r e b e c k a

Baby Converse

2011-09-30T16:31:00.004+02:00

Jag har inte virkat på jääättelänge men det här söta mönstret kunde jag inte motstå och de är superenkla att göra. Jag hittade det i en svensk föräldratidning och det var ganska dåligt skrivet men här är det på tyska i alla fall i en mycket noggrannare beskrivning. Ursäkta den dåliga bildkvalitén, det blev lite knasiga färger i solnedgångsljus... :)

I havn't crocheted in a looong time but I just couldn't resist this pattern and they're really easy to make. I found the pattern in a Swedish parenting magazine but here it is in German. Sorry about the poor photo quality...

September

2011-09-02T11:21:00.007+02:00

Mormors månadstavlor visar ju alltför tydligt hur lång tid det går för mig mellan bloginläggen...

Motivet stämmer inte riktigt med det Italienska klimatet kan man lugnt säga, här kan man bara drömma om att ha strumpor på sig :) 30 grader varmt på dagen och 25 på natten är visserligen svalare än vad vi hade för en månad sen och visst är det härligt att kunna spendera dagarna på stranden i ljummet vatten men jag måste nog erkänna att jag längtar lite efter hösten...

September blir en omvälvande månad för oss. Lillebror är beräknad att komma den 29de och snart börjar lilltjejen på dagis och måste lära sig italienska ordentligt (här hemma pratar vi mest svenska) men spännande blir det! Själv har jag en massa spelningar som jag hoppas klara av innan det blir dags att ta mammaledigt.

As you can se from my grandmother's embroidery September in Sweden is very different from the weather we have here and I have to admit that I kind of long for to wear socks even though it's lovely spending the day on the beach...
This month will bring many changes to our family: My daughter will be going to kindergarten and will have to learn Italian better (at home we mostly speak Swedish) and she will have a little brother around the 29th. I have a lot of concerts and I hope I'll manage to do them all before I go into maternaty leave.

April

2011-04-08T15:05:00.002+02:00

Mormors månadsbroderi stämmer lyckligtvis inte riktigt in på hur det ser ut här just nu. Vi har 20 grader varmt och härom dan plockade jag en stor bukett smörblommor som står i köket och gör mig lycklig! :)

Music

2011-02-07T15:59:00.003+01:00

Om du inte har något speciellt för dig och vill lyssna på lite skön musik kolla då in mitt band Cattlemen på Myspace. Där har vi just lagt upp fem låtar från vår nya demo!

If you have a moment and would like to listen to some good music, check out my band Cattlemen on Myspace. We just uploaded five tunes from our new demo!

Autumn Leaves Vest

2011-01-28T14:07:00.005+01:00

Här är en bild på Pickles fina höstväst (mönstret hittar du här). Jag använd restgarner så färgerna blev lite galna men jag är jättenöjd! Det är svårt att hitta rundstickor här i Italien så jag fick sticka den med strumpstickor och det är inte det roligaste jag vet precis men jag lyckades få skarvarna hyfsat bra. Fotot tog jag för nästan ett år sen och då fick lilltjejen plats i en kopieringspapperskartong! :)

This is the Autumn Leaves Vest from Pickles. You'll can the pattern here. The colours are pretty wild but I'm happy with it! I took the picture almost a year ago and then my daughter fit in to the tiny little box the size of an A4! :)

Quilts quilts quilts

2011-01-18T10:57:00.011+01:00

Läste häromdan i en för mig ny, och för övrigt MYCKET trevlig blogg, Fröken Textil som skriver "Är egentligen inget fans av lapptäcken, tror jag sett för många i min mening fula alster sydda av färdiga lappsatser utan själ och hjärta. Ett lapptäcke skall enligt mig vara gjort av småbitar vilka blivit över vid annat skapande." Kunde inte sagt det bättre själv! Och det är inte för att jag inte är kapabel att göra raka, fina, välsydda, geometriskt perfekta lapptäcken (nej, faktiskt inte!) utan för att det är att hitta tygerna och de rätta kombinationerna som är det fina med lapptäcken.

Dessa är bebistäcken (med fleecebaksida) och då blir det ju min tygsamling som får styra valet. En annan dag ska jag visa er mitt finaste lapptäcke so far. En riktig memory blanket där många av tygerna och lapparna speglar den person jag sydde det till.

Det är onekligen lite roligare att välja tyger i flickiga färger men jag är rätt nöjd med de två pojktäckena också. Ett av dem har fått ett personligt broderi också. Rutorna är ca 10x10cm.

Some baby quilts I've made from fabrics I had at home and that's how I like them to be. Not perfect in any way but usable and with the right fabrics in the right place! I'll show you my nicest one another day, a real memory blanket.

I'm Back!

2011-01-10T15:50:00.004+01:00

Ja, eller åtminstone ska jag göra ett försök... :)

Tiden räcker ju inte riktigt till till allt och med barn och ett nystartat företag (jag ska berätta mer om det snart!) har liksom bloggandet hamnat i skymundan lite. Såklart har jag pysslat (gillar egentligen inte riktigt ordet men hittar inget bättre, "craftat" kanske i så fall...) en hel del så jag har gott om saker att visa er.

Jag börjar dock med en kofta som min mamma har stickat (det enda jag har bidragit med är att leta upp och sy i knappar från svärmors samling) delvis för koftan är supersöt men mest för att fotona ju är SÅÅÅ FINA! Det är min barndomsvän Kristin som har tagit fotona i sin nyöppnade studio. Hon var verkligen superduktig med min lilla tös som vägrade vara stilla! Kolla in hennes hemsida här: http://kristinhorn.se/

...or at least I'll make an honest try... :) With a kid and a new company (I'll tell you more about that soon) it's not very easy to find the time to blog but I assure you I have a lot of crafts to show you!
My mum knitted this cute cardigan and my friend Kristin at http://kristinhorn.se/ took the gorgeous photos.

I'm still here

2010-02-19T00:07:00.012+01:00

Tiden bara springer ifrån mig medan vi leker, skaffar tänder, pysslar, inreder barnrum, har första kräksjukan, skaffar underbara vänner här och hälsar på mormor och morfar i Sverige. Det blir inte många ögonblick över till att blogga... men jag är fortfarande här och jag kollar in vad ni andra gör! :)

Time flies while we play, teeth, craft, decorate the baby's room, get sick for the first time, make wonderful new friends here and visit the grandparents in Sweden. I don't have many spare moments to blog... but I'm still here, checking out what you guys are up to! :)

December emboidery

2009-12-05T14:46:00.001+01:00

Inspiration

2009-11-30T15:40:00.015+01:00

Here's some more pictures from my old Burda magazines. I love the skiingoutfit, although it's perhaps not that practical... I remember I had those barbie tennis outfits so my mum must have had that issue too. Ferdinand "the slacker" is really cute too!

Our livingroom before Christmas

2009-11-26T15:42:00.006+01:00

An angle of our livingroom today, pre advent....

The small painting is made by our very talanted cousin Giovanna (her homepage) and the big one in the background by her sister Luisa.

Foppa Pedretti makeover

2009-11-21T22:30:00.009+01:00

Precis som namnet "Il Sediolone" (=barnstolen) antyder så är dethär den klassiska italienska barnstolen från Foppa Pedretti. Jag måste nog erkänna att den inte riktigt är i min smak, men får man en rejäl kvalitetsstol i present måste man ju göra det bästa av saken!

Just as the name hints, this the classic Italian child highseat "Il Sediolone" (=the child seat) from Foppa Pedretti. I must admit it's not really to my taste but since I was given this sturdy quality highseat as a gift I just had to make the best of it!

Jag började med att rengöra den eftersom den använts av flera barn tidigare, men remmarna och säkerhetsbältet var så smutsiga att jag var tvungen att köpa nya. Varför just gula kan man undra men det är den enda färg de tillverkas i!

I started by cleaning it since its been used by several children before, but the straps and security belt were so dirty I had to buy new ones. Why yellow? 'Cause that's the only colour they make them in!

Dynan i plast är ju praktisk men.... ja... den passar inte riktigt in bland resten av inredningen om jag säger så... så sedan sydde jag ett överdrag i ett tyg som jag alltid gillat men har kännts lite för 80-tal för att sy klädesplagg av.

The seating in plastic ip practical but... well... it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the decor in our house... so I made a cover in a fabric I've always liked but found a little too 80's to make clothes from.

Dynan sätts fast i stolen med kardborrband så det sydde jag på mitt överdrag också.

The seating is attatched to the chair with velcro so I sewed that onto my cover too.

Ett litet märke därbak och... ta da!

A little tag at the back and... ta da!

An advantage with living in Italy

2009-11-18T16:30:00.008+01:00

Det här blev dagens lunch för mig. Det kanske inte ser mycket ut för världen, i alla fall för någon som inte har ätit riktig italiensk mat, och då menar jag italienska råvaror! Låt mig förklara:

1. Mozzarellan är inte en plastförpackad klump köpt på en stormarknad, nej det är en buffelmozzarella gjord för hand några timmar innan den hamnade på min tallrik. Smaken är gräddig, konsistensen fast och den har nästan som ett skal utanpå. När man sätter gaffeln i den (ja, här äter man ofta med bara gaffel) rinner det ut buffelmjölk över halva tallriken.

