Pea Vines- shawl(ette)

Remember some time back when I showed my WIPs?
Here's the wonderful Pea vines shawlette all finished up. And I love it.
Pattern: Pea vines by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Berrocco Ultra Alpaca in Pea soup mix. Less than a skein.
Needles: 4mm

The yarn is a lovely, intense green - and while knitting it I got a flashback that I've already knitted something from this kind of green... and I have. My Mrs.Darcy cardigan (drops alpaca yarn) is exactly the same colour as the Berrocco Ultra Alpaca Fine used for Pea vines. How weird is that? It got me thinking that maybe it IS the same yarn but just sold under different brand names , but no - the drops alpaca is 100% alpaca whereas the Berrocco yarn is wool/alpaca/nylon mix... still pretty weird. (and how I manage to pick up yarns like that is almost spooky. and it wasn't the first time it's happened either....)

I've been following Anne Hanson's blog some time now - and the moment I saw pea vines shawl - I knew it was perfect for me. So I bought the pattern as soon as it was released. So beautiful! I like the fact that the lacy top edge is knitted at the same time with the rest of the shawl - so when you have finished the shawl it is really done - no need to attach separate border etc.
Have to admit though that I never really got into the flow-state of knitting - you know - when you can just see your hands knitting and the mind is free to travel. Nope - the Pea vines demanded my full attention from the cast on 'til the cast of . But it was worth it. And I definitely enjoyed knitting it. I knitted the smallest size - so it is a nice scarf-like accessory, that I can wear to spice up my wardrobe.
I can see myself knitting this again in future - maybe in the medium size that time. It would look great also in a very light colour - I think. Maybe a soft cream or ivory-white silk blend for spring time?

(I don't have anything like that in my stash - I'm only speculating here - and no I try not to purchase any more yarn before the end of this year as I've bought a lot during the last 6 weeks or so... Never , ever visit a yarn shop on-line with your Visa next to you and after having a throbbing head ache for weeks - so that your guards are down... ok you are warned - I flashed my credit card here. Don't even go to the Araucania clearance sale... that was my doom.)

Milano

Last week we (me and my DH - no kids!) had the luxury of spending a long weekend in Milano, Italy. What a lovely trip, just the two of us and no-one else to take care of. We walked a lot, drank wonderful Italian cappuccino and ate well. (NB! This is the colour of true cappuccino - and it has nothing to do with the colouring of my perugino throw!)
We were amazed to find out how good the public transport was in Milano. (only 3EUR/person/day - and it allowed us to use all trams, buses , metro and some trains within Milano.. very reasonable price!)

Trams were kind of cool. Vintagy even. In Milan they looked like this.
Check out the wonderful lamps inside.
If we understood the driver of the no19 tram correctly, the trams date back to 1930's . Nice.

Of course we also checked the sights - Il Duomo (which my DH continuously called El Diablo... ) , the Castle, the ridiculously pricey fashion streets of Via della Spiga (with Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana etc) and Via Montenapoleone (again D&G, YSL etc..)
But mostly we just talked and walked.
Had some Italian food: (this is our lunch)
- and enjoyed the Apperitivo. Which basically translates into paying approx 6-7 euros for the drink and then having the unlimited buffet where to choose little snacks - olives, pasta salads, fruit, crisps, all kinds of little savory snacks , tiny sandwiches etc. Delicious.

Although Milano is the fashion capital of Italy I didn't go shopping really - I only bought a pair of flat black leather boots - which go with everything. As for yarn - didn't even see any during our long weekend. (btw. Love that fruit & vegetable stand... looks so welcoming - doesn't it?)

However - immediately when I had unpacked our suitcase - I took this lovely skein of Araucania Copihue from my stash. It's going to be a hat for my 7 yr old...

