Jenny's blog on knitting

New photos!

2012-02-12T19:13:00.002+01:00

I've finally gotten round to taking some new photos today, so now I present to you: The Ramona mittens:

They're double-knitted in KnitPicks Palette yarn (100 % wool, fingering weight) in colourways Cream and Teal (I think you can guess which is which), and I really really like them! They are a bit big, but that's ok, it just means I can get another pair on underneath :)

I also took a new photo of the Silken Scabbard sweater, but that one is taken inside this evening, after sunset. So it's a bit darker, and looks a bit yellow, which it absolutely isn't. Also, the red lines are lifelines (I put them in so I can try the sweater on, as the needle cable is too tight for me otherwise), so ignore those.

I'm just about where the waist is narrowest, so it's pretty straight forward knitting right now, so perfect for work. And I love making sweaters in a bit heavier yarn (this is DK), as it REALLY eats into my stash. And as we're moving in about a month and a half, that is a very good thing!

Other than that, not much has happened these past few days. Thomas had his birthday on Friday, so yesterday a couple of our friends came here for birthday cake, pizza and board games. It was a really nice afternoon/evening, even though Klara won both games we played (I'm not a sore looser, no no!)!

Maybe I've gotten to the sleeves on the sweater when I see you next?

/ Jenny

Still Alive

2012-02-09T11:20:00.001+01:00

(Did you get the Portal reference?)

Yes, I'm still breathing. I'm sorry I have neglected you all! As usual, I don't have any real excuse, other than being lazy. I've been doing quite a lot of knnitting these past two weeks, but I've only mnaged to finsih the Ramona mittens. I haven't gotten around to taking a photo of them both together, so you'll have to do with the old photos again. I'm at work right now (it's a slow day!), so I can't get any new ones right now either. But I LOVE the mittens, and as we've had temperatures way below freezing these past few weeks, they have come in handy too.

Other than that I've mostly knit on the Silken Scabbard sweater, I'm a bit below the arm holes now and knitting my way towards the waist. So far it's looking really good, and I love working with this yarn! It's Rowan Silk Wool, which is a discontinued yarn unfortunately, and right now it looks like I have plenty of it! It's incredibly soft, but still very shiny from the silk, so I'm betting this sweater will look good :)

Yesterday I managed to break my hand bag! I ordered it with my very first KnitPicks order I think, and it has been perfect for me!

It held my work shoes (as I go to different places quite often, I can't leave them at work), my iPad, my travelling pharmacy (which isn't too big, but not too small either. Remember my stomach?), and at least two knitting projects, as well as wallet, phone and miscellaneous small stuff. Just perfect! So I was very sad yesterday when one of the handles broke in two. As soon as I got home I got on etsy to see if I couldn't find something else to replace it with (as KnitPicks no longer carry this bag. Otherwise I would have just ordered a new one immediately!), and finally settled on this one:

It's from the shop Burlapdesign, and I really, really like it! I just hope it gets here soon! And I hope it's big enough, when I went to fetch my measuring tape to measure the KnitPicks bag (so I would know what size bag I was looking for, I'm still not a natural when it comes to thinking in inches as opposed to centimeters), it turns out I have replaced it somewhere. I seem to remember playing with it with Hobbe a couple of months back, and I'm not sure I've seen it since. I think I'll just have to buy a new one! I ended up measuring the bag with a ruler and then going online to translate it into inches...

Tomorrow Thomas has his birthday, so we're going to celebrate a bit this weekend by making a cake and maybe playing a bit of board games as well. I'll try not to be away as long again!

/ Jenny

I'm getting a bit tired of mittens...

2012-01-22T21:17:00.000+01:00

I thought I would have a finished pair of mittens to show you today, but alas. On Monday night this week I noticed that I seemed to have switched one stitch about ten rows down from where I was. This meant that one of the stitches on the side of the second mitten would be white instead of green (on the green side of the mittens, remember they are reversible?). I thought a while about it and finally decided that I could live with that. I figured I might be able to double-stitch it afterwards. Then on Tuesday I had an incredibly slow day at work, and knitted A LOT on the mitten. I was about to take stitches off for the thumb, when I had a closer look at it. It turns out that it wasn't just one stitch I had switched colour on. It was HALF A ROW! It looked really bad, and I just had to bite the bullet and rip it out. By then it was more than half the mitten!

Ok, fair enough. On Wednesday I knitted a lot after work too, and in the evening I noticed that once again I had switched colour on a row about ten rows down. On about ten stitches. Sigh! Rip rip rip. But now I've taken off the stitches for the thumb (again), and knitted about 2 cm above that, and it FINALLY looks good again! But you can see why I'm getting a bit sick of these mittens now, can't you? I haven't gotten any new photos of it yet though, so you'll have to wait until next weekend. By then I WILL be finished!

To cheer myself up a bit, I decided to cast on for a pair of socks instead. I chose a pair from the 10 socks collection that I'm knitting from, the Blue Lagoon socks. This is the seventh pair I'm knitting from that collection, just three more to go! I'm making them in KnitPicks Stroll yarn (75 % wool/25 % nylon) in colourway Saphire Heather, which is really gorgeous. When I made the gloves I spoke of last time, the Guinevere gloves, I used this yarn too, and I really really like it. I know that it's insanely cheap sock yarn, but I enjoy both the feel of it and it's durability. I've only made one pattern repeat yet, and haven't got any photos to show for it either, so you'll have to take me at my word that they look good :)

If you're wondering why I haven't taken any photos of anything, it's because the snow finally arrived this weekend, and the past couple of days have been quite stormy. So no good daylight! I've spent Saturday on the couch watching bad TV and knitting a lot on the mittens (which even though they are kind of boring to knit on right now look amazing, so I really want to finish them). Thomas has visited his brother in Gothenburg this weekend, so I've had the apartment to myself. Today I've done some cleaning and laundry, adn me and my sister went to our first work out session in about a year. Boy was it hard! My stomach has prevented me from pretty much any exercise this past year, but now I finally feel good enough to start working out again. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow!

/ Jenny

I've found my Mojo! I've found my Mojo!

2012-01-14T21:03:00.000+01:00

Yes, it's true! I've finally had a real urge to knit again, after being in a bit of a slump for quite a while. I told you I finished the Brandywine shawl the other week, and here it is in all it's glory:

It's made with Wetterhof Silla yarn, which is fingering weight 70 % wool/30 % silk, and it's not amazingly soft but comfy enough. It's not scratchy at all, it's just a bit stiff, it kind of feels a bit like paper. But it feels nice around my neck, and I think it will soften with wear. I like it a lot, it's not as lace-y as a lot of the shawls I've made so far but it feels good to branch out a bit.

I've also finished the Ookuru socks, and they turned out pretty good too, even though the pooling on the feet turned out pretty much the opposite on the different socks...

I like them anyway, even though these too, are not the softest I've made. I think I told you that the yarn is a bit stiff as well, I'm guessing it's from the bamboo content (it's Marias Garn Handpainted sock yarn, 75 % superwash wool/25 % bamboo), but it makes really durable socks. I bought two of these skeins in 2010, when I turned 30, and so far I've made 2 pairs of socks from it and I still have more than 60 g left. So it's lasted long too, which is nice. I'm making a last pair of socks from it some time in the future, but not right away.

I've also finished the first of the Ramona mittens, the double knitted ones:

I LOVE these! It's taking me forever with the double knitting, but it's well worth it. They look awesome on both sides, and I love patterns from Laris Designs. They are very well written, with lots of clear instructions with photos. I've only knitted one of her patterns before (The Guinevere Gloves) but I kind of want to knit pretty much all of her patterns! They are just that pretty. These mittens turned out a bit too long though, so I decided to leave out a few rows on the pattern, where it wouldn't be very visible. Now it fits me perfectly!

I'm making the mittens in KnitPicks Palette yarn (100 % fingering weight wool), and even though it is pretty soft, it still isn't the softest wool there is either. I think this might be the reason for the knitting slump: I just haven't knitted with any really fun yarn! But I think I need to finish up these projects I'm currently working on before I cast on for something new though, I feel like I've been working on them forever!

I still have the Panama shawl and the Silken Scabbard sweater left in my projects bag, and I think the sweater will be the one I tackle next. That one has been in a time-out since I had to frog the whole thing due to a very wonky-looking collar. I've since then knitted the other type of neck that the pattern gives, but I just lost the steam on that one. Once I finish the mittens it's time for a second wind on it though!

As 2011 ended, I had a look at my finished stuff for the year. I haven't been as productive as in 2010, I finished 21 projects in 2011, compared to 27 projects in 2010. I think a lot of it is because of my new job, which makes me too tired some evenings to even think about knitting. I still love the job, so it's ok. And I think 21 projects is fine! I only managed to make 2 shawls for the 11 shawls in 2011 challenge on Ravelry though... That didn't stop me from signing up for 12 shawls in 2012 (as you can see by the banner in the right column!), but I doubt I'll make 12 this year. I still want to make more than two! But I think I have to finish the Panama first, before I cast on for a new one, otherwise it will never get done!

After a very busy week at work, it's so nice to finally have two days off during the weekend. Not that I don't always have that, it's just that I've been really tired this week. But today has been spent on the couch knitting and watching TV-series (Big Bang Theory, The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural) and movies (Red Riding Hood and Contagion), and now Thomas is playing Skyrim on the x-box, which means even more knitting time for me. Maybe I should take a walk or something, so I move something more than my hands today? Nah, I think I'll stay right here!

/ Jenny

And the winner is...

2012-01-08T13:15:00.000+01:00

... Klara! Kind of weird that I should pull out one of my best friends, but since there only were three competitors, the odds were pretty high I guess. Klara is also coming here today for some board game playing, so she'll get the book then. Maybe we should knit instead of game? I wonder what our boys would think of that...

I hope everyone had a lovely New Year's Eve! I had such a blast, the best New Year in a lot of years! We went to dinner at Klara and Micke's place, and saw a bunch of friends that we very rarely see. I think I haven't seen Jenny and Tomas (lovely names, aren't they. Not confusing at all when we hang out together...) for almost a year! We didn't come home until 3.30 in the morning, which I've been paying for all week. I think I'm starting to get too old to be out so late! But it was well worth it, so that's ok. Plus, the week was only four working days, since Friday is a national holiday here in Sweden (it's called 13th day, and I think we're celebrating when the three wise men visited baby Jesus, or something like that. I'm not sure!), so we've had a three day weekend here.

In those three days I've managed to finish a shawl! Last week I picked up the Brandywine shawl again, after a very long time in time-out, and yesterday I finished it! Unfortunately, I've washed two of my old sweaters this weekend, and they're currently drying upstairs on my blocking mats, so I don't have any room right now to block the shawl. It will have to wait until some time this week. So I don't have any photos right now, I'll be sure to get them until next time too.

Today I think I'm going to knit some more on the Ookuru socks, so I can finish those as well. I think I might have found my knitting mojo again!

/ Jenny

Back before the new year!

2011-12-29T18:10:00.000+01:00

Wow, I'm a bit impressed with myself! I have to warn you though, that this post won't be very long either. I just don't have that much exciting to report!

Although, we have decided to buy the house! We move the last weekend in March, and it's going to be so much fun! Well, not the actual move, but you know. Owning our own house, doing the interior decorating, stuff like that. You are hereby all invited to come visit! I recommend coming during the summer, when Sweden usually shows its best side :)

Christmas has been really good, although it's been a bit hectic to find the time to see everyone. I think we managed most of our family, and a few friends too. We got to see our god son Alex, who got a stuffed Super Mario toy for Christmas from us (you have to teach them about the important stuff early....) . I got an awesome gift from my parents, the book "Julkulor" by Arne & Carlos (it's the book 55 Christmas Balls to knit, but in swedish). The book came with a small kit with yarn and stuffing to make two Christmas balls. Our Christmas tree next year is going to look awesome!

Then, on Christmas Day, I actually got the very same book from Thomas' grandparents! So I've decided to give one of them away here on the blog, instead of exchanging it. If you want it, just leave me a comment here on the blog telling me you want to be in on the draw. If you follow the blog, you'll be eligible for one more entry. Bear in mind though, that the book is in swedish! Most of the patterns are charted, but the description on how to make the actual ball at the beginning of the book is in swedish. I'll draw the winner on the 6th of January.

On my own knitting front, nothing much has happened. I just haven't had the time to knit during the weekend, and this week I've been alone at the lab so there's been plenty of work to keep me occupied! This weekend we need to get out to the cabin to see if the recent storms have blown the roof off, and then on Saturday night we're celebrating New Years Eve with some friends. It's going to be awesome! But there won't be much knitting I think.

Have a nice New Year, and I'll see you some time next week!

/ Jenny

VERY quick update!

2011-12-23T10:47:00.001+01:00

We're just on our way home to our parents for the Holiday, so I'll be very quick today! The building inspection went ok, there are some issues with the roof and the foundation, but we don't think it's stuff we can't handle. We have until next Friday to decide what we want to do, so I'll be back by then.

Have a very Merry Christmas, and I'll be back before next year starts!

/Jenny

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I'm not even going to bother making excuses

2011-12-18T18:38:00.000+01:00

It's just been one of those months. I feel like I haven't had a day to relax in ages, which means that the blog has suffered a bit. Let's see if I can remember everything that has been happening around here since I last wrote (which was almost a month ago!)

On the last weekend of November I got a terrible cold, and spent the entire weekend knocked out on the couch. I was even too sick to knit much! No fun at all. I spent Monday at home too, but then got back to work.

Then on the first weekend of December we went to Borås to watch the Christening ceremony of one of our friends' baby, Gustav. It was a beautiful ceremony in Brämhults church, and we got to see lots of friends that we don't meet very often at the celebratory gathering after the ceremony. Then that evening we visited my grandfather, who had a birthday party, and on Sunday before we went back to Linköping we visited Thomas' father and had a lovely dinner. A really busy weekend, without knitting practically anything.

Last weekend, which was the third of Advent, my mother came to visit. When she had her birthday back in October, me and my sister bought her concert tickets for a Christmas concert with two swedish musical artists, Peter and Matilda (who are cousins, by the way). That's their official fan page, but I recommend watching one of their YouTube videos to actually hear them sing instead, this is by far my favourite one. They have had a Christmas show for three years running, and the past two years I've been there with Anna. This year I went with my mother and sister, and it was an amazing concert! Even though the weather has been war and rainy (and by warm I mean not below freezing), we aren't getting much in the way of Christmas spirit here. But the concert helped.

Then on Sunday, third of Advent, me and Thomas went to Mantorp to look at the house we want to buy again, and meet with the seller. We stayed for over two hours, and went through stuff like the heating system, water pumps and other such fun inventories. Anyway, it ended up with us signing the purchase contract on Monday, so now we're just waiting for the building inspection to pass, then we will own a house! This house, to be exact:

The inspection will take place on Tuesday this coming week, and if everything is ok we will be moving in at the beginning of April. I can't tell you how excited we are about this! It still feels a bit unreal, but the house is just so pretty and exactly what we want. I will be a lot closer to where I work, and Thomas will be very close to a very convenient train commute. Perfect! Plus, the house has an extra guest house in the yard, so if you ever want to come visit us in Sweden, you will have a place to stay :)

Then finally, this weekend, we spent yesterday in town buying the last Christmas gifts, then went to the cabin to close it up for the winter, and then me and my sister made chocolate candy the entire afternoon and evening. Today has FINALLY been a day of rest, we've spent the day lounging on the couch watching the first of the Lord of the Rings movies and playing video games.

