Book meme

I was tagged both by Linda and Sonja so I think it is a sign to do this :-)

1: Hardcover or paperback, and why?

Both, for example craft books that I use a lot I prefer hardcover since they can stand a lot more abuse, but otherwise paperbacks because they are cheaper.

2: If I were to own a book shop, I would call it...

The cabinet of curiosities, where I would stock all kinds of book and have a combo of coffeeshop / knitting and stitching room

3: My favorite quote from a book (mention the title)

I can't remember the exact quote to put in here but it is from the Unbearable lightness of being by Milan Kundera

4: The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be...

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (they co author so I put them as one)

5:If I was going to a deserted island and could bring only one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be...

The Bible, not because I am a born again Christian or such but it has all kinds of stories and poems in it and would probably last a long time and be an inspiration as well

6: I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that...

Would clean the house so I could just sit and read or listen to audio books while I stitch or knit.

7: The smell of an old book reminds me of...

Happiness, I am always happy in bookstores and with books

8: If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title) it would be...

I am not sure

9: The most overestimated book of all times is...

hmm, can't say all books have their merits I think

10: I hate it when a book...

Ends, especially the really good ones.

I tag Hafrún and Ásdís

I did it!

Finally I did what I have been wanting to to for more than 10 years, I bought a spinning wheel. A Louet S10 at a very good price, it is used but has has been gone over and everything is tip top. I cant wait to get it and think about all the wonderful rovings and tops that are out there ready to spin *drool*

As for other thing I haven't done much as I have been sick and have been reading a lot and not doing any knitting or stitching.
My stash however has grown and I will post pictures soon of the loot.

Monkey Socks

Well one more pair of Monkey socks down. I am still on row 10 of the Madeira Lace in the Shetland Tea Shawl and as it is knitted over nearly 600 stitches it is slow going.

Not Dead just MIA

I have been a bad, bad blogger and now it is time to see the error of my ways and start again. There are reasons why I haven't felt up to blogging but I won't go into them here. I have been knitting and cross stitching however and have managed to do a lot of things that I am very satisfied with including finishing the backstitching on three UFO'S that had been waiting for some time. But what else has been happening? I will go over the most important ones in chronological order:

1. My friend Linda gave me this wonderful scissor fob, I stole the pictures from her blog because she is a much better at photographing than I am and I want to do it justice. Since I got it I haven't lost my scissors one time and for those that know my that is saying something, so thank you Linda for this amazingly beautiful thing and for being my friend.

2. I became a grandmother for the very first time, this is one of the best feelings that I have ever had and I thank my oldest son and daughter in law for the wonderful gift of making my a granny at the ripe old age of 45. Dagbjört Rós was born on June 21 and is a healthy and of course a beautiful baby girl.


3. I went to Heidelberg and had a great time and one of the highlights of my trip was to meet Holly of Proseknitic.de and spend an afternoon with her talking and knitting. I thank her for the hospitality and her generosity which has added to my stash and hope I will someday be able to repay her in kind if she ever travels my way. The picture is from her blog as my pictures were somehow lost.


4. I went to Akureyri and visited my son and his family and had a great time getting to know my granddaughter and see their new apartment and left feeling certain that they are happy and healthy and are on to a great start with their new role as parents.
I also met my daughter in laws mother and she is a very accomplished knitter and she showed my photos of some amazing stuff she has done and of course I saw the beautiful things she had made for Dagbjört Rós.


5. I went to a stitching weekend with my Icelandic cross stitching group at a summer cottage in the country and had a great time. Since I am not the most outgoing person I was somewhat reluctant to go but thanks to my friend Guðbjörg who was one step ahead of all my excuses for not going so I went. I am very lucky to have such a great friend and she has been a true friend to my this last months and I just want to say that anyone who has a friend like her is a very lucky person indeed.

5. I finished the 52 pair plunge, that is to say I knitted 52 pairs of socks in 6 months, half the alloted time for the challenge. I am very proud of this although most of the socks are very plain and not at all challenging. But it gave me something to focus on and that has been a very good thing. Here is a link to pictures of the 52 pairs.

