Strømper / Socks 2011

Hygge

Der er dømt juleferie med tid til sofa, film og STRIK! Nevøens sweater vokser fint, og jeg er foreløbig ret tilfreds..... Formlerne er gledet ned med Disney-film og "Venner". Jeg skal jo ikke se noget, der kræver for meget opmærksomhed, vel?

My holiday is filled with the couch, movies and KNITTING! The sweater for my nephew is growing nicely, and I'm very happy with it so far. The formulas grow with the help of Disney-films and "Friends". I can't watch something I need to focus on, can I?

Nytårshovede / New Year head

Julen er overhovedet ikke slut, men derfor kan det jo være meget godt at se nogle dage frem og forberede sig på, at det snart er nytår! (Der var f.eks. nogle her i kvarteret, der lige skulle øve sig på at fyre raketter af præcis til midnat i nat. Måske skulle de lære at hækle i stedet?)
Denne fikse hat er vel det, vi alle står og mangler til nytår, er det ikke? Mønsteret finder du her.

Christmas has by no means ended, but it still might be a good idea to look ahead and prepare yourself for the fact, that New Year is approaching! (In my neighborhood some persons prepared themselves by practicing shooting fireworks exactly at midnight last night. Maybe they need to learn how to crochet instead?)
This pretty hat is probably what everyone needs for New Years Eve, isn't it? The pattern is right here.

Juletræet / The Christmas Tree

I år tænkte jeg, at et lille juletræ måtte kunne gøre det. Billigt var det skam også!
Men da det så fik lov at folde grenene ud i stuen må jeg jo nok indrømme, at jeg blev fuldstændigt klar over, at næste år skal det altså være et stort træ igen...... Der var ikke plads til enormt meget julepynt, men I skal da ikke snydes for den nye af slagsen!

This year I thought that a small tree would be good enough. It was cheaper too!
But once the branches were stretched in my living room I realised that I really, truly need a big tree next year.... This tree doesn't have room for a lot of decorations, but of course you should see the new ones!
Først den mest utrolige. Gavmildt skænket af min søde søster, der åbenbart mener, at vi har sådan en "årets-grimmeste-julepynt" ting kørende. Jeg forstår det ikke helt! Altså - SvampeBob Firkant, Bumle (fra Biler) og diverse Disney-ting er da givet af et godt og opofrende hjerte!
Men i år fik jeg altså........ En T-bone-steak! Der er ikke et øje tørt, vel? Den har endda lidt glimmer på og har selvfølgelig fået en fin plads ved siden af juletræet fra Det Hvide Hus!

First the most unbelievable thing. Very generously given by my sweet sister who apparently think we have a "this-years-ugliest-decoration" thing going on. I don't get it! Really - SpongeBob Squarepants, Mater (from Cars) and various Disney-decorations were given from the most loving part of my heart!
So this year I had...... A T-bone-steak! Brings a tear to my eye! It even sparkles a bit and of course it had a branch of honour, right next to the "White House" Christmas tree!
En meget, meget fin ting var denne her. Ja - det er én af Arne og Carlos' julekugler, men strikket og givet til mig af en kollega. Bare fordi hun havde lyst! Jeg er meget, meget glad.

A very, very pretty thing is this. A Christmas ball designed by Arne and Carlos, but knitted and given to me by a colleague. Just because she wanted to! I'm very, very happy.

Så er der den søde, filtede fugl, købt i Remisen til fåreavlernes julemarked. Jeg elsker bare fugle og engle på mit juletræ, så den skulle selvfølgelig med.

Then there is this sweet, felted bird, bought at a craft fair this year. I love having birds and angels on my tree, so it obviously had to join the other decorations.

Den lille træ-klokke var egentlig fra sidste år, men jeg havde glemt den og fandt den i en skuffe. Hun og hendes søster er håndskårne, mægtig kønne og købt i Prag sidste år.

This little wooden bell was really bought last year, but I forgot it and only found it in a drawer. She and her sister were carved by hand, mighty pretty and bought in Prague last year.

