Ooooh, what a lovely reminder to go gather some more dogbane, and maybe have to do a little less scraping than a couple months ago from the smidge of winter retting!
So lovely! And thanks for reminding me of my candle-making days when I was a tween. I am no longer allowed to make or burn candles (😜) but before my flame was put out, I did manage to make a batch of eggshell candles.😁
Nice sweater, Beryl! .... It's been a strange winter here in our neck of the woods in northern California. We haven't even had a freeze yet and the daffodils are blooming a month early. We have had some periods of heavy rains alternating with weeks of prolonged dry weather with mild temperatures, like now. Lovely weather for being out, but the specter of drought is never far off.
Your walk in a sunny, if cold day is just the ticket to lift me out of our endless days of London fog! Can't see more than 20 yards for most of the day. And that includes straight up! Very thick! But as you have noted such days are perfect for reading and other inside pleasures! I am playing with Chickpea bread baking. And various GF muffins, Came up with a delicious one with chopped apples, dates and walnuts and cinnamon that will be made again! A long time ago, in a land far away called my youth, I made some pretty little candles using 2 sizes of tin cans that fit inside each other with just 1/4 to 1/2 inch of space all around. The inside can is used to make a white candle and once it is cool, you set it inside the larger can and drip a little melted wax into the bottom of the space. White wax is fine. or you can use colored wax. Then you carefully place anything you might fancy into the space. I liked little red maple leaves. Carefully add more wax as you go. until the space is filled even with the white inside candle. You let every thing cool for a few hours and then set in a pan of very hot water to ease the new candle with it's decorations out of the larger can. When the candle is lit, the little red leaves take on a life of their own. Quite fun to do for kids, with supervision. Perhaps while doing some little eggshell candles, too!!! :-)
Your GF baking is inspiring--as is this fantastic idea for botanical candles. totally love it. A friend of mine was doing something similar with dipped candles: once the basic candle form was big enough, she rolled it them in herbs, then dipped once more to keep everything in place. So many possibilities!
And thanks for enjoying the walk. It's grey again here, but even one day really helps, eh?
OOH rolling the candle in herbs sounds very interesting! May have to try that with this years lavender.... or rosemary! And yes even a video of one day of walking in the sun is a true treat!! I highly recommend it!!! Please give sweet Beryl a hug for me! :-)
Mmmmm, the welcoming forest fog, and intriguing twistable fibers that line open fields.... And Beryl the exceptionally wonderful furry baby... Tuesday emails of Your observations, what ifs and comics, andsomuchmore XOXO
Such an evocative post, with sunshine and blue skies and mountains! I'm looking at blue skies out of my north-facing window just now, but there's no sunshine as there are rainclouds coming up and we'll soon be grey and wet. Again. And I have a horrible cold. Again.
OH gosh Freyalyn. SO sorry about your horrible cold. And Rain. Hope you have some delicious knitting and a book or two to see you through. And that the new house has cozy places to snuggle while you wait it out...
Sarah, thank you! I love seeing the beautiful fibre you reveal......and the colour! Gorgeous! But your candle......oh so beautiful.... thank you for your inspiration!
Oh!!! Love your little egg-molded candle!!! Mine won’t be lovely beeswax, but all the stubs, that I just can’t bear to throw out, collected after Advent candles have been used twice. Shades of purple & lavender & white would make cute Easter candles. ☺️
I’m with you on not being able to throw out candle stubs—and your mix of colors will be glorious! So cheerful and utterly perfect to have multicolored egg shaped candles for Easter. Brilliant.
Ooooh, what a lovely reminder to go gather some more dogbane, and maybe have to do a little less scraping than a couple months ago from the smidge of winter retting!
Sarah, I don’t know why this never struck me before. But all your photos look like starting points for tapestries. Your candle is magical!
Thank you! Lovely to realize that it's all connected.
So lovely! And thanks for reminding me of my candle-making days when I was a tween. I am no longer allowed to make or burn candles (😜) but before my flame was put out, I did manage to make a batch of eggshell candles.😁
I so love that you've already done this--and get the pleasure of it.
