Come with me to Norway!

Remember way back - a few months back, that is - when I boldly announced that I was going to do studio tours?  One a week, I believe I proclaimed?  Well, that was quite an aspiration, and life kind of got in the way.  HOWEVER, I'm trickling along, and I'm very excited to go (virtually) to Norway, to visit Heike and her sewing space....

I met Heike around Christmas time 2008 - Hip Stitch had only been open a few months - she had found our store via the internet, I believe.  She came in to use the lounge, and we instantly struck a lovely acquaintance with each other.  She shared with me that she was only here in Albuquerque temporarily - she's German, her home is Norway, and she was here with her husband and her 2 sweet daughters.  Her sewing machine wasn't with her, and she, being quite the sewer, was hoping to find a place to create.  She brought her girls in with her, and they'd work on their own little crafting, or just quietly watch their mama.

Well, her husband's temporary position (I think at UNM?) ended, and it was time for them to move back to Norway.  Since then, she's added another lovely girl to her family!  We've kept in touch via emails, and she's sent me the link to her photos of things she's sewn/knitted.  She was one of the 1st people I thought of when I wanted to do the studio tours - we've been in touch over the summer, and between her time on holiday (doesn't that sound so lovely.....holiday?), and my time on vacation, it took 'till now to get this done.  So without further ado:

How long have you been sewing?  What was the 1st project you made?

I started sewing about 3 years ago after finding the magazine Ottobre  (finnish sewing magazine for kids clothes).  first piece ever was curtains I shortened, but first thing I made 3 years ago was a sweater for my oldest daughter. It went pretty well even if I made some smaller mistakes, but short time after I took a sewing class and I learned all the basic stuff, the rest I learned by doing.

 

What time of day do you sew?  anytime?  when the kids go to bed?

I usually sew in the evenings after the kids went to bed. In the weekends, I sew during the day, too. Now, since I am home with the baby, I use every minute during the day to make some new clothes.

 

Do you listen to anything while sewing?  music?  talk radio?  children in the background?  or just quiet?

Kind of embarrassing, but I watch tv while sewing, or better said, I hear the tv in the background, but I am not watching, only listening. Or the kids in the background, sometimes coming to my sewing table, asking me, if they can help or if I make something for them and if yes, if they can choose the embellishment.

 

What's your favorite sewing tool/notion to use?  that you'd be lost without?

My favorite tool is definitely the rotary cutter and the seam ripper. I am perfectionist and if things are not the way I want them to be, I use the seam ripper starting all over again. I even open serger seams if I think they don't look pretty enough. So, you see, I have a sewing machine, a serger and a combined sewing and embroidery machine, that I just got from my husband as a Christmas gift. I wonder what is next, maybe the coverlock machine? We will see.

 

What project are you most proud of?  why?

There are a lot of projects I am proud of, but recently, I made three dresses for my girls, two look the same, and one only for my oldest; I am very proud of my interpretation of the patterns (I will send you the pictures of those projects after my holidays)


And the hardest part for me.....choosing which pictures to post.  So so many beautiful things she's created!!

Here is her sewing space, complete with sewing maching, serger, and sewing/embroidery machine.  And here is the space where her girls "sew":

Here are the angel wings she worked on at Hip Stitch: 

 

Heike herself, in a sweater she created:

 A fish purse for her little girl.

Elf outfit.......

 ......being worn!

Ingenious holder for all the girls' hair accessories!

Comfy bean bag chairs.

One of my favorite things she's made....the La Rue bag.  I love love the little mushroom through the 'window'.

I'd never want to leave this room if I was a little girl......play curtains around the bed!

Sweet owl bag.

Backpack for baby doll.

These are just a sampling of Heike's work.  What I think I love most is the versatility.  Sewing isn't limiting by any means, and Heike proves that, which I find so inspirational.   For your home, for yourself, for your children, for organizing, accessorizing, and so much more, thank you Heike, for sharing with us!  Maybe someday you'll make your way back to New Mexico, or I'll make my way to Norway, or we'll meet somewhere in between - and in the meantime, I'm thankful for the internet!

(And Heike, I, too often sew with the tv in the background.....Law & Order comes on at 10:00 pm, and I'm riveted to the story while sewing!)