When you leave nerds alone

My husband decided to put his own touch on our bedroom decore while I was away visiting friends. Guess which part?

Knit and crochet for the air

Tomorrow, Friday, we are flying to Munich for the weekend. Hurray! I've been looking forward to this for so long, especially since it's my first time going away since the whole disc herniation ordeal.

Since I fly with just carry on luggage I don't want to take my interchangeable metal needles, since there seem to be no consensus what so ever if they are allowed on flights. Instead I'm bringing some short wooden needles and a bit of Järbo Raggi sock yarn for a small project I have in mind (that might result in a gift, hence the lack of details). I'm also bringing some of my cotton Tilda to make a few more granny squares. If they take my beautiful green hook I'll be seriously pissed, but It's the only size 5 i have. It should be allright. Right?

These small project should be enough to keep me entertained on the way there and back. I don't think there'll be much time for it while there, I'll be busy drinking beer and eating sausage and red cabbage.
Ah German food,  so cheap, so delicious.
We'll be visiting a Bundesliga game between Munich and Dusseldorf as well. I'm not really a sports person, but I can get enthusiastic about most things if I just put my mind to it. And they have beer, so all is well.

Since I know what yarn to pack I should be ready to go, right?

Have a nice weekend! Hope you get some quality time with friends and family as well, where ever you are.

Chaos (not pictured)

It's a bit quiet in here because there's a lot of this stuff going on in the appartement at the moment, leaving less time for other tinkering. I did fit in some knitting time with friends this saturday though, and to nigh I'm attending a knitting café at the local yarn shop Perssons. Just need to find my missing skein for the Baktus scarf, which is easier said then done in this appartement due to above pictured reasons (our bedroom is now fitted in to our living room, I will spare you those pictures).

Who needs flower arrangements?

This is how i store my baktus scarf at the moment. Just as pretty as flowers, less maintenance. 

The vase is from the 60s designed by Mari Simmulson, and gifted to me by my mother for my last birthday. 

10 + DIY projects with buttons!

Because of the big button bag gifted to me through the Make & Create give away, I decided to compile a list of some fun DIY projects with buttons. I've made sure all of them include tutorials or instructions of some sort, because i find it so annoying when you see this interesting project, but have no idea how to go about it. I think the monogram and the magnets are probably my favourites.

Button Book Marks from iheartnaptime.net

Button Magnets from Big Box Detox

Button Necklace, from Yellow and Backbird

 Or another kind of Button Necklace, from Adventures of a DIY mom

Button Monogram from the Stonybrook House

Button Earings from Artsy-fartsy Mama

Button Tree Ornaments from Beneath the Rowan Tree

 Button Flowers from Craft and Creativity

Button Bowl from Kumquat and Junebug

Button Headband from Crafted

Heart Button Cushion from All About You

Button Embelished Cards from Martha Steward

Happy Crafting!

Consolid... I'm-fantastic-prize

I got a happy suprise in the mail the other day. Well, kind of suprise, I knew something was on the way, since i was declared on of the winners of a consolation prize in the Craft & Creativity / Make & Create give away over at Hildas Hem.

Consolation prize sounds so.. sad, so I chose to see my self as one of 10 in second place!

So, I recived a nice blue parcel, with some tiny clothepins and glittery hama beads taped with to the front. And inside it was..

Half a kilo of colorful buttons in every size imaginable, from super tiny to really big and chunky!
Look at them! Don't they cheer you up just by their pure buttonessnes? (Yes I am making up words)

I spent a good long while sorting through them, and inspecting all the different kinds. In the end I sorted them roughly by size so that finding the right kind for the right project would be a bit easier.

Oh, and I found this one.

I'm not quite sure what it means? You love to make babies? You'd love to, Baby? (Love to what? Are you hitting on me, button?)

Big questions.

Anyway, I have a tutorial round up comming your way in honor to this great pile of buttons, so stay tuned for that.

Closed for Renovations

What started out as a doctors appointment this Monday ended with a disc herniation operation. It was no supprise that It was going to happend, just that it was going to happend this week. I've spent 2 days at the hospital and are now at home recovering. I've recived flowers from friends and family in the other end of the country and visits from friends and family here at home, and my husband is Florence Nightingale reincarnated.

