Ravenhill

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!

Winter's arrival

Just recently it was looking like this outside, pretty and fall-like:

Last Friday though we were surprised to wake up to this:

(I am behind as usual in my posts!) My husband has taken some vacation time this week and it has meant lazy and cozy days... Anyway, it took awhile to get anywere last Friday morning becuase the fresh, fluffy, cold, white stuff was such a novelty!

You can't beat snow for a good time!

It packed up nicely and really stuck onto her mittens.

I have been delighting in all the cold weather by being home and doing a bit of crafting.

I made this wee mini-quilt just for fun.

And Emma, (sorry she is now on her way to one of my supportive blog readers who said she couldn't resist...) with the pretty blue eyes I made too. She is my newest addition to my shop.

I still have small bits of this wonderful minty green vintage fabric on her headpiece left and really love using it. The fabric on her body with the white background is also a vintage treasure, a Sandvika fabric, made in Norway.

 

Thank you to all the very kind friends who left me words of understanding and sympathy about my headaches. I am doing great this week with none! Happy days are here again!

Black and white

I am making another hat. It will be for me. The kids both have oodles of hats and mittens but not me. My wardrobe needs a little lift. Well, honestly, it could use a huge lift, but this hat will help me on the way to being warm.

I found three skeins of this wonderful fine wool at a flea market last spring. I am making up the pattern as I go. It is going to have a folded ribbing for extra warmth. Black seems like a good color, so simple and it goes with everythng.

I do like black and white. This black and white decorative lassie has found a spot in my shop today. As you can see my embroidery needle was busy decorating her with multiple flowers with copious knots.

I had to see how she would look with a splash of color around her. I like the contrast. I named Fru Ulsrud after a place in Oslo. I have been enjoying naming my creations after areas of my city lately.

Making Paperdolls

 

We loved the week of fall vacation! Well, except the first part where I lay in bed with a terrible migrane... after that it was really nice! After quiet a month of laziness where my shop has nearly been entirely neglected I have listed a few new buntings and have more things on the way.

One day recently my husband took a trip across the boarder to Sweden with the kids. They did some shopping. Many Norwegians go to Sweden to shop as things are quite a bit less expensive there, especially items like alcohol, tabacco and meat. We were only interested in the last item however. 

When the kids weren't busy running around or biking outdoors in glorious autumn weather we spent some time making paperdolls. My son brought that bright idea home from school. There the are all lined up after a couple of sessions of drawing, cutting and coloring. I made the two on the outside, Sebastian made the boy and Lilly made the little one.

I hope you are having a most wonderful day! I expect to be better at blogging now again after having a little vacation last week! (Forgive me for being away so long???)

 

Pillow talk

My hexagon pillow did take awhile to make, I had to go searching for more fabric actually, as I didn't have enough of the right colors. I had a little help from some fabric loving friends so each hexagon was made with a unique print.

However, I finished it quite awhile back, in June actually.

You know I had to dig into the archives of this blog to find this embroidery in progress. It is a great feeling to have figured out what I would do with the embroidery and I am so happy to have finished the pillow.

Pillow covers are a wonderful way to play around with a technique or idea, much more doable than tackling a quilt!

I did learn that making the covers a bit smaller than the pillow inserts would make the pillow look much plumper. Next time I will do that. In any case we have been putting these pillows to good use.

You must indulge me in my whimsy...

Let's play!

Ok, I will let you be Bambi today and I will be Fawn. Our cute and whimsical flocked deer toys hail from the Etsy shop full of delight: Carmelos.

Bambi and Fawn decide to go fabric shopping... And where else? At the Etsy shop Sew Deerly Loved.

 

When I saw all the pretty fabrics I suddenly got a bit tired of playing... so I popped into my sewing room to whip up a few new matryoshkas with my gorgeous new fabrics (Japanese Lecien line: Flower Sugar), some old favorite fabrics and some pretty ribbons.

These new martryoshkas seem to want to play too...

 

I tell you, a most jolly Fru Stortinget is now in the shop and filled with good cheer that she would like to bring to someone near or far.

A very perky and pretty Fru Grorud is just dancing about in her eagerness to be a wallflower somewere. Oh, I do hope it won't be long before they find good homes... they are just irrepressible!

Before I wish you a wonderful week I wanted to thank Maureen for the lovely feature on her blog. And I do wish you a happy and productive week ahead. Please drop by to play again soon!

Pom pom trim

Sometimes you just need some new supplies...

How fun to find these cute pom pom trims at my local hobby shop.

Isn't it neat how one new element freshens up your view?

I love the softness and cuteness of the pom poms.

These new pom pom bedecked matryoshkas are now in my shop.

Happy day to you!

Funky retro crochet

A couple of months ago I told you I was going to do some crochet.

Since promising to show you what I have completed, it is about time I show these to you.

I used baby yarn of several different types, mostly leftovers from previous projects.

I would love to have a stash of yarn in every color possible...

One of the little crochet flowers ended up on this mushroom. I like the retro funky look it has. I just listed a few mushrooms in my shop today.

Before I dash off to get ready for the day I wanted to share a nice feature with you. Rasa let me know that she had included my bird bag in her blog post. It is rather dreary here today with rain and clouds. The last week of summer vacation is proving disappointing weather-wise. I am cutting out new dolls and that will keep me busy and happy.

More fabric...

