Happy 2009

Aaaaahhhh. Yaaaawn.
I have been off work since the weekend before Christmas and it feels So Good. I'm reasonably rested (because I have a one-year-old that wakes a bit earlier than I would like) and have done mostly nothing for two weeks. Heaven.

Reality is creeping closer though, I'm starting work on Wednesday, and M starts working in two weeks time. Then it's back to dropping children off at daycare and school before work and picking them up after work. M and me are both going to work 90% of full time so that will help a bit. And my parents will pick up the kids some days too.

I have been knitting a lot since my last post, I hardly know where to start... Let's play catch-up, shall we! For details see my Ravelry project page.

My Domino Sunset shawl has five rows of squares now, and the last row is under way.


Then there will be triangles to straighten the top, and some sort of edging I have to swatch. I need to get another ball of yarn too. It is an enjoyable knit, and it is easy to feel the progress as I finish each square.

I got a little crazy and very rapidly knit three pairs of felted clogs for the kids from that Fiber Trends pattern over Christmas. Here they are before felting.


Fun pattern, I will make a pair for myself too (I have ordered yarn) The felting was no fun though. First some manual abuse, then three or four trips through the quick 30 minute cycle of my front loader then some more manual abuse in the sink. I think they are ok now but they are drying very slowly. I have absorbent paper in them but it still takes time.

I finally got enough tired of the ziploc baggie with Harmony needle parts in it so I made a nice case instead.


Everything fits nicely with room to grow. I like that the fabric coordinates with the needles too :-) It's two batik fat quarters from the fabric stash.

Let's see... yes, socks! M asked for more socks. He wanted something red and chose Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome in Sugar Maple, red and orange and yellow. I picked out some suitable patterns for that yarn and he finally chose Dolomite, by Knitspot. It looks great so far!

I modfied the pattern to work from the toe up. Easy peasy, just turn the chart upside down! I think I will do some sort of mini gusset and short row heel. I used that kind of heel on my Loopy socks, see:

It could have been longer but I didn't want to disrupt the nice stripes.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in the Loopy Ewe colour. Great fun to knit!

Mid-November M and I went to northern Sweden and Norway with the company we both work with. I made myself new mittens before we went.

I made up the pattern, will post soon. They are knit top down from sock yarn held double. Nice and warm though not warm enough for -15 °C.

On the way North I made a hat from some of my handspun.

It turned out really well. I started it the night before we left and knit on the way to the airport, on the plane and finished it on the first short bus trip up north. It shocked some of my workmates that it was so quick to make :-)

The other travel projects were the Loopy socks above and my first Moebius scarf.

Fun to make and the perfect travelling project.

I don't think I have showed off my finished February Lady Sweater. Here it is:


Colour is most accurate in the first picture I think. I am very happy with it. The Malabrigo is so soft and the simple lace pattern becomes the slightly fuzzy yarn. I also made a matching hat!


Here are some pics of the blocked Adamas:


Adamas blocked out to be very large, but it has a nice drape and the Dream In Color Baby yarn is very nice.

This shawl/scarf is also very nice.

Unfortunately it is not mine anymore...


It was Moms birthday present and I really want one of my own. When I can justify buying the yarn for it. This was made from two balls of Noro Silk Garden Sock and I would like it larger... It is an absolutely gorgeous yarn for shawls but not very suitable for socks I think.

Socks... I made new socks for the big kids. Here are the ones for E:

... and the ones for H:

Oh, and I have started a simple shawl in Noro Kureyon sock.


I have one ball, we'll see how large the shawl gets, maybe it's just a scarf. I tried to make Ziggy's, working from both ends of the ball but the colours turned the same whatever I did so shawl it is!

Now I'm going to knit a bit before A wakes up! M's Cobble stone is still OTN, and I want to finish it (or at least up to the armpits) before I start a sweater (or three) for myself!

