Guin Stuff

Crocus for Birdie

2011-10-23T18:41:00.001+02:00

Birdie, being member of a vegan family, is not a wool bearing child. I've searched high and low for a natural plant fiber yarn with the same - or almost the same - qualities as those of wool. It has not been easy. So far I've bought only cotton and a bamboo blend. Here's my contribution in 100% cotton - say hello to Crocus by Helga Isager.

Instead of using the original yarn I used Safran from Drops (raspberry red) and Alba (lime green) on 3.5 mm needles. I chose a size 2 years because Birdie is already 7 months old and the only sizes available by Helga Isager are 6 month, 2 years and 3 years (a bit odd, if you ask me). I had to recalculate everything since my gauge was way off. But I'm okay with that - I love it when I figure it out anyway :)

Un poncho para mi!

2011-10-23T10:05:00.000+02:00

I didn't expect it but this poncho was so much fun to knit; I can understand if you don't quite believe me, though. But the whole adding stitches and changing colour is so compelling! :) I began during my stay in Iceland in August and finished last weekend, which isn't too bad, in my opinion. There are five different colours - all of them Evilla yarn except the royal blue, which is Kauni yarn. I used my Addi 3.5 mm dpns - the pattern calls for two 80 cm dpns but there is no way that you can fit 396 sts on an 80 cm needle! Take from me; it won't work! Anyway, I did the rim on my Addi 3.0 mm dpn and I think the result is lovely. I thought the neckline was on the loose side, so I crocheted two rounds of dc.

In Paris

2011-09-12T22:40:00.000+02:00

The Eiffel Tower was a glance away.... Moe took pictures.

Now with buttons

2011-09-12T21:34:00.000+02:00

Eight blood red buttons :) I found them here.

Sixty Cables Beret

2011-09-02T20:00:00.000+02:00

So soft, fluffy and warm. And it was fun to knit too. I've had the yarn for a long time, you know, saving it for the perfect project. It peels a little more than I want it to, but not enough for me to dislike it.

Sublime Angora Merino: 80% merino and 20% angora. Needles 3.5 mm.

Dandelion Beret

2011-09-02T19:48:00.000+02:00

A beret for my mother - tadaa! I went over a massive amount of patterns to find the perfect hat for her. It took quite some time, because ususally my mother looks fairly silly wearing a hat. Any hat that is. I made two different hats just to give her more than one option. Here is the one she chose.

The two first pictures are more true to the real colour of the beret. Yarn: Cumba by GGH - a blend of 42% wool, 30% acrylic and 28% alpaca.

Rasmilla's Linnea

2011-09-02T19:02:00.000+02:00

Just because. I made this cardigan 'Linnea' with a 100% merino yarn called Colorado. The colour is so vibrant that my camera freaks out a bit. In fact, it isn't really THAT orange/raspberry red. Moe and I went to Paris a few weeks ago, and I bought two sets of orange-ish buttons for 'Linnea'. But at the time I didn't realize I would need 8 instead of only 6 buttons. So now I have to go look for buttons again. Oh sigh!

Linnea designed by Rasmilla, size: 5-6 years, yarn: Colorado, needles: 4.5 and 5.0 mm.

Scrap yarn - solving tiny problems

2011-08-26T23:38:00.002+02:00

Last year, when we went to Japan, my suitcase died. Sadly. For obvious reasons I had to go buy a new one. Moe never owned a proper suitcase, so he wanted one as well. As it is with most suitcases mine is black and therefore completely unrecognizable. I have tried to come home with somebody else's suitcase once before (when I opened the only thing I saw was dirty boxershorts and 'chocolates for mum' - rather dissappointing when I hoped to find my toothbrush and such!), so to prevent that from happening again, I thought a wee bit of my scrap yarn would come in handy.

When Moe saw my new 'gadget', of course he wanted one too ;) I pointed out to him that since his suitcase is bright orange it wouldn't be hard to recognize at all. But then he pointed out that that wasn't really the point :)

And as always, Moe prefers stripes!

Amanda

2011-08-06T20:55:00.000+02:00

This cardigan - or at least this type of aran cardigan - has been on my mind for a very long time. And when I got Lene Holme Samsøe's new book 'Mere Feminin Strik' for my birthday, I found the perfect pattern I had been looking for. I've used the original yarn (ordered from Astrid's Dutch Obsessions - great shop!), same colour and everything. Maybe a bit unimaginative but I loved the cardigan Lene Holme Samsøe made so why change that. It took me a little over two weeks to finish it, and I loved the process as much as the result.

It's not the easiest thing to take picture of your own back, but you get the idea, I'm sure :)

A Cardi for Kaede

2011-07-17T11:01:00.007+02:00

Kaede is a Japanese girl - so tiny and so sweet. Actually, she is so tiny that the cardigan will remain too big for probably a year or two, but I'm sending it on its way soon anyway.

The pattern is based on a pattern from DROPS - you can see it here. I used Smart, 100% wool from Sandnes, which required me to recalculate the original pattern in both height and width. That process took time and stopped me from bringing the project to social events.

225 g Smart, needles 4.0 mm

Malou's Socks

2011-07-16T09:36:00.005+02:00

An overdue birthday present for Malou.....
It was a perfect fit, and I hope they will keep her warm for a long time :)

Arwetta socks with fair isle-style reinforced heel.

Lavender Bag

2011-07-12T21:19:00.006+02:00

I love quick knits :) And this one even smells nice! I'll probably use it as a kind of homeknit wunderbaum in my car. The Lavender Bag Pattern

Knitting away!

One lavender bag - and it's actually much more vibrantly turquoise. My camera just doesn't translate green very well.

Short-row cardi

2011-07-09T13:41:00.009+02:00

What do you do, when your Lorna's Laces Sock yarn turn out horribly when turned into a sock? You give it to me... *ahem* OR you knit a short-row cardigan for a baby or toddler. The pattern the LLS yarn created was too much for lace socks - it sort of killed to lace pattern completely. So instead of throwing it away I thought it would be good to include a solid colour to keep the colour changes in the LLS yarn under control. And I think I've succeeded.

It's the same pattern I've used a couple of times before; there's something addictive about it. I don't know why - I mean, it's garter sts all the way from one end to the other. Maybe it's the stripes that does it.

Light mint Arwetta and purple/green/blue Lorna's Laces Sock on dpn 2.5 mm - 155 g in total.

Firs and Flakes Shawl

2011-07-02T12:30:00.007+02:00

Ta-daaa! Finally I finished the shawl I began knitting two years ago - and I love the result. I bought the pattern and yarn during my visit to the Shetland islands. The shawl, which is almost cape-shaped, was not the easiest thing to knit (you begin with casting on 452 sts and then you get to struggle with 4 pages of knitting chart), but once I got the hang of it, I only stopped when the weather prevented me from sitting with such warm wool in my lap.

Jamieson & Smith's 2 Ply Lace Yarn (col. eggplant) and 2 Ply Jumper Yarn (col. chocolate) on needles size 4.5 mm - 410 g in total. The shawl was designed by Anna Zilboorg.

