Knitting fever

Today I have been home alone with a stubborn cold. Somehow it is not so bad being ill when you can knit, and today it was actually quite nice. Just days before that volcano erupted I ordered a few things from overseas, and today the first item finally arrived. Prjónaperlur is a book about all the facets of the current knitting fever in Iceland. Women of, literally, all ages present their own patterns and there are classics next to crazy and childish. The patterns are a bit too easy for my taste, but there are a few gems. I just finished reading the presentations and thoughts between the patterns and it warmed my heart almost as much as my own fever. Being half Icelandic I like those moments when I feel part of that community and the book really sucked me in. It will soon be published in English and there is a part two in the making, so if you have an interest in the culture of knitting or a love of Icelandic wool I can recommend it. It is small but has a soul.
















Before the post arrived I finished the first project from the huge stash of Icelandic Einband (1-ply) that I brought home last October. It is the fabulous Faux Russian Stole from the book A Gathering of Lace. The yarn only lasted 180 of the 185 cm needed so the last centimetres are slightly paler, but it is like one of the mottoes from Prjónaperlur says: "There has to be a mistake in each project, because then you can see that it is handmade". This is especially true if the result is as amazing as this. This is lace in garter stitch, which I had never made before, and it is actually easier than it looks but requires a lot of patience. Most of it was made during the Christmas holiday, but the problem with the yarn made me wait with the finishing until I had convinced myself how to deal with it.















And a detail...

Sweets

Last summer I found that I had three shawls named after drinks and this Easter I seem to be into sweets. The first yarn is named Dubbelnogat and it is a tasty, shiny silk. The yarn is from a small collection of hand dyed silk from Färgkraft, where they usually dye lovely, thin woolen yarns in unexpected colourways. I spotted this yarn last summer at Cina's garn and hinted to Mr P that if no one else had bought it by Christmas I wouldn't mind taking care of it. I got two 400m skeins to wrap myself in and after a lot of dreaming about the result it is finally on its way. It is interesting to see what happens to the mix of colours when you start working with a yarn that is hand dyed, so I took pictures of the process from skein to swatch.











































The yarn is actually very shiny in silver, gold and bronze but the pictures were too bright for the screen. The pattern is Tuscany by Amy R. Singer from her book No Sheep for You. This pattern is made for silk and suits the drape of the yarn and the pattern works with the colours. The first swatch is on 4mm needles (right) but it was too loose and 3,5mm (left) works much better, I will just have to add som extra repeats at the end.

Another sweet project is the Madli's Shawl by Nancy Bush from Knitted Lace of Estonia. This yarn is Nef Lace from Fyberspates in Toffee Chocolate. I made most of this on my trip to Iceland last year. Short wooden needles worked well on the plane. The yarn is extremely soft and the pattern isn't very well defined so I am not quite sure if I will follow this through to the end

Icelandic lace again

I blocked a few shawls last week and two of them are from Thríhyrnur og langsjöl, my Icelandic lace book. The first one is my second attempt at Thríhyrna, the cover design. The first version was too tight and small. This time it is too loose and airy, we'll see if I give it a third try some day. The yarn is red Pälsull by Östergötlands ullspinneri and needles 4mm.















The second shawl was truly all about the process. I bought three balls of the sock yarn Raggi mini by Järbo at the supermarket. With each ball I tried a different pattern. Two were then frogged and only the third was finished. The patterns I didn't choose in the end were Lily of the Valley Scarf from Knitted Lace of Estonia, because the pattern didn't show well and it was too bulky, and Ripple from Knitty, a great design but the edging didn't work in this yarn.



The one I chose to finish is Langsjalid Bárur (waves). It is big, soft and the stripes become great waves and are much easier to knit than using 6 colours like the original.