Til sidst disse to. Hvem vil ikke gerne have Chip og Chap på sit juletræ?
Købt i Disneyland Paris.
Lige nu nyder jeg ellers bare en dejlig fridag. Har tænkt mig at blive indenfor 10 meter fra min lejlighed hele dagen, slappe af, spise dejlig mad, drikke julethe og gløgg, se film og strikke. Nå ja. Når jeg så er herhjemme bliver jeg nok også inspireret til at rydde op, støvsuge og få skrevet de der julekort, der bare aldrig blev tid til!
Juleaften var skøn. Der var fine gaver, hyggeligt selskab og kontakt til dem i San Francisco. Den blev kun forudgået af en anelse panik meget sent den 23. dec, da jeg kom i tvivl om, hvorvidt jeg nu også stadig havde 2 juletræsfødder! Det havde jeg heldigvis, så min mor fik også et juletræ, der kunne stå fast......

Finally these two guys. Who wouldn't want Chip'n'Dale on their tree?
Bought in Disneyland Paris.
Right now I'm enjoying a day off. I wont go any further than 10 meters from my apartment all day, relax, eat good food, drink Christmas tea and gløgg, watch movies and knit. Oh well. Since I'll be at home, I'll probably get inspired to get some order, vacuum clean and write those Christmas cards I never had time for!
Christmas Eve was wonderful. Fine presents, pleasant company and contact to those in San Francisco. I only had a bit of panic very late on the 23rd when I couldn't remember if I still had 2 Christmas tree "feet"! I did have them, fortunately, so my mothers tree didn't fall.....

Glædelig jul! / Merry Christmas!

Som så mange andre / Like so many

Nu er det da lige op over med julen! Jeg har læst det i Blogland de sidste mange dage - vi er flere, der godt kunne bruge lidt længere tid på at blive klar.....
Her hos mig kom dagene ikke med de spande af strikketid, jeg havde brug for, men til gengæld har jeg juleferie, hvilket jeg glæder mig helt overdrevet til! SÅ skal der strikkes igennem.
I dag står den på juletræspyntning, når jeg har arbejdet færdig, og de sidste mad-indkøb. Lidt skype-snak med "Amerikanerne", risengrødskogning, en kæmpe opvask og (måske?) færdig-montering af niecens trøje.
Beklager manglen på det strik, jeg gerne ville vise jer i færdig tilstand, men det kommer forhåbentlig....

Christmas is getting very close. From other blogs I know that I'm not the only one in need of a bit more time to get ready.....
Here at my place, the days didn't come with the buckets of knitting-time that I really needed, but from this afternoon I have 1 week off work, and I'm sooooo exited! I'm really gonna knit...
Today I'll buy my tree and decorate it after finishing work, and the last shopping for food. A bit of skype-talk with the "Americans", making rice-porridge, doing the dishes (a huge pile) and (maybe?) finish sewing the cardigan for my niece.
I'm sorry I don't have the finished projects to show you that I really want to finish, but hopefully I'll get there....

Og så var der ni / And then there were nine

Jeg har fået lavet de 10 nissehuer. Det har jeg altså! Den ene besluttede ad omveje at forlade flokken og finde en ny baby, der ikke hører til neonatal-afdelingen, men de andre 9 bliver afleveret, vasket og vil så være klar til juleaften. Det bliver så fint!
Lidt fakta? Diverse slags bomuldsgarn i rød og hvid, ialt har jeg brugt 145 gram til 10 huer. Opskriften er min egen. Jeg håber, de vækker lige så meget glæde i år!

I finished the 10 santa hats. I did! One of them decided to leave the group and find a very new baby who has nothing to do with the neonatal ward, but the remainding 9 will be delivered, washed and ready for Christmas Eve. It's going to be good!

Some facts? Different kinds of cotton in red and white. In total I used 145 grams for 10 hats.

The pattern is my own. I hope they will bring as much joy this year as last year!

Lys i mørket / Light in the darkness

Han gjorde det! / He did it!

Nevøen kom - og strikkede! Sandelig så....... Han vil gerne lave en vest, og når den nu skal laves med lutter retmasker, så besluttede jeg at han skulle starte med et retstrikket stykke, så langt, at det når rundt om ham let strakt. Derefter er planen at samle masker op og strikke opad, så ret-stykket nærmest bliver som en ribkant. Når han når til ærmegabet, bliver det noget med at slå masker op, så den går ud over skuldrene og så raglan (måske er vi ude i noget med et retstrikket stykke som kant til det lille ærme?), men der er jo nok et par dage til!
Hans medfølgende viv endte også med at strikke. De konkurrerer åbenbart om alting, så hun sprang ud i en hue med ribkant nederst. I det hele taget var det bare enormt hyggeligt, og han var meget, meget begejstret for tæppet, så nu er det helt væk fra min stue. (Måske skulle jeg hækle et til mig selv, så?)

