sol y sombra

Tribute to Kathreen Ricketson

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:31:00 +0000

It was with great shock and sadness that I learned about the tragic death of Kathreen and her husband Rob last week.

When I started blogging four years ago, she was one of my main inspirations. I first 'met' her and her blog Whipup via the Craft blog, which I had been following for some time. She was creative, fun, helpful and prolific. Her blog was always jampacked with creative ideas and inspiration. She loved to share and to teach. Her kids magazine Action Pack is testament to her - and her family's - dedication to creating a happy, healthy and wholesome environment for their kids to grow in and learn.

When we decided to travel to Australia in April 2012, I wanted an Australian craft blogger to do a guest posts for me while I was away. Kathreen was the obvious choice. Her post on why she loves Australia can be viewed here. Soon after our visit, our lives changed and we relocated from Dubai to Adelaide, Australia. We became Aussies too. We kept in e-mail and blog contact and when I learned that their roadtrip would take them through Adelaide, I was delighted to have the opportunity to finally meet her.

We met on a Tuesday afternoon in late January, at the Adelaide Central Market, where we had coffee and chatted for an hour of two. We talked about blogs, quilting, travelling and motherhood. I met Rob and the two kids. I went home that afternoon and told my husband that if we lived closer, I think our two families could become good friends. We like all the same things: camping, outdoors, travel, creativity and sharing it all with our children.

I followed their trip on her blog and made mental notes of all the great places they were exploring, adding them to my list of Places We Still Have To See.

Her last post written at Coral Bay starts like this: We are bush camping at a station on Ningaloo reef, Western Australia. A dream come true — is that totally corn ball?

Although this story has one of the saddest endings I ever experienced, and my heart breaks for the children, I am comforted by the fact that they were living their dream. They had several months where they could devote themselves to their children and create family memories that can never be taken from them.

When I think of Kathreen, this is what comes to mind:

Inspired crafter

Prolific writer

Devoted mother

Dear Kathreen,
it was a priviledge to know you.

* A fund has been established to help support the children. Find the details here.

*Photos taken by Kathreen, cropped and edited by me

Flower feedback: Blood river 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:06:00 +0000

Another sighting at Blood River!

My name is Jacqui du Toit and I am a 30 year old mum of 2 boys. I came to the battle of blood river with my husband an 2 kids on our way to Balito for a holiday..

Thank you, Jacqui!

Flower feedback: Franschoek 16 & 17

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:02:00 +0000

I am amazed at how many people who visit the Hugenot Museum in Franschoek are in some way related to the history surrounding the Hugenots and the museum. This is the third response I received from someone who has a direct family connection to the place.

My father, mother and myself visited the monument on 1 May 2013 whilst on holiday.

The monument's history runs deep in our family roots.

I, Samantha Spencer am the great great grandaughter of James Andrew Clift whose company JA Clift Pty Ltd built the monument.

The family tree runs as follows :

James Andrew Clift, founder of JA Clift is my great great grandfather

William Andrew Clift, son of James Andrew Clift is my great grandfather

Patricia Elizabeth Swart, nee Clift, is the daughter of William Andrew Clift and granddaughter of James Andrew Clift and my grandmother

Winifred Alice Spencer, nee Swart, is the daughter of Patricia Elizabeth Swart and my mother

We visit this monument every visit to the Cape as we live in Pretoria and when I saw the flower chain I liked the idea and wondered how many people have responded to the sighting.

Greetings

Samantha

Samantha, as you can see, you are the sixteenth person to respond to the flower and the third who has a family connection. Thank you so much for sharing your story.

But it is not only South Africans who enjoy the place. International visitors are equally attracted to the place:

From the UK and touring SAs Western Cape for a one week holiday after two weeks work.

Steve and Sheena Mottershead.

First Afrikaans article published in a South African magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:33:00 +0000

My friend Christelle started a Facebook group about two years ago called Ons Hekel (We Crochet). It has grown from strength to strength and has brought together many fabulous women who loves to crochet.

I wrote an article about her and the group for Idees, an Afrikaans magazine celebrating creative inspiration in true South African style. The article can be seen in the June edition which will go on sale this week.

Recycled blanket continue

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Thu, 02 May 2013 02:46:00 +0000

After I finished the blankets, I was left with these knitted triangles from the original blanket. I thought I would use it to make a cushion cover or something similar, but as usual plans changed along the way...

