tiny happy

one, two, three

I made three of these tote bags this week, which was satisfying because making things in threes always is. But also, because we have been accumulating an awful lot of plastic shopping bags lately, and having some of these in the car and the parcel tray of the pram should help phase out the plastic bags from my life. I hope.

I did make three, but Arlo forgot to bring his home from school, so there are just two to show here. He takes his lunchbox and 'homework folder' in his. I used the design from Lotta's book (again) but changed around the sizes a bit so they'll carry more groceries/books, and some fabric I found here in Norway. The yellow cotton is from an opened sheet set I was given. I think it was originally purchased in the late 70's (it still had the price tag attached) and is mostly yellow and white floral, but with a dark green and brown pattern marching all around the edge. Oh, it's a beauty. And I still have lots of it left.

morning tea

Apricot jam and butter on wholemeal bread. Every morning at 11am.

fabric karma

Yesterday, just as I was packing up this dress to send to a friend who I think will do it more justice than I, an amazing package from Suzan in the US arrived on the doorstep. Inside were these pieces of vintage barkcloth- one curtain and some samples, presumably once used in an interiors shop. I think these fabrics must be from the 1950s or early 60's. The bigger piece has large crimson hibiscus blooms on a grey background, and the smaller squares also have a tropical theme. I adore this on the chocolate brown background:

Suzan also kindly sent these wonderful vintage buttons and a pants pattern. I was just thinking about making pajamas this week, so that was perfect timing.

I think I'll use the barkcloth to make some bags, but until then, I satisfied my craving to do something with it immediately by making a new pillow for our sofa.

some green things

Over the weekend, we spent some time working on the children's bedroom a little, to make it feel more like their own. The room itself is very small, separated from the living room by a curtain, with just enough room for bunk beds on one wall and a small set of drawers on the other. Arlo drew a green 'ladybug family' picture for the wall (pictured above).

We were very kindly given a set of wooden bunks that some older children had outgrown, and I had been saving up these vintage green sheets especially for them. (Ever since living in Germany for a while, I've had a thing for those stretch-towelling fitted sheets and A and K don't seem to mind them.)

At the end of the room is a door that doesn't open- I suppose it will be replaced sometime this year- but I made this wall-hanging to cover it until then. It's inspired by the 'curtain with pockets' from Lotta Jansdotter's book and I used fabric I had left over from making curtains last week (a type of linen/cotton from Ikea) and some small pieces of tree-print linen I brought from NZ.

(This photo was taken pre-bunks... the children were sleeping on the floor last week!)

It's such a simple idea, but a really effective way to turn a disused door into a useful place- A and K have been storing their small toys, some art supplies and books in the pockets.

 

And a small branch as well.

from the fifties

I thought my blog needed a bit of colour, after yesterday's post. So here are some clothes I was given over the weekend by the same lady that gifted me with her mother's craft stash last week.

This is a printed-satin dress that she remembers her mother making and wearing in the 1950's. It features a boned bodice, a side zip, and a big bow that makes up the neckline and then wraps around to the back of the dress. It was inside a bag with a matching bolero jacket, pattern notes and all the leftover fabric scraps.

In the bag, there was also this satin under-dress she'd made herself,

 

and this silk shawl/stole. I feel as though I should book some tickets to the opera, or something, so I have occasion to wear some of these things.

grey

It's a grey day here today all around- the sky is trying to hold back its snow, and I've just watched a funeral take place out of my kitchen window. Crows were watching from the trees, too.

I bought these pieces of pussy willow from a flower seller on the street. He said he was from a sunny part of Spain, but he came to Norway for love.

a new yellow house

On the weekend we moved into another yellow house. It's a lot smaller than our last one, but nice in different ways. It's within walking distance to everything, we have another family living upstairs and a big garden that backs onto a cemetery. And these crocuses just came up today under the kitchen window.

My craft project over the next few evenings will be making more curtains like these. I bought this linen/cotton fabric from Ikea. Yep, I had my first experience of that amazing place...

And today I stocked up my etsy shop for the first time since last year. I listed some of these new wool bags, which I've called 'Marikroken' bags because that is the name of the big yellow house in the woods we were first living in. This is a chocolate brown Marikroken bag, zip-purses, and some apricot appliqued baby shoes, just because.