My nephew came - and knitted! Oh yes he did...... He wants to make a vest, and considering that he only knows how to knit, not purl, I decided he should start with a piece of garterstitch, long enough to go around his waist when slightly stretched. Then the plan is to pick up stitches and knit upwards, making the garterstitch fabric a kind of ribbed edge. When he is as far as the sleeves, it's going to be a lot of new stitches, so that the vest will warm the shoulders, and then raglan. (Maybe also a garterstitch edge for the very short sleeves?) But I guess I have a few months to think it over!
His sweetheart also ended up knitting. Apparently they try to beat each other, being best at everything, so she started a hat with a ribbed edge. All in all it was just a totally nice evening, and he was very, very happy with the blanket. So now my living-room is totally void of the Link blanket. (Maybe I should make one for me?)

Et lækkert par / A delicious couple

Dagens opskrift er lige til at spise!
Så lækre ser de nemlig ud, hr. og fru. Peberkage!
Du skal bruge en lille smule filtbart brunt garn og endnu mindre hvidt garn, der ikke filter.
Opskriften er her, men pas på, hvis der kommer én forbi, der er meget sulten, og så er arbejdet væk.....

Today's pattern is ready to serve and eat! They really look delicious, Mr. and Mrs. Gingerbread!
You only need a little bit of brown yarn that will felt, and even less white yarn, that won't felt.
The pattern is right here, but watch out! Maybe someone really hungry will pass by and your work will be wasted.....

Det store spil / The big game

I dag er det tid for den helt store garn-nørde-pakkeleg! Jeg glæder mig rigtig meget, og har pakkerne klar.
Det er et par år siden jeg var til den helt store sidst, men jeg har da også prøvet det ind imellem med færre mennesker, og det er altid sjovt. Totalt bonus. Pakkeleg er sjovt, garn er fantastisk, og ekstra mange pakker MED GARN kan kun blive godt......

Today it's the very big yarn-nerd-dicegame day! I've been looking forward to this, and my gifts are ready.
A few years ago I tried it big time, but I played it with fewer people as well. Always fun, and a total win-win thing. The dice-game is funny, yarn is fantastisk, and an extra number of gifts containing YARN can be nothing but good.....
And for those of you who are not Danish. We play this game every Christmas. Everybody brings a (beautifully) wrapped gift, and all gifts are placed on a table. Then we take turns rolling the dice, and everytime you get a "6", you can take a gift. When all gifts have been taken, we start a timer and continue playing until the timer goes off. This time you can take a gift from someone else, or the other persons can take your gifts.... When the timer goes off, you can open your gift(s)! It's so much fun.....

Work in progress....

Midt i de to sweatre, der ikke er kommet meget længere, måtte jeg starte på noget nyt, nemlig årets nissehuer til neonatal-afdelingen! Sygeplejerskerne var begyndt at spørge, om ikke de skulle have nissehuer igen i år, og fortalte, hvor enormt hyggeligt det var sidste år, og hvor søde de var osv. osv. osv.
Altså - det kan man ikke overhøre, vel? Jeg vil strikke 10, har jeg bestemt. Heldigvis får jeg god hjælp. Johanne strikker, Linda har sat turbo på (mindst!) og en kollega hjælper også.
Det værste ved nissehuer - jeg kan jo lige så godt sige det, som det er! - er al monteringen. Men når jeg når så langt, vil det være det eneste, der mangler, så det går vel!

While having 2 un-finished sweaters lying around, I had to start something new - this year's Santa-hats for the neonatal ward! The nurses started asking if they would be getting the hats this year and told about how nice it was last year, how cute they looked and so on and so forth.
So - I shouldn't ignore them, should I? I decided to make 10. Fortunately, I'm having good help. Johanne is knitting, Linda found her turbo-needles (not exagerrating!) and one of my colleagues is also helping.
The worst part about the hats (might as well tell the truth!) is sewing up all the parts. But since it will be the last thing reamining, it will work out, I hope!

Dobbelt / Double

Jeg havde jo strikket en hue til niecen på 15. Hendes kusine på 17 syntes den var flot, og så strikkede jeg også en til hende..... Endnu 2 julegaver klar!
Garnet er også soyagarn fra Netto, og igen har jeg brugt 90 gram, selv om toppen vist nok er lavet en anelse anderledes.

