More Christmas!

It's the 1st of December...

...and I have that Christmas feeling!

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent and I started decorating for Christmas. It's not all done yet, I need to buy curtains and vacuum the living room, but I have my Advent star up in the window glowing warmly - The majority of Norwegians have something lit hanging in their windows in the Advent period, and here in Tromsø that's especially visible, since the sun has gone away now and it won't come back until the 21st of January. So even though it's dark outside we can see stars and candles glowing from other people's houses. I have one electrically lit in the living room and a little red glass candle lit one in the kitchen window:



I've also found my little nisse-girl (more about the term "nisse" in Scandinavian folklore here), as well as the Advent Wreath, and I lit the first candle yesterday while working with some consultant reading by the kitchen table. By the way - wikipedia and most sites say that Advent is a Christian tradition, but here in Norway people don't generally associate it with Christianity, and so-called heathens celebrate Advent as well ;) The kitchen wall is empty and white because it's waiting for the perfect piece of rectangular-shaped something that I'm going to hang there once I find it...:



I've been busy reading some young adult books for evaluation lately (free lance work), but I've also had time to knit a little bit - First I made mittens - I followed this chart. The only problem was... Well, I watched Desperate Housewives while knitting the first one. I was relaxed and calm. Then I made the second one watching Dexter... The gauge came out completely different, and the second mitten looked as though I'd used needles two sizes smaller than the first one... So I frogged the second, but here's a photo of the first one, still waiting for it's mate:



I also finished my second ever torso sized garment - A Shawl Collar Vest that turned out nicely with comfortably soft yarn that I got in a RAK from medievalmouse on Ravelry - I've been wearing it every night since, it's so warm around the shoulders! Please ignore my tired look on the photo (I cut my head away from most of them...):

Back to knitting again...

After having had a slow couple of months of knitting, I can't seem to think of much else lately. I started knitting with the wonderfully soft Malabrigo yarnnonni sent me again, and I've made myself a winter hat, along with a pair of gloves and a scarf. However, it all started with northern lights. I was on my way home one day and just saw these amazing northern lights dancing and wriggling over the sky. When I came home I was happy, with cold ears, and with the need to knit something green. While going through my stash, I found the balls of Noro Kureyon that ToriKnits sent me and a ball of blue-greenish Cascade Comfort from a bookswap I was in. I was soon hooked on the Fake Isle Hat-pattern and here are the results:



The two green ones will probably be Christmas gifts. The one in the middle is mine and it matches my Spirogyra wristwarmers (for warm days) and the Peekaboo mittens I've made (for cold days):




The only thing I would have changed when looking back, is the cuff - it is a bit too loose, I should have gone down a needle size on them. the scarf is just finished and since I'm at work I can't add photos of it until later - I'll take one of me wearing the whole set :)

In closing, I'll have to say that this is really a nice period to get knitcrazy in! Christmas is approaching and time flies - hopefully I'll get together some nice knitted gifts :)

Materialistic, who me?

Christmas wishlist:

- Contradictions by Calvin Klein
- Eternity Rose Blush by Calvin Klein, if anyone can get ahold of it (It's a limited edition from 2002, but some people still sell it online)
- Products from La Roche Posay (sold at pharmacies)

- Battlestar Galactica seasons 1-3
- Desperate Housewives season 3
- Grey's Anatomy season 2-3
- Firefly
- Charles Dickens-box
- Brontë-sisters-box
- Crime scene-box

- Oolong Jasmine #12 from Adagio
- "Boîte à.."-boxes from Taras (sucre, bonbons, cacao, café, sel, bobos, photos, biscottes, bazar)

- Jordana Paige's Messenger Bag in Pink/Black Tweed
- Sock yarn from Midnightsky Fibers
- Yarn in tones of purple, cold pink, lavender, fuscia, burgundy and brown
- Knitting needles size 1mm (Yes, I'm crazy)
- Folk Knitting in Estonia by Nancy Bush
- Folk Socks by Nancy Bush
- Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush
- Dies for my QuicKutz Squeeze
- Scrap/card making accessories