I HAVE been knitting!

Not exactly lace weight... My first attempts of spinning. The spindle is not a favourite, I think I would like a wheel better, but it's okay for now. I just didn't realize it would get so messy! It is fun though! The wool is really soft, at least in my opinion! It's grey, but gets funnycoloured when i spin it, there's alot more white in it. Oh well, I have plenty of wool to play around with!

We bought the handcarders last summer in a thriftstore...

But I have been knitting too...My blue recycled sweater is done, even with a zipper, it used to be short and boxy with very wide sleeves, now it's long and slim, but still with sleeves that are a bit wide. And long...I knit the peplum first, picked up stitches for the body, and finished that, then knitted the border around the whole sweater, and attached it as i went along. I like it. The zipper is probably too short. I inserted it above the peplum. I'll try to find the links for the different patterns later.

The back, with the hearts in the middle, and the cables from a glove pattern at the sides (Knotty?)

Hmmm- lousy photo.

But this one is better! Lots of cables- probably too many- but fun to knit! I ripped the boxy one that I had knitted some 20 years ago...

I've worn it several times too, and I like it, even though it could have been a bit wider and maybe a bit shorter...;-)


April's Sockamaniasocks, very nice lacy ones. I haven't started the May socks yet, right now I'm trying to finish a tunic for my niece K. It's in white, and I use last summer's big hit: HeyTeach. nice H got the green one I made and forgot to take a photo of, and K wanted the same thing. I'm knitting it a bit different though- starting with a provisional cast-on at the ribbing at the waist, knitting the lacy pattern and the sleeves, sewing it all together, and then picking up and knitting down from the waist. Easier to get it the right lenght, and both wanted tunics and not a short jacket.

Hi,Michaela! ThePoppySocks are done!(I guess you never thought you'd see a photo of those;-) (Sorry, only a Ravelry-link) Yarn. the blue is Senja from Gjestal, the pink is something else...but similar. Knitted two-at-a-time using magic loop, 2,5mm. FUN!!!I haven't been able to get gauge, the yarn is a bit too thic k, and the needles might have been smaller, but they fit my large eet, and that's what matters:-)

The girls just look at me when I say I'll be wearing them: "seriously???"

Two at the same time was okay as long as I paid attention to where the yarn was...so- no tangles! I tried to knit another pair with two colours, and only two balls of yarn...that did not work out...

My youngest nice turned 7 last week. My sisters and I have 6 daughters in all, and I also have two sons, but it was the girls I was talking about... Mine have never been pink, they've occasionally used a pink t-shirt or a pair of trousers, but they've never minded using other colours. Neitehr have the other girls. The five oldest, that is. Then came O. She is 4 years younger than the second youngest. And she is PINK!!! It has always been okay to buy her clothes for gifts, as long as they were pink. Blue or green stripes or anything would make it a boy's garment. She looks good in pink though. But now, for her seventh birthday, I decided to knit her something, and asked what her favourite colour was. "Pink!" "But purple is also my favourite." So I grabbed the chance when I got it:-)
A purple tunic. Pattern found in HendesVerden. (A danish magazine. I bought it because it had a leaflet with knitted children's clothes attached. )

The yarn is DuStoreAlpakka's Babysilk, a beautiful, soft yarn that I have never tried before. Knitted on needles 3mm, size 7, and I used 6 balls. It's long enough to be a dress, but O. emphasized that it was a tunic! Mother-of-pearl buttons in front.

I like it. So did O.

Hmmmm- this was a strange post. Not even ONE sheep! But lady Grey got five kittens last night! Photos later...

Have a great weekend:-) I'm off to do some gardening. Or preferably knitting. But hubby is home, so gardening it is;-D

k

WIP's...

Still here;-D
I've titled this post WIP's- work in progress- and believe me, I have both wip's and finished objects...after not blogging for so long, the pile is high! My regular computer is still acting weirdly, so I'm using DD2's laptop. She uploaded the pictures from my camera before she left to visit a friend, and I've been looking through them. Not ONE single photo of any knitted item!!! Not one!!! So I guess I'll have to post again tomorrow...

ButI have some other wip's- a few fourlegged ones. I've just been to Selja to check on the sheep, and finally found them. They were doing fine, they really seem to like it out there!

We have lost two of the ewes, reason uknown, but the rest have lambed, and there were 20 lambs. Most of them are really wild, but some come close. It all depends on the mother. If she comes, the lamb will follow.

The ram and one of the ewes have started to drop the wool. They look awful when they do this! Most of them will lose their wool between now and midsummer. Then we gather them, and shear the rest. I suppose I should be picking up the wool...

Curious little fellow!

DS2 and DD2 came with me two weeks ago, and they got to hold one of the lambs. Photo taken at 9:15 pm...now it's even lighter.

