bookstores and bead shops, but the easiest way to obtain the books are probably through the authors website, <a href="http://www.heatherworks.co.uk/" target="_blank">Heatherworks</a>. There you'll also find patterns and kits, some of which are fully or partially made up of albion stitch.<br />
<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-11664327686786769242014-05-11T17:30:00.000+02:002016-04-26T11:45:41.384+02:00Captured wishes<br />
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The potato season has begun so I'm not blogging much right now, but as I'm prepping some posts for my other blog I might as well show you some recent photos. I keep getting back to romantic/poetic jewellery using dried plant materials and this time it was the "make a wish pendants/necklaces" using dandelion seeds that captured my interest.<br />
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I thought it'd be cute to take a photo of the pendants in the grass or, as I ended up choosing, the moss to, but it turned out to be a less that ideal spot for taking photos of glass... Stupid glare...<br />
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Well, at least the moss is pretty as always. Had the pendants been filled with anthing more substantial or colourful than dandelion seeds it would also had been less of an issue. (And, yes, I'm going to pretend no one can see the Tack-It I used to keep the brass lid on the glass globe. Didn't want to glue it in place as I will take out the dandelion seeds and replace it with something else, but had to do something to keep the lid from popping of while taking the photos.)<br />
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<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-72631457755589207052014-05-04T19:54:00.003+02:002016-04-26T11:43:12.710+02:00Playing with a monochrome and neutral palette (jewelry making mojo challenge)<br />
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I'm really getting into making long headlines... Anyway, this is some of what I've done this weekend inspired by the <a href="http://humblebeads.blogspot.se/search/label/Mojo%20Challenge" target="_blank">Jewelry Making Mojo Challenge</a> assignment of the week, which was working in monochrome.<br />
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Now, if someone tells you to work in monochrome would you end up with something as boring as beige as your chosen colour? Surely, neutrals are best when used to enhance a colour, like when combining light grey beads with a turquoise blue focal? It wasn't my plan -- I thought about using blue to challenge myself, then I wanted saturated purples to really temt the eye and then I ended up with beige-brown just because I had to go through my flower-and-leaf-beads box and happened to pick up the zip-lock bag with button flowers... The button flowers just happened to sit so nice between the maple leaf beads in the same colour (as you can see below) and as it fitted the challenge...<br />
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Originally I wanted to make a daintier bracelet, just using one flower and a leaf on each side, but then I thought "why not see what it'd look like if I used all the five flowers in the bag?" and that's the point where I got the camera out -- in between baking; if the photos look sloppy it's because I took them while I had cookies in the oven.<br />
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This is a WIP. I haven't finished it because I'm trying to find a slightly darker cord (and hopefully a matching clasp, might be a button -- or one of the flower beads if I just had more of them). Then I'll probably knot between the trios of beads instead of using seeds like I've done here.<br />
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Just to give you a better idea of what the bead combination would look like with more colour, here are two other variations of it:<br />
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(If I'd had purple/lilac maple leaf beads this challenge would of cause have featured the flower below instead of the beige-brown beads. Believe it or not, despite my love of purple, I only own two purple leaf beads -- and they're not the right shape for this.)<br />
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I think I'll play around some more with this bead combo, see what I can make from it and perhaps see if it works with other leaf beads too, though of the ones I have I do believe maple leaves are the best option. I'll also do a few dangles with just one leaf below the flower.<br />
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<a href="http://humblebeads.blogspot.se/search/label/Mojo%20Challenge" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://humblebeads.blogspot.se/search/label/Mojo%20Challenge" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNAvoqw_tY87kGISacd4FqtAGVqL6uysNfKRbl3Ypz9O8_kfBg5TuZ0xtTacDBWvJUc9FfjKlq_BjrCcUxinQK2WFWXh2sYOTjfdcqqCj5c3QqHbJfVIROeB9VNFFtLFXOMhmLI3W-f5Z/s1600/tools2.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-60446672329696284852014-05-03T20:18:00.002+02:002014-05-03T20:18:48.419+02:00Gifts from the soil -- job benefits and slow jewellery<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hwT30Sh3A2yB525WGOFdAGB1HY6I7OC7IvzGtpbxX9kvhd1wN8XXUswG4GubSdSasY4sX-J2jXwRsfg2ltNnVwZtV0qPLY8-t4zVFo6aDgYyEXTOswPz0IryE6fT6aBT4Yxpif9nXPI/s1600/flintspetsen+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hwT30Sh3A2yB525WGOFdAGB1HY6I7OC7IvzGtpbxX9kvhd1wN8XXUswG4GubSdSasY4sX-J2jXwRsfg2ltNnVwZtV0qPLY8-t4zVFo6aDgYyEXTOswPz0IryE6fT6aBT4Yxpif9nXPI/s1600/flintspetsen+(3).JPG" height="320" width="192" /></a></div>
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As I've mentioned on a couple of occasions before, one of the job benefits my sis and I enjoy when working in the potato fields is collecting stones and especially flints. The other day, when removing some of the fiberweb (the white sheets the early potato fields are covered in during spring) I made my best find yet. A flintstone arrow head! It really made my day, I was just so thrilled about it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTT7KgfhXjx5l_SnVM9m9RkwfXlr8UWxPD_IJ5HUgqXrDVGbyoRzlTLX7OEtZXTEjGZI9LsprspBRXLmutiqlGlMghoWDiXwPGFggPh9r7FRUpgeXe0vBAjRI-7BvRlVivMBEf5xm8-8A/s1600/flintspetsen+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTT7KgfhXjx5l_SnVM9m9RkwfXlr8UWxPD_IJ5HUgqXrDVGbyoRzlTLX7OEtZXTEjGZI9LsprspBRXLmutiqlGlMghoWDiXwPGFggPh9r7FRUpgeXe0vBAjRI-7BvRlVivMBEf5xm8-8A/s1600/flintspetsen+%25281%2529.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZZzlbdGTIdIRTCjIx50yHzf72ZZEscdEnZ0bZ06iLYwrwYQKwuJmWrafnfJgrkFFPf1vkLKrew0tFAOUORc29IRE3zPOJ5KaiEPt15mHIhkQ3ZqSnAEeZ8XDUd6axj74CoM2ghlfwnY/s1600/flintspetsen+%25286%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZZzlbdGTIdIRTCjIx50yHzf72ZZEscdEnZ0bZ06iLYwrwYQKwuJmWrafnfJgrkFFPf1vkLKrew0tFAOUORc29IRE3zPOJ5KaiEPt15mHIhkQ3ZqSnAEeZ8XDUd6axj74CoM2ghlfwnY/s1600/flintspetsen+%25286%2529.JPG" /></a></div>
