FOs: More secret socks

It never ends, does it?

Well, it does, quite soon, but up until then you'll have to do with another of those toes only photos of the two pairs of socks I've completed recently. In fact it's all about sock knitting around here these days.

Two lovely yarns and two lovely colours: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid colourway Firefly and Colinette Jitterbug colourway Velvet Damson.

It's another 188 g = 18.8 % added to the Sock yarn O-Meter. That adds up to 91.4 % on the O-Meter - another pair of socks should bring me over 100 % then - yay! :)

FOs: The Cardigans

Or rather, a cardigan and a vest (but I couldn't help it choosing this title...:)).

First up is Twinkle's Biker Vest from Big City Knits. The pattern is meant for the Twinkle Cruise Yarn, but I wanted it to be more like those small quilted vests that were in fashion earlier this year (and hopefully will be for another few months... ;)), so I adapted the pattern to the super bulky wool yarn and knit on Needles size 9.00 mm to get a dense fabric. My Ravelry project page is here.

Next up is my 8th garment for NaKniSweMoDo: Polly from Kim Hargreaves' Thrown Together. It's knitted in Araucania Nature Wool Chunky (a really nice yarn!!) in a semisolid dark grey colour (a bit overexposed in the photos). I used the well-known trick of swapping skeins every two rows to avoid pooling or visible skein differences. According to the pattern and several Ravelry project pages the yardage I had in my stash was insufficient, so I decided to make the sleeves 3-4 cm shorter to be able to use this stash yarn anyway (I've used quite a lot of yarn from stash recently - yay!). It turned out that this wasn't at all necessary as I still have a bit less than half a skein left over, but I didn't really want to redo it after seaming it all together... :)

Like most Kim Hargreaves' designs this is a really nice one too. Simple yet effective - and wearable. As you can see, I used four different buttons; I didn't have four similar ones of that size in my inherited button stash (yes, my grandmother's again), so I found it better to use four different ones of similar size and colour - a bit more fun to carry these buttons and their history around than heading off to buy four new ones.

And here's my Ravelry project page for Polly.

FOs: Accessories

Right... I have quite some FOs to show you this time - mainly because I must the laziest photographer/photo uploader known to mankind. The 8 FOs I'm going to show you (divided into 3 posts or so) have finish dates from the middle of August up until last night. That is to say - I didn't finish it all at once! :)

To avoid drowning you in FOs I've split it up into 4 posts, this one showing hats and scarves:

This vibrantly yellow shawlette is Damson by Ysolda knit in two strands of Posh Yarn Eva 2 ply (55% silk, 45% cashmere = incredibly soft and smooth), colourway Daffodil. It's in Ysolda's new collection Whimsical Little Knits 2 and already all over the place.

Speaking of said collection, another item from there is the slouchy hat Ripley:

It's available in 2 versions: a smaller, more girly one with lace edging and the slouchier unisex version which is the one I knit using two strands of Posh Yarn Lei (also incredibly soft and smooth), colourway Vermeil.

(I sense a pattern here: Ysolda accessories in Posh Yarn...)

Finally, some chunky knits to use up every inch of my super bulky stash (Cascade Magnum and Twinkle Soft Chunky): the Aspen Hat from Twinkle's Big City Knits. I tried out another of her hats first, but I didn't like it - luckily knitting a hat with this yarn is not so time-consuming... :)

The other item in the photo is a (rather short) scarf using up the very last inches after I knit the hat (and a vest you'll see in another post).

In case you're interested, links to my Ravelry project pages are here:

Damson

Ripley

Aspen Hat

Chunky Scarf

Next up: Open front garments aka cardigan and vest :)

Clara

A cute little vest for a cute little girl. Started knitting this one for a number of reasons: wanted to see how much yarn it used up in this size, wanted to knit up that odd ball of yarn, wanted to knit this pattern.

As it turns out, I've now found a recipient for it, too :)

Info:

Pattern: Clara [Rav-link] by Karin Vestergaard Mathiesen

Size: 1 year

Yarn: Noda Junik, colourway Redcurrant, 42 g (washed as well as unwashed)

Needles: size 3.25 mm

Chest circumference: 50 cm

Link to my Ravelry project page here.

