Yarnlove

he turns religious. It's a Swedish saying, which means that anybody can change her mind. Even myself.

I've just ordered two skeins of 1) variegated 2) sock yarn.

But I have to tell you, they are delisssshious!

The one on the left is for me, and the one on the right just looked too tasty not to buy... might be for my godchildren.

Other than that, I'm knitting on the Tärnabymössa order, and after that comes a pair of mittens, also an order. After that, I can start to sort out all my UFO's and maybe finish something... I know I do finish things, but since I start new stuff all the time the pile of UFO's is constant. It bothers me, since I can never really start fresh with anything since the old ugly and boring stuff is always there. Maybe you should just throw it out if you haven't touched it for six months. It's not very feng shui to have old stuff lying around.

I'm also a happy participant of Theresias X-mas swap. Yes, it's in German. I'm keeping alow profile on the blog, not too keen to flaunt my lousy German skills. I've got a special person who's going to get a package from me to put under the Christmas tree. Now that I think of it, I finished the hand-knit part of that package this weekend; a kerchief scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I bought a skein of Opera from HP-gruppen and whipped up the cutest little triangular scarf, just big enough to tie around the neck. It's a great yarn, has a super stitch definition, comes in nice colours and it glitters! It might be my best Christmas tip ever for frenetic Christmas gift knitters: knit something small with yarn that glitters.

Last weekend I went to Örebro to visit a dear friend, and another dear friend was there too, so we had a great walk down memory lane, eating good food, drinking wine, tea, and obviously talking until our throats were sore. Saturday morning I declared that today was the day I was going to teach them how to knit. I figured that if I could teach Emma how to knit, even over the phone, I can teach anybody to knit. We found a yarn store and went for it. Sofia got two ocean green mohairs, one kind of variegated and one with glitter, and Mathilda got a deep purple Drops Alpaca and a glitter mohair, and I decided we'd go for triangular garter stitch shawls; easy yet fashionable. Look at this beautiful sight:


I think I have four saved souls on my record. How many do you have?

A week ago or two I finished the reversible beret I've been knitting on since August. The yarns used were all birthday presents, and they all played along nicely. The beret has a distinct smell thanks to the Debbie Bliss Pure Silk, but I find it quite a feature.

It's always hard to choose what pic to publish. It's either the one where you can clearly see the good knitting, or the one where you look decent. Most pics are an obvious compromise. (You can't tell from the pic I had two or three glasses of wine last night, right?)

Pattern: From Frugal House
Yarn: Debbie Bliss' Pure Silk, some alpaca from UK Alpacas, and 2-ply svenskullgarn.
Yardage: No idea.
Yarn Source: Birthday presents
Needles: Addi circular 3.5 mm (I think)
Gauge: 24 st/10 cm
Modifications: I had a different gauge than the pattern called for, so I cast on more stitches and made my ribbing 8+2 instead os 5+1. I also found out a good way to get nice stripes when knitting with three different colours: knit every other stripe three rows high and every other five rows, alternating the colours. I think it gives variation to the striping without looking messy. At the end of the decreasing I also knit a short i-cord from the three remaining stitches. Nubbin.

My ol' SP Theresia is hosting a X-mas swap! The idea is just awesome, and I'm sure you're all welcome to join. But beware! It's in German...

Here's my questionnaire answers for the X-mas swap. I've answered truthfully and in German. I haven't studied German in 12 years. To all you Germanophones out there: enjoy...

1. Mit welcher Wolle strickst du gern? Mit welcher nicht so gern?

Ich liebe alle Naturfiber, aber nicht syntetische Wolle. Ich habe nicht mit Bambu oder Lein gestrickt, aber ich wollte gern.

2. Welches Material bevorzugst du bei Stricknadeln? Rundstricknadeln oder Stabstricknadeln?

Ich bevorzuge Bambu, aber ich habe nur zwei Paar Bambusstricknadeln. Ich mag nicht Metallnadeln. Ich stricke immer mit Rundstricknadeln oder Spielstricknadeln.

3. Strickst du Socken?

Ja, ich habe fünf Socken gestrickt! Ich mag Sockwolle, aber nur ”Uni-farben”.

4. Welche Schuhgröße hast du? Wie lang sind deine Füße in cm?

Ich habe Schwedische 39, Deutsche 6, und meine Füße sind 25 cm lange.

5. Welche Farben magst du? Welche nicht?

Ich mag alle Farben dass ein bisschen Blau sind. Kalte Farben. Und Braun.

6. Trägst du Schmuck? Welchen? (Ohrringe, Kette, ...)

Ich sammle Ohrringe, aber ich habe zu wenige Halsband…

7. Benutzt du Taschen?

Selbstverständlich!

8. Trägst du Mützen, Schals, Handschuhe oder Tücher?

Ja, Schweden ist ziemlich kalt im Winter…

9. Hast du Allergien?

Ja, ich habe Nickel-Allergie.

10. Welches Genre magst du bei Büchern besonders gern? Welches gar nicht?

Ich mag Strickbüchern! Aber ich verstehe nicht zu viel Deutsch. Vielleicht Kinderbüchern, oder Novellen…

11. Willst du lieber selber lesen oder zuhören?

Lesen.

12. Isst du gern Süßes? Was besonders, was gar nicht?

Schokolade und sonstiges Erwachsenersüsses. Nicht Gummibärchen/Kindersüsse…

13. Trinkst du gern Tee oder Kaffee? Was magst du da nicht so gern?

Tee und Kaffee, besonderes Dunkel Kaffee. Ich liebe Caffe Latte trinken!

14. Magst du Kerzen, Duftöle, Figuren?

Ich mag Kerzen aber nicht zu viel Duftöle und Figuren.

15. Gibt es etwas, das du schon lange haben möchtest? Was?

An ein Swap teilnehmen! J Oder einfärbig Strumpfwolle. Wir haben nicht zu viel dünn Strumpfwolle in Schweden, nur “Raggsocksgarn” wie ein bisschen grob ist..

Beautiful winter weather here in Stockholm (the view from my office window):




Regarding my swapping invitation: don't be shy! Wouldn't you love to get a package from me, foreign knitter?

I really miss the SP8 experience with figuring out presents and receiving surprises in the mail. Is there anyone out there, preferably in a non-Swedish country (most countries are), who would like to make a mini swap with me? I'm thinking €20 worth of yarn and other knitting-related goodies to brighten up November. If so, email me at linn underscore lindquist at yahoo dot se. I'm waiting for you!

(If I get lots of answers, I could hook y'all up with each other!)