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Juletræet med sin pynt…

December 21, 2010 in General life, pattern | Tags: christmas, Design, jul, life, paper | 4 comments

Det er en af mine yndlingsjulesange, og den blev sunget ganske mange gange i søndags, hvor vi pyntede træet. Det er hyggeligt at kunne tænde lysene (vi endte med at købe nogle nye) om aftenen og nyde den gode stemning af jul, sådan et træ bringer.

The title translates as “the Christmas tree with all its decorations” and is the title of a favorite Christmas song of mine. I sang it quite a few time this past Sunday as we decorated the tree. It feels so right to be able to turn on the fairy lights (we bought some new) in the evening and enjoy the tree and the feeling that it brings.

Der er meget nyt pynt i år. Dels hjemmelavet, dels købt. Men der skulle også mere til at dække det noget større træ vi har denne gang. Nogle af de nye ting blev købt på min tur til Berlin, hvor jeg lige nåede at ose på et julemarked. Dels er der min nye yndlingsglaskugle, pingvinen, og dels MMs absolutte yndling, det lille tog (som han troligt siger godmorgen og godnat til, og også tjekker om det stadig er der, når han kommer hjem fra dagpleje).

There are many new things on the tree this year. Some of them are home made, some are bought. We needed a lot to fill the tree this year as it is quite a lot bigger than the last one. Some of the new things were bought at a Christmas fair in Berlin. One of them is my new favorite glass ornament, the penguin, and another is MM’s favorite, the little train (which he bids good night and good morning, and also checks to see if it’s still there when he returns from day care).

De hjemmelavede har jeg stået for. Der er de tidligere viste ugler, men også nogle nye hjerter, både flettede og skårne. Jeg har lavet en skabelon på uro-ugler og uro-hjerter (i to størrelser), som kan hentes ved at klikke på linket herunder. Der er stadig et par dage, hvor man kan nå at lave lidt ekstra pynt til juletræet. God fornøjelse.

Most of the home made ornaments are by me. I’ve made a lot of the owls (previously shown here), and a lot of hearths, both the traditionally braided and some paper cuts. I have made a template for the owls and the cut hearts (in two sizes), which can be downloaded from the link below. There still is a little time left to make some more ornaments for the Christmas tree. Enjoy.

christmas decoration (2010)

Advent gift…

December 20, 2010 in Uncategorized | 5 comments

I dag var det min tur til at åbne en gave i “den kreative pakkekalender”. Lidt utraditionelt ventede jeg med at pakke op, til jeg kom hjem, for så var det endnu sjovere at komme hjem.

Min gave kom fra Heidi, og det er den sødeste og fineste nisse medbringende egen lille julesok! Den har endda et fint ophæng, så den kan hænge og pynte på væggen. Den har nu erstattet den ellers faste kalender henne ved køkkenet, for helt ærligt, så pynter nissen altså mere. Tak skal du have Heidi, du kan tro, at vi nok skal komme til at fejre mange, mange jul sammen! Også tak til Karina, der har arrangeret hele legen.

Today was my day to open a gift in the “creative advent calendar”. As a change I waited with unpacking it until I returned home from work. That way I had even more to look forward to at the end of the work day.

My present came from Heidi, and it is the sweetest, most wonderful tomten, who even has its own little christmas stocking! It has a really nifty little loop so it can hang on the wall. The normal calendar has been replaced, and honestly, the tomten looks better. Thank you Heidi, we will certainly be celebrating a lot of Christmases together. Also many thanks to Karina, who has arranged the whole swap.

Search…

December 18, 2010 in General life | Tags: christmas, jul, life | 5 comments

Hvem filan har spist vores juletræslys? Har været i alle skabe og skuffer og har sågar ringet til de “usual suspects” for at lokalisere de små lys. Men ak og nej, igen steder er de. Lidt upraktisk, når man nu har slæbt træet indenfor (kunne ikke vente længere), og jeg burde nok have ledt inden vi rykkede træet. Pyntningen er nu udskudt i morgen til efter vi har været på raid i den lokale Kvickly (håber, de er lagerførende i lyskæder).