I want to thank you all for all the kindness and encouragement. I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me. Reading your comments makes me smile and help me to feel like what I do matters in some small way.

Some time back I contacted Randi to ask about ordering some fabric from her Etsy shop: Freshsqueezed. We chatted a bit and we ended up agreeing on a swap. I got a marvelous stack of her gorgeous fabrics and she got a dollie from me.

We had agreed on exactly what we would send eachother, but she cheated!!! She was so generous! This stack in the front is an extra surprise she snuck into the package! Thank you ever so much for this wonderful swap!

Fru Lillevik in aqua and orange and red is my latest creation made with some of Randi's fabrics.

I haven't done much sewing this weekend, the weather has been too good for that! The glorious sunshine has been shining its late summer rays on us this lovely weekend. I have done a bit of weeding in the garden too.

I hope you are enjoying a beautiful weekend too and will be starting the week with fresh energy and enthusiasm.

Mail to cheer me up

Sarah was sweet to write me to let me know that her dollie had arrived safe and sound. She seemed to be getting along chummily with her new pal, the very cute bunny. I really love that, seeing my matryoshka dolls at home in their new surroundings.

And it was my turn to win a give away! I am mad about my new sewing helpers.

  

Look at how it even has matching glass head pins! These pretty creations are made by Theresia. Thank yo so much for brightening up my day. I really needed a boost after saying farwell to my dear Mom yesterday. Dad wrote me early this morning happy to have Mom home again safe and sound. My children though are asking why we can't move to the US. Grandparents really are special.

I finished these mittens up while Mom was here. This is the before photo. They are pretty big but as I type they are whirling around the washing machine felting away. I thought this handspun yarn might felt more than the others I have used before so I tried it on 40 degrees Celcius first. They were starting to get fluffy but weren't really felted. So in they went again on 40. (I am a bit of a chicken. I really don't want them tiny sized... They are supposed to fit my 9 year old or me.) Twice on 40 didn't do the trick either so in they are again this time on 60. The suspense is killing me... Stay tuned! 

Oh, what a wonderful visit it was with my mother! I made these while she was here and they were very much inspired by the visit to my husband's grandmother's and her beautiful gardens.

Everywhere you looked there was somthing magical to see.

Or something sweet.

Here Lilly and Gramma were peering at some treasures.

Nothing in the garden seems left to chance, even the birds are well cared for.

 

Every year she and her gardens appear in magazines, newspapers and tv programs. Here is a spread in Hjemmet from this summer.

And the gardener herself, our beloved "Oldemor" meaning great-grandmother in Norwegian looking marveous for her age of 87. The photo above was taken by Lars Lindberg.

 

Surprise in the mail

Oh, you will need to hurry. There is only a short time left...  Whitney of Whisker Graphics is hosting a give away of one of my matryoshkas! Please go on over to join in. Her give away closes on Monday, August 2nd.

You aren't going to belive it, I have the nicest tale of a true blogging friendship. A short while back Melissa, one of my readers who frequently has left me kind words of encouragement or thoughtful comments wrote me an email to tell me she was putting together a little package for me.  That started it all off, the delicious anticipation of this mystery package coming from far away.

Then it arrived! The most marvelous package of goodies of the finest kind has arrived. I don't know how I can begin to thank you Melissa for the treats! The excitement and pleasure I had in opening up this pretty package is difficult to describe. Above you can see two patterns from Melissa. They look like great fun to make. 

What gorgeous bold and bright fabrics, and so many of them! Plus, something new to me, velvet rick rack. Oh, this is so pretty and soft. I had never even seen this line by Jane Sassaman before and it is so fun and colorful.

The fabrics called to me and I wanted to make some wonderful new dolls to match the delight I felt in this kind and generous gesture. 

Here is Fru Strandenes, a sweet and sleepy little decorative charmer. Thank you ever so much Melissa for all this fun!
  

Sew Love Fabrics bundle

I really should be cleaning the house but...

Lookie here!!! Aren't these eye-popping gorgeous?

The wonderful fabrics came in this bundle of goodness, from my dear friend Ruth at Sew Love Fabrics.

 Jennifer Paganelli´s new Poodle line is looking so fresh.

These pretties from Laura Gunn above are from her newest collection, Poppy. I didn't expect to make any of these fabrics into dolls, but somehow I did. The colors and designs on these fabrics are gorgeous and the hint of fall in the air lately has made these rust colors appealing to me.

Laura has a wonderful touch with her work, and these fabrics are such a pleasure to work with.

Each of these little sweethearts listed here from front to back: Fru Anderssen, Fru Gress, Fru Turkis, and Fru Stavanger (so sorry, Fru Stavanger is already sold) are in my shop now.

Oh, dear, I couldn't forget Fru Rosenrødt! Here she is in the front, with the fresh roses of the season to pretty her up. We are trying to tidy and pretty up the house today for our special guest arriving tomorrow! How does one tidy up the house when it is raining out and the children are so busy with one project after another all over the house? Good thing my mother will be too excited to see us to think about how clean it is here.

Wild strawberries

I know we are a bit late compared to the rest of the world, but it is still strawberry season in Norway.

Walking in the woods these days you don't have to bring a snack along.

Everywhere you turn these bright red beauties encourage you to feast.

They surround themselves with pretty friends too. Isn't it enchanting how the bright red juicy berries are interspersed with the fine Queen Anne's Lace?

