Will you do ANYTHING for your child?

That's a good question. I think the answer, in my case, is YES! Why? Because I'm knitting her a scarf, a pink scarf AKA The Pink Monster. I thought I would never knit a scaf and I hate pink. Actually the process is made so much easier by the fact that my daughter absolutely loves it and can't wait to show it of to her friends at school. It also helps to listen to knitting podcasts, alternating between KnitCast and Cast-On, and that's just the beginning. There are a lot of new knitting podcasts out there.

p.s. I'm done 58 cm, little over one skein/ball of eyelash, so just over half way done.

Two in a row!

Blogging two days in a row! It is obvious that my computer time is not as much work related as before (at the moment).

At preschool (leikskóli) yesterday, Kamilla and I saw a beautiful, pink, furry scarf. She loved it. Kamilla turned pink overnight and wants to wear everything pink, it can be her rain suit, just as long as it is pink! So off we went to buy yarn. I didn't like the all-eyelash yarn version of the scarf we saw at school. Both it is not very warm but also it was too stretchy. I wanted a warmer, more consistent scarf so I am using one strand white SISU yarn and one strand eyelash yarn.



I'm knitting it with 4 mm needles and right from the start I got the feeling it was too tight. I experimented with 5 mm but was afraid the scarf wouldn't be as furry so I stuck with the 4 mm. I only got about 25 cm done the first night (and I was hoping it would be a 2 evening project). And those 25 cm are post stretching of the garter stitch (garðaprjón).

[útúrdúr] I wonder if garter means the same in English as garður means in Icelandic? Garður (of this I am about 90% sure) means the rows of hey that is raked when you are heying. [/útúrdúr]

I am including two more photos. One shows the real color better and the other shows the eyelash better.

Introducing Woodland Grace

I needed a portable project so I picked up Woodland Grace by Mill Hill.



Rósa has this kit as well and we decided to make it as a SAL (stitch-a-long) even if it is not a big project, but just for the fun of it. We decided to post pictures on Mondays. I had already sorted out the threads and put in few stitches. I went to my mom's house on Saturday and dad's on Sunday and put in another few stitches, only with one color thought. As luck would have it I ran out of thread when I had only one stitch left with it :( I've made one Buttoned and Beaded kit from Mill Hill before and then I did all the crosses first and then put in beads. Now I'm thinking to do one area at a time and finish both the crosses and the beading. Last time I started with the border but now I'm starting with the angel (the last one was also an angel). This kit I got for my birthday from a stitching friend of mine. I participated in a birthday gift exchange in Allt í kross. It was a lot of fun but I decided not to participate this year, I have enough on my plate right now.

For those who read this far, a little treat. Sunday update on my French village. Comming along, slowly but surely.

FO at last

Finally I finished the regia hat. I had no real incentive to finish it. The girls don't need it and I was having problem with the egde. The edge between the earflaps was cast on as I went, with only one thread. I basically just looped the yarn around the needle. I was too lazy to go and check my knitting book on how to do this properly. My faux-pas. I did the crochet edging that was required but it was still too loose. On my mother's suggestion I re-did the crochet and went higher up, took in extra row. It was still a little loose but got a lot better after I pressed it (ironed it).



It's made with Regia 6 ply sock yarn and the pattern can be found here (in Icelandic). Icelandic knitting terms can be translated with the word lists from Garnstudio.

The weather was actually quite nice so I went outside to take the picture. My older daughter was a very unwilling model at any rate. I have no idea what to do with it. I doubt I have any use for it in California and the girls already have good hats. Any ideas? I'm thinking about selling it. Is there anyone out there in the blogsphere who would be willing to pay 2000 kr. for it? Maybe $25 plus shipping? Ok, it's yours. If you think the price is outrageous, I'm sure we can work something out. It fits 2-6 year old (it stretches out well).

Here is the weekend update of the French Village:


I'm a little annoyed that I'm not at the 50% mark already. I only find time to work on it 2-3 times a week. It works up really quickly, I just need more time. When I'm at the 50% mark I will put it aside and start finishing projects I have laying around.

The knitting olympics

Right now, as I write, 4000 knitters are casting on for the Knitting olympics hosted by Yarn Harlot (who else!). There is even a team Icelandic, who Cassie and Sigga Sif are a proud memers of. I'm not a member of the team but I consider myself their nr. 1 supporter. Why am I not participating? At the moment I can add another thing to my agenda. I am turning in my dissertation and writing an article and then I will get ready to move. Its a big move. From Reykjavik, Iceland to Concord, California. The only thing I worry about (well, not the ONLY thing but a big thing) is - What do you knit in California? I don't see wool as being very practical, even if it warms in cold weather and cools in warm weather. Do I have to switch to cotton? There are always silks and hemp :o Could I knit socks, hats, mittens? I've checked and there are a few knitting stores in the Bay area so I guess I have to pay them a visit as soon as possible to find out what people do around there. The one that's closest is Fashion Knit in Walnut Creek, next city over.

