First up, I had ordered some stuff from jcaroline creative a while ago, and I’m telling you, if you love ribbon that is the place to go! I was just stopping by for a few pieces of ribbon, and I ended up going a little bit crazy. Check this out – and this is just a small selection of my order:

Sorry guys – I know this could be an expensive acquaintance…  Note, that if you’re from Denmark, you could have a little trouble checking out – I did, as the shop system didn’t accept my Danish credit card. Don’t give up, they were so helpful and it ended up working out just fine.

So guys, do you remember a while back when I entered my light summer tunic to Rae’s Spring Top Week? And it went and won? Well, Rae just sent me a package full of gorgeous stuff that had arrived when I came home yesterday afternoon! A few peeks:

And there was a beautiful handmade belt and a sweet card as well! And she mailed me the pattern for her wonderful Toddler Backpack which will be perfect for either one of the girls, when I get around to making it. This has to be my favourite, though – the Lickety Split Bag!

I’m going to agree with her – it’s a perfect bag for nearly anything! It’ll find great use here – for outings, trips to the beach, visiting friends, etc. And she even included the pattern, so I’m definitely going to give it a go!

Thank you so much, Rae – I love it all! Next time you do something like the Spring Top Week – i’m in!

I have to say, I really like this blouse, and I love how the appliqué turned out! The pattern for the blouse doesn’t come in a size this small so I had to downsize it, and it seems to be a little short. If it’s too much so, I’ll lengthen it with some of the purple flower fabric, but we’ll see about that. The pattern for the appliqué is from the latest issue of Ottobre. I made the blouse from white linen, and edged it with fabric from Stof og Stil. The appliqué is made from different pieces from my stash.

** UPDATE **

Some of you would like to know that the pattern for this appliqué as well as a few other cute ones is found available for free download on the Ottobre Design website – get it here!

** END OF UPDATE **

Also, I received an award a few days ago.

Helinä is the sweet giver, and you should go have a look at her blog, because she makes such beautiful things. (The last one up is a completely adorable little dress!) She writes in Finnish, so most of you will either need to drop by her site in Google Translator or just browse through the beautiful photos. Thank you so much Helinä – I really appreciate it!

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things“

As I have mentioned previously, I am a keen reader of Ulla’s blog. Well, she just awarded me this award.

Thank you so much, Ulla! I even had a great laugh when reading about it on her blog, because one of the things she wouldn’t want to be without is raw potatoes. I have this peculiarity as well – it isn’t shared by many, but I love sharing it with Ulla!

Along with receiving this award, I have to mention 5 things that I cannot live without – not counting family and friends. I do tend to avoid these kinds of listings, because I can never make up my mind – you know, questions like “who is your favourite writer” make me go blank. Honestly – how on earth would I know? It’s not like I have a grading system…

So anyway, I’ll give it a shot, and here is a list of 5 things that I really wouldn’t want to be without.

• The Internet - an amazing wealth of possibility and inspiration, right here on my laptop!
• Tea
• Time to Myself – just essential
• Sewing - has quickly become such an important part of what makes me happy
• Summer

I’m sending this award on to two fabulous bloggers, that I’ve come upon. I found Jennifer’s blog Moving Hands just recently, but I’m sharing the link with warm recommendations! Another one that was added to my rss reader within minutes of finding it was Sharilyn’s blog LovelyDesign - so drop by those two, and be sure to find tons of inspiration – ’cause they’re both Fabulous blogs!

We did go sled riding the other day (Frida’s first), and it was lots of fun, even though the girls were too tired to be at the toboggan run for very long. Afterwards we went home to have some hot chocolate – Frida hasn’t tasted this before, and while she was skeptical when first looking into the cup, the next two cups went down within minutes! It was sooo funny to watch her while devoting her entire attention to her new obsession!

And now I want to thank Mette for giving me this award!

The award is all about nearness, and I really appreciate it. Mette herself has a wonderful blog (in Danish) about her life, crafts, and her three beautiful boys. I’m going to pass on this award to other blogs that to me are synonym with nearness.

So go check out the following:

Lille-Ursus – I have been following her blog for as long as I’ve been sewing, and her warm descriptions of family and friends, as well as her attention to detail and things that make her happy – these things make me want to give her this. Also, Ulla gives out a lot of herself to her blog friends, and I’m proud to be among them.

U-handblog – One thing is her amazing generosity when it comes to all of her awesome tutorials. But really, because this award is about nearness, I also chose her because of the way she writes her tutorials – not too formally, but rather like you’re with her in a room having a laugh about the challenges on the way. That’s quite a skill you’ve got there, girl, and it’s a pleasure to read your blog!

MADE - because when I read Dana’s blog, I feel like she’s talking to me. Her pictures add an atmosphere of intimacy, and last but not least – I love her creations.

Colorfool – they’re hit by life at the moment, so the blog doesn’t come 1st priority, but when she posts, there’s plenty of nearness.

That’s all for now – but hey, I made something for you guys! More about that tomorrow – and remember the coupon code for Fabric.com is still valid!

Some rules come with receiving this award.

1. Copy the award to your site – 2. Link to the person from whom you received the award – 3. Nominate 7 other bloggers – 4. Link to those on your blog – 5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated

 So this is my pick:

1. Pink Picket Fence – because the stuff that she makes is amazing and brings tons of inspiration.

2. my dharma…..work in progress - because there is no way around it – Karen makes beautiful garments with an attention to detail that is impressive.