I had to buy the pale seafoam green frothy lace that now adorns Fru Sommerlig when I saw it at the Quilting Annual Meeting a few months ago. Rarely do I use my new materials immediately, usually they sit around in a dark cupboard or in this case my picnic basket filled with ribbons and laces.

Today I listed several new things in my shop, besides little strawberry girl.

This little purse is for my shop, and I think I want to make one for me.

I was completely flattered when I read this feature today on CraftyCrafty. So happy to know that people appreciate the tutorial I made. I plan on doing more, but we are pretty much in summer mode here now which means not a lot of crafting is getting done. I will have to show you my summer knitting and my summer flea market finds soon though!

I also keep making new friends. PeasandPotatoes a really sweet new Etsy seller of lovely and vintage baby clothes asked me if she could list my shop on her shop announcement because she thought her friends would like my things. Wasn't that nice?

I hope you are enjoying wonderful days whatever the season in your part of the world. We are doing our best to soak up the warm sunshine while we can!

 

  
 

Cute as a Button, a Flower Tutorial for you

A number of you have asked me how I made my button flowers and I thought I would push my fears aside and plunge in with my very first tutorial. I must admit I am a bit nervous about this. I have always wanted to share with my fellow craftspeople, but somehow never got around to it until now.

In any case, you can find my first tutorial here.

This new pouch got gussied up with this Cute as a Button Flower that I made. Now what am I going to do with the other 58 or so odd flowers in various shapes, colors, and sizes? That is where you come in. If you should make some of these yourself then I would be thrilled if you would post them on my Cute as a Button Flower Flickr group. 

I didn't show you the white one I made...

Well, actually, there are more...

In the blink of an eye they were sewn onto a new bunting with vintage laces and doilies. 

I seem to be a hopeless romantic,

I can just imagine someone using this white and ecru bunting for their wedding.

It has been delightful to have been flooded with so many lovely comments on my give away post! Thank you all so very much for making me feel appreciated. The give away is still open! Please join in if you haven't already. A special thank you to the following sweet readers who have been helping spread the word about the give away by blogging about it:

zydintisvajoniupieva

Michele

Elisabeth

The happy hedgehog

Redirected Dreams

Valarie

I am sorry, I am poor with names, so mostly I have just used the name of your blogs. I just wanted you to know how nice you were to share the news.

TIP: If you haven't already joined this raffle you might want to, and this one I am dying to win... if you like fabric that is...

Have a most creative day!

 

Twine and Heart Give Away

There is nothing like new craft supplies to get the creative juices flowing. The very nice Whitney sent me her Whisker Graphics Twine to use and to share some yardage with you!

Aren't the colors great! Who ever heard of lime or orange twine? And the aqua is delicious.

I only got a tiny taste of her new colors, and I am particularly enamoured with the cotton candy at the far right.

So, I get to give away some twine! Two lucky commenters will be receiving twine from me!

But that is not all, the winners will also receive one homemade heart ornamanent each.

As I mentioned earlier, new crafting supplies really can inspire! I made these hearts, with various twines to hang with, including Whisker Graphics.

I had a ball making them.

I used fabric scraps, snippets of ribbon, copious embroidery stitches (french knots, bullion stiches and daisy chains), surrouned it with crocheted lace, and topped them off with colorful twine or perle floss.

There are multiple of ways you may enter my give away. Each one counts as 1 entry (so the more you do the more chances you have to win).

1. Leave a comment on this blog post 
2. Link to this post on your blog (please feel free to use the photos from this post!) and then come back here to leave a comment telling me you have done so.
3. Link to this post on Twitter and then come back here to leave a comment telling me you have done so.
4. Link to this post on Facebook and then come back here to leave a comment telling me you have done so.

If you do 2,3, or 4 please make a separate comment on this post for each letting me know what you have done so as the comments are your entries. So if you do all four you need to leave 4 comments. 

So, please help me spread the word?

Giveaway ends this Sunday, June 20th at midnight and there will be two winners which I will announce soon after!

EXTRA!!! The next 5 buyers in my Etsy shop will each receive one free heart ornament along with their order.

   

Thank you so much Melissa

The nicest goodies arrived in the mail! The incredibly gifted and kind Melissa sent these wonderful things to me. I had the supreme good fortune of winning her give away. Do you see the amazing peice of vintage lace she sent me? Oh, this brought a huge sigh of delight!

Melissa had already read this book so she offered it up for a give away. I am so pleased to be reading it.

Perhaps I should start to feel a bit guilty of winning so many give aways? The truth is I do feel a tad guilty about it, but I couldn't help but enter. Everything Melissa makes is delightful. She and I share a love of vintage textiles, especially embroidery. If you haven't already seen the baby shoes she makes then you are missing out. She salvages the most beautiful hand embroideries and gives them new life as shoes for wee tots.

This little pouch has such fine embroidery on it and was such a delightful surprise! Thank you Melissa for the amazing package!

You might be curious as to the little creatures peeking at the pretty things from Melissa? My grandmother made this baby quilt for my father, must be over 70 years old.

My grandmother gave it to my mom when we were children and mom passed it on to me when my first was born.

It has faded and is a bit frayed in places from use and love. How nice it is to think of my dear Grandma Louise, as we called her, sitting and hand stitching all those tiny stitches.

This pooch really is cute. I like how they broke up the pink, blue and green with some splashes of color on some of the embroidery. It would have been neat to know how the colors looked when new.