Lottery

For any fellow Swedes: Tummelisa has a lottery on the blog. You can win one of two 250 SEK gift cards. Not bad! Go there and enter (or not, so I get a bigger chance at the prizes ;-)

I went to my first ever spinning class this past weekend. Two and a half wool filled days. We learned about different kinds of Swedish sheep and tried their wool. We learned about the whole process from dirty fleece to finished yarn. Washing, carding, combing wool. Spinning on drop spindle and wheel. I can't say that I learned anything new about spinning, but I practised, and I learned a lot about Swedish wool and I tried combing and using a drum carder. I think I need to order some wool... Åddebo Ull and Ull i Sverige were mentioned as good sources. I'm on a yarn diet until Christmas, does that include fiber...?

Short commercial break...

There's a new store opening soon and they have an opening giveaway. Go here and register which handbag you'd like to win... (And yes, you get more tickets if you blog about it. How did you guess?)

I'll soon be back with some actual knitting content. I have Finished Objects!

Knitting dreams

I go to work and I dream of knitting. The things I want to make, yarn I want to try. Then I come home and get to knit maybe one hour total after having dinner and putting kids to bed and before yawning too much. Yesterday was Saturday so I knit a lot. Started and finished a project in the same day even. OK, so it was a hat, but still...

Pattern: Turn A Square by Jared Flood
Yarn: Dream In Color Classy in Cocoa Kiss (28 grams) and Noro Silk Garden in colour 226, a mix of purple, aqua and grey, (20 grams)
Needles: 4 mm dpn's for ribbing, 4.5 mm Harmony circ and dpn's for the rest.
Size: A little too big... It looks great on M (but he thinks it is too small somehow) but I made it for my dad and he doesn't have M's thick hair. We'll see. Maybe I have to make Dad another one, I've got plenty of leftovers.
Great pattern. I have seen so many awesome incarnations of this hat over at Ravelry. I will surely make this hat again, but maybe a little shorter before I start the decreases.

Quickie project of last weekend was a Dumpling bag.

I knit and felted it and it slowly dried with a balloon in its belly. I removed the balloon when the bag was dry on the outside so it could dry on the inside too. Today I managed to sew on the magnetic snap.


It is Loopy sized!

The Houdini socks got finished too! Yes, I have had way too many projects on the needles lately. Yes, it feels good to finish stuff for a change and not just start them.

I didn't do the fancy leg in the pattern, it didn't work very well with this yarn. These are for my sister in Australia, so I didn't make them as long as I usually do.
This was a fun way of making socks, an afterthought leg. Good thing: you get to choose the nicest side of the foot for the instep and toe. Bad thing: six ends per sock to weave in, instead of the usual two. This is a Cat Bordhi pattern, and I think that her next book will be all about this way of making socks. Maybe other new ways too. I loved her New Pathways book and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Now I really want to finish my February Lady sweater. The body is done and the first sleeve is about elbow length. I keep trying it on to decide how long I want it, about halfway between elbow and wrist. I have to find nice buttons too. Large dark wooden ones I think.

I got the first Wollmeise sock club package on Friday! I don't think I will blog it just yet. Anyway, both colours are awesome! One of them is so me, the other one not so much but still lovely. And the pattern is stunning. I won't start it right away though. It demands some concentration and I don't want to knit that kind of pattern right now.

Coming soon: Adamas is blocking!!!

Package and Projects

The final Hemlis 4 package arrived on Friday. Look at the stuff!

A big skein of Grignasco merino-silk lace yarn, 1400 meters/1500 yards, enough for a sizeable shawl, in a beautiful deep blue. A ball of pure silk yarn from Louisa Harding, DK weight. Luxurious wrist warmers maybe? Six pretty stitch markers that my pal made herself, and a big bag of licorice. Yum! Thank you so much Ulrika!

Knitting news: I am chugging along on my February Lady Sweater. It is coming along nicely and grows visibly whenever I work on it, the yarn is so thick. I'm not quite sure how long I want it to be, about hip length I think. That means 19-20 inches (maybe 50 cm) I am a bad knitter, I didn't wash my swatch so I have no idea how much the fabric will grow or shrink with washing and blocking. It feels like it will grow a bit though so I don't want to make it too long. I love to be able to try the sweater on as I go.

