Knitting in 2018

 2018 hasn't exactly been a year for blogging, but I haven't been totally idle. There has been quite a bit of knitting, for instance. My first finish was this scarf, Cinder, pattern by Brooklyn Tweed. It's not easy to take pictures of a long narrow scarf, but at least you get an impression of the pattern.

 The vis-a-vis cowl was a challenge I couldn't resist. I found the pattern on Knitty. Starting with a picking up stitches along a zipper was something I'd never tried before, but I didn't find it too hard. I ended up with a cowl that can be used either open like a looped scarf or zipped up and used like a cowl.

 Then there was the Hitchhiker, a pattern that I have been hearing about for years. It was quite a success in this soft variegated yarn and an easy knit.

And finally the Islington, found on the Loop blog. I loved both the starry borders and the lace bit.

More details about the different projects on my Ravelry page.

A bit of knitting

I couldn't resist trying my hand at this rowan mitten pattern I found on Ravelry. I especially liked a version using a variegated yarn and bought a Scoppel-Wolle Zauberball in Little Fox colourway.

I had to cut the yarn and wind off a bit now and again to get the colour where I wanted it, but I ended up with two very different mittens, and a lot of left over small ballsof yarn, but I'm quite happy with the result anyway.

While we're on the subject of knitting, I also knitted some gloves as Christmas presents. I call these "Selfie gloves", because they are made with conductive thread in the fingertips (thumb and index finer) so that you can use a smart phone without removing the gloves, while taking selfies on the mountain tops you are bound to climb if you are active on social media and want to show the world how sporty and fit you are...

One pair is made with Noro Silk Garden and the other with Noro Kureyon and the pattern is Ken by Berocco Design Team. Details on Ravelry.

Cowl

Knitting little dolls means paying close attention to details and concentrating on the pattern. That's all very well, but sometimes a bit of mindless knitting is called for. I found the pattern for the Ada cowl in Mollie makes. The  pattern is also available through Ravelry.

The original was knit using Quince & Co Puffin, which is a bulkier yarn than the Malabrigo Rios that I went for. I just cast on more stitches than in the pattern, to make it the right width. The pattern is an easy double moss stitch, so as long as the number of stitches was divisible by two, that didn't matter. The result is a less chunky cowl, very soft and drapey, and I am very pleased with it.

Teddy doesn't seem to mind modelling it either...
Colours used: Malabrigo Rios in Teal Feather and Lettuce. Details on Ravelry.

Little people

I found a picture of a little knitted girl like this on Pinterest and managed to locate the pattern on Etsy here. After visiting a local yarn store and finding the perfect shiny black yarn in my stash I was ready to download the pattern and start knitting my own Little Red. Isn't she sweet?

The umbrella needed some kind of support and after a bit of searching in shelves and cupboards I ended up using the domed lid from a cherry tomato container. That meant that I had to make the umbrella a bit smaller than the pattern called for, but it doesn't rain all that much indoors, so I guess Little Red will be safe and dry, LOL. She seems quite comfortable anyway, sitting there on my red shelf, making me smile every time I walk past her.

While I was at it, I also knitted this little guy from a pattern I found in an old magazine.He was put in one of the Christmas decoration boxes, so I won't see him again for a while, but no doubt he will be a nice surprise when I get the boxes out in December!
Both were fast and easy knits and very satisfying - a few evenings of waving some needles and yarn about, resulting in two little friends - you can't beat that for results!

More stitches

Last autumn I happened to come across an episode of Pippi Longstocking, the one with the first snow, and fell in love with Annika's pink ski sweater.

I searched everywhere for a pattern, and might have found one that was close enough, but got distracted along the way. Before I knew it I had a folder full of pictures of ski jumpers from the 50s and 60s.

Now I know that there is no way I'm going to knit all those sweaters, but I didn't want to forget all the lovely patterns, so I charted some of them and ended up with a shortlist of twelve and decided that knitting samples was out - I'd have to buy lots of yarn and I'd end up with samples that couldn't be used for anything.
I do have lots of tapestry wool, though, and found a piece of canvas that could become a small cushion. So I ended up embroidering the patterns instead, leaving a few stitches between each block of pattern.

Now I could have embroidered sashing and a border, but by the time I got to that stage I just wanted to be done with the whole thing, so I blocked it and added some polka dot ribbon as sashing and some fabric borders to make the cushion bigger. I used the same fabric as backing for the cushion, added a zipper, and there you are: my tapestry knitting sampler. The size of the canvas I had dictated that the pattern blocks would have to be small, so you can't see the whole pattern on most of them, but they will serve as a reminder of the patterns I have stored, should the urge to knit another ski sweater ever arise...

I used a stitch that looks like knitting, by the way, so you get an idea what the patterns would look like if I ever were to knit them up.

