God Påske! :: Happy Easter!

Carolyn made me want to make Easter bread, so I did. From this recipe at Epicurious. With raisins soaked in rum and orange zest. Yum.

Stash reorganization, during and after. (links open in pop-up windows) Thanks for the Zip-lock bags, Mom ! :o)

For some reason, most of the label-less yarn is white. Isn't that a bit strange? I don't even know what fiber it is.... some of it may be acrylic, I'm sure some of it is wool and some is a blend. I think I'll start using some of it up making Scandanavian mittens with some of the other colored yarn that is in that pile. Any other ideas? Or anybody know how to tell what fiber something is just by look/smell/feel?

hmmmm....
garn :: yarn
ull :: wool
bomull :: cotton
akryl :: acrylic

News :: I've been plugging away on the things on Tripod and have got the tips link working plus the links link working. There will be more there soon... and by the way, email me (or comment here) if you have a link or a suggestion for a "helpful thing," in which I could take some pictures of a the process of a technique (like a provisional cast on or kitchener stitch, which I think I'll get around to eventually...).

The Friday Five::
1. If you could eat dinner with and "get to know" one famous person (living or dead), who would you choose? Mother Teresa.

"What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful."

2. Has the death of a famous person ever had an effect on you? Who was it and how did you feel? was affected by the deaths of Princess Diana and JFK Jr. And probably other youngish, shiny people who seem to be right in the middle of their ... shininess.

3. If you could BE a famous person for 24 hours, who would you choose? I don't think I want to be a famous person, but I'll think about this one and come back to it...

4. Do people ever tell you that you look like someone famous? Who? I used to work as a RN on a psychiatric unit and once a very sweet, older lady told me I looked like Goldie Hawn. Which was quite funny because I look nothing like Goldie Hawn. Although, I think she is a knitter...

5. Have you ever met anyone famous? I saw that John Larroquette fellow at Blockbuster Video in Asheville, N.C. when he was filming Richie Rich at the Biltmore House.

Added April 1st :: I forgot about meeting Graham Kerr, the galloping gourmet guy, last October at the Atlanta airport when I flew from Norway to Stockholm to Chicago to Atlanta to visit my folks. In Chicago, I noticed this man sitting there in the waiting area, writing something on a clipboard with one of those Mont Blanc (=very expensive) pens. I struck up a conversation with a girl (I don't normally find it easy to talk to total strangers, but I was overly exhausted and feeling a little disinhibited. I told her about my hellish experience in Stockholm (I got lost and almost missed the plane) and then I just mentioned that I thought that man sitting over there was Graham Kerr. Turns out, she was a big fan too and agreed that it looked like him but we weren't sure. Our suspicions were heightened when he boarded first-class and we made a pact to look more closely while we went up the aisle past first class back to cattle class. We signaled to each other that he did, in fact, look remarkably like himself. So in Atlanta, waiting for the luggage to come rolling by, I shocked and surprised my parents by actually going up to him and shaking his hand and telling him how much I liked his show. He was very nice and thanked me. Ta da!

There's been some discussion on the knit list about how people hold their needles when knitting... apparently some hold their needles in the same way they hold a pencil to write. I tried it (since I couldn't imagine...) and simply can't do it !

I knit with the right needle pinched between the pad of my first finger and thumb, and the left needle between my left thumb and about halfway down my first finger, with the yarn lying across the base of my fingernail, over the next 2 fingers and wrapped around my little finger.

Oh, and continentally.

I seem to have developed a habit of pushing the left needle with the tip of my right first finger out of the stitch... I have to really think about it and have the stitches squished up towards the tip of the left needle in order to just slide the stitch off and onto the right needle. Which is all fine and dandy unless I'm working with the little 2mm needles, in which case my finger starts having a dent in it...

Point is :: How Do You Knit? (leave comments below)

I suppose I shouldn't assume everyone already knows about the marvelous Knitter's Review in which ...

Clara reviews ::

• yarn... all sorts, arranged by fiber
• tools... needles, software
• shops...online and off
• books
• events... arranged by month
• and "the best of the best" online resources (look under links)

And last, but certainly not least, check out the marvelous "how to" and "fiber facts" sections at the bottom of the Yarn reviews.

Tending to their knitting:: a Washington Post article that came through the knitlist today.

Went out and had pizza with the ladies, it was very nice -- I was relaxed and even joined in the (all Norwegian) conversation occasionally. Goes to show nervousness is often unnecessary.

News :: yaccs comments are screwy at the moment. Hopefully it's very temporary. It's back (obviously) ;O)

This is what I've been doing: bagateller.tripod.com instead of knitting or finishing the laundry. It's not quite finished yet, but you can have a sneak preview. (The tips link doesn't work yet) Otherwise, I'm going to line dance class tonight then out for pizza with some ladies that I met there. (Why does that make me so nervous?!?)

