2013 – Finishes

It’s been a wonderful year.
Like the years before, I am doing a list of my finished projects.

Stitching
Freebie from TraLaLa – finished as a pin cushion
Total: 1 finished project

Knitting
Cardigan for Pálmi
Curry cardigan for myself
Camomille shawl for myself
Turn a square hat for the man
Grettir for Óli Sindri
Total: 5 finished projects

Crochet
Wave blanket for Karítas
Bugða blanket for Sumarrós
Vintage blanket for my sister, Gyða
Electric Ripple blanket for a friends baby
Granny Stripe blanket for my nephew, Adrían
Viktoría collar for me
Viktoría necklace for Aimee
Viktoría necklace for Karítas
Viktoría necklaces for Þóra and Freyja
Viktoría necklace for Erla, Sumarrós’s sister
Viktoría necklace for Helga Soffía
Viktoría necklace for Steinunn Lóa
Bow Tie for my nephew, Adrían
Bow Tie for Starri, Sumarrós’s brother
Slaufa, for a friends baby
Slaufa, for Karítas’s baby sister
Cardigan for Karítas’s baby sister
Washcloths for me and the man
Washcloth for Karítas
Washcloth for Sumarrós
Mittens for Sumarrós
Mittens for Karítas
Hat for Karítas
Light green jar cover
White jar cover
Purple jar cover
Orange jar cover #1
Orange jar cover #2
Dark green jar cover
Red jar cover
Gray jar cover
White and black jar covers
Crochet stone #1
Crochet stone #2
Lægð, cowl
6 hair elastics for Sóley
Wash cloth
Súld, hat for my cousin Bjarki (here modeled by Karítas)
Lægð, wrapped scarf for Karítas
Bow Tie for my friend Einar. No photo, but one is hopefully coming soon.
Total: 40 finished projects

Yarnstorming
Hlemmur – bus stop in Reykjavík
The sign that marks my grandfathers summer house
Laxá í Kjós
By Hespuhúsið
In a car
Womens Rights
Gay Pride
Total: 7 finished projects

We wish you a very happy 2014 and I hope that you continue to drop by to my little blog.

Bits & Pieces

Hello! The weekend completely flew by me, so I did not update on Sunday like I try to do. My little sister turned 26 on Sunday so we had brunch at my parents house that was absolutely amazing.

Here are some photos for ya!

Winter decided to visit us here in Reykjavík for 2 days last week. It left as soon as it came. This has been the strangest winter I have ever experienced.

Every other Friday night, when the girls are home, we make pizza. Karítas loves to help out and puts the toppings on the pizza for her and her sister.

Karítas’s bed made with her wave blanket. I love it.

I started a crocheted sock! One down, one to go. Pictures to follow when I finish the second one.

My confirmation photo. This was 20 years ago, thank you very much!

And surprise! I have a stitching finish. I decided to start UFO Tuesdays back again at my Icelandic stitching group since most of us are doing much more knitting and/or crochet these days than stitching. So some of us are dedicating Tuesdays to working on our very neglected UFO’s. I finished this cute freebie from TraLaLa into a pincushion last night. Cute, isn’t it?

2011 – Finishes

Happy New Year! I can’t believe another year is here. 2011 was in many ways a very good year and in other ways a pretty crappy one for me. Probably the biggest roller coaster year ever for me. It ended well though and 2012 started out well too so here is hoping for a good one!

Like always I do a list of finishes so here we go.