Last Christmas I got an unfinished Santa doll from Thomas' aunt. Her mother had started knitting it before she died, and Aunt Kerstin asked if I wanted to finish it. I felt really honoured by this, and as I really only needed to knit a small hat and finish the face, I of course accepted. So this past week I've been knitting a small red hat from stash yarn, and today I glued on some wool for hair and beard. I think it looks really cute!

And please excuse the harsh flash photography, it's just so dark here these days! As the weather is really crappy (it's not snowing, it's slushing), it's almost dark all day long too. Thankfully, on Thursday it will all turn around, as that is the longest night of the year on the northern hemisphere, and by the end of January I bet we will start to see the difference! January feels like a long way off though.

Oh, on Tuesday it was St Lucia day here in Sweden, which we celebrate with Lucia processions. This year too, the swedish TV station SVT aired a very pretty version of it, you can go and watch it here. The show will be up until the middle of January, so you have a while to enjoy it! I kind of miss my choir days, when I participated in lots of Lucia processions, but I enjoy it enough just to watch it too. And I get to sing along as much as I want!

Ok, Christmas next weekend! We will be going to Borås for the weekend, trying to squeeze in all of our families in the puny three days off from work we have. I'm not anticipating lots of rest, but hopefully some at least. And we will celebrate New Year's Eve here in Linköping, at our friends' Klara and Micke, which will be super fun! I'm really excited about that evening as we see them way too seldom!

There has been exceptionally little knitting this past month, but I've accomplished some at least. The first of the Ookuru socks is done, and the second is just past the heel:

I know I said I wanted to make these knee-highs, but I changed my mind when I saw the... interesting... pooling on them. Once again I'm making socks only a crazy knitted could love! So I think I will be able to make a third pair of socks from this yarn eventually. I have to admit I'm not overly fond of the yarn though, but the socks I made about a year ago have worn very well and they seem to be incredibly durable, probably due to the bamboo content in the yarn. But even after lots of wear, the socks are a bit on the stiff side. And they still bleed something terrible every time I wash them. But it sure is pretty though!

I also decided on a whim to start a new pair of mittens, and I chose the Ramona mittens by Laris designs. They are double knitted, and I'm making them with KnitPicks Palette yarn in colours Cream and Teal:

I'm a bit obsessed with double knitting right now, I've never done it before and it is so much fun! I love that the mittens are reversible, and twice as thick as ordinary. I'm almost up to putting the thumb on waste yarn, so about half-way on the first mitten. I'm very glad I started these though, as yesterday when we were out at the cabin, I managed to break my Cat mittens!

There is a huge hole on the thumb on one of the mittens, and as I have no idea how to darn it with two colours, I think I will rip the thumb up and re-knit it. I'm definitely not ready to throw the mittens away, as I LOVE them! But that will be a project for after the holidays, when I will hopefully have a whole weekend off some time!

I will try to get back to you with at least a short post about how the building inspection goes on Tuesday. And to wish you a Merry Christmas too, of course!

/ Jenny

Lots of good mail

2011-11-23T19:47:00.001+01:00

There has been so much going on here lately that I completely forgot to post! First of all, I don't think I told you, but a while ago me and Thomas decided that we wanted to start looking at houses to buy. We have been renting a semi-detached house for a while, but we've figured that we are probably rooted enough here in Linköping and its vicinity, to actually buy a house. And we've found one! At least, we've found one we want, now it's just a question of money. We've put in one offer that has been declined, so right now we're more or less thinking about how much we will be able to pay, where our limit will be. I'll let you know how it goes, but it's very exciting!

I've also gotten some stuff in the mail that I really want to tell you guys about. First, I got my small package from Eat.Sleep.Knit, about a week ago I think. I bought four skeins of yarn, which was very moderate of me, don't you think? The first one is MacKintosh Yarns Celtic Sock yarn, in colourway Black Plum:

It's 366 m/100 g, 90 % wool/10 % nylon, so perfect sock yarn. I really adore this colour, it's very pretty, and the yarn is nice too :)

The second, and third, skeins that I got were Shibui Knits Sock yarn, in colourway Periwinkle:

It's 175 m/50 g, 100 % Merino, and oh so soft! I have two of these skeins before, in colourway Honey, and I adore them. I think a pair of these might move high up in the sock queue soon, as I really want to break into them!

The last skein I got was a skein of The Sanguine Gryffon Bugga! yarn in colourway Oleander Nymph:

It's 377 m/113g, so it's listed as sport, but I think it will do perfectly for socks. It's 70 % Superwash Merino/20 % Cashmere/10 % Nylon, and it's also incredibly soft and squishy. I've wanted to try this yarn for a long time, but it's pretty expensive with over $30 for one skein. But now I finally decided to splurge this time, and ordered myself a skein. I'll let you know how I feel about it once I knit it up.

I also got two pairs of tips for my interchangable needles set from KnitPicks. Actually, the tips I got this time weren't from KnitPicks, but rather Knitter's Pride Cubics needles. But they fit on the same cables, so I just got the tips. They are wooden needles, but they are cubic in shape, and I actually find them pretty comfortable. But I think I prefer the regular ones though, so I'll probably not get any more of these.

I also got a scratch ticket from the Eat.Sleep.Knit shop, I think they send one out with every order, and you can win skeins of yarn or store discounts, things like that. I actually managed to win one skein of Malabrigo yarn! Yay! I haven't decided yet if I want a skein of lace yarn or sock yarn (although the store is having trouble with supply of the sock yarn, so there are about three colourways available right now), but I guess I don't have to send the ticket in right away anyway.

Then on Thursday last week I think, I got my package from the Sarahkincheloe etsy shop. I got three needle organizers! The first one is for my fixed circulars, as they have just been lying in their original packages from KnitPicks, in my very boring, plastic bag before:

Here is their new home:

Isn't it pretty?! It's very well made as well, and takes up a lot less space. I also got an orgaizer for all of my accessories, like my scissors, my measuring tape, my cable needles and stuff like that:

All of that stuff was also located in the plastic bag before, but as that bag was so bulky it was difficult to lug it around with every project I was working on. Most often my notions just ended up lying loose in the project bag I was using, this is so much better!

Finally, I got a smaller notions pouch to keep the smaller stuff in, like stitch markers, buttons, needle and thread, and stuff like that:

Don't you love how they all match! And I am so pleased that I can finally throw out the ugly plastic bag, now every needle in my stash has a pretty home! I have a green needle roll for my small sock dpn's, I have a striped and flower-patterned needle roll that my sister sewed for my larger dpn's, I have a small needle roll with faces on (that my sister also made for me) for my wooden interchangeable needle tips, and my KnitPicks Spectra acrylic needle tips are currently residing in a very cute pencil case. I think my needles are spoiled...

Oh, did you want to read about actual knitting? Well, there hasn't been to much of that happening around here lately, I've just been so tired these past few days! I did manage to put the sleeves on hold on my Silken Scabbard sweater on Saturday, and then tried it on. I found out that the collar was WAY too wide for me, even though I followed the pattern and the rest of the sweater fit me. I don't know how anybody could wear it without drastic changes, so I decided to do the wide collar option instead. So I frogged the whole thing. I'm getting really good at frogging! I've only finished the collar so far, but I'll try it on soon to see if it looks better this way! Apparently a lot of people seem to have the ribbed collar look wonky, so maybe I should have checked Ravelry first...

Other than that I have no new knitting to show you. I'm passed the heel on the Ookuru socks, but I haven't gotten a new photo of those so I think you'll have to wait until it's done. But today at work the woman I'm working with in Ödeshög, Barbro, had brought her finished sweater for me to look at. She is also a spinner, so she's knitted this Drops pattern in her own handspun merino wool, and it is soooo soft!

Isn't it pretty?! It's a little bit felted, as it turned out a little bit too big for Barbro's Daughter-in-law, but now it fits her perfectly. I really love this sweater, and Barbro was just happy to get to show it off on my blog! Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you: The blanket that the sweater is resting on is a 100 % pure rabbit fiber felted blanket that Barbro also made. Gorgeous!

Ok, now I'll get back to my new Stephen King novel (it's called 11.22.63 and is about the JFK murder). That book is also a reason why you haven't heard from me for a while, and it might continue like that until I finish it...

/ Jenny

2.5 FO's

2011-11-13T16:51:00.001+01:00

Yep, that's right. My needles have been on fire lately! On Monday I finished the Romy beret that I started last Friday, it was such a quick knit. 144 m of DK yarn and I' very happy with it.

It's made with KnitPicks Capra yarn (merino/cashmere), the same that I used for the Baby Cables dress, and it is incredibly soft and cozy. I'm very happy with it, and as you can see in the photo it matches the Evenstar shawl perfectly (that was made with Wollmeise lace yarn in colourway Sabrina, by the way). The temperatures have started to get lower this week, with below zero nights at least, so it's good to have a warm hat!

Then on Wednesday I finished the Lothlorien socks, from the Enchanted Sole book:

They were made with Malabrigo sock yarn, colourway Lettuce, and I couldn't be more happy with them! The yarn is incredibly soft and the colour is amazing! I'm very glad I bought myself a replacement skein of the Violeta Africana colourway that I gave away to Virginia the other week (the yarn is on its way, by the way!).

And speaking of the give-away yarn: as most of you voted for dyeing the socks, this past Sunday I gave it a shot. I had a lot of KoolAid powder in the Cherry colour, which is bright red, so that's what I chose. I dissolved two packages in a pot with enough water and vinegar to cover the socks, then heated it and dropped the socks in. I let them almost simmer for a while, until all the colour had disappeared from the water, then let the whole thing cool until I could touch the socks without burning my hands. The socks got VERY red:

There is still a difference between the socks, as I suspected there would be. It's not strange, considering that they were different when I put them in the pot, but I think the difference is at least less noticable now, so I'm happy I tried this. I still have my Kai-Mei socks in the original colourway, so I'm happy!

So, that was my 2.5 FO's (as the socks have actually been done for a while before I dyed them). I decided on Friday to cast on for some more socks, as I can't seem to go many days without having a pair on the needles. I chose to start the Ookuru socks, in Marias Garn handpainted sock yarn (75 % superwash wool/25 % bamboo). I've already knitted a pair of socks in this yarn as well, and like them fine even though the yarn is bleeding incredibly when wet, so I wanted to finish it off. As I want to use up all of the yarn, I decided to make the socks toe-up instead of cuff-down as the pattern states, and I'm guessing they will be about knee-high as I have 130 g of yarn left. So far they are pooling A LOT!

But I still like them, I'm just hoping that the other sock will look roughly the same.

Other than that, this weekend has been spent cleaning and relaxing, which was sorely needed! Today we went out to the cabin to have a look around, but had to turn around as we realized when we parked that we had left the cabin key at home in the apartment...

I hope I'll get back some time next week when my yarn gets here!

/Jenny

I feel so lazy!

2011-11-05T15:15:00.000+01:00

My stomach has been acting up a lot this week, so I have been home lounging about and feeling a bit sorry for myself. I haven't really been doing too much knitting, as I've been so tired, but I have re-organized my queue and my favourites on Ravelry :) But I have actually managed some knitting at least.

I'll start with the Baby Cables and Big Ones Too sweater/dress. It was finished a while ago, and I wore it for the first time last weekend, when my sister had her birthday party. I'm very pleased with it!

I haven't got any make-up at all in the photo, so excuse the somewhat shiny face. Just look at the dress instead! It's made with KnitPicks Capra yarn, in merino/cashmere dk weight. I love this yarn! It is so soft, and it really shows off the cable pattern. I have two skeins left, and I decided I didn't want to waste them, so yesterday evening I cast on for a new hat, the Romy Beret:

I have just started the cable pattern today, so it's not much to look at yet, but as it's just a hat in dk weight, it is really flying off the needles. It shouldn't take long to finish! So far, we've had a pretty warm autumn with temperatures around 10 centigrades, but last year the snow arrived in the middle of November and stayed until March at least, so we might be in for a nasty cold surprise next week if we're unlucky. Then it will be nice to have a new, warm hat!

I've also knitted a lot on the Lothlorien socks, in the Malabrigio yarn. I've finished the first sock, but I discovered today when I tried it on that I have bound off a bit too tightly, so I think I'll redo the cast off. The second sock is well past the heel, so I guess I don't have far to go on this one either. It might get finished this coming week as well!

And as I finished the Cable dress, I wanted to start a new sweater project, and this time I chose the Silken Scabbard pattern. I'm knitting it in Rowan RYC Silk Wool, which is a discontinued dk yarn with 50 % merino/50 % silk, and I know it is another cabled sweater... I just love this pattern too! I'm almost ready to divide for the sleeves.

The yarn is very lovely to work with, and the stitch definition is awesome! The sweater seems to eat yarn however, as I've already used up four whole skeins! This made me worry that I might not have enough, as I want the sweater to be pretty long, so I searched around on Ravelry and found a woman in England who had four more skeins for trade or sale. Yes! I bought them very swiftly, and the shipping took no more than two days! So now I have 16 skeins in total (minus the four I've already used), and if that's not enough I'll just have to make it a bit shorter.

I also got some yarn in the mail this week, that I won in a raffle in the European RAK group on Ravelry! Handywoman from Greece gave away three hand-dyed skeins of sock yarn, and I won one. I LOVE it, it is just so bright and happy!

It's 75 % superwash wool/25 % polyamid, 420 m/100 g, so well enough for a pair of socks. I think I might knit some colourwork with it, together with some black yarn, to mute it down a bit. I'll let you know what I decide!

And I don't think I told you about the iPad stand I bought from Etsy a while ago, did I? It's hand made by the store Comfy iPad Creations, and basically it's a cushion with velcro, but it's exactly what I wanted. And, it's pink! The shipping is free everywhere, which is amazing, and it arrived in a week or so. I'm using it practically every day!

Oh, and I have something awesome to tell you! A while ago, a telemarketer called me to ask me some questions about people who had gotten money from Trygghetsstiftelsen. Trygghetsstiftelsen is a foundation that is made to make life easier for unemployed researchers that used to work at a university. It is very hard to find a job here in Sweden if you've got your PhD, and what Trygghetsstiftelsen does is that if you get a new job with less pay than at the university (like I did), they give you the pay difference as a stipend for two years after you leave the university. Awesome, right? Anyway, when this telemarketer woman called me, I realized that I never sent in my papers! When I left my previous job, I was just so completely miserable, my stomach was sooo crappy, and I completely forgot. So I sent them in a couple of weeks ago, meaning that I got all of that money retroactively! Yay! Since we bought the new car this summer, we haven't really had any saved money or any real buffer, and it feels so good to be able to put all of that money into the savings account.

Well, not all of the money. I get to have some fun too, right? I splurged on myself yesterday, and made a new, small order at Eat.Sleep.Knit. So now, some new yarn is on the way! I'll tell you more about that once it arrives, which should be in little more than a week or so.

