I'm crocheting!

I just couldn't wait, so about right after I finished writing last, I cast on for my very first Pikmin. I'm using the 100 % acrylic yarn I showed you last time, and it's actually pretty soft. The hard part for me is the actual crocheting, I'm really not good at it! But I have finished the main body and legs on the Pikmin, so now I just have to make two arms, ears and a head flower.

It's pretty fun, although I get a cramp in my hand after a while. I'm not used to the movements you make while crocheting, so I can only do it for a short time before I have to take a break. I'm planning on making a blue one and a red one too, while I'm at it. A whole Pikmin family!

This weekend I mainly worked on the Parcel sweater though, so now I've finished the body and started the first sleeve.

It fits me almost perfectly, although I've only tried it on while not wearing a bra. I think it will be fine anyway! In the photo the sleeve cap looks like it's a little bit scrunched up, but that is because the cable pattern started on the first row and pulls the cap together. It will block out. I like the sweater a lot, and it will definitely be very warm to wear this winter!

I've also been knitting a bit on the vanilla socks that I'm making from the Mind the Gap yarn, and I've finished the first of the socks:

The sock is amazingly pretty, and I love all the colours, but I'm just not overwhelmed by the yarn. It is a bit on the thin side for a fingering, and a bit too stiff for my taste. I'll probably wear them a lot anyway, as they are so cool, but I won't be buying this yarn again.

Yesterday when I came home from work I had gotten the final shipment in the Hunger Games yarn club from Friday Studios. The yarn this time is a little bit more luxurious, it's her Saturday base which is 80 % Merino/10 % cashmere/10 % nylon, and the colourway is called The 75th Arena:

It represents all the tropical colours of the last Hunger Games arena (in the final book), and I really, really like it! This has been a very good club, and if Frida has any more themes that I'd enjoy (the next one will be Breakfast at Tiffany's, which is a movie I've never seen, so I chose not to join), I'll definitely consider joining again.

And speaking of clubs: Mad Color Fiber Arts will be starting sign-ups for her next round of yarn clubs newt week. The coming three months will be themed Browncoats (which of course is about the TV show Firefly), and I'm very tempted to join. The problem is that I still haven't gotten the first two shipments of this round of club yarn. When the first month's yarn didn't show up I contacted Heather on Ravelry, and it turned out that she had completely missed my order. This is fine, I know that we're all human and it's easy to miss stuff sometimes. Heather was really nice about it too, and apologized profusely  As she didn't have any more of the yarn dyed up, she had to make a new skein for me. She then sent it together with the second month's yarn, but I think the package is probably stuck in customs. If the yarns had been sent separately, the packages' values would have been marked as below $30, which is the amount that I don't have to pay customs for. But as the yarns were combined, I'm guessing that Heather put the actual value of both skeins on the envelope, and then it gets held up in customs. Which sucks. I know that this isn't Heather's fault, but it still irritates me somewhat, so I'm thinking I won't join in for the next three months. We'll see.

Finally, today I got another book package in the mail. I've been buying books like crazy lately, but most of them have been very good. First, I got the package with the new Joe Hill book, Nos4A2, which was AMAZING, by the way! I usually say that I'd leave Thomas for Stephen King, if he only promised to keep writing for me, but I think the same might be true about his son too (and possibly about Neil Gaiman too...). He is such a good writer, and his comic book, Locke & Key, is the best comic I've ever read. The last two issues will be out this summer, and I can't wait!

Anyway, while I was waiting for that package to arrive, I re-read some Dianna Wynne Jones books, the main one being Howl's Moving Castle. If you haven't read that one you really should. It's such an amazing book, and the anime movie does not do it justice at all. I happened to look the author up on Fantastic Fiction, and discovered that there was a sequel that I hadn't read, so I immediately ordered more books. I'm planning on slowly getting all of the books by Dianna, as I really, really love her. It's a shame she isn't around any more.

