mettes pottery

2011-12-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

Meet Molly...

This little lady had her 1st birthday September 28. The weather was unusually sunny for that time of the year. We had a garden party, which I don't think we will be able to have on many of her birthdays.

It was a very girlish party with lots of flowers and a pale pink cake.

The gift from her grandparents were a little wooden pram

From my sisters family she got a little silver bracelet with flowers. It is still a little to big but i think it will fit in a couple of months...

We gave her a doll that have a wonderful hairdo... from Sebra

... and an old dolls bed that I fixed with new paint and bedlinen. The blanket is a knitted towel from a secondhand shop. It was all new and have never been washed. Probably somebody thought it was way to fine to be used...

While I was making the bedlinen out of some vintage fabric i gave some thought to what this little doll should be named... And there at the border was the answer: Molly Aase Charlotte Lundquist. It was just the right name... And of course a quick decision was made to put her name on her duvet covers... IRL Veitex is an old textile design company and Aase Charlotte Lundqvist is a danish graphic designer

The last word is as always.. Deas! She certainly is very determined and stubborn ...

2011-12-03T23:28:00.000-08:00

First came a boy and then a girl...

One of the best thing about making your own stuff is the ability to make that single piece missing.

Off course we have saved some of Seth's clothes, and all I had to do was make 3 pair of baggy trousers to go with it.

The pattern is simple with elastic in the waist and at the ankle. I constructed it myself, and it has a good amount of ease in the back to make sure the pants stays nicely in place even under a great deal of moving around....The kind of pattern any sewing mum should always have in the repertoire

Once in a while the job is not to create something new and exciting, but just sit down by the sewing mashine and just make that something missing...

The 2 patterned ones is vintage fabrics and the mustard yellow ones are made of new fabrics...

2011-10-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Pattern construction and knitting a vest for Seth…

So here is what I have been up to:

I like knitting in the same yarn . Knoll super soft from Holst garn is my favorite thin yarn.

One of the advantages of this is off course that you really get to know it very well. I use to knit this yarn on a needle size 2½ mm but have gone up to size 3 mm for normal stocking stitch.

I have made a lot of measurements on different pieces of knitting and it seems my knitting tension is very much the same. Stitches versus rows proportions are 1 row equals 1,4 stitches.

I have made a big sheet of graph paper with the exact proportions. The orange line is there to help me always keep the middle of the design aligned. I keep it all rolled up in a cardboard roll.

When I want to make a design, I first construct the pattern on see through pattern paper, and then place it on top of the graph paper with a couple of paperclips to keep it in place. I then simply draw all the decreases and increases and whatever I need to know to start the actual knitting.

For this design I just used my normal children T-shirt slope in size 110 cl. and made the armskye a little deeper.

When constructing a pattern I use a percentage system, much in the way Elisabeth Zimmermann does. I have just extended it to be used in both sewing and knitting. Normally when constructing pattern you work with increments, but I find this way more intuitive and simple. I don’t know if anyone does it like this, but it seems to function for me… The beauty of it is that everything stands in some kind of relationship to one another, and can be used on all different kind of designs. There is off course some details you have to pay extra attention to like the size off children’s heads, and so. But all in all I find it a good approach…

2011-09-06T01:19:00.000-07:00

Basics in the fridge...

I was rather tired of all these little glasses in the fridge. All different sizes and shapes which made it absolutely impossible to stack them in our small fridge and to get some kind of idea of what was really in there.

Solution: Buy 30 beautifull glasses from here and make a system that will last. Sylteglas.dk is a rather new site with a good service ( when I came to the bottom of the box they had included "free of charge" some labels...nice) So everything was put in the new glasses and now it looks better and makes it so much easier to find what I need.

Something about labelling: I have tried different things and have found out that my best labelling would be something that is low key and involves no mashines ( thats often low on batteries or missing labels... ), Also it should be easy to remove without using any chemicals. The labels that came with the glasses, should be watersoluble so one trip in the dishwasher should do it, but it doesn´t. So I guess I have to try soaking it for a little while. If soaking it evernight will not do the trick, this is not the solution. I have also tested normal labels for the printer and they actually go of in the dishwasher, but that doest´n meen it will be same after a longer period of time ( I tested it after one day... ). I have a waterproof pen that I use for labelling, and ideally the best system would be a glas of labels and the pen...so I still have to be sure about what labels to use...

What we always have in the fridge: pickled gurkins, mangochutney hot, curry paste, limepickle, anchovies, maille dijon mustard fine, maille mustard with the seeds visible, sourdough for making ruebread ( I have a reserve in the freezer if it takes to long time between breadmaking...), strawberryjam, Chipotlechili in adobo, Ajvar ( turkish pepperpaste...), mayonnaise ( preferable homemade otherwise hellmanns...) piccadilly pickles.

The glasses came with a glaslidd and little clips. This solution it pretty, but if it will be to difficult for the children to open and close I also bought some plastic lids the ones they use often ( If you are in doubt its the jams we are talking about... )

Things we occasionally have: Pesto, sundried tomatoes, other jams, different kinds of currie paste, different kind of dressings and sauces. different kind of pickles. Hommus or other type of spreadings.

2011-08-19T23:42:00.000-07:00

An announcement...

For a while I have been thinking a bit about blogging. I truly love it but I am no writer. What I like is seeing the processes I am going through with my projects or some other aspect of my life, put down on "paper" in some sort of visual account or some words that are describing my ideas...but is that not writing ?... No not really. Writing is off course all the above, but also simple good writing skills, and an urge to write... I don’t really have that. I have an urge to tell the story but that’s not the same.

All this writing is a bit difficult and a time consuming part for me and it is not really my biggest talent. There are so many little things that I have wanted to "write" about but just never did ...it is always the thought about the actual writing that gets me down...So I will make a test.

In the future my postings will be more picture oriented with a more schematic record of my thoughts and the processes in a particular project or even some thoughts about life. It will be like notes for myself that I will try to make as clear as possible so others hopefully will understand where I going. Luckily what I am dealing with isn’t really rocket science so the task shouldn’t be so difficult...

2011-08-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

Some make granny squares...

I make baby booties... I have made a little agreement with myself to never have more than one knitting project on the needles. Maybe two if one of them are in chunky yarn and on bigger sized needles, since it can be a hard job for my fingers, and it therefor can be a good thing to let them rest while knitting something on smaller needles.

Then one day a couple of weeks ago it happened.... I was waiting for some yarn to be delivered with the mail, and there I was left with absolutely no knitting project. It lasted a day, and then I simply had to start something. I have quite a stash of supersoft in a lot of colors so why not make some babybooties. One took the other and its now official... Dea will not have cold feet this winter... Fall is showing a bit here and they have allready been used a lot.

The pattern is an old well tested one, that I with the help of some mathematics have put into a formular so I am not dependent on size or yarn thickness for making it just the way I want it. Math is really a beautifull thing and still many years after leaving school I get excited about how so many things can be destilled and understood.

2011-06-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

Summer cardigan...

So you get up early in the morning... it's a little chilly outside, but the weather forecast tels you it is gonna be a fairly hot day. What to wear ? For me this is one of the solutions: Jeans, sandals, a top in a light color and the ( for me... ) essential cream colored cotton knit cardigan... Which I, of course had to knit myself...

The cardigan is knitted in Isager cotton, which is a very good and strong cotton. Lately I have been very interested in the quality of cotton. I know way to little about it, so if someone can tell me or guide me to some reading on the subject I would be happy... I tried to design the pattern so it would be logical in its shaping of the armhole and the shaping of the sleeve cap. I spend some time studying how different cardigans were shaped. I wanted to make it in a way that sewing the sleeve to the body, could be done using mostly weaving techniques.

I have just made 3 basic slips for my white cotton tops, Which was just in time for the hot weather. The jeans and cardigan can easily go more than one day before washing, but the white tops needs a washing after one day with me wearing it... This way I just get my jeans, my cardi, take a new pair of tops, and of I go... I don't really need to wear something different every day. I love the feeling of not having to worry about my clothes and I would probably feel at home wearing some sort of uniform every day. Don't get me wrong here... off course I would have to design it myself and always have the opportunity to change it whenever I wanted to... oh boy it ain't easy...

I am very happy with the design and I know it will be worn a lot. I like the look of the mother of pearl buttons with the cream color. But It's gonna be a while before I will knit in cotton again. I find it to be very hard for my fingers, since it is so slippery and with absolutely no stretch.

2011-06-19T10:30:00.001-07:00

Princess Lea hat for Dea

When my grandmother died, I inherited all of her sewing and knitting magazines. In one of them I saw this design. The design was described this way: It can be very difficult to find stylish and modern knit patterns for warm hats for girls in the age 10 to fourteen. Here is one that is both practical and warm and at the same time will make these girls feel fashionable... hmmmm... I doubt any 12 year old girls will have the same feeling now a days. Somehow today's 12 year old girls want to be sexy and cool. Once in a while I see these young girls with a lot of style, not afraid of showing that they are still somewhere between a child and a grownup... that is true beauty. But somehow I also know that these girls will become women with such a strong self confidence that they will never have to show way too much skin to be sexy...
There is still a lot of time before I will have to take this discussion with our little girl. For the record I will have to say that I too think that any 12 year old girl today, would look absolutely ridiculous wearing this hat...And by the way... Anyone wondering about the title of this post ? Princess Lea has the most wonderful hairdo, and when this hat was done we both agreed that the resemblance was quite remarkable

I adapted the pattern to fit a little girl and made the ear parts bigger than they where in the original pattern. The red part is shaped by making short rows (Such a great way of shaping... ) In the back it has a couple of cm. of ribbing to make it fit nicely to the neck. The front part is also shaped with short row knitting, and I finished it up with binding of with two threads for a strong and flexible edge. This hat really keeps the back of the neck, forehead and ears warm. I might have her wear it with a thin cotton hat under.

Once again the yarn is Knoll Super soft from Holst garn

2011-06-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

Why I make my own basics...

Some people might think it is quite absurd to make you own basics like T shirts and slips. There has even been moments where even I have been wondering... why is it that I just cant settle with the same as other people? Is my body shaped that different?... No not really. But you see I know all the answers... So here we go...

1: I have a very good pattern that has been tested over many years and has never let me down.

2: I make all my tops with the straps meeting in the middle of the back to avoid the feeling of it slipping over my shoulders.

3: I make basics individually to match a certain dress or top. If the dress is slim the slip will be slim and so on. I mark my slips in the back with a little coloured embroidery, to make it easy after washing to put together with the right outfit.

4: It takes me much less time to make these basics, than to go shopping for them.

5 I have the full control of the fabrics quality, colour and since I prewash my fabrics I have no surprises with shrinkage and therefor it relieves me from the eventual disappointments so many purchases often has given me with size and some of them even get out of shape.

6: All my white cotton tops and slips are sewn with cotton thread, so if later i need to die it in another colour the thread will also be coloured.

7: I sew little buttons on the shoulder straps, and it is then easy to attach a little loop to whatever dress or top I wear with it. This can be done with a store bought top so maybe it doesn't really count... But I just had to tell you the whole story...

Does this seem like a lot of trouble... Or do you think I am just another control freak... I just love these tops and I like the feeling, that the layer closest to me skin fits me perfect. It somehow sets of the whole outfit from inside... And also you might know that I hate shopping....

I just made three more of these to fit with three cotton tops in batiste, wich where just too thin in the fabric, so it really needed a top to be worn under it. Hurray I didn't have to go shopping for these... lucky me...

2011-06-05T10:21:00.000-07:00

A gift for John...

It appeared to be one of those knitting projects that could be knitted while watching a movie or having the constant interruption of little ones. But it wasn't. The pattern ripple rib was one of those mathematical logical ones, and even all knit and purl. Well how difficult can it be, but I am telling you, the combination of the dark yarn and the fact that the pattern was actually quite a few stitches and rows made this piece of knitting something that should be knitted in bright sunlight and with no interruptions. But here it is... and he seems pleased with it, so I am a happy girl.

The yarn is knoll super soft from Holst in the colour clover leaf. I used 200 gram and it was knitted on needle size 2½ mm.

Today I burned my left hand on hot water and later in the afternoon Some kind of irritating bug took a bite of my right hand ( well not really it just feels that way...)...so i guess no knitting tonight...

2011-05-29T02:53:00.000-07:00

Dea's 8 months old...

She turned 8 months yesterday. where did all that time go ? Not a difficult question... It went with four months of colic and some time to recover... but now I hope we are back in business. She naps about two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon leaving me some time for different projects. One of the things I had to make was a mosquito net for the pram. She even left me some time to make a little bag for it. So there it is hanging on the side making it easy to access on all these warm and sunny days (hopefully...) to come.

The mosquito net you can buy are just not big enough for this old pram, and most of them are black that I somehow just dont find looks pleasing with this type of pram. I bought some wedding tulle, measured up, and simply overlocked it all together. it is hold together at the edge with an elastic drawstring.

Most of the time I have her blanket on top of the mosquito net. She just sleeps more undisturbed that way.

The pram is really big and Seth had his nap in it till he was 2½ years old. For Seth we had one of those traditionel carrycots that have rather hard sides. Walking up and down thestairs to the apartement gave me bruises on the side of my legs. So for Dea we wanted something different and much softer. I found this bog basket for babies. It was perfect, soft and with a look that was more in style with the pram. Before she was born I made it up to date with sturdy fabric handles that went all the way around the basket. Inside I made a cover so keep her a little more protected. Inspired my the modern carrycots I made a little clasp to keep the handles together while carrying her.

The picture of Dea in the basket is from when she was 1 month old. We dont use the basket anymore for the pram, but it is still big eneough for her to sleep in, and we use it to bring when wisiting friends and we don't want to bring the pram. It is great for her. She feels at home and sleeps very well in it.

2011-04-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

Comfy jeans...

For a while ago I bought five pair of jeans, very cheap, since they were collection samples. Most of them have skinny legs and a low waist. I only wear skinny leg jeans together with long tops and dresses. Sorry girls, I just don't think they look good in other ways if you are not a size 36 and quite tall... But that might just be me getting old and laughing a bit of these young girls with a little ( or a lot...) french fries and coke fat around their hips. Luckily they put spandex in a lot of jeans now a days, but that in combination with a low waist and some physical activity makes these girls constantly pulling their jeans up in a not so flattering posture. Don't want that to happen to me, do I...

So this is what I did: I simply attached a piece of double layer rib jersey to the waist of the jeans. Now they are super comfy and super practical. So many times during the day I bend down to help a child, or pick something up from the floor. Now my jeans just follows my movements, just like a pair of leggings. That's just so nice. One other good thing is, it keeps me warm around my waist.

Inside the ribbing is an elastic band, I have secured in both sides so it won't get tangled. If my waistline gets smaller, ( read: I am working on it...), I will just adjust it a bit...

2011-03-02T22:48:00.000-08:00

The excited knitter...

And how to avoid becoming one...

What's wrong with being excited... nothing really. It's just that I see a lot of knitwear design intended for people who knit them self, that are just too much and why is that ? Well a lot of knitters are quite interresting people who wants patterns, colours and interesting techniques. But will it be wearable, or did they get carried away when choosing yarn and design? Just a quick look around Ravelry always makes me wonder... Not a lot of wardrobe stables there. That's sad... I myself am trying not to become to excited, and think more in the sense of knitting for wearing... Its a luxury to have a basic silver grey cardigan in cashmere...so why not knit that !?

A knitwear designer that does a fine job is Helga Isager. I like they way that her designs are understated but still very interesting. Her designs feels very finished like she has looked at it over and over... asking herself: "Is this it ? Is it they way it should be? Would I wear it? and what will it look good with ?". To me it seems she is a person interested in fashion and design in general, and it shows.

I have never knitted any of her designs since I mostly make my own designs, but she is a great inspiration for how I think it should be done. One day I have to knit one of her designs just have to decide which one...

Her fall collection is beautiful and it only makes me smile when I read any criticism about her designs being boring. She is very much a nice fresh breeze so needed in the danish world of knitwear design.

she applied for the danish school of design and was rejected, and just started on her own. I would love if her collections would include sewn pieces. I am sure she would do a fine job. in some of her past collections she had some clothes but I never really figured it out... Was it something one could buy? And where ?...

Here is a little look at some of the swatces I have made and my quick little sketches done with a child in my arms ( So please don't be too hard when judging them... )

Another thing that has been very much on my mind... Does knitter think about the fact that when knitting they are actually knitting a fabric. Do they ask the question how does it feel?, how will it drape ?. Does the thickness and warmth fit to the design? It doesn't really make sense to knit a sleeveless top in thick wool. It might look good but is not functional.

