Thursday, August 23, 2018

Baby Mine


It is rainy day here, but no worries, wool is very absorbent and yet warm!  

I AM SO GLAD TO BE BACK!!

I have read your comments over many times and I love every single one. I have missed you all too; this is the reason why I have felt like I was not living all aspects of my life, there was something missing. Writing the blog connects me to myself as much as it connects me to you. When I started this more than ten years ago, I could not have believed how much this would mean to my life. 

Sometimes it is scary, in a way that you can read so much between the lines. Even though there are things that I don’t write about, I am sure they are there, somewhere, hidden in between for you to hear. It is humbling in a good way, we are all in the end bare, naked human beings with errors and mishaps, with sad and sorrow, but then, of course with joy and happy and triumphant moments too.

I am trying out Instagram a bit. Last week I updated it a few times and have continued doing it this week as well. I upload this and that, random pictures of my crafting mostly, I try not to overthink and thus hope it helps me remember what I have been up to and that it would make it easier for me to write as well. But it is an experiment, this is my calling 😉

Few thoughts about double knitting. It is not as scary as it might sound. I hope one of these days, I will have someone available to video my method of double knitting. I love it for mittens. I have yet to try it for hats and scarves and for a jacket. I know there are brave ones out there who are doing double knitting lace! I am not sure if I ever get that far though, it sounds challenging. I have watched Sockmatician’s tutorials on Youtube and also, a Craftsy class by Alasdair Post-Quinn of Double-Knitting.

I feel like I have so much to talk about, but one thing at a time, we have a long winter (or summer down there) ahead of us to catch up, so today I will share a few pictures and thoughts about the Wedding Quilt.

I have not felt very creative during the past couple of years. It is true I made the little kittens and I love them, and wanted to get into making knitted toys more; made one sheep, but I just did not feel right or the usual thrive was missing. In a way I feel that I should make more toys and crochet pictures…
do you remember my dogs? I have drawn a bunch of them to crochet at some point, but … again the usual enthusiasm was missing. I was beginning to feel scared of losing my creative side.

I read from somewhere (I did not check this information, so if I got that wrong, excuse me, I am pulling this out of my memory) that our most famous composer Jean Sibelius lost his ability to compose in his late years and if it could happen to him, a hundred times more to me then. I cannot believe I am writing this here, he was a great man, and I am not comparing me to him, but somehow this little tidbit about him made me very worried. Then again, I read from Carla Sonheim’s blog
(who is an amazing, inspiring artist) that she has these times when she dabbles here and there, and she has learnt to trust that one day, she will find her way again and settle into something new and interesting. I was hoping that I would belong to Carla’s group.

I told my husband that I was going to make a Wedding quilt, but I was not making my own design and showed to him what I was going to make. He looked at my thoughts and my beginnings of the quilt and said that it is all good and wonderful but WHY ARE YOU NOT MAKING YOUR OWN?
He was not yelling, but the astonishment in his voice read as if he was truly speaking capital letters. I made few excuses and told him I did not feel very creative and was worried of making an ugly quilt.
I realized I needed to make a turn and do something else. I took a basic, simple block and a very basic layout and decided to make special applique blocks in between of Sonja’s life so far.

Here are few samples… All the blocks in the quilt mean something, they all represent different persons and moments in her life. There are no filler blocks, all are meaningful.
Here are Tina and Piki (these blocks are from EQ8).
Here are Moomins, Sonja’s favorite characters since she was 2 years old. The same fall when the twins were born, Sonja was little bit under 2 years, and Moomin books were made into videos and she spent hours watching them while I took care of her baby sisters. (I am so thankful for the Moomins, their language is good Finnish, the choice of words really well thought out, the storylines have something for children and adults; all in all she was in good company… even though I feel I should have spent more time with her, but you do what you do the best you can in the circumstances… and she is a lovely woman today, so I did not manage to spoil her with all my crazy ways… she could tell a lot of funny and odd things if she wanted… dear, let’s just keep them in the family, ok??)
Of course, there is the Lovebird with the couple’s initials. And the anchor, as her father is a seaman. And the crab, she knows its meaning, but she has a crab tattoo.
All our animals are represented, there is the late Mr. Cat, Kille.
If you look at this picture, there in the left side, sort of in the middle, are two elephants. That is me and her, and it reads Baby Mine and that is also the name of the quilt, as she is, truly, Baby Mine.

In all the hustle and bustle around the wedding, I did not take a better picture of the quilt. It did not feel important when it was so very busy, and I was just happy and relieved, I got it done in time. But there you have it, the story of the quilt.

I am preparing today to go to a quilting retreat this weekend. The retreat is all about bags; I need to get packing and putting the house in order. Hope you have a good weekend,

Wool with you,
Lene
This last picture is of me. My DH and I got to go for a test drive with our friends’ electric bikes… driving was so fun, I could not believe how fun it was going uphill, it was way more fun than going downhill. I was a quick convert, forget the hard cycling, we need these bikes.

34 comments:

  1. Your quilt is beautiful, and the best of all presents.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely to hear from you
    That quilt is something special !!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your quilt is AMAZING! What a wonderful gift!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am so glad to see you are back!!! Your quilt is amazing and what a wonderful gift!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh wow, that quilt is the stuff dreams are made of! What a wonderful gift for your daughter. And now I must see if I can find you on Instagram ... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my, you do not need to worry about your creativity, yours is definitely there! The quilt is beautiful and what a tribute to the life you share with your daughter. A perfect wedding gift! I'm glad you are back to sharing your creativity with us, I missed seeing your posts pop up in my blog feed. Welcome back!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a wonder-full quilt! How lucky your daughter is, to have such a creative and thoughtful mama :) Thank you for sharing with us!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such a special gift that I’m sure will be cherished forever. I absolutely love it! I’ve missed you during your time away but totally understand. I’ve been in a creative “funk” for a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your quilt is beautiful. So much love, so many memories. It must warm her heart every time she sees it.

