A little sparrow.

Just a little post this time. I painted this sparrow today and did not feel too good about it, but I think at the end it's acceptable. Right now I'm working at an owl and it's quite difficult so we'll see whether I show it off.
Have a great weekend.

Some more cuties.

I have really fallen in love with my watercolours. They are easy to use,but of course the colour mixing is not easy. (as you can see.)
This first image is a lovely sunbird which makes me smile every time I see it. Unfortunatly it don't exist in my environments, so images of it is the closest I can get. Now when I have painted it, perhaps it could hang on my wall so that I could meet it every morning when out of bed.



The next one is a nice bird too. I'm quite satisfied with my result here even if it's not all correct. My bird turned out a little too "fat", compared to the image I used to draw it from. But, it's just me who can see that. This one don't live in my surroundings either.



This last one is pure fantasy. When studying it for a while, I could see a bird on his way home from the market.(you can see that can't you?) His expression looks like he has sold butter but didn't get any money. Can you see? Like he's saying: Oh no, not again...


I would love to hear your comment, so feel free to leave some.

Testing my new watercolours.

During the last days I've been testing my new watercolours. I can see that one needs a lot of practicing to become a worthy painter.
One have to know a lot about colours to achieve the right nuance when mixing the colours. (I only know a little of this.)
Not only do one mix two or several colours to gain a new one, but this new one can also be adjusted with more or less water. I guess this is a whole study for those who are really skilled.
For my own part I can say that I really enjoy doing this, and thats all. I'll show you some of my doings here. This first one is a Peregrine falcon. I drew it from a picture in one of my books about birds. It's not correct, but I'm quite satisfied after all.




The next one is a thrush, and I was not quite sure whether to show it off. I 've been talking about Geninne's art blog and I have been looking quite a lot into it so someone might think that I've been stealing her idea. But I have not. When studying in my book of birds, using a magnifying glass, this is the way it looks. The next thrush I paint I will do a little different though. The belly dots are Geninnes and I want my own twist on that. This one is also drawn from an image in my book. What you can't see in my picture, is a worm the thrush is going to eat.
My colours are, oh so far away from my wishes, but I will get to learn it.

Michi and " The Bridalstone". no.7

- Laila, what are we going to do today? Michi asked me one morning. The weather was cold and a bit rainy and we did not feel like going out. This kind of mornings are really good for storytelling so I offered her to tell her a story.
- Yes, she said I love stories.
- Michi, the story I'll tell you is a very very old story, and it is more like an old saying, or a myth or a legend. I'm not quite sure what to call it, perhaps something in between these three.
- What is a myth and a legend? she asked.
- They are stories, told over and over again, and there are not anyone who knows what really happened any more. But still they are told, over and over again.
- But why do you know the story? she asked me.
- Well, my father told it to me when I was a little girl, just like you, and now I'm telling you.
- Are you going to tell now? she could not wait to hear the story.
- Sit down then, and I will tell.
- Where my home was, when I grew up, we had a very big stone in our garden.
- How big was it then, she asked.
- It's still there, and I don't know exactly how big it is, but if one man stood on top of another mans shoulders, he still couldn't reach the top.
- WOW, thats big! she said.
- Yes, it's quite big, and that stone has a very special name too.
- Why, what's it called then? she asked.
- It's called "The Bridalstone" I said, and knew her next question before it was asked. I could see on her face that she imagined a stone full of brides.
- Why, - are there so many brides there?


She imagined a stone full of brides.