I ended up with a string of knitted bunting instead.

I used slip stitches to attach the triangles and chain stitches in between. I followed this with two rows of single crochet stitches.

Here you can see the 'front' and 'back' of the string.

I had this ball of variegated turquois yarn for a while, but it never really spoke to me. It just sat there in the stash. And then suddenly last week it had something to say... (such fickle things, yarn)

Recycled blanket

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:23:00 +0000

Many years ago my mother knitted a blanket for our home.

It was huge and multi-coloured and full of love and hard work. Over the years this blanket was used for picnics, for lounge forts and garden tents and for keeping us warm by a camp fire.

But as life happened on and around this blanket, it collected it's fair share of scars and wounds. In the end, it just didn't look good any more. It was time to be upcycled and recycled into something new.

Over the past month I seperated all the blocks, sorted them by colour and reassembled them with crochet borders into three seperate, smaller blankets.

Now every child has his and her own blanket, knitted by Gran and crocheted by Mom.

Blue for Jandre,

pink for Anika,

and green for Stefan.

Ready for the next round of forts, picnics and campfires..

Flower feedback: Franschoek 15

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:00:00 +0000

It is stories like this which make me so grateful that I planted all those flowers:

This photo was taken on the 1st of April 2013 (no joke), in Franschhoek. That day me and my boyfriend from Belgium were visiting this very cute town together with my parents.
We decided to go visit the Huguenot Monument and whilst doing this, we stumbled upon this little flower hanging from a bench. So we read the description and took a picture as instructed.

Now, let me tell you a little about us. My name is Bianca Vermaak. I was born in Johannesburg in 1993. My boyfriend is Cédric Gerain, born in Brussels, Belgium in 1994.
When I was 4, we moved to Belgium, where we have lived for the past 15 years. This is also where I met Cédric, during high school. I couldn’t' t have wished for anything better to happen to me.
Cédric was going to study Civil Engineering at the VUB in Brussels and in matric I decided I wanted to come do my Bachelor at Stellenbosch University. I applied and got accepted. Of course I was over the moon, but I knew this would mean me and Cédric being apart and having to take on a long distance relationship. He told me, the darling he is, that he didn't want to stand in the way of my dreams and wished only for me to be happy. So, on the 17th of January I left for Jhb, to fly down to CT 2 days later.

It was very hard in the beginning, my parents moved with me, but my two older sisters were left behind, as well as all my friends and of course, Cédric, so it was pretty sad to say the least..
However he had managed to get a ticket to come down in April for two weeks, so I was ecstatic! Even though it cost him a fair amount of money, roughly R10.000..
So he came over in April and we were reunited once again, which was magic. We then spent 2 unforgettable weeks together, with the visit to Franschhoek included.
He was absolutely blown away by this country; its beauty, culture, the people and not to forget.. the weather. So, he will definitely be coming back.

Given this, you now know our story and hope you enjoy it and who knows which next flower we'll stumble upon..

Thank you, Bianca! This is such a great story. I am so happy that you shared it with me.

Recently published articles

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:51:00 +0000

I wrote a few articles over the past months and two of them have recently been published.

On the WEG website there is a story of our travels through South Africa. It tells about the African Flower Chain trip and is written in Afrikaans.

Merise is a magazine published in Australia, aimed at the South African diaspora living in Australia and New Zealand. I wrote an article about my new hometown, Adelaide, for Issue 5. Merise is published in both Afrikaans and English. The article was originally written in English but a translated version also appears in the Afrikaans edition.

Flower feedback: Mac Mac 14

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 04:34:00 +0000

My flower messages are getting few and far between... I wonder how many flowers still survives?

I received this message from Jaruska Warriker a while ago:

We are at the Mac Mac waterfall and we were on a trip through the Lowveld. Although we stay in the area it was the first time we visited this waterfall. We are cousins that differ only a year in age and we are more like a brother and sister than like cousins.

Thank you Maritz and Vera!

Bell jar

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 03:22:00 +0000

I was browsing through Pinterest this morning and came upon a few photos of tablescapes containing bell jars filled with all kinds of pretty things. I always loved those jars and when I found them on sale a few years ago, back in Dubai, I bought two. They came without the wooden base I saw in most photos. Once I had them, I didn't really know what to do with them. Our house does not have little knick-knacks all over the place. We like open spaces and clean lines. So the jars sat on the buffet, with nothing in.

