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...

WWKIP and Hemlis 4

I participated in WWKIP day on Saturday. 6 knitters (4 adults and 2 kids) on the lawn outside the main library in town. We had a great time knitting and chatting for two and a half hours before the rain came and chased us away.

And for any Hemlis 4 people out there: I posted my first package today, maybe it is for you! I've had so much fun reading my recipients blog and planning the packages. I had some fitting yarn in my stash, and I have ordered some especially for her. Plus some other fun things! I hope I get *my* package soon, I'm so excited!

Flamingo EPS sweater

I have neglected to blog my finished sweater because I didn't have any nice pictures of it. My plan was to persuade M to take the photos but here has been so hot that I forgot all about woolly sweaters for a while. Today however the weather is cool (and windy and rainy) so I came to think about the sweater again. I had to take the pics myself of course, because M is at work.


Pattern: A concoction of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Percentage System, the Waist Shape Calculator at Knitting Daily, and the yoke sweater pattern in Ann Budd's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns.
Size: A very customized 42" hip, 33.5" waist and 39" bust, total length is about 23". Overall ease is about 1.5".
Yarn: Dream In Color Classy in Flamingo Pie (about 4.5 skeins) and Gothic Rose (a tiny bit)
Needles: 3.5 mm for inside of the hems and 4 mm for the rest Addi Turbo's of various lengths

I started the body with a picot hem and after about 2" I worked 4 sets of short rows to make the back about 1” longer than the front, with a rounded shape. I had 101 sts across the back at this point.

1st set: Knit until 25 sts remain to the side marker, w&t. Purl back until 25 sts remain to the other side marker, w&t.
2nd set: Knit until 15 sts remain to the side marker, w&t. Purl back until 15 sts remain to the other side marker, w&t.
3rd set: Knit until 5 sts remain to the side marker, w&t. Purl back until 5 sts remain to the other side marker, w&t.
4th set: Knit until 5 sts after the side marker, w&t. Purl back until 5 sts after the other side marker, w&t.
Pick up the wraps and knit them together with the wrapped stitch as you get to them.

Here you can see that the back is longer than the front.


The sleeves have picot hems and decreases every 5 rounds up to the elbow, then they are straight.

After I joined the body and sleeves I knit a couple of rounds and then worked three sets of short rows to give a bit more room for the shoulders, like so:
Place markers at sleeve centers.
1st set: Work to shoulder + 12 sts, w&t
2nd set: Work to shoulder + 10 sts, w&t
3rd set: Work to shoulder + 16 sts, w&t

I got the idea for these short rows over at Mim's blog where she explained how she made her beautiful EPS cardigan. I reworked the numbers for my gauge. Mim also helped me (on Ravelry) to understand how to make the short rows at the hem. Thank you so much!

The yoke shaping took some trial and error. At first I followed EZ and Meg Swansen and knit 5" straight before the first decrease round of 25% of the stitches. Second decrease (33%) round was done after 7.5" and after a few more inches I tried the sweater on. Horror! The yoke didn't fit at all, it was loose and baggy and horrible. Apparently I needed to make 4 decrease rounds instead of three, and start them sooner too. I ripped back and did the decreases at 2.25", 4.5", 6.75" and 7.75" instead. This is more like the decreases in The Handy Book Of Sweater Patterns, and Meg Swansen's mods for larger sizes. The important thing here is trying the sweater on and see what works for you.

After the last decrease round I worked short rows again to raise the neck.
1st set: Work to shoulder, w&t
2nd set: Work to shoulder - 5 sts, w&t
3rd set: Work to shoulder - 10 sts, w&t

Then I knit a picot hem at the neck. Oh, and I knit a little zigzag pattern after the second yoke decrease. I just couldn't resist!

Here is the sweater blocking.

I am very happy with this sweater (and that I managed to finish *two* sweaters in the Loopy DIC KAL!) I have always considered adult sweaters to be slow in the making, but these two were really fast. But my previous sweaters have been mostly colour work things in rather small gauges...

My next sweater will be the February Lady Sweater in red Malabrigo worsted that I snagged at the latest Loopy Ewe sneakup! Actually the same red (Sealing Wax) as in my new shawl project, Whispering Pines in Malabrigo Lace. Pattern by Knitspot. She is by far my favourite lace designer.

Here it is after charts A and B. the pattern is rather dense here but it gets more lacy soon. And blocking will help.

I actually ordered blocking wires! I'm so excited! I have a finished scarf to try them on the minute they arrive. Or soon after they arrive anyway. It is aroll of wire to be cut in the lengths I want. Suggestions for good lengths would be much appreciated! Ready-made wires seem to be between 12" and 36" inches. I will check more when my wire gets here.

