Efterårsfarver, larver og Halloween forberedelser / Fall colors, larvae and Halloween preparations

Mandag var der så mange oplevelser, at det nærmest rækker for 2 dage..... Da børnene var i skole og manden på arbejde, tog Sara og jeg til Lake George for  at se på blade. Efteråret er nemlig meget, meget flot herovre.
Vi tog en tur med båd, 2 timer op og ned ad søen til lunch buffet og musiker (el-orgel og rytmeboks. Need I say more?).
Farverne var helt utroligt smukke at kigge ud på, og da det er et eftertragtet område, lå der det ene store palæ ned til søen efter det andet. Sommerhuse, altså.

Monday had so many things coming, that it was like 2 days...... When the kids were at school and the husband at work, Sara and I went to Lake George to see some leaves. Fall is extremely pretty over here.
We went by boat for 2 hours, up and down the lake while having lunch buffet while a musician played and explained about the views.
The colors were so beautiful to look at, and since it is a very attractive area, there was one mansion after the other close by the lake. Summerhouses, you know.....

Nogle steder var hele områder af bjerget orange pga. bladene. I kan nok lige skimte det her. Søen er gigantisk, og vi sejlede vist ikke mere end til midt på søen, selv om det tog en time hver vej.
Dejlig, dejlig tur!
På vej hjem var der lige tid til lidt power-shopping af nye jeans fra et outlet. Bukser til det næste år på 15 minutter!

Some places, the mountain-side was orange because of these leaves. I think you can see sort of what it looked like. The see is huge, and I guess we only went halfway, although we sailed for an hour each way. Wonderful cruise!
On the way home there was a little time for power-shopping of new jeans from an outlet. Pants for all of next year in 15 minutes!

I en sjov butik i Saratoga (en hestevæddeløbsby som vi også kom igennem) købte jeg de her lækre snacks. Det værste? Børnene nægtede at smage, før jeg selv havde spist en.....
Selv om man kunne tælle benene, smagte de af et enkelt knas og krydderier. Ikke af særlig meget. Jeg fik da også børnene til at smage. Alle 3! (De fik en lakrids af deres mor pr. larve.....)

In a fun store in Saratoga (a horse race town that we passed too), I bought these delicious snacks. The worst part? The kids refused tasting them before I had started......
Even though you could count the legs, they tasted like a single crunch and spices. Not much. I did get all the kids to taste them as well. (They got 1 piece of candy from their mum for each larva......)

Da det snart er halloween, skulle vi også ud at se på kostumer. Det blev en fornøjelig halv time i en halloween-butik, der havde alt, hvad hjertet begærer. Til voksne og børn i alle størrelser. Jeg elsker sådan nogle butikker! (Og fik nye øreringe)
Hr. Gru hang (meget passende?) blandt de allermest skræmmende masker i butikken.

Since Halloween is coming up, we went shopping for costumes. It was a fun 30 minutes in a Halloween-shop with everything you could ever wish for. For adults and all sizes of kids. I love these kinds of stores! (and got new earrings)
Mr. Gru was hanging (very fitting?) among the most scary masks in the entire shop.

Og her ser I så den nye Ninja! Imponerende, hvad der kan være i sådan en pakke kostume...... De andre blev suppleret lidt til det, de havde i forvejen.
Hvad vi skal lave i dag, aner jeg ikke. Vi nåede jo samtlige planer i går! Men jeg tror, det bliver en dejlig dag igen.

And here is the new Ninja! Impressive what a bag of costume can hold...... The others had a bit to supplement the costumes they already had.
What we will be doing today, I don't know. We did everything yesterday! But I think it will be a very nice day again.

Søndag i Troy / A Troy Sunday

Søndag lykkedes det endelig at komme videre fra Washington. Igen var det helt ud i den anden ende af lufthavnen, med et lillebitte fly, men jeg fik ikke sovet, som det ellers havde været planen lørdag! Jeg strikkede. Til en forandring. Bortset fra de sidste 5 minutter, hvor det bumpede så meget, at det føltes som en Tivoli-tur. (Man strikker jo heller ikke i rutsjebanen!)
Vi kørte lige omkring huset, men det var et kort visit. Efter uddeling af slik og blade, samt et hurtigt tøjskift, tog Sara og jeg til koncert med Albany symfoniorkester.