FOs

2011-06-18T16:51:00.004+02:00

I have gone through all my yarn, all my UFOs and all my knitting needles. Everything is now sorted and I've decided to finish six of my UFOs this summer, such as:Socks for Moe: Yarn - Steinbach Wolle Supersport / Needle - size 4.0 mm

Should I stay or should I go

2011-05-23T08:54:00.003+02:00

I'm considering going to Tromsø in the Northern part of Norway. For some reason I'm drawn to windy, rural places where I can think and knit for days - I tend to tune in on the genuine me; fancy clothing, politics, religion, worries about next week seem to mean nothing when you sit on a rock in the middle of nowhere. And I love it! I'll go look for a bag of money now.....

Loui got his cardi

2011-05-18T21:28:00.008+02:00

I finished this baby cardigan - size 1-4 months - in about two weeks time. Sewing the sleeves weren't too much fun but everything else was, so all in all I was pleased with the process as well as the end result. And Loui's parents appreciated my gifts a lot. Then, there's only one thing left to hope for - that Loui himself will like it too :)

Dpn size 3.0 mm, Arwetta and Regia Silk - random stripes.

Baby Cardigan

2011-05-04T21:59:00.006+02:00

This baby cardigan is really lovely to knit. Against all odds. There are a billion ends to weave in but still I'm very much enjoying this project. Last Saturday I spent the whole day knitting, from the minute I got up til noon, I sat in our sofa knitting, knitting, knitting. Then Tina and Marianne picked me up, and the three of us went to Ebeltoft (such a wonderful place, I'll probably buy a house there, when I get old and have all the time in the world to knit some more) to visit Ruth, who had invited whoever wanted to come knit at her place. I think there were 10 or 11 of us; we chatted, knitted, enjoyed cake with whipped cream (yum), and time flew by. And before we knew it, we were on our way back to Aarhus. Saturday, the weather was warm, sunny and the garden appeared fresh and green, so I went straight to our terrasse when I came back - and continued knitting. I simply love days like that.

I'm really doing my best to destash a bit, and so far it's going rather well.

Mogens gave me this basket not long ago - much appreciated! :)

Today's News: Knit your own royal wedding

2011-05-02T13:39:00.002+02:00

Check this out! So cool and awfully cute :)

http://politiken.dk/kultur/boger/ECE1268312/saadan-varer-det-evigt-strik-dit-eget-kongelige-bryllup/

I forgot the pattern

2011-04-25T11:02:00.008+02:00

I'm in the process of making a blouse for myself. I went to my parents' summerhouse this Easter and had planned to knit like crazy on that particular project. And then I forgot to bring the pattern, and I'm at the very end of the body, so I really need the pattern. Anyway, I brought a lot of yarn for other not yet specified projects, which turned out to be a life saver. I searched my mac for whatever patterns I had and found a pattern for a tiny slipover. It took me only two days to finish. The buttons were sewed in this morning.

Relaxed rib slipover.

Stretched rib slipover.

I used Arwetta Classic for this project, and this is what was left from one ball of yarn.

I also made a baby cap with Arwetta and Shibui Sock.

Baby Blanket - done!

2011-04-25T10:38:00.005+02:00

All stitched up and ready to go into the washing machine.

It went into the washing machine an entire three times; I wanted to control the felting process, so the first time it got 30 C, then 40 C twice. And it turned out just the way I had imagined.

It shrunk about 15% - I expected it to shrink 20% but love the fact that it didn't :)

Soft, fluffy and ready to serve its purpose.

Keeping it together

2011-04-20T15:18:00.004+02:00

I've worked on this blanket on and off for about six months. It has been nice to bring to social events, since it doesn't require a lot of concentration; I can chat, eat, drink AND knit on this project at the same time without being afraid of making any mistakes. I'm not quite done yet, but I'm getting there....

I layed all the squares out - except one - to see if I could organize them in a random looking way.

Originally, I wanted to crochet the whole thing together, but I changed my mind - I wanted a thin seam. Right now I'm half way there.

Twins

2011-04-19T18:50:00.003+02:00

A former colleague is having twins, and before she left us all, Tina and I made gifts for her - or her twins, to be exact; Tina did the cardigans and I did the hats.

Latte Baby Sweater

2011-04-19T09:15:00.009+02:00

I finished my cotton baby sweater. It's a cute design, no doubt, but if you don't enjoy weaving in ends and sewing hems, this is probably not the baby sweater for you ;)

Cotton 8/4, needle size 3.0 mm, size newborn.

Crocheting

2011-04-17T12:54:00.004+02:00

I have lot of yarn in my stash, and I have decided to use up yarn that has been lying around for a long time before I'm 'allowed' to buy new yarn :) Lises baby girl, Ella, was next in line for a little handmade something.

I used up all my blue cotton - in fact I had to add extra stribes in purple when I ran out of blue yarn near the end. I even tried to find another ball from the same dye lot, but that wasn't possible. I like the stripes, though. They make the cardigan more girly, I think :)

Baby Surprise Jacket

2011-04-09T21:22:00.004+02:00

Another brilliantly designed baby surprise jackets in 'Smart' from Sandnes. I used a chocolate brown, a dark purple and a multi coloured yarn. It took a while to find the right buttons for this one; it seems that if a shop carries fancy yarn, there are practically no buttons. And if the yarn is no big deal, there are plenty of buttons. I'm not sure I see the logic in this, but if this is the way it works, fine by me :)

This BSJ is quite small, only 9.5 inches long and 8 inches wide across the chest.

A Little Latte

2011-04-09T20:58:00.007+02:00

A fellow member of Ravelry asked for a translation of Liselotte's Latte Baby Sweater, and I thought it would be fun to do. Liselotte gave her permission and I began translating. Once the pattern was translated I felt the urge to make one of these cute sweaters myself.

I think this one will go to baby Birdie :)

Birdie Bitten

2011-04-09T20:35:00.008+02:00

Two weeks ago Birdie Bitten entered this world. We went by her house to see her with our own eyes; she was wonderful. I knew her parents hadn't bought a lot of baby stuff for her, so I made as much baby clothes I could - I only had a couple of weeks because so many of our other friends had babies too and they all deserved a little something on their arrival.

Birdie Bitten's parents aren't set on particular colours, so I just dug in the stash and grabbed what was there. I avoided wool since this is a vegan family and thus animal fibres aren't their first choise. Instead I rely on banana, soy, cotton, acrylics, etc.

Here is what I managed to finish in time for Birdie Bitten's first birthday:

Yarn: Cheval Blanc Mimosa, dark and light blue. Needlesize: 4.0 mm.

Yarn: Cheval Blanc Mimosa, beige and dark grey. Needlesize: 4.0 mm.

A scrap of bright pink yarn that has been lying around for quite some time. I never actually paid anything for this yarn - I was given to me during a knitting lesson at the local museum. Just saying... With the baby pink owl button I think it turned out very cute. And Birdie Bitten's dad noticed it, pointed and smiled. Succes.

A mix of cotton yarns...

The two bibs and baby cap were the only things I went out and bought new yarn for - organic baby cotton suitable for spring/summer clothes. I found the pattern for the bibs here, and the pattern for the baby caps here.

More baby caps

2011-02-21T19:21:00.010+01:00

To make use of every bit of yarn I had left from making socks and such, I made more baby caps.

