Forty

Like the previous card, this one is also clean and simple, but I much prefer this one. It's strange how something looks good and something not, but not being able to fully explain why... Anyway, this layout took a while to balance out, but I think the result is ok.

Random

Clean and simple, straight lines, two colours on white. Not much to say, other than here you go!

More butterflies

This one came together really fast, from stuff that was lying on my desk already. Nice and simple, but not too boring. I like the layout and think I will repeat it some time. Also, how can you not love kraft and pink? :)

Butterflies

I've always found the English term "butterfly" to be a bit weird... Butter and flies? I prefer the Norwegian word"sommerfugl", which means "summer bird"... But what's in a name? That which we call a butterfly by any other name would look as sweet. Ooooh I'm channelling my inner Shakespeare here. Bottom line: butterflies are pretty!

A fragment

Now where did the overview picture go? I have no idea. I just have this tilted detail shot, and even that one isn't very good. I suspect I took a few pictures when the card was done, probably some time after midnight if I know myself well. When achieving a proper white balance proved difficult in the poor light conditions, I decided to shoot next morning instead. But remembering such things at seven in the morning is difficult and the card was most likely delivered without any more pictures... Oh well. I made a card and that's all there is to it. :)

Shine on!

One of my colleagues has just left for a new job, and this card was made to wish her all the best on her new adventure. While this style is often my choice for men's cards, it also works well for a woman when the highly embellished flowery style seems too cute for her taste. I'd certainly love to receive a card like this, and I hope that goes for others too.

Celebrate

Another card for a man, I've had to do a few of these lately. Always challenging. This guy has more than a couple of cars in his garage, so the vintage car seemed like a nice choice for him. All paper except the kraft base and the green mat is Project Life supplies from various kits

Hooray!

Cards for men are always tricky, and I usually choose kraft for the card base. Then layering bold colours and patterns without too much fuss. Washi tape and a few accents are all that's needed. On my last scrapping fair I picked up a few Project Life supplies and I love using them on my cards!

My heaven

This shawl, you guys, this shawl... Wow. It's been a long time coming - I cast on in the summer of 2012!

I wanted something complicated as a contrast to a garter stitch project I had started at the same time, and complicated is truly what I got. That edging was no walk in the park! I had not one, but two lifelines in my knitting until that edging was done, and I needed them both on a couple of occasions... In contrast, the main body was done in three intensive knitting days.

It's big and airy, with incredibly open lace, a challenging edging and a much easier main body. I loved this project even though it had many long rests. Tricky thing to photograph too, I can't seem to get the colour right in any of my pictures. It's darker and less pink than in the pictures below.

 I did a few modifications to the pattern, but I won't bore you with it here. Have a look at my Ravelry page for the details.

Post-blocking measurements: 85 cm from neck to corner, 170 cm across. Bigger than anticipated, and I still feel like I could stretch it just a little bit more. Blocked to a round-ish triangle. Love the result! :)

Birthday hug

Again, a pink and kraft card. This one is softer in style and colours, and I like it very much! Some Tim Holtz tissue paper and Golden molding paste along with washi tape and Glimmer Mist are the main features here. The layering of elements like these is what I enjoy most about card making...

Sonja Benedicte

 

I've been a bit hasty when photographing my cards lately, so the colours are a bit off on this one. It's really a lovely pink, brown, kraft combo that I love. The bottom of the image has a green hue that doesn't belong here... Sorry! I really must stop taking pictures after midnight. Or make myself a proper light box. Anyway, this is a card for a good friend and her new baby girl. Congratulations!

Lady Emmeline

Hi everyone, it's been a while! Anybody still reading? :)

I've got a few things to show you. I thought I'd start with this cutie, the Lady Emmeline toddler cardigan. Check out my notes on Ravelry if you'd like to check out the details and find the free pattern. It's knitted in Mini Duett, which is 50% wool, 50% cotton.

So this is a new discovery: I love slip stitch patterns. :)
It looks like stranded knitting (which I avoid if at all possible), but knits up without a fuss and with a very tidy WS. One colour at a time! I'll definitely do a similar pattern in the future.