Then, on my birthday, Thomas had gotten me three more books. And today I got yet another, albeit small, package of books! This one contains the new Stephen King book, Joyland, so now you know what I'll be doing for the rest of the week! I also got a knitting book that I've had my eye on for a while, Cast on, Bind off by Cap Sease. It's a really good reference book about cast-ons and bind-offs (obviously), which is actually something that I'm really lousy at. Or maybe lazy. I just keep using the same starts and finishes to most of the stuff I make, and I thought this book might inspire me to try some new things. 

Now, I'm going to go put on my PJ's and start m new book. See you in a couple of days, possibly with some more knitting contents. And there might possibly be a package on it's way from Germany with some more Wollmeise yarn. You never know!

/ Jenny

It's been a long week

I don't know if I'm coming down with a cold or something, but I've been feeling unusually tired this past week. Mostly, when I get home from work, I just fall asleep on the couch, so there has been very little knitting done. But I have some stuff to show you.

Last weekend I went home to my parents to help with tending their woods. About a year ago my grandfather suffered  a small stroke, and he is getting more and more senile since then. He still recognizes us all, and he is involved in conversations, it's just that he moves around very very slowly, and some stuff has disappeared for him. He's still more or less himself, but he can't take care of his land any longer, so my parents do that for him now. And last weekend it was time to plant new fir plants in the woods, and they asked if me and my sister would help. And we did. It was VERY hard work, and it was incredibly warm the whole weekend too, but we managed to get most of the plants in the ground.

I also finished the first of my House Targaryen socks while I was at home:

It is knit in Fibernymh Dye Works Bedazzled yarn, and I really like it. I offered to give the pair to my mom instead of the ugly and uncomfortable Carousel socks I finished a while ago, but when I told her that she needed to hand wash them, she opted out. I think I'll give her the Gördes socks instead, once they're finished. I have turned the heel on the first one, but I didn't bother to take a new photo of it as there is so little change since last time.

I have worked a little bit on my Parcel sweater too, but not enough there either to bother with a new photo. So far this year I've managed to finish three projects each month, but May might look like it will be less. I've only managed one project so far (the Carousel socks), and if I want to finish two more I really need to pick up my pace! Ideally I would love to finish the sweater, but I know I won't make that in a week. I think I'll aim at finishing the stripy socks and call it a day. Maybe I'll try to finish four projects next month...?

At the beginning of this week I got two very nice packages in the mail too. The first was the May shipment of the 7 Degrees of Kevin Bacon sock club from The Knitting Goddess. 

The yarn is 4 ply sock yarn (75 % superwash merino/25 % nylon, 425 m/100g), and the colourway is called Knit Me. I believe the inspiration comes from the Alice in Wonderland movie, and I have to admit that I find the colour a little boring. But that's ok, I have loved the other four skeins I've got in the club, and I think it's almost impossible to love all twelve skeins. The pattern that came with the yarn is called Vorpal, and they are pretty. Vorpal is apparently the sword that Alice uses to slay the Jabberwocky, if you were wondering (I was, and I had to google it!).

The other package I got contained books, the most important one being "NOS4A2" by Joe Hill. He is the son of Stephen King, and in my eyes he is almost as good as his father. I have read all his books so far (there are only four), and his comic book Locke & Key is the best comic I have ever read (possibly it shares the first place spot with Sandman by Neil Gaiman). And that book might also have something to do with why I haven't written here in a while. I finished it the other day, and it was super good!

The package included some other fiction, and also one knitting book. Or rather, a knitting box. I got The Little Box of Socks, by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott. It contains 20 patterns that are all printed on individual cards that you can easily bring with you in a knitting bag. The box has lots of patterns that will go very well with variegated and self-striping yarn, and I like it a lot.

Then Thursday was my birthday (I turned 33, so nothing very special), and on Wednesday my sister came here to help me bake some cakes to bring to work, and we spent most of the afternoon baking and chatting. She gave me the Gilmore Girls DVD box (which I had put on my wishlist), and we watched the first episode while we had dinner. I still love that show! And the cakes turned out really good, chocolate covered with raspberry mousse.

