Midnight Blue Swallowtail

The Swallowtail Shawl is done and I really enjoyed this knit. Well, maybe except from the nupps. Or rather the first couple of rows with nupps. I had to make the loops extremely loose in order to make them, and once I even managed to tug the yarn so hard that it broke. I was actually about to give up and just leave out the nupps but after a while I got the hang of it. Fortunately, it wasn’t that difficult after all.

The yarn is half wool and half silk and not stretchy at all. This is a very good explanation why the nupps were so hard to make. If I knit this shawl again, which I’m really positive about, I think I’ll go for a more supple yarn even though I really love how this shawl turned out. The silk makes it smell sooo good! And the dark blue color with the lighter blue specks is gorgeous. A shawl perfect for a chilly summer night or day.

The color in the last photo is closest to the real one!


Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl (pdf) from Interweave Knits, Fall 2006

Designer: Evelyn A. Clark

Yarn: Silkwool (unfortunately no further details!)

Days in Berlin

Once again, Berlin has been the destination for a small vacation. My boyfriend and I have spent 5 days in one of the best cities I know. Only one museum visit this time; an interesting exhibition of photographs by Alexander Rodchenko, and only one concert; a dub label night in Friedrichshain. The rest of the time was spent wandering around the city, relaxing in cafés, finding good places to eat (a lot of sushi, mmm), having drinks in cozy cafés and bars, simply enjoying. I was a bit sad, though, that the Berlin Philharmonic wasn’t giving any concerts during the summer; however, we knew it before we got there, so it was no surprise. We heard the orchestra last time we visited Berlin and it was just overwhelming. I have to go to the Philharmonie again some time.

Last time we were in Berlin I forgot to visit what I’d heard should be one of the best yarn shops in the city, namely Loops in Prenzlauerberg. Compared to Fadeninsel in Kreuzberg, which was my favorite so far, it was much alike. Loops carries Noro and ghh yarn, which is used in the patterns in Rebecca knitting magazine plus other yarn brands I didn’t recognize. I bought 4 skeins of sock yarn, Jawoll from Lang Yarns; two skeins in red and two in brown. I’ve noticed that especially the German sock yarn brands often have some extra reinforcement yarn in the skein, which is a good thing to use for the heel and the toe of the sock.

If you go to Berlin don’t forget to visit Fadeninsel and Loops!

I knitted on my Monkey socks in the bus to and from Berlin and thanks to my knitting it was actually a really nice trip. 8 and a half hour with knitting and listening to music while watching the landscape roll by. What great occupation knitting is!

Jasmine

This lovely cotton yarn has finally transformed into a fine summer garment called Jasmine. Speaking of the yarn, I was surprised that it was such a pleasure to knit with because I usually find it less fun to knit with cotton. This was, however, quite easy to work with – a cooperative yarn, so to speak! (Though, of course not as cooperative as wool!) Another great thing, which definitely made my spirits rise was that there were no knots at all and it didn’t split. Two great qualities that make me want to use this yarn again.

The pattern was very detailed (pretty Rowan-like) and easy to follow, only one or two minor errors that weren’t hard to figure out. So, nothing to complain there.

There were lots of ends to weave in as this is not knitted in the round, definitely a drawback in knitting flat. I’m still not convinced what is best; knitting in the round or flat. I tend to think that the latter will leave you with the best result but I actually haven’t knit a sweater in the round - only for a child. (Think I have a future project here!) I’ve read and heard lots of pros and cons of both. Some say that a sweater will tend to twist a little when knitted in the round but then again, that’s a question of how the yarn is spun, right? Also, I’ve seen so many beautiful sweaters around and especially on the internet, which are knitted in the round. What do you prefer?

With a slightly smaller gauge (26 stitches instead of 28 stitches per 4 inches) I made the large size ending with a size slightly smaller than size L and bigger than size M. The pattern calls for 2.25 mm and 2.75 mm needles, which I don’t have so instead I used 2 mm and 2.5 mm and it turned out to be even better for me.

I particularly like the garter stitch piece on the yoke. I think it has its own intrinsic beauty and furthermore, garter stitch in cotton yarn is a great way to practice your skills in getting an even surface. I’m still not totally happy with mine, though, which means more practice. Bring on some more garter stitch!

There is only one small detail on the finished sweater that I find less charming. Apparently, I avoided exposing this on the photos and I’m not sure if this is only in my version but I think that there’s a little too much fabric just above the arm pit. Anyway, it’s a small detail and overall I’m very satisfied.

Pattern: Jasmine from Nectar

Designer: Kim Hargreaves

Yarn: Rowan 4 ply cotton

Knit Night

Another Knit Night was held last night. I've been attending three times now, I guess, and it was as much fun as the last couple of times – maybe even funnier, as, firstly, people are beginning to get a bit more familiar with each other now and the whole thing feels somewhat more relaxed, and, secondly, there was a draw for a yarn gift sponsored by the LYS owner. It was such lovely yarn; 10 balls of some silk cashmere blend from Louisa Harding in a beautiful deep red color. Unfortunately, I didn’t win! But never mind, cause the winner was so thrilled and I’m sure she’s going to make something great out of it.

I’m finishing Jasmine at the moment. There are a lot of ends to weave in and six buttons to sew on, which I bought last night (well, 'bought' might not be the best word, as it was nearly a give-away). However, I’m getting there…

WWKIP Day

I celebrated the day in good company with other knitters. What I enjoy most about knitting with other people is that even though you’re rather different you still have something in common, something very concrete that is easy to talk about. Somehow this always results in happy people, good vibes, and mutual inspiration. It was a great day!

I started two new projects for this special occasion. I didn’t want to bring Jasmine or my cardigan because they need seaming, and since we celebrated knitting, I naturally wanted to knit. So I started the Monkey Socks by Cookie A., which I like so far. I had some sock yarn in my stash, which I’ve wanted to try out; wool, acrylic and cashmere. It’s nice and soft.

The other project I started was the Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark, which was one of the “Readers’ Choice Award Winners” on Knitting Daily. I’m using another yarn from my stash for this, a blend of wool and silk, which Karin gave me some time ago. It’s lovely (and it smells good too…)

My new place

Thanks for stopping by. This is my new platform where I’ll write about knitting, yarn, and hopefully all sorts of other fiber related stuff. The name of the blog came up as I was thinking about all the wonderful qualities that wool possesses and I thought: ‘yes, that’s definitely my favorite fiber’. I don’t know if there are any kinds of fiber that could actually beat the beloved wool? I can’t proof that there isn’t but in that case it might at least be some kind of protein fiber, I’m really fond of alpaca and silk, for example. On the other hand, I’ve learned to love cotton and other cellulose fibers that are nice to wear in the summer. Oh, and yes, I’ve been reading The Knitters Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes. Interesting book, by the way. Anyway, that’s how this blog began, with musings on yarns and fibers. So, Favorite Fibers it is.

You might ask why I ditched the old blog. Well, I started out writing in Danish, then I added English, but lately I’ve been blogging in English only. I’m really drawn to the concept of getting in touch with people from both Denmark and the rest of the world. That’s why I wanted to change the Danish name and have a more international one. So I thought that I might as well sign up for a brand new blog. Hope you’ll come and visit me here again some time soon.