Monthly Archives: May 2008

Earthquake.

There was a pretty strong earthquake here in Iceland about 2 hours ago. No casualties have been reported, only some property damage and minor injuries. My house shook and I could hear the glasses and plates in the cupboards shaking, but my home and us are in one piece. The people in the south of the country, in towns called Hveragerði and Selfoss (and surrounding towns) are asked to stay outside just in case. The earth is still trembling over there. Pictures fell of the walls, stuff from shelves etc. But like I said, there have been no casualties reported.

Read about it on CNN.
Read about it on BBC.

I know Earthquakes can be pretty scary and dangerous, but I have to admit that some weird part of me enjoys them. I like feeling the power of the earth and the force that lives in it. Now I am wondering if a volcano is about to erupt also. That is not unlikely, and specialists are keeping close watch on the active volcano’s.

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Finish – Nature’s Beauty.

I finally finished LHN’s Nature’s Beauty. Took me a while didn’t it? I am very happy with it. And now, since I have finished this and cleaned up the pile of stash that was growing on the top of my stash cabinet, I can finally start Miss Mary Mack. I am going to stitch her on 32ct over one with dark blue Needlepoint silk. I think she will be wonderful and I can’t wait to start her.

Nature's Beauty

Little House Needleworks – Nature’s Beauty
Threads: DMC
Fabric: some 28ct Linen from my stash

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Filed under finish, Happy Dance, LHN, Other, stitching

Good weekend coming to an end.

I wish tomorrow was Friday. LOL! I have had a great weekend with my daughters and I just don’t want it to end. I managed to get a little more work done on their room and put all the toys that were in the living room into their bedroom so now the living room is toy free apart from some books. I will move those into the bedroom when I have the shelfs for them. I have an idea on what kind of shelfs I want, but I haven’t seen them anywhere so maybe I will just have to make them myself. We will see. And I want the books to be accessible to them because kids need books. The more the better if you ask me.

Me and my girls

Today me and the girls went to my friend Rósa and our girls played together. She has two daughters, Þorbjörg Eyja who will be 4 in August, and Sóley Birta who is only 6 days younger than Karítas. Karítas will turn 3 September 14th and Sóley will turn 3 on September 22nd. Sumarrós is great around younger kids so she was put in charge of running around with them while me and Rósa chilled on a blanket in her yard. It was a sunny day and we had a lot of fun.

KarÃtas and Sumarrós

I took a bunch of pictures and you can see them all here if you want to 🙂 My favorite one is probably this one that Rósa took of me. I am Stephanie from Lazy Town going ghetto! Hahaha! Rósa gave me the Hedgehog pinkeep that she made for me and it is SO tiny and adorable! Thank you Rósa!

Now I am getting ready to do some late night stitching since the girls have gone to bed. I am getting very close on finishing Nature’s Beauty by LHN. I promised myself that I would finish it before starting Miss Mary Mack.

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Filed under Family, Friends, gifts, LHN, life, Pinkeep, stitching

Pinkeep exchange from Erla Björk!

Yesterday afternoon, while I was at work, my cell phone rang. It was Erla Björk and she asked if I could go outside just for a little while. I did and she handed me a package with this beautiful pinkeep. She has never made a pinkeep before, this is her first, and I am very happy to be the owner of it. It is perfect!

Pinkeep from Erla Björk

The fabric you can see is the backing fabric she used. Thank you so much Erla! I love my pinkeep!

And. Even more stash arrived yesterday!

From Down Sunshine Lane

Little House Needleworks – Home Of A Needleworker (Too!) (and the CC threads)
Little House Needleworks – Wool Needlebook and Fob
Little House Needleworks – My Needle’s Work (and the CC threads)
And two new scissors!

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Filed under Allt í kross, Club members from Allt í Kross, Exchanges, Friends, gifts, LHN, Pinkeep, stash, work

More – more – MORE!

