Soft yarn for soft skin...

It will not be long before our niece Agnes turns 1 year old. 

I can't believe that she's that big already, but it probably seems harder to understand when she lives in Copenhagen, and we don't get to see her that often. It would much likely have been different if we saw her frequently. Then we could see for ourselves that she grows and grows.

Nevertheless a cardigan is being made for the little lady - hopefully I will be done by her birthday. If not, then I will use it for Christmas. I'm making a size 18 months just to prevent it from becoming too small while I'm knitting it (a thing which has happened to me far too many times in the past...)

The pattern is from Sandnes and so is the yarn. What a soft yarn. Perfect for delicate baby skin.

If you want to have a closer look at the details, you can find them here.

A scarf + a beard

The o o o scarf is now complety done. I'm not fast at all but I'm done and that's a huge joy for me.

On the photo you can see that I still needed to crochet about 45 centimetres of the edge this afternoon, but that's taken care of by now.

I also have a new model on my hands - I persuaded my husband to wear the scarf while I took the photos. He only agreed to participate if I didn't tell that it was him, who wore it. But how could I not tell you. You might think that I had grown a beard, when you saw the photo!!

Tomorrow I will wash and block the lot, and then put it on the shelf in our little hall, until the really cold and windy weather begins.

Birthday apples

This Saturday our niece Sarah will celebrate her birthday.

She's very fond of paiting in colouring books, so we got her a Mandala book. (If you would like to try out some Mandala colouring for your kids or yourself, you can find a lot for free right here. I love paiting Mandala patterns when I relax or speak on the phone).

We thought that Sarah should have a fun story as well - one she could have her mom read for her. So we bought Per og bette Mads, a wonderful happy story written by the late Danish author Ole Lund Kirkegaard.

I couldn't miss the chance to sew some children's clothes either, so an apple dress is on it's way to Copenhagen too. Sarah can also use it as a tunic if she likes to.

In the front of the dress, I put 2 embroidered buttons. And if you have a closer look at the photo, you can see that the embroideries are 2 tiny apple trees - at least that's what I like to think.

Making the edge

Finally I reached the point, where I could begin crocheting the edge.

I have had some specific colours in mind since I started the scarf, and luckily I'm satisfied with the way the stripes look.

It's quite a lot of stitches to get around the entire scarf, but I can only blame myself for making it so long.

I hope that it will look good when it's blocked - I'm a bit worried that the edge will be flappy...

A mail with proof

Yesterday I got the sweetest mail from Anne-Sophie and it also contained this photo.

Have a look at the attached photo, mom. I'm using it...

She's busy at architecture school with a project she and her group is making in between lectures.

They were told to make a piece of furniture for storing from two items, which were not optinal. Anne-Sophie's group had to make it from an armchair and a hoover!

It's so interesting to see the different stages they are told to go through, in order to create their new piece of furniture. Anne-Sophie has made so many drawings, and in order to make a new item they had to completely take apart the hoover and the chair.

By now it's looking really good, and in the photo Anne-Sophie is at the school sewing a piece, which is supposed to be used on the project.

I'm so glad that she feels the need to use my old machine.

Yeah!!

Lovely, lovely!! I won the book above in this competition - such a fine thing to discover on a late Friday night....

Today is a special day...

...for my niece Ida.

It's the day where she gets to hold a photo exhibition - PERSONLIGT FOTOGRAFI - along with her fellow students. If you live in Aarhus, I think that you should go have a look at the many wonderful photos.


Or else you could take a look at the beautiful website Ida has made. She also have a flickr.

Today I'm definitely one extra, extra proud aunt. (I always am...)

Photo from Ida Velling's flickr

Ready for a second life

Yesterday Anne-Sophie came to pick up her new machine - or should I say new old machine.

When I got my new sewing machine a few years ago, I promised Anne-Sophie that she could have my old Singer. (Actually Emil was supposed to use it as well, if he ever had the need for it! I have a feeling that it might never occur again. I think that we must see it as a thing he loved to do, once in a while, when he was a very little boy). ;)

The old Singer has been standing at home waiting for Anne-Sophie to need it. And so she did yesterday.

She is making a project at the architecture school, which needed just that kind of tool. Now I hope that having the sewing machine close by, will inspire her to sew again. She used to sew when she lived at home, but in recent years she has been too occupied by her studies.

The Singer was my very first sewing machine and a graduation gift from Christian. I still remember how happy it made me, when I opened the present.  A gift he knew I would cherish and use a lot.

By now it's time that it starts a new life, with new hands operating the buttons and buttom thread - and another person who finds out about all the many funny advantages and - not so funny - disadvantages such an old machine has.
I know that it will do a good job, even though it has become a bit more yellow over the years.

I couldn't be more delighted about the new owner...I hope that she will get as many wonderful hours of creating with it, as I have had...

Have you seen Beltsy??

Or Cincinatti? 

