If anyone is still reading...

Hello everyone! It's been a while... High time to bring some activity to this little blog! This card was halfway done for a long time, and I finally managed to colour in the stamp so I could give it away. That brown baker's twine is a current favourite of mine.

In case you've been wondering what I've been doing all this time, you can see that my Pinterest account is showing a lot of activity lately. I'm also knitting this shawl and this baby jacket (both recipes are rubbish but I'm working out the kinks), and watching my current TV obsession: BBCs Sherlock (be still my heart). And to compensate for all this sitting-down-activity, I'm out geocaching now and then - it's a wonderful way to discover new places and get some exercise in the process. There might be more cards coming soon, but I think the yarn projects will still dominate for a while. :) See you later!

Hello sunshine!

After months and months of steel grey skies and seemingly unending downpour, this warm yellow alpaca yarn kept begging me to be wrapped around some knitting needles and made into something that could brighten up any rainy day! How could I resist? When looking through my Ravelry project page, it is immediately clear that this is most definitely not my usual colour scheme. I think I should be more bold in the future, because I absolutely love this shawl. :) The lovely yellow works well with both my dark grey winter coat, and my cool lilac autumn coat. A wonderful splash of colour!
-This shawl measures 62 cm from the neck down, 125 cm across. So, not a big shawl for me, closer to a shoulderette. I’m using this more as a scarf than a proper shawl, but it also works well if I'd like to cover up a V-neck top on cold days (as demonstrated in the first picture). The pattern is easily adjusted for size, because you can end on whatever number of repeats of the main flower chart you'd like.
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The excellent pattern is called the Echo Flower Shawl. The only tricky part is the nupps, those big blobs you see lining the cathedral window pattern. The secret is to knit loose, loose, loose!! Purling those 9 loops together into one was a challenge at first, but as it is with everything in life, practice makes perfect. More details on my Ravelry page.

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I have a little bit of yarn left, and will try to make some matching accessories... More sunshine to the rainy days!

Undercover baby blanket

The idea of knitting a square blanket in the round seemed like an interesting concept, and I couldn't resist trying it. I've got a kind of ombre effect going on here, it starts light in the centre and darkens towards the edges. In a perfect world the transitions wouldn't be as distinct as they are - but that is determined by the yarn. Had I found yarns in more similar colour tones it would look smoother, but this isn't too bad. The centre is knit using two strands of the light pink, then one strand light and one strand dark pink is held together, then two strands of the dark pink, and finally the edge is done with one dark pink and one brown strand.

-The pattern looks soo much more complicated than it is! There's a system for adding stitches in the corners, but everything inbetween is identical for every pattern row. And you still get this cool, graphic pattern. Go figure. I think it would work for boys as well as girls, and have some plans for a green version some time in the future.

-I blocked the blanket to exactly 1m by 1m, because that't the size of my excercise mat. It shrunk down a bit afterwards, and the finished size is 90cm by 90cm. Details are, as usual, on my Ravelry page.

Soap on a rope

Soap on a rope - soap and bath sponge all in one! It's really a kid's craft... Isn't it? Well, that's never scared me off before. :P And to complete my childlike crafting experience, I gave them to my dad. Congrats dad, I bet you're proud of your little girl now. ;) They were just a little joke really, a gag gift that went with the bath robe he wanted for christmas.
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These are really old-fashioned, stone hard bars of soap. I tied some string around each to make a handle of sorts. Then the whole thing was covered in three thin layers of wool roving in alternating directions, and then wet-felted in my sink. It was a bit harder than anticipated to attatch the yellow wool to the green, but it stuck pretty well in the end. I'm sure there are plenty of tips from people who have done this a few times - a Google search for "soap on a rope tutorial" should probably give you loads of good links. I just winged it, as I sometimes usually do...

Beaded Candle Flame Cowl

In search of a christmas gift that needed to be done in less than a week, I came across this one. The cute pattern is slightly familiar, and I had some suitable yarn leftover from previous projects.

I actually gave this a very careful steam blocking before wrapping it up in pretty christmas paper, and have no photos of it after blocking. The difference is minimal, but just enough to feel a tiny bit looser around the neck.

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The pattern is elastic and has a natural flare at the top and bottom, which is perfect! On a whim, I decided to add golden 6/0 beads to the top two candleflame tips. The yarn is dark, and I’m not sure it’s really her favourite colour exactly, so I figured the sparkle could lighten things up. :) Details on my Ravelry page.