I'll definitely knit more of these. Very satisfying.

Paper Dolls and Selbu Stars

I finally got the photos out of the camera and can now present my latest garment: let's call it Paper Dolls and Selbu Stars.

I see the Selbu stars alright, but where are the paper dolls? you might ask. Or maybe you already know that Paper Dolls is the name of the pattern for this knitted T-shirt (as my boyfriend incredulously calls it) by Kate Davies.

I love the i-cord edges and the corrugated ribbing - a nice finish, if you ask me.

For quite some time now I've been wanting to knit something with the Selbu star. And not just any Selbu star. No, it had to be this particular Selbu star found in one of my mom's ancient books "Den Ny Strikkebog" ("The New Knittingbook") published sometime during the first half of the last century. I love how the star has all these small curls and details - and it was a pleasure to knit.

From knitting the Owl sweater I was quite fond of Kate's way of doing yoke decreases: waiting until after the yoke pattern and then decreasing rather steeply. It worked on the Owls, but this time it turned out to be much too tight in the neckline.... It lingered in my knitting basket for some weeks before I finally picked it up again during WIP WrestleMania in July. I still haven't made any decreases until after the Selbu star pattern (which works fine) but I've done fewer decreases this time around. That gave me the more open neckline I wanted. There are no photos of the short row neck shaping on the back, you'll have to trust me that it works :)

No modelled photos this time, but I can tell you that it's tight-fitting. A real knitted T-shirt ;)

Info:

Pattern: Paper Dolls by Kate Davies

Yarn: Isager Alpaca 2 (grey 011), Isager Tvinni (dark red and pink)

Needles: size 3 mm for the most of it; 3.25 mm for the corrugated ribbing, and 3.75 mm for the i-cord edges.

Link to my Ravelry project page here.

The Isager yarn knits up in a fine gauge and makes the T-shirt very light and soft.

I started this garment back in February not knowing if I had enough of the grey yarn to finish it; the yarn was the leftovers from Pine - I thought that almost 2 skeins (50 g each) of this exquisite were too much to just hide around in the stash; I wanted to make something from it. Turned out I didn't have enough yarn. A stroke of luck - a fellow Raveler answered my ad on Ravelry as she had one skein of the same dyelot(!) left over from one of her projects! My supervisor usually says that luck follows the well-prepared, but I can't really say that I was exactly that this time around - I was just plain lucky! Thanks, rei!

Sockyarn-O-Meter Progress IV

Another round of secret sock projects. This time I have 4 pairs finished - 3.5 of which where finished thanks to WIP Wrestlemania in July... :)

In total they are 338 g (80 + 82 + 86 + 90 = 338), i.e. 33.8 % added to the Sock yarn O-Meter, which has now reached 72.6 % !!! Yay!

I promise to reveal more about all these socks soon...

I heart my Cornflower

I started knitting Buttercup (Rav link) about a month ago in this adorably blue and shiny linen yarn by Karin Öberg - the best linen yarn I've ever tried to knit with. Having prepared it for a holiday spent partly on the European roads with only the stockinette stitch to go, I've managed to finish it during my holidays. And the outcome is just like I wanted it to be! I love the neckline, the A-line design, and the colour. 

The pattern is very well written, so if you're tempted by this design, I'll recommend it :)

Ravelry link here.

This was NaKniSweMoDo #5.

Amimono Endeavours III

Coral #2 is done. In black Viscolin and a tad of blue linen by Karin Öberg. A nice and useful summer top.

Granite is on the needles... :)

This was NaKniSweMoDo #6.

Roo

I think I have to knit this - the surprise from the Summer Twist Collective.

WIP WrestleMania 2009 - Take I

Here's my first WIP smacked down! A little girl's dress I made up in order to use up these 3 yarns lingering in my stash in amounts insufficient for most things... Filcolana New Zealand lambswool in heather and light grey, and Drops Alpaca in heather/rose. Raveled here.

I like it a lot! I have one more - in green - coming up (well, eventually).

Now I just need to find a little girl (6-12 months old) to give it to... 

Autobahn, here I come!