On Sunday, I finally succeeded in leaving Washington. Once more, it was the gate at the very end of the airport, and the plane was tiny, but I didn't sleep as I had planned if going on Saturday! I knitted. For a change. Apart from the very last 5 minutes when the ride turned so bumpy that it felt like one of those adventure-rides in a theme-park. (You wouldn't knit on one of those!)
We drove by the house for a short visit. After bringing in the Danish candy and all the magazines, and changing clothes, Sara and I went to a concert with Albany symphony-orchestra.

Det foregik i Troy's musikhus, der havde denne fine version af Uncle Sam stående udenfor. Han står overalt i byen i forskellige versioner, og denne her var meget flot!
Koncerten var fin. Vi sad på første række og nød musik af Ravel, Schuman og Faurë. Desuden var der et moderne stykke (faktisk en verdenspremiere!) af en amerikansk komponist. Det var moderne. Vi var taknemmelige for, at håret ikke var faldet af, for der var godt nok larm i det orkester! Men de klassiske stykker var rigtig gode.

The concert was in Troy's music hall. In front of the hall was this very pretty version of Uncle Sam. He is everywhere in town in different versions, and this one was really nice!
The concert was great. We were on the front row and enjoyed music by Ravel, Schuman and Faurë. And then there was a modern piece (actually a world premiere!) by an American composer. It was modern. We were very happy our hair didn't fall off, for this orchestra could really make some serious noise! But the classical pieces were really good.

Bagefter var vi på vinbar. Der var en menu med 3 slags vin og dertil købte vi brød, ost og pølse. Meget, meget lækkert og hyggeligt! (Og vi blev kørt hjem. Det var nok meget godt.....)

Afterwards we were on a wine-bar. There was a special menu with 3 kinds of wine with which we had bread, cheese and sausage. Very delicious and so nice! (And we had a ride home. Very fitting....)

Der var kommet en pakke til mig inden jeg landede. Det her er til et ganske særligt projekt. Dejlig, blød øko-uld. I skal nok høre senere, hvad det skal blive til. Foreløbig er der lige niecens bluse, et sjal, et tørklæde, et hundedækken og 2 par strømper der skal være færdige..... Og min julekjole! Og de to trøjer, der ligger i skammekrogen derhjemme!

A package had arrived for me before I landed. This is for a very special project. Nice, soft, eco-wool. I'll tell you what it's for later. First I need to finish the sweater for my niece, a shawl, a scarf, a dog-sweater and 2 pairs of socks..... And my dress for Christmas! And the 2 cardigans lying around at home, feeling quite abandoned.

Et helt ærme! / An entire sleeve!

Det var en lang flyvetur. Så lang, at jeg faktisk nåede at strikke det ene ærme! Det er pind 3, så jeg var lidt øm i fingrene til sidst.....
Min niece er spinkel, og blusen bliver tætsiddende. Forhåbentlig kommer den til at passe, for jeg synes godt nok den er lille....... Men den bliver så utroligt fin, blød og varm! Nu skal der bare has på det sidste ærme og resten af bærestykket. Mon ikke den bare skulle have lidt luftforandring for at blive færdig?

It was a long flight. So long, that I actually made the first sleeve! It's needles size 3 mm, so my fingers were a bit tender at the end.....
My niece is petit, and the sweater will be fitted. Hopefully it will fit her, because it sure looks very small..... But it is turning out so pretty, soft and warm! Now I just need to finish the second sleeve and the rest of the yoke. Maybe it just needed to see a bit of the world in order to finish?

