One World One Heart 2011

Dear visitor welcome to my blog!

So glad that you came by. Busy day? Why don’t you take a seat and rest for a while. OWOH can really keep you busy don’t you think?

Oh I haven’t introduced myself. How very impolite of me.

My name is Jeanette and I live in the south of Sweden. I share my life with my husband, two teenage daughters, two cats and many, many friends. I am a creative person and a manic collector of creative stuff. My work room is filled with wool, fabric, buttons, vintage lace, yarn, embroidery yarn, paper, old books….you get the picture right? I also collect things that many people would call “trash can stuff” like bottle caps, plastic bottles, tin cans, metal scrap and soda cans. I am very much into recycling and I have the most fun when I bring something very usual and ordinary into something unordinary. I know that it might sound like I am a full member of the knit your own sandals brigade but on the other hand what’s so wrong about that?

I love DIY and bloggers all over the world are my constant source of inspiration. My head is constantly spinning with ideas and I want them to come alive fast (my husband says at once…) so I am more of a fast & failure kind of girl than one with a neat plan. For me creativity is more fun that way.

I am also a keen amateur photographer and that’s why I started my first blog in 2007 - as a way to share my photos. Now I am on Blog number 3 and share my creative everyday life instead. Through my blogs I have met so many fantastic and talented people and made many friends all over the world. That’s why I couldn’t resist to participate in OWOH and have the opportunity to meet new and creative bloggers.

Dear visitor, I know you have to run along to the next Blog but how about a sneak peak at the door prize before you go?


I wanted to have a heart theme so I made a white linen heart with silk embroidery. It is 12 cm tall and fit perfectly in your hand. Can be used as a creative muse perhaps? I call it Sleeping Beauty. The name inspired by the fact that I think that all people are creative and have a talent but for some this is still sleeping within and yet to explore.

OWOH is open to all active bloggers worldwide.

If you like to win the heart, please leave a comment. Make sure that there is a way for me to contact you if you have won but also because I would really love to visit your blog.

The winner will be announced Feb 17th and I will email the winner as well as post it.

Take care
Jeanette

Snow gardening

Today my husband and I drove down to the country house. I haven’t been there since before Christmas, the snow making it impossible to drive down. I went round the garden dreaming of this….



….but this is what I got.



1,5 meter of hard packed snow almost covering my poor apple tree. Spring seemed very far off.

The garden is surrounded by a hedge of Sleeping Beauty proportions. We never got round to cutting it this summer so my husband decided that we might as well do it today. It felt strange raking on snow….



When I got home I finished the knitted shawl that I started on last week. I did some embroidery on the wet felted flowers and crocheted a border in red. It is going to be a gift for a friend.



Now I have to start on the door prize for this year OWOH that starts on Sunday night. Not much time left but as many of you know – I work best under pressure.

Have a great weekend

Jeanette

Fear

I have a security alarm on my house and as I was getting out of my car today I heard the alarm ringing. So I went up to the house, unlocked the door, punched the code and silencing the alarm, took a quick survey of the premises and then phoned the alarm company asking them to call back the security guard. Then I sort of freaked out. I still had to check the garage and the attic and no way was I going to do that on my own. So I sat at my kitchen table with a beating heart listening after strange sounds and waiting for my daughter to get home.

Gotten this far in my story I know that a lot of you are asking yourself why on earth I made them call back the guard. Well, this has happened before you see. A few weeks ago the alarm went off without any reason and they sent out a guard who discovered that it was because a spider had swung in front of the alarm detector. I had meant to check the other detectors for spiders and spider web but never gotten round to it….. Still, there I was sitting at my kitchen table thinking that maybe it wasn’t a spider this time. Maybe it was a giant size lunatic just waiting for me to come looking for him.

Half an hour later my daughter got home and armed with a knife and a baseball bat we went round checking the house. Opening cupboard doors, checking under beds, behind the shower curtain (eeeeeek - Hitchcock warning) the garage and up on the attic. We looked everywhere including silly places where absolutely no one could manage to slide under and hide if not being 15 cm tall and covered in olive oil. But fear isn’t rational right? Needless to say everything checked out fine except for some spider web in front of one of the detectors…..Sigh!

