Sorry about not bloging

Things been busy around here. Clint's been working a lot and I've been alone with the girls more or less. Then Ása Sóley got a cold and had troubles sleeping at nights which didn't help either. Hardly any stitching or knitting has been done. One exception, I had a get-together last Wednesday. Lot of women comming over to stitch. I can't do two things at once (stitch and talk/listen) so I started a simple knitting piece. Turnes out I couldn't even do that. I don't understand how the other women can stitch and talk at the same time. They are incredible.

Well, the knitting piece was a flower shaped washcloth from Weekend knitting (book) out of 100% cotton chenille. Very soft and very big (10.5 inches wide). It's a piece you could do in one evening but it took me about 3 days, knitting at every moment I got!

I can't show you a picture of it. One of the reason I have been off the internet is because my computer was in the shop. When I got it back it was all messed up. One of the things was that the USB ports didn't work. So no photo downloading :( I took it back and hopefully they can fix it (again).

Weekend over

I didn't finish as many projects this weekend as I had planned. Mainly because I hardly did anything yesterday.

But I did finish two more projects on Saturday. I framed my Lizzie Kate picture - Bless our home. (sorry about the bad quality, I'm on a temporary computer)



And I finished a hat I made for Ása Sóley. I never posted a picture of it here (or mentioned it) because I knit it when she was newly born and I wasn't using the internet so much. Then I put it away, not really hurried to finish it since it was for 3-6 month and it was middle of summer. It fit well now, a little too well if you ask me. Ása Sóley is so big, she is 2 standard deviations (staðalfrávik) bigger than her sistar was . I'm glad I finished it now so she'll get some use out of it. I even put little wooden pearls on it and I've never made this kind of cording before. The hat hasn't been pressed yet.



I made a list of my WIPs and UFOs here on the right. It is to motivate me to finish them. Underneath that list is another one of FO that need to be worked on. I planned to make the hardanger ornament but instead I watched SNL 25 anniversary with my husband. Everything is ready for it though. I even found my sewing kit yesterday so now there is no stopping me in that department. I also planned on making the pillow from the RR I participated in. But the fabric I planned to use was dirty!!! We've been using it to cover a sofa. Actually I had two big fabric covers and both of them had been used. Now it is all cleaned. And the Teddy bear (Galdrabangsi), I had it all ready to frame once but there was a stain in the fabric. I finally decided to wash the piece in the washing machine. I put stain remover on it and washed it in a protective bag. The stain is gone and the piece is ok! Sorry for no links I have to take care of Ása Sóley now.

The Weekend of Big Finishes

I've decided that this weekend is going to be the weekend of finishes. I plan to finish as much as I can of my stitched and knitted objects today and tomorrow. My main problem in crafts is that I love the process but don't care to much about the end (and sometimes even the end-product). Last night I realised why that is. I simply don't know how to finish, how to do the final touches. The patterns and instructions don't say how it's done so I don't know how to do it. I need help. And help I am going to get. Guðbjörg, one of my stitching friends from Allt í kross is having a stitching weekend at her house this weekend. Open house from noon until midnight (or beyond) Saturday and Sunday.

I started already. Here is a picture of the Mill Hill angel kit, all stitched up and framed.



I did cheat a little bit and started the Beginner Whitework Ornament, stitched with white silk on colonial blue 28 ct. Lugana.



At first sight the silk didn't look so much different from the cotton threads I normally use (standard DMC). But as soon as I started working with it I noticed the difference. It is softer, fluffier and shinier. It definitely feels more luxurious and natural to stitch and it is more random, if you will. Has more life in it, more character. At any rate, it is a welcome change from the good old cotton ;)

The BCS picture

Click the picture for a bigger version.

Excited

I'm so excited! I finished the hardanger piece. It was so fun to stitch. I'll be doing some more of these, that's for sure. I'll take a picture tomorrow in daylight.

I'm excited about something else as well. Yesterday I wrote about my newfound passion for band samplers. Today I recieved a newsletter from Just Nan. At the bottom was a link that said Exlusives. Intrigued, I followed the link and at the bottom of that page I found Regency Roses, a limited Edition band sampler. And it is gorgeous. I ordered it and I can't wait to get it. It comes in a kit, so chart, fabric and threads included. The threads are silks, both perle, solid colors and overdyed.

I cleaned up in my WIP list on the right. I took out the percentage bars. Since I use Firefox, I can't see the percentage on the bar so I see no use keeping them.

UFO stitching

Yesterday I picked up a color I had lost for my French Village picture (DMC 747) and the needlecraft store (Nálin) also had silk threads. I've been wanting to try silk for a little while. I am going to use it for TW's Beginners Whitework ornament. I've been getting a new obsession in stitching - Band samplers. Band samplers are samplers that consist of bands (suprisingly), where the bands have different stitch types. I have one pattern of a band sampler, A little love sampler from M-designs. The band samplers often have different kind of threads as well, silks or metallics for instance. So I wanted to try silk on a whitework piece.

