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Det har været en skøn, og lang, weekend. Jeg har været i Berlin og tanke kultur og hygge med min mor. Så er man bare helt klar til at takle hverdagen med de mange små sysler (nå ja, og arbejde) igen.
Det er blevet juleagtigt på den hvide og kolde måde udenfor (det sner kraftigt), så det er vel passende, at jeg har syslet med hemmeligheder til en pakkekalendergave her til aften. Det bliver godt, synes jeg, og så er det vel på plads at vise et lille bitte glimt.
It has been a long and wonderful weekend. I have been to Berlin with my mother and have returned full of culture and enjoyment, which gives more than enough energy to tackle the many small things (oh well, work too) that everyday life brings.
The weather seems determined to have some holiday spirit in the white and cold mode (it is snowning), so I guess it is fitting that I have been crafting a little secret gift for an advent calendar. I am very pleased with how it is turning out, so I guess I can afford a sneak peek.
Blink… hov, der gik vist lige et par uger! Det sker jo en gang imellem på trods af andre intentioner.
Nå, der er nu gang i tingene herhjemme. Der strikkes lystigt for at nå en hemmelig deadline (tys tys), men jeg tror det går, så jeg er glad, omend det er et meget blogfattigt strikketøj. Derudover så nærmer julen sig i fuldt firspring. Jeg tog det første erkendelsesskridt i dag og viklede lyskæden om vores altan. Det ser nu rigtig hyggeligt ud med de små lys tændt i de (mange) mørke timer.
Blink… well, it seems like a couple of weeks have disappeared! It sometimes happens even though you wish it otherwise.
Anyway, things are happening at casa-del-lykkefanten. I am knitting like the wind against an approaching secret deadlin (shyyyy), but I think I’m going to win this one, so I am very very happy, although without much blogging material. Furthermore Christmas is coming and the time seems to fly. I took the first step on the road to acceptance by hanging a chain of little lights on our balcony. It looks very lovely with the little lights twinkling in the (many) dark hours.
Ellers kredser tankerne meget om julekalendere. For det første har jeg meldt mig under fanerne for “den kreative pakkekalender” og ideerne myldrer rundt i hjernekisten. I aften skal første forsøg gøres, men mere om det i en anden post (hvis det altså lykkes).
Den anden julekalender er mere langsigtet. Der har spredt sig en julekalenderbroderialong rundt omkring hos flere i blogland, og jeg har brugt noget tid på at trawle internettet for en passende kalender til MM. Deadlinen er jo heldigvis først næste år, så jeg tror, det går. Det var svært at finde noget, som jeg synes var helt rigtigt hos nogle af de store udbydere af kits, men til gengæld fandt jeg et meget flot gratis mønster, som jeg så vil fifle lidt med at få til at passe. Ugens opgave er at indkøbe materialerne. Derefter gælder det bare om at få broderet mindst 2 tal om måneden for at få det til at passe!
Lately my thoughts have been circling about advent calendars. Firstly, I have signed up for the “creative advent calendar” and the ideas are coming in fast and low. Tonight will set the scene for my first attempts, but more about that later (if I succeed).
The other advent calendar is more of a long term project. A taste for an advent-calendar-embroidery-along has hit many others around blogland, and I have been trawling the internet for the right one for MM. The deadline is not before next year, so I think, I’ll manage it. I found it hard to find a kit that seemed right, but during my search I stumbled across a beautiful free pattern, which will be the basis for a calendar for MM. The task of this week is to buy the materials. Then I just have to embroider at least 2 numbers per month to make the job fit the time available.
Når man bliver mødt af sådan en solopgang er det ligesom ikke helt så slemt at møde tidligt på arbejde. Desuden er det en god dag, for i dag afleverer vi vores rapport til trykken, så nu bliver det måske muligt at komme hjem i dagslys, bare for en kort overgang.
When you are greeted by a sunrise like this, it isn’t too bad to meet early at work. Besides, it’s a good day today, as we are going to hand in our report to the printers. Perhaps it will even be possible to get home during daylight, just for a while.
