Knit Sweater For ... Erm...

...next year? Yes, I did it again: making something for summer when it's basically almost winter. I so love this sweater though! I'm planning to sew up some Renfrews to wear underneath. I've already shown you the pattern I used, from the 1980 July edition of Ariadne.



I can't really say how long it took me in hours. I just know I started knitting in May or something. It's not that the pattern is difficult, it's just that I tend to get bored halfway. The consequence being the I now have a sweater with lots of holes and knit in cotton to keep me warm this winter. I'd better get started on those longsleeves :)

In short, the pattern goes like this: 1: Number of stitches must be divisible by 18 + 2 stitches on each side 2: Knit 4 rows in st st 3, 5 & 7: sl 1, k2tog 3x, *yo k1 (6x) k2tog (6x)* rep. between *, end with yo k1 (x6), k2tog (3x), k1 4 & 6: Purl 8-12: Knit That's it! Could be nice for a slouchy beret, too. I'll stick to socks and mittens for a while now, I don't think I'll be needing a thick sweater next summer. What's on you're needles? Do you knit as I do, or do you knit one season ahead?

Summer Knitting

I'm knitting again! It's pattern from the Ariadne summer issue of 1980. Basically a few squares with a pretty pattern. I'm using 4mm needles, the yarn is a cotton with 4% polyester, Lana Grossa Elastico. It's light and perfect for summer. I'm knitting it in black though, as you know white does not go well with my outstanding food spilling capabilities. And I'm making the sleeves 3/4 instead of long. I'm halfway through, so I have good hopes of finishing this before the summer ends!

On the train. Knitting in public, yo! Only for cool people. 

ALSO, did you know my 2nd blogoversary is coming up in a few days? I am a big fan of celebrating whenever you can, so stay tuned for some grand giveaways! Woohoo!

Norwegian Sweater

Everybody in my class wanted one but only a few of us actually bought one because they're soooo expensive. So ofcourse I figured I could make one myself. I bought wool in Sogndal in a sale, there was barely enough left for a whole sweater. It's not easy to find a matching pattern for wool you already have. Then I found this pattern from Drops Design. I knitted a test square, and figured that I had exactly half the stitches of the test square mentioned for the pattern. So, I basically followed this pattern, but divided everything in half. Other alterations I made were skipping the frills at the bottom, shortening it a bit and lengthening the sleeves. It was a bit scary because I did not know if I would have enough green wool. Stef always thinks I'm crazy not to calculate these things in advance, but it sort of gives me a thrill not to know. I also think it improves your gut feeling for these kind of things. And fortunately, it worked out. I had a strand of half a yard left when I was finished.


The wool is actually fuzzier than the pic below shows. It's called Silenzio, and it's composed of 50% acrylic, 25% new wool and 25% alpaca. I'm working on rewriting the pattern to match my alterations, and will also include some alterations I would make if I were to knit this sweater again. I am really pleased with how it turned out, but I think I would make it a bit tighter in the back, and also start with less stitches on the sleeves. I can put it up here if anyone's interested!

Tiny knits for tiny feet

The 'friends are having babies' phase has definitely arrived. These little kimono slippers are for a little girl called Effie (Euphemia), born in Athens a month ago. I don't think her mother reads my blog so I hope it's safe to post them here. They are super easy to make: knit a tiny T-shape, join the short ends together and then sew the long ends together (see blog and ravelry). A perfect way to create something cute out of yarn leftovers. These were made from 100% Alpaca (not leftovers) in a beautiful deep orange, not very well pictured above. I used the other half of the skein for another tiny human, but I think his father does occasionally read my blog so I won't show them here. (Also, I can't, because I forgot to take pictures before I mailed them.)

Favourite Shop in Sogndal

My heart skipped a beat when I walked through Sogndal, and found a yarn and fabric shop! I had not expected to find anything in this small village of roughly 7000 inhabitants. I was afraid I'd have to go to Bergen to find yarn and fabric.

	A bigger button stash than the store at home!

