Flurries Cowl

Last week I came across a tread in the Cowls group at Ravelry that there was a cowl kal going on in the Traveling Woman group. So I had to check it out. It turned out to be a kal with 5 patterns designed by Liz Abinante. The kal works like this. The first pattern (this cowl) is free to all. If you complete it by the due date, which is tomorrow, you'll get the next pattern also for free. And so on. Hopefully I'll manage to knit all of them within each due date. Because I really want them all. Here you can see the Previewes & Schedules :)

Pattern: Flurries Cowl
Yarn: Järbo Garn Fantasi #60146
Needles: 3,5 and 5 mm

Friday Flickr Favourites

1. 8/536, 2. winter braids, 3. the round house, 4. Untitled, 

5. week one hundred & forty two, 6. Catching up, 7. gris jan 2012_284, 8. seeing trees, 

9. altounyan2, 10. Fire nystrikka putetrekk, 11. Knitted shawl with crochet edging , 12. the librairy, 

13. not always neutral, 14. Singing Down The Sun, 15. new yarn from quince & co., 16. snowberries

Well, hello there sun. Nice to see you again!

The sun has slowly made it's way down from the peaks of the mountains to the lake the last two weeks, and today we finally could see her peeking out.  She will be lurking in the forest a couple of weeks until she manage to come over the mountain to the left.

The shadows on the wall bring promises of warm sunny days ♥

Yarn Along :: WIP Wednesday

Yarn Along :: WIP Wednesday

Knitting: Still working on the wool pants for Endre. I'm halfway through the first leg and the stripes makes it a bit more fun to knit as I can see it grow. The three new wips are some mittens and socks. The white is a pair of Newfoundland mittens for Eirin. Similar to the once I finished yesterday. The blue is a pair of Jules socks for Hubby and the grey a pair of Owlie socks for Eirin.

Reading: I've read a couple of Harlequin historical romance books since last time. And quite enjoyed them as the guilty pleasure books they are ;) But each night I indulge myself in the world of Jamie and Claire in Cross Stitch. I'm halfway through it and I love this story! Scottish always makes my knees a little wobble ;) The other book, Sister's Choice, have I just started to read, but it looks like it's a good book.

I have discovered audio books now that the kids are at school and I have the day for myself. What a great way to spend the day knitting and listening to a book at the same time!! As audiobooks are rather expensive here, I borrow them at the library. The other day I came across the site Books Should Be Free. There are mostly classics there, and I started to listen to Pride and Prejudice. 

If you take a look at the top of my blog you'll see a page named Around the world in books. In short words I have decided to read my way around the world :) Will take a while, but what a journey it wil be. I have added the books I have already read in the past, but I haven't visited many countries yet...

Mittens

So with the end of January NaKniMitMo Kal 2012 is over. I had planned to knit more mittens than I did, but I guess one always have more plans than actual time to do it all ;)
Anyway, I'm pleased with the three pairs I managed to make this month.The third pair is my Selbu Sea Horse Mitten.

I like my camera, but not when I have to take a photo with red in it... The red is much more darker than this. The photo below is more like the real mitten.

I have knitted a pair of mittens from this pattern before - for Erlend. I think this booklet of patterns is one of my best buys through the years. This pattern is for a women, knitted on size 2 mm needles with Rauma 2 ply. I knitted these with baby wool (4 ply) and size 2,5 mm and they fits my 9 yo. You can imagine the size if I had knitted these on 2 mm. So if you are knitting with other yarn than Rauma 2 ply, check your gauge.

Pattern: 8. Damevott / Woman's mitten from Rauma LVS-5, Selbustrikk
Yarn: ca. 23 g red Gjestal Baby Ull and 30 g black Mor Aase Baby
Needles: 2,5 mm
Size: Fits Eirin 9 year

I really like these. And I have made a pair of these mittens too, last year ;) These was meant to be Eirin's, but they got a little big for her... But she really wants a pair so I am about to cast on a second pair. I can't refuse her when she actually wants me to knit her something ;) That doesn't happen often these days...
I knitted the white "stripes" with 1 k row and 1 p row instead of 2 p rows. So I didn't get the "dots" as there is in the pattern. I think they look prettier this way.

