Goodbye 2019 - hello 2020

January 2nd and my December/Christmas knitting is nearing it’s end. (Which took a lot less time than I thought when I cast on December 1st.)

I’m knitting a shawl called «nerven», designed by a danish designer who calls herself Lykkefanten. Knitting it in a - to me - new yarn, Filcolana New Zealand Lammeuld, in the colours grey (surprice!) and lime. 



New Year’s Eve came and went with a bang (quite normal for Norway, really). But the lack of snow was unusual... We had a couple of inches a few days ago, but they rained away during the night. 



The kids «killed» our gingerbread house on New Year’s Eve - and there’s icing, crumbs and pieces of candy all over our livingroom... waiting for us to come home from the in-laws. 

These were the colours I used in 2019, according to the website yearofcolour.com. Lots of brown, but that’s because of my use of our brown floor as background for taking pictures for Instagram - or so I think... Will keep this in mind when taking pictures for 2020. 

We went to the movies and saw «Frozen 2». The tone was very different from the first one, and A really didn’t like the stone giants.. but the level of grown-up humor was to our liking!



My mom bought some new lights for one of her outdoor Christmas trees - not realizing how «festive» they were. Well, I think it looks great! With all the colours and the snow. ❤️



Visiting one of my grandmothers I came across this little family of santas, which my sister and I made (with mom’s help) waaaaay back in the 80’s. Brings back memories..



Winter in Trysil - with the snow and sun. It’s like a tradition back home, to take a walk on Christmas Day. 



I joined a knit-a-long this Advent - with one part of the pattern coming each Sunday in Advent. And the night before Christmas (lille julaften) all the ends were woven in. 

And with a filter from «Frozen 2» I wish you all a Happy New Year! May 2020 bring you joy, happiness and lots of good times (and crafting time)!

Fantastic giveaway over at @sewquirky 😍 Crossing my fingers 🤞🏻🤞🏻

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This is my #yearofcolour 2019 @yearofcolour 🌈

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#nervenshawl is growing and growing... 💚 Knitted in #newzealandlammeuld #filcolananewzealandlammeuld and pattern by @lykkefanten

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3rd Sunday of Advent - and a new parcel from @lailakarlsmo 😍🥰❤️ EPP shapes, new (to me) fabric and needles. ⭐️ I’ve alteady tried a couple of shapes - a star flower and my first attempt at a heart. 🤗☺️ One more week - and one more parcel left.

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🕯🕯🕯 3. Søndag i Advent - og er oppstrikket på del 3 av @johnsenknits sin #jkadventssamstrikk2019 👍🏻 Veldig spent på felling og tommel, men bare å smøre seg med tålmodighet til neste søndag!

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2nd Sunday of Advent and I was thoroughly spoiled by @lailakarlsmo 😍Two gorgeous pieces of fabric (Peter Pan and Yoga) and the Colourburst Hearts pattern by @naomialicec 🥰

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2. søndag i advent og høyre vott er i rute. 👌🏻 Men nå må jeg tenke litt for å få venstre votten på samme nivå.. 🤔 Fargene er litt misvisende i lyset fra adventsstaken - er ubleket, oker og sjokoladebrun #jkadventssamstrikk2019 @johnsenknits #adventsstrikk #finull

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Oops, plutselig ferdig med del 1 😱😇😅 Bare å vente til neste søndag.. #jkadventssamstrikk2019 @johnsenknits

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Første søndag i advent - og første adventskalenderpakke åpnet! 🕯😍 Tusen takk, @lailakarlsmo ❤️

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It has begun! 🧶 #jkadventssamstrikk2019

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I am entering the #fussycuttingsewalong November giveaway hosted by @naomialicec 🦃🌺🌿🌸 November went by like a 🌪⛄️😱

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Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃 This is my 6-point diamond star for week 47 of the #fussycuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 👩🏻‍🍳 This fabric’s been in my stash since my last trip to the US (2007?) I knew it would come to good use one day. 😂 Leaving it to the birds to decide who the «lucky» winner will be. 🥮🍗🍽

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This is my 6-point diamond star for week 44 of the #fussycuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🌺 I don’t think we use the poppy as a memorial symbol in Norway, but we do have the «mai blomst» - and in October/November we light candles in the cemetary and at home on Allehelgensdag to remember our loved ones. 🕯

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Minty green, Fin og Grå - @varbitt sin #foxyladysweater nærmer seg ferdig 😱🦊🥰

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Friendship bracelets

P and his classmates are making friendship bracelets in school, and I had to try one too - to see if I still remembered how to make them.

I made a reasonable simple one, with diagonal lines in pinks (for A, of course), but I know I made several other designs when I was younger.



On one of our trips to France (to visit my uncle) I even found a couple of books with different patterns. I think they're still at my mom's house, in my old bedroom. Might have to go search for them the next time we're in Trysil. :-)

I am entering the #fussycuttingsewalong October giveaway hosted by @naomialicec ✨ This month’s theme was «Out of this world» and these are my four blocks.