I am in stash heaven these days. I wish that you would get stash in the mail every single day! Heck, I would buy an extra house for it if I knew it would happen! LOL! Today when I got home I had a notice from the PO about a package waiting, so off I went and picked it up. Here is what I got:

Order from 123stitch.com

Blackbird Designs – Buttons & Pins
Ewe & Eye & Friends – In The Pink
Ewe & Eye & Friends – Petite Exemplary #1
Ewe & Eye & Friends – Petite Exemplary #2
Ewe & Eye & Friends – Petite Exemplary #3
Ewe & Eye & Friends – Petite Exemplary #4
Country Cottage Needleworks – Garden Girl and Ladybugs and Bumblebees
La-D-Da – Miss Mary Mack
Thread from Crescent Colors and Gentle Art
32ct Belfast in Willow Green and Clay

Now to get stitching again! I have been so tired lately that I have hardly stitched at all! But I do plan on stitching tonight if my mom doesn’t show up to help me with the girls room 🙂

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Filed under Family, stash, stitching

Where do I begin?

In the order I saw them I guess. I have had great mail the last two days. Yesterday I got a package from Anna (no blog) as a part of a trade. She got some fabrics that I offered here last week, and she sent me threads, a magazine and a BUNCH of chocolate! Round is a shape right? LOL! Thanks Anna! She even included chocolate lolly pops for my girls!

From Anna

When I got home from work today, after a rather weird day at work, you know, just one of those days, I noticed not one but two packages! The first one I opened was a PIF gift from Carol! She stitched me a scissor fob from ‘Garden Alphabet’ by Prairie Schooler with my initial ‘L’ on it. It is so beautiful. I love it!

PIF from Carol

On the back she stitched our initials and the year.

PIF from Carol

She also included some extra goodies!

PIF from Carol

Thank you so much Carol! I love everything you sent, and it was a great reminder to get stitching on my own PIF gifts again. I have done two so far, but need to finish the rest 🙂
Next up is also a trade of fabrics since the other day. This is what I got from Monique:

From Monique

From Monique

32ct Linen and a design from her called ‘a little love’. Thanks Anna, Carol and Monique for making my day!

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Productive weekend!

I had a very very productive weekend. I moved my daughters into my old bedroom and painted, bought furniture, assembled furniture (I LOVE IKEA!), cleaned, threw away tons of stuff etc. I am not done, I still have to finish the smaller bedroom for myself, but until I get the chance to do so, I am sleeping with the girls in the bigger bedroom. I have lost of more stuff to go through, clothes and toys, need to re-arrange the living room also etc. So yeah, even if I did a lot this weekend, I would have needed at least 2-3 more days without the girls here and with some helping hands to finish. I am going to ask my mom to come and help me sometime this week after work so that I can at least finish the girls new bedroom and empty the smaller bedroom and make it ready for paint. I can then paint some evening after the girls have gone to bed.
I thought you might like to see some pictures and here they are.

Bedroom before paint:

Bedroom before paint

Bedroom before paint

Bedroom after paint and the assemble of furniture:

Bedroom after painting etc.

I still have to decorate the walls with pictures and stuff of theirs. I still have to hang stuff to store some toys in. I still have to buy another rug for the floor, and night lamps for them etc. But it is getting there. The girls LOVE their new room and especially the bunk bed! Sumarrós is off course sleeping in the top one and they have very strict instructions that Karítas is NOT allowed to the top bed yet. They slept in their new room for the first time tonight and they went straight to sleep, no hassle! WOOHOO!

Thanks to Aiste and Rósa Tom for helping me out and keeping me sane this weekend! Thanks girls, I LOVE YOU GUYS!

I did finish one small stitching project over the weekend.

Stitcher's Roll

Stitcher’s Roll by Shepherd’s Bush

I still have to do the finishing, but I have another needleroll that also needs finishing so I will probably just do them both at the same time.

Last but not least. Two cute pictures of my girls wearing the masks that I bought in IKEA. They just looked like so much fun that I couldn’t help myself. And the girls love them.

Sumarrós the Dragon:

Sumarrós Dragon

Karítas the Bunny:
KarÃtas Bunny

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Filed under Family, finish, Friends, Happy Dance, life, Other, stitching

Just to let you know!

