Christmas knitting

I finished the last of the Christmas knitting yesterday.

No this is no typo nor is this a forgotten post. I did not manage to finish my sisters poncho - a very exiting writing assignment came in the way among other things. So I just wrapped it up as is was and gave it to her. She did not mind at all (and she got something else from me as well) and on the plus side she did get a chance to have an opinion on the length (she wanted it a little longer than I thought).

But now its all done, extra long and extra soft and almost dry too. The camera cable arrives tomorrow so then you'll see how lovely it really is.

Bolero

This is the back view of the bolero I made for my daughter. This was the only usable photo I got on my horrible broken old camera - and I took a lot - but now better times are in sight! My lovely family gave my a wonderful new one and now I only need a cable to connect it to the computer. (I have made arrangements don't worry).

It was the best of surprises, I had no idea what they were planning and I was speechless when I opened the packet with my very own Canon 20d. I still can't believe it really, although I have lost count of the photos I have taken since I got it.

Fabulous

1000 Fabulous Knit Hats is now on Amazon although it won't be available until July.

As you can see, three of my hats are on the cover, the winning hat plus two other. I had no idea they were going to use more that one hat - but it's a pleasant surprise.

Ungi

This was a last minute project - but it was very fast and a joy to knit. It's in single strand plötulopi and the pattern is Ungi by Védís Jónsdóttir from Lopi 26.
My daughter made the buttons.

Merry Christmas

Today´s rock picture - Drangar dagsins, originally uploaded by Harpa J.

I didn't manage to take a proper Christmas photo this year so I'll just use my favourite one to wish you a a very merry Christmas with peace in your heart and much well earned rest.

Still not done!

Christmas is tomorrow and the poncho is still not done! It's well on the way though and I still have hope.
This morning I put liquid latex under the felted shoes to make them non slippery (I don't want to be responsible for any broken bones). The latex stinks a bit, but it was fast and easy to put on and it is drying nicely.

Christmas knitting

Last night I finished s baby lopi sweater and cast on a poncho (that is a word right? I don't really have the time to check right now). The poncho (?) is big and a Christmas gift, of course. In that spirit, this really spoke to me.

The shoes

The felted shoes.

I think I'm going to decorate them a tiny bit - but I don't know how yet.

Today's rock picture

Today's rock picture, originally uploaded by Harpa J.

Yesterdays morning light was very soft and beautiful

The bolero is finished and in time for the schools Christmas celebration tomorrow. I'm not promising any pictures until tomorrow - today is a big day the Katla cheerleaders first ever Christmas show is this afternoon. So my household is going to be a bit busy today.

Ex-shoe

This was one a part of a failed shoe. Yes - the giant slippers that would not felt. The usable part have now been cut up.

The colours are much prettier than this in real life. My camera is giving up on me.

Today's rock picture

Today's rock picture, originally uploaded by Harpa J.

The weather has been very strange lately, unseasonable warm and foggy. I'm not complaining though - I like the mild weather.

Knitting wise I'm almost done with my daughters bolero. The knitting is all done but I have the seaming and the crochet edges to do.

The giant slippers are now an officially a lost cause. The usable parts are going to be cut up and recycled as Christmas hearts - the rest goes in the bin.

I made another pair in the same yarn (just different colours) - with the same "pattern" and they turned out just fine! They are drying on top of my dryer just now - I'll post a picture later as proof.

I think this is rather strange actually.

Felting

I'm felting the gigantic shoes - and it isn't going very well. They have already had three rounds in the machine - which admittedly does not felt very well - and the last one was even on boil! I'm now trying the dryer. There is not a chance I'm felting them by hand - no way, no how.

Today my little cheer leading troupe is getting a very important visit. A man from the national television is coming to practise today. The girls a super exited to be on TV and I'm sure they are going to do their very best.

Shoes

Aren't these lovely, delicate, feminine and all that? No? They will be - I hope.
This is the ,,before felting" picture - we will see how they turn out after the process. I'm not using any specific pattern - these are just the lower part of a sock basically.

Competition

There is a fun competition going on right now on one of my favourite blogs. It's in Swedish - but I know at least some of my readers understand "Scandinavian".

Today's rock pictures

Today's rock picture, originally uploaded by Harpa J.

Today's rock picture, originally uploaded by Harpa J.

Morning and afternoon.


The dresses are blocked and dry. I'm knitting mittens (Christmas presents) but I am also almost half way with a bolero for my daughter. She needs a little something over her sleeveless dress. I'm using this pattern as a guide, but I'm altering it considerably.

I use 3.5mm pins instead of 5mm and single Drops alpaca instead of 2 threads of Drops Kid-Silk. I also use seed stitch instead of garter stitch and I'm also shortening it quite a bit.

Vík in the morning light.

Vík in the morning light., originally uploaded by Harpa J.

The snow is melting fast, as you can clearly see.

All things blocked and beautiful

Nothing exiting here for my regular readers.

This is the smaller dress, the bigger one is not quite dry. I was going to choose a different colour way- but when I looked at pictures of the lovely sisters, they were constantly dressed in pink, more pink and a lot of white too.
And I also like the idea that they would have the same dresses as their cousin here in Iceland. So I decided to use the same old pink/purple colours. Little girls love them and besides - I had them in my stash and lets face it - that is not a bad thing in this economy.

Winter

Winter, originally uploaded by Harpa J.

The second dress is finished, but I haven't gotten around to block them yet. I really must do that today, I want to mail them early. I tent to be rather late with my overseas gifts, but not this year!

Potato huts

Potato hut, originally uploaded by Harpa J.

Potato hut, originally uploaded by Harpa J.

I took these pictures last Saturday - the first snowy day of the winter. Now everything is covered in snow and the children are beside themselves with joy. I'm not quite as pleased - I like the mild weather better. But the snow is pretty and that is always something.

Heart

This is a close up of the Christmas heart from the other day. It's simple but pretty and it does not take very long to make. The stitch used is called Wheat ear stitch and it's explained very clearly here.