So now I have dealt with the highlights of what has been going on as far as I can remember anyway and as for what I am doing now is that I am still knitting socks and have started the Shetland Tea Shawl from a Gathering of Lace and it is coming along nicely, pictures will follow soon.
I am also stitching on a Christmas mystery SAL in my Icelandic stitching group Allt í Kross and that is great fun. I have also listened to many great audio books and am currently listening to Curiosity Killed the Cat sitter by Blaze Clement and enjoying that very much.

I joined Ravelry a few weeks back and have a great task ahead of my putting in projects and getting some of my stash cataloged, this is a great community and I only wish that there was on like that for cross stitcher's as well.
But all "good" things come to an end and I think I have covered every thing in this blog up to now and hopefully I will be better at blogging once I started again.

Needleroll from Guðbjörg

Guðbjörg gave me this wonderful needlerool yeserday as the first day of summer present, and because she knew that I needed cheering up.
It is much more beautiful up close, but thanks Guðbjörg for brigthen my day and being such a good friend always.

52 pair plunge, socks # 12

Tigerstripes socks for my daughter Hulda Sveindís
Made out of Skacel Tramboline Stretch, that has 70% wool, 7% polyester and 23% nylon in it. Lovely yarn to knit with, probably as good as I have at least three more of those to make
.
Linda I was thinking about naming them Tigershark socks after the jocke on Beauty and the Geek the other day :-)

52 pair plunge, socks # 11

Those socks are knit from the new Crystal Palace Panda Cotton, which is a 55% Bamboo, 24% cotton and 21% elastic nylon blend. The pattern is yarn over cables and the size is womans medium and the pair took almost 2 skeins, Hulda is very happy with them and says they feel wonderful.
When knit up this yarn is wonderful but knitting with it is not a pleasure as it splits awfully.

52 pair plunge, socks # 10

Regular selfstriping sockyarn, orignin unknown but guess OnLine. Cast on 56 stitches and knit with short row heel.
I am thinking about knitting up two or four more pairs now for the plunge and then move on to other things like shawls and scarfs.
But it is hard to resist knitting socks when you have a stash full of wonderful yarn that you want to know how looks knitted up :-)

52 pair plunge, socks # 9

Another pair of Monkey socks, made out of Lisa Souza Berry Poppins colorway. I love her yarn it knits up like a dream.

52 pair plunge, socks # 8

Those socks were a gift for my friend Linda, done out of Regia Silk with a simple yarn over cable pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks.
You can also see that I got my sock blockers from Chappy's Fiber Arts and Crafts on Ebay, l got those and a set in men's size and also blockers for knee socks.

I got a package this morning and had to go to customs

For those of you that don't know, the customs officials here in Iceland bring out the worst in me. I hate going there if there is something that is not strait forward and I have to deal with them. Usually I just go with my invoice pay the VAT and go home with the newest addition to me stash, but not this morning.
I had been overcharged by a German seller due to a misunderstanding about Iceland being in the EU witch we are not. Therefore we are not required to pay VAT in the EU but pay it in Iceland instead, so he refunded the VAT that he had charged me and this did all go smoothly and I got my next order almost free due to the refund I had.
BUT explaining this to the customs officials even tho I had an invoice and a Credit Note was a whole other matter. I lost it pretty badly and told them that the only thing that I could compare to going there and have to deal with them would be taking a trip to hell.
I told told them that I didn't understand why they assumed that you were lying to them and I didn't like that, I probably said a few other words of wisdom as well ;-)
I also got packages from China and the US and had to explain them, one was a few hooks that had been missing from my order of knitting needles from China and the other was a package of Chinese yarn that I don't have a clue why I was getting as I had gotten all the yarn from this seller previously. I told them that and said that they should just keep it as it was not worth the bother. I also got a present from the US and they found this very suspicious but I guess that I am allowed to have friends because they let me have this package.
Acutally I got the hooks, the present and the Chinese yarn on my first trip to the customs, I guess they didn't like to upset me any further about the Chinese yarn after I hissed at one of them as he sliced open the package and damaged one of the balls.
After sending of 4 emails, 2 phone calls and printing out everything except a report on my love life I went to the customs office again and this time I got the German package, the customs official that I dealt with this time was actually nice and had a humor because he just handed me the package and said that now I could not say that they were not sometimes nice ;-)

52 pair plunge, socks # 7

This is my first pair of Monkey socks now completed. I will be making more of those in the future as the pattern is easy and fun to knit.
I am now in the 26th episode of Star Trek TOS so there is still lots of knitting time left while I watch the rest of the series.

