Dying at the Symposium

One of the themes for the classes at the symposium was colour and dying your own yarn was part ot that theme. The most interesting technique was perhaps the use of mushrooms, but the group was full when I registered. Here is a picture of their results:















Since I had never done any dying before and new challenges draw me in I chose two other dying classes, both using acidic dyes. This means there are very few chemicals involved besides the pigment and vinegar. On Monday afternoon we heated water in large pots and made solid colours. The recipes where a bit tricky, but at the end of the day I think I knew the mathematical system. I had to do a lot of calculations because I wanted my heather pink to have different shades so I could make a gradual change across a sweater.

On the last day I went back to the dying, but this time we painted the skeins by hand and set the colours in the microwave oven. This was more fun, but the results were perhaps harder to control for us beginners. I didn't really have a plan, but I wanted the yarns to look good when knitted and not only on the skeins. Therefore I used soft colour changes and for two of the skeins I made very short sections while the last was half and half in pale red and blue.















The green and pink became my homecoming presents for the children. During the past week we have been travelling a bit and their new hats fitted nicely in a small knitting bag. We are going to decorate them later, probably with applications...

Snow!

We have had snow since November, but this weekend we got an extra foot of it. Right now it looks like a postcard outside with fresh snow and the days getting long enough to last until we get home in the afternoon. Nice to be able to take pictures outside on a weekday!
















To the left the 4-y-o in his We Call Them Pirates hat. The yarn is merino that I got in Estonia last summer. I sewed his name onto the inside of the linig, and he is so proud of the hat that takes it of to show that detail to people. To the right is the 7-y-o in her new Kari/Ola mittens. The pattern comes from a Norwegian book by Lillill Thuve. The yarn is Garnstudio Karisma. I made a pair in Dale Heilo when she was two, and she loved them, but this pair has not been accepted yet.

Hat parade

With a view like this from the kitchen window, it's easy to get inspired for winter knitting. I love using those single skeins of luxurious yarns for hats, and here are a few examples.















This was so much fun I couldn't put it down, it took three evenings. Short rows and cables in the "wrong" direction makes it look wierd, but the pattern is easy to follow. It comes from Knitty winter 2007 and is called Bloody Stupid Johnson, named after a character in a fantasy book. The yarn is Manos Silk Blend, and it is so good it is almost unreal - soft and a joy to knit. I made one modification, a Japanese cast on for 2x2 rib that is a lot like a tubular cast on and very comfortable. The hat is a little small in height, but it hasn't been blocked yet. Looking forward to using it, and making a scarf to go with it.















This hat is about a month old, and great for tucking in my wet hair after swimming. The pattern is called Frances and comes from The Inside Loop. I used larger needles since I couldn't find the right size and couldn't wait getting started, but the edge is firm and holds it in place because I used both colours from the start. The Fair Isle pattern is cleverly designed using Rowan Tapestry with built in colour changes on a background of Felted Tweed. It was hard to pick a colourway, because they all looked beautiful, but I got some help in the end and like the result.















A few years ago I ordered four skeins from Virtual Yarns, Alice Starmore's online store. They also became a hat, but here the contrast wasn't enough to show off the pattern Stjärnmönstrad mössa by Anita Gunnars.

I wouldn't mind getting more of all these yarns in the future. I feel like I have gotten to know them, and I have hats for half the days of the week...

I have also finished the third of my shawls from the previous post. It is just as wonderful as I thought it would be, but a bit too small for my taste. I will make a good X-mas present for someone, while I plan what yarn I could use to make a larger version for myself.

Miniatures

This week everything has turned out small. Baby Born is wearing her new Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood from Interweave Holiday 2007. It is a very clever and good looking pattern inspired by arcitecture. The yarn is (as always...) Visjö by Östergötlands ullspinneri. I had planned to make this for a 2-y-o since the needles and number of stitches matched another pattern that I had knitted in this yarn, but I hadn't expected this pattern to be so tight. Maybe I will make a bigger one later. It is really brilliant and it only takes one evening to complete, provided you make the braids without the extra needle because there are many crossings.

The cardigan is one of my first proper knits. I think I was about 11 when I made this at school. My children could only wear it for about a week before it was too small, but they were quite big. It looks much better on a doll than it did on them. It is a great short row design from the 60's book Sticka med Hemslöjden. Last weekend I made another 60's baby cardigan in garter, Baby Surprize by Elizabeth Zimmerman, but it still needs some finishing.