Oh, and here is the machine that has made me into a die-hard coffee drinker!

It is a Nespresso machine that uses little pre-packed capsules of coffee, one for each cup of espresso (yes, I know, not very environmentally friendly, but great coffee!) There are loads of different varieties of coffee blends to try and it is easy peasy to make just one cup. I always drink mine with lots of milk! Low-lactose milk nowadays, as I have realised that I am lactose intolerant.

Hemlis 4

Here are my answers to the secret pal exchange Hemlis 4. It's a Nordic exchange arranged by StickaMera, so I'm doing this in Swedish only.

1. Vilken sorts garn tycker du mest om? (Ull, akryl, bomull osv.) Är det något material du absolut inte tycker om?

Jag tycker mest om ull som inte sticks :-) och silke. Gillar inte akryl (plast!), och bomull är stumt och bråkigt att sticka med tycker jag. Animaliska fibrer helst alltså, fast lite nylon i strumpgarner är ju bra.

2. Vilka är dina favoritfärger?

Blått, rött, lila. Klara, glada färger, är inte så mycket för pasteller.

3. Är det någon färg du absolut inte tycker om?

Beige, grönt på egen hand (men tillsammans med blått är det jättefint), brunt på egen hand (men också snyggt ihop med blått)

4. Vilken sorts stickor tycker du bäst om/använder du helst? (Trä, metall, plast? Rundstickor, raka, strumpstickor?)

Jag använder rundstickor i metall till det mesta, även strumpor och tröjärmar (magic loop) Älskar mina Addi Turbo och Knit Picks rundstickor och drömmer om ett Options-set. Jag använder strumpstickor nån gång ibland, men aldrig nånsin långa raka.

5. Hur länge har du stickat? Anser du dig vara nybörjare, avancerad eller mittemellan?

Minns inte riktigt när jag lärde mig sticka men det måste vara närmare 30 år sen, jag var rätt liten i alla fall. Är väl tämligen avancerad, hur man nu ska definiera det... klarar av att sticka det mesta, justerar mönster när det behövs och designar lite själv.

6. Dricker du kaffe? Te?

Kaffe med mjölk. Jag och sambon fick en väldigt trevlig Nespresso-maskin i gemensam födelsedagspresent i år. Den används flitigt! Annars dricker jag helst te, svart eller grönt.

7. Är du allergisk mot något?

Laktos har jag just fått reda på :-/ Och nötter, mandel, jordnötter etc. Och starka dofter har jag svårt att klara. Och råa äpplen (fast äppelpaj går bra. Med vaniljsås, tack)

8. Vilken slags musik tycker du om?

Hmm, favoriterna är väl Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys och U2. Lite modernare: Eskobar och Rammstein.

9. Favoritgodis?

Mörk choklad. Fast det är väl ett livsmedel? Saltlakrits är inte dumt det heller.

10. Håller du på med någon annan "skapande hobby", förutom stickning? (Spinna, scrapbooking, virkning osv.)

Jag spinner, nybörjare sen december i fjol. Har en begagnad Louet S10 och en liten slända. Jag har också sytt rätt mycket lapptäcken, fast det har legat nere några år. Sen jag upptäckte strumpstickning ungefär...

11. Vad tycker du är roligast att sticka? Mössor? Sjalar? Tröjor? osv...

Strumpor och spetssjalar

12. Prenumererar du på någon sticktidning?

Interweave Knits

13. Har du något drömprojekt på önskelistan?

Jag har ungefär 100 projekt i min Ravelry-kö... Högt upp ligger en damaskmönstrad tröja i regnbågsfärgad Kauni och nån mysig spetssjal designad av Knitspot

14. Använder du pulsvärmare/handledsvärmare? I så fall, vad är ditt handledsmått?

Jag har inga men jag skulle väl kunna göra det. Mina handleder är 16 cm i omkrets, men händerna är drygt 20 cm runtom tummen så de ska ju gå att dra på också...

15. Tycker du om att sticka pulsvärmare?

Har faktiskt aldrig provat, men det är säkert ett kanonbra sätt använda strumpgarnsrester :-)

16. Stickar du sockor?

Japp

17. Vad har du för fotstorlek? (T.ex. längd, omkrets på tjockaste stället.)

Skostorlek 39-40. Mina fötter är 22,5 cm runtom som mest och 25 cm långa. Jag har höga fotvalv och jag gillar tajta strumpor. Jag brukar göra skaften ca 15 cm långa.

