CREATIVE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

I was very lucky at Christmas to receive presents to help creativity!

My ex husband gave me a wonderful book on Jingdezhen Porcelaine, which really has to be read from cover to cover in small chunks to understand all the lessons it contains.

Nicholas has paid for my pottery lessons for the rest of the year (Jan to June), which is really very generous. Pottery is my real recreation session on Wednesday afternoons.

And Cécile gave me a hank of hand painted, hand spun wool from http://feltstudiouk.etsy.com, which is such a work of art, I at first hung it on my wall like a painting. But then, fearful that sunlight and dust would deteriorate it, I have knitted it up into a neck warmer. Here is a photo of the skein, I'll post a photo of the neckwarmer when I've finished "finishing" it!

A few of my latest creations

I take photos but most of the time, no one ever gets to see them. So here are a few of the things I've done over the last months:This is a Norwegian cardigan I did for Marius before going to the States in September. He's 2, I did it size 4 years, and it's only just big enough.

While I was in the States, I knitted a scarf for Cécile in Koigu, a wool I can't get over here. It's very fine and knits like cotton, but it's silk and wool.

I've been doing lots of things since I got back, but I can't show photos because they are Christmas presents. I'll take photos before I wrap them up and put them here in January! I sent off an enormous Christmas stocking that I knitted for Marius last week, but I forgot to take a photo beforehand.

And then I've been doing pottery and sculpture. A bit weird most of the time. I love my monster, but it is very difficult to photograph. And my fat lady, except that I decided to to her extremities pointy, and the points sort of curled a bit during the firing process. Never mind, that's why I go to classes.

The monster has only one eye, and a beaky nose/mouth, and is resting his chin on his hand. He looks very sad and tired and wistful. He just grew out of my hands and I love to reflect on what I had inside me at that moment that created a piece like this!

This is a bowl in the shape of a shell, that I've planted up with succulents.