First end, ends first?

So, what will end first?
The stitches,

or the yarn? It is a race, to be honest:)

But we are getting there. Not so many stitches left.

Completion, summer and evil eyes....

I have a dear friend in the USA. We have known each other for over 20 years now. She knows me very well:) So when I was unemployed, living on the meager earnings you get from the government - and thereby could not splurge a lot on fabric, she did a wonderful thoughtful thing. She sent me her quiltkit for the Charleston quilt! She allowed me to make the quilt for her, so that I would have something to fill the long empty days! That is what I call a sacrifice. She is a very good friend, indeed:)

Yesterday the rain stopped long enough to dry out the ground and give me time and opportunity to take the pictures. It was meant to be done by Christmas, but because my shoulder went out, she will get it for her birthday instead! Sorry, friend:)

I did wait for sunshine to take the pictures, but now I am not sure that is the best time to take pictures? Shadows are not nice to pictures, and the sunshine also made the fabric look a little weak. It is reproduction, but still...

So even though I loooove the Norwegian summerness:) of this picture (it brings me straight back to my childhood summers, and all the work with the hay drying), the whiteness in this one is just overwhelming in the sun. Cute pattern, though, isn't it?
On my quilt-photographic journey I came across this fellow. Did you see more evil eyes than this? They do say their brains are a little bit mad....

Lacy rock

Never knitted lace before. I just had to try. So this is the result of two weeks knitting. A lot of ripping...
I am now done with the lacy knitting, the rest is in garter stitch. I wonder, though, if this will ever look like this?

However, the allconsuming question, as it is in lot of knitting - do I have enough yarn to finish it? Travelling across the sea and half of the US to get more does not sound like a solution. Crossing toes (as I can't cross fingers AND knit at the same time:))

Vacation guests

I have had this one, Spike, and his companion Buffy, as houseguests for the last two weeks. He is a lot more cheerful than he looks:) However, I do think I know why, though lots of quilters have cats, not so many have Persians? Their fur is soooo electric! It sticks to everything, both furniture and fabric. Just by walking by....

After making an effort earlier last week, I just decided to give up any attempts to sew for the duration of their stay. They are being returned to their owner tomorrow - and I can sew! As soon as I have cleaned out every single hair.... Ok, so maybe not this weekend, then.... I guess there is always knitting....

Epiphany

These last months back at full-time working, I have worried about not taking photos like I used to. Seems like there never is time enough to drive anywhere interesting, or hike at the right time of the day. Then, today, walking out of something as ordinary as Maxbo (like HomeDepot in the US), I looked up and saw....

The shiny whiteness of the sailboats were like snowflakes on a dark ice! And I realised, it is not about being at the right place so much as actually looking! I haven't really been looking for a long while.

So with Life in Technicolor by Coldplay on my iPod, I walked along the beach for a few minutes, snapped a dozen photos, and just enjoyed.

I love the velvetness of the water just before the wave after another speedboat crashes in on the beach.

And the way the changing of the sun behind the clouds darkens the skies.

Nature in different shapes

Long weekend in Norway - Pentacost. Spent yesterday with family visiting family out in the 'woods' in Sweden. With older parents you always wonder if this will be the last time we can get all of us together like this.
Anyway, got the opportunity to photograph nature. I was fascinted by the 'flatness' of these flowers. No need to press these:)

Rain just ended and left its leftovers on some of the leaves.

And my all-time favourite in early summers, the unfurling ferns. Love the shapes.

Started my own 'nature' shape today - Rock Island Shawl. Never tried knitting lace before. We shall see how it works out:) Oh, and the other nature shape? Spike, visiting for a few days. He and his companion, Buffy, is spending the holiday with me while their mother is off galavanting:) hehe.

Binding!

Aren't they lovely? One set of binding for the Charleston quilt, and then slightly less binding for a baby quilt. They look so nice, all wound up like that:)
It seems like summer suddenly have arrived. Just from one day to the other. However, as a true Norwegian, I never take summer for granted. It has to ... marinate... for a week or two before I actually believe it is here:) However, the flowers are out in full bloom.

Strangest thing you see while going for a walk. Funny how the pink mirrors the pink in the flowers:)