Third time lucky

I assume you remember this sweater.

The notorious birthday sweater for Christian. and maybe you wonder why you haven't seen it done, here on my blog (or maybe not because you are used to me being a slow knitter!)

But here is the reason why I haven't felt the need to flash it. 3 sleeves. 3!

Almost done with the 2nd one, I discovered that my incresing had gone terribly wrong. And after a despressing fit on Christian, I sadly realised that a 3rd one was a necessity.

Now I'm nearly done with that one too - finally! Sleeves are boring, and definitely even more tedious when it's sleeves x 3.

However I have to say that I did find some icing on the cake. Christian is absolutly thrilled about his forthcoming sweater, and that is all worth it to me.

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Jeg går ud fra at du kan huske denne sweater. Den famøse fødselsdags sweater til Christian, og måske undrer du dig over, at du ikke har set den gjort færdig her på min blog (eller måske undrer du dig ikke, fordi du er vant til at jeg strikker langsomt!)

Men her er grunden til, at jeg ikke har haft lyst til at flashe den. 3 ærmer. 3!

Næsten færdig med det 2. ærme, opdagede jeg at mine udtagninger var gået helt galt. Og efter en nedslående prøvepasning på Christian, indså jeg desværre at et 3. ærme var en nødvendighed.

Nu er jeg næsten færdig med det også - endelig! Ærmer er kedelige, og helt bestemt endnu mere kedsommelige når det hedder ærmer x 3.

Jeg må dog sige, at pynten på kransekagen var der trods alt. Christian er utrolig begejstret over sin fremtidige sweater og det gør virkelig, at det er alt besværet værd.

Pink elephants

They are back...the elephants. And this time they will be walking on little Agnes' arms and body when I get the cardigan done. I will never get tired of the elephants in line, while they hold each other's tales in their trunks.

I'm using Coast yarn from Holst. Perfect for a little toddler's skin. 

De er tilbage...elefanterne. Og denne gang vil de komme til at gå rundt på lille Agnes arme og krop, når jeg får cardiganen færdig. Jeg bliver aldrig træt af elefanterne på linie, mens de holder i hinandens haler med deres snabler.

Jeg bruger Coast garn fra Holst. Det er perfekt til en lille tumlings hud.

Miss Marple is more than an old female detective

I strømmen af mønstre på smukke cardigans med retro look, er Miss Marple helt klart en favorit. Den minder mig om min barndoms lange søndage med varm frokost, og udforskende bilture rundt  i landet iført det pæne tøj. 

Det er en cardigan af den slags, som man gerne tog ud over en fin kjole. Allerhelst en som min mor selv havde syet, og hvor jeg selv fik lov til at bestemme farve og stof.

Denne cardigan er tiltænkt til brug på alle ugens dage, og modtageren er vores niece Sarah. Den skal være en del af hendes julegave.

Det er et skønt mønster og jeg blev meget begejstret da designeren Nadia Crétin-Léchenne proklamerede, at et lignende mønster til voksne var undervejs. Og selvfølgelig kunne den ikke hedde andet end Lady Marple.

Et halvt ærme er hvad jeg mangler, så for en gangs skyld ser det ud til at jeg nærmest er på forkant med en hjemmelavet julegave. I hvert tilfælde denne...


Masser af strikke og broderi inspiration var der også at finde i de nye bøger jeg fik forleden. Theresa Maria Jessings fortællinger om stort og småt i den nye bog "Livet på Kastaniegården", Helga Isagers udgivelse på svensk "Finstickat" og "Supersize stitches" af Jacqu Pearce.

Jeg kan varmt anbefale dem alle.

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IN ENGLISH

Among the many beautiful patterns for retro look cardigans, Miss marple is definitely a hit. It reminds me of the long Sundays in my childhood, when we had warm lunches and drove around exploring our country wearing our best clothes.

It's the kind of cardigan, which we wore over a fine dress. Preferably one which my mother had sewn herself, and I had chosen the colour and the fabric.

