Third time lucky

I assume you remember this sweater.

The notorious birthday sweater for Christian. and maybe you wonder why you haven't seen it done, here on my blog (or maybe not because you are used to me being a slow knitter!)

But here is the reason why I haven't felt the need to flash it. 3 sleeves. 3!

Almost done with the 2nd one, I discovered that my incresing had gone terribly wrong. And after a despressing fit on Christian, I sadly realised that a 3rd one was a necessity.

Now I'm nearly done with that one too - finally! Sleeves are boring, and definitely even more tedious when it's sleeves x 3.

However I have to say that I did find some icing on the cake. Christian is absolutly thrilled about his forthcoming sweater, and that is all worth it to me.

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Jeg går ud fra at du kan huske denne sweater. Den famøse fødselsdags sweater til Christian, og måske undrer du dig over, at du ikke har set den gjort færdig her på min blog (eller måske undrer du dig ikke, fordi du er vant til at jeg strikker langsomt!)

Men her er grunden til, at jeg ikke har haft lyst til at flashe den. 3 ærmer. 3!

Næsten færdig med det 2. ærme, opdagede jeg at mine udtagninger var gået helt galt. Og efter en nedslående prøvepasning på Christian, indså jeg desværre at et 3. ærme var en nødvendighed.

Nu er jeg næsten færdig med det også - endelig! Ærmer er kedelige, og helt bestemt endnu mere kedsommelige når det hedder ærmer x 3.

Jeg må dog sige, at pynten på kransekagen var der trods alt. Christian er utrolig begejstret over sin fremtidige sweater og det gør virkelig, at det er alt besværet værd.

My favourite calendar

Today is the day when the calendar I love the most, is - finally - for sale.

For years and years I have bought the calendar made by Skals - skolen for design og og håndarbejde. Always excited to see which beautiful ideas the school has come up with for the coming year.

Each month represents a piece of craft or maybe some food related to the school. And the fact that you find recipes in the back of the calendar, makes it all even more lovely.

This is a photo of November from the 2012 calender, because I haven't been to town to buy my 2013 one yet. I keep it in my kitchen in a place where the fine photo of the month meets my eyes many times during a day. Often, I flick through the pages of the calendar, and refresh the ideas.

If you would like to get one for yourself, you can buy it at the school, at the online shop Sommerfuglen and in many shops in Viborg.

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I dag er dagen, hvor min absolutte yndlings kalender - endelig - kommer til salg.

I årevis har jeg købt kalenderen lavet af Skals - skolen for design og håndarbejde. Altid spændt på at se hvilke smukke idéer de har fundet på til det kommende år. 

Hver måned indeholder et stykke håndarbejde eller noget mad der har relation til skolen. Og dét at du kan finde opskrifter på det bagerst i kalenderen, gør den bare endnu mere skøn.

Ovenover er et billede af november fra 2012 udgaven, for jeg har endnu ikke været i byen for at købe mit 2013 eksemplar. Min kalender hænger i mit køkken på et sted, hvor månedens fine foto fanges af mine øjne mange gange i løbet af en dag. Ikke så sjældent bladrer jeg gennem kalenderens sider og genopfrisker årets idéer.

Hvis du gerne selv vil have dig et eksemplar, kan du bl.a. købe det på skolen, hos online butikken Sommerfuglen og i mange forretninger i Viborg.

Jeg ved at hun er SÅ spændt. . .

Jeg holder utrolig meget af en pige, som i disse timer er rigtig, rigtig spændt. Min søde niece Emma fik en super overraskelse af sin storesøster Ida til sin konfirmation. Sammen med Ida, skulle hun høre - og se - Lady Gaga når hun kom til Parken for at spille.

Og nu er dagen kommet. Hvor er jeg spændt på at høre hende fortælle om koncerten, og alt det andet som sådan en begivenhed bringer med sig.

En stor musik oplevelse kan gøre kæmpe indtryk, uanset om man er barn eller voksen. Min allerførste koncert oplevede jeg, da mine forældre i 1984 tog mig med til Grøn Koncert for at høre et af mine yndlings bands dengang: Sneakers.

