A small knitting brake...

After a busy fall,
my needles are resting - for a little bit...

Christmas is coming up,
and I need time to dig into my Christmas boxes,
and to bake and shop!

This morning I took some pictures,
- this is how I decorated,
welcome in!

The fire place is still missing Santa's stockings,
this December we hung
the "Advent kalender" here.


These are some of my favorites items,
and they come out of hiding
every year.


The table is ready for our favorite Christmas food.
Norwegian, salted and dryed, lambribs,
served with boiled potatoes and
rutabaga stew...mmm...


We brought this cabinet over from Norway
several years ago when we moved here.
It is a desk with a book cabinet attached,
from the 1800 century.
The original glass is still in the doors.


My Christmas village
is arranged in another cabinet.
Our youngest daughter loved to help me setting it up,
but not this year...
It's time for final tests at school,
and she is busy studying.

Most years the garlands get to stay in their boxes,
it takes patient to get it all up.
They have gotten a real beating
from being stored in the heat, in the garage attic.


The front room got a small lift also,
and the Christmas tree is in this room.

This is a time to think of "home",
of Christmases past, and Christmases to come.


This is a time to miss the ones that's far away,
but also a time to enjoy the ones that will be visiting!

I will be reloading my batteries,
and be ready for new challenges in 2009.

Happy Holidays to everybody!

Denne høsten har vært travel,
med masse julemesse strikking.
Vær så snill å minn meg på dette neste år,
om jeg skulle finne på å ville stille igjen.

Nå er det tid for jul, og for å roe litt ned.
Jeg kom sent igang iår,
men fikk det meste gjort i en fei.
Litt mer shopping,
så er jeg klar for å hente jule gjester på flyplassen.
Gjett om vi gleder oss til det...

Ønsker alle som stikker innom en God Jul!

Texas "snowballs"

These don't melt,

so they are perfect for Texas.


But guess what,
- it snowed here yesterday!!
Very unusual for Houston.
This morning,
about -1 ºC = 30.2 ºF.
It didn't stay on the ground in our area,
but further south they were playing in the snow,
making snow-angels and snow-men.
This morning,
several roads are closed due to icy conditions.
Last time we had snow in the air was
Christmas Eve 2004.

Det snødde her i går!
Jeg holdt på med jule-dekorering inne,
mens jeg hørte på
Glade Jul og Deilig er jorden.
Fant et Jesus barn som har sett bedre tider,
noen gamle lysestaker fra mor og far,
julekurver og nisser som de voksne ungene har laget,
ble helt rørt...
Snufset og snøt meg litt,
..og der dalte sannelig snøen ned utenfor,
wow, et mirakel!!



I found a treasure that bring back memories...
My children made this Nativity scene
several years ago.
Maria is made of clay by my oldest daughter,
Josef, I am not sure who made him.
Baby Jesus was made in salt-dough
by my middle daughter,
and is getting pretty fragil...

Lace work

I had to share this with ya'll!


Last weekend I met two very talented lace makers

from Austin, Texas, Lace-makers Guild.


All I can say is WOW!!


Very impressing,
how do they keep these strands apart?


Their work was beautiful,
and they had even made


a Norwegian "Julekurv"!


Karen also showed me this technique.
I believe we call it "nuppereller" in Norway,
not sure about the English word..

If you live in the Austin area,
Austin Lacemakers Guild have monthly meetings
the 1st Tuesday of the month at 18:30 (6:30 pm).
They meet at the St. John's Episcopal Church,
11201 Parkfield Drive in Austin.
You can also visit
International Old Lacers here.

Felted shoes - size very large

These felted house shoes are very large.

Actually they are a little on the short side for my husband.
before felting,
they where humongous!


Check out the before picture.
It`s my foot,
next to my husbands sandals.

Disse tøflene er strikket i Fritidsgarn,
og tovet ganske bra..
Størrelsen var enorm før toving!

Old baby shoes

I have had these very old, beautiful,
Christening shoes for years,
and I almost forgot about them.
I have on and off used them as a decorative item,
or they have been stuck in my box with old lace.


Now, cleaned up,
and with a new silk ribbon,
they are ready for my daughters baby girl.


I am trying to investigate who they belonged to,
thinking it was my grandmother,
but I also know that my great aunt
was a master with embroidery,
so now I am in doubt.
And I don't have my mother to ask anymore.

Disse baby skoene
har jeg hatt liggende i rotet mitt i åresvis.
Nå er de blitt vasket,
og pyntet med nye silke sløyfer.
Kanskje kan de snart komme
til heder og stas igjen.

Jacket with knitted sleeves

Bought a jacket on sale,
ripped out the sleeves,
and replaced them with new, knitted ones...

...from my stash of machine knitted,
remnants pieces, 100% wool...

Jakken er kjøpt på salg,
de maskin strikked armene fra:
"2. sorterings strikkevarer - stapp en pose full for 90 kroner",
fra Skjæveland Fabrikker,
kjøpt på Ålgård for flere år siden.

Shoes made of the leftover yarn...

...from the baby jacket posted below...

All I know about this little babygirl,
is that she (according to her mama) kicks alot,
and sucks her thumb...