Thanks to everyone who bought fabrics from me! I just wanted to let you know that I went to the PO yesterday and mailed everything. Please let me know what you get your packages!

I have a busy weekend ahead. My daughters are staying at their fathers and I am about to move them into the same room. Currently me and Karítas are in the big bedroom and Sumarrós in the smaller one. I am going to be in the smaller one, and move them to the big bedroom in bunk beds. I have to go through tons of stuff, paint, clean, arrange etc. It is going to be a lot of work, but I like doing stuff like this. Besides, they will be so happy when they come home on Monday 🙂

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Filed under Family, trade

Fabrics – Fabrics – Fabrics – for trade.

Late last night I went through my fabric and saw a couple of pieces that I am pretty sure I will never use so I thought I would post them here and maybe get something in return for them. I do prefer something from my wishlist but I am flexible. You can e-mail me at litlaskvis at yahoo dot co dot uk and make me an offer if you see something that you would like :o) All fabrics are from a smoke and pet free home and have been kept clean and as free from dust as possible.

Fabrics for trade

Top row from left to right:
28ct Hand Dyed Classics ‘Antique Mauve’ linen from Silkweavers 18 x 18 inches – SOLD
28ct Hand Dyed Classics ‘Cookie Dough’ linen from Silkweavers 18 x 18 inches
28ct Hand Dyed Classics ‘Sterling Silver’ linen from Silkweavers 13 x 18 inches – SOLD
Middle row from left to right:
32ct Reflections ‘Glittering Heather’ evenweave from Silkweavers 13 x 18 inches – SOLD
28ct Opalescent Cashel Linen ‘Glistening Cream’ from Silkweavers 18 x 26 inches – SOLD
32ct Hand Dyed Classics ‘Rocky Mountain’ linen from Silkweavers 18 x 18 inches (with a 9 x 9 inches square missing from one of it’s corner) – SOLD

Botton row from left to right:
28ct Permin Linen ‘Ivory’ from Silkweavers 18 x 27 inches – SOLD
32ct Belfast Linen ‘Peaceful Waters’ from Silkweavers 18 x 18 inches – SOLD

32ct Opalescent Belfast Linen ‘Precious Metals’ from Silkweavers 18 x 26 inches – SOLD

Please comment here or send me an e-mail to litlaskvis at yahoo dot co dot uk and tell me what you want etc. and I am sure we will figure something out :o)

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Filed under stash, trade

Scissor Fob for Nicole.

One of my favorite blogs is Nicole’s blog, Carolina Dreams. She posts often, almost always with pictures and her stitching is beautiful! Sometime last year she finished Sunflower Bellpull by The Drawn Thread. I have always loved that pattern so I asked if she was done with the chart and would be willing to trade for something. She e-mailed me and told me that the chart was mine, and that she couldn’t think of anything in return (how weird for a stitcher! LOL!). But I still wanted to send her something, and even if it took me a while, the little scissor fob finally made it safe and sound to Nicole’s house this weekend.

Fob for Nicole

Pattern: A mon Amie Pierre – a small part of Victoria’s Quaker
Fabric: 40ct Antique White Linen
Threads: DMC 310 and Waterlilies Silk ‘Cherry’

______________________________________________________

Why did you start your blog?

Honestly, I was pregnant and bored. I had to go on bed rest when I was about 5 months pregnant and if I didn’t have blogging and stitching at that time, I would have ended up crazy (ok, crazier!)

How did you come up with your blog name?

Easy, Litla Skvís is something that I have been called by a certain group (ever growing) of people for a long time. It would probably translate as ‘Little Babe’ or ‘Little Cutie’ or something like that. Someone started it, and it stuck. Many people call me only that, some call me Linda Litla Skvís.

Do your friends and family know about your blog and if so, what do they think of it?

Most of them know about it yes. And I think that all of them really like it. I have a family that really appreciates all the time and energy and love that goes into hand crafts of all kinds. My grandfather is a book binder, my mother sews, her sisters knitt, crochet, sew, draw, paint etc. My dad’s sister is in my Icelandic stitching group. A lot of my friends are very creative, be it in some hand crafts (a lot of stitchers and knitters), designing, music, acting, writing etc. So I think I am very lucky that so many people around me appreciate everything hand made.

