IngerMaaike

A romantic ray of sunshine

2012-03-04T14:04:00.000+01:00

The linen was all knit up into a large piece of fabric and then cut to a pattern and sewn into a sunshine jumper. Perfect for hot days :)

Superfine linen

2012-03-02T10:50:00.002+01:00

I bought linen yarn a while back and this morning decided to start knitting it into fabric. It is superthin and a little twisty so quite slow to work with but boy the endresult will be worth it!

I love the look and feel of linen and will make it into a summer jumper like my woolen olive jumper I think...though of course I might well change my mind along the line :D

Floral slippers

2012-02-22T12:40:00.002+01:00

Slippers should be easy to jump in and out of so I made these with an open back which kinda look like a just opened flower. Which fits well with the flower on top :)

I made the flower by prefelting leaves and stamen and placing the flower stamen first on my resist. With the leaves left unfelted at the base the leaves will remain free from the wool while felting. Like that the base of the flower sticks to the slipper but not the leaves. It helps to mark the side where the flower is as it is on the insde and after felting it is impossible to detect it from the outside :)

A cozy place

2012-02-19T17:10:00.001+01:00

I could live here, maybe we should move in here and let the guests have the house we live in now...

Better snackers

2012-02-16T08:59:00.000+01:00

Better looking snackers :) This time I started backwards for nicer and easier chocolate application. First a little bottom of chocolate which I then took out so I could pour the hot caramel and fudge. Once the interior was cool (nice to have a big outdoors fridge) I took them out laid in the chocolate bottom. Then I placed a dollop of liquid chocolate on top of that and pressed the snackers into that. Finally I covered the top with chocolate and these are covered by chocolate all around so nothing will run out over time. The nougat and caramel are pliable at room temperature meaning they will slowly run if not covered with a hard shell.

Goodness me :)

2012-02-15T15:11:00.002+01:00

Without the web connecting us all I would never have gone where I went and never seen what I saw, it is my thread that connects me to the rest of the world. It enriches my life in ways I could never have imagined possible, though I dreamt of it long before it was a fact :)
This web connects me to others but also others to me, like the peace felt initiative. From this initiative grew a book in which my work is featured. It makes me so proud to see this book full of wonderful fiber connections :) Thank you Karen!

Nearly summer..

2012-02-15T08:29:00.001+01:00

Well no not quite that far in to the year yet but we do have much more light already and it is not quite so cold these days so I felt like some long overdue felting time.

I made two scarves. One is a mainly cotton scarf with just wool detailing and the other is silk lap with some leaves (real leaves) a hint of wool and some forest floor litter effect :)

Both started out as white cotton, white silk and white wool. Every fiber was lovingly dyed by me as well. No bought colours, just mixed red,yellow,blue and black to obtain any colour you can imagine :)
Both weigh less than a breath of fresh air.

The making of snackers

2012-02-12T14:10:00.001+01:00

Snickers would of course not be pleased if these were called snickers so they are called snackers. The difference in name makes them even more delicious than the real thing..Though I need to figure a way to coat them evenly in chocolate.
First caramel making, the thermometer is a thing I will have to buy cause that really makes life much easier.
Fudge making withhout the aid of thermometer is nearly impossible so I used the one we use for beer brewing. It does not go high enough but at least is an indication I was about right.

Coating with chocolate is really not very easy, quite a lot ended up inside various mouths..white chocolate is a big fave of the kids.

Sometimes you need more space

2012-02-10T14:30:00.000+01:00

A zipper can come in very handy when you need more space, which is why I made this bag.

It zips open to double in size so you can stuff the sweater you needed in the morning to keep warm in there. Aren't they great? These days you go out and it is still cool and as the day progresses it gets warmer and all you need is your tshirt. Well no such days here yet but the extra room of course also works really well for those times you went out and bought just a little more you thought you would :)

A civilised lady bag

2012-02-07T13:28:00.001+01:00

Often when I make things they have bright colours or wild designs but once in a while something elegant and civilised will crawl out. Such as this bag made of charcoal wool , the lining is a bit more colourful and of course the zippers are different colours. Now I need to find a way to photograph my things is such a way I can do this winter and summer and still keep the same format and also convey the feeling of nature and stuff...sigh...one really needs to be expert at so many things to sell handmade online..

