... newer stories
Thursday, 4. May 2006
FO*2
knitting_keeps_me_sane, 13:02h
Whoa!
Watch this, two Finished objects within two days - though It took me 4 days to knit the Grey Stole :-)
I mentioned a pink/grey yarn yesterday. It was so tempting that I knit it up into a smallish scarf.
(I may take a non-blocking picture later and edit this post) EDIT - now with Better Picture(Edit number two: I donated this scarf to a Tombola June 10, 2006, and it was won by a lovely lady expressing pure joy and wrapping it around her neck immediately even though it was almost 30 degrees celsius)
I wrote up the "pattern" I used: handspunscarf (rtf, 1 KB) . Enjoy!
Furthermore, blocking finally commenced on the Grey Stole (From Hell), which can be seen unblocked here:
Blocked, it came out to 6 feet, which pleases me. I did, however, only lay it smooth and stretch a bit - mostly lengtwise. If I were to wash it again and block it aggressively with pins, it would grow both lenght and widthwise.
Recap on this project: I would *not* recommend this for a beginner, even though it uses big needles and fat yarn (DK - thats fat in lace knitting terms). the chart is hard to read, and I had to enlarge it 250% and draw some reference lines on it to be able to knit it without ripping all the time.
I am still pondering if I will fringe it - maybe, but then it would be a short, delicate fringe, not the deep knotted one in the pattern.
While I was taking pictures in the garden our Iceland Sheep-dog, Freki, came about and was very interested in what I was doing.
Because he is such a beautifull cutie, I present the "Blocked picture":
Dog With Shawl!
Watch this, two Finished objects within two days - though It took me 4 days to knit the Grey Stole :-)
I mentioned a pink/grey yarn yesterday. It was so tempting that I knit it up into a smallish scarf.
(I may take a non-blocking picture later and edit this post) EDIT - now with Better Picture(Edit number two: I donated this scarf to a Tombola June 10, 2006, and it was won by a lovely lady expressing pure joy and wrapping it around her neck immediately even though it was almost 30 degrees celsius)
I wrote up the "pattern" I used: handspunscarf (rtf, 1 KB) . Enjoy!
Furthermore, blocking finally commenced on the Grey Stole (From Hell), which can be seen unblocked here:
Blocked, it came out to 6 feet, which pleases me. I did, however, only lay it smooth and stretch a bit - mostly lengtwise. If I were to wash it again and block it aggressively with pins, it would grow both lenght and widthwise.
Recap on this project: I would *not* recommend this for a beginner, even though it uses big needles and fat yarn (DK - thats fat in lace knitting terms). the chart is hard to read, and I had to enlarge it 250% and draw some reference lines on it to be able to knit it without ripping all the time.
I am still pondering if I will fringe it - maybe, but then it would be a short, delicate fringe, not the deep knotted one in the pattern.
While I was taking pictures in the garden our Iceland Sheep-dog, Freki, came about and was very interested in what I was doing.
Because he is such a beautifull cutie, I present the "Blocked picture":
Dog With Shawl!
... link
Thursday, 4. May 2006
Yarn in the mail!
knitting_keeps_me_sane, 00:23h
Sometimes the mailman brings very unexpected things in the mail, like this skein of yarn. When I found the padded envelope in the mail my first thought was "SOCKS"!!
No socks, but a little handspun skein from a danish spinning aquintace. My mother had bought some large cones of silk yarn for plying on Ebay.de, and this lady bought one. To save the postage I delivered it to her when I was in the town anyways - and now she sent me this yarn.
Who would have expected someone to be so kind and send yarnto someone just playing the courier?
This is one ply natural grey alpaca and one ply pink dyed corriedale - it is sooooft, and shines wonderfully. My quick-and-dirty-skein-measuring came out to 110 yards, roughly sock/sport(?) weight.
Lacking a quick-and-simple project because I am procrastinating my Samus Sleeve, yesterday I cast(ed?) on for a skinny simple scarf and will knit until I run out of yarn, which should be soon.
