Secretive glimpse

Soft, warm... pure alpaca. Say no more! ;o)

Heavenly Peace

Yes, this weekend was bliss - heavenly peace, so to speak. This of course means that a lot of my over-ambitious plans were put to rest, but it is OK. As long as I was able to rest too, I mean ;o) I still feel at peace. The first candle was lit - the big star in the window got a new bulb - all my beautiful angels are on watch. It was a GOOD first sunday of Advent!

Waiting for the waiting

2-3 weeks ago I just could not wait any longer - I just HAD TO start the outdoor decorating, which I normally don´t do before December 1st. Maybe the reason for this is that I had a hard time accepting fall and winter darkness before. The latest few years I have grown more and more fond of these seasons, and it feels so nice to complement this feeling by doing a little bit of outdoor decorating. Together with the pretty lanterns and planters on a little marble table next to the entrance door it also serves as a nice welcome for visitors. The base for this rather chaotic arrangement is my clematis pyramide climbing rack. The "ornaments" are my collection of seed stands, cones and acorns from Spain, Tunisia, Greece and Norway. While I wait for Advent (which as you know means "the coming of Christ"), I keep on working on big and small projects, both indoors and out - some more secret than others ;o)

Princess to Queen

Princess has developed kind of an obsession lately - before school, she knits. At school, she knits. After school, she knits. Before homework, she knits. After homework and before dance lessons, she knits. In bed at night, she knits. And so on. Some of her friends will find some precious, homemade gifts under the x-mas tree this year! The wristwarmers took her just a few hours to finish and decorate. Thick, cosy wool is good for keeping the spirit and motivation! Go, girl!

Glittering Prize

Remember Simple Minds...? Well. Anyhow. A couple of weeks ago I attended an inspirational seminar for teachers and other educational staff. The seminar included a workshop - we spent 1,5 hours playing with all the glittery stuff you can imagine! Our task was to make a filigree brooch inspired by the various traditional filigree brooches accesorizing the Norwegian national costumes. We were asked to bring an empty, clean tin, and as it turned out the tin lid would serve as a base for the brooch. This is what I ended up with - and I will proudly wear it in good Pippi Longstocking spirit :o)

Ready for a revelation?

Lucky, lucky me! I met adorable Eline and her lovely parents last night. It has been a bit more than 12 years since I laid eyes on my own little precious Princess for the first time. I have hardly been able to take my eyes off her again, gazing at her amazing beauty ever since - and I totally understand, and (partly - must not forget that one owns child will always be the most perfect and beautiful ;o) ) agree with Elines parents when they claim HER the most beautiful creature in the world... And THIS is what was inside the wrapped up gift from last post - a cosy little hooded sleeping/travelling bag for baby Eline! It is based on the pattern "Nataschas kjørepose" from the book "Myk start" by May B. Langhelle, but I altered the yarn, the size, the needles and most importantly the hood, which was originally knitted directly onto the body in one piece. In my experience hoods can be a real view-blocker for the baby, and also too warm inside a car, and if you want to pull it down it will create a very uncomfortable bump in the neck. Cute pink and glittery mother of pearl buttons are used to attatch the hood to the body, and this hopefully makes the whole bag-thing more practical in use. Yarn: About 475 g of super soft "Easy" (1 ply 100 % merino wool) from Sandnes garn. Needles: 7 mm.

All dressed up and somewhere to go ;o)

The gift for little Eline is good to go! I hope we will be able to meet soon - for the first time! The closest I have been so far is this beautiful drawing of her, by her extremely clever artist papa. It has been a while since I last saw her cute mama too, so it will be bliss :o)

Secret blogging?!?

First of all; thank you for the nice comments on the baby blanket! Not much progress on that one since my last post I´m afraid - as the baby turns out not to be due until January some time I got the (deceiving) feeling that there is no rush... ;o) Blogging AND keeping the blogging material secret is a true contradiction (like eating the cake and have it, I would say) - so the blog has been neglected for a few weeks. Soon, my friends, soon at least one of the secrets can be revealed! Then there is the x-mas gifts preparations, involving one secret project after the other. I think this year, I will angle my camera towards other aspects of my aesthethic ways. Maybe I will start posting more glimpses from my domestic life, or include other kind of work than the yarn-based? Maybe even dig out some old graphic work? There will most certainly be some paper crafy preparations for this season too and not all of them have to be secret, I think. So look for new content around here - as for now enjoy the wonderful colours in this photo stolen from I can´t remember where (sorry, I am BAD!)

