*in my bubble

Last day of October.

This month I really disappeared into a cozy needlework bubble. I finished three projects and am working on a fourth bigger one. I made some more clay experiments and continued clearing out the attic (it seems a life long project, there is still a lot of construction waste to dispose bit by bit). The weekend will stay mild and I can't wait to transition into more frosty weather. But the good thing is that our fig tree had some more time to let his fruits ripen, so I could pick some more yesterday and they tasted fantastic! The garden beds are overgrown with cosmos flowers and when the blossoms are glowing out of the mist in the mornings, it is a real feast for the eyes.

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*sand & sea

It was quite a journey until my friend Olivia from Sweden received the crochet bag that I made for her (in the colors sand & light blue which are one of her favorites and I love them too)! The package was lost somewhere on the mailing route in Germany and we were very lucky that it got found in the end and came back to me, so I resent it and yesterday it finally arrived safe at her place! It would have been so sad if it was lost completely when thinking of the hours of work that went into making it. If you have seen my Croatia movie, then you know that this bag has absorbed a lot of fresh ocean air before it was finished. 

The main pattern is from "Paula strickt". It is the third bag in this style I made over the years. You can see the other ones here and here if you like.

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*Recently

We are having misty days, but still quite mild temperatures for the time of the year. We only regularly heated the tiled stove so far and hardly the kitchen stove. I'm full of ideas for my clay work. The last firing did not turn out so well for some pieces, some black pieces have created "warts". I already knew about the issues with dark clays, but made some more research about it, the higher manganese content tends to gas out when firing with high temperatures and you have to find the right temperature where it still sinters. But I had pieces with other clay too, so I did burn all together again. But still I'm really excited of the black clay outcomes, I love how the light glaze behaves on it. It created those reddish little spots and the transition to the transparent glaze is simply beautiful. So I am not that disappointed, I already took some pictures that I will share soon again here. Further I finished knitting a hat, I haven't knitted for ages, so I had to kind of find my way back into it first, but after some time my hands remembered what to do again and it worked out and even fitted. I just used wool leftovers and no fixed pattern. And I found an old knitting UFO (unfinished object), that I had since at least six years in a box on our attic. I hope I manage this winter to finish it finally! Let's see how it goes! In any case, enjoy your weekend and see you soon again!

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*An ode to the fog

{Music: Ode to Vivian (Rework) – Patrick Watson}

A walk in the fog, admiring all the spiderwebs, collecting apples and nuts. Between the young walnut trees and the muted green of the meadow I found two yellow glowing spots of toadflax flowers. They were so beautiful, a suaveness in midst of the mist.

The pretty tote bag is designed by my dear friend Olivia Lillemor from Sweden. She gifted it to me in September and I really love it!

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*blue fennel

I love Mondays!

It’s usually my house-cleaning day, but yesterday I finished glazing my latest ceramics, so I postponed the cleaning a bit and loaded the kiln as early as possible. Most of the pieces in the pictures are already carefully packed and will soon be shipped to their new owners. I hope they arrive safely and will be cherished!

I want to slowly replace all my dishes with my handmade ceramics (except for other handmade pieces I have from artist friends). It feels so good to open the kitchen cupboards and see them there. There’s a kind of warmth that handmade items emit – I love that! The jug is currently filled with the last dahlia flowers.

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*Autumn mice

Apple mouse meets pear mouse.

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*The start of autumn & finishing my crochet project

{Music: Highland Railway – James Quinn + Long Strides – Blue Dot Sessions}

A little collection of moments when autumn just started

and I finished my crochet bag project.

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*scents in the wind

A last picture series of our stay at the sea.

The island is abound with wild herbs and lavender. I picked some wild sage, that I dried later for tea and took some seeds to try to grow a plant next spring. I have a big sage plant already, but it is a different sort. I drink a lot of sage tea during the whole year. It's really refreshing and medicative.

We are having heavy storms right now, it was hard to find rest with the noise out there, but I finished another crochet project I started recently. A woolen top. It has been ages since I last crocheted a piece of clothing. Let's see if I can take some pictures soon, it is still so dark outside. It still takes over an hour until the sun rises. Take care & have a nice day!

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*black clay

My first black clay results! They turned out surprisingly satisfying. It’s easier to see in person than in the photos, but the lighter parts of the clay shimmer like gold in the light. The white glaze has a really nice effect on them! You can always click on the pictures to see them larger.

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*playing the ocean

This rainbow was our welcome on island Hvar, it was the first sight when we finally arrived. There is something very special to this island.

Because of the unsteady weather, there were not many people on the beaches or swimming in the sea. But there was this one man, who you would consider to be not the average, I don't know if he had some mental disorder, but that is not the point. After observing him for a moment, I was truly mesmerized. He was completely naked and was holding a key with his mouth, while he was moving gently in the ocean, playing an invisible instrument with his hands, as if the ocean was his piano. He was fully captivated in his own world and seemed to not feel the cold of the water. He did not take notice of others around him or seemed to care about what another might think of him. It was so beautiful to watch. There was this innocence and complete trust in life and the world he emitted. After what seemed like an eternity, he suddenly jumped out of the water, like a child, and ran naked across the street.

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