Strikkejakker for små tvillinger

Det er lenge siden siste blogginlegg, men strikkepinnene har stort sett vært i aksjon i større eller mindre grad siden sist. Det har resultert i et par ferdige (små)prosjekter, og et par fortsatt uferdige ting. Noe av det jeg har klart å få ferdig var to babyjakker som skulle være velkomstgave for tvillingene en god venninne av meg ventet. Jeg startet i god tid, og skulle strikke både jakke og bukse, men buksen ble fullstendig mislykket. Jeg aner fortsatt ikke hvordan det ble som det ble, men pent ble det ikke. Tvillingene ble født lenge før termin, og dermed ble gaven forsinket... og litt mer forsinket... og ennå mer forsinket. Jeg fikk endelig sendt den avgårde før jul, litt smånervøs for at det skulle være for smått, men det var det heldigvis ikke. Det var faktisk fortsatt litt for stort, så da er det bare å vente på at gullungene vokser seg store nok.

Jakkene er strikket i Abuelita 3-tråds tynn merino fra Pickles, etter oppskrift fra dette Sandnes-heftet. Dette garnet er kanskje min nye favoritt til babystrikk - det er mykt og deilig og godt å strikke med, og kommer i mange fine farger. Savner vel kanskje noen litt mer duse farger for "mykere" inntrykk, men så langt har det ikke vært noe problem å finne fine farger likevel. Fargene på bildene lyger litt. Den ene er i hvitt og en nydelig litt mørk grønn farge, den som heter "Oljegrønn", mens den andre er en dyp lilla med litt rødskjær, den som heter "Advent". På bildene ser de nesten like ut, men det er de altså ikke. Skylder på dårlig kamera denne gangen - vi har savnet laderen til speilrefleksbatteriet siden mai ifjor, og hadde kun mobilkamera da jeg skulle ta bildene her.

Sjal med hullmønster

Dette sjalet har vært på pinnene siden i høst, og har blitt liggende urørt i lange perioder. Det begynte som et ønske fra en bekjent på et tubeskjerf med ca mål 55cmx 160cm, noe som også er målene for dette sjalet/skjerfet. Det er strikket i Faerytale fra Du Store Alpakka på pinne 5. Det er foreløpig ikke sydd sammen i endene - jeg synes det fungerer fint som et vanlig sjal også - men det blir naturligvis opp til mottaker å bestemme hvordan hun helst vil ha det. Jeg er fornøyd med resultatet - mønsteret ble fint, og det er mykt og lunt, og ikke for tykt.

This scarf or shawl started as a wish from a friend, based on modifications from something else I've made. I started months ago, and this project has been resting in long periods when I ran out of yarn and worked on other projects. It's finally finished - only thing left is to attach the two ends together to make it a "ring" - if the recipient still wants that. Time will show if this ends up where it was intended or not, but in any case it's a nice, warm and soft scarf/shawl. It's about 55cm x 160cm, and knitted on needle 5 in Faerytale from Du Store Alpakka.

Blå Sheldon

Endelig ble jeg ferdig med et prosjekt som har vært på "to do"-listen min lenge... Som vanlig ble den ferdig i siste liten, men nå er den gått i posten og på vei til sin nye eier - en herlig liten gutt som snart fyller år...

Sheldon the Turtle er en herlig liten maskot som jeg nå har laget for 2.gang... Jeg vet ikke om det blir så mange flere, for selv om den ikke er så vanskelig å lage, synes jeg den er ganske kronglete og putlete å lage, og montering av masse smådeler er ikke min favorittsyssel. Men når den først er ferdig er det helt klart verdt arbeidet, det bare skorter litt på motivasjonen underveis.

Sheldon fant jeg første gang oppskrift til på knitty.com, et supert nettsted for strikkeoppskrifter og strikketips.
Her finner dere oppskriften til Sheldon, og om dere vil gi ham egen garderobe, så finnes det litt å velge i der også om man ikke skulle være så kreativ selv. Han har til og med sin egen blogg med oppdateringer på nye mønstre!

Slenger inn et bilde av min første Sheldon også - var veldig fornøyd med den også - og den ble gave til en annen liten gutt som nå begynner å nærme seg 4 år... tiden flyr!

