Ravenhill

My sweater is nearing the home stretch!

Yes, the turtleneck fairisle sweater I started last winter is nearing completion. The neck is really within sight.

I had to buy more yarn as I guess I hadn't purchased enough. Now I have just this much of the cream remaining

and I am not sure it is going to do. The entire sweater is knitted with two strands of the alpaca yarn and I have about 2 complete rounds to go!

I am really happy with the colors, but not sure yet if all the BUMPS will block out or not! I guess I need to do more multicolored knitting. I am out of practice.

Do you see what I mean? I am really going to try to finish this right away. Tonight I spent lots of time photographing it instead! Suddenly though I have the urge to knit more. I would so love to have it done in say a week's time to show you!

I attacked my thrifted Norwegian sweater

We were off line for nearly two days. I nearly went mad! It was probably good for me, but it is frustrating when you have things to do! I got a few sewing projects done instead. Remeber I showed you my pile of Norwegian hand made sweaters I had thrifted awhile ago?

Well one of them had numerous challenges: missing buttons, holes in the sleeve, a wrist coming apart at the seams, and a neck that was no longer staying sewn down.

I repaired the various holes and seams and then took off all but one button. I then dug into my stash of vintage pewter buttons and found mismatching buttons of the right size.

The sweater is so warm and cozy with a perfect fit. I have always wanted a sweater with mismatched buttons and now I have one of my very own! It is definitely sweater weather as it has gotten bitterly cold lately.

My little one having a picnic in the woods with daddy and big brother the other day. As you can see, we are still desprately in need of snow!

These little babies in a basket were barely in my shop before someone had taken pity on them and offered them a loving home! Thank you!

And these little ones are my latest creations!

 

I hope that I can find them a good home soon. They are snug in thier little quilts made from Japanese Lecien cotton fabrics which are my favorite at the moment.

My elf, gifts and a doll

I have some woderful gifts that I have been looking forward to showing you. I received them awhile back and now I can't wait any longer before sharing them with you. First though I have to show you the sweetest little elf I spotted the other day.

Her hat made the nicest little jingle sound when she moved.

Here was the same little elf another day when I caught her with one hand and captured her wee face with my camera in the other.

Several weekends back Anne Katrine and I had a sewing bee and she presented me with this sweater. Anne made it herself, or well nearly. It is nearly finished but it had been put aside for years. She gave it to me because she knows I love Norwegian sweaters and that I like to felt and make new things from them. I am really not sure what to do with this beauty though.

 

She also gave me this pretty matryoshka trim that I am longing to find the time to use. Thank you once again Anne!

 

Here is one of my latest little matryoshkas, Agnete! I really love using lace on them lately.

Hope you are having a great weekend! We are hoping for some more snow soon.

Back again!

I hope I can make up for my long absence with a visit to the newly opened Kathrine's Quiltestue at the new location.

This past weekend I took a little outing with Anne Katrine to Kathrines Quiltestue to their grand opening at their new location.

The place was packed on this particular Sunday when shops in Norway are usually closed.

 

seeing the shop windows was a real treat. Whether you looked up or down there was someting lovely to see!

 

The Christmas decoration she used were simple and so pretty.

 

You can see the festivity of the day with champagne sipping and little nibbles of delightful finger foods.

Ah, trims!

Aren't these cute?

 

Every space was filled with something pretty and every wall covered with amazing quilts!

 

I wanted to take this wicker chair with the gorgeous quilt right home with me.

 

I really like the details on these pillows.

 

Please don't miss the fantastic trim perched way up high because you are too busy gaping at the wonderful Japanese Kokka fabrics!

 

Finally feast your eyes on this delicious trim and the ant fabric! I was too busy capturing photos to share with you and taking it all in to fight the crowds to get through the lines to make a purcahse. I will have to go back soon... 

I just wanted to show you the size of one of the little babies I made recently for a custom order for a mother and baby set. I still find it strange that my little creations should pop up so many places on blogland. Here is the latest one, done by the very sweet Ruth, who interviewed me. She blogs from China!

 

Here is baby reunited with her mama.

 

Sewing with mother

Big boy has left for school, I am tidying up after breakfast in the kitchen. I am not really sure yet what we'll do that day. We really should do some shopping this morning and maybe go for a walk to get some fresh air and excercise. Little one comes in to me with plans of her own and she knows I am pretty easy in this department. "Mummie, I need more baby quilts, please can we make some."

Well, we didn't get to more than one, but since she has now taken nearly every dishtowel in the house to use as her baby blankets I thought she was saying pretty clearly that the 5 or so real quilts that she has aren't enough!

Off to the sewing room we went and she selected the fabrics. A short time later she was very pleased.

 

It is fairly crude and rough but it will keep her babies warm and cozy. I do so enjoy it that Lilly loves to sew with me. I hope that I can have a similar lovely relationship with her as I do with my own mother in that we will always be able to knit and sew or do other crafts together.

Mom sent this cute outfit for Lilly's doll the other day.

The fabrics had such a lovely rough feel and sturdiness to them. She was really pleased and had me help her to dress her doll.