A bit of knitting

This winter was not all about sewing. Thanks to Knitty and Ravelry my interest in knitting has been revived these last few years. During my teens I was hardly ever seen without a knitting project in my hands, where I went the knitting went and numerous sweaters were made during lectures at college, waiting for buses, chatting with friends... Somewhere along the way it all stopped, but the skill is still there and my hands luckily remember how to go about it. I fell in love with these Deep in the Forest mittens and especially this version. I used a Schoppelwolle Zauberball in shades of blue for the background and I love the effect of twilight seen through the trees. I tried a different Zauberball first, but the shades of blue were too dark to get the effect I wanted. That one came in handy for my next project, though:

My next project was inspired by various fair isle designs seen online, and somehow the idea of making a Harry Potter-inspired sweater occurred to me. I started charting various ideas: spells and potions, brooms, owls, the sorting hat, a snitch Harry's patronus, wands, glasses and the scar on Harry's forehead. I needed to test all the different borders and knitted them in the round, ending up with a rather long tube, realizing that I had too many borders for a sweater. I stitched the ends of the tube together and ended up with an infinity scarf. It proved to be very difficult to photograph, so here's a small collage of various borders instead. And now that I have tested the borders (and modified some) it can also serve as a pattern to choose borders from, should I ever get round to making that sweater.

I'm easily distracted, though, so there are always new projects tempting me. This book was a great discovery that will provide endless inspiration. The genius of these patterns are that you begin with a few stitches and increase along one side until the scarf is as long and wide as you want it, or until you run out of yarn. No need to worry about gauge and the patterns can be used for any kind of yarn you have. I haven't come all that far on this one yet, but I can tell that it will become a favorite. Eventually.

My Ravelry page is here, by the way.

Some finishes

In between all the other stuff I have going I have grabbed some time here and there to make a few things, like these little mug rugs from my scrap bag. 

And for a 75^th birthday I made a table runner. It is a very simple designs, but I got to show off this lovely leaf fabric which I knew would be perfect for the room it would be in. It was very well received.

One thing about being busy during the day is that it can be quite relaxing to sink down in front of the TV and grab a piece of embroidery or some knitting, and as evidence I have a new shawl and a tapestry cushion to show you. The shawl is Bitterroot from Knitty, made up in a really soft and lovely Malabrigo Yarn Lace – it’s so light and fluffy that you want to immerse yourself in it, but alas it’s just the small version to go round my neck. I’ll remember to look out for that yarn though – lovely! There should have been some glass beads knitted into it, but I didn't find any locally and was eager to finish it, so I managed without. Maybe next time.

The cushion is from a pattern by Emily Peacock and has been in the works for a while, but a bit of friendly pushing among other peacock-stitchers on IG spurred me on to actually finish it. Yay!

It's a wrap

I've had the Marin pattern on my to-do-list on Ravelry for ages, and I even have some lovely grey/purple Skein set aside for it, but just before I went on holiday, my sister mentioned that she would like a grey shawl or wrap for her birthday. I needed something to do on a rainy day, and after going through the patterns on my ipad I went ahead and found some yarn and got down to work.

The yarn I ended up with was slightly thinner than the recommended yarn, so this is more of a wrap around your neck than around your shoulders thingy, but it is soft and lovely (a 50/50 silk/baby alpaca blend) to the touch and should keep sis snug and warm on a chilly day.

The pattern is rather elegant, I think, with just that swag-like pattern along the edge, but it took a while and a bit of unraveling before I got my head round the pattern as it was divided into a main pattern, and separate patterns for beginning, edge and finish that had to be worked simultaneously with the main pattern. But once I got my head around it all (reading through it all before you begin helps...), it proved to be a quick and easy knit, and I'm actually looking forward to making one for myself as well. Details on Ravelry.

Knitted

Looking back I seem to keep claiming that I'm no knitter, yet I have knitted various scarves, shawls, socks and hats these last few years. The truth is that I do knit, but not very fast. My shoulders complain if I knit for too long and my mind complains if I there is little variation in whatever I'm knitting. So I always have several projects going at the same time, so I can switch between them when I get bored. After I discovered Ravelry and the world of beautiful yarn that is out there, I have been tempted to start several projects. The KnitCompanion app has made it possible for me to carry the patterns around with me, making it a lot easier to grab a piece of knitting when I go somewhere and just pick up where I left off. And so I have actually finished something! Meet Cladonia.

I have seen several versions of this on Ravelry, and fell really in love with it when I saw this version (and I totally agree with Rita about the yarn!). Blues and greens are my go to colours, so that combination really caught my attention. I tried to find the same colours of Madelinetosh Merino Light yarn online, but no luck, so I chose Betty Draper's Blues and Olivia instead. I wasn't too happy about Olivia when the yarn arrived, as it seemed too dark. But it has grown on me, and now I really like the combination. But I am tempted to make a lighter version as well.

