sinterklaas

The evening of the 5th of December was the most exciting evening of my childhood. Even more so than Christmas Eve. It is the night of Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas), the traditional winter holiday figure of Dutch folklore and the historical figure behind Santa Claus. He is celebrated in the Netherlands with parades, feasts and present giving.

All that is known for certain about the existence of Sinterklass, is that he was a bishop of Myra and died on the 6th of December sometime in the fourth century. But there are many legends and stories about Sinterklaas, and how he saved three children and was made a saint for his kindness.

Today the image of Sinterklaas is of a very old bishop, with a long white beard, a mitre, a red gown and a long staff. He arrives by ship to Amsterdam each year from Spain, and rides a grey horse through the city and over the roof tops. He is always accompanied by one or more mischievous helpers called Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), with black faces and wearing colourful historic Moorish dress. Sinterklaas' helper was originally believed to be an African slave who Sinterklaas brought freedom to and in gratitude stayed with him to assist with the present giving. Another considered more politically correct explanation is that Zwarte Piet's face is black from the soot from climbing through chimneys delivering gifts.

In medieval times, the feast of Sinterklaas was an occasion to help the poor, by putting money in their shoes. This gradually evolved into the tradition of putting presents, marzipan and pepernoten (small ginger biscuits) in the shoes of children who have been good, and coal in those that have been naughty.

The evening of the 5th of December is the main gift giving occasion. My Dad or sometimes my Grandad would dress up as Zwarte Pete, in the traditional Moorish dress, paint their face with shoe polish "soot" and play tricks on us. He would hide outside in the dark, tapping on the window and throwing pepernoten down the stairs, only to disappear into the night back to Spain, leaving a sack of presents by the door. The gifts were unwrapped with the family, and poems especially written to go with the gift read out. Traditional songs were sung, sweet treats eaten and hot chocolate drunk late into the evening.

Pepernoten
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbspn water
1 egg yolk
1/4 tspn each of cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered cloves and some anise seeds
a pinch of salt

Knead all ingredients into a soft ball. Butter two baking sheets. Form about ninety marble sized balls. Divide them over the sheets, so that they are placed equal distance from one another. Flatten each ball slightly. Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 180 degree C or until done. They are supposed to be very hard biscuits.

levity III

We escaped into a colourful dream world on the weekend... Levity III. An inflatable, sculptural ‘luminarium’. Designed by architect Alan Parkinson, Levity is a labyrinthine of tunnels which open out into soaring domed rooms.

The colour and light created in each of the rooms is natural sunlight filtering through the coloured wall membranes. The colour and quality of each of the spaces changes as the intensity of the sunlight dims or brightens.

A truly amazing experience.

"Described as a space somewhere between a womb and a cathedral, Levity III is a highly immersive experience that awakens a sense of wonder at the beauty of light and colour."

etsy treasury - two

Another Etsy treasury, yay! The vintage bicycle print jumpsuit has been featured in an Etsy treasury for all new designers who have not been discovered yet. Thanks to Jewelry by Tamar.

etsy treasury

Discovery - take 2! Beautiful items from new sellers

My vintage tandem bicycle jumpsuit was featured in an Etsy treasury this week. Very exciting, my first one! Thanks to arc housewares.

umbrella girl dresses

I'm working on a new baby dress. It will be a reversible wrap dress, lavender, with a cute spotty lining material. A screen printed umbrella girl is appliqued on the front. I can't wait to see them finished, they are going to be so cute. I think I will have to make one for Hannah. They will be in my Etsy shop soon!

pocket mouse

A few months back I found this little mouse, and fell in love with him. He arrived in the post and now lives on my cupboard. It is so beautifully made from felted wool and recycled tweed. Have a look at Marjji on etsy... beautiful folk art and vintage items.

www.Marjji.etsy.com

kleintje

I opened my Etsy shop this month. Kleintje. It has been a long time coming, but I finally got there. I've had so many ideas but so little time to realise them.

All the products so far are screen printed children's clothing, handmade dresses and crocheted slippers. There is lots more to come...

www.kleintjehandmade.etsy.com

party

It is nearly our little girl's first birthday... and we are going to celebrate!

bye bye sandra

One of my lovely friends has moved over east. We are sad to see her leave, but so excited for her and all the amazing things she has ahead. I made this moleskin note book cover as a little good bye gift. The image I drew and printed during my screen printing course.