Det der med “i morgen” kan være en lidt svævende betegnelse, når der er travlt i livet, men det er nu ikke den eneste grund til, at jeg ikke har vist billederne af min færdige Hvirvelstrøm frem. En anden grund er, at det viser sig, at den er for lille… ikke lidt for lille, men ganske alvorligt for lille! Grundet konstruktionen fandt jeg først ud af dette efter alle sømme var syet. Øv bøv og en hel masse andet grimt.
Jeg har på nogle punkter lyst til at kyle den langt væk, men på den anden side, så er den blevet smuk og lækker, og det er vel egentlig ikke trøjens skyld, at jeg har dummet mig så fatalt.
Jeg har en venindekreds af dejlige kvinder, der er af mindre fysisk statur end mig, så det kan være, at den kan finde et godt hjem hos en af dem. Men i mellemtiden vil jeg så præsentere den på bloggen alligevel og forsøge at lægge nederlaget bag mig (lidt svært, indrømmer jeg gerne).
The term “tomorrow” happens to be a rather relative one when life is busy, but actually it is not the only reason why I haven’t shown any pictures of my finished Hvirvelstrøm cardigan. Another reason is that it turned out to be too small… not a tiny bit either, but significantly and very much too small! Due to the construction I didn’t realize this until after all the seams had been sewn. I’ll admit that my thoughts on that subject aren’t suited for too much publisity.
In some ways I feel inclined to throw it far far away, but on the other hand, it has turned out beautifully and is very pretty and soft, and honestly, it can’t be the fault of the cardigan that I have messed up royally.
I have several wonderful female friends, who are of a more petite build than me, so maybe it will be able to find a good home with one of them. But in the meantime I will present it on the blog and try to put the defeat behind me (a rather difficult task, I’m finding).
- Hvirvelstrøm (Ravelry project link)
- Mønster/Pattern: Hvirvelstrøm af Annette Danielsen fra “Strik Naturligvis”, jeg har strikket str. M, men den synes mere som en S i færdig stand, og hvis jeg nu skal være ærlig burde jeg nok have strikket L eller XL… / Hvirvelstrøm by Annette Danielsen from the book “Knit Naturally”, I’ve knitted size M, but it has turned out more like a S and anyway I probably should have made a L or a XL…
- Garn/Yarn: Kauni ensfarvet 8/2 uld/akryl i farve R-W4 i alt 485 gram / Kauni single colour 8/2 wool/acryllic in the colour R-W4. I used a total of 485 g
- Pinde/Needles: 3mm
- Noter/Notes: Jeg ændrede ærmekanten fra en rullekant til en ombukket kant med lidt tittefarve / I changed the cuff from a rolled cuff to a turned one with a bit of colour peeking out.
Det mest ærgelige er, hvor meget jeg havde glædet mig til at gå rundt i den trøje. Den er lige mig, helt og fuldt. Men sådan skal det altså ikke være. Overvejer om jeg har noget garn til en mere i en større størrelse, men ved bare heller ikke om jeg orker slæbet med hvirvel igen…
The most tragic is how much I had looked forward to wearing that cardigan. It is so much me, fully and totally. But it is not to be. I am considering if I have some yarn for another try in a larger size, but I just don’t know if I can bear working that great looooooong circle again…
I dag er min fødselsdag, og det skal fejres på en eller anden måde. Jeg har derfor bestemt mig for at holde udsalg på mine mønstre i den anledning.
Så fra i dag af og resten af oktober er der 27 % rabbat på alle mønstrene i min Ravelry butik (linket dur også for ikke-medlemmer). Måske I så kan gætte, hvor gammel jeg bliver?
Today is my birthday, and it needs celebrating in one way or another. I have decided that the way to do it is to hold a birthday sale on all my patterns.
From today and for the rest of the month of October, all patterns in my Ravelry shop (this link also works for non-members) has a discount of 27 %. Perhaps you may be able to guess how old I am today?
Mine tiltag synes at virke. Jeg kan se fremskridt i det projekt, jeg fokuserer på, og henover weekenden har jeg reduceret listen af igangværende projekter med 3. Det synes jeg egentlig er helt godt.