I have finally finished a project which has been on my "to do"-list for a long time... As usual it was finished just on time, but now it has been posted and is on the way to his new owner - a very fine young man who will soon celebrate his first birthday! 

Sheldon the Turtle is a cute mascot I've made for the 2nd time now. I don't know if I'll make many more of these, as I find them quite time-cosuming and a bit tricky to make... sewing together small parts is not my favorite pass-time... But - as soon as it is done it's definately worth the hassle - I just struggle a bit with motivation when I'm working on the smaller parts.

I first found the pattern for Sheldon at knitty.com - a brilliant website for knitting patterns and instructions. You can find the pattern here, and if you'd like to give him a stylish wardrobe, then there should be something to choose between too. He even has his own blog with updates on new patterns!

Here's a picture of my first Sheldon too - I was very pleased with it, and he ended up as a gift to a small boy who will turn 4 in January - time's flying by! 

Maskemarkører

Det nærmer seg ferietid, og årets ferieprosjekt er tunikaen som er vist i et tidligere innlegg. Til den trenger jeg maskemarkører, og jeg hadde bare en - i beste fall, ettersom jeg ikke er helt sikker på hvor jeg har den... Jeg har pleid å bruke tråder i en kontrastfarge, men innbiller meg at det er lettere å holde styr på noe man trer inn på pinnen...
Inspirert av G-Anette og diverse varianter av maskemarkører på Epla.no dro jeg på en aldri så liten workshop hos en venninne, og kom hjem med to sett med fem markører. Dvs - fem markører + en sjette med karabinkrok som til vanlig kan holde de andre sammen, men som også kan brukes som markør man hekter innpå masken.
Jeg ble kjempefornøyd med resultatet, og det blir neppe de siste jeg lager - dette var gøy!

It is soon holiday time, and this years vacation knitting will be the tunic shown in a previous post. For this I need stitch markers, and I only had one - at best, as I'm not entirely sure where it is right now... The few times I've needed stitch markers I've only used bits of yarn in a contrast colour, but I imagine it must be easier to deal with markers kept on the needles... 

Inspired by G-Anette and various sellers on Epla.no I went for a small "workshop" at my friend's place, and returned home with two sets of five stitchmarkers. Or - to be exact - five + one, as there's a sixth marker with a carabina clasp on, holding the other five together, but which can also be used to mark a stitch. 

I am very pleased with the result, and it will not be the last time I make these - this was fun! 

New temptations

To Damer har denne uken 30% rabatt på Sandnes Duett og Sandnes Mini Duett, begge 55% bomull og 45% ull... dermed ligger tilhørende oppskriftshefter på forsiden deres, og da måtte jeg jo bla i dem... og falt pladask for denne her (foto lånt fra Sandnesgarn.no):

Resultatet: en kjøretur til Askøy igår kveld, og 11 nøster Mini Duett pluss mønster fikk bli med hjem... Nå er ikke disse fargene helt min stil, så jeg har byttet fargepalett. Jeg både håper og tror dette blir bra! Det er mulig jeg må tilpasse mønsteret litt for at den skal sittte pent på meg, men det må jeg regne litt på før jeg begynner. Blir nok litt venting på dette prosjektet foreløpig - som vanlig har jeg noen andre ting jeg må gjøre noe med først :)

This week To Damer has Sandnes Duett and Sandnes Mini Duett cotton/wool-blend yarn on sale - 30% off. I had a look in the pattern booklet, and fell for this fairly simple tunic with a colourful pattern on the top and bottom. Result: last night I went to the shop, and returned with 11 balls of Sandnes Mini Duett - in 4 colours of my choice. The colours in the pattern are not really my style, so I went for something a bit "calmer". I hope it will turn out to be as nice as I think it will... I might have to recalculate part of the pattern to get the right "curve", as I (as most other women) do not have a "standard shape" that normally fits into standard sizes... But I'll do some measurements and calculations on that before I start, to make sure it's worth the effort! 

As always - I have one or two other projects I have to finish before I start this one - but hopefully it won't have to wait too long!

Finally something new to post...

