Tea & Silence

Finally Friday again! Although I should not complain. I have worked from home today, which means I can enjoy one of my favourite teas while I read, and write and re-write until the documents I am working on are as I think they ought to be.

I am enjoying the silence and the sunlight. The ticking from the wall hanging kitchen clock. The birch outside my kitchen window, which is full of buds ready to burst into green leaves. I am longing for spring.

Happy Friday to you too!

The Small Collector Sweater

This is another left over yarn project. The collector sweater is for Andreas so he can put his small treasures found when playing outdoors in his pocket. The pocket is big enough for him to put small treasures in it and small enough for him not to fill the house with them.

It is knitted with the very last left over Gjestal yarn that I used to both this and this sweater. I have never knitted pockets on garments before (it is not part of the pattern), but I enjoy learning new things so searching around the web to learn how to knit pockets was fun.

It took me a few attempts to get the pocket the way I wanted (I wanted the rib of the pocket to be diagonal), but nothing too difficult or discouraging. Doing and redoing is part of the learning experience, right? These are the different tips and tricks I found in case you want to see them as well.

Have a nice week!

Busy Boy Vest

I do need to de-stash my yarn baskets. That is this springs mission. A big clean up. And honestly I am not doing too bad (padding myself on the shoulder). In 2008 I made The Cherry Scarf by Helga Isager with thin Alpaca from Du Store Alpakka. It was one of the first things I knitted, and the first thing I knitted for myself. It’s knitted with double threads which gives the scarf a nice density and weight to it. I’m also positively surprised with how well the scarf looks after years of use.

I had a skein and some more left of the blue colour in my basket, (the left over pink/scarlet was used to make this Bella) and decided to make a vest for Andreas since he has grown out of the others he has.

Vests are my absolutely all-time favourite garment for busy children. They are perfect for the Norwegian springs and falls, when it’s too hot to wear a sweater when your are in the sun, and too cold to not wear a sweater when in the shadow. The vest however is perfect, neither too cold nor too hot either way.

As you can see I ran out of blue when there were only a centimetre and a half left of the neck line. A few lines of grey Alpakka saved me from having to rip up the vest and begin all over. Not perfect, but it works.

Quiet days

March is going to be a busy month, and my knitting time is reduced to a minimum.

I have three projects in my basket. Two that are hibernating while the latest one is this left over yarn striped sweater. It’s the same pattern as here and here, but with a difference in how the stripes are distributed. Knitting the same pattern several times makes it easier to be spontaneous when it comes to how the colour changes should be. I like that.

I am a typical follow-the-pattern-exactly- knitter, so this is a much needed exercise. Trusting my instincts and taking a chance. That goes for other parts of my life as well, but perhaps more so when knitting because I am less experienced.

Besides knitting, the never-ending cloudy weather is beginning to affect our energy levels. I am beginning to wonder if the sun will ever appear again. I mean ever.

Have a nice week everyone!

And the winner is...

…drumroll please…




And while you drumroll in front of your screen I’ll tell you how I did the draw… I made a list where everyone’s comment were given a number, and then depending on how many tickets each of you opted for you received an additional number(s). I used the random number generator to make the draw.

The first number I drew was actually one that belonged to my own comment, so I had to push the “Generate” button again, and viola, number 48 turned up.

The lucky winner is Kirsti over at «Lykkeplagg», who sews and knits the most beautiful baby garments (in case you are still drum rolling; you can let your fingers rest now).

I also want to give an extra thank you to all of you who signed up for three Valentine-tickets, Thank you for the link love! Please send me your contact information (slow mail) so I can send you two leather tags in your chosen colour and font (and you can choose more than one colour if you like).

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to participate in the giveaway!

Pst pst… don’t miss Spits bright, yellow and beautiful yarn giveaway

Lucky me

Look at the beautiful yarn I received in my mailbox a couple of days ago! In the end of January, Anne over at “Frøken Fargerik” (Mrs. Colourful) celebrated one year of blogging and had a secret surprise giveaway. I didn’t win the first price, but I won the consolation price.

I received three skeins of Iris Alpakka from Rauma and one skein of Abuelita Three Ply merino wool (*love*). Aren’t they beautiful! She must know me because I absolutely love the colours of the yarn she sent me. I also received lovely tea. Some I have already taken with me to work and a few tea bags I kept at home for knitting moments like now.

The Iris alpaca is different from other alpaca yarns I have knitted with before; it reminds me of mohair yarn in texture. I haven’t knitted with flurry yarn in a while, but I have seen other knitters combine flurry yarn with non-flurry wool. Perhaps I could combine it with grey merino wool. What do you think? If you have any experience with this or suggestions, I would be very grateful.

Talking about give away; If you liked the leather tag hat, don’t miss the giveaway I have that lasts until Sunday! :-)