Have a nice day
Lene
... link
Tuesday, 2. May 2006
Going Grey
knitting_keeps_me_sane, 16:47h
Progress is counted in feet here, not in inches!
Cross your fingers that this will be done in 20 hours.
Have a nice day
Lene
... link
Monday, 1. May 2006
Wonderfully vintage
knitting_keeps_me_sane, 20:17h
I presented Wumses sweaters in a previous post, and now I would like to show this little treasure he gave to me a few months ago.
There are three of these, with a fourth all ready to be sewn together. They are Hand Sewn! It impressed the heck out of me, even though I teoretically knew that all the "original" blankets were hand sewn, I didnt really appreciate this fact.
I like to call the colour sceme "80's Pink*... Very girly, so I will be offsetting it with some black and grey :P
I took some nice close-ups of the fabrics - I like them a lot.
I know for sure that they are pre-89, and have kind of worked out how they might have been planned to be put together because the quilter had even made the strips to go between the squares - 1.20 x 1.70, or thereabouts - a smallish, girly quilt. I briefly considered doing it that way until I discovered that there was no more left of one of the fabrics.
My mother, who is very much into quilting, and I made a kind-of plan today for these squares, since Wumse didnt want me to piece it together and give it back to him.
The plan (at the moment) is to sew the last square together and arrange them in a 2 by 8 grid, alternating a plain square with a patterned one, seperating in the middle with a wide-ish stripe with wolves on it :-) The large plain squares should have a quilt motif on them then, which would be echoed in a way smaller scale in the middle of the patterned squares.
Since I am so into horses at the moment, I considered quilting a horse, a helmet, a horseshoe etc. :-)
I do know that "Stuff Is Taking Over My Blog", but hey... I never claimed that I was following any kind of clear agenda!
Just to show that I can still knit:
The Stupid Shawl, now with larger and improved chart making life easier for me, but still hard to knit. Grows just beautifully though, and if I finish the second motif tonight happiness will abound. (There are 4 motifs total).
There are three of these, with a fourth all ready to be sewn together. They are Hand Sewn! It impressed the heck out of me, even though I teoretically knew that all the "original" blankets were hand sewn, I didnt really appreciate this fact.
I like to call the colour sceme "80's Pink*... Very girly, so I will be offsetting it with some black and grey :P
I took some nice close-ups of the fabrics - I like them a lot.
I know for sure that they are pre-89, and have kind of worked out how they might have been planned to be put together because the quilter had even made the strips to go between the squares - 1.20 x 1.70, or thereabouts - a smallish, girly quilt. I briefly considered doing it that way until I discovered that there was no more left of one of the fabrics.
My mother, who is very much into quilting, and I made a kind-of plan today for these squares, since Wumse didnt want me to piece it together and give it back to him.
The plan (at the moment) is to sew the last square together and arrange them in a 2 by 8 grid, alternating a plain square with a patterned one, seperating in the middle with a wide-ish stripe with wolves on it :-) The large plain squares should have a quilt motif on them then, which would be echoed in a way smaller scale in the middle of the patterned squares.
Since I am so into horses at the moment, I considered quilting a horse, a helmet, a horseshoe etc. :-)
I do know that "Stuff Is Taking Over My Blog", but hey... I never claimed that I was following any kind of clear agenda!
Just to show that I can still knit:
The Stupid Shawl, now with larger and improved chart making life easier for me, but still hard to knit. Grows just beautifully though, and if I finish the second motif tonight happiness will abound. (There are 4 motifs total).
... link
Sunday, 30. April 2006
There is magic in knitting.
knitting_keeps_me_sane, 01:56h
Now, I think we all know that there is magic in knitting - each in our way have we discovered the magic knitting holds for us, and the ones we love. Not trying to proclaim that knitting is "The One and Only", but...
In olden days, knitting could be a way of supporting ones family. Just this fact alone makes me stand in awe at anyone who knits, and loves it.
