Wednesday 28 July 2010

Socks & new yarn

I managed to finish my very basic socks while away from home.
Pattern: Ribbed Lichen socks by Nancy Bush from Knitting Vintage socks
Yarn: Opal in some green butterfly coloring (cannot find the ball band right now)
Needles: 2.25mm

Because of this lovely green-black yarn that will hide any pattern imaginable - I chose a very basic ribbed sock pattern that is mostly mindless knitting - and still would give me something new to learn. The pattern has a Welsh heel (which is very interesting - has a seam stitch running in the middle of it and the resulting heel is very rounded) and a star-shaped toe. Both new techniques to me. You cannot see them in the photos as the yarn is what it is - but these "new" parts kept my interest going so goal achieved!
And - in the end - I need these socks . It's been a year (!) since I knitted socks for myself and all my socks have been darned at least twice ( three to four times of darning is the limit for me - after that - I throw socks away...).

Oh - and you surely didn't think that I got away with a sailing holiday without buying any yarn? No. I didn't think so :-) I just had to buy some local Finnwool yarn from Kasnäs.
The handle of this yarn is somewhere between coarse and soft. Somewhat rugged comfort. It still has some lanolin on it - which makes the yarn appealing to me - (and makes it smell like wet sheep...) Colours are natural. No dying involved whatsoever. And for me they are so beatiful yarns. Somehow touching them makes me feel connected to this land. and to past traditions. (which sounds so ridiculous and corny - I know...)
I'm planning to knit hats good for sailing (=dense & warm) for all in our family with those skeins... have few ideas in my mind - time will tell if they work in real life...

The last photo. Just snapped this for fun. It's the rope from our boat attached to a quay. (I love that pic.)

Sunday 25 July 2010

Sailing trip 2010

We're back from a two-week sailing trip to archipelago of Turku and back. Amazingly we had 2 weeks of very warm (+25-+30 celsius) weather and light winds - just perfect! Here are some pictures taken along the way...
Borstö
Mossy stones and wood in Borstö. Girls in their favourite place in our boat.

Nauvo

The wide open sea...
...and a beacon.
Laundry day in Korpoström... (evidently we have 3 daughters...:-)
Hanko harbour.
Life's a beach for girls in Hanko.

Thursday 8 July 2010

Nothing complicated


Summer is all about simple little things . Like the sun and the warmth and time to do things I would not normally do - like making clover garlands for my girls...


Admiring the amazing colour , shape and scent of pionies on our back yard.

And knitting simple socks for myself that are mostly just ribbing but with a pattern that lets me explore welsh heel (never done that before) and star-shaped toe (first time of that as well) .
I could get used to slow-paced life like this...

Tuesday 6 July 2010

Lace scarf

I bought the wonderful sparkly yarn while on a day-trip to Tallinn Estonia. And it was quite evident that it had to become a scarf or shawl....I have this wonderful book Victorian knitting today - by Jane Sowerby - which I absolutely recommend to anyone with interest in knitting lace or/and history of knitting. Lovely book.

Used one of the scarf patterns with wide border - and the scarf was ready in no time at all.
Pattern: Scarf with the Clarence Border from Weldons, 1886 (ravelry)
Yarn: less than 150g Glamour from HP Gruppen (97% Cotton, 3% metallic) , in shade #221 (powder with a gold lurex )
Needles: 4mm
Apart from lacy borders that are knit from side to side - the main part of the scarf is super-easy garter stitch with elongated stitches every 4th row. Perfect knitting while watching telly.I plan to be wearing this when my mother-in-law gets married for the 3rd time in August...

Friday 2 July 2010

Hello Summer!

Finally summer Holiday!
(Photo by Isabella, 7)