I've spent the morning preparing my knits for the road trip holidays - miles and miles on end on the Autobahn, narrow mountain roads, and the autostrada. 

The photo shows the two projects that simply can't fail as holiday knitting. I've finished the "hard" parts, i.e. neck edging, sleeves, feather-and-fan pattern (I've even sewn up the neck edging and sleeves and woven in ends), and yet to go is endless rows of plain stockinette (with a few increases and decreases here to keep me awake, but easy to memorise) - in total I have a little over 1 km of yarn to be knit into stockinette before these two projects are finished.

And when they are done? They'll be wonderful summer garments - I've tried both of them on and they are definitely winners! I'm confident they'll get quite a lot of wear. Right now the Danish weather is perfect (25-30 celsius!!) for wearing them, but I hope the summer returns when I return. 

What are they then?

The (beautifully) blue one on the left is Buttercup (in this case I think Cornflower would be more appropriate, though...) by Heidi Kirrmaier. 

It's knitted in the most exquisite linen yarn I've ever tried - it's Kalinka by Karin Öberg (and I can't believe I camped a few miles from her knitting café hosting house/shop three years ago without knowing anything about it...). I guess the Swedes are skilled when it comes to linen. Alas, this gorgeous cornflower deep blue colour is not longer produced (booo...), but is still available in other nice colours - and I do think I'll need more of it at some point... Locally, I can get it in Sommerfuglen in Copenhagen, but the way the Swedish currency looks at the moment, I think I'll import some from Sweden instead! 

This yarn was a random purchase I made in Kunstladen at Fanø two years ago at the knitters' festival. I loved the colour and originally intended it for Marianne Isager's Karpen (March's garment in Japanese Inspired Knits), but then I didn't want to knit that anyway. And now I'm happy I didn't. The yarn is perfect for this simple yet very pretty tunic - just my style. 

The black one on the right is Coral by Amimono. It's knitted in Isager's Viscolin. The yarn is alright, but nowhere near the Kalinka linen. 

... And I never thought I should be fond of knitting with anything but wool. Well, I guess I was wrong :)

Right now...

A nice little meme that I've taken the liberty to translate into English, having seen it here and here in Danish.

Outside my window there is... grass. Grass and lovely sunshine. Summer has hit Denmark and will stay for at least a week! 

I'm thinking about... if there's something crucial we've forgotten to think about for our holidays; starting on Friday. 

I'm grateful for... my life. 

In the kitchen there's... a mess! As in: a huuuge mess. I was home alone last night cooking myself an exquisite all-homemade burger. And I tend to leave a huge mess in the kitchen when combining cooking and being home alone. 

I'm dressed in... black. What can I say, it's my favourite colour. 

I'm doing... a lot of knitting. Trying to prepare and select the right knits for the road trip holiday and the WIP WrestleMania in July. I'm almost there. 

I have to... go to the library within the next hour (before it closes) to pick up a guidebook on Alsace. I also need to eliminate some of those laundry mountains...

I'm reading... well, the newspaper. I ought to read some scientific papers, too, but my mind is said on holidays, and I'll stick to experiments (no reading) this last week before said holiday. I'm not reading any fiction at the moment - in fact, I'm really bad at reading fiction while studying...

I'm hoping... that the floods won't spread to the Western part of Central Europe. In fact, I'm hoping they'll go away so people can have their houses, etc. back (and our holidays won't involve floods...).

I'm listening to... the noises from the fridge, the clock, and my typing. 

Around the house/flat is... even more mess!

One of my favourite things is... hmm, in a month it may be our new car... right now, well, my 16-year old teddy? And a lot of other items with sentimental value.  

During the weekend I must... get a lot of stuff sorted for the holidays. And definitely go for a run! And eat some nice food like we usually do at weekends. 

A photo I'd like to share... this one from two weeks ago when Peter and I had a lovely day in Copenhagen shopping some nice stuff, wandering around in the sun, having a wonderful lunch at a restaurant owned by two brothers our age with just the right spirit - right next to an antiques flea market. Never have I seen that many clams on one plate... 

Amimono Endeavours II

I just wanted to give you an update on this part... 