Turen gik ikke helt som ventet. Vi var forsinket, så efter en masse løben frem og tilbage og en meget lang taxa-tur ind i byen for at se, om jeg kunne nå toget, endte jeg i en seng så blød på et dejligt hotel. Med denne udsigt udenfor. Sov 8 fulde timer, har fået dejlig morgenmad, og nu satser jeg så på, at det kommer til at fungere med fly osv. Jeg har en klaverkoncert, jeg skal nå! (Og der  er nogle børn, der venter ret spændt i den anden ende)

The trip didn't go exactly as expected. We were delayed, so after running here and there and a very long taxi-drive into town to see if I could catch the train, I ended in a very soft bed in a nice hotel. With this view outside. Slept for 8 full hours, had a lovely breakfast, and now I really hope it will work out with the next plane. I have a piano-concert to reach! (And some very excited kids awaiting when I land)

Klar til at rejse / Ready to go

Jeg ved ikke, om I har bemærket det. Men jeg kan godt lide at rejse.....
Min ferie er begyndt, udkast til artikel sendt til min kollega, det sidste referat skrevet (meget sent i aftes) og den ene side af bærestykket er strikket sammen.
Kufferten var sådan set klar allerede i går aftes - der manglede bare lige tøjet!
Rygsækken er fyldt med garn, strikkepinde, min opskrift og en god bog, og så er jeg ellers SÅ klar til at sidde og hygge hele vejen over Atlanterhavet!
Fuglepasseren er klar, og fugleburene renset. Jeg glæder mig helt vildt til at gense gode venner. Og I kommer selvfølgelig med på en kigger.......

I don't know if you ever noticed. But I really like travelling.....
My vacation has begun. The article draft has been sent for my colleague, the last review written (very late last night) and one side of the yoke is done.
My suitcase was kind of ready already last night - just needed to fill in some clothes!
My bag-pack is filled with yarn, needles, a pattern and a great book, and I'm SO ready for sitting in a plane, having a wonderful time all the way across the Atlantic ocean!
The bird-keeper is ready, and the cages cleaned. I can't wait to meeting my good friends again. And of course you can come along on the side as well......

Stockholm syndrom?

Min gode veninde har spurgt mig, om jeg dog ikke snart begynder at kaste strømper op? Der er hele tiden et par, der skal strikkes. I juli, hvor jeg kun strikkede strømper, var jeg godt nok træt af det. Men lige nu, hvor det er lidt for hyggens (og artikellæsningens) skyld, kan jeg faktisk godt lide det.
Hvis ikke der lige er andet at lave, kan man da altid strikke et par strømper! De er relativt hurtige at lave og nemme at putte i tasken. De kan være så simple eller komplicerede som man ønsker, og folk bliver faktisk altid glade for dem.
Man kan selvfølgelig overveje, om det er en slags Stockholm syndrom? Når nu jeg har tvunget mig selv til det, og derefter kommer til at elske det.....
De her strømper er af 75 gram Opal garn. Købt i Ho. Fine farver, og fuldstændigt som 2 dråber vand. Meget tilfredsstillende.

My good friend asked me when I will start vomiting socks? All the time there is a pair in need of knitting. In July, when I knitted nothing but socks, I really hated it. But right now, where I'm knitting them for the sake of "hygge" (and for reading some articles), I actually like it.
If I don't know what to knit, I can always start a pair of socks! They finish quite fast, and they fit in the bag nicely. They can be very simple or extremely complicated just as I wish, and people actually really like getting them.
I may consider if it is actually a kind of Stockholm syndrome? Now that I forced myself making them and then started loving it......
These socks are made from 75 grams of Opal. Bought in Ho. Nice colors, and totally identical. Very satisfying.

Hvad jeg laver / What I do

Fritiden lige nu er fyldt med de her to ting. Eller dårlig samvittighed over de her to ting. Jeg tænker på dem. Artiklen og blusen. Hvis jeg ikke skuler til den ene, stirrer jeg ondt på den anden og under alle omstændigheder føler jeg, at jeg burde GØRE noget ved det. I stedet for at stirre. (Det har alligevel aldrig rigtig hjulpet, vel?)
Der er 2 dages arbejde tilbage inden min ferie starter. I virkeligheden er det den bedste gulerod, for første udkast til artiklen skal være færdigt (minder jeg mig selv om hele tiden. Det er ikke den færdige artikel. Kun et udkast) og bærestykket skal være færdigt, så ærmerne kan komme med på ferie. God plan, ikke?
Men faktisk går det fremad. Tilfredsstillende fremad. 

