Spring inspiration

2 beautiful books came in a flat envelope today - from Århus. I thought that I had ordered them in 

Copenhagen, but instead it was from Tøndering Strik. A gorgeous shop.

I must be getting older, since I can't remember things like that or perhaps my mind is too preoccupied at the moment. I almost know that it's the latter...

The first book is a funny little one - the kind which I adore. Strikkede striber forår. 

It's inspiring to see how the 2 authors think of knitting in another way, and that it doesn't has to be about making clothes when you knit.

Maybe you remember a book with a similar title, which I mentioned last autumn. It's the same 2 women who have written this new book about more stripes.

Strikkede striber forår

Strikkede striber forår

Nordiske Masker 2 was the other one of the knitting books. I absolutely love the colour scheme which has been used for the models in this book.

Nordiske Masker 2 Lone Gissel og Tine Rousing

Nordiske Masker 2 Lone Gissel og Tine Rousing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2 smukke bøger kom i en flad hvid konvolut i dag - fra Århus. Jeg troede at jeg havde bestilt dem i København, men i stedet for var det hos Tøndering Strik i Århus. En fantastisk butik.

Jeg må være ved at blive gammel, siden jeg ikke kan huske den slags ting, eller også er min hjerne bare optaget af andre ting i øjeblikket. Jeg ved næsten at det skyldes det sidstnævnte.

Den første bog er en sjov lille en - den slags jeg holder af. Strikkede striber forår.

Det er inspirerende at se hvordan de to forfattere tænker på dét at strikke på en anderledes måde, og at det ikke nødvendigvis behøver at handle om tøj når man strikker.

Måske kan du huske, at jeg nævnte en bog med en lignende titel i efteråret. Det er de samme 2 kvinder der har skrevet denne nye bog om striber.

Nordiske Masker 2 var den anden af strikkebøgerne. Jeg elsker simpelthen farveskemaet der er brugt til modellerne i denne bog.

Crocheted garland for Ida

Crocheted garland, a photo by lille-ursus on Flickr.

I can hardly believe it - I made my first crocheted garland.

A while ago Anne-Sophie asked me whether I would do her a big favour. She wanted to give her dearest friend Ida (whom you might remember is our niece and cousin) a crocheted garland as a part of her birthday present.

Of course I wanted to help, so Anne-Sophie bought the materials and I did the work.

The beautiful garland which I had seen on Karen Klarbæks blog, also came with a free pattern. Perfect for me. Thanks a million to Karen for her generosity.

And to my pleasent surprise I picked up the crocheting very fast. A new kind of crochet stitch has been added to my mind - and hands! As the very last thing I added fine little bells in pastel colours, which made me think of spring.

Luckily Ida liked the garland...and I need to make more for my own house and garden.

I had better get started...

...looking for gorgeous books in this new year we have in our hands.

And what could be better than a bit of crocheting? I didn't get all satisfied with myself and my crochet skills last year, but I took a few steps up the ladder. I intend to go even further this year - it's still a big dream of mine to make a granny blanket.

These 2 books are a suggestion on how to work on my skills and get new ideas. They are both French, but hopefully we can translate ourselves out of that problem..

Granny Folies à crocheter is written by Cécile Franconie and will become available on the 2nd of February.

Crochet Premières lecons is even closer to become published - it can be bought from the 19th of January. Véronique Chermette is the author .

Maybe the 2 frontpages have tempted you too?

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...

A scarf + a beard

The o o o scarf is now complety done. I'm not fast at all but I'm done and that's a huge joy for me.

On the photo you can see that I still needed to crochet about 45 centimetres of the edge this afternoon, but that's taken care of by now.

I also have a new model on my hands - I persuaded my husband to wear the scarf while I took the photos. He only agreed to participate if I didn't tell that it was him, who wore it. But how could I not tell you. You might think that I had grown a beard, when you saw the photo!!

Tomorrow I will wash and block the lot, and then put it on the shelf in our little hall, until the really cold and windy weather begins.

Making the edge

Finally I reached the point, where I could begin crocheting the edge.

I have had some specific colours in mind since I started the scarf, and luckily I'm satisfied with the way the stripes look.

It's quite a lot of stitches to get around the entire scarf, but I can only blame myself for making it so long.

I hope that it will look good when it's blocked - I'm a bit worried that the edge will be flappy...

Dragging it on

Oh yes, I'm still making the little colourful circles. I don't know if you can tell that the scarf has become longer. The photo looks a lot like the one I took a while ago!

I almost don't know what to do, when I finish the scarf. It's been such a cosy job. So now I have decided to make it a wee tad longer.
Even though I look forward to making the border, which will surround the many circles.

Maybe it's time to reveal that I have bought the Jawoll Magic yarn in a green version. One wouldn't know whether I got the urge to make another circle scarf some day...

