Blue V-neck Sweater

Finally after spending months sewn together but missing the hem and edge in the neck the sweater is out of the closet.

Modell: My own
Yarn: Opal Uni
I have been so afraid the V-neck would become too deep but now I think it could have been deeper.
I had to leave my head outside the picture today, Sorry.

Expanding Circles

My becoming circle cardigan has now reached the point where I think it's time to leave openings for the arms.

The arm's would if added at this poit become 42cm(16 1/2") in circumference. The diameter of the knitting is now 54cm(21 1/4").
I find it hard to know exactly where to add the arms since this is not like constructing your usual cardi.
I am so curious in how the arms will fit constructed this way. Will they become comfortabe or just feel odd?

Knitting in Circles

Have you missed me?

I have had some knitting, tinking going on and the tinking part were not fun. ripit, ripit, ripit.

Well last weekend I started with this

I do not follow any pattern, making my own as I go along but the inspiration is: The shape of theWhite Lies Design's Madeleine Shawl Jacket And then you have theElann's Pinwheel Sweater and the Twisted Float Shrug fromVogueknitting autumn2005. As you can see they are all knitted with the same idea. But its only the madeleine jacket that I find having a flattering shape. Could it be a more draping texture that makes it?
I started my small circles with Opal Lollipop 1015(not produced anymore). I purchased it at a sale and I think I have >1kg of it(some of it is stuck in another ongoing project.
Tha knitting proceeds in good speed, I have soon reached the place where I soon should make room for future arms. The diameter is in this knitting moment double the one in the picture.
My plan was to have a uni colored 10cm wide lace around the edge and at the end of the arms, just as the madeleine jacket. I have not found a lace in my taste just yet. I did order some Opal Uni from the autumn 2006 collection but the colors were far from what I had expected.


Can you guess what numbers I ordered?
Here are the photo presenting the Autumn 2006 colors.
I must say I was surpriced when I opened the package, The colors does not even come close to the picture the produser has taken.

The correct answer is 1414, 1412, 1419. Did you guess the correct numbers? Congratulations!

I am mostly dissappointed with the pink yarn called 1412. I do not like that shade of pink!

Packages

I do not knoe where they all come from but I get them every week! Small packages from all around the globe. This internet is indeed a dangerous place, you find all kinds of lovely, tempting and lovely stuff that is hard to avoid ordering. I have yarn everywhere and the amount of needles are increasing continuely. I have more knitting books than the library and still there are more that I have to restrain myself from ordering.

I have to leave you now to get some knitting done, Bye.

Knit Picks do not sell outside US/Canada!

Is that not a big shame?
I guess I am not the only one who is dissappoined with that.

So when I first saw the KnitPicks new interchangeble needles I was sad but then I was offered help from an fellow knitting blogger so I ordered the needles to her house and then she send it to mee and Oh, my, she also send me some handmade Stich Markers, She made them herself!
Check these out:

They are so pretty I considered to use them as earrings, :) .

And the needles are lovely:

I have not had any time to make a proper review on them but I have made a few rows and they seem to be all I hoped them to be. I did order some extra cords since I like them looong and some extra needles.

If you check in the background you can see a pattern there too. A purple cardigan called "Starburst Sweater". I think that is such a lovely pattern, elegant and romatic and also suitable to wear at work.

So lets see what will happen with all this stuff in the near future, Curious? You better check in on me again to see.

Stash Enhancement and book

Will I never learn how to avoid yarn?
It seems not. A couple of weeks ago I visited GetKnitted and what happened? Oh, shame on mee I ordered some yarn, purple of course but still. I should have restrained myself.

The Purple cotton was on sale, but the Purple tweed were something that just arrived to the store.

As you can see I got the latest book by the Yarnharlot there too. A nice book but so far I discovered nothing new to me. Stephanie's book just jumped in to the basket when ordering "Big Girl Knits". BGK has not arrived jet but it is a book I have high expectaions on as I am now being a few, maybe 4, sizes larger than I used to bee. I have already joined the KAL for this book so I have read some comments on the patterns and the advices given and it seems to be a realy nice book.

Posing in NEW SHAWL!

Ohh, it's lovely purperly lightly perfectly!

Well I still think I could have made it bigger, next time I will make a shawl that I can cheat on while knitting. This time I stayed true. (Almost anyway just some small swatches and sketches were done on the side).

The last rows were truly tedious. I would need to be allowed to cheat on during the knitting of these rows of >400stiches or I'll stop knitting completely!

But look, I do look happy, right?

