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

Both the legging and the dress are the same fabric that I dyed with reactive dyes, I love the mottled effect

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!

I have always loved handknit socks, but never had the patience to even try making them. Making one might work but then the second one would remain an ufo (un finished object) for ever. So yesterday while nosing around on you tube I found the holy grail of sock knitting

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.

I have an Etsy friend visiting here and today we went for a walk to a waterfall, we had planned to go to Myfallet but

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....

Continue reading "Goodness me!"

My first forest jacket sold to my dear mum but I was rather taken with it so I made an other one. I ordered more finn wool too to be able to make one for my shop as well.

Having used up all my fun buttons that had been sent to me by friends from several continents, yay for internet and finding like minded people , I first felted a button, but it was not to my liking. Then as I sat reading suddenly I realised there are plenty of buttons in my garden, all I need do is add some holes to it. With my multitool I made two button holes in a piece of slate and hey presto, one button

We planted a cherry tree in the garden when we moved in here, last year it gave one cherry. This year about 15...I hope it will smother us in cherries in the years to come

The forest jacket I made was bought right away by my mum and she suggested a matching bag...well since I love making bags that was someting I started designing right away in my head. I used the leather from the elbow patches and some snake skin which both came from my dear friend Ira and added some of the remainingf felt. The strap and lining are from fabric I used to upholster garden chairs with that were in my mother's garden. All in all a bag full of good vibes

After having experimented with all in one piece garments out of felt I have decided that I like it better to sew a jacket together, it adds a certain toughness to the whole. The seamless jackets are too feminine for my taste, too smooth. So I made felt fabric by felting together merino and finn wool. The merino I dyed beforehand and the finn is a very dark brown, close to black. Finn wool becomes super dense when felted and thus forms a good solid layer against wind and rain, the merino has a bit of shine. I made the fabric not very thick as wool is so very warm and it becomes a tad stiff when felted well. So supple felt, cut to bits and then put back together again. On the elbows I added leather patches, just for fun. Or else the deer will never see me come in the woods and I would not wish to startle them

The upper floor has all the flooring and wall panels in and nearly all the windown and the middle floor will be converted to a guest room, the guest must build it himself Till it is done he has pitched his tent in the upper part...you understand the room will be done soon enough

In the mean time I have been felting of course, a custom order wrap , an oil puddle scarf and the firy breath of a dragon...the last one nearly cost me my hair as I jumped to catch the fragments of flying dragon breath..

After 3 weeks of guests it was time for a little silence, we sentthe noisy Puckdog and our three darling but talkative kids to my parents. Then proceeded to fling tent,sleeping bag and some provisions in the back of the pickup, piled the silent Bruce dog on top and drove off to yonder horizons....

We walked,read,and met some fluttry creatures on the way. All this in silent quietness...very heavenly! These pictures were taken around the Jotunheimen mountain range in Norway. We live not far from this magical place.