Knitting produces wearable objects of sticks, string and imagination - it creates art, hardworking clothing, irrestible lacework and soothing comfort all with just a change of material, mindset, and way of working stitches.
There is magic in the repetetive movement of the needles and yarn, from the back to the front and back again, round and round (or back and forth), hundreds of times, repeating the same movement infinitely. 4000 times for a hat, 13000 times for a sock, 60000 for a shawl, 80000 for a sweater. Imagine doing the same thing at work 4000 times one day, and the imagine knitting a simple hat. Now, will you believe me when I say that a knitter is almost unbearable patient? maybe you dont think of yourself that way, but think of all those stitches and tell me one other branch of handicraft, except for crocheters, who could stand doing the same motion again.. again... again... 4000 times one evening. Amazing.
Knitting is a ever-growing web of linked loops that will unravel easily if you find the right end, but is strong and flexible if you dont... and you very rarely will.
Much in the way of a family, or a friendship - everything can be unravelled, but even though it is unravelled it will never be the same again, the yarn will have kinks and show what it used to be - be it sweater or close friend.
There is magic in the talent displayed by the knitters - the unimaginable variety of different patterns created just by knitting, purling, making extra stitches and crossing stitches. Try to examine two garments knit by two different knitters, with the same yarn, the same needles and yarn - they will not be the same, nor could the ever be, which leads me to...
Knitting is magic because it is the act of someone weaving their caring and thinking into a garment which is a rare thing in our modern world - hundreds of years ago the making of an elaborate shirt or other article of clothing could mean en exclamation of love and affection, or even the promise of marriage. Still today knitting elaborate presents is linked to Love and affection, just think about the "Boyfriend Sweater Curse" - knitting a sweater for your sweetie as the sure way to scare him off? Maybe, or maybe as a sure way to show your affection and love for him in a way that may very well last forever if carefully stored and looked after.
I did alot of thinking about it while knitting the "White Stole" which has now been dubbed the "Bad-ass pattern from Hell", because the chart is not easy to knit from - Very small, very crowded, and has no help lines, as well as only numbers on one side of the row. I only got around 40 rows knit today, probably because I had to recheck every row at least 5 times to be sure I was doing it right.
I like this stole and will knit it because the yarn is un-rippable, and bestow magic also on this piece of knitting, bestow magic on the recipient and on myself, the giving and very capable knitter. I dont say that about myself a lot and really BELIEVE in it, but it MUST be true when I look at the things I have knit through the years.
I will wear my brown handspun alpaca stole tomorrow, publically, for the first time ever! I think it will look smashing over my light pink tee and denim shirt. Paired with black boots!
I think we all need a bit of black in our lives :-)
Have a nice day
Lene
In olden days, knitting could be a way of supporting ones family. Just this fact alone makes me stand in awe at anyone who knits, and loves it.
Knitting produces wearable objects of sticks, string and imagination - it creates art, hardworking clothing, irrestible lacework and soothing comfort all with just a change of material, mindset, and way of working stitches.
There is magic in the repetetive movement of the needles and yarn, from the back to the front and back again, round and round (or back and forth), hundreds of times, repeating the same movement infinitely. 4000 times for a hat, 13000 times for a sock, 60000 for a shawl, 80000 for a sweater. Imagine doing the same thing at work 4000 times one day, and the imagine knitting a simple hat. Now, will you believe me when I say that a knitter is almost unbearable patient? maybe you dont think of yourself that way, but think of all those stitches and tell me one other branch of handicraft, except for crocheters, who could stand doing the same motion again.. again... again... 4000 times one evening. Amazing.
Knitting is a ever-growing web of linked loops that will unravel easily if you find the right end, but is strong and flexible if you dont... and you very rarely will.
Much in the way of a family, or a friendship - everything can be unravelled, but even though it is unravelled it will never be the same again, the yarn will have kinks and show what it used to be - be it sweater or close friend.
