Joys of a Thursday

On Thursday afternoon I got this beautiful, beautiful lot of yarn. To open the cardboard box was a burst of colour and life. I have so high hopes for this quality. The mix of cotton and wool will be perfect for me. 

Once more I gladly bought yarn from Garnudsalg.dk.

I'm so amazed and satisfied with the colours and the vivid glow, which has been captured in the threads. Skovbær (forest berry) and Appelsinskræl (orange peel). Even the names are cool and kind of marvellous.

He must be a clever and talented man, that Kenneth, who owns Garnudsalg. A man who very clearly knows his way around fibres, and it shows so much that he puts a lot of carefulness, knowledge and passion into the yarns.

My plan is to make a cardigan for myself - I really, really hope that I get to carry out that wish, before I turn the yarn into something for children. That happens far too often for me!

Another lovely moment was this evening.
I heard a knock on our frontdoor, but when I opened the door, there was no one to be seen. But something was - these 2 fine and transparant ice lanterns. Shaped like stars - with a light so soft and welcoming.

I can't tell you how happy they made me and Christian - whom I yelled at right away so he could see them (at first he thought that something had happened to me!!).

Where on earth did they come from, you might ask yourself? Well, right away I knew who would do such a
heartwarming and brilliant act. This sweet woman.

I hope that I can make Dorte and her family just as surprised and happy some day soon...

Old patterns for a new year

Just before Christmas I were lucky to get some old knitting magazines from a very sweet woman. She had been cleaning up her cellar and came across them. What a treasures they were - and what a great thing that she thought of me instead of throwing them away!

There were lots and lots of wonderful patterns, all presented by little chubby babies.

And they have become modern again, the patterns that is. There were some which are to be knitted and some to crochet.

The magazines were published sometime in the late 70ties and I just love the fact, that I remember seing some clothes made by similar recipes in my own childhood. (Worn by babies, of course).

Starting off the new year with old inspiration is absolutely marvellous. It doesn't always have to be brand new ideas.

I hope that you all had a gorgeous holiday time with your loved ones.
I certainly did - it was busy but so nice...

Laz(c)y day

It's definitely a lazy day today - in more than one way.

Emil and I slept through the morning and I barely heard Christian go off to work. Now we are having a cosy time doing absolutly what we want to, and maybe I can find a little moment in a while, to do some more knitting on the Lacy Baktus I'm knitting. And some flicking through the magasin RUM.

I have a thing for mustard colored scarfs at the moment. And ever since I saw the Lacy Baktus made by Terhi on flickr, I have wanted to have one of my own. With holes and everything...

Later on we are going to spend time with some of the people we love the most - my sister and her family. Not a bad day in the middle of December.

The little red pig is Christian's from his childhood and the angel is my childhood favourite at Christmas.

I'm waiting for Tusindfryd dukker

These days I have been thinking a lot about Wenche. The sweet, sweet woman who has the much inspiring blog Tusindfryd, and whom has made a deep  impression on me with her caring and heartwarming personality.

She's a very talented dollmaker, and has just had her first book about dollmaking published. In fact it was released at Klematis the other day, and that's the reason why I have had her in the back of my mind lately.

Photo from Klematis

I'm so happy for Wenche - to see one's hard work and beautiful ideas in a book, must be such a fantastic thing. I know that she will have done her utmost to make the book, so it will present itself in the very best way - both for the eyes and the mind.

I have already ordered my copy of the book Tusindfryd dukker - I couldn't wait until Christmas!
And I'm convinced that we can learn and enjoy from the minute we turn the first page in Wenche's book. I can hardly wait...

It has been far too long ago

...since I made a flickr favourite mosaic. So here you go - a little view of the things I love at the moment.