You are Hobbes!
You're a bit too mellow to be an incarnation of Calvin, but you're still his best pal. You don't mind having fun, though, and enjoy playing tricks on your friends when they least expect it.
Take the What Calvin are You? Quiz by contessina_2000@yahoo.com!

(Saw this one at Sarah's)

Liisas Skanlog has linked to me and I'm very happy it but the only German I know is from Øystein Sunde's song Tyskleksa. Anybody feel like translating? I recognize the words rømmegrøt (sour cream porridge) and Knut Hamsun (a Norwegian writer) and Elling (see below) ... also I know Norwegen is German for Norwegian. So, it's just the other stuff I need help with. ;O)

Cows are just inherently funny. (The link to the public service announcement I sent in showed up on Saturday, March 23 but I just remembered it today.)

Going around in circles: changing knitting patterns from flat to round. (Found through Fran at Knitter's Review forum.)

Okay -- eek! Where is Carolyn??!?

Update: 10:30pm Western European time :: there she is! Sorry for the panic...

Gwen mentioned that she had trouble with the increases for the doube-knit bear's head. Sympathizing, I'm writing out what I did instead:

Separate the double-knit stitches onto 2 needles by slipping the first stitch onto a 2nd needle and the next onto a 3rd across the row. This was rather difficult, since one basically has to balance three needles at one time. (Might be good if you have a helper here.) Knit around once, dividing the stitches onto 3 or 4 needles, whatever you fancy. Increase for the head by *k2, inc 1* around. Decide and mark somehow the stitch that is the center front where you want the center of the bear's nose to be and the stitches on either side of the center st that will be the "edges" of the nose. (I think I used 5 sts on either side of the center (10 in all) as nose sts.) Knit around for a couple of rounds, then make nose:

k to the st marked as the left edge of nose (as you're looking at him, not from the bear's point of view), wrap, turn and purl back to the other edge sts, wrap, turn and *knit to 1 st before the left edge st, wrap, turn, purl to 1 st before the marker, wrap & turn* Repeat * to * until you're at the center front stitch then reverse the process, adding one stitch on either side until you're back to those edge stitches.

Then knit around until his head is as tall as it should be, decrease a bit (if you want him to have a round head) and then pull yarn through left over stitches, stuff 'im and close off. I crocheted him some ears. I'm not an actual crocheter, so I couldn't begin to describe what I did. :o)

Oh! And I got Skittles and Kool-Aid from Clara in the mail today! (And also a lovely note.) Thanks Clara!!!

Since the Academy Awards started at 3am our time, Theresa and I watched it this morning on tape. We are very disappointed that That Bosnian Movie won instead of Elling and are certain it's because the people who decided just did not understand it. After all, it was in Norwegian. (John Travolta was rather funny, tho... and at least he mentioned Norway first.)

skuffet :: (v.) disappointed

I mentioned unravelling a pair of socks and hanging the yarn to dry on Saturday... and now present the process in case you might want to know.

The other thing is this: I read a whole pile of travel book reviews on somebody's page when I was just first finding about all these wonderful knitting blogs, but before I had some sort of image of who was who (is one of those supposed to be a "whom"?). So, now I can't figure out and can't find those book descriptions again. Anybody know where they are? There was one about a lady in a desert-like place and something about National Geographic...

Elling, a marvelous Norwegian film is nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Fyttte He....te, Elling!

When I woke up this morning, Amalie was up, fully dressed and haven eaten (knekkebrød with Nugatti crisp, a chocolate/hazelnut sandwich spread), was ready to head out to visit a little girl in the neighborhood. Whoa. They were outdoors most all day (it was sunny but not THAT warm.. there's still snow on the ground at any rate) collecting insects from under the rocks around the flower bed and giggling inside a couple of tents that they set up on the front porch under the kitchen window. She was incredibly sleepy while we watched a movie and ate "lørdags godt" (Saturday candy) this evening before bedtime.

Theresa spent most of the day designing websites and taking pictures with the digital camera.

Sigurd worked all day.... he's still at it now (stakkers han).

I finally managed to paint the kitchen window frame, finished Teddy and made pasta, did some laundry, changed the sheets and helped make Easter cards. And talked to my dear friend Carolyn for a good long time on the telephone this afternoon. She's been looking for a job as an au pair and found one in Naples from April to November, with an all expenses paid vacation in Greece. I'm sincerely thrilled for her. (I am, Carolyn!) Oh, and frogged* an entire pair of socks made of Brown Sheep Co's Nature Spun sport. They've been sitting in my knitting basket for over a year now and a) I've forgotten the changes I made to the pattern (Welsch country stockings from Folk Socks) and 2) they were way too big through the ankle. It was a painful process, but I would never have worn them and don't know anyone with a huge ankle and a teeny tiny foot. I have another sock pattern in mind for them. The yarn is hanging in the bathroom drying as we speak.

