Easter exhibition

Three of my friends are having a sales exhibition this Easter, at Pellestova, Øyer (Norway). I know many of my readers live far away, but I also know I have some local readers. The vernissage is Saturday 16th of April at 3 pm, but the exhibition is open all easter. You can have a look at their Facebook page.

Lars Erik is showing his photos.

Hedvig makes redesign dresses.

Thor-Arne has paintings to show.

Christmas knit along - M a r c h

Another pair of mittens from Norske vottar og vantar, Damevott med lilje, for the Christmas knit along, Julegavesamstrikk 2011.

I used yarn from stash, the green is Tove, the white I'm not sure, some sport weight, superwash wool.

The Lily pattern is beautiful, but the sizing is a bit strange, I think.

The pattern asks for gauge 28/10 cm. No row gauge is given. My gauge was 30 sts and 30 rows per 10 cm. The mittens circumference is ok for my hands, but they are too short, only 13 cm / 5,25 inches from thumb to top (maybe I have unusually long hands? I don't think so, btw, medium sized mittens usually fit me just fine). Luckily the receiver of these mittens have shorter hands than I, so I think they'll fit. The thumb, however, is long enough for me, so the mittens might be a bit wide with a long thumb..... I also think the thumb placement is too far inside the palm, I could have moved it, of course, just didn’t think of it at the time.

This mitten book features patterns based on old mittens, so I if the original mitten was wide and short, so is the pattern (it seems to me, anyway). There are many beautiful patterns, so if you pay attention to the sizing, and add or remove some rounds if needed, I can still recommend it.

The Lily, as I said, I think is beautiful. The thumb pattern is nice too.

The ribbing is plain k 2, p 2.

Kaffe fassett inspired knits #1 - or diamond/ triangle tunic redesign

I made this tunic many years ago, I think I finished it in 1993 or 1994, after having worked on it now and then for several years (I love stranded colourwork, but I really dislike intarsia). The pattern is from one of Kaffe Fassett's knitting books, don't remember which one.

I really liked how the colours and the pattern work together, and it looks pretty lying there on the floor (I think). But - it was worked in thick or double stranded cotton yarn, so you can imagine the weight... And adding to that, it was quite big. So I never used it. Which was a pity, I think.

So after many years in my closet, I decided to attack it with my scissors.

The first result was this dress:



Then came new office chair:

And there are still pieces left for embellishments, here's a pillow to be:

"Gammelfjøset" - The old cowshed

My favourite cafe in the woods of Lillehammer.

Today we had "Fastelavensboller" (Carnival buns, buns with whipped cream). On Wikipedia, you can read that Carnival in Denmark is called Fastelavn. In Norway too.

There's a very cosy and relaxed atmosphere.



To the left in this photo, there's an old tool on the wall.

I believe this one was used for treating flax, to make yarn.

(A "hekle" in Norwegian, heckling comb in English.)

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

And isn't this a beautiful wall hanging.

As far as I could see, it is woven, and then embroidered.

"Håndlaga 2011" Norwegian handmade championship

I'm participating, are you? You can, if you're a Norwegian crafter, that is. Click on the photo to see the blog.

Everybody can nominate, and you can nominate two items in each category, something you have made yourself, and something made by somebody else. All the items have to be published online, on a blog, on Epla ("Norwegian Etsy"), on Flickr, or somewhere else. You can read the rules here.

The organizers are Elisa Kolle from Lin & Papir and Unni Strand.

Thank you, ladies, this will be fun!

Here are my nominees:

(To nominate, you have to comment on the category on the "Håndlaga" blog, which I have done, I just thought I'd tell you about it here too.)

Category 1 - redesign

My "Birthday tunic" made for a friend last year. Read about it here.

I nominate the on of the dresses by Karin in 2jinter, MODELL: 2jK-023.







Category 2 - children

My Lullaby Love Blanket.

More photos on Flickr.

And to make sure I don't win this category, I nominate this blanket, by Pinneguri.




Category 3 - clothes

My Sparkle! cardigan, made last autumn. More photos here.

I also nominate a dress by Torill Vestad, from Cocoon Art, a local crafter, who makes the most wonderful dresses. (I'm the lucky owner of this one, btw...)



Category 4 - jewellery

I have made very little jewellery, but here is a necklace I made some years ago.

I also nominate this cute bird by Flowermouse Design

Category 5 - for your home

This is an old blanket I made 14 years ago, initially two baby blankets, later joined to cover an old chair.

And the competition is hard, look at this fantastic blanket by Solgrim, which is my other nominee in this category.

Category 6 - accesories

My Hippocampus mittens. More photos here.

Another pair of mittens, by "Knittnetty", Winterland.

Category 7 - picture

Not much to choose between there, here's the only picture I could find, made for a friend when she moved into a new appartment some years ago.

Have not decided on what else to nominate yet.

Category 8 - best craft blog

"You can nominate one item made by yourself, and one by someone else".

So, challenging the Jante Law, I nominate my blog.

And then I nominate a fellow knit blogger, Pinneguri, whit her blog "Med pinner".

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There is one jury in each category. There are already lots of nominations - I'm not sure the know what they've taken on yet. Have a look for yourself! And have a nice weekend, everyone!!

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Winter holiday

Same procedure as last year...

Skiing...

Knitting...

Reading...