Men egentlig er der ikke nogen grund til at belønne det, for det bærer lønnen i sig selv. Jeg kan mærke, at det får mig til at slappe lidt mere af. Tværtimod handler belønningen om, at jeg for noget tid siden ramte 100 % på mit Sock-Yarn-O-Meter. Det tog mig ikke voldsom lang tid at finde ud af hvad det skulle være, for en gang i sommers havde jeg den store fornøjelse at få lov til at gramse på et ganske stort udvalg af Slavi’s Cascade 220. Det blev til 8 nøgler i farven Provence – den smukkeste rustrøde med lige det hint af orange, som gør mig helt salig. Det bliver til en Vivian (uden hætte), når jeg engang “får lov” til at begynde nye projekter. Indtil videre går jeg bare og aer garnet og glæder mig over, at muligheden er derude i fremtiden.
My self-limiting rules seem to be working. I am enjoying seeing actual progress in the project, which has focus, and during the weekend I have reduced the list of wips by 3. That’s pretty good in my book.
But this post isn’t about rewarding myself for following that. Those measures carry their own reward. I can feel that I am more calm and able to relax with my knitting. The reward in the post title refers to the fact that I hit the 100 % on my Sock-Yarn-O-Meter a couple of weeks ago. It didn’t take me long to decide what to give myself, as I had been in company with a rather ample selection of Slavi’s Cascade 220 on one fine afternoon in the summer. I picked 8 skeins in the colour Provence – it is a most beautiful rusty red with just a hint of orange which makes it glow from within. It will become a Vivian (without the hood), once I again am “allowed” casting on. So far, I am just admirering and petting the yarn and enjoying thinking about the future, which holds such promises.
Jeg har ikke været monogam strikker siden kort tid efter, jeg lærte at strikke. Jeg har altid haft en svaghed for at følge mine ideer og lade inspirationen blive til et (eller flere) projekter, når den ramte. Det har så med tiden gjort, at jeg er sandet en anelse til i igangværende projekter.
I lang tid har det nu ikke gjort noget, for med en sund indstilling til at afslapning=strikning og en ok mængde fritid at slappe af i, så var der jo plads til lidt rod i strikkekurven.
Ikke længere! Jeg har indset, at der er mange facetter af mit liv, der er skyld i, at jeg kæmper med stress. Nogle af dem har med arbejdet at gøre, andre med famlien, flest har at gøre med, hvem jeg egentlig selv er helt indeni, og så er der nogle af dem, der nok er strikkekurvsrelaterede. Det vil sige, jeg har ikke længere overskud til, at der er så mange ting i gang, og nu må der ske noget.
Her i aften har jeg, nu hvor MM er puttet, tid for mig selv. Den vil jeg så bruge til at hive alle de igangværende projekter frem af sofahjørnet og kigge grundigt på dem. De er jo allesamme blevet påbegyndt, fordi jeg gerne ville lave dem, men måske nogle af dem kan vente? Nogle af dem kan måske endda blive trævlet op og frigivet fra pindene? Om ikke andet, kan jeg få prioriteret i projekterne.
Denne oprydning i projekterne er kun fase et! Fase to, som faktisk allerede er påbegyndt, betyder, at jeg skal fokusere på én ting af gangen. Sørge for, at den bliver færdig og så tage fat på det næste i rækken. På den måde bliver tingene jo nok også færdige lidt hurtigere…
Den første prioritet kan jeg desværre ikke vise jer endnu, for det er teststrikningen af den sidste opskrift i sæsonens sokkeklub for MacKintosh Yarns. Men fremover vil jeg prøve at vise på bloggen, hvad der har prioritet, så kan jeg jo også holde mig selv fast på den måde.
I haven’t been a monogamous knitter since shortly after I learned to knit. I have always had a weakness for following my ideas and letting my inspiration become a project (or more) whenever it hit me. In time it has made my knitting wip basket resemble something of a mountain with drifts of old projects.
For a long time it didn’t bother me. I had a healthy attitude of relaxation=knitting and a reasonable amount of pasttime to relax in, which meant that there was room for a messy and overflowing knitting basket.
Not any more! I have realised that there are many little parts of my life that accumulated are the cause of the stress I am battling with. Some of them are work related, other family related. Most have to do with who I am deep down inside, and then there are some, which probably are knitting-basket-overflow related. My current mental climate doesn’t have room for that many ongoing projects, so now is the time to do something.
