KARIBOMBARI

Skull and bones

when I started blogging I blogged one a day, every day.  I felt I needed to, had lots to say, lots of new things to share.  nowadays I blog so little I'm surprised when I notice people actually still read my blog.
which brings the reoccurring thought to me: "why do I blog".  but I do, and I like it, sometimes, the times I do write.  and I do like to tell you what we ate, when I'm excited about the soup I made.  why?  I don't know.  I just think you like to read about it as well.  you will get excited about the soup too. and sometimes you do.  and to be honest, it's not a big deal.  just a friendly neighbourly blog thing.
but no soup today.
instead I've got a skull print out (pdf) for you, from this website, a link I got in the 52 projects newsletter.  totally cool and funny and I'm sure that F. (not the biggest crafter in the universe) will enjoy cutting this one and sticking it on something.  Skulls is all I'm knitting at the moment, having knit one for F., that got sold to Kiet (see how cool he looks :) and one for M.
I've 3 more to finish (well one is done) before I can even start on his.  But it's great fun to do, esp. in the different colors.  My fingers actually itch to knit.  So my evenings are filled with knitting.  Well on mondays it's knitting and watching Ugly Betty which pretty much is my little bit of heaven.
have you watched the show, it's so funny, for me it's what candy is to my kids.  Just love it and nothing comes between it.  NO THING!
so today is my workday and in true character I'm stalling.  surfing the web ("looking for inspiration"), having a chat and some coffee ("otherwise i can't start the day"), writing on my blog ("it was long overdue!").  I have lots of reasons not to start just yet but the one I like best is that I don't have a studio like this one.  That's another bit of heaven to me.  And doesn't my pinpouffe look at home.  I envy her :)
but really there's no excuse, esther of mokka fame makes the most beautiful bags from her home, and she's been talking about it on tv!  Go check that out! :)

beautiful things

what follows is just some of the beautiful things I found on Etsy.com:

something made of wood by gypsyandtwink
something made from leather by hollyhawk
something made from stone by SkyDreams
something made of wool by cosyknitsliterally
something made from fabric by SCRAPdannymansmith
something very cute by teenybeak

all picked off the treasury at Etsy.com

start of the cold

After a gorgeous 2 week holiday, in which I took my knitting needles but never used them, in which I thought of my sewing machine quite a lot, I'm home again, in the cold, with a sweet longing for the holiday just past.  Today was my work day and I made a new bag of this gorgeous retro fabric I found at the bottom of a box in a jumble sale.  The bag is quite large, with rounded corners and long strong straps to go around the shoulder.  I love it and put it up for sale in my Etsystore.  I still have some of the same fabric, it really makes me happy to look at it, that I want to use for another project.
It's very strange and hard to imagine that there are countries, not too far away, that have blue skies, azure seas and warm days and nights.  I feel the cold in the wind here, even when the sun shines, and know we are definitely heading towards winter.  Meisje M. is prepared.  While I can't let go of the sun and am already scheduling another sunny break while I'm hoping and lobbying for a more permanent escape of the wintercold :)
I read some books, DBC Pierre's Ludmilla's broken english, and Peking eend bij nacht van Sylvia Witteman, the first one is brilliant and the second made me laugh outloud, something that really annoyed the brit.

the key is

A friend asked if I could make her a keycord.  Of course I can.  I did get a very pretty one in a swap once which was hanging from my cupboard and so I tried that one out last week.  And loved it!  I never really gotten into the keycord thing.  Didn't get it really or think about it.
What I did do is hold my keys in my hand or chuck them in the kiddy seat of my bike.  The short trips to school and back I don't often take coat or bag.  Handy it is not.
Handy is a keycord!  Very handy. 
Then I went to the supermarket and in my haste I tied the keycord around my wrist instead of hanging it around my neck and guess what.  That's also very handy.  As you most probably already know.
So I made one for my friend, me, and F. and one for sale :)

also selfknowledge is key, here's a selfportrait by the brit. isn't he clever :)

we are not soup people.2

as I said before we are not soup people however times are changing.  Meisje M.  seems to like soup and the brit liked the courgette and loved the carrot-orange soup.   inspired by the new Elle eten I made a spicy apple pie which was really lovely.   there's a bit of cardamom in it and it made my coffee taste delicious.

above set was fun to make.  I don't make enough fat s.p.l.a.t.'s but when i do it's really good fun.

with school starting tomorrow I'll hopefully get a little more time to craft.  it's been so much fun, the summer holidays and I really regret it's over.   F. is really looking forward to going to school again so I'll just have to let him go ;)

Meisje M.'s old clothes are in a very large box and it's nearly full up.  I was wondering what to do with them, wether to keep them in case someone around me would have a little girl but since there not (everyone is having boys!) I thought I should   make a quilt for meisje M.'s bed from them.  So first I'll try my hand at something simple and see how that goes before I start cutting them up.  Found this fun group at Flickr about quilting.  To be honest I can hardly see myself making anything of this having absolutley no patience but I've got time.  She's still in her baby bed!

keyrings and things

I'm a year older.  but that's okay (she says).  the day was great,  with cake and good chats, a nice evening out and great presents like bathstuff and bodystuff from Betsey Johnson.  The luxury!  F. picked out the best card in the shop for me and wow, it is beautiful.