This particular cardigan is meant to be worn on every day of the week, and the recipient is our niece Sarah. It's going to be a part of her Christmas present.

It's a lovely pattern and I were very pleased when the designer announced that a similar pattern for grownups was on it's way. And of course it couldn't have another name than Lady Marple.

Half a sleeve is what I need to knit to finish Miss Marple, so for once it seems as if I'm at the cutting edge of a homemade Christmas present. At least this one...

Lots of knitting and embroidery inspiration are also found in the new books I got the other day. Theresa Maria Jessing's stories about anything and nothing in her new book Livet på Kastaniegården, Helga Isager's publication in Swedish Finstickat and Supersize stitches by Jacqu Pearce.

I can highly recommend them all.

Ikke så mange ord....

 ...bare et par billeder af en lille hat til vores niece Sarah.

Cascade garn + knapper fra Betty P + refleksgarn giver forhåbentlig varme ører.

Jeg venter...

...med glæde i hjertet på at Christian skal komme hjem. De seneste 5 dage har han været på mandetur til Sverige, og nydt naturens mange fornøjelser - noget han holder utrolig meget af. Men jeg ved, at han også glæder sig til at komme hjem igen.

Det er underligt hvordan man med tid får sværere og sværere ved at undvære hinanden, men samtidig gør det mig glad at det er sådan. Tænk hvis vi hver især bare ventede på at skilles for en stund.

Imens har jeg været herhjemme og haft huset fuld af glade unge mennesker. Jeg synes at det er sådan en fornøjelse, at være sammen med dem alle og mærke hvordan de hygger sig i hinandens selskab. Gode film er altid et must og i går aftes var det True Grit der var på plakaten. En god film - med Jeff Brigdes og Matt Damon - på trods af at den tilhører western genren.

Om lidt vil jeg gå ud og lave Skinkestang og bønnesalat - det gælder om at lave de livretter ens mand ikke ynder, så længe han er på tur.

Og så har vi efterårsferie - hold op hvor bliver det godt. Det er tiltrængt for os alle - ikke mindst Christian som har arbejdet hårdt i lang tid...

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I'm waiting...

...happy at heart, waiting for Christian to come home. For the last 5 days he has been in Sweden with some of his friends,  enjoying the pleasures of nature - something which he loves a lot. But
I know that he looks forward to coming home as well.

It's strange how it gets harder and harder doing without one another as time goes by. But at the same time it makes me glad that we both feel that way.

In the meantime I have been at home with a house full of young people. I think that it's such a pleasure to be with them all, and feel how they like each other's company. Good films are always a must and last night we saw True Grit. A good movie - with Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon - in spite of the western theme.

in a minute I will go start making Skinkestang and bean salad - the idea is to make the favourite dishes my husband doesn't like, while he is away.

And then it will be autumn holidays - oh, man it's going to be nice. We all need that - especially Christian who has been working so hard for a long time...

Masser af sildeben

                                                                                                                        ENGLISH below 

Den anden dag blev jeg færdig med Stella - den anden. En beret designet af Hanne Falkenberg.
I december 2010 strikkede jeg den første af slagsen til Anne-Sophie - se den færdig her hvis du vil - og da hun blev særdeles begejstret for den, spurgte hun forleden, om ikke jeg ville lave endnu en.

Og selvfølgelig ville jeg det.

Allerførst startede jagten på opskriften, som jeg havde haft i hænderne ganske få uger forinden, da jeg sorterede alle mine opskrifter. At den så var væk da jeg skulle bruge den, er typisk. Derfor måtte jeg investere 187 kroner i et nyt kit. Desværre var der ikke en farvekombination som passede helt perfekt, men det betød ikke det store, da vi allerede havde aftalt, at Anne-Sophies hat skulle strikkes i sart lyserød og neon pink.