Inspired by my early morning Pinterest browsing, I decided to play with them this morning. I took one item from every room of the house and put it in one of the jars. This is the result. I still have a few things to learn about photographing reflective surfaces, and styling, but apart from that it was fun.

Entrance hall

Dining room*

Kitchen

Pantry

Laundry

Living room

Jandre's room

Stefan's room

Kid's bathroom

Anika's room

Main bedroom

Main bathroom

My studio/office

Garage

* art by my friend Natasja de Wet

Adelaide in Pictures 1: Dolphin Sanctuary

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 03:19:00 +0000

We spent a beautiful, cloudy morning at the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, exploring the mangroves and the shipwrecks. The sanctuary is in the Port River and Barker inlet, and although it is very close to the city and harbour, once you are on the water, you feel miles away from all civilization.

The water was perfectly still, with only the waterbirds and dolphins breaking the surface.

The sanctuary is also home to a 'shipwreck graveyard' which provides good habitat for fish and water birds.

This shipwreck lies in very shallow water and provides a great photo opportunity.

I paddled around the wreck and photographed it from all sides, but I think I still have a few things to learn about photographing from a kayak...

The bottle-nose dolphins came quite close, and although they didn't pay too much attention to us they were very aware of our presence. A few times they swam underneath the kayaks and came up right next to the one where my husband and daughter sat and watched her closely. It seemed like they knew she was only a small child.

Flower Feedback: Union Buildings 5

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 23:10:00 +0000

I just love it when I receive photos with long stories about travel and people and how we are all connected!

This one from Judy Johnson of Canada:

We found your flower in Pretoria at the Union Buildings. We were there as part of a group of 8 from Abbotsford, British Columbia in Canada just starting our tour of Africa (South Africa, Botswana and Victoria Falls). It was September 24th - Heritage Day. There were some craft vendors set up but it was still quite quiet there. Some people there were dressed in their ethnic dress. We talked to Jane and her family - then met her again later on in Church Square. She recognized us and greeted us as if we were old friends!

Visiting Africa had been on our 'Bucket List' for many years. Our tour guides were friends from here who had lived and worked in Africa for over 20 years. It was a marvelous way to see the countries - with people who love and know Africa. We had a marvelous time. From Johannesburg and Pretoria we went to Gabarone, Maun then on to safari at Pom Pom, Sango and Chobe. Our final days as a group together were spent at Victoria Falls. Our group tour finished there and my husband and I traveled back to South Africa and spent the last week in Cape Town and area. We're still going through photos - amazed at all we saw and did - and trying to narrow the photos down to a manageable number. (Think I've given up on that - I'm keeping them all!)

Love the idea that you're connecting with people from all over. All the best to you and your family and happy travels. (Have you been to Canada yet?)

No, Judy, I haven't. But it is on my 'bucket list' too.

Thank you for sharing your wonderful tour with us!

Flower Feedback: Witsand 8

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 22:56:00 +0000

Beverley sent me this beautiful picture.

She visited Witsand with her husband recently.

I am amazed at how well the flower survives the heat of the Kalahari Desert!

Behind the scenes

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 12:32:00 +0000

Now that I have a day job, I sometimes feel like I am not getting as much creating done as I want to. But come to think of it, there are quite a few things in the works...

This is my home office/studio. It is a great space - private but open. It is on the upstairs landing next to our bedroom and it is just mine. It is almost organised and ready for big things to happen...

Some office candy...

While I was in South Africa back in May last year, I raided my mother's sewing cupboard and found a few vintage buttons. Some of them come from clothes I used to wear as a little girl. I don't have any specific plans for them yet, but then again, has that ever mattered?

And that never ending knitting project I started way back when, is still going on. It was laying dormant for a few months but now that I take public transport to work every day, it has resurfaced. My commute to and from the office has been quite productive these last few weeks...

Flower Feedback: Franschoek 13 & 14

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:49:00 +0000

This post makes the Franschoek flower officially my most famous flower!