Pattern: Newfoundland Mittens
Yarn: ca. 60 g white Mor Aase Ullgarn and 30 g Labbetuss raggegarn
Needles: 3 mm
Size: Adult, small

Weekending

We started the weekend by going to the library to find some books. Great to have some new books to read when the weather is so cold - again :( We are starting to get a bit fed up now with this cold temperatures... It's been -22C today, so no outdoor going other than to fetch firewood. So the kids have been climbing the walls and fighting a bit today *sigh* Hopefully it will change to milder weather and start to snow soon...
Yesterday I woke up to a lovely surprise. I had been choosen by a random number generator to win three free patterns by Kirsten Kapur in the NaKniMitMo Kal group on Ravelry :) I choose Clepsydra Mittens, Gallus and Sofie's Mitts. I think I'll cast on a pair of Sofie's mitts soon. Think my luck have been used up for the year now ;)
So other than reading, finishing Eirin's mittens and starting a new pair, watch Cowboys & Aliens with hubby, mediate between the kids and try to keep warm, there hasn't been much done this weekend. How's your weekend been?

Twisted rib neckwarmer

Finally some nice weather to take photos in. Although it was mild with just -3C the wind made my fingers feels like icicles the few minutes I was out...

Pattern: Twisted Rib Neckwarmer

Yarn: 86g Candy Skein Yummy Fingering Superwash Sock, Colorway Blackberry

Needles: 4,5 mm

I first used this yarn when I knitted the Dragonfly Wings shawl last year. But I didn't like the shawl, so I desided to frog it. And I'm glad I did, because I love this cowl :) It's so soft and comfy and I love the colours. If you haven't checked out Candy Skein's yarn yet, you should.

Friday Flickr Favourites

 

1. purple birds, 2. I found the best street, 3. PeeBee and Jay the bunnykins, 4. Mittens, 

5. stormy shades, 6. oeufling // twinkle, 7. eve, 8. little fox in winter, 

9. Untitled, 10. My word: Survive, 11. Three shades of gray, 12. Mittens Perianth, 

13. lyingcolor, 14. multi snowflake pile up, 15. Untitled, 16. Untitled

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/ illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a new narrative experience that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. “Morris Lessmore” is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.

Yarn Along :: WIP Wednesday

Yarn Along :: WIP Wednesday

Reading: I'm still reading the same books as last time. And I must tell you that I love A Discovery of Witches!! If you normally  don't read vampire/witch stories, don't let that stop you from reading this book as it has so much more. A lost manuscript, love and suspense in a wonderful mix. I'm almost done with it, and are trying to finish it so I can get it back to the library on Friday. I've also picked up a new Harlequin book - The Conqueror's Lady by Terri Brisbin ;) It's ok to read a few pages here and there inbetween other things.

Knitting: I'm finished with the first mitten and it looks like it's going to fit Eirin's hands :) Hopefully she will like them, but she is hard to please... The cowl I was knitting on last week is done, but I haven't taken any photos yet... The green thing is a pair og wool pants for Endre. He sure needs them as he has outgrown the pair I knitted for him last year.

Weekending

Joining with Amanda for weekending

It's been a cold weekend again, but the return of the sun 

and her painting the peaks pink, makes it so pretty.

I've celebrated my birthday so there have been

some chocolate cake eating :)

There have also been a lot of knitting, reading,tending to the fire

and little sleep due to a little man still getting up early...

Today we went sledding in -18C.
It got quite cold after a while, 

so it was good to go inside and warm up over a cup of tea.

Tonight we had a beautiful northern light,
not one of the most impressive, but still beautiful. 

I tried to capture it, but I still need to learn 

more about my camera to get good night photos...

How has your weekend been?

