syko

Patchwork!

We have been working a lot with patches lately! Well, you know I always do, but together with my trainee Nadja we have made a bunch of peek a boo baby quilts during the last month. We only used what I had on my shelves, a mix of new and fleamarket fabrics. It was a creative challenge to find the right fabrics for each quilt, when I had decided not to order any new fabrics for the quilts, but a very fun challenge it was, and I did have enough to choose from and my shelves are not empty yet... Here is one of our favourite quilts, a very springy one that is now available in my shop!

Under the flaps you will find some appliqued pictures to peek at together with the baby. A kitty...
A piggy...
And a doggy dog!
For the backing I found a really nice baby blue gingham sheet.
One more patchy thing before I wish you all a happy weekend! A brand new print of a little elephant going off on an adventure in her home made hot air balloon! It's available in the shop.
Happy weekend everyone! I am enjoying the silent early hours myself, when the rest of the house is still sleeping!

 

Fish quilt

Det är bara januari och jag har redan lyckats få två lapptäcken quiltade. Tror att lapptäcken ska vara lite av ett tema i år. Drömmer alltid om att få sy större arbeten, tröttnar aldrig på att kombinera tyger i olika färger och mönster och nu ska jag göra slag i saken! Allra bäst tycker jag om enkla mönster som i det här fisktäcket. Här har jag utgått från tyget med fiskarna i mitten, som är min egen design. Det går att köpa via Spooonflower.

Jag har blandat friskt med nya och återanvända tyger. Gillar skarpt att lyfta fram loppistyger i ett nytt fräscht babytäcke. 

It's only January and I've already finished two quilts! Very proud of myself :) This means I must be allowed to start cutting patches for some new ones, right? The fishy center piece in this quilt is my own print, that is available at Spoonflower. I used both new and fleamarket fabrics for the quilt and I must say I love giving old fabrics a new fresh start in a baby quilt!

Mysfilt - Linen lap quilt

På jullovet sprang jag en del på loppis och blev så glad när jag fick syn på en soffa som, trots att den var något solblekt hade "det". Den är mysig och inbjudande och när jag upptäckte att den dessutom är utrustad med bäddmekanism (sängdelen ser helt oanvänd ut) slog vi till!

*Scroll down for English summary!

Nästan alla våra möbler är från loppis. Lampskärmen, som jag tror är finsk design (Printex?) är köpt i en lokal Köp- och säljaffär. Soffbordet, som vi fixat upp och målat är från ett nedlagt sjukhus. Tavlan med rosenskärorna har min mamma målat! Hon har också stickat de randiga sockorna på nästa bild!

Unnade mej en bukett tulpaner till helgen. De står på bordet och inger hopp om att våren kommer i år också!

Quilten är sydd av linnetyger. Egentligen hade jag tänkt sy ett överkast till sovrummet, men när den nya soffan flyttade in insåg jag att det blir en perfekt mysfilt! Jag har ett lager polyestervadd emellan och blev överraskad över hur lätt det gick att quilta trots att linne brukar vara knepigt att använda då man syr i lappteknik. Allt går att kvilta bara man nålar ordentligt!

We found a really nice sofa at the thriftstore a few weeks ago and I relised that I had the perfet lap quilt on the go for it! I stitched the quilt top together last Summer, but was a bit scared of doing the quilting, because linen can be quite tricky to use for patchwork, but it was a success!  So this is my favoruite spot at home right now. In the sofa with a good book, under my new blanket with tulips on the table reminding me of the fact that Spring will come this year too!

 

 

 

 

Take me to the sea!

Imagine the relief when I sent off my part of the Christmas book to the publishers and could move on to Summer projects! The weather is on my side, it is warm and everything is turning green, finally!

We had a picnicin the forest yesterday among all the wood anemones, the best of ways to spend Mother's Day!

I got these slightly dated and stained 1980's marimekko fabrics from a friend, the quality of the cotton is great and the blue painted canvas-like surface inspired me to make a small collection inspired by the sea. The sailing boat above is going to be a cushion.

Ta mej till havet (Take me to the sea) is a traditional Swedish song that seems to reflect my current light-hearted state of mind...

I really like the bright pink letters against the dreamy blue...

I quilted some free motion wave shapes with teal thread (Sulky from gütermann, the thicker quality, I love that thread!).

The letters are appliquéd with vibrant neon thread, hard to catch with the camera!

And there it is on the wall in our studio shop! Welcome! My messy studio is hidden behind that white door...

 

Fish baby quilt top

Yesterday I got inspired and stitched together a quilt top for a baby quilt. My inspiration was a 8''x8'' (20x20cm) test swatch of my fish fabric from Spoonflower. I tried some different displays.

And decided to go with a frame around the fish, because I really wanted them to "pop".