There are so many patterns available for knitters (Go buy Barbara Walkers books on knitting patterns...) Every single pattern does something special to all these things mentioned. Some patterns are thick and sturdy but still very open in the knitting like a lattice. So it is thick but will not drape but hold its shape like corrugated cardboard. It will look sturdy but not at all keep the wind. Do I make any sense? So now it is time to mention the most important thing in knitting a garment...swatching

Here is what Barbara Walkers write in "Treasure of Knitting Patterns - Volume 1":

"Even the best of illustrations are often deceptive , and no one can visualize the total effect of a pattern by reading it, any more than the reading of a recipe can give you the exact taste of the finished dish. it is essential to see and feel a knitted pattern before you really know how, or whether to use it."

I find that something as simple as choosing different gauge for plain stocking stitch can make a big difference and be used for great effect in the final piece.

My last word today is going to be from Barbara Walkers:

"So-don't just knit something. Knit something beautiful."

2011-02-21T04:52:00.000-08:00

Having a baby with colic...

I am so happy. We have the most wonderful healthy little baby girl. Being pregnant makes you worry... Will this baby be just another normal baby ? And of course she is just fine... BUT, She has colic...! The first three months was horrible, now it is tolerable, and it seems as if she is doing better every.

That's not really serious stuff, but it can make you rather insane. She has been crying in my arms a great part of the day.

That is quite a test for someone who doesn't like to get her mind and hands kidnapped ( If you know what I mean...). So how did I deal with that ? I got myself some earplugs since my singing would help not only Dea but also me to calm down. I tried using a sling but it still couldn't really free my hands since she moved too much around. so there was not much to do, I just had to accept the situation.

But I did find a way to cope with some of the boredom... My mood board... I simply put up little notes and ideas, make a couple of sketches and look at combinations of colours. Then when walking around I have this visual extension of my brain to look at. So I spend my time walking, organizing and planning what to do when life gets back to the normal. I change it all the time and let's just say I think my future projects will be very well planned...

Today I have to go out, get myself a pair of Birkenstocks to wear in the apartment while carrying her because my feet and legs are really hurting.

2011-02-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

Grey Cardigan...

Sorry, I have been gone for a while, but my computer crashed, not really a big problem since I had just made a backup. But you see the screen was a bit broken from one side and therefor could not be closed, and I had to make a decision. Get a new one or try to repair and re-boot the old one. After a bit of asking around, I decided It was time to get a new one. So I did and here we are...

Right now I am mending a cardigan. A cardigan that I never blogged about, but as you can guess, I have been wearing it a lot.

The design is a simple yoke cardigan with a not too narrow opening at the neck. The yarn is Supersoft bought as Holst Garn here. The main colour is silver grey and the yoke is made with a lot of shades of green. While knitting with two colours on the same row I used both continental knitting and English knitting. It takes a little practise but really makes two colour knitting easier and more fun... Thank you Elisabeth Zimmerman...

All in all it was very pleasant knitting project. It had a perfect ease for wearing over a thin cotton T-shirt and it still looks okay and well fitting. Now when my waistline is showing again I might knit a little belt in some of the green shades and maybe even one in silver grey.

2011-01-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

Something about taste...

I don't like dark chocolate... or let's say I used to not like dark choolate, but now I do... I guess it's what they call an aquired taste... We all know that it is important to let children taste a lot of different things, so they will develope their sense of taste. But really, it shouldn't stop there... I am 40 years old and I am still capable of aquiring new tastes... that's not a bad thing.

I am a coffee person but still I know that there are so many interesting tasty teas out there, and I would like to develop my tasteskills in that field. A good way to do that is to buy these little tins with just enough tea to get to know the taste.

And yes, the cans are beutifull and as empty, they are perfect for storing earrings.

2011-01-20T01:00:00.000-08:00

Lots of earrings...

I have a tendency to complicate things just a bit... Or so it might appear to other people. That's, not really what I think... As a matter of fact, I want to simplify things and in order to do that I need to know everything about the subject in order to extract the important stuff. For me that's a good way to work, but lets face it, once in a while it can be really nice to just do something without thinking too much. My father use to have this cap with the text " get the job done ". So one day I let that be the motto and decided to make some earrings for myself. I am not an expert at this, but should that stop me... no... I sat down and created a bunch of earrings thinking I might use some of them a lot, other less and some I might even never wear, but for now don't think about it... just get the job done... Now it is time to wear them and maybe make some alternations down the road.

They are a combination of pearls, semi precious stones, and some beads, my parents have brought home from their holidays. I made most of the hooks myself and hopefully in the future they will be the base for some ceramic earrings, because thats really what all the tools and wire is for... good to make some practical test on myself... like will they get angled in my hair ? ( I hate that ) How easy are they to put on ? and will they be irritating when taking a nap in the middle of the day ( The one you never have the time for anyway... ) ?

So that was that... one day with earrings... no more no less.

2011-01-12T01:00:00.000-08:00

So it WAS Christmas...

And what happened ? I guess December just goes by so fast. It seems the same thing is happening with the month of January, so who ever it is that has pushed the time accelerator, please slow it down...

I am not much of a Christmas decorator. I normally just put up some extra candles and light chains, and allow myself to splurge in fresh flowers.

But as we all know, kids love Christmas and they also love decorating, so I decided to put up a "tree" in the kids room. The idea was to make some ornaments with Seth and put that on the tree together with all the stuff he brings home from kindergarten. It was perfect. We only made what time allowed, and avoided any Christmas stress.

It started out with the mother approaching it the aesthetic way, and since she believes in not controlling kids too much, she let the child colour the leaves green, which of course ended with the child who( luckily has his own ideas ) went to get his other crayons and coloured them blue, and suddenly decided to draw some boats... I mean boats... just can´t seem to find the Christmas connection.... or is it just me...?

Now the "tree" has been taken down and a new year has started. Happy New Year everyone...

In the storage room we keep a giant roll of sturdy drawing paper, which is great for projects like this. I will let this be a reminder to never put anything on that wall, so other projects like making background for his kitchen/shop or theater will be possible.

2010-12-03T01:01:00.000-08:00

So it is Christmas time again...

I am not a huge fan of Christmas decorations. Don't get me wrong, I love entering other peoples homes decorated with candles and ornaments, but in my own home I get frustrated, it gets in my way: I have to move it all the time to wipe the table or to get some space for work. And those fresh pine branches has a tendency to start looking very sad and dusty in few days. I would rather treat myself with more fresh flowers and leave the pine outside... preferable with snow on them. But then there are the kids and of course we have to have a calender candle for countdown to the big eve. very stylized and simple things don't seem to look good here anymore. Somehow it makes our home look like we need to clear the floor for toys, the tables for yarn, fabrics and other rather colourful things. So for the decoration to blend in it has to have some of the same ( rather casual ) feeling...

So, I took a trip around the house and collected one of the old red tea tins from the kitchen, some toys from Seth's room, and some porcelain mushroom and plastic berries, I had bought a couple of days ago.

That's when I had the idea. Maybe after Christmas I should keep the decoration things inside the tea can for next year, and since I have one more of the tea cans I could make one for Seth and one for Dea and let them have some of their small toys or even a pacifier that they don't use anymore.Inside the tin could also be a little piece of paper telling the story about each of the things. If I do that the same way every year they might get that sentimental Christmas feeling about it, and isn't that what it is all about...

This year it has a spinning top bought for Seth on a holiday in Sweden, a little wooden tree from his railway set, a green pipe cleaner bought for making his
costume last years local spring feast (Shrovetide), and a little snowman that was part of a snowman bowling set (sic!!) that came as freebie with his weekly Donald Duck.

2010-11-24T23:35:00.000-08:00

Taking a stroll...

During the pregnancy, one of the things I was looking so much forwards to, was taking a stroll with baby Dea. I have such good memories of walking with Seth. It really feels good after all these hours, I have spend during my pregnancy, lying on the coach with no energy and the constant nausea... I always bring coffee, or (since this is my second child and time is not plenty) get a coffee to go and lucky for me, a coffeeshop making the best café latte ( Illy ), is just around the corner. Very often the destination is the local library. Often I leave home in the morning and return mid afternoon. Once in a while John calls me... "is everything all right ?" he says ... Oh yes, I am more than fine... He still finds it hard to believe that anyone finds walking to be such a pleasure... Some of my friends might be quite surprised if they read this as I am known for getting a little irritated when the `"lets take a walk..." thing comes up. But it is not really true. I realize now that normally I walk a lot while working in the studio and I often have my coffee outside, so fresh air and physical activity fills plenty in my life.

The pram is from an old friend ( thank you Kirsten... ) who bought it back in the 80´s for her son . The fabric of the hood had very 80´s like pastel coloured flowers which was not really my thing, so when we had Seth, I painted it and treated it with leather grease. It was fine, but after 3 years of intense use, it was not any more in a good shape. The colour had faded and it even had a hole in the hood. And this is how my brain works... off course I will just make a new one... How difficult can it be...? I will just take it apart and figure out how it was made. When one starts a project like this, you take the first step ( which in this case involved my father and extremely many tools... ) and then there is really no way back. At the same time I had the nausea to deal with. During a week when the nausea was not too bad, I finished sewing the hood. Then time went by ( with me lying on the couch ) and finally two weeks before due day it was time to mount the hood to the pram...

That's when the trouble started... Lesson number one... When one starts a project of this kind, finish it when everything is fresh in your mind and you can actually remember how to put this thing together. ... my father helped me, but all the time we ran into problems, most of them dealing with how to fix the fabric to the table when we were working on it. All the time my belly got in the way, I got frustrated ( read hysteric ) and we quarreled like fathers and daughters can do. At the same time we cracked up in a big laugh, since the situation was rather bizar...

All in all we succeeded. The pram looks beautiful and gets lots of comments on our strolls, but I am happy I don't have to do it again...

Now it is time for a walk...

2010-10-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

Meet Dea...

Here she is 3 weeks old, and tomorrow she will be 4 weeks old. In one way it seems as if she was born yesterday and in another it seems as if she has been with us all the time.

She was born the 28 th of September, 6 days later than expected. Her weight was 4040 g. and her length was 55 cm.

This first month has been hectic. All of us are trying to get accustomed to the new situation. It sure feels a lot different to get the second child than the first one. This little girl has a very different temperament than her big brother, and as a baby, she demands a lot more attention than Seth ever did... But she is just so wonderfull. I still remember that moment two days after giving birth to Seth, when I looked into his yes and fell completely in love. The same thing happened with Dea.

I have spend this first month trying to fix some of those things that weren't taken care of during my pregnancy... and believe me, that's a lot of boring and not quite bloggable stuff... But I have to tell you that life feels wonderfull again. For the last months of my pregnancy the hyperemisis got really bad again, but that is all history now, and the coffee tastes good again, I can cook and is no longer haunted by strange smells.

2010-07-08T02:07:00.000-07:00

My Christmas present...

Yes, I know this is a little late...

There are parts of my personality that is not concidered paticularly normal feminine features... one is : I don't know how to multitask... Once in a while I am incountered with a male person saying "you can do that you are a woman and multitasking is just your thing..." But no, I can't... I stick to one thing at a time, I focus and concentrate... Another is : I like gadgets. Not mobile phones ( They bore me crazy, and normally I have a hard time to remember to bring it with me, which is kind of the idea with a MOBILE phone ). But give some specific tool for the kitchen, my studio or even plain woodworking tools and I am thrilled.

This christmas I got an e-book reader... The kindle... And I was one happy girl. I spend hours reading the manual and testing and trying all kind of things. Now half a year later The things I partivularly like about this kindle is, that it has not a light screen. It uses the rather new technology called digital ink, which makes it possible to read outside in bright sunshine and also makes it very little powerconsuming ( It only uses pover when "turning pages" ). The result is this thin, cool to the touch 280 gram book, that can contain up to 1500 books. The digital ink, It is not (yet) in colour and therefor not particularly good to use for beautiful artbooks and other graphic heavy books, but for reading it is eminent and leaves you with a nice relaxed feeling of reading, that a computer just doesn't provide. But if you want to read about all its features, go check out Amazons Kindle website

I wanted to make a soft cover to protect my kindle, so I can have it in my bag and bring it with me everywhere. Some years ago I made a big piece of felted wool by knitting a big loose piece in Shetland wool on my knitting mashine. I washed it in the washing machine, and voila, I had the nicest thick piece of felt. I thouht that it would be great for this project. It was very easy and quick to make and I like the way the edges of the felt will soften over time. It has allready rounded the buttonhole to a nice teardrop shape. The big button is one I found secondhand and I sewed it to the cover with a thich warm yellow piece of cotton thread. I like the combination grey- yellow a lot. I made a tiny little bag for holding the cords and headphones ( I also use my Kindle for listening to podcasts...) I have made quite a few of these little bags, but seems never to have have eneough... I always make them with dobble fabrics, since it give it a not so floppy feeling. I always make the inner fabric white, since it just makes it a lot easyer so find the things inside than if the lining was dark. It has a dobble string system so opening and closing it is really easy.

These small, practical, pretty and nice-feeling solutions really make me happy and I am so glad, I finally got the time to treat my kindle with respect...

2010-07-05T02:03:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for baby...

Since I got to know about Elizabeth Zimmerman, I simply just knew that if we were to have another baby, I would have to make Elizabeth Zimmerman's baby surprise jacket. I am certainly not the first to do that. This design has been knitted by so many people around the world numerous times since it came out in the sixties. It is a great pattern and I basically knitted it straight from the description, but after sewing it together I knitted some extra rib on the sleeves. The main reason for to why I did that is that the design is a a little short on the sleeves, and in my little family we produce tiny people with long legs and arms ( Johns genetics... ), but the other reason is that I wanted to be able to take the cuffs down and tie the ribbon, so these little hands will not get cold. Seriously gloves for babies ? ! ...that just doesn't work

This design is knitted in one piece and gives very pleasing stribes if using all different kind of scraps from the basket. If you want to see a lot of varieties on this design just try to google ( pictures... ) surprize jacket. I didn't wanted a multicoloured one because this cardigan might be all I have time to knit for this baby, so I wanted it simple so it can be worn easily with different kind of clothes.

I am very pleased with the combination of the orange and cream coloured yarn, it is perfect for either a boy or a girl. It was also a good feeling to use yarn from my stash...

We have started to have a little babytalk with Seth. This baby is not our first child, but it is the first time we get to have more that one kid around, and offcourse we are a little worried. Will Seth be jealous ? Will we be able to love this child as much as we love Seth. All those questions are not new to parents, and I am pretty sure we will tackle it all, maybe not perfectly, but absolutely just fine.

The rattle is going to be a gift from Seth to the baby...

2010-07-02T01:40:00.000-07:00

Being a gardener...

No no, don't worry, this blog is not developing into a gardeners blog... I just have a few things to show you before moving on.

In the comments someone mentioned the word collection... and yes, I guess that's what it is all about. Finding those plants you are like getting to know them and their special needs.

Some of you might know that I grew up in a nursery, and of course I also did some work there. One of things I liked the most was seeding and making small cuttings. I still like that, and instead of going out to buy new plants the next season, I am harvesting seeds. At this moment the Pansy's are starting to look a bit worn out. I will cut them, put them outside and hope for them to bloom one more time in the fall. But first... harvesting seeds. Pansy's are not true from seeds so the ones I get next year might be a little different or a mixture of the colors, but that's part of the fun...

My dad showed me how to make these little seed envelopes out of small pieces of sandwich paper. I really like them. You can see the seeds through them and the sandwich paper has a nice crisp feeling to them. The person who invented these little wonders must have been some crazy Japanese gardener with an interest in origami, or at least that's my conclusion...

For collecting the seeds I have made some small bag in mesh that is pulled over the flower when it is starting to wither and secured with a little piece of wire. Then all I do is wait for the seeds to mature and collect into the little bag.

In the potting area, I would like to have a box containing all the tools I need, and of course the box should be beautiful and the tools nice and in good quality... So far I have made list of things I use, so I know what to wish for in a better quality and with more beauty

I have started to write notes down in my little garden book. I put in pictures and makes small plant portraits. It is really nice to look through and hopefully it will help me in planning the years to come in the studio garden and greenhouse

Last year I bought 3 Australian violets ( Viola hederacea ), and tried to take cutting from them, but it seems that the cutting where so moist that they withered away before the roots developed. My new attempt is to let them have the connection to the mother plant while the roots develope. To encourage them yo make roots have I secured them tight to the soil with little pieces of wire. I guess I am preparing for another child... The big question is : When to cut the umbilical cord...

Another thing I have done in my attempt to be a good gardener is to buy a propagator. With that I can give the little cuttings and seeds the ultimate environment for making roots and for sprouting. Like chilies that needs a very high temperature for in the soil to start sprouting.

2010-07-01T06:02:00.000-07:00

Favorites from the greenhouse...

I have quite a few flowers in the greenhouse, but looking at all these flowers, I realise that it can be a bit too much, it seems that my preferences are going more in the direction of leaves and small flowers. But all in all a nice mix is wonderful

Another thing I have to consider is the maintenance level. The plants grow like crazy in the humid warm climate. Watering all these plants is quite a work, so a water post inside the greenhouse with a hose, is really necessary. Also the withered flowers need to be removed and the floor kept somehow clean from dead leaves, flowers and insects. It is a balance because it is still a greenhouse and to some extend it is okay with a little mess when you bring nature inside...

