Heidi's Knitbits

Striped vest

2009-05-07T11:09:00.001+03:00

A short post about something else than soakers (still more to come of those, don’t worry!).

Since my mom got her Aeolian, I also wanted to knit something for my dad. A warm vest to wear over t-shirts during colder spring/summer days seemed like the perfect project.

It’s much too big for the model, and I hear it’s also a bit too wide for my dad. But who cares? It’s warm and should be functional enough.

Yarn: Riihivilla Aarni. Dark brown for the dark stripes, armholes and neck, beige for the lighter stripes. My absolute favorite yarn! I still haven’t found another yarn that even comes close, and I doubt I ever will. I also used one skein of Noro Silk Garden for the stripes at the lower part of the vest.

The stitch counts and measurements are based on Peter Easy by Berroco.

Now, back to knitting diaper covers. Only one month left until they will be used…

Soakers

2009-04-27T16:57:00.001+03:00

Just a quick post about some baby knitting I’ve finished. Three diaper covers. I’m trying out different patterns to see which one I like the best. So far, this is my favorite.

Soaker pattern by Ms. Crafty Galore (ignore the content warning)

Not only is it really cute, it also looks really functional.

I also like this one.

Villapöpät by Meri Markus.

The pattern was really easy to knit, and no seams! But I have a feeling the waistband will be too tight…

And then there’s this one.

Wool Diaper Cover by Studio Tuumat.

This pattern wasn’t for me. I didn’t like knitting it, I hated the seams, and I don’t like the result. It also turned out much bigger than I planned. There’s nothing wrong with the pattern, it’s me. I’m allergic to everything that involves seaming. Meh!

Nothing more at this time. Prepare yourselves for more soakers in the future. I have a few other patterns I want to try out.

Oh, and the yarn is some unidentified unspun that I bought at the market a year or so ago. It’s gorgeous! I wish I had more…

Pinwheel

2009-04-18T16:52:00.001+03:00

I've been finishing projects at a fast rate lately, I just haven't had the time to blog about them. Here's one.

Pinwheel Sweater from Elann.com

Yarn: Evilla Artyarn 8/2, color A-8 and Vuorelma Satakieli, color 964, for the sleeves.

I had a small problem with the sleeves for this project. The Evilla yarn was just enough for the body, and I had to find another yarn that matched the blue color. Not the easiest thing. Luckily, I had a Satakieli color card, and I found a perfect (well almost) match.

Blocking did wonders for the size. I was a bit worried that it would be to small. I mean, I am a little bigger than I used to be, and there's something ball shaped protruding at the front. But it fits perfectly, and it's a great baby belly cardigan.

The circular shape is a bit of a challenge. I like this version where it creates a hood at the back. And you can never go wrong with the Evilla colors.

Cisco

2009-04-02T18:53:00.001+03:00

Back to the baby knitting. After seeing this version of Cisco over at brooklyntweed, I knew what my next project was going to be.

The ears are just too cute for words! I'm really pleased with how this turned out. It's pretty big, and it stretches a lot, so with a little bit of luck, it will fit next winter too. This one is going to a very special, brand new, baby.

The yarn is Sandnes Smart.

Aeolian shoulderette

2009-03-24T12:23:00.001+02:00

I had to take a break from the baby knitting frenzy and knit something "grown up". When the spring 2009 Knitty was published, I knew I was destined to knit the Aeolian shoulderette. It took me one week, and this is what I ended up with.

(Yes, the picture, once again, leaves a lot to be desired...)

I absolutely love the yarn. It's Evilla 8/2 that I got from Tinttamarelli. The colors really aren't properly displayed in the picture. They're much more beautiful, the dark parts are darker, and the lighter parts are brighter. I really like how they almost follow the pattern. A dark part in the middle, lighter around the "leaves", dark nupps and a bright red border.

I'm not keeping this one, so I might just have to knit another one...

Color Therapy

2009-03-11T11:44:00.001+02:00

I'm really looking forward to spring right now, but it's still very wintery here in Finland. Time for some color therapy to cheer me up.

Apparently, blankets are the new socks here at the moment. This is Ten Stitch Blanket by Frankie Brown. You can find it on Ravelry, if you're there. The yarn is Noro Kureyon Sock. One repeat of all the colors got me this far (it's about 30 cm wide). I think there are two or three more of the repeats, so it won't exactly be a huge blanket. I'm thinking of adding a white border or something to make it larger. I'm not really thrilled with how the blues and greens are gathering in the same place, but I guess I'll have to live with it. I just wish there was more red and yellow... Bad photo again. I blame the winter light!

There's also color therapy of another sort going on here. I'm a big fan of subtle colors: brown, beige and "natural" shades. This yarn is one of my favorites: Evilla. It's veeeery woolly, some might even call it scratchy, and it has a lot of lanolin left in it. It's a bit smelly too! Perfect! This will be a Pinwheel Sweater. I'm already waiting for warmer weather so I can wear it as a jacket.

Gift knitting

2009-03-06T12:33:00.001+02:00

I'm not the only one with a bun in the oven at the moment, so I've been doing some gift knitting. Let's just hope the recipient doesn't read the blog before the package arrives...

Baby Booties again. This time the yarn is Sandnes Smart. This pattern is so versatile. It's simple, but you can adapt it any way you like. And all little babies need little booties!

I also made something for the mom and dad to be.

Pomatomus for mommy. The yarn is Storm in the Attic, Storm in Wolhalla.

Adapted version of Resoleable Socks from Favorite Socks for daddy. Yarn: Novita 7 Veljestä. I added a twisted cable to make it more interesting. Let's just hope these fit. Rumor has it that Mr dad's feet are slightly on the gigantic side...

February Lady Sweater

2009-03-04T13:14:00.001+02:00

Pattern: February Lady Sweater

Yarn: Rowanspun DK, held double

Needles: 5,5 mm

Also in my Ravelry notebook

What can I say. I love it! I wanted to knit myself a quick and easy "belly cardigan", and this turned out to be a perfect choice. I actually did finish it in February, but I've been a bit lazy with the photographing lately. And it's still winter her, which means crappy light.

I used up almost all of the yarn. I wanted to be on the safe side, so I started knitting the sleeves before the body. Then I just continued with the body until it was long enough.

Oh, and remember this?

Yup, it is now a finished February Lady Sweater, instead of a Green Sweater Experiment in never ending progress.

Comeback attempt

2009-02-05T14:18:00.001+02:00

After a looong absence from blogland, I've decided to try this blogging thing again. I probably don't have many readers left out there anymore, but I'm hoping at least a few of you will find your way back here.

There wasn't that much knitting going on here during the fall, but I'm making up for that now. There's definitely a theme to my knitting at the moment. You can probably guess what we've been doing instead of knitting by looking at the pictures... ;)

Quilt (Square Counterpane with Leaves)

Yarn: Novita Tennessee

I only knit the leaves part of the square and used a much thicker yarn than the pattern called for. The squares are crocheted together, and I also added a matching crocheted border. I'm really pleased with the result.

Top Down Bonnet

Yarn: Madame Tricote Almina

The ears are too cute!

Handle and Baby Booties

Yarn: Regia Crazy Color 6-ply

Another pair of Baby Booties to match the blanket above.

Modular Tomten Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann. From Knitting Without Tears.

Yarn: The green is Araucania Ranco Solid, and I used Sandnes Garn Lanett for the buttonband and cuffs. It still needs buttons.

I do have a few non-baby projects on the needles, but I'm saving those for another post. If you're allergic to baby knitting blogs (I know I was before), you'll probably need to avoid this blog until June. These little projects will be popping up in between bigger ones from time to time. Let's just hope I can keep going with this blogging thing. The laziness has been overwhelming lately!

A whole lot of knitting going on

2008-09-15T15:13:00.001+03:00

Just because I haven't been blogging in a while, that doesn't mean I haven't been knitting. But I guess I don't need to tell you knitters that...

Anyway... The garter stitch jacket I've been working on for a while is almost finished.

It just needs a button band, some buttons, and one more of these:

I've also been working on some seeeecret knitting... Shhhh!

Check these out on Ravelry if you're there.

And what else... Oh, that's right. I've been thinking about hemp yarn for a long time, and I finally got around to ordering some from Titityy. It knits up really nicely, not as strawy as I expected. And it absorbs water really well.

Kitchen towel with stripes in two-color linen stitch. (Sorry about the unevenness... I really couldn't be bothered to iron it!)

Here's a close-up of the stripes. Linen stitch in two colors creates a really nice effect.

Nothing else this time. I do have a million plans for coming knitting projects. But I should really make a serious effort to finish something first! Oh well... Let's see...

Quick update

2008-08-23T11:57:00.001+03:00

Finished this.

Face cloth in old shale pattern. Yummy organic soap from here.

Working on this.

Druid Mittens by Jared Flood, Vogue Knitting fall 2008. I'm knitting with two colors. The purl stitches on the cuff were a bit tricky. I had to tweak them a little to make it look less messy. Other than that, fun project.

Project Spectrum - Water

2008-08-01T13:25:00.001+03:00

The theme for Project Spectrum 3 in August/September is WATER. Before I pulled out my blue/black/purple skeins, I thought: "Meeeh, not really my colors. I probably don't have that many skeins in my stash." Well...

I guess this proves that my stash denial is pretty severe. To be fair, a large part of my blue stash consists of those Jaeger Extra Fine Merino that are already on the needles becoming a sweater for my Significant Other. The rest is mainly sock yarn. But still, I had no idea! Again!

What about purple and black then? I knew there COULD NOT be that much purple in my stash, since it's one of those colors I just don't use (like yellow). And this time, it turns out I was right.

Oh gee, who would have guessed there would be some more Rowanspun in my stash?! What the heck am I supposed to do with those bright purple skeins? They look almost lilac in this picture, but they're actually really bright. Sigh... On the plus side, there is some Noro Silk Garden, and that single skein almost makes up for the purple Rowanspun-craziness. I looove me some Noro!

Vacation knitting

2008-07-30T13:16:00.001+03:00

This blog has been hibernating long enough, don't you think? Now that I'm back from my vacation, and I have regular Internet access, there is no excuse for not blogging. I have been knitting, after all...

My first project for the summer was a merging of two beautiful things. I've had this blue/brown/natural Evilla yarn in my stash for quite a while, not knowing what to do with it. I just couldn't find a project that was worthy of its gorgeousness. I finally decided that it needs something spectacular to show it off. To me, that means fair isle. And the most beautiful fair isle pattern I've found to date is Eunny Jang's Venezia.

It turned out to be a perfect match! Just add some white and the magic happens. I can't wait to finish this. I'm going to make quite a few modifications. I've decided to completely eliminate steeks, and to use raglan decreases instead. Let's see how that turns out...

Brown and natural colors seem to be the theme for this summer. I've been swimming in a sea of cotton.

And lately, there's also been some green waves.

This green garter stitch bonanza is being knitted especially for someone, and so far it's progressing at an amazing rate. I haven't really knit a large project in garter stitch before, and I can't believe how fast it is!

This isn't all of my vacation knitting, but some projects still haven't been unpacked, and it's too hot to do that now!

Zero blogspiration

2008-06-08T15:37:00.001+03:00

Helloooo, is anyone still there? My blog has been feeling very neglected lately. I've had absolutely no inspiration to blog. It's been too hot to bring out the yarns for Project Spectrum's AIR theme, it's been too hot to photograph other projects, and it's almost been too hot to knit (not really! but you get the idea). Today, I finally decided it was time to kick myself off the couch and do some blogging.