- No, there's not, but in very very old times people had faith in trolls and such things, have you heard of trolls? I asked her.
- Do you mean the trolls in the fairytales, she asked?
- Yes, that's what I meant.
- Didn't they know that trolls are only in fairytales, she asked.
- No, it was not a fairytale to them, they had faith in these things and behaved thereafter.
- What does that mean? she asked.
- Well, they took some precautions to avoid trolls and such things.
- I'll continue the story and I hope you'll understand then.
- When a bridal procession was on their way to church, they used to stop and take a rest next to this stone.
- Why did they do that? she asked.
- Because their way to church could be rather long and they had to pause, you know, there were no cars to run them in those days.
- Why wouldn't anyone like to drive them to church? she asked.
- It was not that nobody didn't want to drive them, but there were no cars. The car was not invented yet. People didn't know what a car was, I said.
- Oh....??? she said and looked like she couldn't quite understand this.
- Usually, it was not dangerous to pause there, because every bridal procession had two men with guns in front of the procession, and the same at the end. The gunmen fired their guns every now and then to scare off any trolls.
- Oh, she said a little bit scared.
- But on this particular day, that this story is about, the gunmen forgot firing their guns, and the trolls, one or several I don't know, caught the bride and disappeared. Nobody has ever seen that bride again.
- And that's why that stone is called "The Bridalstone" - because a bride disappeared right there.
- What about her boyfriend then? she asked.
- Well, this story does not tell anything about him. The story explains how that particular stone got its name.
- Oh ... she seemed a bit scared, and I could see she was thinking.
- This was back in really old times, you know, and nowadays people don't believe in such things.
- When I was little, we used to climb the stone and play around it. There's nothing scary about that stone.
- We can go have a look if you like, I said.
- Yes, do you know where it is?
- Yes, of course - it's my sister who owns the place now, and she is not allowed to remove the stone.
- Why not, Michi asked.
- It's because of that old story, and as long as anyone remembers it she will not be allowed to remove the stone.
- And, my dad gave the landowner his promise to never remove it. Besides, that stone is quite nice where it lies in the garden, just below the mountain.
- Can we go now? she asked.
- Don't you think we should wait until my sister is back from work, so we could pay her a visit too?
- YES, she almost shouted, cause her chocolate cake tastes sooo good!
- Well, thats for sure, "I said.
Later on we drove to my sisters place and Michi had a look at the stone. Before I knew she was sitting on top of it.
What I do know though, is that it's quite easy to climb the top, but far more difficult to come back down again. So I was preparing to help her down when my sister called out from a window,
- Anyone who want some chocolate cake?
- YES, " Michi answered back, Laila, will you please help me back down again?!



And finally she got some chocolate cake.

Michi,does your cat have a name yet? no. 6

The next days I did neither hear nor see her. Perhaps now she will act like a normal cartoon figure. I am wondering about all this dew stuff. All the time, she has appeared as a japanese girl to me but she won't speak of it. She just came from the dew, that's her statement so far. I hope some day she will tell me more about this.
And all this talk of an old saying, an old saying from where?
I have no idea how to research this and it might as well be a joke.
In any case, she loved the new clothes I drew for her before she left me.

She loved her new clothes.


A few days later she was back as if she never had been gone. She helped me to tidy up a bit, and she's quite a clever girl, I have to say.
I wonder how old she might be? Somewhere between 3 and 4 years old I guess.
- Michi, I asked, how old are you?
- Old, what does that mean? she asked me in return.
- Well, how many years since you were born, I said realising that this wouldn't bring us any closer to the answer.
- A hundred? she said and looked like she hoped that this was the answer I was waiting for.
- No, I said - I think more like 3 or 4 years.
- Okay, she said, starting to play with her cat.
- Michi, does your cat have a name ? (Uhaa, this could lead me into trouble.)
- Yes, don't you know? she said , her name is Misty.
- Oh, that's a cute name for a cat, I said relieved that this was already solved.
- Mm...she said
She seemed to be too occupied with the cat to further discussion, so I left them.
I could hear Michi running across the room, banging into the wall, turn and run to the oposite wall. Probably Misty was running too. In any case they had fun, cause I could hear Michi was laughing.
When I returned later on they were both fallen asleep. Michi right on the floor with Misty close to her.

They were both out worn.

Today.

Today have been a rather busy day. After the usual morning doings in the house, I had to write and edit the next post about Michi. That post will be published tomorrow. And, there is this huge laundry job to be done so I won't be short for work.
Coming weekend Sandra is coming to stay by us again, so I won't have much time for bloging. Sandras room needs a hand too, she loves it when it's neat and klean.
I have to figure out Michis next doings too, so tomorrow morning will also be a busy morning. I've just been to the grocery store and while down town I bought myself a brand new palette of watercolours.
I am so inspired by Geninne's art blog that I'll have to try it myself.
Most of all that's what I want to do just now, but in a short while I have to start preparations for our dinner so I'll have to wait untill after that.
Today I've tried to figure out how to add a 'contact me' gadget to my blog, but I'll have to ask my darling husband he is more in to this stuff.
I WAS able to do the linking job though, so I'm quite proud of myself.

