Nästan sommar

Dagarna rinner verkligen iväg, men solen skiner och det går liksom inte fortare än det går. Deadlines för det ena och det andra, överlämningar och avslut på jobbet - nio arbetsdagar kvar nu. Andra uppdrag som avslutas och nya projekt som får utrymme. Det verkar kunna hända spännande saker i framtiden, men mest av allt händer det ju spännande saker om två månader. Och visst är det mer och mer det som tar min uppmärksamhet. Det går helt enkelt inte att bortse ifrån det, jag övar mig på att njuta och inte se det som ett bekymmer. Det är ju faktiskt fantastiskt!

I fredags var jag på besök hos fotografen Malin Nuhma, hemma hos henne och familjen på Djurgården. Tänk vad underbart att en barnfamilj kan bo så! Väl unt och vansinnigt trevligt. Det skall bli roligt att se resultatet, rätt vad det är kanske jag kan visa delar av det!

Det var dags för en ny stickning (Ravelry länk). Jag har länge velat ge mig i kast med Elizabeth Zimmermanns "Baby sweater on two needles" ur februariavsnittet ut hennes "Knitter´s Almanac".
Den är vansinnigt rolig att sticka, och efter en stunds huvudkliande insåg jag att vissa mönster är så välgjorda och snillrika att det är precis så enkelt som det står i mönstret. Vilken lycka!

Tired and happy!

What a day! I started by spending the morning at Skansens klädkammare. It is sort of an open collection - not a museum - where they not only keep clothes from different timeperiods and areas to show and keep traditions and tecniques, but they also use some of the items in the different farmsteads and scenes in the Openair museum. So, if you wish study some part of this collection - be it a certain tecnique or a certain garment you can apply to do so. I studied everyday knitted garments. The pictures above shows of to of my new friends from today. The one on top is a coat knitted in one of the most traditional Binge patterns. The next picture shows a detail from a 1940´s cardigan. Plain and very beautiful.

After lunch it occured to me that the had a Fabricsale at Klädkammaren. So I stayed. And bought some fabrics. Mostly scraps and small pieces but also larger pieces. Perhaps I will show you some of them tomorrow!

And then, this evening I attended the annual meeting of Stockholms Läns Hemslöjdsförening and received a grant! I will use this grant to develope a set of classes on different craft-tecniques. I am honoured and very happy about this encouragement!

I hope you had a nice monday!

The weekend in short

Tuesday already! Thought I´d begin by showing you some pictures from this weekend.

Saturday. I went to Slöjdhuset (The Sloyd/Crafthouse) and attended a papercuttingclass, held by artist Agneta Flock. The papercut on the top was made by a very talented woman attending the class.. The next three pictures shows the papercuts made by me, Satoko and another friend and shows some of the exercises we went through: a tree, different kinds of trees, hearts with things growing out of them and so on.

I really enjoy papercutting and it is something I have devoted some time over the past eight years. I think I will spend even more time cutting now, as I have noticed Valdar really enjoy playing around cutting shapes in left over pieces of paper and cardboard.

Nikki McClure
Tord Boontje
Scherenschnitte
Peter Callesen
Robert Ryan





Sunday we went to Överjärva gård to visit this years eastermarket. Of course I visited Karin Erikssons newly opened shop manos, where we are not only able to purchase Karins wonderful ceramics, but also other carefully selected items from artists and crafters like Port 2 Port Press, Camilla Engman and Processor among others. It is a great shop, a welcoming atmosphere and I will return - at the launch of this if not sooner.

Afterwards we visited the market, bought some freshly baked walnut/olivebread, caramel almonds (or is it candied), had some tea in the and visited the baby lambs. Valdar, of course, vistied his favourite tractor. This time, hiding (resting?) beneath a blanket. We also past by Eva and Nicke - admired their items: handwoven doubleweaved rug rags, steelwire baskets and handcarved birds.

More pictures form this weekends various adventures at flickr.