I made a hat for my niece who is 15. Her cousin, who is 17, liked it very much, and then I made another one for her..... So 2 presents are ready!
The yarn is soy and wool again, and once more I used 90 grams, although I guess the top of the second is a little bit different.

Nyt krus / New mug

Min afdeling havde besøg af Alvin i dag. Børnene var benovede og fik gaver, men der var sandelig også lidt til personalet, så nu er jeg den lykkelige ejer af dette fine, rullende krus med Orla Frøsnapper! Jeg har aldrig set noget lignende.....

Alvin came to visit my department today. The kids were quite amazed and got presents, but he also brought something for us who work there. So now I'm the very happy owner of this good mug on wheels, featuring "Orla Frøsnapper"! (A Danish film-character). I've never seen anything like it....

Wollmeise!

For 2 år siden købte jeg mine første bundter Wollmeise over nettet. I har jo nok regnet ud, at det er blevet til en del siden da, så jeg er vel efterhånden blevet rimeligt en haj til det der.....
Nu er der et par stykker, der har spurgt hvordan, og det handler dette indlæg om.
Den virtuelle Wollmeise-butik er næsten altid tom, men kun næsten. Hver fredag (undtagen helligdage og sommerferie) bliver den fyldt 2 gange.
Det gælder om at være klar! Lige før butikken er fyldt, er hjemmesiden grå, og der står noget i retning af "vent venligst". Opdatér nogle gange, og vupti - pludselig er der varer! Man kan aldrig vide, hvilke typer eller farver der kommer på hylderne. Det afhænger totalt af, hvad de lige har farvet eller har for meget af, og man ved heller ikke, i hvor store mængder.
Udover "In Stock" listen kan man være heldig under de enkelte garntyper at finde farver, som ikke lige fremgår af listen. De kaldes "æg" (ligesom at finde skjulte påskeæg!)
Lace-garnet sælges som et stort bundt på 300 gram, mens strømpegarn sælges i 150 grams bundter. For alle bundter gælder, at der ikke er nogen knuder! (Wauw! Hvor mange firmaer kan prale af det?)
Om morgenen, ca. kl. 8, bliver der lagt "rigtige" farver i. Man køber 1 bundt ad gangen, men man skal være hurtig med at betale. Ellers bliver indkøbskurven måske tømt.
Om eftermiddagen, ca. kl. 16.30-17.00 bliver butikken fyldt igen med "fejlfarver". Disse sælges i poser med enten 2 bundter eller 5 bundter. Man kan vælge farvetema og som regel også, om det skal være meleret eller flerfarvet. Derudover kan man bare krydse fingre!
Nå ja. Jeg kan vel bare ønske god fornøjelse, hvis du sidder klar ved tasterne i morgen, men pas på! De fleste farver er altså ret flotte og afhængighedsskabende....

Two years ago I bought my first skeins of Wollmeise online. I guess you know I bought quite a few since then, and I guess I know my way around the shop....
A couple of people asked how to get the yarn, so this is what this post is about.
First of all, you need to be ready! The online Wollmeise shop is empty almost all the time, except on Fridays. Twice every Friday, the shop is filled. Right before the shop is full, the page turns grey and says something like "please wait". If you refresh the page, suddenly the goods are there! You never know, what colors will be sold. It depends entirely on the shop-workers. Likewise, you never know how many skeins in each color that will be available.
Besides the "In Stock" list, sometimes you can find other colors listed under the different yarn types. They are called "eggs" (like finding a well hidden Easter egg!). Lace yarn is sold as 300 grams skeins, while sock-yarn is sold as 150 grams skeins. Every skein is without a single knot. (How many yarn shops can guarantee that?)
Every Friday morning around 8 a.m. (central European time), all the "regular" colors are sold. You can buy 1 skein at a time. But you have to pay quickly! Otherwise, you might find your shoppingcart empty, all of a sudden.
In the afternoon, around 4.30-5 p.m. (also central European time) all the "we're different" colors are sold. You can buy grab bags with 2 or 5 skeins in it. Usually, it is possible to choose a general colorway and it's possible to choose wether you want variegated or multi-color yarn. And then just hope for the best!
Well. Good luck if you're trying! It's dangerous, though. The colors are very pretty and addictive....

Grøntsager? Niecens tallerken..../ Vegetables? The niece's lunch....

