Ravenhill

We had a 3 day weekend!

This weekend I received my first handmade purchase from Etsy!

I fell for Sibi's use of vintage shibori silk from Japanese kimono. The owls are even cuter in person!

Lilly really fell for them too.

My husband took the kids out for a boat ride on the fjord on Saturday. Here they are waiting for the train downtown.

The grandparents are going to love the post today with all the photos of their grandchildren...

Taking the train is always fun even though they have done it many a time.

Sebastian enjoying the view from the boat on Oslo fjord. Daddy really knows how to find fun things to do because on Sunday the outing was to a visiting amusement park right nearby.

That is one boy having a great time!

While they were off amusing themselves I was home washing and ironing my new fabric purchases from our trip to the US. To some it might not sound so amusing but it was enormously satisfying to get it done and put on the shelves so that I can get started on a project! I am going to give you a preview of an upcoming post on our family quilts.

I am thrilled to have a record of them now and really excited to show them to you!

Mail day!

Régine's lovely package arrived today! I didn't manage to wait to take a photo before tearing open the pretty wrapping. So much for self-discipline. Sometimes I just can't wait to see the handmade goodies!

I love this little brooch with the pretty fabrics and vibrant colors that I won on Régines give away. I think Lilly and I are going to be fighting over this one - and guess who is stronger? No, I will be nice and let her wear it.

I always treasure anything with hand stitching and that really made me fall for this heart ornament. See the pretty red stitches on the edges?

Thank you so much Régine for such pleasure!
 

I am still not getting much creative done myself these days. Nothing you haven't already seen upteen times anyway, like here is a shot of Jannicke who is new in the shop today. She is made of among other Liberty of London and Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

My kids are keeping me busy all day long and until tonight all evening long too! I think things are settling down now. Whew! Jet lag is tough. I am going to really enjoy the next few days as it is a 3 day weekend here in sunny Norway!

Yesterday when the babysitter brought Lilly back home in tears after being gone for only an hour I nearly burst into tears myself as I saw my date with the sewing machine going down the drain. My very thoughtful husband had arranged for me to have childcare for 3 hours yesterday during the afternoon when he found out that he would be working very late. I had made an appointment with my sewing machine but had barely gotten started when the kids returned and I had to cancel my plans. Lilly seems to be a bit bothered lately. We had introduced a few new foods and they are likely the issue. Both of my kids have allergies to well, many foods and become rather moody, to put it nicely, when they eat something that doesn't agree with them.

My little one ended up having such a nice time in the backyard with her friend and dollies though.When you don't feel so good there is nothing like being home with mommy.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

May Quilting Night

Kathrine's Quiltestue (Katrine's quiltshop) brought nearly her entire shop with her to tempt us with fabric goodies during the meeting.

The quilts on the tables are also from Kathrine's.

These fabric bundles are almost too pretty to use!

I had to use enormous powers of self-restraint not to buy out her shop. I did buy a bag of hexagon papers for paper piecing. I can't wait to try them out.

Kathrine herself at the till in a pretty flowered apron.

The featured speakers for the evening,  Rie Norum and Hilde Aanerud Krogh the recent authors of: Quilteglede and Quilt Shack: Over 30 Charming Patchwork and Aplpique Designs,  had brought along more than a dozen quilts to show us. Everyone fell for this one with the pink sequins. I know Lilly would love it but each and every one of these was sewn on by hand!

I loved how they used shades of gra y fabric with the brights.

Along with the sequins, they also frequently used ribbons, trims, and buttons to add interest to their pieces.

They did will getting a vintage feel on many of their quilts.

Weren't these sweet purses? I could see them with babushkas.

I love the simplicity of this runner with the countless hand stitches going in different directions.

After their talk the speakers kindly signed their books. You can see the entire place was covered in quilts. It was so lovely, not to mention inspiring!

One very busy quilting member had a large box filled with these lovely small blocks. No two rectangles was from the same fabric.

I was fascinated to learn that instead of paper to do the traditional paper piecing she uses photo printer paper. It was opaque and more stiff than paper. I took a shot of her holding one so I would remember and could share this little tip.

We did a bit of window shopping on our walk up the street to the bus stop.

As I said in yesterday's post it was truly a day of beauty, with the anemones in the woods, the children playing under the warm sun, the array of quilts and fabrics at the meeting, and then the lovely windows to gaze in on the walk home. My hunger for eye candy is momentarily satiated.

A delightful day of beauty

Spring is in full march everywhere you look. On the way to do a bit of grocery shopping yesterday morning I took a few pictures of the anemones covering the ground in the woods.