My spare time right now is filled with these 2 things. Or feeling guilty about not doing enough about these 2 things. I think about them. The article and the sweater. If I'm not squinting at one of them, I'm staring angrily at the other, and all the time I feel I need to DO something. Instead of just staring! (Never did any goo anyway, did it?)
I still have 2 days back at work before my vacation starts. That is the biggest carrot for me, since I need the first draft for the article to be done (keep reminding myself. Not the entire article. Just a draft) and the yoke needs to be done, so the sleeves can fly on vacation with me. Great plan, right?
But actually I'm doing progress. Enough progress.

Ha ha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSxbdFmO_CI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZOA2Z-fZes

Vinder af vanter / Mitten-winner

I dag er det d. 15. oktober (4 dage til ferie. Juhuu!) og min give-away er slut.

Today is October 15th (4 days left for my vacation. Wipee!) and my give-away has ended.

Der var 61 kommentarer, og det blev nummer 26 (talt oppefra) der vandt. Tillykke til Pia Dahl!
Du må meget gerne sende din adresse til mig på christunte@yahoo.com indenfor 14 dage, så sender jeg gaven til dig. (Ellers trækker jeg en ny vinder)

There were 61 comments, and the winner is number 26 (counted from the top). Congratulations Pia Dahl! I would like the address within the next 2 weeks. (Or I'll find a new winner)

Hvis du bliver tørstig / If you're thirsty

Det er stadig oktober. Med deraf følgende opskrifter på brystkræft-relaterede ting.
I dag er det et flaske-holder! Meget fiks og lyserød, med sløjfe og det hele, og mægtig praktisk med en lang hank til at slænge sin flaske over skulderen, hvis man skal ud at gå.
Opskriften er her.

It's still October. So still patterns for breast-cancer-related stuff on this blog on Mondays.
Today it's a bottle-holder! Very chick and pink, with the ribbon and all, and a really practical long handle so you can sling it over your shoulder if you are out walking.
The pattern is right here.

Grå søndag / Gray Sunday

I dag er det godt nok efterår på den triste måde. Støvregn, skyer og halvkoldt.
Jeg har heldigvis fået dagens friske luft da jeg cyklede i kirke, og kan bruge resten af dagen indendøre, mens mit arme overjeg er på overarbejde.
Der er nemlig ikke kun den der artikel. Bærestykket på niecens bluse er altså også på den anden side af træls, så der skal virkelig RÅBES til resten af min person om at få det lavet færdigt!
Mens ellers har vi det meget hyggeligt, mit overjeg, mit jeg og mit id.

Today is really fall in the gray way. Light rain, clouds and a bit cold.
Fortunately, I already had my share of fresh air by riding my bike to church, so the rest of the day can be spent inside, while my poor super-ego is working overtime.
It's not just the article, you know. The yoke on my niece's sweater is beyond bothersome, so some YELLING is needed to get the rest of my person up and finishing stuff!
But otherwise we have a wonderful time, my super-ego, my ego and my id.

Tivoli Halloween

Halloween i Tivoli er altid hyggeligt, og det nærmer sig altså næsten en tradition at tage derind, når der er kulturnat i resten af byen! Engang var det min mindste nevø, der var gratis og godt gad, men i går var det med hele familien.
På vej dertil så jeg denne gamle bus, der var i byen i anledning af kulturnat. Meget fin!

Halloween in Tivoli is always very nice, and it is almost a tradition going there when the rest of the city celebrates culture night. Once it was my youngest nephew who entered for free and was happy to go, but yesterday he brought the rest of the family.
On my way there, I saw this very old bus, visiting town due to the culture night. Very pretty!

Det gode ved de særlige ting i Tivoli er, at så er der en garnbutik derinde! Jeps! Wadils fra Valby rykker ind. Meeeeget hyggeligt.....

The great thing about the special Tivoli occasions is, that there is a yarn shop in there! Oh yes! Wadils from Valby goes in. Veeeeeeerrrrryyyyy nice......

Det bedste ved kulturnatten er, at der faktisk ikke er proppet med mennesker i Tivoli. Det er bare fantastisk! For så kan man gå rundt og nyde synet af al pynten. Alle de fine, orange græskar!

