Happy and Creative New Year 2014!

It's been all about slow stitching this Christmas, and mostly about Alabama Chanin. I've been working on the fabrics I stencilled earlier, and finished the cuffs fairly quickly.

I then moved on to another hat (in this country you can't have too many hats, cuffs, mitts and socks),

on which I'm also making good progress.

But it's not all about hand stitching. I also wanted to try machine stitching an Alabama Chanin project, and started with a sashiko-inspired pattern ('Seven treasures'). The image below isn't patricularly inspiring, but as you can see, I'm using tissue paper as a stitching guide in this case, instead of stencilling. The beige fabric is the backing fabric, which will be revealed when I cut through the top fabric, which is violet. More images later, when I've made more progress.

Thank you for visiting my blog! I  wish you a very Happy and Creative New Year 2014. May your life be filled with happiness, and your stash bursting with inspiring supplies!

- Annika

'Tis the Season to Be Jolly (And to Stay Warm)

As soon as the autumn term reached its end and I no longer needed to focus on teaching, I had a craving for wool. Within a week I had started three different wool projects: one knitted, one crocheted and one felted. Last night I finished the knitted one, and I call it my Christmas elf hat. It's long, tapering and fun, and from the book Sticka mera småvarmt by Johanna Wallin. The author suggests the hat would be excellent for a garden gnome. I can see her point.

I put it on for the first time today for our Christmas stroll with Fia the Terri(fi)er, and felt like a regular Christmas elf-gnome.

Merry Christmas!

God jul!

Hyvää joulua!

- Annika

'Tis the Season to Stencil, Part 2

My progress so far:

I used freezer paper and a well-used plastic stencil. The designs are 'Anna's Garden' from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design and 'Bloomers' from Alabama Stitch Book, both by Natalie Chanin. The project in the middle is my own design, but it's going to be a surprise for someone, so I can't reveal any details yet.

I felt that silver on black was a bit too much for what I had in mind, so I added black pigment to the silver paint and got a gorgeous hematite. The pink is a bit overwhelming, but part of it is going to be cut away, so I think it'll be ok.

Ready to stitch! The perfect Christmas project: easy, relaxing and meditative.

Thanks for visiting, and more news soon!

- Annika

'Tis the Season to Be Stencilling

I'm back in the saddle again. Lots of creative stuff brewing around the house. Today I'm stencilling. I've been working on a freezer paper stencil for another Alabama Chanin-inspired project all morning. A lot of work, but it's going to be fantabulous when finished. At least if things go according to plan. A few more cuts and I'm ready to apply paint. I'm thinking silver on black.

The pattern is Anna´s Garden from the book Alabama Studio Sewing + Design.

More images soon. I'm pretty excited!

- Annika