Because I have sooo much time on my hands now that I have gone back to work (note: severe irony) I started another sweater.


Cobblestone in the purple Bendigo Rustic I recently got from Australia. This time I swatched properly, so I know that if I follow the stitch count for the 47.5" size I will end up with a 43.5" sweater, which is what I want. I will of course follow the length numbers of the smaller size.

With all the large project going on I felt (ha ha) the need for a quick project that Got Finished. Enter the Dumpling from Interweave Knits Fall 2008. Here it is pre-felted (OK, pre-fulled, but everyone else is using the word felting for this process anyway)

A really quick knit that took less than two balls (100 meters) of the pretty Sarek yarn I got in another Hemlis 4-package. Here it is felted and drying with a balloon inside to get a nice shape.

I have never felted anything before (intentionally) so I wasn't quite sure how to do. I sewed it into a pillowcase, put it in the washing machine with a pair of jeans and ran a short cycle, and then another one, because not much had happened. It was a bit more felted after the second cycle but I finished the job with hot water, detergent and abuse in the sink. Maybe I should have just tossed it in a proper 60 °C long cycle. Might try that next time. Anyway, now it just needs to dry and then it will get a magnetic closure.

Finishing things

I have finished the Sea Socks (Ravelry). So called because the colourway is called Deep Blue Sea... Anyway, just a simple k3, p1 ribbed sock with contrasting toe, heel and cuff. And stripe. Toe-up of course!


The yarn is Duet Sock Yarn from A Swell Yarn Shop (via The Loopy Ewe)

They where made for M but they fit me just fine. I think I have to block them a bit. He has longer feet than me but not wider.

I have also finished knitting Adamas. It needs a good blocking but I am very happy with it.

Unblocked measurements are about 26" (65 cm) deep and 53" (133 cm) widem I think it will be a good size when it's done. This is my project for The Loopy Ewe Dream In Color Baby KAL. A great pattern, easy but not boring. I think it would be a good first lace project.

I almost forgot: I made it into the Wollmeise sock club! I really didn't think I would make it as it was a lottery but I did. First shipment is first or second week of September, can't wait! Each shipment will be 2 (!) skeins of Wollmeise yarn in exclusive colourways, sock pattern and goodies. Mmmm!

I forgot to mention...

... that Garnhärvan has 20% off lot of things in August. I fell down hard when I saw that they have Harmony needles. Soooo soon I will have my own set :-) They have a starter set and a luxury set but I put together my own for about the same cost but with exactly the stuff I wanted. I have no use for 8 mm needles or 120 cm cords or plastic carrying cases. And when I asked they even had 3.75 mm needles. I will sew my own case when my set arrives, I got some ideas off etsy.

Too many WIPs

I had a case of startitis recently and now I feel all scizofrenic (if that's a proper word) and like I make no progress at all. I knit knit knit but it is a few rows on one project and a few rows on another and nothing gets finished! Which makes me a bit apathetic. At the same time I want to start a million *new* projects. Must. Stop. Myself.

Whispering Pines has about one fifth of its edging done. This half of the edging is all purls and p2tog tbl. Can you say snail pace? I hope the other half is quicker! It looks nice though.


The yarn (Malabrigo Lace) wants to felt where I keep holding and turning the work. I can't work on this with sweaty hands.

I'm about halfway done with Adamas.


10 repeats are done but the rows are definitely getting longer! I love this shawl though. The Dream In Color Baby is lovely, soft and springy (I hope it blocks well and doesn't spring back though) and the pattern easy but not boring. I am aiming for 16 repeats right now. I want a big shawl, and I think that 2 more repeats plus a heavier yarn than the pattern suggests will do it.

I'm not working much on the Big Grey Shawl but I really like it too.


I got this kit at the annual Båstad Craft Fair this July. It is a lovely one-ply fingering weight from Solkustens Spinnverkstad that goes from medium grey to dark grey and back again. I am a sucker for natural grey wool.

