rett og vrangt

Linen

2010-03-14T15:15:00.003+01:00

From this

Through this

And into this

Tough one of the most boring projects I've ever knit, I'm absolutely in love with the finished object. I've worn it several times already, even though it's still wool weather. The linen keeps me warm enough, while it still feels cool to the skin.
The white edgeing is a variation on the garter belt I knit last summer. The only difference is adding beads instead of "nupps" to the point of the triangles. It was fiddly and took some time, and I admit I spilled beads all over the sofa a couple of times. But the beads add so much to this stole and I'm very glad I added them.

Needless to say, I think this is a winner and something I'll cherish for years to come.

I love it THIS MUCH!

(Ravelry link)

There is no excuse

2010-03-07T14:59:00.003+01:00

for the silence on this blog.

I do still knit, I do still take photos of my knitting and more. It just seems these days I'm not able to find enough words to compose a whole, read worthy blog post.

I tell myself every day to get better at it. I do miss the blogging. But I guess these things have their ups and downs.

If you miss me terribly (though I guess not many do) and don't already follow me on flickr, please know that I am there more than I am here. I upload at least one picture a week, as part of the 52/2010 Knitterly and Crafty types sp pool.

New hats for the whole family

2010-02-07T18:52:00.003+01:00

Mine, Sunflower Tam from Knitting Nature
(Ravelry link)

His, simple ribbed beanie in black sock yarn, no pattern
(Ravelry link)

M's. Crochet wool hat, no pattern
Soooooo, proud of this. She made it herself :)
(Ravelry link)

Not spending enough time in here these days. Soon; sweaters!

Obligatory post: the finished objects of 2009

2009-12-31T12:30:00.002+01:00

All in all a good year I think. Starting to get a hang of the larger projects, and crocet.

Now we'll see what 2010 brings... I know I have a buttload of works in progress to finish. And they're all pretty nice. And of course there are plans. Plenty of them! Like cardigans and the colour red and more lace and crochet.
I also just knit one pair of socks in 2009, yet "Knitting vintage socks" lives on my bedside table, and I have plenty of sock yarn.

Happy bright and shiny new 2010 to all!

In the mail

2009-12-16T21:24:00.003+01:00

Today was the "deadline" to get holiday presents in the mail in Norway. I am lucky enough to be able to hand deliver most of my presents this year, but I still managed to send a few things off.

(Ravelry link)

Two Snugs. Going to two different parts of the country, for two little girls born this fall and bearing the same name.
I really liked knitting these hoodies, and I think they look super cute. I do wonder what they'll look like with a baby inside though. I hope one of the moms will send me a picture.

(Ravelry link)

And an Ishbel. For my favourite aunt. She turned sixty in January and this is her very late birthday present. I love how it turned out and I just know she will too! I've gotten some responses on Flickr that I should keep this for myself. But I have plenty of Rowan yarn in an even prettier blue for me, for a sweater, and plenty of other nice blue yarns for more shawls for me too. This is definately an auntie shawl.

I'm quickly working on my final knitted holiday gift for my brother. Then I'm all done with gift knitting for a while and will spend the holidays and beginning of 2010 knitting for ME! ME! ME! (or at least I hope so).

Will I have to fight her for my stash?

2009-12-02T08:04:00.004+01:00

M mastered a new skill last night. She even found the hook in the right place by herself. She's paid attention to where I keep my good stuff.

The yarn... I can no longer remember the name of, but she picked it out by herself the last time I went yarn shopping. At least for the time being we have very different taste in yarn. If her fondness for funfur and multi-coloured, syntetic tape yarn ever passes I guess she'll sneak into my stash yarn. Maybe it's time to hide the Baby Cashmerino and Sea Silk?

What it's going to be, you wonder? Christmas tree garland... A very, very long one!

"Mom, why are you knitting with sewing thread?"

2009-11-14T16:18:00.002+01:00

...said M a few days ago.

This work in progress has great drape and feel. And I love the colour. But it's knitting up ever so slowly. I love working on it though.
It's nothing but plain old garter stitch now. 150 stitches a row on 3mm needles. But there is a plan for some spruceing up with a crisp white crochet border and some lovely blue seed beads. I have never tried adding beads to crochet. I hope I can make it work. And if I can make it work without pre-stringing the beads I'll be very, very happy. There's still a fair bit of knitting to do first though.

Most of my time these days are spent with a paint brush in hand. I hope I'm all done before mom and dad come to visit next weekend. Before that, I hope to finish the border on a shawl for mom too. If I do, mom will bring me back my purple Shetland triangle shawl. She kidnapped it last time she was here, telling me I would get it back when I finished the shawl for her. So far, it looks like it worked...

And because it's Saturday, and really dark and wet outside, I baked.

Aniseed buns. I've had a craving for these for about a week now. They're cooling down at the moment, I've only had one to taste, but we'll dig into them for real as soon as P and M comes back from a few hours of swimming. Yum!

Mid day snack

2009-11-05T13:02:00.002+01:00

I don't care if it's snowing outside. The fire place is lit and I have time to sit down and enjoy a mid day snack.

Home made banana bread and dried apple rings. Accompanied by my favourite tea, sweet coconut thai chai.

Another one

2009-11-02T08:58:00.002+01:00

Another hat craving, another hat, another pompom.

Using up stash yarn in a fast way.

White is maybe not the best colour for a young girl who tends to get moss, leaves and mud on everything she wears. We'll see how it looks a month from now... I'll also take care not to mention that I personally think the yarn, Alfa, is a bit on the scratchy side.

Worked this up as I went along, using the cable chart from the Yellow Harvest mittens in last winters Vogue knitting. M helped out with the pompom. If she had her way she would probably pompom everything.

Whose idea was this anyway?

2009-10-29T18:57:00.002+01:00

I only have myself to blame...

Yesterday afternoon I found a half empty can of paint in the garage and had the idea to spruce up the closet doors in the hallway. Things kind of escalated (another half empty huge bucket of paint was found) and I've been prepping and painting for 10 hours straight today... In a couple of hours (a third coat is needed) our hallway is going to be gorgeous, white and bright. No more dark and dingy wood paneling.

In addition, a carpenter is working wonders outside on our porch. More white paint lies in my future, but it's going to be sooo awsome in the end.

Monochrome

2009-10-21T14:04:00.002+02:00

Lately it has seemed like anything and everything I make is blue. Over the past coulpe of weeks I have seen that this is in fact not true. There is a great deal of black/white/gray going on too. And that feeling of never finishing stuff has gone away too.

Evidence 1: Mojo vest

This spring I gave my brother the promise of a vest for his birthday, and though I'm a little late delivering (his birthday is in July) I could finally present it to him this past weekend.

It fits him perfectly and he's very happy with it. He's even told me later that he receives a lot of "cred" for the vest. Wich I suppose is a good thing, and the correct lingo to use in hip musician circles.
I've named the vest "Mojo" because my brother really needs to get his mojo back. He's been unfortunate enough to breake his legs three times in less than a year (one car crash in Dec.-08, one fall accident in July and one bicycle accident in September). Absolutely not good for a guy who plays the drums for a living. He's doing amazingly well and is able to work almost full time. And he's been lucky enough that the two last breaks were in his left leg. He can work his music magic without that apparently.
Ravelry link to Mojo

Evidence 2: Big pom-pom hat

Knit with the left over yarn from the Mojo vest. During the last leg of the vest knitting I got a very strong hat knitting craving. This was just the remedy for it. An awsome pattern, though a little bit fiddly with two cable needles in use at once, I really loved this pattern. And the pom-pom is just so fun to make and wear.
Ravelry link to pom-pom hat

Evidence 3: Living room chairs / reading corner

Making this

(grandma and grandpas old chairs, where they used to read me stories as a child)

into this

It's taken me about 1.5 years, and I've had the chairs for 5 years but they're finally all done. Except a little bit of help with wrapping and holding the fabric in the end (thanks BIL) I did this job all by myself. I've spent a lot of hours sanding the wood down on these! All the old sticky varnish was sanded off and then colour and oil was applied after. The old fabric was also a bit of a hassle to get off. I think there were about 500 staples and nails to take out.
Everything was finished in time to surprice my P when he got home from a week in Poland last Thursday. He's really happy too.

(Norwegian readers; if you go see the movie "Knerten" pay attention to the carpenters sofa, it is upholstered in the exact same fabric these chairs used to have. That is: if you're able to take your eyes away from all the gorgeous knitwear going on in that movie)

Evidence 4: dining room chairs

I bought wayyyy too much fabric for the reading chairs. Twice as much as I actually needed. So I put new covers on all six dining room chairs. I love how everything matches now...

Evidence 5: zebra leggings are in use
(and an excuse to post a very cute picture)

M is wearing these leggings almost daily now that colder weather has hit us. She loves them.
Ravelry link to leggings

Is gray my new blue???
I don't think so. This is blocking as I type.

That's for next time...

Cocoon

2009-10-13T18:20:00.003+02:00

Finally, something is finished, wearable and bloggable.

A few weeks ago I finished my modified Cloud Bolero. Started sometime last winter (can't exactly remember when) and put in the "naughty corner" for a very long time due to some serious issues whith the transition from body to sleeve. When I picked it back up in September the sleeves just flew off the needles. No problem at all, and I can't really remember what it was I got stuck on either.

I was a bit worried that I would not have enough yarn to make it long enough. I used three balls first for the body, then knit the sleeves to desired length with the fourth and finally, with the remaining yarn I knit two more pattern repeats at the bottom and bound off. The possibility to do this, and try on as you go is my favourite thing about top-down patterns.

Once the knitting was done the vest(?) reached my waist. Once washed and blocked it had grewn lenghtwise to just below my butt. Great! It's a perfect fit. Only problem with this is that the button holes grew a bit too. I need to crochet them more snug I think.

The yarn, Rowan Cocoon was great to work with. An excellent candidate for wet splicing means less bulky ends to weave in and it's kitten soft and has great drape. Only downside to it is that it sheds. A lot! I know loosely spun singles do, but it seems like it's never going to end. I hope it does.

