Stamps and cards...

A few weeks back I bought some stamps from Panduro in Jessheim. They, Panduro that is, were moving to a new location, and was selling some of their stamps really cheap... oh how I love bargains...

And, of course, I had to try out my new stamps... so I made these cards. It was sooo much fun stamping again. I haven't done that in quite a while. And it was sooo much fun having some new stamps to play with...

You can just spot my latest sewing project under this card here... I'll write about that another day...

I guess I should rather be making christmas cards this time of year, but... there is always use for some flower cards as well... isn't there??

Awards

I've gotten a couple of awards lately... Yay! I'm so glad that people read and like my blog enough to give me awards. I'm so honoured. Thank you very much - all of you!

First out is this one that I got from Monica S
Monica wrote:

Så vil eg at Tonje skal få ein slik ein... ho har vore kjekk å ha ein del gongar... då ho har budd i eit engelsk-talande land i 9 år, har eg tydd til ho når eg har stått fast. (om det er noko eg har trengt å oversette) Og så har ho vore så snill å gi meg eit godt julegåvetips
(say no more ;-) )!!
Takk Tonje!

A few days ago I got this one from Tofo:

I got these two from Anne Marie... waaayyy back in July... I'm so sorry, Anne Marie, that I haven't blogged them before... I got them in the middle of moving house and not having access to a computer every day... so they kind of got put aside for a while...

Thanks again. I guess I'm supposed to send these on...?? But it's so hard for me to choose just a few to give them to, and a lot of you already have these, so I'll give them to all of you that follow my blog. You all deserve them.

Herringbones...

I finished my Herringbone Neck warmer yesterday. I didn't knit it as long as the pattern said to knit it, because I wanted a quite snug fit around my neck. I've got plenty of scarves and turtle neck jumpers, but they all seems too loose round my neck and therefore let the cold air in...

I'm so pleased with this one. I tried it out on my daily walk, to get Susie to sleep, today. It's nice and soft and warm... just like I wanted it.

I couldn't find any buttons to fit the neck warmer and I didn't have time to wait until I could get to a shop and buy some, so I just made two monkey fist knots in the same yarn as the neck warmer and used them as buttons instead. They are a bit soft, but... so far so good.

I really like the texture of the herring bone stitch.... and the colour of this yarn.... Let it snow!

You are a STAR and a WINNER

I'm sure you are all waiting for the results of my giveaway.... I'm sorry to have kept you waiting the whole day, but I'd promised Maja that she could help me with the draw so we had to do it after she was home from school. But then we had someone over for dinner this afternoon, so when I was gonna do the draw, I was busy preparing for having dinner guests. I hope you understand.

Anyway, after keeping you waiting for so long, I thought I would keep you waiting for a wee while longer... cruel, I know... but I just wanted to show you the hand pieced/ paper pieced star all finished. I ended up making a coaster... as I suggested in my other post. I used two layers from an old flannel nighie after Susie as batting, so it's nice and thick.
I wouldn't look too closely at my quilting... It's awful... it almost looks like the basting is still in... but, hey, it was my first time hand quilting... But then again, the coaster goes quite well with my favourite mug colourwise, don't you think?
Ok, so over to the draw! Here Maja is helping me cut all the entries into separate strips. (Isn't her nightdress cute?? I just love that cow pattern...)

All the entries are in...

Who will be the lucky winner....

Eileen! You won! Congratulations. Please contact me with your address, and I will send you the prize.

Eileen said...
Tonje, these are beautiful prizes. I'm sure you made the adorable slippers! Congratulations on your 100th post. It is a lot to keep up with especially when you are moving all about!thanks always for visiting me and leaving such lovely comments. :-)
07 November, 2008 11:50

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And this is what my wee helper did with all the non- winning entries... she shredded them! I think maybe she enjoys using her new scissors...

I would like to thank all of you who took part in my giveaway. I really appreciate your comments.

Lazy Saturday morning

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Don't forget to enter my 100th post giveaway!

Today we had a really lazy morning. It was cold outside, but we'd lit the fireplace, and while the girls were snuggling on the sofa watching a DVD and being quiet for once (this photo isn't from today, but this is what they looked like. Today's photo was too blurred... I was probably too tired to focus...)...
...I was trying my hand on hand piecing for the first time. Is that what it's called when you tack a piece of fabric around a piece of paper and sew it together by hand...?? This is something I've never done before, it was quite relaxing although a bit repetitive.
Here is the star I pieced, tacking on and everything. I'm quite amazed that the colours are so true in this photo ... I always have a hard time catching the colours correctly. Finished with the piecing. The tacking/basting is out and it's ironed. I'm not really impressed whit my stitching... maybe I should have matched the thread better with the colours?? Or maybe I shouldn't have watched Tintin with the girls at the same time as I was stitching...Well, this was just for fun, just to try it out and see if I liked it, so it doesn't really matter. I'm thinking maybe I would try to hand quilt this as well. That's another thing I've never done before.
The star is quite small, so I guess I'll have a (nice) coaster for my morning coffee when this is finished.

This afternoon I started a new knitting project as well. I guess this was the day for starting new things... I just totally fell for this neck warmer when I saw it. So that's what I'm knitting. I'm not using the same yarn as in the pattern... I'm going a bit cheaper with "Oda" from Trysilgarn (colour 209 if anyone is interested. The colour in the photo isn't quite right though).
The pattern seemed pretty straight forward to start with... only two rows to repeat. That was until I started knitting... It was a bit hard to wrap my head around what the pattern really said, and how to do it practically. But after a couple of (four, five) trials and errors, casting on, ripping it off, casting on... etc... I finally got it. This isn't really a quick knit... well, not for me anyway, even though I use needles 8mm... but, hopefully, I'll have a new neck warmer in a few days... that is if I don't start a new project in between...

100th post giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed!

I have finally reached my 100th post! I guess I'm not the most eager blogger since it has taken me about two and a half years to reach this number.... It has been so much fun all the way from the beginning when I was only blogging about ATCs through family life and now my knitting and sewing. So many of you have been a big inspiration to me... there are so many great blogs and bloggers "out there"...

Anyway... I'd like to celebrate this "milestone" with a little giveaway. I really appreciate all of your comments, questions and support, and I'm happy that you take time to visit me. I think you all deserve a present... but, that would probably ruin me... so one lucky(??) reader will get a little something from me. I've put together a little "winter care packet" (handmade by me) consisting of:

One pair of pocket slippers. To keep your feet warm so you (hopefully) avoid the sniffles. These are really stretchy, so they'll fit most people.

If the slippers can't hold the sniffles away, I've added a travel tissue holder (with tissues)... so at least you can have the sniffles with a bit more style... hmmm....I've also added a couple of small fabric hearts on a string to cheer you up. Hang them on a peg on your wall, on your christmas tree, or as I do, on a couple of candles...(or chuck them in a drawer so you don't have to see them...)

All you have to do to be in the drawing for these things, is to leave me a comment on this post. I would love to hear from everybody... the lurkers as well. I think it is so much fun seeing who visits my blog, and to go visit their blog back. You have until midnight next monday (10th November 08). I will do the draw next tuesday. Make sure I have a way of contacting you in case you win.