Happy Christmas

I just wanted to share some photos of some of the delightful Madonna-and-Child paintings that I took in the Vatican Museum this autumn, – along with the very best wishes for a Happy Christmas for everybody.

Eldrid

The World’s Largest Gingerbread City

During our weekend in Bergen, we also went to see what has become a yearly event, namely the Gingerbread City. It has grown year by year, and is said to be the largest one in the world.

In the beginning it was situated in one of the shopping centers in town, but it soon grew too large for the rooms there.

A special tent is now erected in the middle of the Torgallmenningen square, and the Gingerbread City is built in there every year.

Everyone who wishes to, can contribute to the city.

There are contributions from individuals, from children in kindergardens and schools, and from other people all over town and beyond.

There are lots of fantastic houses set in a mountainous “landscape”, – just like Bergen itself, which lies in between seven mountains.

 

In between the houses there are several model trains, chuffing in and out of tunnels.

I am not sure if the organizers publish beforehand what types of buildings they want, and how many of each. In any case, there is a wide variation of houses,  and even a roundabout, – which every city ought to have.

Every magic city also needs a castle, – or several.

Even though the city is not lacking in transport facilities, Santa uses his own transport, as usual.

Some contributors have not limited themselves to building just one house, but have aimed for a whole street. The one above is a recreation of Hollendergaten.

And here it is in “real life”, – Christmas garlands and all.

Churches were abundant, along with recreations of school buildings and kindergardens, and also of some of the old historical buildings in the city.

There were also examples of modern houses, – and Santa visits them all.

I liked the theater scene with the attentive audience…..

… and also the lonely log cabin in the mountains.

GOD JUL  -  Merry Christmas!

Eldrid

Bergen

A couple of weeks before Christmas my husband and I spent a weekend in Bergen. Although it is not far, we seldom spend much time there as we usually just travel through. This time, however, we enjoyed ourselves a lot.

We were travelling with a group, and it was mostly a social trip, but with plenty of time in between for walking around the town, and for shopping.

The Saturday was very nice, so most of the day it was possible to walk the streets without an umbrella.

The harbour area is a very nice place on a day like this.

People were coming and going by boat, just as they have been doing for centuries in this place.

I could not resist zooming in on some of the patterns created by the reflections in the water.

Walking past the market stalls was also a feast for the eyes.

… and you could grow hungry just by looking…

We also walked over to the Bryggen area, where the Farmers’ Market was open this weekend.

The stalls were filled with lots of goodies, and there were lots of people looking and buying.

It is hard not to be tempted to buy even more than you can carry.

We were especially tempted by all the delicious home made cheese, and we bought pieces from several stalls. They will be a tasteful addition on our Christmas lunch table.

Bryggen has some very old and pittoresque buildings, which are on the UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

The narrow alleys between the buildings are worth exploring.  Many small shops, galleries and studios can be found here.

There are also many charming open spaces at the back of the buildings.

When it started to rain, we ducked into one of the shopping centers nearby. As this was two weeks before Christmas, they were not too crowded, and as we were not in a hurry either, we had time to look around and enjoy the Christmas decorations.

I especially liked theese:

When strolling along the festive streets, we also came across this sculpture:

A useful reminder that not everyone is prosperous, and someone might be in need of assistance, – and not just at Christmas time.

We also visited the Gingerbread City, but I’ll have to make a separate post about that. After all, it is the world’s largest of its kind.

Eldrid

Rosemadonna

It is time for entering the Blogger’s Quilt Festival again, and I’d better hurry so as not to miss it this time around.

This time I will show you my latest “experiment”.

The working title is “Rosemadonna”, and so far I have not thought of a better title, so there is a good chance it will be permanent.

As usual, the inspiration has come from many sources.

A couple of years ago I came across a website with a tutorial for making roses similar to the ones above. I thought I would like to try them some day, only I was not sure what I would use them for, – but bookmarked the site for future reference.

Also, this spring I was reading up on liturgical art in connection with another project, and in one of the books there was a small photo of a madonna sculpture with what looked like a row of roses trailing down the front of the figure. At closer inspection I found they were not roses, but heads. The photo caption explained they were the heads of the 12 apostles, and the sculpture was meant to symbolize that Mary was the mother of Christianity.

I liked the idea of roses better.

This autumn my husband and I got the chance to go to Rome for a week.

