Planner and knitting

I know I’ve been MIA a while. With SweetieS starting school last fall and SweetieL being a handful I just haven’t had the energy to sit down and post. And I see that this blog is suffering the consequences.
But here is a post from me, still alive and kicking.
Eventhough the Summer has been knit free, I still have a few post coming on knitting….one of the things I have incorporated in my planner is an analog log of my knitting. So hopefully when I sit down to blog about a project it hasn’t all gone to LaLaLand. In this spread I make notes of what yarn, pattern and needles I have used. Also with a note of whom it was knitted for. After I got the Polaroid zip I even started adding a picture of the finished project.

before the pen	filled in

over to the next project of the day. Cleaning up after our fireplace was changed earlier this month….
- what have you been doing this Summer?

Knitting up a storm

Winter is coming, no doubt about that. Yesterday I woke up to a thin white blanket covering the streets infront of my house. Not long until I will be shoveling snow again.

In preparation for winter, the girls need a layer of warm clothes to wear with their overalls. I concluded I would use the Drops “Starshine” pattern and make my own pattern on the yolk. For the pants I started with the pattern for “Power leggings” but didn’t like the shape of the finished pants. So after recommendations from a good colleague, I ended up using “Winter wolf” for all three sets .  I bought Drops Karisma yarn when they had a sale earlier this year. I even made a set for my niece, hope she likes it.

For the waist I followed a youtube video on how to knit an icord.

For my niece I used the colors “dark purple” (uni color 76) for the pattern and “rose” (uni color 80) for the rest. She got two pair of pants as I made that one first with elastics in the waistline. I used 5 skeins of the main color for the sweater and 5 skeins for the pants. for the accents I used 2 skeins.

for my niece….

For SweetieL I used the colors “light denim blue” (uni color 30) for the pattern and “navy blue” (uni color 17) for the rest. When I was almost done , SweetieL requested the waist cord to be in a different color. So she got to choose from some yarns I had in my stash. She was still not happy with the end result until we added the pom poms. On this set I also used 5 skeins of the main color and 1 skein for the accents for a total of 12 skeins of Karisma.

for SweetieL….

And the last set, for SweetieS, I used the colors  “light grey green” (uni color 69) for the pattern and “sea green” (mix 50) for the rest. SweetieS got her set in a bigger size. So for her set I used 6 skeins for the sweater and 5 on the pants in addition to the 2 skeins for the accents.

the picture doesn’t do the color justice…

These would make great Christmas gifts, but the girls need these garments now. Not in a few weeks….so will just have to go shopping for other gifts for Christmas.

Before I forget., Drops is having a sale on all alpaca yarn. 14 different alpaca yarns to choose from and beautiful colors. With 30% discount you can save some $$$. The sale lasts thruout the year, so stock up while you can.

- what are you knitting these days?

- any knitted Christmas presents?

Welcome to the world baby Emily

This past Easter baby Emily came into this world like a comet. Well her birth was long awaited and when the time came for her birth it was over almost before it began. And now my sisters family has added another girl to the family roster. Welcome Emily, wishing you a wonderful life blessed with love and fun!

I had to knit something for little Emily, so this time I opted for a blanket. From my experience with the girls, I made a baby blanket larger than the usual baby size. I went for more junior size,  the blanket ended up being around 80x100cm in size. I like the idea that the blanket can be used beyond the baby days/years.

I used a cloth pattern by Bitta Mikkelborg called Tusenfryd as a starting point. Did some calculations and ended up with this blanket. Did you know that tusenfryd is Norwegian for daisy?

a field of daisies

I have already started on another blanket, this time for another baby coming very soon. Pictures will be posted when it is given to the recipient..

-how did you spend your Easter?

With time to spare

Sorry I’ve been MIA the last few months….time has just flown by.

The girls Marius dresses have been finished a few weeks now. They just need a round with an iron to flatten out here and there.

As mentioned in this post, it is a Marius pattern vest that I modified into a dress. I made it longer than the orginal vest and added a border to the bottom. Initially I made them so the girls would have matching dresses for their kindergarten pictures, which is in the Spring. I have yet to receive information about a photo scheduel. so how long can I hold off these dresses until the girls want to use them? With my luck, if I let them use them they’ll eat blueberries or something that make stains that are impossible to get out.