I also bought a circular needle holder from Etsy today, from the shop sarahkincheloe, which i also guess will arrive in a week or two. I have great holders for my interchangeables, and for all my dpn's, but no good one for the fixed circulars. So I figured it was about time. I'll show that one once it arrives too.

Ok, now you know what I've been up to these past two weeks. Tomorrow we are going to Borås for the day, to visit Thomas' grandparents who celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this weekend.

See you next weekend!

/ Jenny

I Aten't Dead...

2011-10-20T20:11:00.001+02:00

Which, for all of you Pratchett fans, should be obvious what it means. I'm sorry I've been absent for sooo long! Work has been crazy these past two weeks, and my husband has been out of town as well so I've been doing all of the cooking and cleaning by myself, after work. I've just been so tired in the evenings I haven't mustered up the energy to write. My parents were here visiting last weekend as well (both my mom and my sister had their birthdays this week), so the weekend was fairly busy as well. Thomas is finally coming back home tomorrow, and I can't wait to see him!

Thank you all who voted on my sock poll! Although only three of you left me a comment to tell me, so those are the only names I have for the draw of the prize. And what is the prize, you ask me? Well, I've decided to give away one skein of Malabrigio Sock yarn! Colourway: Violeta Africana:

So, do you wanna know who won? The lucky winner is Virginia, from Virinia is for...! Congratulations! I will need your adress (you can e-mail it to me at jenny(.)m(.)clifford(a)gmail(.)com), and then I can send the yarn out at the end of nexxt week (when my paycheck comes in, I'm a bit strapped for cash this week...).

The poll was a bit weird, as I included the option "depends on what colour", but as that option got three votes, and the "yes absolutely dye the socks" got 4 votes, I guess I'll go ahead and dye them! I will use some of my Koolaid powder, I just need to decide which colour first (I don't even remember which colours I have any more, it's been so long since I looked at them!). But they will get dyed eventually.

I've been knitting a lot though, since I haven't needed to be entertaining in the evenings :) My Baby Cables and Big Ones Too sweater is almost done! I've decided to turn it into a dress/tunic, so it's fairly long. I had to frog a bit of it again though, as I had made the waist too small (which just goes to show you that I don't really have an accurate view of myself yet...), but now it fits me much better. Sadly, as I've been on my own these past few weeks, I haven't had anyone to help me with photos, so you'll have to wait until next week.

I also decided to cast on for a new pair of socks (I know I said I wouldn't but you know me. Abolutely no patience whatsoever...), and I chose the Lothlorien Socks from the Enchanted Sole book by Janel Laidman. I'm knitting them in Malabrigio Sock yarn (colourway Lettuce), but I think this pattern was written for bigger feet than mine! I'm still fairly new at knitting socks from the toe up, so I haven't really learned when to start increasing for the heel, so this sock has been frogged so many times! But now I've finally got it to fit me, even though I had to do A LOT of tweaking to make it so!

Aren't they gorgeous?! At first I wasn't very fond of the yarn, as I thought it was a bit on the stiff side, but the more I've used it (and frogged it, and used it, and frogged it...), the better I like it. I LOVE the colour, and it actually feels really nice on my hands now, so I've adjusted my opinion of it. That's why I've decided to give a skein away, as I'm really thrilled with it! And the purple colour is just so pretty too! So I'm not trying to get rid of something I don't like, rather the opposite.

That's about all of the knitting I've done since I last wrote. I'm really becoming an expert at frogging, at least...

I'l try not to be away for so long this time!

/ Jenny

It's...

2011-10-02T10:20:00.000+02:00

...Been WAY too long! Again! And this time I have no real excuse, other than that life has been feeling a bit hectic these past two weeks. Lots to do at work, and last weekend was just spent relaxing at home. I simply haven't had the energy to blog! But as we're spending this weekend at home, and in the cabin, relaxing as well, I figured today would be a good day to get this done. Not that this is a chore or anything, but I still need to find the time and energy to get it done! Today I'm doing laundry, vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms (and as I've now told you guys about it all, there's no escaping!), so I can find a little time in between :)

I haven't been knitting very much, but I've managed to finish a pair of socks at least. These are the Spring socks from my 10 patterns collection (I can't seem to find a direct link to the pattern, so you'll just have to look at the patterns collection site), and they are a bit wonky...

I think I told you that I'd managed to knit these from two different dye lots, and it really shows! The right sock in the photo is a lot darker, and greyer, than the left one. But that's not all. Somehow, even though they're knitted on the same set of DPN's, and the same number of pattern repeats, the right sock is a lot smaller than the left one too. Tell me that this shouldn't be a problem when you change dye lots? So I'm calling these ones a fair failure, but I guess I'll still wear them. If I wear them under jeans, the difference in length won't be noticable anyway. I'm thinking of trying to overdye them though, what do you guys think? I will add a gadget to the left side column where you guys can vote! If you leave me a comment on this post telling me you've voted, I'll even draw a random winner next weekend and have a small give-away (and no, you won't be getting the socks! I'll come up with a nicer price that involves yarn, I promise)!

I've also been working a lot on my Baby Cables and Big Ones Too sweater, and it's coming along nicely this time:

Since this photo I've actually finished both sleeves, so now it's mostly boring stockinette left. Because of that I'm making it into my work knitting, so it might take a while to actually get it done. I chose to make the sleeves before I finished the body, because I'm thinking of turning it into a dress instead. I just wanted to make sure that I had enough yarn to make both sleeves before I increased the lenght! But I think I'll be ok, as I've decreased the size considerably from the pattern instructions. I put the sleeves on hold much earlier than instructed, and I've added a lot more shaping to it as well as that suits my body better. I think I have about five whole skeins left! But now it's time to start the hip increases, so it will draw more yarn soon. We'll see what I decide, I'll have to try it on as I go.

Yesterday I also worked a little on my Brandywine shawl, although I have no new photo of it as it doesn't look very different from the last post. I've made 5 repeats (out of at least 15) on the main body chart. But I think I'll try to focus a bit on this one for now, before I start any new socks. Or gloves. Or something else... Startitis, anyone?

The last project that I have going is still the Panama shawl, and I do't really know why this one isn't really spekaing to me. I love the yarn (even though it is a bit fragile), and I like the pattern fine too. The projects on Ravelry are gorgeus, so the shawl will be lovely, and I'm actually in need of a purple shawl to match all of my purple clothes. But somehow I just don't feel like working on this one right now, so it's resting in the WIP bag for now. I'll get to it some day too.

Ok, time to get going on the cleaning. Maybe I'll have breakfast first?

/ Jenny

Goodbye, The Ark

2011-09-18T13:29:00.000+02:00

On Friday evening, me, my sister and her two friends Tess and Johanna went to Stockholm, to see the last concert ever with the swedish pop band The Ark. If you haven't heard them before, they are well worth a listen, they are a very good band! They have decided to quit as a band while they are still on top, which I can respect. The concert was a two hour long line of all their big hits, and was really amazing! Ola Salo, the lead singer, is a very flamboyant, theatrical person (he's also played Jesus Christ in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar here in Sweden), and the band has an extraordinary stage show! I wish they were better at english though, because I think they could have made it big internationally if they had tried a bit harder. Anyway, the concert was very good, and it was a very nice evening! The concert was at an amusement park, Gröna Lund, and before the show started we went into the "Ghost House"! Four grown-up (more or less) women screaming like little children :)

The video is fimed with my tiny camera, and the quality isn't the best, but you get a feel for the show a little bit at least

Then yesterday one of my best friends, Klara, had invited me and Thomas for a birthday brunch, and she had made home-made lemon curd, lots of jams and marmalades, and pancakes, and omelett, and pie with custard, and... We went home about three kg heavier I think! It was very nice, and we got to meet some of Klaras friends that we don't see very often too.

And yesterday evening I finally tried on the Baby Cables sweater. I've been knitting on this at work, so I haven't had a chance to try it on for a while. It was HUGE! So I frogged about half of it, to put the sleeve stitches on hold a lot earlier than the pattern said. I've almost knitted to where I was before the frogging again, at least lenght-wise, but I've used almost a whole skein less! But now it fits me better, so I'm very happy I did this. It's looking really good, and I love the yarn!

I've also knitted a little bit on the Brandywine shawl, as I'm currently KAL-ing this one with Anna! She's using the angora rabbit yarn that she bought on our wool crawl the other weekend, and it's looking soooo good (go have a peak at her project page). I think she will probably finish a lot sooner than I though, as she seems to knit a lot on hers! But that's ok, I' in no hurry. I think I've finished about three repeats of the main chart (out of fifteen in total), so I have a ways to go...

I think today will be spent mostly knitting. I've made some changes in my movements at work, which seems to have improved my arm pain a lot, so now I feel I can knit almost as much as usual again!

/ Jenny

Teeny Tiny perfection!

2011-09-11T11:31:00.000+02:00

Do you remember that I told you about the very cute etsy shop for stitch markers, Wee Ones? The woman who runs that shop, Jillian, makes the cutest stitch markers out of clay that you could possibly imagine, but as it's based in the States and the shipping is kind of expensive to Europe, I hadn't actually bought any yet. Well, apparently you, my dear readers, increased the traffic to the shop after reading my blog, which Jillian noticed! She sent me a very nice message on Ravelry, thanking me for mentioning her shop. And as a thank you she also offered me free shipping on my first order! YAY! Of course I couldn't pass this up, and a couple of days ago I picked up the package from the post office. And let me tell you, the markers are even more pretty in real life! I bought three sets:

Wee tiny sheep (there are four markers of each set, but as they are already in use it was kind of hard to capture all the sheep at once. Three white ones and one grey were in my set)

Wee tiny orange tabby cats (which reminds me of Hobbe)

Wee tiny owls (I seem to have a thing for owls lately)

They are maybe 1 cm big, so they are really small! I love them! Thank you so much Jillian for sending these to me, I really appreciate it. And I will definitely be coming back to the shop, I already have several sets that I want as well...

I haven't been knitting very much this past week, but I've managed to cast on for another project. I chose the Baby Cables and Big Ones Too sweater pattern, and I'm using KnitPicks Capra yarn (85 % Merino15 % Cashmere) in colourway Hunter:

The yarn is really really soft, and the cables seem to be pretty visible as well. I really like working with a heavier yarn as well, as I seem to use mostly thinner ones as I make lots of shawls and socks. Although the shawl knitting is going a bit slowly right now, I have completely given up the idea of finishing 11 in 2011. So far I have two finished and two on the needles, and as both of them are kind of wasting away in my bag, the 11 goal seems a bit unlikely. I don't mind though, I'm happy as long as I enjoy the knitting!

I've also been working on my Spring socks, and I've finished the first one and cast on for the second one. Unfortunately, it seems like I've got two different dye lots (I knew that I had two different lots on my three skeins, but I couldn't remember which skein was which after I wound them into cakes), and the second sock is actually a lot darker than the first one.

It's not terribly visible in the photo, but I think it will be pretty visible once they're done. Oh well, I think I don't mind too much. They're pretty anyway, and considering how many socks I have where the colours are differently spaced on the two socks, I can live with these ones being different too.

Yesterday morning I got a text message from my best friend Christine. She asked me if we had any plans for the day, and wondered if we'd like some company for the day. Luckily we didn't have anything settled, so Christine, her husband Martin, and their three boys Lucas, Leo and Alex, came to visit! We all went to the Air Force Museum, which they boys seemed to enjoy, and then we went back here for dinner and some video games. It was a very fun and energetic day (we're not used to keeping up with three kids!)! Both me and Thomas fell asleep on the couch before nine o'clock yesterday evening...

Today we were planning on going to the cabin, but the weather is really grey and cold so I think we might skip it. I'm guessing there will be laundry and some general cleaning instead, but the apartment actually looks ok so not too much tidying I think. Maybe even some knitting for me!

/ Jenny

Wooly Saturday!

2011-09-04T12:56:00.001+02:00

I had the most amazing Saturday! This weekend has been the time for Östgötadagarna here in Östergötland (the cuounty where I live in). Östgötadagarna are two days where lots of farms and local shops have extra opening hours and you can go around visiting animals and buying from farm shops and stuff like that. Me and Anna went to a place called Brink Hantverk, about 30 minutes from here. The link goes to their swedish site, but it's an alpaca farm! They have about ten alpacas that they use for wool , they have two angora goats (you know, where mohair comes from), and angora rabbits. Oh, and some merino sheep as well! They spin their own yarn, which they sell, and they also sell a lot of knitted stuff. It was such a wonderful place!

The woman who owns the place was so friendly and nice, and told us lots about the farm and the animals. We didn't get to pet the actual alpacas, since they were a bit shy of strangers and didn't enjoy being touched, but we fed some goats and bought some yarn! Anna bought some lovely angora yarn, made from the very cute rabbit named Celine:

The yarn is 100 % rabbit wool, and OH SO SOFT! It didn't end up in any photo, but it is a very soft grey colour. I brought a lovely skein of alpaca yarn with me home, made from the very pretty lady Geisha:

It's 60 g/195 m, and the loveliest chocolate brown you can imagine. It was so cool to get to see the actual animal that the wool came from! I know I wasn't supposed to buy any more yarn, but I see this as more of a souvenire (thank you Maria for that idea!)!

We then went on to Vadstena, where we visited a yarn shop that was located smack in the middle of nowhere! It's called Vadstena Ull & Garn (yet another swedish site, sorry), and it was a lot bigger than the yarn shops in town. It was located on a farm as well, and I guess the locale costs are pretty low if you have a shop in one of your own out-houses. It was really lovely and there was a lot of yarn!

I didn't get any photos here (we were just too busy looking at yarn), but I borrowed this one off their website. I hope they don't mind the free advertisement! The women who run the business didn't spin their own yarn, but they dyed a lot instead, and they also had a lot of commersial yarns. I didn't buy any yarn here, but a shawl needle got to come home with me instead:

We then went on to the last crafts place that we had planned, Hantverksboden Drottning Omma at Omberg (this shop doesn't have a website). It's a pretty small crafts shop that sells yarn and lots of other locally produced crafts, like pottery, some woodcrafts and stuff like that. The woman who owns the shop has angora rabbits as well, and the yarn they sold were mixes of angora and lambs wool or merino wool. Apparently, she shears the rabbits and sends the wool off to Östergötlands Ullspinneri, which spins the wool into yarn for the shop. Very nice! I bought three skeins of a 50 % angora/50 % lams wool that seems to be about sport weight (there is no length stated on the label, so I can't be completely sure, but needles 3-5 mm sounds about right for heavy fingering/sport, right?):

It's amazingly soft, and the colour is very pretty and natural as well. This was also a souvenire, right?! Anna also brouht home three of these skeins, in a lovely off-white colour that will become a winter shawl for her.

After this intense yarn crawl, me and Anna went back to my place and made dinner, and after that Alexandra and Maria showed up for a real girls-night/knit-night! I served apple pie (that Anna helped to make) and chocolate cake, and we just sat here and chatted about all sorts of stuff, and knitted our hearts out.