 I'm so glad to have it done, it was a long time comming, but the painkillers are making me stupid and i still feel quite dizzy, so I'll have to take some time of from both tinkerin and studying. Perhas I can get some knitting done on my Baktus scarf, but right now staring at stitches makes me queasy.

This blogpost is by far the most productive thing i've managed since the operation, teeth brushing on a close second place, so I'll leave it at this.

Be back soon, new and improved, with functions such as painfree sitting and walking.
Fantastic, right?

Ordning och Reda / Organizing Inspiration theme

There is a inspiration theme going on over at the Swedish blog called Fabriken (I found it today), the theme is "Ordning och Reda" (which google translates to orderliness, can any US/English native tell em if that really is a word? anyhow.. lets call it organization).

Organization is not always my strongest card, but I'm working hard at it and getting better. I have two storage solution previously posted on this blog that I'm particulary satisfied with.

First of, my (by far) most popular project, the DIY framed table organizer

 

It's perfect for storing papers and notes, pencils and other nick nacks you want to have easily accessible 

 Secondly, my very practical kitchen organizer

I keep seeds, nut and almonds in the small glass drawers in the middle, and in the bigger ones i have different kinds of flour, sugar and oats. I love not having to dig out all different packages when baking, spilling all around me since there is always some hole somewhere in one of the flour bags. It was a thrift find of my step mother but since she didn't use it, I got it. Lucky me, right?

Check out all the other organizing inspirations over at fabriken! (Even if you don't know Swedish you can look at the pretty pictures)

(Thanks to Popetotorora for posting your organizing inspiration leading me to Fabrikens blog)

Treat yo' self / DIY Body scrub

Due to some persistent health issues i felt quite down the other day. Being home alone did not make it better.

A bath I thought, that was ages ago. And why not go full cliché with bubbles, face mask and body scrub.

I felt like someone from a chick flick. I also felt awsome.

Home made body scrub, nicer than it looks.

... and bubbles!

Body scrub is one of those really easy DIY things.
I made mine from:

50 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
50 ml (1/4 cup) table salt
50 ml (1/4 cup) brown sugar

You can use other kinds of oil as well. I guess white sugar will also wok.  I wouldn't use sea salt for the scrub though, unless you are planning on using it as a weapon.



My skin gets ridiculously soft after a bout with this. I don't use it n my face since i have oily skin, and i also feel that the grains are a bit to big for the more delicate skin in your face. 

This scrub works equally well for dudes and dudettes, since the scent is very neutral, a bit olivey and tad sweet.

It's alive! (Kind of)

So, yeah. Long time no see. Sorry about that.. But im planning a revival! And this post is to try out mobile blogging

So what have i been up to? I spent 5 weeks diving in malaysia, lived in norway during the summer, moved to 600 km south but still ended up in northen sweden, started about 1000000 project and finished a few. Some content is due shortly, for now you can look at my beautiful view!

Charity and a set interchangable needles

I've been drooling after some interchangeable knitting needles for ages  (i despise double pointed needles), and when i saw an add in the paper asking for needles and materials for knitting/sewing/crochet courses for immigrants (i order for them to get out of the house, make friends and learn the language) i saw my perfect opportunity to but something expensive for my self, while covering it up like a good deed. Win-win (yes, except for the economy lose, shush).

I went trough my stash, sorting out odd skeins i did not see my self get around using, as well as copious amounts of double pointed needles, "normal" needles (what ever they are called) and circular needles (which are probably the most difficult thing to organise i have ever come across, damn dangly devil things). I only kept one set of straight needles in each size.

I also took the time to sort through my big bag of buttons I got from a flee makret. I hope someone at the sewing course likes the 80ies....

And then i whent and bought me a set of addiclick intechangable needles form my local yarn shop, feeling like a real samaritan. And they are awsome! Knitting with them is pure joy, so soft and bendy. More on that subject another time.

Check your Pinfluence!

For all you Pinterest-junkies out there, i found this fun little thing today: PinPuff
(trough the pinterest reddit. Yes, there is a social network about a social network. Very meta)

It lets you calculate your "pinfluence", which is a relative measure of your popularity, activity and reach.

I got 37.76, which is above the average of 32, yay for me! (And below 45 which is considered a good score, let's not dwell on that). My pinterest profile.

Some days turn out better than expected

Family health crisis seems to be averted. The best state any family member can be in is alive, that's for sure. I'm spening the week at my childhood home, with limited tinkering opportunities, but the internetz is as good for providing inspiration here as anywhere else.

