Thursday, January 14, 2010

...sooo, I'm back....

...and joining Julegave-alongen that Sylvia has started! We'll try to keep ahead of the December giftknittingfrenzy...and start now:-)...
...jeg er tilbake...og meldte meg på julegavealongen til Sylvia! Vi skal prøve å unngå galskapen i desember, og begynne på julegavene allerede nå. Detaljer på bloggen hennes:-)
Christmas is over and packed away- and one of the new ornaments this year was this cute mitten from Britt-Arnhild! Just in time too, for the cold weather we've had, and still have!
Jula er over og pakket vekk, og den nyeste julepynten er en søt vott fra Britt-Arnhild! Kom i tide også til kulda vi har hatt og fortsatt har!

Littomalt had a giveaway in early December- I was the lucky winner- and a glass angel landed in my mailbox! Love it! Here is her shop...lots of goodies!
Littomalt hadde en giveaway tidlig i desember- jegvar den heldige vinneren- og en nydelig engel landet i postkassa mi! Tusen takk! Link til "butikken" hennes rett over her. There has been knitting too- and I forgot to upload the photos of the red and white slippersocks that I made for our vet...okay, next time...
Jeg har strikket også- og ser at jeghelt glemte å laste opp bildet av sokkene som dyrlegen fikk! Jaja, det får bli neste gang...


But here is my version of Baktus. I almost went insane while knitting it..increasing every fourth row? And only on one side? Grrr!!! So it looks rather wonky- I'm sure I've missed and increase, or done too many- but I hope it will improve with a good soak.

Yarn: Gjestal babywool, a red variegated. I used 100 grams


Needles: 4mm

Men her er min versjon av Baktus. Jeg trodde jeg skulle blitt gal av den! Klarte aldri å følge med på hvor jeg skulle øke- det burde ikke være SÅ vanskelig å øke hver 4.omgang??? Så hele greia ser litt rar ut, men jeg håper det retter seg med en vask...

Brukte 2 nøster Gjestal Babyull og pinne nr. 4mm



Sockamania's Snowy Winter's Eve, knit in Sterk from DuStoreAlpakka. 40%alpakka, 40%merinowool, 20%nylon. 5ogr=137m. So soft!!! And not big enough on me...the fairisle pattern on the leg is just too tight. But they go into the giftpile, so at least something will be done for next Christmas! I have plans to knit a set of mittens and a hat to go with it, think that will be cute.
Jeg er fortsatt med i Sockamania, og her er januarsokkene. Prøvde Sterk fra DuStoreAlpakka, et nydelig mykt garn! Men selvfølgelig ikke store nok til meg...møsteret på leggen gjør at de trekker segfor mye sammen til at jeg kan bruke dem. Jaja, de går i gavehaugen, så da har jeg første prosjektet klart til neste jul! Jeg har planer om å strikke votter og lue med samme mønster, tror det kunne bli fint.
These are a pair of socks for hubby- Saviano from the latest Knitty. Quick knit. The yarn is a bit heavier than I normally use, I think it was Perfect from Sandnes.
Gubben fikk seg også etpar nye sokker, Saviano fra det nyeste Knitty. Ganske raske. Jeg tror garnet er Perfect fra Sandnes. Pinne nr 3?
We've had a great winter so far. There has been several weeks now with cold weather, a little bit of snow, and NO RAIN!!! And that is NOT the normal weather here!!! It is actually so cold the water froze...somewhere between the barn and the house. It was frozen Saturday morning, so DS1 and I sat the whole day trying to warm up the pipes again for the barn- it took us several hours, but we thawed it in the barn. Then we started carrying buckets down to fill the bathtub (flushing the toilets..) and filling a big bucket on the kitchencorner for washing and food. We were invited to a Christmas party that evening, which was very nice. Hubby stayed home to try to figure out what to do with the water. On Sunday we drove to Ålesund, first we went to see my MIL-Farmor- and did three loads of laundry, and then dropped off DS1. The ship, Gann, has been in Surnadal as a hotelship, you can read more here, and the pupils came onboard on several places along the coast.