Kimono dress for Kristine

This dress got started before its recipient, my first niece, was even born... :P And then it spent several months in pieces in my yarn drawer, until I finally realised I had to start the dreaded sewing if it was ever going to make it into a christmas present. Isn't it pretty though? The instant I found the recipe I knew it had to be at the top of my Ravelry queue.

-The kimono closure at the front is so cute. I did a few extra rows with some holes for the addition of a ribbon, but made a twisted yarn ribbon instead of the suggested silk ribbon.

-This is the first time I've knitted cotton yarn and it was really really difficult at first! My fingers are used to wool and wool blends which flow so much more freely. The result is that the first two centimeters of the dress are loose and sloppy. I had knitted a long way when I realised the tension had changed that much, and after some deliberation I decided not to frog the whole thing. I still regret it a bit, but have tried to make it look as if it is an intentional widening at the bottom of the skirt.

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Just a detail shot of the sleeve. Amazing how much impression that simple pattern makes! Just a single decrease and a yarn over... For more details, have a look at my Ravelry page.

Grandma's mittens

Grandma got a pair of mittens for christmas, too. She wanted useful things, and this should work, I hope. The pattern is, again, the same as the photographer's mittens, this time without any finger holes or flaps or anything. I couldn't resist doing a tiny little snowflake pattern in duplicate stitch, even though I really didn't have time. It could have been nicer, time permitting, but they'll have to do.

-Clean and simple! My grandma is a teeny tiny woman, so they are too small for me to model. You'll have to settle for these boring pictures, but you get the point. ;) The details are, as usual, on my Ravelry page.

Kleks shawlette

Some time before christmas I was fishing for hints on what I might knit for my mother for christmas. The information I gathered was: a shawl in a neutral colour, not too big, and it should be able to double as a scarf. So I went hunting on Ravelry and came up with one shawl after another, each recipe more detailed than the next. And then along came Kleks. :) I knew instantly that this clean and simple design would be perfect.

-The shawl isn't very big, but then neither is the recipient... It measures ca 55 cm from the neck down including the point), but a full 140 cm from end to end - the original recipe yields a semi-circle, but I've adjusted it to make a more stretched-out shape. This shape makes it suitable for both a displayed shawl and a rolled-up scarf version. (Also, please excuse these blurry photos. Daylight is sparse, even during the day. Oh where is the sun hiding?)

-Now, this design is simple, but curious. The lace sections are actually inside out - what you're seeing is the reverse side of a stitch pattern I've seen referred to as the raspberry stitch. I really like how this creates a striking contrast between the smooth stockinette sections and the rough, knobbly lace sections. The image above is the best I can do in trying to show you the effect. It's one of those details that provides that little extra kick to a simple design, elevating it over the rest.

On the other hand, the pattern has major flaws. There are mistakes that clearly came during its translation from Polish to English, as well as other inaccuracies, especially concerning increasing the stitch count. Even with the helpful tips from other Ravelry users, I haven't been able to achieve a clean line with the perfect amount of increases. I'd think twice about doing this shawl again, even though I like the general design.

-The edge has several points, each center point has a bead. Wow, what a relief to block an entire shawl using only 40 or so pins, instead of the 250-300 I've used on the last few projects! :)

-The technique I used to elongate the shawl gives some dramatic effects at the corners. When the shawl is worn, this part hangs in pretty folds.

Details are on my Ravelry page as usual.

Mommy's mittens

Time to start revealing some christmas gifts, now that the recipients have torn away the paper and hopefully enjoyed what they found. :) First out is this pair of mittens I made for my cousin. She's a mommy to two little ones and I hope this will be a practical thing to have around this winter. Now, she can fold the flaps back and to fiddly little things like retying shoelaces and so on, and then just pop the fingers back in to keep them warm.

-They started out being based on my photographer's mittens, but instead of a hole for the index fingers I made a flap that covers the four finger group. It might not look like it, but the flap was knitted first and the "inner tube" picked up from live stitches (palm side) and knitted into purl bumps (back of the hand) afterwards. The result isn't too bad! There are probably some great recipes for this flap thing out there, but I was in the swing of things and just winged it. Details on my Ravelry page as usual.

Merry christmas to all and to all a good night

Just stopping by to wish you all a joyful christmas celebration!

May your days be merry and bright. :)

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In the following days, I'll post my handmade gifts here on this little blog. Today I'm just showing you how I've wrapped most of the gifts this year. The old-fashioned, rustic way! Well, my version of it anyway. ;) I have to admit I like giving the wrapping some attention. Somehow, it makes me feel that every gift is special - that the giving itself matters, not just the contents of the gift.

