This is the only thing I'm working on these days - weird birds! And I don't even like birds. Maybe that's why they look so distorted? To me, they're Mexican Wrestling Birds.
I'm thinking I will make them into plushies as well. That'll be cool.
I got my IKEA Ektorp corner sofa bed in white and I just love it!
I even got some of my art up - put it there myself, thank you very much. Shannon's gorgeous girls and Jackie's amazing lino cut prints, all of which I will love forever! A little piece of art by my son and a frame my daughter decorated. Also my own painting. The one that has gone bad from using the kids paint....duh!
Anyway, I am very pleased about our apartment so far and I hope to "finish up" pretty soon. I know I will always get new idea's for decorating, but for now, I would just like to be done....
I recently bought some new paint. See I've been using the kids poster paint and it is not good! The paintings I already made looks awful now...bah! I also got some new canvases and took a look at my Great Grandpas old paint box - isn't it marvelous? A lot of my ancestors have painted at some point in their lives and my Grandpas brother was living as an artist - I like that, I'm very intrigued, but I don't really need a new hobby, now do I?
(The "owl-Christmas-tree" print is made by Elisabeth - I SO, so love it! I will buy a black Ribba frame for it in IKEA and hang it on my wall - can hardly wait!)
This little family has left for Seattle. Please go give them a hug, from October 12th. (and one month forward), at Schmancy Toys, if you're in the neighborhood!
Work in progress for the superswap! I'm in. I've (finally) used some of the freezer paper, which Tracy sent me a loooong time ago. I'm making a softie Sonic and a tiny Lucky Luke pillow for 2 French boys. Afterwords it'll be time to make something for their Mama.....
Some elephants for my etsy shop. Dawn just sent us the LOVELIEST package, which I will share with you next week, but for now: She sent along some vintage papers, that immediately inspired me to make these!
(The top right one, is wallpaper from Rebecca though and the bottom left, is wallpaper for my daughters room!)
To brighten up my thoughts, the book came! I was so surprised to see that my bunny made the front page!! The book will be available August 13th. I will find out where before then.
I am in such good company. I am very honored to be among such people as:
They are just a few of the 14 designers from around the world, who have submitted patterns for this lovely book.
Take a peek inside here.
I want to thank you all, for taking the time to comment on my "troubled thoughts". I really appreciate your thoughts, suggestions and support and I know a lot of us are in the very same situation, so I wish you the best of luck as well.
I also want you to know, that we are not starving, without a roof over our heads or without clothing. The thing is that we downsized, when we chose for me to stay home with our daughter and now that we've been stretched for so long, we miss the luxuries of a car to get to visit friends and family. Finish our house, so we don't have to live in such disorder, as one does during house renovations. Travel to other countries. Go to museums, events, concerts, whatever. All this without having to "turn every penny".
As you can see, my troubles are very luxurious....
My plan is, here and now, to do various odd jobs to get us afloat.
While doing so, I will continue to craft and get my etsy shop running, for it to (later) turn into a regular on line shop, with other products than my own. I hope the new book and my participation in Plush You, will give me some notice aka more costumers ;o)
In the long run, I intend to try to do some interior styling for magazines. You see, some of the great advice I got in my last post, came from Sue:
I was totally in the same situation. Here is the advice that someone gave me. Take some time and really think back to your childhood. Start with your earliest memories and work your way through each year of your life. Remember times that made you happy. Think about what you were doing that made you happy. Keep going through the years and jot down on paper everything that made you feel glorious. There is a connection between those times.....and what inspires you today. It will come to you....it will....!
My happiest times were making houses for my Barbie dolls. I would knit, sew and collect odd things to make homes for them.
This advice will keep me thinking though....
My son thought I needed lessons in how to draw odd animals. I had quite a good time, but never really was as good as him.
The giraffe and paper cuts, are for a swap with Dawn - yay!
