New book: Arne & Carlos "Knit-and-Crochet Garden"

Good news for the fans of the Scandinavian knitting duet: Arne and Carlos - the English edition of their knit and crochet book has been available on sale now :) I'm a big fan of A & C myself. My own copy arrived from Amazon about a month ago :) I'm lovin' this book! It's so full of spring/summery ideas and vibrant with colours. Perfect book to work on after Christmas as the spring is approaching :) A few photos for you to have a peek inside the book:

Definitely the star projects in this book are the crocheted blankets:
I'm in love with this one:

Classic granny squares:

According to A & C they are a perfect way to use up your stashed scraps of yarn

There are plenty of crochet projects for your home and garden:

And there's also something for the cross stitch lovers:
pansy cushion covers, xxl cross stitch :)

Most of all I love these knitted sachets - they are gorgeous! I think after Christmas I'll have a go at them. 

There are a few new knitted characters in this book too:

And of course Arne an Carlso are showing oof their gorgeous scrapbook:

Happy Days:

And finally the famous photo from the book that went all over the internet:

In the meantime A & C are busy publishing their next book! It's not known yet when exactly the English edition will come out but for sure it's going to be in 2014. The new book will be all about a regional Nordic knitting (from Setesdal) and it will feature projects like socks, mittens, jumpers and some toys :) As always I'm awaiting this book very impatiently. 

(Early) Christmas Cards 2013 (10): Knitted jumper style (1)

Hi all. Long time no blog post. I know, it has become very quiet here. Two of my friendly readers asked me in their comments if I was ok (thank you Judith and Amy. Very thoughtful of you x x) I am ok and alive :) Well, a few things caused my absence. First, the kitten who is quickly growing up, requires attention and keeps very active most of the time, which in turn it keeps me active too. Secondly, my blogging mojo has somehow evaporated and I temporarily lost my interest in blogging (a blog burn-out perhaps? or maybe some sort of autumnal depression/laziness?) and thirdly lack of time and work stresses successfully got me out of my crafting mood (oh! perhaps I should blame the 50 Shades of Grey ebooks too!) I've been trying to hand-make something throughout all that time but it's not much, I must admit. Not very productive. However, I'm hoping to be back to my regular blogging now :) The build-up of the blogging material has been on my mind all the time. Time to get on with it. 

Undoubtedly, Christmas is approaching fast and although I haven't been blogging much for the last month one thing is certain: I've been shopping for some red and white Scandi stuff and oh God, how I much I've been enjoying it! Roaming from a shop to a shop I've been buying Scandi-themed cups, bowls, platters, bed covers, napkins, kitchen towels, candles, Christmas tree decorations (being in my element!). Nowadays the choice in the shops is so huge and the Scandi theme is still on! It must me the 2nd or 3rd winter when the Nordic patterns reign among the Christmas products. I still dream of lidded a mulled wine pot with a tealight warmer with a Scandi theme :) I just ordered a lovely set off eBay. I've already stocked up on some bottle of German mulled wine :)

Back on the craft frontline, here are some of my new cards. Embossed jumper-style with lots of white and frosty blue colour. (I really love this embossing folder from Sizzix!) I tried first with the square version and a decorative band from a lovely Dutch scrapbooking paper. It glitters and sparkles but I don't think the photo really shows this.

Then I went for the version with the rounded edges...

and some other decorative bands:

I really enjoyed making those cards. The cosy knitted theme is so Nordic'y - I so love it!. More cards and more crafty news to come soon. I shall keep you posted. Promise :) Will be catching up with your blogs soon too! Been wondering what you have been up to.

Hope you're all having a good week and thanks everybody, whoever stops here, for their comments. Missed blogging for you. xxx