Michi - the girl from the dew. no.5

My kitchen was all messed up. Michi in the middle of it, and she was all messed up too, with strawberry jam all over. And she had this big fat smile on her face.
- Look, she said - I've made us lunch.
I lost myself for a moment, and yelled at her.
- You're not supposed to make anything!! - You're a cartoon figure and you're supposed to be in my sketchbook!! - Oh no, how could you do this to me!!?
I could see her smile dissapear and her lips start shivering. I had hurt her feelings.
Oh Michi I said, kneeling down, - I'm so sorry it wasn't ment to hurt you, but I'm so scared of all this.
- You, living like a normal human beeing and besides, you could have hurt yourself with all these knives.
I gave her a big hug. After a short while she twisted herself free, and started to giggle.
- I'm from the dew, you know, she said.
- Yes, you came from the dew, I said looking around in my messy kitchen.
- Don't you know, Michi asked
- Know what?
- The old saying.
- What old saying, what are you talking about? I was not paying her any attention I was thinking of the cleaning job ahead.
- About coming from the dew, she said.
- What is all this talk about the dew?
- About COMING from the dew, she corrected me. - Don't you know the old saying?
- What ARE you talking about? - I don't know anything about an old saying and dew. Can you tell me?
- Yes, she said: "All of those who CAME from the dew, can do WHATEVER THEY WANT to do"
- Well, Michi I've never heard it before and let me ask you, exactly where do you come from?
- ? ? ? - From the DEW, she said a bit irritated now.
- Okay I said, I had no intention getting into a quarrel again, so I accepted that for now.

- I've made us lunch, she said.



- Are we going to eat now? Michi asked.
- Yes of course we are, but what did you do to the bread and the slices, I asked her because they didn't look quite normal.
- I've had chocolate on them, she said, cause I love chocolate!
- Alright then, lets eat.
To describe this meal, I'll just say that this is my most uncommon lunch ever. And luckily, I didn't have to eat any raw eggs.
When finished eating we had to get the kitchen cleaned up. Michi had to clean up herself too and surprisingly she showed up in some clothes from her existing wardrobe.
The rest of the day she spent out of my sight, and that was a relief for both of us I think.

Have a look at some of my favourites.

Hi again. Now I will write about some people I've found 'out in space.' They are all very skilled people but in different areas though. The first one I found out about was girl called Thea. I've seen quite a lot people making kanzachi but she's the best. Have a look here, she makes the most delicate and tasteful things.

The next one is a girl called Hanna, and she has an explosive mind when talking about art and crafts. She inspire me all the time. Have a look at her archives, there's a lot to dive in. One evening is not enough in this colourful place.

The third one, I came to through Hannas place. It's a girl who is painting the most beautiful birds in watercolours. This is a very inspiring blog too.
I hope you all take some time to have a look.
ENJOY!!

Today I'll pay my job a visit.

Today I'll call in at work. I got to see how they are doing, and perhaps they feel like hearing how I'm doing too.
In fact I'm doing very well, so I'll soon be back for work. It depends a bit on my fysio therapist. When he allows me to fully use my arm again, I am back.
It's rather cold outside, kinda winter again, and that's the usual thing this time of year. All the small flowers on their way so no more winter now, please.
Well, I have to leave so just this little post this time.

Michi - the stubborn japanese girl. no.4

This morning we got a little problem again. I heard sounds from the attic and it was Michi who was getting out of bed. I went to meet with her and there she came, undressed, in just her underwear.
- But sweetie, I said - you have to dress up.
- No, she answered.
- No, why not?
- Cause I don't have any clothes, Michi said.
- Don't have any clothes, now you're a twaddler, - every time I've been seeing you you've had different clothes. - Please, dress up now, take the nice lilac skirt and blouse and the pink jumper and be a good girl. - You can't fool around half naked.
- NOO! (ooops shouting.)I want a pair of overalls and a jumper with - - with turned up sleeves,she said.
- Well, you don't have those items within your wardrobe, I said - how about that?
She looked at me, like I was an alien, for a short while, and I could see a smile coming to her face.
- Thats easy, Laila, she said - you can draw me some new ones.
- Oh no, I don't have time for this now. - I have an appointment down town in a while. - I'll be back for lunch, we'll see then.
- Okay, she said, turned and went back to the bedroom. I could hear her kinda humming: - and I will fool aro...ound in my underwe...ear.....
Now I have to pull myself together, she's only a cartoon figure. Laila,don't get upset. Yeah, of course and thats a relief.
Down town I had some errands to run, the grocery store and my appointment. This clothing issue was spinning around in my head the whole morning, and when headed back home, I had it all figured out.
Just a little housekeeping first and then my sketchbook.
The front door unlocked and the groceries safe inside I heard someone shouting...