52 pair plunge, socks # 6

Those are socks for Hulda Sveindis knit out of Regia sock yarn on needles nr. 2.25 mm. I cast on 56 stitches and knit ribbing for 25 rows then 50 rows and made a short row heel. Then knitted 60 rows before starting the toe decreases.
I am watching Star Trek, the orginal series and knitting and this is a fine way to spend the Easter weekend. I am amazed how well the series hold up after 40 years and how much fun they are still to watch.

Inside my Easter egg

This was inside my Easter egg, lots of candy and the saying:
"Oft kemur góður þá getið er, svangur þá etið er og illur þá um er rætt"

My Easteregg!

I am pretty exited about this, this is the first time in 10 - 15 years that I have gotten an Easteregg. The kids gave me this egg and for those of you not in Iceland it is the custom to give at least kids this kind of eggs for Easter.
The size varies of course but this look is on almost all the eggs, they are chocolate with all sorts of candy inside and a little paper piece with some traditional saying on it. This can be something like "The apple does not fall far from the tree" or such.
Anyways this is the biggest egg you can get I think and it is 750 grams of chocolaty goodness.
So if I don't post anything for a day or two you know what I am doing, pigging out on the chocolate instead of knitting :-)

The birthday boy

Well my little baby has turned 16 years old, this photo was taken a few days ago when he was going to the annual school dance. I can't get over how fast time flies as I feel like I it was just yesterday that I brought him home from the hospital.

WIP #2

This is how far I have got on the Monkey socks, I have started the heel flap and will probably finish the sock tomorrow and then start the other one. This pattern is super easy and very well written and I plan to knit all of CookieA patterns this year as I really like their constructions and also because they are beautiful.

WIP #1

I have already finished one pair from the wip photo from thursday and have just the other sock to finish of this pair.

52 pair plunge, socks # 5

Those were meant to be knitted in garter rib but the yarn is far to busy for that. I decided to knit them just plain to do justice to the wonderful yarn. The yarn is Emily sock yarn from Posh yarn, in the tapestry colorway and is 80% wool, 10% cashmere and 10% Angora. It is so wonderful to work with and will be equally wonderful to wear.

New WIP's

I went to Guðbjörg this evening and started those three pairs of socks, I hope to finish at least on of the socks of each pair over the Easter. The Regia is a self patterning yarn, not pattern just mindless knitting, the other red yarn is the beginning of a Monkey sock and the multicolored yarn is for a pair with a garter stitch rib from the Sensational Knitted Socks book.

52 pair plunge pair # 4

Those are the socks responsible for all the red color on my hands. I had no yardage for this yarn so I knitted them from the toe up. This is the first time I have done that and I really like this method.

Fresh from the kill....

or not, but I wont be cross stitching any time soon as I don't dare to risk getting any of this dye on my stitching.

52 pair plunge, socks # 3

These are top down, 64 stitches on 2.25 mm needles, k2p2 rib for 30 rows, knit 50 rows, short row heel and then knit 70 rows and start decreasing for the toe.
I have also on the needles, socks from Knitting vintage socks in a lace pattern and I am half way done with a pair of red plain socks for Hulda in Baby Camel yarn. I will probably finish those today and then the lace socks.
On the Cross stitching front nothing much is happening, but I went to Linda last night and she found the mistake I had made in the Angel of Healing so now I have no excuse not to stitch on that.
But wait I have an excuse my hands are looking like I have just murdered someone. This is the fault of the Baby Camel yarn that will get a good socking in Vinegar when they are done because the yarn bleeds allover the place.
So the lesson learned from this is, never knit with bleeding yarn if you want to cross stitch something delicate as I will probably have blood red hands for days.

