..and the winners are..

The winners in my sockpattern give-away are now to be announced.
Since there was as many as 51 people competing for the pattern I decided to gave away 5 instead of 3 free patterns.
 
The winners are:

Linda Karlsson
Madelen Arvidsson
Lena S
Ellinor
Anitha Gustafsson
 
 
A big applau for the winners and a even bigger thanks to all who competed!
 
I hope the winners will enjoy their pattern that will be sent to their email.
 
 

Meltdown

This morning I've been working on finishing a new pattern, writing everythin down in a document, thinking about the best way to explain what I need other knitters to understand and so on.
Now my brain has had a bit of a meltdown so I'm going to shake things up in my kitchengarden before a to the last bits of the pattern!
 
 
Luckely I began my day with a big breakfast to prepare my self for the days events!
 
 

I'm starstrucked

Yesterday me and my eminent visitor took a trip to Amstedam.
On our to-do-list was a visit to the Anne Frank museum, van Gogh museum and ofcourse to Penelope.
Well, we kind of went to Penelope twice, before and after Anne Frank museum. In the time in between we managed to follow Prinzengracht in the wrong direction, which meant that we had to walk a walk that would normally take 40 minutes in 10 minutes since we had a pre-booing at Anne Frank.
But all that was forgotten when we went to Penelope the second time. While I'm standing looking at some yarn (ofcourse, what else do you do in a yarnshop) a man walks in and takes a seat. Another visitor in the shop speaks to him in English and says she's a big fan. My ears got bigger as I heard him talking about his books and upcoming designs. I had my suspissions but I just had to ask who this smiling, redhaired man was.
He said very shy that he was a designer, and that his name was Stephen..
OH MY GOOD, not Stephen West I asked, I shy smile and a "Yes".
 
Okey, so one of my favourite designer was just there in front of me and I was starstrucked, and probably acted like a starstrucked fool..
 

Check out Stephen West's awsome designs at ravelry
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Owlies

I made some more etsy-shopping while I was at it, three weeks ago.
What I needed was buttons, which I've already shown you, but what I also needed were stitch markers with bigger loops than the ones I had, for my needles, size 4.5 mm and above.
 
I looked around for a long time before I found the right ones.
Cute stitch markers, with the right size, lightweight and absolutley to die for!
 
Owlie marker on my a-MAZE-ing shawl
 
Another owlie doing her job!
 
 

Beadfreaky

Just got this gorgeus buttons delivered from beadfreaky, great place to buy buttons from at etsy!

I'm so looking forward to embellish two cardigans with these cuties!










Pink grapefruit Carneval Purse

This is a testknit of Eddys first own design Carnival Feather Purse!
It's a cute purse perfect to store what ever you find suiting!
I knitted it with my handdyed, handspun Pink Grapefruit yarn. A colorfull yarn that I've wanted to use for long but didn't find the right purpose for. It's spun with a bit to much twist and is therefor not so soft. But when Eddy asked me to do this testknit I knew that the yarn has found it's purpose and would make good use in this purse since it made a very "steady" knit dew to the overexcadurated twist.

When I get my hands on a sewingmachine I will wad the inside and maby make a pocket or two.
I'm planing on keeping all my "knitters must-haves" in this purse since the one I have is getting to small..










Check out Eddys own Carnival Feather Purse and keep a look out for the pattern will son be avaliable at Ravelry!



Perfect day

Today has been one of those days when everythings perfect and wonderful!
The sun has been shining, I've spend some time in my kitchen garden - eating strawberries straight fromt the plant, blockning a cardigan a knitted for a friends daughters 1st birthday, working on a testknit for Maria, knitting the sleeves for my Honey Bee cardigan, drinking buckets of tea and rubarbsyrup, having some fabulous sundaydinner.

The list goes on and on!


a-MAZE-ing shawl by Maria


Svalbard handspun yarn by lillavackraanna


When to knit?

People who don't knit probably consider me crazy when seeing me working on a woolen cardigan when it's 30 degrees outside. I can bet thoughts like "it's summer, woolen cardigans are for winter" run through their minds.
Yes, I admit, sometimes a big woolen  something is not the coolest (as in cold, not cool, knitting is ALWAYS cool) thing you can have hanging over you lap. But if I want to be warm in winter I have to knit now. I don't see a point in beginning to knit when the cold has already struck!

So therefor, I also knit during summer, and that's it!