I thought it was time to catch up on the Danish parenting-magazine-scene. As I haven't bought these for a while, I thought I would see if they had some new designers for fun toys, interiors or funky clothes, but to my huge disappointment there was nothing new to report, apparently. Instead I enjoyed my "koldskål" with "kammerjunkere" and my daughters art.
The kids were both home today, so we had some "slow time" and a little crafting going on. My son has asked me for the longest time, to sew him something, so after he saw the Bunny Bed Bag - he was sold! That's what he wanted, except for a little twist and turn, here and there!
He surely has an opinion for everything! Of course the overall look of fabric, animal and style but also, he made it very clear, that he wanted me to use the right color thread. What type of handles the bag should have, which he thought hard about and wavered between a few options! The size of the pocket inside. The size of the beak on the penguin. The shape of the FEET of the penguin. And so forth. Phew. At one point Mommy wasn't having that much fun!
We worked around a penguin - the one to the far right - from an old MS Kids magazine and even though I had some similar fabric, the boy said "dark blue, orange beak and feet and white belly!" For the bag he was very excited to see that, I had both dark and light blue Rasmus Klump fabric. The light one went for the bag and the dark for the pillow and quilt inside.
Now he's on to fish for the penguin, but that'll be another day......they will be orange, he said....right now my husband is tucking both kids in and I like that.....
Dull wrapping paper sure gets more festive with a card from Rosa!
We're going to a little girls Birthday Party today and I decided, that she was getting the bunny I made for Softies, since my daughter loves hers so much. I made a tiny *Bed Bag* for it and a pillow and blanket. I like how it turned out.
Full size photo here.
Yes it's time for the Friday SHOPdate in my etsy shop!
A Moomin tote bag and the 2 Cone Cats I just got back, from their Australian photo shoot adventure. They will (along with their patterns) appear in the Australian book Softies, which will be out in September. I also submitted this bunny.
*OK, the Moomin Tote was sold before I even finished this post!
Now, I thought I would've made a few more tote bags, but I got sidetracked by Open Secrets, which kinda reminds me - scenery wise - of my favorite show at the moment: Men In Trees. The book I ordered along with this book, at my local library recently, after reading that Tracy was reading it! See I can take Tracy's word for recommending a great read, because I once saw she had listed The Time Traveler's Wife in her sidebar and I looooved it! Thanks Tracy. Oh and when I had finished Open Secrets, I dove right into Hateship, Friendship.....
Anyway, back to the update (see I do get sidetracked!!!), next update will be next Friday.
This tote bag was supposed to be up in my etsy shop today, but while I was fumbling with uploading the images, Rosa had already snatched it up via Flickr! I have fabric for a few more and will hopefully make some next week. I plan to update my shop every Friday with the goods I make during the week.
The last time we went to Paris, I bought this fabulous book about very chic boutiques in Paris. In it I found a papier maché woman (bottom left) and loved it! I really wanted to find out about this person who made it, but the book doesn't say anything about it or who made it, as it is simply a decoration from "Trèsor by Brigitte Masson."
Then a few months back someone leaves a comment in my Flickr pages and I take a peek at who it is and Voila! There she is - my papier maché woman! I also see this bunny mask and remember it! Weird I think and go and read about Dominique Donois and just have to contact her. She is SO inspiring. It turns out we already spoke before, as she left me a comment here about her show at Pomme NYC, which is why I remember that darn mask! Well I just had to share her, in case anyone was looking for her too....hope to see her the next time we do Paris....
For more of her work, visit her agent, click "portfolios des artistes" and then Dominique Donois.
And check out her Papier Maché set at Flickr.
When you go of to Kindergarten you need to bring a lot of stuff:
Diapers, complete set of clothes, rain boots, rain coat, rain pants, indoor shoes, extra shoes etc, etc.....
So Mama had to make a new bag! Back side. I made it out of another Moomin dishtowel and pillow cover. Now - of course - Big Brother wants one too. But not quite like it. A little cooler. Maybe more sporty and definitely other colors. Oy...
