Just married!

My beautiful sweet friend got married in late August. We travelled all the way to Seattle to be there. The wedding was perfect; stunning bride, handsome groom. And so much in love! We had the best time ever getting to hang out with new and old American and Australian friends. And my boy Filip found a girlfriend. They danced the night away. I hardly think I've seen him have that much fun before.(And the little ones are not married. Not yet.)

If you want to see more photos from the wedding click here.

(And yes, I still knit. One of these days I'll show you what I've been up to...)

Photo courtesy: Simon @ dragefoto.no

Bluebird anyone?

Argh. Noen som har noe garn av typen New Zealand lammeuld av fargen Bluebird de vil selge?

Jeg er kommet halvveis på et "Nøstebarnteppe" jeg strikker til en kjær venninne... Hun var så søt og snill da jeg var gravid med min førsteføde at hun heklet et utrolig nydelig ullteppe i gave til oss. Nå er hun selv gravid og jeg ønsket å lage noe til henne. Jeg fant ut at et Nøstebarnteppe var et passelig prosjekt, og hun fikk selv ta ut fargen. Bluebird fra 123knit.com landet hun på, en nydelig blåfarge. Ypperlig, tenkte jeg, den har jeg jo en del liggende av, så da bestiller jeg litt mer og mens jeg venter setter jeg i gang med det jeg har. (Og krysset fingrene for at det ikke ville bli altfor stor fargeforskjell på partiene.) Vel to uker etterpå har jeg kommet halvveis på teppet, gått tom for garn og får mail fra 123knit.com der de forteller at de er helt utsolgt for denne fargen og at denne fargen er tatt ut av produksjon. (!!)

En snill venninne var så sjenerøs at hun donerte meg sitt restlager av denne fargen. Nå mangler jeg ca 40-50 gram av fargen for å bli ferdig. Om det er noen som har noen rester av denne fargen de kan selge blir jeg utrolig takknemlig! Om det bare er 10 gram hjelper det! Jeg betaler selvfølgelig, og dekker portoen :-)

So annoying to run out of yarn in the middle of a big project, only to find out the colour is dicontinued... I am knitting a blanket for a dear friend who is expecting her first baby.

On a more cheerful note, the kids and I just spent a week at my parents' place. Oh , the joy of witnessing the affection between grandchildren and grandparents (and great-grandparents too!).

Launching a new website

We have just launched a redesigned version of our website. In 2010 my husband and I started a photo business, head on over if you want to see what we`re doing: www.dragefoto.no

By the way: ("Bilder" is Norwegian for photos if you`re trying to find our work.)

And by the way, the super cute girl on the photo is my baby girl. Getting SO
big already. (And this was over a month ago!)

And the good looking mystery man hiding behind the camera is my husband. He`s stinking cute, even though it`s hard to tell from the photo ;-) I`m so thankful for his steadfast determination and focus when he puts his mind to something. If it wasn`t for that our business, the realisation of our shared dream, would probably never have seen the day of light.

What are you thankful for today?

Blanket for Nepal

Oops, sorry the long absence. The blanket for Nepal (read previous post for more info) was finished weeks ago. It took 2 quick weeks to finish, and even though many of the colours weren't quite "me", I ended up liking the blanket after all. So much that I felt a twinge of "wouldn't-this-look-bright-and cheery-on-my-couch?". But this blanket was made with the intention of warming a little babe in Nepal, so it was wrapped in and sent on its way. And even though my baby looked really cute in this blanket, she really has no need for yet another wool blanket... (Who knows, she might end up getting more blankets anyway, as this was a really fun and quick project!)

And about the little lady: She couldn't be sweeter and is such an angel, sleeping through the night already...

Facts:

Pattern: Made as one giant granny square, measuring 1m x 1m

Crochet hook: 5 mm

Yarn: DK weight wool yarn from my stash

Knitting for Nepal

Or, in my case, crocheting. A couple of days ago I blogged about being moved to tears when reading about the conditions for Ugandan slum children. Unfortunately, my tears alone are not good for anything. The story I read left me thinking. What am I doing for those who are so much less privilegded than I am? What can I do? There are many great ways to help, give money to charities, fundraisers, volunteering, donating clothes, support a child, but then I found out about this project- which spoke right to my heart. Ugandan children are not the only children suffering. Nepali children are not necessarily much better off. They live in a country with a cold climate, and many mothers have little or nothing to help keep their newborns warm.

The project started this way, back in 2005: A Norwegian Sunday School class was supporting a hospital in Nepal where a Norwegian doctor and his wife worked. They asked the Sunday school teacher if the children could knit a square each, to make a blanket for the hospital. This inspired other people, and the following year 7 homemade blankets were sent to the hospital. The project has gained momentum, and so far this year alone, 131 homemade wool blankets have been sent to the hospital in Nepal. The blankets are usually given out to poor mothers who are in dire need of more warm clothing for their newborn babies. You can knit or crochet an entire blanket or you can knit as many squares as you feel like and then it will be joined with other squares to make a blanket by one of the ladies behind the project. They have a blog where they post updates about the project and they also share photos and stories about some of the blankets that are handed out.