Knitting finishes:
1) She’s a Rainbow shawl. Pattern based on Simple Things by Mary-Heather Cogar.
2) Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann
3) The Whitney Headband by Jennifer DiMaria
4) Basic Four Needle Mittens – Super Fine by Patons
5) Stockholm Scarf by knittedblissJC
6) Basic Child’s Gradiance Sock in Foot Prints by Laura Lough
7) Pretty basic socks – no real pattern
8) Barnapeysa með hettu by Astrid Ellingsen
9) Still Light by Veera Välimäki
10) Brownstone by Jared Flood
11) Stripe Study Shawl by Veera Välimäki
12) Terra by Jared Flood – finished but need to wash and block it and take new pictures.
13) Butternut Scarf by Anne Hanson – finished but need to take better pictures.
14) Tree of Light by Cordula Surmann-Schmitt
15) Akimbo by Stephen West
16) I Heart Lace by Inese Andzane
17) Parisian Twist Headband Ear Warmer by Elisa McLaughlin
18) Bow Headband by Beth Postelwait
19) Honey Hat by Hannah Fettig
20) Classic Mittens by Bernhard Ulmann
21) Socks for Bjarki – my own design short row heel

Stitching finishes:
1) Antique Hearts Needleroll – Shepherd’s Bush
2) Heart Pinkeep – freebie
3) Strawberry Emery – Blackbird Designs
4) Winter Pinkeep – Just Nan freebie

So happy new year dear friends and readers!

Sock knitting and exchange stitching

I finished my first pair of knitted socks! YAY! I have always been a bit afraid of the idea of knitting a heel so that has been the main reason for not knitting socks. But when I decide it is time to do something I usually do not quit until I am able to do it. So, I managed to do it! And off course it was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

Socks for Karítas
Pattern: Basic Child’s Gradiance Sock in Foot Prints by Laura Lough (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Alpaca Select 4 Ply
Needles: 3mm

And some stitching. Yes, I finally finished a stitching project. I signed up for an exchange in my Icelandic stitching group with a pink theme and figured that the needleroll that I started as a SAL in January would be a great exchange piece. So I finished that one up and sent it along. The pictures are not good at all since it was night time when I was shooting them, and absolutely no natural light to be found anywhere.

Antique Hearts Needleroll – Shepherd’s Bush Kit

Christmas Ornament Exchange

I stitched! Can you believe it? And I really enjoyed it! Like, really, REALLY enjoyed it!
I organized a christmas ornament exchange in my stitching group like I do every year and decided to take part in it myself, just to challenge myself to some stitching. I honestly thought that I would maybe not enjoy it, or even not know how to do it anymore (not really, but still!). I decided on something small, but cute. And this is the outcome.

Fabric: 28ct Reflections from Silkweaver
Pattern: Snow Faces by Just Nan
Threads: DMC
Beads: Mill Hill

Cute isn’t it?

I have spent some time going through my blog the past few days. Man, I have really done a lot of stitching. And most of it is pretty damn amazing even if I do say so myself. I miss it. I figured that out while knitting this little thing. So, I am going to stitch at least a little each week (maybe just for a day or something) in 2011. I have SO MUCH STASH! It is heartbreaking to just watch it collect dust in my stash cabinet. I realize that I have to go through it and sort out what I know I will never stitch, but I haven’t had the time or the heart to do so as of yet. I will though, but only after I figure out more about what I want to finish and what not. I looked over this list that I made in September 2008 and most of these projects are still something I want to do. Do you have a project on that list and would fancy a SAL? We could dedicate one day a week to it and post pictures and encourage each other on. Please let me know, I know I need some encouragement at least!

I am not giving up on knitting at all, I would just like to do some stitching also! I really, really do miss it!

Heart Exchange

Finally, I was able to give the Heart Exchange to Björg. I was supposed to deliver about a month ago but Karítas got sick, then I got sick, then work was busy, then Björg was out of town etc. My parents were going to her house for dinner last night (Björg is my dad’s sister) so I seized the chance and asked my mom to deliver it to her for me. Word of mouth says she loved it, so now I can happily share pictures.

Pattern: ‘Heart Stitcher’ freebie from A mon ami Pierre
Fabric 32ct white Lugana
Thread: NN

I really like how it turned out. And yes, I can still stitch, haha! I have been fondling some of my stitching stash recently and I do miss it, but there is something that is keeping me away, not sure what. Oh well, I am sure the bug will bite me again pretty soon! It is not like the stash is going anywhere really, and I am quite happy knitting at the moment.

