Yarnlove

Are you knitting?

2009-09-11T13:24:00.002+02:00

I'm barely knitting. A pair of socks have been worked, but things are kind of standing still in the knitting department. I've no real yarn desire, like I used to. Surfing the web for new hot yarns is not what keeps me from working these days. Like always, I wonder if it will come back, my knitting mojo, and until now it always has. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

How are y'all feeling? Still knitting enthusiastically?

Already back!

2009-06-04T14:03:00.007+02:00

I got so boosted from the two comments I got on my last post, so here's another one - now with pictures!

Thanks for the comments. I've emailed Hamilton Yarns back, since you told me so, so we'll see where that leads.

And I've finished a project:

(These are some lousy pics, and even though I think it's a pity knit bloggers so often apologize for lousy photos and that we should drop it and just be proud of what we accomplish, both knitwise and photowise, I'm obviously not practising what I'm preaching.)

Anyhoo. This is a "Vest" from Debbie Bliss' "Essential baby", knit in Baby Cashmerino in some pretty gray colour. Knit in size 0-3 months on 3 mm bamboo dpn's I used slightly more than two skeins. I knit it in the round instead of back and front, and it went swell.

And then I put a cute (but slightly out of focus) button in the back:

Hello

2009-05-30T14:18:00.002+02:00

I haven't been around much lately, and my traffic report shows I have 15 visitors a week... I'm getting what I deserve. I've been thinking about not blogging anymore and just Ravel the stuff I knit, but having a blog is kind of nice, so I guess I'll keep on blogging sporadically.

This will be a photo-free post, but I can tell you that I'm currently knitting a Windmill Bag in hot pink linen, and I have a frustrating history with Hamilton Yarns that I don't know if I should handle or just forget about it. I blogged earlier about the miscoloured yarn and that she offered me 20% off in her webshop. As I started the first sleeve on my February lady sweater I realized I didn't have enough yarn left, and emailed Cornelia Hamilton (a reply to her email about the discount) to ask for more of the same dyebath, she had it, and she sent it to me with an invoice, which was kind enough of her. But when I got it in the mail I hadn't gotten any discount. And now I don't know if I want to be such a pain in the arse as to point this out to her, or settle with telling my blog readers how disappointed I am.

I got an adorable book in the mail yesterday, Vintage Baby Knits. It seems to be brand new, and it has some really cute kid stuff in it. And some odd ones as well, as always...

And oh: would the Kai who commented on the Stenmarksmössa please send me her (I suppose) email address so we can get in touch? I can't figure out how to reach you otherwise... linn underscore lindquist at yahoo dot se

Decisions

2009-03-31T14:26:00.003+02:00

I've got so much on the needles right now, I don't know what to finish, or if, before I start the next project. It's quite frustrating, and I think it might be stress-related. I want my knitting to be relaxing, and not something I do to accomplish something when I feel lousy in other areas of life.

I've frogged the last part of my February Lady Sweater (going on April Lady Sweater), and noticed that the miscoloured part shown in my last post was actually a few meters of a different dye bath felted to the original yarn. Not very classy, Cornelia Hamilton! I did email Mrs. Hamilton asking if this is what one can expect from this yarn (Heaven's Hand), but she claimed it must be a fabrication error and offered me 20% off in her web shop, which is kind of her I guess, but I don't shop online for things I can buy/squeeze/smell at my LYS. Anyhow. I've only got a few centimetres left on the body. Again.

To brighten things up I decided to knit myself something light and spring-y to wear around my neck. I fell for the Baktus pattern, and Fi and her adorable yarn-loving three year old son Hugo helped me pick out the colours of Drops Alpaca:

I'm thinking of making Ysolda's garter stitch mitts to go with it. But then it struck me that I'm going to a ball in a month, and I might need a new shawl for that. Fi gave me a luxurious purple lace yarn a few months ago, and I might turn it into a North Roë Shawl. Very pretty shawl, and free pattern! I'm not the happiest lace knitter, but I like shawls. And balls.

WTF?

2009-03-01T22:09:00.003+01:00

After one month of knitting, and one week of thinking it's not really that bad, I've cast off the body of my February lady sweater, and 15 cm from the edge, at the end of the third skein, the yarn is much brighter than the rest of the yarn (yes of course it's the same dye lot, who do you take me for?) for four rows. I know hand-dyed means variations, but in no othe rplace on this garment is the difference in colour as distinct as here, and not for so long.

The yarn is Heaven's Hand by Cornelia Hamilton. What should I do? Frog and reknit? Contact the manufacturer? Live with it? Help me! I'm no fan of frogging, and most of all I'm no fan of knitting the same thing twice, especially not when it's not a pair of something. But I don't want to have knit something I've longed to knit and wear and then hate it. Any advice?

February update

2009-02-23T11:05:00.003+01:00

As many distiguished knitters of today, I currently - and appropriately - have the February lady sweater on my needles. Since January 24 I'm turning five skeins of Heaven's Hand in "Teal" into a stylish cardigan, and today I'm four pattern repeats from the hem (aiming for 30 repeats). Even though it's not a very intriguing pattern, at least not from the armpits down, I'm not bored with it (wait til I get to the second sleeve...), and it grows steadily. I don't think it will be finished by the end of February, but at least it's (almost) the only thing I've been knitting on this month.

The world's most beautiful mittens

2009-01-13T13:42:00.007+01:00

Put your needles down, ladies, no point in trying anymore, The most beautiful mittens in the world have just been knit. By me.

These are Postwar mittens but with a "manlier" cuff, knit for the person I want to warm most in the world. They are knit in "Shetland wool" bought at Yll & Tyll in Uppsala (in the reciever's presence, but he totally bought the "this could be good to have in the future"-excuse), in navy, a blueish green and honey yellow.

Instead of a picot edge I made a simple purl fold
edge (again the manliness).

And instead of knitting only the year on the inside of one of the thumbs, I also knit the full initials of the receiver on the inside of the other one.

I love the yellow dots and how they light up the mittens, I love how much they feel like artwork rather than knitwear, and I love how much the receiver loves them.

Thanks to Fi for helping me invent the cuff pattern.

Happy 2009!

2009-01-08T21:49:00.006+01:00

The most difficult thing about blogging so unfrequently is that I cannot remember what I've already posted about. The easy fix is to read my blog before posting, but then on the other hand I can't really expect you readers to remember what I've written if I can't even remember it myself...

Anyhow. I went to Nystas yarn sale today, and I thought I was clever going there during my lunch hour, but eleven other clever knitters had just done the same and the place was actually crowded (since we all know the average size of a yarn store). I had a vibrating moment with another woman when she had picked two of the three hanks of Ranco in a dark pink and I just realized it might be perfect for the hat for my mum I had in mind, so I grabbed the last hank and tried to pair it with a sale hank of Parisienne, but then I tried to imagine my mum in that colour and it wasn't a too pretty a sight so I went for this instead:
(Ten seconds later the other knitting lady had all three hanks in her arms. All is well that ends well.)

It's one hank of Malabrigo lace (bottom) and one hank of Colinette Parisienne (top). The story is that when my mother saw my new Simple pleasures hat when I was home for Christmas, she wanted one too, and since it's her birthday in a few weeks I obviously have to knit one for her. She wanted white, but that's too boring for me so I went for this pale gray/pastel composition instead. How very thoughtful of me.

Anyhow, this is how my own hat looks like:
I have this quest for the perfect hat, which makes me knit one or two each winter. I had already knit one (a great one) this fall, but since it despite my efforts to make it different looked a whole lot like the one I had knit for my boyfriend a few months earlier I can't wear it when I'm with him, which is quite often.

This hat is knit with Malabrigo lace, kindly given to me by Fi in our Forever Swap, and Kidsilk Haze in a shade I ordered online and thought would be more like the Malabrigo in colour than it is. The hat is super cozy but I don't like how it's not solid in colour. My quest for the perfect hat continues.

The Forever Swap (which is a name I just invented) is one of the best things ever invented by Fi and myself (and that's saying a lot). It began this summer when I was about to order some yarn from Garnkorgen, and I asked her if she wanted to order something too. She did, and after delivery she asked me, clever girl, if I wanted to be paid in money or in yarn. What a question. She paid me the amount she owed me plus some more in yarn, so I suddenly owed her. A few weeks later it was my turn, so I got her yarn worth more than I owed her, and so it continues beautifully forever. Last time I got the Malabrigo lace from her, and a hank of purple Pälsullgarn from Östergötlands ullspinneri. For your viewing pleasure:

It's wool, and it's super shiny. Perfect for a lace shawl. I also got matching glass beads, so this could be a super luxurious/glamorous shawl. When I get the time and stumble upon the perfect pattern.

I hope to get back shortly (yeah right...) with pics of the prettiest mittens ever knit. I just have to find my darning needles first.

Undulating rib sock

2008-11-19T23:29:00.002+01:00

It's tricky, but it's working.

(Lorna's laces shepherd sock, "Firefly")

Socktober

2008-10-29T13:28:00.003+01:00

(I'm knitting a sock and it's still October. Nothing officially Socktober about it.)

I fell crazy in love with Kureyon Sock a week ago, and the best thing to knit from it must be a striped sock (or possibly two) knit with rows from each end of the skein. Super cute, and this colourway (102) I brought home from Nysta is particularly sweet n sour.

On a less brighter note: This picture does not do neither the sock nor the yarn justice, but as you can see I'm having some problems with the striping, since both yarn ends shifts into the same colour from time to time, making the stripes very unstripey. My only plan right now is to make them very long, so the amount of stripes will increase and the blurry fields will seem fewer. I've looked at other similar socks on Ravelry, and it's possible that this happens when you knit stripes like this and that the sock will still look striped in the end. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for stripes.

I'm quite excited to try a few new moves in the art of sock knitting. First of all, I'm knitting toe up, with a beautiful magical cast-on Fi taught me. I messed it up, of course, but it's still brilliantly invisible and clever. (I've no idea where she found it. I'll get back to you on that one.) I then knit a Dutch heel backwards, as described by Brooke Chenoweth Creel in her Widdershins sock pattern. I'm not very fond of short-row heels, since they don't give the increased width I feel is necessary for a regular foot as you approach the heel area. (This heel worked out quite OK, I think, though I might have started the heel a bit too late. But nothing serious.) And now I've just started increasing for the calf as described at Streets and YO's. All in all, I might be onto the perfect sock pattern, a quest Fi and myself started earlier this fall. We'll keep you posted.

This yarn is beuatiful but has a lot of personality (and not necessarily the good kind). It grips and clings to itself, it's rough and it twists. And it doesn't stretch as much as regular sock yarn, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. My sock is very tight, and with some calf shaping and tough ribbing I'm sure it will stay in place.

I just realized I haven't revealed my own SP12 spoilee: Eija in Finland! Due to a massive workload she didn't get her last parcel until a few weeks ago, but now we're officially SP exes who read each others blogs. She's a darling and a knitting maniac, so go check out her blog! (It's a good thing she posts a lot of pics, since my Finnish is very very poor.)

Last SP12 parcel!

