Steady progress

Yep. It is going. Going. I'm knitting always I can my olympic project and 1 front is done and the other one lacks only hood extensions. So far so good.I've been thinking: When is the modified version modified/unique enough that it can be called a completely new/different design?
Just wondering - because I began to knit a Clasica Coat, but so far I've changed almost everything in it. The legth. Reversed the stitch pattern. Modified the fit (making it quite a bit narrower than in the original pattern).

And that's only 2 front pieces. I'm also planning to change sleeves and back.
After those changes - it hardly is a Clasica coat. But what is it then?

3, 2, 1- go!

The Winter Olympic Games of 2010 in Vancouver began yesterday morning at 4am Finnish time, and I cast on my olympic project right after the breakfast. It's gonna be Clasica Coat by Deborah Newton- although quite heavily modified version at that. I've no idea wheather I'm able to knit a thigh-length , hooded coat in a fortnight (or so) but I'll try. (I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be a bit too optimistic plan...)

True to myself, I'm substituting the yarn (cascade ecologigal wool) with RYC Soft Tweed, that I bought from sale over a year ago. This means I've had to recalculate everything. I've also decided to modify the length, the sleeve, the raglan detail, and the actual stitch pattern... so the outcome will probably be something totally unique and unrecognisable.

We'll see if I'm able to make it.

Guess who?

of course it's me - but could not resist. Just a quick post before Winter Olympics begin tomorrow in Vancouver - and I'm ready to pick up my 6mm needles and have a go with my Ravelympics 2010 project...( I already have doubts about it - I might have chosen a bit too challenging jacket to knit in two weeks ,but.... we'll see)
Pattern: Blossom Hat by Norah Gaughan from Vogue Knitting (Designer Knitting) Fall 2009 (ravelry)
Yarn: Mystery spanish wool yarn bought from Barcelona.
Needles: 4,5mm dpns

(sorry very dark photo. There is not enough light at this time of year!)
Because of my big(ish) head I added 1 increase round to girth, and some rows to get more depth. Knitted this on the round instead of back'n'forth. Easier that way. Like this? yes. Have been wearing this every day since I finished it.


Pattern: Yellow Harvest mittens by Mari Muinonen from Vogue Knitting , Fall 2008 (ravelry)
Yarn: Same as in the hat above
Needles: 4,5mm dpns

The photo has been taken pre-wet blocking - which is why they don't look so nice and even.. (fortunately wet-blocking fixes almost everything - as long as the yarn is wool:-) These had very tight cuffs ("cutting of the circulation - cannot feel my hands anymore" - sort of..) but I stretch them while blocking and now the fit is beautiful.

All in all a surprisingly fast pattern to knit.

Next time - olympic fever!

Sienna Cardigan

Finally photos! (This starts to be my trademark blog-text beginning...) Meet Sienna.
It was a pure stroke of luck when one day I was going through my unread Knitting daily emails,and found the free leaflet of gardigans there - pattern of Sienna included! I had placed Sienna on my ravelry queue the moment I saw it (over a year ago) and had wanted to knit it ever since. I was even lucky to have a very nice yarn for it - in a beautiful terracotta shade. So after finding the Knitting daily leaflet I cast on - immediately.
Pattern: Sienna Cardigan by Ann E. Smith (ravelry)
Yarn: Jaeger Extrafine merino Aran in 556 Maple (approx 500g)
Needles: 4,5mm

(btw. the above photo looks so weird - as if it was "photo-shopped" ... nice flash effect ?)

I really - really like this cardigan. The colour is perfect to me. And Jaeger extrafine merino is my favourite merino yarn of all times (still cannot get over it why they had to discontinue it??)

The thing I like the most is the collar - with laddered bind-off edge. How cool is that? I also like the lacy cables and deep ribbing on the hem - and I added ribbing also to sleeves - because I didn't like the idea of boud of edges in my sleeves. Love it this way.
I knitted sleeves round on dpns - because that's the way I make sleeves - without seams , please. Also the body has been knitted as one piece without side seams 'till under arms. Very nice pattern. Easy to follow and makes one awesome (not to mention practical) cardi.

Close to perfect - me thinks.

Mittens

Well - could not manage photos by Sunday but mittens are finally ready. They are very, very thick and warm I would imagine - which is good as temperature has dropped yet again to -17 Celsius....

Pattern: inspired by the description of Double-double mittens in Villapeikko's blog

Yarn: Whatever Drops Alpaca I had left in my stash - Raspberry, Wine red and Green - total of 76g

Needles: 4mm

Crochet hook: 5mm (because that was the only one small enough I could find)

I used the yarn double stranded and knitted two pairs of mittens that I attached to each-other with a crocheted trim. In theory - this should leave loads of tiny airpockets to help insulation against the freezing cold(hope it works in practice as well)
Mittens can be worn either the green or red side out. On the green side there is a k1,p1 - rib cuff , and on the red side there is a stockinette cuff with just 5 rows of rib on the wrist. I also run out of raspberry-coloured yarn before knitting thumbs - which is why they are wine red. But that really does not matter (at least not to me) - colours go nicely together anyways.

All in all - a heartwarming knitting project: no more cold fingers for my littlest girl !! (I hope)

Relieving stress with knitting

I'm a stress bug. I hate to admit it but it is true. This week's been very demanding workwise and there is no change in sight before mid-February. Projects are piling up ...The worst is that I've started getting head-aches again. Nothing "oh I guess I have a bit of a head-ache"-type of thing, but the mind-numbing, nauseating sort of head-aches. That last until I get to sleep them off... Bugger.

I obviously have still no photos of my 3 FOs (Sienna Cardigan, perugino throw and Blossom hat - all which I'm very happy about) instead here's something I've been knitting this week - "double-double mittens" for Mariella to keep her little fingers toasty while she's taking a nap in her trolley outside. (This has not been possible for a while because it's been under -15 celsius outside - which is considered a temperature limit when you cannot let babies/little kids sleep outside anymore. Happily today it is only -6 celsius and as I write this Mariella is happily napping on our porch. )

I read about this kind of mittens from Villapeikko's blog where she has several times mentioned that double mittens made out of double-stranded alpaca are really the warmest choice. So I'm trying them out.... (hopefully tomorrow some photos of finished mittens:-)

Cozy V-neck Pullover

Where does all the time go? it seems to disappear so fast... I had plans to keep updating this blog a couple of times per week and here we go - it's been 2 weeks - again since my last post.

Knitting procedes on steady pace. I have several FOs waiting for photo-session .. but here's a one FO that had it's session already before xmas.

Pattern: Cozy V-Neck Pullover by Stefanie Japel (ravelry link)

Yarn: Cashmere tweed by Rowan (RYC) in Sisal, approx 450g (this is simply amazing stuff!!)

Needles: 5mm

I wanted something simple and easy-to-wear that would show off the luxurious yarn - which is why I chose this design. I changed it a bit to fit my body and am really happy with the outcome. Pullover is so soft and feels luxurious to wear. (why wouldn't it - yarn is 90% cashmere and 10% silk - just a fantastic tactile experience to knit something like this!!)