As I was wearing it for the first time P commented that it looked lovely. "When did you knit that?" I guess it's hard for him to keep track of months old works in progress. And it truly is lovely.

Not knitting

2009-09-09T13:31:00.002+02:00

For the past couple of weeks a tendonitis has tried to take me away from anything crafty. And by craft I mean knitting and crocheting. So I've found room to do a lot of other things instead.

Mushroom picking.

Baking.

Painting.

And last, but not least

Spinning.

A little bit of the wool Theresa gave me when we went mushroom hunting (successfully), has been transformed into lovely sock weight singles that will be transformed into a shawlette at one point. I'm thinking something along the lines of the lovely Multnomah.

I've never successfully spun singles before, but a couple of days ago I stumbled upon a tutorial for how to full singles. I just had to give it a go!(I can't for the life of me fint my way back to that blog, I'm sorry...)

I have been doing a teensy bit of knitting and crocheting over the past weeks too, just to see how much I can do before I have to "listen to the hands" and give them a rest. And I've been weaving in ends and doing some clearing up in the huge UFO-pile too.

Tomorrow I'll be back to the knitting again tough. I have a funeral to go to, and with that a 8 hour bus ride. I'm packing easy stuff and hope for the best. If what I take with me really does not suit my hands, my home town has a really nice yarn store... So I know I can keep myself occupied on the 8 hour bus ride back home too. Then, if time permits it I'll be going on a road trip with my father in law on Monday, and will most likely get some knitting done then too.

Right now though, I'll head outside to see how my brand new vest is doing, it's drying outside in the sunshine :)

Comfort food

2009-08-28T19:57:00.002+02:00

I think the tendonitis monster is trying to sneak up on me.

I'm more than a little bummed out about this, since I have three things almost finished, a new pattern in the writing and too much time on my hands.

I guess I'll just have to keep baking, and eating!

These oatmeal cookies are the best I've ever tried. I found the receipe here.

I had to wing it a bit though. My pantry could only come up with six walnuts, so I put almonds in instead. Not too bad, almonds are my third fave nut. And I've heard they're healthy too... I don't know if walnuts are?

Now we match

2009-08-02T22:58:00.006+02:00

I've practically used up all my very blue Falk yarn that I had a drawer full of just a few months ago.

About three weeks ago I finished knitting "Sundog" for M. And a few days ago I pulled myself up by the ear and wove in the last ends and blocked it.

Now M has a new wool sweater that matches my Pioneer.

I'm very happy with it. It turned out great, and was also a super holiday project. The yoke is fun to knit and is well constructed, the whole thing is seamless and the sweater is designed to grow with the child.

The cuffs are turned up, and I knit extra length to the body, so I am pretty sure we'll at least get two seasons wear out of this.

(Ravelry project page here)

While checking that I had not squirreled away even more blue Falk yarn I actually found yarn for and started another blue project. This time with added gray. More holiday knitting. This time it's a "how to avoid cabin fever"-project. And for me!

The blue Falk is as good as gone. When I finish up this latest project I'll have used up a whole drawerful of blue yarn this summer.

Something blue

2009-08-02T13:43:00.003+02:00

This

(Picture taken last summer in Bolnäs, home of Växbo Lin)

Made into this

(Bridal garter by Lisa Hamblin, Ravelry link)

My childhood best friend gets married the coming Saturday. She asked me to make her a blue garter, and I was never one to refuse. How could I? Even though I really don't understand the point of a garter. It's our our joint understanding that this is mostly a gag gift and something that might turn into something fun in the very late hours of the party.

It turned out pretty though. And i did not spend much yarn or time on it. I hardly made a dent in my huge cone of laceweight linen. It was very inspiering to crochet with though. So I'm thinking of it as a swatch of sorts...

A brain in holiday mode

2009-07-20T20:55:00.002+02:00

Something was very, very wrong in the longies pattern I'm working from at the moment. I'm slightly pissed, at the pattern and at myself.

"Work down leg decreasing one stitch each side of marker every 1,5 cm 22 times. When leg measures 14 cm change to ribbin."

Guess how long it took me to figure out something was wrong... I guess I'm sort of lucky; it was after 14 cm and not after 22 decreases. Now I have not been able to knit anything for two days, because I can't decide wether to fudge it or frog it.

Two weeks of nothing

2009-07-12T17:54:00.004+02:00

Back home for a few days to tendt to the garden and mail. For the past two weeks I have been doing close to nothing. Or rather - fishing...

Being in a boat for most of the day takes time away from knitting, and I've got absolutely nothing to show. It was even too hot to knit much in the car driving to and from this part of the holiday, a total of about 14 hours of driving...
The weather has cooled down now, and I've got a few hours in the car to look forward to in the days to come. Things will be finished soon I hope!

Kris-bel

2009-06-22T17:33:00.003+02:00

The Ishbel for my friend Kris is finally done.

M was very helpful during the photo shoot.

I knit this in the small (shawlette/scarf) size. There was not enough yarn left to knit a full repeat of chart A and B to make it bigger. I'm very happy about how it turned out. And actually, the size is perfect.

Christmas 2007 (eek!) I gave Kris a gift card of something hand knitted by me. She requested something chocolate brown, soft and for the neck. I made 3 false attempts and I'm so happy I finally found a pattern and yarn that works together. I'm sure she'll love it as much as I do. At least I hope so.

(There are more photos and better viewed images in my flickr-album, click on the picture on top to go there)
Ravelry project page

Summer is officially here

2009-06-19T12:34:00.003+02:00

School's out today! This years teacher gift is done and delivered today.

Blonde, by Pinneguri/The Needle Lady.
Knit in double stranded Klippan by Mora, five pattern repeats.

The house is full of antisipation. All the laundry is done and the big bags are out of the closet, ready to be filled with all our holiday needs and don't-needs. I've mentally packed all my needed knitting, and it's not a small bag. Starting off with Laredo for my brother. Hoping to get it done by his birthday July 15th.

For the next couple of weeks we're going all the way to the very southernmost part of Norway, to the inlaws holiday house. It's been a couple of years since we've been there and I'm looking forward to it so much. Just look...

We'll be going to the lighthouse for ice cream, sunsets and to hear the great wide ocean crash to the shore as often as possible. It's only a 5 minute walk... And I'll find that one spot in the garden where there's no wind and just knit and knit and knit. Internet access is going to be scarse, but hopefully we can get online at least a couple of times while we're there. And if not I'll be back with finished things and pictures to share.

Speaking of finished things, the wrist warmers were just an inbetween project. I've been wizzing through an Ishbel the last week. Only the two last charts to go, and I'm ready to block. I'll be sharing that before I leave.

Pioneer!

2009-06-15T15:05:00.004+02:00

Pioneer is finished!

I love it:)
It fits and everything is good (everything but the curling neck line).

Even the blue, that was so overpowering at times when I was knitting it is now just plain gorgeous.

The cables down the arms and back add so much to this sweater.

I got to wear this on Saturday, and got so many compliments on it. I am one happy camper! I've got some other big stuff coming this summer and I now have confidence that I can actually finish projects that require more than three balls of yarn. The big (big?4 mm needles?) help a lot though. I'm already planning more sweaters for me, and another Pioneer for me, in cotton, with the cables slightly different. We'll see when I get around to that.

Ravelry project page
And please remember that you can click on pictures to take you to Flickr to see a larger version. The cables are tiny...

Tuesday blues

2009-06-09T10:03:00.003+02:00

Almost finished with the sweater. Browsing around Flickr to remind myself that blue is indeed my favourite colour. I'm getting a bit sick of that very blue sweater now and want something else. I'll keep going though, because this sweater, once it's done, is going to be very, very good! And blue!

THE dress

2009-06-07T20:05:00.005+02:00

Finally, I'm able to show you what I worked on for the major period of May. It's quite possible the cutest baby dress I've ever laid my hands on to this day. Maybe... I could be modest here, but I won't be! A lot of thinking (and thinking ahead) went into the making of this dress. Working from a pattern that was not for this day and age, and not for a knitter who likes to have her hand held by the pattern writer. Also, I started off by provisionally casting on 300 stitches, and I will not do that again any time soon. In addition I'll confess to one and all that I will not be working with Rowan Fine Milk Cotton any time soon. It splits, it has knots on knots and snargles and snafus aplenty. I was very disappointed. When this happens in non-wool yarn I find it especially frustrating, because splicing the ends together is out of the question.

All the brain churning, fear, pressure of time, gazillion stitches on small needles, ends to weave in and fiddly snaps to sew in were so absolutely worth it in the end! The result turned out 99% like I wanted it to. Cuteness galore, and it's not even pink! And today I got to see the happy face of the mom to be holding it, way over in the U.S., and I'm happy I did it all.

And I'll be doing it again (sans the Milk Cotton), and that time I'll be writing down a pattern and it will be without all the things I found frustrating when I knit this one. Just in case you wondered.

Coming up next is the now nearly finished very blue sweater. And in near future I'll be tackeling my very first man garment. My brother has asked me (again) to knit him a vest. And I will! Because I love him, esp. now for being alive and turning 26 in July, and for actually wanting a vest and for agreeing on a pattern with me and choosing his own colour yarn. Laredo, just came out and looks great.

knit flip knit flip knit flip knit flip knit flip knitflipknitflipknitflip

2009-06-05T15:05:00.002+02:00

The downside to knitting sweaters from the top down; once you've knit the body and start the sleeves there's a whole lot of stuff hanging down from your needles. And this has to be flipped around along with your knitting or else you get your work balled up in a knot. I've been making excellent progress on a sweater and now the sleeves are bugging the shit out of me. I have to kick myself in the butt and not start anything (small and free dangling) all the time. Also considering making short sleeves, and must remind myself of the stupidity of wool sweaters with short sleeves. I need my long sleeves!

The sweater is gorgeous though, a great fit and very, very blue.

Even more blue than this! When I first started knitting I almost thought it was too blue. I love blue!
Blue like the summer sky, like fjords and the great wide ocean. I long to go to the summer house soon... But first I have to finish the darned sleeves!

