Shocking pink!

Det var en meget hyggelig tur til Aarhus i lørdags. Det lykkedes mig faktisk at finde nogenlunde rundt inde i bymidten - uden at kigge på kort! - og komme derhen, hvor jeg ville.
Først besøgte jeg dog en garnbutik i nærheden af rutebilstationen. (Der er altså ustyrligt mange garnbutikker i den by!) Jeg havde aldrig set den før, men går såmænd gerne derind igen. (Den hedder Garnlageret og ligger på Rosenkrantzgade 31).
I butikken faldt jeg over disse fine knapper med Marie fra Aristocats. Såååå søde og lyserøde! Lige i øjet med de små piger, der nu er i familien.

It was a really nice trip to Aarhus this Saturday. I succeeded in finding my way around the center - even without a map! - and get to the place I wanted.
First, I visited a yarn shop close to the bus station. (There are so many yarn shops in that city! Unbelievably many.) I never saw that shop before, but I would be happy to visit it again. (It's called "Garnlageret" and is located at number 31, Rosenkrantzgade.)
Inside the shop, I stumbled across these pretty buttons with Marie from Aristocats. So very sweet and pink! Just right, when thinking about the two little girls who are now part of the family.

Derfor var jeg selvfølgelig nødt til at købe garn, der passede til i farven. Jeg forestiller mig, at det skal blive til en trøje med hulmønster og flæser (MANGE flæser!) i ca. str. 2 år, så barnet selv kan bestemme at hun vil have den på. HVER dag.
Der bliver ikke et øje tørt.......

Of course I also had to buy some yarn in a matching color. I imagine this turning into a cardigan with a lacy pattern and ruffles (LOTS of ruffles!) in a size around 2 years, so the child can decide herself how she wants to wear it. EVERY day.
The parents are going to love me.........

May the Fourth be with you

I dag er en ganske særlig dag, lærte jeg i morges (i radioen).
Det er Danmarks befrielsesdag. Det må man sandelig ikke glemme (husk lysene i vinduerne i aften!), men det er også en særlig dag på en anden måde.
Datoen på engelsk lyder nemlig næsten som "May the force be with you" fra Star Wars.
Så selvFØLGelig skal der et Star Wars mønster på i dag!
(Jeg skal selv bruge det. Er kommet til at love min mindste nevø en Star Wars sweater til næste, kolde vinter i Michigan)

Today is a very special day. I learned that this morning by listening to the radio.
It is the day Denmark was freed from the Germans. That is to be remembered (by putting candles in the windows), but it's also a special day in another way.
All you English-speaking people know, right? The date is almost like "May the force be with you" from Star Wars.
So of COURSE we need a Star Wars pattern today!
(I'm going to need one myself. Promised my youngest nephew a Star Wars sweater for the next, cold winter in Michigan)

Pæne billeder / Nice photos

I må lige se på sjalet en dag mere..... Jeg kom jo til Aarhus og fandt nogle steder, der var rimeligt hundetis-fri og velegnet til sjaler. Selv om der ikke var blomster med på billederne!

You have to look at the shawl for one more day.... I got to Aarhus and found some places that should be free of dog-pee and good for shawls. Although there are no flowers with the shawl!

Mønsteret er lidt en mutant mellem "Maikell" sjalet i "Knitted lace of Estonia", der lagde instruktioner til hele midterstykket, og et kant-mønster fra en meget tyk, estisk tørklæde-bog.  Der kom kun kanter for de korte ender - som min niece gerne ville have det - og jeg havde lige en mindre krise sent fredag aften, da jeg fandt ud af, at jeg var nødt til at strikke diagrammet oppefra og ned i stedet for den "rigtige" vej. Heldigvis kan man overhovedet ikke se det på det færdige resultat.......

The pattern is a mutant with a combination of the "Maikell" shawl from "Knitted lace of Estonia" for the mid section, and then a pattern for the edge from another, thick, Estonian book about scarfs. I only made edges on the short ends - like my niece asked for - and I had a small crisis on Friday evening, when I discovered I had to knit the chart upside-down instead of the "right" way. Fortunately, you can't tell this from looking at the shawl........

