Week 7 of the #focuscuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec ❤️ Things that I love : listening to music and podcasts while working, crafting and walking - the late or wee hours when the rest of the house is sleeping (aka an owl) - mittens! (always cold..) - sewing and crafting (pins & needles) - Snusmumrikken (Snufkin) and the rest of the moomins - cute fabric and dreams of what they can become. 🤍

via Instagram

Week 6 of the #focuscuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🤍 My favorite colours are grey and black (in clothing), but when it comes to sewing and crafting, I’m all rainbows and glitter (even pink is growing on me - but only for miss A🤣)🌈🧘🏻‍♀️🦄

via Instagram

Done is better than perfect

I just decided to have a quote to live (craft) by in 2021 (rather than a word, as I’ve seen other bloggers do). Ironically, just after deciding this, I spent a good hour unpicking the quilting on one of my projects.. *facepalm*

Done is better than perfect

January’s blocks are all done! Loving the size, shapes, and colours. 🤍 Next week is a new month and a new theme 😄

via Instagram

via Instagram

Må si det har vært en _liten_ utvikling siden spinnekurset i februar 2020. Fra venstre mot høyre : kursspinning @rentoppspinn hjemmespinning @spincityuk silke/mohair @rentoppspinn selvfarget fiber @lailakarlsmo merino @spindlesandstitches 🧶 Mer fiber er spunnet - og enda mer fiber ligger og venter! Nye håndteiner er på vei fra @spinnvilt også 🧤 Snart får jeg strikke litt med dette her, tror jeg, og ikke bare spinne. 🤩

via Instagram

via Instagram

Week 3 of the #focuscuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🐭 Patternmatching.. I actually made another one before deciding it didn’t work as well as I’d envisioned. But this one? 🥰

via Instagram

De siste to årene har jeg spart på magebåndet (lappen) til alle garnnøstene jeg har strikket opp i den søte #bunding posen fra #bladetgarn @bladetgarn Deretter har jeg satt opp en oversikt over året som har gått. I 2020 gikk det med 43 2/5 nøster - som resulterte i 2 270 gram eller 8 730 meter brukt garn. Det er ikke verst! 🤓 (Lagerstatusen? Nei, du, den snakker vi ikke noe om... 🙈🤭🤫)

via Instagram

#seildukensjal #varbittjulekalenderkal2020 @varbitt @vippetavpinnene 🥰

via Instagram

Week 1 of the 2021 #focuscuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🌈 Beginning the new year with rainbow, glitter and glow-in-the-dark faeries 🧚🏻 Hi! My name is Tonje, I live in Norway - and this will be my third year participating in the #focuscuttingsewalong 🙋🏻‍♀️

via Instagram

@johnsenknits sine #påskerosevott i vintervær. 💜

via Instagram

First finished project in 2021 was this little kit from @rosegardenpatchwork ❤️

via Instagram

5 hours later... First time cross-stitching for A (5 years 10 months old)

via Instagram

3 generations with needle and thread 🪡🧵 @lailakarlsmo

via Instagram

My #yearofcolour for 2020 including Squirrel, Slate Gray, Irish Coffee, Tawny Port, Husk, Hot Cinnamon, Galliano, Sandrift, Wisteria, Hacienda, Harvest Gold, Pancho, Salem, Screamin' Green, Chathams Blue, Carmine, Tradewind, Deep Cerulean, Vivid Violet, Grain Brown, Straw, Banana Mania, Rodeo Dust. @yearofcolour #yearofcolour

via Instagram

#oslohuenmohairedition kids’ size in brilliant pink. Just right for little miss Pink 💕 Pattern by @petiteknit

via Instagram

Årets eneste strikkede julegave 🧶🎅🏻🎄🌟 @skeindeer #speedyselbumittens

via Instagram

#christmasevecaston #romjulsprosjekt #halo #yarnhalo 🧶

via Instagram

This is my house block for week 50 of the #focuscuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🏠 Pattern matching + December, it had to be parts of Santa’s village ❄️

via Instagram

Tusen takk til min hemmelige strikkenisse!🎅🏻 Fantastisk fin pakke - med deilig garn, maskemarkører, prosjektpose, verktøy - og sjokolade🤤 #nordiskstrikkforalle #secretknitsanta

via Instagram

December 13th 🕯

via Instagram

Block two of the L&HFA SAL

Here's my block two. I know mom stitched a different block, the one with the three ornaments, if you know which one that might be.

This one took almost all week to finish. I didn't spend every evening all week stitching, but it took quite some time to stitch all the little swirls of the deer's horn. 

