This and that

I received my project bag swap bag, yay! It has an interesting construction with a long handle to carry crosswise (which I definitely prefer, it keeps the hands free) a hidden pocket on the back and a very retro moose embroidery on the front :-) Thank you so much Petra!

Soooo, what am I working on? Let's see... I finished the body on Dad's sweater and started on a sleeve.

Nevermind that his birthday was last week, he'll get it when it's done. Did I mention that I'm no good with deadline knitting?

And I started Mothed from the new Knitty in a lovely blue Felted Tweed. No pics yet but it doesn't look like much yet anyway. I'm planning to modify the pattern a little. There are no extra stitches at the underarm so I will add that, I think it will stretch otherwise. I may also add some waist shaping or maybe just some extra space for the hips :-o We'll see. The great thing about top-down sweaters is that you can try them on and adjust as needed.

I went to a twined knitting class with Elisabeth last Tuesday so I'm working on a pair of twined wristwarmers. I'm almost done with the first one.

This one is from the class handout. The other one will be same, same, but different. Same colours, same pattern placement but different patterns. It is a slow technique, at least for a beginner :-) but I enjoy it. I want to make mittens and a hat, it should be nice and windproof.
There isn't much litterature on twined knitting but one of the classics, Tvåändsstickat by Dandanell & Danielsson, has just been reprinted so I ordered that, it should arrive this week. I also got a booklet at the class, Tvåändsstickat - grunderna (the basics) by Berit Westman.

I finally finished the pink socks I started a year ago!

Pretty and only slightly too long in the foot (but I don't think DH would want them). I will start the heel a little earlier the next time I use the Fleegle heel.

This pretty yarn at Tant Thea practically forced me to knit a hat and matching mittens. I love the colours and the striping!

The hat is Symetrie by Woolly Wormhead and the mitts are One Koigu Mitts, a free pattern I found on Ravelry. They are extra interesting because all the thumb increases are on the palm side so the stripes are uninterupted on the back of the hand. The yarn is a Regia sock yarn, Design Line Jazz Colours, and two balls were enough for both hat and mittens.

Shawls!

Heart of Wales:

This one is for my sister, for Christmas or her January birthday, we'll see. Loved knitting this, I have to make one for myself too.

Maia:

Icelandic Feather and Fan:

Absolutely huge, a monster, 290 cm (114”) across and 110 cm (43”) down the spine, but so light and warm and cosy, if slightly scratchy. Made from Icelandic unspun yarn, Plötulopi. I want to make a sweater out of that!

Simple City:

Yes I am addicted to Zauberball! This little shawl/scarf is made from one ball, alternating two rows from one end and two rows from the other end. Yum, I love it! It took absolutely forever to bind off the ruffle though.

12 WIPs, but two of those are just waiting to be blocked (a shawl and a scarf) and 19 Hibernating. I have moved some projects between the categories and started some new ones.

Project bag swap

I have signed up for the StickaMera project bag swap.

I like to sew and I always need more project bags (I'm not sure but it may have something to do with my 15 WIPs and 13 Hibernating bears), but usually I don't take the time to sew. This will be an excellent way of actually sewing and getting a new bag. I plan to be sneaky and make some extra bags for myself while I'm at it :-) I asked for something that would fit a shawl or sweater project, and I can't wait to find out who I'm sewing for and plotting what to make.

Startitis

I've been itching to write a blogpost for ages but, as always, something else gets the attention. Kntting, family, knitting, work, and knitting mostly. I have loads of ongoing projects and I seem to cast on more every week without finishing as many. Heard that before...? However, this is my hobby and I refuse to have a bad conscience for knitting whatever I want!

The LYS situation here in Helsingborg has been rather sad but it improved tremendously last Saturday when Tant Thea opened. This is a modern yarn store, with lots of variety and hardly any acrylic :-) Drops yarns yes, but also Schoppel-Wolle, Colinette, Noro, Fyberspates, Aade Lõng, and more. The store is full of yarn but there is room enough to really see it. Classes and knitting groups are on the horizon. Fun, fun!

I must confess that I have already bought three different Aade Lõng yarns, some Zauberball, Colinette Jitterbug and a beautiful skein of Fyberspates Nef Lace

Burnt Orange, alpaca, silk and cashmere, how could I resist!? I think it will become Bitterroot.

To my defence I have definite plans for most of it (in fact I have already cast on a sock and a shawl, see below) and I really want this store to stay in business! I also haven't bought much yarn for a long time. Except nine balls of bulky yarn for a cosy shawl (see below too) from one of the other yarn stores in town that have 30% off everything because the owner is retiring and closing down. I won't miss that store though. Not inspiring at all, neither the yarn nor the owner. Nice but not very helpful. The helpful person in that store is now working at Tant Thea instead :-)

Here's my new Colinette Jitterbug sock:

and my Revontuli shawl in Aade Lõng Artistic:

There has been much shawl knitting here lately, I'm on a shawl kick :-) Also I joined the Ravelry group 10 shawls in 2010, so I have 10 shawls to knit this year. That won't be a problem, the group requirements are very low. Only two shawls have to use more than 500 meters of yarn, the rest have to use more than 250 meters. So I have finished three already. Here's Clothilde:

And number 4, 5, 6, and 7 are OTN... Told you about the startitis! One is a mystery KAL (Evenstar), with a clue every two weeks (#2 is due tonight in fact),


one is miles of plain garter stitch at this point,


one is a big bulky lace shawl,


and one is the Revontuli I *had* to cast on when I got the yarn. They complement each other nicely I think. Do check my Ravelry page for more info and pics! I'm much better at updating there than here...

