Never did show you how we spent our last summer vacation, did I? Now I can’t wait for summer to arrive – totally had enough of winter. Our plan is to head for the Skerry west of Sweden (sorry, it’s in Danish, but check out the pictures anyway, it’s amazing…).
It’s March 1st tomorrow, and we will have to do with the pictures from last year for a while still, so here they are:
The rest of the pictures are right here. Summer, sun, sea, sand, swimming. Can’t wait!
This past weekend, Ronja participated in her very first horse show. She started riding almost 2 years ago when she was 5 years old, and let me just say, she was less elegant then than she is now.
She has loved riding from the very first time, and she never complains about going to her riding lessons in the evening after school, even when she’s tired. Mads and I haven’t got that much horse experience between the two of us, and riding was something Ronja chose for herself and continues to enjoy, every single week. It was a good decision!
Yesterday, Ronja was happy, proud, and excited all mixed together, and we so enjoyed seeing her at the horse show.
Frida had a hard time coping with the fact that you don’t get a rosette, if you’re not part of the competition. That’s how she ended up looking the way she does below. Ronja on the other hand, earned a shared 2nd place, and was at least 2 feet taller for the rest of the day.
This evening we got home from a perfect sunny family weekend in Southern Jutland. Now, the children are in bed, and I’m seated in the couch with my laptop. I thought I’d tell you about some of the things I’ve made recently. I have made most with the help of tutorials, so I have some nice links for you as well.
This first one has become a favourite of mine already. I used a tutorial from mmmcrafts for a basic messenger bag and this tutorial gets my best recommendations – it’s as good as any pattern you can buy. Thumbs up, Larissa! 
My inspiration for my rendition with the bias tape around the flap came from this beautiful version that she made herself. I widened the strap a bit to make sure it’s comfortable to wear, and I used sew-in interfacing to add body to the bag. I’m not too sure about the flower on the flap, but it’s a bit too late for that now. We’ll see what I come up with next time I make this.
This is a bag I will be making again for sure!
So second up, I made doll diaper bags for Ronja and Frida. It all started because I had promised Frida to get her new diapers for her Baby Born doll – I got her diapers for premature babies, because they are much cheaper than the ones in the toy stores. When I got home with the diapers, it quickly came up that she didn’t have a diaper bag to carry them in. Sooooo, I promised I’d make one for her. Ronja heard. Ronja hardly ever plays with that kind of dolls anymore, but if I was making a doll diaper bag for Frida, she needed one as well. What can I say…
I made these two diaper bags in an evening following the Pretend and Play Diaper Bag tutorial here. The girls picked the fabric themselves. The construction of these bags is slightly different compared to the messenger bag above, since the shell of the bags is quilted with batting, which is also what gives them kind of a diaper bag “feel”. The bag has one big room on the inside, and a small pocket on the flap. The tutorial doesn’t mention measurement and placement for the pocket, but I measured the feeding bottles to get it right. Make sure you don’t place the pocket too high, though – you don’t want it to go reach to the top of the flap.
I was planning to make some other stuff as well, changing pads and sewn wipe cases with fabric wipes in them, but I was called to the kindergarten, because Frida had fallen over and hit her head pretty bad. So I spent my afternoon in the emergency room where Frida got stitched up, but at least, when we got home I could cheer her up with the new diaper bag. Both the girls love their bags, so they were worth the effort! And Frida’s head is fine as well.
The latest thing I made is an iPad sleeve.
I actually treated myself to an iPad 2 two days ago (LOVE), and I wanted to bring it with me on the family weekend, however I didn’t have anywhere to put it. I whipped up this sleeve in just under an hour (well, that’s quick for me!) based on this tutorial.
The tutorial is great, I followed her measurements exactly, and the result is good. However, the fit is a bit too tight, and if I were to make this again, which I just might in order to get it quite right, I would take out half a centimeter from the fleece lining compared to the outer fabric on each side. I made the fleece the same size as the outer fabric, and it’s just a little bit too bulky on the inside which means it takes up room that was meant for the iPad. Also, I would add an extra centimeter to the length of the outer fabric. If I make this again, I will let you know the measurements for the iPad 2 that I find to be the right ones.
As usual, I try to gather the tutorials that I like right here – you might find something you like as well!
It truly is amazing – everybody around here is saying it at the moment, but I’m just going to go with the flow, because the weather is incredible! It’s late April, and usually we would be far from summer temperatures, but this year, Easter is like mid-June.
I promised you last year to let you know what happened when we went out and got ourselves a boat in September, so read on if you’re interested – I’ll try to keep it brief. 
Since we had Ronja in 2004, we have enjoyed to go on charter trips during our summer vacation, and mostly they have been really successful. However, these past few years, our charter vacations haven’t felt quite as relaxing as we thought they should, and last summer was an eye-opener to both of us. We spent a week in the beautiful Spanish Island, Mallorca, which we have visited once before and were looking forward to visiting again. So… though we did have a trip with many wonderful moments, we both thought that it wasn’t quite as relaxing family-time as we would have liked it to be. Every place you go presents new temptations to the children in the form of candy, icecream, toys, entertainments etc., that basically leave you with two choices – either you give in or you don’t. Neither one of your choices is the good one, and since a huge part of the offer in places like these are based on temptations for the children, we just never quite got the sense of harmonious vacation that we were looking for. Aside from our trip to beautiful Deia, which was pure bliss (can I please live there when I’m old?).