Living fairly north it is a wonderful feeling to see the speed of growth in the greenhouse. It is like having a little piece of the Mediterranean area, and makes me dream of experimenting with things like growing lemongrass, capers and ancho chilies (my favorite chili), but, let's see. Heat is not everything when it comes to growing, the amount of light is also an important factor. For some plants the length of the season here up north is too short to ripen the fruit.

When people asked me about what the greenhouse should be used for, I kind of tried to avoid answering, since I didn't really knew. That is not the entirely truth... I had lots of ideas but as with all other thing in my life, things tend to change, other idea pop up, some stays some don't, and in the end of the process I always have to conclude that it was best that it evolved slowly. I am at the start of the journey with this project, and still thinking, testing and rethinking it all. But at least it is a lot of fun...

At the end I have to thank you for the welcome back comments...what a nice feeling

2010-06-30T01:13:00.000-07:00

I am back...

I could have called this post "How to survive hyperimesis gravidarum..." but I will not, since I find no point in telling you how hard the last 6 months has been for me - and to some extend still is. Seriously, all I want is to start actually looking forward to this baby, due the 22th September, and get my normal life back. But in the same sentimental way as the Oscars are received, I want to thank those nurses at the hospital for giving me intravenous re-hydration every Monday and Friday, and those women in the same situation, I have spend hours and hours with. There is nothing that helps more than talking to other people who really know what it is all about.

As you can probably figure out I haven't been making anything for a long time, but I have spend hours in the greenhouse, since during the spring the place was cool and calm. Some of the energy I could gather I did spend trying to make the place nice. The overall plan for the greenhouse is that it should have a sitting area, a water post, a small potting area, an espalier in the middle to create small areas within the big space, and of course shelves and tables with pots and plants. There is a door from the shop directly to the greenhouse and the plan is to have shelves with pots for sale there and maybe even other places in the greenhouse. The shelves will be of the same type as the ones in the shop so they will visually connect the two rooms. So you see there are lots of plans and also a lot of work that I cannot do at this moment...but it will come...

I bought a nice little bench from mandalay. Normally I find garden furniture used, but the last years it seem to have been more difficult to find any, and I have been in love with this bench for a while.

I thought that the greenhouse should be filled with flowers and not so many vegetables and fruits, but having spend many hours there I realize that I miss the aesthetics of vegetables. So one tomato plant and 18 basil plants have found their way into the greenhouse (I can't really eat basil now, but I am planning on a huge pesto production after the baby is born. Next year I will have a laurel bush, a peach tree, an almond tree and maybe even more. This year I bought a lemon tree, it lives in the greenhouse during early spring and fall, but stays outside during the summer.

The stove used to be in the studio, but now i have air conditioning there, so I moved it to the greenhouse. It is a really nice thing to fire it up on a cold evening.

It just started raining and I will go sit down in the greenhouse. There's nothing like hearing the rain falling on the glass roof...

2010-01-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

Wardrobe analysis - part four; Skirts...

So she said... I will be back tomorrow with something about skirts... And there was silence...

Days went by, and all I can say is there is no way I can keep posting here until I fell a lot better. So to save you ( and to me honest myself mostly ) for all the complaining, I have decided to come back when I am a cheerfull pregnant lady. I am happy about the little one to come, but right now it is all about getting by... meaning no projects, no working since my doctor has put me on sick leave, which is really a good thing, no knitting, no surfing around blogs or even cooking ( simply because I just cant concentrate )... This is me, the most boring person in the world... I try to eat... then I sleep... maybe a little walk... watch some TV ( a total new thing in my life )... more sleep... well I guess, you got the picture.

Skirts are not my favorites. Somehow they have a way of twisting and getting all out of position. But the two types shown are some I really like. The wrap around skirt I make of secondhand round tablecloths. I will show you those sometime in the future. I also like a fairly narrow A-shape skirt with a waisband and buttons down the front and with pockets.

That's all for today ( and for a while )... see you on the other side...

2010-01-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

Wardrobe analysis - part four; shirts, blouses and dresses

There is not going to be a lot of writing today... Even if shirts, blouses and dresses are some of the most significant pieces of clothing, they are also pretty easy to find. And then remember a dress is just a long blouse... isn't it ?

I would like to have good basic sewing patterns for generous fitted tops with no waist shaping, and also one for a fitted top, which leave me just enough room to make it comfortable to wear.

Once again I like a majority of long blouses and shirts and a few shorter ones. I like making personal pattern and I have especially found out that it suits me best with the waistline a little higher than normal, a wide neckline and no puffy sleeves...

All the sketches below are ment as inspiration for sewing and maybe even shopping...

Oh yes...I am pregnant... we are very happy, but I also have to underline that my last pregnancy was 7 months of nausea. I am still hoping this one will be different, even if it doesn't really look that way at the moment. I am trying to cope with it the best way I can by spending more time outside in the fresh air and eating little but often...

I will be back tomorrow with something about skirts...

2010-01-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

Wardrobe analysis - part three; knitted pieces.

You know, I love to knit... I like knitting a lot of simple pieces and a few complicated ones. The reason for that is: I knit while watching movies and even in the dark while tucking Seth ( I have to admit, most of the times John does that... ) I do love real beautifull laces and other intrigate stitch patterns, I just don't have much time for such focus demanding knitting. There was a time when I did make really complicated and colourfull knitting, it was fun making, but I didn't really wear them that much. Now I actually produce knitted pieces for my wardrobe. Thinking I need long sweaters, I knit long sweaters. That is not going to make me the most adventurous knitter, but I get to wear these my own classics a lot. Not saying that I am not craving some fancy ponchoes, cape's or really cute hats, but I still have a gap in my esential knitted pieces, I intend to fill first.

The following type of knitted garments should fit in katagories, so the vest type could be poncho, capes, tight traditional vests or oversize long vest... But lets keep it simple...shall we ?

I find it extremely important, how knitted pieces fit. If the design of the cardigan is tight, then it actually has to end up fitting me tight... This I find is the most difficult part of knitting for yourself and is mainly the reason, I work in just one type of yarn ( at least for wool...) and therefor always have the same gauge. It is like having your personal sewing slope, you can alter down the road... I think after I have knitted a good part of the below listed sweaters and cardigans, it will be very easy for me to alter and combine my patterns...but we will see.

This is my favorite type of sweater. Long enough to cover my behind and with a deep ribbed boatneck. It is knitted in fine wool gauge 30, and is perfect for wearing at "in the house" temperature. I always have a fine cotton boatneck T-shirt and a top under. I like the look of the wide neck shoving the straps from the top.

In summertime the temperature goes a bit up and down. Then you are in the sun... very hot, so the cardi goes of... (Not my favorite spot by the way...normally you can find me under a parasol or tree) Then suddenly there is a wind blowing, in the wonderfull shade... and the cardi goes on... It certainly is a lot of work being in nature... I think the best cardi for this is cotton. For dresses I like the look of a short cardigan that has to fit tightly and I think the above look could be really nice. Currently I am testing cotton yarn. It has to be mashinewashable, fairly easy to knit and should not get out of shape or make these little dots all ower as bad cotton does. I think I have found it... I will tell you more about that another time.

Not much to say about this one. Just a normal cardigan. Not too tight and with a slight or even no waistshaping.

The vest: I like layering up with vest ( well in theory at least ). I think they are a very stylish way to mix without making the look to heavy. I don't really have any of these, so here is something for future projects.

Very thick woolen sweater, thigh lenght. Mainly for wearing in the studio at winter or under my raincoat on chilly days. OH YES... I see myself happily walking down the street with a baby stroller, smiling that way only newly mothers do when it is raining cats and dogs... Oh boy how annoying...

The thick long woolen cardigan. Mostly used as a jacket on chilly summer mornings or at spring or fall when it is not to cold.

And offcourse, all the assesories; hats, wristwarmers, legwarmers and mittens. Well, It will be nice to have a few of these to just give that detail. I am especially fond of the design for legwarmers I am currently working on.

Once again I have to say... it is time for coffe and white chocolate...

Oh-my... I guess I have a lot of knitting to do...

I Will be back tomorrow with something about shirts, blouses, and dresses...

2010-01-22T06:16:00.000-08:00

Wardrobe analysis - part two; pants

Back when in highschool you just had to have one pair of jeans, lewis 501, a little to big and gathered in the waist with a nice leatherbelt. Then a pair of converse basketball shoes... Suddenly I remember my favorite knitted sweater, made by myself. Cream coloured cotton with the lyrics of Susanna Vega embroidered on it.

It's not like that anymore. I still love jeans, but I wear different types.

One thing I have never had, is a pair of black pants... I guess it just doesn't fit in.

Here is what I have figured out should be in my closet:

Jeans: Low or medium low waist. Straight legs. Light or medium blue wash. I always wear these with a blouse that ends at a little lower than the hips. I wear these with low laced up boots and even with a little cuff, or with gaucho- or high heel boots.

Light or medium coloured jeans can be a bit hard to find around here, and I just don't dare to buy them online. It is mostly during summertime I have succes in finding the right pair...

Jeans: Low or medium low waist, slight bootcut. Light or medium blue wash. These are the only type of pants, I wear with my waistline visible, and always with a simple belt in cognac coloured leather.

Jeans: Low or medium low waist. slim fit. Light or medium blue wash and one pair in dark blue. I like slim fit jeans with ballerina style shoes or low boots with legwarmers. The tops, I use for these type of jeans, are alway long, nearly a short dress, and often has a straight cut without a lot of waist shaping. I have to admit that there are few things I find less flattering than slim jeans showing waistline... The jeans have to be so narrow that they make a little ruffle around the ancle without sliding under the foot or shoe. These jeans are also the ones I use for tucking inside long boots.

Lounge pants...( by more atletic people than me, often called as yoga pants ) made of very soft cotton that should have a nice drape to it. These are mostly used for me when hanging around in the house just being really comfortable. Its my own pattern and they have a string combined with elastic at the waist. The elastic at the foot should have the excactly lenght; loose enough to fall around the ancle and tight enough to not slide under the foot. On cooler days in the summer, I sometimes use them under dresses, worn with flat sandals.

Slim pants: These are used just like the slim jeans. They are made of woven fabric in my own sewing pattern, and has a zipper in the back, and for comfort a little elastic in the sides. They make a bit of a ruffle around the ancle.

The experimental ones: Not a reality yet, but I have for a long time flirted with the thought of grey tweedy pants, maybe highwaisted and with wide and perhaps a bit short legs to go with my ballerina T strap shoes or low, laced up boots... A little Bonnie and clyde style... not quite sure yet. These defenetly call for a slim waistline, and since nothing like that is going to happen the next 7 months + this experiment has to wait...

I will be back tomorrow with something about knitted pieces. Goodnight...

2010-01-22T06:13:00.000-08:00

Wardrobe analysis - part one; basics

Last new year I made the promise to be better dressed. I started out with the shoes and I did a lot of thinking and a litle bit of sewing and shopping. Back when I was single, my clothes consisted primarily of real warm and sturdy working clothes and then fancy party clothes. Then things changed; I met John, we had Seth and somehow my preferences has changed. We do go out once in a while, but very seldom to something that requires fancy dresses and such. I had a few hurdles to overcome, like solving the "I hate panties" problem...that one is fixed. And then there was the hole shoe thing,read about it here and here because we all know it starts with the shoes. There are still a couple of shoes I haven't told you about, but they will get their own posting... Then I had a problem of making my high heels look a bit more down dressed and keep my legs warmer... Got that one fixed too... more about that later.

So I guess it is all about finding my new style... I made this wardrobe analysis focusing on what I find comfortable and at the same time trying to catagorize type of clothes, so I would never end up missing some pair of shoes to go with it or the basics to wear with it. Somehow It wasn't so difficult. I guess it was all in my head; I just needed to get it down on paper, to make ends meet.

Offcourse I am influenzed by fashion, but I believe that what I have come up with is something I can use over a long period of time. For exemple, in the future the skirt may have a bit different cut, but in the whole plan it will still be that plain skirt with buttons.

I know it will be a long story, but I will divide it into five parts, posted the next five days.

I wish there would be more blogs about low key fashion, but I guess what people want to read about is not everyday greyness but the glamour and glitter of parties and high end metropol fashion...

I hope this will guide me when shopping, but also to specify what kind of sewing patterns I really need, or, maybe more important...what I don't need.

Offcourse colours are important , but they will not be the subject in these postings...

Underwear is really nothing fancy for me. I need long tops to use under t-shirts and, well, just about under everything. When I say long, I mean long... they have to be able to reach the point of my thighs, so when I wear them tucked in my pants they will not slip out everytime i move or bend over for some toy or whatever. They can be hard to find, but since I buy a lot of my basics through H&M I normally buy two identical tops and make one out of it by extending one with the lowest part of other. I have a sewing pattern for this type of top, but really I can't make it any better, so it is just to buy...

The little slipdress has a slight A-line and is used for wearing under dresses trough summer ( especially whiter ones). It is my own pattern and the shoulder straps are attached in the middle of the back to prevent it from sliding down. I make it in cotton jersey with 5 % elastan But I would definately consider making some in silk jersey. These I also use to sleep in and for those homedays where you don't want any guests.

Then there is all the T-shirts... what did people wear before T-shirts !... I only use v-necks and boat-necks, and ofcourse, short sleeve versions of both of them. I have yo say H&M once again. I know their fittings and they hold up pretty well in the wash. The boat-neck I normally just buy as a plain-neck T's and then just cut it the way I like it, leaving the raw edge, simply because I don't really mind it. I have good tested patterns for these, but mostly use it for special fabrics like silk jersey, or thin woolen jersey.

Stockings and socks. I like to have kneelong machine knitted thin cotton stocking when I am wearing jeans with long boots. I like the feeling of the cotton towards my legs and the lining of the boots. Ancle socks for working in the studio: They are cheap and easy to find and I fold them over the leggings, I am always wearing under my working pants. Thick woolen ancle socks ( well I do knit those myself ) for those cold days at home. Planning on some more colourfull ones using Elisabelt Zimmermans moccasin socks with retreatable soles. And real long thick ones for using inside rubberboots.

The "I hate panties" problem was solved last summer. Read more about it here

Leggings I don't really concider being pants. I have never liked them. When they are a bit short and worn with slippers, they look really cheap. In my wardrobe they are used for ekstra warmth under pants at winter or as stockings together with socks preferable in the same colour and with legwarmers to hide where the sock and leggings meet. I have my own pattern for leggings and normally make them in thin woolen jersey, I dye in the colour I want.

I will be back tomorrow with something about pants...

2010-01-19T05:43:00.000-08:00

Me and my watches...

When I met John something new entered my world: Vintage watches ! I had no idea anyone could have so many opinions or even words about watches. I am not completely taken over, but I certainly look at them in a different way. Another fun part is that we both wear our watches on the right hand, and that is even long before we met each other... strange, or just ment to be ?

And he wears gloves when driving (the watch here is neither vintage or his favorite brand Rolex, but a daily beater; a Omega)...

So It didn't take long before he gave me a Rolex Oyster Perpeyual Explorer. This is what the officia rolex site says about it: "Rolex Oyster Perpeyual Explorer made an auspicious debut in 1953, after Sir Edmund Hillary’s
successful ascent of Everest. Since then, these robust Oyster Perpetual
chronometers have demonstrated their dependability far and wide, defying the
most extreme conditions." I like the extreme condition part knowing that I can wear it at the studio without beeing worried that it is a nice thing. I always wear it with some piece of jewelry to give this toolwatch a feminine touch.

This is my other watch and a complelely different one. For me this is used as any other jewelry, but it is fully functional, even if I have to set the time and wind it every time I use it. I have it in a golden leatherband but I am looking for a sturdy silver necklace for it instead... why silver ? I just like the fact that it doesn't quite match.

I love technical drawings and have seen so many beautifull ones of watches but somehow today I had a hard time finding, so you just have to trust me on that one...but don't you love the airplane ?

Chronograph watches has the same aestetic quality as blueprints or technical drawings, so on my wishlist is a chronograph with a light coloured dial with telemeter and a cognac coloured leather ( strap )... - with white seaming.

I looked at a lot of chronographs today to kind of figure out what I like. I like the marine one for the colours and just because it is a bit funny. Some I liked for the thin red lines or hands. One I liked because it had a spiral. Another for its beautifull double line and the green togeter with the cream colour. But I also found out that I am not much for roman numerals, normal time markings are more my thing. If it is gold or steel was not so important. I kind of like both for this type of watches.

This last picture, I can't really remember where I found it ( So if it is yours, please let me know so I can credit ). I put it here because I would love to wear a piece of jewelry with the chronograph that somehow echoes the lines and forms of the watch.

Thats all for today. Time flies but now it is time to go...

2010-01-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

Seths' anorak...