It was so much fun, and it's been way too long! I very rarely get to go to the knitting cafés any more, since I commute so much and am not back in town until late in the afternoon/evening, so this was a real treat for me. We definitely need to plan more of these weekend meetings!

Today I'm spending my day on the couch, possibly not knitting very much as my arm is bothering me a bit. I think I've figured out what movements at work has been bothering me, and I'm trying to correct those so that should help. I don't think that the knitting is actually the cause of the pain, as I tend to move my left elbow joint or wrist very little when I knit (I pick, that's continental knitting right?), but I'm guessing that it doesn't help either. I've cut down pretty much on the knitting in general though, so I think I'm doing ok. I've almost finished with the first of the Spring socks (from my 10 models collection), but Thomas has brought the camera with him to Austria this weekend so you'll have to wait to see photos of it!

/ Jenny

First Knee Socks - And what a nightmare!

2011-08-28T15:34:00.000+02:00

I finished the knee-high Wrought Iron Socks today, and the finishing was a real horror! When I made the first sock I decided I would knit it until I had about 50 grams of yarn left, which would mean that I had enough for a second sock. I've learned today that it's apparently a good idea to weigh the full skein before you start. Because this skein of Unplanned Peacock sock yarn must have held more than 100 g, since my 52 g that I had left after the first sock wasn't enough to finish the second one! So yesterday night I had to rip back the entire ribbing, and a little bit of cable pattern on the first sock. I counted how many rows I ripped back, and decided that I had enough yarn to make 10 rows of ribing. This is all the yarn I had left from the entire skein!

So you can see how close I was! I was so nervous, since this yarn is a little bit hard to come by, and I really didn't want to have to buy a whole new skein too. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore this yarn, but I have gone two months now without buying any new yarn, and I'm doing very well with knitting up my stash that I didn't want to break my "yarn diet".

Anyway, the socks are absolutely gorgeous:

No pooling what so ever, and very very soft and squishy! I can't wait to get to wear them with a skirt to show them off! I just have to wait for a bit cooler weather first, we haven't gone into autumn completely yet and I plan to squeeze out every ounce of summer before it does!

Yesterday we had a very nice, warm summer day, and me and Thomas and my sister went to a local farmer's market and bought way too much locally produced veggies. Thomas made roasted root veggies with grilled beef and goat cheese, and it was amazing! Thomas is going to Austria with his work next weekend, but I think I'll probably go back to the market for more vegetables next weekend by myself. We also bought some goat cheese, and I found gluten free swedish cheese pudding (that's a bit hard to explain, it's a very swedish traditional cake/pudding made with whey, milk, eggs, flour and almonds, and you eat it with jam and whipped cream. It's amazingly good, and I haven't seen any gluten free since I got the gluten diagnosis in 1999. So I was quite happy yesterday!

Today we've spent the day on the couch, knitting and playing video games, since the weather isn't very nice today. I'm trying really hard not to knit too much, to spare my arm, but I can't keep off it completely. It's just too much fun, and such a relaxation for me.

I also got about 5 kg of apples from a co-worker of mine the other day, so this afternoon we're going to make apple jam!

/ Jenny

Oh no!

2011-08-19T23:15:00.000+02:00

I went to the doctor today, and as it turns out, my elbow pain is actually tennis elbow. That means that the muscle attatchments to the elbow joint are inflamed, and I need to get on anti-inflammatory drugs and do lots and lots of physical therapy. Yay. The doctor told me to be patient, as it can be a loooong process to get rid of the pain, and he also told me to try and not over-exert the joint. Which means NO KNITTING!!!!

Let me tell you: I won't be able to survive that! But I figured that as long as I cut back, I should be ok. I can make some changes at work as well, and not spend as much time at the computer at home either. Then I should be able to knit a bit, right? RIGHT?!!!

Luckily, I finished another project yesterday. Let me introduce you to my Rusted root top:

I love it! It fits me perfectly, and as I seem to have lost almost all of the anti-depression pill weight gain, I think this is the body shape I'm destined to have. Which means I'll be able to wear this top lots and lots! I've actually worn it today :)

Of course, as soon as I had woven in all of the ends, I had to cast on for something new! Because let's face it: Three WIP's are just not enough (two pairs of socks and a shawl, that's nothing!). I chose the Brandywine Shawl, and I'm making it in a very pretty rusty pink yarn I bought in Stockholm for my 30th birthday last year, Wetterhof Silla (70 % Wool/30 % Silk, 250 m/50 g). It's very soft, and just a little bit shiny from the silk.

Excuse the bad photo, but it's very dark and rainy tonight, and the camera flash and I are NOT best pals! I haven't gotten far on the shawl yet, and as thing stand I bet it will take me ages!

As I couldn't knit a lot today, I've filled my day with other fiddly stuff. First, let me tell you about my Fimo Clay adventures! A while ago I found this etsy store, Wee Ones, that make hand made stitch markers out of clay. I got very impressed, and a bit inspired to try it out myself, so I bought some Fimo Clay at a swedish crafts site, Panduro Hobby. I tried it one time, wasn't very good, and put the clay in a bag and more or less forgot about it. But today I took it out again, and tried it one more time. I'm still not very good at it, but why should I be? I've never sculpted anything before in my life! But it was great fun, and two figures got cute enough to put in the oven:

I love my little sheep! The teddy bear is a bit unstable, and doesn't want to sit up straight, but I'll just put him on double-sided tape in the book shelf. The sheep is more stable, and I'm very proud of him! Both figures are very much too big to become markers, they're about 4 cm high I would guess, but at least I'm on the path, right?

I also pulled out my old stash of Hama Beads this afternoon, which is a hobby that I haven't aired out in years! Me and Thomas made a bunch of TV-game inspired bead coasters a couple of years ago, but as I learned to knit I more or less forgot about the beads too. It was great fun to make some today! Game characters are often very easy to make, as they are often very pixelated from the start:

I'm very proud of Bert and Ernie! I just can't seem to remember which character is which...

So, that's my knitting free day. Tomorrow we're hanging out with some friends and I'm guessing there will be lots of board games involved, so probably not much knitting then either. But what shall I do on Sunday?!

/ Jenny

Busy Holiday!

2011-08-17T14:20:00.000+02:00

Wow, it's been a busy couple of weeks! I've been off work for 2.5 weeks now, and it's been full speed ahead all the time! The first week I spent at my parents' house, as I told you the last time. I've had time to visit some friends, and the closest relatives at least. I also managed to finish the Mystic Star shawl!

This is my first Knit & Knag pattern, and I have to say I'm even more smitten. I love almost all of Anna Dalvi's designs, and now I can say that they are very well written and easy to follow as well. I can't wait to cast on for another one! She has just published her first book, Shaping Shawls, and it has sooo many beautiful designs! I just want to finish the purple Panama shawl first though (designed by Monika Eckert, also a very talanted designer whose patterns are very easy to follow - I'm a real fangirl today!).

Anyway, I love the Mystic Star shawl, since I finished my Evenstar a while back I've come to realize that I really like the circular shawl shape. And the yarn I used, Chili Gredelin Madame (45 % cashmere/55 % silk) is absolutely dreamy. I find that the edges of the shawl don't want to stay in their perfect, pointy shape, and I'm not sure if it's the yarn or the pattern, but I don't really mind. It looks awesome anyway :)

Me, my sister and my parents also took a trip to Gothenburg to visit Liseberg, Sweden's largest amusement park. Gothenburg is about 60 km from where my parents live, so when we grew up, me and my sister used to visit Liseberg at least once a year. When we were young we rode every attraction, but as I've grown older I find I can't handle the things that rock or spin. So now I just go on the roller-coasters that go fast. But this time we didn't go on any rides, just played the different game wheels and did some people-watching. And we came home with some chocolate winnings...

That's 2 kg of milk chocolate, 2 kg of Toblerone almond chocolate, 2 kg of Dumle chocolate (toffee filled choclate pralines), and assorted smmaller winnings (including a stuffed panda!). We are now set for chocolate for the rest of the year, I think! Sure, we spent some money on the wheels, but all in all I think we came out ahead :)

On Saturday 6th of August, my best friend Christine got married! Me and her two sisters were bridesmaids (I was the maid of honour!), so we spent the entire day with Christine. We met up at the hair-dresser, who fixed Christines hair beautifully, and the make up girl came there a bit later and made Christine even more pretty.

Me, Madde and Michaela (the sisters) made each others' hair and our own make-up, and made sure Christine had everything she wanted (like chips, grapes and soda). It was really nice, and we were in no hurry so we all felt pretty relaxed when we finally arrived at the wedding venue (including Christine, I think). Once at the set, we met up with the groom, the best man and the two ushers, and had our photos taken. I managed to get some photos, with my own camera, of me and Christine, and she's wearing the shawl I made for her!

The ceremony went very well, and Christine even managed to sing a song for Martin (the groom, obviously). I tell you, there weren't many dry eyes in the room by then! The dinner and party afterwards vas very nice, with lots of good speaches and LOADS of great food. I even managed to get a few laughs during my speach (Intentional, of course!). All in all, I'd say that the happy couple was very pleased with the day!

The day after we were finally back in Linköping, and the week after was spent fixing things in the cabin. Thomas' father came here to help us this past weekend, and we've managed to clean out all the stuff we didn't want to keep. When we bought the place, we got it with all the furniture and stuff in it, and let me tell you that the woman who owned it before us had probably never thrown anything away before! We shipped a full truckload of stuff to the waste station, and another truckload to a local flea market. But it felt very good! Now it's almost spartan in there, but we will remedy that once the renovating is done. We've started to put plaster on the walls, and tomorrow we're going to start painting the walls. Thomas and his father have also started to pull up the flooring in the attic, to try to pinpoint where the leaking water is entering the house! So far, we don't know, but we're still searching. I'll show you photos once we're done with the cabin!

I haven't managed to knit very much lately, since my left arm has started to hurt. I think I have some kind of inflammation in the elbow joint, and the arm is pretty much useless. I have a doctor's appointment on Friday, hopefully they can tell me what's wrong. I want to knit! I've made some progress on the Rusted Root t-shirt, I have about one more repeat of the lace pattern until I start the ribbing:

Then it's just the collar ribbing and the arms left, so it should be done pretty quickly. Then I think I'll focus on some socks! I still haven't finished the Wrought Iron knee socks, but I'm passed the heel on the second sock so they should be finished pretty soon. I think I forgot to tell you, but I also started a new pair of socks to have something more mindless to work on, the Spring Socks form the 10 patterns collection. There doesn't seem to be a ravelry link for the individual socks, so you'll have to look at the 10 patterns page. It's the 7th sock photo from the top, the bright pink ones. I'm making them in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn, colourway Aslan. It's the same yarn I used for my Kai-Mei a while ago, and those socks are fabulous! Still amazingly soft after lots of use, and pretty much no wear and tear. I think these will be a good work-knit when I go back to work next week.

The other night while me and Thomas were having dinner in front of the TV, we were watching the show Dirty Jobs, with Mike Rowe. In this episode, he visited an alpaca farm and helped with the shearing, and I was reminded of my bag of wool! I got it from my parents the Christmas before last, and I started taking care of it last summer. It's about a kilo of completely untreated wool, more or less straight off the sheep. So last summer I washed it, and started with the teasing (teasing means separating the locks in preparation for carding). But it's a sort of fussy job, and you almost have to sit outside to do it since there is a bit of shedding involved, and since the weatehr wasn't fabulous last summer I just didn't finish. The weather has been pretty sucky all of my vacation, with pretty low temperatures and not much sun, but yesterday I sat down anyway to make some headway. I have finished teasing at least two thirds of it, and that doesn't bother my arm too much either. I just want to get it done so I can start with the carding! I bet carding would really hirt my arm right now though, si I think I'd better get that sorted first. The wool is white and pretty, and I bet I'll have a great time dyeing it as well!

The photo on top shows the teased wool, that's the one in the paper bag. The photo on the bottom shows the washed, but un-teased wool beside the paper bag, in the white basket.

Tomorrow me and Thomas have our fourth wedding anniversary, and we're going out for a restaurant dinner, and possibly a movie too. We know for certain that it will be a relaxing day without renovating!

Until next time!

/ Jenny

Back in Borås again

2011-07-31T12:20:00.000+02:00

I'm on vacation! Friday was my last day of work, now I have three weeks off, and it feels really good! We have no trips or anything planned (Thomas also has these weeks off), we're just going to have a relaxing time and hang around in our cabin. But the first week will be spent at my parents' house in Borås, as I have two weddings to attend! Yesterday me, my sister and my parents all went to the wedding of one of my childhood friends. It was a very nice wedding, and the weather was amazing (maybe a bit hot, but I'm not complaining as long as it's not raining).

Me and my sister before the wedding (I haven't asked the newlyweds to pot photos of them online yet)

Next Saturday my best friend is getting married (you know, I made the green Scheherazade stole for her), and I'm going to be a bridesmaid. That should also be fun! Although I'm getting a bit nervous about the speech I'm giving. But I think it will be fine. I'll be back with the full scoop on that wedding in a week :)

Last time I posted, I completely forgot to tell you that I finished my Jaywalker socks! They've been done for a while, and I really like them.

They were made with a Nordic yarn, Hjertegarn Sock, and they just about fit me. I was worried that they would turn out too big, but they're almost too small instead. They are a little bit tight to get on, but once they're on they fit me very well.

The same is true about the Hokie Socks (which are actually the Wrought Iron Socks from the Toe-Up Socks for Every Body book), which I've been working a lot on lately. I think when I told you the last time about them languishing away, I realized I missed them, so I've picked them up. Since they're toe-up, I decided to knit the first one until I reached half the skein, so they turned out to become knee-socks!

Please excuse the weird sun pattern...

The first sock is done (obviously), and I'm passed the heel on the second one too. The leg part is kind of sow going with all the cables, but I'll get them done eventually. I can't wait for fall to arrive, so I can wear them with a skirt!

I've also been working a lot on the Mystic Star shawl, by Anna Dalvi (Knit & Knag), I think I have about half a chart left. It's over 500 stitches now though, so each row takes me forever! But I really, really love it so far. The yarn (Chili Gredelin Madame) is a dream to work with, I think this is my favourite yarn of all time. I might have said this about lots of yarns, but this time I actually think I'm telling you the truth. At least of all the yarns I've worked with so far. And at least for lace yarns. Anyhow, the shawl is scrunched up on the needle, so you won't get a photo of it until it's done.

Last week I finally finished the wedding purse too. I got my sister to sew the inner lining bag in white silk fabric, and I attached it to the knitting with a bit of left-over yarn. I think it's really, really pretty!

I hope Christine will like it too, I'm going to take it to her this week for final approval. I think the white fabric really worked, I was a bit worried that it would be too bright, but it really shows off the knitting.

Ok, as I'm a bit hung-over after yesterday's excellent party, I think I'm going to spend today in the shade, knitting away. See you all in a week (as I'm at my parent's house with the incredibly slow internet connection, I won't be online very much, but I'll try to get back next weekend with the next wedding updates :)

/ Jenny

I don't know what to say

2011-07-23T22:16:00.000+02:00

It's just that horrible. There will be no knitting content here today, I think I'm in too much shock. I guess most of you have heard, but yesterday a car blew up outside the government building in Oslo, Norway. Killing at least 7, injuring lots more. Police and rescuers are still searching the building. And a short while after the bomb went off, a presumably lone nut-case entered a youth camp on the small island on Utøya, outside of Oslo, and killed at least 85 youths in cold blood. The kids were there at a political youth camp with the socialist party, and the crazy guy entered by being dressed as a police. He shot and killed 85 innocent kids, and injured lots more. We're still in shock here, I can't even imagine how the people of Norway must feel.

