Sock yarn at Liedl

Could sock yarn from Liedl be any good? The content and yarn weight is the same as in Trekking, Opal, Regia...

I had to buy a Package just to try it out. The yarn was quite popular since they got the yarn in yesterday and there were only one colourway and 3 packages left when I came in today.

For those of you that do not know about Liedl: It is a german low budget chain of stores that get special offers in twice every week. Their plan is that what they get in should leave the shelfes asap so they keep a rather low price and when gone they might not have that product again.

Garter all over again.

Since last year I have knitted several projects in garter stitch. I used to hate garter stitch so what has happened? Well garter has it's advantages. it is stretchy, and the edges will not roll. I have found many interesting patterns using garter that has been very interesting too me. My garter fever started last summer when I found a jacket on drops pages knitted in their sock yarn. As my sock yarn stash is extensive I fast found some Opal Magic that I purchased a couple of years ago. Two months later I was done and quite happy with the end result.

This July it was time to again start a large Garter stitch project. This time it was a garter stitch skirt that cought my interest. I have however been a bit taken back by the project when the yarn I have used had been used before and the first used ball of yarn gave a completely different gauge so I will have to cut away 30cm from the beginning.

To boost my spirit I decided to try a different angle on making socks. I bought at the knitting symposium in Norway last year a leaflet fo Krija Kongsbak where they had a sock knitted sideways.
Look here is my first sock before I have seamed the sides together:

And here is the first sock after sides was connected:

Next I will have to try sideways knitted gloves in garter and maybe some multidirectional garter garments will sneek in among the WIP's too...

Yarn diet

This year has been a very productive year, I have knitted and completed more projects than ever before and many far more complex and larger than the years before. One of the goals I have been working toward is to slim down my stash. Do not get me wrong, I love my stash but I feel a bit crowded. I really need to free some space so that the family can move around freely and get some drawers to other stuff.

I have during the spring knitted two dresses, two skirts, one summer cardi, a pair of socks and two hats for me and a cardigan for the little one. I have completed two UFO's one jumper and a pair of gloves.

I have been very good, avoiding the yarnstore and not ordered yarns from online. Pleased with myself I assumed that now I must have been able to at least match the knitting with the speed I aquire yarn. Well one of the dresses I did purchase yarn for and since I had some left I "had" to purchase more of the same dyelot to be able to complete one more project of this. And then summer came and I visited Kampes Spinneri and Daisy Design in Gothenburg and suddenly I had purchased almost the same amount that had been knitted, Ugh!

What we can learn from this is that yarndiet is just as hard as an ordinary diet. You controle yourself for months but then make a few misstakes and most of your efforts are undone. The difference with the yarndiet is however that you have some beatiful FO(Finnished Objects) to make you happier and the added weight will one day also turn in to some beatiful FO that will make you happy both during their creations and after.

Time to wake up!

Ok, I have been knitting, I really have. And I have tried to be active on Ravelry but lately it seems I log in to ravelry just to try to find some action but I do not. I joined a KAL at Ravelry and it seems I am the only one actively knitting at the moment.

The project is Rosalind and here is my latest picture(2 days old) of my version.


I am now done with the frons and back, first arm is 2" and growing.

I will try to be more active here at my blog. Ravelry is fun but I can express myself differently here on the blog soo, in the future less time at ravelry and more on the blog.

Rip-it, rip-it, rip-it

I know, and we all know that when your project starts to feel wrong something most definatlely is wrong!

Knowing this I was so eager to finish my almost ready "holiday-project" that even though I knew that the neckline would not work I continued until it was time to cast off.
The neckline was and still is, the last and only thing left to do.
I had to rip it, I started a second neckline, I knew it was not a good one but continued and then ripped it. And then... ... and ripped it!

This time I will make it properly and make it work. I hope I will be ready and have a new camera to document for all of you a FO by the weekend.

Stay tuned!

Holiday knitting and yarn, yarn, yarn.

After The Nordic knitting symposium in Joensuu it was time for holiday. I had planned to do a lot of knitting and get some FO but I have only produced a lot of test swatches and started with 5-6 different things none is close to be finished and some may never become a FO.

On our yearly trip home to Sweden I visited for the first time Kampes Ullspinneri in Ullervad just outside Mariestad. Every time we go to Sweden we pass through Ullervad on our way to visit my now 93 year old grandma. I have known about the spinnery for years but this was my first visit to their shop but I can assure you not my last. What I like especially is their crochet cotton. They have 200 gram balls in a many colors and a few different weights.

This is the kind of yarn I started to knit with some 25 years ago since it was very affordable then and still is today and procuces a nice fabric with 3mm needles.
And Kampes have two different lilac colors in my liking, I bought 600gram in color 686 and then one hank of laceweight combed wool 20/2 in color 218.
Kampes webpage is an disaster, really, but you can find the yarns there and you can order by writing an e-mail to them. No prices is given for the yarns on the webpages but as you can see on my picture especially the cottons are very affordable.