For these dresses I used Drops Baby Merino yarn. This yarn is so nice to knit with. Recommend this yarn if you are knitting patterns with different colors.

SweetieS choose the color “lilla orkide” (mix 39) as her main color, while SweetieL choose “turkis” (Uni color 32). For the Marius pattern I used “hvit” (Uni color 01). For the collar I used “rosa” (uni color 07). In both dresses I used 4 skeins of the mail color and 1 of each the white and pink..

An ice cold front has hit Norway the last week, so it’s been good knitting on a baby blanket I’m gifting my sister when her new baby comes…

-what are you knitting on these days?

Will I make it in time?

Winter is coming and the perfect time to snuggle up on the couch and do some knitting.

I finally finished my pillow project, a pillow pattern based on a picture I saw online of the quatrefoil pattern. Using about 5 skeins of cotton yarn from Søstrene Grene on 2,5mm needles (I think it was).

finally done

Now over to my new project, Marius dress for both SweetieS and SweetieL before they take kindergarden pictures.

Earlier this fall I went to my local library and borrowed the book “Marius strikkebok” with lovely knitting patterns with the popular Norwegian pattern Marius. This time I desided to modify a vest pattern into a dress for the girls. Colors were choosen by the girls and yarn was ordered from Garnius (pst! Drops alpaca yarn is on sale till the end of this year!)

 
in the starting pit of SweetieLs dress

The dates for kindergarten pictures has still to be announced. But since I am making not one, but two dresses. I hope I make it in time…

- what are you doing these cold Autumn days?
- what’s your latest knitting project?

Another weekend with Teddy

The past weekend we got to have SweetieS kindergarten mascot Teddy for a visit.It’s been about a year since we had him for a visit. (in case you missed it, here is the post)

Sine we last saw him Teddy has been “upgraded” with new clothes and a new buddy, Little Teddy. This time SweetieS put in a request for a new hat for Teddy. With temperature rapid falling these days, SweetieS felt Teddy need a warm hat. So I was put to work. I did a quick Google search to have a base to start with. I found this pattern. Starting with 68 stitches I knitted until I felt it was big enough.

I’m still looking for Lille Teddy. He went to bed with Teddy and SweetieS and has yet to show up…I’ve emptied the bed (SweetieS has “a few” stuffed animals) and still no sign of him…

These days the windows in our house are being changed. So the weekend was spendt clearing and getting ready for the upcoming renovation, while the girls had a sleep over at the grand parents.

- how have you spendt your weekend?

A sunny day

Summer is slowly coming to Oslo, Norway. On this this beautiful sunny day we went for a longer drive and visited a friend DaffyM in Bødalen (Norwegian for boo-valley). Mostly because SweetieL is very intimidated by dogs, and my friend has a cute little jack russell terrier called Bella. We planned a longer visit for SweetieL to warm up to Bella. A few hours later SweetieL isn’t runing after dogs, but she doesn’t run the opposite direction either. So some progress. We might have to give it a few more rounds before SweetieL warms up to dogs…

Part of warming up for our visit, I have been showing SweetieL pictures of Bella. And this picture on the Garnstudio website is a nice picture of a jack. In this pciture there is a very nice coat for dogs. So why not make it for little Bella? well just a few days before our visit I dug out the necessary yarns and started. After making a major mistake (I misread the pattern) I had to almost restart this project. But with a few hours less sleep this weekend I finished in time for our visit…

sweet little Bella

I followed the pattern called “The lookout” by Drops design. I did however make it shorter than the measurements for the medium size. Bella is on the petite side of Jack Russells. I used 3 skeins of Drops karisma In the color Lavendel – 074), I had some left over from a My sister & me project, where I made matching tunicas for the girls. Luckily Bella tested the coat long enough for a snap.

- how have you spent this beautiful day off?

Busy bee

First of all Happy Chinese New Year to all my readers in “Bloglandia”. Or Gong Xi Fa Chai for those whom understand Chinese. In the lack of massive amounts of energy, this year we opted for just cleaning house and not decorating for the Chinese New Year as we have done earlier years. Out new year dinner was as tradition entales, steamboat. Yummy!