I am getting sidetracked a little. This post was supposed to be about the UFO Tuesday we had last night at my club. I got couple of hours of stitching time last night and worked on my piece. If you click on the picture you get a close-up. The design can be found here.



I am done with about half of a quarter - so 1/8th of the picture. Actually I have done more work than that because I started it over. The design was made with Anchor thread but I am using DMC and I wasn't happy about the color conversions.

2 in 1 - day

Yesterday I stitch a little bit of the BCS kit in the morning and took a picture:



I had finished of the 4-sided stitch around the blackwork star I worked on last night.

Then in the evening I couldn't resist taking this piece to the next level - CUTTING.



So yesterday was 2 (pictures) in 1 day - lol, I'm so funny, he he. :)

Tonight is a UFO night at my online stitching club (Allt í kross). If I get a change to stitch tonight I will work on the French Village (see the right hand side bar). I also have couple of knitting UFO's available.

Hurray for Mill Hill

On Friday I wrote a message to Mill Hill explaining that there were about 6 green beads missing and today they were in the mail. This is good service, especially since Mill Hill is in USA and I am in Iceland. Of course it would have been best if I had enought to begin with but I wasn't expecting the beads so soon.

Not much stitching being done these days. My oldest is turning 2 years old on Sunday and plans have begun for her birthday party. I made marengs (I think that's what it's called in English - suger and egg whites) last night and today I saw this reciepe on Linda's blog. I'll think I will have to do that one as well, it sounds delicious.

BCS picture

Here you see the progress of the BCS picture as of this morning. What remains now is a blackwork star in the center and four-sided stitch around it before I move on to the cutting. After the cutting some beads are put in. I look the most forward to the cutting. That is the main deal with this pattern.

Last night I was looking at the french knot on Victoria Sampler's stitch animation and it seems as I was doing colonial knot rather than french knot! I don't think there is a lot of difference and I'll just keep it as it is.

BCS news

My Beyond Cross Stitch kit is comming along despite french knots. I couldn't do them last night but thought about them a little when I went to sleep. Then today I thought I would give them another try before I moved on and what do you know!!! I managed to do them!!! Hurray for the subconcience (? spelling)!!! Right now I'm doing white on white backstitching. You can't complain about the lack of details on this piece:)

More pictures

Finally having some spare time processing pictures and blogging :)

Here is a picture of the semi-finished Mirabilia's Crescent Dreams picture. The cross stitch and the back stitch is done. Now I am going to park this piece before I put in the beads and the charms.



Another picture of my Hardanger SAL. It is a design by Thea Dueck, my new favorite designer. It's a part of a learning series. It's nr. 2 in level 5.



I'm following the directions (which are very good) all the way. First the metallic border then the kloster stitch (the white satin stitches) but before the cutting begings the other parts of the picture are stitched. Now I am up against some french knots, not my favorite. I learned how to do them but now I just seem to have forgotten how!!! I'll have to have another lesson, I guess.

Pictures at last

This is a picture of the Mill Hill angel, missing 6 green beads and a star. I have the star but I don't have the six green beads. But I e-mailed Mill Hill and they are going to send them to me. The star is golden (wooden) and is supposed to go between her hands (not sure if you see her hands in the picture) on top of the blue and golden beads. The problem is that I like the beads more than I like the star! So I'm thinking about skipping it altogether.

Hardanger

I'm so excited. I started my hardanger kit last night. It starts with a border cross stitched with a gold thread. I've never used metallic threads before and I've always heard it was pain in the arse. But I liked it! Maybe because it's a new experience, I don't know. I liked that is was just a single strand. Most cross stitch is done with at least two strands and they tend to lay over each other instead of side by side.

This morning I woke up with Kamilla while the rest of the family kept on sleeping. Kamilla watched a cartoon while I enjoyed the morning in peace. Of course I kept on with the kit. I started on the closter blocks and finished the inner circle. So far so good.

Progress, at last!

I got free time last night! It's a miracle! I used the time wisely - I finished the cross stitches on the Crescent Dreams picture. There was only about one evenings worth of stitching left (about 3 hours). I even started the backstitch, which isn't much.

Ása Sóley slept from 9 PM all through the night yesterday until 6 AM (with a snack at 10). She was a little under the weather just like her sister Kamilla, who had a sore throat, and has been sleeping a lot today.

So now there is nothing stopping me from doing the Hardanger SAL with Rósa.

Back from the country

I've been at a summer house my father and his wife own. It's been great, we really enjoyed the stay there, especially Kamilla.

It's in Reykholtsdalur (Reykholt's Valley), Reykholt is the place where Snorri Sturluson lived, but he is credited for some of the Saga's. The land belongs to Sturlu-Reykir (the estate), where geothermal energy was first used for domestic heating in Iceland.

I didn't get a lot of stitching or knitting done there because Ása Sóley was restless and didn't sleep a lot in the day time and at it was worst in the evenings. Until the last day, then all of a sudden she fell asleep at around 9 PM and slept until 1 AM. I used the time to stitch. First we Clint were watching a movie and then I watched Desparate Housewives (the movie was already at least half way done) and Ása Sóley was still sleeping !!! I was getting worried that she was alright. I stitched on - through an episode of Sopranos and she was still sleeping! I managed to finish my Mill Hill kit (except for the green beads that are missing and a charm). I already took a picture but I'm having some troubles with the photo processing program so I'll show it to you later.

