yarn jungle

For sporty Nordic dandies

2012-01-20T16:42:00.005+01:00

I saw a picture of a crocheted men’s scarf in a magazine about nordic folk costumes (Magasinet Bunad, Nr. 4 - desember 2010, page 37) . It had a flower pattern in tapestry crochet technique, worked lengthwise, but with double crochet stitches instead of single. Made my own version by throwing together some antique cross stitch patterns.

Notes that might be handy in case you would like to make your own version:

Use lace or light fingering weight yarn and a 1.75 mm crochet hook.

First row: chain about 500 (depending on the pattern repeats; I chained 512).

Work about 45 rows in a pattern of your choice. One “cross” in the cross stitch or filet pattern becomes two double crochet stitches in the crochet version. Work the double crochet stitches only in the back post of the stitch from the last row (this gives more "crispness" to the colour pattern). If you have no experience with tapestry crochet technique, there are lots of resources and tutorials to be found on the Internet.

Start every row with new yarn, and cut it off at the end, leaving about 15 cm of yarn at both ends. Don’t weave the ends in, but tie them together and use them as fringes.

(my scarf is 160 cm long and 29 cm wide)

Finished in November

2011-11-29T20:23:00.001+01:00

Knitted "Cladonia" Shawl and crocheted heartwarmer from Nås, Sweden

Handspun merino/alpacca/silk blend

2011-09-26T18:29:00.003+01:00

Chanterelle mushroom feast after a long search in the forest,

and fresh homespun Blue-faced Leicester (2-ply) from handpainted roving by UrbanGypz (sells on Etsy!). Spun with my wonderful new Golding spindle (forgot to take a picture of it...).

A new handwoven belt in red tones, with another antique pattern I found.The clear red threads on the edges is handspun (with a lot of twist) on a spindle.

I sold a number of these belts, which was good for motivation...
Nowadays, most people weave the rose and single cross pattern (4th, 5th and 6th one from the right) but it's a shame to let the other varieties die out!

Forkleband

Spinning for real

2011-08-12T18:13:00.005+01:00

Greensleeves drop spindles; a "Lady Barbara" (27 g) and a "Maureen's Mjolinor" (14 g).

Now I'm spinning my own weaving yarn! I got different kinds of spindles, ordered a new one almost every week this summer... It was raining a lot. I learnt the basics from YouTube videos and Abby Franquemont's book "Respect The Spindle". I spun thin singles and plied them together with a lot of twist, resulting in strong, thin and "not-so-hairy" yarn. The natural white yarn is spun from corriedale wool (Spinnvilt webshop), the coloured yarn from dyed merino tops (Hifa Ull webshop).
Plying the singles together on a Jenkins Standard Turkish spindle (Osage Orange, 50 g)

A Russian style Tornado and a little Twister from Houndesign; both support spindles. Great for TV spinning!

Setting the twist.

Weaving with my first handspun yarn, a pretty Finnish pattern.

Spinning yarn on a mixer beater

2011-06-20T16:58:00.004+01:00

No wonder there are hairs in my omelettes!

Any day now, the fancy Turkish spindle I ordered will drop in my mailbox. But I really couldn't wait any longer to start spinning, I just had to try it out on something... anything. And I'm proudly presenting my first mini-ball of 2-ply fingering wool, knitted into a practical fingertip warmer/hamster blanket. And again a photo of a new hand woven band in red tones and black.Tomorrow morning I'll be stalking the mailperson again!

A red belt and a llama shawl

2011-05-29T12:05:00.010+01:00

I finished a handwoven belt for a bunad with raudsaum (embroidery with different red shades) and a knitted shawl with local bred and spun llama yarn (thanks to Odin, a white llama/alpaca and Ella, a light brown llama, from the farm Øvre Haugane in Fyresdal. I hope they didn't catch a cold last winter). Shawl pattern: Cladonia by Kirsten Kapur.

Potluck post

2011-05-15T09:37:00.002+01:00

Some of my recent finished projects thrown together: A knitted blanket in a cotton/wool blend, a woven ribbon, knitted wool mittens and a crocheted wool/silk shawl.

Red Hot

2011-03-12T16:51:00.011+01:00

The same patterns as before, but now woven with wool yarn from Vinjebue in Vinje, Norway, in combination with cotton thread from DMC.

Winter impressions

2011-02-22T17:02:00.005+01:00

Ribbons with other traditional patterns

2011-02-20T16:55:00.022+01:00

I can't stop experimenting with different patterns and materials...
I was so lucky to be able to borrow the pattern book from one of the last living band weavers in the village, a very kind lady who learned me a lot about traditional Telemark bands. She didn't like making the same bands over and over again (something unusual, as most band weavers use just one pattern). Over the years she collected a lot of old patterns from West Telemark.