I am not being very productive at the moment... at least not when it comes to actually finishing up project... I've been working on too many "small" projects now, and I am now looking forward to starting on a big project again - I'll soon cast on for the first sweater I'll be knitting for myself! That story is to be continued though...

I have just finished a project I've been having on my needles for quite a while, and on my "to do"-list even longer. The pattern is Toddler Moc-a-Soc by Bekah knits - very cute crossing of socks and shoes for small feet...
However - I tried to use a different yarn that was thinner than the yarn called for - and thus they don't keep the "shoe-shape" they seem to be supposed to. Can only blame myself for that, though... They are still very soft and cute, but if I am to make another pair of these at some point, I'll try to find a yarn closer to what the pattern calls for.

Babygift

A very good colleague of mine had a son born on sunday. I wanted to make and give a small "something" - and here's the result: A pair of soft babysocks in Drops Alpaca.
The small darling will probably need a few months to grow into them, but at least they're all ready and gift is handed over!

Soft Wavy Baby Blanket

Finally! The blanket I've been working on for quite a while is finally done! Just in time for the due date for the baby it is made for :)

The blanket is made from the pattern DROPS Blanket in wavy pattern in Alpaca. I used the Alpaca yarn called for, but chose different colours, as I had to keep it neutral - don't know yet whether it'll be for a girl or a boy... I am very pleased with the final product! :)

 

A moment of weakness...

My stock of yarn has generally seen more yarn coming in than going out. It's not like I have crazy amounts, but I have quite a few balls I've bought without any planned purpose, or I might have abandoned the original idea I had... especially if that was an idea from another weak moment...
The last few months at least I have been very organized, and only bought yarn that I had a safe plan for. I have yarn for a few projects all ready - and I don't really need any new yarn for quite a while...
But yesterday I had a weak moment and gave in to an urge for putting in an order for new yarn.

This time I've ordere 7 different colours in an Alpaca yarn from 123knit.com. I have never bought this yarn before, but I've seen it, and it's very light and soft. And -  I do have a plan for it - if it works... that's still left to see...

For quite a while I've been dreaming of making a granny-square blanket for myself  - and I'm now starting to get a fair idea of how I'd like it... Ideally I'd like it light, fairly thin and it HAS to be very soft - and that's why I'll give it a try using this Alpaca yarn...it may be too thin- and I may have to use it double - in which case the amount of yarn needed may be far off what I can afford spending on this kind of project - but I'll test out a few different designs and different needle thicknesses, and hopefully I'll find a way that works. I also had to get one of each of the colours I'm considering, so that I can get a proper idea of whether they go together or not, and how I'd like the blanket to be...


If it turns out that this yarn was a bad idea for the blanket, there will be plenty of smaller, cute projects I could use this yarn for - no way this yarn will stay unused in any case!

Earlier project show-off: Babywear

As I haven't finished any new projects lately I'll use the occasion to present another project I did a while ago.
I knitted a set of babywear - jacket and trousers - for my friends' to-be-born baby, size 3 months to be sure it would at least fit for a while.

The to-be-mum picked out the pattern and colour herself - I found that to be quite a good solution, as I would then be sure she'd be happy with the result. I have to admit that I needed some help from mum to get the jacket sewn together and the zip nicely done - if I were to do that myself I'm pretty sure the little girl would never have had the occasion to wear this... next time I'll do it myself! (... at least I'll try.... )

I really liked this pattern, and it's not unlikely I'll make another one sometime if there's a suitable occasion...
The pattern called for Regia Silk baby yarn, which was also what I used - we even ended up using the colours from the suggestion in the pattern book... maybe I'll try a different version next time!

KattensSOS gryteunderlag (heat proof mat)

KattensSOS er en veldedig dyrevelferdsorganisasjon basert på Helgeland, som i hovedsak jobber hardt for å gi hjemløse katter nye hjem. De er relativt nyoppstartet, men har allerede fått samlet en liten bunke suksesshistorier. Mer om KattensSOS og deres arbeid finner dere på nettsidene deres.