This project appeals to me on so many levels: Firstly, I am a new mother myself and it breaks my heart to think of wee little babies being cold or sick, or not properly cared for. Secondly, I am a lover of wool blankets. My babes have blankets in abundance, and I think it's about time I make one for someone who sorely needs one. (I hate to admit it, but I'm a selfish knitter, mostly everything I make is for my own kids.)

So my heart is both sad and happy as I read the posts in that blog. Sad that mothers have to bring their babies into this world in less than fortunate circumstances, but happy because we can do a little something to help, to make things a little bit better. In a country where the nights can be bitterly cold, the houses and heating poor compared to our standards, maybe a good woollen blanket can make a drastic difference for one little soul?

"For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. (...) Truly, I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me. " Matthew 25, 35

Details:

Pattern: Basically this is just a giant granny square. Super quick way to make a blanket, no joining! (Heklet som en stor bestemorrute, kjempeenkelt og raskt!)

Needle: 5 mm

Yarn: Smart, Trysilgarn, Rubin. Whatever DK weight woollen stash I have lying around, hence the unusually bright colours! My friend who has lived and worked in Nepal tells me they are fond of bright colours and that especially the orange and turquois colours in this blanket are super hot...

Click here and here to see the projects of the bloggers that inspired me to join this project.

What do you think is a good way to help, what appeals especially to you?

Klikk her for å lese mer om et fantastisk prosjekt - et norsk misjonærpar som jobber på et sykehus i Nepal deler ut babytepper strikket i Norge til fattige nybakte mødre som ikke har noe utstyr til babyen sin. (Ei 18 år gammel jente som fødte tvillinger hadde ikke annet tøy til babyene sine enn sitt eget og svigerinnas underskjørt, da kan du jo bare tenke deg hvor glad hun ble for å få et teppe, lue og bleier.) Du kan være med å hjelpe ved å strikke eller hekle - enten en rute eller to eller tre -eller et helt teppe! Spre ryktet, få med syforeninga!

Er det forresten noen som vil at jeg skal skrive mer på norsk?

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Ever since I saw this post, I have been dreaming about Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread... Click here to see the goodness and the recipe, but be warned, you'll probably not be able to rest till you've made some (and eaten the whole thing). But I've managed to stay strong, and I chose to make a big batch of these wholegrain rolls instead.

I don't regret my choice, but they weren't quite able to make me forget about the cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread. I don't know how long I will be able to resist though...

The recipe for the rolls? Unfortunately I don't have one, I'm hopeless with that, whenever I bake rolls, bread or buns I always just throw something together.

I just LOVE having an eager little assistant, who helps with both the baking and the eating! Makes me remember all the good memories I have from helping my mother baking when I grew up.

She won the lottery

And I won the lottery. My son won the lottery. Because we were born in Norway, one of the richest countries in the world. Where health care is for free. With a great welfare system. You can get an education for free. With a little effort and determination, the sky is the limit. I read a blog post today which brought tears to my eyes. (Here's the link, but it's in Norwegian.) It's about a Norwegian girl working with slum kids in Uganda, and she tells a story about what happens when one of the babies she works with gets sick. Long story short, because this Norwegian girl ends up taking the baby to a private clinic (whose main clientele is rich tourists with food poisoning) the girl is properly diagnosed and saved. The baby was first taken to a public doctor and after lining up for 5 hours (with a very sick baby), the doctor whisks them off after 5 minutes. He doesn't know what's wrong with her, and there are so many people waiting for him, people on the verge of dying. The doctor simply has to move on to the ones he can help. I can't even begin to fathom the hopelessness and despair of being a mother in such circumstances.

My children will never have to go hungry. They will never have to be sick without anyone having time to examine them properly and care for them. If they fall seriously ill, heaven and earth will be set in motion to find out what is wrong.

Reading that post gave me a little perspective. Because sometimes I feel a hint of self pity because we still don't live in the picture-perfect house of my dreams. But I am so ridiculously blessed, so lucky! I won the lottery. My kids won the lottery. (And it 's not exactly impossible that I'll have that house someday, in addition to everything else I have been blessed with. Self pity, really? I should be ashamed.)

(Knitting details: The beautiful set my daughter is wearing was made by my mother (on my prompting) for my sister's daughter 2 years ago. Gotta love hand-me-downs like this one.

Pattern in Norwegian only: 0808 Sandnes Alpakka 0-4 år (Lua tror jeg er Nøstebarns oppskrift.)

Yarn: Dale babyull)