I love the little mouse, though, sleeping on the deer's back.

Or is this a reindeer? *shrug*

Next block up for me, is the stocking. 

En sped begynnelse @varbitt #varbittjulekalenderkal2020 Snart tid for å søke hjelp til neste del 😱

via Instagram

A new SAL - First block done

After completing the final block of the Story of my Day, my mom and I decided to stitch the Christmas blocks from Love and Hugs from Australia. Neither of us could rememer which block was the first one, so we both stitched the first block in both our piles - coincidentally the same block!

Underneath the block is my current knitting experience. I'm not sure when it'll be done, there's no deadline - and no pattern! I've had an idea for a while now, and decided why not just try and see if it works out. 

I'll keep you posted on the progress. And who knows, perhaps it'll be a finished object once.

It's the week before the crazy hits

Although the shops and city centres have already been hit by the crazy wave of decoration, we - or I - have not. Not yet, anyway. 

The closest thing to Christmas decoration that has hit our house so far, is me torturing the rest of the house by playing the 24/7 Christmas radio (they started broadcasting about a month ago - but why oh why is there no such thing as a Halloween radio?) - and this little lantern I test-painted before last weeks scouts meeting.

This used to be a jar of taco sauce (salsa), but is now transformed to a lantern with Christmas motifs (a braided heart on one side, and mistletoe on the other side). I tried using a regular candle inside, but the opening is rather small, so a battery operated light works almost better.

The boys (scouts, they're all boys this year) loved the idea - and I had the pleasure of having 5 boys paint their own lanterns last Wednesday. Next week the remaining 14 will have their turn. I hope there are no leaders missing (we're usually five adults) or sick, because 5-6 is about the most kids one can aid, assist and manage when it comes to this. 

Well, perhaps other leaders might handle more scouts, but I don't. Not yet, anyway.

***

Two more weeks and we'll have the yearly Christmas meeting with the scouts, starting their "vacation", giving us leaders the rest of December off to do other things. "Charge our batteries" as one might say here in Norway, 

***

The school's not out until December 22nd - with the kindergarten open until the 23rd, but A will start her Christmas vacation on the same day as P. 

***

Now, with regards to the crazy coming in about a week... next Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Advent, which is when we usually decorate with Advent stars and lights outside. For quite a few years now we've gone all Christmas and decorated the whole house. I asked P what he wanted us to do this year, and he's all up for going nuts. Decorating the whole house, tree and everything. I'm actually looking forward to decorating for Christmas. November is such a dark month, so every little shining light in December brings a kind of fuzzy warm feeling. (I'm ignoring the fact that January will seem even darker, after all the decorations have been taken down.. but at least the sun will turn in December, so every day will be a little bit longer and brighter.)

***

I've just ticked off a couple of items on my to do-list now, ordering calendars for 2021 and Christmas cards. They ought to arrive some time during the next 10 days. 

 

A kitty present? 🤔 @kathyschmitzstitches

via Instagram

The Story of my Day - block 25!

And we're done! 

The last block has been stitched - and there are no more blocks to work on. 

What's left now, is cutting the blocks down to size and deciding on borders - before sewing them all together.

I'm curious to see if there are any similar background fabrics that will be next to each other. These blocks were made in the order the patterns were drawn in the book - not the order of the finished blocks put together. And seeing as I've used a number of different background fabrics, I'm not completely certain that two blocks next to each other won't be in the same fabric. We'll see - but there's no crisis if this occurs.

Fish for tea - a cute block! I loved the little piece of lemon and the fish.

Here they are, all together.

***

We've already decided on our next project, my mom and I - the Christmas blocks from "Love & Hugs from Australia" (the patterns came from a group on Facebook). 12 small blocks with Christmas motifs. I've already decided to stitch mine in a variegated red (from dark red-almost black to bright Christmas red). 

I probably won't sew these 25 blocks together before Christmas, we'll see - there's no rush to finish them, although I'm looking forward to having the quilt all done. I think it'll be a nice memory of this year, how we managed to make something together - although being apart. And remembering how fast time seemed to go, even when we were all "just staying at home".

The Story of my day - block 24 of 25

We're almost there! One more week - one more block! 

Try a new hairstyle? Weeeeeeell, no thanks. I'm not completely fond of trying new things with my hair - although I have cut it short a couple of times during the last 10 years - but I guess I prefer it shoulderlenght, so that I can put it up in a ponytail. I absolutely hate having my hair down.. I can't explain it, it just really bothers me. So perhaps I ought to cut it short again... or not.

