Srappy mug rug swap.

Look what I got in my mail today!

I signed up for the "Scrappy Mug Rug Swap" on Flickr earlier this summer.

I have been following the group for a long time, but this was the first time I signed up for the swap.

I'm so happy I did!

 

 Ruth made me this amazing mug rug in my favorite colors. She used fabrics I love (look at that text fabric for the background) and added so many sweet details (embroidery, rick rack etc). I can't imagine placing a mug on this, I will have it on my wall for everyone to see instead.

The label is so cute and the backing fabric is lovely.

Ruth also made this tiny, cute pincushion. I can't belive how small the pieces are in this paper pieced block. It is so lovely.

Here it is! My whole package. Ruth sent me some color catchers (not sold in Norway - too bad) and cute green rick rack. I am so lucky to have this!

Thank you to my sweet swap partner Ruth:-)

sometimes it's just about pretty fabrics!

I fixed the photo uploading problem! It turned out I had to change my browser. I don't know why I didn't think of that, but I'm not exactly a computer expert... Thank you Timi, for your suggestion!

 

I had to make a quilt for my SIL's 60 year birthday, and she loves romantic stuff...

I have had all these floral fabrics for a long time, but I never use them. So this was the perfect opportunity to use some stash fabrics!

 

 

I made it very simple, with 16-patches in floral fabrics and Moda Bella Snow.

I love these romantic flowers, but I kind of forget to sew with them. Because I also love the modern fabrics, I usually end up sewing with those.

This was a lot of fun to sew, and it went incredibly fast.

I know that it's a no-no in the quilting world, but I backed this in fleece. It saves me some work, as I don't have to put a layer of batting between the top and the back. I love the softness of the fleece as well, and it's easy to sew with.

The quilting is just a simple grid through all the Bella Snow squares.

No borders on this one, and a pretty, pink reproduction floral fabric for the binding.

Rolled up!

I am leaving for a few days in Denmark tomorrow, visiting relatives together with my mom and brother. I'm coming back Sunday, and I start working Monday. My vacation went too fast! Four weeks just flew by like a hurricane. I didn't sew as much as I had in mind, but I can sew whenever I have some spare minutes:-)

Thank you for reading!

Sighhhhhh...

Blogger will not let me upload photos... 

Random photos of things I made and swaps received:-)

I think I'll just show and tell:

I swapped fabric with Melanie, and boy, did she spoil me!

All of these fabrics was in a big package for me the other day.

I don't know how I can ever thank you for all these lovely fabrics:-)

This bag was made by me, and designed by me:-) I made it up as I was sewing, and it was so much fun! I might even try to write a pattern for something like this, allthough I have no idea how to do that. Do you think anyone would be interested in that?

My Modern Quilted Pillow Swap came, all the way from Australia.

This is so lovely, and it goes really well with my sofa.

Thank you so much, Kirsten.

I also got a gorgeous needlebook for the RATZ swap, from Aletta in The Netherlands.

The swap mamas had a little fun with us this round, because Aletta was also the one I sent my needlebook for. Look at the gorgeous needlebook, the buttons and the color catchers! Thank you so much!

I joined the Scrappy Mug Rug swap on Flickr, and this is my Mug Rug for my secret partner. I have never made hexies before, and it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be! I embroidered a little detail and made a crochet edging. I hope my partner will like it!

I'm also in another swap at the moment, the Modern Scrappy Bits swap, where we are swapping a small handmade item and fabric scraps. I hope this will be something my partner likes, but I still have plenty of time to make something else.

I love flex frames, they are so much fun to sew.

So, at last there is this baby quilt that I made for a little relative we are visiting in Sweden soon. I had a blast sewing this, and I was able to use a lot of scrappy pieces I got from Melanie. I love fabric scraps, they add so much life to any project.

I hope our new little relative and her mom and dad will like the quilt:-)

Phfeeew that was a lot of photos!

I am now ut to date with my blogging, not bad, huh?

I hope all of you get to have a great week!















Envelope clutch.

Amy from the blog "During Quiet Time" is a very talented lady, who makes a lot of gorgeous things. She also shares tutorials for free sometimes, and this clutch is one of them.

Here is my version:

I loved sewing this, it was easy to follow the tutorial.

I gave the clutch my own twist with adding the crochet edge and the flower.

The fabrics are linen and cotton.

Vintage buttons for the crochet flower.

Paper pieced flap.

I had a lot of fun making this! I love it when I can mix in my own style in patterns and/or tutorials.

You can find the PDF file with the tutorial here.







RATZ swap for July -Needlebook.

This was so much fun to make!

I enjoy the process of creating something from scratch so much, and this was no ecception.

For July we were going to make a needlebook for our swap partner. I always wanted to make one, so I started at the moment we got the mail about who our partner was.

I had mostly free hands on this one, because my swap partner was very open about her likings.

So, here are the needlebook:

I'm really enjoying making crochet edges, so you will probably see a lot of that from me in the future.

Details about this needlebook:

-Made by me, no particular pattern, but with lots of inspiration from other bloggers and Flickr users.

-Appliqued leaves, ticker tape style.

-Linen and cotton fabrics, with felt for the "pages".

-Crochet edging in teal cotton yarn.

-Closure with wooden beads in the ends.

My swap partner in The Netherlands got her needlebook, and I'm so happy she liked it!

Now I'm stalking the postman to see if my needlebook will be arriving soon:-)

There are so many great entries in the ratz swap group, so I can hardly wait to see which one is mine.







New York Beauty and other beauties:-)

I am a swap maniac, and when I got invited to join a pillow swap on Flickr, I said yes at once.

This swap is a little different, because you make a pillow with no particular person in mind, take a photo of it and send it to the swap administrator.