2. Skinkan på tallriken heter inte parmaskinka. Lufttorkad skinka i Sverige brukar kallas parmaskinka men i Italien är det generella namnet "prosciutto crudo" som betyder "rå skinka". Den här heter San Martino och är skärs liksom prosciutto di parma i lövtunna skivor som faktiskt är så mjuka att de smälter i munnen!

3. "Brödet" kallas "frise" och kommer såvitt jag vet från södra Italien. Det är ett donut-format bröd som skärs itu och torkas så att det blir som skorpor och när man ska äta det måste man blöta upp det lite i vatten. Dessa är bageribakta och förstås inte så goda som de min mans moster gör i sin utomhusugn på landet... Sedan gnor man in det med en delad coctailtomat (jag brukar gno in dem med lite vitlök också...) och häller på olivolja. Smaken på tomaterna är givetvis en helt annan än de man hittar på en svensk stormarknad (tänk sommarens saftigaste egenodlade så kommer i nära...) och oljan kommer från en farbror här i närheten som bara producerar några hundra flaskor för eget och vänners bruk.

For you Italians who are reading: This was today's lunch for me. I've just described to Swedish readers how good it was but I know that you know just how wonderful it tasted! The food is truly an advantage of living here!!

Skull jumper live pictures

2009-11-06T17:51:00.007+01:00

Jag skrev i en post för ett tag sedan att jag ville sticka denhär tröjan/linnet och nu är den klar! Den blev brun med döskallar i cremevitt för det var vad jag hade hemma. Jag har inte stickat så mycket mönsterstickning så jag drog garnet lite för hårt men det blev ok ändå. Min mamma, som är min stickmeister, tröstade mig med att det var mönstrets fel ... :)

I wrote in an older post that I wanted to knit this jumper and now it's finished! I made it in brown and cream white cause that's what I had at home. I haven't knitted much with patterns on before so I pulled the yarn a little tight, but I think it's ok anyway. My mum and knitmeister assured me that it was the pattern construction's fault.. :)

Lillan är snart 9 månader och aktiv som bara den. Hon både kryper, sitter och ställer sig upp själv så nog har man lite att göra här. Vår babysimlärare säger att lillan snart kommer att gå och då blir det väl inte lättare... Nu håller hon dessutom på att få tänder och sover jättedåligt på nätterna men hon är ju så glad, söt och alldeles underbar så vad gör väl det! :)

My baby girl is almost 9 months and very active. She crawls, sits and pulls herself up into a standing position so I keep myself busy. Our baby swim instructor tells me that she'll walk soon so I guess it won't get any easier... she's also teething right now and hardly sleeps at night but she's so happy, cute and absolutely wonderful that I really don't mind! :)

Den skulle stickas på rundstickor men det är så svårt att få tag på här så det fick bli på vanliga stickor och så sydde jag ihop den mitt bak. Jag satt också dit knappar där fram för att göra den lite tjejigare.

It was supposed to be knitted on a circular needle but they are hard to find here so I used normal ones and stitched it together at the back. To make it more girly I put bottons at the front.

A summer dress, better late than never...

2009-11-04T10:17:00.005+01:00

Här är ytterligare en av sommarens projekt som jag inte visat er tidigare. Jag ääälskar det här Tilda-tyget! Det känns liksom skandinaviskt, gammeldags och lite Emil i Lönneberga på något vis. Modellen är en klassisk förklädesklänning med bomullssnedremsa och den lilla hättan ritade jag av från en min mamma sydde till mig när jag var liten. Knapparna är från min svärmors samling och - JA! - mina pelargoner blommar faktiskt på balkongen fortfarande!

Here's another of my summer projects I haven't shown you before. I looove this Tilda fabric! It sort of feels Scandinavian, old fashioned and a little Emil in Lönneberga. The model is a classic apron dress and the pattern for little cap I copied from an old one my mother once made for me. The buttons are from my mother-in-law's collection and - YES! - my geranias are still in bloom on my balcony!

November embroidery

2009-11-02T17:36:00.002+01:00

This is just what it feels like here today!

This cardigan...

2009-10-23T16:23:00.002+02:00

This cardigan...

still fits her!

A knitted sweater and a new project

2009-10-16T16:31:00.006+02:00

Den här babytröjan stickade jag nyss färdigt. Det blev ett par sockar också men de, liksom så mycket annat i vårt stökiga hem, hittar jag inte just nu... Jag älskar färgsättningen i baby merino ullen som går från oblekt vit till mörk blå via beige och gråblå. Kanten är virkad och knapparna i halsen hade jag hemma. Här är mönstret på svenska.

I just finished knitting this baby sweater. I made a pair of socks too but as with so many other things, I can't find them right now... I love the colours of the baby merino wool. It goes from cream white to dark blue via beige and greyish blue. The border is crocheted and the buttons at the neck I had at home. Here is the pattern in English.

Jag lät lillan peka ut garnet till nästa projekt, undrar vad det ska bli? :)

I let the baby choose the yarn for my next project, I wonder what I'll do with these? :)

My Sunday

2009-10-16T16:06:00.008+02:00

= enligt italiensk lag måste era hundars behov plockas upp med en skyffel. Om ni verkligen inte vill skaffa er en sådan, låt hunden göra sina behov utanför er egen port.

Mega man

2009-10-14T16:39:00.006+02:00

...letar efter någonstans att bo. Jag funderar att sy fast honom på bakfickan på ett par jeans... Hela rutan är ca. 4x4 cm så nog vart det lite pilligt... ;)

...is looking for a place to live. I'm thinking about sewing him on to the back pocket of a pair of jeans... The fabric square is only around 4x4 cm

Här är mönstret och här hittar du det och många, många fler 8 bit sprites.

Here's the pattern and here is where you find it and many, many more 8bit sprites.

Embroidered bracelet

2009-10-09T10:27:00.001+02:00

Det här armbandet var ett trevligt litet projekt som jag hittade på efter hand. Framsidan och baksidan är i linnestramalj och broderiet gjorde jag i danskt blomstergarn som jag hade över. Som lås sydde jag dit en liten tryckknapp men den syns inte på bilden.

This was a fun little project that I made up as it progressed. Back and front is a linnen fabric and for the embroidery I used leftover embroidery cotton threads. The lock is a hidden button but you can't see it in the picture.

Maybe I should start smoking?

2009-10-06T16:37:00.002+02:00

According to these adds in Burda magazines from the 70's it seems really cool to smoke...

These have a cute flowery pattern...

but it seems creative women smoke Kim... ;)

I've struck gold!

2009-10-05T15:24:00.003+02:00

När vi började städa ut mina svärföräldrars hus hittade jag en jättehög med Burda-tidningar från 1971-1991. Vilken guldgruva!!

As we were cleaning out my parents-in-law's house I found a huge pile of Burda magazines from 1971-1991. What a goldmine!!

Maybe I'll try and make one of these...

A gorgeous pink dress and the green one is cute too!

Cool hats!

Love the guy's black raincoat

This picture could have been taken today!

October embroidery

2009-10-01T12:03:00.004+02:00

My Sunday

2009-09-28T10:57:00.006+02:00

Baby cardigan

2009-09-22T11:11:00.006+02:00

I somras stickade jag denna babykofta i ekobomull och den är perfekt för svala sensommardagar och kvällar här i Italien. Jag hittade i stort sett på mönstret själv med hjälp av måtten från ett annat mönster. Kanterna är virkade och knapparna är i kokosnöt och kostade mer än själva garnet! Men jag gillar dem :)

I knitted this baby cardigan in eco cotton and it's perfect for warm september days and evenings here in Italy. I kind of invented the pattern myself using the measurements from another pattern. The borders are crocheted and the buttons are coconut and cost more than the yarn! But I like them :)

Vintage bibs

2009-09-08T15:21:00.005+02:00

Min mamma sydde dessa snygga och praktiska haklappar på 70-talet.

My mum made these gorgeous and practical bibs in the 70's

Som ni ser behövs de...

As you can see they are well needed...

Baby trousers

2009-09-07T23:39:00.003+02:00

Nu har jag äntligen en fungerande kamera, så nu ska jag visa er vad jag har pysslat med i sommar. Först ut ett par hängslebyxor sydda i ett gammalt lakan och med mudd längs upp som består av en gammal t-shirt. Jag gillar verkligen tryckknapparna som jag fått tag på hos en skomakare här i stan.

I finally have a wonking camera, so now I can show you everything I've been crafting this summer. First a pair of trousers made from an old sheet and the white fabric is an old elastic t-shirt. I really like the (press on?) buttons I got at a nerarby shoemaker.

Min modell var inte särskilt villig...

My model wasn't very helpful...

Mina nya etiketter, alla har ju visst ett märke nuförtiden... "ciao mondo" betyder "hej världen"

My new tags, everyone seems to have theur own label nowadays... "ciao mondo" means "hi world"

September embroidery

2009-09-01T13:10:00.000+02:00

Nooo, guy in the light blue shirt! Don't pick that!!

Emy Little

2009-08-31T15:12:00.005+02:00

Jag bara älskar Emy Little's folklorisktiska bebiskläder! Mina föräldrar gav oss denna lilla hättan efter ett besök i Dalarna och den är ju såå snygg och praktisk!