Mønsteret er bare så fint med huller, knopper og krydsede masker. Da jeg spændte sjalet ud, fik jeg god brug for de piano-tråde jeg købte i december. Det var noget nemmere at lave de lange sider flot udspændt når jeg brugte wire. (Også selv om det skete i nattens mulm og mørke!)

The pattern is so pretty with the holes, nupps and crossed stitches. When I blocked the shawl, I had good use of the piano-wires I bought in December. It's so much easier making the long edges look pretty when using the wire. (Even though it was done in the dark hours!)

Til sidst - sjalet ovenpå Aros. Dette billede var meget tæt på at koste en lille dreng livet. Han kom susende om hjørnet, men nåede heldigvis at styre udenom sjalet. HVIS han havde løbet hen over det....... (Min bror var noget bekymret over at en læge kunne sige de ord, der blev mumlet ud af min mund!)
Sjalet er nu afleveret til min niece, der blev meget, meget glad. Så nu kan jeg læne mig tilbage efter veludført arbejde. Herligt!

At last - the shawl on top of Aros. This photo almost cost a little boy his life. He came running around the corner, but fortunately, he managed to steer around the shawl. IF he had run on top of it...... (My brother was really worried that a doctor could say the kind of words that came muffled out of my mouth!)
The shawl has been handed over to my niece, who got very, very happy. So now I can really lean back and relax after a well done job. Wonderful!

Midt om natten / In the middle of the night

Dagen i går gik (selvfølgelig!) overhovedet ikke som planlagt, og jeg var derfor ikke i nær så god tid med at strikke som planlagt.
Men for at gøre en lang historie kort: Sjalet er færdigt! Jeg fik ikke sovet meget i nat, men det er færdigt, vasket og spændt ud, og klar til at blive fotograferet i selskab med nogle smukke blomster. Formentlig i Aarhus, hvor jeg også skal aflevere det.
Det er endt med at veje 55 gram og måler 54 x 145 cm, hvilket er en rigtig fin størrelse i mine øjne. Så - stor tilfredshed, omend nogen træthed herfra!

Yesterday didn't go as planned. At all (of course!) and my timing with the finishing was nothing like I hoped for.
But let's make a long story short: The shawl is finished! I didn't get to sleep much last night, but it's finished, washed and blocked, and ready to be photographed in company with some beautiful flowers. Probably in Aarhus, where I'm going to hand it over.
It ended up weighing 55 grams and measuring 54 x 145 cm, which is a very fine size in my eyes.
So - a lot of satisfaction, although in a tired way, in this place!

Svanesøen / The Swan Lake

I går aftes så jeg Svanesøen i Operaen. Det var så flot! Der var billetter med rabat på mit arbejde, hvilket jeg selvfølgelig ikke sagde nej til.....
Det var ellers lidt pinligt, for ved indgangen, da jeg viste billet, sagde den flinke kontrollør "Nåh - du har et par billetter mere?" fordi den lå øverst af flere papirer. Så måtte jeg jo forklare ham, at det var min strikkeopskrift........
Jeg tænker ikke, han har hørt den historie før! Hvem strikker i Operaen?!?!?!?!?!? (Det gjorde jeg så lidt. I pausen.)
Inden ballet havde dagen budt på almindeligt arbejde og 3 timers strikning derhjemme. Det bliver nu dejligt, når sjalet er færdigt!

Last night, I watched the Swan Lake at the Opera. It was so beautiful! At work, they had tickets with a discount, and I didn't have to read that twice.....
It was a bit embarrassing, though, when I showed my ticket, and the nice controller said "Oh - you have a couple more?", since the ticket was on top of some more paper. Then I had to explain to him, that the other papers were my knitting pattern......
I guess he never heard that story before! Who would knit at the Opera?!?!?!?!?!? (Well, I did. During the break.)
Before the ballet, the day had been filled with work and then 3 hours of knitting at home. I'm looking forward to having the shawl done!

12

Eftersom jeg virkelig har koncentreret mig om at strikke knopper (og høre lydbøger), går det faktisk ganske godt fremad med det fine sjal.
Jeg er nu oppe på 12 gange af mønsteret, hvilket egentlig er fint ifølge opskriften. Men det er altså lidt kort på billedet..... Her hedder det minimum 15 gange mønster. Det burde kunne lade sig gøre, med lidt mere historie i ørerne! Det burde også kunne lade sig gøre at få sjal færdigt til lørdag. Hvis jeg virkelig vil. (Det VIL jeg!)

