Mrs Moen

Card Day #1

2012-01-31T22:47:00.000+01:00

Daughter and I spent a delightfully creative day together making invitations for the new baby’s christening; fingers covered with glue and table covered with mess. Perfect!

This is her design (as you probably can tell from the lack of orange); I was just a pair of helping hands. We stamped and glued and tried out different layouts and materials and finally put her die cut thingie to good use (did I say I went a little crazy shopping for scrapbooking supplies?).

We are going to make place cards and thank you cards soon; better to do it now before the baby is born and the mother still can focus for more than 3 minutes. Thankfully I have enough card stock and stuff for a few more cards. Just a few.-)

2012 FMQC January

2012-01-30T18:29:00.000+01:00

My practice cloth for the Free Motion Quilting Challenge does not look much like a Miss January, more like Mr. January which is fine. I made 3 sandwiches last night from a couple of scraps of blue fabric from my old stash. I had just enough for the 3 of them and am thinking place mats for my parents; one for each of them and one for the middle of the table.

The 2” wide strips of checked fabric were spray basted onto the sandwiches and secured by zigzag stitching around the edges.

The natural light was long gone by the time I finished quilting, so I tried taking pictures both with and without the natural daylight lamp. None of them worked very well.

I quite like the turquoise thread against the blue grey solid.

The stitches look well enough on the front but not that great on the back. The sewing machine has been parked for a few years and smelled a bit funky when I cranked it up, so I’ll have to figure out our tension issues as he and I get reacquainted. Oh well; I have decided I won’t focus on perfect stitches while working my way through the challenge, but more on the fun of free motion stitching and practicing new doodling patterns.

Leaves: Check!

Quilting a week away

2012-01-29T21:11:00.000+01:00

Last week was one of those that had me reaching for snacks I swore I was off two years ago. By Thursday I was in a really bad mood which doesn’t happen very often, and all I could do was to work my way through some of the things that were piling up on me, one of them making class samples.

I am preparing for a new class in April, and I’m so fortunate that I’m allowed to pick and choose what I want to teach at this class. This time it will be a free motion quilting class; trying out quite a few ways to quilt and using them for making shapes. You see, I kind of lost the joy of free motion quilting quite a while ago (think free motion Scrooge) and have been going through the motions for ages, using the same old quilting techniques over and over again. Now I am determined to get my free motion mojo back and have, amongst other things, signed up for the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge at SewCalGal’s.

However, I needed to get my own ideas onto cloth before I started on the challenge because I don’t want my class to copy other people’s work and ideas.

So I have been quilting

and quilting

and I love working with these bright and pretty colours

even the cutoffs.

The only problem is that both my machines are in dire need of tune ups. I have some real issues with the thread tension on the one I’m using now and it’s particularly noticeable in the straight line quilting.

Oh well, never mind, I’m on a roll.

I am happy to tell you the bad mood has vanished and I have spent a lovely weekend with the men in my life.

Today we drove up to check up on our cabin so grandson could have some quality snow time, and he sure did.

The snow on the trail was too deep for him to walk (I barely made it there myself and my legs are looong), and on the way back I was pulling him on his sledge while husband carried the old sewing machine I keep at the cabin. Oh man, he was laughing so hard that he kept falling of the sledge as I was fighting my way through the snow falling this way and the other every few yards. I may have been a bit cold and I may have been a bit wet, but I enjoyed myself just as much as he did.

Now the old machine is set up in my studio, and hopefully I’ll be back quilting again tomorrow afternoon. First I’ll be spending a few hours with daughter making invitations for the baby’s christening and thank you notes. I was afraid I had her all crafted out while she was growing up, but she has been taking up scrapbooking during the last year. Who knew scrapbooking offered just as many shopping opportunities as quilting. My studio is full, but scrapbook supplies do not take up that much space; especially when they are at someone else’s house…

Collaborative art

2012-01-24T06:56:00.000+01:00

I have wanted to try making collaborative art for a while and I think I’ve got the perfect partner right here. Grandson and I made this city for his mom for her birthday and it was, as always, an enjoyable experience although he was most enthusiastic about painting and using his scissors.

We painted a readymade canvas with diluted acrylic paint which left all these little sparkling white dots everywhere.

The flowers and stars were rolled on with a foam roller thingie and a huge shining moon painted in the sky.

The buildings are made from paint chips with sticker windows on every floor. The markers I bought for this purpose were not suitable for drawing on paint chips after all, so we abandoned the idea of adding more details after a few attempts. Just as good I’d say; I love it like this.

This is my favorite building; wouldn’t you love to have a studio here; think of all the light shining through these windows.

In case I ever leave Stavanger, I wouldn’t mind living right here.

Making work work

2012-01-23T07:16:00.000+01:00

I am, together with quite a few people, in the process of transforming 9 months and 11 days of work into something much smaller but just as colourful.

Consider yourselves teased.

Task of the day, January 21st

2012-01-21T20:50:00.000+01:00

On this date 25 years ago, I walked into the hospital to have my first and only child. I remember thinking (as I waddled towards the entrance) that the next time I’ll be outside I’ll be a mom and nothing will ever be the same. Tomorrow is daughter’s 25th birthday, and I am as happy to know her as I was when we first met 25 years ago. I was right, everything did change and I discovered I had superpowers.

The only thing left to do tonight is finishing her quilt by attaching this heart. I’m thinking simple whip stitches in bright pink thread.

Grandson and I have created a piece of collaborative art and a collaged card. Pictures of both will follow when the gifts have been handed over; I really don’t want to ruin the surprise in case she stops by here.

Tonight it's also time to draw the winner of my 600th post giveaway, and blah blah random blah blah the winner is

No 42, Mimi.

Congratulations, Mimi, you’ll receive an email from me. To the rest of you, thank you for playing along!

Now onto stitching the heart; have a wonderful weekend!

Oh, I almost forgot; I did take pictures of the whole Christmas table cloth before it went into the laundry as requested. Isn’t it just perfect!

Intuition Quilt, Day Twelve

2012-01-19T11:04:00.000+01:00

Ok, so I’m officially in love with this quilt. It literally brightens up the dark and grey days of a snowless winter and brings much needed warmth and light into my day. I keep it hanging over a chair in my living room just so that I can enjoy it when I’m not working on it, only removing it when daughter’s coming over.

What can I say; I love the lines and colours

and the little bumps made by stitching around circles

which are showing even better on the back

and the threads, oh all the lovely thread.

I don’t even mind that a little red has bled into white dots (that’s why I usually wash everything. Everything!). It must have happened a long time ago, I just hadn’t noticed.

I had picked some possible binding fabrics way back

and added one more into the mix.

If daughter has changed her mind about this quilt, I wouldn’t mind. I can keep it. Seriously.

"Med hodet på skrå" 2-4

2012-01-18T08:01:00.000+01:00

A little gift for someone who I have never met

and a pair of class samples.

I would love to make many of these; they were such a joy to create.

Intuition Quilt, Day Eleven+Threehundredandsomething

2012-01-17T07:42:00.001+01:00

Day 10 of my Intuition Quilt posts came and went in silence last year; I don’t even remember what I was supposedly documenting through the Day 10 pictures which I found stored on my computer. Anyhow, I do recall how I wanted to quilt the top almost a year ago; that is I didn’t really want to quilt it at all as I loved the crisp lines of the fabrics as they were, but since it’s not a quilt until it’s quilted, I had a firm idea how it would be.

Three colours of variegated thread were purchased back in March as I couldn’t make up my mind in the store. And of course I needed three spools of each of them just in case the quilt would stretch to king size during the process or something. I would have been surprised, but prepared. I should add I rarely buy thread for specific projects any more, but use the ones that I already have. Seriously, I’ve got enough.

Looking at the top with fresh eyes I have decided to use all three of them, starting with the brownish on the bottom border.

Marking the quilt design wasn’t much of a job.

All I need is a few of these little fellows

which will be spending most of their time up here

and a few seconds down here every now and then.

It has been a long time since I have been this much excited about the quilting itself. I started this project on January 10th 2011, so it’s about time it got finished I’d say.

Happy quilting!

Bobbin along

2012-01-16T07:38:00.001+01:00

While I was setting up my machine for power quilting the Intuition Quilt, I was reminded about something that has come up several times while out and about with other quilters – how do you wind your bobbins/the mystery of the bobbinholes. You see, I always thought I had figured them out, but as so many others have been surprised to see me doing this, I wonder if I got it all wrong.

I start winding my bobbins by threading the thread through one of the holes in the bobbin (my bobbins have two of them) from the inside and outwards (sorry about the hard to see thread; I should have wound an orange bobbin for these pictures),

I hold on to the thread while I start winding

and snip it off when it’s safely secured.

I always assumed this was why the bobbins have holes; isn’t it?

Resting on laurels Day

2012-01-13T07:29:00.000+01:00

Today I’m enjoying the fruits of yesterdays labour.

There’s a cutting plan for all these gorgeous class samples fabrics in progress; I only need one or two pieces from each fabric so it won’t be a long one.

These fabrics will become the baby quilt for the new grandson (I’ll need to find some cuter blogging names now that I will be blessed with two).

Daughter and I picked out these a while ago,

and I have added a few more to the merry mix like the animal print and the owls.

Time to clear the table and start cutting; have a wonderful day even if you have no laurels on which to rest (it sounds very uncomfortable so good for you if you don’t).

Ironing Day

2012-01-12T07:46:00.000+01:00

Do I have to say more??

