stagnating socks

I've been plugging away at trying to get some of my knitting projects that stagnated while we were away moving and done - first I now have a pair of socks knit from Trekking pro natura using the sailors stitch from More Sensational Knitted Socks. I've gone off self striping yarn, but this one is subtle enough to be fine, they're also relatively thin for a hand knit sock and I'm hoping the mix of bamboo in with the wool will make them a little cooler to wear during the summer. Although with the rain that's currently falling I don't think I'm going to have a problem with hot feet.

I especially like the continuation of the pattern down the heel flap, this isn't something I've done before, but I'll definitely do it again.

Before I cast on something new, I have the second sock of the embossed leaves socks to finish and am also part way through making the cable and rib jacket from the Jacob Wool.

We've received the official photos from the photographer and have sent on the link to them on the Internet to friends and family (Kristin, I sent them on to you after you commented, did you get them OK?). We're pleased with the photos, and now need to sit down and choose which photos to have put in our album.

We've also been sent a few "unofficial" photos... here's me beforehand... showing the dress and wrap that I made:


And here's us afterwards..

I don't think we scrub up too bad! Most people knew about David's socks being hand made, but I haven't seen a photo of them yet.

post wedding

I don't really know where to start. How about:

• We're back;
• We're married;
• We had a great time;
• It was great to see all the friends and family that we did.

We did a weeks walking in the Lakes before the wedding and a weeks walking afterwards, and then a weeks camp and explore once we got back to Finland. It was really nice to be amongst the hills of the Lakes

and I realised how much I miss beech trees.

There are a huge number of trees in Finland (as was proved to us during our week of explore), but there's just something about beech trees that I love.

I don't have any wedding photos yet, but once I do I'll post an odd one.

As for knitting and crafty activities - I hemmed my wedding dress, did a bit of my sailor sock and managed to acquire some patterns and yarn, but I wasn't nearly as productive as I'd imagined.

Shrouded lady

I went to my first ever knitting group meeting - at the Kamppi Cafe in the centre of Helsinki. I've never been to a knitting group before and was pleased that I fit in with the groups demographic (rather than it being lots of older ladies knitting for their grandchildren) - it was fun, I'm at an obvious disadavantage not speaking Finnish, but they were very nice and spoke some English so that I was included. I think I was also the only one knitting "English" style - I've never really been around anyone else knitting, other than my Mum and Nanna (both who knit English), so it was interesting to see it done "continental". The majority of people seemed to be knitting socks, although I seemed to end up in the red corner as I took along one of my current red projects and the lady to my right was knitting a red shawl and the lady to my left was knitting a red cardigan - maybe there's something in the water? There was also some books that had been brought to look at, and there was some wool as well. I was told about some other knitting groups that happen at various times of the month - I'll probably stick to just this one for now as it's so convenient to get to. We're also hoping to start Finnish lessons in the New Year, so I don't want to fill up too many evenings that are then going to end up clashing with classes. So, all in all a good evening.

I spent a bit of time during the week making progress with the wedding dress dummy run. I've done as much as I need to do now (altered the pattern and made the dress from an old sheet, without lining including a zip and the foundation) and am happy with how it's turned out - so next step is to start making the actual dress. I need to find out when David's working weekends so that I can work on it then.

Here's how it's looking....
Ha ha - you didn't really think I'd show a picture, did you? Felicity Anne, is again helping me model, but she's shrouded so that David doesn't see too much.

A case of the reds

I seem to be going through a red phase at the moment - not sure why - although red is my favourite colour, so it's bound to happen at some point.

I'm making progress with the red cardigan - I'm knitting it in a slightly different order than the pattern calls for - I'm knitting up from the cabled belt first as I think I may want to make it a little longer, but I only have a finite amount of wool. Lots of stocking stitch at the moment, but I'm managing to keep it pretty even and neat. I've also cast on a Koolhaas hat, again in red - a dark, overcast Finnish day has made the hat look much pinker than it really is.
This is taking more concentration than the cardigan, but I'm doing OK so far. And the Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran that I'm using feels lovely and soft - I'm hoping there won't be any itchy forehead syndrome once it's done.