They had many lovely sweaters knit up too. The shawl is very simple, cast on 400 stitches, garter stitch and decrease 4 stitches on every other row. They had a sample knit up, which I foolishly tried on, and I had to get the kit... So Cosy.

The Crazy Pi shawl is resting, I need more leftover sock yarn to continue.

So, socks... I finished the first Sea Sock yesterday. Me like! M says it's too small for him but I think it will block out perfectly. I had just enough of the blue yarn for the cuff I wanted to make but I have leftovers of the main yarn. DK weight, so not for the Pi.

Then there's the Houdini socks.

These are fun! A free Cat Bordhi pattern from the premier issue of the Twist Collective (if you haven't checked out Twist Collective: Go There Now!) First you knit feet, with toes at both ends and no leg opening. Idiot knitting, no though involved, almost. Then you decide where you want the leg, pick up stitches, snip a thread and knit an afterthought leg!

Daughter H wants socks too. She picked out a yarn, a solid green, and I think she'd like something lacy. I was thinking Scroll Lace from More Sensational Knitted Socks.

Pretty, but the pattern repeat is large and with my gauge it fits *me* and that's way too large for a four-year old. So they will be frogged. I have another pattern in mind but maybe I should finish some other socks first. Because I suddenly found that I had started a pair of Spring Forward socks too... The reasoning was (I think) that I had a skein of Socks That Rock, in green, and that's the yarn called for in the pattern, and I haven't tried STR before. I'm just one repeat into the sock but I can already see why poeple get so obsessed with STR... It feels So Nice and it is great to work with. The pooling however... not so great.

I'm trying to ignore it and just let it happen...

but I'm not sure that I can. I may have to adjust my tension a bit to make it spiral instead.

We won't mention the other two or three socks that lurk in my project basket.

I also feel bad for the February Lady Sweater that I started before the summer. I haven't worked on it in ages and soon enough it will be sweater weather here. And I want to knit a Cobblestone for M and one for A, and a Gathered Pullover for me, and then there is Bonnie and Wisteria from Twist Collective and the Feather and Fan Triangle shawl I just bought yarn for (Plötulopi/unspun Icelandic wool) and another couple of shawls, and hats and mittens and I ordered Silk Garden for a striped vest and a striped hat or two and... Not Enough Time. Did I mention that I go back to work in two weeks?

Oh, and here's a picture from our wedding.


And last but not least... BREADCRUMBS :-) ***waves to my Hemlis 4 pal***

Better go knit now don't you think?

Hot and Bothered

It is very hot here, and has been for a week or so. 30 degrees C, blazing sun, little or no wind. I am melting.

Lots of things have happened since my last post.
My sister and her family arrived from Australia bearing gifts and some stuff I ordered and had delivered to their house to save on shipping. 5 balls of this:


Bendigo Mills Rustic 8-ply in Damson. M picked this for a sweater. I want to make Cobblestone. It is a bit thinner than the original yarn so I'll have to rework the pattern a bit, or simply make a larger size. We'll see. There was also 5 balls of Bendigo Mills Colonial 8-ply in Oatmeal for me.


Not sure what kind of sweater I want yet. Maybe a cabled cardigan.
I am starting to run out of stash space. I used to have mainly sock and lace yarn, now I also have four sweater worths of yarn that takes up much more space. I have to reorganise my space a bit. Clear up the mess.

The day after sister arrived M and I got married. Just a small ceremony at the court house with four witnesses and the two older kids. No pics because they are still on dad's camera. We had a party a few days after at the Cottage. Lots of cooking and baking in advance, a hired tent on the lawn, and a great time was had by all. And nice presents :-)
After that we relaxed as hard as we could with six kids in the house and so-so weather. I managed to knit quite a lot though. Whispering Pines has grown quite a lot.


I am halfway through the last small chart before the knitted on edging begins. I'm eager to see it finished. And to see how big it turns out.

There has also been sock knitting. Two finished pairs, no less. Pillars of Fire in Wollmeise from The Loopy Ewe sock club.



