Old doilies table runner

Found this on Pinterest.

Here's my version: 

♥ 2 ♥ Christmas Market at Rampa ♥

Christmas Market at Rampa yesterday.

Thrift store, with additional flower and redesign. 

Hedvig's corner.

Calling out for summer

"Rop på sommer'n så kommer'n" is a Norwegian saying, meaning "call for summer, and it's coming".

So I'm calling out by making a new pair of shorts! Inspiration found here, shorts made from table runner. I used a scarf. Just enough fabric for a pair of shorts. Ready for summer!

And a flower belt to spice it up even more! 

First flower after Olavas pattern, found on her blog, in Norwegian, but with lots of photos. 

Second flower from Lucy in the Attic's super cute "Happy Flower Decoration". 

There are lots of projects on Ravelry.  

Third flower is a Lily, found here.

I would have loved to go outside in my new outfit (there is a "new" black top from Fretex to go with the shorts, too). but due to rain and 5 degrees Celsius, I'll probably be better off with a a pair of gloves.

Anyway, in May we still have the hope for a long and sunny summer. Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Easter exhibiton 2012 at Pellestova

Remember last year's Easter exhibition?

After one year, this seems to have become a tradition. 

This year I was not able to be there on the opening, 

but I visited on the last day yesterday.

I like both the dress and the painting at the entrance (both were sold, and not to me..)

Here are some dresses that were still not sold, 

you can find them in Hedvig's Epla shop (Norwegian Etsy)

And you can see more of Thor Arne's paintings here.

Or you can go to Pellestova next Easter! It's a lovely place!

The advantage of sewing & redesign

Instant gratification!

In a couple of hours I had a new dress.

It started with a stripey pair of tights I never used. I liked the fabric, though, and thought, hmm... sleeves maybe. Then I found a t-shirt with a cute little snail at a 2nd hand shop. The rest is from my stash:

- green fabric, left over from a friend who turned a dress into a tunic


- red flowery fabric, brought to me from Tanzania a few years ago

I cut off the sleeves and the lower part of the t-shirt.

The legs of the tights became sleeves, the rest became a flower and edging.

And voilá! Ready for spring!

Preparing for Christmas market

Eplas Julebasar is only a few days away. Not quite ready yet, but we'll get there. Hope to see some of you!

Another redesign tunic

Between knitting, football and pot holders I have been able to do a little sewing:

I found this skirt at Fretex second hand shop.

I liked the fabric and the colours, but I seldom wear long skirts.

So I turned it into a tunic in stead:

The sleeves are from a shirt, that had som ugly stains on the front.

I'm quite happy with the result. Makes me want to do more sewing.

FCBarcelona tunic

I like wearing tunics, here my newest one: It's a cotton tunic from Fretex, decorated to become a FCBarcelona tunic by me.

There are many reasons why I like that football club:

Their colours.

The fact that the club is owned by its supporters.

Messi (not Pinto)

The city

Their Unicef support

The Barcelona t-shirt could have been worn by the family's youngest, but he's a Real Madrid fan, so he won't wear it ...

Butterfly tunic

More than twenty years ago, a good friend of mine made me a yellow butterfly summer top. It was a swap, I sewed her a skirt, she didn't know how to handle a sewing machine at the time.

The skirt is long gone, but I've kept the top, even though I haven't used it much. It was cute, but a bit to short for my belly...


Since then, my friend has learnt to sew. In easter, during her dress exhibition, I was inspired to turn the old top into a tunic, using an old college sweater from my father and some lace ribbon.

Redesign is fun! My friend has an Epla shop now (Epla is the Norwegian version of Etsy).

Have a look!

Red sweater redesign - a small tutorial

A sweater made more than twenty years ago - now with several stains.







I machine stitched and cut.











Zig-zag around the edges.








Picked up stitches for ribbing, around 2 sts every 3 rounds. K2, p2. Short rows for shaping around the neck. Four buttons holes.







Embroidery over the stains - and a bit more.









Fun with colours and stitches!








Stains gone!







Fake leather buttons.








Belt.








Et voilà! A new cardigan!








A fun project!











If you need embroidery and knitting inspiration, check out this blog.

Old sweater - new cardigan

I finally have an FO to show you! My new cardigan:

I made a red cabled sweater more than twenty years ago. After some years it got some stains on the sleeves, and on the upper front, so it has stayed in my closet for many years now. So I figured it was time to do something about it, and I cut away some of the stains, and covered others with embroidery.


And I'm very happy with the result. I just read a book, The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver. The colours of this cardigan makes me think of Frida Kahlo (read the book if you haven't and you'll see what I mean!)

(More details about the making of the cardigan in a later post.)

Easter exhibition vernissage at Pellestova

Vernissage today! It was fun. Nice dresses, photos and paintings. And music and wine. Sorry to Lars Erik and Thor-Arne that there are mostly dress photos... you see, dresses are my main interest :-)

Thor-Arne is in a blue period...

Lars Erik, some of his photos and some of his daughters.

The redesigner and a customer! Nice fit!

Another customer!

I bought a something too!

I think the designer needs to do some more sewing...

More photos on Flickr. Or on Facebook.

Easter exhibition

Three of my friends are having a sales exhibition this Easter, at Pellestova, Øyer (Norway). I know many of my readers live far away, but I also know I have some local readers. The vernissage is Saturday 16th of April at 3 pm, but the exhibition is open all easter. You can have a look at their Facebook page.

Lars Erik is showing his photos.

Hedvig makes redesign dresses.

Thor-Arne has paintings to show.