The year of the Monkey ended with bumps and scratches for all the girls in CasaR. The last day of the year was a cold one and resulted in icy streets and super slippery. If you happened to be in our neighborhood Friday afternoon, you would have seen the three of us scattered over the sidewalk as we all slipped on the icy sidewalks. To this day, my” mummy heart” still hurts a little when seen SweetieLs face…Hopefully the year of the Rooster will be better…

poor little one

This weekend I did some repair work on SweetieS winter coveralls. Just before the weekend I saw that the seam had started to fall apart. Rather than wasting a perfectly usable coverall, I looked into how to patch it up.

So Saturday I took a trip to my local fabric store Stoff og Stil and looked for fabrics I could use. My requirements for the fabric were “simple”, it had to be durable and semi-waterproof. I found some waxed (I think it’s waxed) and a cool Paw Patrol fabric. SweetieS was superhappy with the result. Now to see how it holds up with the daily wear and tear SweetieS puts it to…

I also finally finished my second Skappelgenser. Well this one has a twist to the original pattern. I had knitted it one size too small. Rather than starting over I added cables on the sides. This sweater is knitted with Drops Big Delight in the color Rosehage (01) and Drops Brushed Alpaca Silke Lys beige (04) on 7mm needles. For this project I used about 7 skeins of each.

finally done…	close up of the cable along the sides

Now of to play with my latest toy, the Gyro-cutter. I bought this cutter iwth plans to kiss cut stickers for my planner. So far my first impression is that it works great. I bought mine of Ebay, from this seller.

Here I cut out the text “April” from a printed label sticker.

- How have you started your year of the Rooster?

“Just the 3 of us”

I finally finished and remembered to take some pictures. This weekend I finished sewing on the buttons and fastening the last loose threads. So the jackets are ready for use. Just in the nick of time if you ask me. Temperatures here in Oslo have dropped below 10 degrees Celsius and the mornings here at home are starting at just a few degrees above zero.

Just the 3 of us: mine, SweetieS and SweetieL

As I mentioned in the post when I started, these jackets are knitted with a thread of Drops Alpaca and a thread of Marks & Kattens Fame trend Paljett yarn. The jackets are more white than the impression from the picture above. The color code are the same for all three jackets. Drops Alpaca in the color natur (color code: 0100), Marks & Kittens Fame Trend sequins yarn in white (color code: 683) and I used knitting needles in the sizes 4mm and 5mm.

Now off to finish a project I started with yarn I have left over from previous projects…hats for SweetieS and SweetieL.
- what are you doing on these chilly Autumn days?

Upgraded Mommy & Me project

With SweetieS growing…she’s already 4 years old! The need to upgrade her bling jacket I made a while back is due..The one I knitted for SweetieS after I had made one for myself (original post here).

So this week I started to look a patterns and how to make a new one slightly larger. I had som yarn left over from the first two jackets, so I thought I would have enough for one more….

how cute is that Hello kitty measuring tape =)

or so I thought…off to the yarn store for one skein of Drops Alpaca….

Will post a finished picture as soon as I finish …until then have a nice weekend!

- fall has come to Norway, how are you enjoying your days?

The first of many?

Not sure yet…but hoping this is the first of many future knitting projects that I can tag “my sister & me”.

I thought I had posted this picture of my latest project…tunicas for SweetieS and BabyL.

Well since this picture was taken a while ago, I have actually finished this project!

I modified the Starshine pattern by Garnstudio…with shorter sleeves and longer body I ended up with a tunica style sweater for the girls.

For this project I used Drops Karisma for the first time.The edge at the bottom, sleeve and neck were knitted in the color Petrol cerise (75), I used less than two skeins for both tunikas. The stripes are made up of Petrol (73) and Lavendel(74). For both tunicas I used about 5 skeins of each color.

Both for future reference…maybe not making stripes like these. There were SO many loose threads to finish. I had to fasten the threads over the course of several evenings.

Now going to catch me some Pokemons before I start my next project…

- have you caught them all? (yes, that’s a nerdy Pokemon reference)

In the works

The other day my yarn order from Garnstudios last wool sale arrived. With my maritime project finished I was ready to embark on a new project. I don’t like having several ongoing projects. I’m not good at following patterns to the letter, so having one project at a time keeps me “in control”.

