HVIT JUL......

Well if the forecast is right then it's very likely here in the UK, but these photo's were taken two weeks ago as I was putting the decorations up, so they are a perfect backdrop for this post!

It was surprisingly cold that week in the UK, with the temperatures reaching a minus 10 degrees on the day these photos were taken!

Now I'm used to skiing in very cold temperatures but I was shocked to see just how cold Oslo was the weekend before last, as the temperature was minus 18 when I was there - brrr, I even got windburn on my cheeks, not very pleasant at all!

Well I needed a 'nice distraction' today and so I thought I'd post some Christmas photies as well as these lovely memories of a perfect wintry scene....

I used to do a lot of cross stitching a few years back, and here are some of my favourite things that only come out of the cupboard at this time of year. The 'God Jul' cushion was one of the first things I made, but my most treasured piece is this wonderful little angel, which was just dressed in a very ordinary dress, so I decided to 'dress her up' and make her look very festive instead. She did have wings when I purchased her many years back, so I sprayed them white, in order to fit with the theme I had in mind......

* THE ANGEL 'CORALIE' *

I love the words she has embroidered on her dress "Glad tidings of great joy I bring to you" and she was created in memory of my dear friend Coralie, who sadly left this world many years ago, as I always wanted to be reminded of her. She used to love the 'Flower Fairy' illustrations, I decided that I would make her into the angel that she always was, and now is, and she is the first decoration to be put out and the very last one that goes away after Christmas. The little roses she carries in her hand were from the rose bush I planted for her, and I pressed them and decided that they would look perfect with her dress.

She even has fancy bloomers on under her dress and she sits on this very grand chair near to my sofa, as I love looking at her!

I confess to having a number of trees around my home, all with a differing theme - I guess you could say I'm a frustrated set designer, and its at this time of year that I get to go mad and have fun decorating anything that's stationary! LOL

I've had these 50's style ski decorations for many years and I really love this tree! I wish I could still get hold of these decorations but they're like gold now! The thought of skiing on wooden ski's with those wonderful boots actually always reminds me of Bond films, which I adore watching at any time of the year, but especially now, as there's nearly always a ski scene in them!

This tree looks so wintry and cold that I love it too!

The magnificent 'Faberge' style bauble is by Lene Bjerre and I bought it in Oslo a few years back, and I cannot believe that I forgot to visit the new concept store when I was there last weekend - where was my mind.......oh yes, I know! LOL

It's amazing what a few red ribbons can do to make a room look more festive, don't you think?....

I love these sweet little ice skates that I found on Ebay many years ago - and in particular, how they still have the original leather protectors on the blades - mind you, they cost me a lot more to have them shipped here from the US!!

And this is my all time favourite, my 'Norge Jultre' It took me ages to find/make the decorations for this one, but it always looks so wonderful, standing at the top of the stairs!

And finally, if you've ever had anything made by me, this is where it was probably created, in my craft room - my own private little space! This year I decided it should have the same treatment as the rest of the house.......

I love being in here, with my music going, creating pretty little things as I dream away......

Yeah well, if you can have a tree everywhere else, why not have one in here too?! LOL

Pretty little angels adorn this tree!

In a perfect world, this pretty little globe would play 'Angel In The Snow', having said that, it does do a good rendition of 'Winter Wonderland' instead, so I'm not complaining!

Phew, well that was a 'mammoth' blog! Right then, I'm off to have a warming hot chocolate and to check if I've received an email from someone who's very important to me.......

'God Jul!'

Klem!

Mxx

KAN DU HJELPE MEG IGJEN!!

I'm sure someone can, as there must be lots of Scandinavian friends out there who own one of these beautiful angels, but I'm desperately trying to find out the oringin of them.

I bought this one in Zurich a few years back, and saw a lifesize one there in a hotel last year, but I didn't ask the origin of it, however, since then, someone told me that they're Scandinavian and not European.

So, if anyone has one, or know the origin of them, can you please let me know, as I would like to buy another, but have to admit, I've never seen them in Oslo at around Christmas time when I've been there!

I did notice one in Morten Harkets kitchen tho........

No, I haven't been there (I should wish!) but saw it in the background when they filmed 'Mr & Mrs' last year!

Tussen takk!

Mxx

ITEM FOR SALE.....

Hey there lovelies!

I'm offering this beautiful winter white shrug/cowl for sale now as the customer who ordered it paid a deposit then, reversed the payment and now won't answer my emails - very strange, but there you go!

It's a M/L size and does look wonderful on - perfect for winter, and let's face it, it's going to be a cold one!

It's made in a wonderfully soft pure merino wool which is glorious and looks fabulous on. I have one in a dark powder as you can see here....

The nice thing about them is that they can be pulled up around the neck and worn like a scarf/cowl, and then once you take your coat off, you can pull it down over your shoulders like I'm doing here and wear it like a shrug, so it's very versatile!

The yarn was very expensive, but I'm offering it for sale at £45.00 (excl of P&P) as it's of no use to me - this is a 'one-off' price so if you're interested, please leave me a message here - first come, first served methinks!


