A notebook

I took a cover from an old book of prayers for children. Very beautiful.

Then made a mix of nice papers , cheap papers, papers with holes, blue papers...

Some nice pictures, some kind of akward. I scanned petals, photos, hair, a dishcloth, sketches, toys, candy wraps. Surprises everywhere.

Then i bound it all with silk string and glued it into the cover.

Done! Ready for notes.

The Market

This is the last station on my way to work and the first on my way home.

Right now, it's wonderful. Flowers, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, oil, bread...

This morning I had a freshly squeezed orange and carrotjuice to go. The only question that rises is: Why don't I every morning?

I'll have another one tomorrow

My weekend

My sewing machine is back from the repairman! And I'm back home after summer with so much inspiration I can't explain it. Hence I've spent all Saturday and most of Sunday indoors, sewing and crocheting and knitting. And making nettle soup and macarons. Macarons turned out a disaster, the rest more or less good. I'll charge my camera and show you. Please be patient. (Preview: I made a couple of rompers, three hats, a bunny, a hippo, an owl and probably some other things as well.)

Aargh, I have so much I want to make still!

Toxic Jeans - remake instead

Big headlines in Sweden about allergens in jeans. As if we didn't know it, right? We just keep on forgetting it... at least I always need to be reminded of how bad the textile industry is.

It is just yet another good reason for re-making your old, washed out cozy pants into new, small pants. It's fun, they become one of a kind, all chemicals are washed out and you feel SO clever! And it's not even difficult - all the cool seams and pockets are already there for you to reuse.



(These are not done yet. Mainly because my male friends were very skeptical. I think they're kind of cool though.)

Amigurumi portraits

More Amigurumis from the past:
Last Christmas I crocheted mini versions of my boyfriends very adorable nieces.





Once you get a hang of this type of crocheting, you can improvise as much as you like. Love that!

Amigurumi time

I am back from vacation. Back to working full days and sitting close to my boyfriend in the sofa watching Lost in the evenings. We never saw Lost when all the other people saw it, and it's terribly exciting.
And like every time I sit still in a sofa, I feel a big need for *doing something useful* while I'm sitting there. So yesterday I realized that I would like to do another bunch of amiguramis.
I'll start tonight. Mushrooms, rabbits and key rings to start with. Let's see.

Here are two guys I made last time I was amiguraming. A fluffy bird and a sheep.

Tiger wrap shirt

This is a detail of a baby wrap shirt that I made a while ago. After finishing it, I found it a bit boring and decided to spice it up with a free hand embroidery.
My boyfriend is usually let's say, mildly to moderately interested in my sewing, but this shirt somehow melted his heart and he loudly claimed it was the cutest shirt he'd ever seen!
To bad he's too big for it. Or - no, that's a good thing.

Speaking of doll's clothes...

...and since I don't have anything self made to show still:

If I could have one thing in the world, I would like this wardrobe made by Martin Margiela. He used the wardrobe of a 60's Ken - Barbies ex boyfriend as you know (yes, they broke up) - and scaled it to human size. Including rough fabric texture, big fat seams, clever solutions like sewn-on ties, and wonderful, wonderful coaster sized snap buttons!

More from the cradle of a fashion maker

More fashion for 30 cm tall people:

I can't believe I've made this jacket? I probably got if from someone. The skirt is very home made. Denise looks stunning in a springlike city symphony of pink and red, of course with matching lipstick.
Update: Ooh, and she's holding a wallet full of 1.000.000.0000 bills. Go spend it, girl!



A wonderful chiffon tube dress with a matching chiffon hat is flattering for anyone and suitable for a day at the horse races.



For the summer weddings: A pea green velour dress, with a crochet oversize vest thrown on top for those cold summer nights. A marvellous beaded headpiece makes you queen of the party.



Gloria doesn't have a body anymore, but as long as you have your good spirits there is no reason not to be fashionable. A wonderful princess crown, made of lace and pearls, makes even a single head stunning. To avoid the too-cuteness, a bold hairstyle with strikes of color in it will make you princess of punk rock.



Poor Anne has had a hard time (No hair, hands or feet anymore) and is spending her days in a very good hospital for dolls with mental instabilities. A comfortable, soft sweatshirt combination in ice cream pastels is perfect for enjoying a quiet moment in the sun.

The cradle of a fashionista

In a box at my dad's place, I found some of my first trembling attempts to create fashion. What else could I have done but dress up dear old Denise again, just like in 1988?!


We start off with a romantic denim skirt which goes really well with a bold, two color sweatshirt top. As cherry on top, a flashdance bandana.



Here we see a variation of the denim skirt. Matched with a leopard top and a summery sonnenschierm, Denise is ready for a trip to the city as well as for a summer picnic on the fields.



If the weather is unsteady, why not dress for the cold but leave a brave open chest as a surprise? Tailored jacket and ear muffs with hearts.



Finally - an Indian flirt for an Indian summer. Beads and embroideries makes this felt top something very, very special. Matched with a knee long starry skirt in the same material, Denise looks like the European dream of the American girl.

For your full scale doll house

Hi, I'm cheating. I was supposed to just show my own productions here, but I'm not producing anything really since I'm on holiday and I just ran into these wallpapers by a (- what else -) Dutch designer called Pip. So lovely!
The top, baby blue one has a cross stitch pattern made from kind of foam. I couldn't stop touching it in the store...

Lazy days

Hi, sorry, I won't blog very much these days because I'm not producing very anything and have nothing to show really. I'm just reading (about vampires and bonjour tristesse ) and drinking fruit drinks with different types of berries in them and walking around in Stockholm gazing at all the wonderful little houses.

And besides, there are little people sunbathing in my sketchbook. They'll hate me forever if I tell them to leave.

Please be patient.

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