2008-10-06T22:23:00.002+02:00

I got my last SP parcel a couple of weeks ago, but life has been crazy and I haven't had the time to blog it. Now I'm done with my bachelor paper, so tonight I've knit a few stitches and managed to squeeze all the stuff I got in the parcel together (minus the chocolate, obviously...) and look:

My SP Stephanie sent me a really nice pattern book of sweaters (mostly), sock yarn and cotton yarn (I'm close to a lifetime supply now), a notebook, a body oil and a bag with a matching pouch (too small for knitting though). And Yes, there were some really cool "monkey mints" as well, banana flavoured, but they are, as the chocolate, mysteriously missing...

Thanks so much Stephanie! It's been a pleasure being spoiled by you! I recommend all my readers to go see Stephanie's blog and say hi!

Photofree update

2008-09-24T14:16:00.003+02:00

Knitting has been quite good lately, and I even have two orders (why do I never learn?) for knits ahead, whenever I finish the most urgent things on my needles.

Most recently I've finished a pair of socks in Lorna's Laces Shepherds Sock, colourway Tuscany. Very nice colours, for being so many in one yarn. A very nice yarn too, by the way. I really love it. I've even ordered two more hanks but in yellow (!), two secret hanks for my last Secret pal parcel, and two for Fi who is bitten by the sock bug as well. I ordered the beautiful "Favorite socks" and raveled away on what to knit first, only to find my brain was temporarily out of order and I had instead ordered "Folk socks", which is also a beautiful book but not quite the same. I have now ordered the right book and eagerly await it.

Most currently on the needles are the two sleeves (yes, I've finally come around and am now knitting them both at the same time) for my gray aran cardigan, which I hope to be able to wear as it gets colder. The front was such a pain in da b--t! After finishing the left upper front I realised the neck was too tight, so after making the right side better I frogged and reknit the left side, only to find when having reached the shoulder that I had messed one of the cables up ten centimetres down. Frog and reknit again. On the bright side it will be a thoroughly worked-through sweater. Now I'm done with the sleeve cuff ribbing, and I'm not sure whether or not to do the sleeves in plain moss stitch or if I should make a cable or two on it as well. The smallest cable is possibly too narrow to decorate a sleeve on its own, but making a wider cable might look funny at the cuff, being almost as wide as the width of the sleeve. I raveled aran sweaters and found that both solutions look alright, so tonight's knit night with Fi will sort it out. What would I do without Fi making my decisions for me?

My knitting orders are two lovely projects: a First coat from Debbie Bliss' Essential baby, for little Astrid who got the Circle of Friends Baby Blanket earlier this year, and then a pair of Solar mitts for a colleague. The mitts were very oddly sized in the pattern, and even though I made mine smaller they are still quite big. Serious pattern revision required.

I've also knit one of the rainbow socks in the Regia Nation Colour yarn, but then other things got in the way before I cast on for the second. Will there ever be a second sock? Only time will tell...

On the needles and off the needles

2008-08-29T14:39:00.004+02:00

A couple of days ago I finished the lace shawl I've been working on for not too long. I caved in at 13 repeats instead of 15, but when I had done 14 of 16 rows of the lace border I was out of yarn, so I'm quite happy with my poor endurance. Look at how nicely it blocks! (I don't block - or knit - lace that often) It's almost 170 cm from corner to corner. Great stuff!

Yarn: Faerytale from Du Store Alpakka
Yardage: 3 skeins = 525 metres
Needles: 4.5 mm bamboo circulars
Gauge: 18 maybe?
Lessons learned: Not many. It was a simple knit with an interesting/clever beginning and a pattern that never bored me. I never at any time felt sick of this project!

From this romantic project to something a bit more gay:
I'm knitting socks for a friend whose birthday party I didn't show up at because I was in the archipelago with a special someone having a marvellous time. This friend is now in Kabul, Afghanistan (luckily doing office-y stuff and nothing that could be dangerous), and I think he could use a pair of socks when the winter comes. I ordered this yarn (Regia 4-fädig Nation Color) from Garnkorgen (which is a great yarnshop for Swedes who wish to try something new and exotic), and I thought it would be a bright multicoloured yarn, but when I raveled it (as in Ravelry) I discovered that it is gayly rainbow striped, which is quite OK since my friend is gay in every possible sense of the word...

Pay it forward package!

2008-08-21T19:07:00.007+02:00

Yup, I'm a lucky girl these days - although it's been a couple of weeks since I got this package from Karin Malle of Strikke-Tanten. This is how cute it was on the outside->

And this is what was inside ->

Four patchwork coasters! I was very inspired by them, and some day I will start patchworking myself. Not very soon, but hopefully this year.

Thank you, Strikke-Tanten, both for these cute coasters, but also for making this world slightly sweeter by paying it forward.

I've got one participant in my own pay it forward, so there's still two openings. I'd love to make something special for you. Leave a comment and you're in!

SP parcel!

2008-08-21T18:51:00.007+02:00

Yesterday I got my second SP parcel! It was kind of green/red colour themed - very coordinated. Look!

There were two balls of burgundy cotton, two hanks of sock yarn, possibly hand dyed and possible self-striping, more fruity shampoo and conditioner, more chocolate, a compact mirror, and best of all: a Amy Butler sewing book! It's so good I can't believe it - I love her fabrics (check them out at purlsoho.com) and the designs are very elegant. Can't wait to make something from it!

Thank you, dear SP, for all the nice things! And please tell me more about the sock yarn!

Apart from that, I've done some yarn procurement lately. First of all, I got some Regia sock yarn from Garnkorgen - I thought it was just multicoloured, but it turns out to be rainbow striped. That works fine, since I'm going to knit socks for a gay friend... From the same shop I got two hanks of Lorna's Laces Shepherd's Sock in colourway "Tuscany" - very nice! This will be socks for a special someone, when I get the time... The third yarn in this pic is like heaven in my hands - Faerytale from Du Store Alpacka. It's pink and fuzzy, and I'm making a lace shawl to wear at a wedding in two weeks. Free pattern (in Swedish) available at Avigmaskan.

SP question of the week, not sure which week

2008-08-19T16:05:00.004+02:00

I've been a blogger on holiday, even though I've been working for two weeks now, for too long. I thought I'd share my thoughts on what olympic sport my knitting resembles, until I find the strength to post pictures.

I think some of my knitting can be compared to short distance running (socks, mittens), in some cases with hurdles (socks and mittens with lace and/or cables). Sometimes it's more long distance (sweaters, shawls). Sometimes it's more like wrestling (really tricky cables and not using a cable needle) and sometimes like canoeing, in the sense that I'm sitting still, working with my arms and everything runs smoothly and quickly forward.

I'm such an athlete!

SP 12 package!

2008-07-23T12:43:00.002+02:00

Yay, I got my first SP12 parcel today!

OK, shitty picture, but the stuff is good! My SP sent me two different cottons (three balls burgundy and two balls peach), candy (Gummibärchen!), a really cool sewing book, a notebook with a sock monkey on it, a cute tote bag (good for knitting on the go) and a matching set of fruity shampoo, shower creme and leave-in conditioner. It was so funny, I was actually sniffing hair treatment the other day, but found myself too cheap to buy one... And this one smells so much better than the ones I was sniffing!

The peach yarn goes great with a lilac cotton I got last summer from my then spoiler, Melissa, and I can totally see them make a girly baby set... Supercute!

Sweet SP, thanks so much for great package, so many nice things! I really love adding more yarn to my stash, the shower stuff smells so nice and the monkey notebook is really crazy/cute... Thank you!

Sock hotness

2008-07-22T22:47:00.002+02:00

Yum.

Pay it forward

2008-07-22T12:14:00.002+02:00

Quite a while ago I found a post on Strikke-Tantens blog with the same title as this very post, and this is me paying it forward. It is such a nice idea, and I'm happy to have been one of the three first to have posted a comment on Strikke-Tantens blog and I'm happy to do the same for you.

This is the deal:

I will send a gift, hand-made by myself, to the first three people who post a comment to this post. The conditions are that
- you pay it forward by doing the same thing on your own blog
- the gifts are handmade by yourself
- the gifts are sent out within 365 days

So, post a comment!

Back in town

2008-07-21T19:53:00.004+02:00

I'm back from a great week in the Stockholm archipelago. We were eight girls, of which five were knitting! It was the knitting gals from this winters baby blanket project, and I'm so happy they got bitten by the yarn bug because it makes me seem less crazy.

Jenny knit her first sock, and even though it might not look exactly like the average sock it was more than OK for a first sock. More importantly, she had excellent yarn, and today I went and got some for myself: Regia's Kaffe Fassett sock yarn. I present to you my very own Kaffe sock:
(Jenny's sock had much more vivid colours, but they were out of it at Wincent, so I went for the dusty pastels, like always.)

During the week in the archipelago I finally made some progress on the big aran sweater I'm knitting for myself and desperately hoping to finish in time for winter. As for now, outlook is good -back and almost front are finished. When I get past the sleeves I'm looking forward to knitting a ribbed collar big enough to double as a hat.

SP12 is going great so far, even though I don't seem to get all the SP12 weekly questions mails. I've sent my first parcel and my spoilee was so happy it totally made my day. I've already started shopping for the next one, and it's so much fun! Melissa's great packages last year taught me that it's more fun to just buy the stuff you think your spoilee will like, rather than keeping track of keeping the $60 limit.

Apology

2008-07-12T23:04:00.002+02:00

I just had a quick look at my Sitemeter, and I found the "By referrals" section. I hereby apologize to all of you (possibly one out of four hits...) who find this blog by googling "Guichie guichie ya ya da da". You must be so disappointed.

SP12 question of the week

2008-07-12T22:54:00.002+02:00

1) Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday?
2) Where is one place you’d like to go?

I haven't found that favourite place yet (dreaming of a summer house...), but I always like to go see my mum up north. The one place I really really want to go, which isn't really a place but a whole lot of places, is the Trans Siberian Railway. Not only would I see a lot of exotic places, I would also have a lot of knitting time on a trainride that takes over one week...

SP 12 question of the week

2008-07-02T16:35:00.002+02:00

1) What yarn (that you don’t have/haven’t used) would make your stash “complete”?

I've never knit with linen/flax, so that would definitely complete my stash. I'm also imagining having a special stash of mitten yarn in a gazillion of different colours. Having enough yarn for bigger projects is also something I like. Mostly I only have one or two balls of something nice, and it's never enough to do anything that's not just an excuse to use up the yarn in question...

2) What yarn do you never want to be without?

I'm not a very faithful yarnlover, but right now I'm thinking it's good to always have sock yarn in the house, for when you run out of inspiration for whatever you're knitting. Who would have thought a couple of years ago I'd be a sock knitter?!

Inspiration

2008-07-02T14:19:00.004+02:00

I've been thinking about a simple/basic round-neck cardican with set-in sleeves, little buttons and no fuss. A classic, if you will. I had a look at Yll o Tyll, my former LYS, and the had some tasty dishes:
I think I like the blue one the best, but I'm not sure. It's knit in SilkeAlpaca, which I can imagine would work. It seems to give a good drape to it. But then I also like the green one too, knit in Malabrigo. (I'd knit the sleeves longer though. Sweden is cold in the winter.) The last one is knit in Garnstudios Alpaca, a classic yarn that works for everything. I like that the top two have pockets. Pockets are both useful and stylish.