Contrasts

So what does a yarn obsessed woman do when a project is BO? Reaches out for one of the 20(?) UFO's hidden in boxes, drawers, wardrobes, bags...

Oh NO, she starts to crave for more yarn and...

She leaves work running, throw herself in the car, drives on two wheels to the LYS and enhances her stash with some...

Lime cotton yarn, Mandarin Petit color 8514


The yarn Obsessed knows that without a tee in this contrasting color her newly knit shawl will not be shown off properly so she need this yarn, right? Well of course I'm right!

This yarn is so soft! wonderful, lovely a swatch is being created at this very moment.

Knitting is done

Under blocking at this very moment.

Size unblocked 65x140cm
Size blocked 85x178cm
Having problems with upploading pictures but they will come=> Here they are

Only the edge row pattern left.

I am pleased to say that I have kompleted the actual pattern. I had calculated 100g to the shawl and the weight is 97g! This calculation was done before I decided to add some edge rows but I still will end up quite close to 100g.

I do not think I will be able to complete the shawl this weekend. The little one demands to much attension but my guess is that the knitting and blocking will be done before next weekend so please be patient there will be no pretty pictures for 5-6days from today.

On the finnishing line.

Silence for a long time again!

Well I like show pictures of FO's and I'm working hard to have anything to show you but My shawl is still not done. I have spent some, a few, quite many nights knitting on it but these last rows are teadious. I have only three rows left on the pattern but then I desided to add a modified edge as the one of the Swallowtail Shawl from IK so there is about 20 rows left, and 1 row is now about 500 stiches! 500! and then the bindoff!

500 stiches takes ages and you can not see the progress so I get bored... And then I start to think and plan for next project. I'm thinking about some lime/avocado colored tee with 3/4 arms. the shawl and the F&F poncho would look soo good with a sweater in that color.

I have made some knit related orders. Latest order contained Rowan 4-ply cotton in colorway flirty on discount from Get Knitted and then Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Aran in the colorway 07. All Purple. This is my first purchase with some more expensive yarns. The tweed would be perfect for the Sunrise Circle Jacket. The cotton would be nice in some beaded shirt. I have to figure out a pattern and beads.

Sample of Arrowheads

I have mentioned her before, Eunny, she creates wonderfull new stuff all the time.

Last week she made this sweater, Arrowhead Pullower.

I had to make a swatch on the Lace Pattern.

I was torn between enhancing my stach or use some of the antiques stored in my xadrillon of boxes. The winner was my stash, my house will explode if stach more now.

The yarn is a cabletwined crouchet cotton bought some 20 years ago. I was then low on money and high on creativity and this quality was much cheaper than knitting yarns. It was sold in hanks of 200gram and this jeansblue yarn has been in my boxes ever since.

I have here blocked the swatch after a washing it in the mashine and it looks gourgeous. The arrowheads are pointing downwars since I plan to make a top down project with this lace.

yarn: cabletwined 12/6 mercericed cotton
needles: 3.5mm Addi Turbo

I have to plan a project in this yarn and lacepattern.

On the needles: A Shawl

When finnishing the Poncho presented in my last posting. I blocket 2 in the morning of last Sunday.

I had no plan on starting a new project but more finnishing one or more of my ufo's.

What happened?

This happened: Leaves & Flowers shawl

I think it was the purple color that got me hooked, I started just to test it out and then decided to alter the pattern because I use such a thin yarn and I want a realy big shawl approx: 70inches wide.

This is how the shawl looked yesterday evening in sunset at the sea.



I use the same yarn as in the Mystery Shawl, the Wristwarmers and the Feather & Fan Poncho.
The same purple as in the Wristwarmers and the Feather & Fan Poncho's borders but this time I knit it with a single thread on 3mm Addi Bamboo.

According to my calculations I have to spend 3 more weeks on this shawl to complete it. I would need to be true to the shawl to complete it in that timeframe and I doubt I can be that monogam.

Pika Bhoo

Hello out there

After a long, long time off the needles I am back on track again. Many thanks to Eunny for inspiring me to start clicking my needles again.
Eunny´s knittings are soo Inspiring. I just wish I could knit that good, fast and look that good in my knitted items as she does.


Pattern: My own
Yarn: Yarn from stash, 100% high quality wool.
Needles: 4,5mm (7 US)

I am above posing in my most recent FO. A poncho in Feather and Fan pattern. It took me two weeks to complete and I consider it a fast knit, to me that is. But then Feater and Fan is one of the most rewarding patterns I know. The poncho is knitted in the same wool as my latest purple wristwarmers, the Mystery Shawl and I still have tons of this yarn in my stash. The multicolored parts is two different threads from my dying experiments and they are purple-blue-green-lightturqouise.