Little by little

Not much knitting or stitching here. It depends on Ása Sóley really. Some evenings she just eats and sleeps and I can work on my projects but other evenings she is awake and gassy and needs my full attention.

This situation hasn't stopped me from ordering stuff from the internet. The 'excuse' (not that I need excuses) is the birthday game at my x-stitching club, Allt í kross. The women participating in this game send each other birthday presents. They don't have to be cross stitch items but most are. So I ordered few things from Sewandso and Ebay. Of course I ordered stuff for me too. I decided to get this gadget. It's a seat frame. I put it underneath my leg as I stitch and can stitch 'handsfree' (meaning that I don't need to hold the frame with my hands). This purchase has inspired me to stitch on my Crescent dreams. I don't have much actual stitches to do and then there is the beading. However, I usually don't have much time to stitch it so it will take a little time still. It is a project that takes some time to start. I have to put the fabric in the hoop and get my supplies out. The fabric can't stay in the hoop because it will leave marks on it and the supplies have to be put away everytime so they won't get in the hands of a certain 2 year old that hangs around here :o

The Mill Hill kit is much smaller and easier to pick up. It doesn't require hoop since it is done in paper and I can pick it up just for few beads at a time (the actual cross stitching is done). I did run into a problem with it. It is short 4 beads in one color. I want to finish the other colors first to see if there is a shortage of another color and then send Mill Hill an email. Another woman in my club had the same problem with a Mill Hill kit her daughter was making.

Then there is the knitting. I've been in stitching mood lately but the baby's overalls have begun to haunt me. I want to finish them before she grow out of them! So I picked it up last night. We went to my mom's house and Ása Sóley slept most of hte time there (she'd been away most of the day!). I found, however, that I didn't bring the pattern. I picked up the stitches and knitted a few rounds anyways. When I came home I realized I'd made a mistake. The finishing was supposed to be in stockinette stitch (slétt prjón) but I made k1 p1 (stroff)!!! At least I've begun. I thought I needed different needles for this but realized finally that I can use the dpn (sokkaprjónar) I have.

I have another knitting project, a hat for Ása Sóley. It knit up nice and quickly but the finishing is getting to me. Not that it is hard :o

For believers

So did you believe? Below is a pre-view of the angel, all of the x-stitching done and 'only' beading left.

But this isn't the big news - I got a package yesterday evening. That's the big news. I never get packaged (except for the results of occational internet shopping). So far Kamilla's been getting all the packages.

So what was in the package - see for yourselves: (You can click on the picture for bigger picture.)

Homemade socks from Cassie, who believes (quite rightly) that the mom should be reciever of gifts after childbirth. I can't thank of a better gift to give a new mom because I need good socks so my feet wouln't get cold, which could result in engourgement (I think it is called - stálmi in Icelandic). These are the first handknit socks I have been given and I love them. I can't believe someone made the time and effort to make these. They have a very small gauge (probably 2 mm needles?) and the pattern is beautiful. I've seen Cassie's feather and fan socks on her blog (e.g. here) and loved them. I have always planned to ask her where I can get the pattern (so I'm doing it now - Where can I find the pattern?).

One more thing, did I mention how much I appreciate these socks already? :) And they fit like a glove (well, actually like a sock!).

Do you believe in angels?

The picture is asking you to believe that an angel will appear below. I was going to fix the picture but the program kept teasing me, shutting down or freezing.

I wove in all the ends of the overalls but when I was going to do the finishing (around the edges) I couldn't find the pattern book anywhere :( I ended up going to the LYS (local yarn store = Storkurinn) and they photocopied the page I needed and gave me an advice (the pattern didn't make complete sense). But when I came home, very excited to start I discovered I needed a 2 mm needle and I only have 2 mm dpn (sokkaprjóna) and not bigger round needles needed to go around the edges :( Since I don't just run out to the store these days I still have to wait.

Don't worry I'm never idle. I've been working on the angel and started a hat for Ása Sóley knitted with Kambgarn. Finally I found something I could use Kambgarn for :) I stocked up on materials for it before Ása Sóley was born. Thankfully. It's a quick and easy project but as soon as it comes to finishing I loose interest but I promise to finish soon :o

News of the baby

The baby's name is Ása Sóley (Á is pronounced like ow in how, Sóley is prononced like the french word soleil). More news on my two girl's on Kamilla's blog (http://sonja.richter.org/kamillublogg).

I haven't been doing a lot of knitting or stitching. I'm doing the finishing work on the overalls right now - baby steps ;)

It's a girl!

I had a little girl on Thursday (June 2nd). The birth was amazing. It was a homebirth, took 4 hours and I ended up having her in water. We haven't named her yet, but we are working on it. She was 3700 gr and 51 cm. Kamilla doesn't seem to mind her and helps out sometimes but mostly she's just herself.