Cute

2008-06-28T23:39:00.002+02:00

What a kimono shawl looks like

2008-06-28T21:36:00.003+02:00

On public demand, here's a work-in-progress shot of my kimono shawl:

I'm quite surprised of how fast I learned the pattern, and how little it bores me. Not at all, in fact. I'm not a wonder of persistance, so this is already a rewarding experience, and I find great pleasure in the thought of actually be able to wear this masterpiece this fall.

This week Fi MSN'ed me in panic from her new summer house, explaining that she was out of yarn. As a knitter I know a crisis when I see one, so I immediately rushed to her rescue by buying her four balls of Fabel and a couple of circulars (she knits socks on two circulars, crazy woman). As payment I asked her to order me two surprise hanks of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, now available in Sweden through Garnkorgen. And she did! She got me Periwinkle, a lilac I've been admiring for a long time. (Good knitting friends can pick good colours for each other.) After fifteen minutes of struggling with some fancy schmancy toe cast on I went for the figure 8 cast on and am now a few rows away from beginning the pattern of the Wishbone socks. So cute!

Speaking of Fabel, I've seen this cardigan in various yarn shops here in Stockholm. As my blogreaders may know by now, I'm not a fan of variegated yarn, but this pattern actually brings out something different (and better) in this yarn. I guess it's the garter stitch. Right now I'm actually considering knitting this cardigan, even though it isn't what I'd normally go for. But it might be a good everyday winter warmer...

I would also like to thank Theresia for her excellent guidance in sock leg length. For a size 39, 20 cm's shouldn't be a problem. I will use this information the next time I knit socks top-down, but my current sock is knit in way too fancy yarn for not knitting toe-up and making certain I knit to the last centimetre of it..

Kimono shawl

2008-06-17T23:02:00.003+02:00

Gee, I'm blogging like never before.

A couple of days ago I started a Kimono shawl (from Folk shawls) in the Habu silk I got from Melissa in SP10. I've had such trouble finding a project for this yarn, and kind of the reverse too; finding a yarn for this shawl. I've been thinking about combining these two many times, but it has never seemed like the best idea. I don't know why it does now, or if it was just the startitis talking, but I've worked about 15 cm's and I'm not annoyed or bored yet, so I'm hoping it will grow on me. I'll take a pic soon, when daylight so allows, but I can tell you so much as the yarn makes me hungry since it looks like salami or something; dark pink with white flecks. The yarn has a very dry feel to it and I can't see any silk lustre in it, but you never know what happens after washing and blocking. It's been decorating my apartment for almost a year now, so it was well about time to do something with it...

On socks

2008-06-13T13:27:00.002+02:00

I'm not a very experienced sock knitter, and especially not when it comes to whipping up socks like my summer socks, without pattern (albeit with a little help from the Yarn Harlots sock recipe). To ensure that I do not run out of yarn or patience I knit my legs until they are 15 cm long. Now it seems I have half of the pretty green yarn left, and it was a regular 100 grams of regular sock yarn. I guess I could have made them slightly longer. So my question to my sock-knitting blog readers (Theresia, I'm looking at you) is: How long a sock leg can you knit with 100 grams of sock yarn? I do understand that it varies and depends, but I have size 39 feet (7 in US sizing) so they are neither huge nor petit. I like to think they are average (but I know they're not). Tell me!

SP12 question

2008-06-13T12:50:00.002+02:00

Whats your favorite summer time drink?

I'd have to say iced tea (the kind you make yourself and not the Nestea sugary crap). I make green tea (and always plan ahead so it has time to cool off ;-) to which I add freshly squeezed lemon and some sugar. And icecubes. Best enjoyed in a high glass with a colourful figure-shaped straw.

Summer socks

2008-06-12T22:17:00.003+02:00

My desire to knit have been quite low recently, but a few weeks ago I felt like knitting something quick and simple (as always), and with the Swedish summer being here in all its glory (although I must say it's been exceptionally fine this far) I figured I needed a pair of summer socks, for those chilly evenings in the garden. I went to Nysta and fell in love with a hank of Araucania Ranco Solid in the prettiest green imaginable, and now I have socks.

Tonight I've cast on for a stole/scarf thing, but I wouldn't hope too much on it, because I don't feel very inspired... But Secret Pal 12 has kicked off and I'm very excited about that. I've been contacted by my spoiler, and she seems super nice, and I've said hi to my spoilee and she seems really nice too, so I'm going to have an awesome summer, stole or not.

A few days ago I received a package of quilt fabrics that I had ordered from Purl, and tonight I've washed half of them and started figuring out what to do with all the printed cotton adorableness I've got stashed. I think I'm going for a big, cozy and cute (pastels only...) quilt. I'll post some pictures when I've got it more sorted out.

Secret pal 12 questionnaire

2008-05-30T14:05:00.002+02:00

I just saw that Zeph had posted a SP12-questionnaire, and I've been thinking about it not knowing when the next round would be, so I was very happy to see I made it to the signups just before deadline. I'm so excited!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Natural fibers, wool, alpaca, cotton, silk, bamboo…

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Everything and nothing

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I’ve been knitting since forever. My mum taught me, and I consider myself intermediate. Due to my short attention span I will never be advanced.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No.

5. What's your favorite scent?

Something fruity or flowery.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

No, not really. I do like pastries though, but they’re not very mailable.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I’ve tried spinning but it never really got me going. I’m currently waiting for some quilt fabric and am very anxious to (have vacation and) try and make a quilt. I’ve been sewing since before I started knitting. And I also crochet occasionally.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

My equipment can play mp3’s. I like all kinds of music, and anything jazzy in particular.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I like green, turquoise, blue, purple, pink, and earthier, dustier tones. I’m not into very bright and cheerful stuff.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I’m a single woman with no pets.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear lots of scarves, and mittens and hats in the winter. Ponchos not so much.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Small things that finish quickly.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Socks. (see above)

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

What kind of person doesn’t?

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Bamboo circulars or dpn’s are my favourite.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes, both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Freakishly old.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Easter.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Earrings. And yarn. And I’m starting a little quilt fabric collection.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I don’t have any subscriptions. The only book that comes to mind is Barbara Walkers Treasury of Knitting Patterns, and the only pattern I can think of right now is Saddle Shoulder Aran Cardigan.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Nah.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I knit socks occasionally (and currently). My feet are European 39, which seems to be an American 7 or UK 6.

23. When is your birthday?

August 10.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

Linster.

Wool peddler's shawl

2008-05-12T23:29:00.010+02:00

I finished my Wool peddler's shawl (from Folk shawls by Cheryl Oberle) the other night, and I'm very pleased with having finished it as well as being able to wear it. Though it could have been a bit bigger... Shawl measures 180x75 cm now, after some wearing and stretching.

I used three skeins and then some of my Cascade 220 (I can make a matching hat :-), knit it on 4.5 mm and it folds nicely around the neck. (I also give you a funny pic of myself concentrating on taking a picture of myself wearing the shawl. Out of ten pics, this was the best one...)

All in all it was not at all a bad knit, though my circulars were possibly too short (80 cm), since it was quite hard work pushing the stitches around. And it's not a brilliant train knit, since it barely fits into my bag. I'm happy it's done, I kinda liked knitting it and I'm glad I have a chunky wool shawl now that the Swedish summer is here.

And it was such an easy pattern I only messed up two things. Close to perfect.

It's a Mayday

2008-05-07T13:39:00.003+02:00

So Linster, what do you do at work? Well thanks for asking, I'm currently blogging and updating my profile picture.

I need some input on this Wool peddlers shawl I've been working on for a while. I'm using the Cascade 220 Wool I got from my dear dear secret pal Melissa (hope you are well dear, long time no hear), and since it's a bit finer than the suggested yarn, knitting up at 18 instead of 16, I'm guessing (out of the blue) that my shawl will turn out smaller than intended. Since the thought of a small chunky shawl doesn't appeal to me as does a big, chunky one, I'm kinda puzzled on how to get there. I'm thinking I could either keep on knitting the lace edge until the shawl is big enough, since I have more yarn, or try and block it to desired size. But if I keep knitting, the border will be wider than the garter stitch "core" of the shawl. Will that make it look unbalanced? And how far can blocking take you? (Yes, far, I know, but how far?) Any suggestions from my dear dear blog readers?

Since I'm feeling generous today I'm going to share with you two tips for the summer. First: go buy "Last-minute patchwork + quilted gifts". It's just as pretty as the knit version. Next paycheck is gonna buy me a parcel from Purl and then I'll be a patchworker as well as knitter. Second summer tip: My friend Sofie sent me an email today where I was adviced to send one of my old pocket books to the person who sent the email to her, and then send the email to six of my friends who are now sending Sofie one pocketbook each, and when they send it to six friends each I will receive 36 pocket books!

("Mayday" is a great Rebecka Törnqvist song, about a day in May and/or possibly a cry for help. "You're patiently turning this winter to spring, and if it's not love it's a similar thing". I might have to start uploading her songs on YouTube so we can all share the wonder that is her music.)

Still here, still knitting

2008-04-13T14:57:00.008+02:00

I don't know if things have been busier than normal lately (and by "lately" I mean since January), but it's obvious my creativity hasn't been channelled through this blog. I have been knitting, although not as much as I did during my manic days. Although I doubt I'll ever get there again.

A quick resumé:
A Placket-neck Childrens pullover from Last-minute knitted gifts, for a friend's son, Lorens. I knit it in Debbie Bliss' Silk Alpaca, less than four skeins, on 4 mm needles, size 6-12 months.

Close-up:
Cute metal buttons from Yll o Tyll.

As my last post showed, I initiated a Circle of friends baby blanket for a friend, who now has given birth to Astrid (which was also my favourite baby name last year, but now it's too à la mode in Sweden. Right now I'm dreaming of Ingrid or possibly Vera. Like that's gonna help.). Aaanyway. This is where we are right now:
One stripe missing away from a cute baby blanket. Rowan WoolCotton, two balls of each colour, seven of them. Knit on 4 mm needles with great variety in tension. Sewing it up I'm happy that every knitter has managed to knit equally many rows of each colour. Mostly.

My happiest knit in a long time is this one:
Hexacomb cardigan from the latest issue of IWK. I fell in love with the pattern at the February preview of IWK, and I thank Tove for lending me the pattern when I couldn't find the magazine anywhere in Stockholm. I'm knitting it in Knit Picks Shine, colour "Bachelor button" which is more lavender than what this picture shows. A perfect tone between blue and purple. Edges are knit in Rowan Handknit Cotton, all on 4 mm. (4 mm needles is the shit these days)

Well, that's pretty much it. Today Stockholm offers the grayest of weathers and I have dug two holes in my tiny front yard and am now building up strength (coffee and cardamom rolls) to start digging five holes in my back yard. I'm not only digging holes though, I'm also stuffing them with things. In the front yard I now have two Clematis, and in the back yard I'll soon have four Spirea betulifolia (Björkspirea) and an american blueberry plant/bush. Thanks to Fi for driving, inspiring and insisting (and paying... ;-).

