My late Grandmother (on my late Father’s side) and her siblings were all born on a very beautiful and rather isolated island by the name Læsø in the North Sea bay of Kattegat in Scandinavia. This is where they grew up and this island became a wonderful place for holidays from my early childhood and when I get the opportunity I still go there. The size of the island is 118km². Last time I visited Denmark (2019) Peder and I went for a visit together with my Mother and my Aunt.On this island you will find unique houses with thick layer of seaweed as roof and it is only found on Læsø nowhere else in the world! Læsø is known for these old houses. That’s awesome. At the time of writing this article there were 19 remaining seaweed houses on the island and 11 of them are preserved. I learned … [Read more...] about Down Memory Lane
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Full Moon Ritual
I always celebrate Full Moon. I think it is a wonderful phase of the Moon’s journey. I recharge and cleanse my crystals every Full Moon. I have a small white circular cloth which represents the Full Moon. I put it out in the garden on the ground in a beautiful spot where I usually don’t walk. I place a big Abalone shell in the middle of the cloth and fill it with small clear crystals. I place four cone shaped shells pointing outwards with even distance, one for each direction. Around the Abalone I place all the crystals I want to recharge in a pattern following my intuition. You can place whatever you feel like on the cloth. I usually put some coral and Moonstone out. The shells represent water and the Moon Goddess. In the grass outside of the cloth I place 4 white feathers one for each … [Read more...] about Full Moon Ritual
Making as a Way of Life
The following story was written by Megan Price. The story featured in Yarnologie issue 05 – Spring 2019. Megan writes columns for Yarnologie. She is an artist and illustrator.Yarnologie is a quarterly digital magazine own by Sarah Price who is also the editor of this amazing magazine. The magazine is an Australian made and owned magazine for knitters, weavers, people who crochet and yarn lovers as such.Yarnologie is now going to print. How awesome is that!www.yarnologie.com.auYarnologie issue 05 – Spring 2019Ulla’s friend, Maria, calls her ‘Ulla the Doula” (A Doula is a birth companion who helps and supports women giving birth) citing that Ulla is a Doula because she gives birth to creative entities.The connective rhythm between Ulla’s work as a textile artist, and her journey through … [Read more...] about Making as a Way of Life
The Alchemist – a Natural Dyer’s Journal
The art of dyeing goes back to the Neolithic period. I often wonder how people developed different skills and methods. Some might happen by accident but then on the other hand there are no accidents. It was meant to be.I was introduced to natural dyes in 1978 while attending a 5 month live in course in sustainability in particular with reference to wind and solar energy, utilising bio gas, growing organic gardens and following a vegetarian diet. First I learned to spin which was as fascinating as any alchemy in the world transforming a fibre like wool into a thread that could then be knitted, woven, stitched, platted or crochet. I was spellbound and my imagination got on a rollercoaster creating masterpieces in my mind and I could hardly wait to get my hands on some … [Read more...] about The Alchemist – a Natural Dyer’s Journal
Growing a Small Garden
From the Good Old Aussie Big Back Yard to the New Suburbia Living Lifestyle it is time to connect with Mother Earth. It is time to start a garden. Gardening is a great passion of mine and so rewarding when you plant your seeds and see them germinate and grow into beautiful flowers, herbs and vegetables or even trees. You don’t need a lot of space to grow successfully. A few years ago I decided to prove just that with the New Suburbia Living Lifestyle in mind. I hope I can encourage people with small space to grow a garden so please keep reading.I wanted the garden to easily fit into the new and modern suburbia where there is not much room for playing cricket or airing the family dog so I decided that 34m2 of kitchen garden would help feed a family quite nicely. A small garden can easily … [Read more...] about Growing a Small Garden
Seed Saving
Seed saving goes back to the dawn of agriculture so we are looking at very ancient traditions. Seeds were carried by nomads and planted where they stopped for spring, summer and autumn. Many of their seeds were sacred to them and very important for their ritual life. I was taught about seed saving when I was 4 years old my Grandmother as my Mentor. She had a compost heap. We got cow manure from an uncle out of town. We collected lots of seaweed at the nearby beach. We got leaf litter from the nearby forest where we also filled up our water containers from a sacred mineral spring. Grandmother had a beautiful garden full of edible stuff and lots of herbs and flowers for medicinal use. She taught me how to save seeds and she had a small personal seed catalogue full of information about when … [Read more...] about Seed Saving