Is there any better way to come back after a long absence than a little stash-flash? The colors for the PS AIR theme are gray, white and yellow. I couldn't find even the shortest thread of yellow in my stash, which was to be expected since it's a color I never ever use. I did have some gray though.

I was really surprised that it wasn't more than this. I have some Rowanspun of course, 10 skeins of 4 ply at the top and 3 skeins of DK at the bottom. I was also pleasantly surprised by the fact that a big part of my gray stash is "natural" yarns. Those are to the left in this picture. I have a skein of Kainuunharmas, two skeins of the wonderful Riihivilla yarn, one skein of an unidentified finnwool yarn, and a skein of Silkeskaninens garn. I also have two skeins of a wool yarn that I got in an exchange, and three skeins of Novita 7 Veljestä. No crazy acrylic yarn or any other "difficult" yarn.

My white stash wasn't that terrifying either. But it wasn't as nice as the gray one.

There are only two yarns that I really like here, and surprise surprise, those belong to the "natural" category. There is some Silkeskaninens garn, and a skein of 100% finnwool. The rest is blaaah yarn, and there's even a squeaky skein of horrid acrylic in the bottom left corner. Why oh why did I ever buy that?

I also have some AIR projects on the needles. One that I'll finish, and one that will be frogged. This one will survive.

Scarf with edging 21 and insertion 25 from The Knitted Lace Pattern Book, Thompson Bros., Kilmarnock, Scotland 1850 from Victorian Lace Today. Couldn't they come up with a longer name for that one? The yarn is an unidentified Novita cotton yarn. I really like this pattern. I've modified it a little and made it more narrow. The goal is to finish it by Christmas, preferably Christmas this year.

This project will be fed to the frogs.

Travelling Roses Scarf. The yarn (100% finnwool that I got at Turku Christmas Market) and pattern just don't match, and I'm getting a little bit bored. I think this yarn would be better for something more lacy and airy.

I still have a million other projects on the needles, both new ones and ooooold ones. I'll do my best to blog about those soon. The weather is supposed to get colder next week, so maybe that will make it easier to use my brain for other things than work and sleep.

Ruffled Jacket

2008-04-22T15:14:00.002+03:00

It's finally finished!

I couldn't be happier with it! Everything turned out just the way I wanted it to.

I can wear it with a pin (or a knitting needle if no pin is available...).

Or I can be really classy and wear it with a belt.

Ruffled Jacket, James Coviello

Vogue Knitting, Fall 2007, #44

Yarn: Rowanspun Aran

Modifications: A million (sleeves in the round, knitted on borders, ruffles instead of "bells", modified size/needle size, etc.)

Daylight/Nightlight

2008-04-18T10:48:00.001+03:00

Yesterday, a friend reminded me of why I can't wait for summer. The days are getting longer and longer now, and it doesn't get dark until around 9.

There is much more light to come, though. This photo was taken at our summer cottage, midsummer (June 23) 2006, 3 minutes to midnight. View from Iso-Lemuri towards Renö, Kelviå, Finland.

Can't you just hear the wings of the seagulls and the waves slowly reaching the shore. The most peaceful place on earth. My piece of paradise.

Ruffles!

2008-04-17T10:49:00.002+03:00

I'm in this strange knitting mode right now. I knit a lot, but there doesn't seem to be anything worth blogging about. I guess it's because I'm mainly working on sweaters, and there really isn't much point in taking photos every 10 cm... But I did make significant progress on my Ruffled Jacket. Look: Ruffles!

I've made so many modifications on this jacket already, that I can't remember them all. Again, I'm avoidin sewing, so I'm knitting the ruffles onto the edge instead. The ruffles are supposed to be knit separately, casting on at the outer edge with k9p3 and then decreasing two stitches for every repeat every other row, ending with a few rows of k1p3. Then you're supposed to sew the bind off edge and the main edge together. Well, you all know I can't do that! I'm doing it the other way around. I picked up stitches around the edge, started with k3p3 instead of k1p3 because I wanted just ruffles instead of the "bells", then increased every other round until I had k9p3 and then did the bind off. I also much prefer the bind off edge to a cast on edge. I can't wait to finish this!

I got the latest issue of Rebecca in the mail yesterday, and I already have plans for some of the patterns. Not sure about the yarn though, it might be too heavy, but I know I want brown and beige.

And then there is a veeery seeeecret project, that I can't really tell you anything about. These are the ingredients.

Let's see what kind of soup comes out of it.

Avoid sewing at all costs!

2008-04-10T14:14:00.002+03:00

Wow, I fell off the radar there for a while. Well, I'm back now, and I actually have something to show for.

My Ruffled Jacket has sleeves now, and I finished sewing them on! But maaan, do I hate sewing! Don't you just find it to be the ultimate anticlimax to a knitting project? "Yay, I finished knitting! Oh crap, I still have a whole bunch of sewing left!"

I tried to minimize the sewing on this cardigan by knitting the sleeves in the round, and I thought I was safe. But then I read further on in the pattern, and I discovered the HORROR. According to the pattern, you're supposed to knit a 10 stitches wide, cabled strip that is long enough to go around the whole outer edge of the cardigan. And then SEW it onto the edge! I mean, come on! Who in their right mind would enjoy doing that? I wasn't having any of it. So I'm doing this instead.

Picking up stitches around the edge of the cardigan and attaching the cabled strip as it progresses. Sooo much more fun than sewing!

Cheating...

2008-03-28T13:05:00.001+03:00

Ok, that's it! I can't take the PS3 FIRE theme anymore! Even though it's not April yet. But I still have these red/orange/pink UFO's left. Bugger!

(Basic sock, Catriona, Morning Surf Scarf, Anemoi mittens)

I'm going to try to finish at least some of them before the end of March, but I just had to move on.

To more EARTHy yarns. My favorite colors! Green and brown. But holy SHI..........EEEEEEP!!!! I strongly suspect that my yarn has mutated and developed reproductive capabilities. How else do you explain this?

And now you're thinking, "well... that's not too bad", right? Ok, so what if I show you this then?

Some nice dark brown yarny yummyness. Still not rocking your boat? Alrightie then, take this!

If you still don't think I have a slightly abnormal yarn habit, you're probably either immune to yarn, or have a stash the size of a yarn store. And if you know me in real life and you thought I had knitting as a "hobby", I'm out of the closet now. For the love of wool (or alpaca, or heck qiviut, if that's what gets you going), how did this happen?! And keep in mind that this is just part of my stash. Add the red yarns to the mix, and the yarn that belongs in the remaining two PS3 categories, and you have a pretty substantial amount.

To distract you from the yarn madness, I give you two UFO's in the EARTH category.

Little Miss Green Sweater

Or she's not so little anymore. She just needs another sleeve and some sewing, and she'll be done.

And the other star is Miss Ruffled Jacket.

She's pretty much at the same stage as her green sister. Just the sleeve and some sewing left. I can't wait to start knitting with these colors! The FIRE colors make me see red (haha).

Not much left

2008-03-25T11:58:00.001+02:00

March is coming to an end, and that also means the end of Project Spectrum's FIRE theme. I've started a lot of projects in February-March, finished a few, and used up quite a lot of my red/orange/pink yarn.

This is what I have left. 20 skeins.

It's nothing compared to what I had at the beginning of February. 31 skeins.

This means that I've used 11 skeins. Some of them are finished projects, and some are works in progress. I'm pretty pleased with myself. Now I just need to finish as many of my red WIPs as possible, so I can focus all of my attention on the EARTH theme. Can't wait!

Still at it with the FIRE theme

2008-03-19T13:54:00.001+02:00

It feels like I haven't finished anything in a loooong time. But look, a pair of socks!

I managed to knit up every last scrap of the pink/green yarn by using an afterthought heel. I had the same yarn in a perfect green color, so it worked out great. I really like that these are short. That way, they won't be too warm to wear in the summer.

And what kind of sock knitter would I be if I didn't immediately start another pair?

The yarn for these is Tofutsies, and I really like that it kind of self stripes. I'm reinforcing the heel by knitting with the yarn doubled, and it almost looks like it's a different yarn because of the nice and even stripes. The pattern is a really basic make it up as you go along sock pattern.

My Morning Surf Scarf is also moving along nicely. I really like that this pattern was so easy to memorize, but still looks interesting.

And look at the difference when the fabric is stretched. I think I'm going to do some serious blocking on this one when it's finished.

Problem yarns...

2008-03-12T15:10:00.001+02:00

My goal for Project Spectrum 3 is to get my yarn stash organized and knit away a fair amount of it. I especially want to use up my "problem yarns". You know those don't you, the ones you just can't seem to find a suitable project for. Lately, my knitting has been focused on those yarns.

Socks for charity

The yarn is Novita 7 Veljestä, hand dyed by me. I just can't stand these colors together, so I'm trying to knit up every scrap of this yarn.

Morning Surf Scarf

Lace yarn hand dyed by me. Do you see a pattern here? There's a reason I only tried dyeing yarn a few times...

Basic toe-up socks for me

Again, yarn hand dyed by me, Novita Nalle. This can't really be classified as a "problem yarn", because I really like the colors. I just want to use it up.

And then we have the yarns I haven't gotten to yet...

A pair of What Was I Thinking?

Both of these are 100% acrylic. I could maaaaaybe manage to knit the one on the right, because it's not quite as squeaky as the fire engine red blob on the left... But meeeh... There are so many other yarns that I really adore knitting with, so why suffer through knitting with these?

Leftovers from my orange Resoleable Socks and my pink basic striped socks

I'm sure I'll find some use for these four little balls of 7 Veljestä. Most probably, they will become socks for charity.

There's not that much left of March now, and I'm already itching to start knitting with yarns in the PS3 EARTH category. I really like the elements/nature theme for this round of Project Spectrum. I'm also trying to implement this approach in my daily life, being more conscious of the world around me and the impact (both positive and negative) I can have on it.

Organizing my yarn stash is making med realize that other areas in the home could also benefit from a little spring cleaning. I'm slowly trying to get rid of all the unnecessary clutter we have everywhere. My approach is one room at a time, so it doesn't get too overwhelming. It's really refreshing to see empty shelf space!

Cro-what?

2008-03-07T12:58:00.001+02:00

I don't crochet often, because I just don't find it as relaxing and rewarding as knitting. But I actually finished a crochet project. Look!

For Project Spectrum 3, I've been trying to get to those "problem yarns" that most of us have somewhere in the back of our stashes. I really hate knitting with stiff, dk weight cotton, because I'm an insanely tight knitter and my hands start to hurt. I didn't know what to do with the two small orange and red skeins of cotton I had, so I just crocheted a basket.

I didn't reinforce the corners, so it's very soft and bendy, which means I can cram a lot of yarn in there. (It has also been test worn as a square shaped hat by the man in the house, with more or less satisfactory results.)

To my surprise, I really love the combination of orange and red. Maybe I should start using more orange in my knitting, since I've liked it in every PS3 FIRE project I've knitted so far...

Slow going...

2008-03-04T17:04:00.001+02:00

Not much has happened here on the knitting front lately. I've had other things to do... Things that interfere with knitting. Too bad it's impossible to do both at the same time...

I have a bunch of things on the needles, but my Catriona vest is the only one worth photographing at this stage.

I'm so glad I charted the cables! Knitting these from written instructions would have been really annoying.