I know I'm not the only one who has been a bad blogger recently, and there are quite a few of my favourite blogs who haven't been updated for months. Hope you all are well and that you soon feel inspired enough to tell the rest of us what you are up to.

A bit of knitting

2008-01-03T00:05:00.000+01:00

For real.

Today I've purchased 14 balls of Rowans Wool Cotton. I've engaged six friends in knitting a Cirlce of friends baby blanket from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, though we have about three months until our oblivious friend is giving birth to her, and our old Uppsala gang's, first baby. So today I've test knitted half a square and rewound the 14 balls into 56 balls, of which 49 is for the blankie and seven is for safety. (Also it's easier dividing a ball of yarn into four little ones instead of three and a half. Just hope the other gals knit like me, otherwise the balls are too small.)

During the holidays I finished my Entrelac Scarf:

Pattern: Entrelac scarf from Freckles and purls
Yarn: Slightly more than four balls of Noro Kureyon, colour 170.
Yarn source: Yll o tyll, Uppsala.
Needles: Two 5 mm dpn's with tip protectors at the ends. You don't need full length needles for this scarf.
Gauge: No idea, doesn't matter.
Fun: Quite. But also a lot of work...
Mistakes made: After starting on the fourth ball, I noticed a big mistake, like an extra half row of squares, in the beginning of the third ball. I considered leaving it, though it gave the scarf a hood-like feature, but got myself together and ripped it.
Note to self: Kureyon is a bit itchy.

Other than that, I have a Wool peddlers shawl, the gray cabled sweater, a pair of knee-highs (currently inch-high) and Eunny's endpaper mitts in the immediate pipeline, and a friend turning 35 in two weeks wanting mitts for b-day present. Keeping busy, in other words...

Christmas tip

2007-12-10T23:16:00.000+01:00

A tiny blog post for knitters in need of a cute baby pattern: My friend Joy's Berry Warm Woolies! You can still make it until Christmas... (God knows I'm on the edge. And then I found this and completely lost it.)

November update

2007-11-16T11:38:00.000+01:00

But no pics today, I'm secretly blogging at work.

I finished the socks (shown in my last post) after some back and forthing. I asked my boss to try them on to see if they were close to the 45's I was aiming for, and he said the length was fine but that they were too wide. As I had just reached the second instep I made a few more decreases and figured I'd rip the first sock as soon as I was done with the second, but trying the first sock on another bigfooted friend I found that the first sock was perfectly fine and that my boss has skinny feet. Rip the second, then. Now they're just awaiting the weaving in of the ends, and I've moved on to more amusing tasks.

I've taken up my entrelac scarf and found that I might have come further than I thought. I bought five skeins of Noro Kureyon, but I think I'll only need the fourth to have a decent scarf. And the pattern also calls for four, so why overdo it? I'm looking forward to blocking it into beauty, but I'm curious about the texture of Kureyon knitted on 5 mm. I think it's quite dense and almost rough, and probably not very drapey. I'm curoius to see what miracles the blocking will perform.

Last night I pampered myself with some tiny, small moves-knitting, instead of the hard work that is entrelac, and cast on for the Endpaper mitts. For main colour I used the mocca coloured Opal Uni that Theresia got me (interestingly enoguh the same yarn used for my first Bayerische sock... we'll see which project makes it to finishing line first), and for contrast an offwhite baby ull I had lying around. I started with 2.5 mm, but as I suspected it turned out too big and I'm going to rip my 11 rows of pattern and change to my brand new 2 mm 15 cm bamboo dpn's Melissa sent me. Yay! I'm also thinking of switching colours, because the main colour doesn't look so main to me, and the mittens turn out a bit too white. White isn't excellent on hands. Not for long, at least.

Moving forward

2007-11-04T12:27:00.000+01:00

It struck me the other day that I've totally gotten my knitting mojo back. I've finished the Solar mitts my SP gave me yanr and book for, cast on for the sweater (though I'm not quite on top of it, since this much cables takes forever to get speedy with) and suddenly felt like knitting the socks intended for my best friend's dad, who helped me install my dishwasher. (Pen is for scale only. Men have big feet. It looks like a Christmas stocking.)

Toe:

Heel:

I'm using Raggi from Järbo, knits up at 19 sts/10 cm, 70% wool and 30% nylon for durability (but not knitting pleasure, let me assure you), 4mm bamboo dpn's.

Yummy

2007-10-29T22:17:00.000+01:00

I knit my friend's son Alvin a pair of mittens, and I think it's his first. It's a sock yarn from HelloYarn I ordered a year ago, before I finally realized the nature of my feelings toward variegated yarn. For baby mittens it's fine, and knitting tiny mittens take no time. Pattern from Knitting-Crochet. I knit them in the round instead of back and forth.

Delishus.

Linster on Ravelry

2007-10-29T14:00:00.001+01:00

I'm on Ravelry! Be my friend!

Just so you know

2007-10-10T11:10:00.000+02:00

If you find yourself in the need for a little something to spice up your day and decide to google "garnporr" (yarnporn in Swedish), Google will ask you if you didn't mean "barnporr" (childporn).

FO: Birchette

2007-10-08T22:27:00.000+02:00

Pattern: Birchette from Tricotin
Yarn: Habu Textiles A-32, colour 9
Yardage: Slightly more than two balls held double
Yarn Source: Housewarming present from Pia
Needles: Addi circular 3.5 mm (I think)
Gauge: Unclear
Modifications: I knit until I thought it was big enough and I was kind of tired of it, which turned out to be quite enough. Cast-off edge measures 85 cm after blocking, which is 13 "leaves" wide + some.

Just a little cute triangular thing to wear around the neck until it's cold enough to wear the chunky stuff. Lovely yarn, simple but not too boring a pattern.

Blogging while blocking

2007-10-04T23:06:00.000+02:00

Or soaking.

I've been knitting the "Birchette" from Bergère de France, free pattern, with the Habu yarn Pia gave me at my housewarming. This is what it looked like a week ago:

Blocked picture coming soon. It's not a big shawl, but a moderate little thing to wear around the neck. I think the upper edge will measure about 70 cm.

And today I bought 15 skeins of Drops Karisma for a project I've been actually considering for a while, and not just bumped into, fell madly in love with and bought yarn for with money I don't have. It began with inspiration from a yarn catalogue, but since I don't want to pay twice as much in handling and shipping as the pattern actually costs, I browsed my knitting dictionaries and other sources of inspiration to find written instructions for cables looking just like it, and then I figured it can't be that hard. I've knit sweaters before. I've knit cables before. And I can modify it as pleases me. This is how Garntjänst knit it:

I knit a swatch from some of the leftovers from my first knitblogging project, the disappointing Colchique:

I think it turned out quite nicely. I'm wondering if I should put a little something in the middle of the diamond cables, just to fill out the empty space (like the one in my heart, you know). But it might be overdoing it. Thoughts?

And then I'd like to tell you about my crazy Monday this week. I had a day off, since I've been working the entire weekend, and had decided to sleep until nine. The doorbell rang at 07.11, and I bounced up, took quite some time to find appropriate clothing (any clothing, that is), and when I finally got to the door a nice postal lady apologized for waking me up and gave me a brown, suspiciously British, parcel. It was the long gone last SP10 parcel, that had come to Sweden, waited at the post office for a month for me, who never got the notification, to come and get it, then went back to England and finally made it back to its final destination - my eager arms. I had a Christmas morning moment in bed before going back to sleep for another hour. As always, my SP Melissa outdid herself again and sent me the most beautiful stuff a knitter could ever wish for. In this pic you see four hanks of Cascade 220 for the Candle flame shawl I've been dreaming of for a year or so, a hank of nice, solid sock yarn (very tasteful), two balls of Rowan Silk Wool DK, a sheep tape measure (it took a while to figure out I had to pull the poor animal's tail to get the tape out), an elephant key ring and five fruity stitch markers. Not seen in this picture is "Accessories", a pattern book from Rowan. Yeah, a crazy good parcel, in itself worthy for a whole round of SP.

Then I went to get a haircut, yarn for my weaving class starting next week, and came back home, and when I took in the mail I had gotten a notification for a parcel. From England. I was very confused since I had already gotten my parcel delivered at my door, but I went to pick it up, and I actually got another parcel. From my SP. Stuffed with more goodies. I should blog this, since knitters will now break into my house when I'm at work, but this is what I got this time:

Four (4) hanks of Debbie Bliss' Pure silk. Three skeins of a Phildar cotton, lilca, with matching beads. Knitter earrings. Two balls of sequin yarn. Bamboo DPN's. Plastic colourful crochet hooks. An I-cord thingy. A card making kit. Another elephant keyring. A knitting needle case, very pretty. A Louisa Harding pattern book. A hairclip with a button on it, very cute. And I've probably missed half of it anyway.

As you can see, I've had the best SP ever. I've written extensive thank you-emails to her and I still don't feel I've gotten my message through. Go have a look at her blog and tell her she's the best SP ever and you wish she will be your SP sometime soon.

OK, this is obviously a vast post to compensate for the last weeks of bad blogging, but I think everyone seem to be suffering from it these days. Have we lost it, or are we just busy?

Idea

2007-09-04T12:06:00.001+02:00

Every day I get the "Kntting daily" newsletter, which is kind of a good way to keep in touch with your inner knitter. Today's feature is a scarf/stole from some knitting book, and I get quite happy just looking at it. The colours are almost summery, but the weather here in Stockholms isn't, so my mind wanders freely: Instead of KSH, which is kind of expensive if you're going for the whole rainbow, I'd go for Drops Alpaca (prolly bestest yarn ever) which has also good yardage and ridiculous softness but at a much better price. If you'd get ten colours you'd end up around SEK 400 with Alpaca instead of SEK 1100 with KSH. I'm just saying.

Free pattern from Knitting Daily, thank you very much!

Trondheim

2007-09-02T16:23:00.000+02:00

I went to cold rainy and sunny Trondheim a week ago, and spent five days conferencing medical education. On Monday my cold escalated and I snuck off during lunch to get yarn and needles. I had downloaded a free pattern from Garnstudio and cast on for some serious socks. I had no hope of getting them done before heading home again, but I loved having a simple knitting nearby during the tiring sessions of blah blah blah and other things related to medical education worldwide. And I got some great bamboo dpn's that are a treat to knit with. One sock down:

Oddest thing when it was done: the pattern called for one skein of Drops Alpaca, of each colour, for each sock (four skeins for the pair). This is what I had left after this beautiful sock was done:

I thought I'd have just about as much of both skeins, since the sock is knitted with yarns held double. Really strange. And I knitted the medium size, and the larger size would also only require one skein of each. I would never have been able to make a size bigger with that purple skein.

The heel:

Iceland

2007-08-25T13:12:00.001+02:00

I've been to Iceland. It was beyond awesome. I didn't get to see much in two and a half days, but what I saw was beyond my expectations and I'm determined to go back, find an Icelandic sheep farmer and settle there for good. Until then, I give you tiny/blurry Icelandic sheep and I'm off to Trondheim and another conference.