Wordless Wednesday :: Winter Fun

Wordless Wednesday

More photos from out day here :)

Yarn Along :: WIP Wednesday

Yarn Along ::WIP Wednesday

Reading: I'm switching between Cross Stitch (outlander) by Diana Gabaldon and A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1) by Deborah Harkness. I love them both, but with both of them being books with over 500 and 800 pages I think they will take some time to read through ;) Since I've borrowed A Discovery of Witches from the library I have to try to finish it firts. The series by Diana Gabaldon have I had in my book shelf for over 2 years now... I'm not sure why I haven't read them yet. But I guess it's a mix of other books coming in the way and the fear of them not living up to my expectations...

Knitting: A new pair of selbu mittens. Hope they will fit Eirin when I get them off my needles. The other is a cowl for myself.

Macro Monday :: Hibernating

Macro Monday

Pink socks

It's been a long time since I joined a kal in the Sock Knitters Anonymous group over at Ravelry. But since Eirin needed a new pair of socks and one of the January Challenges is to knit a from designer Erica Lueder, I desided to join.
Pattern: The Weasley's Homestead Socks
Yarn: 65 g Silja strømpegarn #102
Needles: 2,5 mm
Size: 9 years - 56 st

A close up of the rib. It's an easy rib with k2,p2 for 6 rows then p2, k2 for 6 rows.

The leftovers from the pair became three sircles which I save for a new blanket :)

Weekending

Joining with Amanda for weekending.

It's been a lazy weekend.  At least for some of us with bread baking, watching tv, knitting, reading and tending to the fire. Endre on the other hand had no intention to miss a minute of this weekend and have been awake so early... Yesterday he was up at the crack of dawn, at 5... Luckily I managed to persuade him to stay in bed a listen to an audiobook so the rest of us could sleep a while longer. I thought he would sleep a little longer today as he was up so early the day befor, but no. He was up at 6 today and Eirin joined him an hour later.
The cold temperature kept us inside untill today. Over the night it went from -22 C to 2 C, so with wet snow the years first snowmen was built today :) With the change of weather I finally could do several loads of laundry and hang out to dry - love the fresh smell of outdoor dried laundry :)
I've finished a pair of socks this weekend too, but more about them tomorrow I think.
How has your weekend been?

Selbu Sea Horse Mittens

Not much to say about these other than I love them!!

Pattern: Selbu Sea Horse Mittens
Yarn: Silja Strømpegarn, 50 g black and 37 g white
Needles: 2,5 mm

Friday Flickr Favourites

1. basket of goodies, 2. looking out..., 3. yowes4, 4. Untitled, 

5. shelties, 6. starting, 7. Gratitude, 8. four ecru scarves, 

9. 11.11.11:love, 10. Untitled, 11. urchins, 12. Untitled, 

13. a little closer to the end of the rainbow, 14. Untitled, 15. Snowflakes, 16. .

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Yarn Along :: WIP Wednesday

The days seems to fly by here... And I guess the reason must be that we get more and more daylight each days now :) I'm so looking forward to the return of the sun! So what are you knitting and reading this week?

Yarn Along  :: WIP Wednesday

Knitting: I've casted on the second sea horse mitten, so I have hopes to have the pair done my the weekend. And hopefully take some picture in daylight. The pink to the left is a sock for Eirin.

Reading: I've finished both books I was reading last week - and both of them was really good! I've started on another Harlequin novel - Pickpocket countess. I've always thought these novels from Harlequin as trash, but either have I had the wrong impression or they have started to give out better books. Because these historic romance books are good.

It's Brandon Wycroft's duty as the Earl of Stockport to catch the "Cat," a notorious thief who is stealing from rich local homes to feed the poor. Discovering that the Cat is a woman, he changes his plan of action--to a game of seduction!
Mysterious and tempting, she teases him. And, as the net closes around the Cat, Brandon realizes he wants to protect her as well as bed her. But the only way to catch her is to spring the parson's mousetrap--and make her his countess!

The other book is a norwegian young adult book - Heksesot. It's about Ella who is a witch.