Organized

2008-02-27T12:39:00.001+02:00

My knitting bookcase (knitcase?) has been a hopeless mess for a while now, but yesterday I got myself together and did some organizing. You wouldn't believe the amount of yarn I've managed to cram into this small space! If I open the lid of the plastic tub or move the basket, the risk of a yarn explosion in our living room is imminent.

I even have a system: nice yarn in the nice basket, project spectrum FIRE yarn in the plastic bag, not so nice yarn hidden away in the plastic tub, Rowanspun 4 ply in the white basket. My WIP's are in the canvas bag with flowers on it, and my WIP yarns are "on display". I feel so clean!

Now, if I could just stop thinking about pulling out all the Project Spectrum EARTH yarns just to see how much I have...

Project Spectrum - Socks on FIRE

2008-02-25T12:05:00.001+02:00

I had to go and adapt the Resoleable Socks pattern from Favorite Socks. I really liked my orange socks, and the possibilities truly are endless..

It works really well with Noro Kureyon. A big plus in my book! :)

Twisted ribbing at the cuff (knit 1 tbl, purl 1).

Some kind of weird twisted stitch adaptation of the Jaywalker pattern... It just mysteriously came out of my hands. Sometimes I wonder if I have a tiny magical knitting fairy in my head. My hands just knit, and something comes out. Most of the time it goes in the frog pond, but occasionally it turns into something nice. This looks a bit like fish bones, and I'm sure it's been done before.

Seed stitch heel.

Grandma's toe.

Love them! I'm going to wear these all the time. The only bad thing is that they're not machine washable...

New Pattern: Apila Socks

2008-02-23T19:06:00.001+02:00

The pattern for Apila Socks is now available for download. You can download the pdf here, or go to my pattern page on Ravelry to get it. Happy Knitting! :)

Project Spectrum - Orange and Red

2008-02-22T13:46:00.001+02:00

I find myself going into overdrive when I have a "plan" to follow with my knitting. Like Project Spectrum combined with stashbusting. I almost feel like I have to use every single skein of yarn in my stash that fits into the FIRE theme before the end of March, even though I know it's impossible. There just isn't enough time in a day.

So here comes another stashbusting project. The yarn, Novita 7 Veljestä, is perfect for warm and durable socks. And I don't have nearly enough of those.

For these, I used the pattern for Two-Yarn Resoleable Socks in Favorite Socks. What a great pattern. And so versatile (my favorite word lately...). I really like the effect of different colors for foot and sole. I added some stripes and a seed stitch heel. I've been drawn to different combinations of knit and purl lately. I really like the traditional feel of it. I also knitted the toe like my grandma taught me. Decrease every other row until you have a total of 8 stitches (2 on each needle). Pull yarn tight through these stitches and you have a pointy toe. I have really long big toes, and this type of finishing is ideal for thicker yarns.

I also started another FIRE project. Like I don't have enough red/pink projects on the needles already...

Catriona by Debbie Bliss. The yarn is Novita Wool, and it's knitting up great for this project. I really like the chunky cables gone crazy. And the red is perfect. Almost exactly the same color as my Red Sweater.

Enough!

2008-02-20T10:34:00.001+02:00

Any more of this, and I'd have baby booties and hats coming out of my ears (or some other place where the sun don't shine...).

No seriously, these were a lot of fun to make. I tried a few different bootie patterns, but Christine's Stay-On Baby Booties proved to be the most fun to knit and the most versatile. The hats were also great for using up those last scraps of sock yarn. I used Handle as a base pattern and added some ribbing and other modifications.

It's kind of sad that I didn't have more left overs in "boy" colors. I would love to dress my boy in pink and red, but I know that not everyone feels that way.

I'm glad I got these out of my system. It was fun while it lasted, but it got a bit too cutie-itty-bitty-baby towards the end. Now I can send these off to Satu and get back to my Project Spectrum knitting.

Don't worry...

2008-02-15T12:27:00.001+02:00

...this isn't turning into a baby blog. I just need to get all of the itty-bitty baby booties out of my system before the end of February. I made two more pairs in Project Spectrum FIRE-colors, and a too cute hat (pdf). Just look at that handle on top of the head!

I used this pattern again for the booties. I really like them because they're so versatile. And they stretch a lot, which is great, since I've come to the conclusion that I have absolutely no idea how small/big a newborn's foot is. They look huge in this picture, compared to the yarn ball "head". Oh well, I guess it's ok as long as they're not too small.

Project Spectrum - Red Sweater

2008-02-13T12:24:00.001+02:00

The sun came out today, but I still couldn't get good photos of my Red Sweater. Anyway, here are some murky ones.

It's the easiest sweater you could ever imagine. Knitted in the round, a few rows of seed stitch, a fair amount of stockinette with a fake side seam, attach the sleeves, some raglan decreases, some more seed stitch, cast off, and you're done! I knitted the seed stitch cuffs back and forth, and attached some buttons to close the gap. The buttons are "fake". They're just sewn on and don't serve any purpose other than decoration.

I really like this sweater. The yarn, Kilcarra Aran Tweed, is absolutely amazing, and it softens a lot when washed. I have no problems with wearing the sweater next to my skin. However, if you're really sensitive to scratchy wool, you might find the yarn itchy.

Another Project Spectrum FIRE-project finished. Yay!

Project Spectrum - Stash Denial

2008-02-12T13:56:00.001+02:00

So I've decided that I'm only going to knit from my stash during Project Spectrum. That means I can't buy any new yarn from February to September (yeah, good luck with that...).

To get a better idea of what yarns I can use for the FIRE-theme, I decided to do a small stash inventory. I really didn't think I would have enough red/orange/pink yarn to last me through February-March.This is what I found.

Well, looks like this will last me a while! And I didn't even make a dent in the stash, since the greater part of it consists of green/brown/natural colored yarn. Oh, and can you tell I'm not really an orange type of girl? (And what the heck is that bright and shiny red acrylic left of the middle?)

The 3 skeins at the top left (Novita Wool) are already in use for a project, and the Aran Tweed is leftovers from my Red Sweater (which is all done and has already been worn, but I'm waiting for less gloomy weather to photograph it).

The sock yarn left-overs (tiny red skein below the right skein of Aran Tweed, dark pink skein below the two orange ones, tiny pink skein left of the Tofutsies and the bright over-exposed skein to the right of the Tofutsies) will be itty-bitty baby booties for charity. Like these.

They're going to the maternity ward at Keski-Pohjanmaan Keskussairaala (central hospital) to warm little newborn feet. More info here (in Finnish). I made these during the weekend, and there are more to come. I'm going to cheat a little and stray from the FIRE-theme, because I have a lot of sock yarn left-overs in other colors that I want to use up for these. And they need to be sent off by the end of February. The patterns I used can be found here (pdf), here (pdf) and here. Too cute! The ones to the right, that look like shoes, are my favorites.

Old and new...

2008-02-10T17:51:00.001+02:00

The neckwarmer debacle has now been corrected by giving Mr. Shrinker a new one for his birthday. Not as fancy as the first one, but it will do. The yarn (Dale Baby Ull) is a bit scratchier than Rowan 4 Ply Soft, but that's only fair I guess. Let it be his punishment for felting the first one. ;)

Here's a picture as a warning example.

Surprise!

2008-02-08T12:40:00.001+02:00

Don't you just love it when you get surprise yarn in the mail? It's not exactly something that happens every day!

I got this beautiful yarn from my downstream Secret Pal 11, yvonnep. It's an early birthday present, and I love it! The yarn is Storm in Wolhalla, and the colorway is called Dutch Skies. It's so beautiful! This is going in my Project Spectrum pile for the WATER-theme. Yvonne also included the nicest card. Thank you so much! Hartelijk bedankt, Yvonne! (I hope that came out right?)

On another note, something red and pretty is blocking right now, and I'm just about ready to start sewing on some buttons...

No secret anymore

2008-02-05T11:08:00.001+02:00

Now that my two secret projects have reached their recipients, I can show them here on the blog.

The first one was this headband for my mom.

It's my own pattern, and the fair isle is an adaptation of two old Nordic cross-stitch charts. I've written up the pattern and posted it on my pattern page.

The second secret project was these socks for my dad.

The finished pair doesn't look exactly like this, because I ran out of yarn and knitted the toes in blue. But this was the original idea. I forgot to take a picture of them before I sent them off. The cable is just a basic one, and I knitted the rest of the leg in k2p2 ribbing to make it really elastic. I just might knit a pair of these for myself.

Buttons...

2008-02-04T12:39:00.001+02:00

My Red Sweater is coming along nicely. I wanted to incorporate some buttons, and this is what I ended up with. Now I just need to figure out if I want three small ones or two bigger ones...

What do you think? I don't have any big buttons, so I can't show you what it would look like. You'll have to use your imagination.

Aaawww.... Bummer!

2008-02-03T13:32:00.001+02:00

This is what happens if you machine wash Rowan 4 Ply Soft in 50 degrees celcius.

A stiff, felted mini-neckwarmer, with one of my Harmony wood dpn's for scale. It's even too small to use as an armwarmer.

Just to be clear, I'm not the culprit here. The recipient put it in the washing machine, allegedly "by accident", and washed it together with the rest of his running clothes. So for future reference, Rowan 4 Ply Soft felts beautifully, and creates a nice and thick fabric.

Good thing I have the pattern for this so I can knit another one. :)

Project Spectrum 2008

2008-02-02T14:49:00.001+02:00

This year, Project Spectrum focuses on the elements.

FEBRUARY / MARCH - FIRE- orange, red, pink

APRIL / MAY - EARTH - green, brown, metallics

JUNE / JULY - AIR - gray, white, yellow

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER - WATER - blue, black, purple

The color theme for February/March is perfect for me, since I already have some fire-projects on the needles.

I'm also prepared for an earthy April/May.

And what about these for an airy June/July?

August/September will be blue.

I have a feeling I'm going to jump between the themes and knit something blue really soon. But other than that, this will be a great way to keep motivated enough to finish all of these projects.

Blue and red

2008-02-01T11:11:00.001+02:00

I had to go to the post office one more time to get this.

Sometimes the colors are a bit hit-and-miss when ordering online, but this is just the right shade of blue. It's going to be another sweater, but not for me this time.

And if it wasn't for this, you might think this was a yarn blog.

Now, you didn't really think I could keep myself from starting this sweater! "Finish the green sweater and the Ruffled Jacket first"... It was never going to happen! :)

I couldn't quite figure out why it felt like I had knitted with this yarn before. Then it dawned on me: It's exactly like Noro Kureyon, but in solid colors! And you know I love my Kureyon. This yarn is absolutely amazing. It's not too soft, but it's not scratchy either. It has that perfect wooly feel. Now I just need to figure out where this sweater is going...

Tweedy goodness

2008-01-30T11:25:00.001+02:00

Thank you for all the congratulations on my blogiversary! I got another surprise yesterday evening.

Fancy a circle of tweedy goodness?

Or perhaps an aran pyramid?

May I introduce Kilcarra Donegal Tweed, ten 50 gram skeins. Lavender Yarns was my dealer this time. (It's nice to be able to shop in € for a change...) I have a very interesting project in mind for these. I just need to finish my green sweater experiment and my Ruffled Jacket first...

One Year!

