..and I'm back

As you can see, I've been busy. 10 Christmas presents down, 2 to go.
3 of them have even been wrapped. Talk about efficient, it's only November 1st.

And finally I have managed to start something for myself. A lot of things actually. The blue Fetching set in the pic above "became" mine a very cold morning this week, and they are lovely to wear. I don't know what I did before I discovered Malabrigo.

The new shawl I am working on is the Aeolian from Knitty.com, and it looks a lot harder than anything I have ever knitted before, but so far it has been pretty easy.

I also got some of the new Sandnes Mini Palett, which sort of looks like Noro Kureyon, but it's thinner, has less veg matter, and a lot less itchy. I have only seen it in 4 colours so far, and I got 3 of them. I have started a pair of socks in simple 2x2 rib in the black/grey one, can't wait to see how it comes out. I started this sock yesterday, when I spent the entire day with my grandmother. My grandfather is in the hospital again, so I kept her company, and made her dinner. We had such a lovely time, and it really made up for rather a rotten week.

Hopefully she'll love the Christmas present I made her, it's the light green Swallowtail pictured above. I just love the feel and the colour of it, it's one of the yarns I got when I went to Hereford. I really hope I can go back there, and buy the rest of the shop sometime, as I pretty much emptied half the shop last time I was there.

I've been trying to find a nice pattern for the blue cotton/cashmere yarn I got at Pinnsvin design, I'm looking for a cardigan that suits the yarn, and that is a lot trickier than I thought. Hopefully that is something I can work on after Christmas.

Anyway.. my tea is getting cold, I better go do something about that.

All I want to do is knit some lace

..I've got a feeling I'm not the only one.. Yeah I know that was bad, but Coldplay has driven me insane.. or their warm-up band, it's hard to tell the difference when you can only hear the bass, and it's seriously starting to piss me off. Even Metallica weren't this loud.

My current project is socks for a friend of mine for Christmas, and all though it's slightly interesting as I'm making my first toe-up socks ever, I just want to get back to my lace. I think it's turned into an obsession


These are my latest FO's, the black Ishbel is a Christmas present for my best friend Therese, and the yellow was given to Janet for her 50th Birthday. I hope she really liked it, it was so fun to make, and I managed to finish it in 10 days. And you really can't beat a shawl modelled by a peach tree.


I really want to make another Swallowtail for myself, but I don't really have time before Christmas, I think I've bitten off too much when it comes to my Christmas knitting, but I'll do my very best to get it all finished. I'll probably be in a crazy panic in about 3 months. And I still haven't finished the scarf for my aunt's 50th.

The bass outside has turned a bit moodier now, so I suspect this is Coldplay, and not the warm up band. I hope they finish early, I really can't listen to this for 2-3 hours without going nuts.

10 days left until I have another week off, going to England again for another 10 days. This time I'm going to knitting shops, and I'm probably going to spend way too much money. But a girl needs a good yarn stash.. at least that's what I'm telling myself.

Birthday, and 200.000 unfinished projects.

Anyone for birthday cake? There has been a lot going on lately, so I have completely neglected my blog it seems. And now my head is completely empty, so a few pictures is all I have to offer.



A birthday present, and 4 of my current projects. Starting at the bottom left Ishbel by Ysolda Teague, Kid Silk scarf from Drops/Garnstudio, Springtime Bandit by Kate Gagnon, and Peacock Tail and Leaf Scarf by Nancy Bush (Rav links). The Springtime Bandit is for me, the Peacock Tail and Leaf Scarf is for my aunt, the Ishbel is for a friend for Christmas, and the Kid Silk Scarf is another Christmas present I suspect.