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I've used ordinary kraft wrapping paper, kraft and red stripe paper, christmas themed washi tape, and kraft tags with inked edges and a piece of washi tape, all tied together with black and white baker's twine made from paper. It may look much, but it's actually mostly really cheap materials so I have no guilty feelings about it.

My mom is probably going to ask where's the gold, because that's her quintessential ingredient of christmas decoration... So for one of her gifts, I've stamped the kraft wrapping paper with two snowflake designs in white ink, sprayed gold Glimmermist on top, and used white and gold paper raffia ribbon to tie it. You can see the ingredients of her wrapping in the picture. ;)

Breezy baby blanket

If you're looking for a quick knit baby blanket, I highly recommend this one. It knits up really fast - although you'll have a fair amount of ends to weave in after all those colour changes. Choose a yarn that looks good on its own and doesn't split, or all those dropped yarnovers will look cheap and weak. I went for the always wonderful DROPS Merino Extra Fine, while the original recipe uses a brilliant one that's spun from one thick and one thin strand. This isn't your thick and super warm winter blanket. As the name suggests, it's not only a quick knit, but also a light and airy blanket more suited for slightly warmer days, or for inside use.

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It's been ages since I finished this blanket and it's still lying in my closet waiting for a recipient... So I decided it was high time to blog it anyway. I've been wanting to take better photos of it, but I've had seven months to do it and it seems clear that's not going to happen, so here it is! It's not really blocked, but I did soak it and let it dry flat and it did even out the shape a bit. I started and ended with a white section, and did a row (or two?) of single crochets around the edge for better definintion and finished look. More details on my Ravelry page.

The world of imagination is boundless

For the longest time, I was adamant on sticking to Norwegian sentiment stamps... But lately, I've given in to temptation and bought a whole heap of English ones. I just couldn't resist! They are sooo wonderful. There's so much more to choose from too, especially in the cool/grungy/quirky genres. On my last shopping spree at Scrapmagasinet and Bikuben along with my partner in crime Kristin, I came home with way too many of them. The only problem is, I have trouble selling them, so I'll have to keep them for my own friends, I guess.

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That pattern paper, can you see it's supposed to be books in a bookshelf? It comes from Basic Grey's Oxford pad and goes perfectly with that sentiment stamp. As a dedicated bookworm, I can certainly appreciate that. :)

-I usually keep the insides of my cards fairly simple, but I just wanted you to see this. One of the stamps in this set is this really really long one, much too long to fit on a 15 cm long card. I inked the first part of it and stamped it in one of the inside corners, and the rest on the back (photo below). Some Oxford paper scraps decorate the opposite side.

-"Our heart captures photos of your life, notes that create a timeless story of everyday, a journal of memories we cherish, hopes and dreams, the thoughts or secret wishes we treasure, the moments you live to embrace love. XOXO" It just so happened that there was a natural place to divide this stamp, and the longest part fits perfectly inside the 15x15 cm cards. Brilliant. :)

(That distressed typewriter font is just gorgeous, by the way.)

Live the life you've imagined

This wonderful Stempelglede stamp reads something like this: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." The Alla-Prima papers are in action again, this with less emphasis on teal, more on mossy green. I love it when the same paper pad offers many possibilities. The card is for a colleague who is (reluctantly) retiring soon, and I think the quote suits such a busy and energetic woman.

New supplies

New supplies always does wonders for the creativity, don't you think? These papers are wonderfully bright and interesting. The yellow/teal combo is new to me, but deserves repeating. The papers, in case you wondered, are Alla-Prima.

100% boy

The request for this card was a baby card that wasn't too cute, maybe something water related, and sort of cool. Well, I think this qualifies. I had at least a month to make it, but don't you think I started it near midnight before the last day?? Ah, so typical. For that reason, I was very sceptical about the possible result, but even the day after, I still like it. The paper is, as you might see, very shiny and with some sort of holographic effect - do you see the colourful shine near the charms? Let's just say that finding matching cardstock was tricky. ;)

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When stamping on such glossy paper, there are few types of ink pads that do the job properly. I could have used my StazOns, but I really wanted to use white ink to keep the card on the light side. Now, white ink pads are tricky little things... Most of them are just rubbish. My good friend Kristin suggested I tried the ElzyBells ink pads and I'm so pleased to say they are excellent! I have a pigment ink pad called Sugar Candy and it has superb coverage, even on dark cardstock. I love it. In this case, however, it would have smudged badly because of the glossy paper, so the hybrid ink pad called Whipped Cream stepped in. The hybrid ink pad has ever so slightly poorer opacity and coverage, but can be used on nearly all surfaces, and as you can see from my card, does the job pretty well. Just give it a little time to dry.