I just love the folkloristic baby clothes by Emy Little. My parents got us this little cap bought in Swedish Dalarna, and apart from being gorgeous it's very practical too!

Picture borrowed from the Emy Little online shop.

Sweden, here we come!

2009-08-12T11:31:00.003+02:00

Or "Holiday, sweet holiday"! Two weeks! :)

coffee and tea

2009-08-05T18:21:00.002+02:00

Den vänstra används till kaffe och den högra till te.
Den vänstra är svensk och den högra dansk.
Den vänstra ärvde jag av farmor och farfar och den högra är inköpt på kupan.
Så olika men lika älskade! :)

The one to the left is for coffee and the one to the right is for tea.
The one to the left is Swedish and the one to the right Danish.
The one to the left I inherited from my grandparents and the one to the right I bought at a charity shop.
So different but equally loved! :)

August embroidery

2009-08-02T13:30:00.000+02:00

Skull jumper

2009-07-30T11:54:00.004+02:00

Som mitt nästa projekt bara måååste jag sticka den här supersöta tröjan/klänningen!! Mönstret är från holländska Penelope Craft, klicka på free patterns. Jag hittade dit via en av mina favvosidor Whip Up.
Ny kamera "fås" om några veckor när jag åker till Sverige, tills dess får ni tåla er med gamla eller andras bilder. Jag har en massa grejer att visa er!

I'm soooo knitting this super cute jumper/dress as my next project!! The pattern is from the Dutch Penelope Craft, click on free patterns. I found it through one of my favourite sites, Whip Up.
I'll get a new camera in a couple of weeks when I go to Sweden on holiday. Until then you'll have to make do with old or borrowed pictures. I have so much to show you!

An Italian summer house

2009-07-24T17:35:00.005+02:00

En italiensk sommarstuga på landet...

...är precis som en svensk sommarstuga ett ställe dit man åker för att umgås med familjen och ta det lugnt, det gör inget att det är lite primitivt, det är hit man tar möbler man inte vill ha i sitt hus i stan och hit bjuder man gärna släkt och vänner för att äta i timmar i trädgården. Precis så fungerar min mans fasters sommarhus i Puglia/Apulien (klacken på stöveln, ni vet). De enda skillnaderna är väl egentligen...

...in the countryside is just like a Swedish summer cottage where you go to spend time with your family and relax, it doesn't matter thet it's a little primitive, it's here you bring furniture you don't want in your house in town and it's here you invite friends and family to have long dinners in the garden. My husband's ant's summerhouse in Puglia (you know, the heel of the boot) works just like that. I guess the only differences are...

...pelargonerna blir så här stora och man behöver inte ta in dem på vintern
... the geranias grow this big and you don't have to take them inside for the winter

... man odlar fikon, citron och mandel istället för tolv sorters äpplen
...you grow figs, lemons and almonds instead of 12 kinds of apples

... och jorden är röd.
... and the soil is red.

(Det besvärliga med mandlar är att man måste banka av det tjocka, hårda, luddiga skalet för att sen skala innerskalet...)
(To peel almonds is pretty tough. First you have to crush the hard outer shell and then peel off the inner one...)

Favourites

2009-07-21T12:12:00.003+02:00

Bad news: My camera is still broken :(

Good news: My dad feels so sorry for me he offered to buy me a new one as an early Christmas present and to help me pick out a good one!

In the meantime... a picture from my kitchen. I got this chest of drawers from my granddad and even though some parts are missing, it's one of my favourite posessions. The bottom left drawer is supposed to contain fruit... I don't think the melon I bought today fits though...

I love this little dog

2009-07-13T12:32:00.003+02:00

Är inte denna underbar?! BRIO-hunden Sampo som jag haft sen jag var liten, ni vet en sån som faller ihop om man trycker undertill.

Isn't this adorable?! The BRIO toy dog Sampo I've had since I was a child and it lies down if you press underneath.

Concrete slates

2009-07-07T12:11:00.004+02:00

Min kamera har tyvärr lagt av så jag antar at det här är ett bra tillfälle för att visa er något jag gjorde för några år sen i Sverige. De flesta betongplattorna lämnade jag hos mina föräldrar i Sverige men några tog jag med mig.

My camera unfortunately has stopped working so this is, I guess, a good opportunity to show you some pictures of something I crafted a couple of years ago in Sweden. I left most of the slates with my parents but a couple of them I brought with me.

July embroidery

2009-07-01T21:19:00.004+02:00

Min mormors julibroderi föreställer bönder som skördar (om ni inte förstod det förstås... ;))

Here's my grandma's July embroidery depicting farmers harvesting (maybe you didn't get that ;))

Vimpel - Pennant?

2009-06-30T10:50:00.004+02:00

Hej allihopa, vi har varit bortresta så jag har inte haft så mycket tid till varken att blogga eller pyssla. Bilder från semestern kommer snart!

Hi everybody, we've been travelling so I haven't had much time for neither blogging nor crafting. I'll soon show you some pictures from our holiday!

Ville bara passa visa den här vimpeln som jag gjorde till Lillans dop (ja, egentligen var det ju bara en ursäkt för att få sy lite, vi behööövde ju ingen vimpel... ;)) av sånt jag hade hemma.

I just wanted to show you this pennant (I don't know if that's the right word in english...) I made for the baby's christening (even though we didn't really neeeeed one, it was more an excuse to do some sewing...;)). I had the materials at home.

Inspiration till fina vimplar hittar man överallt i blogvärlden, tex. här hos Beas Barnslikheter, här hos Julias Vita Drömmar eller här hos Adoridarling.

All over the blog world you find inspiration for beautiful pennants. Above some links to Swedish sites.

Happy Midsummer

2009-06-19T15:02:00.010+02:00

Lillan är klädd i en klänning jag sytt av en gammal t-shirt. Mönstret hittade jag på lite efterhand.

Glad midsommar till alla som firat det! Ikväll firar vi med några svenska vänner i deras trädgård ute på landet och eftersom IKEA har öppnat 20 min härifrån har vi traditionsenlig meny. Gräddfil (smetana) köper jag från den lilla ukrainska butiken på min gata och jag hittade jordgubbar från norra italien för här är säsongen över. Här är receptet på världens godaste jordgubbspaj/tårta: (fotot är taget innan jag hällde på glacen)

6 pers.

pajdeg till botten (eller köp färdig så går det supersnabbt att göra tårtan!)

3,75dl mjöl

en nypa salt

1 litet ägg

2msk vatten eller mjölk

100 mjukt smör

Mascarponekräm.

225g mascarpone

1 ½dl naturell yoghurt

1 ½dl lättvispad vispgrädde

ca 3msk florsocker

1 vaniljstång

Ovanpå:

500g jordgubbar, sköljda och rensade

4msk jordgubbssylt

1msk vatten

Pajbotten: smula ner smöret i mjölet och saltet, vispa ut ägget i vätskan och blanda allt. Plasta in och lägg i kylen i 20-30min. Kavla ut degen och tryck ut den i en pajform ca 25 cm i diameter. Låt överflödig deg hänga ut. Pricka degen med en gaffel och ställ i kylskåpet 30 min. Lägg på bakplåtspapper och kikärtor eller ärtor så att degen inte faller ihop. Grädda i 40-45 min. Ta bort bakplåtspapper och ärtor efter 35 min. tag ut och låt kallna.

Blanda mascarpone och yoghurt med florsockret. Skrapa ner vaniljkornen i krämen. Vispa och blanda i mer socker om det behövs. Häll neri degbottnen och lägg jordgubbarna snyggt ovanpå (t.ex. med ”spetsen” uppåt).

Värm sylten och vattnet (sila eventuellt) och häll ovanpå så att jordgubbarna blir glaserade.

June embroidery

2009-06-05T09:45:00.003+02:00

Det här är min favorit bland mormors månadstavlor eftersom hon har broderat sin familj. Till vänster min morfar med kameran i högsta hugg, som vanligt, och mormor själv med alla barnen. Flickan i den gula klänningen är min mamma. Slottet är Drottningholm i Stockholm.

This is my favourite among my grandmother's monthly pictures since she has embroidered her family. To the left my grandfather with his camera, as always, and grandma herself with all the children. The girl in the yellow dress is my mum. The castle is Drottningholm in Stockholm.

Baby quilt part 5

2009-06-03T10:29:00.006+02:00

Mitt baby-lapptäcke är äntligen färdigt! Eller, ja, det blev färdigt för ett bra tag sen men jag har inte lyckats ta några snygga foton som gör arbetet rättvisa... så, dessa får duga. Rutorna är 10x10 cm och består av 20 broderade rutor och resten gamla tyger från andra projekt, gardiner, kläder och tom. näsdukar min svärmor har gjort.

Vad mer kan jag säga... jo, att jag är helnöjd och det var jätteroligt att göra! :)

My baby quilt is finally finished! Or rather, I finished it quite a while ago but I havn't managed to take any good pictures of it... so these will have to do. The squares are 10x10 cm and consist of 20 embroidered squares and leftover fabrics from other projects, curtains, clothes and even napkins my mother-in-law made.

What more can I say... that I'm completely happy about it and it was a lot of fun to make! :)

Om du vill se hur det gick till att göra kan du läsa mer här, här, här och här!

If you'd like to know more about how I made it you'll find more information here, here, here and here!