It's not easy to find the right materials for these bands. I used "half-bleached" linen thread for these next two bands, but it is too white, I think. A neighbour gave me the tip to soak the woven bands in tea for a while. I'm definitely going to give it a try!

This light blue ribbon has an old Swedish (Dalecarlian) folklore pattern, from a booklet by Anneliese Bläse.

Gnomes and balls from scrap yarn

2010-11-15T16:47:00.001+01:00

Ready in time for the Christmas Fair! Most of the Christmas ball patterns are from the book Julekuler by Arne & Carlos, Norwegian knitwear designers. I designed some of the balls myself, using the basic pattern from the book. The gnomes are made after the free Pocket Gnome pattern by Jenni Propst.

New narrow ribbons

2010-11-14T16:32:00.002+01:00

All of these ribbons were woven with wool and cotton or linen thread. They are between 1 and 1.5 cm wide.

A bunch of ribbons

2010-09-12T16:51:00.032+01:00

Not a new project, really, but just a photo of all the bands (here called forklebånd) I made thus far with traditional patterns from Telemark county in Norway
All bands have been made with pickup technique on a small rigid heddle loom, backstrap method.

Tasseled band

2010-08-27T14:09:00.004+01:00

A tasseled band, with a pattern I saw on an antique band in the Norwegian Folk Museum (photos of all museum objects are to be found on the Norwegian Digital Museum). A difficult pattern to memorize... This band is 2 cm wide and 3.6 m long (including the tassels), and like the other bands woven on a small rigid heddle loom.

Band with rose pattern

2010-08-17T08:19:00.016+01:00

My latest handwoven band (1.5 by 350 cm, more technical details on Ravelry!)
For this one I used embroidery wool that is dyed with natural dyes; I found some small hanks in yarn shops I visited on trips to Oslo and Seljord.

Ribbon / band with small hearts

2010-08-01T12:06:00.008+01:00

Another apron strap (in Norwegian: forklebånd), woven with crewel embroidery wool from Renaissance Dyeing and Coton Perle 8 and 12 from DMC.
It's a pickup pattern woven on a rigid heddle loom, backstrap method; the ribbon is 1.5 cm wide and 3.3 m long.
I tried to make a replica of an antique ribbon shown in the book "Bunaden i Vest-Telemark gjennom 200 år" by Magnhild Gaastjønn.

Fresh mittens - latest batch

2010-07-20T14:13:00.009+01:00

The fringed mittens were inspired by a photo of some Latvian mittens on the Internet; the rose mittens are my own design.

All technical details: see Ravelry.

Swallowtail Shawl

2010-07-03T14:55:00.001+01:00

Pattern by Evelyn A. Clark, knitted with handpaintedyarn.com Lace - (shade: hydrangea) on 4.0 mm needles.

Yes, more weaving...

2010-05-26T22:08:00.009+01:00

Two more ribbons with folklore patterns:
The pink one with a Sami pattern from the far north (1.2 by 325 cm); the red/green ribbon is another apron strap with a pattern from Telemark, Both woven with Røros-Tweed Spælsau Brodergarn and DMC Cordonnet Special nr. 30, on a rigid heddle loom, backstrap method.

Handwoven strap with tassels

2010-05-16T12:28:00.004+01:00

The first "proper" apron strap I finished; made with Røros Tweed Brodergarn; 100% pure new wool from Spælsau sheep (warp); and linen (warp and weft).

More woven bands

2010-04-26T16:02:00.013+01:00

What to do with them? For now, they're just laying around, being pretty. Maybe I can use them as key bands, guitar straps, bag straps, curtain ties, belts, or sew them on clothes one day...

The red, white and blue band, woven with cotton yarn: Pattern from the book “Samisk Husflid i Finnmark” by Anny Haugen.

Draft name: Holbikant til kofte, Grense-Jakobselv, Sør-Varanger
This is a Sami pattern from South Varanger in Finnmark, situated in the extreme North East of Norway, with borders both to Russia and Finland.

And another practice band with a traditional folk pattern from Telemark, South Norway. It's woven with Rauma Inca Alpakka yarn and cotton thread. The alpaca yarn is a bit too thick and fuzzy, but I like the colours.

Band weaving

2010-03-21T09:53:00.012+01:00

Some weeks ago I went to a course on how to weave bands on a rigid heddle loom. Now I'm totally hooked to weaving! And because the equipment is so small and simple you can take it everywhere. You only need a weaving belt, a small rigid heddle loom, and a hook in the wall to attach the end of the warp to. I've made these bands so far, all of them with nordic patterns. Some are Sami, one Finnish, and two from Telemark in Norway.

