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March 27, 2006
Spring is here!
I've been doing a lot of knitting on the Inky-dinky Spider Stole. It's slow going! But at least a pattern is emerging.
My estimate is I've done about 5% now. Sigh.... ;-)
Ajoursteek asked: And what's your opinion about laceknitting sofar? I'm trying and trying, but frogging is my middlename when you talk about laceknitting....
Well, so far, I like it! It's totally different from other knitting in that you won't see the full result until you're completely finished. In this pattern, there is lace shaping on every row, so you really have to pay attention. No mindless knitting, and the markers do help a lot.
I'm so glad the clock has been changed to summer time! Now we get daylight until 8 pm. So when I went to the supermarket this evening, I had the chance to take a picture of this lovely statue I pass on the way.
I've always liked it, it looks so young and fresh. And now with all the crocuses in bloom, it's just the image of Spring!
This weekend, I was in a Spring mood already. When I saw the book Designs for Kids [Breien voor kleine boefjes] by Lucinda Guy in a shop, I was inspired by the knitted flowers in it. I didn't buy the book (yet), but I made my own version of the flowers.
Happy Spring!
Posted by saartje at 10:24 PM | Comments (14)
March 24, 2006
Knitting lace and new books
I started another project. Even though I have more than enough some very nice things on the needles already (I put up a list on the left side bar), I really have no self control wanted to know what it is like to knit with lace weight yarn. So I started the Inky-dinky Spider Stole.
Did you notice the swatch? I figured it was a good idea to make one, to get used to the yarn and the way the charts are written. After I got that out of the way, I started the top border, which is almost finished now. Then I have to pick up stitches along the edge and the real fun can begin!
Some time ago, Yuki showed some pictures of a Japanese knitting book on her blog. I had been thinking about that book ever since, especially after seeing more pictures here (scroll down a bit). I finally broke down and ordered it from Yesasia.com, along with two needle felting books. I placed the order on March 2nd and the books arrived two days ago on March 22th. Yippeee!
Don't they look lovely? On the left is the knitting book. It has 7 patterns for mittens, 3 patterns for gloves, 3 hats and 3 scarfs. Although the book is in Japanese, the intructions are very clear. They use lots of schematics and charts, similar to the pattern (scroll down to the charts) for the Herringbone Gloves. There are also step-by-step pictures of cast-ons etc. It's such a wonderful book!
Just one example (which Yuki also showed):
Lovely red and with Norwegian gloves. Someone stop me from starting yet another project!
The other two books are about needle felting. This is a technique to felt wool fleece without using water and soap, using a felting needle. You can make lovely things using this technique, as these books show. I don't have much experience with it, but I'm going to try anyway.
This is just an example of one of the dogs in the book. It has instructions for 20 dog breeds, complete with which colors of fleece you need and how to mix them using hand carders. The pictures in this book are just so very lovely, it makes me want to make them all.
The instructions are pretty clear, as the picture above shows. This also goes for the second book on needle felting. This one has some more animals, like cats and birds. These are more toy-like, instead of miniature real animals like the dogs book. I especially adore this beautiful black cat:
Here are the links to these books on Yesasia.com, in case you want to try them yourself:
the knitting book
the needle felt dog book
the one with the hedgehog on the cover
Like you need another hobby, right? ;-)
Posted by saartje at 11:42 AM | Comments (14)
March 20, 2006
A great trip to France
It's good to be back! We had a fantastic week in France. I didn't knit much, I was to busy eating and drinking most of the time. We stayed at the Auberge de la Truffe in Sorges, near Périgueux.
It's a lovely place, with a very friendly staff. The rooms we were staying in were at the back:
Very nice, with a patio area and comfy folding chairs. We even got to use them because the weather was so great.
We were there for a 'stage culinaire'. This meant he chef of the place taught us how to cook different dishes from the region. The village of Sorges is known for its truffles, so we learned how to use them in different ways.
I had never tasted a truffle before. It was quite good, although I would pay the kind of money they're asking for them. It was interesting to see how it can be used in all kinds of different dishes.
Of course, the region we were in is also known for its foie gras, goose liver, which is made by force feeding the geese in a terrible way. I did taste a bite of foie gras and it didn't taste special at all to me, so I decided not to eat it anymore.
On a lighter note, we got to taste and drink lots and lots of great wine!
We had wine with every meal except breakfast. I don't think I have ever eaten and drunk so much during one week!
As I said, the weather was great, and getting better every day. In the end, the temperature was as high as 17C/62F! Compared to the 2C/35F over here, it felt like summer. We even saw some butterflies, like this Peacock Butterfly [dagpauwoog].
