Och snart är det jul

I helgen var det Öppet hus på Skogsbo. Det var himla trevligt, gott om besökare och tiden bara rann i väg! Jag spenderade, som vanligt, tiden i köket men tror att jag hann hälsa på alla.

Det var inte utan att jag kände av en smygande jullängtan. Årets första. Detta fick mig att genast börja planlägga vilka julmarknader som skall besökas i år. Under den kommande helgen är det Livstycket i Tensta och Hoppa hage med flera i Gustavbergs hamn som lockar. Nästa helg är det Konstfack och helgen därpå, alltså Luciahelgen slår Beckmans upp portarna.

Troligtvis blir det i vilket fall ett besök på Skansen och Rosendal. Har du inte varit och firat Midvintersolståndet på Rosendal tidigare - med eldfest och allt så har du chansen den 20 december.

När det gäller Konstfacks julmarknad är det två elever som jag är alldeles särskilt nyfiken på! Dels är det Fideli Sundqvist med sina underbara pappersklipp och porslinsjulhängen, och sedan är det Henning Trollbäck som gjort detta helt underbara Dalahästtryck! Trycket hittade jag idag via Kurbits, men ta en titt i hans blogg för en fantastisk tändsticksaskskrubba (dagens glosa!).

Visst är det fantastiskt fint!

Ett annat spännande evenemang den närmsta tiden är Jul & Hantverksmässan på Kistamässan. Särskilt spännande skall det bli att se den Bästa Återbruksklappen koras! Ett bra och vettigt initiativ tycker jag. Med på mässan finns också Recycle Design - Återbruk från Eskilstuna Folkhögskola. Jag tänkte gå på fredagen, är det någon som vill göra mig sällskap?

Ha en bra vecka! Själv tänkte jag bli klar med vårens program på Skogsbo redan på onsdagen och sedan lata mig resten av veckan. Det låter som en plan!

Just married!

This saturday Björn and I got married in the beautiful herb-garden at Skogsbo. It was perfect! Family, great weather, fantastic food and beautiful ceremony, almost exactly nine years after we first met.

The sun is shining today - spring is not only in the air, but inside - outside and in-between. Wish I had brought my knitting for some outdoor-knitting during my lunchbreak today. Maybe I will take a walk down by the water instead.

Anyhow, the Skogsboblogg is now up and running. Some of you will not be able to read it since it is all in swedish, but on the other hand - I hope that you will enjoy the pictures. I also hope that you come by and visit. Just let me know.

Take care, and enjoy the sunshine - I sure will!

Yet another week

This week, winter returned to Stockholm. Some of us (Little V) highly enjoys this, some of us don't. Monday, I had cup of coffee outside at Skogsbo, sitting at the stairs - listening to the birds and the silence. When I arrived there tuesday morning it was like arriving in a christmas card.

I also wanted to show you some random pictures from this past week at Skogsbo; weaving-, upholstery- and paintingcircles and the sleeping herbgarden . A ordinary Tuesday at Skogsbo - I will launch the blog soon. This weekend!


Yesterday I went to the opening of a very exciting collaboration between swedish and slovakian craftspeople called "Sloverige" at Svensk Slöjd. Andrea Filová told us about her beautiful perforated and painted eggs - who are a part of this exhibition which will travel Sweden and Slovakia. Showing the similarities in traditions and tecnique, rather than the differences. It is well worth a visit! The pictures are taken from the Svensk Slöjd website!

Eggs by Andrea Filová and wooden birds by Miloslav Jaros.

I also FINALLY met Frida Engström, the author of design/slöjd/craftblog "Kurbits". She is also one the editors of Tidskriften Hemslöjden.

Nest week I will finally get along to see a very interesting exhibition at Nordiska Museet: Fair fashion?. Every wednesdayevening there is a debate on sustainable fashion at the museum, see you there this upcoming wednesday? I'll be there.

Valdar has bulit some WONDERFUL robots this past week - and I asked him if I could show the to you. And I could; may I present - Little V and the Robots!

I just LOVE them, and him of course!

So, what else? I am still knitting at my Trellis scarf, and since the pattern will not show properly until finished and blocked I don't have any pictures for you. What I do have is BEAUTIFUL pics of blankets from The Great English Outdoors. All these wonderful blankets and woven loveliness comes from their website, where you also can purchase them... *sigh*

Pictures, Tapestries and Blankets from The Great English Outdoor.

If you are in Sweden, I do hope that you have not missed out on the premiere episode on one of the best tv-programme on SVT for a long time ... "Från trädgård till tallrik" or "From the Garden to the Table: Growing, Cooking, and Eating Your Own Food ".