The plan is as follows. On March 3rd, we'll fly to Boston, spend the weekend with my friend Berglind and her husband and son. Then we'll take Amtrak across the US! It's a big adventure (especially when you have 2 small kids) but it's something Clint has always wanted to do. From Chicago we'll take the California Zephyr, have a family room and first class service (I'm looking forward to that part).

Full Moon HD

Here is my version of Full Moon by Elizabeth's designs. It's pretty much the same as the original but stitched on a 28 ct. Summer Khaki Lugana (SK is the color, Lugana the fabric) and substituted two Weeks Dye Works for 3740 (purple) and 937 (dark green, trees).

Oh, yeah .. The camera was on the top of the fridge!

Silver Needle sale

Ok, so tomorrow is the big sale at the Silver Needle, everything is 20% off. I don't need anything but I've been looking at their store and you never know!

The sale starts at 8 AM CST. I figured out that would be 14:00 my time (2 PM). So anytime after that. Maybe I'll get supplies for things I already have and want to do. Maybe I'll get a chart or two, maybe some fabric. The list goes on and on :)

SBQ of the week

Stitching Blogger's Question

With the exception of your online stitching friends, do you have any
other stitching buddies?

Yes, I have a friend that stitches, but is not online. She inspired me to start stitching. Since about 90% of the population has the internet most 'real-life' stitching/knitting buddies are online as well.

Now and then

These pictures are taken exactly one month apart. Can you believe it? It went from 25% done to 40% done.

New stuff

Because the foundation of my new Garnaflækja group I've been looking at knitting blogs a lot last week. I've been stumbling onto some cool stuff I haven't seen before. Like the ScienceKnit webring - something to look at if you want to know what scientists are knitting. I even registered myself, as you can see to the left.

I also found a knitting podcast, called KnitCast. I downloaded some of the shows and already listened to interviews with Yarn Harlot and Amy Singer, founder of Knitty. It's a lot of fun hearing their actual voice and I learned some new information. For instance that Amy Singer has couple of new, exciting books coming up. She also talked about how Knitty came to be. I had the idea, after listening to Stephanie's (AKA Yarn Harlot) to get her bookbookbook1 to read on our trip to/across US. I would have bought it long time ago but I never read anymore.

Meme

Ok, I'll be 'memm'. Linda tagged me.

Four jobs I have had in my life.

1. Receptionist at the Microbiolical Department at the Landspitali Hospital
2. Aluminium worker
3. Production planning (Aluminium factory)
4. Doctorial student

Four Movies I could Watch Over and Over Again

1. Tremors
2. NL's Christmas Vacation
3. Canadian Bacon
4. Nemo

Four Places I have Lived

1. Reykjavik, Iceland
2. Rivers, Manitoba
3. Bordeaux, France
4. Copenhagen, Danmark (but only for total of 9 weeks)

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch

1. House
2. CSI
3. Desperate Housewives
4. My Name Is Earl

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation

1. Malaysia
2. Japan
3. Thailand
4. Basque Country, Spain
Actually the first 3 were in the same trip and it wasn't really vacation except for Thailand because we were on a study trip and visited various businesses.

Four Websites I visit Daily

1. netidentity.com
2. sonja.richter.org/dagbok
3. google.com
4. litlaskvis1.blogspot.com/

Four of My Favorite Foods

1. Lamb
2. Chicken Clint makes
3. sushi
4. Burritos (but only original, not Icelandic cut-corners burritos)

Four Albums I can't Live Without

1. Turandot, Puccini
2. Barber of Sevilla, Rossini
3. Pink Panther, Henry Mancini
4. Jólaplatan með saxafóninum og orgelinu sem ég á og man ekkert hvað heitir né hve flytjandin er.

Four Places I'd Rather Be

1. Alone knitting/stitching
2. Wine Country (any where)
3. Swimming
4. California

Four Bloggers I Am Tagging

1. Cassie
2. Sveina
3. Sigga Sif
4. Stína stuð

Belated and a brand new photo

I finally took a picture of my sweater ornament I made. It's from the book Weekend knitting. I actually made the sweater itself last fall. Then it sat in my bag for few months. I never even took a picture of it since I wanted to iron it first (goes to show how much I iron, he he).





Then, before Christmas, I decided enough was enough and took out the sweater, made the little flower decoration and put in a cord. Still I never took a picture of it but hung it in the front door window. Then, Christmas was over, I took down the ornament but still didn't take a picture. I had it in the car one day (it's permantent place will be hanging down from the rear-view mirror) then took it down to photograph. Went to my mom's and left the camera there! So finally it's here.

Also here is the progress photo of the French Village. No uploading on pbase but I can link to the photo itself. Here is a link to how it look 2 weeks ago. You can click the photo for a larger image.





I went to my dad's summerhouse with my brothers and sister. It was a lot of fun AND I got time to work on my pattern. I also finished a pair of mittens for my brother but took no picture :( They were black (natural black) Lopi mittens with a skull pattern in duplicate stitch.