2008-01-29T12:09:00.001+02:00

One year ago today, January 29, I wrote my first blog post. It feels like a long time ago, and at the same time it feels like yesterday. Over the course of one year, a number of new things have been introduced into my life through this blog. Here are a few of them:

I have ventured into the realm that is blogland, and discovered the treasures it holds (all the knitting blogs I love to follow, and the inspiration they give me)
I have discovered online yarn shopping (not entirely a positive thing)
As a result of the previous point, I have acquired a fairly significant stash (another thing that's not all positive)
I also have a knitting library, with patterns to last me many lifetimes
I've learned a whole new English vocabulary (FO, UFO, LYS, frog, spit splice, ssk, k2tog, yo, ktbl, i could go on and on)
I'm on Ravelry (and as a result, I have even more inspiration and information available to me)
And, most importantly, I have the best blog visitors in all of blogland! Thank you! Your comments make the blogging experience worth while!

Even Mr Postman knew something special was going on today, and he brought me this for my blogiversary present.

I want to knit every design in it! Another knitting book that will last me a whole lifetime. I have quite a few of those now...

And last, but not least, some newcomers that haven't been introduced here on the blog yet (although they've been in use for a month already).

My KnitPicks Harmony wood dpn's (on the first sleeve of my Ruffled Jacket). These are so great! They don't bend like most other wood dpn's do. They're really sharp, and there are six needles of every size (2.0 mm, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, 3.0, 3.25), just in case you break one. These were sent to me by the nice folks at GetKnitted.com (enablers!).

Shhhh....

2008-01-25T12:19:00.001+02:00

Two secret projects have kept me occupied lately. Can't tell you what they are, but you can see more of them on Ravelry by clicking on the pictures.

One with cables...

And one with fair isle...

Shhhhhhh.....

They're almost finished now, which means I can continue with my Ruffled Jacket.

Progress report

2008-01-21T12:54:00.001+02:00

Knitting in aran weight yarn is superfast! It's day 2 and I'm already at the armhole decreases!

I had a small issue with the chart vs. the picture in the magazine, but I decided to follow the chart. The jacket in the magazine has a center cable that follows the side cables, i.e. is shorter-longer-shorter-longer, 8 rows-12 rows-8 rows-12 rows. The chart clearly states that the center cable has 8 row repeats, and the side cables 20 row repeats. That means that the center cable does its own 8 row thing, while the side cables cruise along at 20 row repeats, i.e. they don't "follow" each other. This really bugged me at first, because I couldn't decide which version I wanted to follow, the chart or the photo. But here is the chart version.

It doesn't bother me anymore, because I really like that the center cable isn't symmetrical to the side cables, if you know what I mean.

I also have another new-ish project on the needles.

This is Persian Tiles from the Jade Starmore book A Collector's Item. I'm using the pattern to make a pillow, since I really want to use up some gorgeous Evilla yarn I've had in my stash for far too long. Just look at it:

So pretty!

Ruffled Jacket

2008-01-20T13:09:00.000+02:00

And this is what the Rowanspun Aran in the previous post wanted to be.

Ruffled Jacket by James Coviello.
Vogue Knitting, Fall 2007.

You can see a gorgeous finished jacket on Veronique's blog. This is the one that made me want to knit it!

The yarn is a little bit more brown/beige than the gray in this picture. As always, I'm loving the Rowanspun. I think I prefer the Aran over DK and 4 ply. It's so squishy and smooshy. And knitting on 5,5 mm needles is superfast! The pattern calls for 6,5 mm needles, but I didn't want the stitches to be too loose. So I decided to use 5,5 needles instead and knit size L, aiming for an end result around size M. Let's see if it works...

Ignorance is bliss...

2008-01-19T13:03:00.000+02:00

Oh.... Eeeeh.... Seriously? I had no idea I had this much Rowanspun tweed in my stash! I was fondling the Rowanspun Aran to see if it would tell me what it wanted to be, and I decided to see how much 4 ply and DK I had. To get a better overlook, I took all the skeins out of their bags and made a mountain.

From the top, left to right:
Rowanspun 4 ply, Turkish, 10 skeins
Rowanspun 4 ply, Reed, 9 skeins
Rowanspun 4 ply, Squirrel, 10 skeins
Rowanspun DK, Catkin, 3 skeins (is being knitted into Big Green Sweater)
Rowanspun DK, Mist, 2 skeins (leftovers from Tangled Yoke Cardigan)
Rowanspun 4 ply, Sludge, 10 skeins
Rowanspun Aran, Husk, 10 skeins

And some stray balls:
Rowanspun DK, Mist, 1,5 skeins
Rowanspun 4 ply, Reed, 0,5 skeins
Rowanspun 4 ply, Stone, 1,5 skeins (leftovers from Seamless Hybrid)
Rowanspun 4 ply, Turkish, 2 skeins (different dye lot)
Rowanspun 4 ply, Stone, 2 skeins (different dye lot)

Well poke me hard with a knitting needle, I had no idea! Or to be fair, I had to have some idea since they didn't mysteriously appear in my stash out of nowhere. I have Cucumberpatch to thank (or blame) for all of these.

On top of all the existing tweed already living here, I ordered some more Kilcarra tweed from Lavender Yarns. How could i resist. It was 2,95 per skein, in euros!!! This bargain hunting is going to be the death of my credit card... Save some money by buying more, the biggest hoax of all...

I made someone's day! Yay!

2008-01-17T21:09:00.000+02:00

WeirdRockStar awarded me with this today.

(Found the image on another knitblog, don't know if it's an "official" one...)

Apparently, my blog is one of her favorites! Thank you! That makes my day. I've only recently started reading your blog, but I really like it. You are one funny knitter!

I'm also going to pass on this award to some of my favorite blogs. Trying to pick out a few of all of the blogs I read was a real ordeal, but these are the ones that first came to mind (in no particular order).

b r o o k l y n t w e e d

Oh, Mr Tweed! What can I say about this blog that would do it justice? Every time there is a new post I can't make my way to the blog fast enough. Definitely a huge inspiration, especially when it comes to color and "ambience". He also has a great eye for picking out the perfect yarn for projects.

Pikku-Kettu Knits

Another blog that I stalk obsessively, waiting for new posts. Ms. Kettu ;) seems to have the same to-knit-list I have. Lovely, interesting projects that always have that extra something I look for. I also enjoy reading her texts. On top of that, she is a diligent comment-answerer.

Viiniä & Villasukkia

What's not to love about this blog! Mielitty always picks the most interesting subjects for her posts. Sometimes it's about knitting or other crafts, sometimes it's about something else. I especially enjoy the occasional insights into "how women should behave", based on older handbooks and instructions. And the knitting, of course!

DancesWithWool

Lene writes beautifully about her life and knitting in northern Finland. I really enjoy her use of language. There is a tone to it that is almost calming, soothing. And the knitting is interesting, especially her own designs.

Mustaa villaa

THE place to go if you love socks! Her knitting is always perfectly executed and photographed. This is another knitter with the same to-knit-list as mine, especially when it comes to socks.

Lolly Knitting Around

Such great stories, photography, knitting, ideas. It's always exciting to see what the next post will be about. She seems to put a lot of thought into her knitting and her writing, and I really enjoy reading her posts. Lolly is also the brain behind Project Spectrum.

Sisäinen Villapaita

Very interesting projects, that always have that extra something. A blog that makes me think about the possibilities that every new knitting project brings with it. Her posts also makes me laugh, because she has such a good sense of humour.

Thank you all for blogging! You make my day!

So exciting!

2008-01-17T15:55:00.000+02:00

The preliminary version of the pattern for my Apila Socks is now ready, and the socks are being test knitted. How exciting is that!

I also managed to take some more photos while there was a little bit of daylight left. Not great, but not as horrible as the ones in the previous post.

The pattern for these will be posted on MY PATTERNS PAGE when the test knitting and reviewing is done. I also have a few other sock patterns in progress. Now I just need to find the time to write them up and make the charts...

Apila Socks

2008-01-14T17:00:00.001+02:00

I finally finished my Apila Socks in Noro Kureyon Sock. I really, really like the yarn! It's so much softer knitted up as a sock than it feels in the skein. And it's very warm.

These (horrid!) pictures were taken in the afternoon, no daylight in sight. I'll take better ones for the pattern (I'll write it down and post it here on the blog). I just had to show you right now! :)

This is the front.

Also the front, but off the foot.

And the back.

The pattern is really easy, and knits up fast. I added some ribbing on the sides to make them more comfortable and stretchy.

New Year, New Projects...

2008-01-07T11:32:00.000+02:00

Since my previous post was a collection of finished projects, I thought it would be appropriate to write a post about the knitting I have on the needles right now. I have a feeling 2008 is going to be a busy knitting year. My head is full of ideas that are just waiting to come out.

I started "the Big Green Sweater" last year, and I'm still working on it, although Christmas knitting slowed it down a bit. I'm already on the first sleeve, but this is what it looked like about 10 cm before I cast off the neck.

Very green, and very huge turtle neck! Can't wait to finish it so I can wear it.

I got my hands on some of the new and hyped Noro Kureyon Sock yarn, and it's all I could ever dream of! It has the Noro colors, the Noro thick-and-thin structure, and it's a bit rough. The roughness is a major plus in my book, because I want my wool yarn to feel "real", and not soft as cashmere. This is of course my own opinion, and if you're scared of this yarn because you've heard it's really scratchy, it's not that bad. I would say it's a bit softer than the regular Kureyon, and I can imagine it gets softer when it's washed.

So, I wanted a pattern that would look a bit like cables, i.e. stand out a bit, but wouldn't eat as much yarn as cables. I started knitting from the toe up, experimented a bit with yarn overs, k2togs and SSKs, and this is what developed. I'm just as surprised as anyone else! I had no idea this is what I would come up with. It's funny how the hands just go on auto-pilot and knit something! I'll write up a pattern for these when they're finished. (I know I say that a lot, and it never happens, but I promise I'll try!)

I also started another mitten over the Christmas holidays. This one is from Eeva Haavisto's book Sata Kansanomaista Kuviokudinmallia, and the pattern is from Kurikka. I really like how it's coming out. I wasn't too sure about it just from looking at the chart in the book, but I like it much more now.

The yarn is 100% Finnwool from Honkarinteen Tila, that I got at Turku Christmas market. Lovely!

And to balance things out with the thick wool projects, I started a lace scarf. The pattern is Travelling Roses Lace Scarf. It's so beautiful! And it's a nice change to knit a lace scarf instead of a whole humongous shawl.

The yarn is, again, from Turku Christmas market. It's 100% Finnwool, 1 ply, and really thin and soft. I have a feeling it's going to felt a bit, but that doesn't matter. It's so thin that the pattern will show anyway.

This is what I have going on at the moment. I haven't included the really old WIPs that are will-maybe-get-finished-sometime-projects. I also have a semi-secret project in the making that I can't show you. I hope you've all had a great start of the year 2008!

Christmas gifts

2008-01-03T13:18:00.001+02:00

Christmas knitting was crazy this year, but I managed to finish almost everything. (Except a few hats and mittens, but who's counting...) This is all the knitting I gave away as Christmas gifts. Some of it was finished earlier this year, and some was finished right before Christmas.