In the Écomusée de la Truffe in Sorges, I spotted this picture:
click
It's called 'La chasse aux truffes', which means 'the hunt for the truffles'. The old lady on the right seems to be holding a truffle in one hand and her sock knitting in the other. I wonder if people really were knitting their socks toe-up at the time, or if the artist thought it would look better to show the sock this way?
Tomorrow I'm back at work, trying to adjust to normal life again, with knitting of course!
Posted by saartje at 1:51 PM | Comments (7)
March 10, 2006
I love Noro Kureyon
It's all washed and dried, softened up considerably. I give you:
A finished scarf! Here are the statistics: 34 stitches, k1p1 rib, 5 mm circular needles, 14 cm (5.5 inches) wide, 175 cm (70 inches) long, 142 g (5 oz), almost 3 balls of Noro Kuryeon #153, bought from Wolhalla [tot 21 maart 15% korting op het hele assortiment, dus ook Noro!]. Alternating two rows from one ball, and two rows from the second ball. Easy as pie and very effective.
A close up:
In the meanwhile, my Opal socks have been getting some attention too. I'm usually not into self-striping yarns, but this one is lovely.
Every now and then, I've been making a Latvian mini mitten. And just as I expected, our cats just love to play with them. This is how they end up most of the time:
When the cats are hungry from playing, they walk over to their feed bowl, drop their toy in it, and start eating. Cats still amaze me.
A short break
I probably won't be blogging next week. We're going on a trip to France (Dordogne) with T's family. We're leaving tomorrow and returning next Saturday (the 18th). If I can find a computer with internet acces, I'll try to post from there, but I'm not counting on it.
See you when I get back!
Posted by saartje at 11:16 AM | Comments (15)
March 7, 2006
Kureyon scarf
I restarted the scarf out of Noro Kureyon #153. I'm much happier with it this time!
I cast on 34 stitches on 5 mm needles, and I'm knitting a simple k1p1 rib, alternating two rows from one ball and two rows from another ball. This time, I also payed some attention to where I started each ball, aiming for a little more contrast between the stripes. I think I succeeded! I hope to finish it tonight, so I can give it a bath (which will soften it up tremendously) and it will be dry tomorrow morning.
This is another picture of the Kureyon scarf I made last year, in # 124.
The colors in this one are much more similar than the colorway I'm using now. I like them both.
Posted by saartje at 7:20 PM | Comments (9)
March 3, 2006
More snow...
One moment, it feels like spring is right around the corner, the next moment, you wake up to this:
Even if we should get snowed in, at least I won't experience a shortage of knitting supplies any time soon. Elka and I did a swap and this is what arrived at my house a couple of days ago:
It's four skeins of Knit Picks Shadow in Vineyard! We all know Knit Pick doesn't ship outside the US and Canada, so I'm very lucky to get my hands on this wonderful yarn. Each skein weighs 50 g and has 440 yards (402 m) of this oh so soft merino yarn. The color is just devine. It's very hard to describe a color, and in English it's almost impossible for me, but I would call it egg-plant [aubergine]. It's very subtle, heathered. So what will I do with it?
I will use it to make this:
Yes, I also got the pattern for the Inky Dinky Spider Stole from Fiddlesticks Knitting! It will be a huge challenge, I've never knit with lace weight before, but I'm really looking forward to it. I want to finish some other things first, before I dive in.
Do you remember the Noro Kureyon scarf I showed you in my last entry?
It now looks like this:
Yes, I frogged it. I didn't like the way it was turning out, it just was too wide. So I'm starting over, using 34 stitches. There were some questions in the comments about the scarf. Beth asked: This is a variation on the one in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, right? I'm not familiar with that book, but I'm sure more people have had this idea. I got it from some blogger's gallery (I don't remeber whose), and I think she got the idea from the little Vogue book on scarfs. The idea is you knit two rows from one ball of Kureyon, and two rows from a second ball, etc.
Debra asked: I looked at your other Kureyon scarf -- is it knitted in a k1p1 rib? From the photo both look a bit like a stockinette stitch, but I don't see the edges curling. You're absolutely right, it is k1p1 [1r, 1av]. I like this stitch for scarfs from heavy yarn like Noro Kureyon.
Yuki asked: I also find Kureyon to be a little on the scratchy side-- does it bother you at all for a next-to-the-skin accessory like a scarf? I was a little worried about the scratch factor, but I've had no problems with the scarf I made earlier. I think it really helps to wash the finished scarf, and add a small amount of hair conditioner in the last rinsing water.
Panter enjoyed the snow too, while her sister Dropje stayed inside.
Posted by saartje at 7:07 PM | Comments (10)