Estonian lace

This blog was started two years ago when I last visited Tallinn, Estonia. Therefore it is quite fitting that I relaunch after half a year of neglect with another visit to Tallinn. A couple of weeks ago my family and some of our relatives went on a four night cruise on the Baltic Sea. One of the stops was Tallinn and of course we did some knitting related shopping. This is what my kids fell for:















Personally I prefer patterns and yarn, and this time I found a really good selection of books but no yarn that had my name on it. Since my last expedition to the book stores of Estonia several new titles on various traditional crafts had been published. One stood out from the rest and it is one of the best knitting books I have ever seen, even though I can't read the language. (The key to the charts is also given in English.) That is high praise from someone who has collected knitting books for 20 years. The book is Haapsalu sall and it is a collection of lace patterns used for making the superb Haapsalu shawls. These shawls were hand knitted in the seaside resort of Haapsalu where the elite of the Russian empire spent their holidays 100 years ago. The patterns are still very much alive and the shawls are still used as gifts to foreign dignitaries visiting Estonia. Regular turists to Tallinn, like me, will have a hard time finding any but now we can make our own.

I have started out with a sampler with some of my favourite patterns. The yarn is regular Estonian 2-ply that I bought on my last visit. The patterns should be made from much finer yarn, but this is what I had at hand. The shawl was just improvised until I ran out of yarn and then the second edging, which I had knitted earlier, was grafted on. I will post more detailed pictures on Ravelry.

All for me

Don't get me wrong, I love being generous and practical and knitting for my family. Lately I have been stressed out and knitting for relaxation, and then I find that gorgeous things for me work best.

During the holidays I was obsessed with Vivian Höxbro's Abstract Stole. Now it has been finished as well. The original has squares of 6-7cm, but mine were 8.5cm before felting and 8cm after. This means that since I made the entire length of the pattern but only five out of nine rows it is very long. The other modification I made was to leave tabs along the lower edge only, instead of the original random pattern. The ends are knitted into the following row as you go along, so there was little finishing. I felted it by washing it in the mashine accompanied with a pair of jeans. I would have liked it to felt more, but since the colours felted very differently I decided to leave it as it is. The pink felted best, but the yellow and orange hardly felted at all. That is the risk with herbal dyes I guess. Thanks mum for the yarn, and for modelling!















I admit that the I have not yet worn the stole myself. It is a bit demanding. The next shawl has been worn for a few days, and I was even stopped by a stranger at the bus stop who liked it. First she wanted to know were I had bought it (knitted it last week...) then she asked for the pattern (Icelandic lace book...) but I could give her the name of the yarn shop (Garnkorgen). I have also promised to translate the pattern for a colleague who has already "copied" the other two scarves I have used this winter. The pattern is called Hyrna Herborgar and I made a smaller version in pale pink before Christmas. This time I used Kauni yarn and 4.5mm needles for a more practical version. I love the way the stripes turned out, I only knew that I wanted the dark purple at the center, but then the purple returned just in time for the edge pattern.















Finally my new pair of Knotty gloves. Knitting these on a long circular needle only took a few nights. They look and feel great, and the purple goes well with my new shawl. The yarn is Ranco multi by Auracania, and it is new favourite. It is not only soft and beautiful, but also seems durable and I have half the skein left.

Three little projects

Three big projects await blocking, so of course I leave them and work on three small ones instead. First up is one that is finished, and does not need blocking. The last sock of the month of Sockklubben 2008 is off the needles and will be used by my daughter next time she goes skating. The pattern is for an adult, but I subtracted 25% from all numbers and they are just right for a 17 cm foot. They have a twist, in two different directions, and that is why the pattern is called Vortical. The yarn is Tofutsies, a slippery but shiny mix of wool, soysilk, cotton and chitin. The colour is a bit too mixed up for the pattern, but it has the same colours as the original model. I thought about making childrens versions of all the ladies pattern in the club last spring, but this is the first time I got around to it. I will try to do this again, because the kids need more socks than me now.















