How to knit calories

I once read that knitting requires more calories than just sitting, a big hurrah for those of us who can't sit in front of a tv without some knitting in our laps :)

Now, here's another idea for how to knit calories, inspired by my pilates class; do it on a gym ball!

Great for making skeins as well :)

CPH shopping spree

In Copenhagen for the weekend, lovely city! Going hopping with my baby stroller is a bit difficult, as many of the oh-so-desirable shops are a few steps out of reach :( But still, had an altogether lovely shopping experience
I spent some surfing time ahead of the trip, looking for the best knitting shops, and decided to pay Sommerfuglen a visit. With no regrets, it's a wonderful shop! I bought several knitting books, and couldn't resist some balls of yarn either, so now my yarn stash has grown some more...
I also discovered a cute porcelain shop, Liebe, with lots of cute porcelain earrings, doorknobs, cups and platters, highly recommend it! They also have a shop online.

Oslo-in-my-heart-anorak

Item: Oslo anorak from Pickles

Yarn: Fritidsgarn

Grams: 301 g

Again, I have cast on for the creativity contests at Pickles. Last time, I didn't finish my "Girls Gone Duplicate" in time for the deadline, mothering is a time-consuming business... But this time I just about had time enough to finish, lucky me! Because I made it through to the final, yippie! Here's some more snapshots of my anorak.

I've used a single thread of white Fritidsgarn as the main colour, and a triple thread of coloured Fritidsgarn for the tiny hearts. The hearts are knitted, not embroidered on afterwards. This makes a very thick and warm anorak, and the hearts that pop out are just adorable. The coloured edging along the rim of the hood is actually not crocheted or knitted, but embroidered with chain stitches. The pompom is made with a Clover pompom maker, a clever little thing.


Good luck to all you other finalists! 


Lykke til, alle sammen!

Grow your own onesie

Item: Benjamin's growing onesie and Little Coffe Bean Cardigan from Ravelry
Yarn: Lanett from Sandes Uldvare in turquoise and white
Grams: Onesie 75 g, Cardigan 113 g

The growing onesie from Fragaria Bergin is a great pattern, it really grows with the baby. Soon outgrown by this little fellow, but it has certainly lasted a long time. Supercool buttons from Snella og Petronella!

A matching Little Coffee Bean Cardigan in stripes, this one will not be outgrown for a while, I think. A little twist on the edges, no ribbing here, just garter stitches for a couple of rows. White buttons in different sizes, a favourite of mine.

Spring delight

Item: Rullegenser from Nøstebarn
Yarn: 2-ply merino wool from Nøstebarn
Grams: 88 g

I'm invited to a spring birthday party, celebrating a 1 year old baby girl. There's nothing better than Nøstebarn's thin merino wool for those in-between-seasons garments. I like it even in the summer, especially the chilled Norwegian summer. This sweater is knitted on 2.5 mm needles, making a light, airy garment, sized for a 2-year-old. I always knit a big bitter than the intended recipient where children are concerned. Most of them grow, fast too.

Have to wrap up a present, but no paper? Use a scrap of yarn as a ribbon! 

Going for a drive

Item: Travel romper suit from the book "Myk start" with matching One-strand booties
Yarn: Alpaca "STERK" in turquoise, a loose, unspun alpaca in grey, both from "Du store alpakka"
Grams: 229 g


This romper suit is for those chilly days when a baby still have to go out for a drive. Something warm and snuggly to wear in the car seat is important, but as the car seat itself is very bad at ventilation, I find that most things make my baby too warm, making him very frustrated. This in turn makes for a very nerve-wrecking driving experience, a howling baby and hormonal mum is not the best way to ensure traffic safety...

So I am using an alpaca blend, warm enough to keep him snug, cool enough to ventilate. The loose unspun alpaca is quite furry/hairy, so I gave the whole outfit a nice spa experience in the sink with hot water and "grønnsåpe" (soap) when finished, allowing it to felt a little bit. The result is a bit less furry. 

 Tiny duckling buttons make the outfit complete :) 

Men in tights

Item: Ullbukser fra Drops
Yarn: Katia Merino Sport
Grams: 145 g

A nice thick pair of tights, the kind Robin Hood and his companions would be proud of. Not itchy at all, thanks to extra fine merino. Knitted on needles size 5 mm, slightly larger than the pattern. Good pattern, with the additional ribbing along the sides of the legs, but I do find this sort of waistline quite slouchy when used for a while (almost even before being put to use). I am going to experiment with doubling my yarn with some thin elastic thread on my next project with a similar waist, using much smaller needles just for the waist as well.

Girls gone duplicate

Item: Girl's reversible frock
Yarn: Baby merino from Gjestal in a painted pink&red&peach, and Kitten Mohair from Gjestal in hot pink
Grams: 123 g



This is Pickles' reversible frock. A while back, they hosted an creativity contest with this pattern, and I eagerly cast on this frock with a combination of mohair and baby merino. The pattern creates a reversible frock, which allows the wearer to choose to show off the fancy mohair version or the ever-changing painted version. 


However, I never got to participate in the contest, as I didn't finish on time. This mummy business sure takes a lot of time ;) 

I did the yoke in simple ribbing with a reversed purl, which I always find creates a nice twisted finish. The hot pink mohair makes a nice touch to the inside (or outside) of the reversible dress. I love Pickles' idea of patent knitting with two different colours!

Mobile baby, Mobile

Item: Baby mobile
Yarn: Drops Safran, various colours
Grams: 50 g Yellow, 60 g other colours, 110 g in total

We're expecting our first baby, a little baby boy will join us in January. For his nursery, I have made this delicious mobile, using the frame of an old lampshade to suspend it from. The placeholder for the lightbulb now holds a cute little yellow sun, shining down upon the clouds, birds, trees and my little baby boy. 




I've crocheted the various elements, and the yellow trees are inspired from this Ferm Living bedding. They have tiny bells inside them, so that they make a tingling noise when disturbed.  A little birdie is perched on top of the lampshade, looking down on the (hopefully) sleeping baby. 

We all live in a Yellow Cushmarine

Item: Yellow crocheted cushion

Yarn: Heilo from Dale

Grams: 70 g


A cushion for the nursery, as yellow as can be. Is it a New York taxi? Or is it a submarine? Or perhaps a solar explosion? 

Crocheted on a needle size 4 mm, it is made entirely out of single crochets, starting with simple chain stitches, as many as you need to cover one length of the cushion (not the circumference, just one length). Then you start with the single crochet stitches, one stitch in each chain stitch. When you reach the end of the chain stitches, you continue stitching a single crochet in each chain stitch from the other side, adding some extra stitches in each of the two corners. Doing this means you can crochet round and round rather than back and forth, and still not have to sew together the bottom of the cushion, only the top. You'll actually make something that looks a bit like a bag, which you'll sew together at the top. 


The nice thing about crocheting cushions is that you don't have to fasten any loose threads, I simply just tie a knot when joining two threads, hiding the knot on what will be the inside of the cushion. It will never show! So I only have to fasten the final thread used to sew together the opening on the top of the cushion :)