Since I really concentrated on knitting nupps (and listening to audio books), the pretty shawl is growing quite well.
On the photo, I have 12 repeats of the pattern, which is what the pattern says. But it is a bit short in the photo..... In my home it will be at least 15 repeats of the pattern. Should be possible, if I listen a bit more to the story! It should also be able to be done by Saturday. If I really want to make it happen. (I DO want that!)

Nye krus / New mugs: Knit happens & Knit or die. I love them!

Nogle gange trænger man til jordbær / Sometimes you just need strawberries

Fra den nordjyske baby's forældre er der kommet et ønske om en jordbærhue.
Det kan man ikke sige nej til, vel?
Det skal jo være i noget ordentligt garn, så i går kørte jeg forbi Rasmilla og købte Pima bomuld i rød og grøn. Jeg tænker, den bliver fin, og at den ikke kommer til at tage lang tid at strikke. Midt imellem alt det andet......
Mønsteret er det her.

From the parents of the baby in Northern Jutland, there was a wish for a strawberry-hat.
I couldn't say no, could I?
It has to be good yarn, so yesterday I went to Rasmilla to buy Pima cotton in red and green. I guess it will be a really pretty hat, and that it won't take too long to knit. In between everything else.......
The pattern is this one.

Elsa!

Disney-filmen "Frost" er meget populær. Meget, meget, meget populær!
Blå er blevet en pigefarve (for Elsa har blå kjole på) og jeg har lært, hvordan man laver Elsa-fletning. I teorien, altså.
Man kunne jo også lave denne her Elsa-hue til nogen, der kunne bruge at lege de havde den lange fletning?
Mønsteret er dette.

The Disney-movie "Frozen" is very popular. Very, very, very popular!
Blue has become a girly color (since Elsa wears a blue dress), and I learned how to make the Elsa braid. In theory, you know.
You could also make this Elsa-hat for someone, who wants to play they have the long braid?
The pattern is this one.

Måske er jeg skør / Maybe I'm crazy

Hele sidste uge har jeg faktisk ikke strikket på sjalet. Hvilket har været lidt af en krise. Jeg har nemlig bestemt mig for, at det skal være færdigt i næste weekend!
Nu er det dog i gang igen - det er over halvvejs, fordi der nu er 8 gentagelser af mønsteret.
Hele næste uge må jeg så sidde bag nedrullede gardiner og lade som om jeg ikke er hjemme så jeg kan strikke......

I haven't had time to knit on the shawl this entire last week. Which has been a bit of a crisis. I've decided that I want it done during next weekend!
I started knitting again, though, and it's past 50%, since I have 8 repeats of the pattern now.
All next week I'll have to sit at home behind closed curtains, pretending not to be home and then knit as much as I can......

En film hjælper / A film helps

Fanø-trøjen vokser temmelig langsomt. Mest, fordi det ikke er det mest spændende mønster, men også, fordi jeg bare ikke har fået strikket meget i denne uge.
I går så jeg film, hvilket hjalp enormt! Så nu ser det da ud til at vokse lidt.
Fra forsiden kan man ikke rigtig se ret/vrang mønsteret, men man kan da se, hvor fint stykket forneden rynker.

The Fanø-cardigan is growing rather slowly. Mostly, because it's not the most exciting pattern, but also because I actually didn't knit very much this week.
Last night, I watched a movie, which really helped! So by now it's grown a little.
On the front, you cannot really see the knit/purl pattern, but you can see, how nicely the edge at the bottom is wrinkled. 

På bagsiden kan man bedre se mønsteret (der skal sys en del bagefter!), og man kan også se det glatte, stramme stykke bagpå kanten forneden. Den bliver altså fin!
Maskeantallet passer ikke, men jeg har skrevet til Annette Danielsen og fået at vide, at der skulle være slået 2 masker mere op end der står i opskriften. Hvad der er virkelig mærkeligt er, at jeg faktisk kom til at slå 2 masker for meget op, men jeg skulle jo så bare ikke have fjernet dem igen!