Honeybee cardigan


Anne Frank

When I was in Amsterdam with Anna-Carin we visited the Anne Frank museum. It was really something!
Situated in the house were they were hiding. It was not so much the museum, or should I say exhibition, that made the experience but the rare feeling of being there, where she once was. Where she spent two years of her life. Trying to figure things out about her self and about the people around her and the situation they were in.

Now some pictures of her sits on my cupbord. Smiling, thinking, and knitting.


Maby she's all knitters guardian angel..


Christmas ornaments

Finally Strikk had a deliverance of wool to stuff the christmas ornaments. When I came to the boutique they had already sold half of the bad they had recived. So I thought to my self - don't be cheap - and bought the rest of what they had.

1/2 kilo of woolstuffing came home with me.

So this weekend I sat down to fill the ones I've knitted. They are not perfect, it wasn't easy to stuff them with out getting lumps in the wool.
But in a christmastree with low lighting no one will ever know..


Once upon a time there were three little christmas ornaments..


Looking forward to knit several more!


The winner is..

After coming home from work and haveing 9 peaces of really great sushi I knew it was time to find out who would be the winner of my birthday give-away.

And so got to it:


Putting the names of 9 lovely ladies on some scrap-paper..


Foldning them into small parslettes..


Putting them all in the Marshmallowhat

and then - shake it a bout and pull out a winner.

AND THE WINNER IS


MAJSTESS

The winner is notified and I hope she'll enjoy her yarn as soon as it finds it way to her!

Thanks to all who participated!


About birthdays..

I'm sort of really good at remembering friend and familys brithdays. I think it's important to make people feel special and important to me and showing that by remembering their special day.

This doesn't seem to apply on my blog..
It's was lillavackraannas blogs brithday on the 17th of January 2012, that was two days ago...

So here's to my blog
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

AND
this brithday is going to be celebrated with a little giveaway!

All you have to do to have a chance of winning is write a comment in the commentfield. If you don't have a blog of your own, don't forget to write you email (it's won't be published on the blog).

And now for the prize:



459 meters lace of handdyed, handspun Massam lace!


The Massamwool has very long fibres and is a bit rougher than for example BFL, and there for a bit itching.
Read more about Massamwool


It's a beautiful yarn with greate lustre and alot of bounce!

So what are you waiting for?
Write a comment, compete for a skein of handfull yarn and at the same time celebrate this blogs birthday!

(Due to cargo-cost I only readers living in Sweden can attend the giveaway)

YOU HAVE UNTIL FIRDAY THE 27th to participate!




Deflated Christmas Ornaments

If you want to fill your christmastree with knitted ornament you better start intime..

So I've knitted three and started on the forth, but so far they are quite flat. I'm planning on knitting about 10 before putting in the filling, so you can do all at the same time.

I've knitted three ornaments that are quite different from eachother. That makes the knitting more fun.
I knit them with Rauma Fine Wool, as recommended by the authors. I knit them in grey and red, instead of white and red. Why - well Strikk were out of white Rauma Fine Wool and I thought it looked really nice with grey instead.

Not yet steamed or filled they look like this!


Nr. 11 "Krokros", nr 28 "Polkagris", nr 32 "Hjärterum"


Nr 11. "Krokros"


Nr 28. "Polkagris"



2011

2011 has been an eventfull year - Philip was accepted to med.school, we got an apartment of our own in Gothenburg, I graduated from University, moved to Gothenburg and cut off my long hair!
And on top of all that I have found some greate new friends and really developed my knitting. I now don't find it scary to start a big project like knitting a cardigan, because I know I have the knowledge to do it and friends to help me if I got stuck.

I knitted a pippisweater

 

And a Myrtle cardigan, it's now my absolute favourite


I got to know Elin

 

And Eddy

(and Maria, but I don't have a picture of her)

 

I knitted my first pair of socks from my handspun yarn


I learned a thing and two about dyeing


I developed my spinningtechnique with the help of friends and my spinningwheel Kerstin


I met with the alpackas in Tummelilla


 

And for 2012 I will
  • Finish my cardigan knitted from my own measurements and pattern
  • Knit a pippesweater for Philip
  • Knit at least 20 christmas ornaments from Arne&Carlos book
  • Spin yarn from the alpackawool to use in a big project

Say my name!

With inspiration from Maria, the brain behind the blog pysselochknap I ordered tags with my name - or acctually my blogs name - to put on things I knit or in other ways create.

It's easy to do it here!

I bought 50 tags with my name and a symbol and it only cost me about 250 swedish corwns, that's about 5 crowns per tag. If you buy more tags, it's cheaper price per tag. But I felt that 50 would be enough for some time!

I chosed a quit sober colour to make it go with anyanother colour on the knitted item.