Amongst the yarns I orders were several skeins of Drops Karisma. I’ll show pictures as soon as I’ve snapped some pictures. In the meantime…

These look so lovely together. Here are the colors Lavender (74), Petrol cerise (75) and Petrol (73).

- what are you doing this wonderful Summer day?

New project in the works

With my best friend Hoaneypoos announcement of a new family addition I have started planning my next knitting project.

 

Something for the new baby perhaps?

I was looking at past baby gifts and came over a dress I had knitted for baby Tilde earlier this year that I see now that I postponed posting about, and than consequently forgot...

 

Well better late than never...

ready for a playdate

This dress is knitted using a Drops pattern called Playmate, you can find it here. I used Drops Merion Extra Fine in the colors 01- natur and 25- rosa (I think it was…)

Off to do some more surfing on patterns…

- what are you knitting on these days?

With my hands full

The past weekend has been a hectic weekend @casaR. With DaddyO on a weekend trip with a few KGB members, I had my hands full with BabyL and SweetieS. Luckily my mother had time, so she came over and lent me a couple of hands. Mums are the greatest! Thank you!
With the girls gone to bed and DaddyO back home. I can put my feet up and enjoy the rest of the evening. This will be a quick post just jotting down a few thoughts… I want to relax the rest of the evening before it’s gone….so if you have any questions about any of my projects, feel free to leave comment and I'll try my best to answer.
My latest knitting projects have been finished (I’ve been literally knitting up a storm) and I can now post pictures…
A Skappelgenser for myself. So wonderfully soft and light. It’s knitted with Drops Alpaca and Drops Vivaldi.

ignore the loose threads, I took the picture before I had cut them…

I googled around to find the pattern, and made some adjustments. So my finished sweater is much more fitted than the original. Wasn’t my intention, so I plan on making another one in the future.
With yarn I had laying around (Drops Eskimo and Lang yarns Andina) I finally finished a pair of cozy socks, mittens for myself  and a head band for SweetieS. The head band went off with SweetieS before a managed to snap a picture..

Now off to start my next project, a Skappelgenser for SweetieS.
- what have you done this weekend?

I’m not loving it

I finished the cardigan I mentioned in my previous post (here). And after mulling it over I’m not loving it, I’ve made the yoke too big for my figure so it feels too big around the shoulders. Hopefully it will fit my mum better than me.

here is the finished cardigan…

As I had “predicted” I didn’t have enough of the mauve Sandnes Alpakka Kashmir yarn..so I had to be creative with what I had…and added a pale pink (color code 4622) to the mix. As I didn’t want the jacket to have a dark top and a light bottom I gave it a striped look (the inspiration I used is here, a jacket by Malene Birger)
I used a Drops pattern (the Elinor Dashwood Cardigan – Drops 157-4) for sizing and the pattern is “created” by G-Anette. The pattern is as simple as 1, 2, 3, 4. Well row 1: knit, row 2: 1 knit, 1 purl, row 3: knit and row 4: 1 purl, 1 knit. With this pattern I got a shifted moss stitch.

some lovely shifted moss

In total I used about 14 skeins of the Alpakka Kashmir yarn. It's knitted on 5,5mm needles. The buttons I ordered of Ebay a while back.
As I won’t be keeping this cardigan I guess I will have to plan another one with this pattern. Love the pattern, just not the shape of the finished cardigan. The other day I bought yarn for my next project, a Skappelgenser.
FYI, Garnstudio is running their Alpaca party the rest of 2015. Which means 25% discount of their alpaca yarns. More info on the yarns and pricing can be found on Garnstudios webpage here

- what do you have on your knitting needles these days?

My latest project

I’m still alive. Autumn has come and with the falling leaves, my energy levels have also dropped. So these days my evenings are spent slouching on the couch. I’ve started knitting on another cardigan with yarn I had laying around. It’s nice to do some ego-knitting too.

