For the Love of Textiles

The 3th week of the 7 weeks Summerholiday has now started. Over the last 30 years we used to go on holiday for 4 weeks. This holiday is different. Under normal circumstances we would go away in the first week and take a ferry up North or in direction West. Heading to Scandinavia or Scotland or Ireland. Because of Bram's healthissues, we can't go away that far anymore.  So, this holiday we had planned to stay at home. I was slightly worried that I wouldn't like that. But after thinking and talking I came to the conclusion that:   Deventer is a Nice Town to stay in summer.  There is the river, the parks..the nice centre....very relaxing... There is the Poetry festival "Het Tuinfeest"   which is going to happen this Saturday in the Cloister-garden behind our house. Our friend - the City-Poet Lammert Voos - will perform there too, togehter with other famous Poets and more entre-acts.   Sunday the big bookfair will be held all around town. We usually miss all of

Yesterday-afternoon I finally went to see the Film: "Intouchables".  I had heared a lot about this film.  Based on a true story, it tells the story of a friendship between Philippe -a wealthy tetraplegic- and Driss, a young and poor man from the suburbs (the so called Banlieu) from Paris, who is hired as a live-in carer. François Cluzet who playes Philippe is fenomenal and so is  Omar Sy in his role as Driss. This film made my laugh and cry, and probably because I regocnize a lot in it. It is a story about life and dealing with loss and making the most of it.  Crossing borders and possibilities.  It is about dreams and reality and about friendship and love.  And about living in the moment and taking care and responsibility. All those topics are also in our life now.   I remember in the beginning when Bram got healthproblems that it was so hard to deal with.  What to do?  How to handle?  But I have grown into it.. as also Driss did in the fi

Over the last few months my knitting came somewhere behind.. Compared to last year - with usually 1 lace-shawl a month- hardly anything came of the needles.  A pair of socks for Bram (yes, I must make some photo's)..., some squares for the weddingblanket for Jon and Roy.., but that is all. Not much for an Addicted Knitter as I know myself.. There is plenty of yarn around at home in boxes and bags..... Plenty of ideas.. A few things on the needles... But..nothing happened or was finished.. Is this a kind of Knitting Burn-out? No, it is not..Definitely NOT.. On Mondaynight I picked up my needles. Not the Fair-Isle one (too complicated..maybe later in the holiday) but the one with the Blue Aran Jamieson & Smith yarn on it.  Pattern by my favourite Knitting Hero Elizabeth Zimmerman. From her book The Opinionated Knitter which I got as a birthdaygift from Bram while on the Shetland Isles 2 years ago.. The: I remember vividly the moment I b

Last Saturday the first edition from the "Kopfestival"  organized by ScienceCafe Deventer took place in my town. A day full of information about our Brains and this in combination with Art and Music. It was the first day of my 7 weeks summerholiday..so a nice start. A few months ago -while in the train to work- I got in contact with Anne, one of the organizers of the festival. She invited me to join the "Knit a Neuron' Project. I didn't had a clue what a neuron is... but there is always Wikipedia to go to . She told me about the "Knit a Neuron" project initiated by Helen Featherstone . I printed out all the info and the patterns and did cast on the same evening. My first neurons appeared in Berocco Ultra Alpaca, LornaLace handdyed sockyarn, Jamieson & Smith Aran....because one must have something to choose.. We had a meeting to talk about the project. Geertje Dokter would make "something "to hang on the Neurons. And this rath