The best thing about the culture night arrangement is, that Tivoli is not stuffed with people. It's so nice! Then you have space to walk around, enjoying the Halloween stuff. All the orange pumpkins!

Denne kande fik min mindste nevø til at gå helt i stå. Han tænkte, så der kom røg ud af ørerne! (Næsten) For hvordan kan en svævende kande hælde så meget vand ud?

This water sculpture almost had my youngest nephew stop completely. He was thinking so hard, that smoke almost came out his ears! How can a can fly freely in the air and pour out so much water?

Der er fine græskar overalt derinde. Ingenting ligner sig selv. Og dog....

There are pretty pumpkings everwhere in there. Nothing is like normal. Or is it?

 

Man kunne købe "lækre kager" til teen. Nej tak!

You could by "delicious cakes" for your tea. No, thank you!

Det mest rædselsvækkende? Der var en One Direction butik!

The most terrifying thing? There was a One Direction shop!

Ryggen. Rigtigt. / The back. The right way.

Ryggen er færdig! Igen! Det ser altså betydeligt bedre ud med det rigtige mønster, og selv om det tager lidt længere tid, så er jeg frisk på forstykket også.....
I aften er der kulturnat. Tænkte, at jeg ville afsted, men tror i stedet, det bliver en aften herhjemme. Inden arbejde lørdag. TV og sofa. Nå ja. Og den der artikel...... (Suk) Jeg kommer ikke til at kede mig!
Er iøvrigt så småt ved at gøre klar til min ferie om halvanden uge. Det bliver dejligt! (Og inden skal artiklen være klar fra min hånd. BASTA!)

The back is done! Again! It looks a lot better with the correct pattern, and although it's a bit slower in the making, I'll do the front without feeling too terrible....
Tonight is "culture night" here in Copenhagen. A lot of activities going on, and so many people in the streets! I thought about going, but instead it will be an evening at home. Before work on Saturday. TV and couch. Oh well. And that article..... (sigh) I won't be bored!
I'm getting ready for my vacation in a little over one week. It will be so nice! (and before going on vacation, the article needs to be ready with the first try. Because I want it to!)

Personlighed / Personality

Forleden skrev jeg artikel. I mit liv, hører det ind under kategorien "ekstremt kedeligt", så der gik en del tid med andre ting også. F.eks. facebook, hvor en opdatering udviklede sig til kommentaren at "multifarvede wollmeise-strømper er indbegrebet" af mig.
Ikke skidt, vel? Hvis min personlighed er et par wollmeise-strømper! Praktiske, slidstærke og farverige.....
Men som min søster tørt bemærkede - ikke gode at jokke på i længere tid.
Hvilken slags strømper er du?
P.S. Ind imellem kunne jeg dog også være ragg-sokker. Grå, tykke og kedelige......

A few days ago I was working on an article. In my life, it is placed in the category "extremely boring", so some time passed doing other things as well. For instance facebook, where an update took flight and ended up with the comment that "multi-colored wollmeise-socks are the essence" of me.
Not bad! Imagine if my personality was a pair of wollmeise-socks! Practical, durable and colorful......
But as my sister dryly remarked - not good for stepping on for long.
What kind of socks are you?
P.S. Sometimes I feel more like old ski-socks. Grey, heavy and boring.....

........

Meget bedre / Much better

Bærestykket er på vej igen. MED det rigtige mønster. Det bliver så flot!
Det er langsommeligt at strikke, og jeg kan vist godt afsløre, at det ikke ligefrem er blide følelser, boble-strik tænder i mig, men altså....
Denne gang ser det rigtigt ud. Jeg tror virkelig, det bliver en fin bluse! Hvornår den bliver færdig er en anden sag. Men når mønsteret nu er rigtigt, er der da håb forude om at jeg ikke skal strikke det endnu en gang!

The yoke is growing again. WITH the right pattern. It looks so good!
It is really slow knitting this pattern, and I may as well reveal that knitting bubbles doesn't arouse very tender feelings in me, but you know.....
This time it looks right. I really think this will be a very pretty sweater! When it will be done is another question entirely. But now that the pattern is right, there is some hope. At least I wont have to knit it another time!

