At last!

Oh my, it has taken me a long time to get this dress/ tunic done. Far too long. But actually I haven't really been doing anything creative for just as long as the sewing project has lasted. Maybe just a knitted stitch now and then. So it was nice to make something again - to finish an object.

But now the dress is done, and I'm pleased with how it ended up. As mentioned earlier on, the pattern is this, which I have tried out several times now. And it works every time.

If you want to make a light and elegant tunic or dress for the summer - with or without sleeves - then I can highly recommend the pattern from Stof 2000.

The perfect mix

You already know that I love and must have several pairs of Converse shoes, and you know that I absolutely adore Dizzy Mizz Lizzy and their music.

Well, isn't this the perfect mix then?? I think so...the Dizzy Mizz Lizzy Converse!

Sighhhh...

Now I can finally breathe a sigh of relief: Anne-Sophie called us early this morning, to say that she and her boyfriend had arrived safely in Thailand, where they are going to spend the next 23 days and nights.

From a holiday in Turkey

I definitely didn't like the thought of her and Tim hanging in the air in a plane for more than 12 hours...I hated it so much that I couldn't fall asleep. I know; when it comes to things like that I'm an old hen!

What I do like is the fact, that my daughter is going to experince so many new and wonderful things, places and people with her dearest friend. And I know that he will take so very good care of her.

All I need now is to hear her voice once in a while...and that the 23 days speed up heavily.

I got mail! Lovely mail....

Today I got such a fantastic surprise.

I have been following Julia's blog "Aalerusen" for a long time - actually ever since I started blogging.
Immediately I fell for Julia's way of writing, and it's always a pleasure to read about her life and her family. Besides that, Julia is amazing with needles and yarn. She makes a lot of fabulous things - one more stunning than the other.

Some days ago I entered Julia's "just because" giveaway. She wanted to give the most beautiful shawl to one of her readers - just because she felt like it, and for no other reason.

When I read her blog this morning, I found out that I had won the shawl and it was already in the mail!! What a surprise...and a very, very good one as well.

A little while ago it knocked on my door, and the package with the shawl was here.

It was a pleasure unwrapping it and to read the sweet letter Julia had written for me.

The shawl is so soft and extremely beautiful. The lace pattern looks brilliant and I wonder how it is possible to knit in that way. (I know that I would get lost in counting stitches!) Julia has spun the yarn herself and I'm delighted and honoured to have such a fine and handmade shawl.

I already know that I will enjoy wearing it on a cold summer evening....and on windy autumn days.

Thanks a lot, Ida

...for giving us such a wonderful morning.

My wonderful niece Ida graduated from upper secondary school today and got her well earned student's cap. And the fact that she finished it off with the highest possible grade, made it even better for her...and for all of us from her family, who were lucky to be there and share the moment with her. She was so happy and so beautiful...

In fact we know another lovely student; yesterday sweet Andrea - my dear friend Liselotte's daughter - got her cap, too.

I remember what a wonderful feeling it was to put that student's cap on my head, and leave all the hard work and stress behind me.

However, I don't think that it beats the feeling of having a child who graduates. My sister was so proud of Ida and extremely happy on her behalf.

Well, next year Anne-Sophie will let me know which is the better feeling...

:)

On a lovely sunny day we went to a special and beautiful place. There are old ruins there, fabulous and breathtaking nature and lots of peace. The perfect place to spend some time with your loved ones.

I did bring a little embroidery work - this pattern - in our rucksack, but there was no need for stitching.

Have a lovely Monday...

Dots on black

I'm doing some hand sewing - one of my favourite things. The very last thing I have to do on the tunic.

Toy Story - once more, I know!

Going to the hairdressers can give you so many pieces of information.....

She told me about this:

Toy Story as Lego...how cool is that!

 (You already know that I adore those films). Too bad that my children don't play with Lego anymore. I always used to help them build with all their Lego bricks. It was so much fun. 

A few favourites in June

A few favourites in June, originally uploaded by lille-ursus.

1. Studio, 2. For a dear friend, 3. work in progress, 4. Untitled, 5. floating seeds purse, 6. a new (vintage) lovely, 7. miss america, 8. doughnuts for a saturday afternoon, 9. postcards from the park quilt, 10. pin cushion swap - potential

Why didn't I think of that before??

I have had this wonderful, wonderful book for a long time by now.

It has so many desirable designs in it and I have read it over and over again. I have looked at the beautifully photographed pictures and have tried my very best to translate the many French words it contains.

But my knowledge in French doesn't include the French technical terminologies for knitting (only what is needed in everyday parlance). That has been a huge provocation to me, because I really want to knit some of the cute stuff from the book.

The other day it suddenly struck me, that I might be able to find a knitting dictionary which translated French into English! And google, google, google - hey presto: the dictionary was there!!