Hvis en snegl kunne strikke / If a snail would knit

I må jo lige se, at jeg faktisk er gået i gang med kroppen af matematik-sweateren. Ribben og stjernerne var ikke svære, selv om det ikke ligefrem gik med stormskridt, men nu, hvor jeg så småt er startet på et par formler, er det virkelig museskridt..... Pyha. Bare tanken om inden nytår! (Hvor jeg iøvrigt glæder mig enormt til at strikke til mig selv!) Heldigvis vil han være glad for at få den f.eks. i januar, men jeg ville jo gerne være færdig..... Efter den første række formler kommer et ret stort tog, og så skulle jeg være ved ærmegabene. Det burde jo være til at overse, så jeg håber.
Men det er helt klart sofastrik, det her! Bare diagrammerne! Uha.

You should see this - I've actually startet knitting the body of the math-sweater. The rib edge and the stars were not hard to do, although it didn't really grow very fast. But now, starting on the formulas, it's really down to babysteps...... Oh dear. Just the thought of New Year approaching! (And I'm looking so very much forward to knitting something for me!) Fortunately he would be quite happy to receive it in January, for instance, but I would really love to finish it this year.... After the first row of formulas I'm going to knit a rather big train, and then I should be at the beginning of the sleeves. Ought to be manageable, so I'm really hoping it will get done.

This sweater is definitely for knitting on the coach! Just imagine the charts!

En anden julekugle / Another Christmas ornament

Nu er det jo vældig moderne at strikke julekugler i år. Dem fra Arne og Carlos, altså! Men der findes jo andre slags, ikke?
I dag kommer et ganske gratis, anglofilt alternativ, der NOK lige vil pynte på ethvert juletræ, tror jeg!
Nemlig denne søde lige Christmas Pudding til at hænge på juletræet. Mønsteret er her - kig ovre i højre side og klik på billedet.

Knitting Christmas balls is very popular this year. The ones designed by Arne & Carlos! But those are not the only balls to be found, right?
Today you can have a totally free, sort-of-English alternative, that would REALLY lighten up any Christmas tree, if you ask me!
The cute little Christmas Pudding is just right. You can find the pattern here - look in the right side and press the picture.

Forfriskende / Refreshing

Dagens indlæg var klamt. Beklager, men jeg syntes det var en ufattelig sjov idé, selv om det så så ulækkert ud!
Nu gør vi ligesom på de meget fine restauranter - I får lige lidt is til at rense smagsløgene, så I kan blive klar til næste indlæg i morgen, ikke?

Today's post was really disgusting. I'm sorry, but I really loved the idea of a game, although it didn't look nice!
So let's do it like the very fancy restaurants - have a little ice to clear the throat and getting ready for the next post tomorrow, right?

Sikken fest! / What a party!

Jeg var til afdelingens julefrokost. For læger. Vældig hyggeligt og sjovt, og jeg var ret glad for at nå med til noget af det, for jeg havde tilkaldevagt.... (Danskvand passer sjovt nok glimrende til julefrokost-mad!)
Nå. Men en af mine kolleger rejste sig på et passende tidspunkt og fortalte, at hun havde en lille leg. Eftersom det er en børneafdeling, hvor vi jævnligt skal kigge i brugte bleer og gætte en infektion (eller noget. Ydrk!) havde hun en pose brugte bleer med, og det var så planen, at vi skulle kigge og snuse og gætte........ Jeg tror nok lige, at vi var mange, der så helt forkerte ud i ansigterne! (Især da hun sagde, at vi også måtte smage....)
Heldigvis viste det sig, at det ret naturtro indhold var lavet af 5 forskellige slags chokoladebar, smeltet i mikrobølgeovn og hældt i bleen, og det var navnet på chokoladebaren, vi skulle gætte!
Ulækkert så det ud, selv om det duftede godt!

I went to the pediatrician "julefrokost". Sort of Danish Christmas party were there is a very heavy tradition of getting very drunk and being completely foolish. Anyway - this one was quite nice, and I was happy to be there for just half of it, since I was actually working and could be called to the hospital. (Accordingly, I drank water, which went well with the food!)
Well. Then one of my colleagues stood up and told how she had a little game for us. Since it's a childrens department and we have to study used diapers and guess an infection (or something. Yikes!), she had brought a bag of used diapers, and the plan was for us to look and sniff and guess...... Plenty of us looked really disgusted at the thought of this! (Especially when she told us we could taste as well.....)
Fortunately, the fecal content (which looked just right, by the way!) was made by melting 5 different kinds of chocolate bars and pouring them into the diaper, and we had to guess the name of the chocolate bar.
Though the smell was nice, it looked just gross!

