...and the last one...

3. a crescent-shaped shawlette. sea silk in stardust, 4.5mm needles. stockinette with eyelets. (for my mum, she just collects scarves and the like)

late for the party...

January is almost over, and I still have some finished knits to show...

1. socks, opal rainforest, colourway robin hood, 2.25mm needles (for my cousin who fell fort handknitted socks a few years ago)


2. scarf, rowan all seasons cotton, 3x dark blue, 2x red, 4.5mm needles (for my aunt who doesn't use scarves, because... she doesn't have them ;-) well, now she does)

FO parade, part 4. Chevron.

Isn't a simple chevron pattern pretty in Sea Silk?

A small simple scarf, knitted from one skein of Sea Silk. In Periwinkle. As a present, so I don't get to keep it for myself.



Another take on a chevron pattern, inspired by Missoni, using colours this time.

A summer top. When it was more or less 75% complete, I realized I planned colour changes wrong. Or rather, hadn't planned them at all, and one could see that. This, and the fact that I wasn't 100% happy with the straps, resulted in ripping the whole thing. Meanwhile, summer has ended, so no reason to hurry with the re-knitting ;-).

FO parade, part 3.

Portree from Rowan 46. Knitted as in the pattern, using Felted Tweed DK in bilberry and camel.

FO parade, part 2.

A simple cowl. Malabrigo Worsted in Pagoda, 2 skeins + leftover from a hat, needles 4.5mm. I love it!

FO parade, part 1.

First up, Noro. Kureyon Sock.
I don't really like this yarn. The colours are great, that's true, and the rawness... but the thick-and-thin nature is too uneven for my taste. I made these gloves last spring as a photography accessory, really, but haven't used them yet. I used some generic mitt pattern, and knitted these on 2.25mm needles.



I had lots of leftover yarn, and as I was in need of an instant gratification (that must have been sometime last spring), I saw this pattern, and I must have had it. Celestine by berocco.



I made it smaller, using less stitches as a base of each "spike", but otherwise followed the pattern. It's a cool toy, by the way, and I am imagining it in a much larger scale already... Huge spikes, pillow-like...

long time, no see

It's been a while... I almost can't believe that winter is around the corner, and the previous one was supposed to be my last one in Scandinavia. Oh well. (Yes, I have more products of my knitting exercises to share, for knitting has always been a relax activity keeping me sane when crazily working on... work stuff... science, that is.)


Quite spontaneously, after all the work and work and more work, I spoiled myself a bit. Cashlana in Midnight:



With winter in sight, and the dullness and darkness, not to mention the cold, COLD that will start too soon, I need a shawl, badly. A warm, soft one. The yarn lived up to my (high) expectations, it's as soft as a 90% cashmere yarn should be. Colours are pretty, as I anticipated, given my previous experience with Fleece Artist / Handmaiden yarns. Pure pleasure to knit :-)
...after a few hours (and three to four false starts):


...and one week later:

I chose a more rapid rate of increases (8 every 2 rows) than most of shawl patterns call for, to achieve the crescent shape for long and cosy shawl, perfect for wrapping. I plan to go on until I run out of Cashlana, and continue in some other cashmere-containing blend (from Rowan maybe). I'll just take the shawl with me for a visit to some yarn stores in Stockholm, to find a perfect match. Hopefully soon.

march update

another sea silk crescent shawl. this time i tried a different construction method, inspired by Lune Shawl. i used half of the yarn for the stockinette stitch and i'd see some lace edging here. i've been trying out several stitch patterns, but so far none spoke to me.


meanwhile, portree is growing.

i think i got a serious sea silk addiction

periwinkle, amethyst, smoke

elefantín

i was happily knitting my fair isle project (Portree), and thought that i'd finish it this month (ha ha ha), when a distraction came, in a shape of a little cute elefant. and i simply must have knitted it. so i did. it turned out as cute as i wanted, but the funny thing is, most of people who have seen it, think it is... a piglet!


pattern: elefante
yarn: sock yarn leftovers (Trekking)
needles: 2mm
mods: rescaling to a different yarn weight;

woodpecker socks

a simple sock recipe on 64 sts + Prinzessin Tausendschön by Opal from their Regenwald (rainforest) line = my boyfriend's new favourite socks

2010

seems it wasn't such an unproductive year after all...