Finally some great music;
Jenny Wilson and the equally talented Yael Naim - especially love the line "How can you stay outside - there is a beautiful mess inside" from the song "Far far".

Have a great weekend!

EDIT: Frida just put up a video of Andrea Filová over at Kurbits!

Saturday

Yesterday I finished my first week at my new job. Everything is exciting, new, a bit confusing at times but on the whole almost to good to be true. I am very happy, to say the least. I spent a couple of hours at Skogsbo today aswell and realised that even though it is a beautiful place during winter, spring will be even more beautiful this year. I so enjoy the walk from the tram, among the sleeping gardens and houses, the woods and all the birdsong and then arriving at Skogsbo. Such a silent and kind place..! Valdar visited Skogsbo for the first time ever today and his first statement was "It is beautiful". We raised him well :-)

After spening an hour or two at Skogsbo we visited my grandmother who lives close by. Valdar and Farmor enjoys eachothers company a great deal, and it also feels great for me to be able to be closer to her at least a couple of days a week. After all, she turns 85 years this August.

This evening I have been replanting all our indoor plants - there are quite a few - and I got to use some of the 1950´s flowerpots I thrifted this wednesday, visiting Heléne in Täby. I have got a softspot for beautiful flowerpots you see, so I have alse fallen in love with pots by Anna Broström.

The one to the right is made by Anna Broström.

And then I painted my fingernails. It is Saturday, after all...

My knitting at the moment is going very well thank you. I bought some lovely, soft green/yellowish 2ply pälsull by Fjällbete at a craftfair in Östersund 1,5 years ago. I am knitting a kind of rustic version of the Trellis scarf by the talented Evelyn A. Clark. Lovely and fast knit, since I am using a thick-er and thick-er needles, although the rows where I have to knit seven stitches together no less then three times gets me inventing new profanities . Have to finish it soon though, in order to wear it a s a p ...

And so I finally got to visit one of the more impressive on-line shops I have ever seen! I bet you have been there before, but I had not. Such a impressive and tasteful collection of great products. Do visit Cosas, and if you don't have time I will show you some of the thing that left me speachless, impressed and longing.. Pictures are taken from the Cosas website.

All these pictures comes from the Cosas website

So, how are you? Have you noticed that it smells of spring outside? Even on the cold and gloomy days, something has shifted - and I always enjoy the shift. And I celebrate it by replanting flowers, cleaning, sorting out messy cupboards, piles of fabric and linen, by taking baths and long walks. By trying to take time to breath and enjoy - and sometimes succeding. By planting seeds to later plant outside on the balcony. Little V enjoys planting, and he also enjoys the idea of an aquarium of his own. In a couple of weeks that will be a reality. He can't wait. He wakes up every morning, asking about the water, the fishes and the aquarium. We will see, it is great seeing him this engaged. It is actually very nice to come home earlier aswell, to spend more time with Little V, B and by myself.

Take care, and have a lovely sunday!

Studio Violet
morkarin
manos
Afroart - do notice the new Etiopian stools!

Here I am!

Yes, here I am. Behind the mittens :-) This past months has been interesting ones to say the least! We´ve been celebrating christmas, driven about 1500 km - visiting friends and family all around the country - we spent little more than a week at Grimslätt. Knitting, cooking, baking, going for long walks and spending time with friends and the sheep..!

Little V got skiis for christmas and he LOVES them. So there was alot of skiing. Back in Stockholm we are still waiting for winter; as in snow.

The Grimslätt-sheep :-) One got away!

The main reason for me being so happy these days is, besides health and great family/friends, the fact that I start my new Very Exciting job on the 1st of March :-) I will tell you more about this, of course - but in short I will take care of and be in charge of a beautiful house; craft workshop and school. There are workshops in weaving, ceramics, fusing, painting, embroidery painting furniture and beyond. AND there is a wonderful garden...

May I present- Hantverksgården Skogsbo, which is a part of Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan; SV Stockholm. There will be a blog soon!

The glass veranda

Re-planting geraniums in the kitchen.

Different furniture, during their re-make

Needless to say; I love it. I will tell you more and show you more. At the moment I am just trying to take it all in. That it is for real, that this wonderful place is for real and that I will be working here, developing the workshops, taking care of the visitors and the house - for a long time.

I am SO happy!

Take care!

A note: there is ONE Grimslättmitten-kit left, the pattern is in swedish and if you are interested, send me an email asap. There will be more Grimslätt-patterns out this spring!