2006 is forever gone and a new year is right now unfolding itself in front of us! New oportunities, great intentions, resolutions and expectations....imagine how the world would be if they all came true! I am no good at making new year's resolutions - and even worse at keeping them...but this year I bang the drum and may the world-wide-web be my witness when I promise: DURING 2007 I WILL FINISH 3 KNITTED OBJECTS FOR EVERY SINGLE NEW ONE I START! AND IF I DON'T FEEL LIKE STARTING ONE (HAHAHA!) - I'LL FINISH EVEN MORE! (AND BY ALL MEANS: SOCKS, MITTENS, GLOVES, OR WHATEVER OBJECTS THAT CONSTITUTE PAIRS IN ORDER TO BE USEFUL, COUNT AS 1 - ONE OBJECT!) This resolution is absolutely crucial if I by the end of this year don't want to become known as the poor knitblogger who sadly went missing among her own WIPs...(and noone ever heard even the faintest click-clack from her ever again....)

The good thing about making my own resolution is that I also get to make my own rules. When I say "finish an object" this may also mean finish as in terminate, rip, frog, unravel, FINITO! Right now I can't think of many objects that I actually want to end like this - but there might be a couple...

Please remind me if I break my rules... And any other over-active knitter out there is more than welcome to join me in my WIP-reducing adventure!

Status pr. january 2. 2007: no projects finished or started so far this year... Sad, isn't it? :-)

BUT during the last week of 06 I finished TWO objects and started ONE. Just doing a little warm-up for 07... I planned on getting pictures of both of them today - but one of them was gone! I made the man a scarf and he actually wore it to work - bless his neck!! However, younger boy and his new socks sticked around since school doesn't start until tomorrow. After only a couple of days they look worn - he likes them!!

details:

yarn:opal dreamcatcher, aprox. 50 g

needles: 2,25 mm 5 dpns

pattern: basic sock pattern, top-down, 60 sts, short-row garter st heel

Since the other FO took a trip today I'll show you the newest addition to my WIP-list:

And please do remember, I did start this in 2006! It's the "Here There Be Dragons Socks" by the keyboard biologist. I want to finish them, wear them and feel fierce as stated in the pattern! WIPs! - watch out - here I come!!

Due to my non-cooperating elbow there are no knitted gifts this year. Except for one - which is not done yet...

Here is a tiny preview of some of my current projects. Stay tuned for next year - there will be news!

Furthermore - I have a pre-christmas dancing queen:

and a snowball-substitute:

-to help me in wishing anyone browsing past my fiberspace -

- a wonderful holiday and peace, joy and lots of fiberfun in the year to come!

Meet Stella, the dog. A new kind of fiber. Constantly ready for numerous walks into the garden, and eventually out into the big world.

details: blue roan english cocker spaniel, 9 weeks old tomorrow, funny, curious, playful, loving and absolutely adorable.

And so the days are filled....

There will be more knitting. Eventually.

Meet Cowslip, the scarf. Ready for numerous walks into the garden, and eventually out into the big world...

details:

pattern: cowslip

yarn: noro shinano, shade #12, less than 4 skeins.

needles: 5 mm circular bamboo

modification: cast on 37 sts instead of 45 as I didn't have the 5 skeins pattern called for..

Incident while knitting this: my right elbow is not behaving...   aaarrrrggghhhh!!!

I love belated birthday gifts. They come as complete surprises - and bring happiness and joy when you least expect it! The terrible thing about this particular gift is that it comes from the only person I know with whom I share my birthday!! - and shame on me - I didn't yet send her somehting... But as the simple minded person I am - I am perfectly able to mostly focus on the fabulous things about this gift;

-its's simply heavenly, pure luxurious silk in a fantastic lilac shade - and look how wonderfully it blends in with the colors of the card and the teal-ish background! The sender knows her stuff and I am ever so grateful!!! This has to become something to wrap around my neck! T u s e n t a k k, s t r i k k e r!!

During some of the spare time I get when I am not petting my new silk, I am trying out this Trekking XLL Ombre sock yarn:

I love the way this yarn is spun - somewhat loosely which gives a slightly fuzzy touch - yet it seems very strong. This ombre line has such subtle and pleasant colorchanges, they really soothe my eyes!

My first try was the pastel which I was sure would look good as the Snicket socks. I also think I was right:

But. Simple as it looks I just couldn't find enough patience inside of me to continue with all this twisting and turning! It's a lovely pattern and I think the socks look fantastic but I can't do this now. Maybe in 10 years..

So for faster results and simpler socks - both for my knitting pleasure and the man's assumed minimalistic sock-taste, I picked up another shade...

...and this is growing fast enough for me! 

I don't speak sign language - so I really hope I'm not insulting anyone...

details:

yarn: noro shinano, shade # 12, less than 1 1/2 skeins.

pattern: urban rustic gloves

extremely fast and fun to knit - the grafting, however, takes some time! I highly recommend this very useful tutorial!!

needles: size 5 mm, circular. + the straight needles, stitch holders, tapestry needle and crochet hook - it's all described in the pattern!

