Out in the woods again

Yesterday, we took a walk to Knarrbysjön to shoot some mittens and look at the view.

Shop update, an offer + a painting

Thanks to all of you who came to the Basar last Sunday! It was an intense couple of hours of meeting lots and lots of nice people, and having many good conversations. And as promised, I did a major shop update on December 1st - the day after.

At present, there are 10 colours available. They will be continuously updated over the next couple of weeks. Keep in mind that there are not more than maximum 3 pairs per colour - I'm actually about to run out of vegetable dyed yarn! So if you have a special dye in mind - get it!

And to make you even more inspired, I offer free shipping for two weeks, until December 14th! Just enter the code GRANLIDEN at checkout. 

Enter the shop here!

Surely, I've been nerdy about cross stitch patterns and old samplers for a long time. But since working with the Fine Little Day book (where I did numerous illustrations combining cross stitch and watercolour) I really can't stop painting. 

Basar Delux!

It's time for the last edition of Basar - the little design market I have been taking part in a couple of times the last two years. This one will of course be a Christmas market, taking place this Sunday at Storgatan 3 here in Gothenburg. More and updated info here. You can also find out more about all the goods and vendors on our Tumblr. There will be loads of good stuff for sure! Remember, this is the Deluxe edition… The Basar lineup this last time includes Le Kiosk, Winterbird Co., For Good Luck, Birgit & Benny, studio esinam, Emma von Brömssen and more. Gosh, it will be good.

And like always, you'll find Bergslagsgatan at the same stand as Up the Wooden Hills!

I will bring nothing less than the famous Granliden Mittens. Since this summer, I have been knitting a lot while not attending to my webshop too much. Time for a change! Right after Basar I'm doing a serious update, and there will be mittens in a range of colourways just in time for Christmas. I will keep you posted about the update through Instagram.

BASAR DELUX 11.00-15.00
Address: Storgatan 3
Tram stop Hagakyrkan
Bring cash (iZettle payment possible too)

See you on Sunday!

What I'm looking at

1. Huts. Always huts.

2. What I wish was huge forget-me-nots.

3. Sashiko/boro pieces.

4. Andrea Zittel's living units.

Fine Little Day book!

After months of work, it is finally here, the Fine Little Day book! I have hardly mentioned it at all here, but those of you following me on Instagram might have seen some sneak peaks under the hashtag #finelittledaybook… Now that the book is out, more people have started using it. If you haven't checked it out yet - go and have a look!

I have had the honour to work alongside Elisabeth Dunker, doing the graphic design - a field I'm not really trained in other than through my own projects. I feel very happy and a bit overwhelmed that Elisabeth chose me to do it! This project has somehow proved to me that you can indeed go quite far and learn loads of stuff on pure lust and and commitment. I'm glad I was audacious enough to take on a job I really wasn't sure I could carry through with. "Fake it 'til you make it" has been my motto in this process.

We have had a lot of fun putting this book together. Endless work, but always inspiring. The task of marrying our visual expressions together sure has been interesting. I think I decided on handwriting quite early on. It seemed like the only way to make sure it didn't get too clean and tidy. Using watercolour for the lettering sure was the answer to that question!

Pictures above from our release party at the new Fine Little Day studio here in Gothenburg. One could say that POTHOLDERS has been a somewhat recurring theme both in the book and afterwards.

Until November 16th, those of you living in Sweden have the opportunity to buy the book at 10% discount using this link. Apart from that, it is of course available worldwide in the Fine Little Day shop!

We have already received some feedback and been mentioned in a few blogs, here are some links (mostly in Swedish):

ELLE Decoration 1, 2, 3
Dos Family
Fine Fine Books
Lantliv
Sílvia Silva
The Way We Play

Back at it

It has been VERY quiet around here for the last couple of months! I hereby put an end to it. There has been a lot of things in the making over the last months, and now is the time to start sharing them. A hint: Look for #finelittledaybook on Instagram.

The painting above is closely connected to that hint, in ways that i will soon present here. Through recent projects, I have discovered one of the finest combinations ever - water colour and cross stitches. It might turn into a small collection of prints...

The year of Lupins

I have a distinct feeling they are growing more than ever this summer.

Nordmark

Some phone-shots from a recent road trip in the mining district north of my town. The area - Nordmark, north of Filipstad in Värmland - is an old cultural landscape with numerous landmarks from a faded golden era. 

The first mines were founded here in the 1600s, but not much remains to this day. We passed by many abandoned mining towers and deteriorated homes. The ruins are both beautiful and somewhat romantic - but everything about them is also incredibly sad. It is of course a logic progression in a globalized economy. This place is not useful anymore. But what about the people who get left behind? I get the feeling that some parts of the countryside is slowly sinking back into the great forests. We have an issue of segregation going on between the urban and the rural areas in Sweden. This is a theme that I keep coming back to in my art-making, and I think it needs to become even more prominent in future projects.

Going on undirected road trips in the countryside is one of my favourite pastimes, but the reason for this particular trip was that I had seen a Blocket-ad about a postman's bicycle! I bought it.  
No more wobbly bike rides to my studio on a jam-packed racer. This suits the purpose better. I happen to carry a lot of stuff around.

And lastly, talking of rides. This car. Spotted by the old ironworks. A proper raggarbil! Have you seen the movie Slim Susie? It could well be the same one.

Bird cherry cordial

Makes 2,5-3 litres of concentrate

Ingredients:
50 bird cherry flower sprays
1,5 litres water
1,5 kilos caster sugar
50 grams citric acid
2 organic lemons, washed and sliced

Preparation:
1. Clean and rinse your glass bottles with a pinch of sodium benzoate dissolved in hot water. Rinse the flowers well in cold water. 
2. Bring the water to boil and mix in the sugar and citric acid.
3. Put the flowers and sliced lemons in a bowl, bucket or pot that can be sealed quite tightly. Pour over the hot sugar mixture, stir it and cover it up.
4. Store the mixture in a dark and cool place for about 4 days. Stir it gently once a day. 
5. Next, line a jug or bowl with a straining bag and use a soup ladle to put everything into it. Squeeze the bag at the end to gather up all the liquid. Pour into the clean bottles.

Store in the fridge.

Dilute 1/4 concentrate with 3/4 water, or to your liking :)

Tip: Take 25 ml gin, 25 ml bird cherry cordial, top up with soda water, garnish with sliced lemon. It is SO good.

Picking bird cherry

There is an old saying, that the cobbler takes his summer holiday between the blossoming of the bird cherry and that of the lilac - because it is the most delightful time of the year. I totally go along with that.

So, this spring, me and my friend Linnéa got the idea to try making three different flower cordials. There is the obvious and classic elder flower, but we will also go for bird cherry and lilac, using the same method.

We picked the flowers and made the mixture yesterday, and now it will have to "brew" for four days in a cold and dark place before we can see how it turns out. I will share the result as well as the recipe here soon!

L/R Residency, part 3

A tour around Klungtveit house. 

It had this typical summer house feeling about it, with an eclectic collection of furniture, books, porcelain, old clothes and other things. Just the kind of place I like to stay in.