*to frog :: (v.) (knitting terminology) to rip it

I seem to be getting a positive response to the Norwegian lessons (this is based mostly on Beth's excitement over a-ha lyrics being explained). Thus encouraged, I will now go mad:

Pronunciation guide::
a :: ah as in father
b :: beh
c :: seh
d :: de
e :: like e in "eat"
f :: ef
g :: geh
h :: ho (like Santa Claus' laugh)
i :: e (just like the letter "e" in English, very confusing)
j :: jod or yea, either one
k :: ko (like h, but with a k)
l :: el
m :: em
n :: en
o :: o was (and is) the most difficult letter for me to correctly pronounce. It's almost a swallowed oo (as in moor) with your lips puckered up as though you were about to kiss someone.
p :: peh
q :: ku (trivia: the letter q and the word for cow are exactly the same)
r :: like r but with a trill, if you're not from Bergen. If you are, then God help us: it's a very strange make in the back of the throat.
s :: ess
t :: teh
u :: oo (s rather like one would say "ew" if smelling something disgusting)
v :: veh
w :: dobbelt veh
x :: eks
y :: stick your lips out as far as they will go and say ee
z :: set
æ :: ah like a in "mad"... open your mouth rather widely for this one
ø :: like the i in "bird"
å :: round your lips as tightly as possible and say the oo as in "floor"

c, w, x and z are not native Norwegian letters and are only used in adopted words like "camping" and "WC" and for getting big scores in Scrabble.

Teddy got eyes and ears today! I felt like doing the Mr. Bean thing from when Teddy gets buttons for Christmas, saying "yes! it's me!" :O)

Stackable animals

More sheep temptations spotted this morning at confessions of a craft-aholic. Guinevere is recovering in a pile with her buddies.... and her person Sarah linked to more sheep. And Megan had angora rabbits hidden away in a comment.

sau, en (n.) :: sheep
kanin, en (n.) :: rabbit
kat, en (n.) :: cat... love the easy ones :O)

Correction :: that is not Guinevere in the pile. That's Frank, Winky and Apricot. I wonder if we'll get to see a picture of Gwinny relaxing soon...?

Friday Five

1. What is your favorite time of the year? Spring. Definitely.
2. What is it about your favorite season that, well, makes it your favorite season? The yellow of daffodils and forsythias, the brand-new green of trees and shrubs budding, the sun returning. Spring in North Carolina is amazingly beautiful, spring in Norway is equally gorgeous, but starts later and has an unbelievable intensity and drama about it.
3. What is your least favorite time of year? Why? In N.C., winter. In Norway, late fall before any snow falls (it's generally very rainy) and everything is drab and dreary. And the darkness of winter in Norway is de-pressing.
4. Do you do anything to celebrate or recognize the changing of seasons? Not really. Spring cleaning, maybe?
5. What's your favorite thing to do outside? Sit in the sun and read. Swimming's good. Walks, perhaps. Gardening, that would be it.

Yea! Clara got her package!

Gammalost (n.) :: old cheese

There are really quite a few reasons for learning Norwegian, besides the obvious benefit of being able to communicate with Norwegians. One is Torsdagklubben, a program on TV2 broadcast live from Smuget in Oslo and absolutely hilarious. Another reason is Øystein Sunde, a prolific singer/songwriter (and model airplane enthusiast) whose texts are ... well... absolutely hilarious, and a mighty entertaining way to learn Norwegian. Click here to hear the first two refrains of Øystein Sunde's tribute to gammalost. Complete with hardangerfele, a traditional Norwegian fiddle with a very special created by the fact that it has 4 or 5 sympathetic strings which resonate to the vibration of the four upper strings which are played with a bow, which creates a effect similar to that of the Scottish bagpipe. No wonder I love it so.

Det var visst en viking som første gangen tok
en kjele full av sur-mjølk, og satt'n på til kok.
Det lukta så sært at'n fikk visst ikke fred,
så han helte'n i en trebutt og gravde butten ned.

It was certainly a viking who for the first time took
a pot full of sour milk and sat it on to cook.
It smelled so sour that he certainly couldn't rest,
so he poured it in a bucket and buried the bucket down.

Og butten sto i bingen, og bingen lå bak do,
og lukta skjemmet ingen, og graset b'ynnt' å gro,
og dager ble til uker og vinter ble til vår,
og butten sto i møkka i åtte hundre år.

And the bucket stood in in the pig sty, and the pig sty was behind the outhouse,
and the smell bothered no one, and the grass began to grow,
and the days became weeks, and winter became spring,
and the bucket stood in the muck for 800 years.

En vårdag i 16-hundre-og17-femtini
kom butten for en dag der en bamse hadde hi.
Og bonden som fant den var sulten og forgrått.
Han sa: "Det lukter pyton, men smaker riktig godt!"
Og hei og så hå, og så skylte'n ned med dram,
og så heisann, og håsann, den smaken v'kke tam,
og hopp også hikk også hark også host.
Å, du nystekte dævel! Det var no' til ost!

