papa's "teekendoos" and mama's stains











Today I had a good start: daily exercise routine, followed by relaxation yoga and healthy breakfast. J. came round for a walk and we chose a walk in Neerijnen; a village roughly 20 minutes away by car. We first visited ‘t Stroomhuis for an exhibition, because I mistakenly thought WaardArt artists would be exhibiting there, and maybe they were but if so, we missed them and saw other people's artwork. After that, off we went into the beech woods, soon straying from the path as we wandered into the castle gardens: the roses! the herbs! the Morning Glory!  it was well worth the slight detour. We continued our walk-about along the dike , rounded yet another castle and through the woods found our way back to the car. It was delightful and we said to one another we must do this again sometime soon! 

We got back in time for a webinar I had registered for; I happened to notice it the other day on one of Willemien de Villiers 'Instagram posts....it was fascinating, enlightening and inspiring.

The four female artists discussing their [textile related] work were: as mentioned Willemien de Villiers*, Sharlene Khan, Reshma Chhiba and Mary Sibande. While they were talking I sat stitching, simple squares on my Allotment quilt, images further down.

Both parents still alive, although we have taken the tough decision of having to move our mother to a hospice, as soon as they have a place for her. I am once again sorting through their stuff when I'm there, which is more or less three days a week now.

I bring back the things I can use or that have some meaning for me, like my dad's old Teekendoos; the two "ee's" are pre-WWII Dutch spelling, these days we write Tekendoos. Enough rubbers to last you a life time and down at the bottom I found what must have been my first ruler, gasp. I had no idea he was sentimental like that. 



 


The white side of the Allotment quilt, where blue outlines of the colour fields are emerging, I was inspired by something Jude posted, goes without saying, really. 


Ha, funny how these trousers echo the cloth I'm working on. They belong to my mother. She has two identical pairs and used to wear them in and around the town house in Maastricht and their summer house in Denmark, sold eleven years ago. Apparently not her smartest....going out she would dress up. I try on something new each time I'm there and take it back with me, to keep on wearing. She likes the idea of me wearing her clothes. I love that there are already stains so I don't have to worry about making them, as I'm very good at that. They're ideal for studio life and walking with Django.

*one of the things Willemien mentioned was how much she likes old cloth with the stains, this struck a chord....




It's a lovely evening. Cheers!

Comments

Jude said…
It was a lovely visit!
Mo Crow said…
that was a lovely summer walk thank you!
Hazel said…
Enjoyed the artists' links, and the wander through your world and quilting. The Teekendoos boxes are swell.
Saskia said…
Jude, Mo Hazel: don't quite know what to say, my head is heavy with all that's going on here; thx for dropping by
Nancy said…
Saskia, I was here, meandered with you and thought I'd commented. Oh well. know that I'm thinking of you xo

tungsten

tungsten

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