Give-away!

Så er det blevet lørdag d. 10. dec, og min lille CF-giveaway er slut. Jeg har trukket lod blandt I 12, der ville være med, ved hjælp af random.org, og vinderne blev: Irene har vundet det lyserøde garn, Kirsten har vundet det blå og Åsa har vundet det blå-grønne-gule. Tillykke!
Jeg har faktisk Irenes og Åsas adresser fra dengang med alle huerne, og Kirsten ser jeg næste søndag, så I behøver ikke gøre noget som helst..... Præmierne er snart på vej!

And then it was Saturday the 10th of December and my little CF-giveaway has ended. I found the winners by using random.org in order to choose from the 12 participants. The winners are: Irene won the pink yarn, Kirsten won the blue, and Åsa won the blue-green-yellow. Congratulations!

Et stort skridt / A big step

2 dages kursus har som sædvanligt ikke bare sat hjernecellerne på arbejde, men også betydet en hel del for mit strikketøj..... Den islandske trøje begynder pludselig at ligne noget godt! Desuden fik jeg indfanget niecen i mandags og ved, at den kommer til at passe glimrende, hvilket gjorde, at der faldt en rimeligt stor sten fra mit hjerte!
Af al kursus-strik må jeg dog sige, at det ikke er specielt optimalt at strikke med 3 farver, mens man skal koncentrere sig, men heldigvis bød dagen med de pinde mere på at vi skulle høre end se efter, så det gik. (Og jeg sørgede selvfølgelig for at snakke rigeligt, så de kunne høre, at jeg bestemt fulgte med!)

A 2 days course has had the usual effect - not only did my brain cells get some exercise, but so did my knitting...... The Icelandic cardigan is starting to look good! I even had the good luck to measure on my niece this monday, so I know it will fit very well. I'm quite relieved that I don't have to unravel anything!

Of all things to knit while attending a course, I have to say that stranded 3-color work is not really the best if you have to concentrate a lot. Fortunately, the multi-color-knitting day was the day when I needed to hear more than look, so everything went fine. (And of course I did a lot of talking to let the teachers know how well I was listening!)

Overvældende garndag / Amazing yarn-day

Starten af ugen bød på en rigtig masse fantastisk garn! Jeg havde været så heldig at falde over et bundt rødt lace-garn i wollmeise-opdateringen (måske det eneste?) og følte virkelig, at jeg havde vundet i lotteriet, da jeg pakkede det ud. Farven skulle have været "0 Rh Negativ", men var åbenbart blevet lidt forkert. For mig er den helt rigtig!
Da så jeg skulle prale med mit fine garn på Facebook, blev jeg - igen - klar over, at en del af mine venner absoLUT ikke strikker..... De tog det åbenbart meget bogstaveligt det med navnet og farven og spurgte, hvilken farve deres blodtype så var? Min søster kastede sig endda ud i alternative farveforslag som galdeblære-grøn, milt-lilla, fedtlever-beige og blå som af-iltet hæmoglobin. Hvad skal jeg sige? IGNORANTER! (Hvor meget salg tror I iøvrigt, der ville være i ovennævnte farveforslag?)

The beginning of this week came with plenty of truly amazing yarn. I was lucky enough to stumble over some red lace in the wollmeise-update (maybe the only skein?) and felt like winning the lottery when I opened the parcel. The color should have been "0 Rh Negativ", but somehow came out a bit different. To me it's just right!
A bit later I was bragging about my pretty yarn on Facebook, and - once more - I realized that most of my friends don't knit........ They read the name very literally and asked what color their specific bloodtype would be? My sister even suggested alternative color-names like gallbladder-green, spleen-purple, fat liver beige and blue like de-oxygenated hemoglobin. What can I say? IGNORANTS! (Anyway - how well do you think the colors suggested by my sister would sell?)
Da jeg så kiggede dybt i postkassen, lå sidste pakke fra Socktopus' strømpeklub derinde. Med bonusgarn. Hvilket bonusgarn! 20% merino, 10% silke og 70% MINK! Uuuuuhhhh, det er lækkert...... Skal vist lige lagre lidt med talrige fantasier om hvad dette fantastiske garn kan blive til!