Two wonderful new patterns from French C'est Dimanche. 

Photo from C'est Dimanche

The patterns came in the mail from France yesterday, and I can't wait to find the right fabrics, cut out the pattern parts and start sewing - in a while.

Beltsy will most likely be made in Gingham like the model on the photo - that absolutly works in my opinion. Dark blue & white squares or black & white.

Photo from C'est Dimanche

Cincinatti has some well thought out details like all of C'est Dimanche's clothes. Especially the pink piping trim on the pockets, makes the dress have a cool twist, and not look like any other piece of clothes.

I also have to mention the little girl who wears the clothes in the most lovely and sweet way. C'est Dimanche often use her on their photos, and that they stick to that choice is a wise decision.
She is SO pretty and somehow I can't see anyone but her in the dresses.

I sure hope that she got to keep them after the photo shoot was over...

Dragging it on

Oh yes, I'm still making the little colourful circles. I don't know if you can tell that the scarf has become longer. The photo looks a lot like the one I took a while ago!

I almost don't know what to do, when I finish the scarf. It's been such a cosy job. So now I have decided to make it a wee tad longer.
Even though I look forward to making the border, which will surround the many circles.

Maybe it's time to reveal that I have bought the Jawoll Magic yarn in a green version. One wouldn't know whether I got the urge to make another circle scarf some day...

Dogs, dots and Gingham

Dogs, dots and Gingham, a photo by lille-ursus on Flickr.

These trousers are also for my little friend. It's a gift from me to him because he has been feeling poorly lately. I have thought a lot about him and his family...

Maybe it will be enjoyable for him to point on all the dogs on the fabric, and maybe he will even have fun saying woof as well.

It was nice to sew a bit again and since it was baby size, it was a little and manageable project. Perfect for me right now.

I'm so tired

I don't know if you have noticed, but it has been such a long time ago since I have made something at my sewing machine.

Some how everything has taken a turn towards yarn, knitting and crocheting. The patterns I find are for knitted dresses, cardis and that kind of stuff. And lots and lots of crochet items seem to overpower me whenever I go to Pinterest, etsy, flickr and those places.

And of course embroidery.

It's not that I don't feel like sewing anymore, I simply haven't had the energy to do whatever it takes of preparations and other acts in order to sew something. Then it's much more easy to crochet a tiny circle...

My energy level has been low and I have been SO tired for months and months. I usually don't sleep that long, but I think that I litteraly could sleep a whole day, if I didn't turn on my alarm clock! It actually came to a point where I got a bit worried about all that tiredness...But then - in it's own strange way - it became a habit because it had been there for so long.


The other day I had a doctor's appointment on another matter, and by accident my sweet doctor found out that I had a very low haemoglobin count. So there was the answer to my lack of energy - and need to sleep much more.What a relieve! Lovely that something could be done about it.

Hopefully I will feel more spunky in a while, and feel that my energy for sewing and many other things gradually comes back.

I did however manage to start on a little pair of trousers a while ago for a friend of mine. Now they are finally done and soon I will send them in the mail.

Another thing I would love to make before long, is this embroidery by Cathy Gaubert (again).

It's this month's Stitchalong on Feeling Stitchy, so if you want to take part in the stitchalong you can download the pattern for free right here. And of course remember to show your result in the flickr group when you are done...

At least I'm very busy finding new and funny projects in my mind...

For the home

Knitting for my home hasn't been something I have done - at all. But my point of view on that matter changed when I was surfing on both Marianne Isager's and Helga Isager's sites.

Together they have created a new book about knitting items for one's home.
It must have been such an exiting project to make together - especially as relatives. And being at different stages of life, have probably also had a huge impact on their process with the patterns.

Photo from Amimono

Pillows, a baby blanket, a napkin for a breadbasket and a plaid - the one above - are some of the things the book contains. I'm totally crazy about the colours they have used and I don't have a problem about seing it all in my home!

But if I get to knit just 1 thing from the book, I guess that I should consider that as a victory...

Photo from Amimono

Getting inspiration from the book is actually almost enough for me. I often wonder about the thoughts which have gone through a designer's mind while creating. What inspired them to pick the colours, the shapes and the materials? But getting the patterns as well is definitely not a bad bonus.

Below is a photo of the book. I bought mine here and you can also buy it on this site.

Photo from Amimono

Memory jar

Source: inchmark.squarespace.com via Ulla on Pinterest

This . . .
. . . is an idea that I want to make for my little family. A beautiful jar full of paper notes about our everdaylife and funny episodes through a whole year. And when New Year's Eve is reached, all the notes are read out loud to the family.

Eventhough I have books - one for Anne-Sophie and one for Emil - in which I continuously write about anything and everything in their lives, I still think that the jar is brilliant. It's an easy way to remember to get the little joys in life on paper, and it's also more practicable. . . and best of all it's much faster than having to pull out books from shelves far away.

I'm off to find a big jar in my kitchen cupboard...