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Since beginning to collect/hoard flintstones as a kid I've dreamed of finding something like the one and a half axes grandpa found in his fields, but so far I've just found stone and nuggets that, as a layman, I could just guess might've been partially formed by a human hand. This is the first piece I've found that I'm 100 % sure has been formed by man. It was pretty exciting to find, especially since I found it while being busy working and I was so close to not picking it up. Luckily, the unusual rectangular shape and light colour made it stand out and tempt my eyes. I was just pure luck that the edge of the fiberweb stopped just there and that the plowing and digging had unearthed the piece just in time for me to find it.<br />
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Now you might say "well, have you reported the find?" I'm very well aware -- and very proud -- of the laws protecting our cultural history, but generally flint items are so common länsstyrelsen in Skåne isn't that interested in single finds like this (I asked them once because of the beautiful stone age axe my grandpa gave me so I'm not just going by hearsay on this). Though I would be interested in contacting someone to learn about the age, use etc of my find. I've seen similar arrow heads that's been dated to the end of the ice age, ca 11-12 000 years old. That's as far back as you can go with artefacts in these areas that used to be covered by the ice sheet.<br />
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It isn't a big piece either. I didn't have a ruler nearby so I took a photo of it next to an AA battery for a size comparison:<br />
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In other news, I just sowed some jewellery making supplies. Another gift from the soil that I expect later in summer.<br />
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No, I'm not being barmy: what I'm talking about is sowing flowers to dry for making cute jewellery. Like this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTI5MjY1OHwyNzIzMDA2MzE5/forest-girl-at-heart" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTI5MjY1OHwyNzIzMDA2MzE5/forest-girl-at-heart " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnn1GDF5MWoDedMzH8ZawkMBbXB296KJeHl2uMSxgjyNTDhXRZv8z_mbnTZkydcOFuI4X1NJ4VW_7EMA7qSbpgX4akAIo56ogvBDq6E6X3Y166R79pv3xQ7XR3blQ-ZC6XtD-yqXDYZ8/s1600/forest+girl+at+heart+liten.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small;">(Screen shot of an Etsy treasury I made. Many pieces are sold, <br />but you can still find what's left of the treasury <a href="https://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTI5MjY1OHwyNzIzMDA2MzE5/forest-girl-at-heart" target="_blank">here</a>.)</i></td></tr>
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I know you can buy dried flowers, but not always the ones you want and buying from a florist or what few commercial cultivators of everlasting flowers there are in the 21st century can be a tad expensive. So I thought I might as well try to sow a few seeds. I'm not useless at gardening, but I'm no expert either. It was dad that was the expert, lovingly caring for an expanding garden -- and teaching us kids the art and craft of it. I haven't cared that much for gardens in years, mainly because I haven't had one of my own where I could do what I wanted.<br />
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But this year, I was so inspired by the poetic mori-style jewellery I couldn't keep myself from buying some seeds. Fingers crossed I've got green fingers (or green thumb as some of you say) and there'll be at least a couple of flowers to harvest.<br />
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You've heard about slow food and even slow cities, well, I guess this is slow jewellery! I'll take me months to make a simple pendant if counting from yesterday when I sowed the seeds.<br />
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If any flowers do seem to be popping up, I'll keep you updated.<br />
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And if you wonder about the fiberweb, it's not to keep the soil and seeds warm or anything -- it's mainly an attempt to keep the cats from thinking the newly weeded and raked soil is a big new litter box... Think it'll keep them out? Well, perhaps as long as they don't realise how warm it can be under a sheet like this, or indeed on it. Then they might want to sleep on it instead, something the plants won't like either. Gardening with cats isn't always easy.<br />
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<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-73732090835431033892014-05-01T21:14:00.003+02:002014-05-01T21:14:54.179+02:00Welcome, fair May!<br />
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Photo (of the first sunset of May) should be viewed while playing the audio below.<br />
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<br />Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052855468880132303.post-64142247430754341232014-04-30T19:05:00.000+02:002014-04-30T19:18:26.157+02:00Happy Walpurgis!<br />
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It's Walpurgis Night, Valborgsmässoafton (aka Siste April), today and so I thought I must make a little blog post. I rarely visit any bonfires or celebrate the arrival of spring in any particular way other than just enjoying the flowers in the garden and in nature, perhaps reflecting on in now really being spring and that summer is just around the corner (thanks to the warm easter weather, meteorologists have already declared it <i>meteorological summer</i> down here but that is far from "real" summer).<br />
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To illustrate the beauty of spring, I chose to go with the cherry blossom this time.<br />
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~*~</div>
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Edited because I had to add a little bonfire and music to really set the mood. :-)</div>
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Manekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362626785474144154noreply@blogger.com0