test knitting
I´m test knitting a sock pattern for Sock Madness, and for the first time I´m knitting toe-up. Let me tell you - getting the toe done is no picnic! Before I could even get the stitches on the needle! Hope the second sock gets easier...
thanks for the comment, vegan pal!
I can´t wait to see what you´ve conjured up! Waiting for a something special sounds interesting!
yarn reward!
I´m on my 9th day without sweets and treats, it´s almost two weeks, and I already know which yarn to get for my two-week-reward: Lovesticks "Frankensock", a very lovely purple/green sock yarn, which I´m buying on Ravelry.
The first days were really hard - I actually had headaches from sugar withdrawal, now it´s easy, and soon, it´s time to think about the next reward. Some Yarn Pirate would be nice, but I would also love some vegan sock yarn. But I have plenty of time to decide, I haven´t even gotten through my first two weeks yet. Soon though!
ETA: This will do wonders, not only to my yarn stash, but to my weight as well - so far I´ve lost 1½ kg! When the body has gotten used to the lack of sweets and cookies I might have to tweak my diet a bit, but so far so good!
The first days were really hard - I actually had headaches from sugar withdrawal, now it´s easy, and soon, it´s time to think about the next reward. Some Yarn Pirate would be nice, but I would also love some vegan sock yarn. But I have plenty of time to decide, I haven´t even gotten through my first two weeks yet. Soon though!
ETA: This will do wonders, not only to my yarn stash, but to my weight as well - so far I´ve lost 1½ kg! When the body has gotten used to the lack of sweets and cookies I might have to tweak my diet a bit, but so far so good!
I got a pile of yarn!
Look what I collected at the PO last night:
And I have a lot more to come!
And it´s been almost a week without any sweets, another week, and I get to buy more yarn - I know exactly what to get!
And I have a lot more to come!
And it´s been almost a week without any sweets, another week, and I get to buy more yarn - I know exactly what to get!
I know, it´s a bit on the late side, and probably not even necessary
but I´m posting my vegan post-holiday swap qestionnaire:
Ravelry handle: malinmerino (I know, not that sheep friendly, but it was the only fiber on "m" I could think about at the time)
How long have you been vegan? Or are you transitioning? I´ve been vegan on and off for the last ten years, been vegetarian for 17 years.
What are your favorite vegan products? dark chocolate! Also, since I live in Sweden, we don´t have that much to choose from as in the UK and USA, so I jump for joy everytime I see a new vegan product - yesterday vegan burgers, yay!
Knitter or crocheter? Spinner? All of the above? Mostly knitter, crochet occassionally
Favorite type of yarn? Favorite colors? vegan heretic when it comes to yarn - since I love to knit socks, I do use wool, but am very intersted in trying non-animal yarns (not to fond of cotton, though). Especially in sock yarn, I love multicolour (am very eclectic in that area, maybe not very blue yarns, or very beige/brown yarns), otherwise I love pale pink, green, black, pastels à la Cath Kidston
What do you usually knit/crochet? Anything new that you want to try? mostly socks, need a new scarf, am thinking of knitting a capelet of some kind
Any pets? two cats, Lipton and Titus
Hobbies? knitting (duh...), vintage housekeeping, collecting kawaii (stationary, cram cream, decotapes), reading, shopping
Are you willing to ship internationally? absolutely (or I will end up swapping with myself...)
Any last thoughts? Allergies? Etc.? allergic to smoke and pineapple, don´t drink coffee or black/green tea, I guess I don´t have to mention red/chewy candy is no-no...
it´s just me keeping track
I need to put my yarn purchases/trades in one place, so I can actually see what´s coming in the mail - I feel I´m loosing track a bit. So, if you want to, you can stop reading here, this post is basically for myself.
Zitron Trekking XXL
STR "Firebird"
Lion Brand "Denim" (something like that, anyway)
Handarbeitskram, "Almost midnight"
Lorna´s Laces "Jungle fever"
Unknown pink/green sock yarn
Vesper "Neopolitan"
Claudia Hand Dyed "Eat your veggies"
Fyberspates "Foxglove"
Yarn Pirate "Killer Bees"
oops....
oh no, not MORE!
Oh, yes, more it is! Sock yarn from Ravelry, that´s what I´m talking about, I´m buying more! Frpm another Swedish knitter, I´m buying Vesper "Neopolitan" (pink/brown), Fyberspates "Foxglove" (pink/green/white-ish) and Claudia Hand Painted "Eat Your Veggies" (green).