Det er et skønt stykke strikketøj sådan en hat. Jeg holder meget af at se mønster udvikle sig, og ikke mindst fornemmelsen af når alt går op i en højere enhed (læs: når jeg undgår at strikke fejl og tælle forkert).

I går aftes fik hun så den færdige hat, og heldigvis bragte den stor glæde. Jeg syntes ikke at den pink fremstod helt så neon agtig som jeg ville ønske mig, men Anne-Sophie var helt igennem tilfreds med farverne,  og det var jo nu engang det mest væsentlige.

Jeg har stadig garn tilbage fra denne hat, og overvejer nu om jeg skulle strikke et par sildebens vanter der kan passe til.

Og i min strikkekurv ligger der et garn kit til endnu en hat, blot i smukke petrol lå nuancer. Tiden vil vise om jeg kan lokke Anne-Sophie til at bruge en hat i de farver...og gæt engang hvad jeg fandt i går, pænt sorteret i en skuffe med mønstre, som jeg havde glemt i min jagt??

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                   Lots of herringbones

Stella - the second one. A beret designed by Hanne Falkenberg. In December 2010 I knit the first one for Anne-Sophie - have a look at it being done here if you like - and since she was very keen on it, she recently asked me whether I wanted to knit another one for her.

And of course I would love to do that.

At first I started hunting down the pattern, which I had had in my hands a few weeks earlier when I sorted all my patterns. That it was gone when I needed it, is typical. Thus I had to invest 187 Danish kroner in a new knitting kit, as the pattern isn't sold without yarn. Unfortunally there wasn't a colour kombination which was suitaible, but it didn't matter that much as we had agreed that Anne-Sophie's hat was to be knit in a pale pink and a neon pink.

The hat is a wonderful piece of knit. I love to see a pattern grow, and not least the felling of everything coming together (read: when I avoid knitting any mistakes or counting the pattern wrong).

Last night she had her hat, and luckily she liked it. I didn't think that the pink colour was as neon pink as I had hoped for, but Anne-Sophie was completely satisfied with the colours, and that is by far the most important thing.

I still have some yarn left from this hat, and now I'm thinking whether I should knit a set of herringbone mittens to go with the hat.

And in my knitting basket I have a kit for one more hat in lovely teal blue colours. Only time will tell if I can persuade Anne-Sophie to use a hat in that colour scheme...and guess what I found yesterday, in a drawer with nicely organised patterns, which I had forgotten in my search??

Jeg ved at hun er SÅ spændt. . .

Jeg holder utrolig meget af en pige, som i disse timer er rigtig, rigtig spændt. Min søde niece Emma fik en super overraskelse af sin storesøster Ida til sin konfirmation. Sammen med Ida, skulle hun høre - og se - Lady Gaga når hun kom til Parken for at spille.

Og nu er dagen kommet. Hvor er jeg spændt på at høre hende fortælle om koncerten, og alt det andet som sådan en begivenhed bringer med sig.

En stor musik oplevelse kan gøre kæmpe indtryk, uanset om man er barn eller voksen. Min allerførste koncert oplevede jeg, da mine forældre i 1984 tog mig med til Grøn Koncert for at høre et af mine yndlings bands dengang: Sneakers.

Bandet er forlængst opløst, men dermed ikke chancen for at høre og mærke fantastisk live musik. Som for eksempel denne koncert...som nok er min allerbedste til dato. Hvilken er din?

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I know that she is SO excited...

 I'm so fond of a girl, who is very, very excited during the next hours. My sweet niece Emma got a super surprise by her bigsister Ida, one her confirmation day. Together with Ida she was going to hear - and see - Lady Gaga when she came to Parken  (in Copenhagen) to performe.

And now the day has arrived. I'm so excited to hear her tell about the concert, and all the other stuff which such an event brings along.

A big music experience can make a huge impact on you, no matter whether you are a child or a grownup. I heard my very first concert back in 1983, when my parents took me to Grøn Koncert to listen to my very favorite band of the time - Sneakers.

