Secret Pal 11

I´ve signed up! It should be good fun :)
At least, I had good fun spoiling Hanne Maria from Finland. She has a really inspirational blog, a beautiful yarn stash, and she goes through shawl patterns about 5 times faster than normal lethals :)
AND she likes fantasy books - as do I!

Actually, I don´t know who sent gifts to me yet-she has not revealed herself and I couldn´t figure out how to find her on our secret pal hostesses webiste...

Nordisk hemmelig venn package in the mail!

It arrived today - my 4th Nordic secret pal package!
Some really soft REGIA yarn that wll do well for motorcyclesocks for my husband - 100 grams should get me there :)
And adriafil BaBa - an effectyarn that I will have to think about a little bit, in lovely greens!

Thank you very much my secret pal. Unfortunately, the return adress had been wet and was illegible...

Package from my secret pal

Yesterday I got a nice package in the mail from my secret pal!
I had just started to worry that I was possibly forgotten when this wonderful surprise arrived. I got british knitting- and garden magazines, and I´ve already started one of the projects in one of the magazines as well as browsed many of the websites features within. I must admit I even bought some new yarn at one of these websites...

Thank you very much to my secret pal 10!

Nordic Secret Pal package

I received a beautifully wrapped present in the mail today from my Nordic Secret Pal. My husband, in his helpfulness, threw away the envelope + card with her name. I think it was Toril or Torunn, so Secret Pal - please let me know who you are so I can thank you properly!!

The package contained yarn in gorgeous colours! Both silk tweed yarn and a soft mohair yarn. And a home-made pouch, which will be perfect for the several small containers of pearls I have lying around in the bottom of my knitting basket.
I will most definitely want to try this yarn for a shawl. Silk yarn is new to me and I´m looking forward to trying it.

Secret Pal competition

With the beautiful weather we`ve been having, little has been done this weekend with knitting! But I will answer the secret pal competition questions:

1) How old were you when you learned to knit? I was three the first time I tried and around 4 or 5 when I actually understood what I was doing. I remember knitting a sweater which was probably my first when I was 9 - pink and purple!

2) Who taught you? My grandmother taught me. I have a cool picture somewhere of her teaching me cast-on, which I´ll try to find and scan in.

Some finished projects

My son needed some socks for his rubber boots, which I found to be a good project for this Regia 4-ply wool and nylon yarn. I liked the Regia silk much better, as this blend actually knotted easily and had "hairy lumps" on it that I didn`t like one bit. My son has loooong feet, so they look a bit odd maybe, but they fit!

I also finished the crochet slippers from secret pal yarn I received a few weeks ago. This was a super quick project, but still a bit hard as I`m still very very new to this croceting thing. I like them a lot and wear them all the time! They`re made in Drops Eskimo yarn, a thick woollen yarn. Free pattern on the Drops Design Webpages .

I finally finished my wristwarmers for the Hobbyboden KAL, and I already finished the Mrs. Beetons for the same KAL, so now I`m ready for the new project there! These are knitted in Kitten Mohair, and there is a pearl pattern if you look closely.

The Hanne Falkenberg Ludo jacket still rests in the corner, but before getting back to that I want to make a felted bag I have a great idea for! I also need a train-project, possibly another pair of socks.

Secret Pal

I´ve received no less than 3 secret pal packages these last few days!!

First up, my Nordic Secret Pal 5 Monamor, who sent me a nice easter package. It contained some fragrant candles, napkins and a napkin holder, a few things for the house for easter and coffee - already brewed and tasted! There are also some seeds which to me looks like an Allium of some sort - we will see. Thank you very much Monamor :)


Then my Hobbyboden pal, who I don´t know yet who is, sent me a crochet pattern for slippers from Drops Design with some nice thick Eskimo yarn to go with it and a thick crochet needle. Good thing too, as I now own 3 thicknesses all together.My crochet "stash" is not too large.


There were actually 3 balls of yarn, I already started on a slipper, an I actually had to look up the very first and simple stitch to remember if it was just a pull-the-thread-through kind of stitch or a put-the-needle-in-and-out-a-couple-of-times kind of stitch.

But I´ll get there! I´m intent on learning more of this crocheting stuff! (especially after I was able to pulloff the cutest flowers earlier). I really like the color too.


Finally, my Secret Pal 10 - the mysterious Uncia Uncia (snow leopard) sent me a pattern for socks from See Eunny Knit which I´m so happy to be getting! Another sock pattern from this website is already my must-do list and these are just as beautiful! So I now have these to very nice socks waiting to become early summer projects :) Thank you very much!

Email from my secret pal!

