Saturday, May 10, 2014

European "Feltmaker to Feltmaker Hand-Off"- Part 2 of ?

                                                                    
                             A Dutch friend of mine (who prefers to remain 'unheralded')...



                                        ...installed a kabouter (gnome) dwelling...

                                          ...in the roots of this tree in Schiedam.
  

                                         Standing, as it does, in a local park...

                                 ...it has become a de facto community art project!



                             The gnomes and their home furnishings 'come and go'...

           ...as children (and some adults) visit and transform this public space...

                                                     ...each and every day.



                                             As I was leaving for England...

                                    ...I found a little stowaway in my luggage...

                                ...and here's a record of some of our adventures! :)
                              __________________________________________

                                  K. and I at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam...

                          ...reading Scottish folk tales and patiently awaiting our flight.



                             'Kicking the tires' at a Leggo Vehicle Lot in Frome, England.



                        Helping Gladys and I knock out a couple of large pre-felt pieces.




                                                He even supervised the drying!



                                        K. spent one happy afternoon and evening...

                                 ...devouring this book about his illustrious family...



                                ...and he was thrilled to meet distant, English cousins...

                                                   ...(on his mother's side)...

                                                    ...for the very first time!



                           We spent one lovely afternoon out-of-doors in sunny Birmingham...




                                           ...where K. scaled a driftwood mountain...



                                                   ...and risked life and limb...

                                                     ...feeding the wild birds!



                                       After all of that exercise and 'derring-do'...

                     ...he was happy to dream away several hours in this hammock.


               

      Unfortunately, he did meet up with one rather unsavoury character on our trip...

                   ...and lost a bundle playing 'Black Snakes' with a gargoyle!



                           At the dinner party, held in his honor, on the last night of our visit...



                       ...a sweet, cross-cultural (and long-distance) romance was begun! :)



                         You can see more of K. Bouter's thrilling adventures on his Facebook page.

7 comments:

FeltersJourney said...

That K. Bouter certainly is a rascal, and such a ladies man.. er gnome :)
His exploits have had us all chuckling xx

Andria said...

Wonderful post. I don't think your wee friend could be any cuter!

Kim van Waardenburg said...

Hahaha So funny! I ahve teh same book and the idea in the beginnignof your post!! Super! I did so too once the kids were younger, while walking in the forrest i dropped a kabouter hat nearby a whole in a tree... Kids loves to search for kabouters. I'll definetaly ahve a look at teh fb site :)

Rachel said...

A life crowded with incident, for sure!

Heather Woollove said...

Deborah-"ladies gnome"...funny!!
Andria- thanks!!
Kim-Kids do love gnomes, don't they?!?
Rachel-the secret life of gnomes?!? :)

Unknown said...

Loved reading about K.Bouter's adventures. You'll have to keep us all updated to how he's doing in future too, you know.

Thanks for starting my birth day with a big smile and a few chuckles.

:)

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, Sandie! I hope you are having a wonderful birthday and Mother's Day!! XOX