Monday was another day dealing with the water issue, and I ended up driving a 4 hour roundtrip to borrow Elvestadrør, they have a heater around the waterhose. On Tuesday we tried to get it in place...and then hubby had to leave...so he's back in Houston. A plumber came later that evening and helped me connect it properly, so now we have water again. The kids were thrilled to get the water back! But we would have been in more trouble if the power went...
Så langt har vi hatt en fantastisk vinter! Først en lang,tørr høst, og nå en lang kuldeperiode med litt snø. Ikke regn på lange tider! Det er ikke det vanlige her! Det er faktisk så kaldt at vannet frøs...et sted mellom fjøset og huset. Det var frosset lørdag morgen, så eldsten og jeg satt med hårføner og tinte rør i fjøset, det tok noen timer, men vi fikk det til. Så begynte vi å bære vann...fylte opp en stor stamp på kjøkkenbenken til drikkevann og vask, og fylte badekar så en kunne få spylt ned på wc. Vi var invitert bortpå juleselskap den kvelden, men gubben holdt seg hjemme for å ta en ringerunde og passe på vannet... Søndag kjørte vi til Ålesund, først inn til svigermor og fikk vasket tre maskiner, og så levert eldsten ombord på Gann igjen.Reiste hjemmefra kl.9 på morgenen, og kom tilbake halv11 på kvelden...Sjekk forresten ut linkene til Gann- flotte bilder på den ene der!
Mandag kavet vi enda mer med vannet, og det endte opp med at vi fikk låne Elvestadrør- vannrør med varmekabler- så jeg kjørte til Breim og henta... Vi fikk kobla opp det meste på tirsdag, men så måtte gubbenreise- nå er han tilbake i Houston. Fikk hjelp av en rørleger litt senere på kvelden, så nå har vi vann igjen i kranene. Ungene jublet! Men vi ville faktisk vært i større trøbbel hvis strømmen forsvant...


Back to the wool! The sheep at Selja also needs extra feeding.
Tilbake til ulla! Sauene på Selja trenger ekstra fóring nå. DS1 is hauling a bag of hay. The snow was not strong enough to carry us, so we went through and down to our knees- really heavy!
Eldsten drar en sekk med høy. Skaren bar akkurat IKKE, så vi trakka gjennom i puddersnøen under, og gikk i til knes- tungt!






The sheep are standing on the ridge. Not easy to see. They eat a lot of heather now.

Sauene står helt oppe på ryggen. De er ikke lette å se. Det er endel lyng og sånt innover der som de eter på.






And they like hay...
men de er glade i høy også...








They also need a slope/path, because the snow is rather deep, and they have difficulties walking through it.
De trenger et trakk for å komme seg fram,for snøen er ganske dyp, og det blir for tungt å trakke gjennom.








We didn't get any sun on the monastery while we were there, but it was really beautiful and peaceful.
Vi fikk ikke sol på klosteret da vi var der, men det er flott og fredelig likevel.
Soooo- I hope everyone has had a good start to the new year! Have a nice day!
Da håper jeg alle har hatt en god start på det nye året! Ha en flott dag!








12 comments:

PJS said...

Wow... glad you are back I was just thinking about you yesterday and then there was a comment on my blog today.. ha!

I think that the lacy baktus is easier as you can remember where the increases and decreases are much easier as you have the lace line for reference. Your baktus look lovely though and anyway, no-one would notice when it's round your neck.

Our water froze too... it was awful, we had to leave it running in the house to stop it freezing in the pipes, we leave it on a trickle all the time.

Looking forward to another year of your blogging and sheep.... oooh you should really try spinning again, it seems a real waste of a fleece to have it clean and unspun...

Elin said...

Her var mykje flott, både det du har laga og bileta frå Seljeøyna. Vi har hatt om "villgeita" frå Selje på skulen, dette er vel noko liknande? Stakkars dyr no det er så kaldt! Så det var vanskeleg å auke kvar 4. omgong, men du har no laga mykje som er 100 gonger vanskelegare enn dette?
Riktig godt nytt år til deg!

