From the High North

Lunch break on a Tuesday

It's a very ordinary Tuesday and I am working away at translating my knitting book form English to Norwegian. The book will hit the market in August so I feel a bit out of tune with the season in that respect. Working from home it is always good to go out for lunch. As I live in the city center I have plenty of options just around the corner. Around the same corner there is a beautiful park. On this particular Tuesday I brought my camera and went for a walk in the park - after a lovely soup.

It snowed yesterday - and as I look out of the window now it is snowing again! White fresh snow can transform any day into a fairy tale! See for yourself!

...is this Narnia?

Oslo at it's best?


Yarn graffiti

How Kool is this?!

Some time back I read about Kool Aid dyeing of yarn. As I live in Norway, I didn't know about Kool Aid at all, and the idea that you could dye yarn with it was completely fascinating to me.

Thank to the internet I had could investigate the topic and quickly found that I had to give it a go too. There was one major problem; where to get Kool Aid?

Fortunateley I have some friends in the US and a young knitting friend of mine supplied me with a few packs of the miracle soft drink mix!

Armed with white wool, Kool Aid and wonderful inspiration form blogs on the web I gave it a go last night!

What did I do?
I took a 50g ball of yarn and wound it into a skein.
I soaked it in warm water for about 30 minutes.
I heated some water in a large pan. It was so hot it steamed, but it did not boil.
I dropped the yarn in the pan and spread it out to be as loose as possible.
I sprinkled Kool Aid on it: Cherry on the one side and Lemon Lime on the other. In between I added some Lemonade (which didn't do much)
I let is sit in the pan until the water was clear and the dye was absorbed by the yarn.
I pored off the water and left the yarn to cool off a bit.
I rinsed it in tepid water and hung it to dry.

So much fun and so simple! I have a lot to learn when it comes to mixing colours - but isn't that part of the fun? I think it is!

If you want to give it a go here are some tips:
Kool Aid will only stick to animal fibers (including your hair!)
Kool Aid is safe to use for children
Kool Aid gives a permanent colour.

Here are some of the blogs I learned a lot form:
Maiya knits
Chalk Legs

For colour charts there are a few on the net, and I have found this (too bad I couldn't find out who to credit for it).

Have fun!

Cottage Cheese Rolls recipe

Staying with friends in the US I lend a hand in the kitchen from time to time. At one point I was presented with a recipe for cottage cheese biscuits (what we call buns or rolls in Europe). They turned out so well that I want to share the recipe with you!

They tasted particularly good after a brisk walk in winter wonder land!

Adapted from a Mennonite Cookbook from the 1970's, these moist and yeasty rolls have become a family favorite.

Serves 2 dozen rolls

2 packets dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups cottage cheese - heated to luke warm
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
4 - 5 cups bread flour

in small bowl, combine yeast and warm water
In large bowl, combine yeast mixture and all remaining ingredients except flour and stir until well combined
Slowly mix in flour....stirring with wooden spoon until mixture forms a ball.
Turn dough onto floured surface and knead 5 minutes.
Place dough in greased bowl, turning once. Cover and allow to rise until doubled.....about 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down. Form into 24 equally-sized pieces and shape into balls.
Place balls in 2 greased 9" round cake pans.
Cover and allow to rise 30 minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden.

Black Water Falls state park, WV.

Longing for spring

The hill up the street is a perfect place for some winter fun.

Happy New Year to all my readers! I hope you all have nice and interesting events and adventures to look forward to this year.

I look forward to spring. Mid-January is maybe the most dreary time of the year. Christmas and the holidays are over and spring and summer seems so far away.

What I normally do to overcome the January down is to make sure to have some fun outside during day light. A little jog, some skiing in the woods or a brisk walk in the park. Sleighing on a slope always makes me laugh!

My garden right now!

The other way to beat the blues is to start planing my garden. Ordering seeds and looking for inspiration is a great and fun thing to do and filled with expectations of lazy summer days.

So where do I look for inspiration when all is frozen and covered in snow?

I have some favourite web sites that I can spend hours browsing. What you sow is an independent online shop selling all things garden! Check out the mini townhouse garden.

The make the perfect little gift or a fun green addition to the window sill during January.

I could not get sowing going without the seed pot maker. With help of this clever and fun contraption I make seed pots from news paper and feel good for recycling. Don't miss their January Sale!

From What You Sow blog.

What You Sow has a great blog too where you can find tips on growing, cooking with your produce and much much more!

Obviously I need some seeds and I get mine form Burford Garden Company on my frequent trips to England.

I bought literary hundreds of bulbs last autumn and just imagine how exciting it will be to see all the flowers when summer returns to my part of the world!

A Bungee Bird Feeder from What You Sow!

Designer fashion at it's best

Last month the Nordic clothing company Lindex launched a collection by the Italian designers at Missoni. I am not the first person to que up in front of the shop to get cheap designer fashion at H&M or other clothing storess. This time I should have done so! I love the collection and it was sold out in minutes.

The collection is so timeless and wearable, and I regretted not getting a few of the beautiful clothes. Fortunately I found someone who had bought a bit too many items and I secured a cardigan and a matching top.

Photo: Lindex/Missoni


Photo: Lindex/Missoni

The fact that the garments are knitted and drapes well, make them wearable for many people. The colours are so Missoni and I would add; timeless!

As a knitter Missoni has always fascinated me. Buying the cardigan set challanged me as to what I would wear it with, And now it all comes together in a way! I am knitting a skirt to go with the cardigan set.

There was a skirt in the collection, but for me that would be too busy to wear together. I then decided to knit a skirt in black, using the same technique as used in the cardigan set. I am half done with the skirt and am really eager to finish and wear all the pieces together!

Photo: E. Oftedal

The skirt has a lace effect along the increases at the hem, and I decided to have the rest of the skirt without the "holes". It takes more yarn than I expected so I am off to get some more.