Dummy dress coming out of the closet

This is the dress I wore in my dear friend A T´s wedding on June 12th. It was originally started as a test/dummy-dress for my own wedding dress last year. As my wedding day got closer, I had to focus on the "real" dress. The work on the dummy was not wasted, though - sewing on my brand new serger for the first time was a little less scary after my trial with these light and "hard to keep still"-fabrics. It was a bit of a challenge to finish the test-dress as I had tucked it away without adjusting and correcting anything - but I made it! Just like my wedding dress, this one was finished less than 24 hours before I wore it. If I work best under pressure, you ask...?

...and this is me, being a bit blurred (and shy) at the wedding reception carrying an old Ladybag by Baglady (my own brand) and the stola from 2006

Swatch me now!

I am starting two large projects simultaniously these days - while trying to finish the cotton granny circle-in-square project and finding time for painting the bathroom ceiling and a wall... even thoug the clear weathr and sunlight gives me more energy these days, 24 hours are still 24 hours. So Don´t hold your breath while waiting for the transformation of these two patches into a cardigan for Superman (top picture) and a dress for me. Oh, and I am also planning/preparing a white, long and partly lacy crochet cordigan for me, sewing a black linen dress (also for me) and of course finish last years attemt to knit my Princess a halterneck or tank top... And who knows, even finally complete the Tulip Secret dating back to 1991! And it is still more than two weeks until my holiday starts, so we´ll see about the progress of all this ;o)

In the scrappy, not crappy, mood...

Going away on a two day conference I grabbed my cotton scraps and a 4 mm hook running out the door - hoping that my playfulness and love for colour would come to action and provide a nice "something"! Over the last few years I have started (and completed) several scrap projects that just grew and grew... requiring new purchases of yarn (but still leaving my stash slimmed down in the end). This time I decided I would just make as many squares as the scraps would allow, and THEN decide what to use them for. I stayed true to one simple principle as I hooked happily away with a new and exhilarating feeling of freedom: A strongly coloured centre, a paler mid row forming the circle and a bright hue on the last row. I had a few balls of white cotton to join the cicle-in-square patches. The pale scraps for the mid row lasted for 54 squares. The rest of the yarn will be used for the finishing touches of this project (and will even last for some dish cloths, purses etc) - stay tuned to find out where my scrappy mood leads this time :o)

Sweetness!

My clever Princess made delicious meringues filled with whipped cream and finely chopped peaches last week. I must admit mine was gone in seconds so I am glad I got this snapshot to prove her talent as a baker ;o)

It´s a nice day for a white wedding...

...and an even better day for a red wedding on June 12th! "Hey little sister what have you done? Hey little sister who´s the only one?" We all got the answer on this rainy but oh, so beautiful day. The bride in red, the groom in off white, the seremony so soulful and solemn, yet light spirited... a wonderful party of about 65 people aged 10 months to + 80 years all contributing to the collective feeling of a truly loving and happy athmosphere. Yes, my dear friend - this is soooo right! Congratulations A T & G - I love you! (-and I am so pleased that the bolero came out fitting perfectly, as the weather truly required something little and snug to warm the brides proud shoulders...)

Crown Imperial Love

The title is taken from a 90s Norwegian hit (you can listen to it here) by Weld/Vibeke Saugstad. I find the song melancholy and bitter sweet, so it doesn´t really match my associations with the crown/chocer shown here - but I like the song and love the title :o) This piece of jewellery was made in 2008 for an exhibition, and it was displayed as a choker at the time. It is made from original postal stamps, silver, aquamarines and Chinese bookroll fabric. Later I added a silk chiffon veil and used it as a bridal crown with my home sewn wedding dress! In just a weeks time my dear friend A T will get married and I REALLY hope the wedding bolero will come together nicely for her... I am so happy for her and her groom, and I am sure they will have a wonderful life together with or without this bolero, but still... FO-photos will be posted soon - I HOPE ;o)

PS - a little colour makeover has been going on in here; maybe you noticed? I like it so far.