I've bought cards of Neve that came really quick and are really fun!  Here's some more of my favourite sellers on Etsy. 

Did some thrifting again, my house is so full now, but I just can't resist it.  Amongst a lot of other things I got 2 of  these mirrors while holidaying in  England.  2 of these african print batiks  in my local thrift store. new (not thrifted) is this bag from Mono-amsterdam, which I love as it's waterproof and got the handiest 2 zippers on the sides so easy to get my keys in and out while having M. on my arm.

It's not all shop shop shop, really contrary to what you might think I hardly ever shop.  My head is full of change and possibility at the moment.  Trying to sort out what I'd like to do when meisje M. goes to school.  I've got a good 2.5 years before that happens and it could be used for study.   I'm trying to find my way through a mix of dreams, abilities, experience, expectation and fear (amongst a whole big pond of other feelings).  Advice from all fronts is most welcome!!

summer holidays

we had holidays, family visits, I saw my old  friend with her kids, other old friends came to stay, a new baby was born and tomorrow is my birthday.
we had rain, wind and sun, boattrips and museum visits, beach days and terrace days (my personal favorites).  we had no school.  I love summer holidays.  I wish they would never end.

one of my friends came around with this book I should read, titled The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.  she couldn't tell me what it was about without spoiling it.  I have just finished reading it and it's a gem of a book.  it pierced my heart. but I can't tell you what it is about.  that would be spoiling it.  you just have to go and read it yourself.  after the brit has read it I'll put it up on my Bookcrossing shelf and you can email me if you'd like to read it.

The crafting is still going slow but I'm enjoying it more than ever.  I've made some more aprons and am in the process of making some more keyrings.

Finally some kids in cool outfits, including M.

we are not soup people

when I say we I really mean the rest of my family.  They don't like soup.  Well the kids will  try one spoonful and say: oh that's yummy.  than when I offer them a whole bowl they say: nooooooo.
The brit only eats soup when he's ill.  And only Campbell's tomato soup.
Sometimes, when I really don't know what to cook anymore, we get soup from soupenzo.
Sometimes, when I've been wanting to eat soup for a while and everyone said 'nooooo', I need to make myself some soup.  Tonight I'll try to make courgette soup.  Someone made it for me one night and I couldn't believe how a soup that was so simple to make could be  so delicious.  Having forgotten that simple way I've just Googled courgette soup and picked 3 recipes knowing I definitely will be short of one ingredient because I always am.  This way I can read the recipes, combine the techniques, omit the ingredients I don't have and add the ones I do.  This sounds complicated but really it's not.   Hopefully I'll eat some really nice tasting soup tonight.

Some new photos here.

[update] As it turned out I ended up using Nick Nairn's recipe as I did have all the ingredients for that one, bar the red onion which I sub'd with a yellow one.  I doubled the quantities except for the basilicum, used a beef cube iso a vegetable one and it was really nice.  M. liked it, as predicted F. took one mouthful and liked it but passed and the Brit liked it but opted for something else.

new things

 

                

 

after a short holiday we're back in town.  I loved being away, love travelling anyway.
Always want to move, experience new things, see new places and old faces :)
This was fun.
Isn't it crazy to just have a few weeks a year holiday?  It doesn't make sense to me.

New thing I found on Rosa Pomar's website.  ThisNext.com
Have been browsing it all night, so much cool stuff on there.
Like this owl.  I just have to have it.

Have a great night!  (via Kristine)

the plastic project .2

I loved making the pillow cum bag from plastic shoppingbags.  Something about the plastic, sewing it and stuffing it.  I know now what that something is, after seeing meisje M. walking around with it, taking it out.  It's not a bag, because it's to stuffy but it could be a 'full' shopping bag, it's not a pillow, because it's got a bag handle.  But it's a prop.  It's a user object.

Some sweet new  babies have been born around me making me think of bibs and other baby stuff.
So I wanted to try and see if I could make some from a plastic supermarket bag.
Here's the first one.  This one is made of an AH bag.  It's lightweight and not bulky.  I thought the plastic might be uncomfortable around the neck but it's not.  It'll be ideal to take along on our summer holiday road trips.
Here's a great website also doing excellent recycled shoppingbag things.