1. Owl Family, 2. free-motioning, 3. Tjulahopsasa..., 4. Little Snowy, 5. Untitled, 6. Periwinkle Monster and other monsters4, 7. love... !, 8. chicken brooch, 9. Usynlig eller..., 10. Thanksgiving, 11. Les filles onomatopéiques, 12. tweedy stripes..., 13. ., 14. Lovely Design's Lovely Little Forest Quilt, 15. pop bottle curtain, 16. dress shirt, 17. patchwork pincushions in progress, 18. HIMYM top, 19. Abby Jacket, 20. Tula Pink tunic 2, 21. dots 002, 22. Stella's summer outfit2, 23. Stella's top1_1, 24. Wearing a Scarf II, 25. <3

A gorgeous American guardian angle

The day after Anne-Sophie left for her holiday in L.A., there was a flickr mail waiting for me, when I popped by flickr to have a look.

It was written by this sweet and talented woman. (She's amazing at sewing and makes the most beautiful clothes for her lovely daughter).
In the mail Sarvi told me that she would be more than happy to help Anne-Sophie, if she had any questions or problems at all, when she arrived in L.A.

I can't tell you how happy and very touched that mail made me. It really moved me to tears - and my husband too. (And that's not an easy thing to do).
At the same time it gave me a feeling of peace at mind. The kind of peace of mind a mom likes to have when her children take off to new adventures in foreign countries. (Even if they are grown up too!) ;)

It's so fantastic that a woman who practically lives on the other side of the earth, and whom I know from flickr, sends a couple of flickr mails full of warm and caring words, her phone number and her email adress. So many of us could learn from her way of embracing and acting, and how she meets new people with an open mind and heart.

Anne-Sophie was happily surprised and very grateful to hear about Sarvi's mails. - How absolutely sweet of her, she said to me when we spoke on the phone.

I have written it to you already Sarvi, but it can't be said enough - thank you from the bottom of my heart for your wonderful way of being, and for caring. That, I will keep in mind for a long, long time.

Lots of love to you too...

Stripes for Kalle

Washed, blogged and dried. The scarf I have been making for my dear friend Kalle is now done. I have wrapped it as fine as possible along with the book I bought for him, and now it's all tucked away in a big brown envelope. With Kalle's name and adress written on the thick brown paper.

I have put the envelope on top of our old chest of drawers in our livingroom, so I don't forget to bring it with me to the post office tomorrow. So it can begin the long journey to England where Kalle lives.

And then I will go back to my pale pink yarn...

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.

Book-elicious

I don't think that I have ever looked more forward to this autumn's and winter's new books, than I do in 2011/2012. So many talented people have been busy making books for the rest of us to enjoy - and of course to learn and get inspired from.

Many of you probably already know this fantastic woman from her blog Tusindfryd.
Wenche Steensen is going to release her new book about making dolls. She makes the most wonderful custom made Waldorf dolls for children, and following her blog is a magical thing.
 As far as I can tell from the online bookshops, it will be here some time in the beginning of 2012.
I can't wait to see her work and all the many ideas on making dolls.

Another woman whom I admire so deeply - both as an artist and as a person - is my blog friend Cathy Gaubert. Maybe her name rings a bell since I have written about her several times before. Her embroidery patterns are some of my all time favourites.

Cathy is making a book too. A book about patchwork doll quilts - a thing she does so brilliantly herself. Oh, how I love the work from her hands and head!
The book is called Pretty in patchwork - doll quilts and contains different doll quilts from several talented women.

My sweet American blogger friend Amy is actually going to be in 2 books this autumn. She has quilting blocks in the book Modern Blocks and you can definitely look forward to seing her work. She's really talented and makes all her things with such dedication.
The book will be in the stores by October 2011.

And she has things in the book Zakka Style, which has contributions from different crafters. This one will be available in December, so there's a clear cut idea for a Christmas present.

Finally, I know that I will love the first book from brilliant Fiona Dalton. Her patterns - which I have bought and sewn this bunny from - are simply genius and the expression on each animal she makes is so good.