Tonight I have some free time (MM is laid to bed), time alone with myself. I will use this to pull out all my wips, drag them out from under the sofa (and where ever else they are hiding) and look very, very closely at them. I started everyone of them because I wanted to, because I liked the project and wanted to knit it. But perhaps some of them may wait? Perhaps some even may be released from the needles and return to being lovely yarn? If nothing else, I can at least prioritize my projects.
The cleaning out in the projects is only part one. Part two, which has already begun, means that I have to focus on one thing at a time. Make sure that that particular item is finished and then grab (and finish) the next one. That way I make more progress, as my knitting is focused, and perhaps things may even be finished a bit quicker.
Unfortunately I cannot show you, what is my priority at the moment, as it is a test knit of the last pattern for the MacKintosh Yarns sock club. But in the future I will try to show on the blog, the current priority. That way I may be able to hold myself to it.
På to år kan der ske utrolig meget. For eksempel er det næsten to år siden, at jeg skrev denne post for at byde MM velkommen til livet i familien (og på bloggen), og så sidder jeg og skriver dagens post i dag. MM er to i dag! Det har været festligt og dejligt og hyggeligt og lige nu slappes der af i sækkestolen med Rasmus Klump på dvd’en.
Jeg bruger stilletiden til at fundere over, at min dejlige søn nu er to år gammel. Jeg synes tiden løber hurtigt, men hvor er jeg glad for at få lov til at opleve den, se udviklingen og de store spring af forståelse og evner han tager, både dem i de seneste to år, og dem der kommer.
Tillykke min skat, du er mors fræksak og kildefisk, charmør og viljefaste dreng, og jeg elsker dig helt ud til de (chokoladekagesnavsede) lillefingre.
Two years can change much. For example is it almost two years since I wrote this post to welcome MM to the world and the blog, and now I am writing this post today. MM is two years old today! It has been a joyful, lively and wonderful celebration and right now the main person is relaxing after a hard day’s play in the bean bag chair with Rasmus Klump (a Danish wonderful child friendly cartoon) on the dvd.
I am using the quiet time to ponder that my wonderful son now is two years old. I feel that the time is running, but at the same time I am joyful and happy to be able to experience the turning of time, to see the development and the great leaps of understanding and abilities that he’s taking, in the past two years and in the years to come.
Congratulations my darling. You are mommy’s teasling and ticklefish, charmer and stubborn boy, and I love you right out to the (chocolate cake covered) little fingres.
- Jeg løb 5 km for tredje gang i mit liv til DHL stafetten, og gjorde det hurtigere end nogensinde før (hvilket ikke er særlig hurtigt, men stadig en sejr for mig) / I ran 5 km for the third time in my life at the DHL relay race and was faster than ever before (not very fast at that, but fast for me).
- Det erklærede mål er nu at komme under 30 min. på distancen / The goal is now to be faster than 30 min. on the distance.
- Jeg har haft en stor personlig sejr ved at indse, at jeg var nødt til at bede om hjælp på grund af stress og så gøre det / I have had a great personal victory by realizing that I needed help due to stress, and then asking for it.
- Det er utroligt, hvor meget bedre man kan få det af åbenhed og handling, og hvor hurtigt det kan ske / It is rather amazing how much better you can get by being open and react, and how quickly it can go.
- Jeg er startet på 2 (indtil videre) nye projekter og nyder dem uden at have dårlig samvittighed over de … 20?… der ikke er gjort færdig / I have started 2 (so far) new projects and am enjoying them without feeling bad over the… 20? … which haven’t been finished.
- Vi har købt fødselsdagsgave til MM (lidt for tidligt), og jeg kan stadig ikke forstå, at han allerede næsten er 2 år gammel! / We bought a birthday present for MM (a little early) and I still cannot understand that he is already almost 2 years old!
- Jeg var til spændende strikkeaften hos Bette Design, hvor Bente Geil var på besøg / I attended a wonderful and interesting knitting night at Bette Design, where Bente Geil held a little talk.