I know that my mother made the pretty flannel jacket but I am not sure if she or someone else made the other clothes. Thank you so very much Mom!

Ravenhill in print and Africa challenge

It's been a little secret... I just got word from Whipup that they are now available for purchase so now it is time to share! Ravenhill Mama and Babies are going to be the September photo for the Whipup's 2009 calendar! Each month features works of a different artist that has appeared on Whipup.

This week's challenge for the European Street Team which I am a member was the theme: Africa. I knew what I wanted to make! Would you like to see what my teammates made you can look here.

Please greet Lateia and her little baby. I made them using Norwegian Tilda designer fabrics.

I do hope that when children play with these dolls it might encourge them to carry their own babies when they are older. Lilly still loves to be carried when she is hurt or sad. It seems to help her to heal.

We have been having such dark and gray days, but we are getting out and enjoying the fresh air.

Happy mail day!

I really enjoy blogging, which allows me to share my love of making things with others who feel the same. I also love one of the bennies of blogging - getting mail! I got to know Iris through my blog. She has sent me several surprises already. 

Lilly was the happy recipient of this little purse that Iris made.

 

Fun that she used some of the chicken fabric that I have also used on my matryoshka dolls. 

 

This very cute hedgehog book mark sure was a hit! Please note the adorable hedgehog ribbon that she used for the loop at the top! Thank you Iris! It was so much fun to open up all these wonderful gifts!

I needed to make some blue matryoshkas to go with the pink ones I have been making! Inger Lise and Linnea are waiting for new homes.

 

On a whim I made Tara today. I have been yearning to make a doll with some of my vintage laces, doilies and mother of pearl buttons. I made her face serious, as she is an old fashioned doll and in days gone by they were very serious when photographed.

I hope you have had a nice weekend.

Flea market finds and shop news

I did find a few things at last weekend's flea market.

These will brighten up a dreary winter day!

Can you believe that someone could part with these mainly silk threads and other notions?

I had the jar already from another flea market, but the narrow velvet ribbons, red rick rack, blue and white trim, and red and white trim were all from this one. Lucky me!

This vintage Sanvika design fabric reflects Norway's countryside - just filled with wildflowers in the summer! 

It is anything but summerlike here but we still have a few frostbitten wildflowers!

 

My little flower enjoying the wonders of winter's first snow.

 

One does get sleepy after long days of thrifting and playing in the snow! Frøydis and Jannicke are sleeping peacefully and dreaming of new homes with someone to love them. I have just added Gift Certificates to my shop, which might be a nice way of giving someone the doll of their choice. Should you like one for an amount not listed please ask and I will make a custom certificate for you.

What a great day!

Before I share with you a glimpse of my lovely day with Melissa when she and I went to a couple of the final flea markets of the season I really want to insert a photo of Lilly.

She has been suffering from a bad cold lately that has left her clingy and hasn't given me much time to write my blog or well, tend to much of anything besides Lilly! But here she is in her thrifted winter suit in a fine mood! I knit her pixie hat and mittens.

Now off to the markets!

We were far too busy finding our way through the crowds and pawing through the piles of fabrics to take any photos at the first market.

I did take a few at the outdoor market that is open every Saturday at Waterlandsbro in Oslo. Here you see a pretty plate made in Sweden.

We took a little tour through Norway Designs which includes a wonderful assortment of papers, a children's section, one for home decor and women's clothing.

The stuffed animals were so original!

 

These beautiful cards were hand printed by Melissa! They accompanied a wonderful gift which I am not able to take a decent picture of so I will send you to her blog so you can see it: here. Melissa framed her beautifully stitched study and gave it to me and I treasure it.

 

I snapped a photo of the sun going down at 4 pm on my train ride home from this delightful day. (My husband can't stand it that this photo is slanted. I like it that way.)

I certainly admire Melissa's work and I love to include it in the Etsy treasuries I make. Here is the one I made today, which included Melissa's little baby shoes.

This post is already so long that I will have to keep you in suspense for another day until I reveal my flea market finds!

One of the worlds' most fabulous knitting books ever?

It is in my opinion. I guess I have been slow about making the post about the knitting book, Håndplagg til Bunader og Folkedraker written by Heid Fossnes, I have been telling you about, because well, it was a lot of work editing the 15 photos to show you!

The book is so packed with exquisite hand made details that it just about killed me not to photograph the whole entire book to show you.

Just hand gear.

I didn't find an English version of the book I am sorry to say.

I really can't decide which pair to make first!

I am going to let the photos speak for themselves...

Even if you can't read Norwegian it shouldn't let it stop you from purchasing this book.

Deciding which ones to share was such a difficult task too! They are all just amazing and the book is a whopping 301 pages long.

Now I just need to get around to finishing up the turleneck sweater I started last winter. I also have some great things to show from yesterday's really fun flea marketing adventure with Melissa and today's sewing bee with Anne Katrine. This weekend was a great for me, to have such nice activities with freinds who love to stitch and sew. I hope my kids get over their colds soon so my life will resume its normal hectic pace and not this frantic mothering pace of getting up at all hours of the night becuase it is so hard to sleep with the sniffles. It will be a long time before I look back at this week and sigh... "oh, those were the days..."