Wishing you a nice and hopefully creative weekend.

 

Cutting into precious embroidery for a new project

I made something new today. I think it is really special. I have been collecting vintage embroideries for a few years now, tablecloths, napkins, dresser scarves, etc. I only cut into the ones that have holes or stains that don't want to disappear. Today I got up the courage to cut into a few. I have had this idea for awhile and was happy to find the time to attempt it.

After my little one's birthday I have had parties and celebrations on my mind. I really love to think that someone will want to use my handmade things to decorate their wedding, nursery, garden or anywhere they can think of.

For this banner I cut into three different embroidered vintage tablecloths. I also used vintage and repurposed eyelet fabric, a lovely white linen which I decorated with hand stitches of my own and snippets of a doily or laces. 

I couldn't stop doing it up, I decided to add some of the fabric flowers I had made one day out in the sun with little one who helped me to turn and stuff them. Those little fingers are so good at such jobs and we had such a nice time chatting, soaking in the sun and doing our little sewing project together.

I am not really sure if perhaps the fabric flowers were over the top? 

It is in the shop. Now I am running off to my sewing room to make more garlands! 
 

Birthday party

My little one turned 5 recently. What a fun age for birthdays! The anticipation of it was tremendous, the counting down the days and planning the party. She seems to be a big planner, just like me. I made her this bunting for the party with Heather Bailey Nicey Jane fabrics. We still haven't taken it down from the kitchen. It really brightens it up.

For the party with her friends she wore the beautiful dress my mom made for her. The pleats are so pretty! She also chose to wear the floral pants that I made underneath. She was quite the flowery one that day!

Here she is standing still for a moment and you can see the dress a bit better. The fabric is gorgeous. The row of carved mother of pearl buttons on the front makes it even more special.

You can see one of them up close above. 

Mom called me her little flower when I was little, and I named my little one after a flower. She is growing up too fast, but blossoming nicely. Before I get teary I will show you a bit of what I put in the shop today.

Fru Asperud and her friends would like to travel, make new friends and spread good cheer.

Cherry Blossoms

Inspired by the cherry blossoms in our backyard.

I made Fru Stemland, who is in the shop.

May you too have a beautiful weekend!
 

Happy 17th of May to Norway!

Hipp Hipp Horrah!

I had to give you a taste of the gorgeous handwork that was on display on Norway's National Day, the 17th of May.

This handsome couple was seen among the crowds at the castle. Many of the men were even decked out from head to toe in hand made finery. I think the woolen cabled socks are wonderful, and I am sure he was glad it was a cool day.

You can just imagine the hours of stitching that went into each of these pretty garments.

   

Such inspiration for those of us who enjoy needlework! A big thanks to my father for these photos, he was the photographer for this post.
 

Spring has really come and soon so will a visitor!

We are in the throes of excitement here as we await a visitor from far off. My dad is hopping on the plane tomorrow to visit us! Yippee!

So I have tried to get some goodies into my shop beforehand!

As usual I have had a ball playing around with different fabrics: colors and patterns.

I just had to show you how incredibly fast Norway has burst into spring! 

Color has once again returned in full spectrum, the greys, taupes and other dull colors are being taken over by vibrant greens and dotted with lovely blossoms here and there.

Delicate wildflowers just budding can be seen underfoot in the woods and when I relax in the sunshine in my backyard I breathe in the sweet smell of violets that are all around in my flower beds. My little one is keeping the vases full of the prettiest blossoms.  

I combined several very special vintage fabrics on Fru Holmedal as well as some of my hand embroidery, and she is available in my shop (Sorry, she has already sold). 

 

Just can't stop

The flea market season has really gotten me into vintage fabrics. I drew in a little gasp when I spotted this sweet print and piled it and another just like it up on my growing stack of fabrics. I promise that my arms were aching later in the day after carrying around so much fabric as I was looking for even more.

After washing and ironing the fabrics I was ready to dive into my fabrics to find some good matches. I also dug out my laces and it was so much fun.

This new vintage fabric find reminded me about some previous vintage fabric treasures and so of course I made some more. Doll making is like eating chocolates for me once I get started I just can't stop!

They are now all now in my shop! Happy spring!!! 
 

 

What I am working with today

These new ladies are just listed in my shop.

I do hope someone fancies Fru Hoel below, I worked ever so hard on all those blossoms.

After a trip to the mail box today, I can show you these:

 

They are perfectly bright and cheerful to match my mood on this sunny day!

I bought them here.

Hopefully I will have some new things made with these to show you soon...

You can use either side of the ribbons, for even more color possiblities.

What are you going to be getting creative with this weekend?

Mushroom love and painting

 

Here's me having fun goofing around with more cuteness. I couldn't help it. I love the little mushroom shape and wanted to make something new.

 

I like how they look with flowers and can't wait to make them in more colors and maybe play around with the flowers a bit too.

Mushroom Love 1 and Mushroom Love 2 are in my shop. 

Today the kids and a little friend did some painting.

If that isn't fun?

Mixing colors is definitely the best part. Who needs paper? Just swirl it up!

  

Shopping spree anyone?

I couldn't not take you to the fabric shops for a little look around!

Saturday morning the shops opened and we tried our best to make our way to the fabrics through the crowds.

I think I will just let you enjoy browsing around. I hope that you find something that catches your eye.

