Garter stitch vest

When our little baby boy arrives in July I'd like him to be well equipped with knitted garments. I'm not done yet but I'm working on it. Newest item is this little garter stitch vest with the cutest buttons - same buttons as I used for these pants.

Pattern: Frederik's Vest by Susie Haumann from the booklet All You Knit Is Love
Yarn: Isager Alpaca 2
Needles: 3 mm
Ravelry page here

Baby Blanket

Last year when I was expecting I made this blanket:

It is the Tweed Baby Blanket by the famous Jared Flood. I chose Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light because of its softness even though I knew it would pill. The softer the yarn, the more it tends to pill... But you know, for a newborn baby it has to be soft. You can see by the photos that it has been used a lot.

The pattern has now been updated with a version with three colors instead of two, and I'm very much tempted to knit this three colored version. Maybe not as a baby blanket but just as a cozy knitted piece for the sofa.

Viften/The Fan

Not long after Marianne Isager's newest book (another one is on its way right now) was published in Denmark almost two years ago, I decided to buy it and knit some of the fabulous designs of hers. But it wasn't until now that I actually started one of them. I went for The Fan (Viften), which is a cardigan, and I'm referring to the book Japanese Inspired Knits (also published in English by Interweave). I'm going to make it with long sleeves, as it gives a slightly different look, I think, not as sweet and romantic as the one in the picture above.



I'm knitting with two strands together, one Isager Tvinni Tweed and one Isager Alpaca 1, and it looks like the perfect match so far. Isager's yarns are definitely top quality yarns in my opinion. My favorite!



Of course I made a swatch first :)



The idea in the book is to make a swatch from a written instruction and then sew it together and use it as a wrist warmer. I like that.



So I followed the instructions and now I have one wrist warmer. (I do plan to make another one, though.)






I've now started the first front of the cardigan, and I'm really enjoying knitting it.

Time to catch up

I've been neglecting the blog lately, but maybe now's the time to catch up. Lately, I've been knitting some baby stuff, as there are two new babies in the family, a girl and a boy.

For the girl:

Cardigan in Rowan Felted Tweed. There's no pattern. I wanted the cardigan to be simple but with details. So I decided on a small cable along the sleeves and on the right front. The i-cord edge was made to add a little contrast to the gray. I was lucky to find the perfect buttons for this.

The famous Saartje's Bootees made in left over yarn from the cardigan.

Socks, also in left over yarn. No particular pattern, just 2x2 ribbing, my preferred heel flap, and a grafted toe.

For the boy:

A vest in Drops Alpaca. This one gave a lot of bother. I had to give it several tries before I was satisfied enough to give it away. Unfortunately it also meant that this was the only thing he got. There simply wasn't time to knit another piece. It is knitted in the round, and the ribbings are 1x1 and twisted.

I've started something for myself now. Another post about this is comming up soon.

Reckless Raglan Alpaca Project

Time to blog about the alpaca project.



This pullover was an attempt to make a rather simple knit with a few details, namely the ridges with reversed stockinette and the shape of the sleeves.




I had 6 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in my stash, 2 of each of the three colors. I never got to the point when I was 100 percent sure of how to place the colors, I just knew that I wanted broad stripes and that the stripes of the sleeve weren't going to match the ones on the body. I simply rushed into it and didn't plan where to change the colors before i knit it. Maybe I should've done that. Well, next time perhaps.



I had to rip the collar a couple of times as it didn't turn out as I wanted. Pretty much because I hadn't decided on anything specific! I first thought about making a big collar, which somehow would've matched the sleeves, but instead I ended up making it rather tight. (I can ditch the kerchief then.)



Overall I'm pleased with the result. I already use it outside in the rather cold spring chill.

Ripping back

The Alpaca Pullover was almost done, only underarm seams and ends were left to sew. There were, however, a few things I wasn't satisfied with, namely the neck and the raglan decreases, so ripping was the one and only option.











And now: Back on track!

Alpaca Pullover in Progress

Thank you all for the nice and wonderful comments on my camisole. I'm considering writing up the pattern.



I've started a new project using the really delicious Berroco Ultra Alpaca. I have three colors, two skeins of each. I hope it's enough for a pullover. Maybe I'll make the sleeves shorter. Let's see how it turns out. I made a few calculations beforehand but I'm pretty much making it up as I go.

Knitted Christmas Presents #1

I'll start this years blogging by showing off some of the presents I made this Christmas. In this post it'll be two scarfs.



For my mother I knitted this triangular shawl or scarf following this pattern, Silk Kerchief by Kate Gagnon. Simple but lovely. I made a lace border pretty much similar to the border on Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark. (Both patterns are free). I saw another Silk Kerchief with an added border and was inspired to make one too.



I used two different alpaca yarns (one hand dyed) to make the stripes. Both of them are 100% alpaca resulting in a so so soft scarf.




Pattern: Silk Kerchief by Kate Gagnon (pdf here)
Yarn: Atacama by Araucania Yarns (Unfortunately I've lost the information for the solid yarn)
Needles: 3.5 mm

The other scarf is this one for my grandmother.



Another simple pattern, Old Shale Scarf by Tiennie. I made it in a soft wool and silk blend.



Pattern: Old Shale Scarf by Tiennie (pdf here)
Yarn: DUO Silke/Merino by Design.club.dk
Needles: 4 mm