The first pic comes from Roland van Vondel from Belville

The next message comes from Liz Hines from London

We were on holiday in Franschhoek last month and found your flower by the Huguenot monument. We had just rented some bicycles in the town and were at the start of a ride which took us on a loop through the Robertsvlei valley. It was a lovely day and the scenery was fantastic followed by a very acceptable glass of Sauvignon Blanc at Mont Rochelle. This was our fourth visit to the Cape and our second time staying in Franschhoek, we love it there. It was particularly nice this time as for the whole time we were away, it was snowing in England.

Back in London now to work in the dark,cold and wet. Here's to the next visit!

I am humbled every time I receive a message. The fact that this flower can connect people from different sides of the world, amazes me every time. Thank you for finding joy in my flower, and for responding to my message. It means the world to me.

Yarnbombing in McLaren Vale

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 09:21:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, while the Tour Down Under cycle race was on in town, we went to Willunga, a small village in the McLaren Vale wine region, to watch the Tour pass through town.

We had a beautiful breakfast at the Organic Cafe, right on the sidewalk next to cycle route.

From there we walked through town up Old Willunga Hill where the race stage would end.

The whole town of Willunga were decorated with yarnbombing!

All the trees and most of the fences along the route were made up in yarn creations of every kind.

Some trees had decorated bicycles wedged between the branches.

Some of the artist stuck to simple colours

and some went all out in as much colour as possible

Some of the bicycles, trees and and even shop doors were decorated with soft toys

The creativity was endless.

We walked up the hill on one side of the street and came back along the opposite side, so I could take photos of as many of the decorations as possible.

The yarnbombing initiative was organised and accomplished by the

Make Do and Mend Craft Collective in McLaren Vale.

Look at all these toys on the bike!

Doilies,

Even Shrek and Spiderman was there!

I think I enjoyed the yarnbombing more than the actual race, although watching a peleton of cyclists zooming past at high speed is quiet exciting.

Flower Feedback: Malgas 6

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 07:59:00 +0000

I received an email from Dr Shake Seigel back in November, telling me about his trip on the Malgas pontoon, but he forgot to attach the photo. I emailed back, asking for the photo, and between his travels and my own hectic life, it is now two and a half months later, when I can at last add his story and picture.

Here is the photo of my wife Bitty Muller on the right in white T shirt with her sister, Mary from Cape Town.

We live in UK but are originally from Cape Town and were visiting on a holiday, driving to Mossel Bay the slow route!Regards

Thank you Dr Seigel!

Flower Feedback: Witsand 5, 6, 7

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 07:50:00 +0000

I received three messages from Witsand!

Look at this beautiful pic from Francois Moller - very different from the freezing conditions we experienced.

We have been visiting the Witsand Nature reserve this weekend. We are staying in Postmasburg and were just looking to get out the house and for an opportunity to take some photos.

It was very hot and my wife did not want to walk up the hill with me. I had to prop the camera on the table to take the photo. The second photo was taken from the viewpoint towards the dunes.

Best regards

Francois Moller

My name is Christien Roelofs. I am living in the Netherlands and make right now a tour through South Africa. Started in Cape Town, then the Cederbergen, the Kalahari, the Groote Karoo, the Drakensbergen and via the Garden Route back to Cape Town from where we will return to the Netherlands. I am doing this trip together with my husband Ben Roelofs. The organisation, routing, bookings etc. of this trip is done by ourselves. The foto's are taken on February 6th 2013 at Witsand-Kalahari. A very nice and interesting place. A visit to this place is absolutely recommendable to everyone. We have visited Witsand -Kalahari on recommendation of friends.

With best regards and flower greetings

Wow, Christien, what a wonderful trip!

And this beautiful picture comes from Hanli Smit:

We also braved the summer heat and stopped at Witsand on our way to the Namibian desert.

My name is Hanli Smit and I live in Johannesburg.

I was on a road trip with my husband Steve Smit and my daughter Ruth Smit on the 24th of December I took this picture at sunset.

What great photos and wonderful stories. Thank you everyone!

Flower Feedback: Macmac 13

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 07:40:00 +0000

I am very glad to see the MacMac flower is still there! I received these pics from Gaenor who was celebrating her father's birthday with her family:

These pics were taken on a roadtrip we had for my dad’s 60^th bday. Around the 3^rd/4^th September 2012.

Regards

Gaenor Cairncross

It looks like you guys had a lot of fun, Gaenor!