Trying to get my mojo back

2007-08-18T14:53:00.000+02:00

I guess it's a matter of general well-being. I do feel OK, but when summing up this summer I realize how far it is from what I expected it to be eight months ago. I separated from my boyfriend of three years, he moved to Brussels for an internship and I moved to Stockholm, all make-believe temporarily. The distance gave a new light to our differences and our new lives weren't so bad after all, so we split up over the phone in March, for the best but still very difficult to get over. I have a more than decent job and now I have my own place, but it's a place with loans and mortgages and all such adult s**t. I thought I'd be with him again by now, I thought we'd have grown back together. Instead I have by myself what I wanted for us. It's not really the same thing.

I had a friend here for a few days a month ago or so, and after she left she sent me this sms where she asked me how I actually felt, because she didn't quite recognize me. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I guess on a deeper level I'm quite far from where I used to be. I just hope things will settle and I will get comfortable in with my new life, even though I'm panicking over being 28 and single in Stockholm. I wanted to be 28 and cohabiting in Uppsala.

So I guess it's not that strange I'm not really getting my knitting mojo back. I see pretty stuff on blogs, but I don't think "I love it, what yarn should I get?" but "That would take ages to knit and when would I actually wear it?". I feel bad about my UFO's and I should be knitting a baby sweater for a dear friend who's having her first baby in just a few weeks and I don't feel like it but she expects it and I said I would do it. I have an almost finished Bayerische sock that's one centimeter too short but is only elongated by 4 centimeter pattern repeats. My needles are nowhere and everywhere. My stash is pathetic and consists of mostly half balls and scraps.

But I didn't log on to Blogger to whine, but to share with you this pretty beret by Ysolda which actually seems like a reasonable project for someone like myself. (It was in desire of this object I realized my stash sucks, because I don't have anything I could use for this.)

Days like these there's really nothing to do but to listen to Rebecka Törnqvist and bake yourself something sweet.

New Garnstudio patterns

2007-08-17T13:57:00.000+02:00

Did you know Garnstudio has released their winter pattern collection? And oh my God is it awesome?!
These are just a few of an enormous collection. Fresh and free patterns ladies! (They should pay me for this.) It seems they have quite a lot of patterns for Eskimo, which is a quite chunky single-ply yarn. Fast knits, in other words. And they have also tried to make the most for Fabel, their new variegated (sock) yarn. I'm not thrilled, but at least they don't seem to have any creativity issues, and that's always a good thing.

My favourite so far is the first cardi up here on the left. What are your favourites?

Mmm, to the left, to the left

2007-08-09T10:31:00.000+02:00

As even Beyoncé pointed out, it's the one on the left that belongs on my Salina. It won a landslide victory - 14 to 0!

Tonight I'm treating myself with nine hours on a bus to my mum's, where I'm going over the weekend. Wouldn't it be great if the Salina was done (buttons and second cuff) when i got back home on Monday, so I could blog it? Yeah, about time.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I'm going to celebrate it with a picnic with my best friend and two of my three godchildren by a lake in the forest. Having a new camera couldn't feel any better.

Enfin!

2007-08-06T20:57:00.000+02:00

In more than one way - I'm back, although you might not have noticed I was gone, but I was, because I was waiting for my new CAMERA, to make my blogging so much better. As I've been taking the first photos I realize it might take some time before my photography enhances my blogging, but I'll get there.

Until then, I could really use some help from my few but muchly appreciated blog readers. I'm in the delicate position of having two pretty buttons to choose from for my Salina (who is only one cuff-sewing and a few buttons away from wearable glory). The ones on the left was found in my stash, and are plastic mother of pearl buttons on a brown background, which kind of picks up the brown tweed flecks in the yarn. Not bad at all. On the right we have newly procured grayish plastic buttons, slightly smaller but also with a pearly finish, and with three holes and an interesting triangle in the middle. Intriguing and kind of retro. Please vote below!

Almost there

2007-07-24T17:24:00.000+02:00

Metaphorically speaking

2007-07-14T23:41:00.000+02:00

A rose is not just a rose. It's also a metaphor for quite a lot of things, though mostly related to love and female bodyparts. I'm quite certain I'm not the only Swedish girl who unknowingly has sung "Flickan i Havanna" (the girl in Havanna) and the line "kom, du glade sjömatros, du kan få min röda ros" (come, you happy sailor, you can have my red rose), convinced she wanted to give him a flower in the most innocent way imaginable and not prostitute herself.

The only thing of beauty that was growing in my garden when I moved in was a rose, and a couple of days ago it started flowering. I'm quite moved by this, and I find it a very nice gesture from this rose to flower as if to welcome me. I took a crappy picture and will reward the well-meaning plant by cutting it down to an almost nothing at earliest convenience, in an amateurish attempt to make it grow better next year. All my neighbours have beautiful, two metre rose bushes just exploding in beauty, and I have the same height but in two poor stems, carefully tied to the fence. And I want what they have. I might be ungrateful, but I'd rather like to think that I see the inner beauty that lies within this rose; I see its potential.

Tonight I finished my first Salina sleeve. It looks a bit odd.

New look

2007-07-09T12:18:00.000+02:00

Inspired as I was by Katarinas new and improved blog, I took advantage of my vacation, downloaded a new template and updated my links.

Tonight I'm going to my old place to see if my last SP package has arrived - the secret "M" sent me an email last week to say she had posted it. I'm so excited!

On the knitting front: a few days ago I joined, as many others, the "Mystery Stole 3" project after reading about it on the Yarn Harlot's blog. I dug up the precious raspberry red silk yarn my still very secret pal sent me in her last package, even though the instructions recommended black or white yarn. However, after knitting a small triangle that looked quite nice I browsed the comments on the Yahoo group and found pics of stoles that had come a bit further than mine, and I didn't like the look of it at all... I like my lace to have rounder, more organic patterning, and this one seemed to be of the more geometrical kind. But it was good to have a few hours off from the endless sleeve knitting on Salina. This pace is not normal for me, and I would like to blame it on my absent sofa. Sitting on a matress on the floor isn't too comfy, and knitting doesn't help. I have a few centimetres left to the armhole on the first sleeve. I'm so tired of it, I might knit a cuff or a collar in between sleeves...

SP upstream reveal

2007-07-01T21:18:00.001+02:00

Earlier this week I sent the last SP package to my "downstream" Mary - check out her blog.

I'm still waiting for my own lovely upstream to reveal herself. She's been awesome, I can't wait to see who she is!

My new place

2007-07-01T20:12:00.001+02:00

Yesterday I moved to my brand new place. My. Place. A tiny terrace house. I bought it! (Sure, technically it was the bank who did, but the bank won't be living here.) It's so surreal. Last night, as all my beautiful, lovely, box-carrying friends had left, I was not only dead tired but also kind of confused. I love the apartment, but I couldn't help but not knowing how to feel about it. I've been waiting for this moment since I started living on my own nine years ago, and now I didn't know how to feel about it. The feeling persisted until today, but it might have passed now. (I can imagine it's the same thing as many new mothers feel.) It's kind of scary knowing that I am responsible to myself fo making holes in the wall, and presumtive disasters will paid for by myself. The people living around me are my neighbours, and I have to be nice to them. Everything depends on me. And I'm all by myself. This place is for me and only me, and I will be living here until somebody suggests we move in together someplace else. And may I say it doesn't seem to be happening very soon, either...

Tomorrow my best friend will come here with his family, and his dad has promised to help me drill holes in my walls (iiix), his mum is going to have coffee with me and hopefully my three godchildren will play in the yard and my best friend help me carry boxes to the repository, throw junk away and admire my little garden, and since they are wonderful people I know I'll feel much better and more at home having them around.

More cables

2007-06-17T20:01:00.000+02:00

Now I'm here--->

I did three repeats of the 16 row cable (Eunny's sock leg was four repeats. How on earth could I even think I could pull off only knitting three?) before I decided it was time to do something else. A heel for instance. After turning it I was however slightly surprised to see that the leg has shrunk quite a bit. Must be the heel pulling it down. I was a bit disappointed, but then I figured the only reason for a longer leg would be to show off those foxy cables, and there's still plenty of room for that. Sock leg length has a saturation point, a trade-off between the need for warmth and the reluctance of continuing to knit the same thing you've been knitting for days now. My back is aching/ from all sock-making.

Bayerische socks

2007-06-16T12:05:00.000+02:00

A few days ago I got a little swap package from Theresia, my last SP. As solid coloured sock yarn is hard to come by in Sweden, she sent me two balls and 2 mm bamboo dpn's. Selbstverständlich I couldn't not cast on immediately, and this is what it looks like today:

I was a bit anxious about gauge, since it seems that no matter how thin the yarn and itsy bitsy needles I can never get over 28/10, but I've pulled it over my heel and despite the mind-boggling 96 stitches per round I think it's gonna be nice and snug.

As I started the sock I was worried about 1) not wanting to keep working on Salina and 2) not being able to keep interest in these socks until finished. I feel a kind of stress within, wanting to finish things and not wanting to knit things that don't get finished. I'm stressed out about the things I've started, and about the things I've promised people I'll knit for them. These socks are however, and today, still kind of fun, despite the number of stitches mentioned above and the never "just knitting along" as there are things going on on each row.

Today I'm going to try to keep away from the sock for a few hours, do the dishes and go to look at a sofa bed. This week has been interesting; I've found an apartment I'd love to live in (I think) and finally solved all the financial issues and am hence good to go bid on it. And I even think I have a good shot of getting it! To keep myself from going crazy with anticipation until seeing it properly on Monday I think I'm going to a funiture store and dream away.

To my two knitting Uppsala friends: I'd love to hear from you more! MSN still works just fine here, should be the same in Uppsala...

SP - super presents!

2007-06-09T17:09:00.001+02:00

I got my second SP10 parcel the other day - and it's just as good as the last one!

There were glass beads and flower-shaped beads, a knitted brooch that will be that little extra on my brown tweed jacket (if global warming ever lets me wear it again) and a "some assembly required" brooch. There was a cherry infusion that makes great ice tea, and there were yarn. This heavenly person has got me three balls of Bamboo Soft from Rowan, one extra ball of Felted Tweed for my Salina (I'm still on the first sleeve, but back and front are done) and two cones of Tsumugi from Habu Textiles, and a bunch of patterns from the web as inspiration... I'm knocked off my feet, as usual. Beautiful, all of it. All the things I get from my secret pal are both high-class and always right up my alley.

SP, you're a dream! And I must say the card with a knitted Union Jack is just super cute. It's art! I'm putting it up on my wall. But you didn't knit that yourself, did you?