Just 3 more books. . .

I know that it hasn't been that long ago since I mentioned some new books. But now I have to show some more wonderful  reading matter.

And this time they are even in Danish.

When Lene Holme Samsøe has made a new book full of her spectacular ideas, I simply need to have it. The title is Vild med Garn and this is how tempting the cover is.

Photo from Politikkens Forlag

Those kind of crocheted  hangers have been haunting me for a while - but in the good way! I wish that my wardrobe would burst with hangers as lovely as these, when I opened it to pick out some clothes! Maybe I get to make them by myself after reading the book.

Photo from Gads Forlag

The idea behind the book Til kaffeslabberas is a mix of photos, conversations and knitting. 7 wellknown Danish artists and designers meet with 7 experienced women, and together they collaborate on creating different knitted items.

Finally I need to show Homemade. A book made by Rachel Søgaard, Stine Hoelgaard and Karen Marie Dehn.  All interesting and talented women.

I especially love Stine's blog...

Photo from Politikkens Forlag

So there you are! And no more books for a while on my blog...

Making progress...

Just a little collage to show you that I'm making the scarf longer - slowly but nice and quiet I add more circles.

I quickly decided to add some other yarns as well. Somehow I needed a bit more of the vivid colours.

So in my stash I found some of the yarn I have bought from Garnudsalg.dk - so far I have used Blodappelsin, Blå Polkagris, Polkagris, Retro Blå and Retro Bordeaux (and some other bits and pieces from my stash). I absolutely adore the Polkagris yarn! And the name...it makes me think of lovely days in Sweden eating Polkagris candy.

o o o o o o o

Circles, circles, circles.... I'm crocheting this.

With the many little circles which are needed for the scarf, I will most certainly get a bit more experinced in this particular kind of handwork. (At least I hope so). And maybe then I can take a wee step ahead in the wolrd of crocheting. But first things first - the scarf must get done.

I have decided to make the scarf 3 circles wide contrary to the recipe, where they have used 4.

The easiness of making the cirles, the size and the convenience of bringing it along, suit me perfectly. Especially in these days, where the warmth has finally hit us.

I like to sit in our little patio in our old garden furniture with Otto runing around. He loves to look for the titbits I hide for him. And since he doesn't possess the patience of an angel, I think he's rather satisfied with the fact, that a half-finished yarn circle can be put at the table in no time...

My intensions were good...

When we packed our bags to go on holiday, I also prepared a fabric tote and a plastic bag with items for all the crafting I was going to do in the cottage we rented at the North Sea.

I brought linen, embroidery floss, cotton yarn, the 2 new embroidery kits I recently bought, more yarn, hooks to match the yarn, a pair of scissors, large pieces of extra thick carton and 2 different knitting books.

As usual my husband laughed at me when he picked up my stuff, and put it in our car.

But I knew that I would get to make loads of things from all my supplies, so I didn't mind him laughing...

However...

The things you see in the photo, are what I got around to making in the 7 days we were there! 3 lousy attempts at crocheting cirlces and a tiny pile of carton hexagons for a patchwork blanket.

Never before have I made ​​so little handwork during a holiday...I wonder what happened?

Well, I know the answer to that question myself. I simply enjoyed being with my family  (I always do that!)  playing, talking, bathing and all the other lovely things you make with your loved ones, when everyday life has been put on standby for a while.

And I loved it - SO much.

A little bit of etsy love

Photos from Rocket and bear

So many ways to keep a little baby warm...and to do it with style.  Go have a look at Rocket and Bear.

I'm still no good at crocheting -

. . . but that will not keep me from buying crochet books. (I know that I will improve my crocheting skills. . . it's just a matter of time).

And when the books look as promising and interesting as these, then it becomes even harder not to get new and lovely inspiration.

Photo from På Krogen

By accident - and what a happy one - while surfing on ravelry, I came across these brand new books by the Danish girl Sidsel Sangild. They are called Blødt Til Baby (soft for baby) and Hæklede Gaver (crocheted gifts).

They are soon to be sold from a number of Danish yarnshops. For example from Rasmilla's shop. But you can already pre-order the books from Sidsel's blog.

They each cost about 100 Danish kroners.

Photo from På Krogen

If you would like to have a closer look at the 2 books, then go have a peep here and here.

I do have a lot of yarn in there, don't I?

I do have a lot of yarn in there, don't I?, originally uploaded by lille-ursus.

It has been a while ago since I made a favourite inspiration mosaic. Today it's very clear to me that my preferences in materials and patterns, have changed over the last period of time. Somehow all of the fabrics have been more or less replaced by yarn!

