Unpacking

A few little treasures to use, enjoy and remember a nice day.

A great alternative to our battered old breadbasket.

Three small Alvar Aalto dishes in blueberry glass

Yummy hand dyed/handspun alpaca yarn from Maria

A little haul of linen yarn, so difficult to find anywhere else

and a small, naughty witch for my four-year-old friend to hang on her Easter branch.

Why is she naughty? see here

(I think that's a four-year-old's sense of humour, don't you?)

Hej Stockholm!

I had a terrific day walking around the city, enjoying the sunshine and following recommendations from several blogs and websites. The whole city seemed to be out in the open air, relishing the arrival of Springtime. The cafes had put out tables and chairs (and blankets) and the flower stalls were not only well stocked with plants and flowers, but also brightly coloured feathered branches, ready prepared for Easter decorations later this week.

I took the tunnelbahn to Sodermalm and Marias Garn following recommendations here and here and was not disappointed! Delightful shop with a fine collection of yummy individual yarns some of which simply had to come home with me!

I hopped off the train at Gamla Stan, the old town, on the way back and wandered around the streets enjoying the colourful houses and unexpected corners.

I can imagine one or two of my friends who'd have made a bee-line for this store (wouldn't you, Sue? Carol?) Though I had a look inside and tried on a black version of the skirt worn by the saleslady in the photograph, I think I'd draw the line at the drawers... It was good to see mail-order things for real, if you see what I mean.

I enjoyed a browse around Marimekko and loved their Spring windows.

Sadly, it was soon time to make our way back to the airport.

Sorry about the blurry photograph, but then wouldn't you be surprised to see a reindeer when checking in?

Hotel Art 10

Initially, I was a little underwhelmed by the art on our walls last night. Pretty, yes, but though they were clearly relevant to our locality and very Scandinavian in character, I thought them rather bland and a safe choice for a beige wall. They are labelled "handcolor H.G.Carlstrom-83"
 

(you wouldn't believe the contortions I went through to get this crummy photograph with minimal reflections!)

Taking the second photo was rather easier, because I didn't have to sprawl on the bed to get the right angle. Getting closer to it, my eyes homed in on this:

It looked a little familiar and I wondered where I'd seen it before. Then I opened the curtains...

There it is!

Good Morning from a sunny Stockholm!

If it's Sunday....

...then I must be in Stockholm!

 

It's been a bit like that recently, for after a busy few days at home I had a couple at the NEC, on the Denman College stand at Sewing for Pleasure. Came back on Friday night and spent just over 24 hours at home before heading for Heathrow and a flight here this morning.

 

 

What a great day to fly over northern Europe - stunning views all the way over, so I couldn't resist getting my camera out. I think the photo above is somewhere in NE Denmark but if you care to get out an atlas and correct me, I'd be delighted.

 

As you can tell from the photo, the weather here is gloriously Springlike and just the right temperature for strolling around comfortably. We enjoyed reorienting ourselves late this afternoon, wandered around the old town, Gamla Stan before having an early dinner at a great restaurant recommended by our hotel. Good choice!

 

Spotted these little felted chaps in a shop window earlier. Cute, aren't they?

 

I plan to do a little exploring tomorrow, whilst Mark is at his meeting. Might just stumble across a yarn shop or two....who knows?

Too clever by half?

About this time yesterday, with a Saturday afternoon at home stretching out in front of me, it seemed the perfect time to begin a new challenge. After lunch I sat down and began to cast on 375 stitches, using yarn bought whilst in Luzern recently. Only half way along did I check the pattern and notice that I ought to be using two strands of yarn so, being too lazy to go and fetch a second ball of yarn*, I thought I'd be really clever and use the end from the centre and the end from the outside.

*the building work continues on our studio and my stash is still in the garage, "filed" in some kind of order, but nevertheless making retrieval challenging!

I'm sure there are experienced knitters out there, shaking their heads in the knowledge that using both ends was not as good an idea as it might have seemed. Indeed, some hours later, with more tangles and twists than enough, I almost conceded defeat and pulled the whole thing out for a second time. However, the spirit of the ace-untangler, inherited from my Mum, persuaded me to be patient, to take it gently and eventually, almost twelve hours since I began, Ene is finally on the needles!

Jaywalkers 3 are progressing nicely, thanks to a couple of hours sitting in Mark's concert rehearsal last night.

I'm going to another concert later, to see my four-year-old friend, Rosie-Jane dance. I'm rather looking forward to it, since pink tutus and ballet shoes didn't feature much in Edward's upbringing!