18. När fyller du år?

30 maj. Alldeles nyss, alltså :-)

19. Stickar du med pärlor?

Jag har stickat en sjal med pärlor (Mystery Stole 3) och gillade resultatet, där kunde gott varit ännu fler pärlor! Kan absolut tänka mig fler projekt med pärlor.

20. Vilken slags böcker (ej stickning) läser du helst? (Deckare? Fakta? Romaner?)

Fantasy och science fiction (på engelska om det är orginalspråket) Lord of the Ring och Harry Potter är favoriter. Stephen Brust och Neil Gaiman är andra favoritförfattare. Tyvärr har jag inte så mycket tid att läsa nu för tiden, har jag möjlighet är jag en bokmal!

Finally Francie socks

My first pair of finished socks for, I don't know, quite a while. For a while there I didn't feel like knitting socks at all. No inspiration. I have a number of started socks but none of them really appealed to me.

Besides, I have been knitting two sweaters lately. (Yes, the EPS is done, I just need to force M to take some nice pictures for me)

Then I found Francie. Finally a pattern I really, really liked. And which seemed perfect for the poor beautiful red yarn that had been wound in a cake forever and ever and that I had started (and frogged) three or four patterns with already.

Pattern: Francie by Rebekkah Kerner at Bowerbird Knits
Yarn: All Things Heather kettle dyed superwash merino, colour Maraschino, 1 skein, not too much left overs.
Needles: 2.25 mm KnitPicks circ, magic loop of course :-)
Mods: None, really, except that I did only 2 pattern repeats on the legs. They are 7" long anyway. Good thing too, because I would have run out of yarn otherwise.

I'm not all that excited over the leg pattern, it's just a bit strange.

If I knit these socks again I will probably just do a 2x2 ribbed leg.
The foot, however, I adore.

I have high arches and the fabric hugs them wonderfully. And the sole is so beautiful! I'm toying with the idea of making them upside down. I.e. have this tree structure on the instep. Should be possible. Somehow. Hmm.

Both socks. They are a tiny bit big, even though I just have one single row between the arch shaping and the toe. Maybe my row gauge is very different from the designer's. At first I thought I would have to give them to M, but right now it seems like they fit me fine.


They look very silly off the foot or blocker...

All better now

Fits like a glove, just as I wanted. The sweater will probably grow a little in its first bath, and the puckering from the short rows and the decreases will even out.

I have a good chance of finishing this in May after all. It would be fun to finish *two* sweaters for the DIC KAL :-)

Slap!

Shouldn't have said that the EPS sweater was almost done. Slap! on the head from the knitting godess. I tried it on yesterday evening, almost done with the yoke, and the fit was... strange... to say the least. Bodice nice and fitted just as before. But the yoke hung like a sack, much too large. Sigh. I put the monster away and worked on a sock.

It was obvious that I had too many stitches in the yoke but how should I decrease for a better fit? Suddenly I remembered that there is a 4-decrease variation in The Opinionated Knitter (incidentally, this is the same decreases as for the seamless yoke sweater in The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns) So this morning I ripped, ripped and started doing the decreases this way instead. The first decrease is done at 2.25" instead of after 4.5-5" and this seems to work much better for me.

Knock on wood, and all that.

EZ

I am on some sort of Elizabeth Zimmermann binge. Reading her books (I got The Opinionated Knitter and Knitting Around in the post this week), watching her on DVD (I got the Knitting Workshop DVD too) and knitting her pattern (I'm almost done with an EPS sweater), feeling very inspired and wanting to knit many more of her patterns. To think that I never knew she existed until a few years ago... Amazing how her patterns don't look very dated either, after all these years.

As I was finishing up Twist I felt the urge for another DIC sweater, and I have been wanting to knit an EPS sweater for some time, soooo I got me some DIC Classy in Flamingo Pie, plus a lone skein of Gothic Rose to use as contrasting hems (from The Loopy Ewe of course) These colourways go together really well! I was a bit uncertain of the combination but the Loopy Elves very kindly checked it for me. Gothic Rose is a dark eggplanty colour, and Flamingo Pie is a mild orange with yellow and light eggplant accents. I would love me a sweater of Gothic Rose someday, lovely colour!


You may see that the 'non-pooling' Dream In Color has pooled into a yellow zigzag on the chest (of course not on the back...) I don't think that it is very visible IRL though.

The hems of my sweater have the dark yarn on the inside and picot edge


and the rest of the sweater is plain except for a small zigzag on the yoke, right after the first decrease round.

