Salvation

You know how big gardening warehouses sell little dried out Christmas Star plants (Poinsettia / Euphorbia pulcherrima) at Christmas? They all stand there in lines in crates and most of 'em look kind of o.k. and the grabby crowd throws them in their carts anyway because it is Christmas. And then there are three or so standing there... Nobody wants them 'cause they are just to ugly by neglect, maltreatment and grabby customer hands that have hold them and put them away a thousand or so times....??????

You know? 

I am that person who will always adopt the most ugly of the bunch. 

I like to salvage things that have been neglected and give them a new home. 

And so I came to be the proud owner of my favorite wooden bowl, which has the destination of dough kneading bowl, dusty and covered in paint spots it was, and my latest foundling: my mezza luna. She was covered in a thick layer of rust and paint daubs here and there. 

After some tough love, which included the handling of various grind supplements, she has started her new life in our kitchen. 

Now I already praised pasta pesto in a previous post. But that will be what we are eating tonight. Finely chopped with our new "Mezza".

Sewing Basket

Have you ever heard of the fairy godmother?
I have a fairy mother in law! She read my post of dreaming about a new sewing basket and look what I got! this dreamy old little basket, perfect for my wooden bobbins.
I love the carmine red fabric.

I have collected a nice set of antique darning tools. One day I'll really have to learn how to mend my own socks. It takes painstakingly for ever to knit a pair so it will be worth it. I already have one favourite woollen skirt that needs mending after a firecracker exploded during New Years Eve.
I am sooooo grateful for youtube and all the people who are so nice to put their expertise in instruction films.

Thanks to a mild autumn, until this day the sucky thumb mitts RULE!

They are so great, keeping her small hands cosy and warm, lending a helping hand/mitten whenever she falls or decides to crawl over the playground. (She is still mastering the skill of walking.)

This is the second season they come in handy :-)

In my workspace

I am.....

 ...happily working on my metal projects, knitting stitch markers and wire objects.

...creating my own cotton yarn for a soon to be started (Christmas) project.

...enjoying the fire of my little ETNA gas-stove.

... happy.

Thrift finds: Wooden Bobbins

I love second-hand materials. And I totally love these wooden bobbins that I have found at a thrift store. My current sewing box is falling apart out of pure misery. It is a small thing. Now it is time for a "new/old" one to be found. I can already imagine these wooden bobbins in it!

What I love about second-hand craft materials is the idea of memory embedded in the tools, by their previous owners, the skills and love they used to make beautiful things with them. 

I hope some of that skill will pass on to me while taking these treasured tools in my own hands. 

And there is nothing like strolling on a flee-market or second-hand store, it's my favorite way of shopping. You never know what you'll find and there is such a diversity!