Bandet er forlængst opløst, men dermed ikke chancen for at høre og mærke fantastisk live musik. Som for eksempel denne koncert...som nok er min allerbedste til dato. Hvilken er din?

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I know that she is SO excited...

 I'm so fond of a girl, who is very, very excited during the next hours. My sweet niece Emma got a super surprise by her bigsister Ida, one her confirmation day. Together with Ida she was going to hear - and see - Lady Gaga when she came to Parken  (in Copenhagen) to performe.

And now the day has arrived. I'm so excited to hear her tell about the concert, and all the other stuff which such an event brings along.

A big music experience can make a huge impact on you, no matter whether you are a child or a grownup. I heard my very first concert back in 1983, when my parents took me to Grøn Koncert to listen to my very favorite band of the time - Sneakers.

The band has long gone broke up, but thus not the chance of hearing and feeling live music. Like this concert...which probably is my vert best so far. Which one is your best?

Good old Bjørn!

When I were a child we had some of Bjørn Wiinblad's plaques (like many of other children at my age had at home). Right there on the wall next to our dining table in the kitchen.

I remember how much I loved the women on the plaques. Their big dreamy eyes and their little pointy  noses, made me admire them whenever we sat at the table. I made up stories about them if I were bored, which happened once in a while, when I sat at the same table doing my homework.

What I didn't think of at that time, was the way the plaques could appear 32-33 years later.

This one below is from Anne-Sophie's kitchen. She has collected 5 or 6 plagues from thrift shops, and has added her own touch to Bjørn Wiinblad's people.

Source: Uploaded by user via Anne-Sophie on Pinterest

I like what she did. A lot. Somehow the black lines on the porcelain, invite you to fill out the spaces. To prepare them for a life in 2012.

How funny and wonderful that we both - with a time interval of 30+ years - got to look at the same kind of plaques in our kitchens...

Joys of a Thursday

On Thursday afternoon I got this beautiful, beautiful lot of yarn. To open the cardboard box was a burst of colour and life. I have so high hopes for this quality. The mix of cotton and wool will be perfect for me. 

Once more I gladly bought yarn from Garnudsalg.dk.

I'm so amazed and satisfied with the colours and the vivid glow, which has been captured in the threads. Skovbær (forest berry) and Appelsinskræl (orange peel). Even the names are cool and kind of marvellous.

He must be a clever and talented man, that Kenneth, who owns Garnudsalg. A man who very clearly knows his way around fibres, and it shows so much that he puts a lot of carefulness, knowledge and passion into the yarns.

My plan is to make a cardigan for myself - I really, really hope that I get to carry out that wish, before I turn the yarn into something for children. That happens far too often for me!

Another lovely moment was this evening.
I heard a knock on our frontdoor, but when I opened the door, there was no one to be seen. But something was - these 2 fine and transparant ice lanterns. Shaped like stars - with a light so soft and welcoming.

I can't tell you how happy they made me and Christian - whom I yelled at right away so he could see them (at first he thought that something had happened to me!!).

Where on earth did they come from, you might ask yourself? Well, right away I knew who would do such a
heartwarming and brilliant act. This sweet woman.

I hope that I can make Dorte and her family just as surprised and happy some day soon...

Old patterns for a new year

Just before Christmas I were lucky to get some old knitting magazines from a very sweet woman. She had been cleaning up her cellar and came across them. What a treasures they were - and what a great thing that she thought of me instead of throwing them away!

There were lots and lots of wonderful patterns, all presented by little chubby babies.

And they have become modern again, the patterns that is. There were some which are to be knitted and some to crochet.

The magazines were published sometime in the late 70ties and I just love the fact, that I remember seing some clothes made by similar recipes in my own childhood. (Worn by babies, of course).

Starting off the new year with old inspiration is absolutely marvellous. It doesn't always have to be brand new ideas.

I hope that you all had a gorgeous holiday time with your loved ones.
I certainly did - it was busy but so nice...

Little pink cardigan...off you go!

By now it has been wrapped and ready for several days, the little pink Christmas presnt cardigan. And I had completely forgotten about the photo of it. Until tonight.