Knit flip knit flip knit flip knit flip knit flip knitflipknitflipknitflip

Something blue

2009-05-29T12:41:00.004+02:00

I've been rummageing through the stash a lot lately. And also flicking through my "Luxury one skein wonders" numerous times. Conclusion is I have a lot of yarn, and also that this book has a lot of potential.

I've had two balls of baby blue Baby Silk from Du store alpakka buried under a lot of other stuff for ages. I finally found a very nice pattern for it. And it's crochet, wich I want to do more of. My hands were hurting a little bit after speeding through 3.5 balls of cotton on 2.5 mm needles (super secret project for now), and a pair of very heavy pot holders in very stiff yarn lately and I was definately in the mood for something very soft and non knitting.

Enter super simple, fast and nice scarf pattern...

I made three squares yesterday. The first one was a real brain churner, the second just fiddly enough to make interested and the third one was a breeze. Now I just have 7 more squares to go, if I don't decide to make it larger than the pattern states. I think it will be just lovely for summer nights or breezy days (I have a sensitive neck.) Also, I think this pattern will be great for last minute gifts. And that's always a good thing!

I'm really happy about how the pot holders turned out in the end too. They match the tiles in my kitchen and are very thick and squisy and last but not least big enough to cover a hand properly.

Tonight I'll be knitting and going to the movies with Theresa, and tomorrow morning I head up to the mountains with my sister in law. She'll be working out on her bicycle, I'll be working my hook and needles. I'm bringing the baby silk and also the very promising start of a Pioneer in some very nice blue Falk yarn. And sunblock :)

Zebra!

2009-05-25T12:00:00.002+02:00

I knit M a pair of legwarmers. Her first pair was getting old and worn and a little bit too short. She requested a "no snag" pair, because the old ones snagged on anything and everything and threads got pulled out. Not nice.

Sometime around easter I started these, frogged the first one half way and started over. I have skinny legs, M has skinnier legs, but aparently not that skinny. After casting on for the second time, with a lot more stitches and more purl stitches it was all smooth sailing.

Though these are originally for M, we have agreed that I get to borrow them, because they go so well with my new wellies. See...

And it's a good thing they go with my wellies, because I don't do much of this

any more. I probably should, but I kinda sucked at it. I'm much better at gardening.

I think I like gray

2009-05-22T15:46:00.003+02:00

We finally decided to move one of the wardrobes from the guest bedroom down to M's room. It's long overdue that she gets her own wardrobe. So I had to clear out that one wardrobe. Inbetween all the clutter and nonsense that was in that closet was yarn for three gray sweaters. I'll claim I don't know how that happended...

Other than that; it's raining. A lot!

She can do it!

2009-05-18T12:56:00.003+02:00

I'm doing it too, only some of it is secret and the rest is not much to write about. I have a couple of finished stuff undocumented, just waiting for help with the photos.

WE WON!!!

2009-05-17T00:40:00.001+02:00

I've commuted with this guy countless times! We won!

It's a Faerytale...

Every day should be like this...

2009-05-01T17:23:00.002+02:00

Sun shining, temperature perfect for a spring day, just a slight breeze, bare feet working the wheel, face up to the sun...

Lovely!

Boys, boys, boys

2009-05-01T12:06:00.002+02:00

Two of my cousins have given birth to baby boys this week. This is what goes in the mail to the first one. Very boyish and not too cute.

I'm very happy about how this came together. Turns out it's wise to have baby stuff bought on sale, and small baby items lying around in boxes and drawers.

The denim panst are just finished, but the bunny bonnet was knit a year ago and has been stashed away since then. The onsie has been resting in the bottom of my knitting basket for over a year too, for no apparent reason. I can't even remember why I bought it.

I'm knitting a Baby Surprice Jacket for this little baby boy too. But that's another story and blogpost. It's nearly finished, I've even got the buttons ready!

The other baby boy will get a vest or a devil cap and scarf. I absolutely cannot decide wich alternative to go with. All I know is that I have the yarn ready and waiting. Three balls of Drops Merino Extra Fine in a gorgeous sky blue. Decisions, decisions...

Liberated

2009-04-16T11:08:00.003+02:00

One WIP off the needles, but backwards not forward.

From a tangled mess of back and sleeves of a bolero sweater:

To a nice and tidy(ish) balls of yarn:

Yarn, five 4mm dpns, a circ, stitc markers and row counter LIBERATED!

Ahhhhh.....

Whoops - there's another deadline...

2009-04-13T12:58:00.003+02:00

Time just flies sometimes. And now my cousin has started her maternity leave, the baby is due in about 2 weeks. And I have not started to knit anything for the the little fellow soon to arrive.

One of my favourite things I've knit for a little spring baby boy is denim drawstring pants. They are so fast to knit, the result is great and they're awsome looking on a little baby.

I've dug up a few balls of Rowan Denim from the stash. Maybe they'll get done in a week, then I have another week to knit a cutesy little vest to go with it? Ponder, ponder...

The easter projects have gone so so. One legging has grown considerably, the shawl has not been touched, and I've almost finished one sock - knee high :)
It's good to be home again!

Pessimistic - optimistic

2009-04-08T12:13:00.002+02:00

Packed for good weather...

Packed for bad weather

-A KnitPicks sock blank, self-dyed and wound. Numerous patterns for toe-up socks...
-100 grams of Opal Rainforrest Zebra yarn, already on track to become leggings for M.
-a just started Flower Basket shawl in brown alpaca, for those rare occations when cabin life (small space, many people, poor lighting) will give me enough calm and consentration for that kind of project

Ah, well. Fingers crossed for more of the former than the latter.

Resting in a drawer for a year

2009-04-07T21:45:00.002+02:00

The "Easterwalkers".

Knit for easter 2006, I still love them and look forward to putting them in my easter luggage every year.

Happy easter! I'll be back over the holidays.

Done, wrapped and in the mail!

2009-04-04T16:57:00.003+02:00

7,5 balls of Rauma 2-tråds Gammelserie in gray, and some leftovers in red and pinks makes a practical, whimsical and very cozy blanket for a little girl to enjoy for many years to come I hope. It's a christening gift for a little girl, made in a week (there was some pressure to get it done in time and a sore wrist in the end).

I'm so happy with how it all came togheter in the end. The felting turned the slightly twine like yarn into the softest, squishiest thing. It's also now very much washable, I don't think it will felt much more on a normal wool cycle. And it's larger than a baby blanket, so it can be used for many years to come.

Pre- and post-felting images:

Pre: covers an "average sized" man

Post: covers a 6 year old girl

About a month ago I was crocheting red flowers just for the heck of it. I had no intention to use them for anything. Then P "ordered me" to make a blanket for his best friends baby. I started playing around with a hook and left over yarn from my Oleana hat (Ravelry link). I frogged a scarf in progress to get more yarn (it was never going to get finished anyway, bought 5 more balls of gray, rummaged through the stash for some girly coloured oddballs to spice it all up colourwise. And hey presto: blanket!

Ravelry project page

Chicken. In a hurry...

2009-03-30T18:20:00.002+02:00

What do you do when you realise Friday evening that you somehow did not manage to read all the words on a an invitation for a birthday party, and one of the words you've missed out on is carneval ("dress up party").

Crochet to the rescue!

(and an old Picachu costume too)

I'm happy. She's happy (and cute)! The Saturday was saved! (though my wrists hurt a bit Friday night...) There was even a cute little crochet bag in the birthday present.

Since last tuesday I've managed to complete said bag and "chicken", and a whole, huge baby blanket! Just the finishing touches to go. More on that soon...

A bit of rock'n'roll for the weekend

2009-03-21T13:21:00.003+01:00

While I concentrate on finishing my pattern writing and other knitterly stuff. Here's som good old fashioned music for the weekend:

So, while you listen to We did it all, I'll try to do it all, and then blog about it!

Honourable mention

2009-03-18T20:21:00.003+01:00

I've received an award from Laughingmuse.

I'm very flattered and honoured! It came out of nowhere, on a day I really needed a little pick me up... It's always good to know ones creativity is appreciated.

8 of my favourite creative blogs are
knottygnome
danim
Ann - med pinner
Thorvalda
Hespetre - the other Guro
Bea
The keyboard biologist
Kverulantinnen

The rules are as follows for the nominees:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 8 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

I always enjoy it when I stumble upon other peoples awards on their blogs. It gives me a chance to peek into what they enjoy to read and look at. It's a good chance to see some new things and maybe befriend a few new blogs.

Other than this award; what else is new?

I feel like everything I work on is progressing very slowly these days. I am also finding myself casting on a number of new things, or just plain working on stuff with no purpose. I realised on sunday I've crocheted 20-ish flowers with no plan for them. They are scattered around the sofa and inbetween my wips in a not-good way.

The flower facination started with this

A very cute toddler hat found in my newest knitting book; 101 luxury one skein wonders. A great little book with a lot of promising patterns. The problem with this hat (not considering the funny looking thingy on the top) is that I don't know any little girls who can wear it at the moment... Ah, well!

To make knitterly things progress even more slowly I'm trying to justle up not one, but two different knitting patterns. Procrastinating A LOT! I'm also napping regularly in the afternoons in stead of knitting (or doing house work).

A last note: I WENT TO COPENHAGEN AND DID NOT VISIT A YARN STORE! I did not know that could ever happen to a knitter.

Trying to capture spring in yarn

2009-03-11T14:01:00.003+01:00

Today is a nice and sunny day, a great change from the last couple of weeks of snow, fog, slush and gray. It's supposed to snow again tomorrow. I long for spring so much. Flowers and grass turning green. The sound of melting snow, the drip-drip-drip from the iceicles hanging from our roof. Not having to watch my every step leaving the house in the mornings, in fear of slipping and falling on the ice in our drive way. I planted a Helleborus last winter, and now I have this vision of a beautiful flower under all the snow in my garden. What if it's done blooming once all this snow is gone. Poor flower!