Anonymous said...

I want to say I am so very sorry the beautiful snowflake socks are too tight. Yes, they will make a wonderful gift for someone though, but after all that work, I am just sorry they did not fit you. They are absolutely gorgeous.

I also wanted to tell you that your sheep are just so beautiful. Some day you will have to send me just a little bit of their wool so I can see it and feel it. They are so amazingly lovely, and you all live in a most magical place as well. I'm am happy to see you back and blogging again. You were missed. :)

Ruth said...

Du står på. :) Sauene her vasser i dyp sne de også og jeg syns litt synd på dem. Det ser uggent ut.

Jeg har problemer med å telle til 4 omg. jeg også (ler) så derfor har jeg sånne små plastringer som jeg setter der jeg øker. Har noen få og så flytter jeg dem etterhvert som jeg strikker. Og jeg gjør det ofte for jeg elsker både Karius og Baktus skjerf. De kan varieres i det uendelige.

Ha en super helg.

Heidelweiss said...

Beautiful knits! What a fiasco with the water! I hope everything remains running well. Yes, thank heaven it wasn't the power. That is always the fear in the winter. The sheep are adorable. I've decided I'm in love with Selje. What a beautiful place!

Caroline said...

Hi Merit. As always, I love your sheep pictures, while still recognizing all of the work they create for you. I like the idea of the julegave along. It's fun to think about Christmas throughout the year!

Litt om alt said...

Slitsomt når vannet fryser, selv om det er en bagatell for oss som ikke har dyr. Hårføner og varmepistol er gode å ha, vi har tint opp frosne radiatorer mer enn en gang med varmepistolen,
Skikkelige ulldotter dere har! Må være tungt for de når isen setter seg i pelsen? Flotte dyr.
Så god idè å begynne med julegavene nå :) Kanksje man skal lage seg en skuff ett sted som ikke blir av typen "Ett lurt sted"... De blir helt sikkert glade de som får seg så flotte snøstjernesokker!

Mrs Moog said...

Goodness me, it looks like you've been so busy with knitting, sheep and plumbing!

I love your Baktus - the colour is gorgeous. I've just finished my second and have wool for at least two more! I've worn my first nearly every day since I made it.

Such a shame about the socks not fitting you. I'm making some colourwork ones right now and have a feeling mine won't fit either. Although I'm a selfish knitter, I may have to give them to my niece rather than keep them!

xxx

Debra said...

All the knitting is beautiful as always, i dont know how you get so much done with everything else you need to do. Superknitter!! i love the Baktus, thanks for sharing that, i think i will make one soon. The snow looks wonderful, i am sure very cold, but your pics show the beauty. Off to mow 5 acres.....sweet day :)

Min said...

Happy New Year.

Looks like things have been pretty busy for you - we of course never have a problem with freezing water here in Singapore - but we never have the beauty of the seasons either. Hope it's all running smoothly now.

As usual, your knitting is so lovely. Such a shame about the socks but very prgmatic of you to think of gifting them. The baktus doesn't look wonky at all!

Hope the sheep are behaving.

Cybèle said...

Love your snowy winter's eve socks, even if they don't fit!
And all that snow... wonder if it's gone now? We had snow for about 2 weeks but it's been gone for about a week now and sometimes, dare I say it, it's almost spring like. The birds are definitely louder than they normally are!

corinna said...

marit
thanks for your nice comment
i just read your blog and love the socks, edpecially the snowy eve ones
i think it will be fun to learn to knit socks
thinking i will try a pair of mittens first
not that we need them here in texas,
maybe just a few times a year.
your photos there make me want to wear mittens!
although i love seeing them and your happenings and surroundings,
sorry about the frozen pipes,
yikes!
i hope the heatng device works
i am certainly sending warm thoughts your way
you may have to knit pipe warmers...have the sheep lay on the pipes...
stay toasty
thanks for sharing
smiles
c