Christening dress

2009-06-01T10:35:00.007+02:00

Förra söndagen döptes lillan och såklart hade hon på sig dopklänningen som vi alla på mammas sida är döpta i. Klänningen är från 40-talet och min mammas generation är de första som använt den och med min lilla är vi inne på tredje generationen.

Last Sunday we christened our baby girl and of course she wore the dress that all of us in my mother's family have been christened in. The dress is from the 40's and my mum's generation is the first to use it and my baby is the first of the third.

I Sverige (Skandinavien) är traditionen att använda långa dopklänningar.

In Sweden (Scandinavia?) we traditionally use very long christening dresses.

Min mormor har broderat på alla namn och datum och nu ska jag brodera dit lillans namn också.

My grandmother has embroidered all the names and now I'll add my baby's name too.

Klänningen har en underklänning i rosa/aprikos och en i blått för pojkarna.

The dress ha an under gown in pink/apricot for the girls and one in blue for the boys.

For an Italian baby

2009-05-19T12:48:00.007+02:00

En italiensk väninna klagade häromdan på hur svårt det var att hitta snygga bebiskläder här. Alla har likadana kläder, de kan vara ganska opraktiska (massa knappar på ryggen tex.), de är oftast i pastellfärger och de är relativt dyra. Hon sa också att hon inte hade någon vår/sommarmössa till sin flicka så... jag sydde detta typiskt svenska set till hennes 2-månading:

An italian friend of mine complained the other day about how tough it was to find nice baby clothes here. The clothes all look the same, sometimes they're not very practical (a lot of buttons on the back for example), they're all in light colours and they're pretty expensive. She also said that she didn't have anything to put on her baby's head now that spring/summer has arrived so... I made her these for her baby girl, 2 months old:

En klassisk hätta i ett tyg jag köpte på marknaden här men det ser ganska skandinaviskt ut tycker jag. Framkanten och fodret är i ett T-shirttyg jag hade hemma och kantbandet är ett vävt bomullsband. Eget mönster.

A baby cap in a fabric I bought at the local market but it looks a little scandinavian, doesn't it? It's lined with a T'shirt fabric I had at home and a cotton ribbon. The pattern is my own.

En praktisk dregelscarf (har aldrig sett någon sådan här) i samma tyg och fleece på baksidan. Jag ritade av en svensk dregelscarf min mamma köpt i Sverige och fixade till den med hjälp av detta mönster.

A practical scarf in the same fabric and the back in fleece so It's soft against the baby's skin. I drew the pattern partly from a scarf my mum bought in Sweden and partly using this "pattern".

Ordning och reda, städa på fredag

2009-05-15T11:25:00.005+02:00

Cleaning and sorting on a Friday. Lots of buttons and thead rolls I've inherited from my grandmum and mother-in-law have been laying around in plastic bags. Finally they have a new home where I can enjoy them!

I don't really have a work space so they have to live in my bookshelf, sharing the space with my hobby books and magazines.

Some of my favourite buttons. I think my particular favourite is the apple shaped one (that's from a pair of under panties from H&M), or the greyish blue wooden botton that's third from the top to the right, or the metal button with a moose on it (that's actually from my Italian mother-in-law!) or.... ;)

Something to chew on

2009-05-12T10:19:00.003+02:00

Lillan har börjat suga på allting och för att undvika att hon suger på den fina yllefilten, byxorna som ligger bredvid henne på skötbordet eller mammas tröja har jag sytt en liten snuttefilt. Den är ca 20x20cm, framsidan är av plysch/velour, baksidan en gammal T-shirt och så lite filt som applikation och dekoration. Jag är helt värdelös på att sy i elastiska tyger så eftersom jag visste att det jag ändå adrig skulle lyckas få det "slätt" drog jag i tyget så att det rynkades ordentligt.
Hoppas nu bara att lillan ska tycka om att sutta på den... ;)

My baby has started to suck and "chew" on everything and to avoid her sucking on the nice wool blanket, the pants next to her on the changing table or mummy's sweater I've made this little "sucking bkanket" (sorry, don't know the word in English, please help me out). It's ca. 20x20cm, the front in velour, the back an old T-shirt and some felt as decoration. I'm completely worthless att sewing elastic fabrics so I stretched it while sewing to make it show that I didn't want it to be "smooth".
Let's just hope now that the baby will like to "chew" on it... ;)

Counting sheep

2009-05-07T10:07:00.003+02:00

(English below)
Det tog mig mer än en vecka att göra mobilen för det kom alltid emellan något, sköta bebisen laga mat osv. men nu är den klar och hänger över lillans säng! Köpte kitet på Panduro i julas när de hade rea och betalade halva reapriset, 29.50! Fast sen har jag ju såklart använt ull och hobbyfärg jag hade hemma för att ändra färgerna.

Här under IKEAs sänghimmel kan lillan ligga och räkna får

Såhär glad blev lillan när mobilen var färdig!

It took me more than a week making this, finishing one detail at a time then having to put it away to take care of the baby, cook or do something else around the house. I made it from a kit I bought at Panduro Hobby (at 50% of half price, ca. 3 euros!) but I changed the colours using hobby paint and wool I had at home. Now it hangs over "lillan's" bed and she seems really happy about it! :)

Baby "jeans"

2009-05-05T12:26:00.004+02:00

(In English below)
Inspirerad av svenska bloggare har jag upptäckt hur kul det är att sy babykläder och helst i återanvända tyger. Det här är mitt första försök som är en muddbyxa och för att göra den lite jeansaktig har jag sytt på en bakficka och en liten ögla på sidan. Jag kunde förstås inte låta bli att brodera lite också... :) Jag har använt ett mjukt jeansaktigt tyg från IKEA och muddväv jag råkade ha hemma.

Mönstret är (något modifierat) från boken "Baby Cool, Sy nytt av gammalt" skriven av Nina Sandström Hallberg, Anna-Stina Lindén Ivarsson (en av tjejerna som skapade DoRedo ni vet) och Göran Hallberg. Kan verkligen rekommendera den, fast flera av er som redan syr mycket barnkläder kanske inte tycker mönstrena är så nya - men den är inspirerande!

Inspired by Swedish bloggers I've discovered how fun it is to make baby clothes and to use old fabrics to do new things. This is my first attempt to making a pair of baby jeans using wristlet at the waist and feet, and I think they're pretty nice! The wristlet makes them wearable for a longer period because thay stay in place even if they're too big like these, and if you unfold the wristlet they become longer. I've added a few details like a back pocket ad a "hook" on the side to make them more jeans like - and because it was fun! :)

The pattern is from the wonderful book "Baby Cool, Sy nytt av gammalt" (Sewing new things from old (fabrics/clothes)) by Nina Sandström Hallberg, Anna-Stina Lindén Ivarsson (one of the co-writers of DoRedo) and Göran Hallberg. The fabric is a soft jeans fabric from IKEA and I had that and the wristlet at home.

May embroidery

2009-05-02T11:50:00.004+02:00

Another one of my grandmothers monthly embroideries. They are all ca. 10x11 cm so as you can understand the stitches are very small!

Baby cardigan

2009-04-29T09:19:00.003+02:00

I had so much fun knitting this baby cardigan 'cause it's really easy to make and the yarn is multicoloured so it creates lines and even dots! I actually finished it in only one week! :)

I've made it in super soft baby merino wool that I've bought here, but I think in Sweden you can buy similar yarn at Garnstudion. The pattern is by Drops Design and you'll find it here in Swedish and here in English.

Have a nice day! :)

It's raining, it's pouring...

2009-04-24T10:01:00.008+02:00

and it's sooo boring...
I've finished two projects that I wanted to show you but I can't manage to take any good photos with this bad lighting... 10°C and raining... :( It seems the weather is much better in Scandinavia right now, good for you! :)
Anyway, here's a picture of something I made last year.

It's a "purse" for my sunglasses. The embroidery pattern is from some spring issue 08 of "Kreative Kvinder". I used leftover cotton embroidery thread and an old zipper. The back is in a green flowery pattern.

Don't forget to tell me what language you'd like me to write in by answering the question to the left!

X-factor 2 Italia winner!