Når anledningen byr seg har de stand med salg av ulike håndlagde ting og puseleker til inntekt for organisasjonen. Jeg vil gjerne bidra litt også, men har fundert litt på hva jeg kunne lage... Jeg endte opp med at jeg ville prøve å strikke grytelapper med logoen på, og nå er første testversjon ferdig. Konklusjonen er klar - jeg kan IKKE lage de andre på denne måten - det tar altfor lang tid! Her er motivet sydd på med maskesting, så neste - og forhåpentligvis enklere - versjon blir å strikke mønsteret rett inn... fortsettelse følger!
Denne ble også i største laget for en grytelapp - så denne ble ekstra foret så det ble et solid gryteunderlag istedet, ca 25cm x 25cm .

This heat proof mat is a test product for some gifts for a sales-boot for the charity KattensSOS, who works with homeless cats. I wanted to make a potholder, but I  thought the size (25cm x 25cm)  was better for a heat proof mat. The technique I tried out now turned out to be far too timeconsuming, as the cats are sewn on after knitting the base, so next time I'll try a slightly smaller version, with the pattern in the knitting instead. 

To be continued...

Knitted and feltet cat-basket, part II

Some weeks ago I finished the second cat basket - matching the first one , but slightly larger - around 30cm in diameter (the first one was around 25 cm in diameter).

Apparently the new owners like this one too, and today I received some more photos of these beautiful cats in their new baskets. Two of them have apparently made their property of one each - but just as people they have their clear preferences... the smallest cat wants the largest basket, and the largest cat prefers to squeeze herself into the smallest one  ;) 

Return to my new favorite yarn-shop

The granny-square blanket I'm working on did - as I feared - turn out a bit too small using the number of squares in the instructions, and I need more yarn to be able to complete it. I can't really say I was sorry that I just had to return to my new favorite yarn-shop To Damer to get more yarn....

I ended up going there just before closing time - and as I was the only customer there I ended up staying a bit for a chat with the shop-owner. I really enjoyed the chat - and it turned out we shared not only the interest for crafting, but also the interest in music! Plenty of things to discuss and time whizzed by - and it was long pas closing-time when I finally left the shop.

Thank you, May, for being so friendly and helpful - I will definately be back!!

Knitter's paradise

This morning I've been to a yarnshop I've never been to before, To Damer at Askøy, outside Bergen... and all I can say is Wow - what a paradise for any knitter!
They have such a wide selection of yarn - all different kinds and colors - and a complete wall with knitting needles and crochet hooks of different sizes and materials.

I had a long shopping list for yarn, all projects I'm planning for the spring (or maybe even rest of the year), and I was really impressed that I found all the yarn I needed - in the colours I wanted. There was only one single colour I looked for and didn't find, but the substitute colour just screamed at me, and I'm sure the finished product will look just as beautiful, and maybe even slightly more "fresh" than the original in the pattern...

I won't reveal what all the yarn is intended for at this point - but there's definately nice soft products and many hours of knitting ahead - I really can't wait to get started on all of this!!

Perfect gift from one knitter to another

On Thursday I received the ultimate knitter-to-knitter gift:
KnitPicks Harmony Wood knitting needles and a ball of the softest and most exclusive yarn I've ever seen... 
Needles to say I was thrilled when I unwrapped the present!

The yarn is 70% cashmere and  30% silk - in a soft offwhite/nature-colour. Still haven't decided on what I'll use this yarn for - it has to be something very beautiful to match the quality of the yarn!

The Harmony Wood knitting needles have been on my wishlist for quite a while now, and my plan was to start my collection by buying some today... Well - my friend started my collection for me - with double point needles and circular needles size 3 - perfect for a few of the projects on my "to do" - list!

Knitted and felted cat basket

About a year ago I knitted and felted a bed or basket for my cat. She's been using it a lot in periods, but only if I place it in a place that suits her highness... Placed on the floor she's not interested at all, but now that I've placed it on the top platform of her scratching/climbing post she spends hour after hour sleeping, resting or enjoying the view out the window.

Recently I was asked to make two similar catbeds for a friend of mine, and this is the first one:

The new bed was well received by its new owner(s)
- just look at this beautiful little missis enjoying her "sister"'s new bed:

This little miss here is supposed to share the second, slightly larger, bed with her "sister" -

as you can see - they already try to fit two into one tiny basket:

These beautiful cats are of the breed Egyptian Mau, and belong the NO*Gooseberry Egyptian Mau cattery.