Perugino Throw/ blanket

Maybe it is a high time to introduce my Perugino throw. It took me less than a couple of hours to decide that I "had to " buy this kit from Colinette. Then some hours to wind the lovely yarn into balls. And the knitting process.... well - took me more than a year. Reason being that I just didn't like knitting it.
Pattern & Yarn: Perugino Throw by Colinette in Cappuccino (sold as a kit. Includes following yarns: Mohair, merino tape Tagliatelli and Giotto)
Needles: maybe 8mm (cannot remember - don't care..)
There was a time last spring when I made the decision to actually knit, knit, knit and finish the sucker. It turned out pretty, however. Although why this colourway is called Cappuccino - evades me. On Colinette website the photo gave me an illusion of frothy toffee-and light rosy shades of caramel or cappuccino - indeed. But in real life - the colourway is all purples, grays and pinks. Don't get me wrong - it isn't that I don't like it. It is just that I expected the colours to be much warmer etc.
That said - it is a very warm and cute throw. Girls love to keep it as a lap blanket when watching children's programmes from the telly (it covers easily all three of them) .

First snow!

We woke up this morning, and were pretty amazed to see this:
It had snowed last night and girls were thrilled.
Of course it is going to melt away but still, we got a little taster of the coming winter.

on the needles...

So last time I showed my knitting basket - here's what's in it right now.

Luciole in beautiful Ewetopia merino. Love the pattern and this yarn. Absolutely wonderful. And the colour is really "me".


Lacy cardigan in Rowan Kidsilk Night (the one with a subtle sparkle). The lower part is just stockinette so it is pretty good TV-knitting.

Next is my army gray (greenish dark gray) Rowan Polar (a discontinued bulky wool/alpaca blend - very soft) that is going to be a top-down raglan sleeve cardigan for me. I've envisioned a straight, hip-length cardi with ribbed cuffs. And a nice cable (haven't yet figured out what;-) around the fronts & neck. Maybe pockets too. This is the way I knit when knitting without any pattern. I go by the feeling and change my plans as I go. The garment just forms itself. Sort of...

Then some RYC Cashmere tweed. (a true lux yarn! cashmere with a little bit of silk. mmm..) I've already knitted the body and now I'm on my first sleeve. This is for my mum. She wanted a Sienna Cardigan from this yarn and I've promised it's ready by xmas. Shouldn't have any issues there...
To balance out all the wonderful fibre I also have plastic on my needles. Oh yes. I'm not loving it - but it looks promising... It's gonna be a snood. (you know - like a scarf but loop) There's a double leaf pattern in the middle and some net-like texture on both sides of it. See how it's going to turn out.

To the amazing pea-green Berrocco Alpaca mix - starting to look a bit like Pea-vines shawlette. Lovely design. I'm knitting this from charts only (cannot really read written instructions) and it takes some concentration. I'm sure - however - that this is going to be absolutely fabulous when finished and blocked...
And the last one... Noro Sekku - Noro's new(ish) laceweight, which is an interesting yarn to knit with. Once again - I'm just letting my knitting take form. (one way or another) Is that organic designing? I dunno. It can become anything. Right now it looks interesting but sort of a mess... lets see what happens when it grows...

Sofa's new look

I did some sewing! I'm so happy I got the new cushion covers done for our trusty sofa. Old ones started to look quite worn out (they were yellow and orange - and in quite a state...)
So here's the new look - black & off-white - bold& beautiful

(not to mention very practical - that pattern will probably hide at least some of the stains that are only waiting to happen when there's 3 lively kids in the family. As the truth is that most of the time they are not sitting on the sofa - but doing headstands, jumping, climbing etc. Slip covers are great! )
That's my knitting basket in the corner. Always at least three or four projects on the needles at the same time...

Otello

As promised - here's another finished knit. I bought the yarn from here and it was a total impulse purchase. I saw that they had many Louisa Harding yarns on very good price and as I have the wonderful Cardigans book filled with her designs I decided there and then to purchase Ca'D'oro yarn. Even though it clearly was a novelty yarn. (I admit that the price had everything to do with my decision to buy - was feeling a bit low at a time and treated myself with some yarn... also bought some Cinnabar and RYC cashcotton...)
Pattern: Otello by Louisa Harding from Cardigans
Yarn: Ca'd'Oro 550g
Needles: 6mm & 7mm
I'm having a bit of a mixed feelings about this cardigan. On the other hand - it has a wonderfully vintage-feel to it. Sort of 1950's small & sweet collar - 7/8 sleeves etc. On the other hand - it is evident that I need to be extra careful what to combine this with. Otherwise it is going to look very grandma-ish. (When the photos were taken I just through it on and the black long skirt & jersey top are not the ideal match to it.)
I'm thinking it will - however - look great with my favourite (= quite worn out) jeans and a nice bracelet...

