Another piece of HISTORY

 Right now I’m battling with a rather annoying flu. As I was lying in bed for past several days, doing absolutely nothing, I decided to work on the project I started a long time ago – putting on some of the traditional patterns online. 

Traditional crafts always fascinate me, from Scottish kilts to our mitten designs. If you look at the bar above, you will see few new pages there to look at - this, this and this. 

Many of the patterns come from the three thick volumes on our traditional costume, printed late 20; s –early 30's so quality of printing is a bit outdated but the wealth of information is still there. 

I believe that many of these patterns are still brilliant for modern quilt or fashion ideas. 

Just look at this linen shirt! I can imagine wearing it with my black jeans and looking fab. 

Or these knitted socks – while they are part of one of our region’s traditional costume, they can be a fantastic fashion statement. 

Whatever, I enjoyed putting at least some up and will continue when the next flu will hit me again. Hope you will find them as inspiring as I do.

The time of the year

This is the time of the year when I put down any big projects and play with little things for Christmas. I believe in handmade presents (maybe I'm just avaricious LOL). Usually I do a lot of knitting, but this year I decided to downsize even more so there will be little tree decorations. So... I hadn't been laying lazy all last month, I had been sewing like mad these little things.
2 inches approx eac, only the angel is a bit bigger.

Ginger bear

Angel (can sit on top of the tree as well)

Robin

Hearts with Rudolph

Headgehog (front)

Hedgehog (back, glass beads

Wrapping usually is a hard task, especially for a bunch of little ones, so I just made a little shoulderbags where they all can sit in homely, and when all the little ones are on the tree, the bag can be used as a ... bag. It's only 8X8 inches, so good only for a pear of gloves, phome, and maybe a purse as well.

Ben

As for me - I got my X mass present already - Ben&Jerry. No, not an ice cream, no, these are pair of family heirloom. 

Jerry

Miro bag

Made another one - so far this is my favorite. I named it after Miro, it resembles his style.

Other than that life hasn't changed - my main concern is health, health and more health. The good news - math is slowly creeping back, now my little one can manage aritmetics in 100 range. It's a big step forwards as a month ago the basic within 10 was a mission impossible. The bad news - she still hasn't got her left side fully back, is fighting with heavy fatique and all in all it isn't looking easy fight for us all ahead. But we are managing, day by day, step by step.

Few more bags

New year hadn't started well - we still have no idea what it is - ADEM or MS. Doctors say that is so atypical that all we can do is just wait. Wait and more wait ... while child is still limping and fighting with fatigue and heavy mood swings. Damn, it's so not easy.

 To kill some of my frustration I played with some crocheting and felting mix and created few more bags. Just for fun, experimenting.

The idea is - crochet the base and then felt on top. It actually looks better than in pictures, especeially this forst one. Very bright and funny. 

 Here is a close-up - you can see the crocheted base through the top felting.

One littleblack thing

In between everything else, I started to crochet whilesitting at the bedin hospital. I do not like very little piddly jobs but this one I picked deliberately to keep my mind busy.
Yesterday I finally completed it. A little black hedgehog/portupine bag for a friend, a very good friend.

Pictures are not great, it is so hard to take photos of black objects, especially with flash indoors, but hope you get the idea.

I used the 1.5 mm hook, so it is quite a piddly job.:D Today it already went to Bilbao for Christmas.

So see, I keep on trying to work on something. I really do.It calms me down a bit.

LIFE GOES ON

The waiting game is killing me right now. I’m the person who always prefers the known (as bad as it can be) instead of unknown uncertainty. If you know exactly who your enemy is, you can face it. Lurking around in the dark is much harder. 

Doctors had rounded possibilities for us down to two options which is already a good thing. So ADEM or multiple sclerosis? While doctors are counting oligloclonal bands....  

Not to abuse my own nails I abused internet, hour after hour, reading, reading and reading some more. I learned a lot, I must admit.

First of all – nobody knows anything, it’s still not far away from finding a black cat in a dark room....  ADEM or MS, whatsoever.

Secondly, if it’s ADEM, future is still under a big question mark as according to latest studies, over a half of children with ADEM develop MS later. To make it even more certain, girls are more likely to develop MS than boys. 

