Added to the shop

This and more!

Plus more to come - I will try to do more continuous updates :)

New retailer!

Granliden Mittens are now available at Japanese online store SöPö Department! Looking really good, making me feel like a proud mother.

7 colours - Indigo, Coschenille and four Lichen dyes. And Scallops prints.

I'm particularly happy about the cute styling - the mittens go very well with Japanese pine cones too!

Tales from the Woods

A couple of weeks ago, I got involved in a new project. It's called "Tales from the Woods" - and what could suit me better?

“Tales from the woods” is a unique artist-in-residence project that gives you the opportunity of following the lives of five young artists (called The Art Flaneurs). Each Art Flaneur is a representative of a partner organisation from Estonia (Creative Center Carnation), Finland (Kronomagasinet), Sweden (ARNA and Not Quite) or Norway (Rogaland Art Center- L/R). During the project all of them will visit one of the partner organisations to experience a short term artist-in-residence programme. They will also work on a joined project that will be introduced to the public in April 2014 when all of them meet at a symposium in Tartu.

In addition, a small research is made about the affect of arist-in-residence projects to the local communities. All of the partner organisations are located more or less in smaller cities or some even in the real woods. The project is coordinated by Creative Center Carnation from Estonia.

So, in a few months time, I will be headed to my residency at Lukkeskåra/Rådlausjuvet in southern Norway. And then to Estonia! But my research starts now - I will share the process here on my blog.

Follow our project here, or through Facebook.

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The photos above are from my latest edition of my exam work installation "The Last Girl in the Woods". Staged in our barn in August.

Teal mittens and thanks

This is what I do these days. Knit knit. Orders keep coming in. I'm looking at alternative ways of production due to the workload recently gone massive. A very pleasant problem to solve. So I just want to say thank you - all of you who appreciate my work, for making it possible for me to do what I love most ♥ 

Muted pastels

The indigo and rose dyes are two of my absolute favourite ones - and there are quite a few to choose from. I might be able to knit one more pair from the rose dye. Just saying. That's also something I love about this entire project - the evanescence if you will. All things must pass.

Post-basar report

The Basar was quite a success! People "broke" in ten minutes before the official starting time, and from then and for 3 hours ahead the space was completely jam-packed!

I sold mittens, vintage clothes, prints and zines and barely had time to take a sip of tea in between. I enjoyed it enormously! It's always so much fun to meet all you people, with your  sweet compliments and pep talk. Knitting and studio work can sometimes be a little lonely, so I really need to get out there every once in a while.

And once again, Bergslagsgatan teamed up with Up the Wooden Hills, sharing a stand. Our things go very well together, both in concept and colour scheme :) 

I will tell you more about the vintage part of this soon. It's an idea I'm testing - a way of expanding my webshop...

In the meantime, please enjoy the three photos I managed to take during the busy busy Basar! There are perhaps a few more snaps over at Instagram. Also, check out the #basargbg hashtag to see more of the other vendors.

The past week through the phone

1. Pine trees
2. Bark boats
3. Back to the studio
4. My one and only cap
5. I can't stop won't stop taking this picture.

There goes the last of this summer I guess.

Coming up: Basar!

Last time was so much fun, and I'm so looking forward to doing this again. Such a nice and relaxed atmosphere, great company and loads of energy!

This time around I will bring the obvious Granliden Mittens, as well as some prints and zines. And! I will do a little field trial, bringing a small but dainty selection of vintage clothes and shoes. Something I might introduce in the webshop soon...

Those of you who will be in Gothenburg on the 28th, pop by and say hello!

View from the top

Our summer place is located near the foot of an old ski slope. It has not been in use for many years, and I remember going there as a kid to pick lupins. The hillside was brimming with lupins. From the crest you also had a grand vista over lake Bergsjön, "our lake". You could see the two islands, the tiny cape, the rock that was white with bird droppings (and was a very good navigation mark), and the green fields on the other side. These days, the ski slope hosts a thick and sightproof fir tree plantation, hiding most of the view.

But back in the summer of 1982, they could still overlook the whole lake.

Her again

There she goes again, the Last Girl in the Woods. A character I originally made up to be a more outrageous version of myself. But lately, she has been growing up to be her own person. She also goes by the name the Local Patriot. (Back then, it was about embroidery and bark boats.) I define her by words such as proud, exuberant and obstinate, and seeing the world through her eyes and hands renders everything slightly more illuminated and significant. 

I made her a room, a zine, and even a small fleet! Next up I think there will be clothing. The Last Girl in the Woods is the driving force behind most of my creative work nowadays.

The photos of the Pine Cone Bag above are taken by Elisabeth. The lupin photo is taken by my mum in 1982 (the year of the mittens) ♥

Wooden houses

In Grythyttan, they came in many shapes and sizes, all with different sorts of elaborate detailing, ornaments and "gingerbread work". About 100 years ago, at time of the forest industry boom, houses like this were built all over the Swedish woodlands - and they stand to this day. I find them absolutely beautiful. The scallop church... I would be happy to live in a building covered in that favourite shape of mine.

But, looking at those Russian wooden houses, these appear to be the light version. Look at this. And if that weren't enough, there is always the Sutyagin House.

Up the Inland Railroad

One day we took the train up north, going first on the old Inland Railroad (Inlandsbanan), and then continuing on the Mining District Railroad (Bergslagsbanan). The goal was Grythyttan, a tiny old town in the mining district. The place was founded by Queen Kristina in the 17th century, when they started mining silver here. We visited the Grythyttan Hostelry, once established upon the Queen's request - nowadays one of Sweden's finest restaurants! The lunch was a real treat, and the numerous drawing rooms were crammed with wonderful furniture, textiles, crockery and paintings.

Taking a walk around town, I couldn't help noticing the strange contrast between the obvious signs that this once was a prosperous industrial center, the richly decorated wooden houses (and the size of some of them!) - and the regular eerie feeling of any godforsaken little town in the Swedish countryside. Time had in many places been standing absolutely still for at least 50 years. Still this area is full activity. Altogether - I loved the place!

The church was covered in WOODEN SCALLOPS.

Grythyttan is also famous for their garden furniture.