The Daydreamer Shawl

Tah-da! 

My "Daydreamer Shawl" is finally finished, after a year (!) as a WIP....!

Some of you may remember my first excited post about this shawl, way back from last summer, and since then I have been pretty quiet about it..

I really loved working on this, but when I ran out of yarn it all came to a stall...

The project was put on hold in a basket, and before I knew it Christmas was right around the corner and all the gifts and preparations kind of stole my attention for like, uh...10 months?? 

Many new projects have been planned and finished during these months, and I forgot all about my lovely, fluffy Daydream lying there patiently in the basket...

One day I stumbled across it again, picked it up and decided to finish this before the summer. It was far to lovely to be stashed away like that! More yarn was bought, and I once again dived into the lovely lightblue ocean of fluffy silk and alpaca. And this time to finish it!!

My sister was so inspired  by my excitment for this shawl, so she started one for herself in a lovely dusty violet/grey shade. I can't wait to see this one finished as well. It will be lovely! 

Sister - shawls ❤️❤️

And I absolutely LOVE it just as much as I knew I would!!❤️❤️❤️

Again, I apologize for the photo overload, but I'm just so excited about this shawl. 

Soooo soft and light as a feather❤️

Close up...just as pretty❤️

The perfect accessory for chilly summernights. Big enought to really snuggle up in. So, so soft!! Did I tell you that I really, really love this yarn? Oh, yes, I guess I did a few times already. Very excited..:-)

I used one strand of Sandnes Alpaca Silk and one strand of Sandnes Silk Mohair and  a 5 mm crochet hook. 

Big and fluffy❤️❤️

Another close up....This pattern is really beautiful, and it looks much more complicated than it is. 

It is really very easy!

The pattern is a version of The Lion Brands free pattern "Southbay Shawlette", but, as I always do, some minor alterations have been done. The pattern can also be downloaded for free from Ravelry.

I must say, though,  that the photo in Lion Brands pattern does not serve this shawl justice, and if I had'nt found other lovely versions of this online I would not have been tempted to make this at all. I also made the shawl much bigger than the patterns suggests. I like my shawls to be big and snuggly!❤️❤️❤️

The last little detail: my little "signature" heart.❤️

 I may also  add some lace and beads to it as well, but right now I'm too busy wearing it, so any more adjustments will have to wait.

                                                     ❤️Live - Laugh - Love❤️

Mellow Yellow Skappel sweater

Just checking in to share with  you a bit of yellow happiness ❤️❤️

I just realized that I had completly forgotten to show you the finished result of the  "Mellow Yellow Skappel Sweater" I made for Little Missy during the Easter Holiday. 

It has been cherished and worn for weeks now -  she really  loves it!❤️

So soft and comfortable - and warm! The yarn is a mix of silk-mohair and merino wool. 

The pattern is a slightly altered version of the Skappel sweater (link to pattern in Norwegian and English at the end of this post) 

I used moss stich insted of garter stich, and adjusted the size to fit my daughter. Otherwise I pretty much followed the pattern. 

Below are some photos of Little Missy wearing her favourite sweater. She was a very willing model, I must say - posing like a pro! 

Strike a pose! 

Link to the original pattern in Norwegian

Link to an English translation of the pattern.

                                                              ❤️  Live - Love - Laugh ❤️

I'm walking on sunshine!

Wow - what a weekend this has been! The weather these days is amazing - so warm and beautiful ❤️

After months and months with dark rainy days, this is like a massive vitamine boost for both  body and soul. Sooo needed and so appreciated!

It's like we all crowl out of hibernation, and suddenly start to talk and smile to eachother again....The neighbourhood is buzzing with life, and the children are all running around on happy, light feet in new sneakers! Not a rubberboot or raincoat in sight. Pure bliss ❤️

Everything gets back to life; the butterflies dance, the bees are buzzing, the children run and laugh in the garden, the barbeques lit up again after a long winter tucked away in the garage, so the whole neighbourhood smells like (burned) sausages and hamburgers.....

This is why we endure those long winters in this country: the wonderful spring and summers all make up for it. And right now it impossible to imagine anything else but sunshine... It's a survival mechanism, I guess....:-)

Statisticly the Western-Norway summers are wet and cold (June is ususally pretty much like December when it comes to temperature and humidity......), but right now I think we are heading for the BEST summer ever - ha, ha! A girl can dream, right?

This weekend has been all about spring and Easter preparations. Pretty pastels in abundance, both in my garden and on my hook. Wonderful, healthy colour therapy!❤️❤️❤️❤️

I made some pretty Easter eggs last week.  These colours make me so happy !!