Baltic Mittens

2010-02-26T18:12:00.015+01:00

Patterns from Aino Praakli's "Kirikindad I" and Lizbeth Upitis' "Latvian Mittens". Details on Ravelry! The black-and-white mittens are Estonian patterns, the other ones are Latvian.

Røros Mittens

2009-12-27T17:52:00.019+01:00

These are a replica I knitted of a pair of traditional mittens (made in ca. 1912) from Røros in Norway. The original pair was photographed on a museum exhibition, and this photo is now in the database of Norway’s “Digitalt museum”.

Here is a link to all mittens in the Norwegian digital museum database. Worth checking out if you’re interested in Selbu mittens! Click on “neste” (means “next”) to see more.

The alpaca yarn is neither warm nor water-resistant, but it was the only yarn available to me that gave the correct gauge. I’ll have to make another pair with another yarn some day… Sheep wool works much better with stranded colour knitting; it clings together and forms a denser and more even fabric. I really like the colours of this alpaca yarn though.

It’s strange how simple all my other stranded mittens look after this project!

Technical details on Ravelry...

Finished Shark Hat, Walk in the Mist and Cartoons

2009-11-15T23:24:00.000+01:00

Some impressions from a quiet Sunday afternoon somewhere in Norway...
Shark Hat pattern by Allison MacAlister, the Knitting Ninja. Knit with Marks & Kattens Eco Ull.

The latest batch of Selbu mittens

2009-10-31T11:35:00.004+01:00

More mittens!
Pattern source and yarn/needle details on Ravelry.

Deer Mittens

2009-09-26T15:09:00.005+01:00

Knitted with Hoelfeldt Lund Spelsau lamullgarn, about 50 grams of each colour, on 3.0 mm needles.
My own design!

From an article on spelsau yarn on Wikipedia:
“The wool is characterized through having two layers: An outer long haired, glossy undulating layer of wool protecting the underlying layer against wind and rain, and an underlying layer which keeps the sheep warm. The long, protective wool which is used for weaving is traditionally spun into two-strand, tightly-spun yarn, instead of the usual three-strand type, resulting in a beautiful lustre.
This spelsau yarn was used in the Norwegian old tapestries from the renaissance and baroque times. The Viking ship sails were made from spelsau yarn. The wool was also in the old days used in clothing because it was light, stable and absorbed little moisture.”

Autumn Rose Mittens

2009-09-14T16:20:00.013+01:00

Knitted with Rauma Finull, colourway #402 (moss) and #417 (Cat's eye yellow), on 2.5 mm needles. The pattern is my own design.

Wheel Patterned Mittens

2009-08-30T09:18:00.022+01:00

I saw a red and white version of these mittens on Ravelry and got the urge to make a pair like that for myself. In the Estonian knitting tradition this is called a wheel pattern, but I think the wheels look more like suns or flowers.

I took this project with me on a little hiking trip close to my home and will share the view I had while knitting:

The lady on the right was not interested in yarn crafts but in sandwiches.

Pattern: "Kristi's Mittens" from "Folk Knitting in Estonia" by Nancy Bush.
These are knitted on 2.0 mm needles with Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Baby Ull, colourway #0010 and #4018, one skein of each colour.

Ready for winter

2009-08-09T16:58:00.010+01:00

My private collection of mittens, gloves and stockings in stranded colourwork. These are the ones I've managed to keep for myself! But it will take some years before I can compete with Annemor Sundbø in the neighbouring valley of Setesdal and cover a whole wall...

Dangly Grungy Mess Shawl

2009-08-07T19:14:00.007+01:00

Crocheted with two skeins of Noro Silk Garden Sock, colourway 245, and with 5 and 4 mm hooks.

Pattern: 'Crescent Moon Shawl' by Mayumi Kawai from the Japanese book 'Easy Crochet, Complete in Three Days!'. Used the smaller hook for the fringe.

I love this yarn, I really dig the gorgeous snot/rust/mould colours and the rough texture and gloss of the silk blend. I’m instantly going to order some more! (My eye has already fallen on some lovely skeins in subtle puke & garlic tones.)

Selbuvottesommer

2009-08-07T18:37:00.012+01:00

It has been a wet, cold and productive summer... From left to right: NHM #9 from "Selbuvotter: Biography of a Knitting Tradition"; Selbuvotter à la Trudvang (my own design); Helgi's Mittens from "Folk Knitting in Estonia" and Magpie Mittens (also my own design, free charts available on Ravelry). All mittens knitted on 2.5 mm needles with Rauma Finullgarn or Sandnes Garn 'Tove'.