Still in progress are two winter goodies for me. To the left you can see Knotty gloves in lovely sunset colours in Auracania Ranco. They are a really quick knit on a long circular needle, and I hope I can wear them next week. To the right is a new try at Hyrna Herborgar in a heavier yarn. Garntrollet had the same idea, without me knowing about it until I had decided to make this. Hers is not the same colour as mine, but I hope I will get the same size and look.

Höxbro and yarn

This knitting addiction is getting worse every day now. This holiday I have knitted what feels like half a blanket, but still the stash is growing...

The blanket is actually a stole, but the yarn is so much thicker than the original Shetland type yarn that it is getting really big. I do not think I will have enough yarn to make the whole width though, and after a spin in the washer to shrink it I will probably have a large scarf. The pattern is from Knit to be square by Vivian Höxbro and it is the reason I got the book. The yarn was bought by my parents a few years ago from a local artisan who had dyed it using herbs, and a lot of them were in the yarn. You know how some woolen yarn has a lot of grass and stuff in it, well multiply that by 20 and you have some idea what my kitchen loooked like after making these balls. It is also rather coarse, but this project is still highly addictive and I have stuck to it most of the holidays.















I first came across Vivian Höxbro, who is Danish, when she taught a class at the Nordic Knitting Symposium in Härnösand in 2002. I had not chosen her class, but I bought some booklets and a kit and tried the techniques from her then new book Domino Knitting when I got home. The kit has not been completed, but now I feel like giving it another try. It is a children's jacket called Lakridskonfekt (Licorice AllSorts) and I made half the back panel before deciding that it required too much concentration.















Vivian has also published Shadow Knitting, and I gave that a go earlier this autumn since it is based on one of the Japanese techniques that I taught in October. I had some idea that I was going to wear this vest it during the course, but it was not done in time and now it awaits new inspiration. It is knitted in stripes, but the texture makes part of the stripes pop out and form another pattern.















Even though I knit a lot, I plan even more and the stash is growing. Here is most of the yarn from the past month, which has been a little exceptional.















First I was waiting around for my family and ended up in Hemslöjden in Härnösand. I restrained myself and only got some material for Sockklubben 2009 (bottom left). The next weekend I rushed through a Christmas market and found some amazing, natural wool from Kristians gård in Delsbo (top left). For a few years I have been on the lookout for cotton that grows in various shades of green and brown, and now I have found a Pakucho yarn from Strik in Denmark that has a few retailers in Sweden and bought some sample skeins. I think I will get more (bottom center). The purple ball will become a larger Hyrna Herborgar shawl for me (top center). Finally my visit to Garnkorgen yesterday also resulted in a lot of lovely red Ranco from Auracania. One skein is variegated and will become gloves and the solid red will become a sweater for me. I was planning to concentrate on practical clothes for me this year, and not buy as much yarn candy...

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.

Lace and drinks

No, I don't recommend drinking and knitting, especially not lace. When I was preparing to write this post I discovered that all the lace shawls I'm working on have colours named after drinks. The first two are finished, and this is how yummy they looked before blocking:















Let's start with the green one. It is designed by Jane Sowerby and it is a variation on a pattern from her book Victorian Lace. This version appeared in Knitter's Magazine summer 2008. A free version will be on their website, but it isn't up yet. The original is knitted in Zazu by Twisted Sisters in a colour called Blue Curacao, but I'm more familiar with the green version of the drink so I made it in a nameless green lacewool from Fyberspates that is hereby named Green Curacao. As you can see it is very thin and transparent, but the yarn feels strong and when I wrap it around my neck it is warm enough. I like the shawl and it was fun to make, but there is one problem. I knitted it during the Olympics, from opening until the closing cermony. Then it got stuck because the ruffle meant there were 1925 (!) stitches to bind off, and with added picots there were 2053 actual stitches. Then a thread had to be sewn through all the picots for blocking... I don't think I will make more ruffles for a while.