Ella does not want to be an outsider, yet that is exactly what she is in the new place. A serious heart disease have led to that she has been a lot away from school. Yet she is better than most, and it is not tolerated. When her mother engaged in alternative medicine, it is yet another reason to freeze her out. But Ella finds a special way to get by on. Witch rituals to help her. And her friendship with Anna.

I came across this and had to share :)

Still cold...

Another cold day in my part of the world. -18C today. So I managed to get very cold on my hands before I managed to shoot a good photo. I really need to knit me a pair of photographer mittens!

Macro Monday :: Mandagstema - Kontraster

Weekending

Joining with Amanda for Weekending... Some blurry photos due to the light this time of year and because some of the photos was taking in the car...

- celebrathed mom's birthday
- with an hour to drive each way, the ds is great to have to keep the kids awake on the way home ;)
- it's been a cold weekend with -21C at the coldest

- beautiful sunset even though the sun have not come back yet
- frost flowers on the windows
- second round of colds, hoping we have had our part this winter...

- love the warmth from our wood stove when it's cold
- homemade pizza
- several episodes of sanctuary, season one with hubby when the kids have been put to bed

- finishing the pair of snuggle socks for Endre
- casted on for the second sea horse mitten
- read out The Lord and the Wayward Lady and planning what book to read next (outlander)

Friday Flickr Favourites

1. *Snow Magic, 2. Ready to eat!, 3. Sound of Waves Shawl, 4. Untitled, 

5. starlight, 6. w o r d s : :, 7. gift set, 8. 26.12.2011, 

9. warming, 10. Charlie's Hat, 11. baaaa, 12. hundreds of wishes, 

13. On the mantle, 14. Winter Rose, 15. december, 16. Annemor 11 : Selbuvotter, 

17. Untitled, 18. Hung at the fireplace, 19. snow white and rose red, 20. A new blanket in the works

Yarn Along :: WIP Wednesday

Yarn Along :: WIP Wednesday

Knitting: No progress since yesterday on the Selbu Sea Horse Mitten... I've changed curtains today and it's not a task I love... I really hate ironing. Anyway, I hope to knit some on them later today. I'm also making Endre a pair of snuggle sock. Living in an old house meas we have cold floors now during winter, so a pair of thick socks is good to keep our feet warm.

Reading: Before Christmas I was so lucky to get a copy for free of Sirkelen a swedish book that is coming out in the middel og January here in Norway. All I have to do is read it and give feedback back to the publisher :) So far it's very good! It's called The Circle in english and it's coming out in english in July. It's the first book in a trilogy.

Engelsfors. Beautiful name, godforsaken place. Surrounded by deep forests where people often get lost and disappear. Six girls have just started high school. They have nothing in common - except that they have the evil in their heels. Now they are forced to work together to survive.


One night when the moon is mysteriously colored red, the girls meet each other in the abandoned public park.. They do not know how they got there or why they are there. But without each other they will not survive.

I'm also reading The Lord and the Wayward Lady. I love historical novels and this is both a romance and a mystery story.

The closest milliner Nell Latham has come to high society is making fashionable bonnets for ladies. But when she's asked to deliver a message to the Earl of Narborough, she's soon swept up in a web of intrigue and scandal!


Marcus, the Earl's sinfully sexy son and heir, tracks down the messenger, little expecting to find her so attractive. Nell is a mystery --- her manners and demeanor are not those of a working girl. And as secrets are revealed and danger draws closer, Marcus has to choose between family honor and naked desire.

Happy New Year

The last day in 2011 was sparkling cold with -22 C. But the sky gave promises that the sun soon will be back :) The snow finally came a few days after Christmas, so we have been out sledding and have had a fire in the backyard. Pictures in our Outdoor blog. I hope you all had a great Christmas and that this new year will be filled with all kinds of wonderful things!!

Since it's NaKniMitMo this month, I've started on a pair of mittens. It's the Selbu Sea Horse Mittens.

Our squirrel is still here :) Since New Years Eve we've had strong wind. So all the seeds and nuts have blown out over the garden. So today when we saw he was here, Endre was afraid he would blow away in those strong wind gusts. But he didn't ;)