To keep my mind off all the dreary grayness outside I spun up my roving of Electric Iris Avenue by Dyedinthewool last weekend. It's very springy indeed. And I think my spinning skills have improved too.

This cheerful handspun has made me want to spin more, and I've started spinning up some roving in different shades of reds, browns and pink. A real energy boost! Great fun, and looking very promising so far.
I've also croceted a hat, and knit up and started to write down the pattern for a baby bonnet. Silence on the blog does not mean the needles aren't clicking and the wheel is not clacking...

I keep falling behind

2009-03-02T15:06:00.002+01:00

Pictures from last Monday

I've worked on and completed a small number of things since then. Seems like I manage to spend a good deal of time crafting, but not nearly as much photographing or playing online. I've moved my "craft corner" to a different part of the living room, I've tidied everything up a bit and gotten rid of a lot of stuff. A whole bag of scrap yarn and ugh-yarn was donated to M's school. I've frogged three projects I think I would probably never finish and I've now got all my wips in a "sort of" system. I've also spun quite a bit! Things are going on! Now I just have to get a grip on this showing it all off and telling you all about it-thing. It used to be easy, now it's for some reason very hard.

Anyway... The stashbusting blanket is gorgeous and soft and just how I hoped it would turn out. A tad bit boring to work on in the end, but still a very enjoyable project. I gently felted it in the end. Now that's magic. It's so soft and squishy now :)

End of todays story. Hoping to be back with more soon

One Oleana, two Oleana, thr... No, wait...

2009-02-23T19:44:00.003+01:00

One week, one pattern, two hats. What can I say? I've been snowed in (not really) in a cabin in the mountains for a few days. It took a total of 9 hours and 45 minutes to get there and back too. I'm glad I knit! The gray is mine, but I foresee my mom wanting it. The purple is also mine, but M has tried to "hat nap" it a number of times already.

A big thanks to Wenche for making this pattern. I think I've knit my share of tucks for a while now...

Ahem... (and a story about cold feet and good socks)

2009-02-16T23:29:00.003+01:00

I should probably blog...

I swear I do crafty stuff all the time, but there is not much to show for it. I blame winter... Luckily the daylight hours are getting longer every day. If I'm lucky I'll get to snap a few picutres of "stuff" tomorrow before I go to work.

I had a very nice "wooly moment" this afternoon. After crossing City Hall Square to get from work to my LYS (yarn for Oleana, Rav-link) and back again, I was boarding the ferry and could feel water from the brownish gray salted snow slush covering the city seep into my shoes, getting sucked up by the very thick wool soles in my boots, soaking my handknit wool socks thoroughly and making my toes cold and swollen. By the time I got home, after a quick stop to get groceries and wading up our steep driveway through 10 cm of fresh snow I knew there was only one thing that could help my drenched and frozen feet; Blue Faced Leicter!
My favourite socks. A gift in a sock swap a long time ago. Hand dyed, cheerful yarn. Perfectly knit socks. And I swear, Leicter The Sheep is the hottest ram in the flock. These socks have an instant warmth to them that I have not found anywhere else. I love them! Saved my afternoon they did.

After re-gaining the feeling of my pinkie toe I spun a bit and did yarny stuff. But that's a story for another day...

A lovely morning

2009-02-07T11:49:00.002+01:00

Birthday tradition; breakfast in bed.

The rest of the day is pure me-time!

Tomorrow is mothers day here in Norway, another breakfast-in-bed-day.
Though it has just started, I know this is going to be a great week end.

Baby, baby, baby

2009-01-31T14:03:00.002+01:00

The title sums up this post to a tee.

Baby mittens

Baby cardigan

Baby blanket in progress

The mittens have been done for quite some time, so has the BSJ. But I kind of lost my felting needle, and you all know how long it can take to find the perfect buttons and actually sew them on... So this is not me being unfaithful to the project "cocoon cloud" that I swore I'd be monogamous to in my last entry!

The blanket however, now there's where I'm cheating on my "cocoon cloud"! Then again I figured I'm allowed to have one "knitting relationship" and one "crochet relationship". Especially now that the knitting has proved to be a pain in the butt. The sleeves are giving me a lot of trouble. To get everything to match up and the picking up under the arms to look nice I have to pick up too many stitches, and the sleeves end up too wide, and the math does not add up after all... AND CROCHET IS JUST SOOOO FAST AND EASY AND RELAXING FOR THE MIND. I'm allowing myself to have a crochet affair, OK?

My week in feet

2009-01-25T21:00:00.002+01:00

It's actually a challenge for me, trying to take a picture of my feet every day, getting it uploaded and added to the correct group on flickr. I knew there was a reason why I never threw myself on to the "365" bandwagon. I know of various things that would have made this task easier for me, but most involve quite a bit of money (new camera, lap-top...)

In the end I'm relatively happy with most of the pictures. I've had some learning moments, that's a good thing! (Like, my camera will never under any light or circumstances get the colour cyclamen pink right!)

So without further ado, I present to you
A WEEK WITH MY FEET
(most recent pictures first because I got terribly lazy in the end...)

I'm amazed and happy with the amount of red in there. I should pay more attention to red in my knitting too. It's a really pretty colour!

Finally friday knitting

2009-01-23T19:36:00.002+01:00

I picked up an old wip a few days ago. There has been some swearing, ripping and careful tinking. I'm finally on the right track again now, and am making good progress.

A while ago I started to knit a fairly midified Cloud Bolero out of Rowan Cocoon. I did not make any notes of the changes I made. Using thick needles and awsome yarn I was absolutely sure I was going to be done in no time at all and I was being quite faithful to this project only. But you know how this goes... I got absolutely sidetracked and packed this little baby away. It ended up at the bottom of my very messy wip-basket and I forgot all about it until two days ago. Then I could not remember what the modifications were, and I could not find my print-out of the pattern. There was a lot of rummageing through various baskets and bags until I'm now on the right track again. 50 grams of Cocoon left to knit for the body, and 100 grams for (oh hey, modification!) sleeves. I do have some non-knitting related plans for the weekend. But I swear I will be faithful to this little baby until it's finished now.

Happy, knitterly weekend!

Feet. Nordic Feet.

2009-01-18T17:23:00.002+01:00

To ensure at least one future blog post, and this one I just joined the Nordic Feet group on Flickr. One picture of your feet, every day for a week. I won't bore you with feet every day. But be warned, next Sunday will be full of feet...

Literally; the warm up picture. That's my small but very handy heater on full blast. I turn it on and point it at my feet when I'm on the computer at home. Without it my feet would be cold. And once my feet are cold I'm cold all over. I bet you know the feeling.

My feet are very much looking forward to a seminar at a hotel, wine tasting and S'n'B among other things the coming week.

See you next weekend at the latest. For todays knitting content, go to HoWR.

Not really feeling the knitting

2009-01-12T13:26:00.004+01:00

That's not absolutely true, but to some extent. I don't enjoy knitting as much these days as I used to. Maybe it's bad project and material choices, maybe it's just my mind and the time of year, or just plain stress. Some days I just can't be bothered with the stitches. So progress on a lot of things is slow. Not much to show really.

What I really want to do is spin, but I kind of made a pledge to myself that I would not spin something new before I've spun up the rest of the the gray wool that I've been spinning on an off since I got my wheel. That bag of gray was huge... And there's still so much left! I just don't think I can be bothered to finish right now. After all I have something nice, super soft and fluffy and after all colourful to dig into if I throw all my promises to myself on the boat.

How can I resist this?

(I have been knitting, for myself even. My next post will contain a picure where I will most likely look like I crammed a cross between a shower cap and a hen onto my head. Look forward to it.)

I think I did ok... Bye 2008

2008-12-31T16:38:00.004+01:00

A quick summary on 2008 in pictures of finished objects

30 finished knitted and crocheted objects of various shapes, colours and sizes. My first adult sweater, and proof that I now know the right and wrong end of a crochet needle. A self published pattern and some stuff I made up myself. I don't think that's half bad.

Hoping 2009 will prove just as good a knitting year as 2008, for everybody.

I've got a basket full of unfinished objects, and babies are going to be popping out among family and friends next year too (I know this for a fact!) I know my first finished object of 2009 will be gray, buttoned and wooly. I cast on yesterday and already have a pocket and sleeve done.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Single pointed bamboo sticks

2008-12-29T14:21:00.004+01:00

Just to prove to anyone happening by that I am still around, though I seem to have completely lost my knitting and blogging mojo. I've not blogged, far less knit anything in weeks.

I'm still using bamboo when it matters though:

...and handknits too!

This years x-mas turned out a whole lot different than we thought it would be. It's been a bit stressful, not the calm and peaceful, long, at home x-mas vacation I thought I was going to have. Things are starting to get better and look normal now. I'm still looking at three somewhat stressful January weeks, then I hope I can get back to my old knitting, couch potato self in not too long. (and there will be a new couch, thanks to mom+dad+santa:)

Happy new year all!

I should have blogged a week ago. Also, I'm a nosy little person

2008-12-07T13:30:00.002+01:00

Shetland triangle shawl is absolutely and completely finished. In fact it's been done so long it's freshly blocked state is starting to pass too. I'm a bit disappointed in that actually. Must be the stubbornness of the Evilla. I forgive it. It's gorgeous anyway.

Taking pictures of the blocking "in progress" reminded me of something I really like as an added bonus when reading knitting blogs. Sometimes, when people present their finished knits and it's not something that is modelled, or when they are so eager to show off their most recent lace that they cannot wait for it to be completely dry and unpinned; you get a sneak peak into their house as well. Amazing knitters, who usually give us exellent pictures of finished knitting in the prettiest set ups give us a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of a knitting blog.

I'm sure you know what I mean...
(pictures chosen from a flickr search at random)

When blocking my Evilla shawl the guest bed, that I normally block things on, was occupied. So I set out to block in on the living room floor instead (dangerous thing that, with a 6 year old in the house). When I looked through the gazillion pictures I'd taken of the blocking prosess I realised I'd done it myself.

So here it is, a sneak peek into my living room.