Who has eaten our Christmas lights (the little light chains for the tree)? Have looked in all our closets and in the cellar and have called the “usual suspects” to try and locate the little lights. But to no avail, they have not been found. One may comment that I should have located them before putting up the tree indoor… but we couldn’t wait longer with getting the tree in. The decoration has been pushed to tomorrow after a raid in the local supermarket (I’m hoping they are stocking such lights).

Q’n’D

December 11, 2010 in Knitting, stash | Tags: fo, gift, Knitting | 4 comments

Nogle gange er det skønt at være strikker med et respektabelt (læs: stort) garnlager. Det giver muligheder. Som for eksempel når nogen i den nære familie skriver et halstørklæde, gerne med farver, på deres ønskeseddel. Jeg har forsøgt at indoktrinere min familie til, at strikbare ønsker godt må gives med længere varsel. Desværre lykkes det ikke altid, og så må man jo ty til andre midler, som for eksempel pind 5mm.

Et hurtigt greb i et par lagerkasser bidrog med blødt og farverigt garn, noget i tykkelsen, andet skulle lægges dobbelt. Så op med en hulens masse masker og bare derudaf. Strikningen tog ikke særlig lang tid reelt, men da strikketid har været lidt sparsom, gik der et par dage førend det blev færdigt. Nu må man bare håbe, at modtageren kan lide det. Der kan i hvert fald ikke klages over blødheden, for jeg gik efter de blødeste garner jeg ejer.

Sometimes it is good to be a knitter with a respectable (read: large) stash of yarn. It presents me with possibilities. For example, when a near family member writes a colourful scarf on his wish list. I have tried to teach my family that knit-related gifts should be wished for early, so an appropriate time for the actual knitting is available. Unfortunately it doesn’t always work, and then I have to resort to other methods, say a 5mm needle.

A quick excavation of some stash boxes resulted in soft and colourful yarn, some of the right thickness, some to be held double. Then cast on a rather large number of stitches and off I went. The actual knitting didn’t take that long, but knitting time has been scarce, so it took a couple of days to finish. Now I’ll just have to hope that the recepient likes it. At least, I’m pretty sure that he can have nothing against the softness, I went specifically for the softest yarns I own.

Q’n’D (står for Quick and Dirty/abbreviation for Quick and Dirty)
Garn/Yarn: 3 farver malabrigo worsted, noget possum og merino strømpegarn og lidt kauni, 7 forskellige farver samlet, i alt 169 g / 3 colours of malabrigo worsted, some possum and merino sock yarn and a bit of kauni, 7 colours in total, a total of 169 g used.
Pinde/Needles: 5mm
Noter/Notes: strikkede 3 rækker ret for hver farve, ved hvert række tog jeg en god lang løkke af garnet og lod hænge inden jeg strikkede næste række, så var frynserne nemme bagefter. Tørklædet er 160 cm langt. / I knitted 3 rows with each colour. At the end of each row I let a long loop hang before starting the next row, that made the fringe easy to make afterwards. The scarf is 160 cm long.

In the darkness…

December 10, 2010 in General life | Tags: christmas, den kreative pakkekalender, jul, life, MM, paper | 5 comments

Endelig fredag… nogle gange er det næsten som om, man holder vejret og først rigtig puster ud, når weekenden melder sin ankomst. Så kan man endelig nå noget af det, man i hvert fald ikke kunne overskue i løbet af ugen.

Nu nåede jeg heldigvis lidt i dag, for jeg snød og fleksede et par timer til fritid i eftermiddags. Det var helt forfriskende at se hjemmet i dagslys, og det betød at jeg kunne få øje på hæren af nullermænd, da jeg angreb den med støvsugeren. Nu er her renere, og det ryddelige kommer jeg nok til i løbet af aftenen (måske).

Finally Friday… sometimes it feels like I’m holding my breath all week long and only dare to breathe deeply when the weekend has arrived. Then I feel like I’m getting somewhere with all the things I didn’t manage to do during the week.