Ella's trousers

2011-02-18T20:24:00.009+01:00

I've been wanting to knit trousers for some time and I thought baby Ella would be the perfect candidate for knitted trousers. My mother usually relies on knitting patterns found in the Sandnes magazines. I browsed through all her magazines and found just what I was looking for; a pair of garter stitch trousers with cute details suitable for both boys and girls. I made slight changes to the existing pattern but not many.

I was worried they wouldn't fit Ella - she has grown so fast, but luckily they were just the right size... for a couple of weeks at least :)

Arwetta Classic, needles 2.5 and 3 mm - I used 50 g of brown, 40 g of white and a wee bit of orange.

Another one

2011-02-18T20:12:00.005+01:00

I guess this baby cap needs no further introduction, since I made so many of them. This one was given to one of Moe's former colleagues, who had his second daughter in January.

Arwetta Classic, needles 2.5 mm and 3 mm - Moe picked the colours.

Iben has cold feet

2011-02-17T21:38:00.007+01:00

Or at least she used to. But not anymore :)

Baby Ella

2011-02-16T19:39:00.001+01:00

My childhood friend had a baby girl, Ella, three months ago. I quickly made a hat for her - she was born a little earlier than expected, so I hadn't really prepared much when she arrived :)

Granddad's 85th birthday

2011-02-16T17:14:00.005+01:00

I was in Italy on his birthday. The following Sunday Moe and I went by his house and dropped of a small present. I wanted to give him good health, a brand new body, and his youth back, but since that wasn't going to happen, I gave him a pair of socks instead. He luuuuves my homeknit
socks :)

Blanket in the making

2011-02-16T16:54:00.003+01:00

I needed something simple to knit during my lunch break at work, and for some time I've been wanting to make a blanket. Family members and friends are having babies nonstop, so it's going to be a baby blanket for a boy.

Nine balls of 'Tove' from Sandnes, three of each colour.

Cold hands and feet

2011-02-16T15:56:00.006+01:00

This winter has been cold and it still is.

Mr. Snowball here is obviously doing what he can to keep warm.

White Christmas; it was so cold that we could walk only for about twenty minutes, then we had to go back because our faces hurt so much!

Mogens' niece, Malene, was born in October. When we came back from our little walk she was sound asleep in her pram outside. After some time her mother went out and picked her up. Malene's hands and feet were quite cold when she came back in - I must admit that while she was sleeping I was a bit worried because it was very very very cold outside - so I began knitting mittens and socks for her.

The bright pink yarn doesn't photograph very well, but trust me when I tell you it's pink alright :) Both mother and child were very pleased with the result.

A gift for Ms. Fujiwara

2010-12-13T21:29:00.007+01:00

Before leaving for Japan I made this for Hirokos mother - we would be staying at her place for quite some time and I wanted to thank her for her hospitality.
Please forgive me for the poor quality of the photos - I took the pictures two minutes before leaving and the sun wasn't up yet.

Three balls of Arwetta, a dpn size 3.0 mm and approx. two weeks of knitting.

Claudia Evilla by Ruth Sørensen

2010-12-13T21:07:00.011+01:00

I began knitting this skirt some 3-4 months ago. The designer, Ruth Sørensen, chose Evilla yarn, which is much like Kauni, which is what I chose. I followed the pattern to the letter using needles size 3.5 mm. And Kauni is such an interesting yarn; at first it seems stiff and itchy but once it's been turned into a garment it's smooth and soft. I used around 200 g for this skirt.

Japan - I love you

2010-12-13T20:16:00.007+01:00

Moe and I went with our dear friends, Jeremy, Hiroko and their son Tristan, to Japan. They left Denmark two weeks before us; they had family reunions to attend to, and we couldn't afford four weeks away from work. But during the two weeks we stayed in Japan we had the most fabulous time ever!! We visited a million places, saw temples, neon lights, weird food, strange costums and enjoyed every minute of it.

Japanese food - I don't know what any of it is...

Jeremy and I in Tokyo

Tokyo

The temple where Tristan finally had his temple-blessing-thingy done. Sorry, I don't know what it's called, and Hiroko didn't offer much help when I asked her ;)

And for those of you who might think that the Japanese are reserved and controlled at all times, well, let me say this: I have never ever felt so relaxed and enjoyed the company of strangers so much as I did in Japan. I love the Japanese for:

not shouting in the street
not letting their rubbish lying around in the street
being polite at all times
being cheerful
making wonderful food
for being considerate at all times
etc., etc., etc.

I want to go back - Moe is dreaming of a science fiction-like gate to Tokyo; you just go through straight to Tokyo. I'm not one to blame him :)

Socks for sale!

2010-12-04T20:14:00.006+01:00

One of my mother's colleagues asked, if I would knit socks for her. And I thought 'what the heck...'

Arwetta yarn, needles 2.5 mm, no pattern as such.

Socks for my roomie

2010-12-04T20:03:00.005+01:00

At work I share an office with Ulla. We have so much fun together (our boss, who sits in the office next door often smiles and shakes her head at us ;)

Ulla's feet are always cold, which means I have to listen to her complaints about it! Warm wollen socks must be the answer to that problem :)

Zauberball sock yarn, needles 2.5 mm.
Ulla was surprised and pleased when I gave them to her; she told our co-workers just what a brilliant person and colleague she is and that it finally paid off! ;)

Ella Funt

2010-12-04T18:47:00.008+01:00

One day in October I decided to go 'shopping' in my own stash, and in it I found one of my favorite yarns; the Lana Grossa Cool Wool 2000 - 100% merino wool. I love it. And the colour range is incredible! I had some denim blues, a few greens and some other balls of Cool Wool that didn't go with anything. So I bought a few extra balls of yarn.

To begin with I didn't have a plan as such. I just knew I wanted to make something for Tristan, and since cardigans seem to be a lot more practical than jumpers at his age, I thought a cardigan with a round yoke would be a suitable thing to make. Searching through Ravelry I came across Ella Funt.

I made it a wee bit longer compared to what the pattern dictated - and I'm glad I did.

Moe's sister had a baby

2010-12-04T18:07:00.012+01:00

And of course that meant knitting! I didn't have much time. The baby, a girl, was born as we were on our way back from Japan. I managed to knit two baby hats in two days, which was all I had before we went to see both parents and baby.

Baby hat size 0-3 months, Arwetta yarn from Filcolana, needles 2.5 mm and 3.0 mm.

Baby hat size 3-6 months, Arwetta yarn from Filcolana, needles 2.5 mm and 3.0 mm.

Tristan in his cardigan

2010-12-04T17:31:00.003+01:00

We - as in Tristan's parents, Tristan himself, Mogens and I - went to Japan. Great experience! I simply loved the country and everything in it, and I felt like staying there for months. The people we met, mainly Tristan's uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. were all so very friendly, and more than once I felt embarrassed that I couldn't repay their hospitality.

The first couple of days were spent in a log cabin that Tristan's granddad had built some ten years ago. I chased Tristan down and took a picture of him - actually, I took several, but since he kept running they all came out blurry :)

The Sailer's Cardigan

2010-09-05T21:25:00.011+02:00

I've had quite a few balls of Vital from Hjertegarn (100% wool, superwashed) lying around for the better part of a year. During lunch one day I flipped through a magazine and found a nice pattern for a cardigan. Colour, gauge, etc. turned out to be just right for the yarn, and Tristan is getting bigger and bigger and he will soon be needing a warm jacket, or cardigan at least.

