Summer in Norway

It's almost vacation time,
and I am getting very exited about going home!
My daughter sent me some pictures today,
and I just have to share them.

Old part of Stavanger

Ølberg harbor

A beach at Jæren, Nærland

Amla in Sognefjorden.
The picture is rephotographed from a calender made for Hardanger Tinn

We will be spending about 3 weeks here
in this paradise, this summer.
Actually on the very farm,
barely visible,
with a red barn and houses,
behind the apple-tree branches.

ABC - about myself

I got this request from Turvid, and thought I would play the game of naming things about myself, using the Alphabet as a guideline:

A: Alien(I have my green card), active, addicted to yarn, airhead
B: Beer drinker (only good beer and only sometimes)
C: Creative, crazy (a little..), coffee drinker
D: Designer, dog lover, dreamer
E: Entertaining
F: Fast knitting, friendly, flower lover, funny
G: Garden fixer upper, girl, goof-ball, grandmother of three, graphic designer
H: Hectic, hilarious, homesick
I: Intense, ice cream lover, illustrator
J: Jeff's wife, Jeff's friend, Jazzercise addict
K: Knitter, Kit maker
L: Lean, longing, living
M: Marching band loving, mother of 5, mother in law, mental case (just kidding..)
N: Norwegian, nature lover
O: Obsessive, overachiever
P: Protective, perfectionist, painter
Q: Quilter (not as much as I used to..), queso dipping chips eater
R: Ravelry member
S: Stubborn, sensitive, sleep deprived, sister of two, spiritual
T: Telephone talking, teeth grinding
U: Unpredictable
V: Verified
W: Wool lover, Wii player, witty
X: x'y
Y: Yarnie
Z: ZZZZZZ
Æ: Ærbødig
Ø: Økonomisk(??)
Å: Årvåken

I am inviting Hannesol, Saga, Berit T, Monai and Marihøna to play the game...
Gjerne på norsk...

Big yawn

I get it,
reading the blog is boring..
Or maybe she's just tired of being inside,
watching me knit,
instead of going for a walk...
It's just to hot to walk these days.


I have new stuff on my needles,
and I'm working on writing the pattern.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Art class

School is out,
so my daughter (almost 15) took an art class last week,
and this is the result.
I love this fox,
and think she did a great job!


Skole ferien er her,
og min datter (snart 15)
har tatt et tegnekurs denne uka.
Måtte bare si at jeg syntes hun gjorde en glimrende jobb
med denne reven!

Lommetøfler

House shoes to put in your purse,
to bring with you when you visit someone with cold floors..


These are very fast and fun to knit.
I have seen them on many Norwegian blogs
and figured I could knit some for a small present..

I am using yarn from my stash.
These are knitted in Tiur from Gjestdal,
white and light blue, needles 4 mm.


Disse var kjekke og forte å strikke.
Fant mønsteret på en norsk blog,
tror det var Mimouna's blog....

Blir nok flere etter hvert.

House Shoes/Strikka tøfler

My mother used to knit socks/house shoes like these.
I never had a pattern for them,
so I wrote one.


You can find the pattern HERE for free!



Disse tøflene kjenner du kanskje igjen.
Et nokså vanlig mønster.
Jeg har forandret det litt
og lagt ut min forklaring HER.


Det står på både engelsk og norsk.

Norwegian Traditional Outfits

Vi hadde konfirmasjon denne helga,
og bunadene kom ut fra skapet.
Det var varmt og godt kan en si.


Dette er to av døtrene,
konfirmanten øverst.


Det hele forgikk i Sjømannskirka her i Houston,
med etterfølgende selskap hjemme.


De varme draktene ble fort skiftet ut
med atskillig lettere tøy..

Gruuusomt varmt!

I dag er jeg helt matt.
40 grader celcius i skyggen!
Var ute i 10 minutter for å stikke noen nye planter ned i jorda,
har konfirmasjon på søndag.
Jeg svetter så det siler.
Salte dråper inn i øynene så det svir...
Sommeren er kommet,
og de melder samme været hele neste uke også!


Nei takke meg til sist helg i Marble Falls.
Jeg reiste avgårde for å treffe 4 venninner
klokka seks om morgenen, 18 mai .
Tre timers kjøretur, men vel verd det.


Vi treffes hvert år her ved denne innsjøen,
min venninne Sue eier en leilighet og båt der.




Dette er et sted hvor de med mer penger enn de fleste,
har et "second home" (hytte..)


eller Lake House, som de kaller det.


Vi pleier kruse litt rundt og sjekke ut nye hus,


bade litt, spise god mat,
sladre om alt som har hendt siden sist gang vi møttes,
og ellers bare kose oss...
Jeg er den eneste i den gjengen som drar med meg strikketøyet,
de har vennet seg til det etter hvert.



Vi bor alle i forskjellige byer,

men jobbet en gang i samme butikk.

Darby fikk være med også!


Last weekend a group of my friends and I
met at Marble Falls,
west of Austin Texas.
We meet every year
the week end after mothersday.
It's a great traditon,
that I hope we can keep doing
for years to come.

17nde Mai

The Norwegian Independence Day.


