Living in the dark, and knitting up a storm!

Not my home, but same feeling!
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I was hoping to get some photography done over the weekend, to show you all my recent knits.
Wintertime in Norway is challenging light-wise. It gets dark rather early in the afternoon, even though days are getting longer now. So when getting home from work, I don't always feel like getting dolled up and prance around on my snow covered deck outside. I really wish I had a dress form, and a spot inside with good enough light to snap some photos with my flashless camera. It would make it all a bit easier :)
I'll put that on my "to-get-list"! Along with a new sewing machine!

So even with the weekend off, and SUNSHINE for two whole days, there was no "runway modelling"... I'm bad, I know. On the bright side, I finished knitting my Finessa jumper, the dark navy one. Which was a whale-sized relieve! I have rather poor eyesight to begin with, our livingroom is lit like a cave, and all those tiny stitches in the dark was killing me! And it took forever.

Finessa sleeves ready for action!

I was going to sew it up on saturday, and be done with it. But I got as far as blocking, and left the sewing for another day. Although I am really happy with it, and think it will be fantastic, I just need a *moment* before I finish it up. I don't know about you, but very often I totally loose interest when a project is nearly done, and I start pining for a new "squeeze".

Miss New Squeeze 1945

This time was no different, and I finally got going with the fabulous Victory jumper pattern (follow link for free pattern)! I looooove this one, and there have been some lovely jumpers turning up online, here, here and here for instance :)
The stitch pattern is the classic feather and fan, a really easy and beautiful wavy lace pattern. Fun and interesting to knit , after ages of knit purl knit purl.....!

Although I really like the patriotic colors of navy white and red, which also translates to the Norwegian flag, I went for some different colors. Mostly because I had seven skeins of soft babywool in a dark seafoam that wasn't enough for a whole jumper, so I decided to pair it with cream and light terracotta. I am happy with how those colors look together, it looks quite festive! The look can be totally altered by shuffeling the colors around, since the width of the stripes are different.
The cream and orange yarn is an alpaca/peruvian wool blend and incredibly soft and yummy :)

The pattern is for a 34 inch bust, so I had to do a swatch and some math before casting on. The pattern is repeated over nine stitches, so it is quite easy to just add some more repeats to make a larger size. I am already half way up the front, and I think it will be a good fit in the bust area, but I am a bit worried about the rib section. It seems to be rather slim-fitting, but it is very stretchy after all, so fingers crossed it will be alright. When I have finished the ribbing for the back, I need to pin the pieces on my person to check level of straight-jacket-ness. Wish me luck....!


Have you got any new exciting projects going?

.....and then she decided to reappear!

Hello folks!

Yes, it's me again. Long time no see. I'm not even going to appologize for my hiatus, as we all know sometimes life happens, and blogging, sewing or whatever takes the back seat for a while. Besides, it not like there's too few blogs around and nothing to read, right?
I am sure, most of you never even noticed I was gone :D

In my last post, I promised you all a give-away. Obviously, it will not be in celebration of my 1-year bloggiversery (is that even a word??) which came and went, like last years snow. It will be more or less a "Why-the-hell-not" kind of thing! I really appreciated all of you who made my day, visiting and commenting on here last year, and I still do. This community is valuable on so many levels, even when you're not actively participating. I have still been reading everyone in my feed, and getting inspired, and I hope to give something back again.

I'll be announcing the "party" in the near future, I just need a few posts under my belt, to get back on the radar again! Funny how one gets a little rusty. Heh.

In other news, my sewing machine decided to die on me right before Christmas. Right as I got the urge to sew a x-mas dress. I managed to get half a muslin done, and then the lights went out.... I am still looking for another one, but need to save up a little. A new one will be too expensive, so I am thinking about getting a second hand one in good condition. Should be doable :)

I have been able to get some knitting done over the winter, actually! I'll be doing individual posts on each one shortly, but here are some teasers.

This green one is "Audrey in unst" by Gudrun Johnston. The yarn is Karisma from Drops, in a lovely green shade. I think the first image is pretty true to color. At least on my screen :) I loved making this, It's knit seamlessly all in one piece, bottom up with set-in sleeves. It was finished in a couple of weeks, and I have worn it lots.

This second one is from a vintage pattern, Bestway 1320 from the 1940s. The yarn is also Karisma, from Drops, but I think it was a bad choice for this pattern. I might make another one in a lighter yarn, as I love the general look of it. I screwed up the blocking and it came out too big, but I'll fix that (hopefully).

I got this pattern from Lucy at 1940s Style for You. I can't quite recall if it was a free download (of which she has many!!!) or if I bought it at her Etsy shop. Either way, check out both if you're into 40s knitwear. She makes the most stunning knits, and if you don't knit, she can do it for you ;)

This last one is currently on the needles. Just the sleeves and collar to go.
Also a vintage pattern, the "Finessa" jumper from the 1950s.
The yarn is some kind of  soft baby wool, bought long time ago for some other project. This is an old UFO that I found in a bag, and decided to finish. Yes, I am a good girl! Excited to see this one made up, I just hope the size is right...........!

So there you are, lots of stuff to come, provided we get some decent light for photography around here in Norway-land!

Toodles!!