Outdoor knitting with the birds

Today was a perfect day for outdoor knitting. I love those clear and sunny days in early fall.

The Birds are coming along pretty well, though I am a bit anxious about the outcome of this. It’s really hard to tell how it’s going to turn out because of the construction with the steek thing. I’ve added one pattern repeat to lengthen the sleeves a bit because to me they seem pretty short. I hope one repeat is enough because I don’t think I’ll be able to reknit it when I’ve cut the steek. (I wonder if I’ll ever dare to do this!) And I can’t try it on before I cut it, as it’s really oddly shaped, so I’ll do some proper measuring before cutting.

Last night I was at my LYS, attending the monthly knit night, which was enjoyable as always with great company and lots of yarn, and I even bought some yarn which I’m going to use for my secret Christmas knitting. (Psst… If you’re on Ravelry you can follow the top secret Christmas knitting on my page there! Some of the recipients might read this blog.)

Happy knitting!

Ogee Cardigan

I’ve been neglecting this cardigan during summer but now it’s finally finished.

I’m very new in designing my own garments so this is what I would call an experiment - but definitely a very exciting one. First thing I did was to find a stitch pattern I liked and I ended up using an ogee pattern from Mary Thomas’ Book of Knitting Patterns, hence the name, Ogee Cardigan. I made subtle changes to the pattern so that it suited my purpose. After that I thought about how the pattern could be placed on a cardigan and I came up with this.

In retrospect, I might have made some things different. For example, I could have made one more ogee pattern repeat on the sleeves, near the shoulders. But I have to admit that the sleeve caps were knit more or less randomly and I didn’t know exactly how they would turn out. Also, I think that the shoulders are a bit narrow so that the sleeves are drawn too much towards the top shoulders. Instead the seam should have been placed further towards the upper arm.

In spite of the minor ‘errors’ I’m really happy with this. I also like the buttons which I think suit the cardigan quite well, as the shape resembles the shape of the ogee pattern.

The yarn is Isager Tvinni and Spinni, one strand of each held together. The colors differ slightly in nuance and I like the blend of them, giving a special tweed effect. I love these yarns because they are 100 % natural fibers and they haven’t been exposed to any super wash treatment. That’s just right up my alley!

Birds and colorwork

The weather is changing. It’s getting colder, which means there is a need for more woolly knitwear. The cotton yarns are already hibernating and I can surrender myself completely to my favorite fiber, wool. Are you looking forward to this as much as I am?

I’ve started a project in Shetland wool which contains colorwork and steeking, haven’t tried the latter yet but I’m plucking up the courage, day by day, and hopefully one day I’ll be brave enough to CUT my knitting! I haven’t decided which method it’s going to be yet but I’m tending towards applying a crocheted steek. I know that when knitting with Shetland wool it shouldn’t be necessary to make any reinforcement at all – you just cut. I don’t know if I’ll ever be that courageous, though. Eunny Jang’s tutorial on steeking is such a great reference and I’m so going to use it.

If you haven’t guessed it by now, my new project is Little Birds by Ysolda. It’s from the new online magazine Twist Collective. This magazine is just so great and full of beautiful designs, and Ysolda’s Little Birds is just one of them.

Last call for summer knits

My summer cardigan is finished just in time to actually be included as a summer knit. It seems as if the summer here is turning into autumn but before I dive completely into the more woolly affairs I just want to show you Cherry.

I might be able to wear it only a couple of times this season but then again – to look at the positive side - it’s ready for next spring. It’s a great pattern and the cardigan turned out pretty much as I anticipated. The yarn was lovely too. It’s not spun very tightly, though, which means that it splits. However, it wasn’t a problem, just something to be aware of. And a good thing is that it results in a very soft garment when knit up.

I found some buttons I like. I wanted them to be red because that way the attention is pointed more towards the lovely pattern, I guess. They do have noticeable details, though.

Pattern: Cherry

Designer: Anna Bell in My Fashionable Life

Yarn: Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton in the color Carmen

Monkeys

On the occasion of WWKIP Day, I started these socks, Monkey by Cookie A. I continued knitting on the bus to and from Berlin (great city) but haven’t finished them until now. They’re ready to wear and delightfully warm: I’m waiting for colder days.

The yarn is absolutely great and very soft, maybe because of the very small amount of cashmere (6 % isn’t much). Great pattern too. I’d like to try more of Cookie A’s sock patterns. This one was easy to memorize and a quick knit (if you’re steady and unlike me knit other projects in between), so it could be fun to try out a somewhat more challenging pattern of hers. These socks, though, I love.

Pattern: Monkey from Knitty (Winter 2006)

Designer: Cookie A.

Yarn: Gepard Garn Cash-Soft

The Color Blue

Maybe you’ve heard about Project Spectrum. It’s meant as a way of celebrating the colors around us by expressing yourself creatively, doing some kind of art or craft. As this includes photography and I wanted to play with my new camera I found that the project was perfect for that purpose. There is a group on Flickr but also one on Ravelry, if you're interested. In August and September the colors to celebrate are blue, black and purple – colors of the water element. I felt like posting some of the photos I took while practising - inspired by the color blue.

Vacation and birthday

The silence on the blog has been due to some really nice things that have taken my time lately. Vacation in Croatia is one of them. I brought my knitting but even though we spent 10 days there in total relaxation I didn’t knit a single row. We had the most terrific view and I really enjoyed swimming in the sea.

Back home I’ve been busy planning my birthday (30 years of age now!) and graduation party. It turned out to be a great day and I even got several knitting related gifts. My boyfriend gave me a knitting bag, The Knitter’s Satchel from Jordana Paige in deep red. I’m sure I’ll bring my knitting with me a lot more now and I’m looking forward to the next knit café. I was also fortunate to get a yarn swift, a gift voucher for Isager yarn and 6 skeins of Rowan Summer Tweed in red.

For a long time I’ve been dreaming about having a digital reflex camera. I’d like to take more pictures and learn more about photography, not only because I’d like to take better pictures of my knitting but because I’d like to take better photos in general. And guess what, now I have one! An Olympus E-510. It was another gift from my boyfriend and his family. I feel very lucky. Now I just have to practice, practice and practice some more. It’s great.

My knitting at the moment is restricted to the Cherry cardigan. I’d like to finish it before the summer is completely over, even though the weather here is NOT summer right now. Maybe I’ll be able to wear it just once this year, though, I hope so. The back is finished and the left front is in quick progress.

The yarn is Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton which is lovely, except from the knots where broken yarn is tied together (I hate that). It’s nice and soft, though, and 100 % cotton.