One spring day in 16 hundred and 1759
the bucket came up where a bear had his den.
And the farmer who found it was hungry and starving.
He said "It stinks something awful, but tastes right good!"
And hey and ho and so he washed down with a dram,
and a-hey and a-ho, that taste wasn't tame,
and hop and hicc and hack and cough.
Oh, you freshly-fried devil! That was some kind of cheese!

--Øystein Sunde

"I stood there, trembling with fear. And I sensed a great, infinite scream pass through nature" - Edvard Munch

See Oslo Karl Johans gate.... looking toward the castle in the distance. The view from VG's offices that show the two towers which are part of City Hall (they look like big brown cheeses and are where the Nobel Peace Prize is given out.) Behind is part of Oslofjord. Some panoramic views that rotate if you click on the pictures. And Youngstorget... boring picture but there are some GREAT yarn stores nearby: "Belisa" and "Husfliden" both on Møllersgate.

utsikt (n.) :: view

I am feeling much better today. Still a bit like my head is too large, but no dizzy spells. I have a suspicion that I have something called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, which my little nurse-y brain loves 'cause it s sooo serious. Actually, it has something to do with little calcium crystals floating around in the inner ear. In other words, I have rocks in my head. Not too much of a surprise, eh? I did some fancy exercises lying down on the floor and turning my head this way and that (it was RECOMMENDED, I tell ya) and slept with my head up on a bunch of pillows (leaving Sigurd 10% of the bed, he claimed), took some more Sudafed today and am still moving carefully and slowly. Thanks to everybody who sent well-wishes. :O)

Postscript: svimmel (adj.) :: dizzy

Lær deg norsk

bamse n. (bahm-sa) :: teddy bear

This little guy is being "double knit" on circular needles because I only own two sets of straight needles and one of each set is missing. (I have a feeling that at least one of them is upstairs in the girl's rooms with half finished doll blanket hanging off of it.)

I first read about double knitting in Homespun, Handknit and then again in EZ's Knitter's Almanac. I have looked through Beverly Royce's book called Notes on Double Knitting and though it's fascinating, it has always intimidated me.

Double knitting is "circular knitting worked back and forth on two needles." Why? you might ask. Good question. For glove fingers and other small things that are a bit of a pain to knit on double-points. To try something new & novel is my reason. To make Anna Makarovna's secret stockings from Tolstoy's War and Peace - it's a party trick... she knit two stockings, one inside the other, then pulled them apart when she was done.

This pattern for double knit bears is fascinating to work and not difficult, though could definitely be frustrating if you're just learning to knit. What happens in double-knitting, in the case of these bears anyway, is that you knit one stitch and slip the next across the row, thus working one half of a round. On the next row you slip the stitches you just knit and knit the slipped stiches, completing the round. It's necessary that you are able to really "see" which stitches need to be worked and which need to be slipped; otherwise, the space in the middle will be stuck together in bits. Very annoying. But it's incredibly fascinating to watch a teddy bear take shape on 2 needles.

I woke this morning from a sleep with the room spinning around like mad. It happened again when I turned over, then again when I returned to bed a few minutes later. I'm still dizzy (with all the accompanying icky-ness that implies) and feeling rotten. But if I stand or sit really still, I'm okay. Fortunately one can knit while sitting still. (I'm working on that double-knit teddy bear ... I'm up to his "fat belly". Oh, and I finished my striped socks last night. (I'm having fun looking at my feet; that is, when they're up on the sofa. I can't really look down at the moment.) (And I have very warm feet.) Picture forthcoming when I can move around again.

"The rhythmic use of hands, as in knitting and embroidering, leads to an altered psychological state that permits us, in a certain way, to transcend our physical surroundings. I am interested in collecting information regarding how such use of the hands affects different people" -- Interesting questions. Go give her an answer.

A dishcloth boutique spotted on Shobhana's page. Aran Islands info spotted on Carolyn's and an Operation Freedom teaser on Clara's.

Amalie and I are going to build something with Lincoln Logs now.

Becky at my blue house sure as shootin' had me fooled anyway. fluffa! is her gorgeous new knitting site. I feel like I've been on some sort of treasure hunt and won the prize. :o)

Amalie as a nisse in her Blåfjell lue og votter (Blue Mountain cap and mittens). These adorable nisser (gnomes) are everywhere around Christmas on the years that feature Blåfjell, a calendar-type show that's on every evening during the month of December.

yarn :: Heilo by Dale garn (available at Bea Ellis Knitwear)

blue yarn color :: #5545

quantity :: 200 g.

needles :: 6.5 mm (10 1/2 US) circular and double pointed

Cast on 120 stitches and join. Knit in the round until work measures 35 cm (approx 14 inches). Place a marker on each side of the work (this can be approximate since it will be felted later) and decrease 1 stitch on each side of the markers every 4th round.
When 20 stitches remain: *k2, k2tog* for one round, then thread yarn through remaining stitches and close off.

