Tweedy goodness

Thank you for all the congratulations on my blogiversary! I got another surprise yesterday evening.

Fancy a circle of tweedy goodness?

Or perhaps an aran pyramid?

May I introduce Kilcarra Donegal Tweed, ten 50 gram skeins. Lavender Yarns was my dealer this time. (It's nice to be able to shop in € for a change...) I have a very interesting project in mind for these. I just need to finish my green sweater experiment and my Ruffled Jacket first...

One Year!

One year ago today, January 29, I wrote my first blog post. It feels like a long time ago, and at the same time it feels like yesterday. Over the course of one year, a number of new things have been introduced into my life through this blog. Here are a few of them:

• I have ventured into the realm that is blogland, and discovered the treasures it holds (all the knitting blogs I love to follow, and the inspiration they give me)
• I have discovered online yarn shopping (not entirely a positive thing)
• As a result of the previous point, I have acquired a fairly significant stash (another thing that's not all positive)
• I also have a knitting library, with patterns to last me many lifetimes
• I've learned a whole new English vocabulary (FO, UFO, LYS, frog, spit splice, ssk, k2tog, yo, ktbl, i could go on and on)
• I'm on Ravelry (and as a result, I have even more inspiration and information available to me)
• And, most importantly, I have the best blog visitors in all of blogland! Thank you! Your comments make the blogging experience worth while!

Even Mr Postman knew something special was going on today, and he brought me this for my blogiversary present.

I want to knit every design in it! Another knitting book that will last me a whole lifetime. I have quite a few of those now...

And last, but not least, some newcomers that haven't been introduced here on the blog yet (although they've been in use for a month already).

My KnitPicks Harmony wood dpn's (on the first sleeve of my Ruffled Jacket). These are so great! They don't bend like most other wood dpn's do. They're really sharp, and there are six needles of every size (2.0 mm, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, 3.0, 3.25), just in case you break one. These were sent to me by the nice folks at GetKnitted.com (enablers!).

Shhhh....

Two secret projects have kept me occupied lately. Can't tell you what they are, but you can see more of them on Ravelry by clicking on the pictures.

One with cables...


And one with fair isle...


Shhhhhhh.....

They're almost finished now, which means I can continue with my Ruffled Jacket.

Progress report

Knitting in aran weight yarn is superfast! It's day 2 and I'm already at the armhole decreases!

I had a small issue with the chart vs. the picture in the magazine, but I decided to follow the chart. The jacket in the magazine has a center cable that follows the side cables, i.e. is shorter-longer-shorter-longer, 8 rows-12 rows-8 rows-12 rows. The chart clearly states that the center cable has 8 row repeats, and the side cables 20 row repeats. That means that the center cable does its own 8 row thing, while the side cables cruise along at 20 row repeats, i.e. they don't "follow" each other. This really bugged me at first, because I couldn't decide which version I wanted to follow, the chart or the photo. But here is the chart version.

It doesn't bother me anymore, because I really like that the center cable isn't symmetrical to the side cables, if you know what I mean.

I also have another new-ish project on the needles.

This is Persian Tiles from the Jade Starmore book A Collector's Item. I'm using the pattern to make a pillow, since I really want to use up some gorgeous Evilla yarn I've had in my stash for far too long. Just look at it:

So pretty!

Ruffled Jacket

And this is what the Rowanspun Aran in the previous post wanted to be.


Ruffled Jacket by James Coviello.
Vogue Knitting, Fall 2007.

You can see a gorgeous finished jacket on Veronique's blog. This is the one that made me want to knit it!

The yarn is a little bit more brown/beige than the gray in this picture. As always, I'm loving the Rowanspun. I think I prefer the Aran over DK and 4 ply. It's so squishy and smooshy. And knitting on 5,5 mm needles is superfast! The pattern calls for 6,5 mm needles, but I didn't want the stitches to be too loose. So I decided to use 5,5 needles instead and knit size L, aiming for an end result around size M. Let's see if it works...

Ignorance is bliss...