..and there she came, in just her underwear.



Hel...loooo, is it you Laila, the sound came from the kitchen. I opend the door and...no, no, NOO this is impossible, how could this happen? I don't believe it... my goodness.

All those technical trolls, where do they come from?

Yesterday I found the courage to explore a little bit round and about in this laptop of mine. Without knowing exactly how I was doing it, I were located in some place called Picasa web album. It ought to be mine, since all the images were from my camera. But who placed them out in space??? Uhaaa. Trolls?
I do understand that there's a lot I don't understand. Well, since I was already there, and the place needed a real clean up I did so. Not only was my pictures there, but why on earth did someone want to store my images 4-5 and even 6 times the same image?
I am quite a tidy person so I fixed it rather quick. Now, that looked a whole lot better.
And then it was to find the way back 'home.' I'm not exactly a Girl guide so I had to think a bit. A cup of coffee helped. The blue and white arrow top left, has helped me before and it did again. I left my laptop for a while and other doings filled my day.
Late evening I sat down again to read my blog (probably the only one who ever will, snort...) and what....WHAT!!! Who has erased images from my posts?
I hate technical trolls. How do I get rid of them?
I 've been thinking, it's kinda lonley place this this place but it's certainly filled with technical trolls.
I don't know if I will be able to restore my posts, so I beg you to be patient with me. I will think of it though. Thank you, and good evening.

By the way, there will be no Michi stories today, she's a very busy girl I can tell and she WILL be back strong as ever.

Michi, my little japanese girl. no.3

Michi has really calmed down a bit now that the name issue is solved. She played with her cat, (oh my...she, the cat, hasn't got a name yet as far as I know) and her teddy the rest of the day.
In the attic we have a spare bedroom, in fact it is Sandras bedroom. (I'll tell you more about Sandra in another occation.)
Michi found out about Sandras bedroom a little earlier this afternoon, and has now decided to sleep in Sandras bed tonight.
That's alright with me, I just hope it's alright with Sandra too.

She desided on sleeping in Sandras bed.



Of course - teddy had to come too, she wouldn't sleep all alone in a strange bed in a new home. That's understandable don't you think?
Michi was so exited about this. At seven o'clock p.m. she was ready to go to bed.
So, after a little bedtime story she had no problems falling asleep. And that's what she's doing right now.

This is really twisting my brains !!!

To start bloging seems to be a hard nut to crack. I've read, and read, and read..., and 10 minutes into it, I've forgotten what my issue was and came out with a 100 new ones. They're talking about url,s seo,s http,s kgb,s nmp,s and what on earth does
><-wg---.<,- mean????(at least, they could have kept their kids away.)
I start wondering, should I've told them how a sandwich and a cup of coffee tastes like? 'snort, snort' Well, right now I need a cup myself and try to undo my brains a bit.(If ther's some brains left to undo.)
It feels like the more information I read the more knowledge I loose. My goodness, I'm not THAT old ! (52).
I think the best ting to do is to continue writing and perhaps do a bit linking too. See, a little bit has stuck to my brains after all. When looking to all this technical stuff, I have to admit that I'm feeling a bit related to the person refered to below. I hope you don't mind a "little" poem.
Snapped from The Shetland Times some years ago. It's called:

I'm very well, thank you.

There's nothing the matter with me,
I'm as healthy as I can be.
I have arthritis in both my knees,
and when I talk - I talk with a wheeze.
My puls is weak, and my blood is thin,
But - I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.-
Arch supports I have for my feet,
Or I wouldn't be able to be out on the street.
Sleep is denied me night after night,
But every morning I find I'm alright.
My memory is failing, my head's in a spin,
But, I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.-
The moral is this - as my tale I unfold,
That for you and me who are getting old,
It's better to say 'I'm fine' with a grin,
Than to let folks know the shape we are in.
How do I know that my youth is all spent?
Well, my 'get up and go' has got up and went.
But I really don't mind when I think with a grin,
Of all the grand places my 'got up' has bin.-
Old age is golden I've heard it said,
but sometimes I wonder as I get into bed.
With my ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup,
My specs on a table until I get up.
'Ere sleep overtakes me I say to myself,
is there anything else I could lay on the shelf?-
When I was young my slippers were red,
I could kick my heels right over my head.
When I was older my slippers were blue,
But I still could dance the whole night through.
Now I am old my slippers are black,
I walk to the shop and puff my way back,
I get up each morning and dust of my wits,
and pick up the paper to read the 'obits',
If my name is still missing I know I'm not dead;
And so I have breakfast and - go back to bed.

