Ravenhill

Oh my!

Brrr, does it look cold? Well it IS! So I have to take you indoors once again to ZANZ, because, there is just so much to see there! First though, a surprise!

Announcing a GIANT sale! My entire Etsy shop is on sale! 25% off everything! Just in time for Christmas!

 

Prices in the shop do not reflect the sale, simply make your purchase and I will reimburse you via Paypal afterwards.

If you purchase right away your goodies should get there by Christmas!

 

I have never had such a big sale before. I think many people are trying to save money this year and that things are tight for many. I would like to do my part to make handmade affordable!

 

Even this new little hand made bird bag from my shop is on sale!

Jumped the gun...?

Perhaps it is my mother's much anticipated visit that is gettting me into the Christmas spirit so early...

Maybe it is the brutal cold and the light dusting of snow?

What ever it is, I couldn't help but go into the shops to share some Christmastime magic with you. Please don't think I have jumped the gun too much, I know it isn't even Thanksgiving yet.

The decorations are being hung everywhere around Oslo and the smaller surrounding areas. The children are already clamouring to get a tree. I love the tree, the scent, bringing a bit of nature's beauty into our home, etc, but I don't like the needles all over the floor!

So we will wait a bit before we get our tree. I fancy this gorgeous sweater under it... for me! Aren't those fabulous cables? If I didn't have the huge list of knitting projects that I would like to get done before Christmas, I would be considering making a sweater something like this beauty.

Thanks so much to Zanz for letting me take photos today to my heart's content! All the photos are from this lovely interior decorating shop in Lillestrøm, right outside of Oslo.

Plaid inspired

You wouldn't believe it but I ironed this as best I could, the fabric seems to like to have a bit of a wrinkle in it. This new skirt is for Lilly.

I wasn't sure if you were able to see the tiny glass seed beads which I hand sewed in place onto the vintage crocheted doily which I found at some flea market or other. So here is a close up. I used one of my own skirts as a basis for this easy bias skirt and was happy how it turned out.

Once I got the Japanese plaid fabric out I wanted to make more with it.

These little yo-yos in various sizes and fabrics seemed right for the purse to pretty it up.

I am crazy about this Japanese floral for the lining. I like the iron-on interfacing that I used for this purse, it gave it just the right amount of stiffness so it will protect the contents and keep its shape.

Necessary Repairs

When you have a favorite pair of jeans that fit just right you don't want to just toss them due to a little hole or two.

I would rather repair them... So I salvaged a old pair of my husband's jeans for patches.

You can see how wearing them with this tear wouldn't be decent for very long... So in no time at all they were good as new:

One of my chickies took this shot for me as this wasn't an easy angle to capture! Does anyone else repair their old jeans? I hope to get lots more use out of these now.

Quilted

My first born is now 10 years old! Today was his birthday.

My husband is just getting ready for a long soak in the tub now after all the festivities.

When he steps out of the tub this the new bath mat where his squeaky clean toes will end up on.

I used Amy Butler pre-cut charms, sewing the squares together by hand. The backing is a sturdy twill. I just tied off with embroidery floss at the intersections for easy quilting. Plus I did a tiny bit of embroidery in one of the squares just to add a little extra dimension and to highlight the flower.

These little girl toes like the new bathmat too.

Lady Luck and salvaging embroidery

Embarassed to say that I once again won a blog give away... I guess I should head to Los Vegas or buy lottery tickets, becuase lady luck is really on my side!

The pretty polka dotted wrapping and gorgeous ribbons really made this special!

Thank you so much Karin! I hope to make something from the book soon.

I wanted to show you these today though. I LOVED the tablecloth.

The embroidery on it was so pretty and special. While the tablecloth was no longer useful in it's original pursose, I decided that the embroidery should have a new destiny.  

So in my usual style I chopped up the tablecloth salvaging the choicest of embroidered bits and hand appliquéd them into place. These two white linen bags are now in the shop.

Red and White Delight

My son made this masterpiece!

He loves crysatals. These are made by mixing lots of epsom salts with water on the stove until it dissolves, then insert a pipe cleaner or two in the shape you desire. Let it sit overnight. If all goes well you get some awesome sparkly and glittery crystals.

I made these for Lilly.

Red and white never goes out of style does it?

I knit up quite big mittens and threw them in the washing machine for a whirl. They came out nice and fluffy and just the right size.

 

This post was looking a bit Christmassy. So while I began writing this yesterday I decided that I had to make a Christmas doll to include in the post. Lilly helped me to select the fabrics. Then today I lazed on the sofa embroidering whilst she danced and sang and played with her dolls.

I made Lilly a doll to stuff too, because she loves to stuff with me. I had a ball embroidering little snowflakes on Rannveig to match the snowflakes on her front!

I decided to play around with the embroidery on the heart too. I think the magical time of anticipation for the upcoming holidays is upon me. Perhaps all this busy merriment was initiated by my mother's call yesterday telling that she would be coming to visit us this Christmas? This little elf finds that to be the most delightful news!