Our area seems to mainly have the white variety but there are also some exquisite blue/pink types as well.

I find these flowers quite enchanting.

The weather is fairly enchanting as well, with warm, long, sun-filled days. Lilly has been making cakes in the sandbox.

Yes, and she takes after her big brother in her love of going barefooted! She adores wearing the pants from Natasha that I mentioned earlier.

After a two hour nap (I slept too - I have a lot of sleep to catch up on!) Lilly and I were ready for more fun outside and now Sebastian was home from school to join us. The excitement on this afternoon was finding ladybugs. It was a full day for me because Anne Katrine and I went out last night to the quilting meeting! Here is a preview: drop by tomorrow for more.

A few of the handmade gifts I delivered on our trip

My body still thinks we should be on American time but my life is supposed to be on Norwegian time. So after several nights now of about 5 hours of slumber I tried to keep things simple today, and can triumphantly report that I only broke two plates.  The fatigue makes my fingers a bit slippery it seems. Please don't misunderstand, I am not the type to have fits of rage and throw plates, I just get a bit clumsy when tired. It runs in the family. Really, breaking a couple of plates isn't such a terrible thing. It beats slicing into my finger while cutting vegetables or some other personal injury which also becomes likely with fatigue. The only other thing that is a problem is that I might not make a lot of sense here today!

This is what our backyard looked like when we got back from vacation. Some flowers seem to have migrated from their beds to the lawn. I think they actually qualify as weeds but they look so lovely when they are all properly in their beds.

I made these linen dishtowels that you can barely see underneath the pretty dishtowels I crocheted for someone nice.

All wrapped up!

I like the red white and blue combo too.

I have been meaning to show you a few more thrifty fabric finds from April's haul. This blue and yellow heavier weight fabric is so stunning and I am considering what to make from it. Maybe a tote bag. I would love it if you have any good suggestions for me.

Lilly and I are both crazy about the strawberry fabric!

Here is a preview of the lovely family quilts that I am going to put on display for you. My mother has such a fondness for textiles and she has inherited some quilted treasures from her family and my father's family. On my visit home mom and I took out her entire quilt collection and I photographed and took notes on each one while mom told me all she knew about the age, owner, fabrics, design, etc. It was such a nice time to spend together which I think we both loved.

My confession...

I have a little confession to make and I hope that you will forgive me.

My posts haven't been showing much activity lately, I haven't added any new photos to Flicr in weeks, my shop was empty for several days, and I have been slow to respond if at all... WHAT IS GOING ON????

Well, ahem, um, hum. I don't quite know how to tell you this. You see... we just returned to Norway from a two week visit to my native home! Yes, my husband, two children and I are now all suffering from jet lag from our journey overseas from Maine. Last night we had 3 fun-filled hours from 9:30 pm til 12:30am when the kids thinking it was time to get up from a little nap: giggled, jumped, teased each other and generally caused a great deal of noise and anguish to their incredibly tired parents.

I have been dying to tell you all about our visit, plus, show you the piles of fabrics and yarns I bought but first I knew I had to break it to you that I have been keeping our spring vacation a secret... I wrote several posts before our departure and scheduled them to publish on assigned days.

You can likely guess why the secrecy: husband's paranoia of home security. With the exception of house guests one weekend our little home was empty for our vacation and my husband didn't want me to announce to the world on Ravenhill: "Hey, everyone, we are going to be out of the country!" Personally I am entirely sure that there is not a single thief among my dear readers but I had to reluctantly agree that it is probably best not to publish info about a vacant home on the internet, just to be on the safe side. I do hope that you will understand.

I took a real break from doll making and blogging. The above photos weren't even taken by me. My husband took them, but I did the editing. Isn't the Maine coast gorgeous?

I had some excitement related to my blog while home in the US. While doing a bit of shopping in midcoast Maine with my mother and 87 year old great aunt who should we meet but Jes, in her new soon-to-be-opened shop! It was a thrill to meet her and to actually get to take a look at her lovely shop. When Jes told me that she would like to have my matryoshkas in her shop I was so surprised and pleased!

Eight dolls have made their way to  Michelle! Quite unexpectedly, she offered to feature my dolls in her also soon-to-open shop in her home and is doing it out of the kindness of her heart!  The dolls above are now in my Etsy shop.

I had been hoping to get to meet with Erin and Iris, but unfortunately ran out of time. I received the prettiest ATC's from Iris who is having an ATC give away! I would show you the ATC's from Iris, but they are momentarily misplaced due to this jetlag fuzzy brain thing.