And I´m looking for some Yarn Pirate yarn, unfortunately, people don´t destash Yarn Pirate that often.
And I´m looking for some Yarn Pirate yarn, unfortunately, people don´t destash Yarn Pirate that often.
vegan swap package in the mail!
Last night I mailed the package to my spoilee in the Vegan Secret Swap on Ravelry. And since I don´t name names or countries, I thought I´d let you in on its contents. I got a hank of Bluy Skye Dyed Cotton, some very yummy tea, soap from Lush, some of my favourite sweets (since I can´t eat them myself anymore - I´m aiming for lots of yarn purchases!), a really good book about veganism, and I made a project bag too, I like to include something hand made in my packages. It´s all vegan, of course, I hope she´ll like it!
more socks
Now I´m really scraping the bottom of my stash! I finished my "Malin" scarf last night, and was actually quite happy with it, even though the colours are so not me, and I have an outfit it will work perfectly with. But I really don´t like to knit with mohair! And bad mohair like this one doesn´t make it any better.
I´m knitting more socks, I have some Regia leftovers, one cotton and one regular, and they are both very similar in colours (except for the cotton being paler). Since there aren´t enought for two pairs of socks, I´m striping the yarn, and it turns out rather well, you can´t almost see that it´s two different yarns!
See - very similar!
I´m knitting more socks, I have some Regia leftovers, one cotton and one regular, and they are both very similar in colours (except for the cotton being paler). Since there aren´t enought for two pairs of socks, I´m striping the yarn, and it turns out rather well, you can´t almost see that it´s two different yarns!
See - very similar!
loverly!
Here´s pics of the yarn I talked about in my last post - this is the good stuff that´s coming in my mailbox soon!
The first one is Lorna´s Laces in "Jungle Fever", and the second one is an un-known sock yarn. I love green combined with purple or pink!
The third one, it´s from Handarbeitskram, it´s "Almost Midnight". Apparantly, I have a thing for purple and black as well...
The first one is Lorna´s Laces in "Jungle Fever", and the second one is an un-known sock yarn. I love green combined with purple or pink!
The third one, it´s from Handarbeitskram, it´s "Almost Midnight". Apparantly, I have a thing for purple and black as well...
hunting for yarn in Stockholm on a Sunday
And a hunt it truly was! I found one open yarn store (I didn´t go to Gamla Stan (Old Town), because the shops are open for just a few hours on Sundays), everything else was closed. And what was supposed to be a big stash enhancement, only ended up being one hank for a swap. I don´t know if I´m overly picky - I´ve been drooling over the fabulous sock yarns over at Ravelry, and I can´t find anything as great in the shops here. I did encourage the owner of the only open shop, to get some more sock yarn, I mentioned Socks That Rocks and Yarn Pirate, hope I get lucky! I did buy some fabric, though (I was going to use what was left of my money to shop on the Internet, but somehow I used up all of it... Strange how things can happen...), one for a swap (if I can bare to part from it, it was so pretty!), and three other, and last night I used some of it to sew a couple of swap presents. They have a lot of nice fabrics at Åhlèns this spring!
What I could have put to good use yesterday, is this, something I will definitely print for the next time I go looking for yarn!
I´ve managed to do some knitting too, even though I have a very meager stash. I got three skeins of mohair yarn (called "Malin", just like me!) from my sister last Christmas (2006 that is), and I haven´t used it since. Until now, when I´m knitting a scarf from it, the yarn is three colours, grey, red and green, so I´m doing thin stripes and a sort of elongated seed stitch, it looks better than I thought it would! But you can feel it´s a cheap yarn when knitting, the mohair fuzz that should be even along the yarn, is in "lumps", making the yarn not very great to knit with. What is great, though, is my wooden needles - it´s the first time with them for me, and knitting with them feels amazing! I am so getting more wood needles!
And since couldn´t find any yarn for me, I´m buying some online instead - a black/purple from an etsy store (from Germany, so the price and shipping is a lot lower), and some sock yarn I found on Ravelry (from a Swedish member, so the shipping is cheap). Yay, sock yarn! Not to mention the yarn in the mail on its way here, and a couple of swaps including yarn due this month. I feel I´m being almost showered with yarn, which is a very good feeling, I can tell you!
What I could have put to good use yesterday, is this, something I will definitely print for the next time I go looking for yarn!