Being good tourists, we visited as many of the major sights as we could during the week, including of course the Vatican museum.

There were lots of beautiful madonna-and-child paintings dating from nearly every century. The rest of the city was not exactly lacking in madonnas either, both inside buildings and out.

When we got home, I happened to be between commission projects, so I grabbed the chance to realize the idea that had formed in my head.

Then I could not find the rose tutorial site again, but had a rough idea of how it was done, so I made a trial rose after memory, which looked quite satisfying.

Then I went on to make a bunch of them, which I joined together, and built the rest of the piece from there. Usually I plan my projects quite thoroughly with drawings and everything, but this time I just worked from the idea I had in my head, solving the construction problems as they arose.

When I decided I needed a face, I grabbed one from the many photos we took at the Vatican, and printed a semi-transparent version of it onto a light marbled fabric.

I am not sure the piece is quite finished yet. I am still debating whether I should open up and sew down the outer petals, or if I like the starry look better.

Taking part in the Bloggers’ Quilt Festival has almost become a tradition here. This will be my sixth time, meaning I have been taking part in all of them since the beginning.

My previous entries can be seen here:

Spring 2009

Autumn 2009

Spring 2010

Autumn 2010

Spring 2011

If you go over to Amy’s Creative Side,  you can see entries from all over the world there. It is a spectacular show.

 Eldrid

Folded Fabric Blocks Bag – Online Class

A new class with the Folded Fabric Blocks Bag is scheduled to start on October 29th. That is tomorrow!

Go to http://www.quiltcampus.net/ to read more about the class, and to sign up. There is still time.

Eldrid

A Tribute to our Foremothers

Before we went to Rome, I got the chance to see this exhibition at a local gallery.

The artist, Reidun Øvrebotten, was inspired by an album of old portraits and the memories of her own greatgrandmother, and wanted to tell the story of what it was like being a woman living in our coastal area a hundred years ago.

She has done so by highlighting the stories of ten individual women, all of whom lived in this municipality, and are still remembered by the local people.  Each woman has a special and unique story, yet their fates were not at all uncommon in this area at the time.

After researching and writing down their stories, the artist made ten costumes which were linked to each of the ten women. The costumes were made in the style of that time, which is so well documented by the photographs where people are dressed up in their very best clothes to go to the photographer in town, – but she added some unique details which connect the costumes to each of the individual women.

One of the ten women is Ane Henrikke. She fell in love with the boy on the neighbouring farm, married at 26, and by the time she was 44 had borne 9 children, but only 4 of them got to grow up. Of the other 5, two died as infants, two from scarlet fever, and one in an accident.

The artist made a special wide collar for Ane Henrikke’s dress. Photo transfers of children’s faces have been placed between sheets of water soluble plastic and oversewn. Then symbols of love and death have been cut out from the collage, before it has been sewn onto a black fabric.

Although her faith was put to the test so many times, Ane Henrikke strongly believed that God has a plan with everything that happens. She lived on the farm till she was 90, seeing her surviving children grow up and get established in good marriages.

The costume above was dedicated to Brite. She was so lucky as to get a little bit of education before she married a farmer at 22. By the time she was 40, she had had 13 children, of whom 11 grew up. In addition to being a mother of 11 and a farmer’s wife, – which was a hard job at the time, – she was also a midwife. She delivered her last baby, a boy, at the ripe old age of 82, when other help did not arrive in time. She lived till she was 93.

The details on Brite’s dress symbolizes birth, life, and growth.

An old authentical bridal dress was made into a costume dedicated to Kristine Marie. She married Mons at 20, and at 26 she gave birth to her fourth child. That year the fisheries failed, and Mons went to America to get work so they could pay off the debts on the fishing boat he had recently bought. Kristine and the children stay back home with her parents. Mons is lucky, and for three years letters and money arrive regularly back home, but then they suddenly stop.  All attempts to find out what has happened fail, including a search conducted by people of the Salvation Army.  Kristine Marie has a nervous breakdown, and is ill for a year. As time passes, she realizes she must get work to support herself and the children, and after some time she gets a job as a cook. She cannot have her children with her when working, so has to leave them with different relatives, and only gets to see them in her holidays; – two weeks every summer. She lives like this for 8 years, all the time hoping to hear from Mons.

