This set of legwarmers and armwarmers for a very dear friend is made of just 100 g Faerytale by Du store alpakka (100 % alpaca) and small scraps of fingering weight alpaca and Kid Silk Mohair. The legwarmers were based on Pickles´ free pattern for Luxury Leg warmers, and the armwarmers were made up as I went along. I have seen them in use and they do the job! Nothing pleases me more :o) 
50 g of Nanuk (100 % alpaca), a scrap of green Mohair Lux and yet another scrap of Kid Silk Mohair, 7 mm needles and a 3 mm crochet hook - an improvised pattern and a couple of hours in front of the TV, and VOILA! Wrist warmers of the soft and fluffy kind with the best of wishes for 2011 - and a Thank you for the music! 
Definitely a little late for x-mas stockings now, or what...? I just had to show off my last minute presents for my two nephews. Mega sized as the stockings ended up, they will demand quite some effort from their parents next x-mas ;o) I sketched a pattern on some craft paper and happily cut through a stack of worn out jeans to make the pair. A couple of Supermans numerous disposed shirts came handy for trimmings and decorations - the shirts front button bands and button hole bands makes a neat, yet masculine finishing touch, I think. Making stuff up as I go is a very satisfying "method" - I just play on until the product looks "right". Which of course refers both to the specific recipient as well as my unidentified yet significant design style. Did this make sense??? Anyway - I had a great time making these, finishing and filling them (only 1/4 of their capacity...) and wrapping them just hours before they were put under the tree to be handed out :o) 
...to all of you! I hope you all had a very merry x-mas with days of leisure and pleasure and plenty of time spent with family and friends - and maybe some balls of wool? My first posts of 2011 will be like this one; revelations of the x-mas gifts I produced during November and December. More than one friend got a pair of wash cloths and a bar of nostalgic soap and this exact pair was for Supernøtt. 
These photos were taken a freezing cold day; I think it was -19 degrees celsius. Our front hall holds about the same temperature as outside; very convinient for storing and even freezing food! I just could not stop decorating despite my frostbitten fingernails, so I embellished this dry branch with some x-mas ornaments. Hopefully this makes our guests feel heartly and warmly welcomed despite the cold. 
Winter is COLD but equally BEAUTIFUL around here - the crisp, biting air feels healthy and gives the extra benefit of the true pleasure of getting indoors again! This is how our entrance welcomes everyone who stops by. 
A row of six budding hyacinths sitting on my window sill waiting to bloom with white pureness and spread their lovely fragrance
I am such a braggart of a proud mama - but you must agree that I am very, very lucky to be Princess´mother, right? She is kind, loving, brave, clever, creative and COOL. This cute and very cleverly improvised advent calendar was made for ME by HER. Every day I unwrap a thoughtful, little gift. So far I got acrylic pearls, a small wicker basket that I have owned for at least 20 years ("for keeping all the little things you get", she explained)a homemade bracelet, a book mark, miniature roses (which I gave her last year...)one even contained two mother of pearl buttons that I bought to replace the broken ones on this jacket, but never came around to sew on - now found and wrapped and unwrapped as a effective reminder ;o) Todays gift was a little Kinder Egg container filled with Princess´ own tea blend. Perfect for my sore throat :o)
Princess loves all animals and birds and she is such a good, caring girl - making all the little birds happy with her seed cakes! Hopefully not making the cat equally happy by gathering plenty of bewinged lunches within reach... even though she cares a lot for him too, of course :o) 
...and between the 1st and 24th of December there are gifts whithin the gift! Princess is very happy with this years advent calendar. My plan is to gradually replace the gifts with x-mas cards and let the 6 x 4 hearts wirework board decorate the sitting room wall through Christmas. 
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! 
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 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!
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) 
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. 
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) 
