Entries by Ingermaaike

Yesterday our dear helper dudes dropped by to ask if we needed some help. They had a few days spare for us as an other job did not go through

So today they were working hard all day and now the entire outside is finished structurally, a little paint still left to add but all is in place. Drainpipes for instance...no more dripping big drops off the edge of the  roof , now it all goes nicely down through the drain.

All the outer planks are in place and tomorrow they will put in the door and start on the final insulation here and there

Now if only the plumber would show up to get the water connected...

I received this overlocker for my birthday a few years back and then used it a lot! But failed to read the manual so after a while ceased to use it as I could not get the settings right....so I thought to myself...time to read this manual...which I did! And now it knows no secrets for me any longer! At once I ordered fabric and started making stuff, leggings and such. Today I made a dress from organic cotton bamboo jersey in the way I have been meaning to do for a while now but never got round to doing. I put the cotton tube on my dress form and pinned it to shape. Then with my overlocker sewed and at the same time cut away the supurflouous fabric. Fortuitously my foldover elastic arrived too today so I could give it a nice finished neckline I love it when a plan comes together

Days are bright and sunny, which is very nice in many ways. For one it invites to continue building on the barn The outside needs to have some paint on the very last and nearly final planks. The little kitchen corner begs for a sink and workbench.....but for some planks that are slightly in the way All in all stuff is moving!

This one shows how to make single seam socks and this one shows in detail how to make the toes and heel.

I made a quick try out one to decide how many stitches I needed, and then proceeded to knit a sock...just like that...now next time I must remember to make them in mirror image. Then I will have a hardly visible seam on both insides in stead of one in and one outside of the leg

Finished the coat and it is a keeper...gonna walk in the rain with the dogs in it now, see how it hold up

After forest jacket 1 and 2 I realised however snazzy they may be I will never come to wear it. My mum bought nr 1 and nr 2 was supposed to be for me but I have decided to offer it for sale in my shop after all as it is meant to be worn, not to be hung in the closet..

The type of jacket is not my type, too classy and elegant. I am more of an outdoor rough and tumble type. So I have begun an other one. The fabric depicts the Norwegian high plains, stark,empty with patches of lichen,snow and a few lone sheep. Light grey finn wool forms the base on top of which I have laid out caramel merino with on top of that pastches of green and ice blue.

In stead of rolling the fabric I have thrown it in the washer after initial felting. DDue to the tossing in the washer with loads of water the effect of the finished fabric becomes very pebbely in texture. Having two different types of wool makes the effect even more evident.

The pattern is drawn, this time there will be a lining of cotton inside the jacket too...

And she brought her boyfriend

Together we went a-travelling from hither to yon..

We saw fjords,glaciers,Atlantic oceans,wild waterfalls,fish being caught,some mountains and trees too...we had fun in the sun and even got to see a troll church and some human made churches too. Click on the picture and it will take you to flickr where you can see notes on the picture.

on the way there I saw a sign Dørfallet so we went there in stead...I love a bit of an adventure into the unknown And boy was it well worth it!!

You walk along the high plateax of Venabu, flat and flanked by even higher mountains when all of a sudden there is a big gouged out hole in the ground. It is incredible to suddenly see this and the pictures do it no justice at all. Best just come for a walk with me..

In the lower room of the barn we will have an extra room for guests, which now will be occupied by a collegue of hubbydearest. It is very close to being finished, bar for a door,window,electricity,water...oh well can't be too choosy. It is dry and there will be a very comfy bed in there in a minute

While hubby is working like a true hero that he is I am fooling with fiber and finally got round to reading the manual on my serger/overlock sewing machine...now I know how to operate it properly I have this terrible urge to sew...sew....sew! There is a slight lack in fabric however, the kind used for leggings.. So I cut apart an old jumper and reassembled into a legging

All of a sudden a lot of people have decided they want my wool, which is fine but I am no industrial precision dyer by far. I lack the space and the fascilities. So how to dye as many different colors at the same time in small lots without making a bl***y mess??

I used to plop the wet wool in ziplocs and then in a big pot and then fill with water and put on the stove. But then often as not at least one baggie would melt because it touched the bottom So I put my thinking cap on and figuered what if I just place the baggies in the pan in the oven at 90 celcius . The bags can take it and the heat is dispersed evenly. Like this I can also heat up bigger single color dye lots. The wool I dye is so fine that even the slightest bubbling will cause felting, so yay for a new method...which means I will have to buy an oven for in my barn too....