Author unknown.

Thoughts of the day.

Today is going to be a good day.
My aunt has invited me for dinner and that's nice of her, and thereafter I'm paying my fysio therapist a visit to strengthen my shoulder again. That's good too. I'm feeling well and increasingly stronger in my arm so I'm recovering well.(that's good too) Only good things for me today it seems.
I'm working at getting my blog on the go, that feels like a struggle but as always, one step at the time....have a nice day in blogland.

Her name was a big surprise. no.2

We had kinda quarrel today, she has told me her name several times. I've been telling her just as many times that it won't work.
The name she keeps insisting on, is a shortcut of a boys name and that's impropriate. She was tramping her feet and insisted I was wrong.


She was tramping her feet.



I let the subject go and did some housekeeping instead. While working I thought of the Internet. Perhaps I could find her a cute name there.
But listen to what I found out.
The name she has insisted on keeping for a couple days now, turned out to be a japanese unisex name. I WAS VERY SURPRISED.
So from this day on she is named MICHI.


She was all smiles.


Michi means "pathway" as far as I can see, and in my language (norwegian) it could very well express a person who goes her very own way. And she certainly is.
Well, when I told her my findings, and offered her my sincere apologies, she was all smiles. And I, am wondering where the pathway will bring us.......

My little japanese girl. no.1

This little japanese girl came to me one evening I was sitting in our conservatory. The weather was cold so we had a heater going on in there,and the windows started gathering dew....suddenly I became aware of the silhouette of her in the dew and I knew I had to draw her.

Since then we have spent some time together, but I have not get to know her properly yet. She will not tell me her name, so I have to be patient. She is an inventive girl, I can tell, because she has told me so many stories. Hopefully we can become the best of friends. As you can see in my drawings, she owns a teddy,a cat and I believe she has a thing going on with handbags.

This last image shows her as I saw her (her face) that evening. Can you tell she is stubborn and very proud? She accepts a high standing ponytail and high standing pigtails. If I try to give her pigtails near to her neck, she won't cooperate. I enjoy spending time with her and can hardly wait for her to tell me her name.

From my lovely colleagues !

Look what lovely gift I was given today. It's a really nice spring gift. It makes me so happy when people are this kind to me. I'm out of business, for the time beeing, because of a surgery and my lovely colleagues bring me all this sunshine. I'm so greatful.
Today has been a great day for several reasons. I visited an old friend that I haven't been seeing for a long time, and we had really happy hours together today. She have been doing some acrylic painting over the last years and she offered me to come participating. YES YES YES, I will. I'm so much looking foreward to it, can't wait for her to call me. ;-) And then, when back home, this lovely gift. Isn't this MY DAY???

What a beautyful day

This is an image from Mallorca taken a year ago.


What a beautyful day we've had today. Sunshine the whole day long, and kind of taste of summer.We have done a little kleaning in the garden,and in our backyard.
The outdoor furnitures are in place and we kinda started summer this weekend.
It's so lovely hearing all the different little birds singing,a bumblebee or two who are looking around and the season slowly coming to our minds.
I believe we are living at the most beautiful place in the world, he,he not exactly an objectiv point of view - but still.
Our conservatory (lysthuset) needs a real clean up, and our kitchen garden have to be clared for this years crop. So there are busy times to come, but oh so good too. Potatoes, carrots, strawberries, peas,and several other vegetables, I'm really looking forward to start all this. Hopefully I'm well enough to participate. 3 weeks ago I went through a surgery in my right shoulder and at the moment I'm not allowed to do much - but I'm feeling well though.
We have 6 apple trees in our garden and a very special tree, a walnut tree that is quite rare so far north as Norway. Some years it has a lot of fruits other years almost nothing.
It's late sunday evening and I have to close up for today, so a good night to all of you in blogland.

Make dull work less dull.

Make yourself a nice dishcloth which will give you a smile on your face. This one certainly gets me smiling, and when positive the dull job becomes a little less dull.
Start by ch 50 (or any number you like which is divisible to 3 + 2 )make sure your chain is not too tight crocheted.