Note on the buttons - they are actually vintage ones. From 50's or 60's . I was amazed how much it would have changed the cardigan depending on which yarn to use to sew the buttons on. I always use the same yarn to attach buttons that I have knitted the actual piece with (unless I want the buttons to pop out more and decide to use contrasting coloured yarn) And with Ca'd'Oro I had 4 different yarns to choose from - as the yarn is actually 4 different yarns plied together. There is a light olive viscose/rayon yarn that gives shine, a mustard yellow and deep purple wool yarns and a mauve mohair blend yarn. In the end I chose the mohair yarn to attach the buttons.

Lace shawl

Finally finished this one. It's been on my needles since June - but I haven't been exactly faithful for it, to get it finished earlier...
Pattern: Shawl in Cherry leaf pattern, by Jane Sowerby from Victorian lace today (rav.link)
Yarn: The Yarn Gallery (TYG) Compass - in Earth approx. 120g
Needles: 5mm

Absolutely love this yarn. It is "scrunchy" and the colour has amazing depth. (especially the purple looks gorgeous in nature!) It also handled really well in wet blocking - and now I have one cozy shawl. Although I probably will be wearing it like a scarf around my neck - attached with a nice brooch.
(Just bought the maple leaf brooch from this shop in Etsy.com . Beautiful!)
I have so many things on my needles right now - a true startitis going on. I've begun 3 new projects in 2 days - and I also have quite a few FO's (at least 6) that I haven't presented here yet. will need to update this blog more often...

(Otello still on the needles - just finished it a couple of days ago. More pics in near future. I hope.)

Wanna see some really nice lace patterns? Check this out. Just finished one of her designs and have begun another one. Pretty - pretty:-)

Parsley

Another finished knit that I'm really happy about. Love the colour and lightness of the lace.
Pattern: Parsley by Marie Wallin from The organic wool collection (Rowan purelife)
Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton in Pumpkin #962
Needles: 3,5mm & 4mm
(for some reason I'm - once again - not able to access Ravelry - so no Rav.links this time...)

Modifications:
Knitted sleeves on dpn's and on the round. Made the body part 1 lace pattern repeat longer (before beginning the v-neck) as I would not wear it if it was that short than in the pattern... Also - 3 buttons instead of 2.

The whole thing looked a bit distorted and the lace pattern was somewhat messy - but the proper wet-blocking really transformed the garment completely. Now the lace pattern is crisp and clean - the surface of the knit is smooth.
A few words about the yarn - Rowan Wool Cotton. It is wonderful. Feels more like a buttery soft cotton than 50%cotton /50% wool that it actually is... But the wool content makes it easy to block after knitting. Just lovely stuff. Gotta buy more of this in different colour. (I'd imagine that this would be ideal for child's knitwear as well. so nice and soft)
Taas yksi valmistunut neule - Ihanainen Parsley pitsineuletakki vajaamittaisilla hihoilla. Oikein kiva. Modasin ohjetta sen verran, että tekeleeni on n.5cm pidempi kuin mitä ohjeen mukaan piti olla - ja neuloin hihat kokonaan pyörönä sukkapuikoilla. Tosin minä nyt neulon aina hihat sukkapuikoilla joten tarvinneeko sitä edes erikseen enää mainita...

Lankana pehmyt Rowanin Wool Cotton - eli 50% puuvillaa ja toinen mokoma merinovillaa. Voisi luulla puuvillalangaksi - paitsi että blokattaessa villan kyllä huomasi. Pitsineulepinta selkiintyi huomattavasti märkäblokkauksen ansiosta (ennen sitä neule oli varsin ryttyisen oloinen) . Tykkään myös noista suht. leveistä ainaoikein reunuksista - varsinkin pääntiehen se tuo sitä kaivattua ryhtiä todella kiitettävästi.

Summa summarum - varsin mukavanoloinen käyttöneule - sopii mainiosti kerrostettavaksi pidempihihaiseten päälle ja miksei ihan itsekseenkin topin seurana, kun taas säät joskus ensi vuoden puolella sallivat.

Nyt takaisin omenasavotalle - tänään olisi tarkoitus rahdata takakontillinen tuohon mehuasemalle. Saas nähdä millaista mehua saadaan.