It's handmade baby!


Busy Bee

Since I've been quite busy lately there hasn't been much time for blogging, so here comes a little update on what's going on!

Knitting: A so called "Pippi" cardigan, or a fishermans cardi, made famouse by the Swedish childrens author Astrid Lindgren who put it on her caracter Pippi Longstockings. BUT it's a no good pattern which have made me have to order and wait for more yarn when having only half of the two arms left..

Also knitting a pait of mystery (mystery's already out since long time) that I find among Through The Loops patterns, for free on ravelry. And they are soon to be finished!

AND I ordered three skeins of Malabrigo Sock today which I'm gonna use to knit the Myrtle cardigan, designed by Snowden Becker

School: I'VE FINISHED MY THESIS TODAY AND I'M PRESTENTING IT IN TWO WEEKS! And I applied for a scholarship today which I really hope to get.

Work: Still going strong in the school garden and at the plantretailer. Only three weeks left.

Plants: I've been a good girl and "potted" all my special geraniums today so that they are ready to come inside. Harvested the last of the beans, a couple of polcabeats and a red cabbage in my kitchen garden and a bunch of cherry tomatoes from the green house. AND I have a butternut pumpkin rosting in the owen which I'm gonna transform into a heavy and warming soup after posting this.

Wool: Today I'm gonna sort the last alpaca fleece. So then I have two light brown, three white, one fawn and one red-brown sorted fleeces that are waiting for my karder to arrive from Holland. I'm also spinning some norwegian wool I dyed some weeks ago.




The beautiful Malabrigo Sock Soils that I ordered from Garnkorgen - where the picture also is borrowed from!



Welcome to the family

Every wednesday and saturday there is a market on the town-square here in Mariestad.
Today I went down there with the intention to buy some organic eggs and bread.

I came home with both...and also with a new orchid to join the other ones in the window.

It was just standing there, bright purple with dark purple spots and white toung, and just begging me to bring it home. And since the prizetag said 50% it came home with me for only 45 swedish crowns.
And now it stands like a queen in my window, 30 cm taller than all my other orchids. Lovely.


Stick och Spinn

Första härvan av finullen jag har tampats så mycket med är nu färdig - och den blev faktiskt inte så tokig. Den är inte superjämn eller len som en barnrumpa. Men ett lite grövre, två-trådigt garn med en härlig rustik känsla. Planen är fortfarande att, tillsammans med den mörkare ullen som jag inte kardat färdigt ännu, sticka något pläd/filt-aktigt att ha i soffan i vår nya lägenhet. När jag nu ska hinna göra det.

Jag försöker alltid att inte starta för många projekt, men nu har jag tvinnandet av finullen, stickandet av Mias mystery shawl, ett par mysterysockar (ett gammalt mysterie som jag hittade mönstret till på ravelry) och en tanke på att börja på en candleflame sjal.

Såhär ser det ut än så länge:








In English - Done with the first skein of fine wool that I've washed, sorted, cut of the bleached ends, sorted again, teesed and carded. Now spun as a 2-ply yarn. It's not perfectly even or smoth. But I still like the feeling of it, and the brown, natural  colour. The plan is to, together with the darker brown wool that I have'nt spun yet, knit some sort of blancet for the sofa in our new apartament. When ever I get the time..

I try not to have to many wip in one time. But now I have the plying, knitting Mias Mytersyshawl and two days ago I cast on a pair of mysterysocks, but the mystery is already out, and there's a thought to knit a candleflame shawl...


Award

Från finfina Eddy har jag fått en award - tackar hjärtligast. Men med makt kommer också ansvar - ansvar i form av att berätta åtta saker ingen - eller ni som läser min blogg - inte vet om mig. Jag ska se om jag lyckas med det hela..



1. Jag närde en gång en önskan om att bli musiksoldat - när jag som 14-åring var på ett militärmusikläger föddes min längtan efter att göra lumpen som musiksoldat - alltså i AMK eller TRK. När jag var tillräckligt gammal sökte jag men hamnade på reserv. Därför blev det ett år på folkhögskola med inriktning smyckekonst istället. Jag fick senare veta från en vän som blev antagen att de hade fattats saxofonister hela lumpentiden för att de hade tappat bort reservlistan. Hade de inte gjort de hade jag antagligen också blivit antagen. Det grämde mig när jag fick veta det. Men hade jag inte gått designutbildningen på folkis hade jag inte kunnat söka till trädgårdsutbildningen som krävde ett års designerfarenhet och då hade jag inte varit där jag är idag. Så jag är ändå glad över hur slumpen föll.