Nå kan desember bare komme! 🎅🏻 @varbitt #varbittgarnkalender2020

via Instagram

Story of my day - Block 23 of 25

We're nearly there!

Last week's block was block 23, leaving only two more blocks to finish. Even with one block a week, this feels like it's gone by so swiftly! I mean, 25 weeks is a long time, it's almost 6 months. And still, it doens't feel like it's taken that long. 

You know what? When I'm looking at the picture of this block, I realize that I've forgotten the line of crosses on the bottom of the block. *facepalm* Seriously?

*sigh*

That's better. The crosses are stitched - and the block is done. 😁

***

November is a grey month here in Norway. The sky is cloudy, covered with rain-filled clouds. There have been several days with heavy fog (we could hardly see to the end of the street coming home from kindergarden the other day). All the bright coloured leaves have turned to brown and have fallen off the trees, covering the once green grass in a layer of moist, muddy brown with speckles of dark red-orange. 

I know we had sun the other day, but I can't for the life of me remember which day that was. It could've been last Sunday.. however, the colour scheme for this week seems to be grey to pitch black, with grey being the colour of the day, and the world turning pitch black in the evening and nights. The light drizzle of moisty, foggy rain is more or less constant. 

I miss summer; the need for less clothes to go out side, not fetching children with drenced, cold, muddy clothes, feeling the warmth of the sun.. but I'm also looking forward to December; when the glow of Christmas is shimmering everywhere, the neighbours put up their decorations outside, lights everywhere - and perhaps even snow, if we're lucky. 

Story of My Day - block 21 and 22

Oops, I didn't get around to blogging last week's block, and this week's block went by so quickly. That's why there are two blocks blogged this Tuesday.

Block 21 - Walk the dog.

Block 22 - Make a daisy chain.

***

Last week was a busy one.. I started the week by having Monday off work (which I regretted when I checked my work email Tuesdag morning..) but I needed it after spending the weekend camping with the scouts (ages 7,5-9). It was "only" from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon, but when you've got 16 boys all over the place, some of them who'd never slept over with strangers before, and very little sleep for us adults during the night... it's more or less needless to say that you run out of energy coming home. I was walking home from the scout house on Sunday afternoon, reaking of campfire smoke, and feeling so drained that I was both dissy and nausious. Not really my favorite state of being, you might say.. Ended up taking a hot shower, before eating some leftover dinner from the night before - and sleeping on the couch the rest of the evening. 

Monday morning I waited until the others had left for school, kindergarden and work, before I went up to my sewing nook. I had plans, and I had every intent to stick to those plans. So, before lunch (yup, it took that long...) I got the flimsy from the fussycuttingsewalong/focuscuttingsewalong 2019 ready for quilting (batting and backing fastened), and after lunch I tackled another quite big project - the block of the month Dancing chickens and flying pigs from Anni Downs / Hatched and patched. I decided to finish it in a classic style rather than folding the backing over and making an invisible edge (I think that was according to the pattern), so I'll be making and attaching the binding when it's quilted.

I've shipped both quilts to my mom for quilting - making a trade, since I've been spinning yarn for her lately. 

It feels really good to know that these two large projects are almost done now.. And I know I have a couple more projects waiting to be finished - which are lacking some or little work to get done too. But which one should I prioritise first? The eldest? The one lacking the most work? The most recent one? How do you decided which one to finish first?

***

Edited to add : 

I've updated this blog to add another page - Works in progress - listing all/most of my current slumbering projects. There were more than I thought.. but I really enjoyed revisiting them while making the list. My fingers are itching to get them done. Most of them, anyways. There's one or two that might just have to go. I don't see myself finishing them. And I don't feel bad about it at all. 

This is my house block for week 43 of the #focuscuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🐸 Look down, and you might see the lilies in the pond, some frogs and a couple of turtles too 🐢

via Instagram

Branntårnet på #kjerringhøgda i strålende høstsol! ☀️

via Instagram

This is my house block for week 42 of the #focuscuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🍎 This week’s theme represented by the two most consumed fruits in our house 🍌

via Instagram

Story of My Day - Block 20

Just stopping by - quickly - to post block 20 of The Story of My Day. 5 more blocks/weeks to go. *iik!*

Yes, the picture is horrid.. suitable for the month of Halloween. *giggle*

Story of my Day - Block 19

6 blocks left!

This one was so quick to stitch - it was like the needle worked like a hot knife in butter. (Ew.. sticky.. but you get what I mean?)