Emergency lengthening of blocking surface is a pink place mat that P bought. I'm still baffled by the fact that I have a man who buys pink stuff for his own house. Then there's the cardigan on the piano stool, it's been hanging there since summer. I plan to make said cardigan into a cover for the stool. The piano, no one in this house knows how to play it. Pictured above the piano are pictures from West Virginia, painted by "dad" (P's distant relative and stand-in dad from his year in WV in 1992). Also in the picture is a variety of fruit and booze and my all time favourite plastic flowers (ick). Also, I can now see that my curtains must have shrunk a bit the last time I washed them.

So, what's your favourite blocking photo?

Home stretch

2008-11-22T14:03:00.002+01:00

Shetland triangle shawl #2 is nearly done.

I can definately see the end of what was a 170 gram skein of Evilla lace yarn.

I'm so looking forward to blocking this shaw. The stiff Evilla is really giving the work in progress that "egg carton lace" look on the wrong side.

And the right side reminds me of waves on a stormy sea.

Two more nights of knitting and I think this baby is done.

My new best friend

2008-11-19T20:22:00.004+01:00

I'm so happy with this, I keep it by my side in the sofa instead of my loved ones... It's so soft, and shiny, and warm!

How could i not love this? It's silk, merino and purple, three of the best things in my world. (Ravelrized)

I've started a sibling for it that's a bit "rougher around the edges". Blue and gray Evilla Artyarn. Now there's a scratchy surprice. It does not feel so bad in the skein, but knitting with it is very twine like. I hope it softens up considerably when it's washed. Why else would so many people claim to love this yarn?

I've been working on the second shawl like a crazy person. There is just too much happening at work these days and I definately feel like I need all the "knitting yoga" and "stitch mantras" I can get when I come home.
(I can spell Martti Ahtisaari without using a cheat sheet already. Crazy, I never thought I'd be able to do that.) Busy work days is also why I've not been blogging as much as I'd like recently. All will be better after December 10th!

Oh, come on! Stand still already...

2008-11-09T13:56:00.002+01:00

50 pictures taken, 3 ended up being reasonably unfuzzy and useable.

Point one: I really need a new camera
Point two: How do I explain to her that she is way cuter standing still than jumping and squirming all over the place?

The chullo took one evening to crochet, and a week to photograph. Go figure...

(It's the Seija hat again, same as in this post, but with very different yarn and hook. M has been using it every day at school for the past week. She loves it:)
Ravelrized

The colour of baby...

2008-11-02T16:13:00.002+01:00

... poop!

The general idea and construction of this scarf is good (I know a couple of things I'll change if I ever do this again). The yarn is not the worst kind of yarn either. The colour though... Eeeeewwwwww!

I managed to hook my way through one and a half skein of this. I do not know one person who would look good in this colour. I'm thinking a statue would look ok in it though (a nice contrast to their often greenish brown bronze colour) so it goes into my pile of By:garn knit tagging stuff.

If you cannot see the horridness of this colour it's probably the pink border around the picture tiles that throws it all off. You can click your way on to my flickr to see it without the pink. If you still think you'd love this colour please let me know and I'll send you the remaining yarn if you like.

Tiny. Happy.

2008-10-28T20:51:00.003+01:00

Another easy one from Happy Hooker. It's the hat from the Sejia set in that book. Super simple, super fast. Gosh, I love that. The fact that it's baby stuff is a bonus.

In fact, I made two hats. In two days. I just could not stop myself.

And now, a small warning: winter is coming, daylight is scarse and pictures on this blog are going to more or less suck for the next 5 months. There, I said it. I'll try not to mention it again and start loving the top of my washing machine.

Baby steps, big baby steps

2008-10-27T17:43:00.002+01:00

I thought baby steps were small and took a long time... I never imagined that in under two weeks after picking up a hook properly for the first time I would have two very nice finished objects. Seems like when I start hooking* something I just keep going until I'm done. That's why I have two big(ish) finished objects in just over a week.

First there was a blanket:

The last time I blogged that thing was just a small strip under all the other squares. It is now a very hairy and well loved tv-watching-on-saturday-mornings blanket for M.

Then I immidiately started a hat.

It's the Anarchy Irony hat from Happy Hooker. Also very well received by M.

Petter must have tried it on in secret, because he told me last night it fit him perfectly and he wants one too. "Hopefully in another yarn and colour" was my only response. Off course I'll make him a hat if he asks me to! After all he stayed home and washed all the windows while M and I were out snapping pictures of the beanie and enjoyed ourselves.

I've heard last night that two of my cousins are expecting in April and May. Already; one crochet baby hat in the making.

OMG, I cant stop!

(*somehow the c-word and I don't mix well. I don't like pronouncing it and typin it always comes out as crotch first)

Hooked

2008-10-20T17:17:00.002+02:00

I have not touched my knitting in a week! I've been paying very close attention to other stuff instead... The happy hooker Debbie Stoller.

That's how much skill I've managed to aquire in a weeks time. Single crochet (white square), half double and double crocet (green boring looking square), bobble stitch (red square) granny squares (small and green) and shell stitches (edge on white square and that very fuzzy thing at the bottom).

I think I'm in love with shell stitches. I've already used up one and a half very big ball of mohair yarn in shell stitch. I'm making a doll/daughter blanket/lapghan thingy out of four balls of self striping Lithuanian mohair yarn. I really like how it's turning out. The colours turn out random in a whole different way than it would in knitting. I'm not really fond of knitting with mohair, but I can crochet with it for hours on end. Nor do I like knitting with cotton much, but I do see it has it's uses in crochet. My hands don't hurt one bit. Not as it usually does when I've been working with cotton.

I'm seing "non-knittable" yarns disappearing from my stash and into a higher form of being this way. I'm a happy hooker too;)

I'm getting sucked in

2008-10-14T11:21:00.002+02:00

I can feel it....

I've had this very strong urge to master the art of Granny Squares for months. Yesterday I sat myself down and tackled single crochet. Just that simple step led me to correct a number of mistakes I have been making on those seldom occations with hook in hand. Today I'll tackle double crochet I hope.

Curiosity killed the ca... yarn?

2008-10-01T18:53:00.003+02:00

This summer I got a Knit Picks Sock Blank in a swap on Ravelry. Monday I got this sudden urge to dye it right now!

I soaked the blank in water for about 10 minutes while I dug through my yarn chest for my KoolAid. I added Cherry KA to one small pot and Blue Berries KA to another. Then I gently squeezed water from the blank, folded it twice and tied it all off on the middle with some string. All this happened quick and with a minimum of thinking behind it. I just wanted to see the pretty colours on my yarn. I dunked and swished one half of the Blanks-bundle in the blue KA while gently heating the water close to boiling temperature, then when the water was clear I turned the yarn over and repeated with the red (holding the hot blue part in a plastic bag and barbecue mitten, not easy.) Then I hung the whole thing to dry. Today when I got home from work it was finally dry.

(click to see big)

Conclusion? I need to plan these things better and make myself take more time. It's not half bad though, considering the KoolAid did not penetrate the yarn completely in a lot of places. At least I did not get a lot of red penetrating the blue and making "ick" on my yarn. (You'd think it would make purple. It doesn't.)

I'll have to knit this up soon. I'm very courious about what kind of socks this will make too... I will not be able to decide if I love or hate it until I see it knit up I think.

No way is this attractive, charming, bewitching and enchanting!

2008-09-29T18:07:00.004+02:00

(Be glad this is a small picture or you'd probably faint. Click to embiggen if you dare...)

The GGH people describe this yarn as "An abundance of color
A yarn like a gigolo: attractive, charming, bewitching and enchanting".
I've knit up a whole ball of it and I'd say it's abrasive, chafing, banned (from my stash) and extra-ugly.

50 grams 80 meters, yet I thought it would never end... It's the strangest thing I've ever knit with. Though it's a tape yarn with no apparent loose bits it was for some reason beyond my imagination splitty. The texture is very similar to a pot scrubber or exfoliating glove. My index finger is very smooth today after having 80 metres of Gigolo passed over it last night. The colours are bad and the black and glitter make it worse. It's also in some very weird way very stretchy. I don't know where that comes from at all. (If you click that yarn link up there you'll see it lookded oddly pretty in the ball, wich by the way was a total cheat since the core is a bigass cardboard roll.)

My stash is very relieved to be rid of this abomination. That patch of horridness will become "knit in art form" through By:Garn. It will probably survive anything and everything except sissors.

How I came to knit this up? Theresa found it rummageing through my stash yesterday and we got to talking about the kitches and nasties that can fester in a girls stash. We wondered at great lenght about who could possibly be buying these kinds of things. What kind of knitter would actually use this. I have a hunch it's the same people who wear gold lamè blouses...

It'll be a long time before I say a bad word about yarn ever again. Few things can compare tho the nastiness of this.

(My first yarn review on this blog I think. What do you think? I should lighten up a bit for the next one maybe? Gimme some wool!)

Yay for yarn

2008-09-24T21:17:00.002+02:00

I went to one of my LYSes for their first S'n'B today.

Not the biggest attendance, but that meant more yarn to fondle for those of us that showed up.

LYS girl and Hespetre's sister unpacking her new shipment of Rowan yarns. Looking very happy sneaky indeed.

Yum!

I came home with 7 balls of Rowan Felted Tweed in a pretty blue colour and 4 balls of Rowan Cocoon in a yummy gray, all at a very friendly 30% discount. I have plans for both and will most likely cast on sooner than I should.
(The way to never finish anything: keep casting on stuff like there is no tomorrow)

Hope to see more people there next time Sømsenteret has a knit night!

For my norwegian readers

2008-09-23T10:49:00.003+02:00

Tror ikke det er ofte jeg er politisk her, men dette er for aktuelt og "hodet på spikeren" til at jeg lar sjansen gå fra meg.

Kjære biskop Kvarme!

Takk for kampen for den rette tro og at homofilt samliv ikke er forenelig med Bibelen og kristendommen! Det står jo klart i 3. Mosebok 18/22 at homoseksualitet er en vederstyggelighet...så det er jo ikke noe å snakke om!