My Easter project

To tackle this mess will be my Easter project, I have books to sort and magazines and in general put things away so they are not literally hanging from every surface.
Hanging it out there for everyone to see will hopefully make my do it, even if I much rather be knitting or stitching :-)

New wip - Lady of the Mist

I am just starting this, stitching it on light mocha 32ct . Belfast linen. The best part is that there is not a single strand of metallic thread so I have high hopes of actually finish it someday.

UFO - Angel of Healing

I dragged this UFO out, I haven't stitched on it for almost one and a half year but I think I will have to face my fear of metallic threads and just finish it this year.

Sock in progress

Why do two of my sons have size 13 feet, this gets very boring after a while, but I am starting the toe decreases now and then I will cast on the second sock.

Sock #2 in the 52 pair plunge

I finished this socks tonight and now I am off to a more interesting stuff tho only mildly as I am now knitting Regia Ringel for my 18 year old.

Socks number 1 in the 52 pair plunge

Another knee high sock for my daughter in law, womans medium, knit on 4mm needles starting with 52 stitches and decreasing down the calf to 44 stitches. I am almost done with the first sock of a second pair of thees in black for my youngest son in mens M/L

The 52 pair plunge

Well here in Iceland it is after midnight so it is officially April 1rst and time to start the 52 pair plunge. I am kinds of exited about this and have been looking over patterns and books and there is only the problem of choosing from all those wonderful socks.
I will finish the red knee highs and then move on to one of the Regia plain socks for starters.

Regia yarn for plain socks

This will also be a pair of socks for Hermann the 18 year old, he does not like anything fancy so I will probably get those out of the way before moving onto more exiting stuff.

Regia yarn for plain socks

This will be a plain sock for my 18 year old

Wannabe Jaywalkers

This yarn is for socks for my daughter and I will knit a pair of Jaywalkers out of it.

Yarn for more Knee high socks

Actually one of the red are almost done and he and his mate will be the first pair in the 52 pair plunge.

My special stash

This yarn will be used gradually through the year in the 52 pair plunge, there is much yarn goodness in there so I will probably do a boring sock and then treat myself to one of those wonderful skeins.

Pjakkur wanting some attention

My cat thought that I had spent far to much time winding yarn and decided to take matter into his own paws.
The picture is blurred but you can see what he did.
He is almost 12 and spoiled rotten.

A sweater knitted top down

This is a sweater for my daughter that I will probably finish tomorrow if I can get her to try it on for the correct length.

Sock in progress

Since this picture was taken yesterday he is finished and happily residing with his mate in the sock basket.

Another view of my sockbasket

My finished socks that I just have to weave in the yarn ends

This is my sock basked where all the socks I have finished in sock weight yarn are currently staying until I weave in the ends.

Socks - sport weigth yarn

I have knitted about 12 - 14 in different sizes, colors and such to date.

Socks - Worsted weigth yarn

I have knitted about 12 - 14 pairs of this type of socks in different colors and sizes to date

Knee high socks

I have been knitting those for my kids in, green, red, blue and black yarn like in the pictures and have almost finished my 8th pair.

In the mail yesterday

In the mail yesterday were those huge boxes of yarn I had ordered. While I am very happy with it I am sort of wondering where to put it, but I will find someplace . Taking pictures of my new yarn is sort of a beginning of cataloging my stash and I hope to take more pictures soon and upload to my flickr album, to look at the newest addition to my stash click here

And so it begins

First I like to say that I am a bad, bad blogger at least I have been in the past. My poor cross stitching blog has not been updated in a long time. In part it was because I didn't have a camera but mostly it was pure laziness.
I aim to do better now, especially since I have joined the 52 pair plunge and want to keep track of my knitting.
I will be uploading a few pictures in a moment of all the goodies that I got yesterday in the mail. I plan also to add pictures of my stash on my flickr and by that get some firm grasp on what lurks in the depths of all the boxes that are stored wherever there is space.