Potato bag surprise

This is what I get for trying to make potato and leek soup! 

Tomatoes

The tomatoes are boldly coming along. They are really nice fat plants by now, I was a bit afraid of them becoming thin and wobbly therefore being to frail to put outside in the wind, but no, very nice plants indeed. I am hoping for lots and lots of little tomatoes later in the summer. 

There are little seedlings taking over all of my kitchen window by now, and I just planted some runner beans (rosenböna) too. I did have plans of planting some seeds directly in the garden last weekend, I have a pack of marguerites (prästkrage) I thought would look nice under an already existing bush, but the weather is colder again, so I am glad I never got to it, that would have been marguerite murder. I did buy a big green watering can for the occasion though.

The Piano Staircase - The Fun Theory

Translation:

Can we make people choose the staircase by making it more fun?

66% more people chose the staircase instead of the escalator than on a normal day.

Joy can apparently change behavior.

My friend Lina found this.

Colour Knitting

I almost forgot the last knitting book I bought. 

The Essential Guide To Color Knitting Techniques, by Margaret Radcliffe.

The reason is that it took me quite some time to look through it, because it is NOT a book a bout colour knitting. It is a book about stitch pattern that uses colour, not the same thing at all. Surprising, for me at least, but maybe it should not be, if I had taken into consideration what other books she has written. I was expecting a book full of colour charts, tips for combining colours and lovely examples, and the book has all these things, but the bulk of it is stitch patterns. There are some invaluable tips, I give her that, but listing stitch patterns seems to me an easy way of writing a book. I am disappointed. If you are going to buy this book, carefully look through it first, so that you can see what it contains, so you will know if it is what you want and worth your money.

Recumbent bike?

I am totally obsessed about this "new bike" thing, I usually do this when I get something on my mind. I am trying to tell my brain to calm down and ask it how much I am going to use a new bike and what is reasonable to pay for it then. But anyway, in my obsessive research, I found this really helpful site "Cykelguiden", only in Swedish though, which had some good advice about buying a new or used bike, what you can do to test them and how to figure out what you need from your bike. I also found out that there is a bike called a "Recumbent" bike, or in Swedish a "Liggcykel". Not exactly what I need, but he seems comfortable, he is just waiting for that umbrella drink he ordered.

Wings

"The contrast between metal structural form and natural feather, together with the repetitive and whimsical movements of fragile wings, provokes the imagination and evolves the intimate relationship between work and viewer/wearer."

Wings, by Dukno Yoon

Just visit the link and click a picture with a hand in it, it's worth it, I promise. 

Philadelphus

We have made the first dent in our perfect (as in "big square lawn" not as in perfect grass) lawn. A Philadelphus, or Doftschersmin for the Swedes, has ben planted right by the deck. I have wanted one of these forever. I will become quite a big bush and it has small white flowers, but the big selling point is the smell, it is intoxicating, even my perfume smells of philadelphus. The plan is that the smell will waft in over the deck in the evenings. I think I'd like to have a lot of bushes in my garden, big impact, not too much work. Ok, rhododendron and lilac next!

It seems to like its surroundings, the leaves are sprouting. Sadly it is too small to flower this year, but I can wait for next year.

The Grandmother Type

I want a new bike, one that will go with my new life in the country. The grandmother type, where you don't have to lean forward like some kind of "tour de France" looney (my current bike), but where you can sit up and enjoy the view.
And also it has to have a basket in the front, the basket is very important!
And it cannot be black! Also very important, green is nice, or read, the cream one in the picture is not so bad either.
And, the fourth very important thing, it has to have one of those wide saddles, for ALL of my ass and also any additional ass I might grow in the future.

Almost needless to say, we took our first bike ride here and this year, today. It was lovely, I over did it and just barely made it home, my thighs protesting wildly, but wonderful with the wind in the hair and the pink sunset in our faces. Sadly I discovered that my back wheel had become slightly oval during the tree years in storage, and it was a bit of a bumpy ride.

Exhibition in Gothenburg!

The 15 of May to the 4 of June, you can come and see my work live! 

In Two Little Birds gallery, Gothenburg, Sweden, I am exhibiting my jewellery series "Remember and Dream". The gallery is located on Andra Långgatan 5 and is open Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10 am to 6 pm. 

If you are a Facebook fanatic, like myself, or cant come to Gothenburg but want to be there in spirit, you can follow the event here. 

Welcome everyone!

News Knitter

I found this interesting project of knitted data visualisations. It really appeals to me, something as strict and full of rules as statistics, interpreted in something as unpredictable as clothing. It means, we can all brake the rules sometimes. 

"News Knitter is a data visualisations project which focuses on knitted garments as an alternative medium to visualise large scale data."

Read more on there website.