I should never have counted the weeks until Christmas on my calender at work, now I feel stressed about my Christmas knitting already. Good thing is that all the yarn has already been purchased, so it looks like a very cheap Christmas. I just have to get something for all the men, somehow I don't think they want lace shawls or alpaca wrist warmers. It looks like it'll be a very Ishbel Christmas all around, which is nice, as it seems nice and quick so far, and I have to declare my love for Malabrigo Lace. The stuff is sooo soft and so lovely, I want to knit a giant bed out of it and never leave. Good thing I have 19 days off left or something, so I can get all my Christmas knitting done... and possibly sleep.

England, Baby!

Holidaaaay :D 2 glorious weeks off work.
I flew over to Gatwick on Friday, directly from work, and am now currently relaxing in a huuuge bean bag called "Fat boy".. I need one!



This is my holiday sock, hopefully there should be two done before I go home next Monday. They are Socks that Rock in Purple Rain, in sort of this pattern, without the silly top edge and the dodgy heel.

We should have been in Birmingham by now, but Simon's car is special, so the garage can't find out what clutch it needs, they are trying out the third one now I believe, so we can't go before tomorrow, and that means I miss all the bead making stuff that was planned for today :(
Hopefully we can do some stuff tomorrow too, and we also have a load of cakes to make.



One of the best things about England is the cheap stuff, fruit, clothes, anything. So of course someone went slightly overboard in Sainsbury's *cough*. Couldn't have been me..



Oh yes, and this awesome thing. Pink ice cream van. I want one :D

Laced up

Ok, this is how far I have gotten. I'm loving this pattern, it is so calming to knit, even with the about 5 mess ups I've had so far. After about 2 repeats of the main chart, I was sure it would look like dog sick, but it's starting to look really pretty again, thank God. I made a major mistake though, I started calculating how long it would take me to knit this. This is based on how much of an episode of Cast-On I had listened to at the end of the repeat. Approx time for one repeat is 40 mins. This pattern calls for 32 repeats, and the edging on both sides.. So a total estimate is about 24 hours of non stop knitting. This is a really scary concept considering how many hours of knitting I have each day. Hopefully I'll finish it before my aunts 51st. birthday, but you never know.



This is my holiday knitting project, I have decided. I'm going away to England for a week in about 3 weeks, and I have decided to knit a pair of socks to remind me of seeing all my friend, and probably getting absolutely hammered in Birmingham. My mum knitted a pair of socks with her Socks that Rock, and I might have to ask her to write down the pattern for me, as it was so cool. Ofc we don't like the same heels and toes, but the main pattern is so pretty.

I had a little google moment earlier, as I was talking to a friend about knitting socks for others, and was slightly scared when I discovered that there are an average of 34.ooo stitches in each pair of socks. No wonder I don't knit many socks.

Then I started thinking about my mother telling me that people at her work wanted to pay her to knit things for them, but that she never accepted. Considering how many hours it takes, it just isn't worth it. Knitting something as a present is fine, then you can put it down if you decide you hate it, and pick it up again if you want, but if someone has paid you to make something, you have to finish the damn thing. Imagine what I'd have to charge for the scarf I'm currently knitting. To make decent money, I'd have to charge £400 for it, at least. And noone would ever pay that much for a simple lacey scarf.

And yet when I make birthday or Christmas presents for family and friends, I feel like I have to give them something in addition, as the yarn is so cheap. Maybe I should sit down every time I knit a present and work out how much I'd have to charge for that item, and then I'd appreciate the hard work, and not feel like I need to spend more to have a decent present.

Brenda Dayne from Cast-On has been talking about fiber artist having to appreciate their own work more, and charging more for it, as people will be willing to spend a little more for something hand made. But then will people appreciate the time knitted items take? Most non knitters might not realise how much time and effort a simple scarf takes, and think it's a cheap and easy present. It's not that I need them to know exactly how much effort it is, but I don't want anyone to think that I'm just giving them something home made because it's cheaper and easier than to buy them something. And what if they don't like it? Then it is totally worthless to them. How do you know who to knit for? And what to knit?

