Christmas stress

I started quilting a table runner last night. With a bit of planning I should be able to finish it tonight. I have the binding sewn up already so as soon as the quilting is done I'm good to go.
I plan to machine bind it so I can hang the matching winter curtains as well.

I'm also starting to panic slightly at the thought of Christmas. We're celebrating at our house this year so there is a lot to do and I just realised I need to start on the girls dresses if they are to be done before Christmas.

I have an Apple Picking dress planned for Sofia and either an Apple picking or Jump Rope dress for Isabel. I got some gorgeous Heather Bailey Pop Garden to make them up in.

I need to start a to-do list so nothing gets left behind.

Pursed

Well, we survived the storm. The brunt of it went north of us and people are power less and my boss's new house (as in still being built) has a flooded garage that contained flat packs with his new bathroom furniture.

He was less than thrilled.

I sewed a little purse last night. It sounds really pretentious, but it was a kit I got at u-handbag.com and it was super easy.



The colours are a bit off - it is November after all and I took this last night.

It fits my phone snuggly - I don't think I'll use it for that. It will be perfect for keys and credit cards, or for hygiene products. We'll see what it ends up like.

I got three more frames from Lisa at u-handbag.com and I have also ordered a bit more interfacing so as soon as that arrives I'll be able to make two more purses/clutches and one proper bag.

Not sure if one or more will end up as a Christmas gift. We'll see. Mum has been making comments about wanting something by way of a bag for a while - but no pressure.

I'm off in a bit to pick the girls up and figure out what to make for dinner. All our quick solutions were used up this weekend (potato hash and pancakes - not together) so I'll have to figure something else out.

We might end up with yoghurt and sandwiches ...

Advent weekend

We had a lovely day yesterday in the woods with Isabel's hiking group. It was the last meet-up before the holidays and parents and siblings were invited.

When Friday drew to a close with rainy skies and fog I was not looking forward to going to the woods, but Saturday dawned with clear skies and an almost balmy breeze with 10 C. Completely unheard of for late November.

The group's leader instructed the parents to saw up a fallen tree they had their eyes on to make up a fourth side around their hearth/fireplace. So we were all put to work pretty quickly.

We were lucky all day. There was no rain and the sun was out but you could tell it is late in the year since there was not much warmth in the sunshine and the breeze got chilly as soon as the sun disappeared behind a cloud.

We made a fire and grilled some sausages. I brought dough to make stick bread and it was all delicious. As food tends to be when you work for it and spend time outside making it.

By 2 pm we called it quits. The kids had beaten us at tug o'war. They were very strong but I think if the rope hadn't been tied to a tree trunk parents would have given them a good run for their money.

By the time we came home we all smelled of wood fire and it was nice to step into the shower to wash it off.

I ended up in bed for a while reading a book and the girls both trotted off to play by themselves.

Sunday we woke up to dark headlines in the news warning us about the coming storm and by now it's very windy. I realise it's nothing like the tornado warnings in the US, but it's bad not far from here.

We have had warnings of winds up to 30 m/s (58 knots - not sure what the preferred unit is) so this morning we called off swim classes and Rickard and Sofia spent some time outside securing stuff - among other things they brought the grill into the shed - along with 4 bikes, a complete set of winter tires for the car, a lawn mower and a work bench and there is still room left over - Yes Rickard played oodles of Tetris as a kid. He's the packing wizard.

I'm going to turn of the computer because we have seen a few lightnings in the clouds from all the wind.
The aeroplanes have altered their approach for both Malmö and Copenhagen Airports and are flying very low above us. They do that when it's stormy.




See you all on the other side of this storm (it's supposed to taper off by 1 am so it should be alright by morning).

Winter is coming

We were invited to a castle for a Christmas celebration with my office. Before the party started we took a walk in the castle's garden which has a view towards Ven Island in the sound between Sweden and Denmark.

It's 3:30 pm in this picture. The sun is setting.

We are well over a month from the Winter solstice and the evenings are getting shorter still.

Darkness is setting in.

Winter is coming.

Doll bed

The doll bed in my last post has a bit of a story of its own.

It was originally made for my grandmother by her grandfather. Probably in the mid to late 1920s. My mother played with it I'm sure and by the time it passed to me it was painted a dark green.

My father repainted it cream one year in anticipation of a huge present I was about to get for my birthday containing a complete bedding set made for it by my aunt. I still have some of it.