MILK magazine - a great book and some coffee in the Moomin mug, that Annu sent me as a sweet summer surprise! The sweetness of people - I'm amazed.....oh! And check out my use of the coasters that Amy sent me: Lids! To keep bugs and thirsty cats away. They WILL drink my water!
Then time for a little break in the sun, with some fab magazines - do love
I also made these 2 softies today - don't ask me why - I've had the fabric for a while and wanted to try this. They turned out OK, but the cow was sewn together with the back side fabric reversed - so me, so very typical of me! The pearl art was by the kids (of course) and the jar is a thrift find from Holmegaard.
I thrifted this button-down shirt a little while back, because I liked the pattern. I just don't wear button-downs.
I decided to add some trim and a belt to spice it up. I like the result. More me. More Wardrobe Refashion.
My 10::10 project of the week was Bird Cards. I haven't done that many through time and the ones I have made have been either sent or given away.
I originally had 6 cards ready to stitch, but 2 got messed up in my machine.
The pink one below is one I made a while back and its been hanging in our living room, but when I found some pink frames, I decided it should be for my daughters room.
See the pink Russian Doll hanging on the white frame? Sabine sent it to me, as a neat surprise. The pink elephant is from the sweet Alicia.
"The Four Seasons" poster in the white frame, was made by Dorthe Mailil.
Here my daughter is sporting her new Moomin dress. I made it from a pillow cover, that I got from Paivi. Who by the way, is still waiting for her end of the swap. A-hem. The worm, which she prefers to call snake, is the one I started on for her. We both got impatient and I ended it a bit to soon. She is also showing her love for the walrus, her Daddy brought back from GREENLAND. Yup he went there for 4 days to work on some machines. That's all I know about that!
And YES! We got a bunny. Today. He (or she?) was promptly called Mumle - as in Mumble from Happy Feet. He is loving his new huge home (used to house this big fella) and we have one HAPPY boy, loving Mumle.
Emma suggested that I actually SHOWED you guys the pillows already I made! SO since I made the last one today (for our bed), I thought you'd like to see a peek of our nook. I used all vintage fabrics for the front and linen for the back. I did 2 types of closures. 2 in envelope style and 1 with ribbons at the bottom. The quilt is handmade and a thrift store steal at $10,- Love the colors.
The cat is for tomorrows 10::10 project (see the back of it here). It's made of Moomin fabric from a pillow cover, that Paivi sent me, among other goodies I'll show you later.
After seeing the pillows, my son stated that he wanted pillows "with something on them!" Hmmm....no solids? So he's been browsing my fabric stash for quite a while now. Wanting a mix of EVERYTHING. Mama doesn't approve, but want the kid to express himself. I'll "guide" him a bit in the right direction though. His pillows will be up next.
Found some inspiration in an issue of selvedge, from Poppy Treffry (loving her name). Check out her shop if you are into embroidery.
LOVE these pillows!
Yvonne sent me the fabulous ariadne at Home kinderen, which is full of inspiring images - don't speak the language - of interior design for kids rooms. I also found a great deal of softie inspiration: Check out the dog (top right), the robot softie on the bed (top right) and those super soft looking kittens (bottom)! I'm not working on any softies right now. Well I made a cat out of some Moomin fabric (more on that in another post), for my 10::10 project to show you Sunday, but nothing else. See I'm making pillows. A LOT of pillows. I just bought 12 pillows, that I have to dress! We made a veeery long bed for our son, that I want to make 5 large pillows for. We also got ourselves a tiny alcove, where we could just barely squeeze our bed into. I thrifted me a wonderful quilt for it, but I need some pillows to lean up against, while I read. That's 3 more. Then I got 3 for my daughters newly painted, very pink bed. It used to be her big brothers bed. She sleeps in his bed though, it's long enough for both of them. That was 11 pillows. The last one is for a wooden toy box with a lid, in my sons room. We have some left over foam mattress and I never made the box seat that comfortable, so I'll be upholstering that as well. Then there is the wallpaper I never did in there. Why is that so intimidating? Geez the To-Do list is long. I did finish 2 pillows. Two. Luckily when my daughter starts Kindergarten June 1, I'll have a few hours a day to get things DONE.