Wristwarmer mania

As you can see, I've been busy. Everyone wants the Yummy Mummy Wristwarmers.. I have loved knitting all of them except the beige, I just really despise the colour. But it was requested, so what can you do?

I got waaay too excited today when I went to check my blog for the first time in ages, and the woman who wrote the patterns actually left me a comment :D I'm such a dork. I do so love this pattern, and now my mum wants a pair, and I still need to make one for myself.. I'll be knitting these until I'm 105.



This is my current tricky project, I've been so inspired by some of the pics of lace from this book that I had to get it. I'm making the Peacock tail and leaf scarf for my aunt for her 50th birthday. I'm already about 3 weeks late, but I showed her the yarn and the pattern and she loved it.

And of course the lace knitting has provided me with a new obsession.. lace weight yarn. I really shouldn't get more yarn, as you can see from the pic below, but it's sooo pretty, and I just want to hug it. I should really save up for my holiday... but I'm addicted to WildFireFibres yarn. Do not buy the Mermaid Lace in Delle or Silver Forest, they are miiiine.. they just don't know it yet. Unless of course you are looking for a birthday present for me ;)



My dad gave me some presents before he went on his holiday/pilgrimage to the Porsche museum in Stuttgart (?). A collapsible picnic basket (that black thing) and a torch/smoke detector/howling thing. It is very scary, I'm keeping the batteries far away from it... You never know, it might go off randomly.

Tomorrow the new secretary starts (the beige wristwarmers are for the "old" one), and I have to show her around. I'm so excited about it, this means I can do more of the fun stuff, and less of the making coffee. And I get to sit in my nice office with the desk that goes up and down. and my panda. And the scary scary plant, I'll do a little photo montage of it at some point, it's growing like mad. A few weeks ago it looked a bit like the Donald's hair, and now it looks like a glam rock wig. I think it's aiming for world domination. Fear the plant of DOOOOOOM!

Oooh pretty flower...

I've had a few days off lately, and I'm so relaxed, and I got so much done.



I also got some shopping done, this lovely gadget is one example. I've managed to make 3,5 wrist warmers, almost finished my Austevoll shawl, and I even had a look at my monkey sock before I put it back in the knitting basket. The first wrist warmers were a present for a woman I work with. I love knitting stuff for others who appreciate it, and she did.



The pattern is called Linda K's Yummy Mummy Wristwarmers, by Alexandra Brink (Ravelry).
I found this pattern through a girl I work with, she knitted a pair before Easter, and I liked them so much I had to look them up, and I have just cast on my third pair. This is getting slightly out of hand.. erm.. anyway.. The woman who made the pattern actually left a comment on my Ravelry project, and that really made my day. It was so sweet of her and I got way too excited about it.

The pattern is really easy, nice, and quick though, a lovely knit for a fast gift. I loved it so much I did about 2 extra repeats without noticing on the first pair because I really got into the cable pattern. I just love it. Hopefully I won't get bored with it, because I think I have planned to give away about 5 pairs. My sister wants them in black, that's the yarn blob on top of the new kitchen/yarn scales.

Tomorrow is Steak and Best Friend Day, she's in town for a week, so I have to treat her to a nice dinner. Haven't seen her for ages, so I'm really excited about it. Hopefully I'll manage to not go 2-3 weeks without updating here again.

Arms and things.

Wow, it has been absolutely ages since I updated here.. Bad blogger, no cookie?
This is pretty much all the knitting I have managed to do. Oh no I forgot, it has been ages, there has been more socks. I absolutely love these, and I have to make some more at some point when my arms are feeling better. All the twisted stitches weren't the best idea, but it was worth it in the end :D.

I was supposed to go learn how to do magic loop knitting this tuesday, but things got a bit out of hand, overtime, arms acting up, and my grandfather back in hospital. Looks like I have to get a book about it. Shame though, I really wanted to go, one of my colleagues was doing the teaching, and she suggested I'd come along. She also gave me a knitting machine :D. Apparently her mother didn't want it anymore. Can't wait to get really into it, but I suspect I have to read the manual a few more times before I figure it all out.