Diving in

2012-01-11T08:03:00.001+01:00

I have dug out this box from under piles of vintage table cloths and fabric assigned to quilt backings. Oh man, fabric should come with a warning; it is heeeaaavy! The (totally unappealing) box was a birthday present from husband (very generous/in dire need of an idea for a birthday present) back in 2005 and contained one half yard of every Kona cotton fabric at the time (totally awesome). This was before the new and improved web site of Hancocks of Paducah and took me ages to order, one colour at a time. Yes, it’s true; I had to order them myself. Poor me, right.-) Anyway; it is the perfect go-to-stash for almost anything, but it has been resting for a while.

Now it’s time to start using some of the gorgeous new fabrics that have yet to find a home in boxes or drawers (saves time rearranging my stash to make room for them), and pair them up with a few of these delicious solids.

They are all washed; I wish they were all ironed as well...

Inventory Day #2

2012-01-10T08:32:00.001+01:00

We had barely started writing 2012 when I already felt overwhelmed by all the projects I would have to finish by the end of April. I got myself a Moleskine journal and started taking inventory; just jotting down all the ideas I had buzzing around in my head (you have no idea how busy it gets up there sometimes; no voices though so no need to call men running with butterfly nets; just saying).

Then I started making a list based on deadlines, and played around with my ideas; sketching, writing, calculating. It’s strange; no matter how many notebooks and journals I have I always fall back on simple gridded sheets of paper. However, we have piles of coloured copy paper, so I have been using bright yellow paper for printing my appliqué designs. Way more cheerful than plain old white I’d say!

It was still too much on my list, so I started cutting projects. Cut, cut, cut; if I don’t really, really, really have to make it, it’s not on my list. I feel better already.

Some projects survived the cuts and made it to the list for the next 3 months:
- Quilting the Intuition quilt for daughter’s birthday two weeks from yesterday.
- Creating a new class concept with gazillion samples and instructions.
- Make a family quilt for the new grandson for his Christening on April 1st.
- Make a baby quilt for the same grandson.
- Make a couple of long overdue patterns.
- Play a lot with scraps and shapes and have fun.

I am very pleased to see my shortened list and the bzzzzing sound is almost gone; now to work!

Sunday stroll

2012-01-09T18:08:00.000+01:00

It has been a while since I brought a camera on a Sunday stroll; pretty much because it’s been a while since I did a lot of strolling on a Sunday. However, yesterday daughter and grandson invited me for a walk around our favorite recreational area. I was totally in a fabric induced coma, but thankfully I went along because the fresh air and lovely company did me all kinds of good. There were lots of people out strolling, but I don’t mind; fresh air is fresh air. It was getting quite dark before we made it all the way around the lake, and for once I was not the only slow one with daughter being 7 months pregnant and all. Grandson put some extra miles behind him running back and forward all the time. Oh how I wish I had a little of his energy.

We made a few pit stops on our way; some at playgrounds,

others to enjoy the shapes and reflections of nature

and the dummy tree

and the glass dome at the art museum.

Brilliant stroll indeed!

And a 600th post giveaway it is!

2012-01-06T21:56:00.000+01:00

It was such a relief to get back into my studio and create something after what seems like weeks and weeks of just a little light knitting to exercise my creative muscles! All that pent up creative energy and yearning for colour were channeled into a series of small pieces of which one is the prize for this giveaway.

“Med hodet på skrå” (roughly translates to With a tilted head) is inspired by a well known and much loved song about a grasshopper father and son and a poppy. The song is sung in many languages and the moral is that you should be happy being small instead of wanting to be bigger. Good advice indeed although I rarely have that particular problem.-)

The quilt measures approx. 7”*11” and is made from a variety of materials and techniques. I am particularly happy with the flowery sun as we don’t see it too much these days.

If you too are in need of a little colour fix in the middle of winter, this quilt can be yours simply by
- leaving a comment to this post for one entry
- and leaving a second comment if you are a follower to this blog for a second entry.

If you’re a No-reply blogger, make sure you leave your email address in your comment so I have a way of contacting you. I will ship anywhere; as long as you have a snail mail address that will be fine.

The giveaway is open until January 21st when I will draw the winner in the evening Norwegian time.

Thank you so much for reading my blog, taking your time to leave comments and not dumping me when huge parts of my creative time and energy went into work during 2011. Now the biggest chunk is done on my part, and you know, some of all that work just might be blogable after all…

Good luck to you all!

Twelve thoughts for Twenty Twelve

2012-01-03T16:43:00.001+01:00

This is my 599th post, so my next post will be the 600th (I did the math myself, you know) and it will be properly celebrated with a giveaway for which the prize yet has to be created. I have an idea about what to make, so it shouldn’t take more than a few days.

The holidays have finally left our house. Usually I’ll clear everything away on the morning of January 1st unless we have company staying. Well, my parents left yesterday afternoon after a few days here (which was absolutely lovely (the visit, not them leaving, duh)), and now the holidays are officially over. The annual bling gifts from husband’s previous boss are safely boxed up which is good as they have snatched my favourite vest/jacket-garments more than once.

What I will miss is my new favourite table cloth inherited from mother.

It has been in my family for almost 50 years, just like me, which might explain my infatuation with the orange ladies.

I thought I might leave you with some thoughts while I watch the rain, letting my mind wander through the endless possibilities in my empty studio.

1. Small glitches make good stories.
2. Few things in life get 10 times better if you get 10 times more of them; quilts and grandchildren do (just assuming the last one.-).
3. Finding someone to care about besides yourself, whether it is a goldfish, a person or a group of ladies at the senior centre, can improve life way beyond your expectations.
4. Choosing to judge others by their best qualities rather than their worst makes your life more pleasant – and theirs.
5. If life is all about presentation, it might be an idea to look at the content.
6. Love is a fresh produce; it does not refrigerate well so you’d better enjoy it right now.
7. If you feel crappy, do something nice for someone else.
8. You should say “oh well, never mind” and let something go every day. No, I don’t mean health or personal hygiene.
9. Getting stuck is no problem as long as you know where to look for the key.
10. Holding on to bad stuff stops you from replacing them with good; flowers really do grow in manure.
11. Screaming at someone on the top of your lungs is fine – as long as you do it when you’re alone.
12. Principles are easy until you have to make difficult decisions.

See you back here for the 600th!

Peace

2012-01-01T00:01:00.001+01:00

and goodwill to all men.

Happy New Year, everybody; may 2012 bring peace to restless souls and supplies to restless fingers!

The Hardware Triangle

2011-12-28T12:01:00.000+01:00

Instead of spending the post-Christmas days in my studio as planned, I have spent way too many hours swapping between hardware. Old computer, current computer, tablet, drawing pad, old camera, newish camera, old phone, new phone, external hard drive, game console, and whatnots; and they all come with cords. Miles and miles of cords. New phones are fun, but oh man, it’s easy to get sucked into all the doodahs! I think I have phone and tablet under control now and have finally solved the email-answering-problems I have had since April. About time I’d say. Thank you iCloud!

I woke up early this morning thinking about some new class samples, and had an epiphany on how I could retrieve some un-transferable files from my old computer. And it worked. Then I remembered there were some problems transferring the pictures in the first place, so I started an incredible time consuming recovery process when the old computer was dug out anyway. What’s left now is to go through all the files and see what I want to keep. That should keep me busy for a while.

Not all hardware work is boring though; grandson and I built the LEGO fire station that he got for Christmas the other day, and I love building LEGO. Love it! Husband usually has dibs on putting them together with him being the residential engineer and all, but he stepped out for a while. You snooze, you lose.

The two of them did get to try out one of husband’s new hardware though. Big time fun at 1km/hour.

Other than that we have been setting the table, eating, clearing the table (pinnekjøtt at Christmas Eve),

setting the table, eating, clearing the table (brunches),

unwrapping a sea of paper,

and yesterday daughter, grandson and I hit the sales. Not too crowded and lots of clothes at 50% off, so well worth a few hours. One of us found a way to entertain himself while we were waiting in line. Honestly I wouldn’t have minded keeping him company at that point.

Enjoy the rest of 2011; we will have family staying for New Year’s, so I’d better get my act together and touch something without a cord.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T10:05:00.000+01:00

Tonight we celebrate Christmas in Norway (you can read more about some of our traditions here), and the house is all dressed up in old memories and a few new ones.

The paper cone Santa family from years ago when daughter was little

the nut bowl from my grandma’s house; well loved although a little chipped and burred and forever nut-free due to allergies in the family

the happily flag-bombed tree decorated with grandson; it looks perfectly Christmassy when the lights are lit

and our new little forest made last weekend from crepe paper, yarn, paper towels and glue.

I’m hoping to make a few more of these before Christmas is over. Does it ever happen to you that you’re enjoying making stuff for Christmas so much that you just want to keep on going?

Thanks for suggesting putting LED lights under the trees; I love how they look in the dark!

We will be hosting tonight’s Christmas dinner and Christmas Day brunch tomorrow. Our first guests; daughter, grandson and my in-laws, will be arriving at 5pm and it’s time to do the last minute grocery shopping, vacuum the carpet and iron the table cloth. The cloth and I played a little hide and seek yesterday before I realized I had actually put it away in the proper closet. Cheeky table cloth; who could have known!

It was 10 degrees Celsius and raining yesterday, so no more snow, but it doesn’t really matter, does it, at least we can move safely outside. Something else is missing here though. Oh right, I have forgotten the Christmas quilts. Now where did I put them...

My best wishes for the holidays to you all!

Stack the cards

2011-12-23T21:13:00.000+01:00

I have read that fewer and fewer people send out physical Christmas cards each year, but I love this tradition. I hadn’t expected to find time to do cards at all this year, but I did, although way too late to send any internationally.

Tiny little quilts glued onto cardstock with double sided tape,

the little trees made from free cut triangles of tulle and couched yarn

and decorated with Promarkers and foam stars and with a little piece of fuzzy yarn taped to the back.

Cards from friends and family are showcased in the Julepost I made two years ago.