Okay, okay, I'm not a neurologist, but I'm a mother. I think this diagram is very good for better understanding about initial diagnosis. 

In our case, there hadn’t been inflammatory markers – all bloodwork was fine. Even perfect. So – not typical for ADEM. She is 11yo, so slightly into MS area. Must add that she is quite tall as well - right now 1.71 m. Not obese. Weight 54 kg. There is research results that obese girls have higher risk of MS, so that might indicate more towards ADEM.

Our girl’s test shoved unilateral optic neuritis. Typical for MS. 

Lesions are periventricular, as far as I can read the MRI, typical so called Dawson's Fingers. Another indicator for MS. 

(The full article is here if you are interested.) 

So all in all while still waiting for CSF results and follow up MRI, I have made my mind up that MS is the combination of letters which we must learn to live with sooner or later. 

Anyway, life goes on. 

Christmas wreath must be made and while left hand is still significantly weaker than the right one, wreath can be made. Sadly we must avoid holy as it is protected here but box is in abundance everywhers.

Not a perfect one, but still – first little job for my little one after the hospital. Schoolwork starts tomorrow....

When its too wet even for the duck

In comparison with Sandy it's nothing, of course, but weather again seems to be too wet even for the ducks. There is nothing I can do about it - just put my boots on the heater to dry out, make a big cup of coffee and wrap myself in a blanket. And cheer myself up with the fact that itš not snowing here yet. :D But anyway - this is the time of the year when knitting mode starts creeping on me.


Yesterday I started another toy - not sure yet which kind of creature it will be at the end, I will decide it later. I'm experimenting with designs and technologies still  and haven't find the optimal solution for joints. With this little one I tried buttons for joints. Metal bottons with leater discs and a wite. Not happy - again too wobbly.

I make the joints tight, as tight as I can, and at the beginning all looks nice. But when stuffed - well, joints become quite loose, nearly vobbly again. Maybe its because I like to stuff properly, very tight, so toy isn't soft anymore? I do not know yet. But so far I'm not happy. I had been reading a lot on Internet about them and will try until I will find the solution which I'm happy with. 

Experimenting with different designs is much more fun. This creature will have needle felted face and paws - I like mixing sewing and needle felting in a toy - it adds character then and there. At the same time it definitely takes away the vintage look which sometimes is not the right thing.

If the weather will be bearable, few other trips might be an option but right now I prefer warm blanket and a big mug of cofffee on the side. Autumn is slowly creeping on me.

What's your fav artist?

I have quite an obsession with Art Noveau. I know isn't the best, let's say, in comparison with Baroque.  I hoped that my love will go away but its not.



So here I am - deep in Art Noveay. Thus my fav artist is very simple - no need even to quess - its Alfons Mucha. My second fav... again, noting really original. Hieronymu Bosh. Then Carl Larsson, Delft pottery, Cluny tapestries... 

Yes, sure, I adore the light of Vermeer and such highligts of the art, but still... by some unknown reaon I like things from the lower shelves. Something which feels like I can reach and touch. Something peaceful. Serene.


It doesn't mean anything for me that Edvard Munch's painting The Scream has been sold for $120m - it's simply does nothing for me.

What's your favourite artist? 

 

Happy again

So now I’m happy. I was turning the house over and over as I was missing one important thing. The crown of the national costume. I did find all other parts but not the crown. OK, it’s just an old embroidered piece, falling apart and no big value but I hated the idea that it has been lost. Now I found it – alone a drawer in completely wrong company, but it’s survived.  It has lost it big glass beads on top which my granny has replaced by small round pearl-shell bits (but I still have the bag of original glass beads) so I will be able to find similar ones to replace the missing ones and repair it properly one day (or I will leave it to my daughters, they need some fun as well LOL).

Our national costume is basically the traditional festive outfit of peasants, craftsmen, fishermen, and other ordinary folk as worn through the centuries, approximately up to the 1870s.

 The traditional costume or rather stylised variations of it became a symbol of Latvian culture in the 1880s, as part of the national song festival. To this day, the traditional costume is an essential element of the song festival. Picture on the left shows a modern day copy, available on market for about $ 200.