My books from Amazon arrived today, and I love one of them. Not so sure about the other one though, it was a bit simpler than I thought. I might do some of the stuff in it, but it wasn't quite me. However I do love Spin to Knit by Shannon Okey. It talks about everything I want to know about spinning, it made me want a spinning wheel even more than I did. I just hope the £ drops even further so I can get it even cheaper from England :D.

Ok, now for todays rant, which has nothing to do with knitting. WHO decided that Harem trousers should be reintroduced to yet another generation of stupid teenagers? I suspect that some of the designers out there have a challenge going to see who can make people wear the worst possible outfit. Evil harem trouser person clearly won this year. I don't like the stupid bdsm leggings, I don't like a lot of the other stupid teenager fashion, but harem trousers are a crime against humanity. Harem trousers should be banned by international law. Why would anyone want to walk around looking like they have had a poo? No doubt one of my sisters will get a pair.

Another thing that bothers me is the norwegian version of the bachelor.. 20 vs 40. I can understand the fantastically dim 20 year olds wanting to be with this guy who looks like he stuck his head in grease and then ran into the wind, but 40 year olds really should have more sense. Why on earth would they make fools of themselves on tv like that? Meh, I'd rather get 13 cats with or without tails who pee all over the floor. But then I guess I'm not desperate enough yet.
I hope I never will be. Fingers crossed...

No more Secretary Wednesday

I was really happy earlier today, I finally get to spend the entire week in *my* office, with my lovely desk that you press a button, and it goes up and down, my crazy plant that just get bigger (I made it look like Donald Trump the other day, that was awesome), and my knit a day calendar thing.

Where was I? Oh yes! The pictures are my best friends birthday present. I have to mail them, because she was silly and met a man from the other side of the country, and moved to be with him. Very very silly thing to do. But anyway. I got to use my new awesome tags from Knit on Etsy. I love them so much, I want more people to knit for now, just so I can use the tags. It's a brilliant idea, now she knows how to wash them, what they are made off, and the best bit.. it just looks sooo awesome.

Now I need a new project, I had to frog yet another Noro sock. Somewhere in my mind the idea that I have the fattest legs ever is stuck, because the sock I knit would fit over my knee. Well almost anyway. So now I need something new, fun, and nothing that has to be a specific size. I really don't want to worry about gauge, I'm way too tired at the moment. And I do not need wool knee warmers.

Oh yay, I found something else fun today! I really really want to go here for a little holiday next year. I really want to learn how to spin, and I figured I need to try it before I buy a wheel in case I don't like it. And when I know how to spin, (doubt I'll love it as it costs a lot to get all the gear) I want to get lots of stuff from here to dye my own roving. Another plan for when I win the lottery, I think.

I am also planning my first proper holiday for ages, so now I need to research all yarn shops in England, so I know where I want to go. I'll end up with a little bag full of clothes, and my huuuge suitcase (which is called "The Luggage" after the amazing case with feet in Discworld) full of yarn.

I discovered something really cool the other day, I'm clearly years behind every other knitter in the world, but I can't stop listening to Lime & Violet. I even listened to one of their podcasts at work during my lunch break today. They are amazingly crazy, I wish I had a really nutty yarn obsessed friend too, who could be my yarn enabler. My mum does her best, but she buys yarn specifically for projects, and that just won't do. She keeps asking me what I need all my yarn for.. And she really should know, she's the one who showed me how to knit when I was 7.. I guess mothers have to be sensible. I'm clearly not.

And I forgot.. if anyone wants to buy me a present.. --> this please

Cool stuff.

Shit day at work today, Secretary Wednesday might turn into Secretary Friday too. Hopefully not though. So I thought I'd make a little list of really cool stuff I want, to cheer myself up.

