Mad as a (fur)hatter!

This is your mad blogger, Anna of Helylle! I don't normally look like this, but a fur hat does things to you. Especially when made of orange rabbit fur. I have actually worn this, on extremely windy and harsh winter days it's a gift from God. And I kinda like the colour...
No arctic weather today, though. The first sample of snow is now vanishing all too quickly, alas. Please, let us have a white Christmas!!

This time of year it kills me to think about the rest of the country, covered in white. I wasn't born in the south of Sweden so winters to me are supposed to be colder, whiter and winter-ier. But come to think of it, most of you known readers are drenched in sunny summer weather, aren't you? Makes me feel a lot better!

You can cheat - but then you never really win

Yes, my friends, I did say Saturday and today is Tuesday. I realize you've all been impatiently waiting. What can I say? We're six persons on this one computer (I refuse to let the kids have computers in their rooms) and sometimes it get a bit jammed.

But here we are! Siri is performing the ritual:

Reaching out....

...picking a note....

...and revealing the winner: Jeanette!

I promise you this is not a set-up in order for me to save the postage! Jeanette lives in the same town - across the park, we've never met IRL. But that will change now - or shall I put in your mailbox?? I'm so happy you all joined in and I wish I could send each one of you a little gift. Take my affection and rest assured that you mean so much to me - it's surreal!

Another give-away...

In order for me to have a chance to win a lamb's fleece I was requested to link this... Check it out - they have asummary in English and really wonderful photos.
Besök bloggen Livet på landet i Drefseryd där kan du vinna ett mjukt, härligt lammskinn från gårdsbutiken i Drefseryd.

Spinning 24-7! NB - includes an unbelieveable give-away!

See, it's spinning allright!


A few days ago, Jeanette from Handmade innocently asked me if I can spin, innocently because she just wanted to know and because she didn't know what she was starting. I answered - yes, I can spin. And started spinnning. And have been spinning ever since.

If your wool is a little dirty and not washed very well, it still contains lots of lanolin (the natural grease in wool). If you then spin in front of an open fire it gets warm and much easier to separate and spin. The wool I used was washed and dyed and actually more suited for felting, but it worked out allright, I think!

It's no coincidence that it is the spider that stings Snowwhite in the fairytale. Once bitten you either fall asleep or fall in to trance, hypnotized by the spinning spider. (Which in Swedish is called "slända" which in English means dragonfly, by the way.) Apart from the fun of having homespun yarn to knit or give away (I'll get back to that) it's a very peacegiving activity.

This is the spider with some yarn and a testknitting. You must like an uneven structure to enjoy this yarn. But if you go and buy it in a store you'll have to pay extra for that same effect...

...which is why I'm giving away a little skein of 28 grams handspun yarn in an exuberant emerald green, named by yours truly to Unstoppable Irish Green. It's not much but it's handmade by your own helylle blogger, it can be used for trimming a pair of mittens or something like that.

This is a test before the real 100th-post-give-away that's coming up extremely soon! All you do is comment and I'll draw a winner next Saturday!

Does it really work??

This is a test! If I succeded you will have a nostalgic trip back to when sweaters in no sense meant comfort and cosy - but elegance and effort...





Thanks to Eleanor and Ellie!

Gin & tunic

Don't know if you've heard but I'm a great fan of gin&tonic. My weekend at best starts with a G&T around 5 am and that's it, I'm in a extremely good mood and need no more. This weekend was different, I made a tunic! That put me in a very good mood too!

It's made of lavender linen and insertion in a vintage cotton fabric.

C'est moi - in a known pose. Please note the pink sneakers, I love them!

When your bathroom looks like this.....

...you must remember to enjoy the pretty things around you.

And if showering is a problem due to a handyman turning the water off, it's good to cover yourself in seductive fragances. Just kidding.

My daughter accused me of not having any opinions in my blog. She's totally wrong, of course, but it's typically teenagerish to think that opinions have to be howled to be noticed. See, that's an opinion right there!

Anyway, here's another: