Late present - myöhäinen lahja äidille

I finished it! and only 1 week late (hmmm...) but it is beautiful. And sophisticated. And 100% alpaca so it is buttery soft. Really a nice scarf... (It's for my mom - I'll give it to her next week - hope she likes it as well! )

Pattern: Woven Trellis Scarf by Kristen TenDyke (ravelry link)
Yarn: Drops Alpaca in chocolate brown, approx. 130g
Needles: 4mm

I knitted the long strips on two dpns instead of knitting them round. This made it go a bit faster - although it still was a very time-consuming knit. But - (and I have to point this out) have I not been sick for over two weeks before Christmas - I would have finished it in time. So it's not practically my fault that it was finished a "bit" late....

Sain sen sitten vihdoin valmiiksi. Kyllä menikin aikaa - ihan uskomatonta kuinka kauan noiden pötkelöiden neulomiseen meni - ja sentään tajusin neuloa ne kahdella sukkapuikolla suoraan putkeksi sen sijaan, että olisin neulonut ohjeen mukaan pyörönä...

Mutta huivista tuli hieno. Tosi pehmeä ja jotenkin hienostunut - tai siis siinä on klassisia piirteitä, mutta kuitenkin vähän "jujua" - eli toivon hartaasti jotta saajakin (äitini) tästä pitää...

Cold & pretty - Pakkaspäivä

It's a beautiful day. Sun (!) is shining - or trying to shine (it really only just climbs above treeline...). It is freezing cold. River has finally frozen. Pretty.

There is also a matter of having eaten too much chocolate (Evidently that still happens when you're 30-something - you can eat too much chocolate) My stomach is all messed up but otherwise I'm feeling content and relaxed. Here's something I got my DH for Christmas present -Kirikindad II - by Aino Praakli. Estonian patterned mittens from Estonian National Museum. Really cool book! (and at parts funny, in the epilogue Praakli talks about Finnish Athlete Tiina Lillak "probably a tennis player" who might be her relative in some way - now - Tiina Lillak was not a tennis player , but a world class Javelin thrower...she won Olympic silver and gold in World Championships in the 1980s - not that I've any interest in sports;-)

That chocolate-brown mess in the photo is the scarf that I'm still knitting for my mom (I'm a bit late with that one..) It should be ready in couple of days time.

Aivan upea pakkaspäivä. Joki on vihdoin jäätynyt ja ulkona oli ihana olla. Vielä parempi olo olisi jos en olisi onnistunut syömään liikaa suklaata - näköjään sitä ei koskaan opi, että suklaan syönnilläkin on rajansa. Ei auta että on yli 30vee. Maha sekoaa kyllä jos sinne tolkuttomasti suklaata laittaa....

Kuvassa joululahja mieheltäni, ihana Kirikindad II kirja, jossa paljon eestiläisiä kirjoneulelapasia. Aika hassu pikkukirja - mutta tykkään kovasti siitä. Kuvassa näkyy myös epämääräinen ruskea kasa - josta on tulossa äitini joululahja (hieman myöhässä - mutta kyllä se tämän vuoden puolella valmistuu!)

Christmas! - Joulu!

Yesterday was Christmas Eve and we celebrated. We decorated our Christmas tree that my DH had brought in on 23rd. Girls did most of decorating, which explains the placement of gingerbread-decorations and all... (We baked gingerbread cookies on 23rd and iced them...)

In the morning we went to sauna and my parents arrived to celebrate with us before noon. Had some rice porridge and then continued by just spending time together , eating , lots of chocolate, and after dinner Joulupukki came and we had presents. It is true that Joulu is most of all for children - to see the joy on their faces when they got presents was worth more than anything. (Amanda was jumping up'n'down with every new present and they were so excited...Just wonderful!)

Because it was special day we let the girls stay awake until late (it was probably around 11pm when they finally nodded off) Just a lovely Christmas eve.

Today we've been playing with Singstar (our 5-year-old is really good!! ) eating etc. Weather outside is pretty as well - we had a tiny bit of snow couple of days ago and now it's -3Celsius and we've seen the sun (!a rarity this time a year!)

Ihana Joulu! Pari päivää sitten satoi snadisti lunta ja koko maisema kirkastui. Nyt Joulupäivänä olo on seesteinen ja mukava. Eilinen jouluaatto meni perinteikkäästi - aloitimme joulusaunalla ja jatkoimme päivää syömällä ja seurustelemalla. Aamusella tytöt koristelivat myös kuusen itseleivotuilla (ja -koristelluilla)pipareilla ja lameella. (mikä selittää hieman tuota koristeiden asettelua... Ihan ylös kun on vaikea yltää jos omaa pituutta on vain hieman alle ja hieman yli metri...)

Illalla joulupukki kävi ja toi kasapäin lahjoja. Voi sitä riemua! Kaikki oli niin Ihanaa. Ja "kato äiti tätä" "Voi tätä mä toivoin! " jne. Kyllä joulu on lasten juhla. (ja upeeta kun kaikista lahjoista osaa iloita ihan yhtä lailla - oli ne sitten pieniä, tai suuria)

Sitten Secret Pal 13 toisen kysymyksen kimppuun:

There was a Secret Pal 13 2nd question roughly a week ago -

Part A:Are you doing any holiday knitting?

Yes - I did knit a scarf for my friend and a pair of socks for my dad. and I'm still knitting a scarf for my mum...

Part B:Have you finished?

Yes and no - I'm still working on it with my mom's scarf but here are photos for the other two:

Scarf for my friend -

Pattern: Feather Scarf (slightly modified) by Wenlan Chia from Twinkle's Big City Knits (ravelry link)

Yarn: Rowan Ribbon Twist in "Regency" less than 3 skeins (<300g)

Needles: River John 12mm straight

I'm very happy with this scarf, I've made one for myself last spring and immediately thought of my friend, then found this beatiful plum coloured yarn and it was perfect match. I hope she likes it as well.

Socks for my dad. Very happy with these as well, they fit beautifully and my dad seemed happy to get them.
Pattern: my own
Yarn: 7 Veljestä by Novita in dark blue (between 100-150g)
Needles: 3,25 Harmony dpns

One down - two to go/ Jotain valmista - paljon tekemättä

I've been sick. I'm having a serious cold for the second week in a row and it is not funny. I have done absolutely no Christmas preparations. All presents are still in shop or on needles, and it is starting to come clear that if I'm not getting any better withing next couple of days the whole Christmas thing is going to blow up on my face. I have managed to knit one (1) present for my friend but that's it. At times I've been in such a state that not even straight-forward garter stitch has been manageable.

Maybe it's getting better tomorrow - right??
(It has to - there is no options left..)

Vieläkin sairaana. Jo toista viikkoa. Ja kaikki jouluvalmistelut tekemättä. Olen viikon aikana saanut neulottua yhden lahjan valmiiksi ja vielä olis kauheesti tehtävää. Ja mikäli olo ei tästä parane niin on turha haaveillakaan että saisin mitään valmiiksi. Tai siis kaikkea ainakaan. Viime aikoina kuume on estänyt jopa "aivot-narikkaan"-tason neuletyöt, saati sitten et olisin edes yrittänyt koskea mihinkään vaativampaan. Jos ei pysty oikeita silmukoita neulomaan kun tärisee niin pahasti, niin ehkä silloin pitää olla neulomatta.

Huomenna on varmasti parempi päivä. (Pakko olla.)

Thanks Secret Pal! - Kiitos SP!

Last few days have been pretty miserable, as girls have caught a bad cold and so have I , so I'm trying to hold on and manage somehow while having fever myself. .. I'm not worried about me, but seeing my youngest one having burning fever and no strength at all is just sad. (She had her Birthday today - Cannot believe she is already 1! what a birthday - .. but hope she's getting better by Saturday when we've been planning to have a party for her) Fortunately my oldest daughter got better today (as did I) and she's now fine. (I hope) On the other hand the Wild-One is now getting really ill.... I need strength!

But - it is not all misery here - In the afternoon I walked to our postbox and look - a package from my Secret Pal!

I opened it and -

Woaah! Wonderful! I love it! I've wanted to have EZ's Opinionated Knitter for some years - and now I have it. It is a gem. Thank You - thank you my Secret Pal - whoever you are!


