How I spent November and December

All gifts have now been received, so I can finally share how I spent the last two months. Apart from my job, that is.


A penguin Christmas hanging for my niece.


Two Bridgewater shawls, one for my mom and another one for my SIL.

My goddaughter was born on the second day of Christmas, which here in Norway means 26th of December. This year she turned 18! When do they stop getting older? Sigh. So yesterday I was there for the family celebration. Lovely, as always:) she got her first sewing machine this Christmas. Can't wait to see here creations:)

I had found a lovely Norwegian knitting, Jorid Linvik, and went wild with her mittens.


The text is the snow-song from Winnie the Pooh, in Norwegian.


Angel for an angel:)


I made these for her mom. The moose is the same as we have on out traffic signs, watch out for crossing moose:)

I also made this Leftie scarf for the 18 year old. Yarn bought at Fancy Tiger crafts in Denver. Fun store. Madeleinetosh. Gorgeous yarn.


Colors a little wrong.


This is closer.

So, now it is just three delayed gifts left. No, I am wrong.... Six. Goodness.... I really should start earlier. Or give myself a year off making gifts...

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My Japanese garden

Here is it finally. My Japanese garden. Japanese because all the fabric is Japanese, and garden because these flowers are normally called my grandmothers garden.


1946 hexagons, all hand sewed together into 247 flowers.


I ended up machine quilting it. It was a big and heavy quilt to drag through my sewing machine, but it was all done for love, and with a lot of love:)

My aunt and uncle have been my reserve parents, giving me all the positive backing and feedback I did not get at home, for various reasons. They were also, and still are, the most fun and adventurous people I know. Being the only one in my family who even wanted to travel, and live, outside our little village, I always felt I was strange and weird. Except with aunt and uncle, who always travelled and had exotic stories to tell.

I hope to be as energetic, lively and adventurous as they are when I turn 70. So this quilt is to celebrate 50 years of marriage, and turning 70 years old in a very young way. Congrats, baron and baroness:)


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Getting close

Suffering from a slight case of lethargy at the moment. Hoping it will not completely take over. In any case, I started my new Christmas tree last night. Not quite decorated yet, but the lights themselves makes it look good. I don't have a good place for a real tree, so I try to find other ways. Pinterest is a good source for ideas:)


I also managed, finally, to finish up this pillow. It's a Christmas gift, so it needs to get done:)


Now for the last few ones. Wish there were time enough. Another week would have been good:)

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End as it will

This one, the Supernatural hexagon quilt, which will probably be renamed My Japanese Garden, has worried me with its ending. Hexagons do not give a straight edge, unless you do a lot of half hexagons. And the thought of edging around all the edges did not seem right to me. It would steal 1/4" from all the edges. But then the wonderful Internet gave me a neat solution.


I made one full circle of hexagons, which meant I could use even more of my leftovers:), and then sewed them on the front, right side to right side. Then I cut off the excess batting and backing....


..turned them all over, and stitched in on at the back. I probably should have hand sew them on, but I figure one machine seam on this quilt would be ok. Time is running out, anyway. It would look like a part of the quilting.


This is how I looks on the front. I have to press them a little to make the edges a little crisper, but I do like the look:) the hexagon shape has been protected:)


I will get a full picture of it as soon as I can.

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Secret time of the year

It's the secret time of the year. It is hard to post any finishes, as most of the recipients  read my blog. But this one I can share. It is another 'Bridgewater', second one. It is for my mom.


She saw mine last year, and told me she wanted one. In white. So here it is.


I used my new blocking pins, it was sooo much easier than using a lot of needles:)


It goes into my Christmas gift bag, the secret bag with the rest of the gifts. The bag is from the exhibition we visited in Denver: Becoming Van Gogh. As every good Whovian, I could not miss that one!


And as a quilter, I could not miss this bag. (a gift from a good friend:)) The picture is of a quilt, inspired by Bedroom in Arles, Vincent Van Gogh. Six quilters made one strip each. Wish I could have seen this original. However, the exhibition was incredible.

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New stash!

Not that I needed to add to my stash, but what can you do? My friends made sure I visited every new and old fabric and yarn stores in the area. Not buying seems sacrilege. Right?


One of the quilt stores had this gorgeous Halloween quilt in the window. I love Halloween. And they had a kit for it! Seemed like a sign:)


This is the center panel:) I wish I could make it now, the fabric is calling for me, but Christmas gifts have priority. Sigh.


And here is the yarn. The picture is not giving the colors justice. They are so much more vibrant. I love the names they give the colors; Ophelia, thyme, Cousteau, rhythm of the saints. Most of it is Madelinetosh, all of the ones on the right, on the left is cascade and Sundara yarn. Some of it is destined for gifts, but the green is all mine.... Rich, emerald green. I am visioning a big shawl....