Afterwards, taking a deep look in my mailbox, I found the last package from the Socktopus sock club inside. Containing bonus-yarn. What yarn! Twenty percent merino, 10 percent silk and seventy percent MINK! Ooooohhhhh, it's so yummy! I think it will need a good stash-time and a lot of fantasies about what this amazing yarn will become!

Sjove popcorn / Funny popcorn

Usædvanligt / Unusual

Se lige på de her strømper. Ret almindelige og kedelige, ikke? Rib, lige op og ned. Wollmeise (det har vi hørt før), 100 gram, en passende mængde til sådan et par strømper.

Look at these socks. Pretty common and boring, right? Ribbing, straight down, wollmeise (you heard that before), 100 grams, a good weight for socks like this.
Men de er usædvanlige alligevel! For det første, er det Pitahaya-garnet. Feeeede striber, synes jeg. (En af niecerne var iøvrigt helt enig, men det hjalp ikke!) For det andet er de til MIG! Mit andet par wollmeise-strømper overhovedet, og jeg er mægtig glad. Dem skal jeg nok få brugt godt!
Det andet bundt Pitahaya-farvede garn har jeg iøvrigt solgt til en kollega, der også var ganske forelsket i farven og striberne.

But they are still unusual! First of all, it's the Pitahay-yarn. Cooool stripes in my opinion. (One of my nieces agreed completely, but it didn't help her!) Secondly, they are for ME! My second pair of wollmeise-socks ever, and I'm very happy. I will use them all the time!
By the way - the other skein of Pitahaya-yarn was sold for one of my colleagues who was also very in love with the color and stripes.

Klar? / Ready?

Okay, der er stadig tid - det er kun d. 5. december! (Men man kan aldrig være klar for tidligt....)
Har du en baby i familien? Nogle babyer kan være lidt rynkede og have en ret larmende mund. For ikke at tale om lugten!
For nu at pynte lidt på en evt. baby, skulle du prøve med dette bedårende sæt. Altså. Bare hatten alene skulle nok kunne gøre en hvilken som helst baby til det aller-nuttedeste på denne jord!
Tro mig - folk vil aldrig have set noget lignende. Et baby-hoved-juletræ!

Well, you still have time - it's only December 5th! (But you could never be ready too soon.....)
Do you happen to have a baby in your family? Some babies are quite wrinkly and the mouth can be very noise. Not to mention the smell!
To make any baby more adorable, try this cute set. You know. The hat alone would make any baby the cutest thing ever seen on this planet!
Believe me - it will be the first time your friends have seen a baby-head-Christmas-tree!

Har man hørt magen.....

Min ældste nevø vil lære at strikke! Jeg mangler ord.....

Grøn varme / Green heat

Imens jeg prøvede at trække tiden ud med at gå i gang med matematik-sweateren, har jeg strikket en lille hue som tidsfordriv. Lavet i "Sojagarn" fra Netto, som jeg havde fået som gave af nogle venner.

While working on my art of procrastination considering the math-sweater for my nephew, I made a little hat just to make time pass. Made from yarn with wool and soy fibers, and given to me as a gift from some friends.
Den er fuldstændig uden opskrift og uden særlige finesser. Strikket i 2x2 rib i så lang tid, at man tænker, det må være løgn. Derefter har jeg hurtigt strikket masker sammen og lukket af, så den ligesom bliver lidt spids og rynket i toppen, og tilsidst fuldendt værket med mit livs første virkelig perfekte pompom, der endda er blevet flerfarvet, fordi garnet - som I kan se - laver små striber.

It was made entirely without a pattern and without any difficult details. Made in 2x2 ribbing for so long that you really think it's way beyond anything you would have ever imagined. Then I decreased quite fast and cast off, to make it a bit pointy and wrinkled on top, and finally it was topped with the most perfect pompom I ever made. Even in multicolor, since the yarn makes the tiny stripes.
Jeg har brugt 90 gram, og jeg tænker, at det måske kunne blive en julegave til hende niecen, som elsker alt, der er grønt. Der er en overvejende positiv holdning i familien til spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt hun vil kunne lide den. Dejlig varm og tæt er den ihvertfald, og hendes storesøster legede model. Er det ikke sådan en hue, en teenager kan tænkes at iføre sig?

In total, I used 90 grams of yarn, and I was thinking it could become a Christmas present for the niece who loves anything green. When asking her family, whether she will like it, they were predominantly positive. It's really nice and warm, and her big sister acted as my model. Isn't it this sort of hat that a teenager might wear?