Helga's book launch a couple of weeks ago made the list even longer - and changed it a bit. Here's what I'm now planning to knit - at some point within the next years, that is... (sorry for the titles of the patterns in the new book being in Danish, but that's what they are):

Coral (on the needles)

Granite (on the needles) 

1900'erne: Cardigan med klokkekant

1960'erne: Sweater i tofarvet patent

1970'erne: Barnetrøje i hulkrus 

1980'erne Bluse i hulmønster

Olive

Daffodil 

(I couldn't be bothered linking this time...)

I've already picked out 4 colours of Tvinni that I want to order - 200-250 g of each, for 4 different projects. Now I just need to go and find 1300 DKK somewhere... or maybe I should just learn to settle for less (yes, I definitely should! I've got more plans than knitting time after all...) :) Next thing must be to go out and look at the colours IRL to see which one(s) I want to start with. Decisions decisions. 

Firstly, though, I've signed up for WIP WrestleMania (running all of July) over on Ravelry. I've got some 15-16 WIPs that need handling.... 

Decipede!

A couple of weeks ago I finished my second Decipede, which I made for little Valdemar, who was very happy with it :)

It's knitted from the pattern I made some time ago - you can find it here (Etsy) and here (Ravelry). 

I sure like the little decipede a lot :)

Sockyarn-O-Meter Progress III

It's all very secretive, but I finished 3 pairs of socks. That gives me an extra 282 g = 28.2 % on the Sockyarn-O-Meter :D

WIP Personal Record

I think I may have set a personal record in number of WIPs. I'm now officially at 16 WIPs! (You can see for yourself in the sidebar: the Ravelry-linked progress bars. However, there isn't much to see as I don't waste precious knitting time shooting photos...)

It's a mix of designing socks, suddenly a lot of spare time, and wanting to use up the odds and ends in my stash. 

I'm moving forward at a steady pace, finishing them one by one, but I can't promise there won't be more... BUT I'm not allowed to buy more needles to fit in more projects ;)

Baktus scarf

Inspired by Britt, I dug out the softest and most luxurious yarn in my stash - a single skein and an odd ball I've been wanting to use in the quest to get rid of old bits and bobs - and cast on for the Baktus Scarf. It is one skein of Posh Yarn Eva 4 ply (55% silk, 45% cashmere) in colourway Flamingo (pink-orange) and the leftover Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk from my Rosa, colourway Guava (deep pink). 

Pattern: Baktus Scarf

Needles: 3.75 mm Addi Lace

Yarn: Posh Yarn Eva 4-ply (Flamingo; 1 skein) and Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk (Guava; 0.6 skein).

It is sooooo soft and thus nice to wear at the neck - and very pretty, I think. 

I have a cunning plan

- a plan so cunning that you can put a tail on it and call it a weasel! *

It involves reducing my sock yarn stash (and gaining percentages for the Sockyarn-O-Meter), fulfilling some of my designer aspirations, and having a good time. And lots of knitting, obviously.

So I might be a bit secretive in the future :)

The sock yarn stash

I just wanted to show you the sock yarn stash to be reduced/eliminated by the Sockyarn-O-Meter progress. 

From left to right starting along the top line we have: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid in colourway Firefly (the yellow one), red Arwetta, Socks That Rock Lightweight in Firebird and Ruby Slippers, Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Montana Chokecherry, J-Knits Superwash Me Sock in Tampa, Artyarns Ultramerino 4 in 138, purple Arwetta, a leftover ball of Wollmeise in Drachenblut, Shibui Knits Sock in 4401, Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering in Ocean, Colinette Jitterbug in Velvet Damson, and Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering in Argyle 2. At the bottom we have: Socks That Rock in Lenore, Arwetta in medium grey, dark grey, and black, and Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in Shadow.

It's not that much but still enough to make me 14 pairs of socks... :)

Sockyarn-O-Meter Progress II

- they're just rolling in those percentages, aren't they? ;)

I managed to finish my Leyburn Socks in Koigu KPPPM (colourway P40035 - pretty much more vibrant than in the photo below) which I started back in ... *off to check on Ravelry* ... January. 