The next drink is Sangria, which tastes very good on a warm Spanish night. Red wine with slices of oranges is also a fiery colourway so I thought it was just right for Icarus from Interweave Knits. The yarn is Suri Blue from Fleece Artist and it turned out to be more pink and less red than what it looked like on the skein, but it is still beautiful and so soft. This was all quick and easy and since this will be a Christmas present I might make one for me as well. I used larger needles, 4mm, and the shawl measures over 2m across the top, which made it almost to big for the bed I use for blocking.















Last night I cast on for my third drink. This is Rosé by Färgkraft, a soft pink dyed on a light grey yarn. When I bought it I thought it would be an Icarus, but when it came home it wanted to be Hyrna Herborgar from Thrihyrnur og langsjöl instead. I've loved this pattern since I got it in 1991, but I had a bit of a problem with the table cloth look of the pattern and it was hard to find a yarn that could counteract that. I think this will be just right, and it will look great with my coat. The skulls in the background is my table cloth in the kitchen, left from my son's Halloween/birthday party last week. I hadn't planned the picture, but it is sort of right with the pink and the lace.

This and that

After the sweater race earlier this summer I've made a few small things that only took a couple of days. First up are the Pomatomus socks, July in Sockklubben. This is probably the first yarn I actually bought for the club, one that is interesting without hiding the lace etc. that these socks always have (Opal Fantasie 1914). I didn't like the patten at first, and spent a week trying to knit them without the yarnovers, but finally got tired of ripping and reknitting and made them according to the instructions. I even got hold of 2.75 mm dpns a while ago so I could use the right size needles. They are a bit big, and I should probably have used 2.5 mm for a better fit, but who says I have to keep them. They are modelled by Mr P who had taken this modelling position on the sofa, all I had to do was put on the socks. He has inherited my cold that kept me away from this weeks knitting café, now I've missed three weeks in a row...















Last weekend I was at a birthday party for a friend in my folk music group. Since I wasn't sure if we were getting her anything from the group, I made her a couple of wrist warmers just in case. They are good to have if you play the fiddle outdoors, like we often do. The yarn is Sandnes Lanett in charcoal grey, leftovers from when I made piles of baby clothes from their lovely patterns. The pattern is Berta from the booklet Muddar from Sticka!, and had I followed the written instructions the would have looked very diffrent form the picture, I had to make several changes to get the lace edge right. I think the first one took five times as long to make as the second. ( Really nice party by the way, thanks K.!)















Finally my knitting for the Olympics. I didn't register for any KAL, because I wasn't sure how much time I would have, but I cast on just in time for the opening cermony and it looks like it will be finished on schedule. It is a shawl by Jane Sowerby, but not from her book on Victorian lace, but a variation on the Spider's web pattern for Knitter's magazine. There will be another variation free on their website, but last time I checked it wasn't published yet. In the picture you can see the half hexagon center, but the edge is what makes it special and I will be getting back to that now. Finished this part to the men's tennis double final, where Sweden got the silver.

Family summer

This year we have stayed close to home and had our relatives come here to visit us. This has meant more work around the house, many short excursions in the area and nights spent over long dinners rather than knitting in the sofa. This has given me more time to reflect on what I really want to knit, rather than just starting new things all the time. I really want to get back to knitting more traditional patterns, with my own modifications and modernisations. I also want to look more at what the family wants and needs and not just fall for new yarns and patterns. All the craft shops I've seen this summer have inspired me to think about what I could knit and sell. It would have to be of high quality but affordable and quick to make, and not something that is already out there. I have an idea, but I'm not sure I have the time to do it...

Another thought that I have had for some time is to start spinning. As I wrote last time I have made my first serious attempt, and here is the result.















After spinning, plying and washing my 50 g of corriedale wool left me with 27 m of bulky yarn. I need to work on making it more even and with less twist, but I think I got the general idea of it. I also ended up with a z-twist since I used the "wrong hand" compared to the directions, so I'll try it the other way next time and see how that works. My favourite part was the plying, when those unruly strands suddenly became yarn. I used a center pull ball and my hand spindle and it was so much easier than the spinning, but I should have used the larger spindle because it got so much more volume compared to the first thread.