While visiting with my brother and uncle in Portland my mom and I got a couple of hours to look around the old port. It was delightful to see Amanda's work in person when we happened across the wonderful shop carrying her handmade goodies. While home I sent off the vintage tablecloth above to one of the sweetest people I have had the chance to "meet" via my blog. Jean has been so thoughtful with me that when she jokingly suggested the she would like this tablecloth I decided to mail it off to her. Surprisingly, the stain came out in the wash so it is in mint condition! Jean told me though that she couldn't possibly take the risk of using it as a table cloth and will make beautiful clothing out of it.

This post is now way too long, can you tell I have missed you?!

Thank you Jean!

One of the best things about blogging is getting to know such wonderful people. Jean is one lady I have gotten to know quite well. She has written me so many encouraging comments and been so kind. She surprised me the other day by sending me a box full of patterns.


They are all going to be useful! Now to just find the time to start making the cute pj's for my big boy and one of the many adorable dresses for my little one. I am over the moon over this package of inspiration!



Jean really went over the top in also including a huge bag of laces, and here are some of the very useful trims that she treated me to.



Thank you so very much Jean. I just want you to know how much your encouragement means to me. I really can't tell you how much I appreciate all the sweet comments you and everyone else post here. At times I have been really good at thanking you but lately I have let too many lovely comments go without a proper thank you. So I will say it here: THANK YOU ALL MY DEAR READERS!

Packages around the world

I had to show you the mailboxes that I use to drop off my packages because they are so bright and cheery. I just wanted to say that the little gifts I sent off awhile back in celebration of my 100th blog post have been arriving!

Four amazing bloggers were the lucky winners and they have been letting me know lately that they have received their gifts. Kajsa got hers, and it will be great fun to see if some of my fabrics turn up on one or two of her appliqués. Erin has been so busy making the cutest children's clothing designs lately, but she took the time to let me know that she got her package. Lara's package arrived safe and sound all the way on the other side of the world. I loved seeing the skirt Lara made from kimono. Alison, who has her own stockpile of fabric, wrote to tell me the she had received hers too.

And dear Jean will likely receive her package any day now! Soon I will show you the lovely gift I was so thrilled to get from Jean. I guess I get a kick out of hearing that I have made someone happy. That probably means that I will want to do another give away before too long...

Little two handed digger

My girl is going to really be able to get things accomplished whatever it is she decides to do in life. The playground recently got a load of fresh sand and the kids are just thrilled. Our hallway is turning into a mini-sandbox though and I can't say I am so happy about that.

I just love rain-drenched flowers. They look so fresh and maybe the little water droplets are reminiscent of appliqué?

Spring is just so lovely, rain or shine! In Norway they say: There isn't such a thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. So pull on those rainpants and boots and zip up your slicker for a fun time in the mud and water. There is actually few things that kids love more outdoors! Please forgive my exhuberance, the winter was long and dark in Norway and the lighter days, buds on the trees and flowers in the garden are oh, so welcome! I might even forget about sewing and knitting for a little while, but not too likely.

Houses!

Anne Katrine bought the most beautiful book at the Norwegian Quilting Anniversary. She let me photograph it so that I could share it with you.

Mette has been making some houses too!

Thank you Tillymoss!

I have to admit that I checked out Tillymoss because of the last name. If anyone doesn't know, Moss is my last name too. I just loved her blog and wrote a comment on one of her posts. Sara wrote me a long letter and offered one of her beautiful laptop sleeves for one of my matryoshkas. I replied that I didn't have a laptop but I had another suggestion: FABRIC. So we agreed upon a swap.

Isn't this just fabulous fabric?!

I would love to make a doll out of this one!

The texture and the print here are so pretty.

I adore this storybook fabric.

Thanks Sarah for all the bright and cheery fabrics you sent me! I only showed a few of my favorites here. I don't always have time for a swap lately and have had to turn down a few tempting offers. I am always so happy when I do swap though as it is lovely to make new friends.

Something homemade

I made this linen tote as a gift for a far away friend. I got several linen remnants awhile back and have made tea towels and now this with it. One day I will likely tire of these babushka dolls and never make one again. I haven't gotten there yet though... and I simply love the rooster fabric.

Quilt show continued...Part II

I hadn't intended for so much time to go by before showing more from the quilt show. I guess I have gotten a bit busy lately. My husband has been sick with a sore throat and hasn't been able to help me as much as he usually does with meals, shopping, children, etc. He usually does a great deal so I really notice it when he isn't able to. Anyway, on with the tour of the quilt show!

