crafts – in a world all her own

Old Time Market – Umeå

6 November, 2014 No Comments

I love the craft markets at Gammlia in Umeå! This one had an emphasis on old fashioned crafts but they also had all of the usual crafters in the area there. I was really happy that this one happened while my mom and aunt were visiting so that they could see it.

Phong and I played count the dogs. There were eighteen! We saw an amazing stand by an artist called Nymla. I was so excited by her work that I didn’t even take any pictures! She makes trolls and horns and leather bound books. She has an Etsy under that name as well as a facebook.

We found a candy stand with rope candies. They’re a long gummy tube filled with sugary flavored paste and they come in a bunch of different flavors. Usually they come in strawberry, watermelon, cola, and raspberry.

This was Phong when I pointed out that they had a coconut one. >

< This was when the lady in front of us bought the very last coconut one.

And this was taken after he found out that the coconut one had a licorice filling and he had just dodged a very unpleasant candy bullet. >

Blog, Crafts, Umeå

Weaving Convention 2014 – Vävmässan 2014

1 November, 2014 No Comments

One of the reasons my mom and aunt decided to visit me in September this year was to catch the weaving convention in Umeå.

Luckily for me, this was a crafting convention for a bunch of crafts that I don’t do, so my wallet remained mostly intact though I admit I bought an adorable drop needle for spinning my own yarn. Keep in mind, I don’t use yarn so this was a bit odd but if you’d been there and seen it, you would have bought it too! Who isn’t a little enchanted by spinning needles in all forms? They’re just so fairytale!

Linn got to try out one of the spinning machines (peddle operated) and was making it look pretty fun. Luckily those are a little too pricey to buy on a whim so I made it out of there without one.

The convention offered a lot of stands and shops with finished items for sale as well as supplies. There was a great set up in the center of it all with looms and different patterns started that anyone could sit down and try out.

And throughout the whole convention were different woven pieces on display, classic pieces as well as modern ones done with unconventional materials or patterns. It was really interesting to get to see and I think my mom and aunt had a great time as they actually do some weaving themselves.

Blog, Crafts

Dreamy Pillowcase

1 February, 2014 1 Comment

I loved doing this project! I drew the music tree on paper first and then used carbon paper to trace it onto the blue pillowcase. I worked on it at crafting fikas since it was something I could take with me easily and it didn’t take long at all.

The quote is from Raising Hope and reads, “If you stop dreaming, you’re just sleeping.” I thought it was a great quote and would work perfectly on a pillow so here it is! I freehanded the quote and was really happy that it turned out straight.

This was a gift to my dear friend Malcolm, the same that I made a music quilt for previously. I suspect he might be getting music themed gifts from me for a while.

I tried to keep both the tree and the words along the sides rather than the center after another friend pointed out to me how embroidery can be unfun to sleep on.

I really loved working on this and I’ll probably do more pillowcases in the future.

Blog, Crafts

The Math Quilt

25 January, 2014 No Comments

This was actually the first quilt I did on my own. It is particularly long because I made it for my brother and he is particularly tall. He is also studying to be a physicist so I found some great fabrics at spoonflower.com that I thought would be great.

The light blue one is actually a Fibonacci spiral.

The white one is supposedly actual equations, not that I could varify that, but my brother hasn’t complained or pointed out any failure in that realm yet so I’m guessing it’s right..

The squares were pretty simply and I added an extra block on the bottom and top because I had fabric over and wanted to make it even longer.

I used yarn to tie the front and back together with the padding in the middle rather than quilting it. I think quilting is a beautiful art that I would love to learn and get better at, but when it comes to quilts that are comfy to snuggle up in, I’ve always preferred the simple ones.

I finished and sent this one off maybe two years ago so hopefully it’s well rumpled and piled on his bed or couch in the States right now.

Blog, Crafts

Birds for my mom

15 January, 2014 No Comments

This is the quilt I made for my mom about two years ago. This was one of my first quilts and my very first attempt at hand quilting. I actually had to call her a few times because when I started trying to hand quilt it, well, it was hideous and I could not figure out why. If I remember correctly, in the end, the front was nice and the back was… okay. Hand quilting is a craft I’d really like to work more on in the future.

My whole desire to try quilting actually came from missing my mom after I moved to Sweden. All my life she’s been sewing, usually actually in the living room hand quilting something, and it wasn’t something I really thought much about until I moved. It was suddenly odd not to have that all the time. No quilts on the walls. No sewing machine running. No shelves of craft materials to pick from at random (yes, mom, I took your craft stuff ALL THE TIME). So, I figured I’d start doing it too.

Of course, gathering quilting supplies in Sweden was not as easy to do as it would have been in California. There are fabric stores and there are craft stores and there are even embroidery stores, but none of those stores have quilting hoops or stencils or racks of clothing patterns or super pro looking thimbles.

Crafters of North America- you are spoiled. I had to order my hoop online and my mom and aunt were generous enough to send me a bunch of stencils and things.

Anywho, about the above quilt…

I loved making it. I loved finishing it. And most of all, I loved giving it away. I could have done the birds better… I’ve since learned how to do that.