1. The Knit Kit
2. Knitted Easter Eggs
3. This Woman's Craft Room
4. A new phone
5. Winning lottery ticket, preferably winning enough to buy a small farm.
6. Moo Minicards
7. A really good sock pattern for my Noro
8. A spinning wheel
9. More knitting needles
10. A hug

And now I have to go back to the hand warmers. Very boring knit, should have added some pattern to it, but I wanted them to go well with the shawl. Can't wait to get my little tags from Knit to add to Therese's birthday present.

I'm back!

Been a busy few weeks, had a friend over last week, and most of this week will be used to make up for things I didn't manage to get done last week. I took 3 days off so I could spend a lot of time with my friend, and we had a great time. We visited the aquarium, a museum, and we bough a loooot of yarn. Got to love a male friend who encourages insane yarn purchases.

I'm really happy with how my lilac scarf turned out. I still have to block it though, I'm just so slow at that. I'm really excited about how lovely it will be when it's not all curled up in a sausage.

I also managed to get most of my best friend Therese's birthday present done. Here is a sneak preview. I am also making some matching wrist warmers, and maybe something else, inspiration might run away with me.



I also had to make a little mosaic of all the yarn I have bought lately. Had so much fun with it, now I just need 3 extra sets of arms so I can knit all the things I have planned. I really want to make some baby socks, Maren at work is having a little girl I believe, and I need a good excuse to knit something pink. With my bright pink face I can't wear it myself, so I hardly ever get to use it.

And I have some excellent news to round this post off. Next wednesday is most likely the last Secretary Wednesday :D. The girl I work with is feeling better, so she's coming back full time.

And now.. time for lots of yarn.

Yarn therapy

Sometimes I just need yarn. Today was one of those days. Everything has been going slightly worse this weekend, my grandmother has to go to the hospital for a check up, and her sister died on Thursday. She depends on my mother a lot as she is 83 and getting forgetful, and I try to be there for my mum as much as I can. It's odd how it works in families. It feels important, but at the same time very hard.

This has been a really slow knitting weekend, hopefully I'll get back into it tomorrow, been so much going on, and I really miss it. I need some short projects I can finish in a day, but that is almost impossible.



I can't wait to have my own tomatoes. Today I noticed the first little green bits poking out, so now I just have to wait for.. I don't know how long. I'm hoping to grow strawberries outside this summer. I have tons of plans, now I'm just waiting for it to get a little warmer, and to stop raining.

Happy Birthday Mamma

These are the flowers I got my mum for her birthday. It might look a bit cheap just getting her 3 carnations, but there is a rather soppy story behind it. When I was about 7 or 8 I used to love the flower shop just up the road from my house. Every time I had some spare cash I'd go in there to get something for my mum. I loved all the flowers, but I could never afford much. And I was never a big fan of a single flower, so I always ended up with 3 carnations, as they were the cheapest flowers in the shop. So I thought since it's been a few years it was about time I got her some again. She giggled and said "Here's Meg and her carnations again"... she remembered. :)

I need to get moving on my sock today, wondering if I ever manage to make the second one. I hope so, they would be lovely, and oddly enough they would match my new favourite top. I am also developing a slight crush on the yarn I am knitting it from. I might have to get some more of it, and knit tons and tons of socks. Or maybe just hug it...

Sock!

This is all I've had time for this weekend. Sadly it's almost Monday.

55!

This arrived at my post office today. Now I have to turn them all into skeins. This will take forever.
But it's probably a good thing, I can't start dyeing until the weather gets better and I can do it outside.

I'm just so glad this day is over. I went to see my grandfather at the hospital, and it reminded me of the last time we were there visiting him about 14 years ago. He was so ill then we thought we were going to loose him, and the hospital just brought that feeling back. I can't imagine working in a place like that. The walls just ooze illness, it's horrible. Couldn't wait to get out of there. My grandmother was really worried too, it was hard to be there. But I got to see the sweetest thing I have in a very long time, and that cheered me up a bit. When we were leaving my grandfather and grandmother hugged eachother in a way that just showed how much they still love and need eachother after all these years, and it really got to me. It's good to know that some people can stay together for their entire lives, and love eachother every second. That gives me real hope. Just a hug and a gentle kiss on the cheek.

