Friday, September 18, 2009

Tonic for the soul

I am currently on my annual 'pilgrimage' to Colorado:) Time spent with good friends in a warm climate and incredible nature just outside the door - it is tonic for the soul at the moment. A couple of days ago we went hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. This was the view from the parking lot!
We first walked around Bear Lake. The aspen has just started to turn yellow. I was suprised to see it could actually turn orange, too! It was such a fluorescent colour - it almost hurt your eyes.
We kept going up the mountains, past several lakes. The trail had beautiful views going both up and down.
Some of the mountains are so high up that the clouds were hanging around them. I could feel the high altitude as we walked up towards our final destination:
Emerald Lake. By then we were far, far, far higher than the highest mountain in Norway, and the air was pretty thin. But the view was magnificent. Hard to not love this place:)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Old and new

I wanted to get my friends in Colorado something handmade and Norwegian this time, and found this great idea in one of my many books. These are Hardanger, sewn on linen (flax) with linen thread, how they used to do it originally. I then added some old lace from the stash I got from my grandmother. I kind of like the look.

Kind of bugs me that the small strip of lace is crooked, but hey! it is handmade, OK?
This was a 45 year birthday gift to one of my 'bestest' friends in Colorado. She has four kids, and I admire her ability to handle all those busy lives. So when I saw this: A mothers pocket is filled with love, I thought of her right away.It is a Cinderberry pattern. I love her lines and the amazing amounts of fun details. Aren't the babies cute?

There are slightly more than four kids on this one, though....

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Baby steps on baby Jane

Another first step on my Dear Jane. I realised that I had finished up the blocks for the two first rows, two out of 13. So I started to sew them together. Slowly....

Lots of work. Have to make sure each block has the correct measurements, sew on the extra stripes etc. So it took me awhile to get these first six sewn together. But it is a start!

Now for the the other 219 blocks...

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Box me in

Don't know what it is with cats and small spaces. Even at his age....
IKEA bags use # 13 - sleeping place for cats.