Guess who is bringing out the dust rag?

Take care
Jeanette

At the speed of light

As I was waiting for the shawl to dry I thought that I might as well finish the pillow cover I was working on. You know, the one I was making from my husbands shirts? If there is any new readers - please don’t worry, he meant to throw them away. No act of revenge on my side I assure you.

As I have written many times before – I am not a woman in possession of great patience. I am more a fast & failure type of lady. As you can see this also goes for sewing pillow covers. I swear that the squares had the same size to start out with but somehow they still ended up varying in size when they were sewn together. I also swear that I had organized the colors very methodical but still the same colors mysteriously turned up side by side.

On the plus side however – I sewed it together at the speed of light! And there is nothing a little embroidery won`t fix right?


Take care
Jeanette

PS I went for the love theme it being my husband’s old shirts ;-)

Knit & felt

Do you remember this? The beautiful vegetable yarn I got as a gift from a friend? Well today I finally got started on a project using it. Well saying today is a bit of a fib because I knitted the shawl last week but I started on the creative process today. I placed wool roving on the knitted shawl in a flower pattern, added hot soap water and gently tapped the wool in place.



Rolled it into a roll and then it went for a spin in the spin drier. This is what it looked like when it got out….it is still wet.



Now I plan to add some embroidery and maybe a crocheted lace in a different color as a border. Have to wait until it’s dry though which is a trying experience for me. I want to get on with it at once. Sigh!

Take care
Jeanette

Four brothers singing Barbershop

Inspired by Lili`s comment on the sisters I made another choir – male this time. I enjoy making these little clay heads. I sort of make them without thinking. They just happen. These for instance suddenly all had a receding hairline and some serious looking sideburns….scary.

Anyway, it’s all very relaxing.

Hope you have a great weekend
Jeanette

Three sisters singing a sonata

New little clay heads for my collection.

Jeanette

A shirt is a shirt is a pillow

When I was away on my business trip my husband had a wardrobe makeover and cleaned out his closet. No, no he wasn’t planning to leave me and standing with his bags packed in the hallway when I got home.....he just felt like some spring cleaning. Amazing isn’t it? I would have been a lot happier had the spring cleaning included the garage too but I guess you can’t have it all… Anyway, he had left most of his clothes to charity but some were a bit too worn and those he planned to throw away. These where high quality cotton business shirts, a bit shabby on collar and sleeves but OK otherwise. Guess who saved them? Yep, yours truly. I am going to make pillows for the country house. They will match my bedspread perfectly.


I used three of the shirts and an old linen bag. I just might add some embroidery and maybe I will use the tiny washing instructions for embellishment. We’ll see.



Still a lot of material left!



Take care
Jeanette

Necessities

I am packing my bags to go away on a two day business trip. I am always very indecisive when it comes to what to pack and always leave it until the last minute. I lay all kind of stuff out on a table trying to decide but always end up with throwing all of it in the bag getting way too much clothes and still nothing to wear. I may have had problems with what clothes to bring but one thing went down the bag without a second thought – my embroidery kit. Nice to know I have it with me to help me relax. There is nothing like a few stitches on a linen fabric to help you wind down after a long and intense day.

Now am I addicted or what?

See you in a couple of days
Jeanette

Paint & portrait

Today I painted the clay heads. Quite a gruesome trio don’t you think? They where four you say? You are so right. But I dropped one of them on the floor so now I know that they are easily broken too. First I had planned to use vintage photos and decoupage to make their faces but I decided against it. I quite like the simplicity of a hand drawn face. I was inspired by the clay heads to do an embroidery too. Sort of a tiny portrait. It measures only 4x5 centimeters. This time I filled the entire “picture” with stitches. Thinking of doing a series maybe…. Or turn it into a brooch.



Take care
Jeanette

Paper clay

Today I started to work on some heads in paper clay. I haven’t worked with that type of clay before so I wasn’t prepared for how fast it dried. I had to sculpt them really fast because the surface was dry in just a few minutes. They are really tiny, only 5 centimeters and featureless. I plan to paint them and use vintage photos for their faces. Have to wait until they are entirely dry though. I am not sure whether or not I will make fabric bodies and turn them into dolls. I’ll take a step at the time and see how they turn out.