I used a mix of new and recycled fabrics. And the finished quit top! I am planning some black quilting for the white frame.

Happy weekend!

 

The Close your eyes quilt -- part 2

I have retired to the sofa with aching limbs today and my daughter is down with fever, luckily it's Saturday and we have the time to take it easy. It's freezing outside too so we are happy to stay inside.

I finished all the blocks for the Close your eyes-quilt, yesterday. After sewing for awhile I stopped to do some measuring and counting and came to the conclusion that I needed 8 large blocks sized 24''x24'' (about 60x60cm), that's as big as my longest ruler, so I joined a couple of the smallest bocks. This is how they turned out!

I hope you are all having a relaxing weekend!

 

The Close your eyes quilt -- part 1

In a few weeks I will be teaching a quilt workshop, the theme is to (a) use up some of that stash and (b) go wild and creative and (c) not to think too much. So I decided I'd better make another quilt to show the participants what I have in mind! The idea is the same as in the Improv quilt top I made a few years ago, a free take on the traditional log cabin pattern. The colour inspiration is my daughter's new room that goes in grey, turquoise, pink, black&white and a hint of yellow. This is where she likes to sit and read (she is 10 years old and is reading the 5th Harry Potter in English, we speak Swedish at home, that child is a genius)!The other night we watched a documentary about the composer John Cage, which inspired me to make a quilt where I pick the fabrics "by chance". What I did was to fill this bag with fabrics in the theme colours from my stash and placed it by my sewing machine. 

I found 12 smaller pieces in different sizes in my scrap basket that became center pieces for the blocks and then I started sewing. I closed my eyes and randomly picked a fabric from the bag. When possible I chose the size of the strips "by accident" too. Like here on this black fabric that was already cut into, the strip naturally became 4 inch wide.

 This is so fun! I just hope it won't end up looking like a catastrophe, I promise to show you the result anyway :)

  It's too early to say, this is what I left by my sewing machine earlier today, can't wait to get back to work tomorrow!

It would be great fun if you would like to join me on this! If you do, feel free to post your links here! 

Bad flu go away!

There was so much I was going to do this weekend! And here I am coughing and sneezing on the couch. *sigh* I really hope I feel better tomorrow, I want to go to work and SEW! 

I am liking this little corner of mine, but it still needs a lamp on the wall. And another quilt! The light grey quilt I covered the sofa with is actually this christmas quilt I made for an exhibit last year (click here if you want to see me looking silly in the paper...). I was very clever to make the backing this neutral (it is ash/kona/Robert Kaufman), I think, it is sad to hide quilts away in the closet, isn't it?I made the quilt on the wall behind me for the book We love color (Stashbooks). If you would like a signed copy of the book I have few copies for 19€ including shipping whitin Europe. Just leave a comment on this post and include your e-mail if you're interested!

 

I hope you are all well!

We love color

I just got an e-mail that I have been waiting for! The collaborative quilt book We love color (Stashbooks) will be released in May! It is over a year ago since I was asked to contribute to this book project, the assignment was to create a quilt using solely Kona cotton solids from Robert Kaufman. It was very inspiring and I have been so curious to see what the other peeps came up with, you can see a few previews on flickr. The contributing designers are: Lisa Call, Alissa Haight Carlton, Emily Cier, Malka Dubrawsky, Amy Ellis, FunQuilts (Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr), Jacquie Gering, Elizabeth Hartman, Rita Hodge, Cherri House, Kathy Mack, Jennifer Sampou, Valori Wells, Jean Wells, Betz White and me!

 

 

And since I am me, I picked up the brightest colours I could find and combined them with white and started playing around. And then spent a couple of very intense days putting my quilt together. Here are some sneak-peeks. I'll show off the whole thing when I have the book in my hands!

 

 

 

 

 

It looks quite cosy there on the sofa, I look forward to having it sent back home, but first I think she will take a tour to Spring Quilt Market in Kansas City, I wish I could go to!

 

 

 

 

Phew!

 

 

The feeling of relief when you are featured in a magazine and you look great! I love to make beautiful stuff, but I have never been that concerned about fashion or how I look. I wouldn't mind to look stunning everyday (who wouldn't?!), but I never seem to have enough time for all that make-up and dress-up. So it has been a bit scary for me after my book was released and people/media started to get interested in the face behind it all. So thank you Kaisu Jouppi for taking this beautiful and natural shot of me! This article about me was released in the 01/12 issue of 101 ideaa. It is a beautiful DIY magazine that is released a few times a year. It has a fresh, trendy and creative look and I think it will have a great future!

As you can see I actually started on the quilt I talked about earlier. It looks very much like...pastel. Who would've thought! I had my fare share in my childhood in the 1980's, but maybe it is time again... How do you feel about pastels?