All washed and ironed. Ready to sew.
Top 3 are for bedroom/alcove.
Flowers for the girl.
Solids for the boy.
Linen for the back of all of them.
I've been knitting in the garden today, finishing up my puppy. We've had the most wonderful weather this weekend and have been enjoying it to the max!
We've been in the garden, rearranging a few things to make it more "kid friendly" and pleasing to the eye ;o) First we removed a huge pile of dirt from our backyard to our front yard. Not a pretty sight, but we actually just piled it on top of the existing pile, that is helping our house to look like shite.
This is our new and improved bonfire place, the kids playhouse (which we moved quite a bit!), their slide in the background and the "tree house" my husband built for our son - baby sis can't get up in it.
We also moved this beech, so now we're crossing our fingers, that it doesn't die....
Oh and I sent this sweetie to Elisa in Italy, who is having a baby girl! And as you might remember, I sent some wooden dolls for Carols Made For China project and LOOK, the little girl is holding my dolls!!!
Also, I applied for Plush You 2007 and Kristen returned with this post - do you think I'm in?
Phew! I managed to make 10 Elephant cards for my 10::10 Project this week. TEN!
I've tried to make them a bit different, using some solids, instead of pattern in pattern. Does it work? Yes or no?
Next week I'll knit a dog. Hopefully I have the time to make ONE, with Easter coming and all.....not gonna make 10 of those. Unfortunately.
I've decided to do a "little" project. The plan is to do 10 projects in 10 weeks. I figured I could manage a project a week? I want to get back in crafting gear, so to speak, so I came up with this idea. The catch is that I have to use what I have, except for times when I run out of thread or doggie eyes.
I've made a list of things that I want to make and each week I will pick a new subject. Here it is in random order:
I hope to post a finished project every Sunday and to mark the end of my 10::10 project, in the beginning of June, I will set up a little shop where I will sell the goods. Sounds interesting? 'Course I hope to do more than ONE thing a week, but to keep my spirit high, ONE is my goal.
June also marks the beginning of my daughters new life - Kindergarten life that is - and my new life. What ever that'll be. Maybe I should aim for 10 projects a week, so I can make a living out of it and pay for my Sweeties Kindergarten?
Here's some W.I.P.: A knitted snake for my daughter and stitchery for a pillow. The "Four-Blossom Flower" is from this book, that I borrowed at the library. Lots of inspiration and "how-to's" for a beginner like me....
These 10 Chinese girls went to Carol's Made For China project and I can see they already arrived! I think it's such a great idea. I just had to support it. Carol's sister has adopted a little girl - Jane - and will be going back to China in late March to visit orphanages. Carol then planned to make 325 little gifts for her, to take along and give to the kids there, since they don't have anything. She asked if anyone was interested to help her and if you take a look through her "pages" and "loot" - I would say a lot was interested in supporting such a great project! If you're super fast, you can still contribute, as she will need the gifts by March 20 th.
I've had some more packages going out of here lately. Since Amy send me such sweet gifts I wanted to send something back. She has 2 boys, so I made a blue giraffe and the boat elephant for them all to enjoy!
My daughter has had an imaginary mouse for a long time. Now her big brother would keep saying: "But there IS NO MOUSE!" So I had to make her one. And one for her brother. And he insisted on lots of cheese!
Then my Mom called me one day and asked, if I could make a present for one of her friends, who just had a baby girl. As I was in the making of the giraffe pattern, I told her she could get one of those. She gladly agreed.
Now I couldn't just make a giraffe and not an elephant, could I?
(The wonderful fabric is from a swap I did way back with Rosa.)