Take care
Jeanette

Sketch no 5

Yesterdays sketch and today’s embroidery – alone.

I was inspired by a tattoo that I saw on a website and it matched my mood perfectly. It’s strange isn’t it how you can stand in a crowd or a room full of people and feel totally alone. Yesterday was such a day when I went round feeling vulnerable, sad and all alone a bit like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh with a cloud of rain hanging over him.

Yes, an Eeyore day, that’s what it was.

Take care
Jeanette

Sketch no 4

Last nights sketch and today’s embroidery – safe.

Over the past days I have come to the conclusion that embroidery is addictive. Especially these tiny ones that I am making since they don’t take more than one hour from start to finish. First I was tempted to go on and on and fill the entire silhouette with stitches but I am glad that I decided against it. I like the way the embroidery stays a sketch but on fabric instead of paper.

To do something creative everyday is as important as eating and breathing for me. When I don’t find the time I get this hollow feeling inside. I like to do something creative everyday and this year I will try to stick to “tiny” projects during the week and then I can get down to some serious creative stuff on the weekends.

Today I bought some paper clay and I am planning to use it for tiny daily projects. I am thinking about dolls….maybe mixed media with a vintage twist…. The good thing about paper clay is that it dries in no time so you can actually both do the clay object and paint it on the same evening. Suits me perfectly!

Take care
Jeanette

Don`t do this at home

Sometimes I think I ought to get my head examined. I don’t know where I get all my silly, strange or insane ideas from. Today as I was cleaning the tumble-drier from "fluff" I suddenly got this brilliant idea – what if you could use it for felting? I say brilliant because I really thought so at the time. ….I stood there in front of the tumble- drier having a Heureka moment and just knowing that in a matter of minutes I would be self providing with felting material and kissing expensive wool bills goodbye. Most people would have stopped at the thought but oh no not me. You have to try if it works right? Wrong! Well it didn’t - work I mean.



I went about the felting like had it been wool but the only thing I got out of it was a grey lump looking disgustingly close to a cat produced hairball.


Yuck!

So don’t try this at home folks – it’s no damn use!

Take care
Jeanette

PS I think I could use it for making paper clay though…..expensive bills for that too….

Clay

Today it was back to work for me after the Christmas holidays so not much time for embroidery. Played around a bit with clay when I got home instead. Thought that you just might have had enough of the angel stuff…..


Take care
Jeanette

Sketch no 3

Last nights sketch and todays embroidery - joy.

What’s with all these angels you might wonder? Well I am not entirely sure myself. I am not a religious person, I don’t believe in god, so angels have no religious meaning for me. I like them that is all. And I am fascinated by all the different kind images of angels that you find in literature, photos, art and magazines. I am mostly fond of the not so angel looking ones -the ones with smudges on their wings from playing in the rain or with their cloaks slightly askew from a flying competition…..One of my favorite books is by the Finnish author Arto Paasilinna who writes about a guardian angel who messes up every mission he is sent on. This guardian angel even gets his wings caught in the swinging doors at IKEA. Now that’s an angel of my taste!

Take care
Jeanette

Sketch no 2

Last nights sketch and todays embroidery – thoughts.

I am deep in thoughts at the moment. Have been for a couple of days actually. I am not desperately seeking answers or anything like that just a bit more thoughtful than usual. It probably has something to do with the fact that I have a whole new year ahead of me – all fresh and new, a clean slate. What will life be I wonder? So I sit here with my embroidery and my tea and let my thoughts wander. It is peaceful and nice. I will cherish this moment.

Take care
Jeanette

Sketching

I keep a sketch book on my bedside table and I have decided to try and sketch something every night before I go to bed. I’ll like to try and capture the day in a sketch and a single word. I am no good at sketching so it’s sort of a challenge to me. Yesterday the word that came to my mind was – free and the sketch became a silhouette angel. Today I started on an embroidery inspired by the sketch. White linen and a soft silk yarn thin as a sewing thread. I found the yarn and the linen in my mother in laws work box. It was left to me when she died ten years ago. She was a very talented woman and made the most beautiful lace. I miss her.