Seamless Hybrid Sweater

Elizabeth Zimmermann, Knitting Without Tears

Rowanspun 4 ply

Swallowtail Shawl

Interweave Knits, Fall 2006

Wetterhoff Silvia

Tangled Yoke Cardigan

Interweave Knits, Fall 2007

Rowanspun DK

Modified Endpaper Mittens
Eunny Jang, See Eunny Knit
Riihivilla, Natural SelectionVenezia Swatch Mittens
Swatch for Venezia Pullover, Interweave Knits, Winter 2006
Riihivilla, Natural SelectionNeckwarmer
My own pattern, can be found here
Rowan 4 Ply SoftSnowflake Socks
Interweave Knits, Fall 2007
Novita 7 Veljestä

Neckwarmer pattern

2007-12-20T14:25:00.000+02:00

A few people have asked me how I knitted this neckwarmer, and if I could post the pattern for it, so here it is. This is more of a description of how I did it than a specific pattern. If you find anything that looks strange, or any errors in the pattern, please let me know.

Neckwarmer

Materials

Needles
- 5 dpn:s, 3 mm
- 1 circular needle, 3 mm

Yarn - Rowan 4 ply soft
* 2 skeins black
* 1/2 skeins red

One spare 2,5 mm circular needle

Gauge
7 sts / 2,5 cm (i.e. 1 inch). It's not the end of the world if you don't get gauge! It stretches a lot anyway, and it doesn't have to be a specific size.

Cast on 112 stitches using a stretchy cast on method. I used long-tail. Divide the stitches on 4 dpn:s.

Work in K2 P2 rib for as long as you like. I wanted the ribbing to be long enough so I could fold it double. If you don't live near the Arctic Circle, or you want less bulk and warmth around the neck, just knit the ribbing as long as you want it to be.

When you're done with the neck, the flat portion begins.

- Knit one stitch. This is now the beginning of the round, at the right front corner of the neckwarmer. You should have a knit stitch as the first stitch of the round, and a knit stitch at the end of the previous round (i.e. one of the K2 of the ribbing is "divided in half").
- Knit 32 stitches with needle 1. Switch to needle 2.
- Knit 24 stitches with needle 2. Switch to needle 3.
- Knit 32 stitches with needle 3. Switch to needle 4.
- Knit 24 stitches with needle 4.

Increase round
Needle 1: Knit 1, YO, knit 30, YO, knit 1.
Needle 2: Knit 1, YO, knit 22, YO, knit 1.
Needle 3: Same as needle 1.
Needle 4: Same as needle 2.

Plain round
Knit all stitches. At the corners, knit the YO through back of loop.

Continue with the increase round every other round, always doing the YO after the first stitch and before the last stitch of the needle, and knitting the YO through back of loop on the plain rounds. When you have enough stitches, you can switch to a circular needle if you want to (it's easy to keep track of the corners anyway). Continue like this until your neckwarmer is wide enough on the shoulders.

Knit the stitches on needle 1.
Cast off the stitches on needle 2.
Knit the stitches on needle 3. (Just leave them on needle 3 if you haven't switched to a circular, or just leave them on the circular)
Cast off the stitches on needle 4.
(You should be able to do this in one go without cutting the yarn)

You're now at the beginning of the round, at the right corner of the front piece. (You have the stitches for the back piece on a separate dpn, or hanging on the circular, just let them rest there while you knit the front piece.)
Knit 1 row.
Purl back 1 row.
Continue like this until the front piece is a long as you want it to be.
Cast off all front piece stitches.
Cut yarn.
You could also incorporate something in intarsia. I did a P, because the recipient's name starts with a P. If you don't want the back of your intarsia to show, you can knit a back side for the front piece. Just do a purl row instead of the cast off row, knit the back side until it covers the intarsia, pick up stitches with the 2,5 circular from the purl bumps at the back of the front side of the front piece (couldn't make it sound less complicated...) with a separate needle, knit all stitches together with the picked up stitches at the same time you're casting off. This also adds extra warmth.

Back piece.
Join yarn to the beginning of the back piece (right corner).
Knit one row.
Purl back one row.
Continue like this until your back piece is long enough. I made mine a little shorter than the front.
When you're done, cast off all stitches.

Border.
Start at the right corner of the back.
Pick up stitches from the front of the cast off loops along the bottom with a circular needle.
Continue picking up stitches all the way around the edge. Where there are no cast off loops, I picked up stitches as follows: pick up two, skip one, pick up two, skip one... I also tried pick up three, skip one... but that made my fabric pucker.
If you have purl bumps instead of cast off loops at the bottom of the front piece, just pick up those instead.
Make sure you have the same amount of stitches at both sides, and at the bottom of the front and back piece.
When you've picked up your stitches, knit one round.
After that, just increase the same way you did earlier. At the beginning of the round K1, YO, knit until you have one stitch left before the corner, YO K1. Do this on every other round, knitting through back of loop when you get to the YO.

When your border is wide enough, purl one round.
After that, decrease every other round at the corners, i.e. K1, k2tog, knit until you have 3 stitches before the corner, ssk, K1. Do this every other round until you have the same amount of stitches as when you started the border.

Fold back the border. Pick up stitches with the 2,5 circular from the purl bumps just below where you picked up stitches for the border. Knit these stitches together with the border stitches at the same time you're casting off.

Weave in ends. Go out in the snow and try it out. Or give it to someone who feels cold! :)

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-19T19:33:00.000+02:00

The holidays are right around the corner, and this should be the time of peacefulness and Christmas spirit and all that stuff. It's not. At least not yet. I still need to finish the following:

1/3 of a sweater
1/2 sock
a scarf
1 mitten
1 pair of mittens
1 sock
1 pair of mittens and
1 hat...

Some of these can be sacrificed to make room for Christmas spirit and jolly good holiday slacking, but the higher up the list, the more important the project. It's not as bad as it sounds, and I'm not really stressing about it. I already have a lot of finished knitted Christmas presents, and there's always birthdays, right?

Anyway, I also want to wish YOU, all my dear readers, a

MERRY CHRISTMAS
and a
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'll see you next year. Let's hope for a great year, with lots of knitting and mountains of yarn! :)

New yarn again!

2007-12-17T10:08:00.000+02:00

So I made another visit to the Christmas market. And again, it wasn't in vain. I brought these home with me.

100 % Finnwool from Honkarinteen Tila. I can see beautiful mittens... I already have a few patterns in mind. Now, back to the Christmas knitting. Not much left to do now!

Distraction...

2007-12-10T11:27:00.000+02:00

Even though I'm a bit behind schedule on my Christmas knitting, I had to start a new project. It will be a Christmas gift, so it's not a completely unnecessary knit, but it's really distracting me from everything else at the moment.

A sneak preview...

The yarn is Riihivilla, Natural Selection, again. But in different natural colors than the previous project. Such gorgeous yarn!

You know the drill. Recipient lurking, yada yada. Go to Ravelry to see what it is.

Another Christmas FO

2007-12-09T13:44:00.000+02:00

And we have another Christmas FO! (Or it's really a pair, so even better!)

Here's a sneak preview.

Yarn: Riihivilla, Natural Selection

Again, the recipient might be lurking around here, so you need to go to Ravelry if you want to see what it is. I plan to finish yet another gift today. I'm on fire!

Christmas market...

2007-12-08T14:59:00.000+02:00

So much for trying not to buy too much yarn before Christmas... I guess all the presents I give will just have to be knitted now, not much money left for other things... :)

So I went to the "old style" Christmas market here in Turku, and I managed to bring home some yarn. Can I get a "Really?" from those of you who are surprised. ---- (You're an awfully quiet bunch...) Not that many people sold yarn, but the ones who did had some amazing things!

This is Silkeskaninens Garn ("the silk rabbit's yarn")

It's made by KANIINA crafts in Sjundeå, Finland. It contains wool from finnish angora rabbits. The white skein is 50% angora and 50% wool, and the grey skein is 30% angora and 70% wool. It's so soft, so soft, and I just can't stop touching it, pretending I have two angora rabbits of my own.

This is a 100% wool yarn, 1 ply.

I can't remember what the seller's name was, but maybe someone who's been to the Turku market can help me. It was two lovely ladies, and they were standing pretty close to where you go in to the Teini courtyard, but closer to Uudenmaankatu. They had all kinds of nålbindning mittens and lovely shawls. They also had this same yarn in different colors, and also thicker yarn of the same kind.

And again, I can't remember who made this lovely chocolate colored yarn, but it's 100% Finnwool. A nice gentleman sold it to me, and I got it 1 euro cheaper because it was a bit tangled. :) He wore a beautiful hand knitted sweater, and I really wanted to ask him if he made it himself, but I didn't and now I regret it! They also had "Lammassäilykkeet", sausages, socks, etc. It was "--- Tila". Ring any bells? I wish I paid more attention, but there was yarn! I was completely focused on the wool, and I think it's expecting a little too much if you want me to read at the same time, let alone remember names! Edit: I went back to see where this yarn is from, and it was indeed Rintalan Tila, as Outi said. :)

Even though I spent waaay to much money, I think I will need to go back next weekend and see if I can find some nice gifts that aren't yarn-related. Hehe, wish me luck! :)

Cristmas FO

2007-12-04T17:14:00.000+02:00

One Christmas present down, a gazillion to go. Can't post pics on the blog, but if you're on Ravelry just click here.

Back to work in Santa's Sweatshop!

Secret Pal revealed!

2007-11-30T13:42:00.000+02:00

Phew! I was getting a bit worried there for a while. And with good reason! Apparently, the arrival notice had gotten stuck somewhere between a work space and the wall at the post office, and the postman only noticed it today (the day the package was supposed to be returned to sender)! So at the last minute, he drove here and put it in my mailbox. And now it's finally here. Yay! This is what I found inside the box.

A really nice card (that matches my table...)

My Secret Pal is a crafty one! I've actually visited her website a couple of times, looking at these row counter bracelets! Imagine that! And isn't it just beautiful! I'm going to wear it as a regular bracelet. That way, I can always count rows whenever I feel the need to! :) She sells these on Etsy, so get over there if you want one of your own.

I also got some gorgeous yarn. It seems my pal has found her way to Socktopus. This colorway is called Monet, and I absolutely love it! And since it's from Socktopus, it comes with Eucalan! :)

And there's more! I also got tea. It smells delicious! The tea from my first package is already gone, so it's great that I get some more! And the tin is beautiful.

Did you think that was all? Oh no, there's still one more thing. Look what she made just for me! (I told you she was a crafty one)

A knitting needle case! How great is that!? I've been wanting one of these for a loooooong time, but I just haven't gotten around to getting one.

It's beautiful! I finally have somewhere to store my needles. (And look at that cute heart!)

Oh, I suppose you would like to know who she is. My AMAZING Secret Pal is:

Knitlady

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Santa's little helper...

2007-11-22T16:11:00.001+02:00

There is a whole lot of frantic knitting going on here at the moment! Santa has recruited me as his little helper, and Christmas will arrive a lot sooner than one might think. I wish I could show you all the things I'm working on, but some of the gift receivers might be sneaking around here on the blog, so no photos. All I can tell you is that the mountain of knitting is already alarmingly high, and it's growing at a steady rate.

The above mentioned is one reason for this photo-less post. The other, and less pleasant, reason is the Finnish pre-Christmas weather. Horrific! It's been raining these past few days, and I can't even remember the last time I saw the sun. I've made a huge chunk of progress on my green sweater experiment, but it's just no use trying to take pictures. I'll try to stalk the sun this weekend, in case it would show its face even for a minute. Highly unlikely...

I'm also expecting my Secret Pal reveal package to arrive soon. I know it's been sent out a while ago, and I hope Mr. Postman didn't eat it! He could have, if the scent is anything like the one coming from the previous package! :)

Yarn heaven

2007-11-14T11:57:00.000+02:00

I just had to show you this.