I have a number of things to say about them, but as my brain is about to suffer a multivariate-data-analysis-induced breakdown, you'll get them in bullet form: 

• This is one of the "foreign" yarns I've bought from one of my fellow Ravelers to explore some of those highly interesting sock yarns I can't buy (at a favourable price) arond here
• It is my first pair of toe-up socks! Though I really like the toe construction (and not so much the heel although I do understand why it is clever) I really have to get used to knitting them the "wrong" way round
• I learned a new cast-off method from my Knitter's Handbook: tubular cast-off. Brilliant for good-looking elastic bind-offs at the top of a toe-up sock! So brilliant that I don't mind it involving a tapestry needle...
• The lattice stitch pattern is a bit tedious, but it looks nice...

I think that's it. And it earned me 94 g (I thought they were 50 g skeins?) = 9.4% on the Sockyarn-O-Meter - wooot! :)

And now that I've added percentages to the Sockyarn-O-Meter twice in one day, it's going to take quite some time before that will happen again, i.e. I am halfway through the first one of the next pair... I don't mean to reach 100% by tomorrow anyway.

-----

Info:

Pattern: Leyburn Socks

Yarn: Koigu KPPPM colourway P40035, 2 skeins (94 g, apparently)

Needles: 2.25 mm dpn

-----

A side note: the flat stinks of coriander... dear boyfriend insisted on eating it on his serving of chili con carne... the mere smell makes me feel sick - eeeeeewwww... (Just had to say it - almost can't think for the smell...). 

Ravelry-linked progress bars

I may be a bit slow, but I just discovered the Ravelry-linked progress bars - scroll down to see mine in the side bar. Here's how.

Did anybody whisper procrastination?

Sockyarn-O-Meter Progress I

Baby steps are also steps, right? 

Here's my first project for the Sockyarn-O-Meter that I started recently. A mobile cozy for the dear boyfriend's mobile phone - he's been asking for one like mine for ages. Now he just wants one for his iPod, too :)

It's 12 g of Arwetta sock yarn used, colourway: black. 

And 12 g equals 1.2% on the Sockyarn-O-Meter! :P

On that note, I also have a pair of socks approaching the final cast-off!

Right, I'm off to study some multivariate linear regression... |-)

I'll be there...

... June 13th at noon (the link is in Danish).

Rosa

Another set of mobile photos from the office showing my recent FO: Rosa by Kim Hargreaves (pattern in Thrown Together). Link to my Ravelry page here. I had to include three photos - all of dubious quality - to show you what I wanted:

This one shows the sweater nicely... 

This one shows the colour accurately...

And this one shows the ingenious bottom edge construction...!

I like that this is a quite fashionable knit - it almost looks like something I bought, but I couldn't find something just as nice :) The frills are so great :D

Yeah, I'm really pleased with this one.

Info:

Pattern: Rosa by Kim Hargreaves

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk, colourway Guava + some old red mohair for the frills.

Size: self-constructed xxs to match the thicker yarn

Mods: I made puff sleeves; I attached the frills while binding off rather than binding off and sewing them on afterwards; the smaller size gave me a need for 6 buttons only.

If I were to knit it again, I would move the buttonholes 1 stitch farther away from the edge rather than having them in the middle (as the buttons won't be in the middle when buttoned, then). And maybe I'd make the button band narrower. But that's just details...

Sockyarn-O-Meter

Britt has started a Sockyarn-O-Meter, and with loads of foreign sock yarn bought from other Ravelers piling up, I think this is my call! (I counted at least 14 different (couples of) skeins over at Ravelry). So - I'm making my own Sockyarn-O-Meter, slightly different from Britt's, but here goes: 

- 1000 g used = 100% (i.e. 10 g used is +1%)

- all sock yarn counts

- I can knit whatever I want with the yarn, but I think socks are my favourite

- If I buy new sock yarn before reaching the 100%, 10 g will equal -2% (but really I should try not to - I just don't want the project to fail due to a single purchase)

- Prize: whatever suits my fancy :)

Yup, 1000 g is a lot, but I agree with Britt that it should be possible, let alone necessary :)

It will take some time, though :P

Amimono Endeavours I

You know you've been knitting with fine yarn when... you think that Koigu sock yarn is kinda heavyweight.