Men nå trenger jeg noen råd om hvordan jeg skal leve etter Guds bud:

1. Hver gang jeg brenner en okse som et offer, vet jeg at dette gir en duft som velbehager Herren( 3.Mosebok 1/9). Problemet er naboene!
De er ikke like begistret over eimen av brent okse.

2. Jeg ønsker å selge datteren min som slave(2. Mosebok 21/7).
Med det prisnivået vi har i dag - hva mener dere er rett pris for henne?

3. I 3. Mosebok 25/44 står det helt klart at jeg kan eie både mannlige og kvinnelige slaver så lenge de er kjøpt i et naboland. En venn av meg sier dette bare gjelder for svensker, og ikke dansker.
Her trenger jeg litt hjelp - kan jeg eie dansker?

4. Jeg har en nabo som insisterer på at han skal arbeide på sabatten. 2.Mosebok 35/2 er helt tydelig på at han skal drepes.
Er jeg moralsk ansvarlig for å gjøre dette selv? Eller tar kirken seg av dette?

5. En venn av meg mener at selv om det er en vederstyggelighet å spise skalldyr (3. Mosebok 11/10), så er homoseksualitet verre. Jeg er uenig!!
Hvem har rett?

6. I 3. Mosebok 21/20 står det klart at jeg ikke må nærme meg Guds alter dersom jeg ser dårlig. Jeg innrømmer at jeg er nærsynt og bruker briller.
Må synet mitt være helt perfekt eller opererer vi med litt slingringsmonn
her?

7. De fleste av vennene mine går til frisøren. De klipper håret på sidene og tar skjegget i kantene. Dette er tydelig en synd i Følge 3.Mosebok 19/27.
Hvordan bør de straffes?

8. Jeg har lest i 3. Mosebok 11/7-8 at jeg ikke må røre rester av en død gris, fordi det gjør meg uren.
Kan jeg likevel spille fotball dersom jeg har hansker på?

9. Min onkel har gård. Han synder mot 3. Mosebok 19/19 fordi han planter to ulike avlinger på samme jorde. Kona er ikke noe bedre, fordi hun går med klær som er laget av to ulike stofftyper (blanding av bomull og polyester). Han har også den uvanen at han banner mye. Er det virkelig nødvendig at vi samler hele byen for å steine dem(3.Mosebok 24/11-16)?
Er det ikke like greit å brenne de til døde i et familieselskap - slik vi pleier å gjøre med mennesker som ligger med sine slektninger(3. Mosebok 20/14)?

Jeg vet dere har gått i dybden på denne type problemstillinger. Jeg er sikker på at dere kan hjelpe meg. Takk for påminnelsen om at Guds ord er evig og uforanderlig!!

Takk for oppmerksomheten.

Heading into fall

2008-09-22T21:19:00.002+02:00

My grapes are almost ripe and my "Grape harvest mittens" are 50% done. Grape harvest time is shortly after the first frost night. Might not be all that long until that happens. Luckily, the second mitten will be done in "no time"

I'm getting ready for colder weather in more than one way.

Very warm funfur and wool hat for M. Just missing the liner and bunny ears!

More mittens for me. Snowdrift mittens, stranded knitting in very old and dry Rauma Finull. I do hope it evens out and softens up after a good wash. This is definately the scratchiest Finull I've touched to this date. It's wool my aunt has stored in her attic for years.

6!

2008-09-18T22:07:00.002+02:00

M is 6 today!

We celebrated with her cake of choice

A heap of brownies

and I made a big batch of muffins too

It's nearly all gone now.

I'll be back with knitting content soon. I've made one whole mitten since I last blogged. (could you read that irony?)

Socks, socks and a pffft

2008-09-08T21:00:00.003+02:00

Two pairs of socks finished in a week. Both started early this year. Thuja and Yarrow ribbed socks. I'm trying to battle the amount of wips in my basket these days. There's only one unfinished pair of socks in there now, the Falling Leaves socks that I started over 2 years ago. I have 5 lace repeats and the ribbing left on the last sock. For some reason I can't get into this lace pattern like I usually can with a lot of other patterns. The chart has to be within eyesight at all times.

To celebrate the reduction of wips I was planning on starting the Yellow harvest mittens from the latest VK this weekend. That did not happen. For some strange reason I do not own any 5 mm double pointed needles. So there I was with pattern and yarn (Malabrigo in Lacquer red, yum) in hand, and no friggin needles. A bit disappointed is an understatement. Then I thought I'd start the Druid mittens from the same issue instead. I knew I have needles for those. Could not find the blasted yarn. I know I have 6 skeins of some turquise Finull somewhere. But where???

To comfort myself I thought I'd try out something new. Treat myself to a little learning. Domino knitting. What I learned was: I have a short attention span, I find domino knitting boring, I cannot count correctly to 36 twice and I-cord border is boring. With all respect to Vivian Høxbro, this is my last domino potholder.

Pffft!

Buying 5 mm dpns tomorrow!

Big M

2008-08-18T16:51:00.004+02:00

She's a schoolgirl now!

When we visited Rauma Yarns factory outlet this summer I told her I'd knit her a new hat to wear to school this winter. I also told her she could pick her own yarn for it right there and then. We were standing right by all the alpaca yarn, I felt safe.

She picked this:

Lanartus Beo! 100% polyamide...

A bit of quick thinking (gently guiding her towards the gray, away from the screaming red) and picking up some additional yarns...

It'll be a hat, possibly with a scarf attatched to it, and with ears. Bunny or dog, not yet decided.

While I put off starting the hat I'm trying to work as much as possible on this

A top down raglan with small cables on the sleeves and down the front, using the ecological cotton I found on sale earlier this summer. Looks promising, though I find the knitting a bit slow already. I thought I'd be zooooming along, since I'm using larger needles than I normally do. Forgetting that 3.5 mm really is not all that big, and adults are larger than babies. Oh well! At least it will keep me away from the fun fur until M starts asking where her hat is.

The annual power tool shot

2008-08-17T21:40:00.003+02:00

Is this girl power?

I always make sure to remember gloves

and ear plugs

The pink wellies are kind of important too...

(Here's last years power tool shot... I need new equipment if I'm going to keep this up. And I hope I am;)

Vroooom....

# 1

2008-08-15T20:59:00.003+02:00

I found the buttons!
In fact I found way more buttons than I thought I owned.

So, finally my first BSJ is done.

I'm very happy with how this turned out. I was not sure I'd like knitting this pattern after a failed attempt about a year ago. I started this one armed with more confidence (and counless tips and tricks from Ravelers), and it all worked out. I'm so pleased with the striping and the cuffs look really good too, although I'll change some things there if I chose to do cuffs like those again. It was my first time knitting two colour ribbing, so I can't be too critical of my own work I think.

And after digging through my knitting basket countless times and finally emptying the whole thing I found the metal buttons I wanted for this jacket.

I knew they were somewhere close, because I had my fingers on them earlier this summer, but after searching through my basket 5 times I started worrying I might have put these particular buttons "somewhere safe". There was an added bonus of a much tidier knitting basket*, much forgotten about candy and more buttons that I no longer remember buying.

BSJ #1 on Ravelry.

*not really a basket... I'll have to take a picture of it and all it holds sometime and take proper inventory of it.

Linen and lace?

2008-08-14T21:10:00.002+02:00

I know I absolutely love to look at linen in it's natural form.

I've now set myself up to find out if I'll love knitting with linen equally much.

I'm thinking of knitting a shawl with the blue and a curtain with the white.
I've had a stab at knitting with DK weight linen before, and did not enjoy it much. I hope this is better. Or I'll just have to learn to weave or crochet...

I've spent hours today searching for some buttons to finish a BSJ. I saw them just before I went on vacation and now they're nowhere to be found. I need them right now! More on that another day. Button search continues, BSJ is being handed over tomorrow...

Free

2008-08-10T21:50:00.001+02:00

Free, originally uploaded by G_u_r_o.

Today was a truly amazing Sunday.

Also, I have not knit for three days. I can not remember the last time that happened.

Ready!

2008-07-30T00:35:00.003+02:00

Tomorrow, when I wake up, I'm officially on my first day of summer vacation.

I'm catching the bus from Oslo early afternoon with my brother, a great travel companion. We don't see each other too often so it's good to have a few hours on a bus to catch up on things. We're teaming up with my daugther and man, mom and dad at the inlaws cabin for a day, before heading to Sweden for a wedding. Then slowly but steadily towards the mid west coast of Norway for a good week of relaxing and hopefully hiking in the mountains. I know for a fact internet access is not going to be great, so I take this moment to wish you all a good summer.

I'll be back with knitting and holiday photos in a while.

Blue like summer

2008-07-28T19:06:00.002+02:00

On my way to work on Sunday morning. Such a beautiful day, sometimes I have the best way of getting to work there is.

I went home and finished Nottingham (ravelry link). I think the hat looks like the water. Do you see it too?

The cables look good but not great in the variegated yarn. I knew that this yarn wouldn't look do the cables justice, but it's great for the recipient and the intended use I have in mind.

I've already cast on for a second one. Slightly larger, I'm having to play with the pattern and needles a bit. I'm thinking the cables will look a little bit better on one size smaller needles, the ribbing sure does.
Two balls of Bunny Hop out of the stash when I'm done :)

New and new old woolies

2008-07-23T08:30:00.002+02:00

I got all these lovely things from Virtualknitter in a Nordic Knitters swap on Ravelry. So much fun in this (not so) little package. KnitPicks (my first!) Alpaca Cloud and Sock Blanks for dyeing self striping sock yarn. Red and blue border leister locks for spinning, there is lots more, a big zip-lock bag of the blue and a smaller one of the red. And yummy Washington candies and tea. I love it all!

Then I got this bag of yarn from my aunt. She recently re-decorated her bedroom and found some yarn stashed away at the very back of her closet. Petter brought me the bag and said "Here's some yarn from that place you love", not meaning the back of my aunts closet, but rather Rauma Ullvarefabrikk*. I guess that 2.5 hours he had to hang out with me at their factory outlet two summers ago left an impression of some kind.
(* If you click the link be sure to take a look at the new Rauma patterns for adults and babies (top pictures), looks like they used their mill as location when they took the pattern photos. The patterns don't tickle me much, but the backdrop does.)