Falalalalalalalala

Right here, right now

2011-12-20T18:08:00.000+01:00

I am totally happy.

The chocolate topping on our oatmeal cookies is cooling off,

the chocolate chip cookies (which I have made every year since 1989)

and chocolate cookies (see a pattern here?) are safely tucked away into their tins; half of them at my house, the rest of them at the young ones’.

I have unwrapped the tree that wouldn’t dry, and guess what – it finally did.

Made from scraps of yarn and glue, it’s see-through and very colourful although the evening light, or rather lack thereof, does not do it justice at all.

And most importantly – it’s snowing.

Right here, right now – life is good.

The week before Christmas

2011-12-19T19:27:00.001+01:00

I am so glad I don’t have the everything-has-to-be-perfect-for-Christmas-gene. I have a quite laid back attitude about the holidays for which I am truly thankful. We will have food, we will have gifts, and we will have a table at which we can eat as soon as I clear off the debris from crafting fun and work stuff. No one will get handmade gifts this year which is fine, and if I get around to making and writing cards at all this year, there might be a few going in the mail by the end of the year.

My trip to Oslo and Lillehammer last week did not go exactly according to plan. There were a few hiccups I’d say. Oslo airport was closed due to an ice problem in the morning, and after 2 flight cancellations, loooots of waiting around at the airport and a few travelling challenges (think Steve Martin and John Candy road trip without the bed sharing scene), I was 6 hours delayed to Oslo and 4 hours late for the meeting that I have been working towards since February. There’s not much to do other than just going with the flow, is there, and thank goodness one of the people I was meeting stayed until we could finish up more than 3 hours past their office hours. I had 21 minutes to get from the meeting to the train to Lillehammer including a trip by tube and lots of running with two suitcases, my definitely non-small bag across my torso and a dangling briefcase over my shoulder (thank you Zumba classes of yesteryear). I managed to get onto the train as the doors were closing (imagine the looks I got from my fellow passengers when I happily laughed out loud, trying to catch my breath; so relieved to make it after such a day) and arrived at my parents’ late in the evening too wired to sleep at all.

My parents and I took the bus into town on Tuesday and I tried to take a few pictures of the main street.

Lillehammer is such a beautiful town, and even prettier in the winter, but now it was windy and rainy and icy.

It’s still beautiful though.

I got safely back home in the evening after eating lunch with my sister, spending a few hours with my nephews, having dinner with my parents, a cab that did not show up on time, another train ride, more waiting at an airport, and finally a bumpy flight home. I haven’t really felt the urge to do much after that, other than spending time with my family, attending a couple of Christmas parties (one involving Santa, the other lasting from 5:30 pm to 2 am which is a long time making small talk with people you don’t know no matter how nice they are and how delicious the food is).

I have been making Christmas decorations with grandson, but that’s not really doing anything, just pure enjoyment.
I love these!

And our fragile paper trees made with crepe paper ribbons and wood glue!

Oh man, what a mess that was; my fingers are still blue. I diluted the glue way too much and after 30 hours the glue is still leaking from one of the other trees.

And of course I have been knitting in the evenings, but that really doesn’t count, does it. This winter appears to be all about neck- and arm/leg warmers. The neck warmers have a kind of Victorian appearance, but they are super stretchy and comfy.

If only winter would come back; I want snow for Christmas.

I had a few lovely surprises this week as well, like this gorgeous artwork from my friend Sherry in the UK. Isn’t she just beautiful!

And husband came home from a trip to China and I found another mystery box on the table in the morning.

This time he brought home a beautiful crystal bottle which is painted on the inside; a gift from one of his suppliers.

Tomorrow is baking day; daughter and I will make our favourite Christmas cookies which is always fun. Maybe I’ll get around to making more gluey mess trees after that; I have a few other ideas I would love to try out.

Happy holiday preparations!

Sew In # 11

2011-12-10T10:07:00.008+01:00

I had to cheat a little for last night’s Friday Night Sew In as I was invited out for dinner in the evening, but instead I spent a couple of hours in the afternoon adding the last touches to a few projects:

- adding a little hand stitching, and a rubber band and a button to my iPad cover,

- finishing the blanket stitching on the wool project,

- adding a few embellishments

- and weaving in the thread in my new woollen ensemble; leg warmers, wrist warmers and a neck warmer in grey Smart yarn.

I am particularly happy with the neck warmer, but it looks like I won’t be testing it our any time soon. We had a storm the other day, and the rain has washed away all the lovely snow.

Have a wonderful weekend! I’ll be spending it wrapping up my work assignment and our Christmas presents; I’ll be travelling eastwards on Monday for a meeting and use the opportunity to visit my family at Lillehammer at the same time, bringing all their presents along.

Exhaling

2011-12-06T23:06:00.000+01:00

Greetings from Winter wonderland! After the warmest November in 150 years, winter’s finally here, properly greeted by enthusiastic young ones who think snow is the best thing ever. I have to say I find snow rather pretty and don’t mind it at all now that I have brand new non-slippery winter boots to keep me safe and lots of wool and knitted garments to keep me warm.

Needing a rest from the knitting obsession, I have been working on a little piece of needlework which now is in the process of being stretched back into shape. I had totally forgotten how time consuming needlepoint is, and it’s just as easy to get hooked on as knitting.

I have also tried my hand at needle felting for the first time ever,

and it was fun although slower than I expected. I love how it looks on the back with the fibres travelling through,

and the pearl cotton stitching around the edge.

The weekend was spent in good company. Husband has been on a business trip so grandson and I ruled the house all by ourselves. One of the good things about our grandma-time-schedule is that actually I take every other weekend off and lower my shoulders and have fun no matter what else is happening. We finally finished our mixed media garlands which we started a few weeks ago. Talk about test of patience. First we painted ugly scrapbook papers on both sides, then cut the shapes, and then decorated the circles with paint on both sides. It took quite a while as we had to leave everything to dry between each step, so by the time they were ready to be attached to the string, one of us ran out of patience.

On Saturday we added circles from aqua cardstock, decorated them with stickers, and stapled everything onto fuzzy yarn. We had enough circles for 4 garlands; two for me, one for daughter and one as a gift, plus a little one for grandson’s room. Sorry about the pictures, there’s about a one hour’s window to get proper lighting and if you miss it, this is what you get.

We also built the world’s biggest PlusPlus ferry for our little PlusPlus “cars” which we have been constructing and reconstructing for a year and a half now. Neither of us gets tired of them; I still love playing with the simple geometric shapes and gorgeous colours.

My local craft store is next to a thrift store, so I pop in now and then just to have a look (read old table cloths and interesting curtains). This piece of thrifted art caught my eye the other day and I couldn’t resist buying it.

I find the image a bit unsettling, but I love the hand stitching.

I was hoping to be able to remove the fabric from the frame, but it is firmly glued onto the base. Maybe I’ll paint the frame or something sometime in the future.

Got to go to bed; have a wonderful week!

All is warm

2011-11-27T15:13:00.004+01:00

I have been having blogging withdrawal symptoms lately. Going from posting every day throughout October to about once a week in November has been a shock to the system; my head gets overloaded with things that would have been fun putting on my blog. The good news (to me anyway) is that there’s only a few weeks left of my assignment, and my life will get back to normal, or at least what counts as normal around here. I have been hoarding quilting and art supplies since August and cannot wait to get back to my studio.

Anyway; being too scared of getting sucked into my fabric stash, I don’t even touch it other than to put away whatever I add to it. I’m holding on to my knitting needles in the evenings though, and I have finished up quite a few knitting projects that will keep us all warm through the winter.

For grandchild-to-be:
The alpaca Baby surprise jacket,

the cotton jacket,

the wool blankets,

hats

and booties

For grandson:
The alpaca Tomten jacket. I keep forgetting taking pictures of him wearing it.

For daughter:
Wool belly warmers (pattern bought on Ravelry). When she asked if I could knit one for her, I was expecting to find gazillions of patterns and tutorials on the web, but I had to search high and low to find even one.

These are brilliant, and daughter is very happy with hers.

For me:
The wool leg warmers in super simple garter stitch

very stretchy and warm; my legs and ankles will thank me this winter.

I still have a few more projects on my list, like the alpaca baby hat that I had to frog as it came out too big. Oh well, as soon as my arms have gotten a much needed rest, I’ll be ready to have another go at it.

Have a wonderful week!

Ten Thanks on a Thursday

2011-11-24T08:12:00.004+01:00

As we still are not celebrating Thanksgiving in Norway, I’m yet again missing out on the delicious food typically eaten on this day, but there is no better day to saying thanks than the present.

I am thankful for

1. the joy of cutting paper
2. that we are all still alive and kicking, one of us more than the others.
3. comfortable shoes

4. that my creative muse doesn’t give up but keeps on nagging me while I’m working.
5. antibiotics no matter how much my body disapproves of them.
6. that I don’t really mind being cocooned inside my house not talking to anyone outside my closest family for quite a while.
7. our almost water- and windproof house and that we’re not going to demolish it until next year.
8. reruns of favourite TV shows to keep me entertained in the evenings.
9. reading glasses.
10. patience.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sew In # 10

2011-11-19T10:47:00.000+01:00

Last night’s Friday Night Sew In was spent on the couch watching TV and doing a little hand work:
Stitching a self protrait for Make a Boob

making some fabric covered buttons (tutorial here)

using scraps of a damask cloth which makes them a bit chunky but oh so pretty

and knitting a few rows on my leg warmers in the making.

Have a wonderful Saturday! I’ll be spending a huge part of mine at the doctor’s waiting room trying to get rid of the strep throat; seriously it’s been 4 weeks and 2 long and exhausting rounds of antibiotics and they are still having a ball down there. Aaaaahhhrrrrg.