Yarn from Finnsheep wool in natural colors. Isn't it just gorgeous! Why would I even need to get dyed yarn when all my favorite colors already exist right there on the sheep?! I got these from Riihivilla. Leena dyes Finnsheep yarn with natural dyes from mushrooms and plants and she has a bunch of gorgeous selections to choose from. Just look at the Sunset Selection or the Night Sky Selection. Wow! The one I got is called the Natural Selection, and I got the larger batch, i.e. all the skeins are 60 g. I can't wait to make mittens with this!!!

You'll have to excuse me now, I need to go fondle my new yarn...

Seamless Hybrid

2007-11-13T13:16:00.000+02:00

Dear Readers. I have officially lost my mind. These are the components of my insanity:

- one 2,5 mm circular needle
- an unknown number of skeins of Rowanspun 4 ply
- 250 cast on stitches
- an ocean of stockinette in the round using the above mentioned materials

Yes, I'm knitting Elizabeth Zimmermann's Seamless Hybrid for my significant other with 2,5 mm needles and a 4 ply yarn, which equals 250 stockinette stitches per round. I know, I know, many fair isle masterpieces have roughly the same gauge, but there you have the pattern to take your mind off the stockinette. This is just mind numbing madness.

Oh, the things you do for love! I've been wanting to knit my BF a sweater for a long time, but nothing has really caught his interest. Until I showed him this. You can always count on brooklyntweed for inspiration, can't you. The instructions for the sweater (which needs to be finished by Christmas, by the way) were the following:

- not too warm
- not too bulky, the fabric needs to be thin
- no fancy-pancy patterning
- a subtle color
- has to look good and fit perfectly

So I took out the 2,5 mm circulars (thank you Secret Pal!), dug out the Rowanspun 4 ply from my stash and started knitting. What you see in the photo is three days worth of stockinette. Surprisingly, I really like knitting it. It's the perfect tv-project. I don't even have to look at it while I knit.

And even more surprisingly, the sun came out today! Which means that I had a few minutes to photograph my sweater experiment. I finally managed to capture the real color of the yarn. The main body is almost done. Now I just need to decide if I'm going to knit the turtle neck or the sleeves next...

Legolas Socks - Disco Version

2007-11-09T13:45:00.000+02:00

Isn't it just typical that I had to start knitting "unnecessary" things when I have a mountain of Christmas gifts that need to be knitted?!

Instead, I finished the Legolas Socks.

The weather has been appalling lately, and the chance of getting decent photos has been slim. This is the best I could do when wearing the socks.

You didn't think this was all the unnecessary knitting I've been doing, did you?

I give you: Legolas Socks - Disco Version. (Oh yes, I'm cheesy like that!)

The idea that these could be knitted in Kureyon and a black yarn just didn't want to leave my head, so I had to try. And I'm pretty happy with the result.

The leg has almost no give, and the fabric is so thick and dense that I could probably walk outside in the snow and not get cold.

So I guess these should be called Legolas Boots instead of socks.

These really give off an elf-vibe! And the pointy toe was a nice surprise.

I didn't plan that the pattern would come together like that at the toe. It just happened to be the most practical way to do the decreases.

This is definitely my favorite design project so far. I'm going to wear these all the time this winter. Now I just have to knit the second sock/boot...

Cables and Noro...

2007-11-01T13:33:00.001+02:00

I had a little accident with my Noro socks the other day. My foot decided to come out through the heel, and it just wasn't functional. They were Noro Kureyon, however, and who throws away Noro? So I frogged them and recycled the yarn. Then I made these...

A basic, toe-up sock pattern with a front cable. For some reason, it seems to be cable season here at the moment. I guess it's because winter is coming, and cables are more "wintery" than for example lace. I just had to name these "Legolas Socks", since they really remind me of Lord of the Rings. Can't you just imagine Legolas prancing around in these?! :)

And you just have to admire the stitch definition of Noro Kureyon in cables on 3 mm needles!

Wowza! I haven't knitted cables with Noro before, and I've always knitted on larger needles, so the out-of-this-world stitch definition was a pleasant surprise for me. On the other hand, the numb fingers and aching hands were less pleasant. It's hard work knitting Noro Kureyon this tightly! I still have one more sock to go...

Obsession...

2007-10-27T12:19:00.000+02:00

I think I have a problem. I can't stop knitting. I'm completely consumed by this sweater, and it's progressing at record speed. I just want to finish it, to see if it turns out the same as the image I have in my head. At the same time, I never want to finish it, because the yarn is so heavenly!

This is not the real color of the yarn. The weather just doesn't want to cooperate with me today, and it insists on being gloomy. The picture in my previous post is closer to the actual color.

So what will this sweater look like when it "grows up". Well, the cable runs up the right front and back side. I'm making it fairly long, almost like a tunic. I'm decreasing at the fake side seam from the waist up underneath the bust, and then increasing to make it form fitted. It will have a large turtle neck with some kind of cable detail, and the sleeves will be slightly flared.

I'm so excited!

Eyecandy...

2007-10-24T14:56:00.000+03:00

Look! A mountain of pure bliss!

This is Rowanspun DK (discontinued) in "Catkin" that I scored from Cucumberpatch a while back. It should be more than enough for a sweater. I already have some ideas (big, wide turtleneck, cables...). Yes, it's going to be another one of those making-it-up-as-I-go-along-projects.

Subtle, and not so subtle... I went to my LYS here in Turku for the first time last week. I usually order yarn online, so this was a new experience for me. I can't believe I haven't gone before!
And I really can't believe that this and the Trekking in the pic below is all I brought home with me! Talk about self control! And if you Turku:ians are wondering, I went to Käsityö Elisa.

I also had to order some sock yarn online. Of course!

The two gorgeous skeins in the upper right corner are from Socktopus. It's an organic sock yarn called "Dazzle" from Natural Dye Studio. Amazing! The Cherry Tree Hill is from The Woolly Workshop, and it's a new sock yarn called "Sockittome".

This is something I've been working on lately. It's my own pattern, and I'm having some serious problems deciding what to do with it. Should I send it to Knitty or Magknits or Ulla, or should I just put it up on my blog... Hmmm.... What do you think?

The yarn is Rowan 4 ply soft, one of my favorite yarns for socks, in "Beetroot" and a discontinued shade called "Irish Cream". Yummy!

A test of character...

2007-10-22T16:45:00.000+03:00

WARNING! Do not click here if you like sock yarn and it's convenient for you to order it from the UK! Even the name pulls you in with its long arms, Socktopus...

I can't remember who posted this link and made me click on it, but my credit card really resents you!

The most picture heavy post ever...

2007-10-19T14:25:00.000+03:00

I tried to get some decent photos of the finished cardigan today, but it's a real pain to photograph oneself. I was sweating and trying to turn around in strange angles, and don't even get me started on photographing your own back! And yes, I did use the timer on my camera, but it just didn't want to co-operate with me. Oh well, this is the result.

Don't you just love the colors.

Yarn: Kauni Multicolor
Contrast yarn: Novita Nalle

Pattern: Improvised cardigan pattern, made it up as I went along

Hearts: I adapted a lace pattern I found on Anne's website, here, and made it into fair isle.

I think I chose the perfect buttons.

View from above.

This is what happens when you try to photograph your own back, holding the camera in your hand. Classy!

Picture of back taken with the camera's timer. Notice how the fair isle pattern is pulling in the cardigan at the waist. This is exactly what I wanted to happen, and the reason why I used a sturdier contrast yarn with polyamide in it. I'm so happy it actually worked!

I didn't expect it to be so difficult to photograph the little heart on the shoulder.

Close-up of heart.

And finally, the whole thing lying on the couch.

And same story from behind.

Phew! What an ordeal!

A trip to the post office...

2007-10-18T15:14:00.001+03:00

I brought this package home today. It's from my Secret Pal, it's sent from Germany, and already when the lady behind the counter handed it to me, there was this wonderful scent coming out of it. It smelled like coffee and chocolate. So my hopes were already high, because I'm a typical Finn: I looove coffee! :)

I was so excited I almost opened the package in the car, but I somehow managed to stop myself, and I drove home as fast as I could (observing the speed limits, of course!). When I got home, the scent got even stronger, and I had to rip the package open. This is what I found inside.

A really nice letter from my SP. I already have a vague idea about what kind of person she is. I imagine her to be around 25 years old, give or take a few years. And yes, it's a she. (Haha, you didn't fool me by putting a boy's name on the package! And if you're really a boy, I'm so sorry!) She hand dyed this yarn for me with Kool Aid (And yes, SP, I also question how safe it is to drink the stuff!) I got a really great pattern that will teach me to knit two socks on two circs, and the two circs to go with it. She also included a notebook for all my knitting ideas. This would have been a great package in itself, but there was more, and this is where coffee addicts, chocoholics and tea fanatics might want to look away.

When I saw this, it was no longer a mystery why the package smelled so heavenly! These are all my favourite things. First of all, the coffee! I almost fainted with bliss when I put my nose into the beautiful tin! I could sit with my head over it all day, but I finally came to my senses and decided to make a cup to drink instead (if you didn't know, that's what coffee is for...) It's brewing right now, and the scent coming from the kitchen is wonderful. And the chocolate! I absolutely adore dark chocolate, and this is "Noir de Noir". It's delicious! The tea also smells great, and I usually drink tea in the evenings, so I will try some tonight. And finally, some olive hand lotion. I love olive oil and olives, so this was a perfect choice!

Everyone says they have the best Secret Pal, but I really do! Thank you so much! It really feels like you can read my mind. Scary! But in a good way! :)

My precious...

2007-10-17T17:10:00.001+03:00

She is blocking, and I think She might be a success.
She still needs her wooden buttons, and some finishing touches to the steeks, but She's almost ready for her big photo op.

I don't have a name for her yet, though. Do you have any suggestions?

New sock...

2007-10-13T17:50:00.000+03:00

I've been working on a new sock. It's my own design, and I've adapted a stitch pattern I found in a Japanese stitch dictionary.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi, and I think the color is called Sherbet. I'm knitting this on 2mm needles (US 0), and I really like that the colors aren't pooling at all!

The mittens in my last post have already arrived at their new home, and their new owner loves them! Yay! :)

An actual Finished Object

2007-10-10T16:46:00.000+03:00

I can't believe it! I managed to finish something! Woohoo! And if I want to be really accurate, it's two things (count them, I'm not trying to fool you with the FO action here)!

This pattern is from Rovaniemi, and can be found in the book Sata Kansanomaista Kuviokudinmallia (100 traditional/folk stranded knitting patterns) by Eeva Haavisto. The book is really difficult to get hold of, so you can imagine how happy I was when I tracked it down at my local library!

Now I just need to find someone to give these to... Mimmi? Vill du ha dem? Eller e di för vita?

10.000

2007-10-08T12:58:00.001+03:00

The counter is ticking, and it's almost at 10.000 already! Wow! So who will be visitor number 10.000? Leave a comment if the counter shows the magic number when you visit!

Nothing much going on...

2007-10-02T15:20:00.000+03:00

This blog has been on the back burner lately. Partly because I haven't managed to finish one single WIP, and partly because I've had so many other things to do.

The results of my little poll were kind of interesting. Apparently, people who visit my blog are not interested in getting a message across with their own blogs. :) Most of you are in it for the feedback and comments from other knitters. That one got my vote too.

Not much else this time. I promise I'll be back soon with some pictures of finished objects. Happy Knitting!