How do you write posts?

With my keyboard. LOL! I try to update pretty regularly and show progress pictures and finishes. And I also try to share some ‘cool’ things when I come across them, or if I make a tutorial like I did with the triangle scissor case. It’s all about sharing to me 🙂

Have you ever had a troll or had someone leave unkind comments?

Yeap. One time someone was leaving me anonymous comments about my written English. I didn’t take it very personally since I try to do my best and since English is not my first language, I think I do pretty good. It was boring and uncalled for since I am pretty sure that you all understand what I am saying, despite the occasional grammar/spelling error, but I decided to delete the comments and pretend like it never happened.

Do you check your stats?

Yes.

Do you care how many people read your blog?

Care? Not really care, but I find it very interesting how many people actually read it 🙂 If everyone would stop reading it, I would probably still keep blogging. I like how my blog is like my stitching journal, and I imagine that as long as I stitch, I will blog also.

What kind of blogs/posts interest you?

Stitching, knitting, crafts etc. Along with others off course. Most of the blogs in my blogroll are craft related, some are friends and family etc.

What do you like and dislike about blogging?

I like the friendship. And the sharing and encouragement that other bloggers give out to one another. The inspiration and creativity.

I dislike the trolls, who doesn’t. And, if you don’t have anything nice to say, then say nothing. There is no point in being rude to people you don’t even know.

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Filed under finish, Finishing, Friends, gifts, Happy Dance, stitching, Stitching Bloggers, trade

Happy Mother’s Day!

I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day with your children and/or mothers!
I went to my mom and gave her a Bonsai Tree today. I saw it at the flower store and thought it looked so adorable that I just had to give it to her! She was very happy with it. Then me and my parents took my daughters to my mom’s brother and his family that live just outside of Reykjavík. They have horses, dogs and sheep and we saw a new born baby foal, lambs and had a really good dinner there followed by ice cream and hot chocolate sauce. I really want to go horseback riding, but the weather wasn’t that great so I am going to go back up there this summer and go riding. I haven’t been riding since I was 18! I love it, but don’t do it as often as I should. I am completely spent and heading to bed.

Horses

I did take some pictures today. You can see them all here if interested :o)

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Filed under Family, life, Other, traveling

Pinkeep Exchange for Erla Björk

One of the things that I mailed yesterday made it to its recipent today. Me and Rósa started a pinkeep exchange in my Icelandic stitching group and my partner (or at least the one I was supposed to make a pinkeep for) was Erla Björk. Following are the pictures I took of the pinkeep I stitched and made for her:
Pinkeep Exchange
Pinkeep Exchange

Pinkeep Exchange

Fabric: 40ct Antique White Linen
Thread: Garnet silk from Vikki Clayton
Pattern: Freebie from A Mon Amie Pierre – ‘Stitcher Hornbook’

I am so glad to hear that you like it Erla! Enjoy! My pictures might be a little dark, but there is a better picture on Erla’s blog (link above). Now I can’t wait to see who is stitching for me!

 

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Filed under Allt í kross, Club members from Allt í Kross, Exchanges, finish, Finishing, free patterns, Friends, Happy Dance, Pinkeep, stitching

LHN Nature’s Beauty WIP

I have been stitching, but nothing that I can share yet. I did go to the post office today, so hopefully I will be able to share some of it soon. I can share my new WIP though. I am stitching Nature’s Beauty by Little House Needleworks.

Nature's Beauty WIP

I am loving it and haven’t stitched on anything else since I started. I am also going to stitch Schoolgirl Lessons by LHN again since that is one of the SAL patterns in the LHN/CCN Yahoo group for May. And since I had already stitched it, I decided to stitch it again in new colors. I think I have the fabric picked out, but not the thread yet.

My last day at my old job was last Wednesday so now I am only working at one place. I was so exhausted after working at two places for the past two months! I am very happy at my new place and things are going good!

Gotta run, babies need attention!

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Filed under Family, LHN, life, stitching, WIP, work