I knitted the 4 year size hoping that my yarn/needle combo would make it a better fit for the 3 year old recipient - while keeping the length measurements of the larger size, as this little lady is quite tall. I was, however, quite shocked when my width measurements came in under the 2 year size! Thankfully the blocking solved that without problems. This thing could probably be stretched and blocked to fit a 6 year old just fine.

See what I mean about a tidy wrong side? That's just wonderful. Hardly any floats for little fingers to catch on. In a way, I almost like the WS better...??

Luxury silk shawl

This shawl is knitted in the most luxurious yarn I've used yet: Handmaiden 100% silk, hand painted in the most amazingly beautiful colours. It took three weeks of internal debate before I had the nerve to open my wallet for this skein… So expensive. But sooo beautiful! The shawl is blocked to a radius of 67cm, which was probably a bit much - the last few pins had to be pulled very hard… But she’s still in one piece, and the lace pattern looks good. :)
 

I've combined two patterns from a set for this shawl: Camping and Gull Wings. Stitch count calculations for the pattern transitions can be found on my Ravelry project page. In fact, I could happily knit an entire shawl in the Slanting Twigs chart, that curvy section in the middle... Love the look, it's a bit unusual with its asymmetry.

The above picture shows the colours exactly as they are, no enhancement. Amazing! The impression is a bit calmer in general, because of the airy pattern and light reflective quality of the silk. Mainly golden and silvery, with spots of bronze and blue. Some colour pooling issues in parts of the Gull Wings section, but not too bad. Pretty much exactly half a skein used, so she weighs next to nothing (~50g). And it means that I actually have enough yarn for another shawl! What to knit, what to knit..... :) :)

More flowers! More flowers!

 I haven't shown you this one before, have I? I honestly have no idea. Well, it can't do any harm to show it again, because I like it. Really simple design, just a bunch of flowers along the diagonal. The trick is to obtain a certain amount of balance in size and colour. Some washi tape was added first, and when the flowers were stuck on I went to town with beads, rhinestones and Liquid Pearl. Too much? Nope! I love it. :) Those details prevent the card from becoming too boring...

Love you, mom!

After my friend's step mother had her card, it was time for her mother to get one. Now, I swear I didn't set out to make this one prettier, but I was clearly having a better day when I made this one. Also, it has been photographed with a proper camera in decent light, which makes a world of difference when it comes to image quality. I raised the centre mat with 3D glue, and some Molding Paste and a mask creates an additional three-dimensional element. The sentiment is "Love you, mom!"

Small sunday mittens

I've made these mittens once before, and loved the look and fit. Hoping to make the same pattern fit my grandmother's smaller hands, I've made these in DROPS Lace, which is a considerably thinner yarn. Let's hope that worked well... My gauge on the stockinette section is 50 stitches per 10 cm! That’s a new record. Ravelry link.

Beautiful cable and fan pattern, smooth stockinette with nice thumb shaping.
Below: how to block mittens without special tools: Nibble away at a big chocolate bar and wet block on that! Any excuse to eat chocolate is welcome (not that I need one). :)

Elin 60 years

This one was made for a friend, she wanted something flowery, pink and purple for her lovely step mother's birthday. Terrible picture taken with my mobile phone, I'm afraid... Not exactly an innovative design, but hey, it works!

On this important day

On an important day, it is nice to get a card. This one was, if memory serves, made for a confirmation day. I thought wedding at first, because it adheres to my standard, go-to wedding colour scheme, but I rather suspect that the colours of this one was tailored to fit the invitation. It's a little too long ago to be sure, I'm afraid. Anyway, congratulations it is!

Happy birthday!

More Project Life supplies in action! In fact, all paper except the kraft base is Project Life. I cut two of the biggest ones down a bit to fit my format, inked the edges and stuck the whole thing together. Easy peasy, and really fast. Again, these cards look better in real life than on this flat picture...

Mini short-sleeved cardigan

I've had a go at making the 1-2 year size in a slightly thicker yarn than specified in the pattern, hoping it would be a nice fit for a girl that’s 2,5 years old. It's probably a bit big... But better too big than too small! Because the little lady who is to receive this thing tends to become very hot when wearing wool, I decided to ditch the sleeves and just did a few rows of garter stitch to finish the arm holes. I like the look. :) Ravelry link.