Actually I cheated a bit today and started the weekend early by flexing a couple of hours from work. It was rather nice to see the home in daylight again, and it at least meant I could see where I should aim the vacuum cleaner in the battle against the armies of dust bunnies. Now it is a whole lot cleaner, though admittedly still rather disorderly. Perhaps I’ll tackle that later (maybe).

Men først lidt tid på computeren. Til at læse blogs og til at lægge en post ud selv. MM og jeg har været alene hjemme i aften (og er det vel i og for sig stadig), da Magen julefrokosterer. Mens vi har leget (med Duplo tog), har jeg også leget med mit kameras indstillinger. Det måtte for filan da vel kunne tage ordentlige billeder indendørs i lampelys. Efter lidt fiflerier (omkring 100 billeder vil jeg tro) fandt jeg et par ting, der virkede, eller i det mindste virkede bedre end sædvanligt.

First however, some time at the computer. Blog reading and blog writing. MM and I have been alone tonight (still are). While we played (mainly with Duplo trains), I also played with the settings on my camera. Somehow I thought it should be able to take some proper pictures indoor in lamp lighted areas. After some trial and error (I believe I have about 100 pictures), I found a couple of things that worked, or at least that worked better than usually.

Det blev også til lidt billeder af noget af julepynten i hjemmet. Ikke mindst fordi jeg nu kan afsløre, hvad nogle af mine syslerier med papir og saks er blevet til. Bella har nemlig modtaget (og åbnet) sin pakke i den kreative pakkekalender. Uglerne blev inspireret af Kastrup lufthavns juleudsmykning i år. Dog synes jeg, de manglede lidt ekstra, så hos mig har de fået vinger, fødder og ikke mindst hjerter. Jeg har tænkt mig at lægge en skabelon ud, og forhåbentlig bliver det inden jul, men ellers er de jo heldigvis søde året rundt.

I also took a picture of some of the decorations. This is mostly because I am free to reveal some of my playings with paper and sissor. Bella has received (and opened) her present for the creative advent calendar. I got the inspiration for the owls from the decorations at the Copenhagen Airport. I thought their owls were cute but still lacking something extra, so I added wings, feet and, not least, hearts. I have planned to share the template for them, hopefully before Christmas, but if not, their pretty cute all the year.

Gefion, the FO post

December 4, 2010 in 26 pp I, Design, Knitting | Tags: 26 pp I, Design, fo, socks | 8 comments

Jeg er lige blevet færdig med endnu et par sokker. Et par ganske særlige sokker faktisk. For dels er det et nyt design (mangler stadig at få skrevet opskriften, men har da allerede et par teststrikkere), og derudover er de til en byttehandel, hvor jeg får et sæt smukke håndlavede strømpepinde i retur. Jeg glæder mig rigtig meget, og jeg håber, at Molly vil synes om sine nye sokker.

Hvis der er nogen, der skulle have lyst til at teststrikke Gefion mønsteret i den mindste størrelse, så kan man skrive en mail på: lykkefanten(ad)hotmail(dot)com. Jeg har brug for mindst 2 til at teste den størrelse (det er efter først til mølle princippet).

ETA: så er pladserne som teststrikkere fyldt op. Rigtig mange tak til jer, der har meldt jer!

I’ve just finished another pair of socks, and they are rather special. This is partly because it is a new design (I still need to write the pattern, but I’ve already got a few testers), and partly because they are for a trade, where I will get a beautiful set of handmade DPNs in return. I am looking forward to seeing and knitting with those needles, and I hope that Molly will like her new socks.

If there is anybody out there, who would like to test knit the pattern for Gefion in the smallest size, please write an email at: lykkefanten(ad)hotmail(dot)com. I need at least 2 to test that size (first comers first served).

ETA: I’ve now got all the testers I could wish for, and thank you to those who have volunteered.