SSSSS, CCC, and poll

2007-09-18T16:50:00.000+03:00

My new sweater experiment was moving along so nicely, until it happened. I got struck by SSSSS. You might think that SSSSS is some kind of variety of the infamous SSS (Second Sock Syndrome), just with two extra S:es for added Spice. It's not. (But you should have figured that out, since it concerns a sweater...) This horrible ailment, SSSSS, is the dreaded Seriously Slow Second Sleeve Syndrome! If I remember correctly, the Yarn Harlot talks about the "black hole of knitting". You knit and knit and knit, but the project just doesn't get any longer (or wider) no matter what you do. The black hole of knitting is sucking in all the stitches!

My sleeve had advanced almost all the way to the elbow when the SSSSS-attack came, and now I just can't seem to knit fast enough to beat the black hole-effect. I knit 10 rows, the sleeve is at the elbow. I knit 10 more rows, the darn sleeve is still at the elbow. I knit furiously like a madwoman, almost setting fire to the needles, the flaming sleeve is... you guessed it... at the elbow! I give up! I think I need to let it sit for a while, and maybe the black hole will move on to something more interesting.

I also got a bad case of CCC-syndrome today. And what is THAT, you ask. Well, if you like shopping for yarn online (and who doesn't) it's likely that you've either had CCC or will get it in the future. Crying Credit Card -syndrome. In my defense, it wasn't all for me. I got some really nice things for my Secret Pal, and I just couldn't resist getting something for myself too. I'm only human, after all. (With magic knitting powers, but still)

If you take a look to the right on this blog, you will find a poll. The other day, a friend asked me why I blog. Well... I had a hard time coming up with a quick answer, but after some pondering, I came to the conclusion that I blog because I really like the feedback and comments. So, dear readers, why do you blog? And if the poll doesn't include your reason, you can always answer in a comment. Come on! Click those small boxes!

I'm not posting any pictures of the sweater experiment today, because it's just not possible to get decent pictures in this gloomy weather. Now I have to get back to my sleeve, and check if the SSSSS is any better. Fingers crossed!

Yoke gone wrong...

2007-09-13T16:16:00.000+03:00

Dear Tangled Yoke,

I was really looking forward to wearing you. You're so soft and warm, and I could already imagine all the cold winter days we would have together. But then...

You had to grow so friggin' huge when i blocked you! I know, I know, you're made of wool, and wool can be unpredictable when it comes into contact with water. And yes, I know, I should have blocked my swatch.

But still. Couldn't you have cut me some slack? What about shrinking a few inches around the waist? Would that be too much to ask?

Or how does losing a few pounds on the back sound? Could you do that for me?

Or maybe you're trying to give me some kind of hint. "Keep off the chocolate, or this is what you'll be wearing in a few months."

Now I can't decide if I'm going to sew some side seams on you and keep you, or if you're going to be a christmas present...

Oh well, at least I still have my new sweater project to cheer me up.

I'm making this sweater up as I go along. The yarn is Kauni multicolor, and the fair isle hearts are an adaptation of a lace pattern.

I don't know how much fair isle I will put in yet. But I really like the white-on-brown effect, so I'm guessing there will be more.

Working hard

2007-09-11T18:57:00.000+03:00

I've been knitting a little bit... Hehe! I think I'm in denial about how many hours of knitting time I have in an average day... :)

The crazy, kind of secret fair isle project is moving along nicely. It's getting a bit monotonous, but it should be finished soon, so that's fine.

I also started another sweater project. I had some Kauni yarn in my stash, and every time I walked past it, it was screaming "Knit me! Knit me!". So I did. I didn't really have a clear picture in my mind when I started, and I still don't, but this is what it looks like at the moment.

Don't you just love the subtle color changes in the yarn. This is two days of knitting on a 3 mm needle. It's about 25 cm now, and I'm putting some fair isle in, or else I would get bored silly with the stockinette. It will be fun to see how this turns out.

And last, but certainly not least, the Tangled Yoke cardigan. It's so close to being finished, just the buttons left to sew in, but I'm still waiting for the buttons to arrive in the mail. It's agony! Come on, arrive already! I can't wait to wear this. It's perfect!

Speaking of mail... I think my mail man is losing his mind with all the yarn he has to deliver to me. I've heard him laboriously squeeze in packages through the tiny opening in our door, several times a week, and I can only imagine what he is thinking. Yesterday, he apparently had had enough! He rang the doorbell, and when I opened, he shoved three packages at me and left with an annoyed look on his face. He said something like "here", and I didn't know whether to laugh or apologize. It is his job, though, so I'm sorry mister mail man, but tough luck! Deal with it, or ask to get another route. :)

Oh yes...

2007-09-08T18:58:00.000+03:00

I kid you not. Two more works in progress have mysteriously appeared.

I can't tell you what this is. It's a secret... Shhh!

This is another shawl from Victorian Lace Today, Large Rectangle. The yarn is Rowanspun 4 ply, and it's yummy! So soft and it has a great texture. I can't wait to finish this one...

I did actually finish one of my other WIPs. You'll have to stay tuned for a little while longer before I can post pics. There is some finishing touches to be done.

NO WAY!

2007-09-06T14:28:00.000+03:00

I went to the post office to get this package today. It's from my Secret Pal. When I first saw it, I kind of suspected that it was something that's been on my wish list for a while now. But I didn't ACTUALLY think it would REALLY be a...

YARN SWIFT!

I'm already nominating my Secret Pal for Best Pal Ever! It's perfect! Thank you thank you thank you! And it's exactly the kind of swift I wanted. All wood, no plastic or metal. Soft and smooth. I'm putting this baby to use right away.

Startitis, on a whole nother level...

2007-09-04T16:58:00.000+03:00

Meet Sheldon the Turtle. Isn't he cute! The pattern is from Knitty and... Wait a minute!

We haven't seen Sheldon here on the blog before... You didn't start yet another project did you?! What about the mountain of UFO's?

Well... You're absolutely right. I admit it. Startitis has taken over my life. And Sheldon isn't exactly the only thing I started...

I give you: Tangled Yoke Cardigan. Pattern by Eunny Jang, in Interweave Knits fall 2007. Pics here

If you've read my blog before, you shouldn't be that surprised. You should know that I have a 'thing' for Eunny's patterns. This one is a giant mountain of stockinette stitch! The only thing that keeps me going is the yoke cable (should start soon, just a few more rows). The yarn is Rowanspun DK. I can't believe Rowan discontinued it! It's amazing! It has just the right softness without being too fuzzy, and it's really warm.

And there's more... Another one from IK fall 2007. Snowflake Socks. I just had to knit these because I like knitting socks in thicker yarn. I'm getting a little sick of the fingering weight sock yarn patterns. These are incredibly fast, despite the fair isle pattern.

I'm actually past the heel on the second sock already...

And if you were wondering, I have made some progress on my older UFO's. This is the Via Diagonale bag.

The cotton is killing my hands, but I try to knit at it once in a while when I feel inspired.

And the shawl from Victorian Lace Today (see previous post for long name...).

I'm past the border and a few rows into the main part now, and it's moving along super fast.

No news on the Anemoi Mittens, though. I don't know if any progress has been made on them. I'd have to ask the knitting gnomes at the bottom of my WIP-basket. Maybe I'll dig the mittens out this weekend and finish them.

In case anyone is wondering, I did buy more yarn. BUT, hear me out, I only bought more of yarn I already have, so it would be enough for the project (in this case, the Tangled Yoke cardigan). This is a really clever way to keep buying yarn, but with a good excuse. "I have to buy more of this, or I won't have enough for this and that project." Just be sure to chose a project that requires more of a certain yarn than you have in your stash.

Startitis - Or inspiration going bananas!

2007-08-21T21:50:00.000+03:00

Help! I seem to have caught a bad case of Startitis (i.e. a constant urge to cast on new projects). Does anyone know a cure for this? The pile of works in progress is growing steadily, and I can't concentrate on one project because I'm already thinking about a new one that I really want to try out.

Here are a few recent ones.

Eunny Jang's Anemoi Mittens. These are moving along really quickly, so I hope they will keep my interest long enough to get finished. I'm loving the colors, and the pattern is just stunning.

Scarf with edging 21 and insertion 25 from The Knitted Lace Pattern Book, Thompson Bros., Kilmarnock, Scotland 1850 (phew! long name there!). From Victorian Lace Today. This is another quick one. But still, let's hope that it gets finished before Christmas...

Via Diagonale bag from Knitty. This one is a lot slower than the others. Don't know why really. I guess it's the cotton and what it's doing to the joints in my hands... I like the colors, though.

I don't really know what to do about this Startitis thing. Sure, it's a lot of fun to plan and cast on new projects, and it's not like I'll run out of yarn. But the chance of actually finishing anything gets slimmer with every new thing that makes it onto the needles...

Oh, and by the way, I've decided to only knit from my stash until I can see that it's getting smaller. No more online yarn purchases! (Do you hear that, GetKnitted online shop!! No more!) How long do you guys think I can hold out?

It's been a long time...

2007-08-16T13:45:00.001+03:00

...but now I'm back! A lot of stuff has been going on, and I don't really know where to start.

The summer holidays were great! I didn't get too much knitting done, but I do have a few things to show you.

This is a sock design that I've been working on.

I've been obsessed with two-tone cables lately. Don't know if I'll ever finish this one, but I like the pattern, and I'll probably take it out once in a while and just look at it.

And more of the multicolored cables. This is a Shedir hat (from Knitty). It's not "supposed" to be two-tone, but I really like the look of this.

I was missing a head to try it on, so I had to use a bowl from the kitchen instead. :)

And the cables never stop!

Cabled golf sock for my boyfriend.

And what else... Oh yes, a pair of mittens in Noro Silk Garden.

A small crocheted basket made of paper thread.

And I've started Frost Flowers and Leaves from A Gathering of Lace.

And... I'm on Ravelry. Yay! Look for knittingheidi if you want to check out my pages.

SP 11 Questionnaire

2007-08-08T10:10:00.000+03:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

A: Oh, there are so many favorites! I love solid and semisolid merino sock yarn, or any shiny wool yarn that is good for making socks. I can't stand yarns with "things" on them, anything that resembles this.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

A: At the moment, I store them in the packages they came with. Older "stray" ones that aren't complete sets, I store in a bunch with a rubber band around them. Clearly, I have some organising to do in this area.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

A: I have been knitting from a very young age. My grandmothers taught me. I used to raid their yarn stash and knit stuff, and remove their projects from the needles I wanted to use. I would consider my skill level to be advanced.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

A: Yup. Just made one. Here

5. What's your favorite scent?

A: Difficult one. Anything that isn't too strong. Fruity and flowery.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

A: Dark chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

A: I really like dyeing yarn. And I've just started learning how to spin with a drop spindle. Weaving is next on my to-do-list, when I get the money for a loom...

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

A: Yes, I can play mp3s on my computer. I like so many different kinds of music, it's hard to point anything out. I'm not a big fan of country music, though.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

A: I have so many favorite colors that I can't decide on one or a few. I don't like orange and yellow.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

A: I live with my boyfriend in a 3 room apartment. We don't have any pets or kids or other creatures running around here.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

A: All of the above.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

A: I've knitted a LOT of socks this past year. I'm still knitting socks, just not as obsessively. I also love knitting lace shawls.