One of my best friends will get one of these pimped "vintage" egg cartons for her birthday.

I love the nostalic and old-fashioned look it gets with some pretty pictures and lace. Decoupage is so much fun :-)

I usually have a pretty strict coloursheme in my garden; white, light pink, pale violets, light blue....all muted pastels to give a soothing and calm feeling.

But in the spring, when everything comes back to life, I need strong colours! The bright narcissus and crocus are the only yellow I allow in my garden, but when they bloom they bring so much joy!!

It's like a fresh breath of air and happiness to see all these pretties make their way out of the dark soil and greet the sun with such boldness of colours and strenght!

His Majesty on post...From this warm spot in the sun he controls the whole garden....:-)

These cushions were the first crochet items I made, when I taught myself to crochet a little over a year ago.

They usually sit on my daughters bed, but this weekend she took them out in the garden. Pretty colours in the sun ❤️

I got some really Happy Mail last week when my latest yarn-order arrived. Amazingly soft and pretty alpaca silk in the most wonderful colours. I'm saving this pretty yarn for a special project - I just have to figure out what it will be....

This is what I want in my Easter Egg :-)

This colour....oh my ❤️

Little Missy and her sweet little friends made Easter decorations in the garden. Ballons, candy, wallpaper-glue and yarn, and voila: you get colourful, candy-filled Eastereggs:-)

(I'm planning to make some pretty fairylights lanterns using the same method...Will get back to you on that one if the idea works out OK....:-))

Until next time I wish you all a wonderful, sunny time, and leave you with this little, willstrong fellow:

Talk about making your way into the world - some asphalt concrete is not going to stop this little Happy Flower from blooming :-) Maybe a lesson to many of us not to give up too soon - when you gotta bloom, you gotta bloom! Just reach for the sun ❤️

                                     ❤️ Live - Laugh - Love ❤️

A Christmasgranny Ta- Dah!!

This is a post I have really been looking forward to writing!! My Christmasgranny blanket is finally finished! Yes, a little late for Christmas, but only by a month.... :-)

I am sooo, sooo happy with this blanket, and I have enjoyed every stich I've made on it. There is something very soothing and meditative about the making of grannystripes. No advanced thinking involved, just row after row with lovely colours ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

These colours are for me the ultimate Christmas colours, so although I will leave it hanging around for a while longer just to enjoy it as a finished piece, this will soon be packed away until next Christmas. If I can tear it away from my daughter, that is. She claims this is  her "Magic Carpet" and is not prepared to give it up:-)

I was fiddling around a bit with the border, not quite being able to decide how to do it. I wanted a solid and firm border, since the blanket is so big, so finally I ended up with a bobble-shell border. A timeconsuming, yarn-eating (!) choice, but now that is is finished I'm so glad I chose to to this. I love how it frames the blanket without claiming too much attention. It`s the same border I used on the round pillow I made a while back, I only made it a 6-row border instead of 1...

There's a great tutorial of this border on the wonderful blog of Attic 24, if you fancy giving it a try.

Here you'll also find a tutorial for the grannystripes. I prefer to work on the front side on every stripe, so instead of going back and forth, like Lucy does in her tutorial, I worked only one way, and cut the yarn after each stripe. Yes, it doubles the amount of ends to weave in, but it makes the stiches on the front look more "even" and smooth. 

And I ALWAYS weave in the ends as I go! That way you can do just a few minutes of that boring end-weaving job at the time, and not go through a week (!) of dead-boring end-fastening when you are soooo ready to finish you project. Another good think about doing this as you go, is that it leaves your WIP looking all neat and pretty when you're not working on it, so it can even be used as a smaller lap-blanket before it's finished :-)

A perfect match ❤️

Big enough to use as a bedspread on a single-bed ❤️

..just a few more pretty pictures just beacuse the light ( finally!) was good enough for a photoshoot ❤️

Aladdin here I come :-)

Mr. Cat has been eyeing this for months now, so as soon as the last end was fastened he claimed his place :-)

Row after row after row of stress-therapy....❤️❤️❤️❤️

In good use :-)

Some yarn-facts and figures for those who like that:

Measurements: approx 150 cm x 200 cm

Skeins of  yarn used in total: approx: 40 !!! ( 8 for the border!)

Types of yarn used:

I'm a yarn-addict and a yarn-snob, I confess! I'm very picky when it comes to the quality of yarn. I (almost) always use natural fibres like wool, cotton, alpacca, bamboo, silk etc. Synthetics are just not my thing, which means that I spend WAY too much money on yarn....