And here's what I've been knitting:

My Amimono Coral II got a good start while watching the Cambridge Spies mini series last night and this morning.

Well - that's all - no more time for procrastination! I have some nice graphs to describe...

Have a nice weekend!

Plans!

I have entered the Amimono mode!

Upcoming projects are:

Coral (my second; just cast on...)

Daffodil

Olive

Amber

Granite

Mmmm.... :)

(and I guess it goes well with my NaKniSweMoDo obligations....)

I think I'll have to get myself on my bike tomorrow and go and get the one or two skeins I need for a beautiful red Daffodil - and buttons for the long finished Rosa by Kim Hargreaves; I really want to wear it now, just need those buttons... 

A brief report from the office...

No matter how busy I am (and I am!), every day has room for a bit of procrastination... So I just spent a few minutes shooting photos of my new sweater with my mobile. The photos are not the best known to mankind, but I don't have time for a real photo shoot, and I thought this was better than nothing. They do actually show the colours quite accurately!

(Don't I look happy? :P)

Despite the facial expression in the last photo, I'm actually very pleased with this sweater! 

Info:

Pattern: Sommer in Tokyo by Marianne Isager (published in Japan / Japanese Knits or whatever the Interweave title is...)

Yarn: Filcolana New Zealandsk Lammeuld (the blue ones), Tvinni (pink), and another yarn from Henrichsens Uldspinderi (orange)

Needles: Addi bamboo, 2.5 mm (yup, 2.5 mm and jaquard); the pattern says 3.0 mm, but 2.5 mm matched my yarn better

Size: I made it 1 pattern repeat narrower than the smallest size in the pattern - and my gauge is slightly smaller

Yarn consumption: I didn't weigh it, but I reckon I used approx. 70 g of each of the blue yarns, approx. 60 g of the pink yarn, and approx. 20 g of the orange one.

Despite the tiny needles and the jaquard I actually really enjoyed knitting it. The start was slow, using the sleeves as swatches. But once I wanted to know how much of the pink yarn I would have left over for another project, I started knitting away on the body. I did take some time to pull myself together to weave in the ends, and then even more time until I got round to blocking it. But here it is - and it's nice! I thought it perfect for the first rainy day after a month(!) of sunshine. (And I'm now convinced that people with glasses weren't meant for biking in the rain... :P)

NaKniSweMoDo

I signed up for the National Knit a Sweater a Month Dodecathon here (Ravelry link). 

I've already completed the first two: Owls and Pine (see below). :)

Yum!

What a coincidence

I just found two good things about the dear boyfriend going to Dubai and Bahrain for 10 days from tomorrow:

1) Kate just published Paper Dolls! 

2) I have quite a lot of the beautiful grey Isager Alpaca 2 left over from Pine (I might need to buy an extra 50g skein, but hey...)

Oh, oh, OH! :D

P.S. If anybody has approx. 100-200 m (leftovers) of Isager Alpaca 2, colourway 011 (dark grey) they want to part with (at a cost, of course), it would make my day! :) 

What I'm knitting...

While I was at it (blogging, that is) I thought I might as well show you what I'm knitting at the moment (I shot photos for my Ravelry project pages on Saturday).

Sommer i Tokyo by Marianne Isager (Raveled here) - I did the sleeves first to swatch...; not the same colours as in the book, but I like these (the blue ones are Filcolana NZ Lambswool, the pink is Isager Tvinni, and the orange is Henrichsens Uldspinderi's own label):Kim Hargreaves' Ripple (with however long sleeves I can get with the Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk (colourway Guava) Peter brought me home from the states last summer); Raveled here:
AND - for the first time I've now got 2 sets of 2.25 mm double pointed needles (my favourite sock size) so that I can't knit 2 pairs of socks simultaneously! I bought KnitPicks Harmony dpns (15 cm) and I love them! The two pairs of socks are:

Komet in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (colourway Firefly), Raveled here:
and Leyburn Socks in some Koigu colourway (you can see which on my Ravelry project page):
And for quite some time now (but I like the process) I've been knitting Woodland in 2 strands of Posh Yarn Eva 2 ply (silk/cashmere); Raveled here:

I also just cast on for a green project as green is the colour for Project Spectrum in March/April. You can see which on Ravelry. More later.