2 pullovers, 3 small shawls, 2 pairs of socks (and counting, hehe), 2 hats, 1 pair of gloves, 1 cowl... some unfinished stuff...

winter

this is how my neighborhood looked on the winter solstice day:


beautiful, right? as of today, the day is 1 minute 22 seconds longer, what gives a whole 6 hours and 10 minutes (give or take) of sunlight. ouch.
to beat (?) the gloom AND to be able to use the camera in the cold, i am making these:


they are actually knitted now, need some extensive finishing, though.

now, some finished stuff! these socks were done sometime in the late summer, and have been used since. the owner really likes them (i know, 'cause he tells me often). basic sock with ribbing, yarn from the stash. actually, it's one of the first sock yarns i purchased, when i was still living in Freiburg.




and a hat. for me.


pattern: cabled hat by Woolly Wormhead
yarn: malabrigo worstead in pagoda
needles: 4.5mm (as recommended)
it's my second version of this pattern. this time i replaced purl panels with moss stitch panels in between cables. the hat definitely needs blocking.

my current in-progress knits:

...another one...

sea silk in aurora, in the skein...

...and knitted into an abrazo-like scarf:

i finished it one month ago and it's used and loved it since then. the pattern is my own (a closeup below), 4.5mm needles, and 370+ stitches to start with.



it seems i cannot resist the urge to obtain yet another skein of the marvelous sea silk, even if i mostly shop online. i simply love this yarn, everything about it: the hand, the softness, the colours. this time in stardust, for yet another version of a crescent-shaped scarf.

first one up!

abrazo = a hug, and what a pretty one!



pattern: abrazo from twist collective summer 2010
yarn: seasilk in forest; ca. 70g (approx. 280m) (why am i always obsessed by running out of yarn, and ending up having actually a lot of leftover?)
needles: 4.5 mm

i knitted it a bit smaller - casted on 339 sts to include 23 repeats of the leaf pattern (instead of 25); recalculated decreases and added an eyelet row at the top.

i think this pattern has a truly organic feel in this colourway!



my desperate attempts in photographing abrazo on myself, to demonstrate the size: well, you can see that the shawlette is not that large, actually. it's gonna make a nice scarf for my aunt, i hope.



i think this shot is the only one that actually shows the true colour (and no, i did not care to adjust the curves in the photoshop). you can also see my new woolen skirt.


that's what its label said:

ABOUT WOOL
wool is natural. you can make everything out of wool; from a light and cool summer dress to a thick warm sweater. wool contains air which helps you keep your natural body temperature. wool has high absorption capacity, so it will keep your body dry. wool will not absorb water from the outside and withstands dirt. wool is very elastic and does not shrink/wrinkle if treated correctly. wool makes colours deeper and more beautiful than most other materials. wool is comfortable and simply a wonderful material. wool fibers are covered by small flakes like cones. when washed or treated roughly, these flakes rub against each other. this causes the wool fibres to get tangled up. wool will therefore shrink when rubbed and washed at high temperatures.

:-)

grey, alpaca, seamless... will it make a wearable cardi?

i don't know.



i like it, but... BUT:

1. alpaca is not a great idea for a seamless sweater - too drapey;
2. alpaca is not a great idea for a sweater for me - itchy, itchy...
3. alpaca is... stretchy? or my sleeves grew too much downwards in blocking. what might not be a bad thing in winter ;-).




pattern: based on a model in Drops (113-28).
yarn: Drops Alpaca, 2 strands held together;
needles: 4.5mm;

naturally, i modified the pattern to my needs. long sleeves and added body length made it suitable for autumn and winter, increasing the yarn usage. i did not keep all the bands, so i am not sure how much i actually used. about 550g, i think. it took me ages to knit it - 10 months - most of the time in the finish-when-you-have-less-exciting/urgent-knits bag.

now, off to my more recent knits!

thomasina

thomasina from Rowan The Milk Cotton Collection;
yarn: rowan milk cotton, as recommended, 8 balls, in Licorice;
needles: 3.25mm and 3.75mm, as recommended;

i knitted it in a size between S and M - the fronts are M, the back is S. the fit is allright :-).

i love, love, LOVE the final result! of course I made modifications in the original pattern: knitted the cap sleeves from top down, and picked stitches for the collar instead of sewing it to the body. it just made more sense to me. apart form that, thomasina is knit as in the design. how very unusual of me.