Anthurus archerii

Beautiful but grotesque. I'd never seen anything like this fungi before, the Octopus Stinkhorn. It is growing in a damp shady corner in Mum's garden. The fungi starts growing as a grey/brown ball or egg before splitting open and unfolding into a red star. The olive green centre is the spore. The revolting part of this fungi is, as it matures it stinks of rotting flesh, oozing slime and attracting blowflies. Not the best thing to have growing right near your front door. The blowflies are swarming and have spread the spores, so now little brown fungi balls are popping up everywhere.

screen printing

This week was my final class of the screen printing course I've been doing at TAFE for the past couple of months. I loved every part of the printing process. It is a bit sad it is finished, but I've come away with lots of ideas and bought some materials so I can start producing from home. Very exciting!

vintage patterns

I was recently given this pile of vintage children's clothing patterns from Rae, a gorgeous lady in Nanna's craft group. One of her first jobs as a teenager was to develop the sizing charts for Simplicity Patterns. The patterns are from the early 70's. I love the classic posed illustrations of the perfect happy children. So gorgeous. I can't wait to start making

happy birthday alli

Crocheted, felted wool slippers for my cousin. I'm starting to get the hang of the felting now. It can be a bit hit and miss. Throwing a pair of wool slippers in the washing machine always seems a bit risky, and often they shrink more than I intend them to. Like Cinderella and the glass slipper, who ever the slipper fits best... Luckily these ones I crocheted for Alli fitted her perfectly. Happy Birthday.

dutch pickled red cabbage

This is one of Mum's favourite recipes and something I remember eating lots of as a kid. Spiced sweet and sour. Traditionally is is served warm with fish, but also venison or other red meat.

Ingredients:
1 red cabbage
3 green apples
3 small onions
1 tspn cinnamon
3 bay leaves
3 tspn sugar
1/3 cup vinegar or to taste
pinch cloves
1 or 2 tspn salt
pinch pepper
2 tbsn corn flour
1 litre water

Slice red cabbage thinly. Chop onion. Peel, chop and core apples. Layer the cabbage, onion, apple and spices into a pot. Pour over water and steam for 1/2 hour to 3/4 hour. Stir after 20 minutes to check. Cabbage should be soft when cooked. Add more sugar/salt/vinegar to taste depending if you prefer it more sweet or more sour. Dissolve cornflour in half a cup of water and quickly stir though cabbage. Cook on stove for a couple of minutes to cook the cornflour and thicken the liquid, stiring constantly.

winter months

1. Winter walks on the beach 2. Smokey and Blackie being taken to their grass patch in the sunshine 3. Winter Willows 4. Snow peas on a frosty morning 5. Hannah's beanie beautifully hand knitted by VictoriaOC 6. One hundred kilos of macadamias 7. Matryoshka Doll measuring cups 8. Chili in the middle of winter? 9. Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett, a new favourite book.

puppet community

Oma knitted these finger puppets for us when we were little kids. A bride, a groom, a bridesmaid, a school girl, a school boy, a baker, a grandma, a grandpa, a nanna, a mamma, a daddy, a teenager, a baby, a sailor, a swimming champion, a hunter, red riding hood, Sinterklass and Zwarte Piet. My favourites were always the bride and groom and Sinterklass and Zwarte Piet (Saint Nicholas and Black Pete. Sinterklass is a celebration on the 5th of December in Holland to celebrate the naming day of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of Amsterdam. It was such an exciting day for us as kids).

Mum kept the finger puppets in the attic all these years, and recently brought them back to life for our children to play with. I really appreciate now how much work went into making them and how beautiful they are. Made with the most intricate details, using tiny buttons, feathers, beads and embroidery.

cuddle blankets

When my sister was pregnant a couple of years ago I knitted this blanket for her baby boy. I think this was the first handmade thing I had made in years, and possibly what got me back into being creative. I also made one for Hannah when I was pregnant.

Little cousins and their blankies.

Ot en Sien

Ot en Sien (Otto and Francine) is a series of children's stories set in Drenthe in the early 1900's about the daily life of two Dutch children growing up next door to each other. The stories written by Hendricus Scheepstra are inspired by Jan Ligthart's idea of showing young people what was considered a "healthy daily family life". The stories however, portray an idealistic version of what life was considered it should have been, rather than the impoverished provence Drenthe actually was. During the first part of the twentieth century, the stories of Ot en Sien were extremely influential in elementary school education as a teaching tool for reading. Generations of children in The Netherlands have grown up with the stories of Ot en Sien.

When Mum emigrated to Australia she brought these hand sculpted clay figurines and a book illustrated by Cornelis Jetses. They are something I have strong memories of playing with as a child. Ot en Sien are a definite reminder of childhood.