My son is on winter break this week, so we just hang out with friends (lotsa coffee, knitting, talking and non-talking!) and family. We are having one of the kid's cousins here today, for a sleep over. They are keeping themselves busy!
I've been working on a giraffe Softie pattern, to match my Giraffe Collages and just remembered the whole heard of giraffes, made by Cotton Strudel. They are simply adorable! When I get my pattern right, I want to make a few in the vintage fabrics shown below.
As you can see, I have received the Boden and MiniBoden catalogs - and filled them with little post-its (from Sabine), on the pages of interesting things. As you can probably tell, I find the catalogs very interesting! I keep flipping through them....
I will definitely get the silver (Birkenstock look-a-like) sandals for my girl and the 2 t-shirts for my boy! He loves crocodiles (very Dino-like) and playing the Foosball Table at school. Couldn't be more perfect.
What to get for myself? Most likely this top, with this skirt and these sandals! I need an outfit like that, don't I? Not for kids. Can't wear white. AT ALL! Ever.
My son loves Dino's. A lot. He has been begging me to make him a Dino for ages and we finally got to it. He started by drawing his favorite - at the moment - dinosaur, which is a flying saurian. I then re-drew it (as I know which one he was talking about), to make it easier to do a pattern for.
He then chose the fabrics and buttons for eyes and Mommy got to work! It was such a blast. I think I'll do some more. Actually my Mom wants one too!!!
I just bought these 4 "Simplicity Crafts" patterns on ebay and my son is super exited. And I'm in for a lot of work!
I found the road sign at Dinofarm and I think it will be good, for when he gets his own room. That might be sooner than you know ;o)
While looking around for Dino stuff, I stumbled over these stuffies - are they not cool? I have a thing for Bisons - I actually cried when I saw some at a zoo a few years back. Don't know why.
They are from Aardvark to Zebra. You just HAVE to check out the Moose Plaque too!
My Mom wanted something colorful, to go with her some what neutral/earth toned living room decor. She has a dark painting by my Granddads brother on the wall, which has an orange dot on it, so I tried to work with that. The "Funny Lady" I took from my etsy shop, but the scrap collage I made with Julie's long layer tile in mind.
I made the pillow using Denyse Schmidt's "foundation-piecing method" which I also used for my scarf. I'm very pleased with it and happy to be using some of the fabric scraps, I have been given from all over the world.
I had me a little unauthorized blog break there, didn't I? I have been in my head lately and this weekend, I was left to myself for 3 whole days!
These fellas and their patterns, I made for an Australian book on Softie patterns, that will be out later this year. You might remember the bunny? Now regarding patterns: A lot of you have been asking me about the Knitted Dog Pattern. I am not allowed to share it all over the world - sorry - (it would also take up quite a lot of my precious time!), but it's from an old Danish book by Lis Albrectsen. You might be able to find it or her somewhere. I think I've seen her work in German books too and Rosa told me she has it in Spanish!
Here's a peek at my ever growing Moomin Mug Collection. I have 12 now! And I sooo adore them.
Here I am....home....alone....
OK, ok....what do YOU do, when your left alone for 3 days???
Last year Alicia asked me, if I wanted to do a project for the Fiskars ad: "Story Journals." It sounded very interesting, so I said yes. I entered, along with 300+ people from around the world and had a very tight deadline. So with my Husband and kids out of the house, I got to work!
There were 12 questions that I had to answer "creatively," in my own expressions and on a page in a journal provided by Fiskars, with any materials I wanted.
It was so much fun! And kinda tough too. I never worked with a deadline like that before.
Here are some of the pages I entered. They will not be used in the campaign though, but it was such a great experience!