All is bright

2011-11-13T11:08:00.000+01:00

Despite the fact that I haven’t switched on my sewing machine for weeks, my days are still filled with bright colours.

I’ve continued on my mission of knitting warm and soft stuff for a little one,

socks for the big brother-to-be,

each one marked with a string of orange yarn,

and started on a requested tummy warmer for my daughter.

The yarn is Smart from Sandnes Ullvare and according to the receipt in the bag, the skeins have been in my stash since 1996. I have made a promise to myself not to buy yarn this winter; with a 15+ years of yarn in my stash that shouldn’t really be a problem, should it.

I did my last Make a Boob workshop of the year at Fellsgruppen for kreftrammede, a cancer patient organisation, on Tuesday, but forgot to ask permission to take pictures of the participants at work. It was so nice to sit down and do a little hand stitching that I continued when I came home. I’m still stitching faces, using some of the chaotic bead mixes in my boxes.

My guild meeting is coming up on Wednesday and it’s time to make another batch of triangles for the swap. I was very happy with the results from the 1. round of swapping.

And last but not least, a little colour studies with my grandson who is totally into mixing colours these days. We were making doors, or rather he was making doors and I played along. The Poster Art pens from Faber Castell are my favourites.

Lesson learned from this study: I should include a little white into more of my work. We bought more paint and crayons yesterday and hope to get started on some Christmas decorations for his mom as soon as he is tired of playing outside with grandpa who is having the day off. They bought a chain saw (toy) with lots of doodahs yesterday, so it might take a while.

Have a wonderful week filled with colours!

All is well

2011-11-06T22:10:00.000+01:00

No news are good news; we are still the proud grandparents of one little boy with another one expected in March. The mom is out of bed, grandson back home and everything is almost back to normal. The big difference is that we all rather abruptly realized that things might change by the drop of a hat and that uncertainty will be our companion for the foreseeable future. That’s how it goes, isn’t it; love and worries go hand in hand.

I have taken Deborah’s advice and am engaging myself in a little knitting therapy while I am waiting; knitting a preemie blanket and hats just in case. If our little loved one doesn’t need them, which he hopefully won’t, there will always be other babies that do. I’m knitting them the same way I knitted these blankets and hats last winter but with a little extra grandma love in each stitch.

What I have learned from the last two weeks is the following: stop procrastinating. Finish whatever needs to be finished. Now. So that’s what I’ll be doing the next few weeks; finishing my assignments ASAP and not waiting for upcoming deadlines. Like a true girl scout I’ll be prepared so I can deal with whatever comes around without so much stress. Hopefully I will be on top of things soon and can get back into my sewing room; I do miss my creative mess, but in the meantime I’m thankful for my yarn stash and some quiet evenings in front of the telly.

Thank you so much for all your well wishes and prayers; it means so much to me!

Have a wonderful week!

Change of plans

2011-10-31T07:13:00.000+01:00

I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders. Jewish Proverb

Something has come up that means (worst case scenario) that my second grandbaby might be born way prematurely. He’s not due until the beginning of March, so we are praying that it won’t happen for many, many weeks. The mom will probably be on bed rest until he’s born, and grandson is staying with us. With an already crazy work schedule to finish up my assignment, I need to shuffle things around quite a bit to take care of both young and older ones. Right now I’m just stressed and worried and sad, but I’ll be back as soon as things settle down.

Please do include a tiny little boy in your prayers.

On a roll

2011-10-30T08:34:00.003+01:00

I know I have been less than enthusiastic about unpicking seams, but this is my favourite gadget when I need to do a lot of it: an inexpensive sticky lint roll from one of the big chain clothing stores.

I cut every 4th stitch or so on one side, and roll this thing over the seam on the other. When it doesn’t stick any more, rip off a layer of paper and you’re ready to go. See how the uncut threads hang onto it?

Works like magic; no annoying little pieces of thread on my lunch or anything. You might want to try out if every 4th stitch works for you; it may vary depending on stitch length, type of bobbin thread and tension.

Something warm

2011-10-29T12:38:00.000+02:00

I have been playing a little with the block from the Design a Block Challenge; wanting to finish it into something useful. The very cold colour palette needs something warm to make the fabrics sing; maybe this will be enough.

My first idea was this thrifted table cloth which matches the colours perfectly. It took approx 0,54 seconds to decide against it (the time it took to take this picture). Bad idea! Bad, bad idea!

What do you think; any ideas?

"Mandag på Skottevik"

2011-10-28T07:10:00.000+02:00

Welcome to my blog, Mrs Moen! My name is Nina Lise Moen, and I am a quilter who designs patterns and teaches classes on the side. I enjoy a few other creative outlets as well, but today is all about quilting. This is my fifth time participating in the Blogger’s Quilt Festival at Amy’s Creative Side and I’m sure it will be just as much fun as the previous shows. I have stacked up on sugar peas and diet soda and am ready to go. Feel free to stay for a while and have a look around or pop by at any time.

I enjoy making a lot of different kinds of quilts, from piecing together simple fabric shapes to creating art pieces, and with quite a few small story quilts in between. Most of all I love playing with fabrics, and my scrap bins are often put to use although you could not tell by looking at them. For this show I have chosen one of my old favourites from the very beginning of my quilting life, “Mandag på Skottevik” (Monday at Skottevik) (finished in 2000 after a while hovering on top of my then budding UFO pile). Skottevik was The Place to spend our summer holidays for many wonderful years; blue skies, water and sunny days.

There are 4 or 5 quilting fabrics in this quilt, but mainly repurposed fabrics and curtains, table cloths and bed sheets from the thrift store with a few solids thrown in for good measure. Part of the story is that I cut all my fabrics into 6 ½” squares back then and used them to create all kinds of blocks and patterns (involving lots of math including Pythagoras and equations). It worked for me obviously as 13 years later I’m still quilting; revisiting my stack of thrifted squares every now and then. I am not (emphasis on not) cutting all my fabrics into squares any more. Maybe I should.

The design grew from snowball blocks (via the aforementioned UFO pile) to a top by adding a narrow green border, lots of colourful 4 patches

and a bottom border which was just a tad short to go all the way across the bottom. No problem; one strip of faded fabric to the rescue.

The quilt has a polyester batting which makes it the softest thing in our house and has been in grandson’s possession since he was born 4,5 years ago; first serving as a mattress in his day bed, and now on his duvet on cold nights. He loves this quilt.

It is quilted by hand

tied

and machine quilted.

The label (written with fabric marker on the backing) says that it celebrates our summers at Skottevik and especially one Monday in the summer of 1998. I don’t remember what happened that particular day, but it must have been a brilliant one!

You can see the rest of the online quilt show here

Have fun!

I-cord

2011-10-27T07:38:00.000+02:00

Sounds like something made by Apple, doesn’t it, but I-cord is a method of finishing off knitted edges used by Elizabeth Zimmermann (apparently an abbreviation of idiot-cord). I had never heard about it before I bought the Tomten pattern, and had a look at YouTube to check it out. It looked doable, so I’m finishing off grandson’s Tomten jacket with my first I-cord ever.

It is way easier than I first expected after reading the instructions (probably why it’s called idiot-cord). After all I am a novice at reading English knitting patterns, but I’m getting better at it. Anyhow, I love this simple edging. The buttonholes will also be knitted i-cord style and their placements are marked with pink thread.

It has been quite chilly lately, so I’d better finish the jacket. Resting on the couch all day sure gives me enough time to do a little light knitting, which reminds me to thank you all for your well wishes after yesterday’s post! Strep infections sound nasty and feel even worse. Being sick makes me miss my mom. She’s a nurse by profession and heart, and an excellent caregiver for sick daughters of all ages. Long distance care is not the same, especially when I’m croaking like a teenage boy/frog mutation on the phone.

Have a wonderful Thursday; I’ll be spending my afternoon with grandson which most certainly will make me feel better.

October workshops

2011-10-26T07:43:00.001+02:00

Tonight was supposed to be the fifth and last of the Make a Boob workshops for October, but instead I’m flat out with a new case of tonsillitis with accompanying antibiotics. Brilliant. Just what I needed. Not much to do though, just letting nature and meds do their work, and be grateful I have filled our house with warm and comforting quilts and soft pillows.

Anyway; some of the workshops were brilliant, a couple of others more party-of-one style. No point wasting time, so I made a few boobs and tidied up a few baskets before I went home.

I have booked one workshop in November and hope to reschedule the one I had to cancel tonight, but then I’ll take a break for finishing up my work assignment and Christmas. I have a few workshops set up in the new year, and will be working on booking more as soon as my schedule is clear.

Back to bed; see you later.

Out of the box with easy blocks

2011-10-25T07:50:00.000+02:00

I ordered Mary Lou Weidman’s newest book (co-authored with Melanie Bautista McFarland) through Mary Lou’s blog so I could have it

signed by my favourite quilt book author.

It arrived with this cute feather fabric which suits my inner bird-quilt lover perfectly.

Thanks, Mary Lou!

Basic fabric

2011-10-24T07:21:00.000+02:00

I’m trying really hard not to add to my stash. Really, really hard. Don’t ask me how I am doing because I don’t want to lie to you guys.

When I find perfect basic fabrics that I think will stand the test of time, I have to get it. These soft aqua, teal and raspberry pink fabrics were all on my most wanted list, so I was very happy when I found them on sale a while ago.

Mmmmm.

Stranger wearing gifts

2011-10-23T07:54:00.000+02:00

Let me introduce you to a little stranger wearing gifts, my entry for our guild’s ugly fabric challenge. Ugly? This? Not even close!

My mind went something like this: toys - gifts - beware of stranger bearing gifts - beware of strangers wearing gifts. Yes, I know, my mind is probably a little twisted.