The band has long gone broke up, but thus not the chance of hearing and feeling live music. Like this concert...which probably is my vert best so far. Which one is your best?

Hold da op!

Jamen dog, hvor er det længe siden at jeg sidst har befundet mig her på bloggen. Men jeg trængte til en dejlig sommer med min familie uden for mange elektronisk forstyrrende elementer, og hvor har det været skønt. 

Vi har nydt sommeren og allermest at kunne være sammen. Dejlige dage i Sverige gav anledning til hygge i stor stil - og et par svenske Loppis ikke at forglemme.

Men jeg har også set frem til at skrive lidt igen, og nu er det vist ved at være tid. 

Ja, faktisk har jeg oven i købet fået afsluttet et par projekter siden sidst. Tingene til vores to små niecer er strikket færdig og afleveret. Og hvor var det en fornøjelse at se begge dele på lille Agnes og Sarah.

Jeg er meget begejstret for Karen Borrel's mønster. Hun giver sine børne designs lige den kant som jeg kan lide. Og hun har endda designet et mønster ud fra sin datters ideér - det synes jeg er sådan en fin tanke.

Nu strikker jeg videre på Gathering Stripes, og mon ikke den kan blive færdig i løbet af alle disse OL dage...

En Liselotte til Anne-Sophie

Endelig fik jeg færdiggjort den Liselotte cardigan jeg har været i gang med over foråret. 3 neon  koral farvede knapper fra Betty P. satte prikken over i'et. Og dertil trenser syet i den fedeste sytråd også fra Betty P. 

Jeg er rigtig tilfreds med trøjen og synes at det var et dejligt stykke arbejde at sidde med. Og endnu en gang blev jeg overbevist om, at runde bærestykker er lige noget for mig - både at strikke og bære.

Jeg ville rigtig gerne have den stribede cardigan klar til weekenden, så jeg kunne tage den med til Anne-Sophie. For det blev hende der fik ejerskabet over den. 

Til min fødselsdag forelskede hun sig i trøjen, og da jeg hellere end gerne vil strikke til mine børn, ja så skyndte jeg mig at sige, at den var hendes. Først ville hun slet ikke høre tale om det, da hun syntes at jeg skulle beholde den, når jeg endelig havde strikket noget mig selv. Men det tog ikke længe at overtale hende derefter og stort hurra for det.

Så nu bor den hos Anne-Sophie og jeg er glad. Glad for at hun gider gå i mors hjemmestrikkede, og glad fordi jeg selv mangler en Liselotte cardigan nu, og er nødt til at strikke en ny til mig selv...

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Finally I finished the Liselotte cardigan I have been making over spring. 3 neon coral coloured buttons from Betty P made the finishing touch. And the attendant loops made in the coolest thread also from Betty P.

I'm very pleased with the cardigan and thought that it was a wonderful work to make. And once more I was convinced that tops with round yokes are just me - both for making and wearing.

I wanted to finish the striped cardigan for the weekend, so I could bring it to Anne-Sophie. Because she got the ownership of it.

At my birthday she fell in love with the cardigan and since I'm more than happy to knit for my children, then I told her that she could have it. At first she didn't want to hear of it, because she thought that I should keep it when I finally had knit something for myself. But afterwards it didn't take long to talk her into having it, and a big hurrah for that.

So now it lives at Anne-Sophie's place and I'm happy. Happy that she cares to wear it and happy that I don't have a Liselotte cardigan now, and have to knit a new one for myself...

H a p p y

I dag skal der ikke mere til at gøre mig glad end super smukke farver, en masse solskinstimer....og mest af alt at Emil har det en lille smule bedre :)

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Today it doesn't take more to make me happy than some beautiful colours, a lot of hours with sunshine...and most of all the fact that Emil is feeling a little bit better. :)

BALDVINSSON c h i l d r e n ' s - c l o t h e s

My oldest niece Ida has the sweetest boyfriend called Runi. And Runi's mother Annika Baldvinsson is a talented and experienced designer of children's clothes.

