A diary - it is March 2022

1. 

It is time again for the bear leek (Allium ursinum) - Bärlauch, wich is a perfect herb for salads, soups and more. It is growing in our region as early as this -  in March.

My inspiration for little charming things made of fabric is Ann Wood. These are mushrooms - quite a crafting and it takes some time. You need patience, cardboard, different fabrics, filling material, copper wire for the stems, needle and thread.

My knitting experiment

The yarn is beautiful, natural, linen, silk and cotton. I was however not satisfied with the pattern, I changed my mind, three times, undid, knitted backwards. Started new. 

This time I will pull through with 134 stitches on the round needle for the back of the summer vest, instead of nearly 300 front and back together - when I  could never see the end of one row.

The Chinese bowl is perfect for the yarn ball.

TextileArt.org offered a free workshop - the Stitch Camp! We needed  fabric, three different fabric colors, many different devices to spread the color - paint brushes, bank cards, I used also a fork. The painted „art“-work is being cut into small rectangles, sewn together and embellished with hand stitches.

Below my first try - the colors are quite ok, but the fabric! Actually very fine - but impossible to stitch through with an embroidery needle which would have been essential for this piece. So

I decided to do machine embroidery.  Open the photo and you will see the lines.

I love to do free machine stitching - it is effective and fast. I use Madeira viscose threads, made for machine sewing. They have a lovely sheen.

So much for today. Corona is not over - we still take care with masks and distance. Occasional  meetings with friends and FaceTime with family and children who are living abroad.

When it is spring

Whatever is the name, there are lots of them ...

we gather it in spring and flavor our salad with it

The flowers are not out as yet - I painted them. They are like

small white stars.

And then the salad - also good for soups and any other dish

where you would put parsley in

Leaves are favorite actors in my work

This will be a  cushion - I call it utility art

Bärlauch - bear leek

News from Germany (I will tell you at this place from where I am writing - because we are changing between
                                   Germany and France - in France is the renovation going on in an old house)

Bear leek - Allium ursinum ----- in German: Bärlauch
It is very aromatic and reminds of garlic without the smelly breath afterwards.
I use it like parsley and put it on our salad.
Moreover, I made a dip with fresh cheese and cream cheese,
salt, pepper and mustard and mixed in a lot of chopped leaves.
And I froze the rest. But we will go again to get more.

Bear leek on a grandmother's flowergarden bag - I made it years ago

We collected it in the woods near our village -

how it is growing

we always go by bike

The woods are still leafless - but our temperatures are springlike

------

In front of our house

the magnolia is going to be wonderful.