I can't wait for the weekend, really need a break, it's been a hard week. And I have lots more knitting to do. Only one morning left.

Almost half way.

Almost half way to the weekend. Tomorrow is the worst day of the week, but then Thursday and Friday fly past and it's the weekend.

Been shopping today, felt it was so empty here after I kicked the Christmas tree out. Met my dad in town, and we went for dinner, Swedish Plank steak, very odd thing. Basically steak with mashed potatoes, a tomato, and bearnaise sauce. Oddly enough served... you guessed it.. on a plank. Very tasty though. After we went to Plantasjen, and I got lots of flowers. Really needed cheering up today, it has been a long day and I'm going to the hospital tomorrow to visit my grandfather. He is ok, nothing serious, an infection I believe, but as he has quite a few health problems so we can't be too careful.

Hopefully work will be reasonably calm, but somehow I doubt it.

Sleepy Sunday

This is what I have spent most of my Sunday doing. Been a really nice relaxing day, got a chance to watch some dvd's I borrowed ages ago from some girls at work, and also managed to watch most of my River Cottage dvd's. Makes me think about food constantly, but it's worth it. I really wish I had a nice cottage with a big kitchen garden. Maybe when I win the lottery. ;)

I never used to like Sundays, with Monday so close, but maybe I'm getting old. Will actually be nice to get back to work on Monday, I do genuinely enjoy my job most of the time. I really should do some baking soon, my boss carefully suggested the other week that it was time to bring cake into work again. He even asked me for my brownies recipe.

Going to start taking walks with my Mum again. We had a plan last summer to go for a walk every Monday and Thursday, but it ended up as just a good idea. Hopefully we will actually do it this time. We've moved it to Tuesdays though, Mondays are for sleeping and dreaming about the weekend that's so far away.

Speaking of which, better go to sleep so I manage to get up at 6 tomorrow morning.

I am weak.

Not buying more yarn failed.. again! I had to get 2 skeins of this lovely yarn, and 2 more balls of green/purple sock yarn. I'm planning to use 2 of them in my blanket, so needed 2 more for actual socks.



I also had to get a basket for my yarn, the old one was just too small so it now serves as a project basket for my shawl. And I got a really pretty jug to keep my knitting needles in. Bjørn might be able to help me make a shelf like one I saw today, so pretty. It will be the main storage for all my yarn, and I'm going to grade the colours so it flows from light on the top to dark on the left. I'll have a lot more yarn in a few days, ordered a lot of cheap wool so I can practise the dyeing, they will hopefully look stunning on the shelf thing.

I got some more work done on the Dr. Who scarf today, almost half way now. Can't wait to get it done, will be so cool when I've finished it. And then of course, I can start my socks. I need to stop buying yarn, and start using it instead, I think, or I will run out of space. I also got a huge handbag today, with plenty of room for a knitting project. My old one is bright red, and as I have so much purple yarn I want to knit stuff for myself with, I needed a black one to use every day. Very handy really, how the yarn lets me buy new fun stuff. Thankfully I get paid on Tuesday, my bank account is rather depressed at the moment.

My sister is going to France tomorrow morning, her boyfriend got her 4 days in Paris as a Christmas present. He is a lovely guy, I hope she enjoys it, she really deserves some time away atm, as she is having a hard time. Hopefully it will really cheer her up and she'll come home all ready to tackle all her problems. Might have to knit her something fun to cheer her up too. She's the only blonde in the family, and she has green eyes, so I get to use different colours than when I knit for my mother, my other sister or myself. We're all dark with blue eyes, which explains why most of my yarn stash is blue/purple.