Speaking of knitting, I am knitting wool sweater (lopapeysa) for my cousin Bjarki. I have just attached the sleeves to the body and will be working on the chest pattern today. Getting very close to getting it done! I got many, many other projects lined up so I better get to it. Stitch Markers are selling pretty well, least through etsy though. I have sold some at work, my mom at her office, some in Denmark and yet others through Facebook. I made a whole bunch last night and posted them on the Little Lillies and Roses page on Facebook. Become a fan if you want 🙂

The secret is out!

Here is what I have been working recently. This is a set of smalls for my friend Birgitta who posted on her Facebook profile asking if someone wanted a knitted set of gloves, a scarf and a hat by her. I jumped at the offer (her knitting is beautiful!!) and she asked for a biscornu in return since she has been reading my blog and watching my stitching for quite some time. Well, I thought that a biscornu was not enough for all that I was getting in return, so I decided to add to the gift for her. And here is the result.

Pattern: Freebie from the EMS site, adapted to fit the biscornu and fob but used as is in the scissor case.
Fabric: Pale gray 32ct linen from my stash
Threads: DMC #52 and Perle Cotton #8 in 553
Chrystals: Swarovski

So that’s it! I will post pictures of the gloves, scarf and mittens once they arrive to Reykjavík from the north!

And now I have some sweaters to knit! One for my cousin and one for Ben’s sister. So I better get to it!

Award given finally!

Back in the good old days, you know, when I used to blog and stitch a lot more than I do these days, I had a competition on my blog. Commenter #4000 would get an award. And finally today, commenter #4000 got her award. Her name is Svala, and she lives here in Reykjavík so we could actually meet and I could give her her award in person! It took me a long time to finish since I lost my stitching mojo, and then planning the meeting also took a while, but it all worked out in the end, and earlier today, after work, Svala came to my house and got her award, and some coffee!

Thank you Svala for your visit, it was wonderful to finally meet you!
And here are pictures of the set of smalls that I made for her.

Thread: DMC 115
Linen: 32ct cream linen from my stash
Patterns: From my old Icelandic patternbooks, and a freebie from here

In other news, my boyfriend Ben visited my fair country for 12 days and left yesterday. I miss him terribly. This long distance stuff is hard! But worth it! We spent a week in a cabin in the countryside and did some driving around. Here you can see the pictures.

Small Token

I actually finished something! I can hardly believe it!
In an attempt to get my stitching mojo back sometime this summer, I decided to place a small order of new things that might interest me and get me stitching again. Well, one of them is started, and another one I just did the finishing touches on about 15 minutes ago.
I am going to try my very best to start updating here regularly. I miss you all so much and I miss blogging, stitching, taking pictures, doing finishing work etc. So I am going to try to update at least once a week. If the stitching mojo comes back full time, I am sure I will update more frequently!
Anyway, on to the pictures of my finish!

Pattern: Small Token, Blackbird Designs – by Barb Adams
Fabric: 32ct Clay Belfast
Threads: Crescent Colours Wild Berries, Milady’s Teal, Ye Olde Gold, Secondhand Rose and Pea Pod.

The backing fabric and the lace are from my stash. I also just used Polyfill for the stuffing since I had it. The lace is some of what I got at the antique store earlier this year. I love how it turned out! Everything just seemed to click!

Well, I better get going. I am having dinner at my parents house. Then tomorrow my younger daughter Karítas is coming back home after traveling for two weeks with her dad. I can not wait to hug and kiss her again! I have missed her so much!

Anyone remember me?

Oh it has been long. Way too long. Sorry I went MIA, but sometimes life just gets in the way of things. Everything is good though, I have just been really busy with, yeah, life. So it has been good and fun 🙂

I got an e-mail from Jennifer who won my bloggaversary draw telling me that she got the package that I sent her. You can see pictures of the goodies over at her blog.