::Draw a line across the middle of the page. On the top half, express what the world was like before the advent of sewing/quilting. On the bottom, express how the world is different because of the "invention" of sewing/quilting::
::Using any means, show us what it feels like when you find an inspiring idea or visual that triggers a moment of inspiration that you can't wait to apply to your sewing/quilting::
::Show us what you are thinking and feeling when you get lost in thought inside your favorite fabric or craft store::
::Imagine your current sewing/quilting project as a person. Show us what that relationship with him or her would be like::
We had a wonderful Christmas Eve, with 8 guests - we were 12 people all together - for dinner, dancing and singing around the Christmas Tree and opening a bunch of gifts. The dinner table was set with little Lucias/Angels, hyacinths, clay cut-outs (made by my son), vintage (and some new) Christmas Tree "balls" (what are they called?) and tiny candles. All the colors were very bright and summery - hence they had to go with our dinner ware!!! We all loved it anyway ;o)
We are all enjoying the next few days of peace, with my husband at home - yay! - then comes New Years Eve at our friends house, Husband returning to work and a few more days off for my son and then everything will get back to normal....whatever that is!
This is our Advent Wreath. It has taken a while to get done, since I made all the pompoms myself! First I didn't realize I could buy a whole bag for "no money." Later I realized I like the "homemade" look better.It didn't get ready until the 3 Sunday of Advent though, but it was done and I am happy!
Merry Christmas Everybody!
I have occupied a little corner of our dining room. I was tired of having my sewing machine on the dining room TABLE. Luckily this beautiful table was given to me, by my sister in laws parents. Her Mother used it as a "hair cutting table" for dogs years ago. We got a smaller one for my son, he uses it a desk in the playroom and it is terribly messy - all the time. The other day he asked me, if I couldn't have it cleaned up by the time he came back from school! Uhm....no. He made the little angel and the cones in the window. I made the mushrooms out of hobby clay.
This is Me & my Poncho. I found it at the thrift store for $ 6,- I was SO happy, because I really wanted one and had thought of knitting one myself....even though I still haven't finished the shawl I started in the Spring!
This is some W.I.P.. They are for the Christmas table, inspired by Alicia's Lucia's.
Friday my friend - Laila - and I had a craft day with the kids. It was such a great day, with lots of fun crafts, kids playing, eating *aebleskiver* and ending up having traditional Christmas eve dinner. My Dad even showed up. (I think he could smell the roast pork with crackling rind!)
I made these 3 angels. The first 2 are paper with felt wings. The third is fabric with feather wings.
I found this photo on line of *aebleskiver* - yummy - and this Aebleskive kit! Go ahead guys. Make aebleskiver.
I made these (super christmassy) stockings yesterday, while my husband first took the kids outside and later watched this movie with them. I enjoyed it last year at the movies. It is SO good and very Swedish and very Christmassy. The whole setting is absolutely wonderful. You can even buy it at Amazon in English! One of our cats is named after the cat in this movie - Findus - he's so cute, with his little hat and pants....
By the way, my son picked out the fabric for his stocking, after I made the one for my daughter. I had other plans for it, but he disagreed! After seeing her brothers stocking with animals on, my sweet little girl cried. She wanted that too, so I had to add a little creature after wards! She was happy. Momma thought it looked better without. Oh well. I get to make a few more for a friend's kids. Then I decide entirely how they look!!
Yesterday my son and I made these. Well I made these, since he thought they where "....booooring...." I thought they were quite funny funny to make. They're from last years Christmas issue of MS Kids.
Santa will be made later. I ran out of little white buttons.
This years Christmas stockings are in the making. I plan on them looking a bit like the Denyse Schmidt Oven Mitts, but will embellish them with these fabrics and buttons.
Also in the making. For a swap with Kristy for one of her GORGEOUS Simplies. Lucky me. Lucky lucky me.
I made me a new scarf to match my recently thrifted coat. I was inspired by Denyse Schmidt's Scrap Wrap, that Carol also made and 6,5 st.'s way of mixing fabric and knitted pieces. I love her style, it's very unique. In The Crafter's Companion she gives instructions on, how to make the cutest "Zakka Style Pouch" with the knit/fabric combo as well - as you all probably know! Very inspiring. I wish I could hold her stuff. You know. Just feel it. Have a better look ;o)