We've been away a few days too. My sister's daughter was confirmated last Sunday, and we went home for the festivities. It was really nice to be home again, but it's a long trip...900 kilometers each way, we drove for 13 hours south on Thursday, and another 13 hours (actually 14...)back on Monday. It was worth it though. The confirmation was held in "my" homechurch.

I did some knitting at home too, but it was mostly about eating cake...

When we came home again, I finally started something that I've wanted to try for ages...being inspired by
Sandie and Suzanne, amongst others, I wanted to learn spinning. And I wanted to do something with my own wool. So last Fall, when we had sheared spælsauen, I kept the coloured wool, and sent the white one to the manufacturer's ( Nortura...) I sent roughly 50 kilo, paid the shearer NOK 1200,-, and got paid nearly NOK 1000,- for the wool... Soooo, I filled the sink with hot water and some wooldetergent and soaked the fleece.

It was rather dirty, and I realized I had not skirted the fleece properly...oh, well, I know 'till next time!

Several hours later, several waters and rinses later, the water was clear, and the wool ready for drying. It took a couple of days to completely dry the fleece. Now it sits on the washroomfloor ready for some carding and spinning...and my DD2 wants to both card and spin with me! I don't have a wheel, but I hve a spindle. My sister's husband's uncle made a spindle for me, and also combs for the wool. I bought handcarders at a thriftmarket last summer.

The colour of this is pretty accurate. Blusihgrey with some black tips, and some of it lighter. The sheep is still alive, so if I ruin this fleece, I'll get another chance the next time I shear! At least it didn't felt in the wash!

This is before washing...it looks more steelgrey, I think, but there is quite a lot of black spots in it.

And- just to prove that I HAVE indeed something to show off: Ikke lappeteknikk, men lappverk;-) "not pathwork, but patches..." A cloth for the wintergardentable. The back is bright and yellow!

Sooo- let's see if I get back tomorrow with some actual knitting to show off!!!

Have a great day:-)

(oh, btw- I asked some time ago if anyone was interested in doing a Pay It Forward? HeidiBean signed up, does anyone else want to participate? I promise to make you something and send you within a year. There are still two spots free? tell me in the comments if you want to participate. And HeidiBean, please send me your adress: my mail is: maritkoATmsnDOTcom. )

Churchbells...

Just trying something...;-)
http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/indeks/167933

The son went to Selja yesterday, with the vicar, some classmates, and a filmcrew from NRK. The clip is in Norwegian, but you see the island and the abbey, and the back end of a sheep running down! Also, DS2 calling with the church bell.

He reported back that at least 15 Old Norwegian lambs had been born...


The barn is also filling up with lambs! So far it's been smooth sailing- one of the best years ever. I only have 19 spælewes, but by last night 13 had lambed and delievered 27 lambs...

I'll try to be back with photo's soon....(oh, have you heard that before???;-D)

Have a great day!

...waiting for photos...

This computer is sick. DD2's computer will not upload the pictures like I want to. She showed me how to do it: like this, and this , and this... I'll have to wait until she can do it;-)



I've been knitting! Started the Poppysocks, (Ravelrylink), Michaela had started on them, and I thought they looked fun. I'm using a blue variegated and a pink variegated, and the kids say I'm not allowed to use them unless they are hidden inside some boots;-D. I'm knitting both at the same time, magic loop, even bought some new needles, bamboo circular in 2.5 mm. I've tried fairisle two-at-a-time before, but got into such a tangle I almost had to cut the yarn. So I was not sure wheter I would be able to knit both. But so far: NO tangles! And it's a fun project! I'm done with the cuff, and half the leg, and only started it a couple of days ago.

I'm also trying to sew a little,made a tablecloth. It's not "lappeteknikk, det er lappverk" (It's not patchwork, it's patching...) But it was fun, and I made a drawstrinbag, perfect for sockknitting, of the leftovers... Pictures later, maybe...

I'm also knitting on my blue recycled sweater, the body is almost done, and I'm working on the sleeves. There are lots of cables! Maybe too many...

In Garnaflækja we're knitting Prinsateppid, and I think Berglind's version is lovely! Mine will have a bit of colour around the edges... I regret not knitting this as a triangular shawl...it would have been very easy to do so. But I'm not ripping now...

We woke up to SNOW this morning! The sun is out, and it's really cold. We were waiting for spring, so this was a bit unexpected.

The sheep are doing fine. We hope to move another 15-20 out during the weekend. We've been checking on them a couple of times a week, and they come running as soon as we start calling. I have lots of photos of them- if only this thing would upload!!!

Okay, time for another cup of tea, and then some outdoorwork, I guess.

Have a great day! I hope to be back soon with some pictures...

More sheep!

Did you see Britt-Arnhilds blog yesterday? She wrote a post about her trip to Selja a couple of years ago. Make sure you check out her links- she has told the story of Sancta Sunniva a lot better than I could!
I just had to share a few more photos of the sheep...we went back yesterday to check on the sheep, it was a lovely, sunny day, but it was really windy, and I did not like the boatride! DS2 is in charge of the boat, and he takes his responsibilities seriously. He also likes to feed the sheep...we gave them some grains and a salty stone(minerals) , this is inside the old boatshed that belongs to the monastery.