I am however going to show you some detailed pictures of the first notebook that I finished and was a part of the gift to her. I am absolutely in love with how it turned out and it was very hard to give up, but Jennifer tells me that she loves it so I know it went to the right place. I am definitely going to be using this finishing technique more!

Pattern is from LHN’s The Rain Fell. I changed it a lot to fit my ideas.
Fabric: Lakeside Linens River Willow 32ct
Threads: CCC and DMC

I added some pearl buttons to the back and a small charm. I wanted the book to be simple and plain and I think I managed that. I also love that fabric, it is just so beautiful!

I have finished knitting my cape! I just sewed the buttons on today and wore it. It is just awesome! I will post pictures soon hopefully, I just need someone to come over and take pictures of me wearing it. I am sure that will happen soon. I have started another knitting project, a very simple scarf for a friend in Gryffindor colors. Oh, speaking of Harry Potter, have you seen the trailer for the new movie? I am oh so excited about it! Can’t wait!

Well. I am going to get comfy on my sofa and stitch a little. I haven’t been stitching at all really, and I need to finish up one thing that is a gift.

Oh, one more thing. Next Saturday we are getting a new member to our family.

We haven’t decided on a name yet, we need to get to know her a little first I think. I can’t wait, I really miss having a cat!

Purple set of smalls

After I gave my aunt the set of smalls for her birthday gift, her friend loved it so much that my aunt asked me if I was willing to make another set for this friend of hers for her birthday. I just finished these today and again love how they turned out. It is amazing how much a different thread and fabric can do for a design. It sometimes completely changes it. Here are some shots.

Biscornu: Four Little Hearts by Indigo Rose (freebie, no longer available)
Scissor Case: Wildflower Hearts by Indigo Rose (freebie, found here)
Scissor fob: A small portion of Wildflower Hearts

Fabric: 32ct Antique White Belfast by Zweigart
Thread: DMC 52

Now I am going to get back to knitting my cape. I seem to have misplaced the pattern for it though, but I am sure I will find it. It was here somewhere yesterday.

Happy Easter to those celebrating!

A very belated gift for Tracy

I had my friends Tracy’s name for the Christmas exchange in our stitching group. I was super busy and needed extra time to do the finishing on it etc. so Tracy was gracious enough to give me all the extra time I needed to be able to finish it up as I wanted. I mailed her package about two weeks ago and she got it yesterday. She e-mailed me and told me she absolutely loved it so now I can share a picture of the finished product with you.

Little Women Series by Little House Needleworks finished as a pillow.

The photo is really dark. The fabric around is green and the corners are purple. The back has the same purple fabric as the corners. I thought green would work best with these designs because each of them has something green in them so that was the only color they all had in common. I wanted to have something purple too since that is Tracy’s favorite color.

Here you can see the fabric better, the other photo is a bit dark. I added these cute wooden flower buttons to each corner as I thought the pillow needed a little something extra.

I am going to ask Tracy to take a picture of it stuffed and hopefully in daylight. It was still dark for so many hours a day when I took that picture that it didn’t turn out that well. She also had a birthday in February so she also got the Bourse I made during the Finishing weekend at my house.

Tracy I am so happy that you liked what I made for you and once again, I am so very sorry that the gifts were so late.

A set of smalls for a birthday gift

I have been secretly stitching away on this for the last couple of days. This is a birthday gift for my fathers sister who is turning 50 tomorrow. I am pretty sure that she doesn’t know about my blog (I even called my mom to make sure) so I am taking my chance with posting these pictures here.

If you have been reading my blog for some time, you will know that I have done both of these patterns before. I am still not sick of them. To me it feels like if you play around with different fabric and threads and colors, you get a completely different outcome every single time. I love how this turned out. I was having a hard time figuring out the perfect floss to go with that fabric because her favorite color range are orange colors. So I knew I wanted to use this fabric, but I didn’t figure out what floss to use with it. One night my mom came over, and the genius that she is, spotted this floss right away. I started stitching and it just turned into this amazing set of smalls in my hands. I hope you enjoy these pictures.

