Look Mom, I've been knitting!

A couple years ago my mom got tired of me asking her to knit things for me, so she got me a how-to book and some yarn and needles for my birthday. That's more than a hint!
For et par år siden ble mor lei av at jeg ba henne strikke ting til meg og gav meg en strikkebok, garn og strikkepinner i bursdagsgave. Det var mer enn et hint!

Now I enjoy knitting although I am only a novice and would like to get better. Like Nat who knits very beautiful things.
Nå liker jeg å strikke, selv om jeg fortsatt er en saktestrikkende nybegynner, men jeg vil gjerne bli bedre.

On my autumn to-do list was a chunky cowl for myself and when I found the Bandana Cowl pattern at Purl Bee, I decided it would be perfect for me. I had to learn one new technique (short rows) but otherwise it was very straight forward.
Jeg hadde lyst til å strikke en "hals" og da jeg fant "Bandana Cowl" mønsteret syns jeg det passet bra. Jeg måtte lære en ny teknikk (forkortede pinner), men ellers var det grei kjøring.

Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Chunky in Night Bloom - this yarn is super soft and has a beautiful sheen

Needles: US 9 (5,5mm) 16" circular (I bought lovely bamboo needles to go with my fancy yarn)

Garnet er Madelinetosh Tosh Chunky og er et deilig ullgarn med fantastisk fin glans.

Jeg strikket med rundpinne (40 cm) nr 5,5 - jeg kjøpte bambuspinner til å strikke med dette flotte garnet.

Here is myself looking all stylish (ha ha) with my new cowl. I love how it covers the opening of a v-neck sweater and how well it covers my neck. Perfect for the cold Norwegian winter!

Her modellerer jeg halsen. Jeg liker at den dekker åpningen på en v-halsgenser og hvor godt den dekker halsen min. Perfekt for en kald norsk vinter!

I might be making some more of these. I think they will make for good gifts...

Kan hende jeg lager flere slike. Jeg tror de vil være fine gaver...

Snappy toddler top

I used to think I'd sew all sorts of adorable outfits for my baby, but cute and cheap clothing from H&M has proved me wrong.
Før trodde jeg at jeg skulle sy masse fine klær til babyen min, men alle de søte og billige alternativene hos H&M har motbevist dette.

Last week, however, I decided to make a little top for my girl to wear at a family gathering. I decided to follow this pattern/tutorial from Prudent Baby. Although only 7 months old, I used the pattern for 12-18 months (she's quite high on the growth chart). The fabric I used was Terrain by Kate Spain for Moda.
Men forrige uke bestemte jeg meg for å sy en liten topp for henne å ha på seg i et familieselskap. Jeg brukte dette gratismønsteret fra Prudent Baby og lagde størrelse 12-18 mnd siden lillejenta er litt stor. Stoffet er Terrain designet av Kate Spain for Moda.

The top turned out really cute. My only difficulty was in attaching the collar to the body while keeping the seam allowance of the body INSIDE the collar. After a few turns with the seam ripper it finally worked out. Happy my thread matched the fabric so nicely so all my "fixing" didn't show!

Toppen ble kjempesøt - eneste vanskelige var å holde sømmonnet på kjoledelen inni kraven da den skulle sys på. Etter et par runder med sprettekniven ble det bra og takk og lov for at trådfargen matchet så bra, for det ble en del fiksing!

All finished up it was time to try it on my little girl. And it was almost too small!!! Her chubby little arms fit just so in the opening - no room to grow:(

Da den var ferdig og skulle prøves på lillejenta var den nesten for liten!!! De lubne små armene hennes passet akkurat inn i armhullet - ikke noe vokserom:(

Well, here she is - more concerned about seeing which guests were arriving then posing for the camera. And I was lucky to find coordinating pink legging at H&M!

Og her er hun - mer opptatt av å se hvilke gjester som kom enn å posere for kamera. Og jeg var heldig som fant noen matchende rosa leggings på H&M!

I'd like to make this pattern/style again, but will for sure have to make some ammendments for this little chunker!

Jeg kan tenkte meg å sy noe i dette mønsteret/stilen igjen, men må absolutt gjøre noen justeringer for denne lille bolla!

Linking up to:

Blogs to visit this week on the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop:
Sep 11
        Anne from SpringLeaf Studios
         Kristy from Cotton Addiction
 Sep 13
         Julie from That's Sew Julie
         Chelsea from Pins and Bobbins

Thanks to Beth for hosting!