I´ve managed to do some knitting too, even though I have a very meager stash. I got three skeins of mohair yarn (called "Malin", just like me!) from my sister last Christmas (2006 that is), and I haven´t used it since. Until now, when I´m knitting a scarf from it, the yarn is three colours, grey, red and green, so I´m doing thin stripes and a sort of elongated seed stitch, it looks better than I thought it would! But you can feel it´s a cheap yarn when knitting, the mohair fuzz that should be even along the yarn, is in "lumps", making the yarn not very great to knit with. What is great, though, is my wooden needles - it´s the first time with them for me, and knitting with them feels amazing! I am so getting more wood needles!
And since couldn´t find any yarn for me, I´m buying some online instead - a black/purple from an etsy store (from Germany, so the price and shipping is a lot lower), and some sock yarn I found on Ravelry (from a Swedish member, so the shipping is cheap). Yay, sock yarn! Not to mention the yarn in the mail on its way here, and a couple of swaps including yarn due this month. I feel I´m being almost showered with yarn, which is a very good feeling, I can tell you!
great idea, I think I´ll steal it!
I just read in a knitting blog, where she wanted to stop eating sweets and treats, and for every two weeks she hasn´t eaten any, she gets to buy a ball/skein/hank of yarn! What an idea! I think I will steal that right away! Ok, starting Monday, I´m going to Stockholm tomorrow (buying yarn!), I might be tempted to a fika instead of a proper meal, but next week! No to sweets, yes to yarn!
pinny gang - amigurumi purses
Finally, something really cute, that I´ve seen only in Sweden! They are kits, not at all expensive, and as the web shop says, a great gift both made and as a kit, I could definately see me giving one of these babies away in a swap!
pay it forward - a reminder!
There´s still two of you, who can (for free!) get something home made (probably involving yarn or fabric) from me, the only thing you have to do is to do the same for three persons, see my original post. What are you waiting for, post a comment, and then - pay it forward!
and swooooosh!
(meaning: it was fast, but not as fast as the first three)
Another few hours later in the afternoon, and another three boks is sold at Tradera (I love that place!), which means that there´s only one book left to sell. And I´ve got about 400 SEK (about 60 USD) to buy yarn for. Hmmm... I´m seriously thinking sock club, I´ve found one, Nefarious sock club where the colorways will be inspired by nefarious (Merriam-Webster defines this as: flagrantly wicked or impious; evil; vicious) characters in history and fiction. Think Sweeney Tood, Dr. Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes stories, Lizzie Borden from Fall River, MA, Jack the Ripper from London, perhaps even the Green Goblin from DC Comics. But they'll all be bad guys, and these yarns and stories are guaranteed to creep you out a little. Doesn´t it that sound just lovely? Or if I will save it for the next opening in the Booty club. Or just go shop for some Yarn Pirate yarn... BIG decisions to make!
UPDATE: I decided to go with the Nefarious sock club, but I will probably do the Booty Club later as well. The Nefarious sock club is three months at the time, so I´ll try it, and see how I like the yarns.
Another few hours later in the afternoon, and another three boks is sold at Tradera (I love that place!), which means that there´s only one book left to sell. And I´ve got about 400 SEK (about 60 USD) to buy yarn for. Hmmm... I´m seriously thinking sock club, I´ve found one, Nefarious sock club where the colorways will be inspired by nefarious (Merriam-Webster defines this as: flagrantly wicked or impious; evil; vicious) characters in history and fiction. Think Sweeney Tood, Dr. Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes stories, Lizzie Borden from Fall River, MA, Jack the Ripper from London, perhaps even the Green Goblin from DC Comics. But they'll all be bad guys, and these yarns and stories are guaranteed to creep you out a little. Doesn´t it that sound just lovely? Or if I will save it for the next opening in the Booty club. Or just go shop for some Yarn Pirate yarn... BIG decisions to make!
UPDATE: I decided to go with the Nefarious sock club, but I will probably do the Booty Club later as well. The Nefarious sock club is three months at the time, so I´ll try it, and see how I like the yarns.
swoosh!
I put up the books on Tradera about two hours ago, tops, and already three are sold! Yay! Which means I´m shopping for yarn when I get payed...
yummy!