Shawl with clover edging

2009-07-15T16:21:00.009+01:00

Made from 610 meters (3.2 skeins) of Sandnes Mandarin Petit cotton yarn, colourway 1002, using a 5.0 mm hook for the main part and a 4.0 mm hook for the edging.

A japanese pattern called "Crescent Moon Shawl" by Mayumi Kawai, from the book "Easy crochet, complete in 3 days!". It was a fun and quick project. Very soft!

Cushion covers

2009-07-11T15:59:00.002+01:00

.... from scraps of cotton yarn, for our summer house.

Trying not to lose my marbles...

2009-06-27T13:01:00.004+01:00

... a pouch!
Crocheted from 30 gr of 100purewool Merino Lace and a 3.0 mm hook. The pattern is from a Japanese book (I don't know the title) and is called "23 - Porch".

Bamboo Shawl

2009-06-25T08:22:00.006+01:00

Another Laminaria Shawl, knitted with about 80 gr of South West Trading Company's Xie bamboo yarn, colourway #476, on 3.5 mm needles. Very silky, smooth, soft and slippery.
I did four repeats of the star chart and eight repeats of the blossom chart- I could have done more star chart repeats considering the amount of yarn that was left over. But you never know in advance... And it didn't have to be so big.

Eliina Shawl

2009-06-18T20:43:00.003+01:00

Knit with one skein (100 g/775 m) of lace wool from handpaintedyarn.com, colourway "Ninfas del Bosque", on 4.5 mm needles.
A free Ravelry download from Lankakomero.

Paris Night Shawl

2009-05-16T16:01:00.013+01:00

I love this pattern, and decided to crochet another shawl (my third one). I don't know the name of the pattern, but I know it is japanese. I just have a loose copy of the chart.

Hook: 3.5 mm; yarn: Kettle-dyed lace merino from Die Wolllust, colourway "Paris Night".

I had only one meter of yarn left when I finished the shawl. It was pretty uncomfortable crocheting the last row...

Two scarves from one skein of yarn

2009-05-10T17:44:00.003+01:00

The top scarf is a japanese pattern; the knitted scarf is a free pattern by Wollerey.
I used one skein of kettle-dyed merino lace yarn from Die Wolllust, colourway Happy Winter.

Scrap Mat

2009-04-27T15:51:00.006+01:00

A japanese pattern from Seibido Mook - "Crochet Motif Item". The edging is from another book.

Easy peasy

2009-04-08T14:20:00.003+01:00

Sweet Pea Shawl by Amie Hirtes, NexStitch.com.
Hook: 6.0 mm, ca. 2.5 skeins of Sandnes Alpakka, colourway #4081.

Lark Mittens

2009-03-15T19:49:00.004+01:00

Pattern: Lerka from "Votter og Vanter" by Bjelland/Dietrichson/Egge, Aschehoug, Oslo 1955.
Finnish wool from Riihivilla, one skein natural white and one dyed with alder buckthorn and madder.
Knitted on 3.0 mm needles.

Hats with big yarn

2009-03-15T19:30:00.005+01:00

Crocheted with Dalegarn Hubro (the brown and the white one) and Sandnes Alfa (black) and a 7.0 mm hook.

Mexican Sampler Chart

2009-03-10T21:22:00.006+01:00

I've been thinking for a long time now about doing something with Mexican traditional textile patterns. So I crammed together all the motifs I could lay my hands on, listened to some psychedelic grooves, and this is the result:

I'm not sure if I prefer the black background or the white. Most of the original motifs are stitched on white fabric, but I quite like the effect of the negative space with a black background.

Camel Caddy

2009-01-01T14:28:00.010+01:00

Finished in December 2008. I used Sandnes Alpakka for the body and scraps of alpaca yarn for the trappings and cargo. I knitted a pincushion (on top of the cargo) with a traditional Turkish pattern, but it doesn't show very clearly on the pic. The striped saddle bag is in Tunisian crochet.
This is a free pattern by Annie Hider called "Talant the Camel"(pdf file).
Here is where I got my inspiration:

Cross stitch miniature

2008-11-21T14:50:00.009+01:00

"Miniature au merle" From L'R de Rien.
The frame is made out of weather beaten materials from old houses up in the mountains of Telemark, Norway.

Little blossom pouch

2008-11-15T12:13:00.011+01:00

A very quick project, made from one skein of Noro Kureyon,

colourway #157, using a 5.0 mm crochet hook. A Japanese pattern.

Finished Sampler Project

2008-11-09T13:21:00.013+01:00

Permin Sampler from Museum Celle, 1826.
I did't like the contrast colour in the kit and used Dansk Blomstergarn in a different shade of pink instead. Now I've got to find a frame...