Her book is called Hop, skip, jump - the same as her blog. The book will be in stores about the end of October 2011.

So with all these fabulous books coming, there's one good reason for summer to end a bit faster - eventhough I don't really want it to end at all!

New inspiration for x-stitches

I'm over the moon about the 2 new books about x-stitches, which I recived today. Well, I actually got 4 books, but the other ones are fiction and not about stitches (it's Berlinerpoplerne and Eremitkrebsene by Norwegian Anne B. Ragde).

I bought the embroidery books in France, and they are both full of inspirational ideas for making logos and pictograms with needle and thread. I'm almost certain, that I will get hooked on sewing edged people and traffic signs.

France really have a whole lot of fantastic books about x-stitching in a new and different way. I would never have discovered it, if it wasn't for the wonderful people I have been so fortunate to get in touch with through flickr, blogs and etsy.

I actually finished something!!

Do you remember the yellow & purple numbers I were making a loooong time ago??

They have finally become something - they have been made into 2 pillows. From the very start I had a very special purpose which I wanted to use them for.

I made my own test to see whether the fabric and colours were okay with the recipient - without her knowing of course - and then I started. 

The embroidery took many hours but was so fun to make, and I know that I will have to do these little stitches again. Amazing how a mess of stitches can end up looking like something...

The biggest issue in this project was to find the right pillows to put inside the cushion covers. I searched high and low for them for ages and ages, but I never managed to get them. I could have stuffed the pillow cases with cotton batting but I wanted to use feathers, and that made the whole thing a bit more difficult.

2 pillows in this size - 40 centimetres x 60 centimetres - had to be turned into the size I needed (30 x 50). I used my sewing machine to minimize them and then I started cutting. Oh my!! There were SO many feathers in my kitchen! No matter how careful I did the transformation they kept flying around - tickling my nose.

At last I finished the project. That does happen to me sometimes, you see....

Birthday cake on a wonderful day

My very first day as a 40 year old! And what a fine day.

So many gorgeous people - friends and family, have been at my house to wish me a happy birthday.
And sweet people have written to me as well, to wish me a wonderful day. A dear friend of mine even sang a very special - and funny - song to me. All the way from England.

I feel so lucky to have them all around me. . .a day like this truely makes me happy and warm inside.


I have gotten lots of hugs and lots of gorgeous flowers and presents. I have been spoiled indeed. A very fine and tasty birthday cake was made for me by Anne-Sophie and Tim - with Oreos on top!

Maybe I should reconsider my point of view on being 40...

Norwegian friends

While sitting here at the computer, looking at the flowers I bought a while ago from Spagat's etsy shop, I can't help thinking about the kindness my daughter recently met on her trip to Norway.

Back when Anne-Sophie had started in 1.G. in upper secondary school, we had the pleasure of having Fredrik staying in our house for about a week.

Fredrik is a Norwegian exchange student. He is part of the class which was on a week long exchange stay here in Denmark.
Anne-Sophie and her fellow students went to Norway several weeks later, and there she stayed in Fredrik's home.

I can't tell you how happy we were about the fact, that Anne-Sophie lived in this particular family during her stay in Norway.
First of all Fredrik is such a sweet, polite and funny young man. And his family possess the same human qualities.

Fredrik's mother is very interested in crafting and when Anne-Sophie arrived in Fredrik's home, she got the most wonderful pair of knitted and felted slippers. It was Ann Helen, Fredrik's mum who had made them especially for her, and Ann Helen even embroidered Anne-Sophie's name on them.

I must admit that I did cry a bit when Anne-Sophie told me this. It was such a heartwarming and  lovely way to welcome Anne-Sophie.

This summer both Anne-Sophie and Fredrik will be students. And during the period of time since their first visits, we have had Fredrik visit us, and last weekend Anne-Sophie went to Norway to visit her Norwegian friend. Once more she was treated with such kindness and warmth. And Fredrik and his family did so many other things to make Anne-Sophie feel at home and happy.