The bag also contained 4 and one partial skein of some blue mystery yarn. I have no idea what this is. I'm guessing a wool blend. Sniffing it did not tell me anything useful.

At the bottom of the bag I found this:

Looks good at first glance, but on closer inspection...

Very, very worn.

I'm not expected to fix this. My aunt just thought I would find it interesting to have a look at it, and I do. It's a traditional norwegian cardigan construction. Stranded and steeked. I'm guessing my grandma or my great grandma knit it about 40-50
years ago.

The colours are not exactly my cup of tea, but I find the pattern very nice. Simple and classic, and I do like that.

My summer companion

2008-07-20T12:00:00.002+02:00

Sometimes, while browsing through knitblogs or Ravelry, it seems like every second (or more) knitter has at least one cat.
I never had pets growing up, something I missed a lot at times. Allergies can be serious, and getting a furry critter was not something my parents were going to give in on.

That is why I really appreciate contact with animals when I have the chance. Like Billy, my summer companion. Billy came with the house. He used to live here before we bought it. He belongs to our neighbours, but our garden is part of his domain and we see him around a lot. Every summer he comes and spends most nights in a chair on our porch. He's there for a cuddle before I go to bed and greets me with a meow in the morning.

Billy's old. Not very fond of kids, and usually goes away if there's more than two people around. Now that I've been home alone for a couple of weeks I've been seeing a lot of Billy. He even let me snap some pictures of him, though he was not as comfortable with the camera as other cats I've seen.

I made a decision about one of the works in progress I've been working on for a really long time (2006).

Now you see it!

Now you don't!

Good thing to get off my mind. I'll re-start with larger needles as soon as I get some other things out of the way.
And get a bit further on this:

Swatching is done. I've washed and tumble dried and cast on. Hope this turns out as good as it is in my head.

It's Friday!

2008-07-18T18:24:00.002+02:00

First of all; HAPPY BIRTHDAY NELSON MANDELA!

Working today was different than my usual days. We celebrated Mandelas birthday; speaches, band, cake and all.
I do like my desk job, but it's nice to be where the action is sometimes too.

Then I came home and did one of my favourite things when it comes to redecorating and painting.

Removing masking tape from the newly painted bedroom walls.

It's going to be so nice waking up in this room now.

No more feeling of waking up inside a cucumber.
I'll get new curtains. The ones we have did not look good with the old colour and will not look good with the new colour either.

And I'm starting a new sweater. Mostly from my own head, with guidance from a few other patterns.

I'm even swatching.

I'm looking forward to a nice and relaxing week end. Petter and Marie might be coming home on Sunday. With loads of laundry and happy smiles!

I crocheted

2008-07-17T17:50:00.002+02:00

OK, so it was not much, but I did crochet!

So let me present to you the very first crochet on this blog; the edge of this shawl

The edge looks a bit strange, but that is due to an urge to get this blocked and ready fast. I did not have enough blocking pins for all of the loops and only did every second loop. I'll re-block later, but I absolutely don't mind this look so I'll wait a while.

The pattern for this shawl is Diamonds and Pearls from The knitters book of yarn. I was a bit sceptical when I first started this, the pattern is not charted and also is written for a drapey (heavy) silk blend yarn. What I had was a very nice but rough and rustic Finnish wool yarn called SeVILLA. After 20 rows or pattern I was absolutely sure this was going to be beautiful and knit happily on. This wool was a delight to work with. A diamond in the rough so to speak. At first glance it might not look like much in the skein, but on closer inspection it has that great handspun quality and great "I come from a live animal" thing going for it. The wool is mostly a pale brownish gray, but with the odd flecks of chocolate brown in there, and some longer black hairs.

No big changes to the (great) pattern. I knit an extra repeat of the diamonds lace part, and stopped before recommended 18 rows of holes at the bottom (I have 15). I did not knit the bind off as written either, instead I bound off purlwise on a large needle, and then... Well you already know about the crochet. 6 crochet loops for every 3rd edge stitch. I cast on for this shawl on Friday evening and finished Tuesday at S'n'B. Very fast, but that's usually how it goes when you find yourself with a great pattern and yarn. I just could not put this down at times.

The blocking went fairly well, though I was in a hurry to get it done. I desperately wanted to see the finished result and also I did it late at night. When I came home from work on Wednesday I was so happy to see that it was more beautiful than I imagined. Also, it smells really, really good.

Ann was inspired by that photo to both write a blogpost and start a group on Flickr.

Ann; here's a picture for you

I treated myself to some new yarn today. Eco cotton.

I smell all yarns at the LYS before I buy. I also have a sniff at my own favourite yarns repeatedly. It's as natural to me as looking at the ballband. I prefer wool, but other natural fibers are good too. Lighter coloured yarns smell better than the really rich, dark colours. I think it's the dyes.
This cotton is one of the better ones I've sniffed, No strong chemical dyes (eco y'know), it has a faint smell of dry grass.

It was on a sale, 50% off. How could I not clear them all out of this colour?

11 balls. Now excuse me, I'm off to cast on for a blue cotton sweater.
I hope you take time to sniff your own yarns, and maybe snap a photo to share with Ann.

Well finally! You may congratulate me.

2008-07-13T18:08:00.002+02:00

My first adult size, not cropped, with sleeves, even-swatched-for-this sweater is done! It only took a year and a bit.

Actually, it took a lot less than a year to knit this, but I thought I wanted the belt the original pattern has. Turns out after knitting a belt twice that I did not care for it after all. It also took a long time for me to start the belt, 6 months or so and the actual belt knitting took 2-3 months! Go figure.

I think the overall outcome is rather good. The sweater is a bit heavy and stiff, but wiht a bit of fabric softener and a bit of wear it will go from that and onto a good drape instead.
It's simple and classic, a style I like. And though the seed stitch was really boring to knit I love the way it looks.

Sure, I completely deviated from the original pattern (from IK spring 2007) and went top down and in the round instead of knit flat and bottom up. Anything to get out of seaming when there is no real need for it. It's worked out great. I had a bit of trouble getting the increases and decreases for the waist looking good so I added "fake seams" of 2 stitches stockinette down each side and knit the inc's and dec's into those.

I've been playing with my new camera to get these shots. It's still a bit of a stranger to me but after about 70 pictures, 3 turned out ok. It's not just the fact that I've not bonded with my lime green toy though, white is hard to photograph in bright sunlight. I managed to find a solution that worked in the far end of the garden, with the gorillapod as my assistant and Marie's playhouse as a nice backdrop.

Then I went inside to edit the pictures.

I have a gazillion things on the needles right now. Much more than my ravelry projects lets you know! A lot of it is nearly done and I hope to be able to show off some of them really soon.

So quiet

2008-07-12T20:00:00.003+02:00

I'm home alone. I have been for a week and will be for at least another week. The house is so quiet. Also, I have been without both camera and internet at home. Both are now fixed. The internet connection was suddenly just back, I have no idea how, and on Thursday I weant out and got myseld a brand new camera (lime green, yay) and case and a gorillapod. The camera is tiny and will stay in my purse all the time!

I've been getting a lot of knitting done these days alone. Last night I felt the urge to cast on something new. I've had this great finnish yarn from a swap in the back of my head for weeks and then suddenly I knew I had the perfect pattern for it too.

The yarn, SeVILLA, is one of those wonderfully sheepy natural yarns.. The woman who sent it to me told me it comes from a Finnish breed of sheep. It is both wooly and hairy at the same time. Not super soft, but I am sure it will soften a lot once washed. The colour is a grayish beige with a bit of chocolate brown mixed in, and some black longer hairs to. So delightfully rustic!

And last. The new camera has this neat feature that goes so well with the gorillapod. I can now set the camera up for a shot. Place myself in front of the camera and when I'm ready (none of that running to catch the self timer) I smile, and then the camera goes click-click-click.

I need a bit of practice on this, but it seems easy enough to be a great knitters "fo shot" feature.
(Can you tell I cut my hair on Tuesday? Well over 2"/5 cm. Neither can I, but I know it's off because I saw my own hair on the floor of the hairdressers. Strange. Can't feel it, can't see it.)

2008-07-03T17:04:00.003+02:00

You might not have been reading this blog long enough to remember this:

My swatch for the Green Tea Raglan from last springs Interweave Knitting.

The sweater is done and will be blogged soon. I have finally decided I want the belt and that is going to be finished in a little while.

Meanwhile the swatch is no longer a swatch, but knitted grafitti. It's so much prettier hanging on a tree by the river Akerselva in Oslo than at the bottom of my knitting basket.

This picture was taken on Tuesday, when the By:Garn ladies, the "knittah, please" ladies of Oslo, were out "tagging" the city along with a journalist and a photographer from one of Norways biggest glossy ladies mags. I heard the journalist mention the words "four page article". Exciting!

We had great fun, and I am already looking forward to the next time we go out to put our knitted tagging up.

I got to borrow pictures from IreneSol. Thank you Irene! Also, the lady in the pretty, lilac tank is Hildegunn, a good partner in crime. My favourite tag of the day was on her behalf. I managed to tag her bike without her noticing at first ;)

Not finished for spring, but...

2008-07-01T08:25:00.002+02:00

The bolero sweater is back right at the top of my knitting basket. I have not worked on it for ages. Not since I had to frog the entire first front back in the end of March.

This time I've started the second sleeve, and hope to be done with that in not too long. Then there is just the two fronts and edgeings to tackle, and I do hope I get it right the second time I try.I'm pondering knitting both at once, but I'm not sure if it's wise. If I do that and have to frog again I'll have to frog both fronts. Twice as much as the first time. There is something entirely confusing to me about how the increases are done for the fronts. Must put my brain to work on it properly before I start.

I was sure this would look great for spring. Now I'm sure it will look just as good as a fall bolero. With jeans and one of those pretty white tunics that are all over this year underneath. If I manage to knit the fronts that is... Fingers crossed!

