Too warm for this

We picked the hottest day of the year (as in today with 38°C) to make mixed pickles. I wanted to make photos, but forgot to bring the camera.

So all I can offer are two project bags I sewed last weekend.
Both are made following the same pattern. The first one is made from jeans fabric and some fabric I picked up ages ago in Japan.

 The second one was a present for a friend's birthday and is already living at his new home.

Slippers

One pattern I picked up at my sister's but didn't get around making in Sweden is for a pair of slippers. Back home I picked some matching fabric and gave it a whirl.

 They do fit very well (better than those my sister made and she and I have the same shoe size ... go figure). For the sole I used some fake leather which worked (at least so far) very well. It gives just enough traction to make them feel right.

During the last days of the Olymic Games I also finished the second Mini Garden Mandala (or is it Mini Mandala Garden?). Number 3 has been started but is not very far yet.

Sigh, vacation is over and I have to go back to work on Tuesday. So updates and finished projects will be further in between again.

Sweden 2012 - Creativity

As I already mentioned yesterday, I've been busy in Sweden.

Project 1 is a pair of potholders using some fabric I also picked up in Goetheborg. There was no real pattern, but we saw something similar in a store downtown, so we reverse engineered the whole thing. For a first try pretty good, though there's some room for improvement.

The potholders are fairly small, but thanks to the opening in the back, you can almost wear them like hot gloves, so very usable. They are also totally reversable.

Project 2 was a small beaded bracelet we found the kit for in a sale. The bracelet is super easy to make, so not really very crafty, but pretty.
In the photo I present it over a lovely cup my sister got me for my birthday. There's this super cute little dragon peeking over the rim of the cup. Happily I managed to transport the cup back home without breaking it.

 Project 3 and 4 (and some trials inbetween) are made using a technique called tatting. Using a special long needle, you make a couple of slip knots on the one end of the needle and then pull through the tread to either form a ring or a chain before moving on to the next set of knots. Adding little loops (picots) during the process of the knot making will give you added decoration and also a point to connect the chains and rings to each other, enableling the making of a large variation of shapes.
I still need some practice though ....

Number 5, a project I've started before I came to Sweden, some cross stitch. This is the first in three so called Mini Garden Mandalas by Martina Weber of Châtelaine Designs. The kit I have contained the pattern for all three manadalas and the specialty threads and beads, but no fabric and none of the DMCs needed. Lucky me, I've got plenty of fabric and DMC. I picked some unbleached linen in 32ct to stitch on and enjoyed (and still am enjoying) stitching it. Currently I'm plowing my way through the back stitches on the second mandala.

Finally, I also did some knitting. I started a cardigan in Wollmeise lace, but am not happy at the moment with it. I'm thinking about ripping everything up and starting again with a smaller needle size, but first I want to give what I have (back and front down to about 5 cm underneath the armholes) a bath and see how it fits.

Sweden 2012

It has turned into something of a tradition that during the Olympic Games I pack my bags and set up camp at my sister's and her family in Sweden for a week.
First of all it gives me time to spend time with my nephew, whom I, due to the fact that he's living in another country, don't see nearly often enough.
Second, it's a perfect excuse for my sister and me to spend hours in front of the TV to watch the games. We are not exactly idle while we watch, but do knit, stitch, tat (what is the verb going with 'tatting'? I don't know), sew and do other creative stuff. More on that tomorrow.
Third, hey, who wouldn't want to spend vacation time in Sweden? It's a beautiful country. My sister's place is close to the sea and even if the weather is not always perfect, there's still enough nice days to go out on a walk and take some photos.

One day we went to Goetheborg to the botanical garden. We wanted Adventure Golf, but it was seriously too full. If we hadn't gone I would never have seen this dude, and what a shame that would have been.

More on the creative part tomorrow, after I take some project pictures.