Today I'm a patriot

2007-06-06T10:45:00.000+02:00

Today is the national day of Sweden. We've celebrated this day since 1983, and since 2005 it's a national holiday. In 1523 Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden on this day, and many other things of importance for Sweden has happened this day. For example, Queen Kristina abdicated in Uppsala on this day in 1654, and in 1974 we got our current instrument of government, which is one of the best reasons to celebrate this day. Its first paragraph states that all public power in Sweden starts from the people - isn't that beautiful? Today I'll be extra thankful over being Swedish, living in not just a beautiful country with amazing nature, from the alps to the archipelago, but also in one of the world's strongest democracies where gender equality has come far and even idiots are allowed to speak their minds publicly.

Finished object

2007-06-03T22:48:00.000+02:00

Pattern: "Cabled purse" from Last-minute knitted gifts
Yarn: Cablé from Kinna textil, mercerized cotton
Needles: 3 mm bamboo dpn's
Gauge: Pretty close to the 28/10 suggested

A cute little purse, perfect for keys, cash, cards, cell and lipgloss. All you need for a night out.

Don't know how carrying a knitted purse affects my chances of getting lucky. Can't get any worse though.

Colourful

2007-05-31T13:39:00.001+02:00

Today I'm home with a cold that my mum passed on to me when I visited her last week. I'm quite bored, my place is a mess, as usual, but I've managed to get a few hours in the laudry room, which is impossible to get at times when I'm normally at home, so soon I can stop wearing undies I should have thrown out a long time ago.

I felt like finishing something, so I started the quickest knit ever and finished it. This is the third little mobile/mp3 stocking I knit, and I have two more requested! I made one for my new phone a couple of months ago, and a friend immediately wanted one for her mp3, so I knit her one too. When her sister saw it, she wanted one as well, and here it is: -->

This is how I do it:
I cast on 20 stitches with my favourite sock yarn held double on 3.5 mm dpn's, and knit 1k 1p until I've reached desired length. I cast off using a three-needle bind-off and weave in the two ends, and turn the thing inside out. Voilà!

The yarn used is a hand-dyed merino sock yarn from Hello yarn, in a colour that no-one of my SP spoilees have had a taste for. I'm no fan of variegated sock yarn, as you might know by now. My friend's sister wanted something "happy", and if this doesn't make her happy no medication in the world will.

The result is tight yet stretchy. If you have access to the item you intend to cover I suggest a try-on after a few rows. And I can also inform you that even though wool is quite hydrophobic, emptying a bottle of water over this stocking isn't a terrific idea. The stocking took it well but not the mp3 inside it.

Today I'm also offering you a view of a quilt my grandmother (the good one) gave me for Christmas more than twenty years ago. It's a beautiful heirloom I haven't been careful enough with. I haven't broke it, yet, and when you have something as lovely as this you want to use it for every picnic you have... Even though it's quite "busy", you can see that it's made up of 20x20 cm squares, consisting of one rectangle and two differently sized pieces of other fabrics, alternating direction. I like the fact that there are both floral and more geometrical patterns in it. I think it gives the quilt balance. And I like the fact that all the fabrics in it are from other things my grandmother, who was a semstress, has sown. I can recognize some of the fabrics, but they're mostly far older than me.

Laugh or cry?

2007-05-22T10:29:00.000+02:00

If this isn't knitting humour, I don't know what is... Poor guy!

Picture from Interweave knits. It's a free pattern at www.interweave.com/go/baseball, designed by Vicki Square.

Monday knitting update

2007-05-21T20:03:00.000+02:00

Despite bad blogging habits, I am actually knitting. A few nights ago one of my neighbours had a video game night until three in the morning. At half past one the excited cries from behind the wall finally made an end to my sleeping attempts and somehow it struck me I need a little party purse for this summer, when I'm going out manhunting in the night. (I'm also imagining myself skinnier than present, showing off my stuff in new jeans and silver pumps. But I'm starting with the purse.)

I had a green mercerized cotton lying around, which turned out to be perfect for the Cabled purse from Last minute knitted gifts. I cast on and knit a few rows before I was too tired to notice the shoutings and finally went to sleep, but progress has been good since then and today I reached the folding row at the top, and will now knit stockinette in the round for the rest of the week, I imagine. The purse turned out smaller than I thought it would, but it is actually as big as it should be according to the pattern. I guess the picture in the book is a bit misleading... If I'd do it again I'd knit it in chunkier yarn, to make it maybe 20 centimeters high instead of 15. And I think wool would work too.

I made some good progress on Salina last week when Sofie hosted a knitting fika (Swedish for coffee or tea and pastries). It might have been the killer chocolate cake, but I finished the first side of the front, and have now only the left side from armhole and up to do before I move on to recalculating the sleeves. I'll be bringing it along with me up north as I go and visit my mum on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to a few days in peace and somewhat quiet (18-year old brother) in the beautiful landscape of northern Sweden, although I fear it won't be as warm and summer-like as Stockholm is. But that's what we have wool for.

SP contest again

2007-05-15T13:54:00.000+02:00

I got a couple of questions from my SP hostess the other day:

With the weather turning warmer, many of you are thinking of traveling (though some of you have just returned, you can play along). 1) What do you pack to knit? and 2) What do you hope to shop for?

Assume that you will be gone for ten days to someplace "foreign" that is known for having great knitting locations. (Bonus: Where would you go on a "knitting holiday"?)

1) I'd either pack my current project (Salina), since I really want to finish it. On the other hand, if I go someplace warm I'd pack something less wooly and sweaty, like maybe the cotton skirt I'm crocheting or a sock project.

2) Stuff I wouldn't find at home, like something discretely hand painted (not variegated or self-striping, obviously) or other things that hasn't reached Sweden yet. Or something local, like a chunky handspun from a named sheep.

Bonus answer: For knitting purposes I'd go someplace with an interesting knitting tradition (and sheep). Luckily, I live in such a part of the world, so I'd go to Norway or some north Atlantic island like the Faroe or Shetland islands. Or Iceland! Last week I was told I'm going there on a two-day conference in August, so I'll have almost one day to go wool-shopping before I improve my knowledge in quality vs. quantity in higher education. It can't count as "holiday", but I'll pretend.

Salina progress!

2007-05-08T19:57:00.000+02:00

Yes, this is actually going quite well! I'm bringing Salina along with me when I go to work, so I have at least 42 uninterrupted minutes of knitting every day on the subway. And as you can see it pays off! I'm going to have to check, but I think I've finished the last increase on the front, and I'm totally excited about reaching the front opening. Yeah - that's a severely dorky thing to say. And as you can see in the picture I have a few rows to go...

I've looked at pictures of other Salinas, as well as the pics in the book, and I have to say that I think the sleeves are a bit too wide for my taste. I'm thinking of making them slightly tighter, and to compensate for the smaller number of stitches when reaching the top of the sleeve I think I could just make the decreases fewer and spread them out. The decreases won't align with those on the front and back, but I don't think it will show with these tiny little stitches and tweedy yarn.

Secret Pal - look, I'm using the bag from the Simply Knitting you sent me! I thought it was a bit too much with the yarnprint and all, but it keeps my needles from poking holes in things, and that's always a good thing.

Tagged, finally!

2007-05-05T11:33:00.000+02:00

Sofie tagged me in Swedish, but I thought I'd be kind enough to translate it for my international audience... I've been waiting to be tagged since I started blogging, so THANK YOU DEAR!

Three things I don't understand

Most languages
Why pygmées are small
My vagina

Three things on my desk/table I'm sitting by

Makeup
An empty wine bottle
Vintage Style

Three things I'm doing right now

Procrastinating
Wondering what to wear tomorrow
Having breakfast

Three things I want to do before I die

Have children
Learn more languages
Feel content

Three things I can do

Use my hands (skillfully)
Use my brain (satisfactory)
Use my heart (unavoidably)

Three things I can't do

Keep my body in desired (desirable) shape
Be content with the abovementioned body
Save money

Three things I think you should listen to

Your heart
Your mother
Amy Winehouse

Three things I'd like to learn

How to make petit-choux
How to build a house
How to sail

Three favourite dishes

Chinese noodles with beef and chicken
Raggmunkar
Anything prepared with lots of love, butter and cream

I'm passing this on to Pia, Joy and Fi (who all need to blog more often)!

Royal knitting

2007-04-24T09:34:00.000+02:00

Republican as I am, I still find princes and princesses quite interesting. Maybe because they are always pretty and wear beautiful clothes. Have a look at the world's freshest princess, the Danish one:

It's true, you can't almost see her, but look at what she's wearing: a lace knit baby blanket! What a teriffic idea. I can totally imagine that one in Drops Alpaca...

Salina

2007-04-15T20:25:00.000+02:00

Casting on never went faster than with Salina a few days ago. Of course, after 6 centimetres I was no longer on but off gauge, despite swatching (though I'm not sure five rows count as a swatch no matter the row gauge). I got stitch gauge at my second attempt, but then it just hit me, after beginning the bust increases, that I might not have row gauge. And no, I hadn't. I'm thinking it doesn't matter (...please God). I'm thinking the difference is too small. Like, 32 stitches makes 9 cm instead of 10. I'll just knit until it's long enough, and I don't think the slightly shorter distance between the increases and the decreases won't make a difference. Keep your fingers crossed...

My first SP10 package!

2007-04-10T19:50:00.000+02:00

Dear Secret Pal,
I simply cannot believe this. I've no idea of who you are, but you've just given me one of the most lovingly thought-through and generous presents I've ever had. At first I was very impressed only by the beautiful wrapping, and from there it just got better and better. I was surprised to find a book-looking package (at least in Sweden books are quite expensive), and I was absolutely stunned to see you got me Vintage Style from Rowan. I cried. I started looking through it, and found your note on the "Salina" page, saying there's enough yarn in the package to make it, if I like. I couldn't believe it, tore the paper off the yarn package and started crying again. Six balls of Rowan's Felted Tweed in "Watery". Watery is the word for it alright. Like a fountain.

And, dear blog readers, the precious package also contained a little cross stitch kit, apparently picturing the very English house where my yarn was bought, candy, a pretty card with a wooden version of the London Eye, a knitting magazine (Simply Knitting), a lavender bag (and my yarn smells of lavender, it's just beautiful) and a hand knit hot cross bun from "All the fun of the fair". That's a bundle of nice things I didn't even know I wanted!

Dear SP, I'm speechless (lucky thing I'm typing). I had a hunch before, but now I know for certain that you are a lovely, generous and caring person, and I'm already endlessly thankful to have you as my secret pal. Would you mind being my SP for the rest of my life?

SP10 contest questions

2007-04-10T12:58:00.000+02:00

1) How old were you when you learned to knit?

I know I knitted in school, when I was about ten. But I have memories before then, of needles, white acrylic yarn and endless (it appeared) amounts of stitches...

2) Who taught you?

It must have been my mum. At least I know she taught me to purl, since I purl funny (Norwegian style).

Cutest knitters ever!

2007-03-31T14:23:00.000+02:00

Sofie and Joy at the cafeteria at Nordiska museet today.

I liked the knitting exhibition, and was quite inspired by some techniques, even though most of the stuff had "librarian" or "middle-aged cultural worker" written all over it. The exhibition consisted of some garments but mostly really big swatches (40x40 cm) displaying different techniques. I was disappointed not to be able to see the backside of the works, since that's where you can actually see how it's done in some cases. I was however slightly disobedient and lifted a corner here and there, and particularly one technique caught my interest. I'm trying to figure out how to use it, but I might just make a swatch to see if it works in my hands as well...