The cardigan is size 2 years - Tristan is only 14 months old, but he's a big boy. And growing :)

Another short row cardigan from DROPS

2010-06-23T16:50:00.004+02:00

I love this design and since I had some Arwetta sock yarn and some Regia Silk sock yarn left from other projects, I decided to make another one of these cardigans from DROPS. Last year I made one in alpaca, which was what the pattern called for. It turned out very well and so did this new one in wooly yarns.

A present for a co-worker's newborn baby.

Copenhagen - tour de yarn

2010-05-21T21:47:00.012+02:00

I took the day off. I didn't really have the time for it, which made me feel slightly guilty but once in a while you just need some time off. Together with my good friend, Tina, I went to Copenhagen to cuddle yarn and spend money. Copenhagen is a 3 hour drive away. We went by train - mainly because we wanted to knit to and fro :) We got on the train at 7 in the morning, bought ourselves a cup of tea and such and began knitting and chatting away. Half an hour later two middle-aged women joined us; they too had their eye on Copenhagen. And all the way there they quilted and chatted with us and with each other. Perfect setting!Once we arrived in Copenhagen, we were starving and decided to have brunch before anything else. We went to the H.C. Andersen Café just across the railway station. Nice place, nice food and not too expensive :)

Sommerfuglen was next on the list. Books, magasines and yarns were scrutinised. I wanted some basic cotton for a summer top but unfortunately they had only 5 balls left of that particular colour.

Tina, excited about Sommerfuglen.

Oh well. Instead I bought Nectar by Kim Hargreaves. At first I thought I'd just borrow it from a friend, but I liked it so much I had to have it. Know the feeling? :)

Nectar contains 21 lovely designs - I think I'll make a handful of them over time.

After another cup of tea and after purchasing a little orange something for Moe (he loves gadgets), Tina and I continued on to the next yarn shop: Gepard Garn. A nice shop with nice staff. I treated myself with 8 balls of Gepard Cotton Wool and two 100 g skeins of Opal Indigo.

Cotton Wool for me - and Indigo for Tristan.

Last but not least we visited Wilfert's - a shop with its own yarns and patterns mixed with what other shops carry. (And right before that I found a rather expensive but perfect dress along with a pair of fancy shoes, Tina smashed her iPhone by dropping it on a concrete floor while buying a sweatshirt for her son - we completed the ironic situation with taking silly pictures.

Tina at Wilfert's.

And then we had some more tea! We desperately needed to sit down and relax for a bit. It was very warm, and we had been walking forever and ever. Tired feet and thursty mouths led us to Tante T.

We didn't have time to eat lunch so by the end of the day we got some Thai take away instead. Nice! I luuuuve Thai food. After eating about half of it we hurried to the station, got on the train and knitted all the way back. I was home at 11 p.m. Needless to say I was knackered.

Princess Mary's Shawl

2010-05-17T18:08:00.017+02:00

When the Danish crown princess and crown prince had their children babtised the babies where carried wrapped in a shawl Princess Mary got from her mother - I believe it was originally a Shetlandic design (probably from Unst, to be exact).

Cecilie, who I used to go to school with, is having her first child in 15 days, which happens to be my birthday too. She asked me if I would be interested in making this quite famous 'Mary shawl' for her baby (she would pay me and all). Since I had been thinking about making this very shawl just for the fun of it, I agreed. And it was fun to knit! :) It's huge so it takes around 100 hours to make. Consider yourself warned.

Today I handed it over to Cecilie; she seemed to be very pleased with the result.

I forgot to weigh it but I think it's just around 300 g. It's made with Arwetta Extra Fine Merino, which is very soft and a nice yarn to work with.

Easter knitting

2010-04-04T19:48:00.015+02:00

For once I'm ahead of schedule. I made a shawl for my sister-in-law and a pair of socks for my granddad. He actually asked for more woolen socks; he NEVER asks for anything, so I was thrilled by his request :) I'm making him another pair in a denim blue version.

This is the Wool Peddler's Shawl from a book called Folk Shawls. I used 150 g DROPS Silk Tweed. The pattern called for much thicker yarn but the original shawl was absolutely massive, and I was keen on a rather regular sized shawl. I knitted the whole thing on needles 3.5 mm and used a needle size 5.5 mm for casting off to make the edge soft and flexible. The only alteration to the pattern was 10 more ridges before beginning the lace part of the shawl.

Chocolate brown socks size 40 (EU) made with Arwetta sock yarn on needles size 2.5 mm.

Q! And A?

2010-02-26T22:20:00.002+01:00

I have some questions to ask. I hope you know the answers to them.

1) Where the heck do I buy stuff from Knit Picks besides needles?? To me it seems impossible because I don't have en American adress to offer.

2) How on earth do you change colour when crocheting a granny square or a wheel of some sort?? I can't seem to get it to look nice and sorted. I read the otherwise very detailed instruction here...
my hexagons just still don't look great, to say the least.

I have been puzzled forever and ever, so if you can, PLEEEAAASE help :D

By the way....

2010-02-26T18:08:00.001+01:00

I got a new job! :D I'm so exited! This is the job I really really wanted - and I got it!! Wuhuuu! Aarhus University here I come!

Back from the UK

2010-02-26T16:15:00.013+01:00

We had such a fantastic time in England last weekend. I laughed until my face hurt! Saturday was spent at the Warwick Castle dungeons - that was the best ever. We - as in Don, his girlfriend Jade, four of Don's five sisters, their boyfriends, a couple of Don's old friends plus Moe and I - were led through the dark and scary dungeons. In each of them there was a little sort of play going on - everything was very much Black Adder-ish! :) I loved every second of it, and birthday boy, Don, got the birthday he wanted, I think :)

The joker snuck up on me! :)

The day after we continued celebrating at one of Don's sister's place. Family and old neighbors came too. We knew almost everybody, which gave it a 'back in the days' feel to it. Nice!

Birthday boy having his Aston Martin cake and eating it too.

Besides celebrating Don we also had time to just go for a nice, long walk, do a bit of shopping and enjoy a lovely Thai meal at the Sabai Sabai restaurant. I had hoped to bring a lot of books back with me but neither the yarnshop nor Waterstones carried any of the knitting books I was after. I did buy a few other things, though :)

My new buddy and I :)

On our way from Leamington to Warwick - one of my favorite places.

Rowan Handknit Cotton for a throw I plan to make, a crochet hook size 2.5 mm (half price compared to those in Denmark), the Sew It Up book that will - hopefully - teach me the basics and possibly more about sewing (I know nothing so succes is inevitable), a knitting magasine, stitch markers (a tenth of the price here), 105 little skeins of embroidery yarn (£1.99 - can you believe it?!) and the dark thing at the bottom is my current project; a pair of socks for my farther-in-law.

The Olympic Games - skiing (W)

2010-02-16T12:02:00.001+01:00

Ta-daaaa!