Domino progress

I have been told that the unborn recipient of this Domino WIP will be a boy - and he is LUCKILY due quite a few weeks later than first expected. This means that some of my plans for home made x-mas gifts may also come to life ;o)

Rainbow sleeves

Princess often tells me that she wants me to make her cardigans, sweaters etc - especially every time I finish something for myself. In 2008 I made a very warm raglan cardie as seen below, and last week I cast on for a similar one for Princess. Hopefully it will do as a x-mas present. The yarn is fingering weight Fabel (75 % merino wool, 25 % nylon) + Alpaca in Princess´version while my own was Noro Silk Garden + one strand Alpaca/one strand Carisma (100% wool). 3 mm needles seem to make the right gauge for a nice and soft fabric. The Fabel rainbow yarn is fairly similar to the Noro colourway on my jacket, which I think will please the recipient. I really hope this garment will be loved and worn by Princess when it is finished.

Expecting more cold weather

I think this beautiful Arwetta Classic (80 % merino wool, 20 % nylon) could be suitable (and is maybe designed for) knitting socks. I´m planning a hat, though, and maybe some finger mittens if my 100 g lasts for both. Maybe this time I will even search for and actually follow a pattern :-))

The September When

The last day of September arrived much sooner than expected this year... The calendar decides that I should stop wondering if there will be an Indian Summer this year. I enjoy the beautiful colours around me, breathing in the crisp air doing one-hand-shooting with my camera, trying to keep the other hand warm in my pocket ;o)

Seasons Greetings

Vintage and new manufactured lace combined with Calluna - a simple and romantic decoration on my willow wreaths this season

Sneak peek

This super soft 100% merino Easy yarn knits up nicely on 7 mm needles and makes a very warm fabric - I hope it will be suitable for its (secret) purpose :o)

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose...

The roses from Superman are like our love; growing more beautiful every day and changing through the different phases with grace...

So far, so good

365 days ago Superman & I confirmed our determination to share our lives by saying "I do" - surrounded by family and friends all through the beautiful ceremony and the following happy celebration. We agree on todays title - and as you can see the domino baby blanket is coming along nicely too :o) PS - in case you did not read the last post on this topic; the blanket is for a friends baby - we are not planning or expecting one ;o)

Tested & tried

The wash test went well so for the first time I actually AM early (ish) when it comes to making x-mas presents ;o) Have a great weekend, all!

Little things

I am between large projects at the moment - which means a very welcome stash reducing production. Right now it is the soft and heavy weight cotton scraps that are being transformed into wash cloths. I used a 5 mm crochet hook and the finished size is ca 23 x 23 cm. I am going to do a "test wash" to determine if they are suited for little x-mas gifts - or if the sturdy yarn ends will wiggle their way out and peek through the surface despite my thorough weaving in efforts. If so I guess all five of them will have to do service as dishcloths right here at home with me ;o)

Faith, Hope and Love

This brooch, or rather this PIN, or badge - is made of fabric and a stamp. I have added silver tokens for faith, hope and love, and I used a synthetic silver thread to stitch the pieces together. The stamp was designed by illustrator and artist Anne Kristin Hagesæther for Valentines Day 2007. This piece of jewellery was a comission for a 69 year old man. Cool!

Supermans Moss Jacket

FACTS: * Started July 11th, finished August 24th (I am still surprised at my own knitting speed; maybe Supermans super powers rubbed off on me a bit?) * 2 mm circulars for the cuffs and collar + a plaid needle and 3 mm circulars for the rest. All the parts of the garment are knitted back and forth, even the arms. Just to make sure the gauge would be the same all over * ca 450 g green Silk Tweed + ca 35 g beige Silk Tweed + a nylon zipper (basted and then sewn with my almost antique Husqvarna * My own pattern for the shape and design, but most certainly inspired by this stitch pattern over at Little Purl of The Orients - thank you! * Love in every stitch - also in the ones I had to rip to make the neckline work out ;o) Here he is, my own, wonderful Superman, wearing his new super hero suit ;o) for days of super powers as well as for days of coach powers!