She recently started an online shop - Baldvinsson - with gorgeous clothes, which will excite children as well as their mothers. The clothes are very lovely and the prices are definitely fair.

This afternoon I had a little look at the shop, and ended up buying this fine knitted dress in cotton - for only 125 Danish kroner .


And I also had to have the cool yellow t-shirt with the headphones on the front. (The print is designed by Runi, by the way). It costs 100 Danish kroner.


Both things will be presents for our niece and nephew, but I wish that my own children could fit into them.

There is so much more to see in shop. Both for girls and boys - sizes start at 56 cm and end at 146 cm. You should go have a look...

A l f r e d

This weekend my husband has been in Sweden with his brother. And while Emil visited his sweet girlfriend Ronja yesterday, I had nothing but time ahead of me.

So, I picked out my brown Coast yarn from Holst Garn, and found the pattern for (Big) Alfred. A while ago I showed Christian several different patterns for men's sweaters. I payed attention to the ones he liked, because I wanted to make him a new one.

The last time I did so was when I knitted this. He loves it but somehow the sleeves and the yoke tend to get longer and loooooonger! So sadly the Cobblestone sweater has been more in his wardrobe than on his upper body!

But now I'm - secretly - making him an Alfred. He talks and talks about how beautiful brown sweaters are, so that's what he's getting.

E m m a ' s - d a y

Sunday was a wonderful day for my sweet and lovely niece Emma. She's my beloved bigsister's daughter and the very last of my parents' grandchildren to be confirmated.

You hardly ever see Emma without a big smile on her mouth and in her eyes - she's positive and such a good friend. Besides that she's a very sporty person and loves her dance classes and her football training.

Emma's family had done so many fantastic things to make her day special and happy. And of course a football match was played. Emma picked out her dress with that in mind. I think that was such a cool thought.

We all enjoyed celebrating her and she definitely seemed to have had a great day.

A - F r i d a y - e v e n i n g

Liselotte will soon be done. The cardigan. I have truely enjoyed knitting it. Because of the amazing yarn and because of the size 5 knitting needles. What a difference that is instead of size 2½-3 which I have been using a lot for recent projects. And the pattern has been so easy and wellwritten. No procrastinations, only kind and necessary knitting information to make the work go as smooth as possible.

1 button at the top of the front pieces when the cardigan is done. Perhaps 3, but time will tell. If I go for a single button, it will be this one. Or perhaps some dots. 

The other day the prints from Jennifer Davis arrived, and they completely fulfilled my expectations. For now they are standing on my grandmother's old chest of drawers, until we decide which frames they are to be put in. (The hen bowls keep them from sliding down on the floor - in case you wondered why they were standing in front of the prints).

Now I will go talk to my husband - he has just come home from work. And give him a big hug. He has been working hard lately, which means away from home for far too many hours. 

This evening it's just him and I - Emil is visiting his sweet girlfriend Ronja.

Have a lovely weekend...

In one way or another. . .

. . .I'm going to get this little beauty inside the walls of our house. (My husband doesn't think that it's cool nor beautiful at all).

I can imagine it having a purpose in almost every room of our house, so that part will not be a problem. It oozes 50ties style and charm in the right way. I just know that it will look fine, no matter what one decides to put in it.

Source: blogs.babble.com via Ulla on Pinterest

It will become available in IKEA soon - in case you like it too. . .It's called RÅSKOG and it's already in the IKEA stores in Denmark. You can get it in a wonderful turquiose or in grey.

Good old Bjørn!

When I were a child we had some of Bjørn Wiinblad's plaques (like many of other children at my age had at home). Right there on the wall next to our dining table in the kitchen.

I remember how much I loved the women on the plaques. Their big dreamy eyes and their little pointy  noses, made me admire them whenever we sat at the table. I made up stories about them if I were bored, which happened once in a while, when I sat at the same table doing my homework.

What I didn't think of at that time, was the way the plaques could appear 32-33 years later.