Øre-opmærksomhed / Ear-awareness

Vi er kommet ind i oktober, og igen i år er "mærkelig mandag" mønstrene dedikeret til brystkræft-temaet, fordi oktober jo er brystkræft-måned.
Den første opskrift er til ørerne. Fine, pink sløjfer du hurtigt kan lave. Faktisk kan man både lave til sig selv og til andre! (Hmm. Måske skulle jeg selv lave nogle?) Mønsteret er lige her.

We entered October, and this year, as every year, my "mærkelig mandag" (Weird Monday) patterns are dedicated to breast cancer, since October is breast cancer awareness month.
The first pattern this year is for your ears. Pretty, pink ribbons that are fast to make. Actually you can make some for yourself and then a few for others! (Hmm. Maybe I should actually make some myself?) The pattern is right here.

Stædighed og/eller perfektionisme / Stubbornnes and/or perfection

I aftes var mine to mindste nevøer på besøg. 8 og 14 år. Enormt hyggeligt! Blusen til min ældste niece fik syet siderne sammen, og jeg forsøgte at få den mindste til at tage "vesten" på, så hun kunne få et billede og en ide om hvordan det så ud.
Han nægtede. Fuldstændigt. Gik med til et billede, hvor han holdt den foran sig, hvorefter det blev slettet, fordi det åbenbart var så giga-pinligt. Derfor får I altså heller ikke at se, at jeg rent faktisk var færdig med forstykke og ryg.
Da de skulle sove, slog jeg op til det første ærme og blev meget forbavset. For det mønster, der stod på ærmet, havde da ikke været det, jeg strikkede på bærestykket? Designeren havde vel ikke skiftet mønster midt i blusen?
Det havde godt nok været mærkeligt, at mit bærestykke ikke rigtig lignede det i opskriften, men jeg tænkte, det nok var pga. min strikkefasthed som var helt i hegnet.
Nu fandt jeg så ud af hvorfor..... ARGH!
Som I kan se, er bærestykkerne pillet op. Jeg VIL have den rigtig! Om det så skyldes det ene eller det andet karaktertræk er jeg ikke helt sikker på.... Nok mest det første!

Yesterday my 2 youngest nephews who are 8 and 14 were visiting. We had such a great time! The sweater for my oldest niece had the side-seams done, and I really tried having the youngest wearing the "vest" so that she could get a picture and an idea of how it looked.
He refused. Blankly. Finally had a picture taken where he held it in front of him, and afterwards I had to erase it, since it apparently was extraordinarily embarrassing. That's why I don't have a photo to show you how I actually had done both the front and back all the way.
When my guests went to sleep, I cast on for the first sleeve and really got a surprise. The pattern instruction for the sleeves was so different from what I had been knitting on the yoke! Could the designer have changed the pattern in the middle of the sweater?
It was weird, how my yoke-pattern didn't really look like the one in the book, but I thought the explanation was my gauge, which is totally way off.
So now I figured out why....... ARGH!
As you can see, the yoke is unravelled. I WANT IT RIGHT! Whether this is due to one or the other part of my character as described in the head line is blowing in the wind. I guess it's mostly the first!

Æble-apparat / Apple-machine

For et par år siden købte jeg et apparat til at skrælle æbler i Netto. Det kostede ikke meget, og jeg havde totalt glemt det, indtil Frau Putz mindede mig om det....

A few years ago, I bought a machine for peeling apples in a discount supermarket. It didn't cost much, and I totally forgot all about it, until I was reminded at Frau Putz's place.....

Da der lå en flot halvkedelige æbler, skulle jeg da lige prøve min maskine....

Since some rather boring apples were lying around, I felt like testing my machine.....

Den er vildt smart! Det er totalt sjovt at dreje på håndtaget og se æblet blive skrællet, kernehuset fjernet og æblet skåret i skiver. På een gang!

It's totally amazing! It's so fun turning the handle and watching the apple being peeled, the core removed and the apple sliced. All at once!

Det blev til mos/grød med sukker og kanel. Må nok indrømme, at det aldrig nåede at blive koldt, inden det var væk........ Nam!
Tror måske lige, jeg skal finde mig nogle flere æbler.........