Nice yarn (but a little splitty), great colourway and a great pattern that was easy to memorise. A good toe-up heel-flap-and-gusset pattern too.

I also finished a pair of plain socks in a fun selfstriping yarn from sKNITches, Syncopation in Dragontooth.


Maybe not really my colours but they are fun, and I love the base yarn and the dye job. More details on both pairs on Ravelry (apologies to those of you not on Ravelry yet, but I don't have time for great details on both places and Ravelry is a great place and you really should check it out anyway)

I have started two new pairs, but no pics of those yet. I have decided to try to always have a plain pair on the needles and keep it downstairs at the TV, and a more complicated pair upstairs. So now I have started a plain pair for M in Duet sock yarn and a lacy pair for H.

I got a package in the mail! From my Hemlis 4-pal, look!


Great smelling tea (that I will try when the weather cools off!), yummy chocolate, a fun card, and look at the yarn! Three balls of Sarek from Marks & Kattens. A bulky wool yarn I haven't seen before. Maybe mittens? And 500 meters wool/silk lace weight, Elegant from Teetee in a beautiful plum colour. I have to find a pretty lace pattern for this!
Thank you so much for the great package, Ulrica! It made my day.

I finally managed to block the Brambles scarf I made from my own handspun.


I am very happy with it. It is heavy and soft with a great drape. It is also rather short but I can fasten it with one of my new shawl pins.


I found these through the Knitspot fan group on Ravelry, they are from Knitcellaneous.

Process or Product?

Am I a process knitter or a product knitter? I think about it sometimes, but I honestly don't know. I have seen discussions here and there and those people seem to Know that they are one or the other, never in between. No questions or doubts.

I, on the other hand, feel very in between. I *love* the process. Dreaming about things to knit. Choosing pattern and yarn. Knitting, knitting. Admiring the fabric flowing off my needles. The fact that I am creating something from nothing. The colour, the texture of the fabric. Process knitter.

But I would never knit something that I didn't like, didn't want to wear. I *want* that shawl, that sweater, those socks, that's why I knit them. If I didn't want the finished item, why would I finish it? Product knitter.

So I am in between. Both. And for me there is nothing else to be.

I am knit, knit, knitting on Whispering Pines. I finished chart H yesterday and I *love* it. Have I said that before? Well, I do. I don't have any new pictures of it though. As I said, it is getting hard to photograph.

Sheri started a new KAL with a yarn discount, and I fell for it. I mean, Dream In Color Baby, how could I not? I got two lovely skeins of Petal Shower


and two equally lovely skeins of Night Watch.


Night Watch is becoming Adamas.


Here it is after one repeat of the main chart. I have knit two more repeats since then. They are nice and quick compared to the 400+ stitches per row of Whispering Pines...

I feel that I have to ration my Adamas knitting so I don't abandon Whispering Pines. "Knit so and so much on Whispering Pines, then you can knit one repeat on Adamas" I'm not sure how many repeats I will do. I want it to be BIG. The original is 72" (180 cm) across and 36" (90 cm) down with "real" lace weight yarn and 14 pattern repeats. DIC Baby is thicker, halfway to fingering, so mine will definitely be bigger at 14 repeats. I have twice the yardage that the pattern calls for too, so we'll see where I end up. I love how the fabric is coming out, drapey and squishy at the same time. And the colour is to die for! Blues and purples, mmm.

Dream In Color is a bit tricky to buy on the 'net. You never know what colour you will get. They have no dye lots, but I think they should have, because they differ very much from batch to batch. For instance, I got one skein of Gothic Rose for accent on my EPS sweater. A lovely colour, blackish plum. After that KAL you got 20% off Classy so I got four more skeins thinking that I would make a sweater with the first one. No go, they aren't remotely the same colour.

These are brown, with just a hint of plum. In fact, the colour is almost the same as the single skein of Cocoa Kiss I got ages ago.

I think it will work if I stripe it in, or use it for ribbing. I am a bit miffed anyway, because brown is not really my thing and the first Gothic Rose I have is so yummy, I would very much have wanted a sweater in it.