My book

I have a couple of books in my pipeline. Two of them are books for children. Two are the kind of books you would buy at some kind of artsy bookstore - you know, pointless but witty. I once also figured out an entire crime novel. I remember it was quite good but I've forgotten the plot. Anyway, my hope is that I'll get at least one of these books down on paper and out of my system before I get tired of them. So I'm painting...slowly...slowly...and hoping that soon all the pieces will be there, I'll get it finished, I'll get it published (No worries there - it's good, so they'll publish it right away)and before I know it I'll be polishing my August Award. And they all lived happily ever after.

But not today. We're heading off to gaze at the Fortress of Boden. Secret tunnels excite me more than anything else!

While the cat was gone...

...the rats made a cozy mohair nest in this baby sweater, knitted by me in like -89.
I probably made it without a pattern, or at least without paying too much attention to it. Therefore it's a lot wider than long and would only have fitted a very squat future daughter of mine.

Note the little home made, cat head shaped buttons. Ouch!







I don't really remember why we were knitting all these baby sweaters at age of 12. Perhaps for the same reason I'm doing the same thing today: It's fast, fun and could come useful some day.
Not this one though. I trashed it without feeling to sad about it.

Papa's treasures

Spending my time

"Catcher in the rye", great cover by Per Åhlin


My book


Moose


Car trouble


Dandelion roots, for coloring fabric

Momma's Fabrics

So my mother is a hamster. She has kept everything, I mean EVERYTHING, from the 50's an on. Some people would call her a crazy lady, including me sometimes, but nevertheless the has an AMAZING stock of fabrics.

I was there this evening, and as usual I couldn't help starting to dig around in her boxes, making little "ooh":s and "ohmyGOD":s and "Mom, are you gonna use this one or can I have it?":s.

Usually I can't have fabrics, because she has a plan for it already. Plans are usually something like: "Oh, but that was supposed to be covers for pillows if me and your dad had ever bought a motor boat, it would have looked so nice if we'd had a blue boat with a white top!" "Yes, I agree but you divorced in 1996 and it's kind of unfashionable anyway, so please can I have it and make a beach bag?" "Uhm...uh...i guess...well...no."

Say what you want, but she sticks to her plans alright.

So , let me show a small selection from Mamma's green / blue boxes.







One of them ended up in my bag after all. Guess which one?
Clue: My bags are very full already.

Auntie Margits Treasures - part 2

This dress from Auntie Margits treasure chest is insanely beautiful. It's transparent, dotty, silky and full of whale bone parts to shape the chest.





Oh, Auntie Margit! If only I was as thin as you were, those nights in the forties, when you danced and danced with all the most handsome gentlemen of Stockholm until two in the morning, then let them walk you to the door -but no further!- and you left them there, warm nights in june, to walk home alone through vasastan, the air scented with lilacs and the sun slowly rising. If only I was as thin, I would wear the dress as often as I could!

Sverker the cat meets Sven the copycat

Sverker: "So this person comes and puts, like, this knitted thing on my sofa, and I'm like Yeah, Whatever!"



"And then she puts it right next to me on the floor where I'm trying to get some sleep, and then she take photos, and I'm like Whatever!"



"And then she's all like `Look kitty, I made another kittycat that looks just like you, look` but I'm like Whatever"



"And then she puts the thingie even closer and tries to make me, i dunno, like, play with it or something, and I'm like Yeah, Whatever!"



"Cause this is my united house of Whatever
and when they bring stupid stuff to me I'm, like, Whatever"

Cat pattern from Alan Dart

Summer as Monika

My "Summer as Monika" - summer has just begun. I plan to from now on wear nothing but great dresses - despite 15 degrees Celsius - and do nothing but running around in the forest like a savage, cuddle cats, eat berries and swim in lakes.

And yes, I know my crafty intended blog is flipping way out now, but still: Look what they did to Monika in the old days.

Here's the original movie poster from Bergmans "Summer with Monika" from 1953. It says it's "a movie about young love", "chocking" and "daring". Monika is an innocent child of nature.



And here's the American interpretation of Monika before launching Bergman's movie over there:



Poor Monika. The devil clearly got her on her way over the sea.

I'm on vacation

I always intended to just publish pictures of stuff I made, not like random pictures of animals or nice things I've seen somewhere. And now look what's happend.

I'll soon have some things to show. Knittycat is getting legs and all. I have a problem with the eyes - it seems like I can't really buy them, so either I keep trying to find eyes, or I make some, unclar how, or I make embroidered sleeping eyes.
Meanwhile, here's a moose that were saw last year. He stood and stared at us until we got borde and drove away. We'll go by the same place next week and have a look if he's still there.

Auntie Margit's Treasures part 1

Auntie Margit was a hot chick. She never got married, instead lived in an adorable apartment in central Stockholm full with self made oil paintings and tons of party dresses. Oh my god, those dresses. Let's see if I can ever show them. My mother has a bunch of them, 50's dresses of dotted silk and transparent fluffy stuff and whalebone. In-cred-i-ble! I barely fit into some of them.

And this is one of her - neatly folded in their little pouch - handkerchiefs. From the 50's, illustrated by Olle Eksell, showing the life of restaurant Riche in Stockholm.








Seriously - The fish! The lady! The waiter! The menue! Is this the most awesome thing you've seen in a long time - or what?

A Dream come true

Once in 2002 I didn't buy a dress. Not buying that dress has been haunting me ever since. Ooh, I wanted it badly. But I didn't have that money.

So I've been looking for it on e-bay, even found it once, but it became too expensive.

But since Paris I own a piece of the fabric! Another brand (how does that work, anyway? Do they just license a certain fabric for a few years? And where is this magic fabric warehouse!?) and another color, but it's THE car fabric! MY car fabric!

Now - what do I do with it?

By chance I had bought another piece, same colors and same quality, an hour before i found it.
Perfect match. A little dress perhaps? How's that?

Yesterday

I ♡ Bavarian alps

Table dance

Mini Michael arrived today by mail. He is now taking the little warrior women for a spin around the table.

A Paris fairytale: part 1

I'm flying out

I'm on my way to dinner.
This fabric is one of the ones I stole from my mom. She's a sewing teacher and has been hamstring fabrics since the 60's. She has a big closet full of the most amazing fabrics, all the kinds you can imagine. And she refuses to share, so I have to steal some scraps here and there. Like this one.

That doesn't sound very nice of me, actually. And I should really get going now.

Chocolate box redressed

Before Christmas I got a chocolate box. After I ate it the chocolate I wanted to redress it with paper since I was just learning how to do.

I had a piece of this wallpaper. It's pretty, also happens to be the wallpaper my grandma had on the top floor bathroom in her house. I found the scrap piece in a second hand store a long time ago and just had to own it.

Last but not least I used some Swiss vintage post order catalog pictures, glue and bookbinding tape.

The test box turned out quite good, I have to say. And my crochet stuff fits nicely inside.