Found this scarf on the blog Popetotrora, and my tinkering fingers are twitching.

Her blog post reveals that the construction wasn't a smooth ride, but I'm still willing to give it a try.

No 2. Kind of Practical Cookie Jar

No 2. The kind of practical cookie jar

This three tired cookie jar is from my mothers childhood home. All though storage is always practical, cookies never survive long enough in my home for it to really become useful. I love the looks of it though, and it's in top condition, unlike some others I've seen at flee markets (for absurd prices). 

 When i received it from my mother I got instructions of which kinds of cookies it was supposed to hold. I remember Coconut cookies and shortcrust cookies with jam. I do not, however, remember the third one.

Shortcrust cookies with jam, from Fru Fantastisk

Coconut cookies, unkown source
 

No 1 in a series of three, The very Practical Kitchen Organizer

I love filling my kitchen with thrift finds instead of new things. Some are more practical than others.

In a short series i will show 3 of my favourite things, ranging from "practical" to "not at all very practical but oh so pretty".

 First up, something very practical:

No 1. Glass Organizer.

This glass organizer is a thrift find i got from my step mother. It stood all alone and unused at her house, and after some careful hinting, it was allowed to move in to my kitchen.
It holds sugar, flour, seeds and oat meal among other things, and is not just pretty but very practical. I love the green hue of the glass.

The Fantastic Freebee

I went in to the paint and wallpaper shop the other day, and asked if they had some odd wallpaper bolts for sale, as i have a project requiring just a small amount in mind. Instead of just trying to sell me a bolt of expensive new wallpaper, the very nice man asked me if i was interested in an old wallpaper book? The kind the customers flip through while browsing.

He even asked me what it was for, and after roaming around the back he exclaimed "This one will be great!"
I don't know how he knew my soft spots, but he pulled a book containing new prints of old Swedish wallpapers. I was practically jumping on the spot. And i got it for free!

The best part of the book (well, the actual wallpapers are the best part) is that it contains a overview over the wallpapers, with original printing year and some history.

Happy Happy

Today and a table

Today i'm going to swing by the fabric shop to buy some black cotton for an experiment with a thrift store find from last week. I'll also leave my really old sewing machine at the sewing machine doctor, if i decide i have the muscle to carry the 12 kg (26.5 pounds) thing all the way there, I'm not so sure..

Until then i leave you a picture I took of a color coordinated table at Karlsjans, all thrift store and flee market finds (Dear Stepmother, correct me if I'm wrong). Good stuff, or "Fint som snus" like us Swedes would say.

Speaking of fabrics

As previously mentioned, i have some issues with the selection of fabrics avaliable in my teny tiny town. However, i did find these really nice looking tea towels at the grocery shop today.


Perhaps i'll make a pocket case out of them, like the ones from Duger

Or a wallet, like this one from How about Orange, made with the tutorial from Noodlehead

What else can you make that calls for a sturdier fabric, but doesn't need more than two tea towels worth of it?

Fabrics Fabrics Fabrics

There are so many beautiful, colorful and happy fabrics out there, it's driving me nuts. Lets just say my local fabric shop leaves much to be desired...

The Tear Drop Bag from Gronne Tanker, love both the fabrics and the design.

Hippo fabric from Caption Designs

"Crosshatch Sketch" in different colors from In Color Order. This i love since it reminds me of my all time favourite pattern, Virrvarr by Sigvard Bernadotte.

That would be all for tonight, its 01:40 here, and i just arrived home from work. Sketchy work hours, I know...

Retro Crafting Booklets

One of my favourite things to look for at the thrift stores or flee markets are books and booklets on knitting, sewing or crocheting. I really enjoy the estetics of the 50ies and 60ies, and the 70ies can be fun aswell.

.
Femina Stickbok (Femina knittingbook), is one of my faves. It's pretty worn, but that might be from the fact that it's 55years old (printed in 1947). It has some really nice patterns, but i havent tried any of them out yet, mainly because i have a hard time to keep my enthusiasm up for a whole garnment, and tend to stick to smaller things that i can finish in a couple of nights.

The Bathingsuite, awsome isnt it? Dont know how practical a knitted bathingsuit is though. Find it pretty funny that the camera pose reminds me a lot about the picture-of-my-self-in-the mirror-pose plastered over every blog and facebook. She was obviously way before her time.