Laminaria Shawl / camouflage net

2008-09-07T16:34:00.017+01:00

Made from 175 grams of Handpaintedyarn's kettle-dyed Merino Lace, colourway 'Garden', on 4.0 mm circular needles.
I knitted the Star chart four times and the Blossom chart fourteen times.

Free pattern from Knitty.com.

Cross Stitch Mania

2008-07-21T09:06:00.014+01:00

Haven't been knitting much lately, but started on some cross stitch projects. I chose two Quaker sampler motifs and made them into a biscornu.

In my naive enthusiasm I also ordered a sampler kit from Permin. It's a reproduction of a German sampler from 1826, the same year The Last Of The Mohicans was published, which I am reading now. I would wager for ten pale face scalps that I'll be finished with the book first, as this is quite a big project. I love the motifs on this sampler, they look so rich and oriental.

Victorian Lace

2008-05-29T19:03:00.014+01:00

I just had to knit this beautiful pattern... It's the "Three cornered shawl in clover pattern" from the book Victorian Lace Today.
I used 3.5 mm needles and Uru Lace Merino (burgundy, 140 gram - about 1250 meters).

Circular Evilla Shawl

2008-04-30T19:32:00.009+01:00

I got a big skein of Evilla Laceyarn 8/1, colourway A-81 from Mauds Garn.
Great colours, about the same hues I see around me in the mountains when I take a walk after sunset.
The pattern is free and is called Queen Anne's Lace.

Lacy crochet shawls

2008-04-29T19:15:00.006+01:00

Finished these in March and April. Both shawls are crocheted with kettle dyed wool lace yarn from handpaintedyarn.com, shades: 'Madre Perla' and 'Sunflowers'.
I think they have a bit of a victorian look. The light grey one appeared also in the post below, but I made some new pictures just to show it off some more.

Yellow, grey and black

2008-03-19T10:26:00.006+01:00

Some pics of things I made recently: Another Florence Scarf with handpainted lace yarn, a Trinity Stitch Slouchy Hat, and a crochet mesh shawl in gray handpainted lace yarn (from a Japanese pattern chart, but with a modified edging).

Mini flower scarf

2008-03-18T10:38:00.003+01:00

I crocheted this scarf from a Japanese chart. I have had it for a long time, but couldn't figure out where to start. One night I went through my patterns and suddenly saw the light...

Folkish bracelets

2008-02-19T11:50:00.026+01:00

Improvising with cotton...
It's quite warm outside now: around 7 degrees Celsius. I did some sunbathing outside (really need some vitamin D, I hate cod liver oil...) and pretended it was spring already! Found some scraps of cotton yarn, leftovers from the granny afghan, and made myself some folkish crazy belly dancing bracelets.

Second Sock Syndrome

2008-02-07T20:55:00.000+01:00

Yes, I'm a sufferer. You cast on, knit, knit some more, graft a little, weave in the ends, and look contentedly at the finished sock... Then you realize you will have to do the exactly the same thing all over again! I have to be firm. I need two socks, and this is a great pattern with a good fit. Here a pic showing off the lonely sock.

Pattern (Free!) : Nine to Five Socks

2008-02-02T12:29:00.000+01:00

The Florence scarf by Dorothy Siemens and a Florence-ish Market Bag (my modification).
For the scarf I used Uru Lace Yarn by Handpaintedyarn.com; the bag is knitted in fingering weight cotton yarn. I love this pattern, it is simple but the result is really nice, I think. Great for movie-knitting as the pattern is easy to memorize.

When finished, a project always makes me remember a particular movie I watched while knitting it. The bag reminds me of 'Get Shorty' and the scarf of 'Blood Diamond'...
It tends to wear off after a while, but sometimes I get pictures of vampyres and chainsaws in my head when I look at my socks during boring meetings...

Warm Lick

2008-01-27T20:13:00.002+01:00

This afternoon I charted the Rolling Stones's Lick logo.
Haven't got the faintest idea what to use it for. Knitted woollen undies? A hot teapot cozy? A rockin' baby blanket? A dog sweater? Embroidered slippers? All suggestions are welcome.

Glam Rock!

2008-01-14T16:15:00.000+01:00

A new pair of beaded wristwarmers, knitted on 2.0 mm needles in dark brown alpacca wool (Indiecita #409) with a garland of mauve and silver coloured seed beads.
The bead pattern comes from The Priscilla Cross Stitch Book from 1899, made freely available in pdf by The Antique Pattern Library.

Dalegarn Konfekt Sweater

2008-01-11T14:45:00.000+01:00

The great thing about this pattern is that it requires almost no finishing. Knitting the stockinette part was very boring; I don't like brainless zombie knitting... Luckily it went quite quickly.