2009-04-22T12:05:00.004+02:00

Idag bjuder jag på Matteo som vann säsongens italienska x-factor. X-factor är ungefär som svenska idol (skapad av Simon Cowell, ni vet han i american idol-juryn) men de tävlar i olika kategorier; under 24, 25+ och vokalgrupper. Den stora skillnaden är väl att en 38-årig tvåbarnspappa med antydan till gubbmage ALDRIG skulle kunna vinna Idol (han skulle ju inte ens få vara med förresten...) Här i duett med Elisa som tyvärr åkte ut tidigt, ser ni att hon är gravid?
Han vann förresten med bara 16 röster så mitt SMS hade faktiskt betydelse! :)

This guy, Matteo, won this year's edition of x-factor (He won with just 16 votes so my vote for him actually counted! :)

Crafting for my baby

2009-04-17T09:23:00.015+02:00

It seems so far like most people prefer to read my blog in Swedish, and since no one has answered Italian I think I'll try for a while to write in Swedish (it's much easier for me anyway...) and at the end write a caption in English. Protest if you don't like it and answer my poll to the left! :)

Mitt senaste, färdiga, projekt är ett vindskydd till barnvagnen som jag delvis visat upp tidigare. Jag har lånat denna vagn, märke Torck, av min svägerska men överdraget/vindskyddet fattades och eftersom vi bor i en ganska blåsig stad tänkte jag att det måste väl jag som är så händig kunna ordna. Så nu när vår/sommavärmen börja komma på riktigt är jag äntligen färdig! :)

Det började med ett broderi med texten "Ciao Mondo" (=hej världen) och lite kaniner och ankor för att fylla ut. Garnet är överblivet danskt blomstergarn från detta broderi. Sen blev det lite lapptäckeaktigt och quiltat runtikring i matchande färger. Jag försökte att inte göra det allt för flickigt (jag vill ju att nästa bebis som ska använda vagnen ska kunna ha skyddet också) men det kanske det blev ändå? (klicka som vanligt på bilden om du vill se mitt arbete närmare)

Jag har sytt i resår som löper runt hela skyddet och fästs med öglor vid "skruvarna" men jag kom inte på nåt smart, enkelt sätt att fästa överdelen så just nu ligger den löst utanpå. Fiberfillen jag använt är ganska tjock så den liksom står upp av sig själv ganska bra så jag kanske lämnar den som den är. Om jag orkade skulle jag gärna fodra insidan av vagnen med samma blommiga tyg som jag använt på på baksidan av skyddet, men jag skulle tro att det inte blir av innan det är dags för sittvagn... ;)

This is my latest finished project, an embroidered, quilted cover for the baby's stroller that I started some time ago. I've borrowed the stroller and the cover was missing so I decided to make one. The white fabric is from IKEA (the cheapest one they sell) and leftovers I had at home. The embroidery is made from leftovers from this embroidery.

Pisa and a poll

2009-04-16T11:13:00.003+02:00

Could you help me out with something , please?
I'd like to know in what language you'd prefer to read my blog. I've thought some about it and maybe English isn't the right option... ?

So, please help me out and answer my question to the left!

Har du lust att hjälpa mig och svara på frågan till vänster?

Per favore, aiutatemi rispondendo alla domanda nella colonna sinistra!

We spent our easter weekend in Pisa with good company, wonderful weather and this incredible view!!

Knit crazy

2009-04-10T10:03:00.008+02:00

I've gone knit crazy!! I think one can have greater problems than that though... ;)

This is the first garment I've knitted from an Italian pattern. It's a cardigan for a 3 months old baby so it'll fit my baby girl perfectly when the real summer heat arrives... ;) It's made in really soft baby merino wool and the pattern is from the Italian magazine "Lana & bimbi 40".

Negatives:
- As it started to take shape it seemed to me that the shoulders were too broad and that the front and back were a little short, like the proportions were a little off. It seems to me that it's typically Italian since a lot of baby clothes you buy here are like that. Or maybe Italian babies have wider shoulders... ?
- The ealstic border was terribly boring to make as they had to be finished off using a needle.
- In my collection of hundreds and hundreds of buttons I only found six that were exactly the same. If you look closely you can see that the top two are slightly bigger.
- I had some problems reading the pattern...

Positives:
+ I love the colour! It's a little intense but it's like a naturally dyed colour.
+ It was a really good beginners pattern, except for the border, easy to knit.
+ When I sewed it together I stretched it a little bit at the waist to make it slightly wider there. That way I think it looks like jacket.
+ I learnt a lot of new words in Italian! :)

April

2009-04-09T09:40:00.005+02:00

This is my grandmother's interpretation of April, obviously the Swedish April... ;) Yesterday we had around 20 degrees and sunny and today it's still warm but a little cloudy.

The elegant lady in the middle is so cute!

My thoughts are with the victims of the terrible earthquake in Abruzzo. If you're in Italy you can sms 48580 to give 1 euro or if you call the number from your house phone you give 2 euros. The money goes to the Dipartimento della Protezione Civile (department of civil protection) that will distribute the founds where they are needed.

Thousands of people have lost everything

We had an earthquake here the night before and even though it was nothing compared to the ones they had in Abruzzo (the earth is still shaking there!) it was really scary to me and I hope I'll never experience it again!

Primavera! Vår!

2009-03-30T10:22:00.006+02:00

Spring is finally here!! :)
It's been a long and rainy winter and even though it's cloudy today you can feel that spring is in the air. Finally I can hang the laundry outside, buy some new plants for the balcony and take long walks!! :)

Vintage knitting

2009-03-16T09:18:00.005+01:00

Here's my vintage knitting project for this knit-along. Both the helmet/cap and the scarf are very comfortable and practical and very easy to knit. I've found a similar pattern here if you are intrested in making one yourself (the link is for the pattern in Swedish but you'll find the pattern in other languages too on this site).

Vintage and March embroidery

2009-03-03T11:15:00.005+01:00

Hi friends! I only have time for a short update and even less time to check out your blogs. My life is mostly about feeding and changing my baby girl that is now almost three weeks old and absolutely gorgeous! :)

Thank you for your advice on the quilt and I think I've decided to use the first fabric which was my favourite from the start. I haven't gotten around to making it yet though, the only crafting I've been up to is some knitting but I'll show you that another time.

In an earlier post - here - I told you about the baby clothes me and my brother wore as babies and that my mother saved. Here's my girl in a dress from Coop bought sometime in the early 70's. I love the leaf-like shapes that they seemed to use a lot since I have more clothes with the same pattern but different colours.

Another one of my grandma's monthly embroideries.

Baby quilt part 4, I need some advice!

2009-02-23T16:34:00.006+01:00

First of all, thank you so much for all the congratulations on the birth of our daughter! We're still pretty tired but in a state of constant bliss! :)

Back to topic... quite obviously I didn't finish my baby quilt in time but as we've started to settle down a little I think it's time to get the work done! My only problem is I just don't know what fabric to pick for the border... Can you please help me out?

No. 1) a beige fabric with dots and flowers in purple, dark orange and white ( I've used it in the quilt too)

No. 2) a Light green fabric with flowers in a darker green colour

No. 3) A pale pink (gammalrosa in Swedish) fabric with dots in a lighter pink colour

No. 4) A "Tilda-ish" chequered fabric in white, pale pink, brown and beige

Or maybe none of the above? Do you have any other colour suggestions?

For more pictures of the quilt, have a look here and here.

Welcome!

2009-02-18T17:06:00.003+01:00

On Thursday 12.02.2009 our daughter was born.

2800 g

46 cm

Love of our lives.

Vintage knitting

2009-02-06T11:34:00.004+01:00

As I told you just a few weeks ago I've recently taken up knitting again and when I found this knit-along I thought - why not? It seems like a nice way to get inspired, to exchange patterns and to actually finish something :)

VINTAGESTICKNING KAL 2009

I've actually anticipated by knitting this baby helmet and it was so quick to do, I've decided to make another one and maybe something else from the same book from the early 70's.

Of course you are all welcome to join us! :)

Challenges

2009-02-04T19:29:00.005+01:00

There are a lot of different challanges circulating in bloglandia and just for fun I've chosen to take up these two: (if anyone likes to take on the challenges please let me know, I'd love to read see/read about you! :) )

1. Show the 4th photo in the 4th folder of your My Pictures folder.

It's a photo of my bridesmaid with her bouquet. To the left you can glance my wedding dress which is the traditional dress from my area, Värendsdräkten. Me and my mum sew and embroidered it together.

2. Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog! (It's pretty american but I think it's fun! I found it on this cute blog.)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (played the bass in the teacher's band at work...)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch, does a craft count?
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris – saw it, but didn’t go to the top
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class - does tai-chi count?
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Been a Girl Scout
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating, does boiling shellfish alive count?
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

February embroidery

2009-02-02T17:12:00.004+01:00

As you maybe have noticed (and I have blogged about it before) I change the top right picture on my blog every month. My grandmother made these embroideries sometime in the 70's and most of them are from the book "Korsstygnsrosor och andra mönster" (1974) by the wonderful Gerda Bengtsson, famous for her cross stitch patterns of plants and flowers. I can't find any information about her in either Swedish or English, but you can read more about her here in Italian.

I think my grandmother invented this particular pattern herself but I'm not sure, does anyone of you know?

Work in progress

2009-01-30T10:01:00.009+01:00

Reading other people's blogs I know I'm not the only one that just can't finish one project before I start working the next (not to mention all the projects going on in my head... ;)).
So, here's a look at what I'm working on right now:

An embroidery/patchwork project I'll tell you more about when I've finished.

I'm also knitting a baby cardigan.

My mum and I started to make these (and more) mosaic pots whe I was in Sweden during the Christmas holidays but I didn't have time to finish them so I was forced to leave them there until next time I visit my parents.

This video, by the very talanted Italian singer/songwriter Elisa, represents a song I'm working on but haven't finished yet. I started recording it months ago but got some computer problems and now that a good friend helped me fix it I can't wait to continue working on my song! Feel free to go to my site on MySpace if you're interested in listening to some of my older songs.

I saved my most important project for last... this is me today, 37+1 weeks!

Needle felted purses

2009-01-23T18:13:00.005+01:00

I've been making these needle felted purses for about a year now and I love this technique. It's so much fun to pick the colours, the step from idea to realisation is pretty short and if you're not happy with the result it's easy to remove and redo. I actually sold some of these last summer and got an order for a new one (the one you see above). I've made them around 15x10 cm, sometimes with a contrasting fabric inside but the one above is a bit bigger and is supposed to be a small handbag (clutch).

