I will have a pattern published in the September or October issue of MAGKnits. I am not allowed to say what it is, exactly, but suffice it to say that I am very excited about it. So stay tuned!
It’s been a long process, since I submitted the idea back in May…. but the pattern is in and will show up sometime in the not too distant future.
I’m back from a wonderful trip to Sweden. I’ve discovered that you can get a lot of knitting done on the plane – assuming the kids cooperate. The trip back home was great, as they all had personal TVs built into the seat in front of them, and could choose any movie or TV show they wanted. It kept the kids busy for most of the trip, and I even watched a movie for the first time in I don’t know how long.
I’ve made a fair bit of progress on the Faux Russian Stole – I’m on my third iteration of the pattern. It looks lovely. I have also discovered the Addi Turbo lace needles, and they are wonderful. Imagine knitting on circular needles without the stitches snagging on the joint between the needle and the cord! I didn’t dare to fly with the metal needles though, so I had to switch between bamboo ones and these new ones. The difference is amazing. Anyhow, enough about the needles…. the stole is coming along nicely, and I can really see how it will look when finished.
While in Gothenburg, I visited Strikk and Bohusslöjd and picked up some lovely yarn in both stores. I had hoped to visit Deisy Design on Avenyn but didn’t get a chance. (I had high hopes for Deisy Design in Marstrand, but they didn’t have any knitting gear or yarn, only souvenirs, so I was a little disappointed there.) Still, the yarn I found was really nice. I’m not sure exactly what it will become, but I think perhaps the brown alpaca will become a warm winter shawl, and that the other two will turn into some lace.
I particularly liked the colours in this skein, called Blåmussla – blue mussel.
The MS3 is on hold for a while, since I’m debating how to continue. I’m really not all that sure about the wing-idea, so I’m just waiting to see a few pictures of the finished stole before I proceed. I did see one trial-panel that took the wing pattern and added the border-waves, so the shape was symmetrical but the pattern not. I thought that looked nice, but am still holding off on mine until I see a few more versions.
Well, what’s a knitting blog without at least one SP-exchange? With that in mind, SP11 – Here I come! For starters, here’s the questionnaire.
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
My current favourite yarn is Apple Laine. I tend to like wool yarns, either aran weight or sock yarn. I am however dabbling in lace at the moment, but haven’t ventured into true laceweight yarns yet.
I’m not that fond of acrylic (don’t like the static)…. and I really do not work with novelty yarns.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
A drawer, usually in the plastic cases they come in.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Well…… I learned how to knit when I was 7-8, and knit a bit during my teens. At that time I loved the two-colour knitting (like Fair Isle or the Norwegian patterns). Then I didn’t knit at all during my late teens or twenties. I just started again last December because my daughter wanted to learn how. She knit a scarf, and I knit a blanket, and then I haven’t been able to stop…. My first goal this time around (after finishing the blanket) was to knit cables. And then I’ve been designing some patterns. It’s all fun. I think I’m an intermediate/advanced knitter, and a sink-or-swim knitter – just try something new.
I learned from my mother.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Nope.
5. What’s your favorite scent?
Sandalwood.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
It goes in waves. I do love salt licorice. For you non-Swedes (or non-Dutch) that may sound icky, but it is delicious.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I don’t spin. I crochet, but not often at the moment.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
(I noticed I skipped this question……) Yes, I can play MP3s. As for what type of music I like, well… there’s quite the range. From Swedish folk and visor to classical to the Cure and Tori Amos and Matthew Sweet, to mention a few.
9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?
I really like most colours. My favourites are either reds/oranges or blues.
I also like green, but that’s a tricky colour. I’ve rarely seen a green yarn that I actually like.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married with 3 kids. No pets.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, yes, yes (it’s very cold here in the winter) and noooo for ponchos. I do however wear shawls as well.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
It changes. I like afghans. At the moment I’m doing shawls, and that’s great fun too.
I do love cables and twists and turns – anything Aran style.
13. What are you knitting right now?
Two lace shawls and an afghan.
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes.
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I tend to prefer straight needles, in bamboo. Although the metal addi turbo lace are wonderful too. I do not like plastic.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Nope.
17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Do I count the sweater I started in 1987? Let’s not. It will never be done. I don’t even like it anymore. So if not that, it’s a pair of socks I started in July.
18. What is your favorite holiday?
Midsummer.
19. Is there anything that you collect?
No.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I love the look of the hand-dyed yarns from Hand Maiden, or sea silk.
I don’t have any magazine subscriptions.
21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
I’d like to do Fair Isle again. It’s been too long. I’m not sure I remember how. Maybe I’ll tackle that next (after lace).
And I’d like to learn how to do double sided knitting.
Oh, and Swedish tvåändsstickning.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I’ve knit 5 socks. That’s two full pairs and one sock that didn’t quite fit.
My foot is size 8.5 or European 40. I can post actual measurements when I get home, if requested.
23. When is your birthday?
In April.
24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID?
No.
The fourth clue was completed on Monday. As mentioned before, I was debating whether or not to lengthen it, but I eventually decided against it. There are a few reasons….
First of all, since I don’t have the complete pattern, I’m concerned that it will somehow become lopsided if I lengthen it. The placement of the lifeline makes no sense to me at all, but my guess is that it is going to be in the center of the stole. But then it makes even less sense if I lengthen it, since the lifeline ends up in the same row the second time around….