I picked up my yarn order last night, and the Lorna´s Laces in "Black Purl" is yummy! So beautiful, perfect colours - black, grey and purple. The Opal yarn looked nice as well, but I might not ahve bought it, if I hadn´t seen it knitted already - in the skeins it doesn´t look as fab as it does when it´s socks. And the half price off also played a part in me picking one of the colours, since blue usually isn´t my first choice when it comes to colours. Since I haven´t got my new camera yet, you won´t see any pics until next week, hopefully there will be some traded yarn to show as well by then!
absolute madness!
I sent some books yesterday, those I´ve traded for yarn, and I was totally flabberghasted when they told me the price. One book to the US cost me 160 SEK, about $25, and I sent two books, plus one small one to the UK (70 SEK, about $11). The 33 SEK, $5, I payed to ship within Sweden feels almost miniscule in comparisant! Almost 500 SEK, $78 for sending four books! Suddenly, this trading books for yarn-thing doesn´t seem as appealing... I think I´ll keep to good old Sweden, and try to sell the rest of the books on Tradera.
Madness you caould also call why I keep knitting on my Bird´s Eye shawl - I don´t like the yarn, the colour or the pattern, still I keep knitting it. I don´t even think I´ll like the finished product, and still I keep knitting it. I have an idea for a present for my sister (she is always so kind and lends me money when I´m broke, which is too often), when I get the yarn for that one, I think I´ll throw my shawl and the yarn as far away as I possibly can. Until then, I just keep knitting, to keep my hands occupied. That crappy shawl...
Madness you caould also call why I keep knitting on my Bird´s Eye shawl - I don´t like the yarn, the colour or the pattern, still I keep knitting it. I don´t even think I´ll like the finished product, and still I keep knitting it. I have an idea for a present for my sister (she is always so kind and lends me money when I´m broke, which is too often), when I get the yarn for that one, I think I´ll throw my shawl and the yarn as far away as I possibly can. Until then, I just keep knitting, to keep my hands occupied. That crappy shawl...
this is a woman who knows how to shop for yarn!
I kinda got caught up in this blog, Punky Purls, because she´s got some fabulous yarn, and I just can´t stop looking. She could shop for my stash any day!
I´m picking up my yarn package today, yay! And there won´t be a camera until Tuesday, I should be able to survive until then.
I´m picking up my yarn package today, yay! And there won´t be a camera until Tuesday, I should be able to survive until then.
sock clubs
I mentioned sock clubs in my previous post, I thought I should elaborate some on that topic. For you who haven´t heard of it: a sock club is a subscription on sock yarn, often from a smaller yarn brand, often with some extra goodies in the packages. The yarns are exclusive for the sock club, and as far as I´ve seen - to die for!
Here´s some of the ones I´ve seen:
Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Rockin´ Sock Club"
Make 1 yarns "m1´s Sock Club"
The Yarn Tree "Sock Club"
I Knit "Sock Club" (UK based)
DiscountYarnSale.com "Hill Country Yarn Sock Club" ($60 + ev. international shipping for tree packages, which makes it fairly cheap)
"Woolgirl Sock Club"
Fyberspates "Sock Club" (UK based - I´m really considering this one)
Yarn Grove "Tofutsie Sock Yarn Club" (all slots are filled through April 2008)
Zen String "Sock Yarn Club" ($90 + additional international shipping makes this one of the cheaper as well)
Yarn Pirate "Booty Club" (I´m so tempted to do this one!)
There you have it, a pick out of the big pile that is sock clubs (google and you´ll get thousandsof hits, of course not all clubs, but several). On the top of my wish list is the "Booty Club" and "Rockin´ Sock Club", but just trying one would be fun.
Here´s some of the ones I´ve seen:
Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Rockin´ Sock Club"
Make 1 yarns "m1´s Sock Club"
The Yarn Tree "Sock Club"
I Knit "Sock Club" (UK based)
DiscountYarnSale.com "Hill Country Yarn Sock Club" ($60 + ev. international shipping for tree packages, which makes it fairly cheap)
"Woolgirl Sock Club"
Fyberspates "Sock Club" (UK based - I´m really considering this one)
Yarn Grove "Tofutsie Sock Yarn Club" (all slots are filled through April 2008)
Zen String "Sock Yarn Club" ($90 + additional international shipping makes this one of the cheaper as well)
Yarn Pirate "Booty Club" (I´m so tempted to do this one!)
