Miss Marple is more than an old female detective

I strømmen af mønstre på smukke cardigans med retro look, er Miss Marple helt klart en favorit. Den minder mig om min barndoms lange søndage med varm frokost, og udforskende bilture rundt  i landet iført det pæne tøj. 

Det er en cardigan af den slags, som man gerne tog ud over en fin kjole. Allerhelst en som min mor selv havde syet, og hvor jeg selv fik lov til at bestemme farve og stof.

Denne cardigan er tiltænkt til brug på alle ugens dage, og modtageren er vores niece Sarah. Den skal være en del af hendes julegave.

Det er et skønt mønster og jeg blev meget begejstret da designeren Nadia Crétin-Léchenne proklamerede, at et lignende mønster til voksne var undervejs. Og selvfølgelig kunne den ikke hedde andet end Lady Marple.

Et halvt ærme er hvad jeg mangler, så for en gangs skyld ser det ud til at jeg nærmest er på forkant med en hjemmelavet julegave. I hvert tilfælde denne...


Masser af strikke og broderi inspiration var der også at finde i de nye bøger jeg fik forleden. Theresa Maria Jessings fortællinger om stort og småt i den nye bog "Livet på Kastaniegården", Helga Isagers udgivelse på svensk "Finstickat" og "Supersize stitches" af Jacqu Pearce.

Jeg kan varmt anbefale dem alle.

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IN ENGLISH

Among the many beautiful patterns for retro look cardigans, Miss marple is definitely a hit. It reminds me of the long Sundays in my childhood, when we had warm lunches and drove around exploring our country wearing our best clothes.

It's the kind of cardigan, which we wore over a fine dress. Preferably one which my mother had sewn herself, and I had chosen the colour and the fabric.

This particular cardigan is meant to be worn on every day of the week, and the recipient is our niece Sarah. It's going to be a part of her Christmas present.

It's a lovely pattern and I were very pleased when the designer announced that a similar pattern for grownups was on it's way. And of course it couldn't have another name than Lady Marple.

Half a sleeve is what I need to knit to finish Miss Marple, so for once it seems as if I'm at the cutting edge of a homemade Christmas present. At least this one...

Lots of knitting and embroidery inspiration are also found in the new books I got the other day. Theresa Maria Jessing's stories about anything and nothing in her new book Livet på Kastaniegården, Helga Isager's publication in Swedish Finstickat and Supersize stitches by Jacqu Pearce.

I can highly recommend them all.

Ikke så mange ord....

 ...bare et par billeder af en lille hat til vores niece Sarah.

Cascade garn + knapper fra Betty P + refleksgarn giver forhåbentlig varme ører.

Hurra for Betty P's vidunderlige neon tråde

For et stykke tid siden begyndte jeg på et lille broderi. 

Jeg syer med den smukke koral farvede neontråd fra Betty P. Fra jeg så neontrådene for første gang, har de indbudt til at blive omsat til små broderisting.

At jeg købte alle de 5 ruller tråd i neon nuancer har jeg ikke fortrudt et sekund. Adskillige projekter har fået tilføjet et lille neon pift, og det er simpelthen en fornøjelse at arbejde med de livlige farver og den stærke tråd.

Neon embroidery on a new tunic for me, a photo by lille-ursus on Flickr.

Jeg laver bogstaver på en tunika jeg syede til mig selv i sensommeren. Den er lavet i en let chambrey i grå. Jeg holder meget af den slags stof, da det ikke blot er én stor flade af en bestemt farve, men derimod et virvar af grå tråde på kryds og på tværs.

Hvad jeg skriver med neon er ikke til at vide...forhåbentlig dukker det op inden længe.

3 som jeg må huske på

Jeg er altid på udkig efter nye spændende bøger - og når der kommer nyt på broderi fronten bliver jeg altid  ovenud lykkelig.

I begyndelsen af juli kom Knot, thread, stitch af Lisa Solomon. En bog som jeg ikke ville have noget imod at have i hænderne.

Og i starten af juni kom endnu en bog fra Katherine Shaughnessy: New crewel - the motif collection. Du kender måske allerede The new crewel - exquisite designs in contemporary embroidery, af samme forfatter.