Secondly, there is only one option on how to lengthen it, and it adds a LOT of length.
Third, I don’t tend to wrap shawls completely around my upper body, so while I am tall, I don’t know how long it will drape over the shoulders.
Finally, since this is my first major lace project, I really have no idea how large it will be once blocked, and every time I think “Just go for it and lengthen it” I hear another voice in my head that says “After blocking it may become a veritable landing strip” (from one of the messages in the group).
“Go for it”
“Landing strip, landing strip”
I guess I don’t want a landing strip, and that’s why it’s going to follow the regular pattern.
Now I’m just waiting for the next clue to be posted on Friday.
In the meantime I have decided that I will indeed knit the Faux Russian Stole. Here it is, in Arizona colourway from Apple Laine. It´s on 3.75 mm needles.
Here is a quick snapshot of the completed clue 3.
At the moment I’m just over halfway through clue 4, although I’m still thinking about lengthening the stole, so perhaps I have a bit more than half to go with the extra 80-some rows……
I’m very curious about the next clue. My current theme guess is for the four seasons. I think the first section looks like frost on windows – winter. The second section is the pouring spring rain. And the third section a flowering meadow.
I’m making lots of progress on the mystery stole, but have been lax when it comes to photographing it. At the moment I’m about halfway through clue 4…. so right “on track”, in other words. I’m still pondering whether or not to lengthen it. I’m leaning towards lengthening it, but since I haven’t knit lace before, I’m a little worried that it may become enormously long after blocking…. we’ll see.
In the meantime we have misplaced the camera. We hope to find it, well…. now would be great. But therefore I don’t even have a picture now. So I’ll share a cottage picture instead. Look at my lovely view while knitting the stole.
I’ve just returned from a wonderful trip to Istanbul. We’ve spent a week sightseeing, eating and shopping. Of course I was looking for both knitting needles and yarn. No luck on the yarn – the only store I found sold only acrylic yarn. I did find another store which claimed it sold silk yarn. However, upon inspection the silk turned out to be very polyester (plastic) string. I suppose that if you can’t tell the difference between silk yarn and polyester string you deserve what you get…..
Finding knitting needles in the maze of the bazaars in Istanbul turned out to be quite a challenge. I was directed to one store, but it turned out to be a wholesaler only. I guess I could have gotten quite a deal on a set of 50 identical needles, but I’m not sure what I would do with them.
Upon leaving the wholesaler, we did find another store that actually sold them separately. For 4 YTL (approx $3.20 CDN) I got one set of straight needles, one set of dpns and a bonus thimble.
I also acquired a pair of scissors to replace the ones in my knitting bag. The new ones (left) are actually sharp – quite a change from the kid scissors (right) I had before…. a relic from when I was in 3rd grade.
I managed to get some knitting done. Mostly on the plane and in the airports, but also on the ferry rides we took up the Bosphoros to the Black Sea (left), and to Heybeliada and Büyükada the Sea of Marmara. While I don’t have finished objects to show off, I was working on a pair of socks and the Mystery Stole.
I have joined the Mystery Stole 3 knitalong. The first clue was posted on Friday, and here it is. I am using Alpaca Sock Yarn (Ontario) from Hidden Touch in Osgoode. I’m very partial to using local yarn, as it turns out. Anyway, this yarn is 60% alpaca, 20% superwash merino and 20% nylon – 345 yds/100g. It’s a fair bit thicker than the suggested yarn, but I would rather have something resembling a shawl than a stole, so that’s why I chose this yarn.
I’m eagerly awaiting the next clue. The pattern so far is lovely. I’ve been reading the theme guesses, and my favourite guess so far is Ariadne & Theseus. I see waves around the edges.
Since the last few posts have been decidedly lacking in pictures, I thought I’d make this a picture rich entry…. Behold the works in progress:
First up are the socks (my travel project). The idea is to knit these on our trip, starting next weekend. As you can see, I’ve knit the toe, but not any further.
The yarn is a Chianti colour from Apple Laine.
I am also playing with the Faux Russian Stole from A Gathering of Lace. I’m not sure I will actually knit the whole thing, but I started the edging anyway. I’m using my new favourite yarn from Apple Laine again. This time it’s the Arizona colour way. It’s a little heavier than the pattern calls for, but I really like the look. It’s on 3.75 mm needles.
Here is the almost completed third panel of the Aran afghan. 5 cm more and it’s done. Then I have to assemble it and knit the edging.
I have started the second panel on the Lizard Ridge afghan for my son A. It’s a quick knit. Actually what takes the longest is that I keep working on other projects. I am enjoying the pattern and the colours, and am becoming quite good at knitting backwards for all those short row turns.
Finally we have some samples that arrived yesterday from Sarah’s Yarn. I have already started swatching one of the yarns, and will have to try all three. I love the colour charts. The colours look very different in real life than on the website.
I cast on a pair of socks. Really they are meant to be my travel-knitting-project, which means I shouldn’t start until next Friday. But then I thought I should get the toe started so I can just dive right in to the main pattern when it’s time to travel.
I’m using a Chianti coloured yarn from Apple Laine and 2.75 mm needles. The sock design is my own.
As for the aran afghan, it’s coming along nicely. I should have the third panel finished in the next couple of days, and then it’s just assembly and edging left.
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