On the back, you can see the pattern better (there will be a lot of sewing to do after the knitting!) and you can also see the very smooth edge on the back, knitted on smaller needles. It will be pretty!
The number of stitches in the pattern was wrong somehow, but I wrote the designer and got to know, that the number of cast on stitches should have been +2. What's really ironic is, that I actually happened to cast on 2 stitches too much, but I should have left them there instead of removing them!

Jeg vandt! / I won!

Britt er i min verden en af strikkebloggenes "grand old ladies" (ment på allerbedste måde!).
Så længe har hun været med, at hun lige har holdt 10 års jubilæum! (Helt vildt!)
I den anledning var der en give-away, og jeg var heldig at vinde 8 nøgler lyseblåt flamé garn. Det er bomuld/acryl og perfekt til sommer. Til mig, tænker jeg!
Tusind tak!

In my world, Britt is one of the "grand old ladies" of knitting blogs (meant in the best way possible!).
She's been around for so long, that she just celebrated her 10th anniversary! (That's crazy!)
On that occasion, she had a give-away, and I was lucky enough to win 8 skeins of blue yarn. It's cotton/acrylics and perfect for summer. For me, I think!
Thank you so much!

Første fødselsdagsstrømper / First birthday socks

Min nevøs pige fylder snart 1 år, og selvfølgelig skal hun jo have nogle fødselsdagsstrømper!
Jeg har smug-prøvet på hende, og selv om de er lidt lange i foden, passer de egentlig meget godt. Det er jo dejligt!
Garnet er en rest af wollmeise, og med 48 masker i omgangen passer det sjovt nok med at det bliver pænt stribet. Opskriften er min sædvanlige i rib, og de 45 gram strømperne vejer fører lige nøjagtigt til, at jeg har strikket 3 kg i år. Ikke værst!

My nephew's little girl turns 1 year old very soon, and of course she will get birthday socks!
I tried them on her feet without too many people looking, and although the foot is a bit long, they fit quite well. That's nice!
The yarn is some leftover wollmeise, and with 48 stitches in the round, it's very funny how the socks get stripes. The pattern is my usual ribbing, and with the weight of 45 grams, these socks brings my total weight of knitted yarn up to 3 kilos this year. Not too bad!

Forårsfarver / Spring colors

 

 

Jeg havde planlagt at strikke.... / I planned to do some knitting.......

Men sådan gik det så ikke. Til gengæld havde jeg utroligt hyggeligt besøg af denne unge dame og hendes forældre!
Hun er nu 11 måneder og gammel nok til at forstå, at det kan betale sig at komme HELE vejen ned til bunden af legetøjskurven for at se det hele......
(Faktisk fik jeg strikket lidt. Men ikke på sjalet. Det turde jeg absolut ikke!)

But that wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. Instead of knitting, I had this young lady and her parents visiting me!
She is 11 months old now, and old enough to understand that it pays off continuing ALL the way to the bottom of the toy basket if you want to see everything......
(Actually, I did knit a little. But not on the shawl. I did not dare doing that!)

Praktisk og flot / Practical and pretty

Grydelapper har vi vist alle brug for.
Men hvorfor ikke lave nogle fine og sjove eksemplarer?
F.eks. kunne du jo så finde Nemo i køkkenet!
Fiske-grydelapperne er her.

Potholders are something everyone needs.
But why not make them really nice and fun?
In this way, you could actually be able to find Nemo in your kitchen!
The fishy potholders are right here.

Weekend

Eftersom jeg skal arbejde i dag, blev weekend og afslapning afviklet i går. Men det var også vældig effektivt!
Sjalet går det stadig fint med. Jeg er næsten oppe på 6 gentagelser af mønsteret, og er blevet hurtigere til at strikke diagrammet, hvilket er dejligt.

Since I'm going to work today, my weekend and relaxation happened yesterday. But is was a very efficient day!
The shawl is still doing fine. I've almost done 6 repeats of the pattern, and by now, I'm faster when knitting through the chart, which is nice.

I aftes gik på hyggeligste vis med god veninde, dejlig mad, enormt spændende film og en hyggelig tur i Tivoli til sidst.
Så er man ligesom også ladet op!

Last night was spent in the best possible way with a good friend, great food, really interesting film and a nice walk around Tivoli.
So I guess I'm re-charged!