Endelig er der mere fransk i korssting. Jeg holder meget af det udtryk som hvid og en kontrast farve kan frembringe med de mange små x x x x.
Jeg har ofte korsstings motiver i hovedet og går og funderer over hvorledes de kunne bruges, men får aldrig rigtig ført dem ned på papir. Men nu har jeg købt 2 geniale bøger - i lommestørrelse - en dag Anne-Sophie og mig var i den butik, hvor hun køber sine materialer til studiet (ÅH, en fed butik!!). De er perfekte til at krydse små motiver ned i og faktisk fungerer det for mig, da jeg allerede har udfyldt nogle sider.

Nå, jeg kom ud på et sidespor, så tilbage til den fransk broderi bog der hedder Cross-stitch sampler af Marjorie Massey.

Jeg har netop bestilt 3 nye bøger, så det er ikke lige nu jeg behøver mere kreativt læsestof, men næste gang der skal bestilles bøger, skal denne helt sikkert med...

Something old and something new...

The other day Anne-Sophie and I went to our local thrift store. We didn't find any treasures like this one, that day besides an old Christmas curtain. I only bought one of them, because I'm not going to change my curtains for Christmas (!)
I fell in love with it due to the neat and lovely x-stitch pattern on the curtain. Soon, I will write down the positions of each stitch on squared paper, so I can embroider the star (or snowflake) on to a crisp new piece of linen.

The same day my fabric order from the USA arrived. Pieces of cotton with bikes and circles printed on to them.
Somehow I must have a partiality to red-ish patterns at the monent.

Fabrics haven't been on my shoppinglist for a long time now, and that suits me just fine. I need to use some of the many metres from my stash instead.

I'm recycling a layer cake

For quite a long time I have been making a jacket for Agnes.

It's the kind which has a thin layer of warming cotton batting in between the 2 layers of fabric. A quilted jacket - something which is used by both children and grownups here in Denmark at the moment. And years back too. I have always loved the look of these particular jackets.

I got my pattern from the book Børnetøj du selv kan sy, and when Anne-Sophie was little I made her a jacket from the same pattern.

The fabric for the outside is two shades of grey and with tiny flowers. The linning is striped and in two shades of rose. To keep it simple I chose some fabrics which were not that busy, but still I don't want the jacket to be too boring. So that's where my recycled layer cake comes in.

For at least 5 years ago I embroidered the little cake, and put it on a bag I knitted for myself. But since we are having a major clean-up and move around due to Emil's new room, I threw out the bag, which had become tired and strange. 

However, I didn't have the heart to throw the layer cake embroidery in the bin - it has taken far too many hours to make - so I removed it and saved it in my sewing desk.

Today I found a new way of using it and soon it will be placed on the back of Agnes' jacket. 

Lili Points

Through a French blog  I became aware of some funny x-stitch patterns. I don't like them all, but a lot of them were nice, and made in a way I haven't seen before. More modern if you like.

Lili Points is the name, and at their website you can see loads of patterns for all kinds of occasions. I think this one is funny

Photo from Lili Points

Mère poule means mother hen - the kind of mother who takes too good care of her childen and wrap them in cotton! But all beacause of amour as the embroidery says...

I bought the pattern below. I can easily see it on a kitchen towel or perhaps a cool table runner.

Photo from Lili Points

I wouldn't mind making this one sometime. 

Photo from Lili Points

But so far I will keep my hands on the cow and the milk bottles...

The Mega-mussel tunic

I don't think that I ever got to show you the Megamussel tunic when it was done. It has been done for a while but somehow I forgot all about it during summer.

So here it is!

I have loved wearing it so far, probably because it's one of my favourite patterns. The neckline was made looser than on the purple tunic, and I'm satisfied with that.

The pattern is once more the same old one from a magazine I have. Next time I think that I have to cut the pattern in a smaller size. Because I know that there will be a next time.

Perhaps it's slightly boring to use one pattern so many times, but I try to give each tunic it's own and unique look. So I choose different fabrics and embroideries to encourage the diversity.

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.

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...

I have a question

Has anyone seen these fluorescent embroidery floss colours here in Denmark? And if you have - where can I buy them?

I have managed to find them in shops abroad but with shipping fees and all, the floss becomes rather expensive.

But I really do want to embroider some cool details with a neon pink and some of the other fabulous shades...

+ 1

5 elephants were not enough. 1 more had to be added in order to make the pacifier holder long enough.

I didn't mind that at all. I adore embroidering those little creatures, and now I find myself trying to find new items to make elephants on...

1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 little elephants

I'm making the preliminary preparations for a little embroidery I have been meaning to sew for months.