Viime päivät täällä on ollut täysi sairastupa päällä. Minä ja vanhin sekä nuorimmainen kaikki kuumeessa... Nuorin neiti täytti tänään 1v kuumeen kourissa - toivottavasti paranee lauantaiksi, jolloin olisi tarkoitus juhlia ensimmäistä täyttä vuotta...
Nyt illalla vanhin on kunnossa mutta Villikko on vuorostaan kuumeessa... Onneksi oma olo on parantunut, jaksaa huomattavasti paremmin kun itse ei ole ihan taju pois, kun koittaa hoitaa muita:-)


Päivän ehdoton kohokohta oli käynti postilaatikolla, jonne oli ilmestynyt postia Secret Paliltani!! Aivan loistavaa! EZ'n Opinionated Knitter, jota olen himoinnut jo useamman vuoden. Kiitos! - Kiitos! kuka sitten oletkin.

Warmth- Lämpöä

A good friend visited yesterday and brought us a salt lamp. It gives such a warm light. Like it a lot. It was so nice to see her after a long while. Nothing beats good company.

Eilen hyvä ystävä kävi pitkästä aikaa kylässä ja toi mukanaan suolakidelampun. Ihanan pehmeä valo! Muutenkin oli oikein mukavaa kun oli hyvää ihan aikuista seuraa. (sorry Mies - sua ei nyt lasketa - vaikka oletkin tietysti maailman ihaninta seuraa:-)

And today I received a package of warmth in other dimension - Yarn. Yummy alpaca-merino blend from The Yarn Gallery in mouth-watering shades of toffee/chocolate with a touch of vanilla, raspberry & pistachio... absolutely gorgeous!

Kun vielä posti toi tänään ihanaa lankaa Briteistä (The Yarn Gallery) niin tässä lämmöntunteessa kelpaa paistatella. Johan sujuu joulupukin apulaisenkin hommat taas joutuisammin, tai siltä ainakin tuntuu. Olen kyllä vielä melkoisen vaiheessa neulottavien lahjojen kanssa, mutta tässähän on vielä ruhtinaallisesti aikaa...kokonaista 20 (!) päivää. Rittää varmasti. Ei siis niin mitää hätää... (???)

Pi-shawl

As the weather is what it is outside (rainy & bloody dark all the time) I cannot take any pictures there. Photo below is taken when I blocked the lovely Pi-shawl. (I got to confess that it is still pinned down to that bed...)

Pattern: Pi-shawl by Elizabeth Zimmermann from Knitters Almanac

Yarn: Lornas Laces Helen's Lace in "get Knitted" (approx. 4/5th of skein)

Needles: 4mm

I'm still thinking that I might dye this shawl. But not now. If I'm not wearing it when it is this strange pink/purple/orange I'll overdye it red. Maybe.

Pi -huivi valmistui ja on aikas kiva. Tykkäsin kovasti mallista, tosin väri nyt ei ole sitä ihan "minua" joten voipi olla että värjään tämän jossain vaiheessa punaisella. Muuten lanka oli aivan ihanaa (50%merino/50%silkki ei tietysti voi muuta ollakaan kuin ihanaa;-) Ja tämän neulominen oli jotensakin terapeuttinen kokemus. Lukuunottamatta reunusta, jonka neulominen tuntui vievän ikuisuuden.

VK & IK Holiday

This time they both have couple of things that I'd like to knit. I really like IK's Trellis Shell by Laurie Gonyea [ravelry link]- but there is nothing in my stash that would be suitable for it...

Also VK had a cool hat or two that I could see myself wearing..

Posti toi vihdoin UKsta pari lehteä - ja löytyihän sieltä taas muutama neule jotka tekis mieli tekaista. (tosi yllättävää...) Pari kivaa myssyä ja IK'ssa on ihanan simppeli silkkineule Laurie Goneyalta... Kun olisikin jotain sopivaa lankaa varastossa, mutta kun ei - niin ei. Pitää nimittäin vähän rajoittaa lankahamstrausta, kun tässä ollaan hulppean kotihoidontuen varassa vielä yli puoli vuotta.