Finally finished

2012-01-29T17:24:00.000+01:00

She gave me fabric and the freedom to do as I pleased, I measured her and started thinking. That was a good few months ago but now it is all done :)

Of course not as perfect as I wanted it to be but luckily she is very pleased and that will have to satisfy me too!

Chocolate mousse

2012-01-28T21:50:00.001+01:00

I saw this receipe for chocolate mousse on the net and had to make it of course, even if I am not very partial to chocolate...I have several test subjects at hand who are :)

As you see my oven gloves are well used and my tablet is a wonderful companion in the kitchen :)

It certainly is dead easy to make and was reported to be most excellent!

Warm woollens

2012-01-23T09:24:00.002+01:00

My dear friend from America sent me some lovely fabrics in exchange for a pair of felted slippers. I love having fabrics on hand in case I suddenly feel the need to be making something :) One of the fabrics she sent was a charcoal lovely wool and I was first thinking coat but then I have just made a coat and a pair of slacks in wool is just too itchy...but then suddenly realised I could line them in lovely soft cotton jersey, also by courtesy of Sherry. So one pair of deliciously warm winter woolly jeans for me :) Thank you Sherry!

Knitting machine joy

2012-01-20T14:38:00.002+01:00

Sometimes I see things of a fibery nature that I just have to have, not per se knowing what I would do with it. Thus one day a good while ago I bought mill ends of merino superfine yarn, the superfine is a serious understatement...
It has the weight and feel of cashmere once knit up on my ancient knitting machine a dear lady once sent me as a gift all the way from France! The world is full of wonderful people :)
So the other day I made a purple frilly edge on a jumper I gad made with my serger and that set me thinking about the yarn bought so long ago...what a cool scarf that would be indeed.

The yarn itself came in beige and babypoo yellow...ewwww . Luckily I can dye wool any colour I like so I made one in black and one in forrest green. The black is all black and the green one is dipped slowly in boiling dye so it goes from dark to lighter green. The purple cotton yarn is left untouched by the dye so it offsets nicely against the darker colours.

A Bunad

2012-01-17T13:13:00.002+01:00

Just anyone in Norway still has and uses a Bunad for all festive occasions. I have made a fantasy one a long time ago, as normally the fabric,colours and embroidery pattern refer to a certain region in Norway. Mine is just fabrics and colours I happen to like. Which always throws up lots of questions when I wear it :D Where Bunads are concerned Norwegians take it even more serious than all other things in life and just making one up is totally unheard of.

One of my friends here asked me to remake her Bunad, one she has had since she for ever and ever. Her mother had bought her new fabric for the top part and not long after passed away thus never having the chance of remaking it. So now my friend asked me to do it, quite an honour and also a little scary...what if I ruined this very special fabric...eep..

But it turned out just fine and she is a very happy lady now, and it is well in time for the big national constitution celebration of the 17th of May :)

The saussage factory

2012-01-14T17:56:00.002+01:00

Dear santa gave me a food grinder attachment to go with my kitchenaid and today the saussage casings arrived. We ground up beef,lightly smoked pork,onion,garlic,chili powder,red sweet pepper and a few hot peppers together and proceeded with the filling of the casing.

For the very first time they look ok, and how they taste we will find out later today when we prepare some. Even if we should leave thim in the fridge overnight before eating to avoid them bursting. Since these have a few airbubbles in they will probably burst anyway...besides we are not the most patient people :D

Come walk with me

2012-01-08T14:35:00.002+01:00

After a long time without any real snow the last few days it has been snowing quite a bit and today the sky is bright blue making a walk in the snow a magical experience. The fluffy snow crunches underfoot and the sun makes everything sparkle as if the world were covered in diamond dust.
The dogs had a great time making snow fly by racing through it as fast as possible and the big and small kids threw snowballs :D

And here a picture of the finished room with a wonderful view.