I find it very hard to find outerware for children. Normally they are loaded with way too many details, little prints, a ton of zippers and on top of that they are way to thick for our climate. I just want it simple, and I wanted a big pocket in the front for gloves so they won't get lost. Back in September when I started looking for a jacket for Seth, I just couldn't find one, so I had to get back to the sewing machine and make one. Now I am pretty happy because next year I don't have to spend hours trying to find one, I will just make it, which in the end is probably just as time consuming, but a lot more fun and definitely more satisfying.

I pair it with a big chunky sweater beneath for ekstra warmt, and the plan is that he can wear it this spring as a light jacket without the chunky sweater or just with a lighter one.

I made a zipper in the side so it would make it easyer for him to take it on and of. At the zipper I attached a little pool ball (number 2) once part of a keyring. Anoraks are not the easiest jacket for someone who has just turned 3 and started kindergarten, but it just looks so good. You see it is not always about beeing practical... looks count you know... Smiley

Oh yes the boots... can't make those. But I was so lucky, I found RAP leatherboots in cognac with a goretex lining, so no cold and wet feet. A size 27... he grows fast.

The alarm just bipped... bread in the oven, gotta go. See you...

2010-01-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

Late Christmas gifts...

My parents Christmas gift this year was two sturdy pillows for using when reading in bed. Well, that's not the hole truth... On Christmas evening I gave them their gifts. Inside their package was a book ( for my mother a biography and for my father a book about growing and eating tomatoes ) and a little plasticbag filled with foam chips and a little card with an explanation...

That's not how it should have been. No, of course there should have been two finished pillows size 90 cm by 50 cm and two white sheets for each of them. But you see, I am always surpriced, Christmas month is not really a month, it is just 3 weeks... did you know that... so, I guess I was late and the pillows was finished today not more than 4 hours ago... so this is really breaking news, and not just the historic crafts journal that you have tuned into.

I am not that crazy about soft floppy bedlinen. I like the stiff hotel kind of bedlinen, all shiny and cool with the folding marks still showing. Maybe I am just getting old... It seems I have never really payd that much attention to mattresses pillows and stuff like that... I am also very konservative since I really only like white bedlinen, maybe even with initials but that would probably crash severely with the rest of our lifestyle.

The rest of the day was used helping my mother mending some of her clothes, a bit of altering and putting new elastic in her overalls. The ones she practically lives in during the summer, when she gets up at 6 am and goes straight to the garden. You see she doesn't do any sewing, she can't knit, but she makes the best puff pastry in the world.

I started making my own clothes when I was 13. I basically learned it by following the same principle as reading a manual. I bougth Burda patterns. They had this great magazine for petites. I am 163 cm and the patterns were for 160 cm but they had very small sizes and I was rather skinny. I just blindly followed every single instruktion without having any clue about the big picture. Sometimes it ended happily and other times, well...

My grandmother was very good on sewing and helped me a bit, but I wasn't really keen about getting help. I thougt it slowed down the process way too much. I wasn't so patient back then. My father also helped me a bit. I especially remember that time when I had just cut all the pieces for a pair of pastel yellow pants with big pockets, only to realize that I had cut the pocket out from the one of the pieces for the legs. I could get very hysteric and even cry. my mother was rather frustrated not knowing how she could help me and usually asked my father to try help. I don't quite remember how he solved the particular situation, but he did and he was always very good in trying to make me calm down and find the solution myself. Writing this I see that is in fact a pattern I have seen in my adult life... Not that I am proud of it. But what the heck, we all stay as kids to our parents, no matter how old we get.

2010-01-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

John's cardigan...

Does anyone remember this... For a while I tried to forget it, but eventually I knew that I had to get back to the battlefield. This cardigan has really given me a lot of trouble. Nothing wrong with the pattern... Just me getting too involved, but I am also a succer for a big difficult equation, so I knew it was just going to be me with the yarn, knitting my way through it all, testing, redoing, testing again, thinking "Now I got it !"... "No, I didnt... one more time..."

Now it is all done and I am rather proud to say... Yes it took me a while but I didn't stop before both John and I thought it was perfect...

Can you believe it... This little knitting project has been lying around for half of Seths life. He is so used to it that it has become part of his play. The knitted cables are in Seths little fantasy-world destined to be roads for his cars to drive on.

You cannot call me impatient, but I am happy now when it finally is finished.

I just realized that I am not really well equiped for the fast tempo of life we live. What can I say... I Like knitting with a gauge 30 stitches on 10 cm, I think every piece of clothing should have hand embroided initials like the ones shown here and I just bought a loom at a fleemarket because wouldn't it be nice with handmade dishtowels...

I am of to make coffee and have a bit of white chocolate... have a great evening !

2010-01-04T11:03:00.000-08:00

A new year...

Once in a while my life feels like tons of little threads waiting to be joined into that beautifull strand of yarn. I start all these projects at the same time having the end result very clear in my head. But when the big picture, the finished project is a rather big one there is a flipside to it, one can get lost. I don't get completely lost but let's just say the room gets a bit dark and I have a hard time finding my way around it.

That's how this year has been for me. I have spend a lot of time building the greenhouse, and fully finishing the shop interior, and at the same time I have put a lot of energy into trying to simplify the practical part of our life, and finding a balance between work and family. Inbetween all this I have tried to steal some time to do a bit creative work in the studio. Now the threads are coming together and everything is a bit lighter and I am happy to say: I see the light...

November passed, December passed... What happened to Christmas? Well... We had a very nice Christmas, very mellow and warm.

I have a lot to show you, so if you wonder about fall pictures or even summerpictures on this blog the following month, here is the reason: This next month I have decided to show you all the things I never got to write about last year. No, it will not be the breaking news, but I need to show it all and to zero it all and not stay in the past...

Are you with me ?

A new year... a fresh calender... In my case three of them... One in my bag for private stuff, one at the studio for workrelated things and one in my kitchen for planning meals.

A fresh breeze into the clutter free apartment liberated from the sometimes strangeling cozyness of Christmas... and cleaning...

Yes cleaning... No I don't really like it but it certainly helps when you have beautifull brushes around doesn't it ?

The brushes are handmade by blind people
The dusting brush is nearly 1 meter long and it is great when you have a high ceiling...

Oh yes, at last but not least:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you...

2009-10-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Just made a few more...

I made three more of these shirts for Seth.

They are just so satisfying to make. The pattern is perfect and the sewing just goes by so smoothly.

I love the combination, simple cotton fabric and those buttons that I tend to use over and over again, simply because I just cant get tired of them.

Jeans and shirts... I guess it is an all time favorite...

2009-10-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

Story of the mirror

We had a minor accident in our appartment. Here is the story...

One weekend we were sitting in the Library/Seths room. Seth was playing with his toys and John and I was just weekend chilling. Suddenly we heard a load cracking noise from the livingroom. offcourse we hurried up to see what had happened. The livingroom was full of smoke and our mirror was on fire... The mirror has a wooden frame and a small shelf where we had placed small candles. A couple of days ago I had just placed some old books there. Somehow the books had gotten to close to the candles, and well you can probably guess the rest of the story. The loud noise was the mirror cracking.

I like the mirror. It is rather big and makes some nice mirror images of the rather small livingroom so I was nor really in the mood for trying to find another mirror. So this is what I did: The mirror is homemade from an Ikea mirror and some pieces of wood with a nice green colour. There was a bit of a gap at the mitered cornes and I took some time to fix that with some filling. Then I painted the frame with very pale greenish blue and the shelf with cream coloured paint. With a white paint marker I drew rigth on top of the crack in the mirror and from that starting point I drew some more branches and leaves.

On the picture below you can easily see the crack before I drew the banches.

Normally these little tricks dont work... somehow you just still keep seing the flaws even when they have been disguised, but not in this case. I still like the mirror and for me it is also a story from our life in the apartment and that little reminder of not to keep those candles unattended... remember that !

2009-10-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

Knitting lady Mabbott part 3

So, it is finished; my very first seamless set-in sleeves cardigan. I had to make a few adjustment down the road. In a slim fitting cardigan or sweater the size of the neck to the body will be relatively big, so I couldnt use the EZ ( Elizabeth Zimmerman ) formula the neck being about 40% of the Key number. I even wanted the neck to be generous, so I Drew the neckline on gtaphic millimeter paper and since I was knitting it forth and back on the needles, I had no problems adapting this to the actual knitting

Just a little note here before we go on with the technical stuff: I love summer, but I have to admit I don´t really like being in the sun. The picture is on the lawn in front of the studio and I am hoping that the apple trees will grow very fast to provide shade for me, my coffeecup, my knitting and all the people I love... And the rabbits...

I basically followed the instruktions in Elizabeth Zimermans book "Knitting Workshop" ( for the set-in sleeve sweater ) but made a lot of changes to fit the technique I was using and the design I wanted. I guess that is just what she wanted me to do. Providing me a frame to creative within.

So here comes the story from the notebook. Please bare in mind that this is not a recipe but more my reflections on Lady Mabbott.

Before I knitted this I transformed EZ direktions for the sweater into a diagram. I found that very usefull for my understanding of the principles involved and also made it possible for me to draw the neckline I wanted.

My shoulderwith is 35% of the key number

June 7. join the body to the sleeves leaving 18 stitches at each underarm on pieces of wool. Knit 6 rows with no decreases. Now start decreasing at every row at the four points where the sleeves joins the body. It is important to make the decresing on the right and on the wrong side in such a way that it looks the same. I found out that knit two together on the right side is the same as slip slip purl two together on the wrong side and that slip slip knit two together on the right side is the same as purl two together on the wrong side. I knitted 8 rows this way decreasing 4 times 8 stitches.

( Knowing a few things of pattern construktion for sewing, I would have started to decrease right away after joining body and sleeve and only made the decreasing every other round. I even think that most sewing patterns can be adapted to this basic idea just with a few calculations )

Note I started the shaping of the neck four rows after these decreases. I made a pretty wide neck but will spare you the details...

June 8. now start the decreasing that eats up the sleeve stitches. The decreses are only on the right row being at the four point : 1) SSK2tog 2) K2tog 3) SSK2tog 4) K2tog.
Knit 18 rounds this way decreasing on every other round.

June 11. Now speed up the decreasing to every row and knit 14 rows this way. There is 12 stitches left at the shoulder.

June 17. Start knitting forth and back on the one side of the front. Decreasing 1 stitch at the end of each row ( Shoulderpoints ). Continue like this until 6 stitches remains at the sleeves. Work across the shoulder and apply this principle to the back and the remainig front piece. I also made a couple of short rows to shape the shoulder a bit more.

I grafted the shoulder stitches together and found out that it is important to be precise at this point making sure, the spot where the shoulder seam meets the actual sleeve, is precisely made.

I made the borders but I have never really been satisfied with the way the wrong side of the knitting looks at the neckline, so I used the same technique as I used on this cardigan but I crocheted from the right side through the fabric making a line of chain stitches. I really like the way this look and I will probably do this a lot with future projects. It looks especially good where the neck line border is not the same colour as the body.

The flat seam also feels very comfortably to the neck and I think it is the right neckline finish for a seamless cardigan or sweater. When picking up the stitches for the front border, it is important to go as close to the edge( 1 stitch from edge ) as possible to make the seam as flat as possible. I tink I might have 1½ stitch which shows a bit... Next time just one stitch... Do I hear you saying "does it matter ?" I can only say with a smile on my face "of couse it does, it makes a HUGE difference"... No, not really, but it is always good to see the things that can get better, but at the same time be aware of all the things that went really well.

Bottonline ( yes there is one, and this is it )...I do like this cardi...a lot...

2009-08-20T04:19:00.001-07:00

I hate stockings... but no more...

Let me tell you a secret right here on world wide web...

I would like to wear dresses a lot more than i do but I just hate wearing stockings and lets face it, it´s not summer all year, so I need stockings. I have tried all kind of brands and material but no luck... I still felt like I couldn't breathe. I had an idea that suspenders could be something for me so I tried on some lacy black thing bought in a fine lingerie store and bought it. I could breathe but it left me with a not so pleasant porno-feeling that didn´t quite match up with the rest I was wearing and nor the person I am.

I love the fashion of the 1920´s and ever since I saw the movie Henry and June back in 1990´s I just haven't forgotten the movie poster. That's exactly the look I was aiming for. I have tried to explain it to many lingerie sales persons but all they did was look at me with a blank look in their eyes saying... "lady I have no idea what you are talking about, the 90´s that's a long time ago and who (the f...) is Henry an June, but if you are getting married I can show you our new and very sexy corset from Marie Jo !!..." No I am not getting married and I do NOT want a corset.

I Had the idea that when we went to Copenhagen I would look for elastic ribbons and suspender accessories in my all time favorite button shop Handler. I found just what I was looking for. Wide elastic cream coloured ribbon, Satin ribbon and buckles. Then I went to department store to find a pair of sturdy panties. Half an hour at the sewing machine and a lot of testing of where to position the little thingies, I had my interpretation of the Henry and June look. I ended up not using the satin ribbon realizing they would be too much. But there is a reason that the ribbon is there... they make it easier to put the stockings on, so I might try later maybe with some coloured ribbon to go with the panties...

I hate wearing everything synthetic so the stockings itself would have to be wool or Cotton. Silk would be an option but lets realize I am not Marie Antoinette... I found children cotton stockings at Hennes and Mauritz in the size 170 cl. That is fine for me. Since they are 95 % cotton I was capable of dying them in the colour I wanted. I just cut the stockings and left the raw edge there. It is perfect and very loose at the hips... comfortable...

Now I will keep my eyes open for cotton and wool stockings in colours I like and maybe even layer them up for colder days

So I am all set, I can be a real lady and wear dresses...

2009-08-03T01:21:00.000-07:00

T-shirts for Seth...

I just love that feeling of being productive. It seems that I have used a lot of time to organize my creativity and get to the depth of the subject, but I am starting to feel that it is now paying off. I have always known that it would pay off, but I have just never been in a situation where I could afford spending so much time on the details.

A while ago I worked on a good T-shirt pattern. It seems that I lot of the patterns or even finished garments I had seen didn't have the proportions that I like. I like a narrow T-shirt where the ease in the body and the sleeves are harmonic. On long sleeved T-shirts I like to have a long body and on Short sleeves I like to have a short body. I have made the pattern in two different versions. One for very stretchy fabrics and one for not so stretchy fabrics, like velours. It was also important for me that the T-shirts would be quick to make

So yesterday I made a lot of T-shirts for Seth. Don't you just love the feeling of folding up newly made clothes and putting it in the closet...

Seth really loves elephants so of course I had to make a couple of T-shirts in this elephant fabric.

My personal favorite are the cream coloured ones with the contrasting colour on the seam. They have this old school kind of feeling. I think they will be great in the fall with a knitted vest on top.

I made one in velours for colder days... It is just so soft...

I want to make sure that my patterns all have the information I need. For example I like to know what kind of slope I have used to make the pattern. I also find it important to know the total amount of pieces and that all the pieces has information of size and so on. I decided to make pre printed labels like you can see on the picture. Looking at the label with its mixture of danish and English words I realize now that I have started to use a lot of English words in my technical language, I guess that's what happen when your study material is English...

2009-07-29T01:07:00.000-07:00

Swatching...

Please stay with me today... it will to be a very long and wooly story...

For a long time I have been looking for a wool that is thin. About 30 stitches on 10 cm and would be soft and with a slight heathered look. I was hoping that Jamiesons of Shetland would have their shade cards ready... but no they have been working on that for 2 years. Then this lady came along and I am happy. The yarn Holst 100 % uld is perfect and she sells it already rolled up in 25 or 50 gram and in 96 different colors. To start with I ordered 24 different colours in 50 gram balls.

It was just perfect. I could start the little plan I had been working on in theory:

One basic wool to be knitted with either one or more strands...

Make swatches in all the colours available.

Every swatch should test either a technique or a pattern.

Wash the swatch and block it.

Every swatch should have a Little tag with the most important information.

I keep all the swatches in a plastic box. So far there are only 12 swatches but I am already enjoying taking them out, looking at and feeling the texture. I keep a notebook while knitting and it has all information about the swatch being made.

So far I have mostly been testing basic stitches, basic techniques for casting-on and casting-off and different types of decreasing.

I am trying to get a collection of knitting books that will make me design as freely as I want to. I needed some good books on stitch patterns, and I havent seen anyone as good as Barbara walkers A treasure of knitting patterns volume 1-4. I ordered the books from schoolhouse press and just when we came back from a week vacation in Sweden they had arrived. When I took them out of the packaging they reminded me off going to the university library picking up books for the new semester. I have studied Pharmacy for a short time before i realized that was not my call...I used to love the smell and feeling of new unused student books. So much knowledge all packed together in that thick book... its just beautiful.

Inside the book Meg Swansen has written a few words:

Thirty years ago Barbara Walker dedicated this book "... to the creative knitters of the past and the creative knitters of the future."

I hope I will be one of the creative knitters of the future...