Colour therapy - Väriterapiaa

I'm having so much fun knitting this! Colour is so vibrant (although not really "me") and EZ's pattern is just plain clever. Enjoying every moment of it.

Mahtavan kirkkaat värit ja nerokas Elizabeth Zimmermannin malli = Totaalisen rentouttava ja nautittava neuletyö. Kohta tosin valimis, sillä enää jonkin matkaa reunusta neulomatta...

Snow! - Ensilumi

Finally snow! Kids were over the moon when they noticed that it had snowed during the night. It is pretty. Although there is only little bit of snow, and it is likely to melt away but still - Snow!!!

Ensilumi satoi viime yönä. Aivan ihaanaa - muksut hihkuivat onnesta kun huomasivat aamulla lumen. "voiko tehdä lumienkeleitä?"

Lessons learned - aina sitä oppii

I learned some valuable things yesterday.
1. Friends are invaluable.
2. Sometimes the only (reasonable) thing to do is quit. And Frog. no use being a damn fool.
3. House is right. Everybody lies.

Välillä sitä herää huomamaan asioita:
1. Hyvät ystävät ovat kullanarvoisia.
2. Joskus ainoa fiksu keino pelastaa neule on purkaa se.
3. House on oikeassa.

Here's a photo of #2.
Can you see the amazing leaf pattern? nope. Neither can I. Yarn completely camouflages it. Could be a plain stockinette sock and most people could not tell the difference. And that is no good - so I frogged...
Tässä kuva tosi upeasta Spring Thaw (ravelry linkki) sukasta, jossa hienoja lehtiä... siis eihän niitä lehtiä näy kun lanka on näin... jostain! Ihan yhtä hyvin kuva voisi olla tavallisesta villasukasta - mutta lehtiä siihen olen neulonut. Muutenkin langan väri kasautuu tosi rumasti, joten oikea ainoa ratkaisu oli purkaa tämäkin sukkaparka. Teen tämän mallin myöhemmin yksivärisestä langasta.

Secret Pal 13 Q&A

This is the first time I participate to any swap so should be interesting. Here are my answers to Secret Pal 13 questionnaire:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love alpaca and all natural fibres, especially hemp, linen, silk, merino and those still quite new fibres such as soy & sea silk, corn etc. I do not like acryl. Hate it. Any yarn I knit with should have at least 50% of natural fibres in it (although I do consider viscose as a natural fibre... even though it is not).

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I'm still very unorganised in that department. (after all - I've "only" been knitting for over 25 years so why hurry?;-) I have a big basket where I put everything. So it is a big mess. And takes a long time to find anything...

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting forever. I cannot remeber how I learned. Maybe from my mom(?) but I wasn't even at school yet. I would call myself Fearless Advanced - meaning that I know quite a lot, and then I know that there are lots of tricks that I do not know - but I'm willing to fearlessly attack on any challenge and learn more as I go...

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Nope

5. What's your favorite scent?
I like orange & my perfume is pure Amber scent from l'Occitane. (I don't like lavender, vanilla or white flowers)

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Oh yes. Nothing beats good dark chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I don't know how to spin. Would like to learn though. I sew clothes and home furnishings. I know how to crochet but very seldomly do it.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Yes my laptop can handle MP3s. I used to be a huge industrial fan (Skinny Puppy, Young Gods, Fear Factory etc..) but I have mellowed down somewhat and broaden my taste in music - I listen to Tori Amos, Depeche Mode, NIN, Faithless, Danko Jones, Infected Mushroom...

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
Warm autumnal shades are all very "me" (warm greens, rust, orange, gold, brown, petrol blue) I do not like cold colours. no pinks, greys or blues for me!