Double Knitted Potholder

2008-01-03T20:26:00.000+01:00

It's always fun to try a new technique, and I found some very nice antique charts (at The Antique Pattern Library) that I thought to be interesting to try in double knitting. Had some trouble making the pictures because at the photoshoot someone found just the perfect place to wash his naughty bits.

2007-12-21T12:28:00.001+01:00

Started on a new sweater straightaway, spurred on by the cold weather we're having (Midday temperatures around -10 degrees C, between -20 and -15 degrees in the morning...)
This is a new pattern from DaleGarn, Pattern nr. 19601, Booklet 196, The 'Konfekt' Collection. I love the design, but hope I won't be intolerably bored by knitting so much stockinette.

Xmas Crochet

2007-12-20T14:39:00.000+01:00

Some Christmas stuff I crocheted over the last years. They're almost all free patterns, somewhere out there on the web...

Røros Sweater

2007-12-16T12:54:00.001+01:00

The Røros sweater is finished at last! I didn't feel brave enough to try steeking the sleeves in, just made some 'normal' armholes. Almost f-f-froze my f-f-fingers off ta-taking the pictures outside....

Calorimetry

2007-12-14T15:12:00.001+01:00

Over the last years I've knitted and crocheted many hats, but there's always something wrong with them. Too cold, too tight, wrong colour, earflaps that are not at the same place as my ears, etcetera. So I tried my luck and whipped up a 'Knitty' Calorimetry. This afternoon I took it for a test walk and I came home with new pictures and warm ears.

Snails and scarf

2007-11-25T11:57:00.000+01:00

I have been crocheting a little because I got weary of my never-ending sweater project. The snails are a free project somewhere on the Web; I adjusted the tentacles a bit. The scarf is my own pattern: find two skeins of thin alpaca yarn in a snotty colour, crochet 10 lacy squares together and add an edging.

2007-11-07T16:06:00.003+01:00

Shawl in Evilla Artyarn 6/1 (colour A-31), a free pattern called Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl. I love the colours, they're so bold and warm.

Marionettes

2007-11-03T14:49:00.001+01:00

Last night I had a little felt expedition... I really love needle felting, it's so free and intuitive, and one can really get an opportunity to express oneself, particularly when poking the needle into a finger. May I present to you: Bigfoot Bird and the Feltosaurus.

Felted mouse

2007-10-28T21:51:00.000+01:00

My first experiment with needle felting! Much easier than crocheting all the different parts and then stuffing and sewing them all together.

And now for some Halloween decorations:
What about this crocheted felted skull from Lion Brand? Really ingenious. Don't think I'll make it in time, it'll have to wait till next year.

Røros Genser

2007-10-12T13:24:00.001+01:00

At the moment I am sweating over (or under) a big fair-isle sweater project, a norwegian pattern from the early nineties. The result should eventually be something like this:

But this thing will take long, I guess.
I have come this far after a week of autumn holiday knitting:

(Notice the subtle play of rastafari colours in the edges...?
A great sweater to wear on possible future ski holiday trips to Jamaica!)

2007-10-07T10:43:00.000+01:00

Finished an old UFO: socks in Zitron Trekking XXL Ombre, colour 105. Foggy autumn hues.
A bit of ribbing first, then stockinette, and peacock stitch on the heels and under the middle part of the foot.

Ready to wrestle?

2007-09-30T15:21:00.000+01:00

Alligator scarf done! This was a great project. I want to make some more in other shades of green, brown or yellow. I certainly attracted much commentary while knitting on the bus...

2007-09-19T14:45:00.000+01:00

The ribbed Setesdal sweater is done!
Pattern: SandnesGarn, pattern booklet "Til Fjells" (0611).

Trip to the county fair

2007-09-15T15:19:00.000+01:00

I went to the annual county fair and cattle show this morning, and just couldn't pass by the Estonian knitting stand without adopting some socks and gloves. They were splendid and screaming to be bought, even for someone who has kilos of sock yarn stashed up at home.

After I petted a baby alpacca and some mohair goats, I almost bought myself a pink glittery cowboy hat, and visited the crafts exhibition - mostly traditional norwegian crafts, like rosemaling, woodworking, knifemaking, weaving, lace-knitted doilies and wristwarmers, but there were also two very nice and original freeform crocheted handbags.

At the crafts exhibition they sold booklets about 'sprang', an old netting technique mostly used for making small lacy curtains. The book says that sprang is a simple technique and that you only need yarn, a simple frame and some long thin wooden sticks. There is an explanation on how to do it and lots of patterns. It looks really nice, maybe I'll try it someday...