Love the look of this yarn! A simple pattern was definitely the way to go - the stockinette section really shows off the changes in colour and thickness.

Project Life supplies used in a different way

Now this card doesn't look like much in this picture, I know. These simple cards are so much nicer in real life! You'll have to take my word for it, I guess. Just trust me. :) I recently bought some Project Life stuff, not because I have any intention of doing a Project Life, but because I liked the designs and realised they would be lovely on cards and in my regular photo album! So now I try to use them every chance I get.

Adventure

This is a small card, 10 x 10 cm. I like the format very much! It's a great chance to use scraps, keep the designs simple, and play around with splashes of shimmering colour sprays without risking too much damage to a large card. Simple concept, this one, and I like that. :)

Play!

I can't for the life of me remember who this was supposed to be for, but I think it was probably a man? Possibly a man. I think. I should probably start writing these things down.
That blotchy red-green tag was made by splashing two colours of Distress Stain on a non-stick baking sheet and patting the white tag into it. Adding some metallic stain, in this case silver, gives you a nice shine. I've made several tags, and it's a fun process. You haven't got much control over the result, so it's a case of getting messy and just experiment away.

Pink summer tunic

My niece usually gets a knitted garment for birthdays and Christmas - I'm going to do it before she doesn't want to wear hand knits any more! We all know that time comes, sooner or later. This was her birthday gift, a fairly short tunic in DROPS Lace held double. I have so much of that yarn I can never knit it all into shawls, so clothes it is. The result is an impossibly soft and light summer tunic.

The pattern is simple and easy-going, which of course means that I inevitably get bored before reaching the half-way point. On the other hand, stockinette in the round is incredibly fast knitting! The Instagram picture below shows ALL the yarn I had left of my 800 meter skein… Phew!! Ravelry link.

A little prince

This card isn't nearly as askew as it seems. It was just the photographer that couldn't aim. Three pictures, one more tilted than the other... These simple cards don't usually photograph well, even if I manage to align the card with the viewfinder. They look better in person, and you'll just have to trust me on that one! ;)

Purple Echo shawl

I've made an Echo shawl once before, and liked the pattern for its ease and look. The rounded flowers are a nice change from the more angled stuff you usually see. Being familiar with the pattern, I knitted this one up in no time. Because of an originally tight time table, I did 7-loop nupps instead of 9-loop, but they look good all the same. Blocking was done a bit more aggressively than the first time, because the yarn is springy, and during the first few days of wearing my first shawl shrunk back a bit. Ravelry link.

Welcome 2014!

 

 A new year, a new book. A new day, a new page. Welcome 2014, and may you be a good one.

(The book above is a small compilation of my Instagram pictures from 2012, printed at Blurb. Highly recommended!)

I've been away for a while, as you may have noticed. Real life and all that. Priorities must be made, but I have found myself missing this space a bit lately. So while I cannot promise five posts a week, I can at least say that there will be some activity here now and then. How's that for commitment? :) :)

While I write some words about some of the stuff I've made that never made it to the blog in 2013, you can take a look at some Instagram pictures showing what I've done instead of blogging the last six months. There should really be a photo of my TV in there. Really, there should be.

Anyway, I'm off to watch the new episode of Sherlock. Again. :) Here's the slide show:

 I've taken a few walks in the awesomeness of nature, not always on the safest paths...

 ...seen evidence that life may survive in rough places if it adapts to its surroundings...

 ...made my favourite summer desserts a few too many times...

 ...picked wild blueberries (the real thing!)...

 ...grown my own radishes, with somewhat varying results...

 ...taken my first flight in far too many years...

 ...had a proper staredown with a lioness...

 ...watched the days turn shorter and shorter...

...changed to brand new studded tires that so far have seen snow only on a single morning...

...played and relaxed with family...

...and last, but certainly not least, had more than a few geocaching adventures! I could have shown you so many pictures relating to this sport/adventure/game/mystery solving/treasure hunt, but settled for this one, which is one of my favourite shots from last year.

There will be some posts coming soon. Some cards, and a few knitting projects. If you're curious, there's always my Ravelry page and Instagram to keep you occupied while you wait.

See you soon!