Your writings, photos, work and everything else are a delight. Thank you.
We are of the same tribe.
And a fine tribe it is. Long may we delight in the elemental, the material and the ineffable.
The eggshell as candle mould is a very clever notion!
Isn't it? So available. Such a satisfying shape.
Nice sweater, Beryl! .... It's been a strange winter here in our neck of the woods in northern California. We haven't even had a freeze yet and the daffodils are blooming a month early. We have had some periods of heavy rains alternating with weeks of prolonged dry weather with mild temperatures, like now. Lovely weather for being out, but the specter of drought is never far off.
Daffodils! I can hardly imagine. And yes to the weirdness of the weather--and the specter of drought. It's here too.
Your walk in a sunny, if cold day is just the ticket to lift me out of our endless days of London fog! Can't see more than 20 yards for most of the day. And that includes straight up! Very thick! But as you have noted such days are perfect for reading and other inside pleasures! I am playing with Chickpea bread baking. And various GF muffins, Came up with a delicious one with chopped apples, dates and walnuts and cinnamon that will be made again! A long time ago, in a land far away called my youth, I made some pretty little candles using 2 sizes of tin cans that fit inside each other with just 1/4 to 1/2 inch of space all around. The inside can is used to make a white candle and once it is cool, you set it inside the larger can and drip a little melted wax into the bottom of the space. White wax is fine. or you can use colored wax. Then you carefully place anything you might fancy into the space. I liked little red maple leaves. Carefully add more wax as you go. until the space is filled even with the white inside candle. You let every thing cool for a few hours and then set in a pan of very hot water to ease the new candle with it's decorations out of the larger can. When the candle is lit, the little red leaves take on a life of their own. Quite fun to do for kids, with supervision. Perhaps while doing some little eggshell candles, too!!! :-)
Your GF baking is inspiring--as is this fantastic idea for botanical candles. totally love it. A friend of mine was doing something similar with dipped candles: once the basic candle form was big enough, she rolled it them in herbs, then dipped once more to keep everything in place. So many possibilities!
And thanks for enjoying the walk. It's grey again here, but even one day really helps, eh?
OOH rolling the candle in herbs sounds very interesting! May have to try that with this years lavender.... or rosemary! And yes even a video of one day of walking in the sun is a true treat!! I highly recommend it!!! Please give sweet Beryl a hug for me! :-)
I absolutely will. She loves hugs…
Mmmmm, the welcoming forest fog, and intriguing twistable fibers that line open fields.... And Beryl the exceptionally wonderful furry baby... Tuesday emails of Your observations, what ifs and comics, andsomuchmore XOXO
My stress levels drop as I watch your videos. Sending warm vibes to you and Beryl!
Now that is the best compliment ever. Also lovely as the walks themselves help my stress levels too!
Such an evocative post, with sunshine and blue skies and mountains! I'm looking at blue skies out of my north-facing window just now, but there's no sunshine as there are rainclouds coming up and we'll soon be grey and wet. Again. And I have a horrible cold. Again.
Spring will come.
OH gosh Freyalyn. SO sorry about your horrible cold. And Rain. Hope you have some delicious knitting and a book or two to see you through. And that the new house has cozy places to snuggle while you wait it out...
Sarah, thank you! I love seeing the beautiful fibre you reveal......and the colour! Gorgeous! But your candle......oh so beautiful.... thank you for your inspiration!
Oh!!! Love your little egg-molded candle!!! Mine won’t be lovely beeswax, but all the stubs, that I just can’t bear to throw out, collected after Advent candles have been used twice. Shades of purple & lavender & white would make cute Easter candles. ☺️
I’m with you on not being able to throw out candle stubs—and your mix of colors will be glorious! So cheerful and utterly perfect to have multicolored egg shaped candles for Easter. Brilliant.
one of your most visually gorgeous posts, what a wonder!
Thank you Kate!
Winter forest mist photo. Perfection.