2007-09-14T14:52:00.001+01:00

I picked up my Alligator Scarf knitkit from the post office today. The pictures on Morehouse Merino's website look absolutely great and I couldn't resist ordering the pattern.
I ordered the light green kit, the 'Nile Croc' (the colours in my picture are not right).

Sweater in progress

2007-09-09T09:48:00.001+01:00

Autumn! My favourite season. Knitting warm sweaters (also for my mp3-player, in fact wearing a miniature beaded wristwarmer to protect the thing from scratches), a big pile of birch logs by the fireplace, apple pie, jazz records, curtains smelling of cigar smoke (nothing better!), badgers under the carpenting shed... No more neighbours knitting their brows over the length of the grass on our lawn and our dubious methods of gardening. Dying flowers are beautiful too.

Pulsvarmere

2007-09-08T10:15:00.000+01:00

I'm quite tall and have long arms (in natural proportion to my length... I'm getting pictures of octopusses in my head now...), and most women's sweaters have sleeves that are too short for me. Solution: wristwarmers! Traditionally beaded wristwarmers are only used together with the national costume here in Norway, but why not use them as woollen jewellery during the not-so-festive cold bits of the year as well? I never have cold hands when I wear them, which is very useful for a musician. These are made from thin alpaca wool and seed beads.

Saturday Market Bag

2007-08-24T10:29:00.000+01:00

Made a shopping bag from the leftovers of the granny afghan, using a pattern from MagKnits. Quite a tricky project: it was very difficult to sew together the sides of the bag, and I must have done something wrong, because when I put one apple in the bag it became almost two metres long... Now I use it to store my not-so-environmentally-friendly plastic grocery bags. I like the net stitch though, maybe I'll make another attempt with thinner needles.

Rockin' Girl...Yeah...?

2007-07-31T12:38:00.001+01:00

Guro nominated me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger. Thanks Guro! Now I get to nominate five more bloggin' girls... a tough choice. I chose some blogs that I find very inspiring - even though I can't read estonian and finnish- and that haven't been nominated yet (I hope...). Here they come - in no particular order:

Marianne at Heegeldab (Check out her awesome Flickr-account!)
Mademoiselle F . at Tricot Méthode Frankenstein.
Tant C at Russian Tea Time (love the artwork and pictures)
Marjut at Marjutin Neuleet (the ideal mix of knitting and cats)
Queen Mudd (check out her Flickr-account: so many fantastic wristwarmers -"muddar" in swedish-)

Granny afghan

2007-07-18T13:35:00.000+01:00

The granny square afghan is done: I've sewn all the squares together and finished it off with an edging. I didn't want a systematic approach and just mindlessly crocheted away, piling the finished squares up in a dark closet, so it was a surprise to me that no two squares came out the same.

My cotton yarn stash has not exactly been downsized after this project, as I had planned. I really had to buy some extra skeins... And then some more... And then one more just to be on the safe side. The thought of running out of yarn on a dreary sunday afternoon, oh, the horror...! Next project: I will make some mesh eco-environmentally-friendly-everybody-can-see-you-bought-tampons-
and-for-heaven's-sake-don't-put-your-keys-in-them grocery bags of the leftover yarn.

Rusty hangout

2007-07-15T12:32:00.001+01:00

Mean machine

2007-07-04T16:07:00.001+01:00

Today is the sixth rainy vacation day in a row, so I dusted off the sewing machine and finally shortened my curtains, partly serving as carpets. Finished the job without much swearing or blood loss, surprisingly enough, as I am a horrible seamstress. The machine is a Singer 191B from 1959 or so.

My personal granny square organizer

2007-07-01T14:00:00.000+01:00

The granny square afghan is coming along just fine...

Nostalgic squares

2007-06-26T13:30:00.001+01:00

As a child of the seventies I just can't resist groovy granny squares in bold colour combinations. This must be caused by the early impressions stored somewhere in my brain of my orange crib with dark purple flowered curtains, psychedelic wallpaper, endless shag carpets and my dear fluorescent orange teddy bear with the pink ribbon around its neck.
These squares are the optimistic beginning of a big granny square afghan that will swallow up all my cotton stash yarn.
Maybe I'll have some yarn left over for a granny square cardigan, like the one Eric Clapton had on in "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus". Have just seen the DVD, first time I saw the thing.

Guarding the stack

2007-06-19T15:10:00.001+01:00

Wiseguy has probably had a busy night, found him sleeping in the new hay in our barn. That's why he's been smelling so good lately... Haaaaaah… tchoo-hatchew!!