Finally Barbie's friend Derek is wearing a sample for a crochet class I attended last Tuesday. It looked like an egg-warmer but will probably be of more use to the dolls. Around here we call this technique påtning or smygmaskvirkning, but I don't know the English term, if there is one. It is made in the round using slip stitches through either the front or back loop. Great for warm mittens in medium weight wool on a 5-7 mm hook. This picture shows the details better:















Next Saturday I will be going to Syfestivalen in Sollentuna, an event with a lot do for textile fanatics. I hope I will get some amazing yarn, meet some interesting people and have a great time. I'm thinking about posting some mark of identification if any of you readers would like to recognize me, but I haven't decided yet...

Pink Alpaca

Sometimes the timing isn't right, like last winter when I made this hat for my daughter. She had a serious case of summer-dressing-in-the-winter, and didn't like putting things on her head. It remained in the pile of things to finish until this Christmas and hopefully it will get a chance this season.














The model is "Romantic hat" from Med stickor och fantasi by Lisbeth Björndal. The original is for an adult and more like a beret, but I changed the size and proportions. The material is 40g of Garnstudio Alpaca knit on straight 2.5mm needles and sewn together at the back. I like the change in direction with a knitted lace as a starting point and then picking up the stitches for the top along the lace. The yarn is delicious, and best of all I have more than two balls left, because making the girl wear a scarf as well as I first planned will take a few more years.

Presents revealed

Finally knitting life can get back to normal. Seven homemade gifts and a shawl for me were ready by Christmas Eve. Some have been seen here earlier, but a few were not ready before we left the house last week. Here are a few late entries:















This is a family kit in soft, 100% wool Visjö by Östergötlands ullspinneri. Mother gets wrist warmers in crochet with two colours and loops designed by Maria Gullberg for the Hemslöjden magazine and her new book. Father gets the Henry scarf from Knitty fall 07, but with this yarn I got away with five repeats instead of seven for 20 x 160 cm. The son will be very warm in Katarina Brieditis' wasp design. My own kids have hats in blue and purple and they wore them all last winter. The mother hinted that she liked all the pieces and might be wearing them as a set...

The next picture is from the singing and dancing we did before opening the presents. I'm wearing my new Sea Silk shawl in Sangria red. There will be a better picture, and maybe a pattern, later. (Click the picture to make it bigger)

Lots and lots of hats

This week I've been working on my Christmas presents. This hat is for my brother G., and since he chose the colour and style I might as well show it. The yarn is Visjö and the needles are 2,5 and 3mm. I usually hate using 40cm circulars, but most of my double pins were otherwise engaged, so I had to, and my hands only ached for the first couple of days. Right now I'm making a sleeve on 40cm circs and it hardly hurts at all... Modelling the hat is my son, who turned 3yo last week. His head measures 54,5cm, but this is really one size fits all. It looks good on my 59cm head too.















The pattern can be found in Gro Sandvik, Strikk tilbehör. I seem to turn to this book whenever I need a pattern for basic accessories. I've made this model before in redish handdyed yarn. I also made the version without the cables for MrP. last winter. The yarn I used then was Kauni, but he insisted on blue and it really didn't have much contrast. The scarf took forever to change colour, not quite what I had planned when I had seen this model knit in rainbow colours. The scarf pattern is so much fun and can be found at Barbro's knitting.
















Finally the rest of my hat archive. As I've mentioned before I collected some of my knits for an small exhibition this summer, and since I'm new to digital photos, and therefore blogging, I took some pictures of old stuff to get me started. This is the last of those pictures, so from now on I have to knit new stuff if I'm going to blog.















The twins at the top are designed by Katarina Brieditis for Östergötlands Ullspinneri, and they sell them as kits. The bees are knit at the same time as the hat and really clever. The kids love them as well. Bottom left is my own design(!). MrP. wanted something to keep him warm under his bicycle helmet, so it had to be thin and have ear flaps. The edge is crocheted backwards and the pattern is Fair Isle. The yarn is Heilo by Dale, leftovers from his Norwegian sweater. Finally to the right is a design from Anita Gunnars, Vantar, mössor, sockar och sjalar. This is the hat I mentioned before that is made of the sample skeins form Virtual Yarns. It's very warm and super soft, and I have a soft spot for tweedy colours.

Double knitting

Last night a dozen experienced knitters tried out double knitting, and some said it was like learning to knit again. However, they soon got the hang of it. It looks more advanced than it is, as it often is with knitting. I first came across this technique in 2002 and I have been on the lookout for more information about it since then, but I haven't found much. One of the ladies last night said she had done something similar in school 50 years ago, but that was about it.

My first attempt was this pocket on my collection of samples of patterns by Britt-Marie Christoffersson.














The next attempt came when I wanted to make a set to go with my second Moebius scarf. I didn't have the right needles to knit them in the round, and I avoid sewing whenever I can. Instead I made them in double knitting on two needles, but no one can tell.














A more intriguing way to use the method is to knit a reversible fabric in two colours. The colour not used on the front side will appear on the back. More examples of this can be found in the Patterns and techniques section to the right.