Nothing new, but something blue ;o)

There is a slow progress on my latest cardigan; the baby blue one. And the green one is still stand by. I am in lack of energy during the afternoons, despite the fact that the days are getting longer and lighter. Getting settled in my new job has dominated days and sometimes nights, but I am getting there. Going away for a few days during Easter might help me getting my knitting spirit back.

Naughty Knitter

The title of todays post is referring to the "promise" I made in my last post: I would rip and redo the green cardie before posting anything else. Well. I misbehaved! I finished this Noro Coucharon vest instead. Actually, I double-misbehaved, as I did not make this thingy into a long sleeved jacket as planned. To make a nice sleeve joint I would have to make the body smaller, or narrower. As it is now, the shoulders/arm holes hangs a few inches down my upper arm. At the knitting café last week, we decided I should have a go for a short sleeved jacket, using the last few yards of the Noro yarn to knit up stitches and add a couple of inches around the arm holes, forming little sleeves. This is the result - but I am not sure this garment will survive for long... the yarn is far too precious to end as a little used garment. I said "little used" on purpose, as I do plan to use it a bit to see if I like wearing it enough to justify NOT ripping it

Soooo fuzzzzy

Here we go again... the Noro Kocharon has been teamed up with Miski (100 % baby lama!) + some DK alpaca and will soon be adding to my growingly significant collection of cardigans! More details and photos later. To make the chronology right I will really have to get a grip and do the rip (irresistible rhyme there) of the Good Greens from last month, finish it (again) and post FO-photos of that one before I complete this one ;o)

Hat # 10 2008

This was the last hat of 2008, brought all the way to Australia for my darling to receive on xmas day. Not that he needed a wool hat to keep warm! (And yes, he also got a few bush hats as well - appropriate for the season!). The yarn is some vintage Rowan classic tweed. I think. Can´t remember what the tag said. It required 2,5 mm needles to give a good gauge. Every wash - or heavy snow fall - makes it softer and softer, so this has been a favourite since we got back home in January. Simple stripes are pimped up by the classic cabled rib.

PS - I am wearing my green cardigan today - and it is unfortunately failing the test because of some less than perfect construction on my part. So I guess there will be some rippin´ tonight! Stay tuned and have a great weekend :o)

Good Greens!

The georgious green alpaca (Inca) is turning into a nice cardigan - and it knits up quicker than I would have thought, with a slightly irregular stitch pattern and all. Needles 3 mm makes a very nice gauge - dense enough for not to wear anything under it and loose enough to give a very soft and light fabric. I will be back with a FO soon!

Hot stuff!

Some of the Nanuk alpaca from last post has come to use as birthday presents for R. I hope she will enjoy wearing these toasty little garments! The neck warmer can be worn in different ways using the buttons to create the shape of the collar. All the pieces are trimmed with a simple crochet border (Inca alpaca).

New beginnings!

January was such a good yarn month! I stumbled across a sale at a LYS, and I added looooouds of soft, yummy yarn to my stash! And as usual during winter; blurry photos due to lack of light. True colours before sharpness ;o) Like this very pale and very beautiful baby blue Inca alpaca... ...a single ball of petrol Nanuk alpaca, shown here with its perfect match... ...vibrant green Inca alpaca, turning unto a yet another raglan cardie. Stay tuned for progress reports! Hot pink Nanuk alpaca... ...different pink and grey shades of Inca and Nanuk alpaca... ...purple Nanuk alpaca and lilac Inca alpaca. The whole lot; 1,1 kg Inca Akpaca and 800 g of Nanuk alpaca. No idle hands during February!!!

The Serpent

First of all: thank you for all the nice comments on the Big Grey! It was fun to design, fairly quick to knit and it is a dream to wear, so I am very pleased :o)

There were leftovers from the Big Gey, and I had this desire for another nice ruffled scarf (inspired from a very beautiful one that Supernøtt gave me a couple of years ago). So I cast on a large number of stitches and increased and increased and increased and finally cast off all thousands and thousands of stitches using some black wool - and it turned out my scarf was more than two meter long... meaning it will end up as a strangeling tangle. So I sewed it together "back to back" and it ended up as a wearable and TOASTY ruffled serpent!

May I present: The Big Grey!