;)

Spiral Yoke - ribbing

2010-02-15T13:16:00.004+01:00

I did this hem 6 (six) times! I had to do it over so many times because, first I cast on using circular needles, then too many stitches, then my gauge was off and I had to rip the whole piece (about 4"), and then too few stitches, etc. etc.

Now I'm back on track :)

I'm loving it!

A long tail tubular cast on - which is why a circular needle is no good to begin with. I love the look of it, and the fact that it's super elastic.

Royal Leamington Spa

2010-02-09T12:01:00.004+01:00

In less than two weeks Moe and I will be going to England. Going back. I love Leamington - it feels like home to me. Don turns 30 so we'll be seeing everyone and I can't wait.

Obviously, I'll go and buy the things I: A) can't buy here in Denmark, or B) won't buy here in Denmark because they are too expensive.

I made a list:

Vogue Knitting
Knit 1
Books in general
Curry paste and spices
Sweets
Yarn
KnitPick's knitpro wires

Unfortunately, the LYS in Leamington doesn't carry KnitPicks at all. What a shame. I'll try and see if I can find the time and go to Coventry. And Warwick. Perhaps there are yarn shops I don't know about?

And no, we will not be travelling with Ryanair! Thank God! :)

Spiral Yoke Swatches

2010-02-08T21:30:00.004+01:00

So, I was ready to swatch for the spiral yoke sweater. I was sure I would be making this whole sweater on needles size 5.0 mm. My Knitpro couldn't be found anywhere and my jumper needles had turned into a pair of one(!) - once again I found myself spending money on something I knew I had already. In theory I don't need to buy anything knitting related. But that's just a theory.

I began swatching. And then it turns out that the right needle size for this project isn't 5.0 but 4.5 mm! Who would have guessed.... ;)

Left: 5.0
Rigth: 4.5 - the one Moe and I like the best

Hooked inspiration

2010-02-07T11:32:00.007+01:00

I met with both knitters and crocheters who inspired my to do a little crocheting myself. I'm not very good at it, but I'll keep practicing.

A few months ago I went to IKEA and bought this pillow; I knew I wanted to make some kind of pillow case in the near future. The pillow has been lying around and no pillow case was made. Until now. Or, at least I think it will turn into a pillow case :)

I made eight of these granny squares and then ran out of the orange ShibuiSock in the centre of each square. A thing lightly to happen when only scrap yarn is used. So now what? I dunno. Only time can tell.

The slowest moving project in history

2010-02-04T11:47:00.006+01:00

Though Moe doen't knit much (as in: at all) he still understands and appreciates yarn a lot. Whenever I hand him something handknit, he will - without a doubt - lift it up, feel it and then smell it :)

About 18 months ago I thought I would knit a pullover for him. He deserves it. And I wanted it to be very 'him'. I asked about colour, shape, look, feel, etc. I went back and forth in books, magazines, friends' books and magazines, and searched the Internet from one end to the other. Still I didn't find what I was looking for. But then Jared Flood made his version of the lovely and most brilliant Spiral Yoke Sweater by Meg Swansen. Moe and I agreed that this would be the perfect thing for him too. And he was crazy about the colour. Unfortunately, Jared Flood used yarn that would be impossible to get my hands on. I had to look for an alternative - not an easy task. I searched high and low; no yarn seemed to have that vibrant semi-solid, rich, red tone I was after.

I believe it was Trine who brought my attention to Berroco Ultra Alpaca. I had some of it in my stash already, but had forgotten all about it. I didn't have enough to make Moe's pullover with it but at least now I knew what to buy. The yarn arrived and everything was good. Except, I didn't have the pattern. The pattern was published in Handknitting with Meg Swansen - a book no one had in stock. I waited for quite some time (patience is a virtue, I know) and one day it arrived at my doorstep. With both yarn and book right there in front of me, one might think that I would be ready to actually begin knitting. No such luck. Because the yarn is 100% alpaca it's very soft and I was beginning to fear that the pullover would be hanging from Moe's shoulders like a sack of potatoes. I realised that I needed an additional yarn to support the alpaca.

This quest sent me directly to Isager. A semi pleasant experience, I must say. Nice shop, nice staff, nice yarn. However, while I was there a dog puked on the floor(!), the yarn - Spinni 33s - was sold out, and I had to wait in line for a long time while people talked about the dog's sick on the floor. Later it turned out that the colour was discontinued all together, which made my waiting both in the shop and the following two weeks seem meaningless.

Uldstedet came to my rescue - thank God :)

The wool, Spinni 33s, that was so hard to get. This picture represents it's true colour.

The two yarns together - irl, they both are a bit darker.

Ready, set, swatch! :)

Don't burn your fingers

2010-02-04T11:33:00.003+01:00

Originally I wanted to finish this very simple project before Christmas - and I did, only not the right year. And now I can't be bothered thinking about Christmas any longer.

What used to be a Christmas present is now a birthday present instead.

Birthday girl actually asked for these a while ago - so, no, I haven't gone mental.
Not completely.

On the needles

2010-02-04T11:10:00.004+01:00

This is another I-knit-and-hope-it-turns-out-the-way-I-want-it-to-projects :) Stay tuned and watch and learn (either that it was a succes or that it can't be done (be my, anyway)).

Online Wool, a size 7mm needle and time on my hands.

Easter

2010-01-26T22:50:00.003+01:00

I'm always on my own during Easter; Moe goes to Germany to do 'his thing' (computers, competitions, hanging out with friends, eating crap for the better part of a week, etc.). I don't mind the least bit, though. Last year I went to Shetland, which was the best thing I had done for ME in a very long time. I can't afford going there again this year (we have too many plans that involve rather expensive plane tickets and suchs), so I'm trying to work out what to do instead. It has to involve knitting (of course!). It will probably also involve a bit of running, but the good thing about running is that it doesn't require any planning in particular. Knitting is a bit like running - no planning required. However, I was thinking about being social and knit at the same time (I know - living on the edge!) So, should I invite people over? Should I attend a public knitting event? Should I take a course of some sort?

If you have any suggestions, please let me know :)

...... I could go to the UK or drive around from yarn shop to yarn shop.... hmmm.... what do you think?! :)

Award

2010-01-26T15:40:00.002+01:00

Thanks to Irene for this sweet award :)

If I'm creative as the award implies, well, I'll let you readers be the judge of that :)

And now I'm supposed to tell 7 things about myself. Here goes:

1) Before I even went to school I forced my dad to teach me the alphabet, to write a few sentences and say something in English - you don't want to show up and look stupid on the first day, now do you ;)

2) I got my ears pierced when I was four.

3) I wouldn't eat cheese if my life dependet on it (no, not even on pizza!)

4) I knit almost every day. Days without knitting are close to pointless ;)

5) I'm looking for a new job.

6) I'm afraid of dogs - and yes, that probably includes your dog too even though it's the nicest thing ever. Sorry.

7) I'm currently trying to find out if I should run another marathon in Berlin in September.

Socks, socks, socks...!