 

 

 

 

 
I loved this dress so much that I had to ask the shop keeper if I might take a photo of her. She made it herself. I so like the clever way she has recycled the vintage embroidery.

I hope you have had fun on this virtual shopping tour, it does tend to be easier on the pocketbook.
 

 

Going away for a sewing weekend!

Well, I found out on my last post that when it comes to sunshine and spring weather, there aren't too many who are willing to share. I grudgingly have to admit I understand. I had a ball reading all the funny comments, thanks so much for making these chilly days more fun!

I am going away tomorrow for a sewing course and weekend!

I am practically giddy and don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight. My husband said at dinner: "Well, it has only been a decade since you have gone off on your own for a night away from the family." He is nice to encourage me to enjoy myself. I hope he is still just as supportive when I arrive home on Saturday evening after leaving him alone with the children for nearly two days and he sees me laden down with bags and bags of fabrics.

I finally opened an on-line shop in Norway! It was something I have considered for ages but just got around to it now. My shop there is called Ravenhill, I know, really original. The site is called Epla, meaning apple. I think it might be fun for my non-Norwegian readers to see what creative people are making in Norway.

Should you ever want anything from my Epla shop don't hesitate to ask me, I can easily transfer it to Etsy instead.

While I am gone you might enjoy this fabulous blog I recently found and fell in love with.

Flea markets here we come!

This upcoming weekend is the start to the flea market season in Norway. Here you can check out where the upcoming flea markets are in Norway.

I made this sweater many years ago when I first came to Norway. At that time this lusekofte was very popular. I actually made a couple of them for myself then. I really should make one for each of the children. Unfortunately though, they have taken such a liking to fleece and aren't too keen on wool. Another dear member of the family has requested knitted items for Christmas, preferably in cashmere. No, wool would be too unpleasant. I am one of the few remaining who likes wool, although cashmere is lovely...

One does need to dress warmly here in these icy parts of the world. I was hoping to entice someone into a swap, ice, snow and cold for a bit of spring?

Any takers?

 

A bit of vintage

 
The arrival of spring invariably means babies; baby birds will be hatching, as well as bunnies, ducks, and even dolly mummies. 

This new mother is in a perfect daze of joy with motherhood and amazingly dosen't seem the least bit sleep deprived. The brown and white and mint rose fabrics on mama are both vintage fabrics. Combining vintage fabrics with new ones is such great fun.

I need to show you this sleepy lady, because I learned a new embroidery stitch! Bullions: those are the stitches making up the petals of the flowers on her temple. I was so happy to try, make many ugly ones, and now be approaching mastery of these stitches.

   
Fru Westerby is just resting her eyes a bit. Her lace collar is atop a pretty vintage fabric, a Norwegian one by Sandvika Veveri. Whenever I find a vintage Sandvika fabric when thrifting I give an inner squeal of delight. They make such beautiful fabrics and they were made right outside of Oslo. Fru Westerby's mint green headpiece is also a vintage fabric. I have very little of it left and just use small amounts on special things.

Hope that you are having a most excellent start to the week.

Something new, but will they like it?

Luckily I know how to blur out the untidy house in the background. Macro is so handy for poor housekeepers like me.

Having a pretty bouquet on the table is really all you notice, not the clutter around. Does wonders. Stacks of fabric have almost the same effect too, right?

The reason I am a poor housekeeper is quite simple, I spend quite a bit of time catering to my children's every whim. They probably wouldn't see it quite that way, but they do seem to have urgent needs for so much of my attention. The other reason the house isn't likely even remotely likely to be featured in Better Homes is that I am usually dreaming up new things to sew and surrounding myself and the rooms with my supplies in a mad creative frenzy. So these birds are my latest mess-producing idea.

I must admit that every time I am going to show something new I get nervous, will they like it I wonder? I fret that the birds might look silly. In any case, I have made a few for the shop and a few for gifts. Some have loops for hanging and others have brooch backs for pinning on.

My children are my biggest supporters, they always smile with delight when I make something new. They also want to keep them all. Today though they fought about who was going to help me put the orders together for mailing off. They are a tremendous help after the quarreling is sorted out and they can settle down to business. I hope I won't get in trouble with the children's labour laws...  

Ravenhill seems to be enjoying a bit of time in the limelight lately. I really want to thank Rosemary for featuring my doll in a matryoshka post. My needlebook also got noticed on Joy Ever After. Finally Camilla also featured my creations on her colorful and inspiring Danish blog. Thank you all!

If looking at Emmiline's blog gave you a taste for Norwegian interior decoration blogs you might enjoy this blog too.

Shades of blue

I am in a fine mood, jolly good, never better. You see the sun has been shining on us daily and it acutally warms. Everywhere you go outdoors, you hear a drip, drip, drip. I am now hopeful that we will see bare ground sometime before May. Ohhhhh, if you haven't lived though one of these loooooooong winters than you do not have any comprehension of the sheer JOY to feel the warmth of the sun again.

So the color theme on today's post in no way reflects my mood, no I am SUNNY. However, the blues are the color of the big cloudless sky and it is so beautiful! So to celebrate the blue skies...

I was in such gleeful spirits after the freckle-inducing session in the sun. I sat in the backyard, decked out in my snowsuit, sitting on the lawn chair, knitting away. Afterwards I wanted to make something special and I once again cut into my cherished vintage pansy fabric. 

I like the shape of the pouch, it is the same curved bottom that I have so often used for my drawstring bags but this time it is on a zippered pouch. I think the zipper might be vintage too. It has a sweet drop pull.