As we sat down afterwards to have coffee and knit, I could really feel my knitting mojo slowly returning! Joy was knitting a Tärnabymössa in something called "double knit" which I thought was really cool, so I'll have to try that sometime, and Sofie's debut sock knitting made me want to knit some socks myself. For friends babies, maybe. That way it won't take too much time, and you can still give something handknit to your friends' babies. A win-win!

Now I have to go curl my hair for a party tonight. With my new shorter 'do I might get an afro.

Saturday morning blogging

2007-03-31T09:51:00.000+02:00

Today me and a few other knitters are going to Nordiska museet to see their knitting exhibition. I'm quite excited, I don't know if it's any good, but meeting up with knitters (bringing knitting is mandatory) for coffee and knitting afterwards has never turned out badly.

Quick update:
Sofie was here yesterday. I showed her how to cast on for socks, and she got a good start on her first sock ever, in a Regia yarn bought in Germany. I wonder if she got any sleep last night... I got pretty tulips:

I can also show you almost the first and least interesting part of my crocheted skirt, held up to a level I won't wear it when it's done:(I'm taking pics with the webcam, hence the odd composition/posing.)

And last, but not least, my first attempt to bead knitting (or beaded, I'm aware that there's a difference but I can't tell what it is):

Drop's Alpaca in black, with lilac beads. It's for a colleague who really wanted a pair, so I gave it a shot and after only ripping a centimetre or two I'm on track. The good thing about knitting is that you always learn new things. I've just learned to knit with beads and that I make wobbly edges in garter stitch.

Crocheting

2007-03-25T21:13:00.000+02:00

Creativity accidentally hit me the other day as I bought the latest issue of Kreativa kvinnor, a Danish but translated magazine for creative women. The stuff looks really nice and they are generous with patterns for both knitting, sewing and crocheting (among others), but the patterns are often ridiculously brief. "Suggested yarn: mohair". Say no more.

Anyway, in this last issue there was a crocheted skirt pattern, which I astonishingly enough fell slightly in love with. Yesterday I went to Marias garn and got two hanks of a mercerized cotton (this pattern didn't state any suggestions, but at least yardage) in a crazy hot pink/coral colour. I went for a colour I imagined at least wouldn't enhance the greenish light of my summer legs. As soon as I've come beyond the boring beginning I'll take pictures. ..

Brazilian weave

2007-03-21T11:10:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I had my weaving class. It’s so much fun! After three full evenings of warping and preparing I could finally weave for twenty minutes last night, and it was so gooood! It struck me that what really appeals to me about knitting are the same benefits as weaving has; the row by row growing and the intense satisfaction of creating something incredibly regular by hand.

When I started the actual weaving last night, it struck me that my rug won’t look like grass and summer as I had planned with my yellow warp and green weft: it looks like something very Brazilian. Like the Brazilian flag. (A particular newspaper ad comes to mind, with a fit, tanned and very hairless girl in a green and yellow bikini, promoting painful hair removal.) This rug might not be well suited for my bedroom, even if I had one, but I can however see myself having picnics or sunbathing on top of it. I would have taken pictures if I hadn’t left my mobile at home. Better luck next time.

On the floor

2007-03-18T12:16:00.000+01:00

The thing I like most about living on 27 square metres is that vacuuming is done in no time. The backside of it is that when you're laying out to cut fabric, you have to do it on the floor (since the only table you could fit into the room is too small), and then there's no space left for yourself to move around. All the squatting makes my feet fall asleep.

I bought the prettiest floral print cotton from Fabric Tales, and I thought I make a dress for a friend's 25th birthday party in a couple of weeks. Fabric Tales has an impressive selection of japanese fabrics, not at all expensive and with great service. I was very happy to have my stuff in only a couple of days after ordering. Sent from Japan!

Here's a closeup:
Now I can feel my feet again, so I best get back down on the floor.

Getting myself together

2007-03-14T18:50:00.000+01:00

I'll try to get myself together and not be such a bore. SP10 kicked off today, I got a sweet email from my spoiler and it made me a bit softer. I've also had a look at the blog of my spoilee, and I think this can be the beginning of a terrific spring.

Yesterday I had my weaving class. It's kind of funny being the only one under the age of fifty. The other day when I went to buy weft for the rug I'm making, the weft shop owner made a happy remark about how nice it is to see young people take interest in the noble craft of weaving. A sixteen-year old passed before my eyes, and then I realized it was me she was refering to.

Oh well. I better try and write some more on la région d'Île-de-France. I should have written one page a long time ago, for my distance course, but this week is absolute deadline. I have eight rows. If anyone has something interesting to say about this region, please email me. If you could write me in French it would be even better...

Bad blogger

2007-03-08T16:28:00.000+01:00

I'm a bad blogger. I'm a bad knitter.

It feels quite odd to have signed up for SP10 when I don't have any desire to knit, but maybe SP10 is the cure. Maybe I'm a having a spring depression.

I have started my weaving class though, and so far it's loads of fun. Next week I might even start to weave! It's not knitting, but it is yarn.

Good things

2007-02-16T15:51:00.000+01:00

Good things do happen.

This week I've cut my hair off. Just wonderful. I've been saving for two and a half year, and for what? Just a constant big blob of not knowing what to do with this girlfriend-ish hair mass. I feel so much better now, I don't even have to brush my hair in the morning.

Two hours after my locks fell off I was offered another year's substitute where I've been working since September. Hooray! One of the conditions I set up for myself in case I'd be here longer than April, which was the previous deal, was that I was going to finish my bachelor paper and get at least a bachelor's degree, if I don't make it to a master. To be able to accomplish this paper, I will however need a laptop. With another year of income secured, this is not a problem, and so today I've ordered my life's first and very own laptop! Iiix!

Also, I've signed up for a nine week weaving course. I've been pining to learn the noble art of weaving for several years, and finally the occurrence of both time and money coincided. Tuesday's my first weaving evening!

And, as if all this wasn't enough, I won the wine lottery at work today. Seven bottles of wine! I don't even know what to do with them, I don't drink that much wine, especially not when living alone. But still! I'm very happy. Winning makes you feel good.

I think I need a minute or two and just contemplate over how blessed I am. Seriously. And by posting this, I can always go back and remember this awsome week, if for some reason the next week won't come out as brilliant as this one.

Mittens

2007-02-07T13:52:00.000+01:00

I made a pair of mittens for a colleague. They're the same as the pirate mittens I made for Måns in october, apart from the main motif, but same yarn and basic pattern. The classic Norwegian star is surrounded by I don't know what, not very decorative, but just to fill out the space.

Not my finest piece of work, but everything can't be.

I've got a new order (just as I thought I wouldn't knit on demand again), so I went to Nysta and got some soft and shiny blue baby alpaca/silk for a pair of wristwarmers, and just around the corner they have a bead shop, so I got some matching beads. Let's see if I can figure out how to embellish without making silly.

Nysta is actually a very inspiring yarnshop, with luxurious yarns at decent prices. They had just got in a merino/silk 50/50 before which I melted like snow in springtime. I find it hard to buy yarn without specific projects, or at least a good idea. I'd hate it if I bought yarn, figured out a good project and then found I had too little yarn for it, or maybe even worse, too much, leaving me with one garment and too little yarn to make something else from, and then just enhancing my stash with a skein and a half.

Ah, the problems of the modern world.

Secret Pal 10

2007-02-05T11:07:00.000+01:00

After a few months of stand-by envy of those who joined SP9 I'm now throwing myself into SP10. I want yaaaarn!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

To put it simple, I love natural fibres and detest synthetics and acrylics. And I hate multicoloured, self-striping yarn!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Umm… plastic bags and glass jars? (Yes, this is a problem area.)

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I’ve knit on a regular basis for ten years, but manically only for about two or three. My mum taught me the basics in my early teens. I’m probably an intermediate knitter.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No.

5. What's your favorite scent?

Freshly baked cinnamon rolls...

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I’m not very fond of candy. But of course, chocolate is always nice…

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I sew, spin, cut, paste…

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Mostly jazzier music. Mp3’s are not a problem.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

When looking at my FO’s, it seems to be lilac. If it’s not lilac, it’s blue/green. I’m kind of sick of lilac now. I don’t like bright colours, I’d rather like them to be a bit dusty.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I’m in a relationship but currently on my own, since my boyfriend is doing his internship abroad this semester. No pets.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Not ponchos, but the rest, yes.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Semi-small things.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Mittens, a short-sleeved top and wristwarmers.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Circular and bamboo or plastic, but not metal. Slippery.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Very old.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Easter.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Apart from yarn? Earrings.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I don’t have any subscriptions and I’m planning on getting part 2 and 3 of Vogue’s stitchionary. I’d love to have more circular bamboo needles and bamboo dpn’s (I only have 2.5 and 3 mm), and I’d also like to try bamboo yarn at some point. And I’ve glanced at Rowan’s Vintage Knits for years…

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Not that I can think of right now, but probably. Intarsia maybe.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I have learned to knit socks since my last SP round, when I was paired up with a manic sock knitter. It’s quite fun. My feet are 25 cm.

23. When is your birthday?

10 Aug.

Knitting pretty

2007-01-24T10:13:00.000+01:00

I went to Wincent Garner to ask for advice on yarn for the Rusted Root top, and they suggested Calmer. Might be a good idea, since the last week has been quite stressful. I went for the shade "Calmer" (the combination of yarn and shade should be sedative), but it's nothing like the Wincent Garner picture. It's very very pale. I might look sick wearing it. I know you say bold colours, Fi, but if you're not with me in the store I forget.

Anyhow, the garment is knitted top down, which should be a good idea for us with abnormal backs. The pattern is clear, but could have been made easier. I had to chart the lace insertion myself since the pattern only has a text version. It's very hard to get a picture of lace without a chart, I think. Anyhow, I'm increasing with M1's, which is quite new to me. I normally increase by knitting in the stitch below, either before or after depending on which way I want it to slant. My M1's are all made the same way (I hope), but maybe if I turned them different directions the increase "seam" would look more symmetrical? Anybody have a clue?

Calmer is a kind of stretchy yarn with a pleasant softness to it, and it's very friendly on the needles. I'm having great expectations for this top, the oncoming spring and the wonderful places I'll be wearing it. To avoid heartbreak I should however do some situps before I try it on.

Apart from the knitting, I've just moved to Stockholm and my loved one to Brussels, where he'll be doing his internship for five months. It just blows. Does anybody know of any good yarn shops in Brussels?

Knit with what?

2007-01-10T16:26:00.000+01:00

I bought the lovely Rusted Root pattern a while ago, and am very much looking forward to wear it when springtime comes (even though it's been springtime since September) . The pattern suggests a 80% cotton/20% merino blend, which seems like an excellent option for a short-sleeved top. Cool like cotton, bouncy and elastic like wool. The best of two worlds. But what if you live in a country that doesn't provide you with these exquisite blends? Yes, I could order it from somewhere, but maybe I don't want to. Maybe I want to squeeze the yarn before I buy it, and make sure the colour is just right for me.