Wash the cap in the washing machine on warm adding Murphy's Oil soap (grønnsåpe) or similar. Repeat if necessary until cap is felted to the correct size. Spin in washing machine and shape while damp. I put the cap on a bowl turned upside down to dry it to the correct shape.

Pattern by Ann Kristin Gundersen. From "lesernes oppskrifter" at strikkeguiden. Translated by me.

Ten things ::
I knit a little baby sweater (I'm testing out a knit lister's pattern) and ran out of yarn before running out of sweater. Haven't quite decided what to do apart from checking my stash again. It's a weird place for a different yarn to go...

It snowed again last night and the walkway to the house is incredibly slippery.

We went out to the Dubliner in Oslo Saturday night and celebrated St. Patrick's Day by listening to lots o' Irish music.

There is no so wonderful in the world as the of bagpipes.

I knit while we were there. (K.I.P. = knitting in public)

I am wearing green today, but very few people understand why.

I'm almost finished with a pair of socks for me. (It's the other pair of toe up socks, in a varigated yarn which makes very amusing to knit stripes.)

I finally put a much needed coat of paint on the kitchen windowsill Friday. The sun was shining and the temperature was warm enough to open the window for a little while.

I'll put a second coat on tomorrow.

I found To Kill a Mockingbird in Norwegian at the library a few days ago. "Drep ikke en sangfugl" heter det. I want to read it and also Theresa expressed an interest in reading it based on Lisa Simpson's statement that it and Harriet the Spy were two books everyone should read (that's not the exact quote, but I can't remember exactly what she said). I agree wholeheartedly. :o)

In winter, Hammerfest is a thirty-hour ride by bus from Oslo, though why anyone would want to go there in winter is a question worth considering... I picked up a bookstore advertisement at the little local coffee shop and read the first chapter of the Norwegian translation of Bill Bryson's Neither Here Nor There. Absolutely hilarious. Question is: should I read it in English or Norwegian?

The Friday Five

1. What's your favorite animal? Meerkats because of the way they stand...
   
2. What pets have you had in your lifetime? Lots o' cats hung around the house when I was a kid.. I brought them inside and dressed them in doll clothes. I'm surprised they let me. Then there was Cindy - the collie who ate bees and let me sit on her when I was very little and ride her like a horse, Benji - a pekingese who I took to see some pigs once and he was fascinated, Barney - a cocker spaniel and his son - Charlie, Shazam - a siamese cat who tapped me once very gently on the cheek while I was walking past (she was sitting on a bookshelf), Bear - a big, black ferocious with strangers and a pussy cat with me chow, assorted fish and a couple of cockatiels (who gave me a very nasty bird-carried infectious pneumonia called Psittacosis), Spud - a tortoiseshell cat with a white belly who looked like a baked potato while lying on her back, and her kittens - Oscar - a big orange tomcat with a teeny tiny meow, and Samantha - the amazingly long tailed cat that is currently keeping my Dad company on the sofa
   
3. Is there any specific pet that you've wanted but never had? Why? Alpacas. Why? They're incredibly expensive and I need a bigger front yard.
   
4. Are you allergic to any animals? Don't think so. I hold my breath in the bird section of the pet stores now, tho.
   
5. Do you have any 'pet' pet peeves? Cats bringing dead animals into the house. Samantha brought a live SNAKE into the house once.
   

The Knitting Pages

• knitting pattern errata & corrections
• knitting book & pattern reviews
• knitting resources & yarn shops sorted geographically
• hand knitting links (lots & lots)
• machine knitting links
• free knitting charts
• gallery with some TERRIFIC mittens and gloves made from patterns in Knitting in the Nordic Tradition by Vibeke Lind.

Chicknits is letting us know that this year is the 100th anniversary of the teddy bear. I (rather serendipitously) bought a ball of "Teddy" yarn by Marks & Kattens last night. (Also available at yarn forward.) I've been looking around for knitted teddy bear patterns and found

• Mr. Bean's Teddy (my personal fav)
• a double-knit teddy (double knit = making a circular object on 2 needles)
• knitting.about.com's teddy bear patterns
• planet teddy bear (non-knitted patterns for bears...but a whole bunch of cuties)
  

Nord Norge: a tribute.

A beautiful series of pictures of return of the sun to the north of Norway back in January. Sigurd, who grew up in Harstad (above the artic circle!) remembers getting out of school early the days the sun came back. He took me there summer before last and it was breathtaking. Cold, but breathtaking... Thank heavens for Dale sweaters...even store-bought ones. Trivia: Lene Marlin is from Tromsø. Herbjørg Wassmo, author of Dina's book is from Vesterålen in the North of Norway. The newly released film I am Dina "is not just a film - it is an exploration of some of Norway's most breathtaking scenery".