First I wasn't going to put in any yoke patterns, but the sweater asked for it! I haven't decided what to do about the neck yet, maybe a picot hem just like the other edges, maybe just a plain roll neck. We'll see.

I have read many discussions about how to hold the yarn when knitting with two colours, but I have never seen my way described. So here it is. I hold both yarns parallell in my left hand (I knit left-handed/Continental/picking)


If I am careful to keep them some distance apart it is easy to pick the one I want for my next stitch.


You have to be careful not to pull the yarns to tight though. The floats must not pull the fabric in.
My zigzag has two rounds with 5 stitches of one colour and then one of the other. On those rounds I tried to carry the single stitch yarn in my right hand and throw those stitches. That worked rather well, and the floats came out nice and loose without any fussing.

I also have a new sock! My sock mojo has been missing lately, but when I saw Yarn Harlot's Francie socks I had to get the pattern and cast on. The pattern has been in my Ravelry queue for some time but now I realised that this, at last, was the perfect pattern for the red All Things Heather sock yarn that I wound up ages ago and had started at least three patterns with already. Hedgerow socks, Brother Amos' Brimstone socks and a few others got frogged. Nice patterns, but not for this yarn. Francie on the other hand is perfect!


One sock is done and the other is started.

And this is how happy you are when you get to climb the stairs!

Twist & Mystery Stole 3

We have finished objects!
This is Twist, my project for the Dream In Color Sweater KAL at The Loopy Ewe.

Pattern: Twist by Bonne Marie Burns, collar version.
Size: 40"
Yarn: Dream In Color Classy in Some Summer Sky, purchased at The Loopy Ewe, 5 skeins.
Needles: 4 mm and 4,5 mm
Verdict: Great pattern, most things are clearly described and the fit is great. I did miss the total length and width of the sleeves when blocking. The yarn is yummy but wanted to stretch like crazy when I blocked it (wet blocking) As a result I think that the sleeves came out slightly longer than intended, but they are quite wearable.



And then, only eight months after I finished the knitting, we have Mystery Stole 3, aka Swan Lake!

Pattern: Mystery Stole 3 by Melanie Gibbons.
Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr wool/silk, about 1,5 2 oz balls.
Needles: 3,5 mm Addi Lace
Verdict: It was so much fun to knit this! I followed the KAL almost in time for most of the clues and it was great to see the pattern evolve. And the result is beautiful. The stole may not be very useable for me right now, with little kids and all, but someday. At least I'll wear it on my wedding this summer (I don't mind about the sad story of the theme)


I finished knitting this the day before my son was born, and the blocking has been on hold because I was unsure about how to do it well. I really would like some blocking wires, now I have to make do with cotton string and pins.


The Addi Lace needles are so-so. They are nice and pointy but I don't like their unslippery-ness (that *must* be a proper word, right?) The brass coating matted right away so they are not so nice to work with as my KnitPicks circs. I did have some extra problem with the short-row part, August temperatures made the yarn felt slightly but it is not very noticeable now after blocking.


Maybe I should block on a more neutral towel?

Party Sweater

My first handspun knitted project is all done! Behold the Party Sweater:


Pattern: Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan
Size: Current H-size, smallish 4-year-old
Yarn: 18 ounces/500 g of my own handspun superwash Corriedale (Party Dress from Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club December 2007) plied with superwash merino from Wingham Wool Work I was aiming for worsted weight but it turned into bulky. My handspun fluffs up a lot in the wash.
Needles: 5.5 mm Addis
Verdict: Good pattern, except that it would have you make a very snug neck. I didn't. Other than that: no problem. H tried it on several times and once I had to rip because the sweater was too big. Bit at 3 sts/in this thing grew so fast that a little ripping didn't matter much.
See my Ravelry project for more info.

Fiber:


Yarn:


Sweater:


Baby A likes it too :-)

Hi again!

I am still here, believe it or not! So much has happened since I last blogged that I hardly know where to start... Brace yourself for a huge post!

I have almost knit a sweater. Sheri at The Loopy Ewe started a Dream In Color sweater KAL with a 20% discount on the yarn, DIC Classy. After much agonising over what colour to get (and they colours were selling out fast!) I ordered six lovely skeins of Some Summer Sky. I figured that six skeins would be enough for any sweater.

Then I had to decide on a pattern... Twist by Bonne Marie Burns won at last. I have knit all the pieces and blocked them this weekend.


Blocking was a bit scary. I decided to wet-block and the even though I tried to be really careful with the wet pieces they wanted to streeeeetch like mad! I had to leave them for a while and then tried to push them together again to the right size. I think I managed to get them about right. Button bands and collar (I'm not doing the hood) will be begun Real Soon. Spring has started for real this time (I sincerely hope!) and Twist will be perfect as outerwear for a while.