There is magic in the talent displayed by the knitters - the unimaginable variety of different patterns created just by knitting, purling, making extra stitches and crossing stitches. Try to examine two garments knit by two different knitters, with the same yarn, the same needles and yarn - they will not be the same, nor could the ever be, which leads me to...
Knitting is magic because it is the act of someone weaving their caring and thinking into a garment which is a rare thing in our modern world - hundreds of years ago the making of an elaborate shirt or other article of clothing could mean en exclamation of love and affection, or even the promise of marriage. Still today knitting elaborate presents is linked to Love and affection, just think about the "Boyfriend Sweater Curse" - knitting a sweater for your sweetie as the sure way to scare him off? Maybe, or maybe as a sure way to show your affection and love for him in a way that may very well last forever if carefully stored and looked after.
I did alot of thinking about it while knitting the "White Stole" which has now been dubbed the "Bad-ass pattern from Hell", because the chart is not easy to knit from - Very small, very crowded, and has no help lines, as well as only numbers on one side of the row. I only got around 40 rows knit today, probably because I had to recheck every row at least 5 times to be sure I was doing it right.
I like this stole and will knit it because the yarn is un-rippable, and bestow magic also on this piece of knitting, bestow magic on the recipient and on myself, the giving and very capable knitter. I dont say that about myself a lot and really BELIEVE in it, but it MUST be true when I look at the things I have knit through the years.
I will wear my brown handspun alpaca stole tomorrow, publically, for the first time ever! I think it will look smashing over my light pink tee and denim shirt. Paired with black boots!
I think we all need a bit of black in our lives :-)
Have a nice day
Lene
... link
Wednesday, 26. April 2006
What would YOU do?
knitting_keeps_me_sane, 17:37h
Say, you got this soft soft creamy wool/silk blend that you spun yourself. You have tried to take a picture of it, but the weather gods do not cooperate meaning you only have a gloomy and dark shot. (or 15 of them).
Now, this yarn is destined for a smallish stole / largeish scarf (The large-gauged white stole in my previous post), even though it probably is more than a tad too thin (Meaning my yarn weighs under 4 ounces while the specified yarn weighs in at 6 ounces).
Now, my original plan was to dye it grey-and-pink, but then I found in my stash a grey wool/alpaca blend yarn with sufficient yardage (doubled) for that stole. I thought of dyeing my yarn pink then, variegated, and knit two stoles, to offer a choise for the giftee.
But, should I:
Knit 2 stoles and dye this yarn pink,
Knit 2 stoles and keep this yarn naturally creamy, or
Just knit the grey stole and hide the other yarn for me? (I do have more of this particular fiber-blend.)
Decisions, decisions... :-/
Now, this yarn is destined for a smallish stole / largeish scarf (The large-gauged white stole in my previous post), even though it probably is more than a tad too thin (Meaning my yarn weighs under 4 ounces while the specified yarn weighs in at 6 ounces).
Now, my original plan was to dye it grey-and-pink, but then I found in my stash a grey wool/alpaca blend yarn with sufficient yardage (doubled) for that stole. I thought of dyeing my yarn pink then, variegated, and knit two stoles, to offer a choise for the giftee.
But, should I:
Knit 2 stoles and dye this yarn pink,
Knit 2 stoles and keep this yarn naturally creamy, or
Just knit the grey stole and hide the other yarn for me? (I do have more of this particular fiber-blend.)
Decisions, decisions... :-/
... link
Tuesday, 25. April 2006
New things are good things.
knitting_keeps_me_sane, 12:00h
My computer started doing funny (Read: Very Disturbing) things like going down at least 5 times a day, not opening my sites and refusing to load more than one page at one time. Understandable though, because in the past 4 years I have done nothing but to load new, weird programs on it...
It was erased 100% yesterday and I am now trying to restore it to its old "glory" (But without the crashing, please).
That was the first new thing, and the explanation for no blog entry in the past two days (Might also have something to do with that my mother had the camera with her.. sigh).
The mailman visited me too, and brought a few nice things.