Although the fabric is mainly quilting cotton, they have lots of yarn for reasonable prices. According to Norwegian standards, anyway. I still can't believe how expensive the food is though. And don't even think about any kind of alcohol (which we buy anyway, albeit with our eyes closed). Anyway, I bought two of each colour, at a discount for 25 NOK (€3,-) each. The first one I just had to try. I mean, ecological camel hair, how funky is that? Just 15%, but still. The blue one is the same merino wool I also used for my hat, and  the grey one is a super soft wool/soya blend. Never tried soya before, either. These are just for small projects, like scarves and legwarmers. I also got myself two pattern magazines, one from PT Design, and one from the Ecologico wool. I'd like to knit something with a hood. Those slippers look really warm and comfortable, perfect for the coming Norwegian winter!


I'd like to start a big knitting project again. It has to be an interesting pattern though, or else I'll get bored, and won't finish it until spring. I'm thinking of a combination of the striped dress and the pattern on the purple dress. Small problem though: the descriptions are in Norwegian. A pattern in French, à la, but I'd better learn some Norwegian before I start complicated undertakings like this! Have you already started knitting again now that autumn is around the corner?

Never ending project - finished!

Bring on the cold and snow, my knitted sweater is finished! I started knitting on november 5th, and finally finished this week. I'm not a very fast knitter, and I also don't see knitting as a very useful activity. I usually only knit when I'm watching some series. This sweater was knit during five seasons of Star Trek DS9 :). There won't be much opportunity to wear it now (I'm wearing a summer dress underneath), but we'll be spending this autumn in Norway, so it'll certainly come in handy!


It's a kimono sleeve pullover, knit in only two identical pieces, back and front. I'ts a very simple T-shape as you can see. I got it from Ravelry, a pattern (written in French!) that I adjusted according to another knitters directions. I narrowed and lengthened the bodice, shortened the sleeves somewhat, and left out the collar.


I really love everything about it! The wide sleeves, the fitted bodice, the bateaux neckline, the cables, not to mention the soft, thick wool. It's always a bit scary at the end, because you have to finish it completely to see what it'll look like. It took me ages and the wool was quite expensive (Rowan Kid Classic), but I think this one will last quite some time.

Knitwear & grandmothers

Several handmade items have been added to my wardrobe these past few weeks. No more than four things in this outfit are handmade!

The blue shrug used to be a sweatervest, knitted last year. But after all those hours of knitting, it did not turn out as expected. And so it ended up as a ball of wool again. This shrug is a design of my own, knitted with a stitch I learned from my grandmother. It makes a nice V-shape on the back of the shrug. It's not a very special design, but it's the first thing I've knitted without a pattern (apart from scarves). Well the second thing actually, the first version of the shrug turned out big and warm but weird-looking. This one is how I wanted it to be. It's warm, cosy AND it fits. The shirt is also made by me, about three years ago. It's still one of my favourites.

The leather bag is not made by me, but by my boyfriends grandmother. She is a very crafty woman, producing bags, pot holders and quilts by the dozen. This bag is not really what you'd call fashionable, or even vintage - it's just oldfashioned. I use it a lot though, I like the size and the feel of it.

The second thing I knitted without a pattern is the hat. I was very glad it worked out in one go, because this was a time-consuming pattern to knit. I combined cables with a rice stitch and worked with both brown and blue. I added earmuffs for extra warmth and a pompon for fun. In comparison with the hat I knitted last year, this hat also shows my evolvement in knitting: it does not make me look like Calimero. Which is always a good thing.

Purple

I have finally finished something that has been on my needles since early spring. It was the first project I knitted out of a 'modern' knitting book. Before this I really didn't know there were such things as cool patterns! I just knew the old fashioned books I got from my grandma. There's so much I want to knit now, I don't know where to start! I hope I'll be able to make my own patterns one day. The trouble with knitting as opposed to sewing is that it's much harder to correct a mistake. It takes a lot more time because you have to start all over, instead of just taking out a seam. This short vest took me quite a long time, not because of the mistakes, but due to the size of the stitches. Look at how small they are! It seemed there was just no end to it.



Although it looks quite simple, I learned a few new techniques while making this, such as making a neat little edge. I made some changes to the pattern though; you're supposed to knit small shiny beads into it, but I'm not really fond of glitter. I also used a button for the closing, instead of a ribbon. I'm not sure about it though, I think the button is a bit boring. Maybe I should use a different button, add a button, or use a ribbon after all... Hmm.