The apples were cooked with sugar and cinnamon. I have to admit that it never really got cold, before it was gone..... Yum!
Maybe I should find some more apples?

Filati, Riga

Hvis jeg nu lover, at dette bliver det sidste indlæg om Riga, kan I så klare det? I får lige det sidste med om garn, nemlig.....
Der er en anden, ret stor garnbutik, nemlig Filati, som ligger lige omme bag krudttårnet, på Zirgu iela 3.
Denne garnbutik er noget mere traditionel = garn på hylder, og har et ret stort udvalg af alt muligt. Indehaveren taler en smule engelsk, mens damen, der ekspederede os, snakkede med sig selv på lettisk og ind imellem forsøgte at kommunikere med 2 engelske og 3 tyske ord. Men det gik fint alligevel.....

If I promise that this will be the last post about Riga, will you be alright? I'll just tell you the final yarn details, you see.......
There is another, quite big, yarn shop, which is called Filati, and is located very close to the gun powder tower, on Zirgu iela 3.
This yarn shop is more tradtional (yarn on shelves), and has quite a lot of different types of yarn. The owner speaks a little English, while the lady selling us the yarn, was talking to herself in Latvian and sometimes tried communicating with 2 English and 3 German words. But nonetheless, everything worked out very fine.

Jeg købte hørgarn (de har altså et eller andet med hør derovre!) og lidt baby-alpaca samt noget lace-garn. Er ret spændt på det der hørgarn. Det skulle jo være forfærdeligt at strikke med, men dejligt i brug!
Der er mere garn hist og pist i Riga. Vi så lidt garn i en større butik med folkedragter og vanter, og endvidere i en lille butik, der vistnok hed Stine. Som solgte vanter, strømper m.v..
Og på markedet! Der solgte de kauni-lignende, en-trådet uld til bare 100 kr for et kilo! (Ih, jeg skulle have købt noget mere!) Det var dog bare en enkelt dag der var marked, men hvis du falder over det, er du heldig.
Fra i morgen kan I høre noget mere kedeligt hverdagsliv igen.... Vi snakkes ved!

I bought some linen-yarn (they have this thing about linen in Riga!), a little baby-alpaca and some lace-yarn. I'm excited about the linen. It should be horrible knitting it, but very nice when finished and washed!
There is a bit more yarn here and there in Riga. We saw a little yarn in a larger shop with folk-costumes and mittens, and some in a tiny shop called Stine. Selling mittens, socks and so on.
And in the market-place! They sold kauni-like one-stranded wool for just 20 dollars a kilo! (Oh, I should have bought some more!) The market was just for one day, though, but if you meet it, you are very lucky.
From tomorrow and onwards, I'll tell you more boring, everyday stuff again...... See you!

Hobbywool

Hvis du nogensinde skulle komme til Riga, så prøv at kigge indenfor hos Hobbywool. De bor lige midt i den gamle by, og butikken skulle være til at finde lige ved det store torv.
Jeg vil næsten påstå, at man helt sikkert også får noget ud af denne butik, selv om man ikke strikker.

If you ever happen to go to Riga, try visiting Hobbywool. They are located right in the center of the old city, and the shop is pretty easily found right next to the large town square.
I do think that you will love this shop, even if you are not a knitter.

Da vi besøgte butikken, kom vi ind ad den indgang, som først førte os gennem alle rummene uden garn. Først fandt vi rummet med alle dimserne. Puslespil, figurer og spilledåser.
Bemærk den flotte lampe i loftet!

When we visisted the shop, we entered through the entrance that led us through all the rooms without yarn. First we saw the room with all the small stuff. Jigsaw puzzles, little figures and music-boxes.
Notice the pretty lamp!

Overalt var der sjove ting at kigge på. Lavet med garn. Noget kunne man bestemt godt lave selv, som de flotte puder! Jeg er nu også ret vild med kødhakkemaskinen, der laver uld til garn. (Tænk, hvis det var så nemt!)

Everwhere there is funny things to look at. Made from yarn. Some can be made at home, like the pretty pillows! I did like the meat grinder transforming wool into yarn. (If it was that simple in real life!)