Row 1. Sc in 2.nd chain from hook * ch 3 skip 2 ch and then 1 sc in following ch.* Repeat between marks to end and finish off with 1 sc in last ch. (this will give you 16 - 3 ch loops)












Row 2. Ch 3 and turn. * 1 sc, 3 ch, 3 dc in first 3 chain loop * Repeat between marks to end and finish off with 1 sc in last stitch.












Row 3. Ch 4 and turn. *1 sc, 3ch, 3 dc in first 3 ch loop * Repeat between marks to end and finish off with 1 sc in 4 ch (turning) loop from previous row.
Repeat row 3. untill you have a square, finish off and weave in ends.












Ready for use !!












Tie a ribbon around, and you have a nice little gift.

Abbreviations:
Ch = chain
Sc = singel crochet
Dc = double crochet
Good luck and ENJOY !!!

How to construct a pentagon

Hi there,
to make a pentagon is a piece of cake after reading this post.
You will need a degree ruler (don't know if that's the correct word but look at the pictures)a compass, pen and paper.
It's a big calculation (at least it is to me)to find the radius in a circle wich will give us a pentagon with sides measuring 3 cm.
My darling husband did this job for me, and the radius must be 2.55 cm.(US 1 inch)
Make a circle that big. Use the ruler and mark 90 deg. from mid point. Then mark 36 deg. to each side of the 90 deg. mark on top.
Take your compass and fit it in between the 2-36 deg. marks. Mark this distance a further 3 times at your circle. Draw straight lines through all marks and VOILA you have your pentagon with 3cm sides.
Look at your figure and imagine a house, you could easily lengthen the "walls" skip the lid and you have made yourself a unik vase.
I will write down the calculation formula wich gives the radius of a circle when side length is given in forehand, for those of you who can manage such kind of magic.
R = side lenght / 2 x sin36 deg. (This is Greek to me. :-)
I believe you all can make a hexagon so I don't mention that. If not ask me.
ENJOY!!!

A little treasure box

This is actually a great idea and it's recycling too.
You will need 2 hexagons and 12 pentagons to make a box like this.
The big one I made out of Christmas cards and for the small one I made my own cardboard. Well "my own" is not quite correct, but what i did was:
I took an old book, coloured some pages (Carand'ache water-soluble art wax crayons) water and a brush and "painted" over the colours.
When dry I made a new layer with a lacquer I got (Ocean lack- from Panduro Hobby) then left it to dry for 15-30 minutes.
When dried, I glued the finished papers onto cardboard. (not too stiff, a little flex is the best.) And voila, ready to make your geometric figures.

Make sure that one of your hexagons is double sided (the lid, and it will show off.)
Make your figures and cut them out. (I used 3 cm radius for the small one, the Christmas box has the dubble)
When cut you have to mark the holes. Don't be to near the edge (it's paper, remember?)
I prefer to mark the corners first and then those in between. On this
small box I use two marks
in between the corners.
I'm using an awl to make the holes but a pair of leather tongs could also do the job. It is important to be aware of the edges, it's very quick to ruin one of your ready made figures.
Well when finished marking, you have to choose what yarn to use. Consider the size of the box compared to the thickness of your yarn.(I did not do that. My yarn was the starter of this creation and THIS was the size I wanted to make. Stubborn me. My yarn is a little too heavy for this cute little box)
Now, start crocheting. I prefer to start at the hole next to a corner,and I single crochet 1 stitch in each hole and 3 stitches in each corner. And that's it. Weave in all ends, and you're ready for sewing together.
I don't know if you can see it, but I am lefthanded and therefor it seems that I'm crocheting the wrong way, in fact I am, compared to right handed people but do it
your way.
Now, join the first 6 pentagons together in a ring, and then the bottom hexagon. The first pentagon in the next row is sewn at two edges (always a point down) the next one and the rest of them, are sewn at 3 edges. Be careful when sewing at the top (opening of the box) and look for a tight joining. My lid became a little too small for the opening, but I just crocheted another pointy edge at the end. The last thing to do is to sew the lid onto the box. On my Christmas box I used a button and made a loop but this one I left as it was.

Originally I had a picture of the small blue box here but I did something stupid and it disappeard.



