FO :: Socks

I wanted to knit a pair of colourwork socks and I wanted to use a pattern from one of my newest knit books - Strømper. I ended up with the pattern Stjerne over Island. Now the name of the pattern might not make sence to you non norwegian even if I translate it to english which would be Star over Iceland.  I'll try to ecplain. The pattern on the foot (not the stars) is from a well known sweater pattern here in Norway - Islender or the icelander. And when the designer put stars together with the pattern, well, she called it stars over Iceland ;)
It was a fast and easy knit and I'm sure I'll knit another pair.

Ravelry project page
Pattern: Stjerne over Island
Yarn: 98 g Silja and Sisu
Needles: 2,75 mm / US 2
Made for: Me
Size: eu 40

On The Needles

What are you knitting and reading this week?
I'm joining Ginny at Small Things for Yarn Along and Nicole at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm and Craft On.

Knitting: I fell in love with these mittens the first time I saw them on a group on Ravelry a few weeks ago and knew I had to make them. I was ready with graph paper and a pencil to try to make out the pattern by looking at the photos, but luckily a free pattern came not long ago :)

Reading: I finished a book last night, so I picked up Seven Sisters as my next read. I hope this will be a good book as I seem to not like all of Lucinda Riley's books...

Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings.

Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to complete his vision. Izabela—passionate and longing to see the world—convinces her father to allow her to accompany him and his family to Europe before she is married. There, at Paul Landowski’s studio and in the heady, vibrant cafes of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.

FO :: Mystery Mittens

The mystery mittens are off the needles and I like the pattern.
However I am not sure I like my colour choises. A little too much purple maybe.
But Eirin liked them and as they turned out to be too narow for me they are hers :)
I am going to knit myself a pair, but first I am going to look through all the finished projects and see if I find a pair with a colour combination I really like.

Ravelry project page
Pattern: An Enchanting Mystery
Yarn: 64 g - a mix of pt2 and hifa ask
Needles: 2 mm / US 0
Made for: Eirin

FO :: Socks

Two pairs of socks are already ready as christmas gifts -  yey!!
It feels great to have gifts made so early and not have to stress knit in December. I plan to knit a few more pairs of socks and then I think I'm done with gift kitting.

Ravelry project page
Pattern: 64 sts cuff down
Yarn: 67 g Fabel #904 Lavender. The two balls had the same dye lot, but one turned out to have much more darker purple spots than the other. It doesn't bother me that much, but it's a little annoying. But hey, I managed to mach the stripes ;)
Needles: 2,5 mm / US 1.5
Made for: a gift
Size: eu size 39

Ravelry project page
Pattern: Blueberry Waffle socks (free)
Yarn: Fabel 64 g #912 Soft Chocolate and 16 g #300 brown. I tried to make matching stripes, but  I found out that the stripes was going the opposite direction in the second ball, so I just didn't bother... Decided to make contrasting heels and toes instead.
Needles: 2,5 mm / US 1.4
Made for: a gift
Size: eu 42

FO :: Mittens

Would it not be great if you could have a mitten tree in the garden ;)
Maybe, but you'd miss the fun knitting them!
I am still on a mitten kick here and these are the lastest pair of the needles.

Ravelry project page
Pattern: Sydpolen votter / South Pole mittens
Yarn: Sisu and Senjagarn
Needles: 2,5 mm / US 1.5
Made for: Eirin

Ravelry project page
Pattern: Nr. 25 Selbu votter
Yarn: Superwash Sport and Mor Aase Superwash
Needles: 2,5 mm / US 1.5 and 3 mm / US 2.5
Made for: Eirin

Ravelry project page
Pattern: Hannes votter
Yarn: Falk
Needles: 2,5 mm / US 1.5 and 3 mm / US 2.5
Made for: Me

FO :: Butterflies Are Free Socks

First of all, sorry for bad photos.. I tried to take some photos outside, but the light is so blue here now that the colours just faded out as you can see on some photos furher down.
Anyhow, this is socks for me and the pattern is Butterflies are free. An easy to memorize pattern and a fast knit. They have a picot edge cuff which is not my favorite. But I think it looks nice with this pattern.

Ravelry project page
Pattern: Butterflies are free (free pattern)
Yarn: Ida Strømpegarn 40 g white #302 and 78 g purple #336
Needles: 2.5 mm / US 1.5
Made for: Me

This is the first time I have made the gusset decreases under the foot.
I'll have to wear them a bit before I know if I like it or not. But it looks pretty.