H's Party Sweater has grown a bit but Twist has been more fun so it's not done yet. Though when I work on it it grows really fast, 3 sts and 5 rows to the inch, say no more.


Thi is an old pic, I have almost finished the body and 1/3 of a sleeve. It is great to be able to try it on as I go! There has been some ripping and adjusting. First I made it too big before splitting for sleeves, then the sleeve got too narrow. I hope I don't have to rip back any more now, I want this thing finished!

I have blocked other things as well. The Zenzi scarf has been patiently waiting since October...


Pattern: Woodland shawl, scarf version
Size: 41 sts, about 150 cm long
Yarn: Wollmeise sockenwolle, colour Zenzi
Needles: 3,5 mm
Verdict: Nice pattern, easy to learn by heart. I prefer to knit from a chart and made my own. Now there is one linked from the pattern page. There were one or two small errors in the pattern but they have been corrected. The stitch pattern is of course somewhat lost in this busy yarn but I like it anyway. The brown black and white reminds me of birch bark.
The yarn is a bit odd, it feels almost like cotton even though it is 100% wool. It is also a bit splitty. It blocked just fine, and softened too. I have to make socks from this yarn (I have a few more skeins) and see how it behaves then.


Obstacles is also done.


Pattern: Obstacles by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Dream In Color Smooshy, 2 skeins Ruby River
Needles: 4,5 and 5 mm
Verdict: Mmmm. Lovely pattern, great texture to the stitch pattern, easy to learn by heart. I love Anne's designs!
The yarn is really nice too and it got a lovely drape after blocking. The second skein was more varegiated than the first one but I don't mind.


The shawl fits little girls too!



What else? Lets see... Oh yes, socks! I finished the Tall Tibetan socks over Easter (at the cottage. This fireplace is the main heat source. Very cosy)


Pattern: Tall Tibetan socks from New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi.
Size: 50 sts
Yarn: Schaefer Lola in Raspberry Mocha
Needles: 2.75 mm
Verdict: I like knitting this pattern but the fit isn't so good for feet with high insteps like mine. The sock is a bit inelastic just there.
The yarn is nice to work with (and sportweight yarn make quick socks :-) but I'm not really happy with the pooling. The light brown is my least favourite colour in the yarn and of course it wanted to show itself off in big streaks...

I started a new pair of socks too (even though I have two other OTN) I saw someones striped Noro socks and just *had* to...

I'm using colours S40 and S102 of the Kureyon sock yarn, two rounds of each, and Wendy's toe-up slip-stitch heel pattern. I am almost at the start of the gusset. The yarn isn't very nice to work with, tight and a bit rough and splitty with my 2 mm needles, slow going. But it softens as you work with it and it is fun to watch the colors change :-)

And when Spring Knitty came I just had to cast on this:


The Lace Ribbon scarf. I am making it a little narrower than the pattern suggests, 44 sts instead of 53. The yarn is from Gypsy Girl Creations, fingering weight in Blueberries and Cream.

Spinning: I spun some lovely top from Squoosh, merino called Kiss. Here is the fiber


the singles

and the yarn

185 meters of two-ply, about sport weight or DK I think.

Then there was the Spunky club fiber for February, Think Spring. Fiber


singles


yarn




4 oz/110 g South African Fine, Navajo plied (my first. That took some concentration!) 100 m/110 yds of worsted weight. I have 12 more ounces of this (I got 8 ounces from Spunky, then someone on my mailing list wanted to sell her 8 ounces and I jumped) I haven't decided if I want to treat the rest of the fiber the same or if I should experiment.

Last but certainly not least, some superwash merino handpainted by Aija of Zero. I won't show the fiber because I couldn't get a colour correct photo of it. Here are the singles:

and the yarn:



I really liked spinning this. The fiber was pretty, and the yarn is oh so much prettier. The colourway is called Glass Nyctimene and it really looks like glass. The colours are translucent somehow and they go together so well. I am happy! This is 115 m/125 yds of DK weight 2-ply.

And today my four year old H learned to ride a bike without training wheels! On the first go! She is amazing. She wanted to try her friend's bike without training wheels and I said sure, I'll hold on to you. But I didn't have to. She figured out how to start all by herself too. Turning corners is still a litte difficult, but I bet she'll have that down pat when we get to daycare tomorrow.
Here she comes with her big brother E (who was a year older when we coaxed him to shed the training wheels)

Wrooooom
She was smiling so wide I thought her head would burst :-)