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm married to a wonderful man and we have 3 small daughters. No pets.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes to first three (it gets cold here during winter months) but not ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
It depends on my mood. Socks, hats, lace, sweaters, knits for children &babies, accessories. Like to knit them all.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Currently on needles: Pi shawl, "couple" of accessories for xmas presents, Iceland top, Baby cables ...-sweater, Perugino throw

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I always use either circulars or dpns. (wooden/bamboo & addi circulars and bamboo/wooden dpns)

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Nope

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Over two years. A damned pair of socks that I might never finish.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?
I like Joulu (xmas ) - without the religious content. It's all about leaving the darkness behind as days are getting longer again and having good time with family, eating well - and giving & receiving gifts.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Not really - if you don't count knitting related books & yarn;-)

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I'd love to have Norah Gaughan booklets and those fab Japanese lace pattern books. Oh - and Elizabeth Zimmermanns "opinionated knitter".
I subscribe to IK & buy every issue of VK

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
All of them as soon as I hear about them!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes I am. my foot is quite narrow (European) size 38-39. (23,5cm)

23. When is your birthday?
April 2nd.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Yes. I'm A-L on Ravelry.

Stupid!

21cm is not 26cm - right? So how on earth have I knitted a neckline of 21cm instead of 26cm width stated in the pattern??? I'm talking about my pitch black Iceland that seems to have a bad karma. First of all, knitting that "thing" was supposed to be fast. After all it is knitted with 7mm needles and there is no shaping what-so-ever in the main body, just straight forward knitting.


Well, the yarn is a campaign yarn from Novita and I should know by now that words "campaign" and the fact that it was dirt cheap should have told me not to expect very much from quality... Although it will probably be ok when worn as an actual garment Polaris is not a pleasure to knit. It splits badly and as I chose black to this project I need a lot of light to be able to see stitches at all. Add to that the quality variation from skein to skein (Couple of skeins have been constant in yarn width while another two are very "thick-and-thin"- versions of this yarn etc... of course they are all same manufacturing/colouring batch so I have no clue why yarn is so different between the few skeins that I've bought...) And then I managed to screw the top up by somehow misreading the pattern. So I frogged 1/3 of the already finished main body with a little help from our youngest and now I'm picking up stitches again to reknit... How stupid can one be???


Onkohan minulla piilevä lukihäiriö - vai enkö taas ole malttanut lukea ohjetta kunnolla? siis ohjeessahan selkeästi sanotaan, että neulotaan pääntietä varten 26cm... niin enköhän ole jotenkin onnistunut neulomaan vain 21cm. Ilmankos Iceland näytti vähän oudolta!!! Mutta tietysti neuloin koko kappaleen valmiiksi ja olen nyt sitten purkanut oikein urakalla 1/3 kappaleesta, jotta pääsen neulomaan tuon tekeleen niinkuin alkujaan piti. Onneksi ( ???) sain purkuapua. Ainakin jollain oli kivaa. (ei minulla)



Muutenkaan tuon projektin kanssa ei ole mennyt aivan putkeen - lanka (Novita Polaris) on kaikkea muuta kuin laadukasta - mutta mitä muutakaan voi odottaa näiltä ns. "kampanjalangoilta" . Eli osa keristä on ollut ihan tasaista lankaa, mutta sitten mulla on pari kerää, joissa lanka on todella vaihtelevan paksuista läpi koko kerän. Tuotanto & värjäyserän ollessa saman, en voi ymmärtää miten noin voi olla? Onkohan tälle langalle ollut mitään
laatutarkastuksia? No jok.tap. valmis neulepinta itsessään näyttää yllättävänkin kivalta joten en anna tuon haitata liikoja.


Silmukat ovat takaisin puikoilla joten ei kun taas neulomaan, josko nyt onnistuisi?

Yummy Yarn - Ihanaa lankaa

It's rainy and stormy. It gets dark around 4pm. During the day it's so dim that lights need to be on inside so that I see what I'm doing. This is NOT my favourite time of the year. Really depressing...

Aina vaan sataa ja tuulee. Miten voikin olla näin pimeetä koko ajan? Todella masentavaa.

(Photo taken at 15.30 / 3.30PM yesterday. Gloomy - eh???)

Which is why this really made my day - lovely yarn that I ordered a week ago. Wonderful!!!

Onneksi postissa tuli vihdoin tilaamani ihanat langat. Eikös ole kauniita???