2010-01-25T21:43:00.011+01:00

I can't help it. I love to knit socks. And as always, I'm trying to bring down my stash a bit and since I have a lot of sock yarn in my stash (how can that be?) I thought Moe should have another pair of socks. And I must say: he never was afraid of colours! He did say that he would prefer if I didn't include any baby pink or salmon coloured yarn in them. Since my stash isn't exactly full of yarn in those colours I said 'no probs' and began knitting :)

He likes them - and I like them on him :)

I did knit another pair of socks for myself as well. I gave the pattern Spring Forward another chance and finally things worked out the way I wanted them to - I tried the pattern some time ago and ended up frogging it. This time I used my craaaaazy coloured ShibuiSock yarn, which was probably somewhat over the top for this pattern. Still I'm quite pleased with the result.

A quick knit!

Another hat for Tristan

2010-01-25T21:34:00.006+01:00

Babys grow. Tristan is a baby. Tristan grows. And because this is an undeniable truth, over time his clothes become too small.

This winter has been - and still is - very cold, so I made him a new hat to go with his scarf :)

It fit perfectly!

Rib vest

2010-01-09T13:55:00.003+01:00

I came across this lovely yarn from Gepard called cottonwool (half of each, hence the name). Our friends' baby, Tristan, deserved a little something to keep him warm during these very cold winter days (-19 C a few weeks ago... brrrrr!), so Merry Christmas, Tristan :)

Super soft and a perfect fit :)

Totoro and a hint of Christmas

2010-01-08T13:38:00.004+01:00

Christmas went by so fast I only made this only thing the whole month....

Reaching for the top! :)

Totoro! A birthday present for Moe :)

Totoro was made in all secrecy, which was actually a bit difficult. More than once I had to litterally throw him behind the sofa when Moe suddenly walked in.
Moe had been talking about Totoro for quite some time, so I decided to make one for him though it had been a long time since I had crocheted anything. It was good fun to make AND to see Moe's face when he opened the package :)

Back again - with award and socks on the menu

2010-01-06T12:28:00.016+01:00

Happy New Year, folks! We celebrated Christmas with my in-laws and new year's eve with friends. The days in between we spent doing almost nothing. I needed that desperately. I really enjoyed having some time to myself.

Around Christmas time, Tine gave me this sweet award - thank you so much! :)

These awards always come as such a surprise to me. I'll forward it to two other bloggers, the first being Bea who's blog I keep coming back to :) The second blogger is Emma who makes such nice things that I can't help looking over her cyberspace shoulder :)

I'll stop talking and instead show you the things I made during the much valued me-time.

Socks for Moe - he loves stripes!

Christmas present for my sister in-law

Merino Lace Socks - pattern by Anne Woodbury
yarn: Ingelise Strømpegarn

Retro Rib Socks - pattern by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill

Waving Lace Socks - pattern by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Regia Silk

Three more pairs of dull machine made cotton socks are going in the bin :)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-04T23:08:00.004+01:00

The first signs of Christmas are here...

Trellis

2009-12-04T22:21:00.008+01:00

Buttons were added minutes before the cardigan was handed over to Tristan. His parents thought he looked like 'a million dollar baby' - and I'd have to agree :)

The pattern is 'Trellis' from Knitty. I enjoyed knitting this; the cables, the yarn, the size... it just all came together in such a perfect way. The yarn, by the way, is Berroco's Ultra Alpaca.

The photos are, however, not the best quality: these three shots and it went 'battery low'. Typical!

Quick Poncho

2009-12-04T20:46:00.005+01:00

I've been wanting a poncho for some time, and a couple of weeks ago I came across some very cheap Natur Uld in a limited range of colours, though. The poncho was done in no time and even though the result reflects I didn't have much yarn to chose from, I like it. And it's perfect when driving.

What can I say... it's a lot easier to take somebody else's picture!

I quit

2009-11-28T19:52:00.002+01:00

Sometimes things just don't work out the way you planned. For 16 months I have tried to like my job - it didn't work out. I still enjoy being an accountant just not at my present workplace. In fact, I sort of hate it. So I quit. It's crazy since I don't have another job waiting for me and unemployment is off the chart right now. But I reeaaaaally can't stay there much longer. And now it feels good to know that it will soon be over - almost like when you decide to unravel what you've spent hours knitting because you realize you made a horrible mistake :)

P.S. If you have a job for me, do tell ;)

Kitchen Towel

2009-11-19T18:30:00.006+01:00

I had a significant amount of cotton yarn (if you take into consideration that I rarely knit with cotten that is). In an attempt to get rid of at least some of it I crocheted this kitchen towel. I really like the result; there was no pattern, no detailed plan - but it turned out to be a very useful towel.

What a beauty

2009-10-25T21:49:00.006+01:00

Last weekend I spent most of my time helping my granddad move his stuff to his new home not far away from the old one. The parkinson's disease is taken its toll on him and making it impossible for him to do any gardening, driving, walking the dog and such. In fact it's making life something he has to overcome most days. Anyway, his new home is a lot smaller than the old one, and that meant leaving a lot of things behind. Some of them were a little difficult to part with (for me, that is - my granddad is not too sentimental :).

One of the things that he couldn't find the room for was this lovely piece of furniture. I'm not sure what the correct term would be, since it's the kind of furniture you'd have in your bedroom 40-50 years ago. The top is a lid that holds a mirror, there are two small drawers and spare room for one's hair brush, makeup and such. Below, there are three regular drawers. Fancy, I'm telling you. It's made with palisander and he made it himself..... 'during lunch hour'... as he put it ;)

When you look up 'perfection' there ought to be a picture of this particular furniture in the dictionary. In case you don't have a dictionary, here goes.

I cleaned it and gave it a bit of teak oil. The wood thanked me for that.

Christmas Stocking Swap on Ravelry

2009-10-16T17:03:00.003+02:00

Last year I was invited to participate in a so-called Christmas Stocking swap. It's a thing on Ravelry. A huge group of people knit Christmas stockings - one each - and when finished and stuffed, each member of this swap group sends his or her stocking to another group member. My stocking was sent to Jeniffer last year, and this year she chose to make my stocking. Really nice of her! And she did good! Take a look at all the things, beside the stocking itself, she sent me. I'm spoiled rotten :)

There were more sugar sticks to begin with, but somehow they just vanished... strange....

Spinning Lesson

2009-10-11T15:44:00.005+02:00

About a week ago I asked around for some info on spinning. Ulla (aka vanadia on rav.) volunteered to teach me the basics. I warned her that I knew absolutely nothing on beforehand. I didn't even know the Danish word for fleece (how bad is that!). Ulla did great. Soon after she arrived I was spinning away! She left me with a spinning kit, which gives me the chance to see if I should invest in a spindle myself.

Ulla showing how it's done.

About one hour's work! Not much and not pretty, but it's there! :D

I think I'll buy my very own spindle in the very near future. I'll keep you posted.

More socks

2009-10-11T14:17:00.017+02:00

Last year I decided that this year I would knit more socks. I really enjoy knitting socks; they are fast, new patterns are easily applied, and they are perfekt if you want to bring your knitting with you at all times. Last but not least: once you've gotten used to wearing homeknit socks, you have also reached a point of no return. I love my homeknit socks :) If you happen to know another equally perfect type of project, please let me know.

The green socks are Embossed Leaves Socks by Mona Schmidt in Shibui Sock. The yarn has seemed to be cursed, so I'm just very relieved that it has finally been turned into socks.