Not that it's a very good photo at all.

The neckline didn't turn out the way it was supposed to, so I had to come up with an idea to make it look better. It was far to wide for a baby neck.
So I decided to knit a long row of holes, and then crochet a white string to pull through them.
And because of that, I left out buttons.

Now I just hope that Agnes only wears the cardigan when supervised, due to the string...

Update on the poncho pattern

Do you remember this??

Yesterday I got the English version of the lovely red, white and blue knitted poncho from Dutch Recht & Averecht.

The designer of it, Marijke Lennards, was so kind that she suggested to translate the pattern into English, if I wanted to buy it. I happily accepted and now I have it here in my briefcase full of future projects.

I could have bought a whole kit including the needed yarn, but I want to use some from my own stash.

In my 1st post about the poncho some of you were interested in the English version as well. Good news for you too - if you follow this link, you will get to the shop and the pattern.

I actually finished something!!

Do you remember the yellow & purple numbers I were making a loooong time ago??

They have finally become something - they have been made into 2 pillows. From the very start I had a very special purpose which I wanted to use them for.

I made my own test to see whether the fabric and colours were okay with the recipient - without her knowing of course - and then I started. 

The embroidery took many hours but was so fun to make, and I know that I will have to do these little stitches again. Amazing how a mess of stitches can end up looking like something...

The biggest issue in this project was to find the right pillows to put inside the cushion covers. I searched high and low for them for ages and ages, but I never managed to get them. I could have stuffed the pillow cases with cotton batting but I wanted to use feathers, and that made the whole thing a bit more difficult.

2 pillows in this size - 40 centimetres x 60 centimetres - had to be turned into the size I needed (30 x 50). I used my sewing machine to minimize them and then I started cutting. Oh my!! There were SO many feathers in my kitchen! No matter how careful I did the transformation they kept flying around - tickling my nose.

At last I finished the project. That does happen to me sometimes, you see....

Holly & stars

Maybe I got inspired by the dark night outside (it's half past midnight!) or else it's just because of the fact, that I have always had a weakness for things with stars on them.

Nevertheless, I ordered a new pattern for myself. It's called Holly and I found it at STOF2000's online shop.

I needed some fabric as well and this time I had to have stars. On black. So that's what I got. That will suit Holly fine in my opinion.

Actually I ordered something else as well. Not in the same shop, but from Sort Lakrids. You know that I love that fine little shop.

The little A-line sweater you see on page 4 under products, and some new materials for yet another Sort Lakrids Scarf were the things I put into my virtual shopping basket.
This time the scarf will become red and when it's done, it will belong to my husband. And the baby sweater is going to be made in a beautiful light colour.

It's not that bad with late night shopping. . .but maybe a lot of you are already familiar with it.

A whole different choice

Remember this??

Well, I ended up in a different shop where I had other colour options. 

Actually I had made up my mind, and had picked out the teal one with the yellow letters. But before buying tags in that look, I wanted to see what else was on the market.

I headed for the shop I used when I bought my old tags. And it had something which tempted me even more.

So these are the 2 woven tags I ordered a while ago. 100 pieces in each colour combination. I'm happy about the fact, that I chose a girlish and a boyish tag. So now I'm ready to make more stuff for our nieces and nephews.

Oh my, I'm exited to see how the woven tags look like in real life...

Oohhh! New combinations

I'm so thrilled about this new colour mix for Christel Seyfarth's Masai shawl. The vivid red colours are so lovely amongst the gentle shades of rose. And with my favouorite green in the middle of the flowers, it couldn't be any better. I definitely prefere this colour palette.

Photo from Christel Seyfarth.dk

Christel Seyfarth has also made a new version of the beautiful Starsweater, which I by the way still have on my wishlist.
Eventhough it has been given a new and wonderful look, I will still write down the kit for the old Starsweater on my little hidden wishlist* - it must be my neverending love for pastel colours which comes into play in this matter.

*(I always keep a little piece of paper in my noticeboard, so I can add the things I would love to have all through the year. Otherwise I'm really lousy at remembering wishes when Christmas and my birthday come up!! I do keep it hidden behind all the other stuff on the noticeboard).