I kept the grey/squared one for myself and use it to put my camera in because it's pretty watertight and the wool is thick enough to stop the camera from breaking if i drop it.

For the cat motif I was inspired by the classic Finnish/Swedish candy "Salta Katten".

By the way, I head that the pope proclaimed internet to be a gift from God to the human race so I guess we can all blog with a clean conscience now! :)

A man bag for my brother

2009-01-15T10:46:00.009+01:00

I made this bag as a present for my brother and since he got to choose the design more or less it's all black in a thick wool fabric with the lining in an adhesive cotton fabric (swe: tjock bomullsvlieselin) to make it more stable and at least a little water resistant. I sewed it together on the right side (swe: rätsidan) with a close zig-zag seam (swe: tät sick-sacksöm) both to give it a more rough look and because the fabric was so thick it was easier that way. The embroidery is from the old Nintendo 8bit ice hockey game that we used to play A LOT as kids. I found the pattern on this cool site http://www.spritestitch.com/ and I chose what used to be our favourite teams and stitched it on the same black adhesive cotton fabric as the lining before attaching it to the bag. The bag also has a side pocket for the I-pod and two inside pockets for keys and wallet. (Sorry for my poor English description but I don't know all the technical terms...)

Speaking about my brother, he recently started his own blog so - if you're curious - have a look here!

Doesn't he look great in this!?

Click on the picture to see the pattern better!

Knitting pattern and baby news

2009-01-14T10:16:00.007+01:00

I'm back in Italy from my holiday in Sweden! A lot of people have been asking about the weather in Sweden so I'd better tell you... I come from the south of Sweden, Småland, and it's actually been sunny most of the time. One morning we had around -20 degrees but most of the time it's been around -5 and just a couple of cm of snow. When we left on Saturday it was actually colder when we arrived in Milano than in my home town!

It's been wonderful being taken care of by my parents but I have a lot to take care of here so it feels good to be back too. For two days now I feel like I've done nothing but going to various doctor's appointments and booking new (when I finish this blog post I have another two calls to make...). Since our car battery didn't work when we came home I've had to learn the city's bus system, but people are so nice and helpful here it really hasn't been much of a problem.

As I've written before, I'm expecting a baby girl by the end of February so there's a lot to prepare and learn but everything's proceeding well and I feel fine so I'm not worried at all. I made my third ultra sound on Monday and my baby now weighs around 2,4 kg and is positioned the way she should. Amazingly I've only gained around 8 kilos so far! Yesterday I started the preparation course (don't know the exact term in English) which was very nice although a bit late I think.

Of course I've been crafting quite a lot, some together with my mum, and I'll show you more pictures during the week. This is my first knitting project in maaany years. My mum showed me how to do it and it's a very easy-to-make baby "helmet" cap. The pattern is from a booklet from the 70's and I've scanned it for you but it's in Swedish and I have no idea how to translate it into English or Italian, sorry!

I used the yarn my mother happened to have at home so I didn't choose the colour myself, but I think it'll look great with brown or white clothes. I have a tiny, tiny doubt I haven't sawn it together quite right because it doesn't look like the picture on the pattern... I made my husband try it on and he looked fine to me, but I promised him I wouldn't publish any pictures of that :D

Last picture for today but not least, this is the hand made wash cloth I won from Mia with the blog Min Inspiration. Thank you sooo much, I love it! Can't wait to try it.... or not... ;)

Greetings from Sweden

2009-01-04T12:39:00.007+01:00

Since I'm still on holiday in Sweden I haven't had much time to update my blog, but here are some pictures I took this week. Today my mum's cooking meatballs and later we'll go for a walk, it's -10 degrees and sunny so the weather is perfect to take pictures!

Last pictures from Italy

2008-12-22T17:11:00.007+01:00

...this year anyway... because tomorrow we're off to Sweden to celebrate Christmas with my family! :) A heartily Merry Christmas to you all!

Buon Natale
God Jul
Merry Christmas

The "piazza" below our house during the Christmas commerce.

Some of the gifts going with us to Sweden, we have a lot of tasty Italian delicacies to pack too of course! :)

Merry-go-round learning experience

2008-12-22T09:38:00.006+01:00

We have a carousel just below our window. Above is the new one they installed there a week ago and below is what the old one looked like on the night of December 8th. I'm just happy it didn't happen a couple of hours earlier when the square was full of people!

The firefighters put out the fire in just a couple of minutes.

This is what it looked like on the morning of December 9th.

This is one of the Christmas presents I'm giving my husband this year. Yes, because in Italy we don't have just one number for all emergencies! Even though the European parliament has decided that 112 should be the emergency number for all of Europe, Italy still has separate numbers for calling the police, firefighters, hospital etc... And as you can imagine, we had no clue what number to call whe we discovered the fire and lost several minutes looking for it. But not anymore! :)

Christmas tree 2008

2008-12-19T10:58:00.006+01:00

So... this is my Christmas tree 2008 edition. It's a rather sad slim, plastic excuse for a Christmas tree but since we are travelling during the holidays a real one wouldn't make sense. Anyway, I love the ornaments, the straw guard dog and the mat/tablecloth from the 70's!

Staffan stalledräng

2008-12-17T10:20:00.004+01:00

Have to go out in the rain to run some errands now but I just wanted to show you a picture of one of my favourite Christmas ornaments... or rather, it's not mine. My uncle made it as a kid and every year it's a part of the Christmas ornaments in my grandparent's house.

In one week it's Christmas! :)

Hearts and marmalade

2008-12-15T11:11:00.009+01:00

This weekend we went to Pisa to visit my bonus sisters (my husband's sisters that I'm claiming as mine because I don't have any of my own...) and since we're going to Sweden for the holidays we celebrated a tiny, non-traditional Christmas together. Among some other things I had crafted these gifts. The hearts have a lavender scent and are made from scrap fabrics and hand made lace. I've actually made the cover for the notebook myself (I'm so not a scrapbooking person!) and the pens got a little pimped too to match.

The marmalade is a great and very simle recipy from the Swedish TV show "Leilas Jul" - marmalade with raspberries and chocolate. You Swedes will find it here and here's my Italian translation: (if anyone would like it in English, please let me know!)

Ecco la ricetta in italiano, scuasate se ci sono errori gramaticali o di spelling ma le misure sono sicuramente giuste! :)

Marmelata di lamponi e cioccolato

Ingredienti per un vasetto (barattolo in vetro):

1 busta di bacche surgelate (lamponi, fragole, frutti di bosco o altri) - 300g
500 ml di zucchero integrale (preferibilmente biologico)
100 g di cioccolato fondente di buona qualità, 70%

1. Fate sciogliere lo zucchero e le bacche (ancora surgelate) in una pentola
2. Fate cuocere a basso fuocho per 15 min. mescolando ogni tanto.
3. Spegnete la fiamma e aggiungete il cioccolato in pezzi. Mescolate finche sia completamente sciolta.
4. Fate rafreddare un po' e riempite il vasetto ben pulito.

Semplice, vero? É buonissima vi assicuro!
Buon appetito! :)

Christmas hearts

2008-12-13T00:16:00.009+01:00

This has been my crafts project the last few days. In the beginning it was much more ambitious and I had planned to embroider on some of the hearts, but I like it the way it turned out. Vintage fabrics, buttons and lace in the simplest design with an IKEA mirror ornamet as weight at the bottom.

I wanted to take the photos at night with all the Christmas lights outside but for some reason they were all switched off tonight... I'll show you that another time.

Christmas decorations

2008-12-09T12:07:00.009+01:00

Yesterday was a national holiday here in Italy and the day when people decorate their homes for Christmas, but the only thing I had time to do was these twig "bouquets". For us Swedes it's very important to decorate with materials from the forest and if you've read my blog before you know that there aren't many forests around here so... I had to make another trip to the nearby park. This time my husband accompanied me and afterwards we both agreed that we had had a real adventure:

1. We both got mud on our shoes
2. We had a small fight about which twigs were dead, sick or nice looking
3. We found a druguser's hideout
4. Since we picked the twigs in places a little off the path we could hear 2 persons farting when they walked by and thought nobody was listening.

Well, at least the weather was lovely and we are both very happy with the results! :)

I also have to give credits to my husband who helped me with the spray painting since I'm pregnant ad he thought I shouldn't breathe in the fumes!

My Christmas 2008 hallway decorations. The gorgeous fabric on the wall is called "Himmel och Helvete" (heaven and hell) and is designed by Wanja Djanaieff. The mini baubles and lights are from IKEA and the vase is an antique Höganäs pot.

I gave this small twig bouquet to a friend.

I made these "tomtar" (tomte is the Swedish version of Santa) some years ago using straw, felt and some pearls etc. The red one is my first and the blue I made during a course arranged by "Hemslöjden" in my home town.

This angel was a gift from a group of girls that sang in my school choir many years ago. I've thought about giving it some hair but this is the way they made it so I think it'll have to stay like this :)

My brother, the craftster

2008-12-04T11:23:00.006+01:00

Today I got a birthday package from my brother and his family! Oh happy day! Full of yummy Swedish chocolate (that I'm nibbling on as I'm writing this), goodies and a DVD... and this home made birthday card!