I have not included my mothers 4 50-gram balls of "Merino Lace" in Caramel (3000 metres!) for the "Magical Earth Shawl" from A Gathering of Lace, because she was quick and has already hidden them somewhere.
I ordered those three books from Amazon.de. The two balls of Cobweb Weight Yarn make me sleep good at night, after having been so scared I might run out of yarn on Rosebud. I bought two extra because you never know - and I could make a baby jacket out of one ball, or a sampler scarf.
The "Sock Sisters" book scares me a bit - all that colour, all that demanding creativity, all that displaying makes me feel small and inadequate. Aspergers is very un-creative and dislikes changes, but I want those socks and those yarns, so maybe that wanting will overcome my fear of all that creativity.
The Aran book is a wonderfull resource, and fits so nicely in with my penchant for old things and genuine sources. I am not going to write a lot about it right now, but when I get around to my "Handspun Aran Project" it will be around here a lot.
I had the most fun with the lace book. (I always seem to have the most fun with lace books!)
I found things I want to make:
I started spinning for it:
This is 30% Mulberry Silk, 70% Merino, and I got it from WollKnoll. I will ply it and hope that the yarn will be somewhere near DK weight - I wont fret too much about that however. My plan is to dye the finished yarn a soft dusty pink and light grey for an elderly woman.
Now, back to the book:
There were elaborate, but yet ugly things:
There are many shawls I could imagine knitting one day too - this one because it is unusual and I know just the right recipient for it.
Are you tired yet?
Just one more picture before I stop, it is not even one I have photographed but it means a lot to me.
Four generations in our family, Greatgrandfather, Grandfather, Father and son.
Have a nice day
Lene
It was erased 100% yesterday and I am now trying to restore it to its old "glory" (But without the crashing, please).
That was the first new thing, and the explanation for no blog entry in the past two days (Might also have something to do with that my mother had the camera with her.. sigh).
The mailman visited me too, and brought a few nice things.
I have not included my mothers 4 50-gram balls of "Merino Lace" in Caramel (3000 metres!) for the "Magical Earth Shawl" from A Gathering of Lace, because she was quick and has already hidden them somewhere.
I ordered those three books from Amazon.de. The two balls of Cobweb Weight Yarn make me sleep good at night, after having been so scared I might run out of yarn on Rosebud. I bought two extra because you never know - and I could make a baby jacket out of one ball, or a sampler scarf.
The "Sock Sisters" book scares me a bit - all that colour, all that demanding creativity, all that displaying makes me feel small and inadequate. Aspergers is very un-creative and dislikes changes, but I want those socks and those yarns, so maybe that wanting will overcome my fear of all that creativity.
The Aran book is a wonderfull resource, and fits so nicely in with my penchant for old things and genuine sources. I am not going to write a lot about it right now, but when I get around to my "Handspun Aran Project" it will be around here a lot.
I had the most fun with the lace book. (I always seem to have the most fun with lace books!)
I found things I want to make:
I started spinning for it:
This is 30% Mulberry Silk, 70% Merino, and I got it from WollKnoll. I will ply it and hope that the yarn will be somewhere near DK weight - I wont fret too much about that however. My plan is to dye the finished yarn a soft dusty pink and light grey for an elderly woman.
Now, back to the book:
There were elaborate, but yet ugly things:
There are many shawls I could imagine knitting one day too - this one because it is unusual and I know just the right recipient for it.
Are you tired yet?
Just one more picture before I stop, it is not even one I have photographed but it means a lot to me.
Four generations in our family, Greatgrandfather, Grandfather, Father and son.
Have a nice day
Lene
... link
Saturday, 22. April 2006
Just because it deserves it...
knitting_keeps_me_sane, 13:32h
Did anyone notice the white sweater that was bottom-most in the other post? Huh? Nobody?
I thought so... ;-)
Because it deserves its own post, I give it now.
Wumse's Semi-Aran
Pattern: From the Ingelise Magazine, October 2004 Issue.