** SOLD **

Right then, back to some housework and knitting!

Stor Klem!

Mxx

HUG A NORWEGIAN DAY!

Well according to Facebook, it's 'Hug a Norwegian' Day, so to all of you out there, consider yourselves well and truly hugged by me! LOL

I did manage to get some practice in and hug a rather handsome Norwegian man on Saturday night by the name of Magne Furuholmen - and very cuddly he was too - but in a nice way of course! Only waited four years after asking him for a photo op the first time, but at least he knows the story behind it now!

Have to say tho, that I'm a real Morten girl and I've been very fortunate over the years to have had a few 'photo ops' with him as well, just not recently, but hey, I'm not complaining!

Here's one of my faves.....

Think Pal Waaktaar Savoy has eluded me now, but I'm hoping that one day, I'll grab that very handsome skier by the name of Aksel Lund Svindal - watch this space! ;-)

So then, let me ask you - which famous Norwegian would you like to hug?

Store Klemmer till dere alle!





Mxx

BLING, BLING. - why not do it yourself?

I tried on these beautiful jeans from an Italian designer called MET jeans when I was in Corsica in the summer, and it's probably just as well they didn't fit me, as they cost a whopping 280 euros - ouch! Having said that, if they had fitted me, I'd have been in a quandry and would have wanted to buy them, so perhaps there was a reason that they didn't, as they gave me the idea to create my own....

Once I arrived home, I set about finding a perfect pair of washed out, ripped jeans, and you know, I was struggling -that was, until I found these perfect mammas in the sale in Zara, for £14.99 - fabulous or what? And this is what I came up with.....

Basically, I took all my Grandmothers lovely diamante buttons off everything (again!) and stitched them onto the waistband - along with buying a few more buttons and then voila, the finished article!

To say they look stunning in real life would be an understatement - they're bling-tastic! LOL

It's a real shame the photos don't do them justice, as they really are quite sparkly!

And this what they look like on.....very bling and just as pretty as the originals, if not prettier in my humble opinion!

This is an easy look for anyone to recreate, but it's not for the fainthearted, as it takes a lot of diamante buttons to create the look and I had a good starting point with my Grandmas lot -plus, if you take then on holiday, they're rather heavy - but worth it I think!

And still not as expensive as the originals so a good result indeed!

Hope everyone's having a relaxing weekend!

Klem!

Mxx

JUST SOME THOUGHTS.....

As I pass through and check my notifications here, I have to say it has been busy all day, but I love it, so that's the good news!

Anyhow, as a large number of you lovelies out there have enquired about my 'Engel' Mittens, if you're in a hurry and would like something similar, I'm offering these mammas up in the meantime, as they're ready to go.........

* CREAM LONG WRISTWARMERS *

Made in pure merino 4 ply wool, these are slightly longer than the Engel mittens, but are just as pretty and very very soft indeed! The can be worn high up the arm, or slouchy, like the Engels......

They are offered for sale at £30.00 - ** SOLD **

** POWDER ARMLETS **

Slightly longer than my wristwarmers with no thumb opening, these little mammas are finished off with a pretty crocheted bow!

This is how they look on......

They can also be worn up the arm or slouchy and the addition of the bow at the hand edge looks rather pretty too!

For sale at £30.00 - ** SOLD **

The prices quoted here are excl of P&P, so if you're interested, please leave a post for me here to enquire about costs. You will also need a Paypal account, but if you don't have one, they're very easy and quick to set up!

And they are offered on a 'first come, first served' basis, so if you're interested, give me a holler as soon as you can!

Now I'm off to have a nice cup of tea -wishing you all a lovely evening, tho it's going to be very windy here!

Stor Klem!

Mxx

'ENGEL' MITTENS - UPDATE

Photo courtesy of Amy Glase

Just thought I'd post some details about my 'Engel' mittens, seeing as I've had a number of enquiries over the last week.

They are knitted in pure wool 4 ply yarn, so they're nice and thin, whilst being lovely and warm for winter.

If you're interested, you can leave a post here for me with your email address (which I won't post publicly for obvious reasons!) or else, if you know me at Facebook, you can leave me a message there also.

They are currently priced at £30.00 (excl P&P) so please let me know where you live in order that I can let you have the total cost.

As you can see, they are rather adorable, especially on the lovely models Amy and Brooklynn pictured here!

Hope you like them, and thanks once again for the interest they seem to have generated - if my knitting needles are anything to go by! LOL

Klem!

Mxx

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS........

And was I a busy bee or what? Don't think I've ever knitted so much in one week before, but I did have fun doing so! Most definitely felt like my Grandmother, who taught me to knit when I was 5 years old, was spurring me on to knit faster and faster - I'm surprised I didn't have sparks flying off my bamboo needles! LOL

In total, I knitted 3 shrugs (well almost Katherine, but you know the story about the rogue ball of yarn by now!) and 4 pairs of mittens!