The crazy coloured socks are Cookie A.'s Lindsay. At first I wasn't sure if they would turn out to be the most hideous thing ever but I kept on knitting. And I love the result. The yarn is Regia Silk Color - so soft.

The light blue pair is Wanida by Cookie A. I managed to misunderstand one tiny bit of the pattern, and I only realized it when I had finished the first sock already. Oh well, I just made the other sock match the first - regardless of what the pattern dictated. I knit them with the Regia Cotton I got in one of the lovely Ravelry swaps :)

You may have noticed another pair of socks in the first picture - the plain, beige ones. It's a Christmas present. Not really that interesting.

Preparations

2009-10-07T17:53:00.002+02:00

Christmas will be here before we know it. And this year I'm doing what I usually advise people against - don't ask. I've decided to knit a bunch of Christmas presents, so I thought it would be a good idea to start now. Or may months ago, but the fact is that I've only just begun.

I plan to knit and crochet socks, hats, scarfs, etc. for most people in my family. For once it's a good thing that my family isn't that big. Right now I have 7 things on my to-do list. One down, six to go. I might add a few things to the list - it all depends on how well this is going by the time we leave November :)

I'm also working on a Christmas stocking for Emily in the US. It's one of those swaps on Ravelry.com that I'm participating in. So much fun.

When I find the time for it I'll begin knitting the little elves I presented to you a couple of weeks ago. I bought the things needed just the other day, so no going back now :)

Are you doing any Christmasy things yet?

Berlin

2009-09-23T18:05:00.003+02:00

Another 42.195 km / 26.24 miles equals one medal :) The 36th Berlin Marathon is over. I didn't win (I know you're surprised now!) but it was still great. I'll come back next year. Meanwhile I'll find other races to participate in. I have to have my pain fix, ya know.

How could they!

2009-09-11T18:08:00.002+02:00

Our house was broken into. We were robbed big time. They took everything we had worth anything. I feel angry and disappointed. And some nights I wake up wanting to stab them in the head and have them begging for forgiveness! Other nights I'm terrified to even be in the house.

Fortunately, my awesome stash wasn't good enough for those sad f******s, so I still have my yarn.

And they couldn't take away my passion for knitting. Thank God for knitting.

Moe struck gold!

2009-08-26T17:08:00.004+02:00

The other day Moe decided to go through the stuff we keep in the garage. Not my kind of fun. We had two huge boxes with things from when I was living on my own. I guess that makes them just my things. In one box a mouse had found a warm place to live... and poop! Spiders and other not so nice creepy crawly bugs seemed to enjoy life there too. That box or its content never entered our house. The other one was full of magazines, Donald Duck ones mostly. And in the middle of hundreds and hundreds of magazines a few sheets of paper popped out. I was watching Moe as he was cleaning and searching through it all (I'd rather be cleaning the toilet than having to do with all the spiders and that). He pulled out the paper and handed it to me, and oh glorious heaven! He had just found the patterns for some knitted Christmas Elves that I've been looking for forever and ever. These patterns have been sitting between two Donald Duck magazines for years. Why? Dunno! Of course this little piece of gold was allowed into the house, and I can't wait to begin knitting those little guys and make clothes for them out of felt.

Ready for Christmas? I think so! :)

Prince Tristan I

2009-08-26T17:01:00.004+02:00

Here he is! Cute guy, I'm telling you! :)

A photo of a photo of Tristan and the Christmas mouse Deppin.

Aaaaaaaaw!

Rowan Lenpur Linen - Jada

2009-08-08T11:05:00.014+02:00

I made this as a birthday present for my mother. Her birthday was in June, but since I got the Rowan magasine with the pattern June 7, well I just didn't manage to finish it in time. My mother got other presents, and I kept it a secret (or tried to - things and people sort of got in the way) until now. She seemed pleased with the result. Nice :)

The Lenpur Linen easily splits which makes it a bit of a pain to knit with. I do love both colour and texture, though. I made a size small for my mother. The pattern called for 8 balls of yarn for both size small AND medium. And get this: I ran out of yarn on the very last round!! I then had to 'tink' half a row back and then cast off. I weighed and measured this puppy more than once, and I still don't understand how anybody can make this with only 8 balls of yarn. You'll need more than 'good luck!' if you go for size medium. That's for sure.

Oh well, I'm just glad that my mother is a size small and that she likes it, and well, that I like it :)
I'm also glad that it's finished. I enjoyed knitting it but it was quite straining to make all those p2tog tbls. I would consider making another one for myself, though :)

A jumper for the headless woman ;)

Summer Inactivity

2009-08-06T16:04:00.010+02:00

I haven't done much in about two weeks, which is basically all I hoped to get out of my vacation. Moe and I went down to my parents' summer house for a week. It rained the whole time we were there, but it didn't matter that much, since we both needed to do nothing. And rainy days are good for nothing. Whenever I did show weak signs of activity, I either trained for the Berlin Marathon or knitted. I managed to complete two half marathons last week. The Berlin Marathon is only 6 and a half weeks away, but I think I'll be alright. I need to lose a massive amount of weight, but I'm working on that too. It's a good thing you can always knit whenever you feel the need to use your hands and stuff your face :) I haven't begun to feel sorry for myself (due to lots of training and no sweets), but I know I will - knitting will be my rescuer.

Per default you don't want to run out of yarn - we all know that. And just to prevent that from happening I bought some Lucca Fine Merino; the softes ever! I'm not sure what to knit with it - perhaps some very nice baby clothes of some sort. Oh, and please note that the green hank is far from light minty green in real life; actually it's vibrant green, very apple green. Anyway, if you know just the right pattern for this wonderful yarn, please let me know.

I also bought books. More books. And I really shouldn't. Somebody failed to slap me in the face when I hit the 'order' button. Oh well, I'll just have to make the best of it then.
And that won't be too hard. Both books, i.e. "Strikk til nøstebarn" and "Embroidery for little miss crafty" are excellent! I might even be able to use some of the above-mentioned Lucca Fino with one of the patterns in "Strikk til nøstebarn" - yay!

Obviously, I'm now on a book and yarn diet.... together with the regular food diet. It's not fair *buhuuu*.

Have a look at our rose; it's free of charge and you don't gain weight. Enjoy :)

I know I began this post with telling you that I have been knitting while on holiday. It really did happen. I just can't show you any pictures yet, since one thing is a secret a little while longer, another isn't quite done and the third is nowhere done. Instead you may have a peek at the alpaca baby thingy I'm working on right now.

Soooooooooo soft!

I hope you've enjoyed whatever time you had off during the summer. I know I did.

Tristan Tetsuo Jeremy Fujiwara Andersson

2009-07-24T19:31:00.002+02:00

Great names, don't you think? :) They belong to the little guy who got the brown/turquoise cardigan and the light green hat and socks (the cardigan in particular made his mother freak out a bit... in a good way, fortunately).
Tristan and I met for the first time yesterday - I liked him right away and he didn't seem too unhappy with me either. Pheeew! ;) Tristan is only 12 days old but already a charming boy that I will keep knitting for. Needless to say that my knitting bag is now full of browns, greens, blues, etc.

