Catching up

The pregnancy has taken its toll on the joints of my fingers. So haven’t been sitting much in front of the computer lately.

Just dropping by to do some catching up…both on “reading” and blogging.

The other day I got a little gift from my sweet friends Lexipo…as a thanx for “washer time” – as their washer have been on the fritz and fixing it took forever. With two kids in kindergarten you CAN’T live without a washer.

the bake-it easy set by Porsgrund

Love this baking pan! You bake, cook, store and serve all in one pan. What’s not to love? You can read more about/buy it here.

Unwrapped and started using it today….my first baking project with this new pan? An apple cake for BabyS to bring to kindergarten tomorrow…thank you Lexipo for the great tasting receipt.

Yes! BabyS is turning TWO this weekend! It feels like yesterday I was holding her in my arms for the first time. Have been trying to catch up on some scrapping since I started my maternity leave. Looking back at pictures from the last two years, how much BabyS has grown and evolved into a little person with her own unique personality.

With the new baby arriving any day now I feel I should do some prep-work. With wardrobe, nursery, baby stuff covered I do feel like I’m ready for the new babys arrival. BabyS got lots of knitted blankets during my previous maternity leave…as I have had to sit a lot with my legs raised lately I started on a knitted blanket for the new baby. One he/she can call their own, not one that BabyS has had first…

this time around, diamonds…

Speaking of blankets…Now that this blanket has been given to it’s rightful owner, I can post a picture of it! A reversible stars and stripes blanket for a little prince.

have a feeling I’ve posted a picture before…

Now off to watch a YouTube video I’ve posted before (here)….that worked well for me!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Does NAV have to be this difficult?

Just read an article about the endeavors a journalist experienced when applying for payments during maternity leave. You can read the article here.

I have just had my latest maternity leave approved by NAV. This time around DaddyO is having several weeks more leave than we had last time. And this time no graduated paternity leave. To stretch our leave until the baby starts kindergarten fall 2015 we have put in a few months of unpaid leave from work.

Of course the “rules” for paternity leave have change some from the last time we applied for paternity leave with BabyS in 2012. Here is my post from last time around in the NAV system.

To sum up the changes:
- 14 weeks are reserved for the father
- 2 more weeks paternity leave (49/59 weeks paternity leave, depending on 100% or 80% coverage)

So this time around, our paper mill looks like this:
1. MommyS applies for paternity leave – mother quota plus 10 weeks of the joint period
Using this form: “Application for parental benefits or a paternal quota for a birth”
NB: remember to attatch due date confirmation from doctor, dated after 26 weeks of the pregnancy
AND inform employer to send “Income and tax information for employees”
2. MommyS requests employer for unpaid leave and vacation time
3. DaddyO applies for postponement of paternity leave
Using this form: “Postponement or graduated parental benefits”
4. DaddyO applies for paternity leave – father quota plus the remainder of the joint period
Using this form: “Application for parental benefits or a paternal quota for a birth”
NB: inform employer to send “Income and tax information for employees”

I’m lucky and have an employer that reminded be of point 3. If I wasn’t reminded of this form I wouldn’t know to apply for a postponement. Guess that is what our HR department is there for, knowing the rules and regulations of NAV. Thank you Catherina E!

I realize that all the stories I’ve read about difficulties with the NAV system has always been in situations where applying for paternity leave have not been straight forward. And there is always a lack of information or the presence of misinformation…

- how has your encounter with NAV been?

Knitting up a storm

My due date is less than a month away and these days I’m beginning to feel the extra weight. As a result of that I’ve been spending most of my evenings on the couch, knitting. I mentioned in a earlier post that I was gonna try making a sleeve for my outdated stroller bag.
I’m not finished! I’m not that fast…but I’m almost there. After knitting a whole stroller bag, I do feel that making a sleeve is going much smoother…not to mention faster…
I’m trying to knit a sleeve close to the RisaRosa design, without the side flaps like on the one I made for Hoaneypoo. Hopefully that means I can finish before the baby in my tummy is out. Finishing up a knitting project is so very rewarding. Seeing the fruits of my labour….
Without showing my work so far…here are some links to where I have pulled inspiration from

the combination of cables and pattern
(picture borrowed from http://www.mammasilje.no)

pattern, from Drops nr. 116 pattern nr. 12
(picture from www.garnstudio.com)

cables – uneven twists
pattern 2 from http://howdidyoumakethis.com

As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, I will be knitting the sleeve in Drops Alaska – I bought the skeins during the March felting fever campain (@25% off). In the month of May Drops is having a Supersale- wool edition and have Drops Alaska @35% off! So stock up! So far I’ve used 10 skeins of Alaska….if you need an indication of how much you need for a sleeve. I expect to end up using less than 11 skeins for the finished sleeve.

- where do you draw inspiration from?

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?

Knitted stroller bag

I’ve been drooling over the stroller bags made by RisaRosa. Who wouldn’t??? But at 3000NOK I couldn’t bring myself to order one.

down bags with cable knit by RisaRosa

But I have been contemplating making my own…after A LOT of planning and surfing the web after tips on how to make a stroller bag, I felt I had a good starting point. With 20 skeins of Lana Grossa yarn called ‘Ragazza Lei’ in a grey color (color code 031) I started my own version of a stroller bag. But as I was starting to finish up I realized that a grey stroller bag wasn't very coordinated with my brown/cream stroller…what was I thinking when I bought grey wool yarn???
With my best friend Hoaneypoo just giving birth to a baby boy, I asked if she wanted the finished bag. And she was super happy with the bag.
I did my bag with a mix of cable knit and moss stitch…
- ever knit a stroller bag?