I don't mind at all, because I know that my love to fabric will not dissapear - it just stays in the background for a bit. And my many metres of fabrics will go nowhere up there in the shelves in my sewingroom...

And if I see some beautiful stuff which has been made from fabric and thread, I will just sit back and enjoy the lovely inspiration.

So, keep the gorgeous inspiration coming - in yarn, fabric, paper, you name it!

Oh, and by the way, do click on the text below the mosaic to go to flickr, and see which talented people have made the things in the mosaic.

This, this or this?

These last weeks I have been looking at so many different patterns for baby blankets.

I would love to make a blanket for the nephew or niece to be, and since the baby will be born in the middle of October, I had better figure out which one to make.

However, I think it's very hard to decide whether it is going to be knitted or made at my sewingmachine.

I would love to sew it and if I could use the popular shape above for it, then it would be great. But that would mean a lot of sewing by hand, and I'm not sure that I have enough time (nor the skills). I still have my first attempt at making a real patchwork blanket ahead of me.

Ravelry has been a very fine source for knitted patterns and I have set my eyes on 2-3 blankets that I like.

This one:

photo from ravelry of Altadana

 the one Anne made and this one. Since I don't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl, then it would be fine with these neutral and beautiful colors.

I must admit that I have another pattern in mind too - but I already know that it's out of the question. It's this lovely crocheted blanket, which can be bought as a kit at Strikkebogen.

photo from Strikkebogen

Therefore I can't give you the result of my search.....hopefully I will be able to do so in not so long.

Lille Livstykke

Livstykke, originally uploaded by lille-ursus.

The little vest I started a few days ago is done. Well, almost done. I still need to make it wet, put needles in it and let it dry.
And then sew it together in the 2 sides, crochet around the neckline and at the same time add a little buttonhole.

I will wait a while with the button, because I still don't know whether Christian's brother and his girlfriend are having a boy or a girl.
But I thought about blue-ish fabric buttons for a boy and pink-ish for a girl...not very inventive - I know.

Actually I have enough yarn left to make another vest, I think. But to be sure I will buy one more skein of "Isager's mercericeret bomuld" in another color. The next vest will have stripes.

10 fabulous reasons to upgrade my crocheting skills

• K l o k k e b l o m s t   by Liselotte Weller

• C R O C H E T    E D G I N G    A N D    B R A I  D    1 0 0  a Japanese book on my shelf

• C r o c h e t e d   a n d   f e  l  t e d    t e d d y   b e a r  which I bought from the birds  & bees

• A m i g u r u m i    S w e e t h e a r t    D o l l s Crochet pattern designed by Samantha Wilson

• T u l i p f i e l d    D r e s s:    M i n a  hopefully a pattern soon to be by Alicia Paulson

• S o   m a n y   t h i n g  s   f r o m   Pierrot yarns

• M o n k e y s   from Chimuchimu

• F a t   b o t t o m   b a g   from "Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker" by Debbie Stoller

• J a c k e t by Kei McDonald

• A d o r a b l e    1 9 1 6    h e i r l o o m    q u a l i t y    I n f a n t s    k i m o n o   from Smack dab in the smash    
 

I already have most of the patterns, so I have no excuses not to try....

Thank you French magazine....

In a wonderful swap with my sweet blog friend Valerie from France, I got some gorgeous French magazines...and lots of other lovely surprises.

In one of them I saw this beautiful shawl. I think it looks so happy and refreshing with all those colors. The fact that it's worn over a striped sweater makes it look even more wonderful and sophisticated.

Both things are designed by Danièle Dietrich and the crocheted shawl can be bought as a kit in the French shop Elle Tricote la boutique. But sadly not for people outside France. Still I have enjoyed looking at the site and the shop.

I love that different patterns can be used and worn together. It gives us all so many possibilities to create our very own style.

When I was a child the dress code for colors and patterns was a lot more boring and conservative. For instance orange and paleblue would never have been a match in my childhood! And stripes with flowers - oh my, oh my....

"Peacock" and spice

Finally I finished the dress with the feather and fan pattern - my very first pattern knitting ever!! I'm actually rather proud that I didn't start a new knitting project before finishing this one!! I had promised myself that the dress HAD to be done, before the noda cardigan and the elephant vest from Navia were taken out of the knitting basket!

It wasn't that hard to do the pattern knitting as I had expected - eventhough i made the dress look slightly different from the original photo! I simply didn't understand a bit of the recipe and tried to knit what it said.....so the top part of the front and the back have been re-designed!

All I have to do now, is crochet some buttonhole loops and add some buttons on the back.

I have already started the gorgeous cardigan from Noda. I love that cardigan so much!! And the Junik yarn which I'm using for it, is absolutly stunning.....the only thing I hate about it, is all the yarn fibers which I tend to breathe in while knitting!