Babies are good for destashing

2009-07-23T09:06:00.006+02:00

So I made another baby cap. I used up all my light green Paton yarn, all my dark grey Regia Silk, which leaves me with just around 20 g of the baby pink sock yarn.

It weighs only 18 g but I am working on slightly larger projects.

To those who may be interested in making one of these caps, here's the pattern! :) It's super easy to make, so jump right into it!

Another EZSJ

2009-07-19T12:56:00.005+02:00

This Surprise Jacket was made with Mimosa yarn, a cotton and acrylic blend from 'Ingelise'. I've had it in my stash forever, and I never knew what to do with it because it's so thick and sturdy. But I think it's alright for a jacket. I don't know about the colours, but hey, I'm destashing here! :)
It took 161 g out of my stash.

Baby Socks and Hat

2009-07-19T12:44:00.005+02:00

Jeremy Junior was born a week ago - I still haven't seen him, but I know his mother will appreciate some baby socks for him. I wanted to make a baby cap as well, so why not make it a match.A total of 41 g from the stash.
Note to self: CO 60 stitches to make the straps - needle size 3.0

EZ - Surprise Jacket

2009-07-10T15:46:00.007+02:00

Strange but easy! I loved knitting this jacket. On my Knit Picks 4.5 mm needles I used "Roma" yarn from 'Hjertegarn', which is a 50% cotton and 50% acrylic blend. I bought the yarn a couple of years ago; back then I thought the colours were very good together - and I still do. And today I went down town to find some buttons. I've been button hunting lately with little success, but today things went my way. Yay! For reasons unknow I knitted six button holes instead of just five. I did notice almost rigth away, I just couldn't be bothered.

The jacket weighs 131 g - goodbye stash!

Baby Cardi by Drops

2009-07-06T20:28:00.007+02:00

This cardigan found on www.garnstudio.com is easy to knit and a delight to look at. Though it is a bit boring at the end with only garter stitches to do the whole way from beginning to end, I might make another sometime soon.

The pattern called for Drops Alpaca - I found four balls of that exact yarn in my stash. Yay!
I used up almost all the yarn, which suits me just fine (destashing, remember?).

The cardigan weighs 115 g

EZ - February Sweater

2009-07-06T19:24:00.006+02:00

I've tried to resist Elizabeth Zimmerman's wonderful patterns for so long, and finally I had to give in.
For this project I used an all time favorite, i.e. Lana Grossa Cool Wool 2000 - a super soft superwash merino wool. It comes in many colours, so I always have a hard time picking just one :)

I enjoy this pattern so much that I'm likely to make another February Sweater very soon.

Knitting in the shade

2009-07-03T23:43:00.010+02:00

Most of today was spent in the garden. Around 2 p.m. knitters arrived and we all sat under the apple tree knitting while enjoying a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. Helle and Tine, who where both here for the first time, had brought presents! Yarn, pattern and lanterns \o/ A hundred percent unexpected, but super nice! :)

All days ought to be like this one - thanks for coming, my fellow knitters :)

Summer

2009-07-03T22:13:00.011+02:00

The past week or so has been very warm and sunny. For once I've had time to enjoy life a bit. Last Friday I went down to my granddad's. We chatted away for a good three hours - he's my favorite person in the whole wide world, and we always have things to talk about. And the man understands and appreciates sarcasm along with a lame joke like nobody else :)

A rose in my granddad's garden - isn't it lovely?! :) He had several of them - and he actually dug one up and gave it to me. It's now in my garden struggling with the heat and such. I hope it survives!

Summer in Denmark is the best! I would never dream of going anywhere else on days like this one.

Satisfied Costumer - Lea

2009-06-24T19:02:00.002+02:00

I believe the cap I made for Lea last year is stuck to her head for good - I've seen only one picture where she does NOT wear it :)

Lea, cute with and without the cap, and her dad :)

Rown Lenpur Linen

2009-06-24T18:47:00.005+02:00

I went over to Lise's place about a week after my birthday - and surprise! She had bought me a present \o/

Lenpur Linen is on the needles! :)

Shibui Sock - here we go again

2009-06-24T18:34:00.004+02:00

This is probably the 4th time I knit a sock with this yarn. For reasons unknown I seem to have a bit of trouble actually knitting a wearable sock with this otherwise lovely yarn. Could it be cursed?
I thought I would be going for a Cookie A. pattern this time, but instead I chose a pattern by Jennifer L. Appleby found in my new "Favorite Socks - 25 Timeless Designs from INTERWEAVE" book.

WWKIP Day

2009-06-24T18:06:00.006+02:00

After enjoying the luxury of a lovely (and expensive) brunch down town, Lise and I headed up to the town museum. A few other knitters had made their way up there as well. We began knitting and soon after more knitters joined us. There where many familiar faces but also a couple of new ones - very nice.
Lise and Nina - chatting, not knitting ;)

Bente, Agnete, Majke, Inger and an unknown artist :)

Knitters knitting away!

Unfortunately, I had to leave early. My parents-in-law were celebrating their 25th anniversary, and the day before WWKIP day it was decided that we should turn up early, so the family could have their picture taken before all the guests arrived.
Ever since they sent out the invitation I had made it crystal clear that under no circumstances would I be able to arrive hours before all the other guest; somehow I lost that 'battle'..... major disappointment!

I did enjoy the two hours of WWKIP day, though :)

However, next year I simply refuse to participate in anything other than WWKIP day that particular day. I don't care if you decide to get married or something... I WON'T BE COMING!

Baby Twins

2009-06-07T09:51:00.004+02:00

My friend, Christina, is pregnant with twins - both girls. She claims to be huge, and I'll go see for myself next Sunday :) Using stash yarn (a total of 37 g) I made a little something for the babies.

The hats will be quite big for some time, but they will fit once we reach October or November, I think.
Again I used Ingelise Strømpegarn, and the pattern is called Djevellue (Devil's cap in Norwegian) and can be found here.

Nutkin Socks - before frogging

2009-06-07T09:28:00.006+02:00

I can't seem to knit a proper pair of socks with this green Shibui sock yarn that I love so much. I've spent hours knitting but the result is not really useful in any way. Several times I tried to finish the Spring Forward socks - that didn't work out. I simply could not get back on track after having finished the heel flap - why? dunno. So after getting really frustrated I frogged that and decided to try a completely different pattern - the Nutkin. I thought the pattern and yarn would go hand in hand together and I knitted like mad for a couple of days. When trying it on frustration came right back to me: it does not fit AT ALL. It's way too tight and mind you, I have a narrow, bony foot, and I've done exactly what the pattern said. And still - it just doesn't fit. Could it be that my green Shibui love is cursed?!

The Nutkin will be frogged too. No doubt. I'll wait for Sock Innovation by Cookie A. to turn up on my doorstep, and when it does (they said 3-5 workdays from now) I'll decide on yet another pattern.

London

2009-06-04T10:45:00.001+02:00

It looked old, but what do I know....

I love my garden!

2009-06-02T10:31:00.003+02:00

And on:

Friday, July 3rd from around 2 p.m.

you are more than welcome to come sit in it and knit :)

There will be tea, coffee, cake and fruit.

If you plan to show up, please send me an email (guinstuff AT hotmail DOT com), or send me a PM on ravelry :)

I'll be looking forward to seeing you all!