I det næste rum var der alle slags vanter, huer, tørklæder, sjaler og tæpper. Klar til at købe. Farver og mønstre overalt!
I det tredje rum kunne man betale (eller komme ind ad den anden indgang). Ved kassen hænger alle disse strikkede flag. Og ja - Dannebrog var der selvfølgelig også!

In the next room were all kinds of mittens, hats, scarfs, shawls and blankets. Ready to buy and use. Colors and pretty patterns everywhere!
In the third room, you could pay (or enter through the other entrance). By the register were all these knitted flags. And yes - our Danish flag was there as well!

Helt inde bagved var guldet så. Rummet med garnet. I har jo set billeder, så i dette indlæg får I bare et billede af verdens største strømpepinde. Mindst!

In the back room we hit gold. The room with yarn. You did see some photos, so in this post I'll just show you the biggest double-pointed needles in the world.

Her er den anden indgang, som vi først fandt næste gang. Man er ikke i tvivl om, at det er en garnbutik, vel?

This is the other entrance that we only found by the second visit. Leaves no doubt that this is a yarn shop!

Til sidst skal I også lige se den hæklede grill....
Garn-udvalget i butikken var rimeligt stort. En del alpaca og merino på spole, Noro garn på spoler, Kauni-lignende garn (den lokale variant, tænker jeg), en masse Rowan og noget forskelligt strømpegarn.
Desuden kunne man få ideer! Trøjen på det øverste billede, f.eks. Smart at blande farveskiftegarn og ensfarvet, synes jeg!

You also need to see the crocheted barbecue.....
They had quite a few different yarn types in the shop. A lot of alpaca and merino on cones. Noro yarn on cones and Kauni-like yarn (the local type, I think), a lot of Rowan and some different types of sock yarn.
You could get some great ideas in there! For instance the cardigan on the top photo. Really smart mixing color-changing yarn and solid colors, I think!

Riga

Lettiske vanter? / Latvian mittens?

I foråret strikkede jeg vanter til min mindste niece. Desværre var de ret små, men det gik, fordi
1) hun kun skulle bruge dem et par uger
2) de var med katte, og hun ELSKEDE mønsteret
3) jeg lovede højt og helligt at strikke et par mere, når det blev efterår

During spring, I knitted mittens for my youngest niece. Unfortunately, they were rather small, but things worked out, because
1) she only had to use them for a few weeks
2) she LOVES the pattern and the cats
3) I promised her very sincerely to make her some new mittens when fall came

Nu er det så efterår, og det tykke wollmeise var både i hus og der var udvalgt farver, så jeg skulle sådan set bare i gang!
I Riga i weekenden var garn og pinde taget med, men de planlagt pind 3,5 gjorde at det lignede poser mere end vanter. Det gik meget bedre på pind 2,5, og da jeg jo ikke havde andre pinde med, blev der bare strikket over stok og sten så vanterne ret hurtigt blev færdige.
Når de nu er strikket i Riga, og iøvrigt er bygget op som de lettiske vanter, man kunne købe overalt, så er det vel nærmest lettiske vanter, ikke?

Now fall is here, the thick wollmeise was bought and the colors chosen, so I just had to get started!
In Riga this weekend, I brought pattern, yarn and needles, but the planned size 3.5 mm needles made them look like bags instead of mittens. Size 2.5 mm was way better, and since these were the only needles I brought, I knitted away and the mittens finished quite fast.
Since they were knitted in Riga and the pattern construction is like the Latvian mittens that could be bought everywhere, these mittens are almost Latvian, don't you think?

Farverne hedder Frizzi Frizzante og Fuchsia. Det er mit første projekt i wollmeise DK, og garnet er dejligt. Jeg har brugt 100 gram ialt.
Som det sidste touch fik kattene øjne af refleksgarn. Tror nok lige, der er nogle piger på Amager, der skal have gang i lommelygter og gadelamper for at tjekke effekten igen og igen!

The colors are Frizzi Frizzante and Fuchsia. It's my first project in wollmeise DK, and the yarn is nice. I used a total of 100 grams.
As a finishing touch, the cats eyes were made with reflex-yarn. I bet there will be some girls on Amager finding torches and street lamps in order to check this effect again and again!