There you have it, a pick out of the big pile that is sock clubs (google and you´ll get thousandsof hits, of course not all clubs, but several). On the top of my wish list is the "Booty Club" and "Rockin´ Sock Club", but just trying one would be fun.
little socks
I don´t knit a lot of kid´s clothes, because I don´t have any children. I usually just make something for friends/sisters when they´ve just had a new baby, but that´s pretty much it. But now, my hands has been bitten by the knitting bug, and I don´t have much yarn (the few skeins I have wants to become a stash - I want to be a person with a huge stash, now it´s only a few hanks and skeins, and some are not for knitting), and the sock yarn remnants I have don´t work for making stashbusters, so it´s becoming kid´s socks. A friend had a baby a couple of months ago, and I haven´t finished his blanket yet, so I made socks too. My sister says that I haven´t ever knit anything for her son, so he´s getting socks too, but I had less yarn than I thought, so I have to mix in another colour way (red/orange/brown mixed with pink/blue/purple/green/yellow - and it actually work - I´m doing alternate rows, so it´s not stripey, just varigated), hope they don´t find the socks too girly. And I hope they fit, I made them to fit a five-year-old, and my nephew is 3, but with big feet. Hope they fit (fingers crossed!)!
And talking about my nephew, I have to babysit him on Sunday morning (I have to leave from home at 6am), the only day in the week I have off. Do I have to say I´m not that happy about it?
And talking about my nephew, I have to babysit him on Sunday morning (I have to leave from home at 6am), the only day in the week I have off. Do I have to say I´m not that happy about it?
opal and trekking and lorna´s laces, oh my!
Yupp, all sock yarns (I´m so in love with sock yarns, and I´d love to do a sock club, but a/ they are often rather expensive (it would be nice with a European one) and b/ they are very fast booked full, leaving no spots for me. But, yarn can be aquired in other ways, thank goodness! I´m trading some of my books for yarn (and a Rowan magazine - I love Rowan magazines!), and I just placed an order for some yarn. It all looks like this:
This is two skeins of Opal Feeling (on sale!). I fell in love with the brighter colours on a blog, so I jumped on it when it was 50% off.
Lorna´s Laces "Black Purl". I love the colours, it goes very well with my black soul...
A skein of Trekking sock yarn and four hanks of Classic Elite "Lush", an angora/wool mix (apparantly, according to comments on Ravelry, it sheds a lot, but it should be able to become something) - both of these swapped for books.
The Rowan magazine (some of the patterns are really nice on the first look) and Socks That Rock sock yarn in "Firebird", which is a yarn I´d really love to try. This is a colourway from a sock club, so it´s not available to buy.
Hailey,who is trading the yarn, is also throwing in a sock club key ring and more sock yarn - aren´t there some fabulous knitters out there?!
Lovely loot, isn´t it?! I can´t wait for my camera, I should get it about at the same time as the yarn starts arriving, yay!
This is two skeins of Opal Feeling (on sale!). I fell in love with the brighter colours on a blog, so I jumped on it when it was 50% off.
Lorna´s Laces "Black Purl". I love the colours, it goes very well with my black soul...
A skein of Trekking sock yarn and four hanks of Classic Elite "Lush", an angora/wool mix (apparantly, according to comments on Ravelry, it sheds a lot, but it should be able to become something) - both of these swapped for books.
The Rowan magazine (some of the patterns are really nice on the first look) and Socks That Rock sock yarn in "Firebird", which is a yarn I´d really love to try. This is a colourway from a sock club, so it´s not available to buy.
Hailey,who is trading the yarn, is also throwing in a sock club key ring and more sock yarn - aren´t there some fabulous knitters out there?!
Lovely loot, isn´t it?! I can´t wait for my camera, I should get it about at the same time as the yarn starts arriving, yay!
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!
finally! I´m in a knitting swap!
If you have been reading my main blog dandelion daisy, you know I´ve been doing some swaps (ok, A LOT of swaps) for the last two years or so, mostly kawaii swaps, but some craft oriented as well. Something that most people maybe don´t know, is that Secret Pal started my whole swap obsession, and for a while now, I´ve been wanting to do knitting swaps again. I´ve been impatiently awaiting the next SP round, as well as Vegan Pal 3, I´ve also been oogling the Punk Rock Gift Exchange, but there hasn´t been any signs of any new rounds. Imagine my delight, when there´s a small after-the-holidays vegan secret swap now in January! Yes, of course I jumped on it! Now I´ve got my very own secret pal to spoil, and I´ve got some ideas on what to give her, and that´s all I´m saying about that - I don´t think there are a lot of us in this swap, and don´t want to spoil anything.
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.