I´ve signed up to Secret Pal 10, an international swap-ring with around 500 participants!
I just received my first email from the mysterious "Uncia Uncia" (snowleopard), with drawings of sheep in it.
Hm.. at first I thought this might be someone german now I´m not so sure...

Oh well, I´m curiously looking forward to what´s next!

Some more finished projects

The yarn for these felted socks is Norwegian PT2, that was gifted me by a Secret Pal along with a pattern for slippers. I´ve never tried felting before, so this was fun, and the result good enough that I can say I´m happy with it. The only thing I´m not happy with is my sewing skills, the yellow line around the edge is supposed to be "pretty" and "decorative". Which it is not. Well well..., my son likes them!

Another Flora scarf and matching Mrs. Beeton wristwarmers, both from knitty.com.

The wristwarmers are gorgeus! A bit fiddly, but the result makes me completely forget that.

Secret Pal gift

I´m sooo slow this month at getting pictures taken!
My secret pal in february at the Hobbyboden forum was Mokina, who sent me a lovely home made make-up pouch, some soft-soft alpacca wool, and bamboo sticks. The pouch is perfect for all the little stuff in my knitting basket, and is already put to good use. It´s beautifully crafted, and even the little seams are obviously well thought through - they´re made in variegated sewingthread completely matching the pattern on the material (!). What attention to detail!

The yarn goes into my alpacca-stash, I now have several gorgeous colors of alpacca, and just need to figure out the perfect project for it.

Flora scarf finished

Well a while ago actually...
Bit I´ve been too busy to document the result. It´s gorgeous! I´ve already used it lots. The pattern is from knitty.com
I´ve also made a second black and blue one but need to weave in the threads before I show it off. And a pair of felted socks for my son that turned out so so.
On the needles now: socks for my sister from socks socks socks, still the Ludo-jacket fighting me and... Nothing!

I´m just waiting to get these projects finished because I have some big plans! And some smaller ones.
I want to knit two cotton dresses for my nieces abroad, luckily they´re not very big so it won´t be too big a project. And I want to knit a NORO butterfly-jacket for myself. And then I have big plans for christmaspresents for next year also in Noro. I still need to decide whether I´ll choose NORO Kureyon, Silk Garden or Blossom. Lovely yarns, all three of them.

Here´s another picture of the flower on the Flora scarf.

Secret Pal 10 questionaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I like natural fibers, especially wool and alpacca. I´m absolutely in love with all NORO yarns! I don´t like synthetic yarns...

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Nothing! I need a knitting-needle storage-thingie, as a matter of fact

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I´ve knitted since I was 3 years old - 33 year in total. My grandmother taught me. I´m at an advanced level, or at least I like to think so myself.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
No

5. What's your favorite scent?
-

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Not particularly partial to chocolate and candy

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
Nothing much, really. I like gardening!

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
-

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like all beautiful colors :) I could easily stay away from oranges and browns (although tend to end up with orange somehow anyhow)

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I have a son who´s 4 (but he uses size 7)

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes! (I´m a rather big girl, btw)

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
ANything really, as long as it turns out as something pretty to look at.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Ohhh, Hanne Falkenberg Ludo children´s jacket (that´s fighting me all the way), jaywalker socks, scarfs and wrist warmers

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
yes

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
circulars. Non plastic!

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
nope

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
I hate UFOs and finish everything I start. My oldest unfinished project right now is a jacket (the LUDO) started in january.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I´m torn between summer and xmas

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Nope :)

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I have no knitting magazine subscriptions. I´d be happy to get good ideas, really :) Again I love the NORO-yarns, planning to make scarf in a pink variation yarn. And I´d love to try the Noro Blossom, although I have no good ideas what I´d use it for.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Nah, I think I´ve been through most?

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I have a grandmother who knits us enough socks to last a lifetime :) And I knit socks for everyone myself as well. My size is a european 40.

23. When is your birthday?
just passed :)

Secret Pal!

It took me some time, but I wanted to show off the gifts I got from the two secret pal exchanges I´m signed up for!

The first one is from my Nordic Secret Pal (Nordisk Hemmelig Venn) pal Fjellrosa, I got two green and one pink balls of Fritidsgarn, bamboo circulars and some very tasty and already gone packages of coffee. I have a nifty little handbag-plan for this yarn, it will be perfect for a February something-different project!

The second one is from my hobbyboden secret friend hannech, who sent me a pattern and yarn for slippers which will be perfect for my son, and some cute buttons. My son needs some new slippers, so this was perfec for the green and orange woolen yarn.The other yarn is really silky and should look good as edging on something, this something still needs to be figured out by me!