I've also finished my "late night easy knitting" again. Even though I have other things I should work on that easy piece by the sofa gets all my attention these days. This is the lovely Cheshire Cat Stole made in Färgkraft 1-ply in the colour Sommarnatt (Summer Night). The yarn started out in a more complicated pattern, but the colours dominated and it needed something with cleaner lines. One skein was enough for a 170 x 50 cm stole. Since the yarn is heavier than the original I made it narrower by making one repeat less, and then just knitted until I ran out of yarn.















Finally a picture taken outdoors which does the colours more justice. The shawl is modelled by my mother-in-law. She got a pair of socks for her trouble, those red Seduction Socks that where too small for me.

Red seduction

Finally my summer vacation has started. Has been working hard this week to get everything finished at work with a cold on its way. When I got home on Friday I slept for twelve hours, but woke up to find this behind a curtain, where it should have rested quietly until Christmas.















I'm not sure what I'm doing right, but I've had this amaryllis for four years and it usually gives me two stalks with 6-10 flowers each every winter. This year I've treated it worse than usual by forgetting to give it new soil, and this is the result.

However this is not why I named this post red seduction. In between extra naps yesterday I completed the Sockklubben sock for May, which was Seduction Socks by Ann Budd in red Opal Bambu. They are a bit small, but improved with blocking. The pattern is nice, but not that special. The best part is the yarn, which is really great; soft, durable and beautiful. I will be looking for more!















Finishing the socks I should have turned to Unwrapped, which is in its finishing stages, but my brain capacity wasn't good enough. Instead I made a few more rows on Cheshire Cat Stole, which was a better choice for this yarn than the Laminaria I tried earlier but decided to frog.















Now I'm just waiting for my brain to start working better again. Slept another nine hours tonight, but my sinus infection isn't gone yet and tomorrow MrP has to go to work so I'll be home alone with the kids. I hope it gets better by then, and that I can finally get my new top done.

Family holidays

It's really been a busy couple of weeks. First my mother had a big birthday party with the family and some of her old classmates from Iceland who where making a trip to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation. I finally got a chance to deliver the top from Poetry in Stitches that I made for my sister-in-law a while ago. It's a little too big, but I think it will work.




















I also managed to get a picture of a shawl I made for her a couple of years ago, before I had a decent digital camera. It is the pattern "Langsjal ad vestan" from Thrihyrnur og langsjöl, a book on Icelandic lace that I bought in 1991. In the book the shawl is in solid white, but I had a selection of Icelandic kambgarn in diffrent shades and used up what I had in natural colours. By felting the ends together when changing colours I was left with minimal finishing and a neat result.




















When I got home from that great weekend it was time to prepare for the next party. I've spent countless hours this past week getting the Rainbow Blanket ready for the Christening of my husband's niece. When the week started I still had one section and the edge left, but I made it! The final meter of I-cord was done in the car on the road to Stockholm last Friday, but I had blocked the coloured parts the day before.















The blanket measures 110 x 110 cm and consists of five sections knitted in rainbow yarn from Kauni on needles 3.5 mm using the pattern for the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf. I've knitted the pattern over 70 stitches. The second section starts with a stitch picked up at a courner of the first stripe and the pieces are knitted together by slipping the last stitch before the joining, picking up a stitch through the ridge on the previous stripe and then lifting the slipped stitch over the picked up stitch. The blanket is reversible, but with a slight difference along the joined edges. Finally the blanket was edged by a black line of I-cord over four stitches on 3 mm dpns in a similar quality to finish of the edges and hold the design together.

Light and breezy

My very first Mystery knitting has been completed. Here are the pictures to prove it. The first one shows the colours well and the second shows the pattern better. The pattern is the Mystic Light Shawl by Anna Dalvi that was issued in five parts during five weeks this spring. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino and the colourway is from a sample line called "pot luck". The second skein had slightly stronger colours, which gave the "flames" more definition. The needles used where Addi Lace 4 mm.






























