knitting squares
I´ve borrowed Knit-a-long on the library (sometimes they do get books I want to read!), and found a very clever use of leftover sock yarn - a barnraising quilt! So now I´m knitting squares in the evenings in front of the TV - perfect! The only thing, is that I will run out of yarn, long before the quilt is done. I guess this will be a very long term project...
is it a shrug? a mini cardigan?
I used the white silk yarn I got from my swap with Iris in Britain, and made a shrug/cardigan from it. I don´t know if I´m completely happy with the result, I need to see it on a person first, and it´s too small for me (it was 200 grams of yarn, there are limits to how far 200 grams will stretch).
can you believe it?
I did some more knitting! The weather is beautiful outside, warm and sunny, and I have been knitting! I used some of my Japanese alpaca yarn and made some mittens, and they turned out perfect - perfect fit, really good look, nice and tightly knitted (= warm in the winter). And the colour, which I wasn´t sure about, worked really well. So, all and all - it was a really good knit!
book destashing
I f you haven´t found your way to any of the lovely ISO/destash groups at Ravelry, you don´t know that I´m getting rid of some knitting books. They are yours for the taking, all I ask in return is some nice yarn, preferably sock yarn, and if it´s something deliciously handdyed, that would make my day.
I got these left:
I got these left:
Knitting Goddess - Deborah Bergman
Mother of Purl - Edith Eig
The Urban Knitter - Lily Chin
Sexy Little Knits - Ashley Paige
In Swedish:
Med stickor och fantasi - Lisbet Bjørndal
Modern stickning - Kari Hestnes
If you´re interested in any of them, just leave me a comment!
knitting obsessivly
I´ve been knitting for the last couple of days, only with breaks for the bathroom. I´ve made a little something for an upcoming swap (and that´s all I´m saying about that!), and I´ve re-knit my Mrs. Beeton´s - before they were knit at a much too loose gauge, now I went down a couple of needle sizes, and they fit perfectly - I may be chubby, but my wrists are thin. Now I have pretty much run out of things to knit (I need to buy more yarn - I have a baby blanket which needs to be finished), the only thing is my Bird´s Eye shawl, which has been dormant for too long (it´s not really a fun knit), so I´ll guess I´ll give it a go - if I bring it to work, at least a few rows should be done.
knit a toilet roll!
I don´t know if there´s something you can´t knit! How about knitting yourself a toilet roll?
goth indulgence
I´m having so much fun here - I´m browsing the Goth Knitters group on Ravelry, listening to Sisters of Mercy, and now I found a bunch of links to goth inspired knits! I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the goth I was in my teens, and she occasionally rears her black head. Actually, inside, I might be more goth than ever (trust me, you don´t want to take a look inside my head to see what´s going on in there!), it´s easier to see the darker side of life when you have a few more years to back you up - when I was a teenager, I thought life was crap, now I know it is!
what we can learn from a knitted shawl
The shawl I´m knitting, the one that has to be ready before Christmas, will be done tonight - I only have a few more rows left, then I´ll block it, and it has time to dry until next week. But this one teaches me a few things: I never EVER want to knit a Salina shawl again in my life - I´ve done three now, and that´s it. I hate repeating things (except socks it seems - can´t to too many of them!), and to do the same pattern thrice is not my cup of tea. Two: I don´t like knitting in mohair. It sheds and tinking can be a nightmare. And lastly - I need to be more expensive, I can´t charge as much as a scarf from H&M costs, I need to double my prices. There are many hours in a knitted item, and when it´s something like the Salina in mohair, I´m not liking much of the process.
I blocked my parents Christmas gifts the other day, and took care of all of those pesky yarn-endings dangling this morning. My Christmas presents are now officially done and finished!
I blocked my parents Christmas gifts the other day, and took care of all of those pesky yarn-endings dangling this morning. My Christmas presents are now officially done and finished!
in a bit of a rush!
This weekend a co-worker placed an order on a knitted lace scarf, to be finished in time for Christmas. It´s not that long time to knit, before Christmas! So I´m in a little bit of panic. Fortunately, I have a lot of free time at work, so I should hopefully make it. Or I will do some late nights knitting.
Oh, I almost forgot - I haven´t blocked my parents presents yet, maybe it´s about time!
Oh, I almost forgot - I haven´t blocked my parents presents yet, maybe it´s about time!
cupcake needles
I don´t know how it is, that everything with cupcakes is so cute, very hard to resist. That´s why I had to have these knitting needles, made by Diane/basketblessed. We made a swap out of it, so I got some pretty fabric and buttons as well.
And she doesn´t only make cupcake needles, now we´re doing a swap, so I can get my hands on these beauties (mushrooms are very irresistable too!):
Who said knitting needles couldn´t be cute?!
finished cushions
A very long time ago, I knitted two cushion fronts out of some lovely yarn, a Colinette mohair and a Noro yarn. And the other day, I sewed backsides on as well - all I have to do now is to buy inner cushions, and then they´re ready for use. But you get to see how they look already:
A closeup on the cables on the Noro cushion:
A closeup on the cables on the Noro cushion:
some wicked (in the true meaning of the word!) links
Some of you might recognize these links, to some of you they are new. Since I love the stuff, I just spread the word. There are some patterns and some blogs, and even a swap. And don´t just stay with the links I sent you, go further, explore the world of dark crafts!
Knit yourself a Jack Skellington
Punk rock gift exchange (new round here!)
Make a haunted gingerbreadhouse
Knit a camisole of death
The dark-mark-bag
Stigmata Knits
Jack Sparrows favorite socks
The Anti-Craft
is knitting a valid excuse for a day in my couch?
Yesterday night, when I started thinking about it, I counted my hours in front of the TV, and came up with 13. I spent thirteen hours in front of the TV yesterday! From 8.20 am to 9.30 pm! But I have a good excuse, I swear - I was knitting. I found a nice pattern for a bag in the 2007 SnB calendar (the 2008 is out soon, and if I counted the days right, I´m on June 13th - I was promised a Friday the 13th, and that´s the only one), and I had yarn that worked, and in exactly the right amount, so I made a bag. I hope it´s dry when I get home, so I can sew it together, and make the lining. I think it´ll turn out nice, if it does, I´ll give it away in an upcoming swap. Yes, it´ll go to a chillier country, I wouldn´t send a wool bag to Singapore. It would be soaked in sweat in a day or two, poor thing. I´ll post a picture later, when the bag is in the mail.