I miss my Christmas tree. It got kicked out yesterday, and is now standing outside looking sad, abandoned and unloved. But I guess it was about time, needles everywhere.

Oh yeah I was watching "It's not easy being green" on BBC Lifestyle, and they were talking about this menstrual cup.. and the woman actually says "and it goes in the top part of the dishwasher". Can you imagine anything more disgusting than putting something in the dishwasher that has been up there? Clearly it's rather disturbing to be green too. I think I'll stick to being mainly purple.

Grey and knit

Finally weekend. Time to knit and watch Grey's Anatomy! Been working on the Dr. Who scarf again, trying to get it done by the end of January. I have so many projects I want to start, I don't know which one to start first when I finish this project. So many things I want to do, only 2 arms, I wish I had more.

Going shopping again tomorrow, will try to stay away from the yarn, but not making any promises.

Spring tries to get a foot in the door

This is the view out of the window in my proper office, lovely sun light today, spent all of my 20 min lunch break with my face in the sun. Can't wait for the weather to get better so I can start dyeing yarn outside. Have to worry less about the mess then, I'm very clumsy, so at some point I'll turn the floor purple if I continue dyeing inside.

Got another knitting magazine today, and there are several things in there I might actually make. So happy I went to Narvesen when I missed my bus. I also ordered a moleskine diary, one of the Yarn Harlot books, and the knit a day desk calendar thing from Amazon. Figured I should have something knitting themed in my office. I need to get something for the walls too, people keep poking their head in the door and complaining about the completely white walls.

Getting paid next Tuesday, hoping to be able to get a digital camera, a big old yarn winder thing, and lots of cheap yarn to dye. Wonder if this obsession with getting yarn related things will ever pass. Probably not. I also want to make my own shelves for my yarn, have the perfect shelf in mind but I know I can't buy it anywhere. Maybe I should just build it myself. I also some sort of towel holding, toilet roll keeping, clothes holding thingy in my bathroom. I even have an idea about how I want that to look, but I don't think I'm good enough to make that on my own. A very simple shelf type thing... yes.. complicated multi-use bathroom thingy.. no.

If anyone is really good with a saw, a hammer, and a paint brush, please give me a word.

It's snowing... again...

This was the view from my office this morning. Will be nice and slippery tomorrow morning. Ice skating to work again.. Yay! Managed to sneak out early too, just couldn't face 8 hours at a desk that's not mine, doing things I really don't have time for that requires no brain power what so ever. "The printer is broken".. a right, no paper again?

Been working on my shawl today, can't wait to get it finished. It's lovely purple alpaca, and I can't wait to hide in it next winter, knowing me it won't be finished before then. I have way too many projects going on, and I have so many other projects I want to start. Which brings me to this small list of stuff I want to try:

• Proper Lace

• Entrelac

• Socks.. lots of socks

• A big project I could actually wear

Now I just have to finish the Dr. Who Scarf. Not allowed to start any new projects until it's finished. It's just not challenging enough at times, there is no pattern to think about, only counting rows. It's very good for a tv project, but nothing I keep thinking about all day at work, looking forward to picking up the second I get home.

Have been discussing sock patterns with my mum today, for her weirdest socks competition. I might join in just for fun, she wanted to take my shawl in to work too, to show them a proper knitting project apparently. Not so sure about that though, there are some mistakes in the beginning I noticed about 20 rows later.

Borrowed the Grey's Anatomy dvds from a friend at work, they will be great for this weekend, can have a Dr. Who scarf marathon. Grapes, the dvds, and an endless amount of yarn.

I think I might be addicted...

Finally finished my cowl after lots of fighting. I just knitted a modified version of the pattern for a shawl I'm making in purple alpaca. I just love how it turned out, it's so lovely and soft, can't wait for it to snow again now, but knowing my luck that will be around next November.

