Testing, testing

Hi there! Yes, I am testing. I have been telling you about the trouble I have had, trying to blog on the mobile. The app is not so great, but since I do all other computer stuff onthe mobile, this blog has been neglected. But hopefully not anymore. 

Today is my birthday, andmy darling husband gave me anamazing gift, a surf pad. Or is it called a tablet? Either way, I am loving it already. It is easier to blog from, and way better when I search new patterns on Ravelry. I don't have to use that stupid blogger app anymore, even though itseems I will have to e-mail the pictures to the blog since I cannot get the uploader to work. But I can live with that. This will hopefully make me able and willing to post more often.

This was not my only gift. My daughter gave a lovely pair of ear rings formed like roses. And my son made me this amazing creation:

Is he creative or what? :) It says "congratulations" in Swedish, and then my age. I adore it! And I am so very happy about this day spent with friends and family, and the loving gifts I have received. I am a very happy 36-year-old in deed! 

Tomorrow is work day, so I better get myself and the kids in bed. See you!

First snow

Hi again! Felt like blogging... :) Several times a day or weeks between, it's supposed to be fun so I will do it when I feel like it!

The first snow has been seen today. Well, I never saw it as there was so little of it. I did see the hail though, but then it is noisier... :) Sadly, my body hates this weather. Snow, hail, rain, snow... It hurts everywhere. So I try to do things I enjoy, to forget the pain. And having fun actually eases the pain. I bet somebody has made research on that! :)

I have been struggling with some fingerless mitts, and finished them today. Except weaving in the ends, but that does not count as fun! Now I am making this shawl bigger. Thought it looked pretty, do you see that the hook and the blanket have the same colour? :)

A few thoughts

No pictures today, I'm afraid, just me and my thoughts. Hope you're fine with that.

I've been thinking a lot about this blog lately. I haven't been updating a lot lately, and it has a million reasons I guess. But the most obvious reason is that this has turned into a knit and crochet blog, and I don't knit and crochet that much anymore. Not that I don't want to, I am simply busy or too tired to get on with it. I don't work that much, but it makes me tired. And my spare time goes to tending to my family and the house. So I don't have much to show or talk about here, really. I've even thought about closing this down. But I don't really want to. So either you will see less of me around here, or I could go back to blogging about anything that comes across my mind. Or a mix of both. I know some of you will be fine with that, but I also think that a lot of (all of?) my newer followers are here mainly because of my African Flower Bag, hoping for more of the kind. Maybe some day, but I don't want to get your hopes up.

Another thing that I have been thinking about is... are you really reading what I write? I don't get a lot of comments, and I know that some friends and relatives are giving up because of me writing in English. If you are reading, please let me know! I get a feeling most people in the statistics simply browse by in search for nice patterns, not staying or reading much.

Anyway, I have been searching for patterns today. My mum was kind enough to buy me seven lovely skeins of yarn on a trip to a local yarn store. And I would love to make myself a cardigan, or something like that. But as always, it's hard to find a pattern that I like since most of them require soooo much yarn. But I think I have find a few alternatives now. I'll let you know.

Now, I have some laundry to take care of, a pair of fingerless gloves to finish and a shawl. to enlarge. It's made in lovers knots, so it will be dead simple to just pick up where I stopped and make it larger. Hopefully I'll remember to bring the hooks and the extra yarn upstairs this time. Too lazy (and somewhat tired) to hit the stairs again, once I'm up there and in the mood for some crochet.

See you later!

Oh I get by...

... with a little help from my friends.
I have been crocheting like a mad lately, but I couldn't tell you since it was all part of a surprise.
Some friends of ours have had a tough time, not lately but for years. Their oldest daughter isn't well, and it has been hard for the entire family. Now, also her little sister have a lot of problems with her health. Any parent knows how it wears you down when your kid is in pain or not feeling well. And this has been going on for years...
This family was going abroad for a week (last week), and an aunt to the kids wanted to surprise them by giving them a home make-over while they were away. Her husband had promised to paint two bedrooms for them, but she thougt that if we all came together we could do so much more. So we did!
All the bedrooms got new wallpapers, two new floors were put in, a bathroom painted, a fence built, the garden was tended to, and the entire house tidied up. Things that needed to be done, but that the family were too tired to do. Friends and family helped with what they could. Time, things or money. Well, so much could be said about this project, starting out as a "please help me clean my sister's home" and becoming a real makeover. If we all come together and do what we can, great things can be accomplished!
Well, I think you can guess what I did... :) I made flower garlands for the baby sister's room with jungle theme, a soccer cushion for the brother and an african flower cushion for the older sister. And labels for baskets in their kitchen, sewed in place with metal buttons. :) And a few other things. And helped out with some broken blinders (you know, in the windows... to keep the sun out... is it the right word?)
Was the family surprised? Yes they were! And very, very happy! :)
Take this story as an example, that we can do so much for someone if we come together and give what we have. It's a blessing to be able to put a smile in somebody's face! And it doesn't even have to be a big thing that you do! :)

Never ending scarf

Wow, it's been a week already? Time flies...

I wanted to show you the scarf I made for my daughter's friend. The one in the basket a few posts ago. Well, it was finished last weekend and handed over to its new owner on the school bus on Monday. Didn't get too many chances to snap a picture of it, since my girl put it in her school bag as soon as all the ends were fastened, but she did agree to pose a little for me. :)

I made it very simple. Three stripes, blue, yellow and green. First I thought I would knit it in the round, but since I don't like purling I decided to knit rows instead, but still on my circular needles. I was a good girl this time, knitting a little sample to see how many stitches I would need. I like making these scarfs about 140 cm wide (or long, you know what I mean). Since this was made in garter stitch, it didn't curl up at all. Yay! :D When it was all done, I stitched the two ends together. Done in just about three TV nights.

The new owner loved it, and when I picked my girl up in school the other day, I was met by the third friend with a shy smile on her face. :) My girl asked me kindly if I could make a scarf for her too... Lol! Of course I can, and I will as soon as I have finished a few other projects I have to get out of my hands first. Black and purple this time. I wonder if this will be the last one, or if I will end up knitting scarfs for the entire school? :-S Then this never ending scarf will be a never ending story... But I do love how my girl is so willing to share with her friends, and not just try to keep everything I make for her self. Love her!