Here it is, my beloved Big Grey! It was finished during the first week of December and I practically moved into it as soon as the last end was woven in. So no it has more or less adapted to my body shape, as you can see in the pictures :o) The window backlight also describes the very light and airy quality of the garment - ah, it is wonderful! Pattern: my own, with simple and more complicated plaits/cables Yarn: 450 g Mohair Lux Needles: 5 mm circulars

Scarf for Princess

A few hours on the train & a new scarf for Princess is ready to wear! The yarn was bought in Rome

Happy New Year! At last...

I´ve been busy doing nothing for weeks ;0) We had a superb holiday down under! Thank you so much, M-family, for having us and for making our stay truly wonderful and unforgettable :0) The little vest is the first FO of 2009, and it was made for MM just before we left. The pattern was kind of created along the way, inspired by the traditional Norwegian patterns. I hope it will still fit when fall reaches you, M! The yarn is vintage Peer Gynt (100 % wool); leftovers from Mr. EMs knitting escapade during the 80s.

Pink Scarf

Finally blocked & finally enough daylight to get a half decent photo of this scarf... I spent the remaining Manos del Uruguay 100 % merino from hat # 7 (picture below) so now I have a matching hat and scarf. Pretty pretty in pink! Just like the hat (#7) the scarf was knit on 6 mm needles, and the pattern is a 2 x 2 rib with a narrow plait over the k2 stitches. The length is around 140 cm; just enough to keep my neck cozy and warm!

PS: The pirat hat from last entry was based on the free "They call them pirats" pattern (try googling it and you´ll find the free pattern). I just separated one repeat and knit that piece on dpns and the rest of the hat in the round.

Hat # 8 & 9

I had no idea I would produce this many hats during 2008! # 10 is on the needles... And if I count the baby hats in...! Well, it´s a few. These two are knit up from Debbie Bliss soft cotton. The photos make the colours look even duller than they do in RL, but trust me; the hats look quite cool when worn ;o)

The big grey is veeeeery close to being finished and there is also a pink scarf laying around waiting to be blogged. I hope to post a couple of times more before I go away for 3 weeks from December 16th. And my personal wish/aim for 2009...? Make more hats, maybe?? Well, I could wish for more time, but time is an abstract. Time can not be produced. It can only be spent. So my wish and aim is to spend as much as possible of my time on whatever feels rewarding and meaningful. The remaining time I will fill with meaning as best as I can. This demands a very rare and hard achieved skill: the ability to make wise choices and right decisions. AND the will and courage to say "yes" and "no" at the right time. This is the direction I choose for my heart, soul and mind.

Time flies!

I am most certainly alive and kicking - my level of activity in real life is incredibly high but not very blogable. There has been some knitting going on too and I will post some of it as soon as I have the photos ready. Being so busy AND waiting for daylight to photograph is not the best combination, but stay tuned! The Big Gray is about 2/3 done - maybe I can sew the buttons on during this weekend?

Swatching for the Big Grey

This is the first and last swatch for a new raglan I am working on. The idea was to design an intriguing but simple construction for a long cardigan for me. I was looking for the right yarn for several weeks and ended up with the frog-unfriendly Mohair Lux and realised I will have to save my cool construction for another project and another yarn quality (read: a smooth, fuzz free one) in case I have to rip some of it in the process of turning my clever design idea into an equally clever garment... Even though I had pictured a solid coloured simple wool I love the subtle colour changes in this deep, bluish grey. On 5 mm needles it knits up as a light, soft fabric. I have been browsing the web, my knitting books, fashion stores and knitting magazines for pretty plaits and so far I am happy with my choices. This swatch is just that. The interesting celtic-like plaits will be revealed in later entries so stay tuned!

Signs of the season

These pretty purls and pearls and drops and stripes were made by the morning dew on my window, late October ...and the sweet rose hip hearts were easy and qiuck to make. They greet us and our guests as we come and go.

Shetland Silky Triangle

The Triangle in all its glory in back light

The big, beautiful Shetland Triangle is finally blocked and dry and ready to wear! I am actually wearing it right now and it feels wooooonderfully soft and cozy. It measures 88 cm from the top/neck to the point, and 176 cm across the shoulder/neck. Thank you so much for the pattern, Supernøtt :o)

Simple but beautiful pattern

The colours are quite accurate in these photos, but the yellow is a bit richer and a tad more green in RL. The yarn is the Italian Filatura di Crosa WAVE which contains of 75% wool and 25% silk