I've started to prepare some additional stitchery projects to work in in between these last 6 blocks - and after all of these 25 are completed. The lights in our living room are not the most optimal to work on these little ones in the afternoons, but some evenings are better than others. 

In more knitting related news, I'm almost done with my A top has no name  designed by Laila at Værbitt. I'm on sleeve island, as one might call it, but seeing as this is a top (more a tshirt) the sleeves are extremely short (only 3 + 3 cm, roughly). Which is also the reason why I'm winning my game of yarn chicken (in more understandable words : I thought I was running out of yarn, but decided to knit on instead of ordering more yarn - just in case - and it does look like I'll have more than enough to finish this top, even after changing the lenght of the body from a more cropped style to somewhere below the waste/over the bum).  

My next knitting project has been planned, more or less, as I'm going rogue and without a pattern for this one. I've bought the yarn, but not wind it up. I'm trying to stich to and finish one project (of this size) at a time, insted of burying me in the fluffness of wooly fibers.. perhaps this should be transferred to sewing projects too. Or perhaps not, seeing as I can already bury myself pretty deep in the piles (and piles) of works in progress (sounds kinder or more optimistic than calling them unfinished projetcs).

I'm currently spinning some fibre my mom has dyed. It's much different than my last spinning project, which was a mix of merino and silk - this is pure wool. It's looking good - and I'm curious to see how it'll knit up in the end. 

This is my house block for week 41 of the #focuscuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 💚 World Mental Health Day, and this little gem of a fabric seemed to be just the right choice. 💚 Take care of you, take care of those around you - and remember, speaking up or reaching out is not a sign of weakness, but strength.

via Instagram

Story of my Day - Block 18

I feel like the weeks are flying by rather surpricingly quickly these times. Not quite sure how I've completed 18 blocks - meaning it's been 18 weeks since my mom and I started this little sewalong.

I'm planning and thinking about the advent calendar for my mom these days - inbetween planning for scouts activities and wondering what will happen to Halloween. Halloween is a big thing for our kids - and our neighborhood is completely flooded with kids and teenagers on Halloween night, going from door to door. But this year will most likely see a different celebration.. There's a meeting at P's school tomorrow, and Halloween is actually one of the topics up for discussion. With all this COVID around us, colouring several cities in Norway red (Oslo is one of them) and us still working from home, avoiding travelling to the office or using public transportation, it would seem a little strange if going from door to door asking for candy would be an apropriate thing to do. 

Story of my Day - Block 16

Well, not exactly block 16, but here's the missing block - making my total come to 17 of 25 finished blocks.

Not the best picture, but the eggs and soldiers are ready for serving. 

I'm still loving the process of stitching these little blocks, and I'm starting to look forward to sewing them together and finishing this project.

Story of my Day - Block 17

Not quite sure what happened to the publishing of these blocks, as we're now jumping ahead in the numbering - although the blocks are published as they're completed, but who cares. :-P

This is block number 17. Feed the animals. A sweet little block. :-)

Quite remarkable how fast these weeks fly by. Already on block 18, and thus on week 18 of this little sewalong.

This is my house block for week 40 of the #fussycuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🐦 Actually quite pleased with this block - love the bird and the details in shiny gold ☀️

via Instagram

Story of my Day - Block 15

10 blocks left, and last week we were off shopping for shoes.

I have a drawer filled with wips and wisps, but seem to pick up smaller projects or start new ones instead of completing the ones waiting for attention. My plan for the next half year was to get some of the larger projects completed, in time for the new Tula Pink Nebula BOM. There's still time, I guess, I just need to make different priorities and choices.. 🤣🤣🤣

The Story of my Day - Block 14!

Now this was a multicoloured block, compared to some of the recent blocks stitched. All of the sudden there are lots and lots of colours and details! I'm so not complaining, Easy blocks and more challenging blocks are both welcome. 

Housework, it's not my favorite part of my day - but I guess a little goes a long way. Like today, I'm doing laundry (which works out pretty well when working from home). I've even planned doing more laundry tomorrow - spreading the usual clothes washing and the changing of the bed linens over a couple of days. I love the feeling of going to sleep in clean linens - knowing there's no alarm interrupting my sleep the next morning. 

***

In other crafty news my mind is completely busy planning and fixing my mom's advent calendar. I know, it's still early, but! Time goes by so quickly it feels like it's going to be December tomorrow... o.O

The Story of my Day - block 13

And here we are! Block 13! 12 more blocks to go. 🎉😁😊

This one was quite simple, compared to block 14 - which is the next one up. I'll try to be good, and not start working on it until after the weekend...