Volume 3 and 4 has a complete list of symbols. All the symbols are simple and hand drawn. Why is that important? well It is if you yourself has to chart some of the symbols on a pattern of your own it is actually possible to copy the symbols with a pen and paper...

Are you still here... If so, thank you... It is nice to know I am not the only obsessive person in the world...

2009-07-28T00:58:00.000-07:00

Building the greenhouse part one...

This posting starts with a picture of a lot of painted pieces of wood, -why ?! Well I just want to remember the nice feeling it was when I finished painting them. Let me tell there was A LOT of wood and they all had to be painted with one layer of oil and then two layers of a very strong greenhouse paint that took forever to dry. I could only paint one side at a time, then wait one day before turning the pieces to paint the other side. One batch took me 5 days to finish. Everything had to be done inside because of the slow drying process. I painted 2 hours every day for one month and then the painted wood had to harden for another month.

The wall had already been made and finally we could start to mount some of the pieces of the greenhouse. It was just so exciting...

Half of the rafters mounted...

Today's work done. All the rafters are up.

In Denmark we have a tradition of having a party when raising the roof tree: beer and hot dogs. So family was invited and flowers were hung by the rafters. We all sat down and enjoyed the moment. Well the others sat down, I just had to walk in and out of the greenhouse.. such a good moment...

Now I just cant wait to see it finished.

Oh and I forgot to tell you it is measures 8 by 4,2 m on the inside. 35 square meters.

2009-07-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

Holiday time...

Do you ever get the feeling that you are not really in charge ? Well we do.

I love this little boy so much but he is 2½ years old and thinks he knows how everything should be done. Like a little master he is telling us what to do and especially what not to do...NO NO NO are words we hear quite often. It is also a lot of fun but one really has to gain the control at least to avoid the judging from other people out there in holiday country. An advice from a friend with three kids was : Dont forget to bring your wallet,cause there is no such thing to solve a conflict as...icecream... !!! She is right ...

We went on a short trip to Givskud zoo and decided to stay at the hostel there for one night. Just relax and figure out all the practical stuff down the road. Just let the kid sleep when he is tired and will fall asleep all by himself. Eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. And so on... But no it doesn´t function that way. Guess what... He didnt wanted to take his nap so we skipped it. The result was one angry little kiddo terrorizing the hole zoo and probably also causing the mother elephant to the cute little Dumbo to neglect her little baby. Great frustration for the biologist who had spend so much time on this project ( NOT really the truth but could have been... ) . So we went to the restaurant. The buffet had just closed so we had a not so good pizza trying to make the combination tired kid and restaurants not to tiring.

Next day was great. Seth had a good time. He is not so interested in all the exotic animals but birds and fishes... thats his thing...

The place is great. Big enough to make it possible to have a nice and relaxing time. It can be very streesing to be in crowded places with kids. Grown ups get this very tired look on their face and the childrens are fighting over the few toys, screaming and crying. In the zoo is a huge play area with lots of space and toys and many seating areas under shady trees. The more foreseeable parent had coolers with food and drink in their wagons. They were eating sandwiches, drinking coffee and having homemade cake. well I don´t know if it was homemade but the next time we go we will do the same and yes, the cake will be homemade. The kids were playing happily aronud. One could probably spend 3 enjoyable hours in that place reading books and perhaps knitting...

So the conclusion is : Bring food and a cooler. Dont skip naps and bedtime procedures. Plan just eneough to let the trip be as unplanned as possible. Am I making any sense...?
You see you are out of the usual enviroment and all the habits are out of the game for a while. Thats a good thing but it can also put you in some type survival situation ( a pretty strong word but you know what I mean... ) where you spend all the time on things like : Where can we eat ? Buy diapers ? Wash little sticky fingers and so on. So here it goes, besides the usual stuff here are some essential things to bring on a two day trip to the zoo ( or some other place... ) :

In my handbag: kleenex, towelettes, cash for icecream, one ( maybe two... ) diaper.

Dont forget to get the wagon equipped with small blanket, little pillow, sunhat, a book for John and knitting for me and offcourse the cooler with food and drink.

In the car:

One box with toys for Seth. One box with toys for me. One box with- going on a trip- gear. I will tell you more about these boxes another time...

Electrical Cooler with food to bring to hostels or wherever we are staying. A smaller normal cooler to bring to parks and so.

Bye bye...

2009-06-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

Knitting lady Mabbott part 2

I wanted Lady Mabbott to be a tight fitting cardigan in thin yarn. I decided to make it very simple so I wouldn't complicate things too much for my first seamless set in sleeve cardigan. The instructions in Elisabeth Zimmerman's books are for a sweater and she would probably have made the cardigan by knitting in the round and then cut it up later. Since I like my knitting to not be "broken", I decided to knit it back and forth on circular needles. This also gives me a lot of freedom when it comes to shaping the neck. Luckily, I don't mind to purl... I hope that knitting this cardigan will teach me to transform future design ideas into actual knitting.

So this is how it is progressing: I am ready to join the sleeves to the body and start knitting the seamless set in sleeves and body all in one... jubii !

Here are the mainlines from the logbook:

Body:
18 April: Cast on 235 stitches( This number is the Key number ) with cream coloured yarn using the long tail cast on and needles size 2 mm. Start knitting the first row ( being the wrong side of the cardigan ) purl 2, knit 1, purl 1......knit 1, purl 2. Knit this ribbed edge for 12 rows.

Change to the orange yarn and knitting needles size 2,5 mm. Start knitting plain stocking stitch, first row being the rigth side of the knitting. Knit 59 stitcehs place first marker ( side seam ). Knit 116 stitches place marker (Somewhere on the back knit two stitches together so the total amount of stitches will be 234 ) Knit 59stitches. Continue in plain stocking stitches for 140 rows.

Sleeves:
With four needles size 2 mm cast on 60 stitches using long tail cast on and knit 13 rounds of ribbon. On the last round increase to 78 stitches ( 33 % of the key number ). Change to the orange yarn and needles size 2,5 mm. Continue in plain stocking stitches for 151 rows.

Now make phoney seams on body and sleeves ( see pictures )

To be continued...

Note to myself:

Try using the knitted cast on or maybe long tail cast on with double yarn.

Learn a good and easy way to get those sketches in the computer and maybe do collages; does anyone know ... ?

2009-06-12T05:02:00.000-07:00

New lamp in the kitchen...

When living in Scandinavia with a rather long and dark winter, the lighting is so important, however I seem to have a hard time finding great lamps... Let me rephrase that I find it hard to find great, and not too expensive lamps.

So lucky me, I found one for our kitchen at a thrift shop with a wonderfull texture that really shows when the light is lit. John and I agreed that they look a little like old pantalettes.

But now lets not talk more about winter... It is enough that the 10 centigrades celsius outside reminds me of winter...

2009-06-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

Playing with kids...

All parents have a bad conscience about something. It is likely that in the evening after kids are tucked in, we get a cup of coffee and then the question "Am I a good mom/dad shows up?"
Most of the times we know the answer. We know that there are a lot of things we do well and some we can do better. In my case it is being able to sit down, be present and play. Even when I was a kid I thought playing was a bit boring. Nope, I built stuff, made plans (big plans) and it was always very frustrating when I had friends over and we made a grocery shop of a little table and all kind of weeds and roots on it that got washed to look like parsley and potatoes and then suddenly they started to play now I am the customer ( with a silly grownup fancy lady voice ) and you will sell me some potatoes... WHY ??... we were just having so much fun by BUILDING the shop - no play was necessary !!

Then you get a kid and you just want to be the best parent in the world, and trouble starts... But then there is Bilofix. Seth, my son is still too small for the little pieces, so I spend one good hour alone building the crane ( tightening all the screws very well ). When he got home, we played together pulling it around and moving all kind of things. I was thinking: How can we make it better and built more on it ? Seth was probably just excited about how it moved around on the little wheels... We had fun and I know that when we play the best it is when I play like I did when I was a kid. He loves it and I know we are going to have so much fun in the future making a lot of stuff, painting and building.

It really makes me happy when he grabs some pieces of wood lying around and makes it into a train... I really understood it and maybe we can find a big piece of wood that could be the engine and because I still want to be the best mom I say silly things like: "I am the engine driver and I have so much to do today, and a schedule Ho Ho"...

Suddenly he stops the game and uses a planter as hat and looks like a little but very surprised Chinese rice grower

All the fun we will have... I just love him so much...

I found the two boxes of bilofix at a thrift shop. All the bits and pieces are stacked away for when he gets older.

2009-06-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

Cardigan pour moi...

Yes It is done... The design is my own and I spend lots of time on the details. Pockets, The decreases at the shoulders, and I tried different types of cast on and of and instead of picking up the stitches at the neck I crocheted in a way so the edge got enclosed in the ribbon. I like that the back of the knitting is attractive too.

The yarn is: Marianne Isager Twinni Alpaca in cream and Marianne Isager Højlandsgarn in the color maize. The combination is very soft but keeps the shape very well. I am becoming more and more aware of how important it is how the knitting fells is it heavy, loose, cold, warm ? How does it move and does it get out of shape ? It is knitted on needles size 2½ and 3½.

I like the combination of a body with pattern and the sleeves with plain stocking stitches. It reminds me of a jacket I used to have with a body in very rough knitted fabric and sleeves in suede. I loved that jacket so much.

Last picture taken on our trip to Copenhagen.

2009-06-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Retrospect...

Looking through the blog I realized that the pictures of our apartment have been posted a lot of places on other blogs but not here...so here comes !

There has been some changes that I am planning on telling you all about at the end of the summer, when I have been finishing it all.

2009-06-08T05:41:00.000-07:00

White shirt for Seth

White shirts are just great, but for little boys I like them to be casual in the style of 'successfull business man spending time at his summerresidens, reading the big philosophers and eating locally produced berries'.

I have been working on a great slope for shirts and this one really fits very well at the shoulders. After having it tested at Seth for a couple of days I cut up fabrics for two more in size 98 cl... You just cant have to many of these. The fabric is seersucker with the lining at the neck being in plain cotton

The fabric is light and is perfect on a hot day with the sleeves rolled up, and when the weather gets cold he will be wearing it with a long sleeve t shirt under and maybe with a vest.

I like the little cream cloured button and loop against the bright white shirt.

2009-06-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

New baskets - new projects

New projects... Well that is not quite true... I started these projects about a year ago, and somehow things didn't really turn out the way I wanted them to.

I saw Brooklyn tweeds version of Saddle shoulder Aran cardigan by Meg Swansen ( EZ's daughter ) and thought maybe it was time to knit something for John ( He had been begging me to make something with cables ). It was all started before I knew anything about Elisabeth Zimmerman's percentage system so it was really a project that exceeded my knowledge and capabilities at that time. At the same time it can be real difficult to calculate how many stitches you need when you are using a lot of different cables on one sweater or cardigan, so I started over and over again. Then I was given EZ books for my birthday and did a lot of reading and things started to come together.

At the same time I started another project. I wanted a thin cream coloured cardigan in all alpaca, but no It just was too floppy, so that was stashed. Finally I paired the thin alpaca with some Shetland wool in the colour Maize, and that turned out very well.

These two projects was actually the ones that made me realize that I needed to plan and organize my knitting more. Both cardigans are close to be finished and I am quite content that I didn't give up cause I just had to learn so much.

And still I really like these baskets...

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2009-06-05T23:46:00.000-07:00

Copenhagen trip... for parents

We told our son we were going on a trip to a big city and would be home on film day ( That is Friday in our house ). He looked at us and understood... amazing how much he has grown, every day something new happens and his personality just grows and grows. We called him every day ( we were gone 3 days) but he didn't have the time to chat, he was busy. Through the phone he winked, and then he was of to play with grandma or grandpa.

We stayed at Hotel phoenix right in the centre of Copenhagen. It is a kind of hotel that brings out the little princess in me, getting all excited about the little bottles in the bathroom ( yes... off course I brought them home !! ) and the swirling stairs where it is absolutely plausible to loose a shoe and then wait... Luckily John was with me so I didn't have to risk my health in a maneuver that would look credible waiting for the prince to save me.

Wednesday we went to the theatre and watched a revue. We wanted to see a ballet but I guess the little ballerinas have stopped dancing for this season, so we went to see a revue. That was a gamble since we are not particular fond of the genre, but after all, since it was the Royal Theatre, we decided to give it a try. Yes they were very professional and the theatre was beautifull and impressive but lets just say we looked at each other afterwards and said "been there done that".

Thursday it was time for a stroll in the city checking out all the little specie shops we just don't have in our town, but I have to admit that we mostly sat on cafés. The best café was The royal cafe in the backyard of the royal Copenhagen porcelain shop. Very special atmosphere

And the best strawberry tart ever...

In the evening we had a late dinner at MASH.... Great place.

Friday We had breakfast with an old friend of John at cafe Granola. She is a writer and has written quite a few very humoristic things about being a mum and other things. Both the cafe and Maren Uthaug turned out to be really nice.

Then we were of to see the outdoor exhibition 'My home is my castle'. It was in Frederiksberg Have in the part where the garden of The Danish Royal Horticultural Society garden is located. It was Okay but a little too twee for my taste. we still had a nice time and had some buns before we took a cab to the central train station. Unfortunately there had been some trouble on the rails so instead of the trip beeing with no stops, we ended up changing trains and buses 5 times. We arrived 3 hours later than calculated. Not really a problem when grandma is waiting at home with dinner and dessert...

All in all it is was a nice trip... but next time we will see a ballet.

2009-06-02T02:38:00.000-07:00

Knitting Lady Mabbott part 1

I started a new knitting project. Lady Mabbott is an orange cardigan with offwhite ribbing's. So far she has been a nice project... I will tell a bit about how I organize my knitting.

First I set up my knitting bag: The bag is a basic drawstring cotton bag. I find it very easy to find things in the white bag since the light shines a bit through the cotton. I have one bag for each project making it easy for me to quickly bring the chosen project to where ever I am going.

So whats in the bag... ?

one pair of Scissors.
Notebook.
Calculator.
Crochet needle in the same size as my knitting needles.
All the knitting needles to be used, circular and straight.
Measuring tape.
Special sewing needles for knitting.
Little Zip lock bags with little loops that I use for row and stitch markers.
Pencil ( forgot that on the picture... )

For every project I start a little notebook. One part of the book is general info. In this project it is:

Yarn bought: 300 g of Duo in color 550. Price kr. 130 ( $ 24 )/ 100 gram
Besides, I use a bit off white Duo from the stash.

Little knitting test:
Cast on 35 stitches on needles 2,5 mm ( long tail cast on ), 4 rows garter stitch, 44 rows of stocking stitches with 2 garter stitches on each side, then 4 rows of garter stitch where the last is also the cast of row. Wash the swap, let i dry, then count the gauge: I ended up with 15 stitches to 5 cm. , and 22 rows to 5 cm.

In this part of the notebook I also wrote down my reflection on what should be in my knitting bag.

I also keep the diagram of the cardigan folded up inside the notebook. It is drawn on millimeter charted paper where every square on the paper equals one stitch and one row.

Another part of the notebook is the actual log of the project. What I did and sometimes I even write down the date for whenever a sleeve or something else was started, mostly because it is quite fun to see how fast the knitting is moving.

To be continued...

Today I did a little ( late ) spring cleaning here in my blog. I found out that the labelling was in quite a bit of a mess, I cleared out all the labels and in the near future I will try to get it sorted out starting today with the knitting related stuff. Now it is possible to look at all the posting of a specific knitting project since in the future they will all be given a name. It is still possible to see all the knitting under the label "knitting" - what else.

2009-05-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

Studiogarden...

4 years ago here used to be a large building. It was in a bad shape and had to be torn down. Here was no garden, just grass and black soil. A friend of my parents drew a plan for the area. There has been made a lot of changes in it but it still remains mainly as originally planned.

Normally when I think about garden design I think in terms of making outdor rooms with hedges or trees as walls. One room joining the next, creating corners and spaces for different purposes.
But there is another way of doing it... The idea is to let the living area extend to the closest part of the garden and let the rest of the garden mix with the nature ( which in Denmark is farmland ).

It can get very warm along the southern wall so the idea came to imitate the cozy life lived outside houses in Southern Europe under shades and pergolas with lots of climbing plants, seating areas and pots filled with flowers. And since this after all is not Greece, here will be a 35 squaremeter big wood framed greenhouse...

Last year we established the middle section between the building and the fields with a lawn and five different types of appletreees. Also the paving was made. There are still a lot of things to be finished at the building but we are slowly getting there.

This year it was finally time for planting some plants. We started with the herbaceous border outside the 3 big studio windows shown below.

The plants are all perennials and my mother is the mastermind. I basically told here about all my favorites, and she chose the ones that would fit to the conditions of the place and decided how many of each type we should plant.

Above are the main characters :

From left to right

Geranium macrorrhizum 'Ingwersen's Variety, May, june and juli, 30 cm.
Nepeta faassenii walkers low, June, Juli, august and september, 50 cm.

