Yarn lovers weekend

The mail man blessed my weekend with no less than 2 packages - now the weekend can only be too short.....

Wonderful yarn from Handknitting by Slavi Cascade 220 Heathers in blue - Mallard - and purple - Purple Jewel and Colinette Jitterbug - Morocco, which is on sale for only DKK 80.- (normal price is 130.-)

Handknitting by Slavi delivered really fast - I placed the order monday in the evening and saturday morning I could unpack 600 grams of delish yarns.

I am looking so forward to cast on both the Cascade and the Jitterbug - there is not enough hours in the day and definately not enough in a weekend - fortunately there's only one weeks work left before winter holiday - guess what I'm doing that weekend :-)

I fell so in love with the Periwinkle Turtleneck Tube Vest on Ravelry that I just had to buy Stefanie Japel's book Fitted Knits - now the Cascade 220 is just staring at me - longing to be cast on for this gorgeous project - just promised my self that I had to finish 2 of the projects I have already cast on..... Thank God that the mail man also delivered the final season of 24 - I'm soooo gonna be chained to the TV with my sticks today.....

May you all have just as wonderful a weekend as I am having

January Challenges

Have decided to challenge my self each month in a knitting project.

In January it was "Judy's Magic Cast on"

The projects is Vestpa by Samantha Roshak. I use Tapestry in grey tones that I stashed 4-5 years ago......

Magic cast on is truly magical, so magical that I couldn't believe how easy it was - I looked up 3-4 instructional videos to make sure I did it right - it just seemed so simple! and it is! Really looking forward to try and knit socks toe - up - maybe a later challenge to my self??? :-)

Here is the instruction that was actually the one I started with and explained so simple. Go for it - try :-)

And it looks like this:

Another great thing in January - I discovered Handknitting by Slavi. A Danish on-line yarn store that has ALL my favorite yarns - without me having to fly to the States or pay 3 times the price in customs - I can get it right here..... Cascade 220, Malabrigo, Heaven's Hand, Misti Alpaca Handpaint sock yarn....... Have already ordered first batch - just waiting for the post man!

Better make them needles burn - have so many projects lined up - so many delightful challenges :-)

2011 - A year with new activities and challenges

My New Year's resolutions (I have many) include: Knit more, Finish more UFO's, Blog more, try more new techniques, complete a marathon under 4 hours........

In 2010 I finished 19 projects - 2 of them being old UFO's - I'd really like to beat those statistics this year.
In 2010 I also completed my first Marathon i 4 hours and 17 minutes in Berlin - It was the greatest experience ever - eventhough it was raining cats and dogs the entire time and it was cold as winter - It was just amazing! And I fear I have become a repeat marathoner ;-) In 2011 I have already signed up for 2 more marathons - Copenhagen and Berlin and one of those must be completed under 4 hours.....

So all the goals for 2011 are set - but before I start attacking those goals, lets have a look at december 2010 - I did finish several projects before Christmas.

For my Niece and Nephew a knitted a little something something for Christmas.

Nieces Boheme:
A cute little woll vest from Ravelry for Liv - I purchased the yarn from LittleKnits - the yarn is Aslan Trends Bariloche - great colours and fabulous quality. I added small yellow heart-shaped buttons.

Dead Fish hat for Nephew:
Also from Ravelry, made from different scrap yarns - here modelled by my daughter - I chose yarns that were a little smaller in gauge than recommended sincee my Nephew is only 3 years old. It was a really fun project to knit and he loves it. Hope more little children will come to the family so I get to do more of these :-)

Eskimo Mittens for Mommy:
Even though this pattern is from Drops - I found it on Ravelry..... I have made several of these earlier, but was alwaysbothered by the thick seam - since I realy suck at sewing seams together - so this time I chose to knit the project in the round on 4 needles - It knits up really fast and made these for my mom while she was here for Christmas - Finished them in 2 evenings while watching the news.... They turned out perfect and with the perfect fit without seams! Now I have to make a new pair for myself! The yarn is Easy from Sandnes

Fingerless Mittens for myself:
Knitted in Jasper from Berocco - that I bought in Las Vegas last fall - fantastic yarn - bummer that I only bought 4 skeins of 50 g - used 2 for this project - 2 left. I love these - have used them every day since I finished them - only thing wrong with this picture is that the nail polish from Chanel is NOT Khaki Vert - which I never got hold of - grrrrrrrr! I have great yarn pushers - how does one get hold of a great nail polish pusher????????????????