The pattern was found at Malin`s blog

The baby jacket is done

This one took some time to knit,
due to a few obstacles.
First, it was a slow knitting item,
thin needles, thin yarn
(Baby Cocoon from Cleckheaton),
lots of pattern,
and - I didn't know the sex of the baby.
Pattern is from the book "Strikk til barn",
by Lise Kolstad and Tone Takle.
My book look a little different than this
but I think it might be the same book,
just with adifferent outside.


Well, it is a girl,
however, not here yet.
But if everything goes well,
she will be here sometime by the end of March.


Needless to say,
we are very exited!

Stretch or iron it on low heat under a wet cloth

The grandmother to be (me),
is going crazy in the baby department,
and I really have to remind myself about slowing down
and wait until she is here..

Mark, sew a straight seam on each side of your marked line,
making sure to make room for clipping in between.
Zigzag on top of the sewed seams and clip.


I know a lot of my knitting friends has hesitation's
and bad dreams about
cutting into their knitted garments.


It is really not that hard,
just make sure to secure the raw edges to be,
before you cut.

Sew the shoulder seam


Mange av mine strikke venner her i USA er livredde
for å klippe i ferdig strikkede plagg,
og strikker derfor ingenting
som må monteres på denne måten.
Derfor disse bildene med fremgangs måte.
I had to pick up stitches around the entire edge of the jacket,
to knit the pink edge border.
Try to pick up the stitches with the same exact distance
as the ones thats already on the needle.
This gives you a more even edge.


My stitches aren't in any way perfect,
I actually find it really hard to make this look pretty.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Vesker av gamle gensere.

Ermer, bak og forstykker
har ligget i skapet mitt,
vel og lenge.


Kjøpte disse på et fabrikkutsalg på Ålgård
for flere år siden.


Nå er de kommet frem igjen,
og noen av dem blir til vesker..


Matchende stoff og stropper..


Lurer på hva jeg skal gjøre med resten av haugen...



Machine knitted parts
of Norwegian made sweaters.
I have had these sitting in my closets for a long time.
Some became envelope purses, yesterday.


Some of the colors are great,
and this is wearing sweaters
the Texan way...

Julemessestrikking...

...som et kappløp med tiden...


Fant dette mønsteret
i et vedlegg til Hjemmet fra 1993.


Forandret bitte litt på det
slik at det passer mitt formål,
kortere vrangbord enn anbefalt,
og fletter på jenta.


Her la jeg opp for mange masker,
så jeg forandre mønsteret til norske flagg.
Messen jeg skal delta på er i en liten by midt i Texas,
grunnlagt av nordmenn og tyskere,
og de er veldig stolt av opphavet sitt.


Litt "ekte" norsk er det også blitt tid til,
nå får jeg virkelig brukt litt av restegarnet.
(Slapp opp for rust fargen,
så toppen av lua ble i ensfarget sort...)

I am working on projects for an upcoming X-mas fair.
The little town is located in mid Texas,
and founded by Norwegians and Germans.
Clifton Tx. - December 6th. - Open at 9:00

Har hatt en liten pause

Jeg har hatt besøk i 2 uker,
og blogging har vært umulig..
Så snart jeg har landet og ryddet litt i pinner og garn,
så kommer det kanskje et mer spennende innlegg enn dette.
Vil vise noen kjekke "pinne beholdere"
kjøpt hos Knit Picks.

Små pappsylindere,
veldig OK til å holde orden i mitt pinnevirvar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ellers så er det snart julemesse i Clifton Texas,
så produksjon er i full gang.
Sier hvert år at dette er siste gang,
men de spurte så fint at jeg klarte ikke si nei.

Denne mengde-strikkingen tar bort tiden
fra det jeg helst vil gjøre,
nemlig kreere nye mønster.
Men de kommer om ikke så alt for lenge..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Idag morges fikk jeg denne utfordringen fra
Strikkeline/Monica:

5 tings I enjoy/ting jeg liker..

#1 Spend time with family, friends,
and most of all with children and grand children/
Være sammen med familie, venner,
og mest av alt med barn og barnebarn
#2 Experience the beauty and power of nature/
Naturopplevelser, store og små
#3 The feeling of satisfaction after hard work/
Følelsen av tilfredstillelse etter hardt arbeide
#4 Different expressions within art and design/
forskjellige design og kunstuttrykk
#5 Colors/ Farger

5 things I dislike/ jeg ikke liker

#1 Bad moods/
sure miner og dårlig humør
#2 Turbulence when flying/
turbulens i fly
#3 Being sick and out of energy/
Å være syk og ikke ha energi
#4 Sitting in traffic/
sitte i trafikk kø uten strikketøy..
#5 Tornadoes and hurricanes/
Tornadoer og orkaner

5 artists or music forms/
5 artister eller musikkformer

#1 Il Divo
#2 Classic music
#3 Brassband/hornmusikk
#4 Santana
#5 Blues/Rock


5 fellow bloggers I want to challenge and learn more about/
5 bloggere jeg vil utfordre å vil vite mer om

#1 Kaffekjerringa

#2 Ninne Pinne

#3 Vibbedille

#4 Sylvez

#5 Skogstrollet