Above are the supporting characters:

From left to right:

Veronica gentianoides, may and june, 40 cm.
Helianthemum 'Elfenbeinglanz', May, june and july, 20 cm.
Allium schoenoprasum, June and July, 25 cm.
Ranunculus acris 'Multiplex', June and july, 60 cm.
Chelone oblique, August and september, 80 cm.
Oreganum vulgare 'Thumble's Variety', July and august, 20 cm.
Tradescantia virginia 'Breviacaulis', June, july, august and september, 50 cm.
Echinacea purpurea 'Alba', July, august and september, 60 cm.
Phlomis russeliana, July and august, 80 cm.

Below is the overall plan of the area...

My mother helping with the planting...

1½ months later it looks like this... Still a lot of the plants need to grow bigger and completely fill out the space making it pretty and very easy to maintain.

2009-05-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

Shoes...

All my shoes were in a bad shape and something had to be done... Then there was a burglary in my car where my best shoes got stolen. So I decided to be very strategic in my hunt for new favorite shoes. Shoes kind of sets the standard for the rest of the outfit. One pair of shoes makes me feel very girlish, another is very soft and allows me to sneak around corners smooth and flexible and some are just great because they are very practical... I wanted my little summer collection to have the variations that I needed for different outfit and different moods. Lucky me The Internet made it a lot easier to find what I was looking for:

First I fell completely in love with Ulrikas shoes So I decided to get one pair of very sweet sandal clogs. I have never had much success with wearing closed shoes with stockings and dresses but these I can imagine will be just fine that way ( Just see Ulrikas beautiful combination with blue stockings here ). I bought them at Knulp

Then I bought a very practical pair of clogs perfect for those quick runs in and out of the house. The leather is very pale now but will darken by the time to a very nice light brown...have a feeling that these will be used a lot... Also seen at Ulrikas blog and bought at Knulp.se

10 years ago I went on a holiday to Florence and bought a pair of handmade sandals like the ones at the last picture. They were on my feet the next 9 summers, I had new soles twice, but in the end they completely fell apart. I thought I had lost the business card but one month ago I found it again... And yes The shoemaker Moretti Walter has a website so I quickly ordered to pairs...one pair just like the old ones and another pair with a nice shaping at the front. These looks really nice with a pair of jeans.

I am one happy girl... Come summer...

2009-05-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

Confession: I did something I find very extravagant. I went on a one day shopping trip to Copenhagen. Early in the morning I left the sleeping baby and boyfriend behind in the apartment. With me I had a big bag with some knitting, water and whatever I needed for the trip. I started out with a coffee at the train station and then spend some nice three hours of knitting in the train. At the main train station in Copenhagen I had just enough time for another coffee before the shops opened. It was a great feeling. It was a beautiful day and I was walking the pedestrian street and saw all the truck drivers delivering to the shops just before they opened. A hole day in Copenhagen just for myself... luxury...

Off course I was looking for shoes... I wanted a pair of high heels espadrillos in a good quality and found these at magazin. I am not a nail polish kind of girl, but when I find a pair of shoes that makes me want to put nail polish on my toes, I know it is time to get into action. I just love these shoes they make me feel so feminine and Carrie Bradshaw kind of big city cool. Can be really nise sometimes... The nail polish I bought right away... Chanel... the color is #159 Fire...

I returned home at eleven in the evening, very tired but in a splendid mood. I had been a princess for a day... Next day I had a hangover from all the visual input I had gotten. I had a very slow day and tried to recover. When you live in a smaller town you don't have any practice in filtering all these impressions from big cities. I am pretty sure Carrie Bradshaw would be just fine after a day of shopping... It is certainly not the last time I will do it...

Through Wiksten I heard about Toast. I like their style and when I saw the golden T-strap ballerinas I knew I had to have them. It is a fine made shoe with a leather sole but I had to have a more practical sole on it since I would like to use them for more than dancing Saturday night ( Don't really do that unless at home and in my PJ... and my dancing partner is only two ears old... ) So a visit to the shoemaker and now I use them all the time. They look great with narrow jeans and big soft and baggy pants with elastic at the ankle.

2009-05-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Expectations...

It was so easy... Just one click, then one more... one more... and suddenly I had bought a whole bunch of seeds... I just couldn't help myself. But you also have to remember that I grew up in a nursery and I know that sowing is really the easy part of all that garden fun. So I restrained myself and only put half of the seeds in little pots saving the rest for next year. My dad has a very fine table in the greenhouse where he nurtures little baby plants, so I asked for some sowing advice and a little space next to all his seedlings hoping that his luck will rubb of to my plants too.

I found a beautifull book about flowers on sale at the supermarket, and I realized that Lathurus Odorata dont like to have their very fragile roots disturbed which gave me the perfect opportunity to buy that little tool "the potmaker". Can you believe it I am a potter and I buy a potmaker... isn't that a bit weird ? But you see you just cant rip of the buttom of a ceramic pot and then plant it in the garden... you see it was a total necessity... The funny thing is that even if we have one at the farm my dad had to make one himself when he saw the one I bought ( He is the lucky owner of a woodturner )... probably just to prove that he could, so now there is two of them lying around in the greenhouse... even more strange... They are functioning perfect and are great space saver if you don't want to save all those little plastic pots for next year. Just remember, only use newspapers that you have read or you will just end up reading the paper, drinking coffee, getting frustrated over poverty and crises, and the climate change... Of course that is also important but maybe on another day...

Here is what is in the little pots...

1 stk. Blomsterkarse, Milkmaid.
1 stk. Frøkenhat. Envy.
1 stk. Basilikum. Sweet Genovese.
1 stk. Ærteblomst. Wiltshire ripple.
1 stk. Ærteblomst. Mix.
1 stk. Ærteblomst. Grandiflora America.
1 stk. Blomsterkarse. Orange.
1 stk. Frøkenhat. Zinnia, dahlia flowered mix.
1 stk. Katost. Malva Sylvestris Zebrina.
1 stk. Levkøj, Matthiola longipetala.
1 stk. Mamelukærme, Rosa.Lavatera trimestris.
2 stk. Pragtsnerle. Caprice. Frø.
1 stk. Pragtsnerle. Crimson Rambler.
1 stk. Pragtsnerle. Milky Way.
1 stk. Opiumsvalmue. Papaver somniferum.
1 stk. Silene colorata, Pink star.
1 stk. Sløjfeblomst. Iberis candytuft red flash.
1 stk. Stedmoder. Can can mix.
1 stk. Stolt kavaler, Cosmos, Candystripe.
1 stk. Stolt kavaler. Pied piper red.
1 stk. Tobaksblomst, Tinkerbell.
1 stk. Trompetkatost. Malope trifida. Pink Queen.
1 stk. Kørvel, Dansk, Anthriscus cerefolium.
1 stk. Bladbede Rainbow chard.
1 stk. Fennikel.
1 stk. Tomat Green grape.
1 stk. Tomat Yellow brandywine.
1 stk. Valsk bønne Aguadulce.
1 stk. Pot maker.

I bought it all from Frøbutikken. The service was fine but I needed more information on the packaging and was also missing quite a few of the latin names. So next year I might try buying from Thompson and Morgan... we will see

2009-04-05T04:23:00.000-07:00

I hate plastic bags...

And I know I am not the only one. There seems to be today a movement going on, everyone seems to be using reusable cotton bags for shopping. Just some years ago it used to be only the elderly stingy bitter citizens who looked angry at you in the grocery line and took all the time in the world to find their little bag ( Often a old dingy thing, gotten as a promo-freebie from a bank ). That's not the way anymore. Now the hip kids use them as fancy accessories (just as people in Soviet Block used plastic bags in 70's - as fancy accessories...) Weird... I am not particularly young or fancy but I still hate plastic bags ( And has always done ).

All this going on and the fact that I finished the portfolio and had a lot of fabric leftovers kind of forced me to do something about it: I made 4 of these bags ( pose is he danish word for bag ). They are great. They can hold a lot more than the plastic bags and they are softer to hold, and you don't have to be worried that the handles will break on the way up the stairs leaving you with potatoes rolling down tree stairs, eggs all broken and a two year old who thinks this is all a lot of fun and quite interesting ( Oh yes we've been there... ). The bags are hanging in the hallway easy to grab on the way out.

Now I have to go on and pack for our little Easter holiday. We are taking three days in a nice country hotel surrounded by great nature... We are just going to relax and make others do the hard work... Happy Easter to everyone out there.

2009-03-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

Trying to keep things simple...

It was my birthday in September and my dear John and my parents gave me a lot of Elizabeth Zimmerman books. There is a lot of zimmermaniacs out there and I totally understand that. I am not a big fan of knitting instructions in general. To me it seems like they lack a lot of information and leaves me not very strong in my faith to the designer. That combined with the fact that there is always something I want to look a bit different, has made me come to the conclusion that I just have to make my own patterns. But then there is Elizabeth Zimmermann... she is a friend and one to turn to in bad times. She was not a designer but more of a scientist. I have always been most drawn to people who designs very deep down in techniques. It is as if the design makes a full circle. As if you have to solve the most complex matrix equation to truly understand why one and one is two. A lot of scientist gets glossy eyes when they talk about the beauty of math, and I believe that even if we might not understand it all, we will be drawn to these things, because they have some kind of universal truth and beauty.

I was a little late making a nice warm sweater for Seth to be used this winter, so one weekend I let E.Z. be the scientist providing me with the few formulas to make the Raglan seamless sweater in two strands of nice warm wool. This was certainly knitting without tears, and Seth has used the sweater a lot. For someone like me who normally spends a serious amount of time planning the design it was so refreshing to just decide on the few features colours and so on... and then just go ahead... certainly not the last time...

In one of her books she writes about how silly it is to give little kids and babies gloves on for sleeping in the pram and so. It is a much better idea to make real long cuffs and then pull a cord through the edges. Just fold those cuffs down and tie a knot on the cord... Baby will be warm and will not lose the gloves.

If you want to start knitting, buy these books and let her guide you... Strong faith is a good thing but I rest my case - now I know... God is a woman. At least in knitting heaven...

Elizabeth Zimmermann:

Knitters almanac
The opinionated knitter
Knitting without tears
Knitting around
Knitting workshop

Also check out Schoolhouse press

2009-02-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

So I needed a portfolio...

Well not really. I don't have lots of big drawings, I need to carry around but I really needed some way of transporting my basic slopes for dressmaking between the studio and apartment. I just like having them around if suddenly during the weekend I find a little time to test an idea. I would seriously hate to bend them so I had to find a solution.

John said "why don't you buy one of those portfolios" but The only one I had seen that I liked, is my dads. He made it when he was young and working as a decorator for a clothing and fabrics shop. It is made out of cardboard from some pattern commercials. So I thought I am just going to get some cardboard and make a portfolio with a little cotton and glue. I explained all this to John, he looked at me with the look " Oh no she is going to make a project out of this " True ...why not make it like an accordion in fabric and slip the big pieces of cardboard in to stabilize it. It has quite a few advantages. Like If it gets dirty I just take out the cardboard and throw it in the washing machine, It has 4 "pockets so I can keep things a little divided. If the cardboard gets damaged I just buy new ones, and If sometime in the future I will not have a need for it I just take out the cardboard. fold the fabric part and store it.

I also had to consider this big thing would be very visible in the apartment so it had to be very subtly. I have always like the combination of crisp white and cream. The portfolio is in strong cream coloured canvas and I "wrote" portfolio in crisp white with my favorite font courier new with no capitals.l It took quite a bit time so what had to be a quick solution for a practical problem turned out to be time consuming but it doesn't really matter because I am satisfied and it works splendid.

2009-02-13T21:06:00.000-08:00

I finished this "my favorite cardigan"...

Do you remember this. Now it is all done and I love it. There was so much calculating and a lot of thinking... How can I make this ? will this work ? But I double checked and everything seemed to be right. Then there was a lot of knitting to be done and now less than a year after, it is done. It actually finished it two months ago, but I sort of had wear it a while before writing about it. It is perfect... I use it as a very warm and cosy comfort on chilly evenings, when all I want is lots of tea and love. It is also perfect to wear as a jacket when it is not to cold.

The original Idea was to make one long like this, and then a shorter one in the colour of oatmeal. But, I think the second one will also be a long one. So maybe next fall I will make another, but for now I will just sit here with my tea and consider what type of cables the next one requires...

2009-02-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

Before the guests arrive...

Today a quiet post from me. I think I mentioned it before. I am not the most social person: Still I like parties because no matter how much I like to be alone I need that special high I get from being around people I love.

Can you recall the feeling just before guests arrive. You are done, everything is ready, you just have time to sit down for a quiet moment and you are thinking: "I feel so happy to have all these people around me that I love and who loves me". Once in a while I have to stop myself so I won't be welcoming them with mascara running down my cheeks...

I took this picture in one of those quiet moment before Seth's birthdayparty late December

2009-01-27T11:19:00.000-08:00

Shop update

It is my goal that the blog and website will reflect everything that is going on in the studio and shop ( I will spare you for the details like cleaning and having lunch... ). Today I finished listing all the ceramics so now it is possible to see prices and dimensions of all I have in the shop. The site is in danish since the prizing of sending ceramics abroad can be expensive. I have tested the site in google translate and it works not perfect but okay. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to send me a mail.

Here are a couple of samples but go check it out here

2009-01-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

Who said Christmas ? ...

This year something strange happened. Christmas came and went and I barely noticed.
Yes we had all the Christmas stuff going on, I just didn't get all hyped about it. I remember one day saying laughing "Heck I think I will use this Christmas to plan the next Christmas". And so I looked in all these Christmas books and magazines. I had a great time but I didn't do much Christmas stuff myself....We didn't have snow but the weather was beautiful and gave me the upportunity to test my new lens: Nikkor 85 mm 1:1.8 D( Christmas gift from John ). Love the way it draws. Can´t wait using it a lot more.

Once in a while a get a little stuck in my work, not really knowing the direction. I have noticed a pattern: It seems that when I am a bit lost, I start cooking a lot. I find that rather strange... But that's the way it is.

Cooking for me is not really making one recipe but more to try to transform the recipe to something easier. I would like to have a repertoire of really easy and diverse dishes, but also some that can be changed with whatever you can find... like The overall structure of a curry : 600 g veggies, 400 g Chicken or other kind of meat, 1-3 tbsp of curry paste, 5 dl. coconut milk, 3 tbsp fish sauce, 3 tbsp sugar honey or other sweet stuff, some acid like lemon juice or vinegar... Other tastes that that can be used: Fresh ginger, peanut butter, tamarind, sweet chili or soy. Herbs : Basil or coriander... You got the picture ?

This year I will try to get the basics real straight. So tonight Panna cotta: Already made ( that's really an easy one... )just waiting to be served with mango and passion fruit syrup.

One day I found a lot of Tupperware at the local flea market, including this 70´s style container with little departments inside. I like the idea of having all the ingredients for a sandwich or the danish "smørrebrød" collected in one place.

But now I have to go chop a mango...

And last ( and a bit delayed ) but not least: Happy new year to all of you.

My new years intentional: Be more social and better dressed...

2008-12-15T01:20:00.000-08:00

Being willing to adapt...

One can have expectations for life, plans and projects, but sometimes things change, times pass and you have to adapt, do things in another way. Sometimes it´s hard, frustrating and disillusioning, but it can also be a pleasant surprise that makes you look at the world in another way and make you grow as a person...

This is all pocket philosophy. In my life it has a lot to do with having tons of ideas but too little time. Having a little kid has a tendency to break up the time you have for different project into fragments, ten minutes here and there and maybe two hours on a good day.

So here is the story: I started making this jacket to be in the spring. I constructed the pattern too big for him so he could use it in the fall with a sweater under. Things went well, I dyed the fabric, cut it and then I got busy. Time flew as it does in summer. The sun was shining and we were having fun playing with water on the lawn behind the studio. Then fall came and still no jacket. It got cold so we bought a jacket for the little fellow. Mom really wanted to knit a scarf but ended up with letting him wear one of her own.

But what about the sewing project THE JACKET... ??? I had to adapt, you see and so did the jacket. Seth had gotten a lot bigger during the summer and no way would it fit him over a sweater so I forgot all about the sleeves and made a vest... So if there is anyone out there with long lasting projects like mine and needs a pair of sleeves for something, you know who to call...

Teddy bear: Dress style info : Crocheted pants from a kids vintage store worn with a high waist....hip !

2008-12-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

DESK

The desk area in the shop is finally finished. The desk itself is a gift from a friend. It was in a real bad shape with lots of stuff to be fixed and painted and I made extra shelves to fit the needs. This area is all very white but hopefully soon the wall behind it will be filled with lots of things to sell.

Because of the big doors this place can have a rather strong draft... I would actually call it windy... So I have rocks to keep the paper in its place and all little things are in the metal box .

The desk had some very malfunctioning drawers, so they were removed and I went to the baker and got some of those confectioners boxes. They are of great size, and real easy to move around. They contain whatever I need, like extra tape, prize tags and so on. I placed a curtain there to hide bigger things like extra packaging material.