Flower Feedback: Franschoek 12

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 07:36:00 +0000

The messages are still coming in! This one comes from Dana Baer from America:

We saw your flower at the Huguenot Memorial in Franschhoek and wanted to send you the picture we took there. Great idea!

My name is Dana Baer and I was at the memorial with my husband Andrew Baer on December 29th, 2012. Franschhoek was the first stop on our honeymoon! We live in Chicago, IL (USA) and spent two weeks touring around the great country of South Africa. We had a great trip and just got back to the states this morning.

Have a great day,

Dana

Congratulations, Dana and Andrew. What a great place to start your honeymoon!

Flower Feedback: Franschoek 8, 9, 10 & 11

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 03:43:00 +0000

Some flowers just seem to attract more attention that others.

This one in Franschoek generates lots of feedback.

The first photo comes from Adam Kramer, Morgan Hunter and Lara Contu. Three Rhodes students on their way back to Grahamstown from Johannesburg.

The next photo comes from Corinne Weiland.

She says: I've been to South Africa end of September and October together with a friend of mine and saw your message on a bench next to the Huguenot statue in Franschoek. I am a girl from Luxemborg in Europe and I absolutely love to travel. South Africa is great and it was my second time there. I would love to go back in 2 or 3 years for a longer stay and maybe help out on an animal farm or an animal sanctuary.

The next photo is from Stacey.

She says: Me and my daughter came across your flower in Franschoek and I have attached a photo of us. We live in Cape Town and visit the Huguenot monument twice a year. Our family takes the trip and spend a few hours there in memory of the loved ones that have passed away.

The next photo comes from Denny.

Hi, I am Denny (right) and Constantine my older brother visiting the Huguenot museum in Franschoek. Our mother is a descendant of the Du Plessis family who were part of the Hugeunot's who arrived in South Africa. We were here to see artefacts from our Great Grandmother who was Hendrina Francinah Jakoba du Plessis as well as visiting our aunt who lives in Franschoek.

Thank you to everyone who takes the trouble to send me their messages. It always strikes me how places like this bring people from across the world together. We each have a story to tell. Thank you for sharing your stories with me.

Flower feedback: Witsand 3 & 4

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 03:26:00 +0000

These two families were brave enough to take on the summer heat in the Kalahari.

Sharon and Carl van der Merwe sent me this photo, taken on 23 December 2012,

and I received this photo from Roelien.

This is Rohan (10) and Anja (9) Oelofse from Heidelberg, Gauteng.

They were on their way to Kakamas to visit family when they decided to stop over at the roaring sands of Witsand. This photo was taken on 29 December 2012.

Flower feedback: Malgas 4 & 5

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 03:19:00 +0000

My friend Magda sent me these photos from Malgas. Here parents have a weekend house next to the Breede River and while spending a weekend there she found the flower on the pontoon.

I also received a lovely message from Ariane.

She says: I am French and in love with South Africa. Happy New Year!

How fantastic is that?

Flower Feedback: Blood river 1

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 03:02:00 +0000

I am so thrilled to receive the first feedback from Blood River! I thought the flower was removed...

Hi, my name is Louise Currie and I'm 16 years old. I live in Dundee, KwaZulu Natal. I found this flower at Bloodriver, on a bridge. It is our yearly camping experience for our cultures camping adventure, where the Boere won the battle against the Zulu's in the 1800's on 16 December. It is called 'Geloftedag'. On the photo from left: Eliska Vermeulen, Karla Muller and me, Louise. We went for a walk and found this :)

Thanks.

Thank you so much, Louise and friends! You made my day.

How to paint with no paint

noreply@blogger.com (Ansie) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 05:46:00 +0000

My daughter is four years old. She has just recently moved halfway across the world with us to settle in a new country. Part of moving to a new country is throwing out lots of stuff. Unfortunately her water-colours were one of the things which ended in the bin. It was old and well used and needed to be replaces in any case.

Now we have settled in the new house, we have unpacked all our stuff and she wants to paint. No paint.

My excuse of waiting till we go to the shop to get new paint, didn't go down well. She wants to paint now. She will make her own paint.

Here's here plan:

She cuts out small pieces of paper, colours them in with her colouring pencils and then soaks them in small amounts of water until the water turns to colour. Then she paints with the coloured water.

No problem.

How's that for problem-solving skills?