I am rather happy with this project but there is one big minus, there is not enough room for the sholders. I should have increased faster over the shoulders to make it wider.

As a result of the narrowness the neckline is bubbling:


Any ideas on how to fix this?

I'll try to block it a bit more and maybe reknit the neckline with thinner needles.


Closeup of the edge and the colors.

Little one in New Sweater.

The yarn is trekking, very soft and nice. The sweater is knitted on my mashine but the neckline is an i-cord done by hand in Opal Uni. Has been waiting for it's neckline forever and when finally done, it's soon to small! You can see his yellow shirt peeking out under the lower edge.
It takes some convincing to get the sweater on.

Not knitting much...

So what am I then up to?
Well this:


I am trying hard to get in shape for smaller sizes so knitting a sweater will be faster and of course cheaper, ;).

Lacy Purple Wristwarmers

Made the last rows on wednesday night and sew them up, My Purple Wristwarmers. They started as a test on adding lace frills to a garterstich wristwarmer and I think they turned out fine. I was a bit concerned that they were too frilly but after using them biking to work and in the office I came to the conclusion they are perfect.

You can see on my big smile I like my wristwarmers and that I drink alot of tea, about 2 litres a day.

Below a closeup while knitting on a scarf in the same yarn as I used in the wristwarmers.
I almost always use circular needles, also when I knit back and forward. I find it more relaxing on my arms and shoulders and much safer when knitting in the car or in the sofa with a jumping toddler all around.

Short of time.

Three weeks of sick leave has soon gone. Tomorrow morning it's time to go to work again and my knitting time will be limited again. So I wanted to show whats on my needles right now.
I have hand painted some Opal yarn to stripes.

Using this Turkish Cast-on I started two Feather & Fan socks toe up, My own variation, using the stripy yarn.

I am also working on some wrist warmers with a lace ruffle in purple.

So thats all from me today. I better get back to my knitting projects when I still have time. I will get back to you and report when I finnish any of my ongoing projects.

Gecko Eyes

Adrienne Fong has designed a pair of socks that rocked my world when I saw them, The Gecko Eyes Socks.
But since I wanted to knit another hat instead I used the stichpattern and designed my own hat. Though the winter surely is melting away this very moment I know that next winter I will have a very stylich hat.
It took me more time than I expected to knit. First I had problems with the zigzag rib but with the help of Adrienne I overcame that. The Cable pattern were though a bit more snugglish than I have encountered before. I even bent my Addi Turbos when knitting them.

Yarn: Opal Uni color 18
Beads: Gutermann Rocailles 9/0
Needles: 2mm and 2.5mm.

New Hat

Have you seen Odessa by Grumperina?
Well I decided I needed that hat to hide my hair that has not been washed for since before my operation a week ago, doctors order, so here is my version:


Needles: 3mm and 3.5mm
Yarn: Notita's Nalle.
Beads: bigger than 8/0 but I think smaller than 6/0. 7/0???
Conclusions: I should have needed to make one more patternreport, the hat is very tight. It should also been made one report longer. I made 11 reports, should have made 12.
The shawl I'm wearing is my Mystery shawl, yes its blocked now but still too small, More like a scarf actually. The sweater is one I knitted 4-5years ago.
So now I'm off to the hospital for the doctor to make a checkup on my ear. I am allowed to wash my hair after that. Yipee!

Lazy swallops!

I planned to knit Sockbugs Lazy swallop socks. When I started I discovered that the pattern and the yarn stripes fought eachother so I let the yarn win, sorry Sockbug. So I present my mini Feater & Fan socks.

knitted on Addi turbo 2.5mm with Trekking sockyarn.

Little one showing his Granny how to knit.

Usually I get nervous when the little one grabs my knitting. This time it was one of the swatches for my planned wintercoat so no damage could realy be done.

Isn't he quete?

Craving for color

Not just any colors but colored yarns. I read on the socklists I'm on all praice for STR-"Socks That Rock" but have not realy fallen in love in their colorways. Koigu on the other hand...
Well as you all now: I have a huge stash! And I have dyes for protein fibers. So Today, on a sickleave alone in the house I dug out my dyes and some old hanks of weaving wool and I started to paint. The yarn is not the soft yarn you would like to have close to your skin. I have made a sweater of it before and it worked fine. A hat I made became to scratchy though.