On Thursday morning Thomas gave me some gifts too, mainly some more books that I had wanted, by three different Swedish horror writers (John Ajvide Lindqvist, Frida Arwen Rosesund, and Mikael Strömberg). And believe it or not, he actually got me some knitting! I got a Knit Kit, with "Everything you need to knit your own Boot Cuffs". The designer, Louise Butt, is on Ravelry, but this particular design isn't. There are some other fun kits there though!

I think the yarn that comes with the kit is really cheap acrylic, but I love that he actually got me something knitting related! I'll have to knit them pretty soon I think, as I think they seem pretty fun. And fast! The kit includes two skeins of the yarn, a pair of straight 5 mm plastic needles, instructions for knitting and the pattern, and a HUGE tapestry needle.

As Thomas was working late on Thursday, we didn't really do anything special, so we're planning on going out for dinner tonight instead. I think we'll go to a Japanese restaurant, if I can be bothered to actually shower and put on clothes today :)

/ Jenny

Happy First of Advent

Today we're celebrating the first of Advent here in Sweden. Which meant that I spent most of yesterday putting up all of our Advent and Christmas decorations. We put lights in all of our windows, either in the shapes of candelabras or hanging stars.

It's very pretty, and it really helps fight the darkness that arrives here in wintertime. We also had our first snow this week, and it's been really cold the past couple of days. I'd much rather have snow and cold than soggy and grey though, so it's ok.

Today I went to a Christmas market with my sister and her friend, and even though it was very cold it was also very cozy. It took place in Old Linköping, which is a part of town where lots of old buildings have been saved, and it has lots of old-fashioned shops as well. I bought some chocolate and some small Christmas ornaments.

This is a Lucia procession, with a Lucia with a crown of candles, a maid with glitter in her hair, and a starboy (he's the one with the cone on his head). In Sweden we celebrate St Lucia day on the 13th of December by having Lucia processions. The people in the procession sings Lucia songs, and Lucia is also called the lightbringer. It is very pretty, and I'll link you to the one that will be on Swedish television on the 13th so you get to see one. I always took part in the processions when I was in school and in the student choirs, it is so much fun!

I also found the cutest little ear rings!

I know I can't wear these all year round, but I figured they were cute enough to warrant the few days around Christmas when I can show them off. Both these and the Lucia procession are made from clay.

I've also made a lot of knitting progress, and so far I'm sticking to the Crazy KAL! I'm still waiting on the stuffing for the cube, so it's still lying in its bag, but I think that will arrive some time this week. Thomas will be away for Tuesday and Thursday night, so one of those days I'll finish it.

I also finished and blocked the Serina Cardigan!

I haven't worn it yet, as it is a bit too cold here right now for a fingering weight cardi, but I like it a lot! It is one of those patterns that looks good both open and closed, and I chose to not make any buttonholes so I'll wear it with a shawl pin. I'm planning on wearing it on both Christmas and New Year's.

Since I finished that one, I've been focusing on the Omelet shawl. I'm really enjoying the pattern, but I'm growing a bit tired of the yarn. I'm using Färgkraft SoftBlend, which is a Swedish yarn. It's 100 % wool, and it's a little bit too scratchy for my taste. I hope it softens a lot with wash and wear, but right now it's a little bit rough on my hands. I'm about half-way done I think, but as the rows grow longer and longer it feels like it's taking me forever. I've knit almost two repeats of chart B this weekend though, and once they are done I'm moving on to chart C (and then D and E too...). Hopefully I'll finish it by Christmas too.

Today was also the start of the sock KAL that Clare Ellen is hosting on Ravelry, and I couldn't help myself so I signed up. I told her in advance though that I would probably not be able to partake in the actual KAL that closes on December 21st, as I have to finish my other stuff first if I want to finish the Crazy KAL, and she was fine with that. So I don't think I'll start those immediately. I chose the Ill Met By Moonlight socks, and they are very pretty. I'll probably buy the whole e-book once it's out.

Oh, and did I mention my AWESOME Christmas gift I'm getting from my parents? They're giving me a membership in the Cookie A Sock Club 2013! I'm so very happy about this! I've put it off for two years, thinking it's too much money to fork out right before Christmas, but this year I asked them if they would consider giving it to me instead. This might be the best gift I've ever gotten!

