Make it happen

I've been working on a really big project for a while now and it's finally coming to an end. I actually wouldn't have believed I  was able to do this, but I really did - sometimes things only seem impossible until they're done. That's why I say: 

Buttons

If you follow my blog or even know me personally you know how much I love buttons. During a trip to Akureyri I found some beautiful buttons in an antique shop. Some of them seem to be handmade/homemade and what they all have in common is that they are made out of wood and leather. 

I went to the national museum with my boys... as you can see they enjoyed it a lot

My 7 year old

My 6 year old

The national museum in Reykjavík is a beautiful building and there are always 

some new things to discover

Mousie

My little niece had birthday earlier this month. I decided she should have a cute little mousie of her own and that this would be the perfect opportunity to finally knit Ysolda Teague´s Mousie from the book Whimsical Little Knits (you can also buy the pattern online here).  

This was the first time I knit a toy and it was surprisingly fun. The pattern starts with the tail/Icord and is knitted in the round, ending with the tip of his nose. I used léttlopi for this one and the pink yarn used for the tail, ears and nose is dyed with madder root.  This irresistible little mousie is not only really really cute, but also an extremely quick knit...

  

  

And just because I was having so much fun with my new lens... 

inspiration

Right?

You just have to keep your eyes and your mind open!

About this picture: it´s taken with my iphone on a plane 

app used: "Rhonna designs" and  "Filterstorm". 

macro

I´m fascinated by my new macro-lens and all it´s possibilities. Looking at those pictures, one can discover things that normally aren't visible. I guess it takes a lot of practice to learn how to manage a macro-lens but it´s really worth it and practicing is so much fun! Here are my first shots:

one thing I didn´t realize was how interesting portraits can turn out, using a macro-lens.

this one is one of my favorites...

Diversity

I have a mission. I really want my boys to be proud of what and who they are. I also want them to be tolerant of other people and to understand that diversity is a wonderful thing. Wouldn´t the world be a boring place if we where all the same? 

 

Winterwonderland... again

So beautiful outside at the moment....

Viktoría

The first little thing I finished this year was the collar Viktoría from the book María Heklbók. This quick little project only took me an evening to make (while watching a movie) and it´s perfect if you want to use up some of your leftover yarn. Viktoría has been on my to-do-list since I got this book and since it was so quick & easy I´m sure I´m going to make more of those. I always feel like I´m wearing my Sunday-dress when I put on a nice collar - just love them & want them in thousand different colors! 

 

Details:

I used 2 kind of cotton in my favorite colors,

Schachenmayr nomotta Catania Fine in mustard-yellow and dark brown (from "Storkurinn") 

Strikkebogen pimabomull blue/green (from "Litla Prjónabúðin")  

Crochet hook nr. 3 

I added one, last row

Apps used for this picture: Rhonda Designs (letters) and Instapicframes

New year!

Happy new year!

Inspiration by my ancestors

Yesterday litlaskvís posted this really interesting link on Facebook, showing some amazing Japanese temari spheres - something I didn´t even know excised. I would love to try making something similar one day... 

Those Japanese pieces of art made me think of a treasure I have myself: two "balls" made by my great-great-grandmother. Since I have nobody to ask, I can only guess how they are made and how they where used. Both of them seem to be made by using scrap-yarn and I think they might have been used as pin cushions? At least that´s how I use them... as decorative pin cushions with a soul and history. Lucky me.

 

The bigger one seems to be a ball of yarn or wool, covered with chain stitches (embroidery) in the round - the yarn used is some kind of wool

The smaller one is covered with 8 knitted triangular´s, in 8 beautiful & different colors and therefore I guess she must have been using scrap yarn. 

Those triangular´s seem to be knitted in the round (purled and knitted). 

The yarn is really thin, soft wool yarn  I wish I could buy today

The triangular´s are sewn together with a method I don´t really understand...

On one side the smaller one has a small loop... I wonder why?

My big boy was looking over my shoulder while I was shooting those pictures...