Having accomplished something today other than sunning myself I thought it time for a cup of tea, but then the ble teapot and Lilly's rose cup remined me of a doll I wanted to make... so it was off to the sewing room for me again! Fru Himmel (Fru Heaven) is a corny name but that is what she is called, and it suits her perfectly. My dear daughter has even more whimsical names for her dolls, like: Emily Rainbow Lilly. Yes, all one name.

You can find the pouch and Fru Himmel in my shop. Oh, my goodness, I will have to make more pouches this pansy one is already sold.

I hope you are having a happy, sunny weekend!!!

 

Treats

These springtime-fresh and dainty blossoms appealed to me on another blustery cold day in Norway.

The children keep asking what it will look like when all of the tulip bulbs they planted last fall come into bloom. Then I talked to mom yesterday and she tells me of looking at her hellibore and how it is growing and doing well. Mine is so very well covered with a thick layer of snow, but will be a most welcome sight when the time comes.

Another treat came in the mail to brighten my day even more. Isn't it wonderful how little gifts can appear when you need them most? This prettily quilled card really brightened my day! Simone sent me this card, above, and the button bookmark pictured below.

Simone, thank you so much! Blogging is incredible. Simone won my last giveaway and she wrote me the card telling me what a thrill it was to win, especially since it was the first time. How delightful it was that she would take the time to let me know and thereby spreading even more joy, because that really made me happy to know how much she appreciated it. Maybe you would like to see a bit of the Japanese book, Story Quilt? You can find it here on Amazon.co.jp with ISBN 4391133318 or 9784391133318.

I have never seen anything quite like these small appliquèd stories.

The author imagines children in every imaginable type of play, sometimes simply and other times with painstaking details.

I adore this little scene. I like how she has kept the faces so simple, but uses so many textures in her fabric selections.

There aren't detailed instructions for each figure, but she does step by step instructions for a couple of her figures.

The book seems like it will be a great source of inspiration. I hope this was a little treat for you?

We have a wonderful week now ahead of us. My two little cherubs have winter vacation and my husband is going to have a couple of days off to enjoy it with us! We certainly have a winter wonderland to ice skate, sled and ski in!

 

 

Flown in

At our house we daily revel in the antics of the birds who come to our feeders right outside our kitchen window. We have a couple of bird books at hand to identify new birds that we aren't familliar with.

I have been wanting to make some bags with birds and now they are made. I finally found a good enough reason to cut into the gorgeous Japanese fabrics I had been saving for a special project. The teal and pink fabrics have the most wonderful linen like texture on the yarn dyed and woven fabric.

These bags are all in my shop. I will have to get busy because my son wants one and so does my daughter. They will be quite handy for storage of their small treasures, like marbles, toys, or things we might find on a walk.

Easter Matryoshkas

Easter is fast approaching and I have made a few matryoshkas for my shop with decorated Easter eggs on their backsides.

Please welcome Fru Bekkely and Fru Falkenhaug, they are both sporting the cute bunny fabric by Lakehouse Drygoods.

Fru Rosenlund and Fru Solberg are also ready and waiting for new homes where they hope to spread good cheer and the delight of handmade and handstitched. As you can see Fru Rosenhund feels full of hope and is entirely eager to meet her future owners, while Fru Solberg is feeling slightly apprehensive.

Messes here, there and ahem, everywhere

At the moment I have too many projects dancing around my head and unfortunately also cluttering up the house.

In the playroom is the quilt I am working on. There I am piecing together the quilt back. In our little office where I sit and type my posts I have hobby books and magazines covering up the desk and on top of these are items to list in my shop as well as a hand sewing project I am in the middle of. The living room is littered with more magazines and books (all craft related), then again there are several hand sewing projects strewn about, not to mention the threads, flosses, needlebooks and scissors that are from current and previous projects but not yet put away. Well, I could go on, but you get the gist of it. Luckily my husband is not one to complain about my crafty/messy ways.

Here is one of the things I am working on. Just small rectangles of fabrics in shades of pink, stitched on with running stitches.

Your houses are all probably neat as a pin?

Taupe potholders ready for action

Thank you all for your warm wishes for a quick recovery from the tummy bug. Everyone is now happily well again. Thanks so much too for all the birthday greetings! What fun it is to read your comments daily and be in touch with so many kind hearted and talented people. Your generosity in your encouragement is touching and I must say enormously motivating for me.

The bright sunshine yesterday made the snow sparkle with near blinding beauty.  There is little warmth in the sun here now, but it gave us hope of warmer days ahead and the promise of melting the snows here soon. Today though we had a big storm, with big winds and snow flying. I had some time to finish up the potholders I started here.

They aren't very big but are completely hand sewn. It was the perfect small project to do while lounging around with the family on the weekend. I would surely recommend this as an initial project for anyone wanting to try hand sewing and quilting.

It would be nice to make more in bright colors too. Funny, right after finishing these this weekend was when I grabbed the brights to make the quilt. I seem to crave both, the taupes and the brights.

New Norwegian Tilda fabrics

It brightened my day to visit Emma's wonderful blog and discover she had included Lilly's little slippers in the cheerful and pretty line-up yesterday!

I have been to the local hobby shop for a bit of after Christmas sale shopping.

I found a couple of Tilda fabrics on sale and the brown that wasn't.