Well then, here you are, feel free to use this idea in what way you want.
I intend to make 2 or 3 more of these because I'm planning a garden party this summer and these boxes will be part of my table decoration.
I would love to hear your comments AND see your results. ENJOY !!!

Lace knitting

This is a closeup to show you how very thin it is.


The white shawl is made out of linen.


Warm and soft black woolyarn


My eyecatching petticoat.


I promised some pictures of knitted lace yesterday so I'll show you today.
The first picture is a red petticoat I knitted for my national outfit (sorry I don't know the english word for it) In norwegian it's called BUNAD.
When we are celebrating our national day (May 17th.)the weather can be really cold so my petticoat has been well used. The yarn used for this is a two ply wool yarn also from Shetland and it's very soft.(It don't itch at all)
The next two pictures are shawls, also used with my bunad. The black one for winter use and the white one for summer.
The white shawl is knitted in a yarn originally ment for the loom (it's linen)so it's a little bit stiffer than the black one.(one ply wool)
I'll add a close up of the black shawl just to give you an idea of the thickness of the yarn.
The petticoat is my own design the shawls are made from written patterns.

Bowl of beauty

Have you ever seen such beauties? These peonies grows in my garden, and they are my absolute favourites amongst flowers.
There are lots of beautyful flowers such as roses, violets,bleeding hearts,etc, but nothing compares to peonies.
This bouquet is from last summer, and I can hardly wait for coming season.
I hope you enjoy this picture as much as I do.
The one with yellow fringes in the middle is called Bowl of beauty, and she certainly is. I have several different peonies in my garden, and each summer I try to assemble a large bouquet to give away to family or friends. It's always received with a WOW,how nice!!!!

Another one of my favourite books

This book was bought for me in Shetland. It seems to be printed through The Shetland Times LTD. ISBN: 1 898852 75 8 It's called "Heirloom Knitting" and the Author is Sharon Miller.
Within this book there is a pattern library,historical data and several projects for us to follow.
Amongst the projects there is a christening robe. That one is so very nice and will be treated like a family jewel.
With the library you can very well design your own things. Lace knitting is one of my favs. I wouldn't be without this book and I recommend it for all of you who loves delicate works.
The thread i'm using is called cobweb and has only one ply very thin wool thread.
I'll show you some of my work with this yarn and some with other yarns. I like to experiment a little and have achived some good results I think.

My very first freeform project.

This handbag was my very first freeform project. As you can see I've used a lot of colours and they all were in my "to use" basket. In this project my aim was to see if I could really do it, and yes, I believe I could.
I did not use a bag pattern to get the two sides alike and that shows off a bit, so the next time i will.
I am very satisfied with the result, and my friends calls it a designer bag. I could sell it for a lot of money, they tell me, but that's out of the question.
It is not the last time I create in freeform, but just now I'm trying to create my own blog.
If you liked this, please let me know, I would appreciate your comment. The colours are much brighter in real life than in these pictures. I should have snapped them in sunshine

Highly recommendable.

About a year ago I came across this book, written by Renate Kirkpatrick,called "Freeform Crochet and beyond."
This book is a treasure.
I've been crocheting for more than 30 years and here is a book that shows me a lot of new stitches, that I never knew about, and not least a new way of creating things (without a written pattern.) Freeform, that's the whole idea.
It is amazing and exiting, you uses all kind of threads and a hook and that's it. If you, like me, love crocheting this is a "must have!"
I got my lokal bookstore to order it for me, but I believe it's available at Amazone.com.
I wish you all the very best and joyful learning from this book.

Wow, how nice, is it your own design?

I have this male friend that always asks me if something I just made is my own design. If I use a written pattern it's definetly not my design, but when combining my knowledge from this written pattern and my dressmaker skills, making a new piece of clothing, I think I can call it my own design. In most things I don't want to be a copycat, so I try to make my own twist on things that I make.
There are a lot of people out there making things, so I believe it's almost impossible not using elements of what you once saw.
The car itself was made a 100- 150 years ago but still people are making "new cars."
I'm curious about what other people think of this issue, so please give your opinion if you got the time for it.
It's a never ending issue to me. As an educated dressmaker I know the dress has existed longer than my life, so is the dress I just made "my own design?" Difficult issue this one.
Back to my male friend, is it nice, or does that depend whether it's my design?

My blog was born today.

This is kinda scary, but it looks so cool having a blog that I'll have to try it myself.
Please be patient untill I get to know the tecnical stuff a little better. Thanks.