Days like weeks

We had one of those rare breaks where it felt like we’d been away for three weeks rather than one.

The days were reminiscent of childhood, where time slows and stretches and lasts forever.

My Darling Husband is half Norwegian. He was born and raised in the UK, but his mother hails from Oslo. We have lots of family there, which makes for an easy holiday destination, with lots of relatives to visit and play with the children.

Visiting nearby parks along the fjord

We stayed for a few days on the outskirts of the city, at the family home, which overlooks a fjord. Idyllic.

(Of course, I look at the little islands dotted around and wonder if Tone Finnanger, of Tilda fame, lives somewhere nearby, creating ever more beautiful patterns...but I digress...)

My brother-in-law came skiing with us, and it was wonderful having an extra person there to help with the girls. They absolutely adore their uncle, and were more than happy to stay and play and ski with him, which gave hubby and I the occasional moment to ski together...

The mountains are so absolutely still, completely peaceful and quiet; I felt like I was on another planet, far away from all cares. It was glorious.

We stayed in an apartment at the base of the mountain, an ideal location just a short stroll to the ski lift. I prefer to stay in an apartment so that we can come and go as we please, and we have a kitchen so we can eat at our leisure and not rely on restaurants. Perfect accommodation when travelling with young children.

I had some time to myself, which I spent sitting in the sunshine at the lodge on the mountainside, drinking hot chocolate, eating scrumptious Norwegian pastry (what that country can do with ground almonds! Yum!!!) and just *being*.

I really don’t do that enough. Just be.

Back at the family home we had some fun exploring local shops – including Ikea, which is a 15-minute walk from the house. Given that it takes about an hour-and-a-half at least to get to one from our home in the UK, I wanted to pop in here to see what’s new. I fell in love with pink shelving units that are worth the trip back here in England, and I bought a few goodies to squeeze into the suitcase:

These little votive/vase cuties will serve all sorts of purposes, such as holding the pretty Ikea napkins here (I’ll use those to prettify the girls’ lunchboxes). The fairy wand on the wall behind is not from Ikea, it is mine.

We also popped into Panduro Hobby (I’ve only ever drooled over their catalogue and ordered online in the UK) and paid homage to the Tilda section:

Taken on my iPhone, in lousy shop lighting, but you get the idea. I had to refrain from buying everything until I use up the other Tilda fabric I already have at home...

I managed to sneak some craft projects into my luggage to work on in the evenings.

I wasn’t able to pack multiple balls of yarn, so that ruled out the Ricicles Shawl for the holiday. I’ve never made a crochet jumper or cardigan, but after seeing the multiple versions of the Rosa Cowl Sweater on Coco Rose Diaries, I decided that I *needed* one myself! So a few balls of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a dusty mauve and a hook, and I’m just about halfway through it. More on that later...(and I’m happy to report that crochet hooks are once again permitted on airplanes).

I also packed some embroidery which has been neglected for aaaaages!

Sam had some progress, but nope, he’s not finished yet. I chose long-and-short fill stitches for the letters, which makes them rather tedious to do, especially at the end of a long day, but I like the effect so much that I’m sticking with it.

I've started ripping out the black border around the 'H', I'm not happy with it. 

I know that, at this rate, I might end up giving this to my first grandchild.

My third cross stitch project, the dragonfly, is coming along nicely. But darn that metallic thread! It is so tricky, splits, frays, and isn’t smooth to work with at all. I use much shorter lengths to avoid the floss fraying and tangling completely (a hard lesson learned, so I’m passing along the tip), but just like Sam, I love the look of it so much that I’m soldiering on.

For some fun stitching in between these two projects, I’ve just whipped up an initial for Little Flower’s best friend...

...to go on a ballet bag. Remember this one I made for my youngest? Well, I’m making another for her buddy and fellow ballerina. 

I based the design on an alphabet in Aimee Ray’s Doodle Stitching: Embroidery and Beyond, but I added a few of my own flourishes and used variegated thread for fun. I’ll post more about this when I get the bag stitched up!

The best part of the holiday: every one of us wants to repeat it exactly next year. We are already planning and looking at buying some proper ski wear for Easter 2015!

That’s it from me for now, thank you so much for reading, your comments mean so much to me, and I’m glad to be back!

Chrissie x