Jeg nyder det faktisk. Meget. / I actually enjoy it. A lot.

De sidste mange år (13,5) hvor jeg har boet i København (undskyld. Frederiksberg! TOTALT noget andet.), har jeg haft travlt. Det normale har været 1-3 aftener alene hjemme om ugen. En har klart været for lidt, 3 har været dejligt, men sjældent.
Nu er jeg jo (åbenbart) ret socialt anlagt og vil nødig gå glip af noget, men alligevel har det været virkelig dejligt de sidste par måneder, hvor jeg op til et par gange har oplevet at være hjemme op til FEM aftener på en uge!
Altså. Alene hjemme. Jeg kan mærke, at jeg bestemt godt kan leve med det. Det er skønt med tid til at tænke, strikke, slappe af og endda læse bøger. Når jeg så engang begynder at kede mig, har jeg et par artikler jeg skal have skrevet........

Over the past years (13.5) when I have been living in Copenhagen (sorry. Frederiksberg! Totally different.), I've been busy. Normally, I've spent 1-3 evenings at home alone during a week. One has been too little, 3 has been lovely, but rare.
Since I'm a very (apparently) social person and don't want to miss anything, it's still been really nice over the past few months, where I've had a few weeks with up to FIVE evenings at home in one week!
Well. Home alone. I really think I could get used to that. It's wonderful having time for thinking, knitting, relaxing and even reading books. At some point, when I get bored, I have a few articles I need to write........

Kanten er foldet / The edge was folded

Sommetider strikker jeg også noget, der ikke er helt så indviklet. Den blå trøje nåede så langt at den skulle foldes. Som jeg jo havde lidt svært ved at beskrive. Derfor kommer der lidt billed-spam!
Jeg samlede masker op langs opslagnings-kanten (øverst på billedet).

Sometimes I also knit something that is somewhat less complicated. The blue cardigan got ready for folding. Which I had difficulties explaining. So you'll get "a few" pictures!
I picked up stitches along the cast-on-edge (top of the picture).

Så blev den foldet sammen med retten ud, så de to rundpinde (med lige mange masker) lå ved siden af hinanden.
Derefter blev masker fra den ene pind strikket sammen med masker fra den anden pind, så den nederste "flæse" er lukket.

The it was folded, front-side out, to make the 2 circular needles (holding the same number of stitches) were next to each other.
Afterwards, stitches from one needle were knitted together with stitches from the other needle, to close the bottom "ruffle".

Det, der bliver til forsiden, er strikket på pind 4, mens bagsiden er strikket på pind 2,5. Derfor bliver den lidt rynket, hvilket giver et rigtig fint udtryk. Nu skal jeg bare strikke 28 cm mønster. På pind 3.

The front-side is made with needles size 4 mm, while the back is knitted using needles size 2.5 mm. This makes the front a little wrinkled, which looks really nice. Now I just have to knit 28 cm of pattern. Using size 3 mm needles.

Den perfekte lejlighed / The perfect occasion

Når man nu alligevel har en aften derhjemme og skal strikke, så er det jo rart med lidt let underholdning, ikke?
Hvad kan overhovedet være mere passende end at strikke det smukkeste blondesjal mens man ser Dronningens gallamiddag på tv?

When the evening is spent at home anyway and you have to knit, then it's really nice having some light entertainment, right?
What on earth could be better than knitting the most beautiful lace-shawl while watching the Queen's gala dinner on TV?

I dag fylder hun 75 år. KÆMPEstort tillykke!
(Det er lige før jeg får lyst til at strikke et sjal til hende. Lige før......)
Gad godt at jeg ikke skulle arbejde i dag.

Today is her 75'th birthday. Congratulations!
(I almost feel like knitting a shawl for her. Almost.....)
I really wish I had a day off today.

Nå. Men nu er det jo ikke til dronningen. Det er meget vigtigere, det her sjal.
Det går fint fremad. Er nu oppe på 3 gentagelser af diagrammet ud af de 14 der skal være ialt. Samt kanterne

Well. But it definitely isn't for the queen. This shawl is much more important.
It grows very steadily. I have made 3 repeats of the chart and plan to make 14 in total. Plus the edges.