Oh.... Eeeeh.... Seriously? I had no idea I had this much Rowanspun tweed in my stash! I was fondling the Rowanspun Aran to see if it would tell me what it wanted to be, and I decided to see how much 4 ply and DK I had. To get a better overlook, I took all the skeins out of their bags and made a mountain.

From the top, left to right:
Rowanspun 4 ply, Turkish, 10 skeins
Rowanspun 4 ply, Reed, 9 skeins
Rowanspun 4 ply, Squirrel, 10 skeins
Rowanspun DK, Catkin, 3 skeins (is being knitted into Big Green Sweater)
Rowanspun DK, Mist, 2 skeins (leftovers from Tangled Yoke Cardigan)
Rowanspun 4 ply, Sludge, 10 skeins
Rowanspun Aran, Husk, 10 skeins

And some stray balls:
Rowanspun DK, Mist, 1,5 skeins
Rowanspun 4 ply, Reed, 0,5 skeins
Rowanspun 4 ply, Stone, 1,5 skeins (leftovers from Seamless Hybrid)
Rowanspun 4 ply, Turkish, 2 skeins (different dye lot)
Rowanspun 4 ply, Stone, 2 skeins (different dye lot)

Well poke me hard with a knitting needle, I had no idea! Or to be fair, I had to have some idea since they didn't mysteriously appear in my stash out of nowhere. I have Cucumberpatch to thank (or blame) for all of these.

On top of all the existing tweed already living here, I ordered some more Kilcarra tweed from Lavender Yarns. How could i resist. It was 2,95 per skein, in euros!!! This bargain hunting is going to be the death of my credit card... Save some money by buying more, the biggest hoax of all...

I made someone's day! Yay!

WeirdRockStar awarded me with this today.

(Found the image on another knitblog, don't know if it's an "official" one...)

Apparently, my blog is one of her favorites! Thank you! That makes my day. I've only recently started reading your blog, but I really like it. You are one funny knitter!

I'm also going to pass on this award to some of my favorite blogs. Trying to pick out a few of all of the blogs I read was a real ordeal, but these are the ones that first came to mind (in no particular order).

b r o o k l y n t w e e d

Oh, Mr Tweed! What can I say about this blog that would do it justice? Every time there is a new post I can't make my way to the blog fast enough. Definitely a huge inspiration, especially when it comes to color and "ambience". He also has a great eye for picking out the perfect yarn for projects.

Pikku-Kettu Knits

Another blog that I stalk obsessively, waiting for new posts. Ms. Kettu ;) seems to have the same to-knit-list I have. Lovely, interesting projects that always have that extra something I look for. I also enjoy reading her texts. On top of that, she is a diligent comment-answerer.

Viiniä & Villasukkia

What's not to love about this blog! Mielitty always picks the most interesting subjects for her posts. Sometimes it's about knitting or other crafts, sometimes it's about something else. I especially enjoy the occasional insights into "how women should behave", based on older handbooks and instructions. And the knitting, of course!

DancesWithWool

Lene writes beautifully about her life and knitting in northern Finland. I really enjoy her use of language. There is a tone to it that is almost calming, soothing. And the knitting is interesting, especially her own designs.

Mustaa villaa

THE place to go if you love socks! Her knitting is always perfectly executed and photographed. This is another knitter with the same to-knit-list as mine, especially when it comes to socks.

Lolly Knitting Around

Such great stories, photography, knitting, ideas. It's always exciting to see what the next post will be about. She seems to put a lot of thought into her knitting and her writing, and I really enjoy reading her posts. Lolly is also the brain behind Project Spectrum.

Sisäinen Villapaita

Very interesting projects, that always have that extra something. A blog that makes me think about the possibilities that every new knitting project brings with it. Her posts also makes me laugh, because she has such a good sense of humour.

Thank you all for blogging! You make my day!

So exciting!

The preliminary version of the pattern for my Apila Socks is now ready, and the socks are being test knitted. How exciting is that!


I also managed to take some more photos while there was a little bit of daylight left. Not great, but not as horrible as the ones in the previous post.