A friendship is definitely built and I hope that both Fredrik and Anne-Sophie will continue to keep the contact between them.
Isn't wonderful when people you haven't seen before, welcome your child with open arms and such  warm hearts? The whole experience has really left a lasting impression on me and my family.
I hope that we can welcome people in our home in the same sweet and respectful way...

It has been far too long ago...

Photos from Lange Keramik

...since I have visted this wonderful, wonderful shop.



Photos from Lange Keramik

 I can tell from looking at their website, that they have made so many gorgeous  new things. The lemon and applebowls would look great in my kitchen, and so would the little pink pig cup.

I'm so fond of the hen bowls which I have bought at Lange Keramik some years ago - they are a continuous source of joy in our house. How lovely it must be to be able to make peole smile and get happy whenever they see one's work.

Cozy Elf Tuque

That's the name of a new pattern I bought. It's designed by Barbara Prime. Here's a photo I took of it and it might just become a favourite one, when I knit for little baby and toddler friends of mine.

The shape looks so promising - I think that it will have a great fit. Maybe as good as the Devil hat pattern.

But trying it out will have to wait for a while. But when the time comes, I think I will start with the version with the small buttons....

Well, isn't it....Otto??

I did have an eye on Alyssa's new dog embroidery patterns some months ago. You know Alyssa, who designed the fabulous alphabet which I have written about several times before.

And when the dogs turned up in her etsy shop I simply had to buy this particular one:

Because can't you see it? It looks so much like Otto...Hmmm, at least I think so!



It will be embroidered in black - that's for sure.

Do you remember the kings in the bathtub?

These kings...

Well, now she has been making new and interesting things again that clever Hanne Marie Leth Andersen. I don't think that words will do any good here. Just have a look - that's much better.



Photo from Andersenkeramik




Photo from Andersenkeramik



And by the way; now I have a bathtub of my own - a gift from my dear friend Liselotte.



A book full of happiness and finesse

Finally!!

Kajsa's book ended up in my mailbox. I have been waiting for it to come ever since the day Kajsa wrote on her blog, that a book was a new and exiting project of her's.

I have admired Kajsa's work and read her blog for a long time.
To me there is a handful of people on the internet, who truely has rocked my world with their work, personality and never ending creativity. Kajsa is one of them...

I remember how thrilled I were when I saw her things for the very first time. Her wonderful pillows, quilts, houses, Tomter, cat pouches, bags and much more immidiately made me smile and at the same time, I loved how obvious it was that Kajsa made her things with such care and meticulousness.

And now we all get the possibility to read about it and make some of Kajsa's things from her new book.

The book is very well written and illustrated by lovely photos. I like how words and pictures have been put together, and it leaves the reader extremely inspired and well equipped for sewing and trying out the variuos techniques Kajsa uses in her work.

Last but not least I appriciate that the book gives you a fine and personal impression of the person behind it.

Need I say that I love Scandinavian Stitches??

I can hardly wait....

...to start this:

Borrowed from Rosanna's blog

Isn't it fabulous? I LOVE that expression, the hanging ears and the little tummy. Everything!

I have had the honor of making the wonderful fellow into an embroidery - in a little while. This sweet and talented woman is the owner of him. And she is going to crochet him as well - isn't that a gorgeous idea?

Besides being such a heartwarming woman, Rosanna is brilliant at creating. Drawing is just one of her numerous talents. Take a look and see for yourself.

But before I can start playing with Rosanna's rabbit, I have to deal with all my hexagons!

For 1st day at school

A little while ago a friend of mine asked me to make a dress for her daughter. It was to be used for her very first day at school.

I was so honored and proud that I got to make such a dress. I know how important that day is for a family.

So this is how it turned out -  the pattern is from a Japanese book with children's clothes. The fabric was chosen by the little schoolgirl and so was the bow and the bias tape.

I sure hope that little Alma gets a wonderful day....