You can not believe how happy that made me. Soon I will be sitting with my beloved book and a whole lot of French knitting terms. Hopefully it will result in many recipes which I understand and can use.

And you know what? Now this book becomes an option as well....I adore La Droguerie.

Design your own table

It sounds like a wonderful thing doesn't it? Well, it's possible...and I dream of doing it some time in the future.

The company which gives you that opportunity is called BORDSNEDKEREN and my sweet sister's husband is one of the 3 owners.

You can design big tables and small tables - dining tables, coffee tables, tables for the office and so on. I know that really good quality is a very important issue for this shop.

And you can get the table in all kinds of colors and materials. Both for the table tops and for the table legs. Actually there are about 100.000 design combinations.

But maybe you should go have a look yourself.
The shop is online, so you don't even have to go anywhere. You can design your new table sitting by your computer. And after approximately 4 weeks it's delievered on your doorstep!

Comfortable, quality-conscious and easy shopping, if you ask me....

Luminescent thread...

...which I bought the other day along with some cotton yarn in green and blue shades.

And I can't wait to use this thread! Don't you know that feeling?

I have a very special color combo in mind - hopefully it will become as great as I think.

Now I just have to go upstairs to find the fabric. What I will make with the gorgeus thread and the fabric is a whole different matter. I haven't got that part ready yet...I will figure that out.

But I will be back. ;)

Old kitchen wallpaper

Old kitchen wallpaper, originally uploaded by lille-ursus.

When we renovated our kitchen, in our house from 1912, we found this old wallpaper under several layers of other wallpapers.
I gently tore this piece of the wall.

The print immediately appealed to me - though I wouldn't decorate a whole room with. Not with our low ceilings...

At the time I painted a lot of pictures and I knew from the moment I saw this oldfashioned wallpaper, that I wanted to use this little scrap in a painting. To bring together something new and something aged by time could be fun.

I recently found the brown and yellow colored piece again when I was moving my sewingroom.
Every time I see it, I get an urge to get started on the painting.

But I have to have the perfect idea ready in my head before I begin. I wouldn't want to waste this wallpaper due to haste - haste makes waste, you know....

For me

Love, originally uploaded by lille-ursus.

Not much more to say than I finally found the ribbon from Maileg, which I have been wanting for so long. I thought that they were too pretty to be put in my sewingroom right away, so I wanted to show them to you.

For once I think that these ribbons will go on something for me....

From garden to table

On my table, originally uploaded by lille-ursus.

Don't you just love when loads of flowers can be picked in your garden? (Or did you think that I were about to write about vegetables?)

I certainly do like the possibility to choose and pick. It's wonderful to be able to get some color and beauty from the garden.
It actually doesn't take more than a few flowers and some small vases to make the feeling of summer and the flowers significant in a room.

More of the X X X X

So many gorgeous x x x x x, originally uploaded by lille-ursus.

Well, since you liked the cross stitch patterns in my last post, maybe it's time for you to become acquainted with more wonderful patterns and kits (if you don't already know them). The world of X X X is bewitching at the moment, if you ask me.

The amazing ones in this flickr mosaic are from the Japanese company Gera. They have filled me with enthusiasm as well.

I adore their naive expression and their captivating colors. And the fact that most of the patterns have a lovely touch of humour, only make me want them even more.

x...x...x

Thanks to Christy I found  a very cool cross-stitch designer on etsy. Alex Kamiya is the designer who creates different and temporary patterns.

I bought the kit with Russian Dolls - eventhough I have seen so many of those dolls around cyberspace, and got a bit fed up with them, I still think that the ones created by Alex Kamiya have something different.

The embroidery will be 12 x 12 centimetres when it's done - the perfect size to be added on a pillow or maybe a bag. Oh yes, a bag would look great with these colorful dolls. And with Gingham fabric it would definitely fill my needs.

So if you love x..x...x as much as me, you know where to go.

WEEKEND on a Tuesday....

On a sunny and warm day like this, I feel like sewing a zillion summerdresses with narrow shoulder straps. And picking out some fabric wouldn't take me long.

The new fabric line from Erin McMorris called WEEKENDS is so wonderful and very suitable for exactly that purpose. I'm crazy about the green and blue one, but the pink and orange one is just as fabulous.

But I have to finish a black tunic from the same pattern in which I made this and this. Dreaming is not forbidden, though.

Another pattern I bought recently, is from Onion.

Actually it is chosen by my bigsister Lotte, because I'm going to make her a dress. As a part of her birthday gift.

She lets me pick out the fabric for it and I think I know which one to buy. But that will be a secret for now, because I know my sister might take a look on my blog. ;)

Have a lovely summer day...