13. What are you knitting right now?

A: Two pairs of socks (see, I'm in denial about the sock obsession), a lace shawl, some random UFOs that I don't know if I'll ever finish.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

A: Yes, definitely!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

A: Straight needles. I usually use aluminium needles. I do have a set of bamboo dpns, but I'm always scared I'll break them because I'm such a frantic knitter.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

A: I do have a yarn winder, and a swift is on my "things to shop when I have more money" list.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

A: I've frogged all my really old UFOs, so at the moment the oldest one is about 1 year old.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

A: I would have to say Christmas.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

A: Not really, if you don't count yarn.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

A: At the moment, I'm absolutely obsessed by Japanese knitting books. I really love knitting socks with Rowan 4 ply soft, and Noro yarns (Silk garden, Kureyon, Iro) are always welcome. I just started subscribing to Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting. I would love to get my hands on old issues of Vogue Knitting (older than Fall 2007) or IK (older than winter 2007)

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

A: I can't think of anything specific. Learning new things is always interesting.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

A: Yes, big time! I have a size 38,5 foot (European), 8 (USA). That is 25 cm (Eur.), 9 3/4 inches (USA).

23. When is your birthday?

A: February 27.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID.

A: Yup, I finally got my invite! Yay! My ID is knittingheidi.

A package from Glenda

2007-07-06T21:50:00.000+03:00

When my final Secret Pal package arrived, I found out who's been sending me all this great stuff. Her name is Glenda, and she blogs at http://bluecorona.blogspot.com

This is what I found in my last package.

A lot of things that are great for summer. And Kimono Angora! How did you know that I've had my eyes on that for a while now?!

Again, thank you Glenda! You've been a great Secret Pal!

Secret Pal final package

2007-06-29T22:48:00.001+03:00

I just wanted to write a quick post to let my secret pal know that I received the final package. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Pictures and more info about her coming soon, when I get a chance to upload pics. At the moment, I'm enjoying my holiday on a small island with no internet access. Oh bliss! :)

Gothic Spire

2007-06-18T17:41:00.001+03:00

And I knitted yet another Cookie A. creation. This time, it's Gothic Spire socks. I really like these! The pattern is really interesting and different, and they fit perfectly. I've never had to modify any of her patterns.

The yarn is Rowan 4-ply soft. Not the most obvious choice for a sock yarn, but it's absolutely perfect! No splitting, no fuzz, just a nice and smooth surface. And it's much more affordable than "real" solid sock yarn.

I'm going on holiday in a few days, and I won't be updating the blog for a while. I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of you for visiting. Did you see that you've been here over 6000 times already?! So, thank you! :)

I'll spend my vacation knitting and possibly also designing a bit. I'll give you a few snippets of my work once in a while when I can. Have a great summer!!!

Interesting...

2007-06-14T19:40:00.001+03:00

I just had to post a link to a blog I found today. A bunch of knitters in Stockholm are covering all kinds of objects around the city in knitting and crochet! How cool is that!

Check it out!

And this is apparently where it all started

Wouldn't this be fun?!

More yarn...

2007-06-13T13:45:00.001+03:00

I won a contest on Kris' blog a while ago, and this is the prize.

Fleece Artist sock yarn in the colorway "Hercules". Look how beautiful it is both as a skein...

...and as a cake.

Thank you Kris! This will make awesome socks.

Yarn madness

2007-06-08T15:57:00.001+03:00

Hmmmm... What to do when it's a zillion degrees outside and about one degree cooler inside? Oh, I know! Dye yarn! What a great idea!

A whole lot of walking around two chairs to get it to self stripe, and then standing in front of hot steaming pots! Then hang it to dry in the sun. Then walk around the same friggin chairs again, trying to detangle the mess of yarn. Then winding it into a ball. Then winding it into a skein. And then into a cake. I'm starting to question my sanity...

At least the result is pretty nice.

This is KnitPicks yarn dyed with KoolAid. I got both the yarn and the KoolAid from my Secret Pal. Thank you, it turned out great!! I'm planning to knit a scarf with this.

New sock

2007-06-06T11:34:00.000+03:00

You didn't think I could go without a sock on the needles, did you? This is my new sock project.

Can you guess what I'm working on?

Bayerische Socks

2007-05-31T17:57:00.000+03:00

And they are finally done! My Bayerische Socks. I'm never taking these off!

I couldn't decide which photo to post here on the blog, so I just posted all of them. Enjoy.

While knitting these, I bent and twisted both my fingers and the needles in ways I didn't even know they could be bent. As much fun as these were to knit, I'm really glad that they're finished now and I don't need to knit on them anymore. I feel like I've accomplished something. :)

I didn't have any problems with the pattern once I got started. The charts and the instructions were very clear. They look insanely complicated, but they're really not. Just a lot of work and aching fingers.

The yarn is Sandnes "Lanett". Not exactly a sock yarn. It could probably get really fuzzy if the gauge wasn't so tight. Don't think I'll use it for socks in the future. I only wear socks at home on the couch, so they don't really need to be that durable, just comfortable. And these are definitely some comfy socks!

Shopping and knitting...

2007-05-29T12:34:00.000+03:00

Ok, so a few packages have arrived at my doorstep again. I blame the flu for this. There's nothing more boring than sitting inside coughing and sneezing when it's really warm and sunny outside. I had to do something to cheer myself up!

So I ordered some books I've had my eye on for a while. Stefanie Japel's "fitted knits" and "Knitting Lingerie Style" by Joan McGowan-Michael. I really like the patterns in both of them! I've already started knitting a camisole from Knitting Lingerie Style.

I also had to order some yarn. Is there a better way to cheer yourself up when you're a knitting maniac? Don't think so! These are all fingering weight merino and they were all on sale at different yarnshops. I'm going to try to knit socks with them, so let's hope it works. I usually knit socks with all kinds of weird yarn that isn't "sock yarn", and so far it's turned out great. I especially like the light rose/peach color and the green. I'm so obsessed with green at the moment it's frightening!

And last, but not least, a Finished Object. Yay! My Swallowtail Shawl. It's knitted in Wetterhoff's Sivilla (wool/silk) and it's, yes you know it, green! I really loooove the yarn. Go check it out here.

A few UFO's

2007-05-21T12:55:00.001+03:00

I've been knitting a lot lately, but I still haven't managed to finish that much. I'm almost done with Eunny Jang's Deep V Argyle Vest. I just need to weave in the ends and finish the steeks. Cutting the steeks was some seriously scary business! I was so worked up about it that I forgot to take pictures! But this is what the almost finished vest looks like.

I really like the colors. I've used two completely different yarns, and I'm really surprised that they actually work together! The white yarn is Novita Nalle, a wool and polyamide fingering weight yarn. The green one is Rowanspun DK, an almost "tweedy" yarn with small blue specks in it. It's amazing how much the fabric changed after washing and blocking the vest!

I've also started a new project. Swallowtail shawl from IK fall 2006.

I seem to have a preference for green these days. And especially really light spring green shades.

My Bayerische Socks are also coming along nicely. I finished the first one a few days ago, and I'm already on the third repeat on the second one. These are absolutely my favorite socks so far! The details are amazing, and they fit perfectly.

I also like the fact that they're so much more challenging than most of the sock patterns out there. It takes a while to get comfortable with the charts and the pattern, but the reward is so worth it! I can't wait to finish the second sock so I can wear them!

And the winner is...

2007-05-21T12:39:00.001+03:00

Thanks to my friend, the random number generator, we now have a winner of Mission: Delurk! And the winner is... Joanna

Congratulations!

This is what you've won.

One skein of Sivilla yarn, 70% wool/30% silk. 50 grams is about 250 m.

One skein of Noro Silk Garden.

Thank you everyone for the comments! It's nice to see that so many knitters read my blog and like the things I knit.

Mission: Delurk

2007-05-07T22:09:00.000+03:00

Ok, so I know you're visiting, because the counter keeps ticking away. :)

It would be really interesting to know who is lurking around on my blog.
Leave me a comment, and there might be a yarny prize in store for a lucky visitor...

De-lurky-lurky!

(Thank you everyone for the comments! The contest is now closed.)

Nearly finished sock and green eye...

2007-05-05T16:47:00.000+03:00

My first Bayerische sock is almost done! Just one more pattern repeat and I can start with the toe. I really like these! They fit great and the pattern is so pretty.

I stumbled upon an "unusual" meme here today. Finnish knitting bloggers with green eyes post a picture of their eye on their blogs. Ok, why not. So here's my green-ish eye.

It's not exactly straight forward green, but it does have a light green circle around the brown circle. It feels kind of strange to look at your own eye like this!

Remember...

2007-05-02T19:44:00.000+03:00

And people, don't forget to sign up for this KAL if you like knitting socks and visiting different countries!

So spoiled!

2007-05-02T15:34:00.000+03:00

My Secret Pal is the best!! Look what I got in the mail today. A really nice card. A blueberry muffin bath fizzer. Some white yarn for dyeing, and Kool-Aid to dye it with. Aaand, the pattern for Swallowtail shawl! Yay! Thank you so much Secret Pal. And no, I haven't figured out who you are yet... I'm soooo curious!

I've started knitting a new sock (oooh, surprise!). This time, Eunny Jang's Bayerische socks caught my eye. I was browsing around to see if there was a KAL for these, and the only one I could find is a Finnish one! Apparently, I'm not the only finn with an obsession for knitting intricate socks!

This is how far I've got in two days.

Three whole pattern repeats. I almost gave up while I was knitting the first repeat, because it felt like these would take foreeeever. But after the second repeat, it started moving along nicely. The yarn is Sandnes "Lanett". Not the most obvious choice for a sock yarn, but it works!

Twisted Flower socks finished

2007-04-27T13:37:00.000+03:00

So the Twisted Flower socks are finally finished. Yay! Here they are, lounging in the sun on our balcony.

They're still a little fussy about being photographed, so they put on their whitest glow everytime a camera is close by...

The white color is also the biggest problem when it comes to wearability. That's why I thought I would ask you, my dear readers, what you think about dyeing them.

Should I dye them to make them more wearable and practical, or should I leave them white because they're oh so pretty in white? Tell me what you think.

If I dye them, the color would probably be burgundy or olive green or light blue...

A visit to the post office...

2007-04-24T15:16:00.000+03:00

I just got back from the post office where I picked these up. And I also got a pen and a lollipop from the nice people at Get Knitted! Thank you!

More yarn again? Well, it's not my fault! You can blame b r o o k l y n t w e e d for this one! After seeing his Noro scarf I just had to knit one! This is silk garden in four different colors. The one on the bottom is a little more blue than I expected, but the other ones are perfect.

I also got these in the mail yesterday.

They will turn into Bayerische socks for a finnish KAL.

In between all the yarn shopping, I have also managed to get some knitting done. Can you guess what this is?

I'm also making some progress on my Twisted Flower socks, and I'm almost at the heel of the second one. For some reason, the second one is taking a looooot longer. I guess it's the famous SSS (Second Sock Syndrome).

What other knitting related things are happening here? Well, I sent the first package to my Secret Pal yesterday (yes, late, I know!), and hopefully she will get it sometime this week. Some knitters have already signed up for the KAL I'm hosting. If you're interested, don't hesitate to get over there and sign up! It will be a lot of fun!

Image links

2007-04-23T13:30:00.000+03:00

Calling all Blogger users i blogland! Can anybody tell me how to make the images in the sidebar into clickable links? A step-by-step description would be great! I've been trying to figure this out through different blogger help sites, but no luck... :( Is there a special "page element" for this, or do I need to do it another way? I would really appreciate some help.
(Edit) Erasmus helped me with this, and now it works. So thank you very much Erasmus!