Gefion socks (Ravelry project page)
Mønster/pattern: Gefion by Lykkefanten (mønsteret er på vej/the pattern is being written)
Garn/Yarn: Dream in Color smooshy, col. Shiny Moss, 84 g
Pinde/Needles: 3mm
Noter/Notes: par nummer 9 af 26 / pair no. 9 of 26

Jeg er godt tilfred med overgangen til hæl og tå. Det er den del af et sokkedesign, jeg synes er sværest at få til at glide, men denne gang er det lykkedes meget godt.

I am really happy with the transition to the heel and to the toe. It is the part of a sock design I think is the hardest to make beautiful, but this time I think I succeeded.

Christmas calendar, part 2

December 1, 2010 in Sewing | Tags: advent calendar, christmas, embroidery, jul, julekalenderalong | 2 comments

November endte med at være en flittig broderimåned. I hvert fald kom jeg ganske langt på pakkekalenderen til MM. Mit eneste problem lige nu er, at jeg tror, at tallene skulle have være placeret lidt tættere på midten. Men nu er det altså for sent at lave om, for jeg piller i hvert fald ikke 2½ tal op igen!

November turned out quite productively embroidery-wise. I at least saw quite a lot of progess on the advent calendar for MM. My only problem at this moment is the nagging feeling that I should have placed the numbers closer together. But alas, it is now too late to redo, as I certainly won’t pick out 2½ numbers I have already done!

Berlin…

November 30, 2010 in General life, stash, Travelling | Tags: Berlin, life, stash, travelling | 6 comments

I forrige weekend var jeg i Berlin med min mor på operatur. Sidste år var vi i Oslo, i år i Berlin, så gad vide hvor vi finder på at tage hen næste år – Wien, Barcelona, London og Milano er på den mulige liste.

The weekend before last my mother and I went on an opera trip to Berlin. Last year we went to Oslo, this year to Berlin, so I wonder where we’ll go next year – Vienna, Barcelona, London and Milan are all on the possible list so far.

Tilbage til Berlin. Det var en skøn miniferie. Vores hotel lå yderst centralt, men vi valgte alligevel at købe dagskort til de offentlige transportmidler. Det var en god investering, for man kommer længere omkring, når man bare kan hoppe af og på diverse køretøjer. Nå ja, vejret var heller ikke for festligt et par af dagene, og så er det jo rart at kunne komme tilbage til hotellet uden at blive gennemblødt.

Back to Berlin. It was a wonderful mini vacation. Our hotel was situated very centrally, but even so we chose to buy day cards to the public transportation. It was a good investement, as you get further around when it is possible just to jump on and off the available transportations. Oh and the weather wasn’t that glorious some of the days, which makes it really nice to be able to return to the hotel without getting soaked.

Vi besøgte nogle af de sædvanlige turisthøjdepunkter, gik gennem Tiergarten, ind mellem Holocaust mindesmærket og under Brandenburger Tor. Men vi tog også lidt længere udenfor centrum. Vi var bl.a. nede ved det nyrestaurerede “East Side Gallery“, hvor en god bid af muren står og fungere både som galleri og mindesmærke. Det styrtregnede da vi var der, men på en måde var det passende til det tungsind, der helt af sig selv lagde sig, når jeg tænkte over den betydning den simple betonkonstruktion har haft.

We visited some of the usual tourist highlights, walked through Tiergarten, between the collums of the Holocaust memorial, and under Brandenburger Tor. But we also went a bit further out of the centre. Among other things we went to the newly restored “East Side Gallery“, where a chunk of the Wall still stands and is both art gallery and memorial. We walked along it in a downpour which suited the feelings I had when thinking about what the meaning of this simple concrete structure is and has been.

Højdepunktet på turen var uden tvivl operaen. Vi så “Tosca” på Deutche Oper og det var fabelagtigt. Alt var perfekt, musikken, opsætningen og ikke mindst sangerne. Klart anbefalelseværdigt for operafans.