Two of the shrugs are pictured here - the powdery one and another winter white one - the lovely shrug I knitted for my dear friend Katherine is the most wonderful shade of dark grey, with whispy bits of off white mohair running through it now and again - the shade is called 'Mountain' and it definitely reminds me of craggy rocks (am I getting a little verbose here?) I will post that one once it's finished as it is rather stunning - but not until Katherine sees it first!

This divine one is for me as I've wanted one in that lovely powdery Odd Molly shade to go with all my tunics and tops for a while and so I went to one of my favourite yarn stores Stash in Chester last week and spent ages in there attempting to find the perfect colour in a chunky yarn - but sadly, couldn't find anything. Then the nice lady in the store asked if I would like a coffee, so of course I said yes, and with that it gave me more time to just wander around the shop and take in all the fabulous yarns they had there, and with that, found the perfect shade of powder.......only to discover that they only had 2 balls left and that it had been discontinued - I was desolate! LOL. However not for long, as I decided to use them to 'accent' a shrug in a lovely beige shade and so now, I'm the proud owner of something that will go with just about any of my Odd Molly tunics - happy days indeed!



And here's two of the four pairs of mitts I made last week - dusky pink, chalk, powder and that wonderful shade of framboise, pictured here a few weeks back! Two of these pictured here are winging their way to the US and should be arriving any day soon!

And finally, one to put a smile on your face - wellie-tastic or what? This was taken last Saturday, just before I headed off to my friends for a bit of a gathering. I put the wellies on for two reasons; firstly, she has a Staffordshire bull terrier called Ruffy, who, to say the least, is a little 'playful' so much so that she stood on my toes twice, so these came in handy - mind you, she did also manage to knock me over, but thankfully my friends husband caught me in time; and secondly, I had to walk back home down a muddy country lane as it's just about the end of harvesting time in the countryside so fancy boots or shoes don't cut it round here!

And with that, I'm outta here to finish off another pair of mittens.......technically, that means I made 5 pairs then - phew!

Wishing you all a wonderfully relaxing Sunday, wherever you may be!

Stor Klem!

Mxx

SALE TIME - I REALLY NEED A CLEAR OUT!

I have absolutely no space left in my Craft Room and want to put a pretty mannequin in there, but can't because I haven't got the room, so now it's time to move things on.

So here's what's got to go.......

* PALE GREY SHRUG *

Pretty grey shrug with pretty cabling detail finished with a sweet little bow

They look lovely on and the yarn is wonderfully soft!

This one is for sale at £35.00 - ** SOLD **

* POWDER ARMLETS *

Slightly longer than my wristwarmers with no thumb opening, these little mammas are finished off with a pretty crocheted bow!

For sale at £30.00 - ** SOLD **

* CAMEL CROCHETED CAMISOLE *

This pretty camel cotton camisole is finished with white cotton edgings and pink satin ribbon under the bust and on the straps

For a nice snug fit, I finished it off with a button closing down the back.

This is soo pretty in real life - the photos don't do it justice!

The size is an 8-10 (UK) which (I think?) is 34-36 Contintental, or size 1 Odd Molly -whatever you understand I guess! LOL

The top is offered for sale at £40.00

* CREAM LONG WRISTWARMERS*

These pure merino wool wristwarmers were originally made as a test for a winter bride, who ended up with a glorious pair in silk cashmere! They are very long, so can be worn up the arm (like the bride had hers!) or slouchier, which I think looks just as sweet!

They are offered for sale at £30.00 - ** SOLD **

* PINK LEGWARMERS/FAKE SOCKS *

(See yesterday's post to see what they look like on)

Pretty pink pure merino fake socks to go under your Hunter wellies, Ilse Jacobsen rainboots, or wear with ordinary boots - the choice is yours! Finished with contrasting crocheted edgings and cute little crocheted bows!

** SOLD **

* PALE BLUE COTTON VEST TOP *

This cotton vest top is a delightful shade of pale blue, finished with pale pink crocheted edge and tiny little bows back and front. The size is 8-10 UK, 34-36 continental or Odd Molly size 1 (funny how their sizings always get used as a reference here!)

The vest top is offered for sale at £40.00

And finally......

* ALPINE ANGEL SCARF *

This amazingly soft scarf is made from pure alpaca and feels wonderful on and won't irritate the skin like polyester ones can!

The scarf is offered for sale at £30.00

All items are offered on a 'first come first served' basis and are exclusive of P&P. If you're interested in anything, please leave me a messge here.

All items are available for purchase via Paypal only.

Oh and before I forget, my Lite rose Odd Molly Remix blouse is also for sale in Tradera!

I love it to bits but unfortunately it's just too big on me - when I bought it from Eger on 30 April, my friend Narve told me I only had the Friday afternoon to go shopping as the shops were closed on May Day- and as I didn't arrive in Oslo till 3pm, I had to run like a crazy woman down Karl Johan's Gate so I didn't get a chance to try it on, just picked it up and bought it!

** SOLD **

Phew! Now I really need some chow and then back to my knitting!

Wishing you all a super Tuesday!

Stor Klem!



Mxx