Yesterday we entered a three day intensive woodturningclass. I thoroughly enjoy it, although I have to admit I am not completly relaxed around machines that size. And I do enjoy fairly quite forms of crafting. Our teacher, Åke Landström is vastly competent- both at his craft and as a teacher. Should you ever get the chance to take one of his classes, you really should. Tomorrow I hope to make a nystpinne. And maybe a small spin (snurra helt enkelt). Keep your fingers crossed for me, hopefully I will be able to show you some kind of result.

On the needles:
Finally I have decided what to make from the lovely Noro Silk Garden I bought about two years ago. It will be a Lady Eleanor Entrelac Stole - pattern by Kathleen Power Johnson from Scarf Style. This far, I enjoy it. I think that this will be my easterknitting. I am in a very impatient mood that goes well with the possibility of making one square, seeing the result and then decided whether I want to make one more.

Now, time for tea and som blogreading.

Still tired

It is no more exciting than a cold. I inherited one. So, I mostly spent this weekend in my bed - reading, sleeping, knitting and reading to Valdar. Tomorrow I will start as a trainee at one of my favourite shops in Stockholm: Afro Art. I will also appear as a guest-blogger at Kravallslöjd next week, starting tomorrow. Kravallslöjd translates into something like "Riotsloyd" or "Riothandi-craft". It will be in Swedish, but I might translate bits and pieces into english and put it up here. It will be a inspiring and interesting week! My cold sadly compelled me to miss both a long wished-for birthday and a gettogether with the Spinning Guild in Uppsala.

And some pictures.

I am SO happy about this yarn! Bought it from the owner of Herrviks Gård at the Woolday last weekend. The yarn is spun i Estonia from the pälsfår and finullsfår they own, but the farm is situated about 100km from where we live.
Hopefully the dark brown one will turn into a faroe-shawl in a while. I have been searching for the Perfect Yarn. This just might be it.

This is a close up of one of my WIPs. A shawl knitted from single ply yarn from Grimslättgård - frequently blogged here! Hopefully I will be able to present some kind of pattern in a while. I am trying to unravel the copyrights concering this technique.



My still feverish, but always happy, Valdar.

Time to have some tea again. Bought some LOVELY jewelery this Friday. I have to show you all soon. I am looking for the perfect sockpattern - any suggestions? Two balls of Kaffe Fassett Regia and one ball of Opal - one pattern each please, socks for me :-). Maybe I finally got the sockbug? Finished a pair of socks for Valdar today and I think I actually like it (she said, quite surprised)!

Do check out Rob Ryan and his WONDERFUL prints, found him through Camilla Engman. And, if you need any inspiration regarding pathwork - Rosa Pomar is always a goog place to start.

O dear! I have been a bad bad blogger, or - at least a quite ill and busy one. I finally got a gallbladder-surgery scheduled to the 22nd! Yey! And I have been spending quite a lot of time trying out different stitches on different materials - in short - embroideryweek at school. Surprise! I really loved that, aswell.. I´ve finally got some knitting done aswelll. The Startitusbug bit me and I started another lace leaf scarf, this time in the fabolous, super soft Malabrigo Lace.




I have also visited Östersund at a material fair - "Härdat spunnet" - "Tempered Spun" - where I represented my school. Great fair, great shopping. I arrived to Stockholm with a pair of woolcombs, two skeins of lovely 2 ply pälsull (wool from Gotlandic freerange (?) sheep) from Åre - spun and dyed at Wåhlstedts in Dala Floda. I also purshased a large cone of lin-tow to be the warp of rough twill towels.

Anyhow! Tomorrow I leave for the "Visa mig" conference at Nääs on the west coast if Sweden. It is held by and for the crafts consultants of Sweden and our class is invited. I am really looking forward to it, but why is my bag not yet packed - why am I not sleeping? After the conference I will go to Bohuslän and Grimslätt. It is time gentlemen!! It is time to... sheer the sheep. I will give you a report.

See you soon. And now, I am also avaliable at ravelry.com - please stop by.

/E