Der blev selvfølgelig også tid til at gå i butikker og ikke overraskende sørgede jeg for (jeg var kortfører) at vi kom forbi diverse kreative butikker. Dels gik vi ud til Frau Tulpe, som vist må siges at være en af de hyggeligste, mindste og mest inspirerende stofbutikker, jeg nogensinde har været i. Sikke en stemning, og jeg kom vist til at lade mig rive med og købe fire lækre stykker stof. Derudover ledte vi selvfølgelig efter strikkebutikker. Ved hjælp af Ravelry havde jeg lokaliseret nogle stykker, men det blev kun til et rigtigt besøg. Det var i LaLaine på Kantstrasse, som må siges at være en positiv overraskelse. Vi var gået forbi den, den aften vi ankom, og ved første øjekast lignede det mest en 70’er-agtig (på den knap så gode måde) butik med lidt for meget akryl i assortementet… Men som bekendt skal man ikke skue hundene på hårene, og butikken var virkelig lækker. Så lækker at der hoppede noget skønt pink strømpegarn og tre nøgler “pashmina” garn i posen helt uden modstand. Det var faktisk også den afsluttende butik vi besøgte inden vi gik i KDW og spiste tidlig aftensmad og fik champagne. God afslutning.

The highlight of the trip was without a doubt the opera. We saw “Tosca” at Deutche Oper and it was fantastic. Everything was perfect, the music, the production, and not the least the performers. I can only recommend most strongly for opera fans.

Of course we also had time to shop, and perhaps not very surprising I managed to steer us (I had possession of the map) past several craft shops. First visit was in Frau Tulpe, which I have to say is the most beautiful, tiny and inspirering fabric shops I have ever visited. What an atmosphere! I think I was caught in it and happened to buy four beautiful pieces of fabric. Otherwise we of course loooked for yarn shops. With a bit of help from Ravelry I had managed to find adresses for a couple, but we only managed one proper visit. That happened in LaLaine at Kantstrasse, which has to be said was a very positive surprise. We had passed it the night we arrived and had put it down as a 70’ish (not in the good way) shop with perhaps a tad to much acryllic on the shelves… Sometimes you should not judge a book by its cover, and that was clearly the case here, because honestly the shop was gorgeous inside. So gorgeous that some wonderful pink sock yarn and 3 skeins of “pashmina” yarn jumped into my bag by their own accord. It so happened that it was the last shop we visited before touring KDW and had early dinner and champagne before going to the airport. Perfect ending.

Crafty nights…

November 23, 2010 in General life | Tags: christmas, den kreative pakkekalender, jul, paper | Leave a comment

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.

Christmas calendar, part 1

November 18, 2010 in Sewing | Tags: christmas, embroidery, jul, julekalenderalong | 4 comments

Så er starten gået på min version af julekalender-broderi-alongen. Jeg fik købt de første materialer (hos Sommerfuglen) i mandags og gik i gang samme aften. Siden har det faktisk været lidt svært at løsrive sig, for det er nu sjovt at se motivet dukke op sting for sting.

I’m off and flying in my version of the advent-calendar-embroidery-along. I managed to sneak out and buy materials (at Sommerfulgen) last Monday and began the embroidery the same evening. Since then, the most difficult thing has been to tear myself away from it as it is very fascinating to see the pattern emerge stitch by stitch.

Indtil videre har jeg broderet halvandet tal af de 24, dog mangler detaljestingene med sort og gul, men dem regner jeg med at tage på en gang til sidst. Jeg har skiftet talfarverne ud med nogle lysere end angivet i mønsteret, fordi jeg helst ville have en blå baggrund. Det ser godt ud synes jeg, og hvis dette tempo fortsætter, så bliver der ingen problemer med at nå i mål før julemåneden 2011 (bank under bordet osv.).

So far I have done the first number and half the second of the 24. however, I still need to do the details in black and gold, but I am planning to do them all at one time, once the plain embroidery is done. I have changed the colours for the numbers from the ones specified in the pattern, as I wanted to have a deep blue background. I think it looks really good, and if I can continue at this rate, there will be no problems with having a finished calendar for the Christmas month of 2011 (knock on the wood, etc.)