The police has the shooter in custody, and they're trying to find out motive, and whether or not he was alone. Apparently he was a sort of right-wing nut, but nothing much has been confirmed about him otherwise. He has admitted to the crimes, so he'll definitely be going away for a long time.

My heart goes out to all the poor kids and their families today, we can't tell all of you how much we're grieveing with you. I've been crying in front of the TV all day, I can't even imagine how bad it must be in Oslo today. All the people of Norway are in our thoughts today.

/ Jenny

Where shall I begin?

2011-07-16T11:03:00.000+02:00

Once again, it's been long. Too long! I was planning on updating last weekend, but on Saturday two weeks ago my father called me to tell me that he had found a new car for me! I've been looking for a new car for a while, since my tiny Toyota doesn't have air condition, but haven't really decided what kind of car I wanted. I knew I wanted a small one, which didn't use too much fuel, but other than that I wasn't really sure (Thomas doesn't have his licence yet, although he's working on it, but so far he doesn't really have a say on what car I buy as long as it isn't too expensive...). Anyway, my father told me he was right then out test-driving a car for me, and it turned out to be the one car I've wanted since I first saw one: A Volvo C30! I don't know why I like this car so much, but I do. Usually, they are a bit out of our price range, but my father is kind of friends with his car dealer, so I got it pretty cheap (yes, of course I'm paying for it. My father only found it for me). So last weekend, a week ago, I went home to my parents to sign all the papers and pick up the new car. YAY!

Isn't it pretty?! It's licence plate says HAM, so I've named her Miss Piggy :) She's a dream to drive, plus she runs on ethanol so she's a lot more environmental as well. I love her! She was made in 2008, so she's a lot newer than any car I've owned so far. Well, I've only had two before her: A black Volvo 480 from 1990 that I more or less drove to pieces (it's licence number was 666, so Thomas named him Bilzebub - the swedish word for car is bil...), and the pea green Toyota Starlet from 1998, that a daughter to a friend of mine named the Pea. The black Volvo I bought from my parents, and the Toyota I bought from my grandmother, so Miss Piggy is the first car I have that no one in the family has owned before me. I'm just so thrilled!

Ok, onwards with the knitting. This is supposed to be a knitting blog, right?

I've managed to finish the tiny bridal purse for Christine! It's currently blocking upstairs:

I was planning on using KnitPicks Palette yarn for this one, in the same Forest Heather colourway as the stole in Shadow yarn, but that turned out way too heavy. The bag would have been huge! So I used the left-overs from the stole instead, so it's also knitted in KnitPicks Shadow. It's very pretty, vith beads at the top and bottom. It's going to get an inner fabric lining as well, as it is kind of hole-y right now, and a satin ribbon drawstring to close it at the top as well. As I was home last weekend I went over to Christine to see her and the boys, and gave her the finished stole then. I think she thanked me three or four times during the hour I was there! So I think she's pleased :) I also showed her the bag (although then it was still in progress), and she liked that one too, so I'm happy. She's going to be such a beautiful bride, her dress is fabulous and her shoes too!

As I finished both the stole and the bag in time, I have knitted some on my Panama Stole as well. That one has been languishing for a while! I'm knitting it in a wool/cashmere blend yarn from Chopped Tomatoes, and it is incredibly soft! It's turning out very pretty too, and I think it will be on the larger side. Thankfully the pattern includes several sizes, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I've also cast on for another shawl, as I just couldn't keep myself from starting a Knit & Knag pattern any longer! I chose the Mystic Star shawl, and I'm making it with Chili Gredelin Madame yarn, which is one of my favourite yarns ever. It's turning out very pretty so far:

I'm almost half-way I think, I've knitted a lot on this one lately, and I couldn't be happier with it. I used Chili Gredelin yarn for my Aeolian a year ago, and it has held up fabulously! And the pattern is great as well, well written and clear, with good charts. Anna Dalvi (the designer behind Knit & Knag) is a great designer, very pretty shawls and easy patterns. There will defintely be more of those in the future (I already own most of her patterns). She has just published a book, Shaping Shawls, and I'm planning on knitting several of those as well.

Oh, and speaking of Chili Gredelin: She is closing down her shop for a while (she doesn't know for how long yet, but as she's studying and has kids at the same time, she doesn't have the time for a while I think), so she dyed up most of the yarn she had at home, and put it up in the shop a couple of weeks ago (right now there's also a sale going on!). As I LOVE her yarn I really didn't want to miss this, so I had to buy some (yes I know. So sue me!). I bought six skeins of the Madame yarn (silk and cashmere, by the way) in two different colourways:

Madame Blast (blast is the swedish word for the tops of root vegetabler, you know the leafy green tops of carrots, for instance)

Madame Champis (a swedish soda that looks like champagne)

Really, really gorgeous yarn! I haven't decided what to make from them just yet, but I'm leaning towards something from the Shaping Shawls book. I think it will stay in the stash for a while though, I want to savour it a bit before I knit with it as I don't know when and if I can get more.

I haven't really knitted anything on the Hokie socks so far either, but as I'm now not on any deadline, they will get finished in time as well.

Ok, now you know what I've been up to these past few weeks! Next week I'm looking forward to going to the movies with my sister. She's been out of town for a couple of weeks, so we haven't had a chance to see the new Harry Potter movie yet. We've seen all of the previous ones together, so we're definitely going to this one as well. I just wish she could hurry back to Linköping so we could go already!

I'll try to get back to you next weekend, and not be so lazy about it!

/ Jenny

Join the birthday celebrations!

2011-06-27T21:28:00.000+02:00

I completely forgot to tell you last time, but my very good friend Sarah over at The Student Knitter, is celebrating her 2-year blogiversity! She's doing this by offering five days of give-aways, and you can win some awesome stuff! Please go over there and say hi, and have a look around!

/ Jenny

Busy June!

2011-06-26T10:21:00.001+02:00

Wow, it's been ages! Hello everyone!

June has been such a busy month, with lots of fun stuff happening, but i think I'll start by telling you the really bad stuff that happened. On the very same day I posted last, June 8th, I went with my sister and her cat, Medoxa, to the vet since she had stopped eating. It turned out that she had acute renal failure, and there was nothing to be done, so we went back the next day to have her put to sleep. It has been a rough couple of weeks for my sister, and we have both cried a lot (I cry as soon as I see her cry!). Medoxa was a very pretty Birma cat, who loved my sister more than anything (an pretty much disliked anyone else). Now she will be put to rest next to my little Gizmo in our parents' yard, and I'm sure he is taking care of her in Kitty Heaven.

This happened on Thursday morning. On Friday I went home to visit my parents, and hold a bachelorette party on Saturday for my best friend, Christine! Talk about the opposite end of the emotional spectra! Me and Christine's sister have been planning this for quite some time, but of course I haven't been able to tell you anything about it, as I think Christine checks in here from time to time. Anyway, we started the day by invading Christine's home, we put LOTS of make-up on her and put her in a very funny Queen of Hearts dress. She looked very funny! We then had a dancing lesson at a studio, where we got to learn striptease dancing! There was actually very little striptease, more like a sort of "sexy" dance (we all looked more funny than sexy, I think), but it was so much fun! I don't think I'll post any photos of this here though...

After this we went and had a picnic lunch, and then went to a spa for the rest of the day (and you won't get to see our bikini photos either!). We sat in the hot-tub, made facial treatments on each other and painted our nails. So relaxing, and so much fun! Finally we went out for dinner at our very favourite restaurant in the world, The Olive, and the night ended with us dancing our socks off at a local dance club. I think Christine was very happy with the whole thing.

So that was that weekend (Sunday was spent with a mild hangover in the car back to Linköping - Don't worry, Sanna drove). The week was spent working a lot, and then the next weekend Thomas was in Borås for Christine's fiancé's bahelor party. They had a bit more action, and played paintball, pinball and bathed in a lake. And I think they had a LOT more alcohol than us girls! Thomas was pretty worn when he got back to Linköping on Sunday! I spent the weekend knitting more or less furiously on the wedding stole, and completely forgot to blog!

This weekend was Midsummer's Eve, which meant that we had Friday off work. It's traditionally celebrated pretty heavily here in Sweden, with Maypoles and dancing. This is the holiday where we mostly have Pickled Herring, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's small pieces of herring pickled in vinegar with different seasonings (I like the blackcurrant or the Shrimp salad flavour, Thomas likes the snaps flavour), and we have it with new potatoes, sourcream and chives. It's sort of an aquired taste, but I really like it! This Friday we had some people over for a dinner party, and we had a really nice time. Lots of laughter and good food, and just generally lots of enjoyment.

And yesterday I finished the wedding stole!

I'm very pleased that it's finished in time (the wedding is on August 6th), now I'll just have to make the little purse bag to math as well! That shouldn't be a problem though, as it is quite a bit smaller. I'm planning on making this one from A Gathering of Lace, in KnitPicks Palette yarn in the Forest Heather colourway (the same colourway I used for the stole).

I also finished the first of the Jaywalker socks!

Do you remember me telling you that I thought it might turn out too big, since it uses 76 stitches? Well, I was very wrong! It's almost too small over the gusset instead! The pattern has almost no give at all, so I'm very glad that I've tried it on while I made it, so I know it will fit me. I like the wide stripes that this yarn (Hjertegarn sock, 75 % superwash wool/25 % nylon) makes, and I think the socks are a lot of fun!

I've also been working a lot on the Rusted Root top, and it's coming along nicely. I haven't gotten any photos of it yet though, as it's such a hassle to try it on as I have to divide the stitches onto two needles to fit it over my shoulders. But it seems to fit me though, and I'm almost at the waist (it's knitted top-down). I might be able to finish this one soon!

Ok, now I think you're all up to speed! I'll try to get back next weekend, and not let you wait this long again!

/ Jenny

Sunny days

2011-06-08T12:05:00.001+02:00

This weekend was a long one for us! I think I told you in my last post that I had both Thursday and Monday off, so Friday didn't feel too bad working. We've spent lots and lots of time in the cabin, just soaking up the sun, firing up the grill and just generally enjoyed ourselves. Lots of knitting for me as well!

It's been a bit too hot to knit on the wool shawl though, so I haven't gotten much progress on it this time (don't worry Christine, it will still be finished in time). But I managed to finish my St James top!

I'm very pleased with it (although in the photo it looks like my boobs are very uneven. I blame the bra), and I think I've come around on the colour as well. It's been to warm to wear so far, it's made with KnitPicks Palette yarn held double, but I think it will be a perfect spring/autumn top.

Since I finished this one on Saturday, I needed to have another mindless project that I can bring to work, so I decided to start another pair of socks. Yes, I know, I haven't finished the Wrought Iron Socks that I'm manking with my Hokie yarn, but those are anything but mindless with all those cables! Don't get me wrong, I love those socks, but they're a bit on time out right now until I finish the stole. Anyway, I started the Jaywalker socks!

I'm using a pretty old yarn that has been in my stash since 2009 at least. It's Hjertegarn Sock, which I think is a Danish yarn, and it's 75 % superwash wool/25 % nylon (as almost any sock yarn!), and pretty nice to work with so far. I love the long colour repeats, and I think it will work very well with the pattern. I'm not sure if these socks will fit me though, as I had to cast on 76 stitches! That's a lot of stitches! I usually only use about 60-65 stitches for my socks, so these might be too big. Oh well, then I have to find someone to gift these with :)

I also decided that I needed to work on another sweater, as the St James was done. So I also cast on for The Rusted Root top. I'm using another pretty old stash yarn for this, Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, that I got as a gift from the wonderful and overly generous Ulrika.

The yarn is 80 % Cotton/20 % Merino wool, and incredibly soft! The colourway is called Green Olivette, and is probably one of my very favourite colours ever. I think the top might be a little bit too big, but I haven't added the ribbing to the edges yet (naturally), so it will probably fit me better once it's finished. I'm making the smallest size, and I'm going to add some extra waist decreases on this one too, soit will fit me better. I'm also changing the collar, so the neckline wil be a bit deeper and suit my body type better as well.

Ok, that's the knitting. I also got some yarn in the mail yesterday. Yes, I know. But I actually had a reason for this purchase as well. You remember me telling you how I really didn't fancy Wollmeise Lace yarn? Well, it turns out that the Evenstar shawl that I made from my skein is the shawl I wear the most. It's incredibly comfortable, and the prettiest one I own as well. I still am not overly fond of the other colourway I have (Sanguinello, bright red):

I don't really wear red against my face, as it makes my skin look really blotchy, so I didn't know what to do with this one. Now I've decided to sell it, or possibly trade it. Sadly it isn't one of the most coveted colours, so no one seems to be interested in giving me a green skein for this one. That's why, when I found myself actually being able to catch one of the store updates the other week, I decided to buy a green skein of my own. And another skein just happened to fall into the shopping basket as well...

So yesterday I picked up these two gorgeous skeins at the post office:

Wollmeise Lace-Garn (100 % superwash merino, 1590 m/300 g) in colourway Pistazie

Wollmeise Lace-Garn (100 % superwash merino, 1590 m/300 g) in colourway Maus Alt

The green one is just perfect! I still haven't decided on the Maus Alt one, it might be a little too blue for me, so I might put that one up for trade as well. We'll see. I just have to decide what colours I want now that I have my own green skein :)

Anyway, the red one is going up for trade or sell soon. It's too bad that the dollar is so weak, as I think I might have to take a loss on this one. But maybe I can trade it instead :)

/ Jenny

Half-way there!

2011-06-02T12:24:00.000+02:00

Yes, that's right. I've gotten past the half-way mark on the wedding stole!

It's a bit hard to photograph with a flash, the colour looks a little muted, but I think it's turning out pretty good. I just hope Christine likes it too! I finished the seventh chart (out of twelve) yesterday, and hopefully I'll finish another one today. I'm going to make her a small purse/string bag as well, in matching Palette yarn, so I really want to finish this one so I won't feel stressed about finishing the bag in time as well.

I've also knitted a lot on the St James sweater the past few days, at work, and I'm almost done with the hip increaes. Which means that I just have to add the ribbing at the bottom, at the arms, and a collar! Yay! I actually like the colour more and more, so I think I'll skip trying to overdye it. I haven't gotten any newer photos of it yet, it's such a hassle to put all the stitches on string and try it on! But it looks like this photo, only it now reaches below the waist.

Today we have a national holiday here in Sweden. It's Ascencion Day (the day Christ ascended into heaven), and although we officially have no state church any longer, we still have this day as a holiday. So I'm off work! And on Monday it's our National Day (our equivalent to Independence Day, I guess), which is also a day off work. Unfortunately I have to work on Friday, but I can live with that. Two extra short weeks in a row!