I have some "left-over" yarn (ahem - I got myself 5 skeins - I thought my hands were that big...) so I need to put that yarn into a scarf, don't I?:

The pattern is Cowslip from Jane Ellison's "Naturally Noro".

Then there are the socks. And a "few" other WIPs... Hmmm. Wonder how my knitting goes when I get my hands full in a few weeks....

Do I need to say more?!:

I din't fall off the planet earth but I am really having a hard time finding some spare seconds for knitting and blogging these days... However - riding my bike to work the other day with bare hands just forced me to to clear the table and make room for this (well the room was made at home, not at work ;) ):

What could this little monster possibly resemble??

With excellent tutoring here I think I might very well be able to bring along a couple of gloves when we now most probably are entering a colder season...

The grafting actually works! It's wearable!!:

I must make another one. Now.

Three days, two squares - this could be looking good! We'll see what the next days (and weeks, and months...) bring....

Yes, yes, yes, the grey matter surrounding the yarn is indeed a FO! The cabeled bag turned out to be perfect as container for this mitered square blanket (well, at least the beginning of it!)

details:

yarn: topp t tå from Gjestal spinneri

needles: 5 mm circular

pattern: this here. (feel free to drop me a line if the language looks too peculiar...;-))

modifications: i made cabeled handles and attatced them in a slightly different spot.

The main drive to knit this in the first place was really to give it a go with this yarn. I was curious as to wether it could be usable for the lace leaf pullover or not. I made a swatch and it looked quite fine - but maybe a bit too loose and airy. I remembered I had some left-over Eskimo somewhere, I found it and made another swatch. Even though the yardage/weight is very similar in these two yarns the swatches turned out very different - by far in favour of the Eskimo.

Two pieces are working their ways toward the final grafting...

And now I have to work my way over to the couch for some serious knitting and compatible activity...

And finally, the thank you part - gee - it's good to finally have it in writing!!:

You Are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you. Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible. While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks. Your warm personality nicely counteracts any strange habits you may have. What color green are you?

Let me present the lamest excuse ever for not finishing my WIPs.

I have at least 2 things lined up, knitting done. BUT I HAVE NO SEWING NEEDLE! Don't look at me. I blame it on the needle-eating monster in this house. It's lurking somewhere in the dark. I know it. Monsters scare me so instead of trying to hunt it down I went shopping. So from today on I no longer have an excuse. That is, if the monster doesn't strike again.....

And I went more shopping, at amazon last week. I thought I could use a treat. For my birthday. Tomorrow. Arriving just in time:

I am instantly and absolutely enamoured with all these books. There are several things I want to make - and some things I HAVE to make, like the cover sweater of Yarnplay. The Mason*Dixon is even a lot more than I expected - I love the projects, I love the layout, I love the whole book, I love all three of them!!

Many years ago I took a quilting-course. I had the ambition of making a BIG bedspread. Some day. But the sewing machine and me, - my neck to be more specific, turned out to be far from good friends. I just couldn't handle it. So I gave up on the whole idea - until now - finding the mitered square blanket in the Mason*Dixon book:

There will be a bedspread. Eventually.

One square pr. month: in 6 1/2 years.

One square pr. week: in 1 1/2 years.

One square pr. day (definitely not!): in 11 1/2 weeks. (Or: in my dreams!)

Isn't  it just lovely?

I am making leaves. The pink ones are embossed (the english language file in my brain is still working on that one) - and the muted plum is a lace one:

I am absolutely enjoying them and not at all stressed about the fact that my WIP-number is now well into the 2-digits. But in the name of decency - I'll try to behave from now on. I promise to stop at least before I reach the 3-digit sphere. (Wonder btw what it might look like up there.....hm)  

The pink sock (saying socks might just be too optimistic at this point...) is for my sister. Maybe I should try to let this one pass as pinky's mate:

Anatomically speaking it might be evident that we are looking at the medial side of the foot with the toes way down there. Strange? Yes, very strange. Too strange. This happens to be the back of my leg with the heel way down there. The reason I know that for sure is because I remember very well my obscure posture while shooting it right there at the big window. I hope our neighbors are not in.

From the front:

No, it fits me perfectly and I want it for myself, little sister, so you'll get your two pink ones. Eventually. Sheesh - sisters are demanding, aren't they?

So. Where was I. Yes. On Iceland.

A loooong way back I tried in a very correct and friendly way to order a book. From Iceland. I had some correspondance in english with someone there - they even put the book aside for me! To make a long long and boring story very short; - it was a dead end. They just didn't manage to send it to me.

So what is this, then? Here right outside my door?:

Very good friends of very good friends are indeed very good friends. My friend B. in Bergen has a lovely friend who had this book lying around somewhere hidden after moving - she had not missed it for six months so she let me borrow it! Hurray!!! I won't see her until around new years eve so I have plenty of time to look and drool and maybe study some icelandic... She also happened to have some real icelandic einband - 1-ply - that she plain out gave to me - I was speechless! Thank you, thank you!! I think there is at least a 2-digits number of shawls I want to make now!

The good thing about shawls however - they are great as singles! No demand for pairs!!