Biscornu: Four Little Hearts by Indigo Rose
Scissor Case: Wildflower Hearts by Indigo Rose
Scissor fob: A small portion of Wildflower Hearts

Fabric: 32ct Cognaq Belfast
Thread: DMC #69

Next up is doing the finishing on the Bloggaversary gift for Jennifer. Yeah, I am way behind but things have been quite busy around here. I just hope that the finishing that I have in mind for that certain gift turns out as good as I hope. Wish me luck!

Needlebook for Brenda

I finally got around to doing the finishing in the last piece that my friend Brenda sent me to do finishing work on. I had no clue what to finish this as, but someone suggested a needlebook and since I had never made one, I decided to go for it. It felt great to sit down last night and do some crafts after the past few days.
So here are some pictures of the finished result.

Front view – Stitched by Brenda – Finishing done by me.

Inside view – Stitched by Brenda – Finishing done by me.

Close up of the button and ribbon – Stitched by Brenda – Finishing done by me.

Fabric on the back and inside – Stitched by Brenda – Finishing done by me.

I hope you like it honey!
And Brenda and Tracy, I am going to try to mail your goodies tomorrow if work is not too hectic. If not tomorrow, then on Monday! Love ya girls!

Finishing Camp – Results!

Friday night was thankfully just a slow low key night. I wasn’t feeling well because of the antibiotics and I also still had a slight fever. It was just me, Rósa and Guðbjörg that night and we just sat and stitched and talked. It was very nice. Oh, Lára and Sveina turned up late that night but didn’t stay long.

On Saturday I had a lot of guests coming. Me, Rósa, Guðbjörg, Sissú, Lára, Munda, Magnea, Anna Rósa, Aisté, Una, Erla Björk (and maybe I am forgetting someone) were all here at some point of the day and there were seven of us here for dinner. I was feeling lots better than the day before so I did get a lot of finishing done. I did finishing for myself and helped those that needed helping. It was great having all these ladies here sharing the joy of stitching and finishing, all helping each other out and learning from one another.

I am going to share with you pictures of the finishing I did for myself, for Brenda (who sent me the pieces a while ago) and a birthday present that I did for my friend Tracy.

Finishing for myself out of pieces that were stitched by me:

I stitched this tree in 2007.
Design by Lynda Baldauf – Scandinavian Stitches.
Stitched on 32ct Silkweaver Solo. Added red jingle bells instead of stitching the hearts that were in the design.

A bourse for my friend Tracy. I stitched this piece in 2008.
Little House Needleworks – Faith
28ct Gingham Natural/Cream Linen
Crescent Color threads

Needleroll kit from Shepherd’s Bush

Rose Mosaic Needleroll by M-designs
Stitched with recommended threads and embelishments
Fabric is 32ct antique white linen

These are all for me except the bourse, it is for my good friend Tracy who saw the bourse I did for Brenda and fell in love with it and wanted one. So, it is her birthday next weekend so off course she is getting one!

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Finishing I did for Brenda out of the stitched pieces she sent me:

I loved how this bookmark turned out. I thought it needed a little something to it once I had stitched it together, so I added some beads to the bottom of it. I hope Brenda will like it, I know she loves to read almost as much as she loves stitching 🙂

Cottage Garden Pinkeep
Design by Country Cottage Needleworks

Phew. So that’s it!
I hope everyone learned a lot this weekend and that people are now not afraid of trying new things and just go for it! I am thinking about having one of these weekends again in a couple of months. So if you want to come, you better start saving up! 🙂
I hope you all had a great weekend. I am off to bed!

Also, it is my dad’s 54th birthday today! Happy Birthday daddy! Love you!