Inspired by G-anette and the jacket she posted here. I’ve started on one for myself. I have used a Drops pattern (same as I used for this cardigan, the Elinor Dashwood Cardigan – Drops 157-4) as a base pattern and adapted it to the look I’m aiming for. Hopefully I have enough yarn for this project…
This is a cardigan knitted top-down, so if I run out of yarn I will just have to finish off with a shorter cardigan than the pattern intended. These days I’m finishing of the second sleeve and getting ready to start the body…
I’m knitting it in a softest Alpakka Kashmir yarn by Sandnes Garn in a mauve (?) color (color code 4855). A yarn made of 84% alpaca and 16% cashmere blend. With 5,5mm knitting needles the yarn is flying of the skeins. I realize now that I have had the yarn laying around so long, it has been discontinued. Oh well, use what you have…
- what are you doing these Autumn days?

Mommy and me

Not long ago I posted about a jacket I had knitted for myself. Well SweetieS demanded requested  I make a similar jacket and the other day I finished it. Still waiting for buttons I ordered online. But SweetieS couldn't wait and have used it several days already.

Snapped a picture while SweetieS was sleeping, she's literally moved into it...

I used this Drops pattern for starters, mixed across the sizes to get the length. I used the same yarn I used for my jacket, Drops Alpaca in the color natur (color code: 0100), Marks & Kittens Fame Trend sequins yarn in white (color code: 683) and I used knitting needles in the sizes 4mm and 5mm. For this jacket I used about 2 skeins Alpaca and 1 skein of the sequins yarn.

Ego knit

Last week I finshed a knitted garment for myself. I’ve knitted quite alot since I took up knitting…this time a long cardican for myself.
I’ve been drooling some time over Tjorvens Mia jakke. But haven’t gotten around to knitting this one. Well the other day I thought I would start knitting a jacket for myself with sequins yarn I had laying around. I ordered myself som alpakka yarn to go with the sequins yarn from Myke nøster as they were having the Drops super sale  - wool edition (valid thru the month of May 2015).
With Drops Alpaca in the color natur (color code: 0100), Marks & Kittens Fame Trend sequins yarn in white (color code: 683) knitting needles in the sizes 4mm and 5mm I was ready to start my project. Of course I had totally forgotten about the Mia jacket when I was looking for knitting patterns. So I ended up using this one by Drops – though with a few alterations. I didn’t knit the pattern as I thought the sequins was enough.
After less than three weeks and some mother of pearls buttons (30mm in diameter) bought of Ebay I have a completed jacket.

still needs to be steamed so the edges don’t curl up/in…but very happy with the finished result

Now off to make a smiliar one for SweetieS as she wanted one when she saw mine…

Update July 21th:
For this jacket I used less than 6 skeins of Drops Alpaca (50gr skeins) and less than 3 skeins (100gr skeins) of the Fame sequin yarn.

Patch Tuesday

For most people working within IT know that this is a term used for when Microsoft releases security patched for their software products. Well nothing IT related this time.

Just that I’ve spendt the day patching SweetieS stuff that has hole, rips and tears. With active kids comes clothes with rips and tears. And since we get alot of clothes pre-owned, there is some wear and tear from previous users to begin with.

I’ve posted earlier about patching I’ve done of knitted garnmets for SweetieS, like here.

Knit patterns I like using for these patches, so they are a little more fun:
- stars: here, thanks to Valley Yarns
- hearts: here, thanks to CreatingLaura
- square with heart lollipop, here, thanks to DesignsbyEmily
and my newest addition; butterfly: here, thanks to Lion brand yarns

a little collage of my patch works

Also on the stuff to fix were a zipper, some button holes that needed to pulled together, clothes that needed branding…not very intresting to mention.

- what have ou been doing tonight?

Twinkle, twinkle little star

A while back I got a pre-loved set of wool pajamas from my wonderful sister-in-law. A nice and cuddly brown pajama made by Nøstebarn. Just love these pajamas. After being used by my little nephew the feet were worn and had a few holes where you would expect holes to be. As the rest of the pajama had no wears and tears to mention I thought I would give it a try and patch it up.

After “consulting” SweetieS we agreed upon star-shaped patches. SweetieS pick colors from yarn I had at hand and I went searching for a star pattern.

 
I found this star pattern by Valley Yarns, pattern available for free here. This is a pattern for Christmas ornaments. Just don’t sew two stars together and you have your patches.

A before picture….

A few threads to fasten…

And the result…

SweetieS is happy with the result…therefore I am.

- what do you do to “fix” holes in your clothes?