I restricted myself to add embellishments from a little box of this and that on my sewing table, and had a lot of fun doing so.

The leftover fabric has been cut into little pieces for a scrap quilt. There will be another ugly fabric challenge at our guild next month, so I’ll need to find another sad and lonely piece to swap. This was fun!

Sew In # 9

2011-10-22T08:04:00.004+02:00

For last night’s Friday Night Sew In I did not do much sewing, but I did finish cutting the rest of the pieces for the Double Trouble quilts.

I have added a few lights and darks into the mix to spice it up a little. The overall colour scheme is still be a bit on the orange side, but it’s fall you know, how are we supposed not to be influenced by all the glory of nature’s colours.

I’m so happy to be done cutting these two quilts as cutting is not my favourite part of quilting. Not even a fifth runner up. Cutting a few pieces is fine, but I always find myself working in awkward angles which are not even kind of ergonomically right. I would love to have a raised cutting table, but there’s no room for one in my cramped little studio.

Ok, now I know what I’ll put on Santa’s list this year: A bigger studio; do you think he could get one down through our chimney? I wouldn’t want a huge one though; it would only mean more stash, more clutter and more space for me to misplace whatever I need.

Have a wonderful Saturday! I’m spending mine with grandson so no crashing on the couch for me.

Plaything

2011-10-21T07:26:00.001+02:00

I’m trying to squeeze in a few minutes of creative time every day, and although it might seem like I’m all over the place, working one a dozen different projects at the same time, there’s a plan to it. Really. I break things up to fit into short periods of time, making little kits with whatever I need for each one, and grab the project that I want to work with that day. Anything that gives me my daily creative fix is good; it keeps me happy and my mind balanced.

This pad was my birthday present from husband this spring.

Doesn’t it look just gorgeous! A+ for design! What it doesn’t come with is a protective cover, not even a boring one, so I’m thinking of transforming this bunch of solid strips

into a padded cover. Oh good, a new project.-)

Triangle swap, Round 1

2011-10-20T07:29:00.002+02:00

We’re doing a triangle swap at our guild and all those who wanted to participate was given one of these half square triangle papers at the September meeting.

After spending too much time sizing up swap blocks before, same sized blocks was a deal breaker to me. I have trouble sewing a proper ¼” seam myself, but that’s not a problem when all the HSTs are the same size.

Yesterday was my first try at this particular paper, but I have used Thangles before and it’s pretty much the same; two strips of fabric facing each other and the paper pinned on top.

The fabric width is cut according to the guidelines so I guess you’re supposed to trim it off afterwards.

Stitch on the dotted lines,

and cut apart. We’re swapping a set of 4 squares, so the strips are cut apart horizontally only.

This is how one of my HSTs will look.

The swap guidelines said that one fabric has to be red, so I chose a green fabric which I love but rarely use for the second one. I have no idea what I’ll use them for, but I’ll figure it out when we’re done swapping sometime next year.

All about batting

2011-10-19T07:43:00.001+02:00

Tonight is the October meeting at my guild, and the theme is batting.

We had the same lecture at the April meeting, but I’m sure I’ll learn something new as it is almost impossible to remember everything about each and every batting type, despite teeny tiny notes.

We got these samples last time and are supposed to bring them tonight; I wish I did remember where I put mine after I took these pictures.

Zzzzzztitching

2011-10-18T07:35:00.000+02:00

With life being kind of packed with this and that, I’m trying to squeeze in a few minutes here and there doing some progress on a few small challenges and what hopefully will become future class samples, gifts and patterns.

Stitching these is just boring...

Plowing

2011-10-17T07:28:00.001+02:00

Quilting a little top made from the rest of the old blocks used for my Rainbow runner.

Not sure what I’ll use it for, but it feels good to finish something quilty while my head and fingers are otherwise occupied.

Slow growth

2011-10-16T08:04:00.001+02:00

My arms needing rest from the intensive knitting, I’m doing a little stitching on this pillow cover in the evenings.

I’m totally in love with the contrast between the rough linen and smooth batiks.

Maybe it will be finished before Christmas; I know a couch where it would fit perfectly.

Inherited art

2011-10-15T07:37:00.001+02:00

This artwork has been in my family for as long as I can remember, and now it’s mine. It is hand printed on linen and the colours are glorious.

My parents were giving their stairway a makeover and I asked if I could have this print that had been hanging there for almost 35 years. They were only happy to give it to me and I will treasure it for its cool style and even more because of its history. I’m not sure where I’ll hang it, but it will have a prominent place in our future rebuilt house – whenever that will be.

Sunday at the aquarium

2011-10-14T07:42:00.001+02:00

Spending weekends with our young fellah, crafty things will only take us that far and we’ll have to get out of the house whatever the weather is like. Last weekend was one of the wet and windy ones, so husband suggested we could visit Lundsvågen Naturskole, which among other things, have a small aquarium.

Needless to say grandma enjoyed the rather short visit very much indeed,

and after lunch in the cafeteria, so did grandson.

Make a Boob at Rogaland Quiltelag, Part 2

2011-10-13T08:06:00.001+02:00

After doing a few workshops I’m getting better at setting up my Make a Boob stash;

knowing what goes where does help.

The content of the ribbon basket was a bit tangled

and the bead boxes a bit of a mess when I set up

and even worse when I packed everything up.

This was my second workshop at my guild, Rogaland Quiltelag. We were not that many at the meeting

but all these lovely boobs got decorated for the project.

Thanks for having me. Again!

Second workshop

2011-10-12T08:05:00.004+02:00

Tonight is the second Breast cancer association Make a Boob workshop. Working on this project makes me humble, and I’m so glad I can do this.

I have been untangling a bag full of yarn donated by the grandmother of a friend of mine. I love how this project touches women of all ages. Thank you!

Surprise

2011-10-11T07:40:00.000+02:00

My first Baby surprise jacket is finished; I just need to stitch the two seams on top of the sleeves and sew on buttons. I might add cuffs as the sleeves seem a bit short. Maybe I should measure a store bought jacket first.

It is so incredible soft and I’m crossing my fingers it won’t shrink in the washing machine like this one did (thanks for the link, Miranne, and for answering my question, Linda).

Miranne warned me that BSJs are addictive. I believe her.

I have started on the Tomten jacket for grandson; it’s much bigger, but hopefully won’t take too much time to finish.

List work

2011-10-10T07:20:00.000+02:00

The first Christmas craft magazines have been out for a couple of weeks, and I’ve bought them.

I buy every single issue every year and keep them forever. That’s quite a collection, but I love browsing through them, just getting the Christmas vibe. Usually I think Christmas starts too early in the shops, but we crafting addicts can never start too early, can we.

I have started my gift making list and I’m always looking for nice handmade object to put on it; preferably sewn, not knitted. So far I have zippy pouches (small ones, make up bags, pencil cases) and aprons. I have found so many pouch tutorials on the web that I think I’ll manage those, even the zippers. Beth says that these aprons are simple to make, so I’ll probably manage a few of them as well.

What are your favourite handmade gifts?

Elephant

2011-10-09T07:46:00.000+02:00

I have read about a creative exercise where you cut out shapes with your eyes closed and thought it sounded like fun. Grandson and I gave it a try; his scissors being of the child friendly type (imagine the conversation I would have with the doctor in the ER otherwise).

This is my elephant; first try, no peeking.

Then we moved on to cutting fire houses and fire men and fire trucks; eyes open, still fun.

I’m going to do this again; have you tried?

If I had the patience

2011-10-08T07:43:00.003+02:00

I would build a quilt with tiny little circles like these. Wouldn’t that be a fabulous quilt!

It’s grandma weekend at my house in case you didn’t guess.-)

Double trouble cutting

2011-10-07T07:40:00.000+02:00

I’m cutting more fabric for my Double trouble quilts today, trying to adjust the total colour scheme more over to the pink side by adding more pinks. I wouldn’t mind them to be orange at all, especially this time of the year, but somehow I think the recipients favour pinks over oranges.

The content of my little scrap box looks good enough to eat.

Ripping

2011-10-06T07:46:00.000+02:00

I wish I was one of those quilters who love their seam rippers and name them cute names like Jack the ripper (no that there was anything cute about the real Jack). I am not. I have one seam to unsew in this scrappy WIP; one piece of fabric that does not play nicely with the others. The poor fellah has been waiting patiently for a long, long time for me to put it out of its misery, not making a sound.

Well, wait no more; a pointy sharp little thingie is coming to your rescue.

Double trouble

2011-10-05T07:58:00.007+02:00

Last month I was planning to start another string quilt as a bring-along-to-sewing-group project, but as I searched through my boxes I realized I did not have that many strings prepared as I thought. Not having a lot of time before I was leaving (me being the key keeper and all) I had a look around in one of the closets in my studio. Most of the fabrics here are old and not much used lately, so I took pity in them and decided I would make quilts for my twin nieces (hence the double trouble) for their confirmation in April next year limiting myself to the content of said closet.

I discovered a few red and blue squares in a drawer, leftovers from Christmas presents for daughter and husband back in 2003, and added 4 fabrics that would sort of go with them,

using this Liberty of London fabric as a kick start fabric.

I was able to cut and sew about 1/4 of the blocks at my group

not too happy with the fact that my ¼” foot is not ¼” but leaving me with these little flaps

to cut off on each block. I have been checking if the Janome O2 true ¼” foot can be used on my machines, but no such luck.

Oh well; I’m off to search my closet for more Double trouble fabrics. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Awareness month

2011-10-04T08:03:00.005+02:00

It’s October and finally the day of the first Make a Boob workshop for the Breast cancer association as a part of the breast cancer awareness month.

It will be a small group; even better for connecting with each participant. I won’t be able to show pictures from the workshops as I feel I would invade their privacy, but hopefully there will be a few finished boobs to share.