Later she marries a farmer, who dies after a few years. She lives on this farm for the rest of her life, always wondering what became of her beloved Mons who disappeared over in America. She was forever his bride.

Amalie Jørgina was never a bride. In her youth, she got a skin disorder which caused her hair to fall off, so she was bald for the rest of her life, and she always wore a scarf both when inside the house and out. She was the oldest of 8 siblings, and stayed on her parents’, – and later her brother’s,  farm all her life. She eventually had a small house of her own, and she tok in sewing and generally helped around the farm.

Amalie Jørgina’s dress is adorned with trims that would typically have adorned the items in a young girl’s hope chest at the time.  Bed sheets and pillow cases would have crocheted lace, or maybe even Hedebo lace, like the one on the shoulder piece of the dress. Hardanger was also popular for a time, and also what was known as English embroidery, as seen on the pillow cases in the picture below. Amalie Jørgina never got to use these in her bridal chamber, so they adorn her dress instead.

Amalie Jørgina was my husband’s great aunt, and all the children in the family were very fond of her. They all loved running errands if it involved a trip to Fasta’s house (Faster means father’s sister). She was a very kind person, and all their memories of her are good ones.

Walking around the room at the gallery and reading all those stories, was a very special experience, and a useful reminder of what life was like only a couple of generations back.  When the stories say that they lived on farms, one must remember what a farm was like in this area. The coastline is mountainous, and there is often only a narrow strip of  land between the shore and the mountains, so farms were usually small, with only a cow or three, some sheep or goats, hens,  maybe a horse, and sometimes a pig. This was most often not enough to make a living, so the men also had to go out fishing in order to make ends meet. Thus, most of the daily farm work, like milking,  feeding, and watering the animals, would be carried out by the women.  Water would have to be carried in buckets, as most barns, or houses for that matter, did not have  water pipes.

In summer the animals grazed in the mountains so the fields could be harvested for winter fodder. Then the women walked an hour or three every morning and evening to milk the cows and carry the milk home to the farm.

They carried the milk on their backs in contraptions like the one above, called “hylkje”. Thus their hands were free so they could knit while walking to and from.

By utilising every minute of the day, and never let their hands rest, they were able to create both the useful things they needed …….

…. as well as the beautful clothing some of them are wearing in the photos….

…. and beautiful bedding….

…. with intricate monograms…

… and even monogrammed shirts.

Sunday was the day for resting. Then they would put on their best black shawl with long silky fringes, put the glasses and hymn book in the handbag and go to church. Some of them would have to sail or row across the fjord to get to the church, – then they would not put on their best clothes till they reached the shore close to the church.

In bad weather going to church, or going anywhere, could be quite a hazard, as is told in some of the stories.

This is the dress dedicated to the artist’s greatgrandmother, Maria Alette. Her speciality was working with wool, hence the woollen plait on her dress.

The exhibition is also named after her and is called: “In Memory of Maria”.

It is now closed, but the artist is working on the possibilities of  making this a permanent exhibition. I hope she will succeed.

   Eldrid

Fabric Shopping in Rome

I am fabric hunting for a new project, and since my husband and I went on a short holiday to Rome, I decided to look up some shops there.

Among all the sightseeing, we managed to visit one of them yesterday.

This shop is located on the Largo di Torre Argentina, not far from the Piazza Venezia. In the middle of the square next to the shop, they are now digging out some “new” old temples, so it is possible that the shop also sits on top of some old temple or other.

Anyway, – the interion of the shop was almost unbelievable.

The shop is on two floors, and has floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with fabric in several rooms. I have to add that the ceilings are quite high in all the rooms.

There was fabric of almost every kind you can imagine, and in every colour. They also had quilting fabrics, but not a large selection. It did not matter to me though, as that was not what I was after this time around.

As we were browsing the rooms, we suddenly came across these two small gems hidden among the bolts of fabric.

I sometimes wonder if fabric shopping triggers some kind of I-am-not-tired-yet-hormone. When browsing around, looking and feeling, I am not tired, but as soon as I have to stand and wait for the fabric to be cut, I could literally drop on the floor.

Luckily, there were taxis stationed a few metres from the shop.

On my way out, I also noticed that they sell fabric suitable for the centurions who are posing almost everywhere in the tourist areas.

