GAAA- one down

Ta-da! I've finished the first block of the Great American Aran Afghan and after a few rows I sort of got the hang of it and needed only to look at the work itself to know what do do.

Now i'm thinking maybe I should knit two similar blocks, one right after the other while it is still fresh in my memory- and I could work simultateously on two afghans (one for each daughter to own). But the yarn probably should be from the same colouring batch (that is probably the wrong expression, but I don't know the proper English term), and that is quite a bit of yarn to pay for!!!! I'll have to ponder that one for a little while....

It's almost time for Hallowe'en, and this year I have bought 4 pumpkins that is waiting to be carved- I really want to attract children! Here in Norway the tradition is quite new so people don't even seem to know what date it is on ...



















This felted pumpkin basket I made last year and today I brought it up from the basement.

I got this gorgeous hallowe'en quilt from my sister two years ago. I bring it out every year to keep on the wall in October.

Here are some printing stamps I made recently. The onion i've used on some wrapping paper for presents and the houses I am going to use on wrapping paper for Christmas gifts- as gingerbread house prints... More to follow as Christmas approaches..

Weather forecast for Sunday: Knitting weather

It's definetly not a day for outdoor activities. It's been insanely windy and rainy since last night- we had a hard time sleeping because of the wind howling during the night..

But for me that is just fine because I have been battling some back problems for more than a week now. First I started getting stiff in my lower back muscles, which has happened before- although not as bad- then it just got so bad on Tuesday morning that my husband had to help me get my pants and socks on. He flew to China /Chorea on Wednesday (business trip) but I was not quite as bad then, and Thurday was the same. I went to work and it seems to help when I kept myself moving about often.

Friday I had very few teaching hours and ended up sitting at my desk for most of the day- not good! But the dog walking at night din't seem to do the trick as usual. Saturday I had a rock hard knot on the right side of the spine and last night I could go to sleep due to the pain/ the wind. Walking the dog just left me in worse pain than ever. So tuoday I decided to keep myself from too much activity to see if that helps. Hence the Knitting Day on my part. And I have gotten far enough on my GAAA's first motif to be able to just look at what I have knitted so far and by doing that be able to see what I'm supposed to do next. I am sooooo impressed with my own impatient-knitting-self! But let me tell you:I have struggled to get here!

Earlier in the week I started this for my oldest: Kitten Mohair is the yarn. A shawl it will be. I can knit and watch TV with this.

She is knitting herself some alpacca wristwarmers with bead on (I'm impressed with you girl!) in the same pale pink colour, but these days she has no inspiration she says, so i started knitting this hoping I could get her started again. But she is definetly one of those girls that goes in and out of knitting -bouts. Either she knits and makes us tea every night or she doesn't touch it! That's ok.

I am also working on this cross stich project and it will be a Christmas runner. Got it for 50 NKR at a sale this summer. Don't know if it will be ready for christmas, but we'll see...

Something I wrote about in my last posting was the Knitty pattern I had started- but I never showed the photo of my three blocks so far. Here they are:

I found this link on You Tube that helped me understand the pattern in English: it's Cat Bordhi's instruction video on wrapping and turning. And it was the forum, Hobbyboden, I'm a member of that led med to that link. Thank you forum people! Getting hooked up with other knitters on the internet is a great thing!

Fall posting

I'm starting to appear like a blog that only has postings quarterly! Bad me!

But here I am, alive and kicking.... alive and knitting, I should say. And starting this post by putting a photo in the wrong way! But what the heck,,, it's a photo of the facket I'm about to start putting together for myself. I bought this yarn soooo long ago, and it was discontinued colours and super cheap. I just started knitting away, thinking it would be a warm but lightweight woolen sweater to have up at the cottage. And - a very good point this is: it is POR MOI!

Not the most beautiful pattern but I wasn't sure how much yarn I needed- had to make sure it lasted to cover all of me (which is quite a bit!!)
I have also finished a UFO (UnFinished Object) that has been in my basket unattended for months. I made a shawl for my sister more two years ago, a bit bigger than this one and then I started one more from the leftover yarn. That is why the pattern is a-symmetric. I think I might have enough for a hat to go with it.... It is not blocked yet on this photo. I will do it next week.

My newest project is this: blocks from Noro Kureyon yarn. It will end up as a blanket consisting of 24 blocks, all from different colours of kureyon. Here is the link to the pattern - in the wonderful online knitting magazine Knitty .com

This Noro yarn is so expensive that I can only buy a few balls at a time, but that's fine because each block is from a different colour. And i have no deadline since it is not intended as a Christmas present!

I am also about to start another long lasting project and that is going to drive me crazy, probably, but I am dead set on challenging myself in the knitting department: The Great American Aran Afghan. Here is the booklet with the patterns to the 24 blocks that together will make a beatiful blanket consisting of all different aran patterns! I have never used an English pattern before so I am going to be challenged in more than one way, but I do have a web based forum where I can post desperate cries for help when I have used up my wee bit of patience and my extensive vocabulary suited for frustrating moments (but not for delicate listeners).

News on our personal lives:

My daughters are now both at Junior High, the youngest in the first year (grade 8), the oldest in the last (grade 10), I'm still teaching at the same school but are now back with the oldest grades, 5., 6. and 7. grade. I like it!

My husband is back to work (he injured himself badly in an accident exactly a year ago now) , he works out of town, but with home office Mondays and Fridays. The two nights he sleeps over by the office the rest of us are so busy anyways that the days just fly by. Besides, I talk to him on the phone at night usually. He has no TV in his room there so he usually eats his supper, talks to me, watches a movie on his computer, goes to bed early... He works long hours when he is there.. Starts at 7, finishes around 5. That way he is home around 3-4 on Thursday even though it is a two hour drive.

Next week he is going on a two week business trip to Asia and I myself have two insanely busy weeks ahead. Meetings, preparing written comments on all my English students (30) for their teachers to present for their parents, preparing parent teacher interviews in my own class , attending my one daughter's parent teacher interview.... The list is a bit overwhelming.. And on top of it all: Halloween demands attention, and the following day is my youngest's 13th birthday.

Our dog has suffered from a really bad urinary tract infection and had to be taken to a clinic for an ultrasound and blood tests- and the whole ordeal amounted to A LOT OF MONEY! But we have insured her so we get away with paying only 1/5 of it ourselves. She is now all better- and must be guided back to her normal way of life and away from us pampering her with love and goodies!

Here is a photo of the view from our cottage now that late fall is here.