Yarn: Jill Natural Tweed, which is a 100% wool, superwash yarn, in natural white with flecks of what I believe is shredded brown, peach and black yarn. The sweater linked to below the yarn is one my mother knit for my little brother... in the same yarn. We have amassed quite a bunch of it now... :-) (The yarn is cheaper in 10-packs, she bought 2, I bought 2, she used 16 balls and I used 14 - both well below estimated amount ;)
Time used: I gave it to him as a christmas present in '04, and remember finishing it december 19. Two months would be a safe assumption - I had others projects going too.
Needles: Standard grey coated metal needles, in 4mm/6US
Notes on the pattern: I made the body longer, wider, and the sleves wider too. I might not have needed too, but it was not a bad decision since Wumse has, uhm, gained some weight since its completion, and even though it grew quite a lot with washing it is still nice and he uses it a lot.
My experience: It was nice to knit this sweater, but it was written for knitting it in parts - eg knit the back and front seperately, and knit the sleeves flat. I didnt want to knit it in pieces, after all it was a RAGLAN! It was not hard to convert it to round knitting, and I was so proud of me when I did the neck shaping with short rows :-) ¨
Fun trivia: I had had the intention of knitting an Aran for him for quite some time and incidentally bought a ball of the same yarn in my quest for an "Aran Yarn" (it is a DK weight) with an affordable price tag, knit a heavily cabled doll sweater vest with it, loves it and bought the 20 balls of yarn. I took a "Celtic Pattern Book" down from the shelf and decided on knitting the back in "Rice Stitch". I cast on 150 stitches, knit 4 inches rib and 3 inches Rice Stitch, examined it closer and decided: 1) I love this, 2) It is growing to be ridiculously large and 3) It eats yarn for breakfast, I might not have enough by far. I showed it to my mother who exclaimed that she 1) Loved it, 2) thought it was ridiculously large, and 3) would eat up my yarn long before I finished.
What is a woman to do in that situation? Rip, sulk, and smile when her friend calls her a few days later telling her he found a sweater he wants! I was even more delighted when I saw it used the same yarn I already had a buttload of!
Have a nice day, I think I must go down and knit :-)
Lene
I thought so... ;-)
Because it deserves its own post, I give it now.
Wumse's Semi-Aran
Pattern: From the Ingelise Magazine, October 2004 Issue.
Yarn: Jill Natural Tweed, which is a 100% wool, superwash yarn, in natural white with flecks of what I believe is shredded brown, peach and black yarn. The sweater linked to below the yarn is one my mother knit for my little brother... in the same yarn. We have amassed quite a bunch of it now... :-) (The yarn is cheaper in 10-packs, she bought 2, I bought 2, she used 16 balls and I used 14 - both well below estimated amount ;)
Time used: I gave it to him as a christmas present in '04, and remember finishing it december 19. Two months would be a safe assumption - I had others projects going too.
Needles: Standard grey coated metal needles, in 4mm/6US
Notes on the pattern: I made the body longer, wider, and the sleves wider too. I might not have needed too, but it was not a bad decision since Wumse has, uhm, gained some weight since its completion, and even though it grew quite a lot with washing it is still nice and he uses it a lot.
My experience: It was nice to knit this sweater, but it was written for knitting it in parts - eg knit the back and front seperately, and knit the sleeves flat. I didnt want to knit it in pieces, after all it was a RAGLAN! It was not hard to convert it to round knitting, and I was so proud of me when I did the neck shaping with short rows :-) ¨
Fun trivia: I had had the intention of knitting an Aran for him for quite some time and incidentally bought a ball of the same yarn in my quest for an "Aran Yarn" (it is a DK weight) with an affordable price tag, knit a heavily cabled doll sweater vest with it, loves it and bought the 20 balls of yarn. I took a "Celtic Pattern Book" down from the shelf and decided on knitting the back in "Rice Stitch". I cast on 150 stitches, knit 4 inches rib and 3 inches Rice Stitch, examined it closer and decided: 1) I love this, 2) It is growing to be ridiculously large and 3) It eats yarn for breakfast, I might not have enough by far. I showed it to my mother who exclaimed that she 1) Loved it, 2) thought it was ridiculously large, and 3) would eat up my yarn long before I finished.