I had in mind doing something that could be used in a wintercoat I plan to knit. The base yarn for that is purple, what else? I wanted something that made the purple look more alive and I wanted some lime color in it.

These are the four hanks I made all in blue, turqoise and purple, two with lime and two without for other unknown purposes. The turqoise and the ble color became a bit pale but a test swatch gave a very satisfying result.

And the balls are beatifull.


I might never want to order any colored yarn again. The result is so much what I love and like that it's almost scary.

They are perfect!

New yarn needs to be dyed A S A P !!!

Presenting Jaywalker

So I was up untill 3 in the morning and managed to finnish my jaywalker socks. They look and feel just fine. The only downside with the finnished sock is that I have a problem getting then on. the leg is so narrow!

I used size 2mm(0 needles), magic loop, Opal Indigo(in US Opal Ocean). 88stiches(modified the pattern a bit) and adding my own favorite heel and toe.
Good thing I managed to finnished them since all my socks needs to be washed and now I can use these tomorrow so I can wait with the washing until tomorrow.

Against the stream...

So what's up? I have been absent for a long time and you might wonder if I stopped knitting, right?


Well I haven't but it has not been so much results lately.
I have finnished a mini poloponcho.
I am happy with the finnished product.

---

And then I present to you the turquise sweater I knitted on my mashine some month ago. I had some closeups before this is the complete sweater.
I feel kind of unhappy with the modell inside the knitted items, one reason for my absence here but it is me in there, no matter how much I try to ignore it.
Well, well. These two are now in use almost every day so what is on my needles right now? You might say what is not, since I have so many UFO's so I can't keep track on them all. Anyway, you might remember a green sock I knitted last year from socks, socks, socks? I did not like knitting it and it still misses it's mate. Well I read all lyrics written about Jaywalker from MagKnits and wondered how come that is such a popular sock since it was kind of similar to the green sock. So I decided to give it a try, and the result is, I hate knitting it! It has been three weeks now and I am working on the gusset of the second sock and I Hate it, Hate it! I must be a freek of somekind since everyone else seems to love it. Well I wan't to finnish this unloved socks cause I can't have more UFO's in this house. I expext them to be done by next week, It takes time when I don't enjoy my knitting. They look good though, I like the finnished sock.
So next post will be about the Jaywalkers by Mitz.

Must dye for colors.

I have for a long time had dyes at home, actually very long time, but not been dyeing at all until I read about dyeing in the microwave. I did some test autumn 2005 but they did not end up 100% satisfactory to me. Now I found a new approach on the microwave dyeing that I just have to try:

* Knit up a fabric with the yarn you wan't to dye.
* Soak it in water with some vinegar(ättika).
* Apply colors using the knitted fabrik as canvas.
* Micro.
* Wash.
* Dry.
* Unravel.
* Knit the yarn to your final product.

For more and visual bloggs and websites about this start here:
Bithes blogg(Check November 2005 postings done 15th and 22nd)
MACHINE KNITTING TO DYE FOR
Woven Thoughts

Well thats all for now, No pictures today

But,
I'll be back...

In LOVE!!!

My very first sweater to myself made on the BKM are ready. I knitted it in tourquise Opal Uni and made the edges in purple Opal Uni. On the edges I tried for the first time to knit I-cord and although I am not so happy with the hem of the body and the arms:

The neckline I-cord is perfect!

I had pinned the sweater on the floor on the night to monday so I went up early to remove the pins and I just had to wear the sweater to work and I walked as on clouds, I felt as if being in love. I just love this sweater with it's flaws and now I have to make another one because wearing it was like heaven and I feel addicted, I need more Opal sweaters.

The most surprising thing is that I did not even use 500g tourquise and I am a full sixe XXL person! This means I can knit double as many sweaters as I had bought yarn to knit. In the future I have to limit myself and buy less of each yarn not to end up with so much extra. I did the pattern myself and to fit my figure and I love the fit. Only one thing should be corrected before knitting the next one, make even steeper shoulders to avoid the access cloth at the front arms.

Orange!!!

Ahhh, I have recived some more yarn. This time from Martinas Bastel- & Hobbykiste. I just don't seem to be able to controle myself when yarn is involved. This time I was surprised mysef of the yarns that I recived. I had ordered 400g of orange Trekking and 100g of green Regia, and 100g of somekind of turquise striped yarn. No blue! No purple! You might wonder if I by any chance are ill but no, I am not. The little one likes yellow and orange and I am going to make him more sweaters on my Brother Knitting Mashine.