2. Detta avslöjande leder oss utsökt vidare till mina instrumentala kunskaper - jag har spelat saxofon sedan jag var åtta år och är stolt ägare till en altsaxofon och en sopransaxofon jag kan också spela tenor- och bassaxofon. Basen är nästan lika stor som jag själv..Jag har alltså spelat instrument i större delen av mitt liv. Innan jag fick börja med blås spelade jag piano hemma och tutade i mammas gamla blockflöjt. På högstadiet la jag till piano och orgel till min repetoar och på gymnasiet även nyckelharpa. Nyckelharpan är det jag är mest aktiv på idag med suktar efter att komma igång med blåset igen när jag flyttar till Göteborg på heltid i höst.

3. Jag har dansat folkdans sedan jag var sex år gammal. Folkdansen och musiken ligger mig varmt om hjärtat och varje torsdag tar jag mig en sväng om och spelar nyckelharpa med Mariestads Folkdansgille. Folkdansen engagerar hela min familj både dans och musikmässigt. Tack vare folkdansen har jag fått många vänner i andra länder i och med utbyten med folkdanslag i till exempel Belgien, Schweiz och Danmark.

4. Jag pratar i stort sett flytande flamländska - den variant av holländska som talas i flandern - den halva av Belgien som inte är fransktalande. Jag har varit i och fått besök från Belgien i stort sett varje år sen några år innan jag ens var påtänkt och språksinnade som jag är förstod jag flamländskan men kunde inte tala den. Så hösten innan jag började på DaCapo ville jag göra något kul och tänkte då att jag skulle lära mig flamländska. Hittade en brittisk aupair familj i Belgien, åkte efter en vecka, bodde där i tre månader, gick i skolan fem dagar i veckan och vips så pratade jag flamländska.

5. Jag är en baddare på att gissa mördaren i brittiska och svenska deckare. En gång när vi tittade på Wallander lyckades Philip gissa det föra mig och jag var hemskt upprörd. Men efter några timmar kröp han till korset och erkände att han faktiskt hade sett den innan och därför visste svaret.

6. Jag trodde helt ärligt att det var Mona Sahlin som var statsminister och kunde inte förstå varför hon skulle avgå.

7. Med tanke på min stora förkärlek för "äckliga" sår så borde jag blivit infektionsläkare. Upptäcker jag en finne/böld/pormask någonstans på prinsPhilip såm kan jag inte tänka på något annat innan jag har fått klämma den. Jag fascineras av alla konstigheter som kan uppträda på kroppens yta. Infekterade sår, böldiga finnar och andra varproducerande hudskador.

8. Jag slår de flesta på fingrarna - kanske inte min mamma, men ändå - när det kommer TV-programmet Vem vet mest. Allmänbildning när det gäller det mest, förutom sport, är en av mina starka sidor och jag förvånar ofta människor med att kunna saker som "inte har med det jag håller på med" att göra. Som att jag kan en hel del medicinska termer om muskler och ben för att jag tittar på alldeles för många CSI-avsnitt..

Så, efter att ha fått veta min mörkaste hemligheter skickar jag utmärkelsen och utmaningen vidare till Sofia, Garntrollet och Viffla!

Nationaldagsfärgning

Jag har firat nationaldagen med att ha vattningsjour, ta hand om lotten och ge den lite kärlek, steka i solen en stund, spela nyckelharpa på Lyrstads nationalsdagsfirande samt färga garn. Det sistnämnda var tyvärr det mest misslyckade.

En härva mohair skulle bli lila och gulgrönt. Glad i hågen blandade jag färg och resultatet blev inte riktigt som förväntat. Om de kallar det här lila så undrar jag vad som är cerisrosa!? Nästan så att jag ville blanda till det rosa för att se hur det blir. Den rosa jag har heter Hot Pink  - ett passande namn för den här "lila" kanske?



Det är inte det att det är så våldsamt fult, jag gillar rosa, men när man förväntar sig mörklila och det blir såhär blev jag inte så glad. Med tanke på vem som ska (skulle) få det så var det inte så lyckat - ja, mamma det är din morsdags present, tyvärr..





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Ditt namn eller något annat som förklarar bilden Obotlig stickerska, notorisk spinnerska, pysselmaja och växtnörd numera boende i Nederländerna där jag arbetar på den ekologiska plantskolan Kwekerij de Hessenhof!

Incurable knitter, notorious spinner and a nerd for everyting that grows! Nowadays living in the Netherlands where I work at the organic nursery Kwekerij de Hessenhof

Anna

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