When we came out, all the sheep had gathered just next to Sunnivahelleren. I went to get the grains, and started calling. They lifted their heads, waited a little, and then came running down the steps in one long row! Several will eat out of our hands, Rusta ("rusty" due to her colour) on the picture above, is even more determined to get her share of the goodies!

We met a young man with a little boy and a dog, they had spoken to the sheep, and the little boy- he couldn't have been more than 3 or 4- was very curious about them. He was going to have sheep of his own. "But you already have a dog", the young man said. " We are going to have sheep", was the reply...

Just in case you wonder- there HAS been knitting going on!

Even a pair. And they got gauge! Which means that they are a tad on the tight side for me. I'll still use them though;-) I never get gauge when I knit socks, because I always use 2.5mm circulars, no matter what kind of sock yarn I use. These are knit with Frost from Gjestal, a much thinner yarn than my ususal Silja/Senja. Top down- magic loop, two-at-a-time. Pattern? March Sockamania, called Rollercoaster.I think the pattern works okay with the yarn too.

There are other projects on the needles too- a Hey,Teach sweater, using some yarn I had in my stash...that turned out to be not enough..so I've been to four different stores trying to find the right colour, and they only had the other colours in their shelves..Oh, well, I still have a couple more options before I give up and frog it.

I've also been sewing a little bit. I used to love sewing, but I don't have a machine that works these days, so I've borrowed one from a friend. I recycled two pairs of jeans- making an anclelenght skirt out of them. I cut them off right below the pockets, and used that for the hip part, then I made the skirt out of the legs. I took a photo, but uploading took so long that I just skipped it.

Also: I've got two awards! Coming soon...;-)

Have a nice week!

..the big move...

A bright, almost sunny, and calm, day. Time for the big move! I've told you about Selja (more in English here) on June 27th, 2007 (but couldn't figure out how to make a link to that post...)
We were asked if we had some sheep that could go at Selja, because there are no animals left there. There are still at least 5 people living at the island, they even have their own bishop! He is currently residing in Sarajevo, but visited in 1997 or1998 for the 1000-year anniversary.
Anyway, they had to give up farming a few years ago, because it didn't go along too well with the tourism...lots of manure around which they did not want to get into the boats. Then 10-15 years passed, and the island is "disappearing" in shrubs. So, as a part of a plan to restore the monastery and it's surroundings, those in charge wanted sheep again! The plan is to build up a flock of gammel norsk utegangersau. They will fit in nicely, they will be able to find most of their food growing on the island, and they stay there all year round. So, Thursday was the day for the big move.. We see Selja from our farm, but we can'tsee the monastery, that's on the other side of the island.
Off to an early start- walking each sheep down to the sea, where we had a good neighbour waiting with the boat. The kids were great in helping out. It's high water,and easy to lift the sheep onboard. I went along on that first boatride, it tok us about 45 minutes to get from the farm to the monastery. The weather was quite good, but with a bit of waves...

The sheep did very well, although a couple lied down and were taking up a lot of space.. We had 16 on that first trip. Getting them off the boat went like a dream, and I stayed with them just to see how they reacted, while the boat returned for 9 more shep, and two happy girls.

sitting on top of a bale of hay, and some grains which we use as "chocolate"- only to get them more manageble, they love the grains, and come running whenever they see the bucket or hear the sound, but don't get fed on it.

They all settled in nicely, and we went back home, because the weather turned , it gotrainy and a lot more windy. On Saturday we went back, the kids and I , this time also exploring the monastery itself. This is the view from Sunnivahelleren.

We found all the sheep going together near the monastery, and hopefully they will stay around here, at least until the touristseason stats in June... then we'll have to relocate them to other parts of the island. There is plenty of food, the grass is coming, and there is einer and røsslyng ,

tang og tare, everything very healthy and also neccesary for the sheep.



They seem pretty happy, don't they?

On their way just below
Sunnivahelleren.

DS2 is sitting next to Sunnivakjelda, a small ,"hole of water" orholy water, it's said to have a healing effect, if you take three sips from your right hand. The kids love the place, and the school tries to take a trip out there every year. It's a big part of history- both local and for all of Norway, I think.

There will be many more trips to Selja during the year- this is only the start. In a couple of months I hope to have 15-20 lambs running around there...

Sooo, stay tuned;-)

...and have a great day:-)





( Sæl, Benný mín! Jú thetta er ég, thad var rétta Maritin;-) gaman ad sjá thig! Býd kærlega ad heilsa fjölskyldunni, og svo vona ég ad thú kemur aftur, bædi hingad á bloggin, og til Selje! Kvedja, Marit)