Finding purseknickety triggered my memory of making a knitted purse from Interweave Knits Winter 00/01 magazine. If I were to do knit another purse, however, I'd do it quite differently:

[information coming as soon as I figure it out]

Thank you, Beth for telling me how to get rid of the stupid numbers! You're my hero! :O))) However, it's a temporary fix... the numbers have been there before (I reset the template then), and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they return. It seems to be a blogger problem.

Got those socks finished at a model airplane club meeting and am sewing in the ends (only 4 since they're one continuous thread) as we speak (well, not literally, but sort of) and started on Fran's baby sweater pattern that will eventually be posted as a gift to the knit list. I am test knitter # 5.

Spent the day not knitting but cleaning up the kitchen (and doing a truckload of laundry) See the results here and here. (Yea, popups!) We're going to go for a ride and then I will (I will!) finish that sock!

Yet more news :: Heavens to Betsy! I had misspelled @ (there was a " there, instead) in my email address down there under "contact". It's fixed now!

Which "Natural Wonder" are you?

Bagatell news :: I just added permalinks to the "find help" section, so that when you click on the review date, you go directly to my little review of the site. Hopefully this will be helpful to someone in the wide wide world.

p.s. I'm having a very good time (and learning a great deal) from changing colors and backgrounds around... don't be alarmed, Mom, you're in the right spot. ;o)

Are you intimidated by double pointed needles? Does the thought of turning a heel make you tremble? The prospect of doing Kitchener stitch to graft toes makes you break into a sweat?! Take Socks 101. Brought to us by Terri.

How to identify if your cow has the mad cow's disease Click on the cows, you won't be sorry. :O)

more Odd Børretzen for the curious...

We did make it out to go skiing today (I only fell once) since the weather was lovely, sunny, & not-too-cold and the snow wasn't as hard as we had feared it would be after the sunny, windy, slightly-too-cold day yesterday.
	I feel so much more American on the ski trail than I do anywhere else. Annoyingly loud, dangerously out-of-control, and slightly crazed since I'm such an amateur among these people who are born with skis on their feet*. I feel like I should have a big red L pinned to my back, like people who are learning to drive in this country are required to have in the back window of their car.
The girls, by the way, went down the "big hill" (I walked alongside) today and even Sigurd enjoyed himself. :o)

*according to Odd Børretzen in How to Understand and Use a Norwegian :: Previously, until a few years ago, it was customary for the Norwegian to be born with skis on his feet. But one of the improvements that has been made is that this is no longer the case*. Modern research has revealed, in fact, that this could be very uncomfortable and, to some extent, dangerous to the mother. For this reason, in our day, the Norwegian is not equipped with skis on his feet until sometime during the first year of life.

*It still happens that the birth takes place with skis on the feet, but now it is most often the mother who has skis on during the birth.

Gwen was asking at Knitter's Review about a knitted bunny which I had seen via the knitlist at HeartStrings Fiberarts. Ta da!

Okay, just two more things:
Hello Kitty tetris (Thanks, Judy!)
and
a pattern for the hat that Julia Roberts wore in Step Mom which I just finished watching with the girls. Tusen takk at dere er ikke som de ungene i denne filmen! (Thank you for not being like the kids in that movie!) :O) Jeg er veldig glad i dere.

On a quest to learn the difference between roving (what it is I've got) and rolag (what it is I thought I might need according to that joy of spinning video) I came across this list of terms and definitions for textile people. Their main page led me to the urban spinner who has a whole great collection of links and how to make a wrist distaff which is an apparently useful thing for those of us who are about to learn how to spin with handspindles. Plus this one that's chock full of tips and interesting things like what that niddy noddy rhyme I quoted down there someplace means.

And I also saw these fairytales & folklore for those who love the feeling of fibers in their hands.

...I spent a good part of the afternoon convinced I needed carders to spin the roving that I happen to have. (Yea! It looks like I don't!)

Joanna at Knits'N Bytes sent me a very nice email today and directed me to her site which has a lovely resources for the sock knitter section. And she also mentioned something about a stash reduction that will "begin again"... s good!

"Love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people." -C.S. Lewis

Friday Five
1. What makes you homesick? I'm homesick for my family and friends in the US because I love 'em and we don't get to see each other often. But the moment Sigurd is out of sight, I'm homesick for him.

2. Where is "home" for you? Is it where you are living now, or somewhere else (ie: Mom & Dad's house, particular state/city)? I've spent the majority of my adult life referred to going to my parents home as "going home." Home has finally become where I’m living now... which I suspect means I'm happy. :o)

3. What makes it home for you? People? Things? Without a doubt, the people. Home is where the people I love are.

4. Where is the furthest you've been from home, miles-wise? Well, I’m currently 4293 miles (6910 km) from my parents house. ("Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes)" --W. Whitman)

5. What are your plans for this weekend? Well, we’re going to head out to the library again tomorrow. And gå på ski (cross country skiing) either tomorrow or Sunday, depending on the weather. I'm going to use the helpful hints Teri left and try the spindle again and work like mad on the second purple sock. And make pasta tomorrow. (I gave my word, didn't I ?)

not martha mentioned how everybody's talking about marshmellow peeps and kindly linked to how to make them, which cued my memory of having seen this. Check out the quintuplet peeps separated at birth. She also points us to where to vote for what you want the new m&m color to be.