Above the desk is a dispenser for gift paper. This one is a gift from my dad he gave to me when I opened my first studio and shop some 10 years ago. He made it of an old chair and table. I have used the same type of gift wrap for nearly 10 years. What can I say else than I really like it... The curly ribbon is white and has a satin surface. I used to wrap my pots in newspaper and cover it with the gift wrap, but now I use white silk paper. The scissor is old and fits well to my hand. It is on a leash because somehow it always seems to disappear for me.

I am satisfied now and I like standing behind that desk talking to customers.

Oh... the picture below, dinner: You guessed right, it is beetroot. I got to tell you, this is not the only picture I have after eating beetroot. I just think it looks great. It dries up in beautiful spots. I sometimes get a new view looking at my plates in use... This could be just another bad excuse for not doing the dishes but really it isn't.

2008-12-01T05:41:00.000-08:00

Small business marketing...

Having a small business run just by one person leaves you with two choices when it comes to marketing. You either have a lot of money to buy different services or you make all the things possible yourself. I belong to the latter category and lucky me I find it interesting to have my hands on all parts of the process.

I have found this place that makes printed papers in small numbers and at a reasonable price. I customized the posters with a fringe of little business cards to bring home. Of course I had to use the sewing machine for this. It is fast and involves no sticky glue. I like the look of the bright yellow thread that separates the professional poster and the homemade looking business cards( that was my intention... if anyone should wonder ). It also adds a little texture and feeling of maybe a dress, a shirt who knows...

I have put different materials in a basket in my car so it will be easy for me on my way around to put up a poster where ever it could be a good idea...

Oh I have to tell: I MADE A TABLE...( or at least the tabletop) I found the two Ikea adjustable table legs at my parents attic. Yeps I made the technical drawings... calculated the materials and actually built it. For a long time I have wanted a sturdy table in the studio. I wanted it to be adjustable in height, have a white plain surface that would leave no marks on whatever I am working with... It is finished and I am pleased with it. I will probably never see it this empty againg...

2008-11-24T01:26:00.001-08:00

My way of working...

Once in a while I meet people having opinion that creative people are unorganized. In a way I think they are right. To create it is necessary to be a little destructive, break up things and make a mess, but then you have to organise things in a new way, keep your head cool and follow the idea to the very end where it is actually finished and materialized in something real. It is very easy to ramble down the river of flowing ideas, but the hard part ( or at least for me it is... ) is to get disciplined and finish the project or to develop the idea on sketches and small test and eventually maybe just throw the hole thing in the bin.

Here is the way I do it: I Have a little A6 size piece of yellow plastic board that provides a very sturdy surface for writing or drawing in places where there is no table near. I use index card or just plain little A6 note papers for sketches or whatever I need to write down. All kind of design ideas, sewing techniques, wish lists, different to do lists ( way too many... ) , cooking recipes, books i would like to read and so on. I carry the little board with me all times. I organize it this way: first the plastic board, then finished notes and sketches, then one piece of black cardboard to divide, in the front is the plain paper all ready. Whenever I make a note I slit it behind the black cardboard to wait until the moment when I just have too many notes. That's when I sit down and file it in the box in the proper place. It is simple and doesn't take to much space

I really like these black boxes. They are very sturdy and has that feeling of an old library. One day I would like to have a special made little bookshelf with these boxes. I found the boxes and index card here and here. If you are interested in people making organizing pretty you should go see Judy of the Woods flckr pool on her slip method. She is a very inspiring person so if you are into sustainability and low tech organising you should check out her website

2008-11-17T23:20:00.000-08:00

Shop update...

First I want to thank you all for the very helpful comments about the poster. I have finished it and hopefully will receive it from the press one of these days.

The new dresses and blouses are finished. The dresses are size 74 cl. - 92 cl. and the blouses are size 98 cl - 110 cl. The dresses would look really cute with cable knitted grey tights and boots like these ( they are actually boys boots but if I had a girl... she would be wearing these... ). The blouses would look great with jeans or corduroy pants and a scarf in off color.

Go see more details in the shop

My ceramic studio website has been out of function for a week, since my old provider closed down their server, I had to find a new place to host my site. I hope no one has had too many problems with that. It is functioning now and has new information about the opening hours in the studio and shop.

2008-11-17T05:55:00.000-08:00

Favorite bag and favorite boots...

I read somewhere that women in the 1930's didn't consider themselves to be well dressed unless they had matching shoes, bag, gloves, scarf and hat. and if that's not enough it was also important for them that coat and accessories would match the rest of the outfit. This is how far i have used the whole concept.... i like it so far.....just a quick question here: what kind of hat, scarf, gloves would you use with this ?

I have to say I love shoes, and i really like when people write about shoes, especially when they write about the ones that stick around, the ones that last more than a season. you should go read ulrikas little essays about her shoes see it here and here.

My boots are from Andefødder ( duck feet ). I have had them for two years now and they just looks better and better. The leather is real thick and was not so easy to break in, but it is also the good quality leather that makes them so long lasting. I have a little plan to make some legwarmers to be worn over tights. The legwarmers should be inside the boots and stick out with 10 cm.

The bag is from Chloe and is a gift from John ( you see I probably would never buy something that expensive... ) I just love it. It is the perfect size and goes with me everywhere. It has a look that goes with high heels as well as my working boots. Some women have lots of bags and use a lot of time organising their stuff, and shifting it from one bag to the other. It would never work for me. I need one bag, one purse, Kleenex, lip balm, mobile, keys, paper and pen...not more....except all the extra things that somehow ends there ( oh I am such a mess... )

2008-11-05T03:14:00.000-08:00

All those other things to do...

These days are mostly about getting the shop ready for christmas. I have put up new shelves and bars for all the new clothes and made tags of vintage puzzles . I am spending a lot of time bringing it all beautifully together in the shop, making sure that customers get all the information they need. Everyone who has a shop knows that is quite a bit of work.

On the picture above is also a sneek preview of the new design that will be in the shop monday. I can tell it is going to be a very girly day...

Today I am making a layout for a poster to be put up in the region. It has been great fun making. I wanted it to have a lot of pictures, mostly of products but also a few mood pictures from the studio and shop. I wanted the overall look to be a mixture of magazine layout and art excibition posters, and it should have the information peole needed : The name of the shop, address, pnonenumber, openinghours, a little map for direction, a subtitle that explain what I am selling and a little bit of writing explaining that everything is handmade in the studio etc. ( that part is not finished yet ( you see I am not the biggest writer but lucky me John is....so hopefully tonight we will finish the poster and send it to the press. I still need to change one of the pictures from the shop to a new one and better one. but this is what I have so far...

What do you think ?

If you have any idees, critique or maybe something that you find very important when you see a poster like that in your neighborhood....please let me know....

2008-10-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

Shop Update...

There are new shirts in the shop. They are all made in cotton and a few in linen. With biasbinding and crocheted closures. They all have appliqued patches of vintage fabric on the albows.

The sizes are from 74 cl. to 100 cl. I have put sizing information on the website so it will be easy for both europeans and the rest of the world to find the right size.

Go take a look. These shirts looks really great with jeans. When it is cold use it with a thin longsleeved T shirt under, and mix it with a great scarf...

2008-10-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

Cookie magazine and a little blanket...

I don't do a lot of decorating during summertime, got so many other things to do. With fall comes the urge to fix things and clean everything. And then Joanna Goddard writes me an email asking if she could do a house tour and interview on Cookie magazine . What a great way to start redecorating by seeing all the pictures of the appartment. See it all here, and when you are there take a look at some of the other house tours, there are some great ones.

I decided I was gonna make a little project for the bathroom floor. We needed something for our feet when stepping out of the shower. It had to be small enough to dry quickly and not take a lot of space in the washing machine.

It turned out I had some fabric in my stash that was not all natural fibers. Since I only use natural fibers in my clothing I really had no use for it, Except "not all natural fibers" is actually a good thing for a project like this. So this is what happened: a big granny square made with a gigantic crochet needle. It works perfect...

Oh ... The floor in the picture above is from the restroom at the studio. I really like it, and would wish we had the same floor and light in our bathroom here in the appartment.

2008-10-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Sock knitting and a dear friend...

The fall is here... it's raining and I like it... maybe I like it because I know I don't have to leave the house today. Having a city apartment with trees right outside the windows is really a thing. Right now colours of the leaves are changing every day, then in the start of december the branches will be decorated with christmas lights. Not bad at all.

I have been knitting a lot lately, but sometimes I just need something not complicated I can work with while taking care of Seth or cooking dinner.

Just a quick question here: Do you knit in the kitchen in between cutting potatoes and waiting for the egg plants to toast in the oven ? and Do you knit in bed...? I do both. Is that bad...?

Okay, so what I do is having a lot of parallel projects, one of them will eventually be at a stage of some simple knitting. Then I can take care of the complicated parts when there is peace and quiet over the field and simple knitting creates peace and quiet... Once in a while I knit socks. Nothing fancy, just grey socks, I keep my sock knitting stuff in a cake can with everything I need, there is always enough yarn to start a new pair for whoever needs. No thinking of colours, patterns or is there eneough yarn, nope, just make those socks as you have done it so many times. And this time it was for me and Seth

Knitting in bed made me think of a friend of mine; whenever she got a new boyfriend, she started eagerly to knit something for him but then they allways broke up before the knitting was finished. She herself says she knitted them away. Does that sound familiar to anyone ? She is, by the way, now very happily expecting kiddo # 2 with a great guy. I once started a very complicated sweater for a new boyfriend and actually even tried ( with no succes ) to finish it for the next boyfrind in line. And NO, I did not have a lot of guys comming around, as I said it was a VERY COMPLICATED sweater. I actually finished the sweater and gave it to brother in law even if it was a bit too big for him...

A couple of years ago I made a holder for my knitting needles and different other accessories. It is made of an old embroided tablecloth and has a very sturdy lining. It has a double compartment for both longer and shorter needles, and a couple of earrings I use as markers. I still haven't figuered out a good way to store my circular needles.

Even if it is raining, this is not a grey day and I might do a lot of writing about grey stuff since I like grey and I just have to show you these very nice traditional mittens a friend ( who lives way to far away from us ) gave to me. I cherish them a lot and I am allways afraid of loosing them. They are very skillfully made by a lady she knows. Luckily for the mittens I dont bike a lot so they are not worn out, I hope they will last for many more years.

This Friend has finally started blogging and you just have to check it out. She writes in sweedish but there is so many wonderfull pictures to see... This person never does anything half. She is a perfectionist and it shows. Go check it out...
At ullis blog I also found the link to a great vintageblog about clothes and just like Ullis blog this one is very honest and you get a great feeling of the person behind it.

2008-10-08T00:24:00.000-07:00

Shop update

After quite a bit of cleaning yesterday at the shop I have listed the new pants.
I hope, in the future there will be a listing of new things every two weeks or so, so if you havent already put Flødehesten on your blogroll, now would be a good time. If you are not in to all this blogroll thing send me your email and I will let you know when there are news.

I will be making clothes in the size range from 0 to 6 years, but will be making the individually pieces in sizes, I find suits the actual design. There will be no sold pieces in the shop, but if you want to see them it will be possible at here

The pants below are in sizes 68 cl. (6-12 months) and 74 cl. (1-1½ year). all vintage cotton, machine washed and line dry, each piece unique.

Have a nice day... I will have now a latte and donut to celebrate !

2008-10-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time...

There was a girl who made kids clothes... well she actually made things people really liked, but she knew that if she wanted to grow up and become a real DESIGNER she had to study, and so she did... she constructed patterns over and over again, tested them on crying babies and she did a lot of thinking... life is no fairytale (well, sometimes it is... but that's another story) just a lot of measuring, drawing, cutting, calculating... and still no actual clothes to tell about... But then one day she was done with all the preparations... she could actually sit down by the sewingmachine, switch on the radio and enjoy being productive again. One happy girl who just cant wait to show you the 18 pair of new flødeheste pants !

Oh... by the way a little bird had found its way down the chimney, and insisted on being invited into the studio. It was a sweetie to have around for a couple of hours, before it found its way out to the place where only the sky is the limit... good for birdie...

2008-08-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce "THE OFFICE" ...

This week I finished the office area in my studio. This is where I hang out with all the other secretarys giggling and drinking latte and discussing the last night downtown... well its not quite like that... You see, John just bought all the episodes of sex and the city, and I think we have just watched a few too many. In real life this place is mostly used for reflecting and once in a while a little book keeping ( yak... ). Normally I need a little time to consider how my work is progessing. Should the colour be different, maybe the shape or...
Or maybe my head just gets blank. Then I look in old folders filled with ideas. Some are good but has that "something" missing, some I thought was bad, but then something happened and it evolved into something else and certainly to a lot better and then there are some, that just doesn´t make any sense, but that I still keep because maybe in the future they will make sense. Am I making any sense...

The different cabinets are all thrifted except the one on the right side of the table. That one is from Ikea and holds my printer and other technical stuff. On the left side of the table I have all the transformators for Ipods, PC, kamera etc (very practical). I also collect information I need for some project and leave them hanging on little hooks.

I like my desktop to be rather empty... At least before I start new project. I have a few things to make the place a little cosy. The plant because it is just nice not to be the only thing alive around the place, and a little sign to remind me of how dark and unpractical my old studio was... And how much I just love this place, my new studio, just perfect.

Oh yes, the last picture... dinner : Tabbouleh with melon and tomatoes... Served on one of my favorit plates. Have a nice weekend

2008-08-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Flea market...

This weekend I went to the flea market. Sometimes I get lucky. I found a lot of things I was looking for and a little ekstra, I didn´t know, I needed...

The chairs are electroplated and have wooden strips. They are gonna be used in front of the shop. It is really practical; they can be left out year around. All I have to do is to replace the wooden strips when they get in bad shape... Nice with things, you feel are going to stay with you for the rest of your life...

Here are a couple of the things, I didnt know, I was missing. The sewing mashine and the tin box were just too cute to be left behind. I wish I had a sewing mashine such as that when I was a kid... Instead I had a full funktioning "grown up version" which was probably also a lot better ( but didn´t look that cute... ). I didn´t play with dolls. Nope, I made clothes and furniture for them. I guess the only things changed since are the sizes of the things being made.

The bamboo table is for the sitting area in the back of the studio and shop. I need to replace the glass part; it is cracked. And off course, I had to have those zink buckets when the price was just $ 2 for each. It can be hard to find good quality zink. Usually the new ones contain iron, meaning they will not work with plants because of the rust. It feels a bit wrong to make holes in the bottom of them, but it is nesessary. One of them I will give to Seth to play with in the sandpit, since I find it hard to see the beaty in cheap and faded bright colored plastic toys...

These electroplated trash cans are old municipal ones from the city of Århus. Not yet yet sure what I will use them for, but since they can hang on the wall, I migth use them in the hallway for storing gloves, scarves and the like.

All in all it was a nice trip except the fact that I went there with Seth; he´s bit too young to find the charm of flea market. At once he was trying to crawl out of the pram, I had an angry wasp after me, I was trying to haggle a good deal with the vendor selling the buckets and my mother called ( she was taking care of the shop... nice mom... ). She had a customer there having some questions for me... It was pretty stressy all this happening at once, but it made a couple of spectaors to laugh... and that is not a bad thing at all... I think, next time I will close my cell phone and leave Seth at home. At least until he´s starting to find things for himself.

By the way... Yesterday I was wearing a pedometer. At the end of the day it told me I had done 22000 steps, estimated to the distance of 14 km. Pheeeewwww...! Once in a while I´m thinking how my life would have been if a had a job wearing high heels and a business suit. But can you imagine 22000 a day steps in stilettos...

2008-08-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Seth´s nanny is sweet... and I´m finally WORKING...

After a short visit at the day care we knew inmediately, the place would be really good for Seth... 3 kids and lots of noisy and ugly plastic toys to play with... So the plan went out like: He could start allready this week, but only until noon in the beginning, so he gets used.

A lot of organizing & stuff like raincoats, boots, thermo clothes, diapers and so on ( they give you a list...which is quite practical ), but we are all settled by now. The first two days were great, but today I had to pick him up early. He got homesick and sad so we went home, read a couple of books, had some raisins and everything was fine again... Tomorrow we try again...

AND me...? It´s raining every day here, so I have left the outdoor activities and have spend hours cleaning up the studio. It feels really good, like conquering the space back from to be a playground to working purposes.

Before leaving you I would like to ask you something: For a while I thought nobody was posting because of the summer, or maybe everybody were just busy, like me... BUT, it turned out my RSS feed reader was malfunktioning... It bothers me a lot, because I´m really enjoying to follow what everybody is up to... So any ideas how to fix this little problem are very welcome.

2008-08-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

when things are slow...