FOs on parade (yes, I've used that title before...)

Right, I guess it's high time I post all those FOs which have been done for up to two months now that I've finally photographed them (thanks to getting up early on Saturday - amazing what you can accomplish on a Saturday morning instead of sleeping...). 

I think I'll go anti-chronologically (if that was a word...):

Yesterday I finally finished Amimono's Pine; I got the kit for my birthday (Dec 8) and started knitting on Christmas Eve:

I love the yarn, the design, the beautiful grey colour, and the buttons I chose (notice the little Selbu star! I know this cardigan isn't exactly Norwegian, but I really like these buttons, which I inherited from my grandmother, and I wanted to put them on something I expect to use a lot).

I'm sure some of my fellow knitters would appreciate to know whether I found any mistakes in the pattern. I didn't - at least not in size s/m. In fact, I don't often find mistakes in the Isager patterns - perhaps I'm just lucky.

My Pine on Ravelry: here.

Next up is my is an instant gratification project: the Wham Bam Thank You Lamb! cowl in my favourite purple Cascade Magnum (leftover from Twinkle Dress and Twinkle Best Friend Cardigan):

I love the structure and shape of it. And it's almost too easy to knit. Raveled here.

Next up is my Owls sweater - published in January, the pattern now has 538 projects on Ravelry. What a success! It is an ingenious sweater - and the shoulder and waist shapings are clever!

Mine is knitted in Icelandic Istex Álafoss Lopi - a bit itchy, but it fits this sweater well. Oh, and the 36 buttons were 0.90 DKK each (i.e. nothing), and they had exactly 36 of these discontinued buttons left in the store! Lucky me. My parliament of owls is Raveled here.

What's next? Oh, my redone Shopping Tunic. I frogged the Shopping Tunic, as I didn't really use it (even though a woman in a shop complimented it), and found that I used my other Twinkle dress a lot more. Et voila, the tunic is now a dress (Raveled here): 

And then there's my Charade socks in the famous Wollmeise 100% Sockenwolle, colourway Drachenblut, which I won in a contest (otherwise I'd never have been lucky enough to get my hands on it). 

The Wollmeise colourways are wonderful, but the yarn seems to twist a bit? Though it's not an uncommon feature of yarns, I find it a bit odd that such a pricy yarn isn't more well-balanced... or should I have treated it differently? The socks are really nice though. The Charade stitch pattern is a bit tedious, but the outcome is good. Raveled here. 

The last FO is this catch up is my red bowtie scarf, which I'm really happy with! 

It's as chunky as I wanted it, knitted with two strands of Posh Yarn Lei (wool/bamboo) and 1 strand of Hifa 2 (wool). I like the style a lot - oversize children's scarf (the latter was underlined by my father asked if it was the one from my childhood :D). It's Raveled here.

Right, that's all for now. Let's see if I manage to post more regularly in the future :)

I must be working hard...

My Ravelry project list tells me I have 9 WIPs. In fact, two of them are done and already being used, one needs two ends to be sewn in, and one needs 36 buttons to be sewn on (I think you might be able to guess which one that is). Nevertheless, I think I could get top marks for absence from my blog. Too much work, sports, etc. Though I have been knitting, there hasn't been time for knitting as much as I'd like to, let alone for taking photos and blogging. 

Thus, this post was mainly to confirm that I'm not dead :)

I'm attracted to Yellow

I don't know what it is about yellow. These days I seem to be attracted to yellow yarns, projects, etc., finding myself faving other people's yellow projects on Ravelry all the time. 

It's not the curry yellow that has been the colour this autumn. It's a happier, more sunny, warm, and deep yellow (but definitely not orange!), that makes me smile and seems to have some much more impact than other colours. Even more than my beloved red. Could it be that I've had enough of red? Oh, horror! I think not, though. :)

Thing is, wearing yellow makes me look pale, maybe even sick. Oh, bother. Maybe I should just try wearing a tiny bit of it - enough to cheer me up every time I look at it.