Knit on, and prosper!

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!

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.

Hemlis 4 package

My moaning yesterday paid off. First I got a reassuring comment from my pal that the package was in the mail, and today it turned up!

Two balls of Sirdar Baby Bamboo, a DK weight 80% bamboo 20% wool yarn. So soft and a pretty lilac colour. A scarf maybe? A set of Knit Picks harmony dpn's. They are beautiful, and match the yarn very well :-) Maybe I should make a hat instead so I can use the needles with the yarn? There is also a pack of knitter's marking pins which will come in handy for sewing up sweaters, and a flowery card.

Thank you so much, my secret friend!

Shawl obsession

I have been totally obsessed with shawls lately. Lace shawls. Working on shawls, planning shawls, dreaming about shawls. I'm working on Whispering Pines mostly.

It is getting too large to photograph, I have just started the pine tree section. I love it! Love the yarn too, Malabrigo Lace in a lovely brownish red. The first ball of yarn is running out, I have two more to go.

Then there is my crazy Pi shawl out of socks yarn leftovers. This one is even more hopeless to photograph, so I didn't bother :-) I worked a fair bit on it over the last weekend (Midsummer), mostly in the car going to and from the Cottage. I'm on my last ball of suitable leftover now, so I guess I have to finish some socks soon! Luckily I have two pairs on the go, Pillars of Fire (latest Loopy Sock Club offering)


in Wollmeise in reds and browns, and a plain pair of self-striping sKNITches. sKnitches will end up in the shawl, the Wollmeise might be too thin. I'm not using my thinnest yarns for this one, so no Regia or Opal or Trekking. Very soothing a nd nearly brainless knitting, this shawl. I am doing k2tog, yo circles every six rounds but that's about it. My only concern is how big I should make it. How much will it grow in blocking? I want a large cosy usable shawl, so 180 cm (70") across maybe? I also don't want to make another increase round... I am already up to 578 stitches per round. The edging will add som to the size of course. I plan a plain garter stitch knit-on edging, maybe 10 stitches wide.

I started the Anniversary Mystery Shawl from Goddess Knits too. Here it is after the first clue (chart B)

This is also a Pi shawl, and each clue have four charts to choose from (at least the two first ones do), so all the shawls turn out differently. I have started the second clue (also chart B), but I am getting second thoughts about it. The concept is great and all that but I think I would rather choose my very own patterns for the Pi. The yarn is Baruffa Cashwool in Lt Lime, BTW. Lovely but maybe better on a slightly smaller needle, I'm using 3.25 mm now.

I am trying very hard to resist buying Icelandic unspun yarn for another Pi. I have found it for sale in a Swedish store for a good price (30 SEK/100 g)

Then Sheri did it again. A KAL I can't resist. You know I knit two sweaters for the Dream In Color sweater KAL? Now Sheri started a Dream In Color Baby KAL. Baby is the DIC lace weight... Yes I have ordered yarn. For two shawls. Two skeins of Night Watch for a big Adamas shawl, and two skeins of Petal Shower, possibly for Queen Anne's Lace. The yarn is in transit... I will knit as much as I can on Whispering Pines before it arrives, because I will want to cast on Adamas as soon as.

I haven't quite abandoned the sweaters though. I started the lovely February Lady Sweater.


The yarn is Malabrigo Worsted (The Loopy Ewe carries it now!). If the colour looks familiar it's because it is. It's the same as in my Whipsering Pines shawl! Except that it seems to be a little lighter.

I finished something too! The Butterfly Jacket from the latest Wool Gathering.

I saw it on the cover and I *had* to start subscribing just to get the pattern. Yes I seem to have some sort of EZ obsession too.

Pattern: Butterfly Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann (Wool Gathering #78)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers 2448 Petrol Blue, about two skeins I think
Needles: 4.5 mm
Size: Small
Verdict: A fun and easy knit. This was my TV knitting while it lasted, the pattern for the short-row turns is easily memorized. I was a bit concerned about the vest being a bit old-ladyish, but I think it is great. Nice to slip on when it is just a little chilly. I did the seamless version, picking up stitches at the neck for the second half and joining at the back. The only seam was the inch or so I seamed at the center back.

And yes, I got a haircut :-)

My Hemlis 4-pal has got her package (and likes it!) I am still waiting for min. Two more post-days in June...