The bed now lives with Isabel and my grandmother made new bedding for it but it is rarely made. Isabel uses it mostly for storage. She's not all that into dolls at the moment. At least not the kind you put to sleep in doll beds.

The bed is sturdy and will most likely see use from a fifth generation in time.

Blankets and my grandma

When Isabel was born my grandmother knitted this blanket for her.

She had made the same blanket for my cousin who is born in the late 80's and she claimed the pattern was made up from a blanket the Princess Diana had used for her newborn son Prince William.
She found it in a weekly magazine she read all the time when I was a girl.

The blanket is huge and rarely used. Isabel was a very warm child who always kicked off her blankets and got too hot if forced to use one.
I think she had it in her pram a few times when we were out for a Sunday stroll.




When Sofia was born in 2007 my grandmother had suffered a broken arm and could no longer knit such large items so instead she made up two doll's blankets based on the same pattern for both Isabel and Sofia.
The pink one is Sofia's.

I love that my girls will have a connection to my grandmother. I was almost 20 by the time my great grandmother passed away but she and I were never close. I'm sure she loved me but we never connected.

My grandmother however, is one of the most important women in my life. My parents were away a lot in the evenings when I was a child and I stayed with my grandmother and grandfather until I was old enough to be by myself, and by then I often visited them anyway cause it was so boring at home.

Until I moved into my own apartment in 1996 I think I visited them if not daily then at least 5 times a week.

My grandfather passed away in 2005 just a week after his 92nd birthday but my grandmother is still with us. She'll be 89 next spring and although not as spry as she used to be - she's started using a walker after a few nasty falls the past few years - she's definitely not one to slow down just yet. She's broken both her arms and last year she also fractured her pelvis after such a tumble. She was in so much pain before the doctors realised she had the fracture. It think it was well over a month after the fall before they figured it out.

Whenever we have a gathering I make sure to invite grandma. I hosted our annual turkey dinner on Saturday and she was there.
She always accepts the invitations with a heartfelt yes, "I'm so happy to be able to join you", and she loves the girls so much and it's one of her great joys to be able to be around long enough to get to know them and for them to get to know her.

She's also joining us for Christmas and I helped her make almond cups two weeks ago because "I'm not as fit as I used to be" she said. Then a week later she arrives for turkey dinner with two boxes full of cookies - ginger snaps, currant cakes, almond crisps and rolled lace cakes.
So much for not being as fit as she used to.

Life altering

I think we decided this weekend not to get a Christmas tree this year.

We are celebrating Christmas at our house and there simply isn't room for it with 10 people in attendance.

Plus (and this really is the biggest reason), Rickard seems to be allergic to the tree since he usually gets an itchy feeling in the back of his throat the day after we bring the tree inside.

The girls were surprisingly ok with it and said it wasn't necessary. I'm a bit sad about it, but I hope to find some nice light garland to decorate a pillar/mini wall we have that could serve as a substitute.

I think I need to go to town to see what I can find.

Afternoon Tea

We went to Svaneholms Castle in late October to have Afternoon Tea with my parents.

The castle has a special place in our family history as both my parents and we had our wedding reception there.


They have been serving Afternoon Tea once a month there for quite some time and Rickard and I have been there twice before.
We always thought the girls would appreciate coming too so we invited my parents to come with us all.

The selection is great, but they have not updated the menu since the first time we went there in Spring 2010. That was no problem for the girls however who had never been before.



Sofia has been something of a picky eater lately but there was something for her as well. Scones and chocolate cake. And she really fell for the macaroons - pink of course.



Isabel has grown a lot the last few months. She's almost 1.50 m now (4'11") and the School Photo dress I made her in April is snug all over. With tights and boots it's still working but I think I may have to make her a new one soon if I'm to make her one at all.

Bags in the making - Fabric delivery

Last week I blogged about the two bags I have planned to make.

I ordered fabric on Oct 22nd and last night when the girls and I came home from school I had three slips in the mail telling me to come to the grocery store to fetch my packages that were too big to be delivered.
Two contained the fabric and one package was from the UK where I had ordered the interfacings.



The fabric is just gorgeous! It has such a nice feel to them and the colours are rich and yummy.



The gold fabric I picked for the lining of the Sophia bag is not an obvious choice but I think it matches very well.

I think there will be time tonight after we get home from the cinema to chuck the fabric in the wash. Not that I plan to wash the bags a lot but the materials are chosen so that it is washable should the need arise.