The black and white heart trim I think would be marvelous paired with some natural linen.

I have made a few dolls with the new Tilda fabrics.

Both Fru Bergman and Fru Dommerud are now in my shop hoping to soon travel to some exotic location to spread good cheer.

Japanese magazines and mushrooms too

I discovered this new embroidery magazine, Needle, while cruising the internet today and thought you might like to take a look. They seem to have the entire first issue online and for free!

I just got a big order of Japanese crafting inspiration in the mail from Amazon in Japan. It is funny because the first time I ordered from them I had to wait for an entire month for its arrival. This time it was a mere 3 days!

I was positively blown away when the package arrived at the door! Yes, they send it door to door!

The base rate for shipping from Japan is steep but then there is just a small fee per book on top of that making it affordable if you buy less frequently but in large quantities at once!

There is something about this Japanese style that is so appealing.

I also find the photo instructions most helpful. As my son says it would be nice to be able to read Japanese too.

I will surely be sharing more of my new purchases with you soon!

I don't know whether or not you have noticed that I have a few new dolls in my shop that don't have hearts on their behinds, but mushrooms! Above is Fru Hammerstad.

Fru Dahle.

and Fru Langsom. The mushrooms take a bit more time but they are so much fun to do!

Little slippers

Today a few of my newest matryoshkas were featured on Cuteable! Fru Stabekk wasn't featured but she is one of my newest creations in my shop.

The icy air doesn't seem to want to let up and as I have mentioned before is giving me a wonderful excuse to stay indoors and keep warm at my sewing machine. What is the point of going outside actually when it is -20 Celcius? So I made these slippers for little one to keep her small toes warm on our now chilly hard-wood floors.

I used this Japanese book for the pattern. Here is the link to it on Amazon.jp:

The slippers make the second project I have completed in this book and so far so good. I have enjoyed both immensly and they have both turned out as I had hoped. I blogged previously about another Japanese book and my projects here and here.

The bottoms are three layers, with the bottom two quilted together as you see above. I used the same fabric for the insole and underside, and for batting I used a vintage wool blanket. The thick blanket and quilting give good structure to the slippers and warmth as well.

I dug into my mother-of-pearl button jars to find a couple of matching buttons to add as decoration on the straps. I have used snaps for closure. I still (sheepishly) haven't learned how to make button holes. Maybe Mom will teach me on our next visit? I selected Jennifer Pagnelli's wonderful fabric from the line Dance with Me for the outer fabric.

And here we were today playing concentration and little one is wearing her new slippers.

She still doesn't even know all the numbers or letters on the cards but she can match them! Getting a photo is hard work too when they are moving around as much as this little energetic one does. It is a good thing I have learned how to lose with grace because it happens alot when I play cards with my kids.

I hope you will have a lovely weekend!

Carved out

Christmas is over, but some of us still have a few decorations up and I never had time to show you these amazing carvings that I saw at the Norske Folkemuseum's annual Christmas market. They ones above are wine corks and they are just filled with character.

And what a great amount of time it must have taken the artist to not only carve but paint the tiny details onto her.

This little gnome also has the most beautiful details, like the walking stick, lantern and pocket knife.

These are busy little gnomes, here is an elderly granny, knitting away. When I tire of knitting and sewing I think I will take up wood carving and make my own wooden figures. I am certain they would get on well with all my matryoskas!

At the moment though I am immersed in sewing, knitting and a bit of embroidery. (Not to mention, cooking, cleaning, reading aloud, playing cards and games, etc.) I finished up these drawstring bags today and they are in the shop.

The beige fabric is a linen and cotton blend which I adore. Anyone who has read my blog for awhile knows how fond I am of Liberty of London fabric, which I used for the hearts and the drawstring casings to add a bit of color to the tops of the bags.

 

Giving of gifts

I wish I had done better at taking photos of all the gifts I made this year. I just spoke with my brother who thanked me for the fingerless gloves I gave him, my great aunt loved the mittens, another aunt has surely now opened up the socks I made...etc.

I did take a few photos of my latest project though, completed just in the nick of time, Christmas eve...

It is a pot-holder made in Yoko Saito style, using the house book as my guide. I did a post about this wonderful book last year. I just signed up for a course with the very same author when she comes to Norway in 2010. I keep thinking about the upcoming course with great excitement and anticipation. I am still not even positive I have a spot but my fingers are crossed...

I found making the potholder for a dear friend to be so such pleasure. Doing it though made me realize I would like to have stacks and stacks of taupe fabrics and that I have so very much to learn when it comes to selecting colors.

I really would like to chat more but it is so late now that I should be asleep. One last thing. I am having a HUGE sale in my shop until January 1st. I realized today how much I love to shop at after Christmas sales and thought it would be great to treat everyone with a wonderful sale. I have also begun to list a few new dolls.

Nighty night!

Wishing you a very Happy Holiday!

The gifts are ready...

Our stockings are hung...

I made these little stockings this season just for fun.

The fabric with the elves is from a very close friend who also appreciates fabric and was kind enough to share with me. The fabric had rows and rows of elves, I just cut a strip of them to make the stocking.

Adorable?

The same very generous friend also gave me this cute Christmas fabric with geese and more elves. In Norway the elves are often eating or holding Christmas porridge as this is a traditional part of Christmas feasting.

Hoping your stocking will be filled up with someting nice if you celebrate Christmas. I think I have been very good this year so I am expecting a lovely celebration with friends and family.

