What goes around, comes around

Do good and good will come your way. Just a quote picked up from the packaging on my newest discovery, the Rituals of Karma interior perfume.

Every bottle lasts a long time when they come in 500ml bottles

The Rituals of Karma scent is one of my favorites. So now that it is release in the interior perfume I want to pick it up the next time I pass by the store. Still avoiding unneccessary shopping trips due to the Covid19 pandemic going around in the world. I know I could just order it online, but I like stroling thru the Rituals store. I recommend dropping by a Rituals store if possible, their stores are so nicely decorated giving a sense of calmness and peace. Did I mention they have a sale going on?

Now I’m just wondering when Rituals will release Ritual of Sakura in an interior perfume?

-do you have a Rituals scent favorite?

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?

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?

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?

Recapping the last few weeks

The first weeks of 2015 have been hectic on my part. With three rounds of stomach flu for my two girls I have had my hands full.
The girls have finally gone to bed - sans stomach bugs. I’m sitting in “my” corner of the couch listening to the hail hitting our windows and enjoying a moment of peace. While writing up this post I’m in the back of my mind planning my next knitting project.
Yesterday I finished this pillow. No pattern, just a lot of calculation on my part and some help from Drops in this pattern here. The inspiration for this pillow came from the Oro lammeull pillow available @Princess stores in Norway. I just felt 299NOK for a pillow case was too expensive, why not make my own.

 
my take on the Oro pillow, front and back

I knitted my pillow in Royal Tweed yarn by Lana Grossa. I used less than 5 skeins on 5mm needles for a  40x45cm pillow. This is a medium grey mix (color code 48). Love the softness and play of color. I got the yarn super cheap at a storage sale Tjorven arranged over a year ago. The yarn has just been sitting in my storage waiting for a fun project like this.
Tjorven is actually arranging another storage sale in about two weeks time. I plan on going! I have been really good the past year and used a lot of the yarn I have hoarded since starting this hobby. So this storage sale is great for stocking up on yarns I normally find a little too expensive for my taste. Here is more info if you have the time (January 25th 2015) and the money….Ticket sales are closed (for guaranteed spot in the queue - are already sold out), but you can still get some great yarn deals just by attending.
The past weeks I have intensified my efforts to getting my drivers license. Being a mother of two soon-to-be-kindergarteners I need to be able to drive to and from kindergarten for pick-ups. Two years ago I contacted Bil og Buss Trafikkskole and started my drivers license training. But time has just run from me…now I’m hoping to work hard and get my license within the year. Hopefully over the Summer, depending on how much time I will have to do some driving. Have to make a mental note to save money for driving lessons though. A 45min lesson costs 590NOK! I’m lucking and DaddyO is willing to give me driving lessons, so don’t have to get my general driving training from the driving school, saving me tons of money. But getting a drivers license in Norway is an expensive thing.

Another new thing I stared this year, the art of letter writing. As a side effect of my efforts to getting more organized using binders, I got myself a pen pal. I’ve actually had fun creating pages for my binder to keep track of my pen paling. a pen pal record - to keep track of addresses and personal information

a happy mail log - to keep track of my sent and received snail mail.

Not sure if/how I should put this online for downloading, but drop me a mail if you would like a copy of these.
So now I have more binders than I care to admit, but I feel more organized. It started so simple…with calendar binders to journal/log for my two girls. (more about those in this post) and the number of binder have increased rapidly.
Enough ranting for now…going to catch an episode of The 100 - my newest series to watch. Have a great Thursday evening.
- How has your year started?
- Any goals for the new year?

Better late than never

I've finally taken the time to take pictures and write a few words about my knitted sleeve for BabyLs strollerbag. The one I wrote I was gonna make here and here
Sorry for the late post. This knitted sleeve has been finished for months and used frequently now that the days have become cold, wet and windy. How I envy BabyL when she's sleeping nicely snuggled up in the stroller with me pushing her up the "mountain" we call home. Don't get me wrong...love our little outings no matter the weather (atleast most of the time). It just looks so warm and cozy in the stroller...compared to the outside...

There is no pattern for this sleeve. Just out of my head after a lot of inspiration on Pintrest and Google. Contact me/leave a comment if you want my notes on how I made this sleeve…I feel I can’t call it a stroller bag as this is made to fit outside an old stroller bag I had.
It’s knitted using Drops Alaska in brown (color code 23) I bought during the last Drops yarn sale. Alaska is a 100% wool yarn, but feels nice and soft.  Did you know that Drops is having a sale lasting until December 31^st 2014? On all their alpaca yarn, more info here.
As Christmas is right around the corner I’m off. Have planned a few knitted Christmas gifts and if I’m to finish them in time I need to put in as much knitting time as I can….
- have you knitted anything for your stroller?

Heads-up! Yarn sale right around the corner

In a knitting mood these days. So thought I would let my readers know of the sale Drops announced over the weekend. 35% off all wool yarns. So go get your projects in a row and start hoarding come May.

26 types of yarns to choose from – wohoo!

After finally finishing up the stroller bag I gave away to Hoaneypoos baby boy (here), I’ve taken on another project…a “sleeve” for the stroller bag I already have. The stroller bag I have is a little dated…as it was bought when my big sister was born…33 years(!) ago. Thanks Mummy for hanging on to it for so long! Well with it’s  red Scottish pattern I feel it’s time to update it…

here’s a picture of it as it has been the last few decades…

I don’t intend on making a stroller bag like the one I made for Hoaneypoo….just a lined sleeve for a stroller bag I already have. The above mentioned bag works just fine, just needs a little updating. This way I have less work ahead and might even finish before my due date. Spring has come to Oslo and great for evenings outside knitting…
I’ve seen there’s a trend starting with other knittable bloggers posting pictures of their knitted stroller bags. Guess RisaRosa had to get some competition sooner or later. How can you not fall in love with their bags?
Here are some of the ones I’ve come across, I just had to share their beautiful creations:
(Sorry to my International readers, these posts are in Norwegian – but they are for inspirational purposes only, please respect the copyrights attatched)
- Hestvold (with pattern – though in Norwegian)
- Mamma Solveig
- Speiltvillingene
This time I’m giving Drops Alaska a go (bought @Drops previous yarn sale). I’ve never knitted with this yarn before, but so far things are looking good.
Again I’ve drawn inspiration from RisaRosa, Drops and my creative self. Will post pictures as soon as I’m done.
- do you have a favorite Drops wool yarn?
- have you started knitting a stroller bag?

Finally done!

Well I did finish it last week…
But it’s finally done! The knitting project I started over a year ago…a jacket for BabyS. Based on this (Babydrops 20-11) knitting pattern from Drops/Garnstudio. I used a wool yarn called Fabel Spray Print in color 711 – a pinkish-brown color. Drum roll please…

What took forever, was getting the buttons on. It took forever to receive the ones I ordered on Ebay…and when they finally did arrive (only took two reorders before I ordered from another seller)…It took me forever attaching them to the coat. But now I am finally done and the jacket still fits BabyS.
The buttons are a cute heart shaped wooden one, bought from this Ebayer.

a close-up of the buttons

- Have you any unfinished projects laying around?
Update:
Drops is having a Sockalicious offer again, and the Fabel yarn is one of the discounted yarns. 25% off! Offer is valid until Febuary 28^th 2014 in all Drops stores/webstores.