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This is my 6-point diamond star for week 42 of the #fussycuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🌈 Out of this world with unicorns 🦄

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The kids i school are learning how to make friendship bracelets - and I just had to see if I still remembered the trick. 😋

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This is my 6-point diamond star for week 40 of the #fussycuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🌟 Out of this world, these glow-in-the-dark faeries rose up to the spotlight 🧚🏻‍♀️🧚🏻‍♂️

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I am entering the #fussycuttingsewalong September giveaway hosted by @naomialicec 🍁🍎☕️🍏 September is almost over - and autumn has definetly arrived!

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This is my 6-point diamond star for week 37 of the #fussycuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🍏🍎🍏

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This is my 6-point diamond star for week 35 of the #fussycuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🧡 Apples are among the favorite fruits in our house - and apparently in my fabric stash too (counting 3 so far).

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Når man venter på at #sommerlesfest2019 skal avslutte, og får inn noen omganger til på #oransjeskjerf til @kirkensbymisjon 🧡 #etvarmeresamfunn #oppegårdbibliotek

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I an entering the August giveaway for the #fussycuttingsewalong hosted by @naomialicec 🏝 This month has truly been a beachy adventure!

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Continuing in the world of tiny things..

Foltvilag, as I mentioned in my previous post, had quite a few kits with them from Hungary to Birmingham.

I've previously tried to make a coin purse with a snap lock before, with a result so horrible I'm never going to show it to anyone... so of course I had to try making another one - only TINY! (As if that was going to make it easier to make... logic, anyone?)



It took me a couple of afternoons, but it came together more smoothly than I had imagined! Foltvilage had a step-by-step photo instruction and a video to help construction it - and those were really helpful! (Obviously, since I managed to complete it.)



It is so tiny, and cute - and can barely carry a few coins in it's belly!



There's a keychain on the side, so it can be quite useful (if I dare to bring it outside of the house.. what if it got lost?!?).

Lovely pattern and a very cute result - I might have to make another one!

Tiny hexie necklace

Remember the miniature hexie flower from my previous post? I managed to sneak in a little craft time the other day.. And suddenly (well, with a bit of fumbling and gule - as instructed in the pattern) the necklace was done!



The tiny french knots were added after sewing all those tiny hexies together.



I wore it to work one day, and received many compliments from my co-workers!



Foltvilag had some amazing kits and great templates for both english paper piecing (epp) and foundation paper piecing (fpp). If this shop is back for FoQ2020, I'm definetly going back for more kits!

My tiniest hexie flower (yet..)

I bought a kit from Foltvilag, a shop from Hungary, at the Festival of Quilts, and had to start working on it almost the second I came home. (Which is not quite true, but it was finished within two weeks of returning home.)



This is, by far, the smallest hexie flower I have ever made!

Things to do in Birmingham

I'm not sure if this counts as being a "very" Norwegian thing to do, but we enjoy walking. And seeing as the hotel we stayed in was "just around the corner" from the NEC (national exhibition center) where the Festival of Quilts took place, we decided to walk insted of waiting for the shuttle bus.

It was a nice, little walk of about 15 minutes, along the railway fence, where - every now and then - a branch of blackberries would poke out.



Some flowers and some berries not quite ripe yet.



But there were plenty of ripe, sweet, sun-warmed blackberries for both of us to enjoy on our walk to NEC/FoQ - and back again.



It's always fun to test new things when travelling, and this year we tested some new (to us) flavours of soda. The ginger pepsi max we'd both tried before (they recently stopped selling it in Norway), and the mango became mom's favourite last year when we were in London. But the strawberries and raspberries? Those were new ones! 



I have to say my favourite was the strawberry one (which would come as no surprice, as I'm not a big fan of raspberries...).



And look who else was outside enjoying the sunshine! A bunny! We saw a bigger one earlier that day, but this seemed to be a little one. Quietly enjoying something in the grass, and didn't mind us at all - as long as we were quiet.

A breath of fresh air

I woke up the other day to this prediction of the weather :



And I guess it could be considered curing in the church (banne i kirka) but it was so nice to be able to breathe again, not feeling all sticky and yucky all the time - and to sleep at night again...



The summer vacation(s) are over, and it's back to work again. We've managed to spend three weeks here and there this year too - starting with Belguim (Brüssels, Antwerpen), a short stop (one night) in the Netherlands, a day in Germany (Kalkar and Wunderland Kalkar - highly recommended, if you're ever in the area), and a week in Trysil. Too bad they hardly stamp your passport any more..



We've seen and experienced so many things - and there's still so much to see. Good thing there's a summer again next year!



Last weekend (this weekend) was the Festival of Quilts 2019 in Birmingham (august 1.-4.). My mom and I went Saturday and Sunday - and I think the weekend needs it's own post (or two or three). I havea few hundred pictures to go thorugh, and two bags (on the verge of exploding!) full of purchases (I probably don't remember half of what I bought...).

And now it's back to work.. School starts in two weeks, but there's a program for those kids who're under 10 at the school, and the kindergarden is in full action again. Suddenly Fall seems "right around the corner".

Where did the time go?

Bestillingsstrikk / knitting by order. 🧶👧🏻🧶

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