 

It knitted up quite fast once I really got started, and the stripes helped both in counting the rows between increases and to keep my interest because you could really see it growing. And I love that lace border with knitted picot edging. It looks very complicated, but was quite easy, really. Can you tell that I'm thrilled with this? At the moment it is draped over the back of my sofa and I just can't stop gazing at it. Typically it was finished in time for summer, but the way things are going here weatherwise it seems it might get lots of wear.

Oh What A Beautiful Mornin'

As I pulled up  the blinds and opened the window this morning I was met with the brightest sunshine and a definite hope of spring in the air - if my life were a musical I would have burst into song - "Oh what a beautiful mornin'" from Oklahoma! or something. Now it will be a long time before "the corn is as high as an elephant's eye", or what passes as summer in our part of the world. There is still a bit of a chill in the air, and you know, that's a good thing!

Because that means I get a chance to wear my new Love is actually all around cowl! I'm ridiculously proud of this thing - not only did I master two new techniques, but I started it, worked my way through and actually finished it without getting sidetracked.

I knew the minute I saw this pattern on Knitty that I had to make it. The yarn looked so sumptious and the hearts in squares were sort of quilty and it was intriguing to end up with a product which looked the same on both sides.

I couldn't find any yarn which looked half as good as the Madelinetosh DK used in the original locally, so I ordered it online. The delivery was swift, which meant that I had only just had time to set the pattern up in my KnitCompanion app and was ready to start the minute I got it home.

I have never tried my hand at double knitting before, but found a video on YouTube which explained it all. Now I must admit I was a bit sceptical and thought this couldn't possibly work as I sat there combining two cable needles full of stitches in the beginning to a round of stitches which should have been enough for a sweater. I just had to go on blind faith in the beginning, because it all looked a mess, but after three or four rounds something started to happen - the stitches gathered themselves into a kind of knitted fabric with a smooth back and front. It all seemed very complicated to begin with, and I sat here muttering to myself: "yarn in front, purl, yarn in back, knit" like a mantra, but after a while my mind and my fingers got the hang of it, and I even managed to work out how to correct a few mistakes along the way without frogging the whole thing. The heart and square pattern helped me along - it was all "I just have to do another round so I can see how it turns out". The finishing off with Kitchener stitch went like a breeze - I had read a bit about how complicated it was, but really, there was nothing to it after mastering double knitting!
The yarn was a delight to work with, soft and smooth, and the depth of colour makes it so so lovely.

Time for a walk to show it off, I think!

Crossing off my list

With so many ideas about what to make and so many projects on the go, it's all a question of keeping up the good work. A little bit here, a little bit there, and eventually it will all be finished. Now that's really beside the point, because I enjoy the process so much that the finished product isn't always the most important thing here. Today is a good excample - I started out working on the blocks for my BellaX quilt, slicing nine-patches apart and inserting strips of grey. Fun for a while, but once I got the hang of it, my mind was off working on a new project.

So of course, I had to give the xplus-block a go. I tried to stick to my scrap basket, but had to find something bigger for the large squares, and ended up picking a great text fabric for it. That made me start thinking about fabric choices. More text, I think. And some polka dots.

Back to the stash. What have I got in the way of polka dots? - there's this layer cake of Kaffe Fasset I haven't been able to cut into - no time like the present! Well, that's a start at least. By the time I had finished cutting it was about time to get dinner sorted. I'll get back to the fabric selection later.

After dinner the sofa and my knitting beckoned. I'm making progress there as well. Yes, little by little I'm making progress on several things and eventually they will be crossed off my list. But the main thing is to have fun along the way, right? And the list keeps growing, so I have lots to look forward to...

Learning curve

My lovely Madelinetosh DK yarn took less than a week to travel across the Atlantic - impressive! I picked it up from the post office on Friday and couldn't wait to get started unfurling the beautiful skeins. The picture doesn't do it justice - there is a wonderful depth to the colours with subtle shades blending into each other and the yarn is soft and pleasant to work with.

Now it remains to be seen if I can get my head around this double knitting thing. I have knitted and frogged, watched various tutorials on youtube and tried again. I t h i n k I have got it now. Almost. Some quiet knitting time will prove me right. Or wrong...

A good start

I am so good at starting...
I like a good beginning...
I get carried away easily...
There's nothing quite like starting a new project, is there? I know. I have UFOs to show for it. That's why I keep trying to get to grips with them all by making lists and showing photos at the beginning of the year and make plans to finish them all. I know I will, eventually, but I thrive on having different things on the go at the sametime. And there are always new things to try, new patterns that are so tempting, and why resist? We all know I need an excuse to buy fabric, and if you make stuff you get to buy more, right? In case you run out...