Yesterday after work me and Thomas went to our cabin for the first time in quite a while, to mow the lawn and just enjoy the weather. I got to sit in the sun and knit for over an hour, which was really nice!

The flowers are really starting to bloom now, I just have to figure out what everything is! I think we'll probably go back this weekend to do some weed cutting as well ( I just need to figure out which plants are weeds and which are actual flowers...), and just hang out for a while. It's supposed to be sunny and warm (although today is pretty overcast so far), so I think we'll just do lots of barbecue and relax. Perfect! Hopefully I'll get lots of knitting done as well.

Oh, on Monday my book package finally arrived too! I got myself five craft books. The first one was Crochet Happy Amigurumis, by Mia Bengtsson.

This is her third book on amigurumis, and they are all super cute! I still suck at crochet, but I plan on learning eventually. I save all my yarn left overs so I can eventually use them for toy-making.

The second and third books were the First and Second Books of Modern Lace Knitting, By Marianne Kinzel:

These aren't filled with lots of patterns, but there are lots of techniques and pattern construction in them. I really like them so far, even though I've more or less just flipped through them, but I think they will be used a lot!

The last two books were pattern books, New England Knits by Cecily Glowik MacDonals and Melissa LaBarre, and Wrapped in Lace, by Margaret Stove.

I've been eying both of these for quite a while! I think you know how obsessed I am by Stephen King books, and as most of his books are set in New England I have a pretty big obsession about this area as well. Some day I'll go see Derry in real life, and have Maine Lobster! Oh, and the patterns in this book are really pretty as well :)

I also got all of the Jack Whyte books on Camulod as well (Fantasy/History books, not related to knitting in any way), I've just started on the second one. Lots of people think I'm really weird and un-girly to read horror and fantasy as much as I do, but I really don't see it that way. Why should fantasy be a boy thing?! It's way too good to allow the boys to hog this genre. I guess I'm just a nerd at heart :)

And speaking of Fantasy: I subscribe to monthly audiobooks from audible.co.uk, and this month I got Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon. Has anyone read this series? Is it any good? I haven't started listening to it yet, I'm still on a collection of short stories about Vampires, called Fangs, edited by Otto Penzler. This is the third collection on Vampires he's edited, the first one is called Bloodsuckers and the second one is called Coffins. All of them have been really good! I love short stories in general, and these books contain lots and lots of really good authors. I mostly prefer my vampires to be scary and nasty and evil (as opposed to loving and erotic - although I like Anne Rice and her Lestat series), and there are lots of really nasty vampires in these books :)

Yesterday when I got home from work I had gotten a very, very lovely package in the mail, from TessVintageKnits in England:

She had RAK'ed me (you know, the Random Acts of Kindness group I'm in on Ravelry) an awesome box filled with Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate! Yay! I just can't seem to get enough of this chocolate, it's just sooooo good! Otherwise I mostly prefer dark, not so sweet chocolate, but I think the salty combination of peanut butter and super sweet milk chocolate has seduced me. It will last me a pretty long time (I hope...), and I'm so grateful!

Now Thomas has finally woken up and I think we'll have some breakfast (for him) and lunch (for me)!

/ Jenny

Procrastinating

2011-05-25T20:38:00.002+02:00

I really need to go clean the kitchen after dinner (Thomas made Salmon with quinoa and broccoli - very good), but it's more fun to finally get a new post under way! It's been a while - again - but now I'm finally back!

I had my birthday on Monday, but since I was going to work the entire day we decided to celebrate on Sunday instead. I got some good food and some nice presents, and I got to sit outside in the sun for a while too. We were planning to go to the cabin, but after doing some grocery shopping and realizing that I had a ton of laundry to take care of (and don't give me any feminist remarks saying that Thomas could have done it. We do equal stuff around the house, I think he even does a bit more than me, and laundry is my chore. Plus, that way I get it done the way I want to!), we decided against it. Thomas put some meat on the grill here at home instead, and we had a very nice dinner, with rhubarb pie for desert.

Thomas got me a bunch of comics, which was an awesome present!

And my sister had made me a new needle roll, that I had been asking her for for a while:

I love it! And she made me a matching project bag too:

Also, the project bag was filled with this:

Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate! I got seriously addicted to this stuff when we were in the States, but there are only a few stores that sell them in Sweden so it's kind of hard to get. Sanna got her hands on some of it when she was in Gothenburg the other weekend, and I'm so pleased! It won't last long, I tell you!

My parents were talking about coming to visit, but we finally agreed that this weekend wasn't very good for either of us. I'll see them later this summer, so it's ok. I turned 31, so it's not that it's a huge day to celebrate! I was just happy to get to spend the day with Thomas and just relax (even though the laundry did get done too).

Oh, this week we're having one of our bathrooms re-done! Finally! When we moved in three years ago we noticed that the floor in the downstairs shower had sort of sunken around the shower drain. The plastic mat was whole, so there wasn't any leakage, but it was pretty uncomfortable to stand on, plus it meant that the concrete underneath was crumbling. Now, finally, we convinced the landlord that there was a lot of water damage under the shower, as it has only gotten worse with time, so we get a whole new bathroom. Yay! Unfortunately, this means that I'm without a washer and dryer for about a month, but we'll just have to use the neighbourhood common laundry room. We'll survive. We have a smaller bathroom with a bath tub upstairs, so those things we won't have to go without. I of course forgot to take any before-photos, so you'll have to wait about a month to see the finished result.

Oh, and knitting? Actually, I've been slacking a bit the past few days. I've knitted mostly on the wedding shawl, and I'm done with five charts (out of 12) so almost half done. It's going faster and faster too, which is nice, and I've actually been able to knit a bit on it at work too. I haven't gotten around to taking any new photos yet, so you'll have to wait. Hopefully the next time I get back to you I've finished the first half at least.

I've also knitted a bit on the St James top (I think it felt a bit neglected after I mentioned it the last time), and I'm almost half done with that one too:

I still haven't decided on the colour, if I like it or not, but it doesn't look as bad on me as I had feared. I'm pondering whether to put a black bow and black ribbing on it, to sort of mute it down a bit. I'll see what I decide. I think once this one is done I'l probably try and finish my Hokie socks, I really miss those!

Oh, that's right: I also got some birthday money from my grandmother, so I ordered myself some books! When we were visiting Sarah and Chris in the States, Chris bought us a book that he said we ought to read, and I've just finished it. It's Skystone, by Jack Whyte, and it's the first in a series of seven or eight books. I LOVED it! So I've ordered the rest of them (in paperback, I'm not made of money), along with some more knitting books. I think I'll wait to tell you about those until they actually arrive.

Oh, and Sarah: We finally tried the Astronaut Ice Cream. And we both loved it! So you can tell Chris we can still be friends :)

/ Jenny

"Those socks look insane, maybe they would look even more crazy if you...

2011-05-17T18:56:00.000+02:00

... Add toes to them?"

That's what Thomas suggested last weekend when he saw the crazy, ugly socks. So I did.

They are actually so crazy looking that I kind of fancy them! I've decided to keep them myself, as I felt that only a mother could love them, but actually I've had requests at work for making more pairs for some of my coworkers. So apparently someone else than me could love them! I'm not sure if I'll make any more of them though, as I really didn't like the yarn (at least not the colour), but it was great fun making the toes. They are fairly comfortable, although a little bulky between the toes where I've picked up stitches, but I haven't washed them yet so they're still pretty stiff. I think I'll soak them tonight, so I can wear them to work on Thursday at least :)

I've also worked a lot on the wedding stole this weekend. Thomas has been in Borås visiting his parents, and as the weather wasn't very nice I've been inside knitting on the stole instead. I'm almost done with chart 4 (out of 12), so almost 30 % done!

It's looking really good so far, the colour is a little pale in the photo. The beads work fabulously too, they add just enough sparkle to make it a bit more festive. It will be so much fun to block it and see how big it gets!

My poor Hokie socks have been put a bit on the back burner the past week. I'm focusing mostly on the stole when I have the opportunity to work on a bit more complicated projects, and I've knitted a lot on the Cotonnettes socks at work as the pattern was so easy I memorized it pretty much at once. Now that the socks are done I guess I'll pick up the St James top as work knitting again.

Work has finally slowed down a bit for me too! I don't know if I told you, but one of the girls at one of the units I'm working at sometimes broke her arm a couple of weeks ago. She really couldn't work at the lab with a cast, so she got on extended sick leave. That meant that I got to work at her place instead, and that unit is the second biggest in the whole county! There is always so much to do there, much more than at the other places I'm usually working at, so I've been pretty beat. But now the other girl is back, meaning I can get back to my regular schedule. More knitting time at work!

Oh, this weekend while Thomas was away I got to visit with Anna! I went to her place for tea and cookies, and it was so nice! I can't even remember when I saw her last, it's been ages! I guess we live too close to each other, plus we chat online pretty often. But it's so much nicer to get to meet in person. We knitted, chatted and had a generally good time. Of course I forgot my camera at home. Don't I always?

Next weekend my parents might visit, as it is my birthday on Monday, and we're thinking of visiting the cabin if the weather allows. I'll be sure to bring my camera then! We need to mow the lawn and probably clean up in the flower beds as well, but I doubt we'll do that this weekend with my parents there. If they decide not to come, I think me and Thomas wil go there alone, do some fixing and just have some relaxation and barbecue.

Ok, now I think I need to get some food in me before I fall asleep. I'll see you next weekend!

/ Jenny

Knitting in the Sun!

2011-05-08T19:28:00.000+02:00

This weekend has had some amazing weather! I'm so happy that spring has finally seemed to arrive (even though the pollen is kind of a bummer right now), and I've spent a lot of time this weekend in a chair outside in the sun, knitting and just having a relaxing time.

Hobbe has spent a lot of time in the yard as well, and he really loves to be outside when it's warm enough. He only gets to go outside when we're with him, as he's really an indoors cat. And he's the most chicken cat there is, so he very rarely ventures outside of our tiny yard. Although, he's getting more and more courageous! On Friday Thomas was outside with him, and a strange black cat wandered through the hedge. Thomas bent to pet the newcomer, who then promptly attacked Thomas' arm! But Hobbe got into full protection mode, and flew on the intruder and chased him away! Thomas was so proud of the little guy, he's apparently a real guard cat :) (Thomas got some scratches on his arm, and we think that Hobbe got at least one good jab at the black cat as Thomas found some black hair puffs on the walk outside our yard later on, but no one got really hurt)

Ok, on with the knitting! I'm done with the two first charts (of twelve!) on the Scheherazade wedding stole I'm making for my friend. It's turning out really pretty!

At the edges it's supposed to be a lace pattern that makes the triangles, but I've substituted that for beads to make it a bit more sparkly. I just sent some photos off to Christine, so I really hope she likes it! I'm also going to knit her a matching bridal pouch/bag in my Palette yarn in the same colourway, but we haven't decided on a pattern yet.

Yesterday though, I wanted to sit in the sun and knit, and as I need the pattern for the stole, and the same for the Wrought Iron socks, I decided to cast on something new (did anyone say St James top? All stockinette? I have no idea what you're talking about. Am I knitting that one...?). I chose the Cotonnette socks from my 10 patterns collection (I really want to make all of these patterns!), and I picked my insanely multi-coloured skein of Opal sock yarn. Let's just say that the result is... interesting...

I can honestly say that the yarn is but ugly! The colours don't match each other at all, and the striping is weird and the flecks of orange is really wrong somehow. I've used this yarn (in other colours!) for socks for Thomas and his brother, and they are insanely soft after a couple of washes, so I know these will be great to wear. I guess I'll just wear them at home where no-one can see them! Or I'll give them to my sick uncle, who rarely leaves the bed. He has issues with bad circulation, so he often gets cold hands and feet, so I know that they'll be appreciated there no matter what they look like. I'm just glad to knit the yarn up and get it out of my stash! More room for new yarn!

And speaking of new yarn... Yes, I know. My name is Jenny and I'm addicted to yarn. Apparently I can't go more than a month without buying yarn! But in all fairness, this purchase is one that I've been waiting for since early february or something like that. Drops Garnstudio has finally made a lace yarn! It's been announced since forever, and the release has been delayed more than once, but now it's finally out in stores! The colour selection isn't great (yet - I bet that'll change in the future), but the yarn is awesome! This is my Drops Lace in a pale teal colour (colour 7120).

It's 70 % baby alpaca/30 % mulberry silk. Can you believe how awesome it is! 800 m/100 g, and it was only about $13 for one skein! Really cheap, I think. Especially since it has silk in it. I bought three skeins, and I'm planning on using it for an Urdr shawl. It's designed by Anna Dalvi, of Knit & Knag, and boy do I love her patterns! I've bought most of them, and this June she is coming out with her first book, Shaping Shawls! I'm buying it as soon as it comes out, as a pdf download. I think that the Urdr will be the next shawl I'm going to knit, after the two I have on the needles right now are done (remember, I'm also knitting a Panama shawl in purple, which is on the backburner until I finish the Scheherazade).

Now I really think I need to stop buying yarn! I really don't have any room for it as it is, and I really want to knit with the ones I have in stash too. Sometimes it's almost difficult to look at the stash page on Ravelry and see all of the gorgeous yarn I have, and know that I won't get to it any time soon.

Now I'm going to have dinner and watch another episode of Borgias. If you like historic drama, you should really watch this show! It's about the Borgia family that ruled Rome in the 15th century. Lots of them became popes, and it's really political and interesting. Love it!

/ Jenny

Weekend sock update

2011-04-30T12:51:00.000+02:00

The past week has been spent mostly knitting, as my stomach decided to spazz out on Monday night. Nothing bad that doesn't have a godd thing with it, right (that's a swedish saying, I don't know if it translates properly though)? I finished my Devon socks this week:

I call them my Hobbe socks, as Hobbe is a Devon Rex breed. I LOVE the socks, KnitPicks Stroll is really soft and nice to work with, and the colours didn't bleed at all when I washed them. Of course I immediately had to cast on for another pair! I can't go without a pair of socks on the needles! Thomas actually helped me pick which yarn to work with, and he chose the Unplanned Peacock sock yarn that I bought in Roanoke a month ago. The colourway is called Hokie, which apparently is some kind of local sports team (I think football?). That tells you how much I enjoy sports, and maybe especially american sports... We don't have either baseball or american football here in Sweden, it's all about soccer and hockey. Not that I watch any of that either though!

Anyway, the socks! I chose the Wrought Iron Socks pattern from Toe-Up Socks for Every Body by Wendy D Johnson, and I'm enjoying them so much! I had to look up Judy's magic cast on on youtube to get it right, and that really really sucks on dpns (I think it would be so much easier on two circulars, but I don't have two in the 2 mm size, plus I love working on dpn's), but I managed. And after the first two rows, it's smooth sailing. It's fun to work some cables again, it's been a while, and I'm actually already past the heel on the first one!

I was a bit worried that it was turning out too small to fit over the heel, but I've put the stitches on scrap yarn and tried them on today for real (I tried it yesterday with the needles still in them, and promptly broke one of the KnitPicks needles! Thank god I have ten of that size, as I've bought two sets (and broken two of them before this too)), and they fit. It's kind of a close call to actually get them on, but once on they fit perfectly! I can't tell you how thrilled I am about this colourway, and the yarn is a dream to work with! I want to wear them NOW!