Isn't it cute!? :D
Oh, and by the way, he turned 30 this year if you're wondering...

And a link for you: LollyChops made these fabulous Christmas notecards (and more!) for the rest of us to download! Her blog is well worth a visit!

Windowshopping in London

2008-12-03T10:31:00.008+01:00

This weekend we went to London to visit some friends. I was convinced that my almost six months pregnant belly wasn't going to give me any problem at all but after spending over four hours walking around at the Imperial War Museum on Sunday afternoon, (by the way, since I was there last time they've opened a really nice exhibit on typical British1940's homes, makes the museum even more worth visiting!) Monday Christmas shopping wasn't all that fun... Well, well, at least it gave me a good reason to stop at Starbucks to have yet another gingersnap latte... yes I'm a sucker for Swedish/American style coffee...

Debenhams

German style winter wonderland in Hyde Park...
Can it be that this raindeer was once a horse?

Regent Street

I brought this agel for my friends to put in their new appartment. Their landlord had told them they can't make any holes or marks in the walls so maybe it wasn't the best gift, but I think they liked it anyway! It's made from a Panduro Hobby kit that I've altered here and there. I love the curly angel hair I found in a fabric store here in Rimini, even though it's synthetic.

Oh, and today I found out I'm the lucky winner of a hand made washcloth on the blog Min Inspiration and the beautiful store Vickevira! Thank you Mia! :)

Favourite embroideries

2008-11-28T15:55:00.013+01:00

I haven't shown you this week what I'm working on but of course that doesn't mean I'm not crafting! It's just that most of the things are gifts for friends and family and I don't want to spoil the surprise for them so I'll show that to you later. Instead I'll show you some of my favourite embroideries I've made from kits during the years.

This is from the Danish Haanarbejdets Fremme design by Gerda Bengtsson. Cotton thread (Dansk Blomstergarn) on linnen fabric. Dansk Blomstergarn is really easy to work with and the colours look so natural.

I bought this kit "Bröllopsdansen" (the wedding dance), designed by Margareta Harström for "Svensk Hemslöjd", at Bohusslöjden in Göteborg many years ago and last time I was there they didn't sell them anymore. I love the colours and the different stitches with Klippan linnen thread on linnen fabric!

My mother started to stitch this 20x20cm tablecloth but grew tired of it and gave it to me to finish. Unfortunately I don't have the description of it and I don't remember anything else than that it's a copy of an embroidery from some Swedish castle. For me it has a sweet summery feeling with the flower pattern and the strong yet soft colours.

And...tomorrow we're off to visit friends in London, so see y'all on Wednesday! :)

Vintage baby clothes

2008-11-27T09:18:00.003+01:00

My mum told me that when we come to Sweden for Christmas she'll give me a bunch of baby stuff that me and my brother used when we were babies. She said the clothes are pretty out of fashion and not very nice but at least they are practical so I started looking in my old photo albums to see what we wore back then in the 70's. Now, I don't know about you but I certainly won't have any reservations dressing my babygirl in these clothes! :)

Adorable elephant fabric....

My dad and me in matching outfits...

Looks like dinosaurs with flowers on them....

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2008-11-25T10:23:00.006+01:00

This morning when we woke up it was actually snowing! Bliss - lycka - felicità! :)

Of course now, two hours later it's all gone...

Have to go out in the rain to fight the Italian bureaucracy now... :(

PS. After posting this I discovered that you have to click on the pictures to actually be able to see the snow...;))

Christmas is arriving

2008-11-24T15:58:00.006+01:00

This weekend they put up the Christmas lightning on the square below our appartment. It doesn't look like much now but I can't wait 'til they switch them on! Last Christmas was the first for me here and I felt like I was living above the sky with the star shaped Christmas lights but this year they chose another design. Of course I'll show you what they look like when they are lit! It's pretty cold here now, around 5 degrees celsius or so and it's been raining all morning so sorry about the greyish colours...

2007

2008

Friday afternoon I put up this shelf! For you Swedes maybe it doesn't seem like that much of an accomplishment but you Italians know what I'm talking about... To drill a hole in a stone/brick wall isn't exactly a walk in the park. Even if you measure really well where to drill the holes, like I did with my laser thingy (that I discovered scares the living daylight out of my budgies by the way), it's really hard to get them in the right place. At least with my hardly visible arm muscles. After drilling one hole for about 5 min I leaned on it to force it in but the baby girl in my belly wasn't very happy about that and started to kicking me like crazy... Anyway, it took me about 30 min but now it's there! :)

An Italian friend of mine made the cutest comment about my "tomte"... "Oh, thats so cute! Maybe for Christmas you can make one in red?" ;)
PS. The table cloth is hand woven by me in the 9th grade. We had a very nice crafts teacher who let us use her classroom during lunch breaks!

I got mail

2008-11-21T15:32:00.007+01:00

Today our very nice post-girl brought me this package!

It's slightly flatter than in this picture...
Of course the Swedish cotton ribbon will be re-used in a Christmas ornament or two... :)

Yes, it's what I won from M with the blogs Leva som Jag and Vit Jul!

The hearts garland already found a home on our beloved glass cabinet my grandfather recycled from an old, boring archiving cabinet sometime in the 70's.

Autumn leaves

2008-11-20T18:47:00.009+01:00

I recently got the idea from the blog Craftstylish to make this autumn decoration (yes, it's starting to get colder here but it's still definately autumn..). Here's the tutorial made by Kayte Terry.

I've made the leaves out of pretty thick cotton fabrics and I needle felted the acorns. I used real leaves to draw the leaf patterns and the sugar shaker I used as vase is filled with stones found on beaches around the Italian coasts. (I've chosen to keep the vase simple and naural but it is a little on the small side so maybe I'll change it...) Kayte glued her leaves together but I chose to sew mine together using a contrasting green colored thread. Both leaves and acorns are attached with hot glue. See the tutorial for more info.

I actually had decided not to make it (this year anyway) because soon it's time to bring out the Christmas decorations and because I didn't think I would find the acorns. On my way home from a doctor's appiontment on Tuesday morning my eyes fell on this oak tree and even though it was just next to a very central square and people going to work looked at me like I was crazy, I just had to pick some acorns! My husband and friends often joke about me being the nutty Swede who robs things in the nearby park but I just can't resist to pick those elderberry flowers to make lemonade in the spring and of course I need some branches to put feathers and eggs in for easter!

Here it is in it's current place, in my bathroom on top of the washing machine.

Lost and found

2008-11-17T15:45:00.029+01:00

Some years ago I found these two embroideries at my mum's. Neither of them are finished but I thought they were too adorable to just lay there in a drawer so I asked if I could have them. My mum says she probably embroidered these in the late 60's or early 70's and since she grew tired of stitching them they ended up in a drawer and the pattern and yarn have been lost. After thinking a lot I decided to cut out the embroidered parts and make two pillowcases using some dark brown linnen fabric and what was left of the cotton/linnen fabric they were stitched on.

I think they're supposed to be poodles... anyway it's pretty psychadelic... ;)

Surfing around I found Swedish Naíma's Design that makes these adorable baby dresses and - she's giving one away! Last day is Nov. 30th.

Jag är så glad över att kunna presentera en förjulstävling i min blogg med ett överraskningspaket från underbara Blafre Design i Sessan och Prinsessan's blogg (31/11)

Hos Moonzana kan man vinna en väska från Louis Vuitton! (12/12)

Jag är med och tävlar hos En Mölnbobos Liv, man kan vinna en julbag med smycken värd 1000kr. Sponsor är Bicone Design som har massor med fina och prisvärda smycken. Tävlingen är öppen för alla och avslutas vid midnatt 18 december.

Jag tävlar om ett valfritt plagg från Alfons och Milla hos Sideline Fashion på Muppsan´s blogg. Tävla HÄR du oxå. (11/12)

Jag tävlar om ett presentkort värt 400:- hos Poppilopp i Nikitas blogg. Tävla du med!! (9/12)

Tävla om en handvirkad disktrasa hos Min Inspiration före 15 dec.

Hos Broarne - lantlig inredning kan man vinna ett färgglatt diskset i november!

We got mail

2008-11-13T13:21:00.007+01:00

Yesterday this arrived in the mail. It's a cd with lullabies that my bonus cousin Giovanna made for our future daughter. Isn't it gorgeous?! And it's so cool "M" has started her personal "music library" before even being born! :) If you'd like to have a look at some more of Giovanna's art, click here!

The text says "A microscopical thought for the tiny "M!!" A huge kiss_"

Inte en dag utan en tävling...

