Snow!

We have had snow since November, but this weekend we got an extra foot of it. Right now it looks like a postcard outside with fresh snow and the days getting long enough to last until we get home in the afternoon. Nice to be able to take pictures outside on a weekday!
















To the left the 4-y-o in his We Call Them Pirates hat. The yarn is merino that I got in Estonia last summer. I sewed his name onto the inside of the linig, and he is so proud of the hat that takes it of to show that detail to people. To the right is the 7-y-o in her new Kari/Ola mittens. The pattern comes from a Norwegian book by Lillill Thuve. The yarn is Garnstudio Karisma. I made a pair in Dale Heilo when she was two, and she loved them, but this pair has not been accepted yet.

All for me

Don't get me wrong, I love being generous and practical and knitting for my family. Lately I have been stressed out and knitting for relaxation, and then I find that gorgeous things for me work best.

During the holidays I was obsessed with Vivian Höxbro's Abstract Stole. Now it has been finished as well. The original has squares of 6-7cm, but mine were 8.5cm before felting and 8cm after. This means that since I made the entire length of the pattern but only five out of nine rows it is very long. The other modification I made was to leave tabs along the lower edge only, instead of the original random pattern. The ends are knitted into the following row as you go along, so there was little finishing. I felted it by washing it in the mashine accompanied with a pair of jeans. I would have liked it to felt more, but since the colours felted very differently I decided to leave it as it is. The pink felted best, but the yellow and orange hardly felted at all. That is the risk with herbal dyes I guess. Thanks mum for the yarn, and for modelling!















I admit that the I have not yet worn the stole myself. It is a bit demanding. The next shawl has been worn for a few days, and I was even stopped by a stranger at the bus stop who liked it. First she wanted to know were I had bought it (knitted it last week...) then she asked for the pattern (Icelandic lace book...) but I could give her the name of the yarn shop (Garnkorgen). I have also promised to translate the pattern for a colleague who has already "copied" the other two scarves I have used this winter. The pattern is called Hyrna Herborgar and I made a smaller version in pale pink before Christmas. This time I used Kauni yarn and 4.5mm needles for a more practical version. I love the way the stripes turned out, I only knew that I wanted the dark purple at the center, but then the purple returned just in time for the edge pattern.















Finally my new pair of Knotty gloves. Knitting these on a long circular needle only took a few nights. They look and feel great, and the purple goes well with my new shawl. The yarn is Ranco multi by Auracania, and it is new favourite. It is not only soft and beautiful, but also seems durable and I have half the skein left.