Yes, it was cold standing in the snow..
But hey, we only had -10 C today! For the last couple of weeks it has been around -25 C here, so today I could hang my laundry out to dry as it was so "warm" :)

    

Due to temperature changes, everything was covered in frost this morning.

On The Needles

What are you knitting and reading this week?
I'm joining Ginny at Small Things for Yarn Along and Nicole at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm and Craft On.

Knitting: I just had to join the An Enchanting Mystery mitten along after seeing all the pretty cuffs popping up on my instagram feed. So I found some leftovers of finull, pt2 and hifa and clue 2 is done. I like the colours, but the purple shades might be to close in colour. On the photo (which isn't a good one..) it looks like there is just one colour on the hand, but there is two different shades of purple. It looks better in real life.
I have also casted on a apir of vanilla socks in fabel. They are going to be a christmas gift. Yes, I'm starting early this year!

Reading: Det frosten tok (What the frost took) is a norwegian book about strong women  Women who can help each other, but who are on opposite sides in a serious conflict. I've halfway into it and I am liking it, but hopes there will be a little more "action" soon.

The year is 1811. The Napoleonic Wars and the English blockade has led to food shortages , and there have been several bad years in a row. The hard struggle for existence has led to animosity and clashes between mountain farmers and Sami north in Østerdalen . Lea and Marjja are standing on either side in the conflict, but after a dramatic assault on Sami, an unexpected friendship between the two women occurs. They stand together to save themselves and their children from famine and death. Eventually they must also fight side by side, both against the merciless public opinion and the man who is looking for them.

FO :: Saga Eskimo

Saga Eskimo is finished.
It has been a fun knit, but I wish I had knit it faster... Or made a size bigger.
My daughter grows faster than I knit, so it turned out just too small for her :(
I made it tight fitted so she could wear it under her winter coat, but as she has grown it became to tight over her chest.
Oh well. I might find another home for it.

Ravelry project page
Pattern: Saga Eskimo
Yarn: Duo
Needles: 3 mm / US 2,5 and 3,5 mm / US 4
Size: Small
Made for: Eirin

FO :: Selbumittens

The selbumittens for my youngest are done. They turned out a little too big, but it's nice to have some to grow into. They fit me, so I can use them until they fit him better ;) But I think I'll have to cast on another pair in a smaller size so he has a pair that fits better this winter.

Ravelry project page
Pattern: 82-1266 Mittens pattern 5 by Rauma Designs
Yarn: 54 g grey Superwash Sport and 38 g dark grey Mor Aase
Needles: 2,5 mm / US 1,5 and 3,5 mm / US 4
Made for: Endre
Size: woman

     

The sun is slowly returning back to us and are painting the sky in pink shades.
Hope you had a great weekend and may tomorrow be a good start of the week :) I have lots to show you in the coming week. Both fo's (not all happy ones) and wips.

On The Needles

What are you knitting and reading this week?
I'm joining Ginny at Small Things for Yarn Along and Nicole at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm and Craft On.

Knitting: I'm still on a mitten kick and this pair is for my youngest. I have only the thumbs left, so they will be done today. Then I'll have to cast on a pair for my daughter. She has requested owls on her mittens, so I'll need to go pattern hunting. The socks are for me and it is the Butterflies are Free pattern. 

Reading: Evna - the last book in the Ravneringene trilogy or Ravenrings as it's called in english. I love this series and you really have something to look forward when it's coming out in english. And it's also becoming a movie! So looking forward to it!!

Sometimes You Have To Frog...

So this happend to day... and all that is left are two balls of yarn.
These mittens have been in time out the last couple of weeks, while I was deciding if I should frog them or not.

They are the norwgian verison of the How cold is it mittens, and I think both of them are really cool. Here is a link to the norwegian pattern Kaldt som faen.

They fit perfectly around the hand, but I got a feeling they would turn out to be too long after a while.
Here I am about to start the decreasing and they already almost covers all my fingertips, so they would have been way too long. I know I will knit them again. I just need to shorten the pattern a bit.

Our Polar Nights Are Not Dark

Polar nights in norwegian is called "mørketid" and could be translated into "dark times".
Of course it is dark, but the light is incredible when the sky is clear!
Today when we went to our lean-to for some sledding, the sky was blue/purple with pops of yellow. But as it got later in the day, it turned more pink and orange until it looked like the sky was on fire.
Despite the pretty skies lately, I am ready for the sun to return with longer and lighter days!