I am a subtle taste, like Pine. I am a quiet, fresh taste, almost more of a scent than a flavour. You will be aware of me, but not quite remember me without being reminded. Not that I'm boring; on the contrary, I'm just a little outside the ordinary. What Flavour Are You?

I sat down and gave the drop spindle a try while the kids were out skiing 'round and 'round the house and I'm having to tell myself it's novelty yarn, it's novelty yarn. Dental floss thin in spots interspersed with nubs the size of my thumb. Surely I can learn to do this! (You can learn to do this, and stop calling me Shirley.)

Any spinners out there with good tips for beginners?

I noticed dangerous chunky (who's been reading aloud to her man about how sheep make good lawnmowers) and Ivete (who's going to have a dreamy yarn store) are being called by the spinning wheel too. I tricked Sigurd into looking of some pictures of cute fluffy bunnies today. He didn't seem too enthusiastic...

Feeling interpretive? Try some cut-rate internet therapy. (I am pungent royal blue.) Credit goes to Carolyn for finding this gem. (LYMI, Carolyn!)

Have we all made our CD drop spindles? Good! Now let's start spinning... here's one video (sans ) and another (poorer quality but with a lady talking us throught it).
I dragged out the drop spindle I bought 2 years ago and the ...whattaya call unspun wool anyway? roving? that I've been using to make felted Christmas ornaments... it's just not going to be happening tonight though. Too many single socks.

Work in Progress... continues to be toe up socks. I've finished the heel and am happily working up the leg now and have pictures here. (It's also under the "from our house" section over there) -->.

I also added an About Me that keeps changing locations making it impossible for Mom to find it. (Sorry, Mom! I think this is where it'll stay.)

Wondering where to see pictures of Mette-Marit and Haakon (and little Marius of course) at the wedding? Why Märtha Louise has given up her title? What's up with all the controversy surrounding Ari Behn?
Check out the young Norwegian royals. I can't help it... know it's sappy but all this romance makes me teary-eyed. I taped 8 hours of the royal wedding in the fall and forced Sigurd to take me to the Castle on May 17th last year to see them waving from the balcony to the school children marching by on Constitution Day. They're all just look so smile-y and beautiful....

Niddy noddy, niddy noddy, Two heads, one body,
Here's one, 'tain't one Twill be one, by and by.
Here's two, 'tain't two, Twill be two, by and by

Wondering what to do with those worn out CD's? Try making your very own hand spindle.

and just to brag a bit, I talked to my Daddy yesterday and he's actually making me a "no-lathe saxony style spinning wheel"! I'm going to get to start experiencing The Joy of Handspinning in about six months, he says. Yea Dad! According to the Woolery the Saxony is the wheel of fairy tales ...

Came across this article at Ironminds: Old People We Love: Martha Stewart. Follow along with Echo's love/hate relationship with Martha here.

Hakking: an obsession
Hakking is an old craft technique which is coming into fashion again. It's a sort of blend between knitting and crochet and was, in ancient times, practiced in large areas of Europe. In Norway, hakking was especially widespread along the coast, and was used for making mittens, hats, cardigans, shawls, shirts, undergarments and blankets. Hakking is easy to learn and the work grows quickly! ---my translation of a description of a course offered by Solvor Hofsli author of Hakking: nytt liv for gammelt håndarbeid (: new life for an ancient craft) From another source I see that the technique is believed to be North-African in origin and came to Norway around the middle of the 1800's and was in regular use until the 1920's.

I was popping into various tourist traps in Oslo one day and came across a lady doing something to a mitten with a strange-looking crochet-hook without-the-bump-in-the-middle. I asked her what it was she was doing...I believe Sigurd translated for me... and she said it was called hakking and an old Norwegian craft. Of course, that was enough to make me immediately fascinated. She, rather rudely I might add, said No, I could not learn it, I would have to find an older person who would be willing to teach me. Well ! challenge? definitely. I came across the book mentioned above by Solvor Hofsli (can't find it anywhere online, sorry) and searched the yarn stores for a hook. (Interestingly the lady at the LYS said, "hakking? what's hakking?" I tried to assure here it was a Norwegian handicraft, but I'm not sure she believed some crazy American who burst into her store as she was trying to close...) After some amount of investigation, I learned that hakking also goes by the name of Afghan stitch and Tunisian crochet, and double ended hooks are available at Walmart suffering under the embarassing name of "Cro-Hook". (I found out recently that my very talented aunt Elizabeth already knew all about this. However, Sigurd's mother, whose own mother had made a lovely blanket using the technique, did not. I showed her the book and the hook and it helped us bond.) Something hakking-related is known as pjoning. I saw some very interesting mittens made this way at the Norwegian Folk Museum. When (if) I figure that out, I'll pass it on.