So soft, light and warm - Jotain pehmeää, kevyttä ja lämmintä

I have a black mohair sweater that I've been wearing for over 7 years now. (almost non-stop during cold months - so it's been a very good sweater) but I wanted some change. Something with a bit more colour maybe? So I bought some orange-red Kiddy Print (lovely yarn with 80% kid mohair) and knitted a simple top-down raglan sweater with it. Very plain - with a bit of 80's feel to it - thanks to a long ribbing on the sleeves and hem.

Omistan mustan mohairneuleen jota käytän melkein aina, kun en muutakaan keksi. Eli olen pitänyt sitä varmaan lähes joka viikko, ainakin 7 vuoden ajan... Lemppari, mikä lemppari. Jo pitkään on mieleni tehnyt samankaltaista paitaa, muun värisenä kuin mustana - joten kun löysin alesta Laines du Nordin Kiddy Printiä oranssinkukertavana, tiesin heti mitä siitä tekisin. Ylhäältä alas neulottu raglan-pusero korkealla kauluksella ja pitkähköillä 80-lukulaisilla resoreilla. Oikein simppeli. Ehkä jopa liian simppeli, joten päätin erittäin epätyypillisesti lisätä siihen vähän vihreetä samettinauhaa ja pari nappia ja johan alkoi homma pelittää...

But then I decided to embellish it a bit.
Added some moss green velvet ribbon and brown buttons and voilà -

Pattern: my own

Yarn: little over 200g (its very light!) Laines du Nord Kiddy Print in colour 50

Needles: 4mm, 5mm & 6mm

Changes - Muutosten marraskuu

November will bring some changes to my blog. Biggest probably being, that I attempt to blog also in Finnish (which - after all - is my mother tongue). English has always been easier for me to type, which is why I began blogging in English (having written all my dissertations/thesis etc in English while studying in the UK and having always worked in companies that use English as their corporate language I have come accustomed typing in English. But as said, being a Finn means I should really also be able to write in Finnish...)

Eli muutosten marraskuu -

tämä blogi muuttuu nyt kaksikieliseksi. Jatkossa siis tarinaa jo tutuksi tulleella englannilla sekä kova yritys kirjoittaa edes jokseenkin sujuvaa suomea (ja vanhoille äidinkielen opettajille terveiset: kielioppi ei vieläkään ole elämäni keskipiste, kuten varmasti tulette huomaamaan)

What was I thinking?

Sometimes I find yarn from my stash that makes me wonder if I make yarn purchases while asleep. There's no other explanation. Really. Look at this:
Beautiful lace weight blend of silk and merino but the colour?? It's beyond me. I cannot understand how and why I have bought it. But because I'm me, I decided to knit it into Elizabeth Zimmermann's Pi shawl. Maybe the colour will grow on me? Or maybe it will be really striking and beautiful when finished? I do not know. But I really want to think that it *will* be gorgeous when finished.

Now tell me that this is reasonable thinking.

That baby cardigan

Pattern: my own
Yarn: less than 100g Novita Florica and little bit of RYC Cashsoft 4ply
Needles: 3.25mm

So I changed my mind and knitted it in just plain stockinette after all. But I did some cool plaited cabling to raglan increase "seams" (not really seams as I knitted the whole thing seamlessly top-down...) that continue all way down to hem and sleeve. Just enough detail for my taste. (not to mention something to do every other row instead of mind-numbing knit 1 row, purl 1 row...)

Edges have a very simple picot finishing knitted with dark red RYC Cashsoft 4ply (wonderful yarn BTW!)

Lamour my love

It's been finished a few days now but only now I get round to show it of...

Pattern: Lamour slipover by Sarah Hatton (from Rowan magazine #44)

Yarn: approx 350g Jaeger Roma in Cinnamon

Needles: 3.25mm & 4mm

Jaeger Roma is a very stretchy viscose/angora blend (now discontinued, which is just crazy!) that goes really well with this pattern. Leaf lace was very simple to knit and the end result has nice depth to it. It's beautiful how light and shade play in the surface of this lace pattern. All in all a nice and wearable layering piece with a vintage touch. Lovely - methinks.

oh yes - I made the tab detachable, so that I can wear my slipover with or without it. Turned out pretty well. :-)

As for the baby cardi -decided to knit it in plain stockinette with cabling in raglan sleeve "seams". Have already knitted the body and one sleeve and am my way of knitting the other sleeve. Then I'm planning to finish it with some dark red picot edges. Maybe. Not sure yet.