The shops were packed with the prettiest fabrics, notions, and a great number of quilts to inspire us to BUY.

I have some of this Moda fabric, Shangri la.

These purses really caught my eye.

I really love this small quilt with the subtle colors.

This green one was so vibrant and beautiful.

This would be wonderful to use.

This quilt is really special. It depicts the colorful Norwegian traditional peoples, the Sami.

Are you tired of quilts yet?

Merete made these fabulous peices!

Denmark and other European nations also contributed to the show. I thought this Danish one was so sweet.

I hope that you have enjoyed this little taste of what is going on in Norway. Here is one of my favorite Norwegian quilting shops: Kathrines Quilte Stue.

More signs of spring!

The bigger kids in the neighborhood have been doing a bit of digging for creepy crawlies.



My big boy doesn't mind getting his fingers dirty at all! I hope I didn't gross anyone out with this picture. I just revel in the kid's enjoyment of nature.

I guess I don't have as much to show you craft-wise lately because we have been outdoors more! It is also time for me to get my nails dirty getting the garden looking pretty!

Doll swap!

I am joining in a doll swap! I found out about the doll swap via Annie's lovely blog. Here are two of my newest babushkas, Marta and Karoline.

You can go on over to Mee Crafty if you would like to sign up for the swap too! Signup closes on Saturday, April 19th.

I do love to swap but lately have unfortunately had more offers to swap than I could say yes to. I really want to have dolls of many different colors in the shop so anyone wanting a doll can find just the right one! I have been playing around and worked on some new dolls without the appliques and embroidery. I wonder what you think?

Karoline is featured in the Etsy baby gift guide!

I have never before had such a number of babushkas in my shop to select from! I have just added today: Borghild, Randi, Marie, Pernille, Vilde, Signe, and Karianne.

I will have a hard time parting with Marie as I so love the pink Liberty of London with the bold brown and white flowers.

Norwegian Quilting organization's 25th anniversary

Would you join me for a little quilting tour? I am not going to say much because the quilts speak for themselves.



Just a little background first... I joined my friend Anne Katrine for a wonderful day of quilting inspiration. We took the bus to outside of Oslo, a lovely place called Olavsgård. It was a rainy day, perfect for enjoying hours spent indoors gazing at the most beautiful of quilts as well as shop upon shop of fabrics and notions from all over Norway.



Kaffe Fassett held a course for enthusiastic crowds on Saturday. I wish I could have been at that too. Many of the quilts were done in his fabrics. I think this one is just spectacular.



I love the reds too.



More Kaffe Fassett, more in the blues and greens.



I really liked this unusual work.



I really love how the small green squares pop out of the browns.



This stunning quilt won first prize of the juried show!

I feel a bit lazy showing you other people's work but this quilt show will be continued...

Should I kiss the mailman?

Sometimes I feel like I should kiss the mailman! (Sorry about the un-pc word, but we do have a Male mail carrier.) Some days I feel like I should at least give him a big hug to thank him for the delightful goodies he keeps bringing me. Instead though I will write about it here!

Lilly and I had the most fun foto shoot ever while she jumped, twirled and fell on the bed giggling all the while. The fancy pants she has on were a gift from Natasha! They are so wonderful. Lilly hasa been wearing them daily since receiving them. She adores getting gifts and fell for the pants the moment she saw them with thier cute polka dot trim at the cuffs and the yellow polka dotted pockets. They are such comfortable pants to play in, and so pretty to wear for any occasion!

The pants look adorable peeking out from under a dress. Reminds me of bloomers. You can find more of Natasha's pants here.

Natasha was so sweet with ME too.

She sent fresh fabrics to inspire me! Don't you love the gnome fabric? Thank you so much for everything!

I really want to show you this treasury that one of my dolls is featured in. I am so proud to be in this one as it is truly a beautiful color scheme. I am hoping that if enough people comment on it then it will get on Etsy's Front Page! That has only happened once so far.

Our tin and aluminum anniversary

Ten years ago today I was home in the US getting married. My pink face is from blushing, not from makeup.

When I see the photos I realize I am a bit older now...

It was held at the home of some dear family friends. I think we only had around 45 guests. I just wanted close family and a few good friends. Even our justice of the peace was a friend of the family.

I had been nervous and not looking forward to being the center of attention. However, I realized at the wedding how truly wonderful it was to be surrounded by the people I cared most about in all the world.