Point being, this is what I've found out there so far:

• basic afghan stitch tutorial plus increasing and decreasing
  
  
• hakking technique, in Norwegian, but with good illustrations
  
  
• the afghan stitch: hints and tips
  
  
• afghan stitch special techniques
  
  
• tunisian crochet stitch gallery
  
  
• and last but not least a pattern for a preemie sweater
  

Ten Things I've Noticed About Norway

1. the toilet flush mechanism is on the top of the tank, not the side
2. there are no round doorknobs; they're all the lever-type
3. no top sheets on the bed; just bottom sheet and duvet-cover
4. babies are pushed around in prams, rather than strollers
5. the refrigerators are small; our refrigerator is normal sized to me and people comment on it's gigantic-ness
6. stores close at 6pm on Saturday and are closed on Sunday. Period.
7. commercials aimed at children are outlawed on Norwegian-based television stations (side note: most channels show commercials before and after the show/movie/news, not during)
8. squirrels are brown and have tufts of long fur on their ears and are rarely seen
9. they don't bag your groceries at the grocery store; it's a do-it-yourself kind of thing
10. sometimes there's moose trotting along the highway.

Current Work in Progress: "You're Putting Me On" socks pattern by Judy Gibson.

I'm finding myself watching these animated knitting techniques over and over.
It's got

• short row with wrap
• yarn over (forward and back)
• purl into back of loop
• double cast on
• several increases
• casting on at the end of a row
• i-cord
• binding off two pieces together
• picking up stitches
• and duplicate stitching.

dangerous chunky saw this great article on the knit list yesterday. I missed it totally despite having carefully read all 47 zillion emails. I am managing to knit while reading but I honestly don't know how much longer I can keep this up. :O)

Bless David Mackay of the knit list's heart. He's indexed sock patterns on the internet ! Whoohoo!

These are pictures that Theresa and Amalie drew of me in March of 1999... Cute, huh?

I was thinking of something funny I saw on a Norwegian travel show called Silje & Sigurd. These two were traveling through the south, from Savannah to New Orleans and bought a old clunker of a car which (naturally) promptly left them stranded on the side of a road. They pushed this gigantic car into a gas station (...I think it was in Alabama) and went in to ask the two ladies working there if they knew anything about cars. One of them said she knew a little and asked them, with that wonderful southern accent, if they were sure there was gas in the car. They said Yes, it did have gas, the needle was on half a tank. So, she went out with them to the car and looked inside and commented on how sometimes the needle on the gas gauge gets stuck when there's dirt underneath it. (It says something about how rare big, gas-guzzling engines in Norway that these two thought they could get from Savannah to Alabama without putting gas in the car.) (Of course they're rare because gas is $4 a gallon here. Despite them big oil rigs in the North Sea. Don't get me started on how expensive Norway is.) So they fill it up and (naturally) it starts right up. So they're making all these little comments to each other in Norwegian, and are obviously feeling rather stupid. (The funny part is coming now.) So Sigurd (not my Sigurd, the Sigurd on the TV show) turns to the gas station ladies and with a perfect Swedish chef voice says "We're visiting here from Sweden."

the wind is sweeping snow off the roof and the sun is shining through the clouds and for a few moments the air outside my kitchen window was filled with glitter...

Clara mentioned something about extreme knitting the other day. Well, here's extreme ironing. So it's definitely doable!

The first Friday Five so I probably ought to explain. Every Friday these folks post 5 questions for people to answer in their weblog, so here goes:

1. What is your favorite vacation spot?
  Savannah, Georgia. Love the atmosphere, the attitude, and the memories...

2. Where do you consider to be the biggest hell-hole on earth? (didn't write the question, Mom, just answering it.)
  Honestly, I can't think of anyplace that would fit that description. There are places that I considered to be boring when I was a teenager and there was nothing to do (whine, whine) but my interests have expanded. Fortunately.

3. What would be your dream vacation?
  One that lasted about a month. In a very laid-back place. And was someplace very warm... but with a nice breeze all the time. Like the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

4. If you could go on a road trip with anyone who would it be and why?
  Sigurd. 'Cause he's my best friend and I love 'im. And he makes me laugh, and he's great to talk to, and he gives the best hugs...

5. What are your plans for this weekend?
  I would like to get outdoors. (especially if it's sunny.) Maybe go feed the ducks at Frogner Park. Go eat at a little place we came across in Oslo that serves brunch on Sundays. Finish watching Chocolat. And Eva's øye (a Norwegian crime/thriller). And knit, knit, knit. :o)