    One thing I am grateful for about winter -- it has taught me that though I get bored with taking pics of what I see outside (every winter!), spring comes next, and as soon as something is blooming, my interest revives.

    This steady dependable "bored/uninspired, then not-bored" cycle leads me to expect that when I feel completely uninspired, I should just keep playing, and eventually I will be happy with what I'm doing again.

    I suspect this is true for all of us. Maybe we need a new medium, or a new technique, or new inspiring things to look at, but our creative energy is there, somewhere, just waiting........ The more we can fiddle with something, and not worry about how "good" it is, the sooner we'll find something interesting, I think. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. So nice to see your blog popping up in my feed. And on IG. Don't worry about your artistic 'block'. I think it happens then it sorts itself. Just go with the flow. You are very artistic and very inspirational.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What an amazing quilt! You are so talented. Please keep coming here to share your life with us. We missed you.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That quilt is a precious wedding gift and will be treasured for years to come. I think being a maker means beginning again and again. We all go through periods of quiet thinking time. It is just a time of wondering what will come next.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your posts are always a gift and always appreciated. Even in the quiet periods, it is a truly creative life. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. 'Baby Mine' quilt is indeed a beautiful baby. Full of all the love and creativity anyone could want.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I enjoyed seeing and reading about the cute individual blocks, but when you showed the whole quilt I was stunned at its BEAUTY! The subtle colors and the green diamonds setting each block apart make it so, and the appliqués make it PERSONAL. A masterpiece!

    ReplyDelete
  16. That really was the best wedding gift, or any gift. We both love it very much and I see it every night since it rests on our bed. I was so surprised when I first saw it and you explained all the pictures and their meaning, you put in so much thought and effort! We love it and you ❤❤❤

    ReplyDelete
  17. The quilt is beautiful and very moving, with all those memories stitched into it. And yes, everyone should have an e-bike.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your daughter will cherish her quilt forever! What a wonderful way to commemorate her life & the important things in it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh, I've been checking on your blog for months and this morning discovered two posts! So glad you are back and the quilt is so lovely. I'm sure your daughter will treasure it forever.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love your Baby Mine quilt. I hope you can begin to understand how much creative talent you have and, in the future, just GO FOR IT! I can't imagine your daughter's reaction to the quilt. I would have wept!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Ellen in Conn.04:00

    Dear Lene,

    Welcome back! I am so glad for your beautiful family news. Another family begins in the endless cycle of birth-love-death. Best wishes to Sonja and her man snuggled with the Moomins.

    My own daughter is being married to a good man next week.

    Creativity ebbs and flows. I was a weaver long ago, and then for 20 years I only knit socks. Now I am a weaver again.

    Ellen in Connecticut

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a beautiful and amazing quilt. It takes my breath away. How can you say your creativity has left you when you can do this. I wish I was as creative and talented as you. Congratulations on your daughter's wedding. I am so glad that everyone is okay. I have prayed for you while you were gone. I am glad that illness was not a cause for the blogging break.

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a beautiful and amazing quilt. It takes my breath away. How can you say your creativity has left you when you can do this. I wish I was as creative and talented as you. Congratulations on your daughter's wedding. I am so glad that everyone is okay. I have prayed for you while you were gone. I am glad that illness was not a cause for the blogging break.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Sunshine02:49

    What a beautiful quilt, made more special by all the memories it holds.

    What is your instagram name? I looked, but could not find you.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Sunshine02:50

    And I am so very happy you are back! :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Lovely to reconnect with you. Your double-knit mittens and hat are great. The quilt is a masterpiece.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Priscilla in London12:22

    Dear Lene,
    Thank you for showing us the beautiful wedding quilt. My mother was a great quilter, so I know very well how much thought and planning it takes, as well as all the hours of work to produce a quilt. Fortunately, a quilt will last for years. I am still using the wedding quilt my mother made for me 40 years ago; I'm a widow now and my mother's gone, too - but her work and the love it represents remain.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Baby Mine! That was a favorite bedtime lullaby for my daughter. Always makes me teary. What a beautiful, meaningful quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Ellen in Connecticut15:02

    About creativity - some writers say that it is not, for them, waiting for inspiration. They just every day have to sit at the typewriter for 8 hours and write. Something will happen, and it might be good and it might not, but they HAVE TO do it. But they have agents and publishers and editors waiting for them, and are doing it to make a living. We have different motivations, and 20 years of sock-knitting doesn't do anything for or against my "real" career.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I tried not to worry because you have (and are entitled to!) your own life. But I was very happy when I saw your posts. The quilt is beautiful and such a keepsake for your daughter and new son-in-law.

    ReplyDelete
  31. The quilt is absolutely stunning! Good to see you back. :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. You did an extraordinary good job on the quilt, so lovely!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thanks for the good and useful information and share your creativity.
    ความงาม

    ReplyDelete
  34. That quilt is simply amazing, and one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever seen. Please don't worry about losing your creativity. It is still here in full force!

    ReplyDelete