Unfortunatley I think they will have to go on a time-out for a while, as I picked up my beads for the wedding stole I'm making yesterday. The stole needs to be done before anything else, so I get it finished in time for the wedding. As I only picked the beads up yesterday I don't have any new photos to show you, but I bet I'll be getting along fine til next time though.

Now, I think I'm going to go outside and get me some sun. We're having the most amazing spring weather here this week, it's so nice to see the sun again! I've been trying to get me some fresh air at least once a day even though the stomach has been arguing with me, and I've gotten some freckles on the nose at least. I love my freckles! I wish I got to have them all year round, but alas they only come out during the sunnier months.

See you soon!

/ Jenny

Happy Easter everybody!

2011-04-24T17:23:00.000+02:00

It's been a while! Last weekend I decided sort of on a whim to go home and visit my parents, and since they have the slowest internet in the world, I didn't even bring my computer with me! The weekend was spent shopping a little with mom, visiting my grandmother, and visiting my best friend and her three boys. She's getting married this summer, and I'm going to be a bride's maid! Yay! I'm also knitting her a shawl, so we decided on a pattern last weekend too. I've cast on for the Scheherazade stole, in my wonderful KnitPicks Shadow yarn in Forest heather (the colours in the wedding will be green and red). Actually, I've already frogged it twice. I started with 2 mm needles, and it turned out too tiny and tight. Also, I tried it with green beads, but they didn't look good with the yarn, so I've ordered clear silverlined beads to match the dress instead. Now I have to wait until next week when they arrive, to continue knitting on it. I haven't gotten a photo of it yet either, since I've made about 3 cm on it, so you'll have to do with a photo of the yarn!

This weekend, as it's Easter, we have Friday and Monday off from work, so Thomas' four brothers are visiting. It's very rare that they get together all at once, so it's great to have them here. They're 15, 18, 21 and 33 years old, so pretty spread out.

We've been playing lots and lots of board games, some xbox and wii games, and yesterday we invited some friends to go out to the cabin with us to celebrate Easter evening. We barbecued (and my sister had made awesome mini cupcakes and white chocolate sufflé), played Kubb, threw some darts and just had a great time. Me and Thomas have been cleaning at the cabin for the entire week, so it looked really nice, and the weather has been awesome the entire weekend too.

We've been sitting in the garden today just enjoying the sun and played more games (and I've knitted a lot too). As my sister lives next door to us she's been with us for most of the weekend too!

Oh, and yesterday morning we followed the swedish tradition of paiting eggs for breakfast!

Last time I wrote, I told you that I hadn't really gotten around to knitting any lace for a while. As I finished writing I figured I actually felt like lace, so I picked up my shawl just to find that the wooden needle had broken! It took two days for a new one to get here by mail, and by then the work week had started and I haven't touched it since. I'm thinking about picking it up tonight though, if I have the energy for it after dinner.

I'm also currently blocking the Chtulhu mittens that I finished two weeks ago, but they're not dry yet so no new photos.

The project I've knitted on today and the past few days (since I couldn't continue on the wedding stole without the beads) is my Devon socks. I'm almost at the toe on the first one (I took this photo this morning so I've gotten a bit farther today):

It's so hard to photograph red! I'm making them in KnitPicks Stroll yarn, colourway Burgundy, and I love this yarn! I love that it's so incredibly cheap, really soft with great stitch definition, very durable and comes in lots and lots of colours. The only thing I don't loke about it is that it is so hard to get here in Europe. Not that I need any more of it right now though, I have PLENTY of yarn to knit through before I buy any more!

Tomorrow the brothers are leaving, I think pretty early in the day, so I think we're going to have a cleaning day. The dishes have been fixed all weekend (a lot more is used when we're seven instead of two!), but there are lots of laundry to be done, and I think I'l clean the bathrooms as weel after having been so many more of us too. The shower seems to run more or less constantly this weekend :)

See you all soon, hopefully with some updated photos of lace!

/ Jenny

Back to the ordinary blog world again?

2011-04-13T14:35:00.001+02:00

It's been a while! I've just been updating with snippets from my new iPad, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE! Thomas was looking for an iPad2 while we were in the States, but they were sold out everywhere (of course). But he just spoke so much about how awesome it would be to have one, that I kind of fell for it. Then I read a blog post from The Knit Witch, where she told about an app called GoodReader, where you can read your pdf files and make comments and doodles on them! That was the sell for me, let me tell you. So we sent out and found the cheapest iPad1 with the least amount of memory and no 3G (let's face it, I wouldn't use that very much anyway), and it didn't cost too much. Now I'm downloading apps right and left!

My favourite is of course GoodReader, but I'm also using the iBooks app to read ebooks. I had no idea there were so many free classics available! There are so many I haven't read, and I just started The Portrait of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde. I also have Rudyard Kipling's Junglebook and Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe in the queue :)

I also bought an app called Knitting and Crocheting HD, which is a kind of knitting (and crocheting) tutorial. It's pretty good, with lots of photos, but I'm a bit surprised that they don't list Ravelry among their tips for knitting online. What's up with that? Is there anything bigger knittingwise online?

I of course also immediately got the app called XComics, to read comic books online. Just Awesome! The only problem is it's so easy to just buy more and more comics, it gets a bit expensive after a while...

I think I told you that I got an app for blogging too, BlogPress. It's ok I guess, but I haven't figured out how to turn the (swedish) autocorrect off yet. And it can't edit the layout of the post, so I can't change the margin alignment into what I like. Or change fonts. But I guess it's good if I'm in a jiffy. Actually, my little pink laptop has started to get very hot when used (I think the fans might be giving up), and it's starting to make a small, whining noice every once in a while. Plus, the other day the charging cord wouldn't work either. I've transferred all my files to Thomas' external hard drive, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if it gave up. At least now I can get by with the iPad!

Oh, I geeked out a bit further last weekend too, and got myself a new Scanner! It's a Cannon Lide 110, and was dirt cheap, but it works just fine.

(And yes, I know I souldn't flaunt all my electronic devices here online. Please don't rob us)

I'm aiming to not having to print any more of my patterns, but I hate lugging my knitting books around. They get all scratched and worn, plus I don't want to draw in them or make notes, so I always end up with lots and lots of post-its instead. Now, I've started to scan my books and save them to the iPad, which will be the only thing I need to bring! Gotta love a paper-less society :)

Ok, are you waiting for knitting? I actually have a finished object for you! When we flew to the States, I cast on for a new pair of socks, the Terrebonne socks from my 10 patterns collection. I started them in Opal sock yarn, the same colourway that I used for the socks I knitted for my brother-in-law this Christmas, on 2.5 mm needles. They turned out HUGE for me, and instead of frogging them I just decided to make them for Thomas instead. I finished them the weekend before last, and he's alread worn them a lot. I think he likes them!

Since then I've knitted a lot on a pair of mittens that I also cast on for on the plane over to the States. This is the first one finished, I'm about halfway finished with the second one too. It's a pattern called Chtulhu mittens (unblocked):

If you don't know who Chtulhu is, you need to read up on you occult knowledge in general, and H.P. Lovecraft in particular. Chtulhu is evil, let's just leave it at that. I'm making these for Thomas to match his scarf that he has (it's storebought), but I'm planning on making another par for his older brother too, who also loves Lovecraft. He and the other brothers (there are five of them in total, Thomas included) are coming here to visit for easter weekend, so I'll ask him then what colours he'd like. I'm making them in KnitPicks Palette yarn, so I have some colours to choose from!

Work has been kind of crazy lately, there has been so much to do! I wonder if people are getting sicker? There has been some co-workers on vaccation, and one girl has broken her arm and is off work for at least six weeks, which means that us that are left get to work a little bit more. It's still fun, and I prefer having lots to do to not having anything to do, but I've just been to exhausted in the evenings to post here! Today though, my stomach decided to revolt (for the first time in about a month, so I'm not really complaining too much), so I had to stay at home. The perk about that is that I get to catch up on the laundry, and write a bit here :)

Oh, were you wondering about lace? Yeah, me too. I guess I've just had too much to do lately! I haven't gotten half-way through the first shawl of the year (remember, I'm officially partaking in the 11 shawls in 2011 challenge...), so I'm thinking I'm not going to bother even trying to make 11. I'll just knit where my fancy takes me, and have fun with it. Knitting is supposed to be fun, right?

Ok, now I think I'm going to wathc a movie on the iPad (yes, I've got an app for that too) and actually do some knitting while the washer finishes it's current load. See you all this weekend, hopefully with a finished (and blocked!) pair of mittens!

/ Jenny

New app for my ipad

2011-04-07T20:18:00.001+02:00

I've just installed a new app on my iPad called blogpress, and I'm trying it out. So far I'm loving the ipad, and it's so much fun to browse for fun Apps! I've downloaded an app called goodreader to read pdf files, so now I can view all my patterns on the iPad as well. The best part of the goodreader app is that it allows me to make notes and draw in the files as well, so now I can mark and cross over stuff in all the charts I'm using. Yay!

I'll just try to upload a photo as well, to see if it works. Then I'll be back this weekend with a longer post :)

This is me and Sarah having lunch at the Cracker Barrel, somewhere on the road between Washington DC and Clifton Forge.

/ Jenny

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

2011-04-06T21:07:00.000+02:00

Wohoo, I have an IPad! It's an IPad 1, but still. Now I just need to play around with it so I learn how to use it! I'll be back this weekend with more info and à little knitting too.

/ Jenny

When do I do the most knitting?

2011-04-03T11:50:00.000+02:00

Today's topic: "Your knitting and crochet time: Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter."

Ok, I think this will be a picture-free post! I definitely do most of my knitting during the weekends. I'm usually too tired to even pick up the knitting from the bag when I get home from work, some days I can make a row or two but more often I don't. So during the weekends I sit in my corner of the couch with either the TV on or an audio book on the mp3-player to keep me company. I have actually gotten so obsessed with knitting that I find it hard to watch TV any more without knitting!

If I have a slow day at work, I can also get some knitting done during the day. Usually, afternoons are a bit slower for us, and one time I actually managed to knit at least half a sock one Friday afternoon! I do prefer to have a more mindless project at work though, so I'm able to put it down immediately if a patient comes along. So my lace knitting is suffering quite a bit this year!

Ok, Knitting and Crochet blog week is now officially over! I'm quite proud of myself that I've taken the time to actually post every day this week, and not just fall down dead on the couch every evening. I do love writing on the blog, but with both being dead tired and having less kntting time to actually make a topic from, I find that I post more and more seldom. I think I'll try to do better!

/ Jenny

Knitting Goals

2011-04-02T13:20:00.000+02:00

Today's topic: "Something to aspire to: Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make but can admire the result of those that have."

I have only knitted for about three years now, and I certainly don't feel that I'm fully educated! I still learn something on most projects I make, and I certainly develop my skills with every project.

One thing I would very much like to try is entrelac knitting. I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of the look of it, but it certainly looks very fun to do. I hope I get around to trying it out sometime this year.

I also plan on trying spinning this summer! I was starting to clan out my wool last summer, but that is a job that really needs to be done outside as it's really dirty, and we had such a short summer last year. I'm hoping for a longer one this year, so I can get around to actually using my spinning wheel. It looks like so much fun, and I have some gorgeous dyed wool in my stash that I really want to turn into yarn.

I also hope I get to be a faster knitter with more experience! I have sooo many patterns in my queue (on Ravelry) that I want to make NOW, and I know it will take me years to make them all because I'm not a very quick knitter. Plus, there are always new patterns coming out, and I just keep putting more stuff in the queue! Since I changed jobs last May, I find I have a lot less time to knit too, which also helps to slow me down.

Finally, I want to learn to knit Intarsia colourwork! It looks so complicated using bobbins, and I bet my colour changes would look really weird as I'm horrible at tension (which might also be a skill I need to improve on). But there are so many projects out there that are really cool with intarsia techique, so I guess I'll just have to take the plunge some day!

Can you believe Knitting and Crochet blog week is almost over?! This week has gone by so incredibly fast, sometimes I wonder if I've been awake at all this week? I'll see you all tomorrow for the grand finale of the week :)

/ Jenny

The dreaded day five!

2011-04-01T21:52:00.000+02:00

Today's subject: "And now for something completely different; This is an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity in blogging to the same level that you perhaps push your creativity in the items you create.

There are no rules of a topic to blog about (though some suggestions are given below) but this post should look at a different way to present content on your blog. This can take one of many forms, but here a few suggestions:

Wordless, photographic post
Video blog post
Podcast
Cartoon/sketch of an idea
Write about a subject from a different perspective (for example, you could write about a day in the life of a knitted sock from the point of view of the sock).
Interpretive modern dance (why does someone always suggest this?)
A poem or piece of rhyming verse
Stop motion animation"

I thought I would just use this day to simply write about something different than I usually do. Frankly, I'm just too dog tired to think of anything more clever :)

Just because it's April Fool's day today, I'll just share one of my favourite jokes with you:

There are two cows standing in a field, grazing. Suddenly a moose flies by. The first cow looks at the other cow and says "Moooo", which roughly translates as "did you see that moose?". The other cow just nods and continues grazing. After about three minutes another moose flies by. The first cow again looks at the second cow and goes "Moooo", which roughly translates as "wow, another moose!". The second cow nods and continues grazing. Another five minutes go by, and then there's a third moose flying by. The first cow then looks at the second cow and says "Moooo", which roughly translates as "There's got to be a moose nest somewhere close by".

Happy fool's day!

/ Jenny

Last part of our trip

2011-03-31T20:08:00.000+02:00

Ok, I think I left you after having gotten my yarn at Sarah's and Chris' house, right? I went through my travel journal yesterday, and I just realized I forgot to tell you about something really cool in an earlier part of the trip though, so I'll start with that. On Sunday morning when we were at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington DC, we came to the part about creatures of the sea, and there was this absolutely awesome display of coral reefs. The museum had had a local knitter's guild hand crafting a whole coral reef of yarn!!!

There was one huge display, and several smaller ones, and they were all awesome! Here's a photo of me and Sarah next to the big one, so you can appreciate the scale:

(And yes, Sarah is wearing my Paper Dolls sweater, that fits her so much nicer than me!) The materials used were really inventive as well, we saw stuff knitted from metal thread, plastics, camera film and pieces of drinking straw, among other stuff. So cool!

Anyway, on with the last part of the trip. On Sunday night we all just hung out at Sarah's and Chris' house, and Chris cooked for us. Let me tell you, me and Thomas have been spoiled rotten with all the awesome food S & C have made for us during this week! This night Chris fried shrimp with rice, asparagus and home-made salsa, and we ate til we almost exploded. Yummy! Plus, we got to take home a new (for us) sea-food spice as well :)

On Monday we went grocery-shopping for the week, and this was actually fun for us, as we have barely any of the brands at home that were found in the isles here. I'm very impressed by the selection of gluten-free products too, I guess it helps that eating gluten-free is a kind of popular clebrity diet as well, and not just for allergics any more :)

Then we went to Douthat State Park, located just a few minutes outside of Clifton Forge, and it was so beautiful! We got to see where Sarah and Chris got married, and the cabin was so cozy and nice!