We celebrated the day at
the Norwegian Seamen's Church in Houston.


This year there was a lot of people celebrating,
Most Norwegians or people of Norwegian heritage,
also other Scandinavians.


It was a great day,
not as hot as it normally gets here this time of the year,
and we also got what they called "liquid sun",
small rain showers. Refreshing!


I always have a hard time when the brass band play
"Ja vi elsker,"
our national hymn.
My thoughts goes to family in Norway.


The local Police Force was helping out with traffic.

I got an award..

Thank you Trollmor for thinking of me!
I believe I am supposed to give it to 4 creative blogger friends,
and a few comes to my mind right away,
even though the list could go on and on and on and.....


1. The first one Celeste, at La Rea Rose.
She is a dear friend from when I lived in Dallas.
A great decorative painter,
who also has been especially invited
to paint Christmas decor for the White House, twice!

2. An other friends through several years is Ebba.
Past years she has been working with ceramic and painting.
Now her heart is set on designing jewelery,
and I love her style.

3. Harpa. A girl from Island, with an eye for beauty.
I don't know her personally,
but she makes the most fantastic felted and embroidered hats!
And she lives at this gorgeous place on the beach,
like in a fairytale.

4. Gawo. A biker and hiker, who with her nature pictures,
let you take part in her travels
and bring you to the most beautiful places.
Go to her blog, and you too will see what I mean.

My first Kit

It's available on Etsy from today.


For Scandinavian buyers,
contact Projo for information.

Isrosa/The Ice Rose

Sommeren nærmer seg med raske skritt.
Air condition anlegget surrer dag og natt,
og et nytt vottemønster har blitt til i godstolen.


Dette er blitt døpt Isrosa,
og blir mitt første mønster som blir solgt som Kit,
mønster og garn i ett.
Disse blir kun lagt ut til salg i USA og Canada,
men Projo Produkter vil ha noen av mine vottemønster
pakket i Kit's, om ikke alt for lenge.
Isrosa kan forøvrig kjøpes som mønster på Etsy,
enten på engelsk eller norsk.


Dette med Kit's er nytt og spennende for meg.
Jeg har tenkt på det mange ganger,
men aldri tatt skrittet fullt ut.
Nå har jeg en avtale med garn produsent,
og det gjør ting lettere.
Jeg har som vanlig brukt Cascade 220 wool,
det har blitt min favoritt etter hvert,
spesiellt siden norsk kvalitetsgarn er for langt unna.
Håper noen av dere finner veien til Projo etterhvert.


This pattern will be available on Etsy as of today,
but also as a Kit, same place,
containing pattern and yarn in near future.
It is called The Ice Rose,
the rose is blue on a snow white background.

Mothers day today!

I happen to be alone this morning,
everybody else gone...
Sleepover, out of town business...
So, - no breakfast in bed this mothers day.
Oh, it's a mess anyway!


I got this beautiful bouquet
delivered at my doorstep last night,
thank you , thank you,
I love them!!

It's a day where I think of my own mother.
We children used to make her breakfast in bed.
A couple of slices of bread with jam,
a cup of coffee
(our father would help!),
balancing it upstairs to her bed,
and she would pretend as if she was sleeping.
We crawled in with her,
and helped her finishing the food..
Sometimes I really wish I could go back in time,
just for a little bit...

90 years old

She is not here anymore,
but I sure do have a lot of great memories!
She taught me all about knitting,
and knit was about the last thing we did together.
Me knitting by her hospital bed,
she admiring the colors.

Happy Mothers Day
to all you mothers out there!

Den fyrste song eg høyra fekk,
var mor sin song ved vogga,
dei mjuke ord til hjarta gjekk,
dei kunne gråten stogga.

Dei sulla meg så underleg,
så stilt og mjukt te sova,
dei synte meg ein fager veg
opp frå vår vesle stova.

Den vegen ser eg enno tidt,
når eg fær auga kvila,
der stend ein engel, smilar blidt,
som berre ei kan smila.

Og når eg sliten trøytnar av
i strid mot alt som veilar,
eg høyrer stilt frå mor si grav
den song som allting heilar.

Knitted animals

Horse

Still knitting on the fishes (below - boring!),
I try to make room for more fun projects also.


The horse is done,
leaving for Norway
to live with my youngest grandson
in a few days.


It was a really fun project!
I used a thin wool yarn,
but almost any leftover yarn will do.


For the horse blanket I used more leftover yarn,
and the saddle is made with brown felt.


The size of the horse laying down
is about 11 x 10 inches (28 x 25 cm).
The pattern can be found in the book Dream Toys,
and can be bought here.


Denne hesten er helt herlig.
Strikket i babyull,
og stoppet med polyester fyll.
Her kan fantasien få fritt utløp.
Salen er sydd i filt.

Kittens
This week I also made a couple of kittens,
and this litter will most definitely grow.


I thought they came out really cute.
Great little present for a new baby.


Strikket også disse kattungene denne uka,
og de har fått lovende kritikk fra ungdommen i huset.
Hun knabbet den ene,
så jeg får vel strikke et par ekstra....
Mønster her.


Have fun, and enjoy the spring weather!