What is a woman to do in that situation? Rip, sulk, and smile when her friend calls her a few days later telling her he found a sweater he wants! I was even more delighted when I saw it used the same yarn I already had a buttload of!
Have a nice day, I think I must go down and knit :-)
Lene
... link
Thursday, 20. April 2006
I knit for others, too.
knitting_keeps_me_sane, 16:23h
Sometimes a knitter asks herself: I am knitting, but for who, and why?
I know why I am knitting. I knit to keep myself occupied and keep my brain from running wild. Now, after having knit for years, I know that I also knit because I love having things I made myself and because I love giving things away (I dont, however, love the fretting out over the possibillity that they wont love my object, and the trying to make a perfect object...)
I have compiled a post with the things I have knit for "Wumse". I am modelling the sweaters while he photographed, but a 1.3Megapixel cam wont yield good pictures. "Wumse" is my best good friend and deserves every one of those knit objects - including the knit elephant from Kath Dalmenys World of Knitted Toys that is just too ugly... and the two miss-shaped pairs of socks. I want to unravel them and bury them, but he insists on keeping them - because they are love. Not everyone has so much friendship and love as he, he tells me, when he can take out the large sweaters I made him and feel the soft wool in his hands, knowing every inch passed through my hands - and many of them two or more times.
I knit him a finger puppet elephant. Sans pattern and more "love" then "art" :-)
Next up, a rabbit made from a square(!), I think I got the pattern from Heartstringsfiberart, but I know I used a 6-ply sock yarn.
Felt Elephant. Prettiest object I have ever made in felt... I love it so. It stands about 5" tall at the head.
(nearing the Juicy stuff.. hoo boy)
"KysMik" slipover from Elsebeth Lavold's first book on viking knitting, actually, due to a boo-boo on my part, it says "KimSyk". Oooops! He doesent use it much because it is quite small... Again, it's the love, and not the usage ;) I wanted to unravel this (at least the front) and reknit it, because I knit it much tighter and it is much smaller. If I reknit it and knit another few inches at the bottom it might fit.... but he wont allow me!
This was the first thing I ever knit for him, and the first sweater I knit. It is made out of naturally variegated alpaca in many funny colours - the skeins all differed a lot. It fits funnily and the cast-on edge is very tight, but well.... I didnt knit for the object, I knit for peace of mind.
I think this one this one is the most perfect of the knitted things I made for him.
Knit on US6/4mm needles, size "MegaMan" with a horseshoe cable on the front and a corrugated rib all over. He tried to describe this pattern for me when he saw it in a magazine, and told me that it had "Longhorn skulls all down the front". My mother told me it had cactii all down the front.. while I insisted on calling them tulips! We never agreed on the name, but we do agree on that they are well-placed in this sweater :)
The original pattern called for knitting it all in pieces and sewing it together. Sew together a raglan in size MegaMan?? No way that would be going to happen! I love it, he loves it, and everything is good :-)
The socks I am holding are ones I made him too, he uses them much and I love them because they hold up so good. Means I dont have to knit him new ones every year :-)
This is also, and notice this: The First Picture Of Me I Have Liked For Years! Yesss, losing weight DOES have its advantages!
Have a nice day
Lene
I know why I am knitting. I knit to keep myself occupied and keep my brain from running wild. Now, after having knit for years, I know that I also knit because I love having things I made myself and because I love giving things away (I dont, however, love the fretting out over the possibillity that they wont love my object, and the trying to make a perfect object...)
I have compiled a post with the things I have knit for "Wumse". I am modelling the sweaters while he photographed, but a 1.3Megapixel cam wont yield good pictures. "Wumse" is my best good friend and deserves every one of those knit objects - including the knit elephant from Kath Dalmenys World of Knitted Toys that is just too ugly... and the two miss-shaped pairs of socks. I want to unravel them and bury them, but he insists on keeping them - because they are love. Not everyone has so much friendship and love as he, he tells me, when he can take out the large sweaters I made him and feel the soft wool in his hands, knowing every inch passed through my hands - and many of them two or more times.