- Jeg havde købt sushi take-away til aftensmad den dag og morede mig over, at selv min aftensmad var en aktivitet med pinde! / I bought sushi take-away, and was entertained by the notion that even my dinner was centered around “needles” (sorry, bad pun, which is even worse translated, but basically the word for chop sticks and knitting needles is the same in Danish “pinde”).
- Jeg burde måske løbe mig en tur nu, men jeg tror, jeg venter til efter jeg har spist det gode stykke chokoladelagkage, som jeg lige har købt… motion kræver vel motivation, ikk? / I really ought to go for a little run now, but I think I’ll wait until I’ve consumed the yummy piece of chocolate cake that I’ve just bought… excersize requires motivation right?
Tilføjet: Jeg endte med at løbe først, og så bliver kagen til aftenens dessert. Føles også mere rigtigt på den måde!
ETA: I ended up going for the run, and then the cake will be dessert for tonight. It feels more right that way!
Årets store ferie gik til Slovenien med bil og telt og hele cirkusset. Det gik rigtig godt, MM fandt sig i både køreture og vores slæben rundt til spændende (for os) steder. Vi kørte afsted hjemmefra i begyndelsen af sidste uge med kurs sydpå og kom hjem i går omkring midnatstid – har nu lært at 1000 km nok er det absolutte max for en enkelt dags kørsel.
The big holiday of the year had Slovenia as the destination. The theme was camping with car, a big tent and all the circus that follows that. We had a wonderful time, MM took the long car trip and all the bustling with rather astonishing calm and had fun most of the places we went. We drove from Denmark Monday morning last week with a southern course and we arrived home yesterday around midnight – we have now learned that 1000 km probably is the absolute max for a single day’s driving.
Det var en skøn ferie. Vi så smukke landskaber og naturscenerier bl.a. søer og smukke vandfald, især oppe nordvest, hvor vores første lejr lå. Længere sydpå var vi i huleland, og jeg fik opfyldt et ønske, som jeg har haft siden jeg var 7 år gammel nemlig at besøge hulerne ved Postojna. Det var spændende at se, om de kunne holde til den forventning jeg havde, men der var ingen tvivl, allerede i toget på vej ind (jep, man kører 2 km i tog ind i et bjerg gennem drypstenshuler før man kommer ud at gå) var min hulelykke gjort! Det var stort, rigtig, rigtig stort. Jeg var helt overvældet, da vi atter så dagslys, og jeg kan kun anbefale alle at tage en tur derind, hvis man er i nærheden. Dagen efter besøgte vi bl.a. Lipica, hvor de originale lipizzaner heste bliver opdrættet. Selv for ikke-heste-mennesker som Magen og jeg var det spændende at høre om stutteriet og historien bag. MM var helt solgt, så måske han bliver en hestedreng?
It was a wonderful holiday. We saw a lot of beautiful landscapes and nature scenery – lakes, mountains and waterfals and such, especially up in the north west corner of the country, where we had our first camp. Further down south we came to cave land, and I got a wish fullfilled that I have had since I was 7 years old – to visit the caves at Postojna. It was rather exciting to see if they could bear up to the long formed expectations, but there were no doubts. Already in the train through the mountain (yup, you drive 2km through natural tunnels and dripstone caves before you are allowed out to walk) my cave happiness was more than secure. It was huge, really really huge. I was (and still am) amazed and dazzled when we saw daylight again. I will advise anybody who visits the area to go to the caves and take the trip. Next day one of our visits was to Lipica, where the original lipizzan horses are bred. Even non-horse-people like the Mate and me were well entertained, and it was exciting to see the stables and to learn about the rather fascinating history. MM was overjoyed, perhaps he’ll turn out to be a horse-boy?
Det var dejligt at være afsted, og det er dejligt at være hjemme igen med en masse gode minder i bagagen. Det er bestemt ikke sidste gang, at familien drager på camping, og det er nok heller ikke sidste gang vi har været i Slovenien.
It was wonderful to be away, and it’s wonderful to be back home with a lot of good memories as souvenirs. It certainly isn’t the last time our family has gone camping, and it is probably not the last time we have been in Slovenia either.
lykkefanten.com 