I’m so excited (and a bit nervous); I have been working towards this month for almost a year as this was my initial idea and goal for this project, and I am able to do this thanks to you guys. Thank you!

Binding day (or week)

2011-10-03T07:43:00.000+02:00

Enough said (although I love these “new” organic lines)...

Blogtoberfest

2011-10-02T08:01:00.001+02:00

I had totally forgotten about Blogtoberfest until I saw a post on Deborah’s blog and signed up yesterday after I had written my post of the day. 31 posts in 31 days; should be doable even though I am quite swamped and generally not creating and blogging as much as I did last year.

I love the button!

Pile of leaves

2011-10-01T14:58:00.002+02:00

Summer is finally here, a bit late but still, we’re enjoying a few warm days before the weather turns back to normal again tomorrow.

Last weekend was spent at the cabin with grandson. I hadn’t been up there since Easter and enjoyed the peace and quiet and the fall colours. I was surprised to see how many trees that had dropped their leaves while still green(ish), but there were enough oranges for me to enjoy.

One of the quilts at our cabin is this oldie “Pile of leaves”;

you know those slash and switch and sew and slash 9-patces from Fons & Porter Love of quilting.

I’m still quite fond of it in all its lovely colours and simplicity.

We made a few boats

and launched them down the river just to rescue them a little further down the stream; well most of them got rescued,

tried our hands at fishing

and played with these; fun for young and old.

It was rather windy, but we enjoyed(??) our barbequed hot dog dinner al fresco anyway watching a new generation of leaves adorning the glass once intended for a much needed wind screen.

I was wearing my new rubber boots which were anything than well suited for wet and slippery grounds, but still, they kept my feet dry.

I do love fall.

I have some problems replying to my comments on a day-to-day basis; my mail reading device still refusing to send mail and my brain still refusing to figure why on earth not. With this being an issue since April, you would think I would have brought it back to the store by now for them to fix it, but nope, not yet. So, sorry about being late replying to comments (whenever I get a chance logging onto my computer); I am reading and appreciating them every day!

Oh so soft

2011-09-29T07:34:00.000+02:00

Organic lines on a well loved old duvet cover inherited from mother in law; soft lines on soft fabric;
creating a few backgrounds while enjoying the feel of this gem from the 70ies. What’s not to love...

Zip it

2011-09-28T07:34:00.000+02:00

If you ever wondered how a rainbow bouquet of zippers looks like, here’s one for you.
100 zippers in every glorious colour from Zipit on Etsy.
You can pick and choose whatever colour you’d like, and so I did. 3 of each colour, and filling up with bright pinks. Grandson was fascinated by all this engineering beauty and tried quite a few of them, just to see how they worked.

What I’ll do with all these zippers? I who don’t do zippers? Well, I really, really want to make lovely little pouches like so many of you do, and now that Christmas is less than 100 days away (according to my friend Tone), I’d better get started. I’m more likely to make zippered pouches when I actually have zippers. Am I not?

Batting question

2011-09-27T07:26:00.000+02:00

I have a question for you. I bought this Thermore batting at a guild meeting, and it seems great. Thin and soft and drapable; all good. The only problem is that it’s a bit sticky – which normally is good for quilting - but in this case I cannot seem to get rid of the folding creases. I have put batting in the dryer before, but somehow I am reluctant to do so with this one. I am a bit worried it will shred or get distorted as it’s really thin.

Have you tried this batting, and if so; how did you get rid of the lines?

Alpaca

2011-09-26T07:45:00.000+02:00

I am knitting my first project ever using alpaca yarn. Sandnes Garn’s Mini Alpaca is super wash (machine washable) and hopefully well suited for baby clothes. Their factory outlet is only 20 minutes from my house so it’s easy to drop by when in need of yarn. Way too easy. And the bargain bins make it that much harder not to buy more than needed. This beautiful blue alpaca came 20 balls in the bag, a total of 1 kg, so I’ll be knitting lots of blue stuff through the winter.

I fell in love with Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Baby Surprise Jacket and Tomten Jacket on Ravelry and ordered the patterns from Schoolhouse Press.

My new knitting bag is a hemp tote bag from Heathrow. How could I not buy one of these?

"Til konfirmanten"

2011-09-23T07:48:00.000+02:00

Ok, so this quilt did not want to be taken pictures of at all. I had no idea greens would be just as hard to photograph as reds, but there you go. Impossible. All the lovely greens look grey and boring. How did that happen. We tried everything except going outside because it was a raining. I’d rather have dull pictures than lugging a soaking wet confirmation gift around.

Anyhow; here it is;
the confirmation quilt for my nephew the night before we headed eastwards; husband moonlighting as a quilt rack. Thank you, dear.

Pink free

2011-09-22T07:56:00.000+02:00

The first baby jacket is almost finished, only a few seams to stitch. The plan was to add pink buttons and a little flower if my new grandchild is a girl, but no pink is needed because it’s a little boy. He looks so much like his big brother on his sonogram pictures and I’m already in love.

Can you tell I’m grinning.-)

Boob day

2011-09-21T07:46:00.000+02:00

I’m packing up my boob gear again today for another Make a Boob workshop at my guild. My neatly sorted boxes are quite a bit messier now than when grandson and I first meticulously filled them, one bag of beads in each compartment. However, after killing a few hours of moving beads around with a teaspoon at Craftretreat, I confess they will probably stay like that until Make a Boob is finished sometime in the future. Unless there are some neat freaks out there who would love to do it for me.-)

The Make a boob blog has been updated with new arrivals through the summer (click picture to get to that specific post):

Liz
Caroline
Magnhild
The ladies at Quilte Huset/Vestlandsdrakten
I’ll have to do another boob count, but I’d say I have approx 750 boobs now; a number with which I am totally happy.

Some do and some don't

2011-09-20T08:01:00.000+02:00

The verdict is in. The fusible strip from IKEA made for hemming curtains, does not work for appliqué. See the grid like texture? Not even close to the smooth looking strip on the picture on the package. I’ll probably save it if I ever need quick hemming, but for quilting – not recommended. At all. Gunky chunky yucky stuff.

I have higher hopes for these little guys. They are those little plastic hanging things from socks and undie packages which I think will make excellent hangers for little quilts. I have been collecting them in different sizes for a while, and am waiting for the right project to try them out. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Ugly fabric challenge

2011-09-19T07:32:00.001+02:00

My guild set up an ugly fabric challenge a few months ago, and the whopping number of 3 signed up and handed in their ugly fabrics. I was one of them.

I drew (chose? I don’t even remember) this Christmas (?) fabric from the 80ies (my guess). I actually find the fabric rather cute and not ugly at all, and have an idea what I will make. It will be something small.

I thought the deadline was in September but it’s in October so plenty of time, but you know how these deadlines work. Plenty of time, plenty of time, plenty of time, oh, tomorrow, tomorrow? tomorrow! oh ...!

Sew In # 8

2011-09-17T16:31:00.002+02:00

By this morning I had finished the Rainbow Runner.
I like the way it look in the white table
and even better with my favourite crystal bowl. I think this one is a keeper.

And, I stitched a few rounds on my art knitting project; a grey and orange woollen pillow. In case you wonder what the “art” part is about, it’s basically throwing all my ordinary rules of knitting to the wind and playing it totally by ear. Whether the result will be anything artsy I don’t know, but I have fun working at it.
Daughter will be coming over for a girlie movie night soon; I have a few presents to finish up with some hand stitching, so it’s the perfect to spend this windy Saturday evening.

I hope you enjoy yours as well!

Friday afternoon

2011-09-16T15:41:00.003+02:00

Tonight is another Friday Night Sew In, and I thought I’d join in. I’m thinking of revisiting my Rainbow Runner.“Rainbow?” you might think, but have a look at the back and you’ll understand the somewhat non-self-explanatory name.

The top is made from leftover blocks from way back when I first got started quilting and my material of choice was thrifted fabrics and IKEA thread in every colour known to mankind and some not even so.

I will make it into a table runner for my dining room table. My table has up till now been runner-free; partly because I kept it buried under quilting stuff for so long. Well; not any more.

Have a wonderful Friday; I’ll be back tomorrow with pictures of the table runner. And perhaps some knitting? Maybe there’s something good on the telly to keep me company while I’m stitching...

Make a Banner

2011-09-14T20:33:00.004+02:00

Not only am I a slow poke quilter, I am also a slow poke gift giver. This name banner was finished in February for my friend’s first grandson who was born in November last year. After several attempts, I finally handed over the quilt to grandma Gro last week for her to pass on to the proud parents and little boy.

A tutorial on how to make a scrappy name banner is up here. I forgot to measure the quilt though, so use any measurement you’d like, I will never know the difference and neither will you.

I’m doing work work at home and have moved my laptop into my studio this week. For some strange reason I’m less distracted residing smack down in the middle of all my creative mess than anywhere else in the house. Go figure.

Confirmation

2011-09-12T21:38:00.002+02:00

This weekend was one of the brilliant ones; 4 generations of Moens together at Lillehammer, celebrating the oldest boy in our family stepping into adulthood. And what a handsome man he has grown into.

We are all so proud of him; no one more so than his mother, my younger sister.

For the first time ever my parents got to have their 3 daughters, 2 sons in law, 7 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild in one place. A complete Moen clan and a lot of noise; we are not a timid breed, just ask the sons in law.
We also got to spend time with my brother in law’s family and my sister’s best friend and her family; all lovely people.

I chokingly delivered my little godmother speech with accompanying gifts for his way into the future; a (chocolate) gold medal so he will remember who he is (No 1), a map over Norway so he’ll remember where he comes from (and where Stavanger is), and a flash light so he can find his way through darkness. Did I say I was choking?