Right around the corner there is also another very large shop, the Bassetti Tessuti, which we have not visitet yet. It is rumored to be the largest one in Rome.

Still two more days to go, though.

Eldrid

It’s Sewing Season

It is obvious that the sewing season has started again.

When the weather turns wet and colder, – or as in our case this year; continues to be wet and chilly, and evenings become darker and darker; – quilters turn to their sewing.

How do I know?

That’s what I do myself, – and I’m a quilter, – and after a quiet summer, I have recently also been busy packing and sending out fabric prints to other quilters around the world, – or, to be a bit more precise: around the northern hemisphere.

It’s sewing season again

Eldrid

A Sunday Trip

…. to this place was a vey nice experience.

This is Hakallegarden,  – a small farm at a 20 minute drive, a ferry ride, and another 60 minute drive, from home.

So, what is special about this farm, which I do not find on the next-door farms at home?

One thing is the variety of animals, – and many of them not penned up, but were ambling back and forth in the yard, mixing with children and grown ups as the most natural thing in the world, – no skittishness at all.

Only the sheep kept their distance, – or maybe they just liked the grass on the other side of the fence….

.. and this one just lazed under a tree, ignoring the fact that a very, very tired “Irene” was doing her level best to drench all and sundry with her showers of rain during the day.

This is also one of very few farms where they raise alpacas, and also sell alpaca wool and yarn for knitting.

The farm is open to the public at weekends, and the children love to come here to ride on horseback or in the tractor wagon, to feed the animals, to cuddle the kittens, and everything else you can do on a small farm.

After theese cuties had had their fill of hay, they walked around the corner, – very slowly, so there was no problem in following them.

Then they disappeared into the lower part of the barn, – and a very special barn it is.

This is almost like a sitting room; – brightly coloured, paintings on the walls, lovely lamp shades, and a bird in a cage on top of the chest of drawers. If animals are the least bit like people, I think they would like it very much in here.

The upstairs part of the barn has been converted to a small shop, with lots of colourful mugs, cups, plates and bowls, and clothes made from alpaca and silk.

There are also tables and chairs so you can sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, and freshly made “svele” or waffles, hot from the iron. While enjoying the coffee (or tea), you have time to look around and see if there is anything you fancy. I admit to fancying some cups and a mug from Pip Studio, – can’t help it, I’m afraid, – they were too cute to not come home with me.

Outside in the yard there are all kinds of stuff placed along the walls all around. I am still pondering what exactly makes the difference between junk and art, but I am not sure there is an answer.

Here it was definitely artsy, and every small detail added to the atmoshere.

I especially liked the pink bed looking out over the sea and islands below the farm.

The day after we were there, we heard on the news that the owners had received a special prize for the way they are running the farm and taking care of the landscape.

I hope this means they will not have to close their doors anytime soon.

Eldrid

Progress on the Hexagon Flowers

One of my projects for this summer was to join the hexagon flowers to the background pieces and sew them together. This is the kind of sewing I enjoy to do out of doors in good weather, and sometimes in front of the TV.

Well, we had a few fine days, and I sewed and sewed, and got quite carried away, – until the progress suddenly came to a screeching halt caused by a nasty inflammation of the shoulder. Not much one can do about that, except getting some medication and resting the arm; – so there was no more sewing for several weeks. A few books got read, and many crosswords solved, though.

As the shoulder got better, I have tried to sew a bit more, but I am very concious of not going “over board” again, so have limited my hand sewing to the equivalent of one hexagon flower a day. Since I use 1 inch hexagons, and there are 12 seams in one flower, that would be the same as a 12 inch seam. It is not much, and so far my shoulder has been able to handle that. But if the summer has now decided that this is it, – finito, – there will not be much hand sewing till next year anyway.

When starting this quilt, one of my goals was to find out if there was a way to join the flowers without having to fold the hexagon pieces with the paper templates still inside. I want to preserve the paper templates so I can use each one several times, so try to fold only the fabric pieces that have had their paper removed already.

I did find a way to do that, and will post more details on how to later. I made notes while I sewed the first flowers, and also took lots of step by step photos. However, my main computer where most of the material is stored, is in for repairs at the moment (2 weeks by now), and I think I will wait till I get it back before putting the material together. I just hope nothing gets deleted, or I will have to look in several backup storing devices to find everything again.

Till then: one flower a day (or less).

Eldrid