Photo from Christel Seyfarth.dk

Actually, I will  recommend you to go have a look at Christel Seyfarth's website - it has also been renewed.

Happy mail

There is happy mail and there is not so happy and annoying mail. Luckily 2 happy - and  funny - things came to me in the mail today.

The LOVELY dotty fabric that I already mentioned here. It's even more beautiful and cheerful in real life, and my head is full of ideas for what to make of it.

One thing could be this sweet cape from the book I ordered a while ago. I have been waiting for it and today it came.

I really recommend this book for it's beautiful and well designed patterns, and reading it is an aesthetic pleasure.

I  can easily see this little cape being worn by a girl with a warm knitted sweater underneath it on a sunny spring day - like today. It's so nostalgic this pretty piece of clothing. The cape would be great with the dotty fabric on the backside.

Under me you see the new embroidery I'm working on. Little Redcap is done and this fine Princess on a pea pattern has been waiting in my maps, for me to begin sewing it.

Come Paris, come Palermo!!

Remember when I told you about one of my absolute favourite pattern designers of children's clothes?

Photo from C'est Dimanche


Well, now they have just launched some brilliant new things for spring. The pretty little dress PARIS is so fine. It reminds me of when I lived in England and worked as an au-pair - it looks a bit  like the grey school uniform dress, Laura wore to school.

And there is also the fabulous shirt PALERMO. I really have a thing for crisp, white linen shirts and this particular one, is certainly in my top 3 of lovely shirts.



Photo from C'est Dimanche



I ordered both patterns yesterday, so I know by experience that it will not take more than 3-4 days, before the little wonders reach my doorstep.

Latte Baby Sweater - part 2

The knitting of the baby sweater is done, and I'm left with the not so funny part of knitting. The ends must be weaved in!

I'm also going to crochet along the neckline, while including some buttonhole loops.

The buttons have not yet gotten their shape or colour, but at least I know that it's not going to be any of the colours I used for the yarn.

Sadly I think that Agnes is a bit too big for the sweater, but luckily we know several women who are expecting little baby girls. So I'm not worried about finding a recipient.

I know for sure that I will knit from this pattern again...in fact I know a little newborn Karl who could use a little sweater with stripes.

Rediscovering Phildar

Photo from Phildar's website

Ever since my bigsister expected her 1st child, Ida, I have been a great fan of Phildar knitting patterns...especially the ones they design for babies and children.

For a number of years I haven't really thought about their magazines, but being on ravelry has opened my eyes to their amazing designs once more.



Photo from Phildar's website


And the other day Claudia mentioned a particular number of their magazines, and that made me look at all the new patterns on Phildar's website. The things are as beautiful as always. Stylish, simple and exclusively looking.



Photo from Phildar's website

The patterns you sere here are all in French. There is an English Phildar website as well with English patterns, but that is mostly for grownups.

Photo from Phildar's website

No more cold ears...

Stella is done. Anne-Sophie is extremely pleased with the way it turned out, and she wore it yesterday to the funeral.

I like it too and I wish that I could show you a photo of it, while Anne-Sophie has it on. It suits her fine.

So maybe this isn't the only time I get to knit Stella - other colour combinations would be great for her to have as well. And I wouldn't mind knitting it again. It was fun and rather fast to knit...

Yeah!!

They are done!! And the snow hasn't dissapeared....

It's A Wonderful Life

How come we don't get to see this fine, old Christmas film in Denmark anymore?

I remember seing it every Christmas in my childhood.

Has it ever been a part of your holiday memories?
 Or perhaps you love another film, which you just have to see in December?

I'm reading Vendestrik 2

So it finally came, that wonderful book I have been waiting for. Once more Hanne Meedom has created beautiful patterns - and the ones you see in the mosaics are my favourites. The book is written in Danish, I might add.

I'm especially crazy about the blue one with the 2 slits in the neckline. And the pink one with the red crocheted tie-strings, gets such a great look of not being too romantic.

I ordered my copy here.