So last year when we returned from Mallorca, we had planned to go canoeing in Sweden with the girls. Tent and all packed, we were ready to go, and when we got to lake Immeln which we had chosen for our trip, it rained. We waited for an hour, had lunch, waited a bit more – but the rain went on. We decided to put on our rain coats and head out in the canoe, certain that it would stop sooner or later. It didn’t. It kept on raining. And the eye-opener was this: The girls sat between us in the canoe, taking turns with a paddle, “fishing” in the water – and singing! They got cold, quite a lot so eventually, but they were happy, gliding through the water, talking to each other and us. We found a place to make a camp, and it was just pooring, so Mads and I got up the tent as quickly as we could, put them in their sleeping bags with crayons and paper, and they warmed up and had fun.
So just to sum up; we had loads of rain the entire time we were there, and we ended up going home one day before we had planned to, but in spite of piles of wet clothes, we had almost no complaints from the girls – quite the opposite. And that was when we decided to do something else with our vacations. Mads and I both love sailing, and in September we bought Anna – our Shipman 28 from 1975.
She has been up during winter, but we had her put in the water again last weekend, and with the weather we have this Easter, today was a brilliant day to go sailing.
Loving, loving, loving it!
The girls were below deck some of the time relaxing together or individually with their Nintendos, but everyone thought we had a wonderful day. Today we came from Hundige Harbour where we usually have our boat, to Køge, which is much nearer where we live, and where we hope to have her by the end of the season (we’re on the waiting list). We’re spending the night at home due to the low night temperatures, but tomorrow we’re taking her back to Hundige – our first real back and forth expedition. Almost.
There you go – this is why we made the rather sudden decision to get a boat, and I personally cannot wait to go on summer vacation in Anna. No charter trip for the girls and us this year.
Christmas Eve came and went. The pixies have been up since December 1st, and the girls have each counted down by opening a small present every day. In case you don’t all know, in Denmark we celebrate Christmas on the evening of the 24th, which was yesterday. In spite of the vast amounts of snow that doesn’t make crossing the country (or the continent) any easier, the whole family managed to get here - our mothers, my older brother with his family, my younger brother, and Mads’ sister. Mads had prepared the bestest Christmas dinner, and everybody ate way more than they could, which is exactly the way it should be. We lit the candles on the Christmas tree, danced around the tree singing Christmas songs, and presents were distributed generously to the great (over-)excitement of the three children. I think we had a wonderful evening.
Today we went for a walk – not a long one because it is sooooo cold here at the moment. We have been down to minus 18 degrees Celsius which is around 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and though it’s not quite that cold now, it’s still freezing outside.
Now everyone left, we almost have the house back to normal, and Mads and I are enjoying a quiet evening. And I want to show you my new SEWING ROOM. At least that’s what I call it. It’s been work in progress for a little while:
So, check out my new hide out slash creative space!
The entire room, which will be serving as our bedroom as well. The new cabinets are all IKEA kitchen cabinets.
My table – my sewing machines are still under the table, but that is just because I haven’t used the room much yet – we only finished it a bit more than a week ago, and it’s been Christmas, you know.
2.7 meters of oak table top – I got this from Homeworks.dk, and I’m actually quite happy with their service. Most of the places that sell table tops the measurements I needed, are considerably more expensive.
Room for my patterns and sewing magazines.
Full closet for fabric, tools and all kinds of stuff that I need for my sewing.
I really love the room, and I can tell I will be using it a lot for all kinds of stuff – Frida has already spotted the opportunity to come sort her mother’s stuff, while I’m working with something else in there. LOVE it! I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present.
So there it is – A Very Merry Christmas to all of you guys out there!
I’ve always been impressed with people who have the guts to start up their own business. My sister-in-law Jolanda is so cool – I recommend you take a look at what she did, even if you’re not from the Netherlands where she lives.
During 2009, my brother Jakob and his wife Jolanda who live together in Amsterdam, went to Mongolia for a wedding celebration. They spent some time travelling around the country, and when they returned, Jolanda brought with her a fascination of the delicious felt products that were produced by locals in the country.
She has now started a business called Esgii (‘felt’ in Mongolian) and a very nice looking webshop at Esgii.nl importing felt products from Mongolia, produced by individuals and small businesses, using the principles of fair trade. A large part of the population in Mongolia is still living below the line of poverty, and Jolanda’s initiative means that she and her customers will be contributing to a positive development in Mongolia.
It has taken a ton of work on her part, and the thing that carries her is that she is passionate about the products, the way they are produced, and sets high standards for how she wants to move them along.
She currently sets up stands in different markets around Amsterdam, while taking care of the webshop at the same time, so if you live in or near Amsterdam, I can only tell you to go get those gorgeous things. Take a look at the pictures here and her site, to see what you should be expecting. But for now – mostly for the Dutch visitors.
Here’s to hoping she’ll go international before long – I can definitely find a few things that I am adding to my wish list.
