Working in the garden / Hagearbeide

It has been a sunny, lovely day in the garden. I spent some hours removing the moss and replace it with bark to cover the earth. Some plants have start to grow, a little rain, and more warm days and it will all explode. I just pray this summer will be better than last year.

Det har vært en deilig solfylt dag i hagen. Jeg har brukt noen timer med å fjerne mose fra staudebedet og erstattet den med bark. Blomstene har begynt å titte opp, litt regn, og mer sol og varme, og det hele vil eksplodere. Jeg håper bare denne sommeren blir bedre enn fjorårets.

NQF anual meeting 2012 - Årsmøte 2012

http://www.nqf.no/

It is time for our meeting, and I'm going to pop in at the hotell on my way home from work. Do the registration etc. so I'm ready to start tomorrow morning. Apart from meeting people and taking a workshop, I am most curious about the forum for bloggers. I will try to post some pictures from the event during the weekend.
I have also changed my lay-out. We have had so much rain this last year, I felt this was more appropriate. I will also try to have a norwegian translation here as well.


Da er det tid for årsmøtehelgen. Jeg kommer til å stikke innom hotellet på vei hjem fra jobb og registrere meg slik at jeg slipper å gjøre det i morgen tidlig. Bortsett fra det å treffe folk, selve årsmøtet, og ta kurs,  er jeg mest nysgjerrig på blogg-forumet. Jeg skal prøve å legge ut bilder i løpet av helgen.
Jeg har også skiftet lay-out på siden. Siden vi har hatt så mye regn siste året, så fant jeg denne mer passende. Jeg vil også prøve å ha en norsk oversettelse.

Busy weekend

It is time for the anual meeting of the Norwegian Quilting Association, NQF, this time here in Bergen this weekend. It is the first time I participate. I have two works in the competition, and two at the exhibition, so I'm curious at how the weekend will go. There has not been much quilting lately, since I'm taking the Design Matter's Creative Sketchbook Course. But my sketchbook pages are getting better every day. And even if the theme of the couse is not directed towards quilting only, I'm beginning to get many ideas to develop further. Here is a drawing I made from a photo:

This is an old photo, showing how the flowers can be when May and June comes

My garden is just about to wake up after the winter, not much to show, although the rhubarb is brightening up, red and bold.

Waiting for me on the wall

This piece is waiting for me in my studio. It is the sister-piece to "Leidangen", my last work for my City & Guilds Level 2 Certificate in Creative Techniques - Textiles. This is the Gokstad ship, from the Gokstad Grave. If you compare it to the Oseberg shape, it is a bit rounder, perhaps made for rougher sea?

I do have a plan on how to continue, I just need inspiration and time to do it. I have just started on the Creative Sketchbook course, so my time is full of drawing these days.

Icelandic double-weave

I just want to share with you my last card weave. Its in mercerized cotton, Icelandic double-weave, a rather time-consuming technique. So I have a long way to go to a finished band. These days before Christmas are just too busy. But I think it is going to be a beautiful band when finished.

Finished at last

A little more than a year ago, I signed up for DesignMatters Creative Quiltmaking course. About a week ago I finnished, and now I have City & Guilds Level 2 Certificate in Creative Techniques - Textiles. My last quilt was an appliqué I called "Leidangen". It is inspired by our Viking boats Oseberg and Gokstad.

The shape is from Oseberg, but the colours I got from the Gokstad ship, which is supposed to have been black, with black and yellow shields. I needle turned and hand quilted the main boat, the rest is either bonded appliqué or stencilled on, and machine quilted.

On the top I quilted some Runes, 

and on the bottom I quilted a "Leidang" which means "fleet of conscripted warships".  These are from a carving found when they excavated the Medieval Bryggen  here in Bergen, after the great fire in 1955.

Well, it has been a very busy year, and just now, I feel a bit empty. Christmas is approaching and now I will concentrate on that. And after Christmas, I have a deadline for the Norsk Quilteforbund's annual competition, on February 1st.

Look what I've got

My brother and his wife are moving, and they gave me this spinning wheel. I have to put it together, but I have all the part so it should not be a problem. It has been my grandmother's.

They also brought a card box full of leather, oxen and reindeer.

My youngest daughter got wild when she saw all the leater, wanted some for book-covers. Just like me, she loves books, of all kind. Like this one I made nearly some years ago.