The full outfit was not thinkable without a headdress: a crown, a hat or a headscarf. As far as we know, so for at least a thousand years, the head covering served to signify the wearer's marital status. The symbolic covering for a maiden was a wreath or crown ; in some regions, a ribbon served the same purpose

The little girls usually were wearing just a ribbon in their hair for an important event, or a wreath of wild flowers. Early teens started wearing an embroidered ribbon, a smaller, flexible version of a crown, and only grown up girls, ready for marriage, were wearing a full crown. Each area has it’s own style and patterns thus it was like an address book, telling from which part the girl comes. 

The teen stage “little crown” is already gone – I remember wearing it sometimes as a child and it was falling apart then but the main crown is still alive.  

And the best news – I’m back, digging in to my stash now and choosing the colours! Hey, sewing machine, glad to meet you again!         

Fishscale Embroidery

While digging through granny’s drawer I found another piece - pillow case - which might be interesting  because of once popular but now nearly forgotten technique. This manner of embroidery became a novelty during the nineteenth century. By using a variety of coloured fish-scales, very effective borders and designs could be made at a negligible cost.

The most suitable backgrounds for the opalescent tint of fish-scales were velvet, velveteen, plush, satin, or silk, in various shades of green, blue or pink.

 The best scales were those of brilliant iridescent hues with deep serrations, such as could be found in the perch and in some varieties of carp. Other type fish-scales that were beautiful were also utilised, amongst them the luminously coloured scales of the common goldfish. The most brilliant colouring, or rather iridescence, was found in the female; the scales were larger too.
Typically the scales were prepared while quite fresh by cleansing them thoroughly, or, if necessary, by soaking them in clear water until soft and pliable. The fishy smell would pass off entirely, and the thin membrane would roll up, only adhering at one side of each scale.
I remember soaking them in dishwashing solution before drying out as well as ironing them. In the picture you can see white little spots decorating scales – it’s simple punctuating by needle or awl.The edges were trimmed by scissors to fit the flat decor but Victorians managed to create really stunning 3D flowers.

A bit of old resin

  Yesterday at the fair I bought for myself two things - an amber necklace and a wooden spatula.

I love unpolished, raw amber necklaces/bracelets. Why? Because I like amber and (mostly!) because I’m over 50 now. Seriously, when you are getting older, wearing amber is just mandatory (well, if you believe in all these things, of course; I do :D ).

By scientists, Baltic amber (succinite) is a fossil resin from the Eocene Age which formed under natural conditions over 45 million years ago.  

Amber has a unique ingredient called succinic which is what provides its remarkable health benefits. 

Baltic Amber has much higher levels of succinic acid than other ambers, thus it is considered the most therapeutic  amber in the world.  

By some, succinic  acid works as an inhibitor (an agent slowing down or totally stopping the loss of) of potassim ions  and an antioxidant. Therefore, it  may be called a scientifically described, modern elixir of youth.  By others, amber is electronegative so it produces negative ionization where it’s touching the skin and negative ionisation helps the body repel illnesses.
Succinic Acid is claimed to have antioxidant properties that help fight free radicals. It can act as an analgesic (pain killer), anti-biotic and an anti-inflammatory and is used in the production of some antibiotics, vitamins and amino acids (vi). It is believed that small amounts of succinic acid may be absorbed from the amber into the bloodstream when it is worn in contact with skin.

Whatever the scientists say, the facts are – amber keeps ticks away from dogs if dog wears amber, baby teething go much easier  if baby wears amber and elderly people suffer less joint pain and such if wearing amber. I’m not a dog, I’m not a baby so - obvious – I’m into that elderly category.

Spatula... Just because. Nice wooden spatula is always useful, and this one has such a nice juniper wood handle. Juniper wood also has some... well, reputation. :D

Juniper (along with lavender and thyme) is considered to be particularly effective as antiseptic and disinfectant. Juniper oil can help reduce swelling and joint pain and is used to treat arthritis. And most of all – I simply like the smell of juniper.  

If you want to know prices, it's 8 EUR for the amber and 5 EUR for the spatula.

Arts and Crafts Fair III

Amber is traditionally ours, but now a lot of other materials are used.

Wood&metal