The pattern for these will be posted on MY PATTERNS PAGE when the test knitting and reviewing is done. I also have a few other sock patterns in progress. Now I just need to find the time to write them up and make the charts...

Apila Socks

I finally finished my Apila Socks in Noro Kureyon Sock. I really, really like the yarn! It's so much softer knitted up as a sock than it feels in the skein. And it's very warm.

These (horrid!) pictures were taken in the afternoon, no daylight in sight. I'll take better ones for the pattern (I'll write it down and post it here on the blog). I just had to show you right now! :)

This is the front.

Also the front, but off the foot.

And the back.

The pattern is really easy, and knits up fast. I added some ribbing on the sides to make them more comfortable and stretchy.

New Year, New Projects...

Since my previous post was a collection of finished projects, I thought it would be appropriate to write a post about the knitting I have on the needles right now. I have a feeling 2008 is going to be a busy knitting year. My head is full of ideas that are just waiting to come out.

I started "the Big Green Sweater" last year, and I'm still working on it, although Christmas knitting slowed it down a bit. I'm already on the first sleeve, but this is what it looked like about 10 cm before I cast off the neck.

Very green, and very huge turtle neck! Can't wait to finish it so I can wear it.

I got my hands on some of the new and hyped Noro Kureyon Sock yarn, and it's all I could ever dream of! It has the Noro colors, the Noro thick-and-thin structure, and it's a bit rough. The roughness is a major plus in my book, because I want my wool yarn to feel "real", and not soft as cashmere. This is of course my own opinion, and if you're scared of this yarn because you've heard it's really scratchy, it's not that bad. I would say it's a bit softer than the regular Kureyon, and I can imagine it gets softer when it's washed.

So, I wanted a pattern that would look a bit like cables, i.e. stand out a bit, but wouldn't eat as much yarn as cables. I started knitting from the toe up, experimented a bit with yarn overs, k2togs and SSKs, and this is what developed. I'm just as surprised as anyone else! I had no idea this is what I would come up with. It's funny how the hands just go on auto-pilot and knit something! I'll write up a pattern for these when they're finished. (I know I say that a lot, and it never happens, but I promise I'll try!)

I also started another mitten over the Christmas holidays. This one is from Eeva Haavisto's book Sata Kansanomaista Kuviokudinmallia, and the pattern is from Kurikka. I really like how it's coming out. I wasn't too sure about it just from looking at the chart in the book, but I like it much more now.

The yarn is 100% Finnwool from Honkarinteen Tila, that I got at Turku Christmas market. Lovely!

And to balance things out with the thick wool projects, I started a lace scarf. The pattern is Travelling Roses Lace Scarf. It's so beautiful! And it's a nice change to knit a lace scarf instead of a whole humongous shawl.

The yarn is, again, from Turku Christmas market. It's 100% Finnwool, 1 ply, and really thin and soft. I have a feeling it's going to felt a bit, but that doesn't matter. It's so thin that the pattern will show anyway.

This is what I have going on at the moment. I haven't included the really old WIPs that are will-maybe-get-finished-sometime-projects. I also have a semi-secret project in the making that I can't show you. I hope you've all had a great start of the year 2008!

Christmas gifts

Christmas knitting was crazy this year, but I managed to finish almost everything. (Except a few hats and mittens, but who's counting...) This is all the knitting I gave away as Christmas gifts. Some of it was finished earlier this year, and some was finished right before Christmas.

Seamless Hybrid Sweater

Elizabeth Zimmermann, Knitting Without Tears

Rowanspun 4 ply

Swallowtail Shawl

Interweave Knits, Fall 2006

Wetterhoff Silvia

Tangled Yoke Cardigan

Interweave Knits, Fall 2007

Rowanspun DK

Modified Endpaper Mittens
Eunny Jang, See Eunny Knit
Riihivilla, Natural SelectionVenezia Swatch Mittens
Swatch for Venezia Pullover, Interweave Knits, Winter 2006
Riihivilla, Natural SelectionNeckwarmer
My own pattern, can be found here
Rowan 4 Ply SoftSnowflake Socks
Interweave Knits, Fall 2007
Novita 7 Veljestä