A new start

It's been such a long time since my last post on this blog, that I think I need a completely fresh start. I'm moving. See you at hndesigns.wordpress.com.

Striped vest

A short post about something else than soakers (still more to come of those, don’t worry!).

Since my mom got her Aeolian, I also wanted to knit something for my dad. A warm vest to wear over t-shirts during colder spring/summer days seemed like the perfect project.

It’s much too big for the model, and I hear it’s also a bit too wide for my dad. But who cares? It’s warm and should be functional enough.

Yarn: Riihivilla Aarni. Dark brown for the dark stripes, armholes and neck, beige for the lighter stripes. My absolute favorite yarn! I still haven’t found another yarn that even comes close, and I doubt I ever will. I also used one skein of Noro Silk Garden for the stripes at the lower part of the vest.

The stitch counts and measurements are based on Peter Easy by Berroco.

Now, back to knitting diaper covers. Only one month left until they will be used…

Soakers

Just a quick post about some baby knitting I’ve finished. Three diaper covers. I’m trying out different patterns to see which one I like the best. So far, this is my favorite.

Soaker pattern by Ms. Crafty Galore (ignore the content warning)

Not only is it really cute, it also looks really functional.

 

I also like this one.

Villapöpät by Meri Markus.

The pattern was really easy to knit, and no seams! But I have a feeling the waistband will be too tight…

 

And then there’s this one.

Wool Diaper Cover by Studio Tuumat.

This pattern wasn’t for me. I didn’t like knitting it, I hated the seams, and I don’t like the result. It also turned out much bigger than I planned. There’s nothing wrong with the pattern, it’s me. I’m allergic to everything that involves seaming. Meh!

Nothing more at this time. Prepare yourselves for more soakers in the future. I have a few other patterns I want to try out.

Oh, and the yarn is some unidentified unspun that I bought at the market a year or so ago. It’s gorgeous! I wish I had more…

Pinwheel

I've been finishing projects at a fast rate lately, I just haven't had the time to blog about them. Here's one.

Pinwheel Sweater from Elann.com

Yarn: Evilla Artyarn 8/2, color A-8 and Vuorelma Satakieli, color 964, for the sleeves.

I had a small problem with the sleeves for this project. The Evilla yarn was just enough for the body, and I had to find another yarn that matched the blue color. Not the easiest thing. Luckily, I had a Satakieli color card, and I found a perfect (well almost) match.

Blocking did wonders for the size. I was a bit worried that it would be to small. I mean, I am a little bigger than I used to be, and there's something ball shaped protruding at the front. But it fits perfectly, and it's a great baby belly cardigan.

The circular shape is a bit of a challenge. I like this version where it creates a hood at the back. And you can never go wrong with the Evilla colors.

Cisco

Back to the baby knitting. After seeing this version of Cisco over at brooklyntweed, I knew what my next project was going to be.

The ears are just too cute for words! I'm really pleased with how this turned out. It's pretty big, and it stretches a lot, so with a little bit of luck, it will fit next winter too. This one is going to a very special, brand new, baby.

The yarn is Sandnes Smart.

Aeolian shoulderette

I had to take a break from the baby knitting frenzy and knit something "grown up". When the spring 2009 Knitty was published, I knew I was destined to knit the Aeolian shoulderette. It took me one week, and this is what I ended up with.

(Yes, the picture, once again, leaves a lot to be desired...)

I absolutely love the yarn. It's Evilla 8/2 that I got from Tinttamarelli. The colors really aren't properly displayed in the picture. They're much more beautiful, the dark parts are darker, and the lighter parts are brighter. I really like how they almost follow the pattern. A dark part in the middle, lighter around the "leaves", dark nupps and a bright red border.

I'm not keeping this one, so I might just have to knit another one...

Color Therapy

I'm really looking forward to spring right now, but it's still very wintery here in Finland. Time for some color therapy to cheer me up.

Apparently, blankets are the new socks here at the moment. This is Ten Stitch Blanket by Frankie Brown. You can find it on Ravelry, if you're there. The yarn is Noro Kureyon Sock. One repeat of all the colors got me this far (it's about 30 cm wide). I think there are two or three more of the repeats, so it won't exactly be a huge blanket. I'm thinking of adding a white border or something to make it larger. I'm not really thrilled with how the blues and greens are gathering in the same place, but I guess I'll have to live with it. I just wish there was more red and yellow... Bad photo again. I blame the winter light!

There's also color therapy of another sort going on here. I'm a big fan of subtle colors: brown, beige and "natural" shades. This yarn is one of my favorites: Evilla. It's veeeery woolly, some might even call it scratchy, and it has a lot of lanolin left in it. It's a bit smelly too! Perfect! This will be a Pinwheel Sweater. I'm already waiting for warmer weather so I can wear it as a jacket.