I'm happy about the pattern and the yarn and the size is perfect (84 cm down the middle). It feels really lacy, but would probably look even better with more definition and body; my yarn was a little bit too thin. The pattern had the theme "fire" but mine is more about spring and flowers, which makes it just right for a couple of family parties coming up in June...

Back on track

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last entry. I could blame it on springtime gardening, sick kids, Mr P. away on business, spending time with my parents, too many evenings bocked up, a lot of new stuff going on at work and four people queing for one computer. Or I could just get on with knit-blogging.

Despite it all I have been knitting most days as usual. This is what's in the basket at the moment:
(the basket is in felt and was bought at Village in Sundsvall, perfect by the sofa)
















The Slippery socks and Rainbow blanket are moving along nicely, and will be finished on schedule (I hope). My only new project since the last entry is the Laminaria shawl from Knitty.
I'm making a medium size in Färgkraft 1-ply Sommarnatt. So far it doesn't look like much, but I think it will turn out well in the end.















Last weekend was a bit longer than usual, so I took the time to shop at Garnkorgen to lift my spirits and find inspiration. I found it.















I prepared a list at home by the computer, and I actually managed to stick to it and only buy half of the things I wanted to check out, which was quite enough. This includes Fyberspates Bluefaced Lace Yarn in greens, Fleece Artist Suri Blue in sangria and Manos Silk Blend in green/4635. They are all delicious and I don't think I will be able to keep my hands off them for very long. Not in the picture is a japanese book of 250 surface patterns that I have read about five times so far. I also got a Perl grey pin in pewter, a must with all the shawls in progress.

There is also something that has been completed this past month. My Mystic Light shawl was finished in four days after I got the last clue and has been waiting a couple of weeks for blocking. The light isn't too good in my blocking area, so pictures will have to wait until it has dried and can be taken out of there.

Spring clearing part two

I've behaved this week and only started one new sock, but finished a few things. It feels good, but my thoughts keep wandering off to new things all the time. I will try to resist them a bit longer, because the state of my room is really improving.

First thing off the needles this week is a top by designer Solveig Hisdal from the book Poetry in Stitches (Sv. Dikt i maskor). I've used the original yarn, for once, which is Hifa Luxor in 100% cotton. It required just over 300g. The rest of my 400g will probably be combined with some leftovers from Regnbågen and become a matching top for a 2yo. This is for you H. , hope you like it and that I got the size right this time!















Next is a really sad UFO that finally became a cardigan. I started this over two years ago, but it wasn't my cup of tea. The yarn is Tilda by Svarta Fåret in 50/50 cotton and acrylic, and it is nice and soft for kids. The size is 4-6 years, not too demanding. The pattern is also OK. It is based on the old fishermen´s sweaters from Gotland and I love traditional patterns most of the time. The most common version of this pattern is in natural white with red and blue stripes and knitted in 2/2 rib. It became famous in the sixties when Pippi Longstocking wore it in the films that were shot in Gotland, hence the name "Pippitröja". I think this colourway is more practical though. The problem I had with this design was this: it is knit in five parts using ten balls of blue with added borders and numerous stripes=an infinite number it ends to fasten. I hated that part and put it off for over a year after the knitting was done. Fortunately my daughter is really small and her comment when she tried it on was:"I like it, but the sleeves are a bit too long". She was four when I cast on and now she is six.















By the way I'm quite happy with the buttons. The top looks classy with mother-of-pearl and the cardigan has little folded newspaper boats on each button.

Next, my only new project this week (so far, there are a few hours left...). I've cast on for the April socks in Sockklubben, Slippery Socks from Knitty. The pictures showed a very bright yarn, so I decided to use Opal Hundertwasser. I like the look, a bit like Argyle diamonds.















Finally, a look at clue 2 of Mystic Light. There were no new elements this week, so it was rather quick even if you have to look at the chart all the time.