Peace and happiness to all!

Gifts to inspire YOU!

It is finally the most festive of months! December is a lovely month to enjoy making things. I thought it would be fun to share my enthusiasm for the Christmas season and my love of crafting with you by offering inspirational packs! I have two to give away and two that are in my shop. Because I am lazy I only took photos of the two packs for my shop, but the two I am giving away are nearly alike, they simply have a slightly different selection of buttons and threads. So feast your eyes on the goodies....

My first fun pack features reds, greens, whites, and a bit of aqua and blue thrown in!

I put together a mix of new and vintage prints in the spirit of the season.

Here is the second one, very traditional reds and greens, and like the first pack, it too contains fabrics, ribbons, notions, stickers, flosses:

I love to spread a bit of Christmas cheer!

Yes, a great amount of fun could be had with these and I hope that the two lucky winners will have a ball! If you would like to enter my little give away please simply leave a comment to this post. Comments will close Tuesday, December 8th at 7 am Norwegian time. Soon after I will announce two lucky winners!

I also have two Christsmas inspiration packs in my shop (so sorry, they sold out fast!)

I was lucky!

Look! I won another give away! I feel very lucky. Rachel was the hostess for this give away of these sweetly decorated bobby pins by Carmenesque.

 

Thank you so very much, these are really pretty!

She put them on right away.

This weekend I put my new BariJ fabric to use.

Fru Hokstad (sorry she is now sold) and Fru Skeie are now in the shop.

Fru Godthumør is also in the shop.

We had such a nice weekend, but it sure went by awfully fast... Wishing you a happy week!

Stitching and candlelight

The dark and cold evenings are such nice times to get together with friends to chat and do a few stitches of one sort or another.

My clever friend was working on making these pretty embroidered and soon to be stuffed ornaments, pattern by Rosalie Quinlan.

We sat stitching away enjoying the light of the candles which are nearly always lit in homes in Norway during these dark months.

 

(Translation: Award to a fantastic blog friend who spreads happiness in my daily life)

I would like to thank Mette for the lovely award! 

I have three special friends in mind to pass this award to:

Michele of Calico Daisy

Corry of Dutch Blue

Jan of Where is my brother?

I began blogging as a way to be in touch with other creative people who like to make things. I had no idea how rich my life would become with inspiration, friendship and the feeling of community. Really I have many friends now all over the world whose friendship I cherish and whose work I admire.

Have a delightful and hopefully creative weekend!

A gift sent

Kelly wrote me today to tell me she had received the gift I sent to her. I made her a flowery appliquéd face cloth for her.

First I cut out two squares of fabric. On the blue checked fabric I hand appliquéd a scattering of fussy cut fabric flowers and made red french knots in the centers. I cut out a strip of red and white dotted fabric and made bias tape with it for a loop which I hand stitched together.

Then I pinned the back and front together with right sides together with the loop pinned onto the inside of one of the corners.

For the backside I used a bright yellow cotton flannel. The final step was hand stitching around all the sides of the cloth with 3 threads of pink embroidery thread.

I think these would make nice Christmas gifts and hope to be making more soon.

Black and White Tuesday

I didn't have time to do this post on Monday as I had intended. I am sorry about not posting much lately. The children are still sick and I have little time for anything. I did go out for a long walk on Sunday though.

While fall has been bursting with brights: gold, red, rust, yellow, and browns it is challenging to see the beauty in the lights and darks of the season.

 

The past few days there has been ample opportunity to catch shots of the flowers all dappled with raindrops.

As I said, I donned my cold weather gear Sunday and headed off for a much needed walk in the woods. Oh, this hour to myself after weeks of tending to flu-ridden children was pure bliss.

The trees look pretty stripped of their foliage after the recent frosty nights.

This fine creature posed for just a moment before scampering off. I have to admit that my photography hobby is helping me get out of the house this time of year when the living room's warmth and comfortable sofa is so very appealing.

Fru Sort is the last in this latest black and white series of matryoshkas and she is now in the shop.

The children are home again today, but I seem to have gotten a second wind after long talks with friends on the phone last night. Today is starting off very cozy, looking at bird books all together in bed, and now we are going to play go-fish (again).

Black and white and sick Monday

We had an absolutly horrifying moment last night when after waking up in a fit of coughing, Lilly seemed to spit up blood. Seconds after when I was carrying her I realized in a flood of relief that it was just a nose bleed. Oh, those little ones really can cause a big scare! Everyone was home sick, half sick or tending the sick today. Even the neighbor called to see if we could take out his trash and pick up a few dinners for him at the grocery store. So my black and white Monday theme seems appropriate somehow.

 
My dad let me know that he noticed I didn't do a b&w last week. So here's one Dad, some very dried up leaves, still hanging on. How wonderful it is to have the beautiful fall foliage for so many weeks, many of those leaves still holding on.

I put together a basket of embroidry wools and a few frames, ready with cloth. When they caught sight of it the children pounced with such pleasure. This quiet and diligent work helped them to pass several hours over the past few days. At first we were impressed by how Sebastian made a pretty square design, and then we were impressed again by how Lilly followed his lead the following day and made the same design. What a wonder it is how they learn from eachother.

I do  hope all the tender loving care, herb teas, vitamins, homemade soup, hot baths, naps and quiet moments today will mean a healthy day for all tomorrow. Wishing you a happy day.