2008-11-12T22:33:00.015+01:00

På Kajsas blogg Bland Kuddar och Busiga Barn kan man vinna en av hennes fina vimplar! 30/11

Drömmen om ett hus på landet lottar bl.a. ut detta fina hjärtat! (jag tror inte nyckelhålet följer med...;)) tom. 30/11

Hos Eikkala Den Lilla Inredningsbloggen kan man vinna adventssiffror! (Skulle jag behöva, när vi flyttade ihop tände min man alla ljusen redan på Luciadagen...han skulle ju bara vara gullig... inte kunde han veta om vårt konstiga svenska påfund...;))

Fantasy

2008-11-12T10:43:00.007+01:00

I read quite a lot of books of different genres but I've always sustained that I don't like to read fantasy or science fiction because I've been convinced that they're just not very well written. Some years ago my husband wanted to proove me wrong and got me the book "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin for Christmas. I read it in English and at first I found the language pretty complicated, like some kind of ancient English or a bit like how Yoda from Star Wars talks, but when I got into it I really enjoyed it! It's rather poetic and full of small wisdoms like this "Go to bed for tired is stupid" that I embroidered. I framed it (yes, I know it's a little bit crooked) and put it above the sofa to remind myself not to stay up too late or my brain won't work properly the day after! (Ps. I haven't read the other books in the series...yet anyway...;))

PS2. I don't know if you have noticed but I put a music player to the left with songs that I love right now (some old, some new, some Swedish, some Italian, some American...) and that I think go well with my blog. So... if you're interested, have a listen! :)

Nya tävlingar - så trevligt!

2008-11-11T09:35:00.022+01:00

Hos Vita Saker kan man vinna denna underbara ambulansbil!

Hos Välkommen till Båtslyckegård kan man vinna dessa hemsydda kuddfodral 1/12!

"Jag tävlar om ett presentkort värt 300kr hos
A-BAY i Tant Ulrikas blogg. Var med du oxå!"

"Jag tävlar om ett presentkort på 500:-

att handla för hos KlKids

på Muppsan´s blogg. Tävla HÄR du oxå"

Baby quilt part 3

2008-11-10T12:08:00.009+01:00

Oh, and I'm the happy winner of some beatiful Christmas decorations from Leva som jag! Thank you M!

I'd love to also win one of these...

...gorgeous vintage fabrics from Strömming

My precioussss

2008-11-07T11:47:00.005+01:00

This weekend I started to organize some of the fabrics and sewing materials my grandmother left and that my mum salvaged for me. The embroidery materials are already organized but I'll show you that another day! I also rescued some fabrics and materials that nobody else wanted from my husband's parents' house, but there's more to pick up next time we go. Here's some pictures of those precious crafts materials that are in desperate need of a shelf!

Fabrics washed and ironed and other fabrics and materials neatly organized in boxes. Just ignore the bags in the background... no one's perfect :)

A closer view of some of the fabrics and boxes from my grandparents and mother-in-law

Isn't this a real treasure chest?!

Don't make an issue of my womanhood

2008-11-05T18:36:00.005+01:00

Last week I made this embroidered picture for my sister-in-law's birthday but I couldn't blog about it until it arrived. On the way over to Sweden the glass broke and the bird fell off but we'll fix that! The quote is, I think, from an old Greta Garbo movie (Ninotchka - 1939) and is one of her favourites.

I bought the frame in the local Chinese supermarket (yes, it's plastic) and painted it cream white, the bird is from the same store, I found the paper in the paper store around the corner and the embroidery is made on dark brown wool with a Danish cotton thread.

Wanna win bonanza in Swedish

2008-11-05T10:04:00.035+01:00

Sorry guys, it doesn't make any sense to write about these Swedish giveaways in English... but as always you can click on the pictures for more info! ;)

One giveaway just lead me to another so I decided to make it my morning project to participate in my favourite ones, yes I didn't even participate in all that I found! Luckily I had a cup of Swedish coffee (sorry my Italian friends, espresso is nice but I still prefer the Swedish "longer" coffee;)) and some blueberry/oatmeal cookies I baked yesterday at hand...

Stämningsfullt firar ett år och ordnar därför en liten tävling!

Hos nygammalt kan man vinna ett svart eller rött paket!

Blixman har vinster från Bagaren och Kocken (lyckades inte få hem bilden tyvärr...)

Mosters lottar ut en gåva till Advent!

På bloggen Annas Skattkammare kan man vinna denna vackra ljuslykta!

Lilla Flisans Hus firar 5000 besökare och lottar bl.a. ut detta ljusfat!

Hos Hem och Lycka kan man vinna vackra nostalgikort och ett halsband!

"Jag tävlar om ett valfritt smycke hos Dreams of Pearls

på Muppsan´s blogg. Tävla HÄR du också"

Jag tävlar om ett presentkort á 400:- att handla för hos

Fridolina på Muppsan´s blogg. Tävla HÄR du oxå

Jag tävlar om ett valfritt plagg ur

Hej Baby´s sortiment

på Muppsan´s blogg. Tävla HÄR du oxå

Jag tävlar om ett presentkort á 250:- att handla för hos Loppan och Piraten på Muppsan´s blogg. Tävla HÄR du oxå

My Lovely Christmas Home lottar ut detta från Tildas Mamma

På Fyra årstiders blogg kan man vinna denna vackra virkade filt från Ninn@s!

Jag är med och tävlar om ett presentkort värt 500kr hos coolstuff.se i Tant Ulrikas Blogg. Var med o tävla du också!

Vävra Keramik lottar ut tre söta paketsmycken!

Leva Som Jag lottar ut det här fina julpaketet från danska Aspegren!

Drefseryd Gård lottar ut detta vackra lammskinn!

Hos Brunkullan kan man vinna te och en tjusig tekanna!

Villa Hemmet lottar ut fina saker till badrummet!

Christmas embroidery pattern

2008-11-04T11:17:00.014+01:00

I found these two Christmas embroideries in old books bought at flea-markets. Above a wool embroidery (from the book "Hemslöjdens Arbeten Andra delen" from 1956) called "Staffanskudden" and it's really a pity that the photo is only in black and white! It says that it's embroidered on a blue-green fabric with threads in white and pink etc. Unfortunately I don't have the pattern for that.

The second embroidery is a pattern from a booklet that tragically is missing it's covers. I think it's so cute but isn't it a bit dangerous carrying a mug of what I guess is "mumma", beer or glögg in one hand and candles in the other? He's obviously already a bit tipsy and he's walking down a slope so I wonder what happens next... ;)

Click on the picture to see the pattern better!

An early "tomte"

2008-11-03T18:32:00.011+01:00

Yesterday I made this little needle-felted "tomte" (the Swedish Santa Claus) using two polystyrene balls and some wool. I don't have the heart to put him away just now so I guess he'll just have to sit there on my cd shelf 'til Christmas...

Solig is giving away these cute elephants. If you're interested, click on the picture (sorry Italians, the page is only in Swedish...)

Baby quilt part 2

2008-11-02T15:24:00.005+01:00

Folkloristic embroidery

2008-10-30T16:15:00.005+01:00

I've already blogged twice today, so why not make it three?!
This is a pillow I made some years ago when I lived in Sweden and was a member of Täcklebo Broderiakademi (The embroidery academy - an association that in short promotes embroidery as an artform). I took an evening course at Smålands Museum together with some members of my local association and I don't want to get into too much into detail because I don't even know some of the words in English but we were to embroider pillows inspired by an exhibition of local folk art. Anyway, this is what came out of it for me! :)
It's an angel blowing in a trumpet (although my husband claims it looks like a huge joint) embroidered on wool using linnen thread and glass beads. It actually took part in an exhibition at the beautiful arts center Virserum Konsthall about female handicrafts (textilsommar).

Wanna win

2008-10-30T15:52:00.008+01:00

I just found some more of those lovely giveaways! Click on the pictures for more information!

Blomsterverkstad is giving away a beautiful quilt from Klinta Kryddor & Grönt...

...and Nästet is giving away these cool pot-holders from Korpi & Gordon that would look really nice in my kitchen!

I'm also hoping to win this Christmas stamp that Kreativ (365) is giving away!

My "Måmå"

2008-10-30T10:26:00.010+01:00

Inspired by Glorias post here, I just wanted to show you these two photos of my grandmother. I'm not at all as good as Gloria to tell a story so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves only adding that she is one of my greatest inpirations when it comes to sewing, embroidering and in general being creative. For example she's the one who made the cross-stitched month embroidery to the right. But I'll tell you more about her creative work another time!

She was a housewife who never stopped studying. Among many other things she knew the names (in Swedish and latin) of thousands of flowers, herbs, moss, minerals, mushrooms etc., all the constellations of the northern hemisphere and had very strong opinions on environmental issues like forestry which is very important where I come from. So you can understand she was for many reasons a hero to me growing up! :)

This picture is taken in 1979 and shows me and my granny ("Måmå" as I pronounce the Swedish word for grandmother in my dialect..) trying to play the piano while my little brother does his best to sabotage. The song is most likely something by Alice Tegnér. My Måmå is dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, not at all the typical flowery old lady-dress! We're in the basement of my grandparent's house where they had a room each to do their respective creative work. In the lower right corner is an unfinished embroidery from her series of embroideries depicting scenes from "the Lord of the Rings", one of my grandmother's favourite books . I don't have any photos of her "lord of the ring"- embroideries so I'll have to show you that another time, it certainly one of her masterpieces!

This photo is taken in 1952 and shows my grandma, one of my uncles and my mum (don't we look alike?!) Because of the job my grandfather had, they moved around quite a lot so I'm not sure where it's taken but they always made sure to stay in the countryside so they could be close to the nature and to have a big garden to grow vegetables and fruit. She was practically a part of the "green wave" (gröna vågen), the environmentalist movement before it even started in Sweden!