3. Appelsinen i min turban - I mentioned her not so long ago here on my blog – she just has a creative way around everything.

4. Hverken fugl eller fisk - for having created an atmosphere in her blog, that I admire a lot. Besides this she does tons of creative stuff and takes beautiful pictures.

5. Karlssons Kludeskab - she is just making gorgeous children’s garments, lots to be inspired from

6. Sew Pink - for making beautiful clothes, but also for her ability to promote other people’s creations in her posts – which is a great quality.

7. Jenny Garland - following all of her crafting, and her beautiful soon-to-grow family in her blog is just a pleasure.

 Now remember, don’t be upset by the fact that some of these blogs are in Danish – Google Translate is improving all the time, so go try it out!  

Some things still lend a hand in keeping the garden colourful, though. A month ago or so, Ronja brought home two sunflowers that she had planted in a pot at kindergarten. One of them is blooming now, and the other one isn’t far behind. Looking at them definitely does give you a summery feeling!

The apples on our two 4-year old apple trees are almost ripe – I think they need a week or two still to be perfect, but a few have fallen to the ground, and they have been eaten with much pleasure! Those apples are so crisp and juicy – the perfect snack apples!

Ronja had a wonderful birthday – or rather she had three of them. Besides the kindergarten visiting Friday, we had the family visiting Sunday, and as her real birthday was Saturday, we celebrated then too with a traditional birthday morning, a visit to the National Museum, and her own choice for dinner. And what does a 4-year old choose, when she gets to pick anything? Spaghetti with meat sauce…

Ronja had so many wonderful presents, and she was really happy. She has been playing with all of them (no, literally) since – she didn’t get a single one that wasn’t appreciated. Mads and I gave her a puppet theatre, which we are having lots of fun with – it came from this shop:

Now, some of you will remember, that I recommended a toy shop in Amsterdam not so long ago, and now I’ll recommend one in Denmark (this probably goes mostly to my Danish readers, sorry about that). It’s an online shop, and it’s by far the best online shopping experience I have had for a long time! Klodsmajor.dk not only has fabulous toys for all ages, the service around the purchase is also just impeccable. They will wrap your gift beautifully at a fair price, they ship quickly and include a nice personal note with every order. If you wish, they will handwrite a birthday card and ship the present directly to the recipient, and you can still be certain it looks wonderful! I have recommended them far and wide, and I have used them or seen them used several times – it just always lives up to the same high standard. Thumbs up, Susanne!

Now finally I want to say a belated thank you to Wondermommy for awarding me these prices:

 It’s so kind of you and greatly appreciated! At the moment, I’m only going to send them on to one blogger – I’m running out of time for today, so I hope you don’t mind! However, Amy over at Habitual continues to inspire and entertain with her wonderful style in crafts, her beautiful photos, and her personal and well narrated daily adventures. I was sorry I didn’t nominate her the last time I had the chance, so here you go, Amy – two in one!

So this is Ronja wearing her “Misty” skirt. It fits her perfectly, although she really needs to grow a waist, allowing the skirt to sit properly at her waistline instead of below her belly.

Today has been so hot, and not long after the first picture was taken, she had fun in a small tub in the garden, cooling off in the water.

This past week I just haven’t been able to keep up with everything that has happened, and one of those things is, that I have been endowed with three awards, from three other bloggers – and I’m so grateful and honoured!

Loretta from Fitting Tips! as well as Ruth from SewChic awarded me the E for excellent-award and Novy from Little Munchkins awarded me the Brillante weblog-award.

THANK YOU, girls! I’m sorry that this turns into kind of a line-up, because all three of your blogs are unique and very much worth visiting! I’m so happy that you find my blog worth coming back to – it’s an appreciation that means a lot to me!

Now, to pass these on properly would take quite a long time, so I’m not checking with the rules. But – I do have a few blogs that I would really like to mention, so here it is - the E for excellence goes to the following blogs:

Lisa on Bon Souvenir writes about her wonderful sewing, her beautiful little daughter, and her family in general, and I just love reading her well narrated blog!

Sarah on So what? Sew buttons! just seems to have a beautiful world around her. I love reading her blog because of her wonderful and very honest descriptions of surroundings, events, and her beautiful family. She is gifted in many ways!

Gock’s frocks is a blog that I discovered only recently. Kristen does the most amazing sewing, and her work is always overflowing with colour – I love it!

And finally – if you didn’t see this already - there’s CraftPudding. Magda makes the most incredible handcarved wooden stamps – and when I didn’t buy any yet from her Etsy shop, it’s only because I cannot decide which ones to get – they’re just all beautiful! Go there!

There are so many inspiring and wonderful blogs out there – the awards are a wonderful way to show your appreciation, but remember, that sometimes you only need to leave a comment to show yourself as a reader. Beyond doubt, it is always noticed and appreciated!

 (Vier Sterne = Four Stars) 

It originates from here, and I’m honoured and happy to receive this. The creator of the award has the following to say about why she made it:

“So it is: The Michelin Guide is known for distributing stars to restaurants that serve good food. But it’s not just food that keeps us in a good mood, also the heart and joy of original and authentic people do the trick. That is why I have created the Guide Michalak Vier Sterne Blog Award for blogs that I really find creative and unique.”

(freely translated from German by yours truly)

With the honour of receiving this award comes the privilege to pass it on to three other bloggers. So I’m warning you – lots of inspiration hidden behind the links below – you guys really keep me coming back! 

1. Tree Fall

2. Lille-Ursus

3. Sugar City Journal

Please remember to pass on the award!