Ipad cozy

2012-01-06T11:26:00.000+01:00

My mother is visiting and techie she is, she bought an ipad. Well truth be told my dad is the gadgetoholic but he just wants to have it, not use it. So my mother mastered the world of Ipad and uses it. It of course needs a nice cozy so we made one. Which was also a great way to do a workshop thingie, so she could see how felting is done and do some herself. She did all the layout work and then I made the flower picture to give it a special mark from me too :)

Yarn and a hat

2011-12-31T16:07:00.001+01:00

I spun some yarn the other day on my little hitchiker spinning wheel and well one has to do something with said yarn of course. The amount is not much but precisely enough for a pointy hat. So that is what it became ,with the aid of my ever patient brother knitting machine.

Oliebollen

2011-12-30T15:11:00.002+01:00

Though our sacred new years eve is just an arbitrary number that is no reason not to make 'oliebollen' to celebrate it :D

Nearly there

2011-12-29T17:30:00.001+01:00

The wall is in, the little top cubby hole is closed and ready for storage use amd the first layer of paint is on..

The last room

2011-12-28T17:21:00.000+01:00

One final bit of real construction was left to do on the barn, the guest room. Well now it is nearly done, just some finishing touches and it is ready for the first guest.

And while Martien was busy building I kept him company while spinning a yarn :)

A dress and bolero

2011-12-26T16:45:00.000+01:00

I was asked by a friend to transform her fabric into a dress and bolero set. She had bought the fabric many long years ago in the hopes of one day sewing something. After discovering that sewing was not her talent she placed the fabric away deep into a chest which this summer got cleared out. When she rediscovered it she at once thought of me, her new friend who can sew. She handed me the fabric and a bolero and dress she had loved wearing many years and asked if I would like to make an updated version of her fabric. Of course said the fool...and hence I proceeded to push the project ahead of me...procrastinating and hedging..like I do so well :D

Well no more! It is getting near completion, made as I usually do without a pattern...oh wooo me...but I think it is becoming quite fetching actually.

Icebows

2011-12-23T10:13:00.002+01:00

Yesterday we were driving our boys to the airport and on the way there we saw the most wonderful icebows. On the picture you do not see all the colours but still it looks pretty impressive. The sun hangs low here in this time of year and it snowed a kind of superfune snowdust. The sun was reflected on the ice crystals forming beautiful light effects.

Flying slippers

2011-12-20T13:36:00.000+01:00

My children will be flying to Holland to visit family and friends. Their suitcase will be filled with chocolate, jam and these will travel along too.
My mother in law has the little brother dog of our Puck and he adores her so much that he always steals her slippers when she leaves the house....now and again nibbling them as well. So time for a new pair again :D
I have given this pair a big rubber coating to make them less appetizing, let's see how long they last this time.

Green wool dress

2011-12-18T13:21:00.000+01:00

I ordered a most wonderful fabric off eBay and when it came in it surpassed my expectations by far!
It is a dual layer fabric, the outer layer is wool like you find on lambswool jumpers and inside is soft cotton jersey. The most perfect fabric for use here in cold Norway.

I of course made a dress of it right away and it is my firm new favorite . I am still considering dyeing it a darker green but must say I am liking this lichen green very much too.

Luscious green leather

2011-12-12T12:13:00.001+01:00

I ordered some leather on ebay the other day and it arrived, right away I ordered the second skin which was fortunately still left in the shop. Together they will be enough for a jacket in the most perfect green..
I know precisely what kind of jacket it will be but my pattern drawing skills for jackets is very minimal. With fabric you can fiddle about but when you sew leather there is no undo...so it must be just right right away.

I made a collage of the precisely right jackets, the pockets of one the sleeves of the other the collar and the asymmetrical zipper..now just wait for my money to be released so I can buy my sewing machine then I can set to work :) Oh and of course find a way of making these three jackets into a pattern..

New blog experiments

2011-12-11T15:15:00.001+01:00

My current blog is one that my hubby custom built for me, very nice but I can not change anything on it as I am not adept at programming at all..So as of today we have registred my company officially here in Norway and we will redo my blog so it can be integrated into a single site which will also have a shop and all my links nicely collected in one place.

Today is the first day of...well...the rest of my life so to say :D