Svært / Difficult

Det går godt fremad med niecens islandske sweater. Ja. Øh. Godt? Men ihvertfald fremad! Kroppen er snart klar og det ene ærme tæt på.
Problem? Jeg har strikket lidt talje ind i trøjen, men strengt taget ved jeg jo ikke, om det passer den unge dames figur. Og må jeg lige minde jer om: teenagere i 2.G er ualmindeligt svære at indfange og indpasse i en proppet kalender!
Mens jeg venter, kan jeg jo så forsøge at komme lidt videre med hendes fætter's sweater. Den med alle figurerne. (Jeg keder mig ikke!)

I'm making good progress on the Icelandic sweater for my niece. Well. Yeah. Good? But at least progres!
The body of the sweater is almost ready, and so is one of the sleeves.
Difficulty? I made the sweater a little waist-shaped, but to be honest I'm not sure if it fits the young lady's figure. And let me remind you: Teenagers in highschool are extremely difficult to catch and even more difficult when they need to be scheduled in a full calendar!
While I wait, I might as well try to make some progress on the sweater for her cousin. The one with all the figures. (No, I'm not bored!)

Mandag på en torsdag / Monday on a Thursday

I går var bare én af de der dage......
Sådan en dag, hvor energien fusede ud af ballonen halvvejs inde i arbejdsdagen.
Sådan en dag, hvor jeg ikke helt vidste, om jeg havde nået det jeg skulle, fordi jeg også hele tiden skulle noget andet.
Sådan en dag, hvor jeg var kvik nok til at finde den hurtigste vej ud fra operationsstuen, men fik lidt skæld ud, fordi man ikke måtte bruge den dør under en operation.
Sådan en dag, hvor jeg seriøst havde følelsen af, at ikke bare ville jeg blive et bedre menneske, men hele verden et bedre sted, hvis jeg havde siddet hjemme på sofaen. Kender du det? Ville være en fantastisk undskyldning, ikke? "Undskyld, chef, jeg må hellere blive hjemme et par dage. Verdenssituationen kræver det. Beklager."
Nå ja - men det var også sådan en dag, der kunne kureres med lidt aftentid på sofaen. Heldigvis! Som bonus kom Pia endda og beundrede Link-tæppet og kunne snakke garn og strik i lang tid. En torsdag kan vel snart ikke ende bedre...

Yesterday was one of those days......
One of those days where the energy has just left in the middle of the day.
One of those days where I didn't really know whether I had finished my job, because I was interrupted constantly.
One of those days with a bright moment of finding the fastest exit from the operating theater. Unfortunately, that specific door was not to be used during an operation, and the nurse was a little mad at me.
One of those days with a genuine feeling that not only me as a person, but the entire world would become a better place, if I had just been staying at home on my couch.
Do you know that feeling? Would be the most amazing excuse, by the way, wouldn't it? "I'm sorry, boss, but I need to stay home a few days. It's important for global peace. I'm very sorry."
Oh well - but also one of those days that could be cured by sitting on the couch for a few hours in the evening. Fortunately!
As a special bonus, I even had a visit from Pia, who came and admired my Link-blanket and talked wool and knitting to my heart's content. I guess any Thursday couldn't end in a better way!

Pakkekalender / Advent calendar

Årets pakkekalender er pakket og klar og sendt til modtageren i tirsdags. Håber, hun kan lide den! Indholdet er den sædvanlige blanding af mærkeligt og magisk. For det meste skrabet sammen som gratis gaver på kongresser og lignende, men denne gang også et par gratis gaver fra en spil-butik. Derfor får hun fornøjelsen af at åbne noget så varieret som et tatoveringsærme, M&M's øreringe, en lille juleengel, en (klam) småkage fra USA, en flaske-kondensvand-opsamler og lidt forskelligt tyggegummi med mere..... Åh - jeg elsker at lave sådan en kalender! Hvis jeg så bare også kunne se ansigtet, når gaverne åbnes......

This years advent calendar has been packed and mailed to my niece on tuesday. I hope, she likes it! The content is the usual mix of magic and mystery. Mostly free gifts from congresses and the sort, but also a few free items from a videogame-store. So she will have the pleasure of opening some very different gifts. A tattoo-sleeve, M&M's earrings, a little angel, a (gross) cookie from USA, a bottle-bottom thing to collect the water on the outside, different flavours of chewing gum and more..... I really love making a calendar like this! If it was just possible for me to watch her face every morning when she opens a gift........