For this blanket I chose to go for yarn made from 100% Norwegian Wool, Superwash treated.

The sheep that has to live in the harsh Norwegian climate needs wool with long, strong fibres, so yarn made from this wool  is very durable, which is a good thing for a blanket that is supposed to be used a lot!

For such a big blanket, that will be used by messy children and coffee-sipping adults, it is absolutely a necessity to be able to wash this in the machine. Can you imagine handwashing this big, heavy thing!?

Another advantage with Superwash treated wool is that it makes the fibres smoother, so less pilling occurs. A big plus in my book :-)

In this blanket I have used 3 different brands, with similar quality of the yarn. I wanted just the right colour of red and pink, which is why I had to go for a mix.

My preferred brand is this:

Falk (Dalegarn). I love this yarn! Soft and durable, and so many lovely colours

Link to Norwegian website and store:

(Picture of the colourchart is from this website)

http://www.dalegarn.com/yarn_detail.php?hId=75

...and for my  English speaking readers:

http://dalegarnnorthamerica.com/product/falk/

I also really like this brand:

Smart (SandnesGarn) Very similar to Falk: a lovely yarn.

(Picture of the colourchart is from this website)

http://www.sandnesgarn.no/garn/smart-superwash-1102

...and for some of the colours I used this:

Rubin (Gjestdal) This is a Private Label brand for a Norwegian lowprice dept. store chain, SPARKJØP, so the price of this is only 1/3 of the other two. The yarn is a bit "stiffer" and not as soft and comfortable as the other two, but it is good value for money, and for big projects like this, it is definitely a good idea to go for some cheaper types of yarn....

(Picture of the colourchart is from this website):

http://www.sparkjop.no/Sparkjop/Products/cat_16/961_Hus+og+Hjem(cat_16)/966_Garn+og+handarbeid(cat_16)/Default.aspx

SUMMARY: I can finally tick off one of my many, many WIPs, and I'm VERY HAPPY with it ❤️

                                         ❤️ Live - Laugh - Love ❤️

Sweet as Strawberry Cheesekake...

It is summer in Norway, and even though the temperature is not quite as comfortable as I would prefer, I just LOVE to spend most of my time outside.

Early, crisp mornings welcoming a new day, or long, light Scandinavian summernights are all spent outside- most of the time under a comfortable blanket or wrapped up in a cosy shawl.

I am now almost halfway in my summer vacation, and thus have lots of lovely time to endulge in my crafting. I've had this wonderful, thick and oh so warm Alpacca yarn laying about for a while, wondering what to make of it. It would have to be something special with such beautiful, exclusive yarn. 

I had earlier admired this amazing triangle shawl with lovely, romantic lace edging in my favourite boutiqe. Far too expensive for me, but it did spark an idea in my head....

Now, with vacation and "slow-living" coming up, the time was right to make this idea come to life, and I started experimenting with a pattern to make a shawl of my lovely Alpacca. The perfect accessory for cool summernights on the porch.
 

I added some amazingly soft and delicate slik/ mohair yarn to the Alpacca to make it more fluffy, and the combination of the two are just perfect! It makes the yarn more difficult and fiddlesome to work with, but the fluffy effect from the mohair makes it all worth it. Just so soft and lovely to touch.

The thickness of the yarn made it necessary to go for an airy and simple design, otherwise it would be too thick and heavy to bring along. So after some fiddling back and forth with various stiches, I ended up with a simple pattern consisting of trebles and chain stiches ( I might post a pattern og tutorial for this later...)

It has the most wonderful, soft pink colour - my favourite colour ever since I was a child! It reminds me of yummy Strawberry Cheesekake ❤

                     

I wanted to add some more lace to the edging, and had this lovely lime coloured lace in my stash. 

In my opinion a perfect contrast to the soft pink, and it gave the shawl that little extra spark to make it stand out a bit...

                   

Mmmm, Strawberry- Lime Cheesekake..❤❤.I just love these colours together. So fresh and full of summer ❤

                 

                       

Very happy with my colourcombo, but still feeling the need to add a little extra "bling"....

Some nice plum-coloured beads were digged out from my stash and sewn one by one on to the lace with invisible thread. Fiddling and tidious work, but  oh so happy with the result! 

                     

                     

The finishing touch: my little signature hearts attached to the ends ❤

                    

One more with the hearts.... Just Sweet❤

                     

.... and there you have it: my lovely Strawberry - Lime Cheesecake Shawl just waiting to be wrapped around  my cold shoulders. I LOVE it ❤❤

                    

                                                          ❤  Live - Laugh - Love ❤