Twinkle! Blatant self promotion.

2008-06-29T21:46:00.004+02:00

I am so happy right now. As of a few hours ago I have a pattern up as a free Ravelry download.

I must say, I do think Twinkle looks pretty good there on Ravelry.

Phew!

Startitis!

2008-06-27T19:47:00.002+02:00

Startitis at the printerless knitters house.

If it's sunny and nice outside tomorrow I'll see if I can snap some photos of actual knitting. If it's raining (again) I'll just stay indoors and knit. Lace ribbon scarf, most likely like a stole.

Good things

2008-06-22T21:59:00.002+02:00

Travelling

Hugging

Laughing

Sleeping

Coming home to to fresh strawberries in the garden

Also; I do remember this is a knitting blog

(Magic slippers by SockPixie)

Murphy's law

2008-06-12T10:19:00.003+02:00

A mild case of Murphy's law has hit me. I went yarn shopping on Tuesday, a gift for myself for finishing the nearly endless bunad stockings. A gorgeous skein of tussah silk in a very nice denim blue has found it's way to the top of our piano. That's where I keep all my new pet yarns. I know what this beauty is going to be too. Amy's Montego Bay Scarf!(Ravelry link) I've been wanting to knit this since last summer and have just been waiting for the right yarn for it. Well now I have the right yarn. Only thing is the friggin pattern is nowhere to be found! I really want to start this "perfect for me" scarf now.

So instead I'm knitting dishcloths.

Oh yes, and the stockings ended up looking like this

I'm very happy! (blogged at "that other blog")
Hoping to pay more attention to both the blogs and the knitting soon. At least now it's a while before we have guests staying in the same room as the computer for weeks.

A true palm-to-forhead moment!

2008-05-25T20:44:00.002+02:00

So there I was, on my porch knitting and enjoying myself. The sun was shining, I was in my bikini and the kid was playing peacefully at the other end of the garden.

Maybe it's because my mind was especially clear today because I got to sleep until 11, I have been getting a lot of fresh air and I have been inhaling a lot of steam from the bath I gave the fleece I bought of my moms cousin a few weeks ago.

After knitting 110 rows of the chart for one stocking and 98 rows for the other one, counless hours spent with this pattern, I suddenly noticed what was written in the legend for the chart. The x box: purl. The blank box: knit through the back loop! Through the back loop, people...

Crap! I'm getting the cherry liqueur and some chocolate right now! I think I need ice-cream too!

I'm not the only one in my family who is good with sticks

2008-05-24T16:36:00.004+02:00

My brother is good with sticks too! In fact he is probably better with his sticks than I am with mine. He also manages to make a living with his, while I can only dream of doing so with mine.

I took this picture on Wednesday when one of the bands my brother is in had a consert in Oslo. Great fun, and I can't wait for them to do another gig here in August.

If you're wondering what is going on around my sticks these days you can have a look here. I'll try to post there more from now on (my goal is every friday). Next time I blog I hope to post something finished. Though I'm not sure at all if I'll manage that. I feel a huge burst of startitis coming on soon too. And there is only one cure for that,as far as I know; cast on, cast on, cast on.

Why the blogging is sparse these days

2008-05-15T15:39:00.002+02:00

The world is turning green again, after a long winter.
There are better things to do than sit inside in front of the computer.

Also, I am busy enjoying this. Both the sun and the gardening.

I do find a bit of time to knit. In fact I wish there was more time to knit. After all, there is a pair of knee stockings that need to be done by May 31st. It's very slow going, lots of patterning and in black. I do feel like I'm gathering speed on this project now. One stocking is over half done and I finished the ribbing on the second last night. Wich means only about 40 cm of charted knitting left on that one. I'll allow myself a *sigh*.

I'll be back after the weekend, with pictures of national costumes most likely.

Lambs

2008-05-04T21:26:00.002+02:00

I made a few new friends this weekend. The cutest one was this little girl!

I also got to take home a nice big bag, 1300 grams, of wool from one of her barn mates. Wool from the farm my grandmoter grew up on. Special wool for me to practice wool prep on.

Also, my aunt loved the shawl I gave her. I got the colour just right.

A birthday present

2008-04-28T21:47:00.002+02:00

We're driving up to the west coast for the upcoming week end. Home. To celebrate my aunts 50th birthday. It's going to be a huge family celebration, just how we like them.

I've made my aunt a Flower Basket Shawl. I'm pretty sure she'll love it. I sure like it a lot!

If I'm going to worry about something, it's the size of it. My aunt is a bit more broad shouldered than I am. I usually worry about things like this for no reason. I suppose most knitters do. Also, if it's on the small side she can keep it together with the pretty shawl pin she is getting along with the shawl.

I don't get to do proper omg-this-is-a-miracle blocking often. I don't knit enough lace for that. I have however come up with my own tecnique where other (lucky bastards) would use blocking wires;
KITCHEN STRING and the rigt kind of bed...

Tuscany

2008-04-23T21:27:00.000+02:00

Finally. Done. Happy!

The dollar is very favourable these days

2008-04-16T10:31:00.002+02:00

Greetings from Amazon.com.

We thought you'd like to know that we shipped your items, and that this
completes your order.

The following items have been shipped to you by Amazon.com:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Qty Item Price Shipped Subtotal
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon.com items (Sold by Amazon.com, LLC):
1 The Knitter's Book of Yarn... $19.80 1 $19.80
1 The Whole Craft of Spinnin... $6.95 1 $6.95
1 Vintage Knits: Thirty Knit... $16.50 1 $16.50
1 Lace Style: Traditional to... $16.47 1 $16.47
1 Things I Learned From Knit... $8.58 1 $8.58
1 Victorian Lace Today $19.77 1 $19.77

Shipped via Standard Int'l Shipping (estimated arrival date:
20-May-2008).

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Subtotal: $88.07
Shipping & Handling: $27.93

Total: $116.00

I know someone who's going to think this might fall into the category of "going a bit over board". I don't think so at all ;)

I'm a bit baffled by the long delivery time though. May 20th. Really? I seem to remember previous orders having a lot shorter shipping time. Maybe steam boats are back in business?
Maybe it's good, the deliverytime being so long. Gives me a chance to finish my aunts birthday shawl by May 3rd, the black knee stockings that need to be done by May 30th, and dads Koolhaas for his birthday in mid May.

Shitty spring

2008-04-12T16:54:00.003+02:00

I was fooled yesterday by this little beauty.

For a few hours I thought that spring was finally here. Until I woke up this morning

On the bright side, crappy weather days are good for a few things

I also finished a hat for M.; Gooseberry hat (ravelry link), a really cute pattern. And a new to me yarn, Lerke by Dale. Marie has been wanting a blue hat with a pompom for months. (For my Norwegian readers; One just like Lillebror has in the books by about Lillebror and Knerten.)

I especially love the hat for the yarn, it was a pleasure to knit with. Cotton, but without the pain! I'm curious to see how it wears and washes. If after a few weeks it's still good, I might want a cardi for me out of this. It could compare it to unstretchy Calmer.

Such a nice and sunny day

2008-04-05T21:57:00.002+02:00

The sun was shining and I had that lovely spring feeling today. So what better to do than spend the day inside, in wellies.

At least I was not alone

So, are you pulling your weight to stop the climate changes? How far above sea level do you live?

Twins...

2008-04-01T22:04:00.002+02:00

All dressed up and ready for... Something...

Theresa and I, in our Cloud Boleros. At Oslo S'n'B today. We were told spesifically to wear nice handknits since a journalist and photographer were going to be there to make an article about our group.

A fun evening, even tough I came home to find out I'm 3 grams short of yarn for a pair of baby socks, after I finished the first one while bitching.

I also learned how to set the white balance on my camera, so hopefully there will be truer colours in my pictures in the future.

Appreciating warm hands

2008-03-24T17:34:00.002+01:00

Did you ever try to peel and eat an orange, outside, when it's several degrees below freezing and windy? Did your fingers turn so cold you tried to peel the last half wearing hand knit wool mittens?

Easter ski trips and oranges go hand in hand. Sometimes the hands get too friggin cold! I had to make myself some fingerless mitts for future outdoors orange peeling.

My easter holiday was great! Mostly sunny and filled with lots of snow and ski trips. I even rented carving skis and had a go at going very fast downhill for the first time in 15 years. The Inga hat was worn and loved every day:) And now I've just finished unloading the 8th load of laundry since we got back home. 5 of them were wool cycle washes. The house smells faintly of very clean wet sheep. (It's a good thing!)

There is someone lurking about

2008-03-14T18:19:00.004+01:00

It's The Easter Bunny!

I'm wishing everyone who hops by this place a happy easter! I'll be searching for bunnies at the inlaws cabin for a week. I'm sure I'll just find mice.

Back with finished knits soon.

And Guro said...

2008-03-13T15:34:00.002+01:00

... let there be light. And there was light. And Guro saw that light was good

and wanted to paint the entire house this lovely shade of white.

I'm closing in on finishing the paint job in the upstairs hall. No more red! All the wood stuff needs another coat, but the wallpaper has got the two coats of "half vanilla"* on it. I think this might be a really good colour (or lack there of) for the green bedroom too. I'll tackle that later. And then, if Petter decides to help me out, the stairs and downstairs hall will get a lick of two of paint too (huge job). I secretly want to paint the kitchen too, but I won't tell anyone about that just yet.

I think it was smart starting with the smallest room and letting Petter see how much a lick of paint can do. Petter is starting to think painting is not such a bad idea after all.

*the colour is called vanilla, but it's mixed with twice the amount of white paint

Colour!

2008-03-11T13:32:00.002+01:00

Yes, I know I said in my previous post that I was back to the black knitting. That did not last very long, did it?

Just look at this:

Colour! So fun!

I'm not going to go ahead and tell what that is just yet. There might be a pattern for it sometime in the future though. I'll just have to see how this works out, then do some math and pondering, knit the pattern again and hope all goes well.

It seems to be a really good sock yarn stash buster!