The youngest member of the clan was incredible patient all through the service and dinner and was having the time of his life running in the hallways with all his cousins, wearing them out one by one.
Unfortunately I was, as always, crap at taking pictures, but I have borrowed these (with permission) from my sister’s Facebook page. Thank goodness for family members who took pictures at the church and the party and more family pictures, so I’ll get copies. I’ll have to ask the proud mother to take a picture of the young man with his new quilt, because, surprise, surprise, I forgot.

Today I have been resting my pleasantry muscles (it’s hard work being so pleasant all the time!) and gotten back to work. I’ll be swamped for the next few of weeks, so there will probably not be much sewing. Unless I just have to...

See you around!

Cutting of Spike

2011-09-09T07:43:00.001+02:00

Spike is one of my slow poke quilt projects which I’ll revisit every now and then. Not being up to much of anything lately, I have been cleaning up the edges of my wacky-ish spike blocks. I’m still waiting for my meds to kick in and airways to clear up, although spending my days on the couch is not all bad as it gives me plenty of guilt free knitting time. A silver lining in shape of knitted grandchild items so to speak.

This weekend is my nephew’s confirmation, so I’ll be away from my blog for a few of days to spend time with my loved ones.

I’ll be thinking of my US friends today. Stay strong!

IKEA art

2011-09-08T07:36:00.002+02:00

I’m not very discriminating choosing art; if I love it I will buy it. Shopping at IKEA with daughter the other day I caught a glimpse of a picture and it was love at first sight. After a little search party, I finally found these guys on a shelf looking all sad and lonely.
Mixed media art, including zipper parts, beads and paint brushes.

I would love to see the original. I would love to own the original.

I would love to paint like this!
I haven’t unwrapped it yet, it’s taped to my studio wall waiting for the perfect way to display it.

Another surprise

2011-09-07T08:02:00.001+02:00

Husband came home last week from another business trip to China and when I came down the next morning another surprise box was waiting.

This time it was way too heavy to contain tea so I was a tiny bit curious to open it. Yeah. Moon cakes.

Each one weighing 185g with a sugar content of almost 40% and a fat content of almost 40%. Really healthy snacks. They do look nice though.

Oh well; at least I got another pretty box for my collection.

Make a Boob cushion

2011-09-06T07:30:00.000+02:00

No self respecting quilter would do a series of workshops, setting up all kinds of treasures and keep the needles in an ugly plastic container. At least that was what I was thinking at my last workshop and then again yesterday morning when I was sorting to the Make a Boob paraphernalia preparing for upcoming workshops. Fuelled by embarrassment I went down to my studio and half an hour of playtime later a brand new Boob pin cushion was ready to use.
The background is an orange hand dyed/painted fabric covered with scraps of yarn and ribbons and a layer of tulle. I added two layers of batting to the back and quilted it so it would keep the disc-like shape when stuffed and not turn into a badly shaped ball. I cut scraps of cotton batting approx ½” wide to use as stuffing which worked great giving the cushion the perfect body and weight (magic stuffing indeed, much unlike chocolate...).
Now my workshop needles will have a pretty place to rest and be visible among all the other stuff. I think I might make more of these; I do love playtime you know.

Thinking

2011-09-05T08:05:00.000+02:00

I’m thinking of making another of these.

This one was made for the baby of a friend of mine a few years ago and I loved playing with all those little scraps and strings and leftover triangles. I don’t know the gender of my grandbaby-to-be yet, but I need a new friendly-little-sewing-group-meeting project.

I could start piecing all those little scraps together. Yeah; I’ll start a new string quilt; I sure have scraps enough.

Rainy Saturday

2011-09-03T09:44:00.003+02:00

It’s grey and wet and windy outside, a little taste of the months ahead of us, but inside it’s warm and colourful.
I have managed to keep this orchid alive for 2 ½ years which is a mrsmoenwide record. It was a birthday present from daughter and grandson and it’s delicate and pink and gorgeous. My mother is an orchid lover and thought me how to care for them. She learned it at an orchid plantation in Malaysia. Once a week I put my orchids under the tap, letting the water run all over the soil and roots and each leaf, add a little fertilizer and leave them in the sink for a few hours to drain excess water out (my flowers are in those plastic see through containers with holes in the bottom).

There won’t be much quilting going on at my house today but definitely some creative activities with our young man/weekend companion/grandson.

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend wherever you are and whatever you do.

Finish It! Week 5 and a half

2011-09-02T07:32:00.000+02:00

The edges are finished, the corners stitched, the pictures for the fleece no-binding finishing tutorial saved in a separate folder and all that is left to do is attaching the label to the back.

I auditioned a few fabrics for the label, figuring out how dark I could go without the text getting invisible as I didn’t want the label to be an eyesore on the fleece backing. I could go quite dark actually, as long as I used a thicker marker which is good to know for future projects.
Now the label is properly fixed and pressed and I’m looking for my favourite thimble...

Have a wonderful Friday!

Festval of Quilts: Quilts

2011-09-01T08:02:00.002+02:00

Having finally gone properly through my FoQ pictures, pairing up quilts and their entry numbers in the catalogue where possible, here’s a little quilt show for you. I was very good at the beginning, photographing the sign beside each quilt, then I lost track and then I pretty much stopped photographing and just enjoyed the show. You have to make a choice at some point, don’t you; documenting an event or staying in the moment.

Anyway; I hope I’ve got the artists right:
Maggie BarberAlicia Merrett
Linda Robinson
Ruth Parker (detail)
Helen Howes
Anita Welty (detail)
Deborah O’Hare This was the quilt I was looking for which I finally found it at the end of my last day at the show. I had been watching it grow and come to life through little snippets on her blog and had an idea how it would look. The total was even more beautiful than the details by themselves and I was so happy to see it in person (if you can say that about an object at all; in quilt??)
Yoshiko Katagiri
And then I lost track of who made all these wonderful pieces or art. Sorry.
Aaaah, so much beauty in one place…

Make a Smile

2011-08-31T07:15:00.000+02:00

Inspired by brand new humans' (babies) instinct to smile at anything resembling a human face, I decided to do a little experiment using myself as a guinea pig. My very non-scientific hypothesis was that making a smile would make me smile, and sharing them with others would make them smile too. With all the hardship going on this summer it felt good doing something fun and positive.
I am happy to report that the first step worked fine; I’m most certainly smiling while making smiles, and cannot help myself smiling again looking at them. Now, others will have to be the judge of the second part; are you inclined to smile looking at these?

Make a Smile Rocks
Make a Smile Fabrics
Make a Smile Boobs
Inspired by Queen of Arts' Rock My World rocks I am planning to leave a few of those little rocks around for someone to find and I already know how I will use the fabrics. The boobs from Sundays' workshop will go into Make a Boob quilts and I have been playing with Play Doh, making smiles that last only a few seconds. I’ll post tutorials on how I have made mine in case you would like to give it a go.

I am sure I’ll find other ways to Make a Smile.

How about you?

Finish It! Week 5

2011-08-30T07:57:00.002+02:00

The Finish It! project is pinned and ready to stitch around the edges.
Yeeey; looks like I’m going to finish it on time (touch wood) (touch wood again) (ouch, our coffee table is hard).

Make a Boob at Craftretreat

2011-08-29T11:52:00.007+02:00

Yesterday’s all day Make a Boob workshop was fun with lots of lovely ladies of all ages. Doll house, embroidery and teddy bear people from all over the country gather here once a year and take classes, watch exhibitions and shop. Sounds familiar?

We set up our tables in the morning; Tone from Bitteliten broderi og dåpskjoler (mastermind behind this event) put me next to my guild buddies from Kaktus Quilts which was nice. The owner, Liz, kindly offered to sponsor the project with long arm quilting of all the backgrounds which was even better! I’ll write a separate post when we have discussed the details, but thank you so much Liz, a weight is lifted from my quilting shoulders in more than one way!!

Almost ready to go
with my impromptu sign perfectly imperfect taped to the wall
and a rainbow of colours on the table.

My stand had lots of visitors all day, and people took the time to sit down, talk and sew.
Half an hour goes by quickly when you’re doing handwork (I believe you already knew that, didn’t you) so I was very pleased with the turnout on a day like this. I had a lot of young girls joining in and was impressed by their skills and joy of sewing (and pink and bling). In more than one case moms wanted to leave but the girls wanted to stay longer to sew, and some obviously not-too-big-fan-of-sewing moms joined in while waiting.
I had a look around at the exhibit and shops before the opening, and although it didn’t look all that much at the first glance, there were so much gorgeous teeny tiny miniature (doll house size) stuff; they just don’t take up much space. Look at these little knitted garments
and tea pots
and sewing stuff
and bra (how could I not notice this when I was going to make boobs all day long).All items from Solfrids’s småting (no web page)

Daughter and grandson popped by and he and I had a look at the exhibited doll houses. I was so afraid he would touch something (think 4 year old curious boy) so I kept saying he should keep his hands in his pockets while we were looking. I was happy to see a miniature quilting shop made by former (dormant?) quilter Pat (no blog)
with a sign in the window “Help wanted”.
Maybe I should apply...

Task of the day, August 27

2011-08-27T11:27:00.006+02:00

I’m multitasking this weekend in lovely company.
A little beading. I’ve got quite a colourful jewellery collection by now which I use every day.
Making a Make a Boob “sign” from an inexpensive polyester table runner for future workshops. I’m keeping it simple; black marker letters and I’ll baste or pin on a couple of boobs. I’m thinking I’ll always have a table for setting up the stash and this sign can lay on the table with the text hanging over the edge. And it’s practically indestructible and very lightweight.
And a little rock painting.
This evening I’ll prepare the rest of my goodies for tomorrow’s all day workshop. If you should happen to be in the area tomorrow, pop by at Craftretreat at Sola Airport Hotel (open to the public between 12:00 and 17:00) and decorate some boobs with me.