My poor groom suffered a terrible tummy bug starting several days before the wedding. For the rehearsal he had to have a stand in, and he himself watched from the couch. He was barely well enough to actually carry through with it. People joked about it being nerves, but I know better.

We had a real DIY wedding! My mother forced forsythia indoors and to her relief they were in lovely bloom for the ceremony. She also made the sweetest bouquets for me and my maid of honor as well as the flowers for the men's lapels. Most of the delicious finger food my mother made herself with a bit of help from me. And my dear aunt made my cake. My talented younger cousins sang a song and read a poem for us.

My dear husband is such a romantic that he talks about renewing our vows someday. Maybe he would like to do it without the tummy trouble?

We looked happy didn't we? Well, we still are! Hope you have a great weekend!

Bursting with spring cheer!

Here she is radiant with good health again! We are going to share some of our day with you! These photos are just a few hours old!

Signs of spring were everywhere we looked today as Lilly and I made our way across town to "open nursery school". We take the bus a half hour to get to this lovely place for kids and their caregivers to play, chat, sing songs and eat lunch.



We have lovely conversations on the trip over and there is always a lot to look at.



This flag is always flying to welcome us to the fun play time. This is a wonderful service sponsored by the local government to provide the few stay-at-home parents with an opportunity to get together with other ones.



On our stroll home, Lilly wants to walk herself instead of sitting in the stroller. She does often hang onto the side...



...but not for long. You can't hang onto the stroller when there are fun rocks to climb!



Here is our first sign of spring: the street sweeper! That means they aren't expecting any more snow or ice on the roads. It is now safe to clear off the gravel that was liberally distributed all winter long.



Another sure sign of spring: MUD! We have a bit of this after all the rains lately.



Lastly, one of the best signs of spring: the new shoots!

Knitting WIP in the home stretch!

I am really making progress on this alpaca sweater. I am definitely going to have it ready by next fall, no problem. I had a few breaks in knitting as I was uncertain of the colors. I think I am happy with using the ones the pattern recommends after trying a few other color options.

You see 3 of the five colors in this shot. There is also a light yellow and a light purple. Now I have my eyes out for a new project. Maybe a hat for Lilly as the one she has worn the past two winters no longer covers her ears... (what a lousy mother!) She actually has a number of hats made my me that fit her to a T, but being Lilly she just wants the really PRETTY one. I can't blame her.

I have to tell you what a lovely week I am having now that everyone is absolutely healthy! Today I even had a babysitter in the afternoon so I could do a bit of sewing. She brought the kids to the farm in the rain. The kids came home wet and a bit chilly on their hands but they said they had a great time.

I am doing a shop update today! I am trying to make them in new colors. Which is your favorite color? If anyone has any color or fabric suggestions I am all ears.

Hard at work...

Tonight I am getting some time to paint a few faces. I love seeing other people's work spaces so I thought I would share one of mine. I usually paint on the kitchen table during daylight but I was so eager to paint tonight I thought I would try the light in our office. It worked out great. We have a wee small office in a room that used to be a cupboard. There aren't any windows but we have furnished it with a desk that covers two walls with tons of overhead cupboards and bookshelves for storage. I spend more time in here than I should...

Showing you my workspace also gives you a glance at some of my new matryoshkas, albeit a bit blurry. It looks like I will have a shop update very soon!

One of my little matryoshkas was featured on Cuteable yesterday!

I am hopeless...

I have more thrifted textiles to share with you! Lilly and I headed off quite early Saturday morning to a local flea market. She was chirping away with delight to get a doll and a baby carriage and I was pretty pleased with my haul too. Not all of which is pictured here...

Vintage table cloth, up close.

Sorry, no time for ironing! Isn't this an amazing piece of hand work? I am sorry to say that it is stained, however, that means I can cut it up and make it into something else. Do you have any good ideas what I could make with this?

Six lovely matching napkins in perfect condition. The linen is so nice.

I really fell for this sweet blue and white leaf pattern. The funny thing was I didn't realize what I had bought until I was photographing it. Take a look:

Yes! I bought a huge bit of that wonderfully mysterious double printed fabric that I wrote about here. It was obviously a table cloth because it has a few small stains. There is a great deal of usable fabric here though!

Today Anne Katrine and I took an excursion out of town to see Norwegian quilting organization's 20th celebration. I will be back soon with photos from that!

Upcycling my husband's old jeans

I so love finding new ways to reuse old things, especially textiles. My husband discarded 3 pairs of jeans recently. I was going to toss them because of the holes in the knees but my squirreling instincts prevented me. I held