So I found all my embroidery floss, tried to pick out some colours and got to change my mind more than 4 times, before I thought that the right mix of colours was there.

5 little elephants are on the pattern I'm going to be making. One in front of the other they will get to walk on the white linen in a long row. In colours which can be used by both boys and girls.

And what is it for you might ask yourself?? 

A kind of chain to hold a pacifier from falling to the floor - eventhough babies at one point in life think, that it's the best kind of fun to throw their pacifier as far away as it can go. I can't help loving that they throw it down over and over, and keep laughing every time. 

I found the pattern in my own copy of the wonderful book Gavebogen - written by Theresa Jessing from Sort Lakrids.

If our little niece Agnes has begun using a pacifier, I will send it to her. And if not, then I simply put it in my box with baby presents...

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.

My intensions were good...

When we packed our bags to go on holiday, I also prepared a fabric tote and a plastic bag with items for all the crafting I was going to do in the cottage we rented at the North Sea.

I brought linen, embroidery floss, cotton yarn, the 2 new embroidery kits I recently bought, more yarn, hooks to match the yarn, a pair of scissors, large pieces of extra thick carton and 2 different knitting books.

As usual my husband laughed at me when he picked up my stuff, and put it in our car.

But I knew that I would get to make loads of things from all my supplies, so I didn't mind him laughing...

However...

The things you see in the photo, are what I got around to making in the 7 days we were there! 3 lousy attempts at crocheting cirlces and a tiny pile of carton hexagons for a patchwork blanket.

Never before have I made ​​so little handwork during a holiday...I wonder what happened?

Well, I know the answer to that question myself. I simply enjoyed being with my family  (I always do that!)  playing, talking, bathing and all the other lovely things you make with your loved ones, when everyday life has been put on standby for a while.

And I loved it - SO much.

Details

Not the best day to take photos - it's far too dark (and windy and rainy) outside.

But that doesn't change the fact that the pale pink linen tunic no longer has a spot. It's hidden under the orange embroidery floss, and hopefully you wouldn't know that it was there if I hadn't told you so.

Now I just have to sew the final hem, so the tunic will be ready for days with more sun.

In the making...

Stof & Stil had a sale and I bought some very cheap and light fabrics to use for summer dresses. For me.

The pattern was one I had already and today I started the cutting of the different parts.

 

I love the feeling of feathery and airy dresses when the weather is warm - and that is how I hope these dresses will be.

The embroidery on this tunic is almost done, but I'm out of orange embroidery floss, and have to wait until we go to a bigger town where I can buy more.

Lots to do...and hopefully soon lots of new dresses and tunics to wear.

A fine, fine summer market to visit

Do you like beautiful handmade treasures and cool vintage things? And a sweet and happy shop owner who has made the gorgeous crafts? Then you had better go to Tulipaner og Tomater's summer market and find it all...in this address,

 

Sommersalg på Helgenæs

Asgilhøjevej 59

8420 Kongsgårde

 

 

If you can't wait to go, then have a look at their webshop in the meantime and enjoy the many lovely items in the shop.

Mark the dates with a cross in your calender - I'm sure that you will not be dissapointed.

Measuring tape

The lovely ceramic items from Laila Stenderup were not the only things I had to bring home from Det Smukkeste Marked on Skals Håndarbejdsskole - or Skals Højskole for design og håndarbejde as the school has been renamed last autumn.

Every year they make the most gorgeous embroidery kits for the exhibition - like this one which I made a long time ago.

This summer I picked a year linen napkin in white, with the number 11 to be embroidered on it. (Last year there was a number 10 napkin and next year a number 12).
And I also got a magnificent linen napkin kit with a cool measuring tape to be made on it.

Both kits have already had each of their the motifs transfered on to them, and the kits come with the necessary floss, a needle and of course a piece of paper, which tells you which stitches and colours to use.

I love to start on a kit like that - no preparations from my side at all. I just have to read the description and begin the embroidery...so easy and so convenient.

I have a soft spot for letters

So this beautiful, unique letter sampler designed by Alicia Paulson is right up my alley.

The pattern gives me a good reason to try out some of the stiches, which I don't get to use that often.

And furthermore it will be perfect to make something with the lovely letters, for a little girl who adores pink and romantic style.

At the moment it's only possible to buy the pattern as a PDF-file, but later on the whole thing will be available as a kit.

I have another idea on how I want to use the letter sampler, so - luckily - I didn't have to wait for the kit.