Looking forward to see you there.-)

Finish It! Week 4

2011-08-24T07:46:00.000+02:00

The Finish It! project aka nephew's confirmation quilt is quilted. With the walking foot firmly attached, the stitch length cranked up to 4,5mm and my favourite green variegated Sulky Gütermann thread in the needle, the curved lines were done in just a couple of hours. Sure, there are some non confirming stitching lines in there to unpick, but all in all it’s ready for the finishing touches.

Some of you asked how I do the fleece no binding finishing and I’ll take a few shots and do a little tutorial as I’m working my way through this one to show you.

The last few days have been somewhat slow as I have been sporting something not too pleasant in the old windpipe. Husband has been away on a business trip so I didn’t even realize my voice was pretty much gone until I tried talking on the phone the other night. I’m sure he’ll regret going away; it’s not every day I’m this quiet...

Hearts

2011-08-23T08:07:00.001+02:00

The latest issue of Quiltemagasinet is out and so are my "Hearts" pillows and table runner. They even made it to the cover.
Usually I’ll wash anything that goes into my quilts (except of the batting; and thread obviously), but there are a few unwashed reds here which accompanied me home from Vestlandstreffet last October and they did not even hit the laundry room floor before they were chopped up for this design. Maybe it’s time to buy some of those colour catchers; these babies will have to get washed sooner or later because I plan to use them.
I loved working on these and had to exercise some serious self control not to blog about it; just showing sneak peeks here and there. I enjoy those little peeks on other people’s blogs; I like to see what they are working on. Presents or patterns or exhibition pieces; little snippets of information and pictures of details are all good in my book. I actually managed to find one quilt on the Festival of Quilts from the little sneak peeks I had seen on the artist’s blog, but that’s a story for another post.

A sea of organza

2011-08-22T10:13:00.003+02:00

is what you get when you wash and tumble dry a piece of embroidered organza.
Don’t you just want to dive in...

Finish It! Week 3

2011-08-21T15:51:00.004+02:00

No one here , nothing here;
it’s the perfect basting day (I know; sounds kind of Thanksgiving-ish)
leaving a generous edge of fleece around the top for a non binding finish.
Just a few threads to snip
and ready for quilting. Tomorrow.

Exhaling

2011-08-18T12:56:00.004+02:00

These last few post-Festival-days have been spent with family, catching up, and sleeeeping. I haven’t even gotten around to uploading the pictures from the trip although there are surprisingly few of them. My friends and I will share all our pictures so I’m counting on having quite a few more after we meet up the first Wednesday in September. Anyway, Festival posts will be coming up soon.

I have also done a little light knitting, and with little I mean teeny tiny baby sizes because I’m going to be a grandmother again in the spring. Yeeey, another grandchild to love and spoil and for who to create soft and warm and cuddly stuff (insert happy grandma-grin here).

For the next few days I’ll hopefully get around to do some work on the Finish It! project before the week’s over (which would be on Sunday according to my books so plenty of time; pressing the top properly would do just fine), I’ll be planning a Make a Boob workshop at Craft Retreat 2011 at Sola Airport Hotel on the 28th, and I’ll be spending the weekend with grandson.

I have also been notified that my Dream Rocket panel “Comfort” will be exhibited with other dream panels at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky from today and until October 27th so if you’re anywhere around there you should see the exhibit.

Have a great day!

Back home

2011-08-15T15:30:00.001+02:00

feeling like this

Something new

2011-08-10T07:05:00.001+02:00

I’ve wanted to start a new project for a while. Low key, easy, no obligations, playing it by ear.

Some of my ingredients al natural
and some of them drying after a couple of layers of paint. Soft pink, light blue and bright yellow. Just a couple of steps left before I can do a proper presentation.

I am leaving for Birmingham this morning and will be back on Monday, sore footed and tired and all. Yeeey.

Finish It! Week 2

2011-08-09T07:43:00.002+02:00

I’m happy to say I have finished the top; just a few threads to snip and some pressing to do and it will be ready for quilting as soon as the backing fleece is dry.

Not rushing even a bit, I removed one column at the time from my design wall, pressed the seams and stitched them together
emptying out quite a few of the blacks in my wheel-of-almost-empty-bobbins in the process.

The columns were made without a design wall and no matter how many times I rearranged them the colours and fabrics would not spread as evenly and lovely as they did in my head. Oh well; adding the top and bottom strips I did my best to balance out some of the most prominent colours like the acid greens and left the rest. All in all, I love it.

Working with these fabrics brought me back to when I first cut the pieces. I was making a family quilt for, at the time, grandson-to-be’s christening and collected hands (traces, not the actual hands duh!) from his family members way before he was born. I had planned a blue & turquoise quilt but daughter wished for a green, more of an army colour scheme, so a greenish & turquoise quilt it was. With all the time in the world the fabrics were ordered, washed and cut (including the pieces for nephew’s quilt); the hand prints transferred onto fabric; the background grew (and grew) very nicely on my wall. I had no idea how big it had to be to make room for all the hands, but all good; still lots of time to finish before the big day. And then I got a bad case of pneumonia and was flat out for weeks. The quilt got finished(ish; the binding got basted on) the night before the christening without any need of non-human heating in the sewing room. Thank goodness for my co-grandma or there wouldn’t have been much of a party at all.

The quilt has grandson’s name (edited out thanks to Paint) and all his birth info and hand prints on there; some appliquéd and some quilted, and hangs over his bed at home.

(Sorry about the crappy picture; it was a late night and grandma was exhausted)

The family quilt for my next grandchild-to-be will have less fussy appliqué shapes for one thing...

Knitting the news

2011-08-08T08:04:00.000+02:00

I have picked up my knitting needles this summer. Usually I never knit this time of the year, but well, unfortunately it hasn’t been that hot.

This blanket got finished about a week ago after the news marathon. Having something to keep your hands busy watching the news for a weekend is a good thing.
It’s about a square metre++ big and made from my favourite wool yarn. The greys came from this sweater-in-progress-now-frogged (yup; I have spent a lot of time on Ravelry lately and now speak fluently knitting) and pinkish leftovers from last winter’s hat extravaganza.
I cast on 3 stitches and do garter stitching while increasing one stitch at the beginning of each row until I cannot take any more stitches and get bored. Then I continue with the garter stitching while I decrease one stitch at the beginning of each row until I have 3 stitches left. Easy breezy soft and warm.
With the freezing temperatures of last winter in the back of my mind I’m thinking leg warmers and new woollen socks for the little feet in my life. Who in their right mind prepares for winter in the middle of the summer? No, wait; I don’t wanna know...

Breaks on

2011-08-07T19:51:00.003+02:00

It’s not the first time it has happened to me and will probably not be the last time either, but all the should-have’s in my life are becoming a bit overwhelming. The feeling will pass soon enough as I slowly get back into the rhythm of everyday life, but still, I need to remind myself why I’m doing this quilting thing. It’s to relax, have fun and enjoying the process. Sure, I do enjoy the products as well, but I don’t want my quilting life to be all about them.

Browsing the web last night I read a post about Slow Poke Quilters at Momma Made This and added my name to the list. Many, many, many of my quilts are made a little by little; one step at the time, a few blocks here, some strips there (you’ve seen my posts...), and I like it like that.

So, with Slow Poke Quilting in mind I’m heading down to my sewing room ready to start assembling my nephew’s quilt, thinking about the lovely young man he is and all the wonderful time I have been so lucky to spend with him. He’s a star and very well deserving of one of his aunt’s quilts.

Everydays

2011-08-05T07:32:00.003+02:00

My favourite days are the everydays. I know it’s not a word but you know them, those days that you basically do ordinary everyday stuff. When my daughter was little we used to celebrate Wednesdays, doing something fun with friends or dining out or crafting or other fun things. Our lives were so busy, so we held on to our Wednesdays for years and years.

Of course life has changed a lot since then and I’m still quite happy with my usual everydays. Now that husband doesn’t work 7 days a week anymore, my weekends have changed too. Grandma weekends have become grandparent weekends and we have been better at getting out and about. Last weekend we took a trip on one of the beaches one day (Pictures taken at Sele)

and watched the Tall Ships' Race participants leave Stavanger the other. (Pictures taken from the breakwater at Mekjarvik)
Aaah, I can smell the sea and hear the angry bird chasing me off as I got too close to her nest.

This last week has been wonderful spending a whole week of everydays with grandson. As much as I’ll miss him when he goes home today, I know his mother wants him back.-)

Paint Day

2011-08-04T07:43:00.001+02:00

I invited daughter and grandson over for Paint Day a couple of weeks ago but I got too carried away painting and forgot to take pictures while we worked.

A double page from the Portuguese calendar; lots and lots of painted layers looking quite mushy mush from afar
but with bright little speckles of colour and light everywhere.
Just like life.

A new Finish It! project

2011-08-03T07:36:00.000+02:00

I did not pick this one though, it picked me. I have been listening to its little voice crying for attention in my studio all summer. I even had to turn up the volume on the telly to tune it out in the evenings. In all fairness I should tell you that I usually keep the volume really low so the voice wasn’t that loud.

Anyway; the almost completed columns have been hanging on my new tablecloth design wall for weeks, the poor things just waiting to be pressed and stitched together to fulfil their destiny of being something soft and wonderful.

The natural light in my studio isn’t great so the rich greenish colours look quite grey and sad.
Well, they won’t be from now on. I will finish this quilt Finish It! style; making progress and posting it on a weekly basis. It has worked for me several times before so I’m counting on it helping me finishing in time for my nephew’s confirmation in the beginning of September.

Here I go...