Our Lady of the Southern Cross

“You will receive power when the Holy Sprit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)

Mary, you are the mother of Jesus, our Lord
Your presence in the upper room inspired the first disciples
to trust completely in the promise of the Risen Christ:
I now consecrate myself to you
under the title of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Help of Christians,
so that I might be a witness to your Son Jesus in the power of His Spirit.
Mary, teach me to be attentive to the voice of God in silence
and to live a life of service in truth, joy and peace. Amen.

Kastanjeskaller - 2 - Chestnut Husks

     Så har Piraten samlet endnu flere kastanjeskaller henne i skolen. Som det kan ses på billedet her, er nogle af dem gamle og kedelige - og sandede. Jeg måtte skylle dem grundigt, før vi gik i gang.

The Pirate gathered more husks. Some of them were old and quite sandy. They were rinsed several times before  simmering with the wool.

     Resultatet var temmeligt skuffende. Vandet blev ikke rødt, men lyst gyldenbrunt, og ulden tog næsten ingen farve. Det lille bundt nederst til venstre simrede sammen med de kastanier, der var i skallerne. Det har måske et rødligt skær.

The result is boring. The water turned a pale golden, the wool took almost no colour.
The small tuft bottom left was simmered with the chestnuts - white and brow alike - contianed in the husks.It migth have a reddish tinge.

Toprækken er de tre gamle farveprøver, nederst de nye og en tot ufarvet.
Top row is the old trial runs. Bottom the two new tries and am undyed tuft.

Kastanjeskaller -- Chestnut Husks ... opdateret

     Ugleungerne kommer af og til hjem med søde gaver til deres Uglemor. I dag havde Piraten samlet nogle kastanjeskaller op og mente, at dem kunne jeg nok farve uld med.
     Man kunne da prøve. Kastanjeskallerne blev puttet ned i en gryde med vand, og der blev tændt for dem. Allerede inden Uglemor havde hittet en lille tot uld, var vandet blevet rødt. Og søreme ... ulden blev lyserød.
     Nu står 2. hold og varmer. 

The Owlets sometimes bring home gifts for MotherOwl, and that's not flowers or such. Today The Pirate brought me some chestnut hulls he found at school, strangely he suggested, I might try them for dye. We plopped the husks into water and turned on the heat. Before MotherOwl had found some wool, the water had turned red. Promising ... and the wool turned an appetizing pink hue.
Now the exhaust bath is simmering.


     Uglemor er født nysgerrig, så medens 2. bad stod og simrede gik hun en tur i landsbyen og fandt et par nedfaldne kastanjer. Piraten sagde at de var meget mere stikkende end, dem, han havde plukket, og at kastanjerne i hans havde været helt hvide. Vi prøvede alligevel, og det gav også lyserødt, men i en lysere udgave.
     Konklusionen må være at hestekastanjeskaller giver rødt lige nu - medens kastanjerne stadig er umodne, men at farveintensiteten afhænger af træet, måske også af kastanjernes modenhedsgrad.

MotherOwl is curious. Does all chestnut husks dye pink, or only that one tree. Normally people get a greyish brown from the husks. While the exhaust bath was simmering MotherOwl took a walk in the village and picked up some fallen chestnuts. The pirate said that they were pricklier than his, and the chestnuts had taken colour. The hulls still dyed pink, but not as intense a colour as those from the school. The Pirate was given a bag and told to gather as many chestnut husks as possible tomorrow.

Uglemors til venstre og Piratens til højre.
Left MotherOwl's husks, right Pirate's

Ingen stumper - No ORTs

     Det er ikke fordi Uglemor ikke har fabrikeret masser af stumper og ender, snarere tværtimod. Uglemor har syet markedskjole, strikket, lappet og repareret og lavet sære forsøg, så bøtten var mere end fuld. Men der skulle jo ryddes op efter alle disse ting, og ved en fejl er bøtten med ender osv. blevet tømt, inden den blev fotograferet. Hvor den lige er blevet tømt, ja det fortaber sig i oprydningens kaos. De er her et eller andet sted, de skal jo ende som indmad i en temari.

     Som en sølle erstatning er her et billede af et smukt egeblad med tilhørende agern, som jeg fandt i morges.

- TUSAL link -

Well no ORTs. Not because MotherOwl did not put anything in the ORTs bin this time, contrarywise it was filled to the rim with sewing of the market dress, knitting, mending and darning, and all the experimenting etc. that has been going on.
But then MotherOwl cleaned after all this activities. And the ORTs bin was emptied, and no photos taken. Where it was emptied ... well ... I do not remember. But the Orts are somewhere in the cleaning chaos. I do use my ORTs for temari after all.

As a poor substitute, I give you this oaken leaf and acorn, freshly picked this very morning. 

Sæbekonen på Sundtoldsmarkedet

     Der er ikke sket så meget her på bloggen i den seneste tid. Det skyldes at Uglemor - forklædt som Sæbekonen i tilhørende kjole fra 1800-tallet - har været på Sundtoldsmarkedet i Helsingør.
     Uglemor fjerner stadig tråde, sorterer sæber og tæller skillinger, men her er et billede fra markedet. 


MotherOwl, dressed as the Soap Lady, has been to a market in Elsinore. That's the reason why so little has been happening here. MotherOwl is still sorting soaps and counting coins, but  pictures have arrived.