Ok, I'd better get back to knitting on the shawl if I ever want it finished. I'll probably be back sometime next week with another podcast episode. I'm looking into getting it on iTunes, but I think I want to make some more episodes to decide whether I like it or not first. Also, I need to get a better camera!

/ Jenny

Last day of vacation

Yes, tomorrow I get back to work again, after having had three weeks off. After preparing for the big party for the first week, then having a house full of people for almost all of the second week, the last week has been spent mostly on the couch or out by the pool. I just wish we could have had more days with nicer weather! But I've gotten a lot of knitting done!

I'll start by showing off my most recent purchases though. A couple of weeks ago I bought myself a new sock book (like I needed more!): Folk Socks by Nancy Bush. 

The socks in this one are really gorgeous, and there is lots of technique talk in it as well. 

I also got myself a book that I've been looking for for a while: Think outside the Sox, edited by Elaine Rowley.

This one is just so much fun! There are so many wonky techniques in it, and many, many gorgeous patterns as well! A lot of it looks pretty difficult, but the instructions seem very clear, with lots of explanatory pictures as well. Plus, there is always YouTube!

I also caved in and bought myself even more yarn this past week! I was just itching to cast on for the Bigger on the Inside shawl, and I didn't have any fitting blue yarn in the stash. Believe it or not! But blue is one of those colours that I very rarely use, other than jeans, so I don't have very much yarn in that colour either. I was going to get myself some Cascade fingering yarn, but the colourway I wanted was out of stock, so I bought some swedish yarn instead, Kampes 2-ply wool (300 m/100g, 100 % wool, colourway Cobolt Blue). And the colour is just perfect!

It is almost perfect TARDIS blue, even though it looks a bit bright in the flash photo (rainy days here), and I'm already almost half-way through the shawl! It's sport weight and just flies off the needles. Although the picking up of 431 stitches didn't really fly by...

It's hard to see what it looks like, since my only 3 mm needle is a bit short, but it will be gorgeous. I don't know what I'll wear it with, as I don't really own much that match with this kind of bright blue, but I'll solve it somehow.

I've also been working a lot on the Urdr shawl, and that too is looking like a bowl of wet noodles as it's still on the needles. I'm not sure that this yarn (Garnstudio Drops Lace, 800 m/100 g,  70 % alpaca/30 % silk),  is working with nups, but the problem is that I don't think that they'll show up so it won't matter if they're there. I'll do them anyway and hope that the blocking will sort it out.

This past week I've been trying hard not to sleep too long in the mornings, since I need to be able to get up for work next week, and I've been listening to a lot of podcast novels on iTunes while Thomas has slept. I really love the concept of free podcast novels! I've listened to a lot of Scott Sigler before, and I really enjoy his books! Right now I'm listening to The Leviathan Chronicles, by Chrisof Laputka, which is really more of an audio drama (think of the old times radio shows, like War of the Worlds!), and it is very good. If you're into sci-fi and audio books, I really recommend this one. I think it might be available on Audible as well, but I haven't checked so I'm not sure. I know that Scott Sigler is on Audible, at least.

Oh, and I actually have some pretty important news too! We've added another person to our little family! Let me introduce you to Toki Wartooth, our brand new little Devon Rex kitten:

Isn't he gorgeous! He's 16,5 weeks old, and completely crazy and energetic. When he's not sleeping. Hobbe hasn't really decided what to make of this little hurricane yet, but they're getting friendlier and friendlier. They only hissed at each other the first day, and now they're chasing each other around the house and playing together. As they started washing each other the other day I think they'll be good friends eventually. We're just so thrilled to finally have a little kitten again! I'm just trying hard to teach him that yarn is NOT a toy in this house!

Now I need to go wind some more yarn, as my first skein of Kampes is almost used up. Let's see what Toki makes of the ball winder and swift...

/ Jenny

I'm not even going to bother making excuses

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

Half-way there!

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

Last part of our trip

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