The night before we left (at about 1 AM) I founded an Icelandic knitting group. Finally we can talk about knitting us Icies. The group is called Garnaflækja, it means either a 'yarn tangle' or 'tangled up intestine' depending on your preference. I encourage any Icelandic speaking knitter/crocheter to join (and it's free!).

SBQ

Today's SBQ is:

Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it!
(Or just point to the entry that talks about it.) If not, when do you
predict it will be?

No, none yet. Next happy dance will probably be mittens I've already made but need to finish. The Beginner whitework ornament from TW has also been stitched but I have to add beads. I have only worked on the French Village this year but only got perhaps 5+ hours work done. So not a lot of activity on this front. The baby has been awake in the evenings and other work has been taking up my whole.

You can get anything

My question is: What sort of design would you put in it?

ABCD... etc

From Stitching in Lobster Hands comes:

A is for Age: 30
B is for Booze: Spanish Red Wines
C is for Career: Ph.D. in Engineering around the corner
D is for Dad’s Name: Reinhold (and yes he is Icelandic (I get that question a lot))
E is for Essential Item to Bring to a Party: Myself
F is for Favourite Songs at the Moment: Fiskalagið af Söngvaborg (kid's songs)
G is for Goof-off Thing to Do: ?
H is for Hometown: Reykjavík, Iceland
I is for Instrument You Play: None.
J is for Jam or Jelly you Like: Any homemade jam, especially Rhubarb (Rabbabari)
K is for Kids: 2 fantastic girls age 2 yo. and 7 mo.
L is for Living Arrangement: At my mom's at the moment but about to move to USA (to Clint's mom, he he).
M is for Mom’s Name: Ástrós but she likes to be called Rósa
N is for Names of Good Friends: Imba og Kristín
O is for Overnight Hospital Stays: Once I had my tonsils taken out and spend one or two nights at the hospital. I was neither born at a hospital (birth center) nor did I have my kid at a hospital and I'm very proud of this fact :)
P is for Phobias: I can't think of any
Q is for Quotes you Like: Can't think of any
R is for Relationship That Lasted Longest: Romantic relationship? That would be with my husband.
S is for Siblings: Four (4) half-brothers
T is for Texas: Texas????????? Texas Instruments make good calculators ;)
U is for Unique Trait: Honest
V is for Vegetables You Love: Orange bell pepper
W is for Worst Traits: Can't make up my mind
X is for X-rays You’ve Had: Teeth, torso for chiropractor appointment
Y is for Yummy Food You Make: Anything involving 'kókosbolla'
Z is for Zodiac Sign: Libra

Temptation

If this entry is not inspiring I don't know what is. Being an engineer I have a soft spot when it comes to mathematical knitting and I've wanted to do a moebius pattern. However, I saw one where all you did was to knit back and forward and then sew it together 'wrong' so it has a moebius form. I lost interest. This woman, Cat Bordhi, has actually figured out a way to knit it on circular needles. How cool is that? She also figured out a way to make socks with two circular needles instead of 5 sock needles. Also very cool. Also very tempting.

French again

I made an album with the progress of the French Village. As you can see it is a long progress. The first pictures are about 10 months old. I actually started the piece in April 2004 but started over because I didn't like the one color combination in the border. The pattern was designed using Anchor threads but I'm using DMC and since they are not identical something like this is bound to happen once in a while.



This is the latest photo, taken yesterday.

SBQ of last weeks

I just signed up but I'm already behind.

This week's:

Do you do your stash shopping at your LNS, ONS, or both? Which do you like better? Why?

I do most of my shopping at ONS (if that stands for online needlework stores) because the LNS's here in Iceland are more or less small and oldfashion. That said I do buy small things at LNS, like few skeins or little things like that but fabric and patterns I buy exclusively online because I can't get what I want here and what is available is expensive. I wish I could shop more locally because I would like to support them, I just don't like the stuff they carry. I do, however, shop for knitting yarn locally because the selection is pretty good.

Last week's:

How do you balance your stitching time with your other obligations such as work, household chores, etc.?


Work first, play later. I only do crafts in the evening. In the day time I try to work as much as possible, when the baby sleeps. Chores? You're supposed to do those too? he he

Few week's ago:
Take a minute to reflect on your blog reading habits and preferences. What do you prefer to read in stitching blogs? (Progress, tips, family life, experiences, etc.) How much do you think you are influenced by other stitching bloggers?

I am very much influenced by stitching, knitting and crochet blogs. I learn about patterns, yarns, threads and such I was not aware of before. I prefer to read about WIPs and a picture is very important. I find that blog reading is detrimental to stitching time :)

Girls are better

The girls are better and Ása Sóley actually slept tonight. Last night she couldn't sleep even if she was exhausted. I took her to our homeopath yesterday and that did the trick. Now I can stitch :) I've been working on the French village.

More New Years

I made a list of WIPs. Turned out I had 4 mittens on it!!!! Holy Cow, where did all these mittens come from? Actually 2 of them are already finished and usable but I wanted to add a little something special.

I also have couple of stitching projects that are only minutes away (or at least no more than 2 hours)from completion.

I put some progress photos in my WIPs album. Gocheckitout.