It has been a while ago... but sitting again here and writing a blog feels really good. It has always been some kind of reward for me to sit down with these pictures and write about one more finished project... John uses once in a while the phrase: "Now the world is a bit more complete". It can be after any small thing, like vacuuming the floor... But it is not quite that easy when the project is a real big one; like totally completing my shop and studio with every single little thing that's missing... but I am slowly getting there.
The picture below shows the area in front of my shop. You park your car on the other side of the building and walk around the corner following the path with the big windows of the studio on your right hand. The shops´ entrance is covered with tiles. This winter a 30 square meter greenhouse will be built there. It is going to be a part of the shop; I am dreaming of a little area for selling things for garden, and a little place to sit down with a cup of coffee and a muffin... we will see...

But as it is, here is a lot to be done. Trying to finish most of it myself with a little kid around, takes time. Against my own rules I am publishing plans of an unfinished project. I want you to be part of it and share it with me, wondering how it is going to be... ?

Maybe the most important part of the project takes place tomorrow. We are going to visit a day care nanny, hopeful sweet, suitable and willing for taking care of Seth who´s longing to play with other kids and giving me the time to be more productive in my shop and with my shop...

2008-04-29T12:04:00.001-07:00

The mocca cup candleholder... or something about doing things with an ease

This is by so far my favorite candleholder, and yes, I made it. Not in the studio, but at home at the kitchentable, using bits and pieces from the kitchen cabinet. It is assembled with a very strong clear two component glue. Using an element for something else than it was originally intended to, makes it all fun and easy.

There is just something about candleholders... they are complicated. Stubborn little snobbish creatures, not really wanting to have anything to do with others, except that identical one standing next to them. Hmmm... they nag me... But I love candles and I NEED candleholders and this one says: I come in peace...
So, wellcome.

It is the time of the year, where the studio's filled with pots... I throw pots in big patches to fill an order. Something happends after I have thrown the first 20. The repetition, the rhytm , the flow, those tiny variations. At the same time it is 120 small stories and one long one. All I want to do is doing things with an ease because it makes it easier for others to approach it.

2008-04-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

Simple living...

Whenever I see these books about simple living with a cover showing a woman (apparently not wearing any makeup...) sitting in her white clothes on a lawn, looking over the green green hils, it always makes me laugh. That is not simple living. Simple living is wearing dark pants if you´re planning a picnic in the park, without spending the next day trying to wash the stains of, eventually give up and spend a day shopping (which I hate), trying to find another pair, you like as much. Simple living is practical, but maybe not so pretty waterproof plastic containers, you use to transport your food when you´re going to park... Do I have to continue... ?

Simple living is also trying to use whatever you have by hand, may it be yarn, food or cooking books. In this world many things circulate too quickly... Even information... Sometimes you just have to stay put, get the job done and think...

The vests are for Seth and I used yarn left from other projects and some old buttons from my grandmothers stash ( She took all the buttons of clothes before throwing them out... no she did not give them to charity, because what was left, would not be usable for anyone ). The pattern is a traditional vest, used for decades...

Now I will go and scramble a meal together of left over vedgies and what I may find from the fridge. Simply.

2008-03-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Much more than a bookshelf....

This might just look like a normal bookshelf, but it is not. The upper 3rd part contains Johns' books, mostly prosa and quite a few about vintage watches. The middle section is for my books; mostly factual literature, notes of my various projects and some magazines. The lovest part of the shelf got 3 cabinets in it. The one on the left is for all my clothes I wear daily, the one in the middle hides a movie showing device, ( well it's a television and then again, not really, - we haven't got a cable or arial ). The last one on right is for Johns' clothes.

So, what does this say about us ?... John loves literature and books and thinks it as rather excentric that I have sorted all his books by color ( I am not the only one who has done that... ). But my eyes are getting quickly bored. Too many colors without no specific order feels like a big black cloud avoiding me to think. But then again, I use colors, I like colors, and I also love books. So, all MY books are wrapped in white matte foil. I might tell you it is because they need to be strengtened; I pull them in and out of the shelf all the time. But that's not really the reason... I use them as manuals and I just want the maximum esthetic unclutternes and peace for whatever I am working with at the moment...

Yes, we don't have TV. I haven't had one for 10 years, and guess what... I met John, and he didn't have one either, and now we have a child that doesn't watch telly. I think though, when he's about three years, we might get a cable, so he can watch a little once in a while... Why ? Is our anti-telly attitude some kind of religious or ideologic believ... Not really... I just like life more without a TV.

2008-03-02T01:16:00.000-08:00

Something I will actually wear... in a while

I have decided, this year knitting projects got to be something classic... cables... tweed...

This cardigan has been in my mind for about ten years, and I can see myself using it with jeans or just loose and relaxed over a dress. Really nothing spectacular, but something very usefull.

My plan is to make 2 of them... one long and one short. The long one in thin grey blue Shetland Wool combined with thicker cream coloured wool. Needle sixe 6 and with 14 stitches on 10 cm. I have started planning the pattern; drawing the patterns and cables on a grid. For the short one will be some kind of cream or oatmeal tweed. I also need to get my hands on a real good book with lots of knitting stitches. I have made a reservation at the library for "Vogue, dictionary of knitting stitches". Coming back to that book whole the time, I might have to buy it.

So much planning. In the meantime I am trying to use all the bits and pieces of yarn for socks and vests for Seth... show you that later...

2008-02-12T23:13:00.000-08:00

Going to the library

Since I was child, I have loved libraries and books. I don't read many fiction books but I love factual literatur that cover any subject, may it be art, science , or some third thing... And offcourse, the ones with many pictures are the best. In our town we have a great library, and I visit it as often as I can. My plan is to bring our son Seth there and make him enjoy it as much as I do.

For his one year birthday I made this library tote. It fits over his shoulder, but the strap is adjustable, so it stays with him for a long while. It has attached a wooden ring, he can have things hanging, like these beads and the crochet covered bell. Later I hope he will have his Ipod, keys, cellphone or something else... we will see

The thing is... I want one too... hmmmm... But then he would probably be too embarrased using his... Such a dilemma...

2008-01-29T12:36:00.000-08:00

My dad...

Before my dad started to grow plants and flowers for living, he used to work as decorator. Back in the early sixties part of the education as decorator was to hand paint signs. I love the way a hand painted sign looks, so, of course he had to create the new sign for my studio ( Well, he made the old one as well... nice with a talented family ! ).

As young dude he used to work in the very finest women's clothing shop in our town. One day they received a whole shipment of finest Scottish woolen fabrics, and my father and his colleagues had a bet going on; would dad be recognized walking through the city in disguise. The local newspaper shoot pictures and wrote an article about the Scottish fabrics ( this was for about 40 years before the Internet... ). Oh, how I love that picture; those cars... that outfit... and well, I guess, my dad too. I wish, our town was just as pretty now, as back then!

2008-01-09T13:28:00.000-08:00

Ikea Hacker

I have always liked the way light filters through handtrown porcelain; it reminds me of the rings of Saturn. It has long been the plan to make new lampshade for the Ikea lamp BASISK. The lamp is simple but has the perfect fitting making it really easy to change the shade. Perfect for me since I am a potter, not an electrician. We have three of these lamps by our sofa, and I love the way the shades gives out light so similar to candles.

2008-01-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

The Famous White Tablecloth

Sometimes you have to do it. Make life something special, do something extra, spread the white cloth on table and get properly dressed for dinner. We have just one kitchen cabinet that holds our china, which in this case is NOT from China, but mostly earthenware from my studio. Not much space, but I'm trying to combine the tableware in a way we have all we need at hand, not only for everyday dinner but also for special occasions like Christmas and birthdays. I sewed the white linen tablecloth just a day before Christmas eve and made an effort to make the edges and corners to look sharp and good. Next year I will sew napkins to go with it.

The Christmas was wonderfully hectic; family over for Christmas eve, Seth's birthday and friends & family visiting, but I think we are back on track by now.

We don't have curtains because I just love the light in our apartment, but at winter the naked windows look so very big and dark. So, I put up this winter decoration made of two different type of oilcloth. I just stick it to the window with double adhesive tape. It can take the rain if the window stays open and it doesn't fall of even in windy weather. As you can see, it softens the rather harsh winter light. When the light gets stronger and days longer in April, we put it away for next year. Maybe next year with a different border... who knows...

2007-12-21T10:42:00.001-08:00

A new and great design blog about kids stuff

Irene has this wonderfull blog Bloesem and now she has launched a new one Bloesem kids. Oh yes, we need this blog... Congratulations...

In Irenes own words:

"It is all about cool stuff for kids…not a laundry list of products you can buy for your kids…but more like a carefully put together selection…cherry picking…among everything that is available which can be quite overwhelming sometimes…so B:Kids will set out to do just that…help you navigate and give inspiration…."

I feel very honored that my design Flødehesten is among her cherry pickings. Go check it out...

2007-12-17T12:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas Preparations...

Can it be called for Christmas Preparation when it is already the 17.th of December ?!? Well I do... You know there is Christmas next year too, and even if I am not keeping the sweets, I Will keep my Christmas manual ( as John - laughing - calls my rather autistic approach to these seasonal holiday things. But honestly, it is just because I want to save time and be relaxed. My way of doing is really to get into it. I write everything down, make lists and so on, so I can later just switch to auto pilot... Am I weird ? Well maybe, but it works...

The sweets are mixed up of all the good things I like... nougat, dried apricots, orange blossom water, cognac, coffee, white chocolate...

The Candle holder vase is one of a small series in light cream colour, cream and aqua green. It was made because I needed a way of displaying flowers and candles together, in a low key way... just a single flower in springtime, some green at winter, and maybe just a matchbox when things are a bit too busy...

The candle holder vase will be awailable on my website next week. Look under the catagory "unique pieces"

Christmas preparations...

2007-12-17T12:17:00.000-08:00

The local newspaper came by...

Me taking a picture of the photographer taking a picture of... The local paper wanted to write an article about how things are coming along, since I moved the studio to the countryside. The headline says "Far out on the countryside but close to the Paradise". Phase 1 in the rebuilding of the studio is finished and phase 2 ( the final one ) will have to wait to spring... Now I need to focus on the ceramics and hopefully some more sewing since all the ideas are piling up in my head... Well, that's good, isn't it ?

2007-12-03T10:01:00.000-08:00

Re-establishing traditions...

This Christmas is a special one for us. It is Seths´ first Christmas... sort of... since he was born December 27th, he had a little of it last year... It is also the first time we are celebrating Christmas ( Hanukkah, would John maybe say ? ) in our little family... with Christmas dinner and all that... We would like our X-mas to be nice and tasseled with magic, but most important; let´s have it without stress this year...

I made This "Christmas stocking" for Seth a little late... Lucky me, he doesn't know the calendar yet. I wanted to make something he can have trough whole his childhood and it can be used for either 24 gifts or maybe just 4 ( a danish advent tradition, 24 days or 4 Sundays before the X-mas )... I found the little embroidered bell string from a 2nd hand shop, and I liked the colours. Running out of time, between 5am and 7am it was made and ready.

Oh yes, as you can see, I still haven't painted that bed... I will get to that soon... but HOW... Where could he take his nap while... Just can't figure out the logistics of this project... I guess I should have painted it before the smaller bed was moved out... hmmmmm...

2007-11-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

Time for being practical....again...

I finished Seths' new winter suit.... Just in time, because it is getting rather cold here. I couldn't find one I liked, so I had to sew one myself. I wanted one soft enough for him to move around, and I didn't find it necessary that it could cope with minus 35 degrees Celsius and wear and tear of the toughest military outfit. If he has to crawl around in mud pools - not really my plan - then he just wears extra pair of pants made of water proof beaver nylon. He is not even one year yet... I used some of the leftover fleece to make the small mittens... really easy and a really good idea... I keep the rest of the fleece... 'cause we will sure lose them over and over again...

2007-11-24T10:44:00.000-08:00

Early mornings...

Maybe you remember...??!... John took the last three months of the maternity ( paternity ) leave, but today was the last day... so new beginning: Now Seth has to follow me daily to the studio... Oh yes, I can hear you saying "hmmm, is that possible...?" And yes, it is. We get up at 6am and after 1 hour of eating, getting dressed and drinking coffee ( eh, mostly me ) we're heading to the studio. Seth plays in the "kindergarten" ( a low platform about 5 square meters with a wooden floor, fence and of course a little gate ). I got some ideas for decorating it, but that has to wait until spring, because now starts the Pottery Time... well... I quickly fire up the stove and then I have about 1 hour for doing a little miscellaneous work before it is time for Seth's morning nap at about 9am... Two hours of throwing pots, then eating, playing, taking a walk, working, eating and Seth having an afternoon nap. Again two hours of concentrated work. Seth wakes up and he plays a little before we drive home. 12 hours gone since we stood up.

Note to myself :...Make tiny mittens for Seth just like my own studio ones.....

2007-11-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

Howdie Owlie...

My plan was actually to renovate Seths new bed, but I ended up making this little Owlie in stead of. When we bought the 2nd hand kiddie bed, I was rather satisfied with the colour....but since the paint now peels of, revealing a rather girly pink, I guess I have to paint it. Being rather tired of painting right now, I ended up at the sewing machine... hmmm so much more fun... The Owl was a make-along-thing... not that much of thinking, just playing... I like the results, and so does Seth......

Owls are favorite animals of mine, signaling intelligence, sweetness and a little bit of funny arrogance.... I think that kind of softie is the best companion at nighttime, and I hope Seth will have long weird scientific discussions with the Owlie.

2007-11-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

Let there be light..

Finally we took the time to hang up the lamp we bought on an auction. It has been in storage room for several months, but we had to do something since the days where getting shorter. It is designed by the danish architect Vilhelm Lauritzen in the 50´s and is called Radiohuspendel ( Radio House Lamp ) since it was made for the old Danisk National Radio City in Copenhagen. They were also used at a school building designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen ( see the picture below ). I really like the shape and size of it, and with a light regulator it is perfect for both working and really cozy together with candles.... perfect...

My working board by the bench is rather empty at the moment....all my time goes to rebuilding my shop and workshop, no clay, no fabrics...just painting, painting and well.. painting...I miss getting into crafting again...but I also know you have to prepare canvases or you are forever stuck with pencil and paper....

2007-10-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for fall...

Today I saw a lot of birds heading south. I spend the day in the studio making sure the clay was stored safely for the winter, moving the fragile plants inside and so on. It has allready been below zero at night, but the weather is clear beautifull, and I am not complaining...

I made the cardigan and hat for Seth using this pattern, with a few changes to make it not so girlish...He is still to small for shoes so I made a pair of knitted boots ( I am afraid these will be to small in two weeks ) .....The pattern is from Erika Knights book: simple knit for cherished babies ( I just made them a little longer )

We are building the studio, so most of the time goes with painting and so on, but soon I will show you....

2007-10-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

About knitting...

I use to knit these very complicated patterns, but something has changed...Now knitting is more some kind of meditation for me. I need it to be simple, without the constant looking at the patterns, counting and so on...I love wearing thin cardigans over tops and dresses, so I decided to make a pattern using my own sewing pattern. I knit all the edges by hand ( really easy...no counting...pure relaxation ), and then I finish it on the very old knitting mashine that I have from my grandmother. I crochet the button front ( again no counting ). I made the pattern with the help from the freeware program >Graph paper printer. I made a simple grid that fit to the gauge of my yarn and then I just trace the pattern on the grid...

I have knitted ribbon ready for take 2, and I will make some changes...shorter, rounded edges at upper front, dyed brown...Then take 3 in alpaca wool...take four in cashmere...........

2007-10-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

Home again

We are home.....There has been a change in situation....I'm no longer dwelling in a greek café with my laptop, drinking fresh cool orange juice....no... I'm working in my studio, hands all covered in clay, drinking coffee, foggy landscape outside and two hunters walking by my big windows with a dead fox...beautiful animal, but very quiet...sad....

I like working in the studio... And find it strange to think about the fact that some people don't appreciate the work of hands...like our old greek landlord that doesn't have to do physical work to make a living. He shows that by keeping his thumb nails long ( I'm not a peasant, he tells ) ....I always have short nails, and I never wear rings, because It makes me feel like I cant breathe....

2007-09-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

Another way of life

We went on a barbecue with some new friends. She is from Thailand and he is from Portugal. They live in an camping van with their two kids. They are both 22 years old and have been travelling around the world for the last 4 years. Pedro already was travelling as a kid, since his father was doing exactly the same as he is doing today...selling handcrafted jewelry on the sidewalk. It was as if we were back in the sixties (well that's what John says...you see I can't really know that since I am rather "young"). It is amazing to hear a very young person - Pedro - saying " you can not get anything good quality anymore, everything has changed to the worse". I don't agree, some good things has disappeared, but there is also somethings that has changed to the better.....an example...I love the fact that the the Internet has given me the opportunity to get connected with people doing things similar to what I do....If I want a good quality silk jersey, and I just can't find it anywhere in my local stores...well it is no problem anymore...see I think that is a good thing for people not living in the big cities...