...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.

:-)

swallowtail

swallowtail knitted in my favourite silk yarn, as before. needles 3.5mm, likewise. seems to be the receipe for the silk shawl that JUST WORKS. :-) for me, anyway.

this one is for my mother. it's smaller than i expected, but cute nonetheless. i really hope she likes it... otherwise, i might take it back ;-)




--
THIS is what i'm working on now. as a part of the olympics project on our shared polish knitting olympics blog.

another lace shawl

pattern: Aeolian shawl, shouldrette
lace: 100% silk 600m/100g, BC Garn
needles: 3.25mm
modifications: i knitted the agavae section once, which was not included in the shouldrette version; no beads; less nupps



love it! i knitted it as a present, and it was difficult to part with it! maybe, just maybe, i'll knit it again for myself. the yarn is heaven to knit )it's the same one as here. i have one more skein of it, bought with the shawl for my mother in mind.

spring & things

spring came...



...and (almost) went. actually, it's good, bacause it means the summer is around the corner. i'd like to believe in that... the weather here in Sweden can be capricious, and even cold also during summer.
in the meantime, i knitted this shawl:





pattern: Shetland Triangle (Wrap Style, IK press)
yarn: Kauni lace 90% wool 10% acrylic; 300m/50g
needles: 3.25mm

i knitted it sometime in late April, and have worn it already several times - who would tell, the swedish weather so cold to wear wool in May.



i like the pattern, it was fun and quick to knit (2 weeks). on the other hand, i think the yarn was not a good choice. it's a very uneven single ply. it means that the thread becomes very very thin at places. dangerously thin. couple of times i had to pick up the stitch below the one i was knitting to strengthen the thread. i was concerned that the yarn will break... and it did...


i fixed it with the crochet, but... Kauni lace, never again. despite their tempting "effects" line of yarns with beautiful color changes. no, no, no.

laminaria

i knitted my first lace, people!




pattern: laminaria from knitty
yarn: Mulibärs Silk 100% silk 600m/100g; Marias Garn
needles: 3.5mm

pretty, pretty! it already found its way to a friend it was destined for from the starters.

i got some 28g of leftover yarn, so i could have knitted one more repetition of the blossom pattern, for a larger shawl. if i knew... anyway, i discovered one thing while knitting laminaria: i like lace! ok, it requires a lot of attention, but in the end it's soooo rewarding to see the pattern uncovered while the shawl is blocked.

lace story in pictures

It started as a hank of a really beautiful shiny luscious silk yarn.600m of it, wow, all packed into 100g. Not my usual piece of cake. Sometime in September I decided it's finally time to pick a pattern for this yarn.Otherwise I might not be done with knitting LACE (something I've never done before) by Christmas.

I meant to take a picture after every step of the lace pattern is completed, to document my progress, as I believed this is the first and the last adventure with lace knitting. Just a diversion from my usual scarves and socks.



As time passed, days got shorter and I was not able to take pictures after work anymore. Then, I knitted other stuff, more wooly, more of an immediate use. The sudden burst of productivity is mainly due to me staying at home with flu. So, there it is, in all its beauty:


Laminaria. Details will follow.