Dear blogreaders, what yarn should I go for? Suggested gauge is 20. Will pure wool be too hot? Will cotton drive me crazy? Am I too great a knitter to cave in for those tempting but common cotton/acrylic summer yarns? Please advise.

Baudelaire

2007-01-04T14:09:00.000+01:00

Pattern: Baudelaire from Knitty summer 2006
Yarn: Opal Uni, SP8 gift from Theresia
Needles: 2.5 mm, 15 cm bamboo DPN's, as above
Gauge: Smaller than suggested, so I knit these in "S" despite my size 39/6/7 feet.
Fun: Yes
Mistakes made: A few. These were intended for me, but the toe-up construction made calculating finished foot length very difficult, so they became a Christmas present for my mum who has bigger feet than me.

Happy new year!

2007-01-02T23:28:00.000+01:00

I'm feeling like a really bad blogger, so here's a quick and uninspired update on my recent knitting:

Hello Yarn X-mas socks for E's mum. On the right you can see a little thingy. I've no idea what they're called in English, but it's a tiny woven ribbon that says "Stickad med kärlek av Linn Lindquist" (Knitted with love by Linn Lindquist). I ordered from vavnamn.se and I'll be sewing them onto everything I knit from now on.

Before these socks I made a shrug:

It's Drops Alpaca and a glitter thread knit as one, and I knit it like this:

Wacky angle, but it's knit like a T. A friend had a shrug like this bought at H&M, and I wanted one too, so I knit it. The bottom rectangle measures 105 cm and is 30 cm high, and the top rectangle is 45 times 30, and then the ends are sewn together. It's a weird construction but it works.
At the moment I'm finishing the ribbing on the Baudelaire socks my mum got for X-mas (didn't have time to finish them on time...), and I'm making an entrelac scarf in Noro Kureyon:

Help!

2006-12-18T22:23:00.000+01:00

A few months ago, I stumbled across a beautiful knitting pattern on the web, in some webshop. It was a short puff sleeved top with a quite high rectangular neck line and a lace insertion, maybe three inches wide, running from top to bottom left of the center. I think the shown top was in a brownish red/terracotta. It was adorable. I didn't bookmark it. Has anyone seen it? Can you tell me where it is?

I'd say the webshop was kind of cool and young, not like Elann or something grandmother-ish, and I think the designer was accredited, and she had several designs in this shop.

Does this description fit anything you've seen? Please help me!

Happy holidays

2006-12-11T20:08:00.000+01:00

I told you

2006-12-10T22:45:00.000+01:00

After a short escapade into the land of variegated sock yarn, I have returned once and for all to my solid state of disrespect for the abovementioned string. What was I thinking? I even cast on for beautiful lace socks! With variegated yarn! What was I thinking?

Ok, this is what it first looked like:

The yarn itself still looks nice, and I made a picot edge that was fiddly but cute. But you can't see the beautful lace pattern of Flickering flames, which is a shame. I frogged.

This is what it looks like now:

Much better, but if I try and look at it soberly, it is still a damn ugly variegated sock. And the yarn is more orange in real life.

Long story short, I'm glad I tried, but I'll never do it again. It's such a shame, because I really really love the look of this yarn. It just makes ugly socks. I did buy the yarn just for myself, but right now I'm considering making the socks a Christmas present. For anybody.

Today I've wrapped up the secret X-mas swap package I'm sending to Germany. I'm very excited, but there hasn't been much swap action yet. I've secretly emailed the girl who's getting my package, but she hasn't responded, and I haven't heard anything from the person I'm supposed to receive my gift from. I guess swaps are risky business, but I hope this one is going to work out. I'm quite satisfied with the package I'm sending, and I think that if you make a package you'd like to get yourself, you can't go wrong.

Yarnalicious!

2006-12-06T20:16:00.000+01:00

My stash has been improved during these last few days, and it's all internationally procured yarn. More or less.

First, a colleague came into my office with a plastic bag. She is moving to a new place and knew I really like yarn, so when she found seven hanks of Ålandish Skärgårdsull, she thought of me and gave it to me! They're 300 m each, three brown and four white, knits up to 22/10 cm. Definitely enough for a sweater.

Also, my Helloyarn order came yesterday, express delivery at the door! I had no clue it was going to be express, shipping wasn't that expensive. I was thrilled to squeeze my two merino sock skeins, and today I've been browsing for patterns to do them justice. First I'll knit something of "Syrup", the peach/orange one, and then we'll see what the "Lime twist" will become. I know Saartje knit beautiful socks earlier this fall, with one solid and one multicoloured yarn. When I saw them, I started looking for that multicoloured yarn, and when I didn't find it I forgot about it. Maybe this yarn is the one for such a project...

And as if all this wasn't enough, I got some Croatian stash enhancement today! A month ago or two I asked for a swap here on the blog, and Sandra from Croatia responded. Today I got her package: Yarn, ribbon, buttons, stickers and candy! Very exciting to get Croatian yarn... it might be the only Croatian yarn I have in all my life!

Thank you Sandra!

When Satan gets old

2006-11-29T13:21:00.000+01:00

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.

Two more souls saved!

2006-11-23T14:04:00.000+01:00

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?

Beret

2006-11-14T10:38:00.000+01:00

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.

X-mas swap

2006-11-14T10:26:00.000+01:00

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..

The calm after the storm

2006-11-02T11:06:00.000+01:00

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?

Wanna swap?

2006-11-01T13:51:00.000+01:00

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!)

More mittens

2006-10-31T13:34:00.000+01:00

I've knit mittens. Somebody will get them for his/her birthday, so I won't show the monogrammed side of the mitten. It's the Helloyarn pirate mittens knit in Létt Lopi, only one skein of each colour. Gauge is 22, so they're slightly bigger than in the pattern, but that was the point. Fun and quick to knit, but I prefer traditional motifs rather than pirates. Good thing they're not for me...

My mum's mittens

2006-10-26T15:52:00.000+02:00

I went to Umeå again last weekend, although it was for business purposes this time. I didn't mind though, since I got to spend another few days with my mum. She had almost finished a pair of beautiful mittens, with a pattern put together from different mitten patterns from some library book she couldn't remember the name of. The yarn is Nagano, a superwash, and her gauge is around 27. I think adding a third colour really gives a whole new dimension to the beauty of these mittens. They're quite long, so I was thinking I could knit them removing one row of stars. Look closely, even the middle of the star is red!

Here at my new workplace they have an artclub that has arranged an "amateur salon". I've contributed with a few knitted items, and two days ago a man from another department called me up and asked how much I wanted for knitting a Tärnabymössa for him... I'm going professional! Yesterday I ordered "Baby Ull" from Garntjänst, and tossed in some lavender Top Wool on sale, possibly for a baby item. They ship within Sweden for only SEK 35, so if you find something there on sale (and they're quite cheap sometimes) it's actually not that bad. It's difficult to find decent wool there, though. They appear to be focusing on grandmother knitting; the kind that requires lots of acrylic instead of love, wool and artistery.

And last week I received my own copy of "Lat-minute knitted gifts". Now I know what the fuss is all about! Super cute, lovely photos and nice patterns, though they seem to be a bit too basic for my knitting taste. I haven't made pom-poms in decades...

Washcloths and mittens

2006-10-14T15:08:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I got the Lion Brand newsletter and came across something as unknown as washcloths. I figured it was knit for the kitchen, but googling led me to the distinction between washcloths and dishcloths. Tvättlapp och disktrasa. I could only think of one area of usage, and not a pretty one, so I figured it was kind of odd that it seems to be such a widespread phenomenon. I found this blog, and after reading even the comments I learned all there is to know about washcloths. Apparently you don't get clean if you only use soap in the shower. You're just nasty. I was stunned, and sice I don't want to be nasty or anything, I quickly cast on forty stitches with a spring green cotton originally destined for a crocheted amigurumi cat (who needs cats anyway?), and made a triangular pattern, so I would get a reversible washcloth. And ta-daa:

(I surrendered at the thought of using it for the face. I've started a war on pores.)

Apparently, two washcloths and a matching soap makes a great gift. Good to know with Christmas around the corner. And it only took two hours, including some internetting in between, to make it. It should be perfect for train knitting as well.

Today I procured a very lovely yarn for yet another birthday present. I'm gonna knit mittens, and I think it will be pirate mittens. For a person maybe not yet down with the supremacy of knitting and handmade knitwear I think it might be a good introduction. Behold Létt-Lopi and its beautiful lustre.

Promises

2006-10-13T20:49:00.000+02:00

I'm back from Norrland, and have been quite busy this week and therefore haven't kept the promises from before our departure, and I won't fulfil them today either. I have pics of Shedir, but will give it to the birthday person tomorrow and I think pics of the garment on its owner looks better. I have no pics of my new spinning project and am very uninspired at the moment, since I don't really get the spinning thing (when is it twisted enough? why is the merino breaking?) and am too lazy to read the spinning book I bought. I can't post any pics of the fish we caught, since we didn't catch any. I will however give you some pretty views of Norrbotten at its prettiest. I repeatedly expressed my awe of the stunning colours until Erik said: "It makes you think of yarn, doesn't it?"

This is my grandmother and me in front of Storforsen, a waterfall in Piteälven, both wearing stuff she's knitted. True to her habit never to look directly into the camera.

Pretty norrlandish view:
And of course:

I was so happy we got to see reindeers, since I really wanted to show Erik, born and raised in Stockholm, the real Norrland. I met a woman from Boden (even further up north) this week and told her about the adventure, and she said that not seeing reindeers would have been a feat. I think they're kind of sick of the reindeers up north. They're extrordinarily stupid (the reindeers, that is) and won't move even if you slowly push them with the front of the car. Not that I did. This male snorted at us and ran off with his three buddies, all by himself.

We did try to fish, but apparently October isn't fishing season. But we got to borrow a boat from my aunt's husband and rowed out on Lyckoträsket, which wasn't a very lucky place for us. But stunning, as the clouds floated away and left us with a clear blue sky, blue water, a dense silence, surrounded by autumn colours and sunset to remember.

Can you handle this?

2006-10-02T21:44:00.000+02:00

(Oh yes, I'm so funny. Handle.)

Before I leave civilization for the more north of Sweden such as Umeå and Piteå, I give you a peek of what I've been doing these last days. I bought the cable bag pattern last week, and after two entire days (oh well) of searching, I found a good enough yarn at my LYS, namely Alafoss Lopi. I really like the colour and I think it'll be great with my new navy blue autumn coat. It might be a bit greener in reality, but the pic's close enough.

The handles come from Panduro, who actually has quite a few bag handles and other nice stuff in that area.

Thursday will be my one-year blog anniversary! I won't be online enough to celebrate it, but I give you promises: Next week I shall give you pictures of the secret birthday Shedir, my upcoming spinning project and hopefully the poor norrlandish fish who are still happily unaware of our fishy plans...

How was your first kiss?

2006-09-28T09:54:00.001+02:00

Off topic, but awfully cute...