Take care
Jeanette

One World One Heart 2011

Today as I was surfing around in Blogland I came across the Whimsical Bohemian blogg and Lisa Swifka. There I read about the worldwide event for bloggers that Lisa is hosting called One World One Heart. The event runs between January 30th with the final day being February the 17th. 2011 is the fifth and last year that Lisa will be hosting it so I am so glad that I found it in time.

This is Lisa`s description of the event:

"One World One Heart is a worldwide event for bloggers only. It gives all those who blog a chance to meet and mingle and form connections with those they may not have otherwise met from all over the world. In the past 4 years this event has grown to over 1,000 participants with lasting friendships (and even one love connection) formed along the way. Think of it as a GIGANTIC open house allowing you to travel without ever leaving your home........going from blog to blog(in various countries) seeing the wonder each one has created and meeting all the fabulous people behind those blogs. As a bonus each blogger participant will offer up a "door prize or prizes"....just for dropping by, saying hello and seeing their world. It's really that easy. "

I think it`s a great idea and I am very impressed by all the work that Lisa is putting in to this and making it all happen. I have made so many friends throughout the world since I started blogging and it is always fun to get to know new bloggers. So I will most definitely try and participate.

On January the 30th I will post my OWOH post with a presentation of myself and say a warm welcome to visitors new and old. I will of course also show a picture of my "door prize".

Why don`t you too hurry over to Lisa`s blog and check out how to participate.

Take care

Jeanette

My stash

The thinnest and loveliest of alpacka wool

More wool but thicker this time good for felted mittens and slippers

Wool , and cotton yarn in all kind of colors

Linen yarn that I bought last autumn meant to be a sweater and a tunic – still left in the bag from the shop…..

Wonderful vegetable colored wool yarn – a gift from a friend

These pictures might give you a hint on why I don’t need to visit a yarn shop until 2030 – at the very earliest. I am ashamed to tell you that I wasn’t even aware I had half of it until I cleared out my work room and my gigantic America trunk with hidden treasures that I keep in my closet. In it also found the equal amount of fabric……

Well some people collect stamps – I collect fabric and yarn. So sue me!

Take care
Jeanette

Kimono shawl

I very seldom finish something that I knit. It is much more fun to start on new projects. The ones that I actually do finish I very seldom wear. This year one of my New Year resolutions is to not buy any more yarn until I finish the yarn that I have already got. This will probably keep me from the yarn shops until 2030.

Today I had a knitting urge....but I didn’t want to break my resolution already on day 3 ( diet resolutions I usually break on day 1…..) so instead of running off to the yarn shop I finished a piece I started on a “while” ago – my Kimono shawl.

Bibidi



Bobidi


Boo




I needed something to keep the collar in place so I knitted a little flower to use as a brooch.



I quite like how it turned out.




Well it’s one down and a heck of a lot more to go!

Take care
Jeanette

Getting rid of X-MAS

Today I got rid of Christmas.

What, already you may wonder? Well, yeah I know I said that I am a total Christmas freak but it’s the planning, the decorating and the “making” of Christmas that I like more that the actual Christmas so come Boxing Day I am ready to throw out the tree and get the decorations back up on the attic. I usually try to hang on to the Christmas spirit until New Years Eve though but then it is definitely over.

So today when the sun was shining and the snow was slowly melting from the roof I cleared away every trace of Christmas down to the last needle. Then I celebrated with a cup of tea and the tiniest of peaks in a flower & vegetable seed catalogue. Now spring can come….

Take care
Jeanette

Endings and beginnings

Maybe 2010 was a fabulous year for you, a once in a lifetime year, filled with adventure, joy and love. Maybe it was a terrible year, a sad year that you just wanted to get rid of as fast as possible. Or maybe 2010 was just one of those years that seemed to pass without anything special happening. A year with no rollercoaster rides.



For all of you out there I wish that 2011 will be your best year so far! Not your best year ever though for what will you do 2012 then?

May 2011 be a year filled with happiness, laughter, sadness, contentment, anger, joy, brilliant colors, rainy days and true beauty – all those things that life is about!

And may it be the year that you realize that every day is a first day!


Lots of love to you all!
Jeanette