On our way home we took a slightly longer route to be able to visit Tapion Kauppa only 100km from where I live it could very well be the largest yarn shop in Finland but I was not in the mood but still 600gram of purple alpaca yarn from garnstudio and 500gram white bamboo yarn from Novita came home with me from there.

Nordic Knitting Symposium in Joensuu part 1

I spent last week in Joensuu at the Nordic Knitting Symposium. I have a lot to tell but no time. I have bags to unpack, clothes to wash and bags to pack.

I took four workshops:
I saw amazing knitting:
 

 
 
I met old and new fiends:
  

We went to the top of the world:

Dyening some yarn

A friend of mine Celebrated her birthday last week. As she is an amazing lace knitter I purchased two hanks of Merino Oro that I knitted together on the knitting mashine dyed
and unravelled as I have described in a previous post.  
My friend likes blue and red and this is how the balls of yarn looked when ready to be wrapped in gift wrapping.


I was worried my friend would not like the yarn but I had no reason to, she loved it and I am happy.

New inspiration - New sweater

These flowers are so pretty.

I have been swatching for a forgetmenot sweater. The real thing is the summer holiday knitting and has been on the needles for three weeks.

I'll get back to you on this one after the holiday.

Bobopido - Finally done.

This top has taken more time than entisipated and I am so satisfied to have made it to the end.

I have knitted it from the top the Barbara Walker way with set in sleeves.  
Short rows has was added at the bust for more fabric over the boobs.
Under the bust I decreased 1/6 th of the stiches.
side shaping and some shaping at the pack to avoid the fabric to ride up at the back.

A few shortrows added at the back at the waist and then shortrows was added at the back before the edge was knitted.
Finally after the edge was cast off a crouched picot edge was added.

yarn: doubled crouche yarn from the stash
needles: 3mm addi
gauge: 28*39 10cm

The sweater would be more flattering if I had not decreased so much under the bust, a bit more ease would have made the fabric follow my figure more losely.

Bobopido - On the needles

Oh my, what a picture!
Well I do wear a bra if anyone wonderes, ;) .

This is my project on the needles, as you can see. It is a Top down lace top/sweater with set in sleeves knitted at the same time. Yarn is a doubled crouche cotton bought in 200gram skeins. The pattern is my own and is changed all along the way. I have been working on this one for 3-4 weeks and hope to complete it before the end of May, I have actually finnished one of the 3/4 long arms and started on the second but have not taken a more recent picture.

Arisaig - Completed!

I did finnish the arisaig weeks ago and have been using it frecuently but still I have good pictures so here is what I have:

As I have mentioned before it is not much left of the original pattern in my version, the similarities are the stichpattern and the wrap.
Pattern: Arisaig *
Yarn: King Cole Antitickle one 500gram cone
Needles: 3mm addi Turbo
Changes: No Ribbing, the clevage is higher up, shortrows for the bust, Lengthened the body 5cm, slimmed down the arms a few inches. Pearl stiched hems.
What I would do differently next time: Use 3.25mm needles, after use the blocking disapears and the garment becomes to short and the fabric becomes "bumpy" as it was preblocked. I would also add 10cm more on the body length.

My little helper

I have a very eager little helper from time to time:

See the concentration he puts in to the winding.

Finally the sweater in domino knitting for the little helper is done and all loose ends fastened and cut off. I thought I would never get it done. It is one and a half years since I started to knit it and I am so happy to finally have it off my needles and stop feeling guilty about it.

Yarn: Sisu and Lanett
Needles: 3mm
Pattern: My own.

I find the pickupedges to be rather thick and the sweater very heavy due to the garter stitch in the domino squares. Now it's just to see if the little one ever will wear it! I have tried to have him trying it on it during the process but it has been a struggle.

Lacy Summer Socks

I started to knit these socks a year ago. I do not know why they have taken this long to complete since I like the yarn, I like the pattern and they were very fast to complete.

I have knitted a pair of socks in this pattern before but it seems I forgott to put post about them or at least I can'f find them in my archive right now.
I bound off the socks before cristmas, it just took some months to dig out the needle and darn the ends in. I have not been in a hurry since these socks have so many holes in them that they are not suitable for winterwear where I live and even if spring is starting to show, it will not be warm enough for another 2 months.

"New" socks on my feet.

Finally a couple of months after I took these socks off the needles thay I have darned in the yarn ends.
It took me ~10minutes or less.

Yarn: 7-veljestä handpainted by me
Needles: 3.5mm Knitpicks Options
Pattern: My own

The socks are started from the toes. 
Pattern is a *k2, p2* rib and a small twist on the k2 every fourth row to hold the rib together better.

This yarn is one of my failures in handpainting but still The colors are ok and I do need more socks. I do prefer varigated yarns that are more peacefull.

Painting yarn - New technique

When you want to make a garment where the colours slowly move in to each other and not have a repetitive colour sequence you might want to try the following technique out.

I have seen this technique on a few blogs and have had the idea to use it in the back of my head for a year or more now. One evening I decided it was time to activate the idea.

This technique is perfect for lace shawls knitted in triangular or squares knitted from the middle and out. Since complicated knitted lace could be completely hidden in variegated yarns and sharp colour contrasts this technique is a good way to colour up your lace.