Ending with a fall picture. It's been so wet for days now, so when the sun got out this morning, it felt like my eyes were opening up. Wish it could last. Fall is dark and dank around here.

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Over a month?

I can't believe it is over a month since my last post. Both what a month! I spent three weeks in Colorado, my second home, to celebrate my big birthday.

We had beautiful, warm fall days,

snow days, 

aaand back to warm fall days again.

I was lucky enough to go to the Denver Art Museum to see the unique exhibition: Becoming Van Gogh (an exhibition that warmed my Whovian heart:))

I got to spend a weekend at a very luxurious hotel up in Aspen.

And celebrate Halloween, several times!

 Love the decorations:)

And I celebrated my birthday several times:) it was good to spend time with friends I have known half my life, to see my beloved Colorado again, and spend three weeks in the sun before I had to go back to a cold and dark Norway.

I am now hibernating in my apartment, making Christmas presents. Well, when I don't have to be at work, that is....

Still hate this part

I knitted my first sweater at 13. My mom showed me how to machine sew the seams and then cut the opening. It made me shaky and nervous then, and it still does. Which is why I can knit four sweaters in a month, but wait weeks before I finish them. (There is one in my closet I finished knitting a year ago...). It is so easy to destroy weeks of work with one snip of the scissor. Still, I have only made one big mistake, so far, (and that was two years ago).


But it is amazing that something like this,


and this,


can in the end turn out ok! The only mistake this time - it might too small for the recipient! Darn. But that train has left the station many weeks ago, I am afraid:)

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Half of a nightmare

The 'nightmare' that is machine quilting a big quilt, consists of two parts: basting and quilting.


Half is done this weekend, the basting. My fingers are sore, my back and knees hurts, but it is done!

I will be testing quilting-in-the-ditch method this time. Never done that before, but it is hard to get a hexagon quilt quilted well. They are usually hand quilted, but if I do that, it will never get done.

We shall see:) at the moment it will be resting while I finish a gift I am bringing with me on my upcoming trip to the US. Soooo looking forward to that.

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While I was out walking...

Mushrooms are out! Not so edible, though...


Spiders!


Beautiful blue sky, and sea


Picking blueberries and such.


A wonderful Saturday spent with family and dogs, even if summer is over. For this year.

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Empty

I went to an old glass factory yesterday. For some reason I did not take pictures of that (mostly too touristy) but I saw this old building next to it. An old, little church. Old empty houses fascinate me. I wonder what made them empty and unused. What was the last thing it was used for, and why did people stop using it?


I ended up asking the museum lady at the glass factory. They had bought the building, and had not quite decided what to use it for.


However, there are, she claimed, gorgeous glass decorations inside, made by the factory people, and they should be open to the public. I am sad I did not get to see it. I hope they don't wait too long, as it is fading away.


I finished a first sock. Love the color of the yarn. Fabel, color Carnival. Always worry when I finish the first one. Can I get to the other one fast enough and not fall for the temptation of doing something else...


It is like knitting sleeves... Two of the same, getting them to look the same. Sigh.
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One rainbow, two rainbows...

Getting of the underground on my way home last night (it is still light outside at 8 pm), I was met with sunshine, rain and rainbows! It was an almost perfect arch.

 And then I saw, a little start of a second rainbow over the first.

Is it lucky to see not just one, but two rainbows?

Supernatural hexagon quilt

I can't believe it is done! Well, the flimsy is done. But still! So many stitches, so many, many, many. Trust me, it went beyond six seasons of Supernatural! Add to that three seasons of Castle, five seasons of Dr Who (ninth, tenth and eleventh).

It consists of 247 hexagon flowers. 1 777 hexagons are cut, basted and sewn on.

Now I have to think about backing, quilting and binding (or facing). And find a more suitable name. Grandma's Japanese garden? I have used up all my Japanese fabric stash for this one!

It is going to be strange to not have this monster to sew in the evening anymore....

Done and done

Finally got around to take pictures of the finished Hideaway quilt. It's been done for a while, but rainy days and busy days and lazy days kept getting in the way. But here it is.


Done



And done



I kind of like the red binding:)


I also finished the last commission from my niece:)
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Endless, endless

Here is the progress on my hexagon quilt. Have about 50 more to go. And that means I am at the end!


My goodness... I wonder if I dare count them all... I call it my Supernatural quilt, as I have made most of this while re-watching all seasons of Supernatural. I am on to re-watching Dr. Who. From the ninth doctor. Of course. I hope to get done before the episodes run out. In any case, it has to be done by November, for the golden wedding anniversary.

In the meantime.... The sky was wonderfully rain-less and gorgeous last night!


Oh, and that endless necessary knitting... Can't show it yet. It is for a blog follower and a friend who turned 50 this spring. I am bringing it with me to him in October, so it has to be a secret for now. How it looks, at least:)

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