I've been shopping again, my mother is a very bad influence. I got some more clothes at 50% off, lots of yarn, a new pillow, and 2 lovely baskets, one for the paper recycling and one for my special knitting project that I can't wait to get started on. I just have to finish the massive Dr. Who scarf that I have promised to knit for a friend.

The white alpaca is for my dye project, I just have to practise a bit more on the cheap wool from Spar Kjøp first, which I have to order. It's a lot cheaper on their website, so that's good, can't beat a ball of yarn for NOK 7,50. Hopefully I'll be able to control the colours more, last time they were really intense.

Hopefully my purchases from England will arrive soon, can't wait to get my hands on some of that yarn, I already know what I'm using it for. I also got some Noro for my mum, they are having a sock knitting competition where she works, who can knit the craziest socks. She has lots of time though, she is apparently the only one who has knitted socks before. She probably won't win, but she'll have a lovely useable pair of socks, which is a lot better than making something that wins but noone would ever wear. I might have to start knitting socks again too, been years since I actually finished a pair.

Was so hard going back to work this week, got used to sitting up late and sleeping until noon. Only 6 months to go until my summer holiday. Hopefully I'll go somewhere this year, been ages since I had a proper summer holiday. But knowing me I'll just end up at the summer house, spending all my holiday money in the little yarn shop up the road or online.

A bad week

I was supposed to have a nice cowl to show you today, made from yarn I got from WildFireFibres, but no such luck. It has been half made about 3 times, finished once, and now it's a ball of yarn again. Really sums up my week. Hopefully I'll finish it this weekend.

Going back to work after almost 2 weeks off is much harder than I thought, been shattered and grumpy as hell most of the week. Being surrounded by just men at work really didn't help either. But nevermind, friday tomorrow, and then weekend, and I can sleep until noon and spend all day knitting.

I went into town today to buy my mum a birthday present and to get lots more yarn for a big project I'm planning. Was walking down the street towards my favourite yarn shop, getting a bit excited about the prospect of spending rather a lot of money on alpaca when I noticed the shop was rather dark.. It was *completely* empty! My favourite yarn and fabric shop has gone out of business! Where will I get my yarn now? There is only one other yarn shop in the town centre, but it hardly have any nice stuff. And absolutely no Du store Alpakka yarn. Guess it's back to online shopping for me. Nevermind, I always love a full mail box.

Happy half birthday to me, 27,5 today. No cake though, sadly.

Disco, Disco Yarn!

Here is the finished product from my monster dye session yesterday. I'm very happy with some of them, and not quite so much with some of the others. At least now I know how strong the colours come out.. *very* strong.

I've been looking at some stuff for inspiration, not sure what to do with these crazy colours. A friend suggested making hats, but they might be too loud for that. I really like this, might try to do something similar in purple/blue, or maybe a nice small blanket for my very boring sofa.

Trying new stuff

So, for the first time ever, I have dyed my own yarn. I have 7 skeins hanging in my shower currently. I tried 4 different types of yarn, just to see what I liked more, and some of it came out pretty well I think. I also know how strong the colours are, next time I can add a lot more water I think. I also need to invest in some gloves, my fingers are now a really disturbing shade of blue.

Been really restless all day, really wanted to start this with the yarn I got from WildFireFibres, but I'm a bit worried it's a bit advanced for my first ever lace project. Hopefully tomorrow I can just make some fun hats with the yarn I have dyed.

I also tried to set the twist on my home spun yarn today, might try to make some fingerless mitts with them, but they are very uneven. I still have to practise my spinning a lot. I'd love to get a spinning wheel, but they are so expensive I can't justify the cost, as I have so many other things I love to do too.

Tomorrow is the last proper day off before I have to go back to work after almost 2 weeks off, can't wait to get back to the emails, invoices and countless other things that have piled up over Christmas. Hopefully I will be having a week off in February, to do some knitting, spend some time with a very good friend, and hopefully learn a few things about taking pictures. As you can see, I have already mastered the "taking pics in the shower" technique, but there is still lots to learn.