I knit him a finger puppet elephant. Sans pattern and more "love" then "art" :-)
Next up, a rabbit made from a square(!), I think I got the pattern from Heartstringsfiberart, but I know I used a 6-ply sock yarn.
Felt Elephant. Prettiest object I have ever made in felt... I love it so. It stands about 5" tall at the head.
(nearing the Juicy stuff.. hoo boy)
"KysMik" slipover from Elsebeth Lavold's first book on viking knitting, actually, due to a boo-boo on my part, it says "KimSyk". Oooops! He doesent use it much because it is quite small... Again, it's the love, and not the usage ;) I wanted to unravel this (at least the front) and reknit it, because I knit it much tighter and it is much smaller. If I reknit it and knit another few inches at the bottom it might fit.... but he wont allow me!
This was the first thing I ever knit for him, and the first sweater I knit. It is made out of naturally variegated alpaca in many funny colours - the skeins all differed a lot. It fits funnily and the cast-on edge is very tight, but well.... I didnt knit for the object, I knit for peace of mind.
I think this one this one is the most perfect of the knitted things I made for him.
Knit on US6/4mm needles, size "MegaMan" with a horseshoe cable on the front and a corrugated rib all over. He tried to describe this pattern for me when he saw it in a magazine, and told me that it had "Longhorn skulls all down the front". My mother told me it had cactii all down the front.. while I insisted on calling them tulips! We never agreed on the name, but we do agree on that they are well-placed in this sweater :)
The original pattern called for knitting it all in pieces and sewing it together. Sew together a raglan in size MegaMan?? No way that would be going to happen! I love it, he loves it, and everything is good :-)
The socks I am holding are ones I made him too, he uses them much and I love them because they hold up so good. Means I dont have to knit him new ones every year :-)
This is also, and notice this: The First Picture Of Me I Have Liked For Years! Yesss, losing weight DOES have its advantages!
Have a nice day
Lene
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Wednesday, 19. April 2006
More spinning
knitting_keeps_me_sane, 10:48h
This blog gives me so much because it is perfectly in harmony with my love for little things, for details, for the pretty things in life.
I learn how to use a camera, and suddenly I see so many beautifull things through my cameras eye. I wont even bother uploading most here on my blog because I cannot show them to you in their full glory, but safe to say that even our garden is beautifull in the morning sunlight, when you focus on detail.
I spun a skein more yesterday, with the white and the other colours, but this time I added a way smaller tuft to the wool - still quite large, but if you want to reploduce a commercial tweed yarn you will either need to cut a yarn into pieces and blend it in with the handcards or commercially buy little tufts (I have seen cotton tufts for sale) and add them in while spinning.
Curiously enough, this yarn ended up at the same yardage and weight as the brown one!
I almost used up the pink, so if I am going to make more - as I probably should because I despise having yarn I cannot use for anything - I must find a replacement colour.
Have a nice day
/Lene
I learn how to use a camera, and suddenly I see so many beautifull things through my cameras eye. I wont even bother uploading most here on my blog because I cannot show them to you in their full glory, but safe to say that even our garden is beautifull in the morning sunlight, when you focus on detail.
I spun a skein more yesterday, with the white and the other colours, but this time I added a way smaller tuft to the wool - still quite large, but if you want to reploduce a commercial tweed yarn you will either need to cut a yarn into pieces and blend it in with the handcards or commercially buy little tufts (I have seen cotton tufts for sale) and add them in while spinning.
Curiously enough, this yarn ended up at the same yardage and weight as the brown one!
I almost used up the pink, so if I am going to make more - as I probably should because I despise having yarn I cannot use for anything - I must find a replacement colour.
Have a nice day
/Lene
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