The first night we barbecued Steak, which was also awesome, and me and Sarah knitted a lot. You might not be as excited about this part of the trip, as it's been real down-time with slow days spent just enjoying the company and surroundings, but I tell you that this part of the trip was probably the best one for us! We got along so fabulously with S & C, and it was so nice to get to relax a bit after the hectic week in NY and DC.

On Tuesday we walked around the part a bit, and had a look at the lake and surroundings. We also played a game of Risk (a strategic board game), which I'd never played before. I know I know, I'm supposed to be a serious board gamer, but somehow this game has escaped me. It was a lot of fun though, and I think it might find its way into our game collection as well.

On Wednesday we all went into Roanoke to have some last shopping, and we picked up a lot of gifts this day. Thomas bought himself some books at Barnes & Noble:

And I bought some cook books (or rather, cupcake books) for my sister:

She had actively wished for books about cupcakes, since that is sort of typical american. She likes to bake, and it was an easy gift to find. The Babycakes book I picked up at the bakery in NY, mostly because it is fun, but since their cookies are gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan (I wonder what's actually in them?), they seem kind of hard to make, so I wanted to find her some books that she might actually use.

I also picked up my very first Yarn Harlot book:

At Target I got some Reese's chocolate to bring home. Gyus, seriously, this is some delicious chocolate! I think I might have to ask Sarah to start a regular supply line of this stuff to our place! I'll send her Cloetta Kexchoklad (a swedish brand that is actually made in Linköping), and she can send me Reese's. Sound like a deal Sarah?

We passed by the local yarn store (you know we couldn't pass that up, right?), where I got to fondle some locally made yarn. Turns out that the owner of the shop (the shop is called Yarn Explosion, I forget the owner's name) had spent a year in Stockholm (Capital of Sweden), which was kind of fun! I picked up four more skeins of yarn:

Unplanned Peacock Studio Peacock Sock Yarn (75 % Superwash Merion/25 % Nylon, 422 m/100 g) in colourway Hokie (this is a local yarn)

Knit One Crochet Too Crock-O-Dye (65 % Wool/20 % Nylon/15 % Silk, 380 m/100 g) in colourway 535

Two skeins of Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lace (100 % Alpaca, 400 m/50 g) in colourway 1425

And I also got two shawl needles:

We also went to a shoe store (I seem to have forgotten which!), and Thomas found a pair of Converse shoes that he loves:

Actually they're not really Converse, they're Levi's, but they look like Converse. Can you believe that I went into this huge shoe store and didn't buy any shoes for myself?! I managed to pick up a new wallet though, that I really love:

After spending most of the day shopping we were feeling kind of exhausted, so we went back to the cabin to relax in front of the fire place and just hang out. There was a HUGE thunderstorm that evening, which was super neat! We watched it from inside, and just enjoyed the fire even more. Popeye, who was with us at the cabin, spent the evening on a cushion in front of the fire too :)

Thursday was our last day, and we spent it packing up all of our stuff (with all of our shopping we actually had to get a new suitcase!), and played another round of Risk (this time I won!).

I think we were all feeling a bit apprehensive about leaving, none of us really wanted to go home again! It was so nice to just have a holiday spent knitting and curling up in front of a fire!

On Friday morning we went back to Sarah and Chris' to get the last of our stuff, and it turned out that one of our suitcases was broken in the zipper! Luckily, Sarah and Chris had a HUGE suitcase to lend to us (which they will bring back home with them after their visit to Sweden next year - YAY!), so we could get all our stuff home. And the airport didn't have to charge us any extra either, neither for the size nor the weight! After having done all the last-minute stuff, we all left for DC. Sarah and Chris drove us there, and we started the day at the Air and Space Museum located just next to the Airport. This was a really cool museum! Thomas enjoyed himself thoroughly, and Chris seemed to know everything about all the planes.

(This is the Enola Gay, the plane which dropped the bomb over Hiroshima in 1945. I was feeling kind of mixed emotions over seeing it: Was it cool to have seen this sort of iconic plane, or is it just a horrible reminder? You tell me!)

We ended the day by having dinner at a local restaurant with Chris' sister Jennifer, who was really nice and funny! After dinner we had a quick look at some of the nearby stores, and then went to the airport to go home. Boo Hoo! Both me and Sarah cried a bit, it is just so sad that we live so far apart! I'm still amazed at how well we all got along, and how much we all had in common.

Our trip home was a LOOONG one, with a six-hour wait in Paris, and there was no sleep on either plane as we were just too uncomfortable and the noice was a bit loud. So when we got home to our apartment late Saturday evening (we loose 6 hours on the time difference), we had been awake for almost 36 hours. Talk about tired! We are still a little bit jet-lagged, but it's getting better.

Ok, now you've heard all about our amazing, wonderful trip to the States! We definitely want to come back, there is still lots and lots to see!

When I get back next time with a regular post (that is not a part of the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week), I think it will be time for some actual knitting!

/ Jenny

What happened to my green cardigan?

2011-03-31T18:56:00.000+02:00

Today is the fourth day in Knitting and Crochet Blog Week! I'm actually kind of impressed by myself, that I've had the energy to blog every day after work this week. That doesn't happen often!

Today's topic: "Where are they now? Whatever happened to your __________? Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity."

Since I'm a somewhat selfish knitter, I mostly knit for myself. I could of course talk about the very cute little sweater that I knitted for Gizmo, our previous cat. He was a Devon Rex breed, which has very short and curly fur, so he got cold if he went outside in the Autumn or spring. He accepted the sweater, and during his last month he wore it a lot. We actually chose to have him cremated in his sweater, so he won't be cold in kitty heaven.

But I think this story is a bit depressing (I'm almost crying writing it, I still miss my little angel very much), so I think I'll talk about a completely different project instead. In October 2009 I cast on for a cardigan knitted from the top down. It was based on a description that can be found in swedish on Tant Kofta's blog, and you can use any weight of yarn (you just count your gauge and calculate the pattern from that). The cardigan was finished in January 2010, and really didn't fit me very well. I don't even have a photo of me wearing it!

The cardigan ended up in the closet, and I never wore it. Then in September last year I stopped taking my anti-depressant pills, and consequently lost the weight that they had put on me. So in January some time I decided to try the cardigan on again, to see if it would fit the smaller me. It absolutely did not, so I decided to frog it to salvage the yarn at least. And now it has become the Asteria Cardigan instead!

This one fits me so much better, and obviously I'm no good without a clear pattern to follow. I'm very happy with my decision to frog the first cardigan, as the new one is one I actually wear a lot!

/ Jenny

Travel log, part III

2011-03-30T21:17:00.000+02:00

I'm not as tired today as I was yesterday, so I figured I'd just get this done. I think at least some of you are probably curious to hear about all of the trip! Plus, there will be yarn in today's tale :)

Ok, so I think I left you when me, Thomas and Sarah were heading south to Clifton Forge, where Sarah and Chris live. We were going to stay one night at their house, and then the four of us were heading out to a rented cabin in Douthat State Park, just a few minutes from Clifton Forge. When we arrived at the house on Saturday evening, Chris met us in the yard with flowers for me and Sarah and a beer for Thomas. Talk about a great start! Chris is just as awesome as Sarah, we have all just gotten along fantastically. I simply can't believe how much the foru of us have in common!

Anyway, when we came in to the house, we were "greeted" by the super cute cat Popey. And by greeted I mean he ran away and hid, but he warmed up to us after a while and came out and said hello. He is just so cute!

Then I got to see all of the yarn I had ordered. As I knew I was going to see Sarah, I took the opportunity to make some yarn orders from KnitPicks and Eat.Sleep.Knit, to avoid the over-seas shipping costs (and KnitPicks doesn't ship to Europe at all). And let me tell you, there were a lot of yarn!

From KnitPicks I got:

2 skeins of Stroll (75 % Merino/25 % Nylon, 210 m/50 g) in colourway Aurora Heather

2 skeins of Stroll (75 % Merino/25 % Nylon, 210 m/50 g) in colourway Merlot Heather

8 skeins of Stroll (75 % Merino/25 % Nylon, 210 m/50 g) in colourway Forest Heather

3 skeins of Shadow (100 % Merino, 402 m/50 g) in colourway Forest Heather

13 skeins of Capra (85 % Merion/15 % Cashmere) in colourway Hunter

1 skein of Chroma Fingering (70 % Merino/30 % Nylon, 362 m/50 g) in colourway Lollipop

3 skeins of Bare Merino Wool Lace Weight (100 % Merino, 805 m/100 g), undyed

4 skeins of Palette (100 % Wool, 211 m/50 g) in colourway Black

6 skeins of Palette (100 % Wool, 211 m/50 g) in colourway Currant

6 skeins of Palette (100 % Wool, 211 m/50 g) in colourway Fairy Tale

6 skeins of Palette (100 % Wool, 211 m/50 g) in colourway Forest Heather

6 skeins of Palette (100 % Wool, 211 m/50 g) in colourway Hazelnut

6 skeins of Palette (100 % Wool, 211 m/50 g) in colourway Ivy

3 skeins of Palette (100 % Wool, 211 m/50 g) in colourway Lipstick

2 skeins of Palette (100 % Wool, 211 m/50 g) in colourway Masala

5 skeins of Palette (100 % Wool, 211 m/50 g) in colourway Oyster Heather

6 skeins of Palette (100 % Wool, 211 m/50 g) in colourway Teal

As you understand, this was quite the armful! But we have saved up for this trip for so long, and I figured I might as well splurge on the cheap yarns that I can't really get in Europe! We ended up packing all of the yarn in those vacuum bags that you suck the air out of with a vacuumer, and it really helped to shrink them down to a more manageable size! Otherwise I could never have fitted them in and got them all home.

Ok, the box from Eat.Sleep.Knit was smaller, but contained lots and lots of goodies too:

Fiberphile Hand-Dyed Yarns & Fibers Super Squish Sock (100 % Merino, 402 m/100 g) in colourway Fields of Gold

Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 (100 % Merino, 349 m/100 g) in colourway Blush

Yarn Love Elizabeth Bennet (65 % Merino/20 % Bamboo/15 % Silk, 178 m/50 g) in colourway Warm Brick

Madelinetosh Tosh Lace (100 % Merino, 869 m/114 g) in colourway Rose

Shibui Knits Sock (100 % Merino, 175 m/50 g) in colourway Honey

SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock (80 % Wool/20 % Nylon, 389 m/100 g) in colourway Pomegranate

Malabrigo Yarn sock (100 % Merino, 402 m/100 g) in colourway Violeta Africana

Can you believe how luxurious I felt with all this yarn! My plan now that I've gotten home is to actually try to knit up half of my stash before I buy any more yarn. We'll see how that goes though...

Ok, now you've seen almost all of my yarn purchases. With all of these photos, I think I'll have to get back to you tomorrow to tell you about the actual stay in the cabin! There are lots of photos from there that I want to show you too, and lots and lots to tell you, so I think the post would be just too long. I'll leave you for tonight with all of this yarn p0rn instead :)

/ Jenny

Organisational skills galore

2011-03-30T20:23:00.000+02:00

Don't you just love the word "galore"? I think it's one of my favourites in the english language :)

Anyway, onwards with Knitting and Crochet Blog week!

Today's topic is the following: "Tidy mind, tidy stitches: How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organisation exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organised at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organised, blog about an aspect of that organisation process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organised stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry."

Ok, I guess I'm a bit anal in my organisation of knitting stuff. Sorting stuff has always been something that I've been into, and keeping my knitting in order takes priority for me. I hate having stuff all over the place! Next to the couch, where I usually sit and knit, I keep a bag that my sister sewed for me last Christmas:

This one is filled with my knitting stuff. All my needles and accessories, and some yarn that will be used in my current projects. I keep my needles pretty organized in here too. Here's where I keep all my KnitPicks Harmony interchangable needles (and my glove needles too):

It's a fabric roll that my sister has also made for me (I have the knitterly skills, she has the sewing skills). It just holds the needle ends, and not the cables, but that's ok. I love the fabric with the little faces on! The cables, and other stuff that I regularly use, I keep in this plastic bag:

It holds some of the cables, my cabeling needles, my stitch holders, measuring tape, and all my fixed circular Harmony needles from KnitPicks (can you tell I'm a bit of a fan of these needles?). It also usually holds my tiny bag for stitch markers:

And my tiny bag for buttons (This one I got from a knitter friend, Margot, who has now moved to the States):

I took both of the tiny bags out of the plastic bag to better show you the contents. The bag also holds scissors, pens, darning needles and needle threaders and point protectors.

The big bag next to the couch also holds my fabric roll that I store my bigger sized Harmony DPN's in:

This one is made of silk, and I got it from wonderful Ulrika for my 30th birthday this past spring. I LOVE this one, the needles fit right in, and I have the exact right number of sizes to fit in the roll. Perfect!

My smaller Harmony DPN's are still stored in the plastic holder they came in, but I think I will ask my sister if she can't sew a new holder for me for these as well. I like having the needles in pretty packages!

Finally, I have a pencil case that my sister also got me for my birthday last year, that I use for my KnitPicks Zephyr interchangable needles, and some other stuff:

This case is so cute! It also holds all of my crochet hooks and all of my shawl needles. Do you see the two wooden ones next to the black with mother-of-pearl head? The two who look kind of similar? I bought both of those in Roanoke, Virginia, on our trip last week, for $6.50 total! More on that in my next travel post!

I also try to keep my knitting fairly organized as well. Each project has it's own knitting bag. Right now I seem to have five projects on the needles. First up are the Terrebonne socks from the collection of 10 patterns, living in a striped Ikea bag:

Then there's the Devon socks, residing in a Roseknits Knitting bag:

And then there's the St James sweater, also living in a Roseknits bag:

My Panama shawl, taking up space in a triangular bag that my sister sewed for me:

And finally, a pair of mittens that I'm making for Thomas, in a bag I bought at a crafts fair here in Linköping last year.

The little figure on the front is a swedish comics character called Bamse. He eats Dunderhonung (which I guess ca translate inte super-honey) to become the strongest person in the world. His best friends are the inventor turtle Skalman (Shellman) and the nervous rabbit Lille Skutt (Little hop). And I seem to have veered off the subject...

Anyway, I usually bring two different projects to work with me (right now usually the Terebonne socks and the St James sweater), and the rest of the project bags get to rest in a bigger bag that my sister also sewed for me.

This bag also sits next to the couch, right next to the other bag holding my knitterly stuff.

I also love to keep my yarn organized! During last autumn I sorted all of it into these boxes that I keep in the bookshelf behind the couch:

I have a total of 14 boxes, each labelled with a number. And on Ravelry (yes, I have ALL my yarn on Ravelry) I have made a note on all my skeins which box they live in! This makes it very easy to find them, and I love it. The boxes are roughly sorted by weight of yarn, but sometimes it was also a question of space. I wish I had the space for all of the new yarn I bought on the trip in these boxes too, but they are all full! Right now I have no idea where to put all of it, but I'll figure it out!

Ok, now you see how obsessed with sorting stuff I am! This turned out to be a really long post, I hope you made it through all of it! See you tomorrow for a new topic :)

/ Jenny