Rose Trellis Shawl

2007-06-19T11:33:00.001+01:00

On page 62 of "A Gathering of Lace" I found a nice chart that can be used to make a romantic triangular bottom up lace shawl (Chart A, Part 1).
I tried it out with 100 grams of Isager's Tvinni colour 0 (natural white), 7,0 mm knitting needles for the main part, and 5,0 knitting needles for the sewn on edging.
The top came out not so very straight (maybe due to the way I have sewn on the edging afterwards).

Strawberry Protection Squad

2007-06-18T23:06:00.000+01:00

Wiseguy on watch on the strawberry patch.
I had a serious conflict with the weeds earlier today, but lost courage after ten minutes. Well, they're not in the way, so...

Career move

2007-06-14T13:24:00.003+01:00

Dreaming of my own gypsy caravan... and a donkey, some ducks and a double bass. Started on some crocheted ornaments and curtain fringes for the imaginary wagon. Free crocheted butterfly pattern: here. Has anyone got a crochet or knitting pattern for a caravan?

2007-06-08T17:32:00.001+01:00

How many scarves does a girl need, really? As I scurry off to work, I usually forget to fling one around my neck (for instant fashion flair...) anyway. This one used up 50 grams of Isagers Tvinni 11 s and my 5.0 mm bamboo knitting needles (noticed they are about 4.5 mm in diameter now). My own pattern.

2007-06-04T11:21:00.001+01:00

Another scarf... Knitting lace scarves is so addicting. The pattern is my own; a variation on the dark purple one with cat's paws I made recently. I just changed the pattern in the middle, the edging is the same. The yarn I used is 50 grams of Isager's Tvinni colour 12 s.

2007-05-28T14:37:00.000+01:00

Finished the garnstudio top, now I'll just have to wait for the right weather to wear it. At the moment I'm more inclined towards a warm woollen sweater... I hope I can find a bit of black ribbon for the finishing touch.

2007-05-20T12:19:00.001+01:00

This is my current knitting project: a long lacy top in cotton, a free pattern from Drops Design (English pattern link: here). I adjusted the pattern a bit because I rather knit in the round on a circular needle. And I chose black yarn instead of white. I'm almost done: just one more sleeve and the circular yoke and it will be finished.

Selbu patterns from the fifties

2007-05-20T11:55:00.006+01:00

A friend lent me a book with norwegian mitten patterns from the fifties. Here are pictures of some of the patterns, aren't they nice? The publisher should make a reprint of this book, I think!

Votter og Vanter by Bjelland, Dietrichson and Egge, Aschehoug Forlag, Oslo 1955.

Scandinavian mittens - Free pattern links:

Norwegian Mitten Pattern with diagram

Several Swedish Mitten Patterns ( in English)

Finnish Mittens (in English)

Vintage Norwegian Mittens

Vintage Norwegian Women's Mittens

Snowdrift Selbu Mittens

Local scenery

2007-05-13T19:57:00.000+01:00

Just returned from an evening walk up and down the nearest mountain. I checked out my favourite picking spots for wild raspberries and blueberries; looks like I'll have to save a lot of empty jam jars. Wild raspberry jam is the best jam there is, I think, especially together with sour cream on waffles...
Yes, and this is where I live. It's not a fjord, though, it's a glacial valley with a very long and deep lake, surrounded by endless forests with lots of wild beasts and lots of carnivorous knitters.

Woof!

2007-05-11T15:21:00.000+01:00

I found a new vintage crochet project on Karens Variety today! Poodle slippers. I must have them!

Baby creepers

2007-05-05T19:30:00.000+01:00

A little garden impression sketched from behind my computer: homegrown nasturtiums (that have no permission to be out after midnight as there still might be night frost up here in the mountains).

Snail food

2007-04-30T18:52:00.000+01:00

This year's contestants in the battle against the snails. Will these soft, tender sprouts succeed in becoming heads of lettuce and tasty green salads before the slimy sons-of-b*&$^!s eat them alive?
Watch the next episodes and tremble!

2007-04-30T18:19:00.000+01:00

The weather has been great lately and I have spent many hours sitting in the sunny garden with my knitting/crocheting and a fresh load of music on my mp3-player. This resulted in sunburn, splitting headaches (from the sun, not from the music), and lots of finished scarves...
This one is an experiment of my own with cat's paws, in thin alpaca (again) and 5.0 mm knitting needles (again). The edging is knitted at the same time as the middle part. Saves a lot of leftover yarn.

That's another fine mesh...

2007-04-23T19:25:00.000+01:00

Finished two more whimsical scarves, a quick project because of the enormous holes... I used thin "Tvinni" merino wool from Isager, about 50 g/255 m per scarf, and a 4.0 mm crochet hook. The patterns are networks from a book on basic crochet technique.