And last but not least - My Poppy!
I rarely finish any sweaters for my self that I actually end up using - but this is one of those that make it through the loop - I wear it all the time - Thank God for Scandinavian winters :-)
The pattern is from the book "Yarnplay" by Lisa Shobhana Mason. I had this project in mind ever since I bought the book almost 2 years ago, but I knew that I had to find just the right yarn. In Las Vegas I purchased a bag of Tonalita from Trendsetter yarns in these great earth tones, and then I went looking for yarn for the bottom panel and ended up with Noro. Knitting the bottom panel made me doubt that I was ever going to wear it - it came out very barrell-like and I wasn't sure that I was a big fan of the stripes I made with scrap yarn - but once the project was finished and I put it on - all my doubts were washed away - this is definitely one of my favourite projects from 2010. Will try and get a picture where I'm actually wearing it.

I am Miss KnitsAlot and apparently not Miss BlogsAlot!

It's been over a half year since my last post - what have I been up to???

Actually I discovered the true potential of Ravelry - which gave me an incredible urge to Ravel and the blogging was put aside for a while.

I have been knitting though - which my Ravelry profile will prove!

But of course I will let you have a sneak peak here as well.

I finished a dress for my niece in a Tora Frøseth design. I used some cotton yarn I already had in stash in light purple and some scrap Alpaca and cute little purple heart buttons.

As you can maybe see on the first picture the dye of the 2 skeins used is very different even though it's from the same dye lot - really annoying - and I didn't notice until the project was finished :-( Well - I just pretended that it came out just the way it was intended....... and the parents loved it :-)
But ..... grrrrrr - still.

I stumbled over the most gorgeous yarn at the local yarn pusher: Japonica Rainbow from Karen Noe Design. It's a woll, silk blend - and fabulous :-) I bought several different colorways and just searched Ravelry like crazy for patterns that would go with the yarn. So far I finished 2 project:

Ponytail Cap for Isabel - she loves wearing her hair in a ponytail to School, but since it's winter she has to wear a cap - what's a Mom to do - knit something that goes :-)

I did however blend the Japonica with Drops Alpaca to obtain the right gauge for this project.

The other project is Traveling Woman which I made for my mom for her birthday. I did make additional repetitions of the pattern to get a larger shawl. I used just under 2 skeins for the project.

That's It for updates today :-)

Been looking for patterns in all the wrong places

Why is it, that there are soooo many cute patterns for girls knit and not that many for boys?

Might be that I'm looking for patterns in all the wrong places.... but in my Ravelry favorites and queue patterns for little girls' knit just pile up in a long line, looking at me with begging eyes - just wanting to be cast on and hardly any boys' pattern get in line. I seem to only find vests and caps!

Any suggestions out there? My nephew is jealous of his sister - getting all the good home knitting.....

Kimikarza's Give Away

I love creative peoples's creative ideas on how to show case their creative ideas. That's why I absolutely must promote Kimikarza's give away of the most gorgeous ear rings I have seen in a long time. Just perfect. She also has the cutest needle holders and make-up pouch.

Visit her here.


Job well doneKimikarza.

Spring Bags and nags......

What on earth is going on with this weather? It's May - it's spring - it should be warm and the sun should be shining.... but no, no - I had to wear mittens when I rode my bike to work today!!!!!

Too cold to do much other, I stayed in and brought out the monster rom the closet, my Toyota....... sewing machine and did a couple of the No Name bags that I'm so fond of.

The trick to this very simple bag is to find cool fabric.

It was love at first sight with the cartoon fabric - the little black metal tag - gives a final touch.

These 2 bags are up for sale - et me know if you're interested in owning one.....

Nieces Pieces and such

I'm an Aunt - agian :-)....... My brother (and his girlfriend :-) ) just had a daughter a week ago. Congratulations - this happy event also explains the silence on this site.... I've been working on pieces for my niece.

I didn't have a lot of time in March to knit - but I did make her my absolute favorite bonnet by Erika Knight. I think the pattern is just fantastic with the flower pattern in the back. Love it - hope the new parents and little Liv will as well.

I also managed to finish the cutest little dress / spencer / tunic - depending on the length of the new baby. I fell for "Fionas Top" by Susanne Bjerregaard. I used Alpaca from Isager and some scrap yarn in green. I thought a lot about the combination of purple and green, but I actually loved the way it turned out.

And with a couple of heartshaped purple buttons ......... just right!

The Alpaca from Isager was absolutely gorgeous, so soft - and it falls just perfect for a dress like this.

But I did actually have time to do other things as well. I finally finished the Multnomah. The pattern was great, but sometimes it felt like the skein of yarn would just never end..... but it did and here is the result

And last but not least (in the knitting department) I made another pair of yoga/pilates socks. This time for a colleague. The pattern is perfect, because since I got addicted to Mille Colori from Lang I found that i just wanted to try all the shades - and this pattern requires just one skein - if you are careful when you cast on and not end up with too long ends. The patterns is also Ravelry and can be found here.

I've been spending more and more time on Ravelry and less here on the blog, you can see my profile and projects here. I will still be updating my blog, and I will try to do it more frequently - I actually also miss spending time browsing all the great knitting blogs that are out there......