Frost

Last night temperature sank below 0 degrees and it was so beautiful when I went to my usual morning stroll... I had to take some photos.

So that this post wouldn't be completely without knitting content-
I began a new project. Or I should say I got this idea to knit something for my youngest daughter (10months) to be worn on top of the dress in a wedding party (not mine - I've been married for 6 years) that is in less than 2 weeks time. I have some Novita Florica and RYC Cashsoft 4ply in my stash and I was thinking something in lines of a short cardi, with some cabling & maybe basketweave, knitted top-down... I have no idea if it is going to work but I did swatch yesterday and that looked encouraging enough for me to begin knitting it. Only time will tell...
As for my dress for that wedding... I'm still working on it. All fabric has been cut out and I've managed to do a part of sewing but it still needs a lot of work before it is a dress...

Slouchy beret

This was a very fast knit. It took less than 3 hours to make. Very cute pattern - will definitely make more of these. (also - it is big enough for me - I have a big head!)

Pattern: Star Crossed Slouchy Beret by Natalie Larson
Yarn: Noro Kochoran (used approx 80g)
Needles: 6, 7 & 8mm

Pentagons are so cool

and so is this pullover!

Pattern: Swirled pentagon pullover by Norah Gaughan from Knitting Nature

Yarn: Approx. 605g (I just needed to begin 7th skein to finish 2nd sleeve) New Lanark Aran in Natural Black

Needles: 5mm

I loved knitting this. I've been knitting for more than 25years and I have to say Norah Gaughan is one of the few designers that really never stops to impress me. Her designs are so special and distinctive. There is this mathemathical/ geometric side in them that makes them different from any other designers' work. I enjoyed knitting those pentagons, seeing them grow into perfectly fitting yoke and then keeping rest of the pullover really simple - just stockinette and some 2-by-2 ribbing.

I liked the pattern so much that I hardly did any changes to it. Of course I needed to recalculate all stitch counts as my gauge was way off, but apart from that I only changed edge ribbings from 1*1-rib to 2*2.rib, and added some really subtle shaping to body. And I knitted the whole thing round. Sleeves too. The original pullover in the book is made from some soft angora-blend, but I wanted a wholesome, outdoorsy pullover that could take years and years of wear. So I chose New Lanark Aran as yarn. It is a very coarse yarn. Which is why I think it was perfect for this particular pattern. Colour is good as well - undyed "black", which is dark brown in real life. Spartan but nice.

Iceland in crisis

lately it's been all bad news when it comes to Iceland. Banks are falling. Money trouble everywhere. Country on the verge of banktruptcy.

Very fitting indeed that my next knitting project is apptly named Iceland from Rowan magazine #42 . Knitted in pitch black Novita Polaris...

February Lady Sweater

Finally finished!

Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Autum Forest, approx 450g
Needles: 5mm

I had to knit left sleeve three times before I was happy with it. Yarn pooled so badly on sleeves... But the outcome is nice. And Malabrigo worsted was a real pleasure to knit with. Will definitely use this yarn again - and again.

Too tempting -

couldn't resist. I had sort of decided that I wouldn't cast on any other projects before finishing the current ones but I just had to cast on for Lamour slipover. Could not help it. I'm knitting it up in Jager Roma- which is a wonderful yarn - I cannot believe they went and discontinued it. Along with some other great yarns. I might need to stock up while it's still possible to get more of Roma from cucumberpatch... Oh yes. that's it. More yarn!

Snack-time

I love knitting fast little knits that can be finished in a matter of hours, not days or months. Every now and then there comes an opportunity - or in this case - a need to have something small knitted up in a hurry. This time it was new babysocks for my youngest daughter. So what to do? I wanted to make them soft and knit them fast so I went through my stash and found some yarn left from my February Lady sweater and some grey Karaoke by SWTC and that was it - a couple of hours later I had these:

Soft, warm and seriously cozy socks for M. I'm really happy how they turned out. Very unlike my Ugly Babysocks (raveled).