This one below is from Anne-Sophie's kitchen. She has collected 5 or 6 plagues from thrift shops, and has added her own touch to Bjørn Wiinblad's people.

Source: Uploaded by user via Anne-Sophie on Pinterest

I like what she did. A lot. Somehow the black lines on the porcelain, invite you to fill out the spaces. To prepare them for a life in 2012.

How funny and wonderful that we both - with a time interval of 30+ years - got to look at the same kind of plaques in our kitchens...

Working on details

I'm sewing on some fungus ribbon, which I once bought from Stof & Stil. The purpose of adding it, is to make the edges in front more firm, and to help keep the fit, after numerous times of buttoning and unbuttoning the cardigan.

I haven't been able to find the right size of press studs yet, but hopefully I will succeed with that when I get to town. Not tomorrow though. That day is devoted to celebrate Christian when he turns 43...

All those final details are absolutly not my favourite part of knitting. Somehow I don't feel the need to get it done and ready, as fast as possible. Instead I would rather start a new knitting (and leave the many ends of yarn alone).It's actually strange because as you already know, I  l o v e to sew by hand. But I will get it done eventually - it's just a matter of time before I get annoyed by the looks of an unfinished cardigan.

Luckily that's a closed chapter with this cardigan...

Crocheted garland for Ida

Crocheted garland, a photo by lille-ursus on Flickr.

I can hardly believe it - I made my first crocheted garland.

A while ago Anne-Sophie asked me whether I would do her a big favour. She wanted to give her dearest friend Ida (whom you might remember is our niece and cousin) a crocheted garland as a part of her birthday present.

Of course I wanted to help, so Anne-Sophie bought the materials and I did the work.

The beautiful garland which I had seen on Karen Klarbæks blog, also came with a free pattern. Perfect for me. Thanks a million to Karen for her generosity.

And to my pleasent surprise I picked up the crocheting very fast. A new kind of crochet stitch has been added to my mind - and hands! As the very last thing I added fine little bells in pastel colours, which made me think of spring.

Luckily Ida liked the garland...and I need to make more for my own house and garden.

I always knew. . .

. . . that Anne-Sophie's 20th birthday would have a bit of a different touch to it. Well, first of all it's special because she turns 20, but also because of the fact that at the exact same age, I gave birth to Anne-Sophie.

It's strange to imagine that I were 20 years old - 20 years ago! So much has happened and somehow time has gone far too fast, and yet suitable slow.

I remember how happy we all were, when we saw that little girl for the first time. And we have felt the same way about her ever since . . . an unexplainable, never ending love, which contains so many feelings. (What a joy it is for us to feel this paramount kind of love twice).

Later we are going to visit Anne-Sophie in her new apartment, and celebrate her. We did start the day with a birthday song on her cellphone. And as we didn't catch her the first time we called, she now has the birthday song on her answering machine. . . maybe not a good thing at all. ;)

I must admit that it still feels a bit strange not to set up the breakfast birthday ritual with presents, birthday mats, the orchestra and candles. But it's a very heartwarming delight that Anne-Sophie's boyfriend Tim made his very own birthday ritual for her this morning - they are both so good at remembering and pleasing each other.

So, my dearest Anne-Sophie - if you see this, I send you a warm happy birthday and my very best birthday hugs.
Love mom,
xoxo

A warmhearted hat

Today our niece Johanne got her hat. You know the one with hearts which I mentioned the other day.

I like how it turned out to be girlish and oh so soft - thanks to the yarn. Stash yarn to top it all off.

I'm not quite sure of what Johanne thought about it, though, because she was definitely in a bad mood when we visted her and her family today. Maybe she will have a look at the hat tomorrow.

However, I liked knitting the little Hjertelig hilsen hat designed by Anna & Heidi Pickles, and wouldn't mind making it in their original choice of colors. Maybe even for myself. I'm not a hat person what so ever, but viewpoints are meant to be shaped over the years, aren't they?