Knit up a plain fabric of all the yarn you will need to complete your garment.

Wash the fabric carefully not to felt it, rinse and use a little white vinegar in the rinse water. Press out all excessive water.

Protect yourself and the painting area with latex gloves and plastic cover. Mix colors and spread out the damp fabric on the painting area.

Here you see my fabric spread out on my kitchen table, brushes and dyes waiting.

If you are concerned where the colours will come in your garment you need to make calculations. But otherwise just take out the dyes and the brushes and start painting. I had just a vague plan in my head and painted the fabric according to this.

Remember always use the colours that makes you tingle.

Paint the fabric roughly following the rows. The dyes can be slightly uneven applied, some will even out and the rest will add an interesting effect in the knitted garment to be. Let the colour changes be a bit uneven to make them slowly grow into each other. Sharp colour contrasts painted perfectly following the rows will make sharp colour changes in the knitted garment to be.

When you are done with the painting roll the fabric together vertically so that the same color is placed on the same place through the roll. If you do not want the colors to bleed, wrap the roll in plastic.

Put the role in a micowave safe container. Here I have rolled the role in the glass utensil specially purchased for dyeing.

Put on the lid of the container and place the container with the damp/wet fabric in the microwave. Turn the microwave on full effect for 3-5 minutes, until the water in the wet fabric is close to the boiling point.

Let the container rest in the microwave for 10 minutes and turn the microwave on again to rice the temperature up to the boiling point. Let the fabric rest another 10 minutes before rising the temperature up again.

Cover the container with some old towels and let the fabric slowly cool down. The longer cooling down period the better the colours bite on the fibers.

Here is my cooled down fabric ready to be washed to remove any traces of dyes left in the fabric.

Wash and rinse the fabric carefully. Remember too much agitation will felt the wool. Be careful!

Below is my washed and dried fabric. As the observant viewer will notice the colour has bled and into each other due to me not wrapping the role in plastic. The colours have also evened out some of the unevenness and the transitions between the colours have softened up.

Now it's time to rip out the fabric and wind it to a ball or a hank.

Below is my ready yarn on a ball.

This is the end of this story for now. The yarn has been added to my stash of yarns that needs to be used. Hopefully I will soon find the perfect project for this yarn.

Increasing amount of projects started.

I do not seem to be able to stop myself. I am just at the finnishing line with both my version of Arisaig and the sweater for the little one and what do I do?

I am starting new projects every day (Well almost)!

A new pair of socks for me in Trekking Nature, in color 1605.

A pair of socks for the littleone in Rellana sockenwolle color dunkelpastel.

And yesterday night a new sweater for the little one.
Look:

It is a Sasha Kagan Design published in the English magazine "Knitting" August 2006, I am using Drops Alpaca.

We, or rather my husband, have a small, very small, red sailing boat and DH and the little one likes to go sailing in the summer so I thought this sweater pattern could be changed to fit a child.

I am not so happy with the Intarsia part, and that is a big part of this pattern, I find that the articles I have on Intarsia in magazines and online mainly describe the very basic of intarsia. Like this boats sails and mast, should you use 2 white threads, one for each sail? should I make the mast with Intarsia or embrodery it later? and how do you carry the yarn along when a color moves many stiches away?

I thought I was an advanced knitter but now I feel like a beginner, like being snapped on my fingers for having to high thoughts about my knitting ability. Well there you see, one shall be humble...

Other things that has been on my needles lately is a bunch of swatches. I am thinking lace and beads, beads and lace and lace, lace, lace...

Would it not be nice if I finnished something soon?

A UFO back on the needles.

Those of you that have read my bog during my rare posts and that has an excellent memory might remember a sketch of a sweater for my son in domino/patchwork knitting. The sweater has been a UFO for so long that I was afraid my son would have outgrown it but no, I think it still will fit him.
I have started the arms now and should be able to finish it during next week.



I do not like to knit this technique, I dont get any rythm into it, all this turning makes the knitting fractioned and feels very slow.

Arm / swatch

I realy wanted to do something that would knit upp fast after arisaig so I used some heavy yarn and 6mm needles and started on a arm for a lace cardigan.

I should have made a sample! the gauge is realy off 16stiches over pattern should be 4 inches but on the arm 16stiches were 5 inches. What to do? Abandon the project? recalculate the pattern?

I have not decided yet.

Arisaig - All parts done

finally!

It took me three months to do the knitting, I thought it would never end and I was so afraid to start something new. Starting something new usually leads to the current project becoming a UFO and I really want my arisaig.

Well the knitting was finished last sunday and I washed the parts and blocked them.


So that is the fronts and back during blocking, I used some toys to fill upp the bust since I made shortrows at the bust.

It looks like I have used to few pins on the back piece, I hope it will be ok anyway. I tried to uce thin knittingneedles and circular needles to make the edges straighet and more even but I would have needed even more. I hope to find some nice blocking wires soon.
Now I have to sew all parts together and knit the neckline. When that is done I will present to you Arisaig on the modell(Me that is).