The latest baby booties went in the post yesterday along with our wedding invitations - so no going back now! I've got a plan for some socks for Mum-to-be-Rach, so once I finish the Koolhaas hat I'll get on with them. And I've also got a small project called wedding dress to make progress with and a date of February 5th to have it finished by so that my parents can take it back to the UK with them when they come to visit us. Now if I can just figure out how to measure the length of my legs by myself...

konfekt ferdig and red jumper started

Finally, I have something substantial so show finished. I finished all the knitting and sewing up on konfekt 18703 about a week ago, but had to wait to declare it finished finished until we got a new ironing board (the old one used to collapse while you were using it so we decided it wouldn't be joining us in Helsinki). The sun shone and I managed to take a couple of pictures in natural light, for once, with the help of Felicity-Anne. I'm pleased with how it's turned out. And quite surprised considering I was following Norwegian instructions. I managed to have two balls of wool un-used, which makes me think I've done something wrong, but it looks fine, and fits OK. The pattern called for some popcorn wool to be used around the collar and cuffs, but I decided against adding that.

So, as I've finished one, I've decided to cast on another - keep the momentum going and try to keep the wool stash under control. I'm knitting lemonade as published in the August edition of Magknits. I've had this red cotton wool lying around for ages after I bought it and then didn't like what I was starting to knit with it. It'll feel good to finally use it. I've been looking for a suitable pattern for ages, and thought this one was very cute when I saw it a few months ago now. It's shown in magknits pictured on the designers daughter (I think), so am hoping it looks as flattering on a more "developed" figure! I haven't done much yet, but it's a start.
We're planning on walking into Helsinki today from home (about 7km) as David has the day off work. We've been directed to a goldsmiths that we think may be able to make us some wedding rings (we have a couple of old wedding rings that we'd like re-cast for us). We're hopeful that that will be another thing ticked off the immense wedding planning list that we're slowly making our way through.

sporadic blogging

In this time of moving and general change it's not really so surprising that my blogging is getting a little sporadic.

So, we got back to Norway after being in the UK last Friday. It was a successful trip - our main aim was to get ourselves sorted legally with the registrar and book her for us getting married next year, and also to find a venue for getting married and the reception afterwards. We were successful on all counts. Our meeting with the registrar went fine and we managed to remember our names and the other details she needed. We also found a venue - we ended up not going for the combination I last blogged about as it was starting to feel to complicated to organise from afar, so instead have gone for here for both the wedding and reception. It's not too far from Penrith and we think will suit having a relaxed type wedding, and having it all in one place takes out the whole logistical worry of how to get between different parts of the day. Also, the lady that runs it is very very enthusiastic about weddings and I'm sure will end up being invaluable with us arranging the wedding from Finland.

Since we got back we've been organising ourselves for our furniture etc being packed and starting on its journey ahead of us. It all went yesterday, so now we're left in an empty house with an inflatable mattress, sleeping bags and a cork screw for a week before we set off.

I did keep out a few crafty things to do, as we won't have much entertainment from the TV etc over the next week. And I also intend to take some pictures and get my ravelry account started (username deballan).

Starting to shape into a plan

We're in the UK at the moment starting to do wedding planning stuff - nothing definite yet, but the current scheme involves here, here, here and here... maybe some of these and maybe these guys (or at least what they're drinking!). We have a couple more possibilities to look at next week, so everything might change. We're trying to figure out a relaxed, fun day - not too formal, but fitting for getting married without being too frivolous.

We've also managed to catch up with a few friends, and of course sampled some of the local beverages......

Orange booties

I finished the orange booties for Annie's baby, Edward, before my parents arrived for a visit.

We then packed in loads of visits and trips and walks and a bit of gardening while my parents were here in Trondheim. I need to sort through the photos I took and then I'll post about some of the places we went to and things we saw.

We also did some thinking about wedding arrangements and some other possibilities that are going on at the moment - I think we're going to be pretty busy over the next few months.

Official announcement

Messers Dylan T. Monkey and Jamie T. Poppet are excited to announce the engagement of David and Deb.

We think they'll scrub up OK for the big day.

We're suggesting a rum and pilchard cake on the big day, with a bouquet of catnip and lots of bananas.