And yet I have focused mainly on quilting on this blog. I don't know why I rarely mention my knitting projects. It might just be because they take so long that I rarely have any finishes to show. I used to knit a lot in my teens and during my student years. I was rarely seen without a piece of knitting in my hands back then. But then I discovered quilting, and I lived and breathed quilting for years and years. I didn't knit anything at all. In fact, it was blogging and the availability of great patterns from sites like Knitty and Ravelry that lured me back in. Gorgeous yarn from Noro and various hand dyed wool tempted me no end, and before I knew it, I was a knitter again.
Now, if you have a peek in my little knitting nook on Ravelry you will see that I have several projects on the go. Mainly scarves and wraps, and I really need to focus on finishing them one by one like I have been doing with my quilting UFOs.

So what do I do? I fall head over heels in love with yet another pattern and before I know it the yarn is ordered and on it's way, along with some other skeins of lovely Madelinetosh Merino Light - it would be a waste of postage to order just the two skeins of DK, after all...
Oh, I'm going to have such fun knitting this lovely cowl in lovely shades of red and pink - just right for February, and there is more cold weather coming our way, I've heard, so it will come in very handy once it's done.
And since one can't focus on just the one craft, I also had to join the xandplusalong - it's no good just focusing on getting things finished when I'm such a great starter, is there?

EQ mock-up, not actual stitched blocks!

Even the gulls are staying indoors...

Well, I can't really blame the weather - these two will not be going out when it clears up!
I found the pattern in Marie Clare Idees and just had to make them to show I could. Let's face it, a couple of knitted seagulls aren't the most useful thing to have around, but a bit sweet all the same. And the thing is, if the pattern hadn't been in French, and if a friend hadn't said that she thought I couldn't make head or tails of it, they would never have seen the light of day. But I'm all for a challenge, so off I went!
With the help of Google Translate, where I was told I'd need an apothecary's son and a sperm whale among other things, and with the help of the charts, I managed to work out most of it, and what I didn't get, I made up.
So here they are my two new friends. They've brought their own food, so they can stay...

The pattern is here.

Doing stuff...

Summer is definitely over, and life is getting back on track after lots of hard work in the wings here. Nothing serious, just  lots of stuff that has needed my attention and left little energy for making stuff and that means not a lot to blog about either. The storm outside tells me that there will be more indoor time now, and I have spent more time with my sewing machine during the last couple of days than I did during the whole month of September. I didn't realize how much I had missed it, so I'll definitely be making more time for sewing in future. And I really need to make some stuff too: the postman has been kept really busy bringing parcels to my door lately, and more is on it's way. When a quilt shop on the other side of the world informs you that you are currently one of their best customers, you know it's time to slow down with that retail therapy...

I've delved into my yarn basket as well, and came across this half finished scarf. With more storms coming, it might be a good idea to finish it soon! I'm knitting stripes in two different colourways of Noro Taiyo (found in London last summer) and just love the colourplay developing here. Hopefully it will keep my interest for long enough to actually finish it. I'm not a natural born knitter, I think - my knitting tends to alternate between energetic needle movements followed by long periods of stretching and patting and admiring what I have done so far. Not the most efficient method, I know!

Holiday Mode

A complete lack of routine lately as I settle into some blessed leisure time. I've been sleeping late, pottering about, visiting with friends, drinking wine, reading, watching a lot of movies and working some stitches now and again. It always seems to take some time to settle down and "learn" to relax, but I think I'm there now... Lest you think I'm a complete sloth, I'd better show some glimpses of the goings on in the wings. I'm working on my Workbook Wednesday quilts, experimenting with different edgings and adding embellishments. 

I mentioned reading - here are a coule of the books I have lined up: I've also been going through a lot of old quilt magazines up on that shelf, sorting through and discovering that there is actually very little worth keeping. Patterns I loved ten years ago seem hopelessly dated now, and most of the mags are on their way to new homes.

And surprise, surprise, there's also a bit of knitting going on! This is the Bitterroot shawl, pattern from Knitty.  I'm using the loveliest, soft, smooth Malabrigo Lace for this, a new acquaintance, but one I'll definitely use again - I love it! I actually started this around Christmas time, but it has been languishing in the bottom of my craft basket for a while - about time it resurfaced!

Then there's also this old friend, my Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl from A Gathering of Lace, knitted in Alpaca from Drops. I have been knitting on and off on this for quite a while now, but it is slowly, slowly getting there. The colour is a soft bluish grey, which is quite appropriate for frosty leaves, I think.

So there's a lot to do - when I feel like it - but I'm getting quite good at relaxing too ;-)

Random

My sister's lilac tree tells me that it really is summer, though the temperature doesn't seem to agree...

Lot's of things to do indoors, though:

-Like hand quilting between these lines...

... binding to stitch, books to study...

...and interesting yarn (or ribbon?) to play with.