 

New iphone, new possibilities

I was given an iPhone for Christmas (my first ever), which opens up a lot of new possibilities for me... I'm really loving it and having a lot of fun with all those different photo apps :-) I also just discovered that I can create new posts, here on my blog directly from my phone... Fun fun fun

For my sweet little Gerður Lilja

Remember this Hexagon sweater I made the other day? Since I finished that sweater, I´ve been wanting to make another one using totally different yarn, a bigger crochet-hook and only 2 colors... just to see how it looks and how quick this project can be.

When it came to choosing yarn for this sweater, it was really important for me that it would keep my sweet little Gerður Lilja warm... it really is getting colder here in Iceland at the moment :-) I went to Litla Prjónabúðin (lucky me - this shop is just around the corner from where I work) and bought some amazingly soft baby-lama-wool in wonderful purple/pink/blue. I also used icelandic unspun (tvöfaldur plötulopi) in grey and crochet-hook nr. 5. I almost couldn´t believe it myself, but it took me only 1,5 day´s to finish this piece... so quick!

I found out the hard way that the lama-wool and the icelandic unspun don´t have the same gauge... but the good thing about it it , that the sweater got "shaped by accident" in a really interesting and nice way. Just take a look...

Balloon-shaped sleeves

soooo soft!!

 

Buttons: a gift from my sister, Guðrún Dröfn 

Joy of the day

 

My joy of the day... ohhh.... what a beautiful morning...

 

new things

Since just about everything in my life has been changing in the most positive way lately, I thought a make-over for my blog would be the appropriate thing to do :-) 

I really hope you like it - I think it looks more calm, clean, "grown-up" and just like Johanna from knittingmydayaway put it: "crispy". At least, I like it this way and I hope you do too! 

I´ll see you later this week, with a new baby-cardigan I made (crochet) for my irresistible little niece, Gerður Lilja. I used baby lama from my one of my favorite yarnstores, "litla prjónabúðin" and icelandic unspun wool.

(as you can see, I´ve been playing around with instagram and our cute little samsung tablet)

My joy of the day

I´m feeling inspired by the tumblr joy of the day

My joy of the day

 this monday is...

...that it´s getting cold enough to wrap myself up in icelandic wool

origami mobile

On a weekend in August, we went on a short road-trip and took walk on one of our favorite beaches on the south-coast. I found some really beautiful pieces of driftwood - two of them where just perfect for a origami-mobile I´ve been wanting to make for a long time now.

Material:

2 long pieces of wood (I used driftwood)

nylon-thread

glass beads

felted beads 
washi-tape
for the cranes: this tutorial on youtube

 

 

 

small things - big things

 When it comes to creating, I have a thing for "unusual material". Everywhere I go I´ve got my eyes open for interesting things (some people might say I´m crazy, but that´s why I love spending time at big hardware stores like Bauhaus). 

The other day I went to  a place where they sell material for the fishing industry: chains, ropes and yarn to make fishnets among other things. I fell for some white, shiny, soft and flexible yarn they use for fishnets. I didn´t know what I was going to do with it, but it was way too pretty to just leave it there :-) 

I started by making a crochet-cover for a mason-jar I use for pencils at my workspace, just to get a feeling for the material.  I used one of my biggest crochet-hooks and now I´ve got a lot of  ideas on what to do next with this exciting material! 

A LOT of beautiful yarn for fishnet-making...

... makes an interesting texture when used for a crochet-cover

I used really thin cotton-yarn for this one - a interesting contrast to my fishnet-yarn-cover

 

together in peace and harmony 

A month of craft photos

Nr. 1: me in action in my workspace 

a month of craft photos?

I stumbled over this interesting post (from january 2012) on the "untangling-knots" blog, on a "month of crafts photos"... I thought, why not join, even if it´s a bit late, since this sounds so interesting and creative? 

I´m going to post a few pictures at a time, once a week instead of 1 picture a day, since I haven´t really got the time to post photos every day of the week, starting Friday the 9th of August.

Who want´s to join me?

Magic

I was walking in 101 Reykjavík yesterday... and how could I pass this amazing view without taking 

a picture first? 

picture taken on my mobil (nokia c5) at Harpan (on the right in this picture)