She will then post the photo of the pillow in the Flickr group, and when the swap deadline has passed, everyone who sent in a photo will vote for the pillows.

That was sooo much fun!

I have not yet received my pillow, but I know it will be great, because I had a hard time voting. All the entries to the swap was gorgeous!

I made a New York Beauty block, and it turned out pretty well as a pillow.

It has envelope closure at the back.

Here it is!

My swap partner did not get it yet, so I can't tell you where I sent it;-)

Now for the other beauty...

I love roses!

The real roses are the most pretty ones, but I like roses in all forms.

When I found a free paper piecing pattern for one on the internet, I just had to give it a try.

It was a lot of fun to sew this, many itty bitty pieces, but thats the beauty about paper piecing, it gets accurate no matter how small the pieces are.

I embroidered some details around the stem of the rose, and finished it with some simple quilting and a crochet border.

I'm having a blast at my sewing room these days, I'm feeling so creative! New ideas for things to make pop up in my head all the time.

I started my summer vacation today, so I have four weeks to do what I wish, and that would be sewing:-)

We are going on a couple of trips as well, but I think my sewing machine will come with me on at least one of them.

To my readers, have a nice week!









RATZ and Table Top Swap.

Wow, another blog post from me already!?!

I have to show you some of the things that came in my mail for the last month or so...

I'm swapping a lot, so it's very exciting to wait for the mail every day:-)

The RATZ swap is going on once a month, and I have been lucky to have great swap partners.

The june swap was for magnets, and when I got mine, I was so excited! They are very pretty, and so "me". Take a look!

I love the felted hearts and the rick rack roses. They are now placed on my fridge!

Thank you so much, Nan (Crazy Knitter)!

I also recieved my wonderful table runner from the Table Top Swap 2.

It is gorgeous! Lovely, bright colors and text fabric, and I love the shape!

My swap partner also sent some lovely extras, two place mats, a spool of thread and measuring tape ribbon. I love it all.

Thank you so much, Dusty911!

Now I'm off for some quality time with my sewing machine, I started my summer vacation this weekend, so I have lots of time to sew:-)

Have a nice Saturday!







Some more show and tell...

I'm really sorry it's taking me so long to write these blogposts, it seems blogging is just not prioritized when it's summer. Not that this summer has been the greatest, it's just rain, rain, rain... But it gives me a lot of time to sew!

Soooo.... Let's see if I can pick up the thread where I left you.

My birthday is in june, and I usually have a little party with my closest family and friends.

I made a cake for my birthday this year, and a couple of people have been asking me on Flickr for the recipe.

That's a little hard to give you, since there is no specific recipe for the cake, but I'll try!

But first, a photo of it:

I make a regular sponge cake:

(I write it down in metric measurements, and try to convert it to US measurements)
You will need a round pan that is about 26 centimeteres (10-11 inches) in diameter.

6 eggs

2 desiliter white sugar

2 desiliter all purpose flour

1 desiliter potato flour

2 teaspoons baking powder.

US:

6 eggs

0.85 cup white sugar

0.85 cup all purpose flour

0.42 cup potato flour
2 teaspoons baking powder.

Whip the sugar and eggs until it's stiff and forms peaks in the bowl.
Sift flour, potato flour and baking powder, and carefully mix it with the eggs/sugar until it's blended.
Grease and flour your pan and pour in the batter.
bake at 160 degrees celcius (320 fahrenheit) for about 40 minutes (you will have to check the cake with a toothpick to see if its done).
Cool completely.

Decorating:

You will need marzipan for this! I buy mine and roll it out myself.
So...
First you split the cake in half and moisten it with milk or juice. Then fill it with what you like, I usually go with razberry jam and vanilla cream. This one however, I filled with chocolate mousse and sliced banana!
Cover the cake with a thin layer of whipped cream.

Make 2 paper circles that are about 4 inches smaller in diameter than the cake. Center one of the circles on the cake.
put the mazipan on top of the cake and the paper circle
(  A little advice on rolling marzipan: Use flour and make sure the marzipan does not stick to the surface of your table. You can easily brush the flour off the marzipan when you are done).
Take the other piece of paper and center it on top of the marzipan. Mark around it with the dull end of a knife (dont cut through the marzipan!!!). Remove the paper, and cut like you do when you cut a pizza. Roll out the "slices" of marzipan to the edge of the circle.
Remove the paper circle that was underneath the marzipan.
Put on whatever berries you like. Strawberries, razberries, blueberries etc...
Just before serving, sift confectioners sugar on top of the berries.
This is very yummy, and for those of you that don't usually get marzipan cake, you should really try it! It tastes really good. But if you are allergic to almonds, please don't try this.

Enjoy!

I'll try to make another blogpost sooner this time:-)

Swap mania! ...And some other things:-)

Oh boy I have a lot to show you!

When I made the napkins for Table Top Swap 1, Nanette contacted me and asked if we could have a sideswap.

I said yes right away, because I have been following her photostream in Flickr for a long time, and I admire everything she makes.

I made her these napkins, kind of the same style as the other ones I made, but still very different.

She got them yesterday, so now I can show them to you:-)

Next up is the RATZ swap magnets I made!

I had so much fun with these, and I am happy to say that my swap partner loved them!

I think I might make some of these for my self as well...

I also made a mini quilt for a swap a while ago, and my partner got it, so here it is:

This was my first ever paper pieced project, and I am very happy with the end result, It was much easier to paper piece than I thought it would be.

This was an open swap, so the person i sent to, also sent to me.

I LOVE the quilt I got!

Look at this beauty:

If you read this Jen, thank you so so much.

She also sent along beautiful extras:

I think I have to make two blog posts about all the swapping and other stuff, so I'll see you tomorrow!

Have a nice weekend:-)