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May 28, 2006
The moment you've all been waiting for
No, I didn't finish Mermaid, but...
I ripped back the second sleeve and started over! So far, it looks much better than the first try. It even resembles the first sleeve, so it should turn out fine. I can't wait to finish it...
On Saturday, my dear friend and blogless knitter Amy and I went on a yarn pelgrimage to Nieuwpoort. That's where the lovely yarnshop De Schapekop resides.
This is the outside of the shop. I had been there once before more than one year ago, because it's a bit difficult to reach using public transportation. Which is only for the best, if it were right around the corner, my financial situation might be not as rosy as it is now. Last time I was there, I bought a kit for Flora by Alice Starmore. This shop even sells Alice Starmore yarns.
Here's a look inside. It's a very spacious shop, which is a good thing, especially since Amy and I didn't go alone: her husband and 3 young children went along with us. He let us spend more than 1 hour wandering around the shop before making our decisions, without any complaints. I would say that is quite an accomplishment.
So what did I take home with me? You can see it here, sitting opposite to me on the train back home:
Two balls of Noro Silk Garden in color 226. As you can see, I rewound the balls on the way. Noro balls have a tendency to collapse if you don't do this. And what did I do when I got home, instead of being a good girl and continueing the Mermaid sleeve?
That's right, I started a scarf, and it's turning out lovely!
Posted by saartje at 5:55 PM | Comments (14)
May 22, 2006
Finishing
I finally managed to do some laundry this weekend. So here they are, fresh and clean:
Ellen's Stockings from Folk Knitting in Estonia by Nancy Bush. I yet have to create a page for them in my finished items album, maybe tomorrow. I like the way they turned out and the way the yarn bloomed after washing.
I also went shopping for buttons this weekend. I found some I really liked, I think they go with the baby cardigan very well. Although I liked the idea of a wooden button too, I went for this:
Simple but sophisticated, don't you think? I was a bit surprised by how much I had to pay for them (there is a similar smaller one on the inside): € 1.70 for two simple buttons! (This is one of the occasions I still calculate back from euros to Dutch guilders: € 1.70 used to be f 3.74! Remember: only two buttons!) It's not like they were made of gold or anything. But anyway, they were definately the best ones there, so I got them anyway and put them on straight away.
So after I got the baby cardigan done, I thought about resuming work on the infamous Mermaid. I didn't feel any inspiration when I did this, so obviously it wasn't time yet. I surfed the internet for a while, looking for knitting inspiration, when I ran into this.
So I made this:
Easy and fun to make, using Drops Alpaca and lots of small beads.
Posted by saartje at 9:44 PM | Comments (14)
May 20, 2006
Back again
I can't believe it has been 11 days since I last posted! We went on an unplanned trip (no vacation - I still had to work) and internet access wasn't great. Besides, I didn't knit much, somehow. I did finish the hooded baby sweater, and it's staying at my mother's now, waiting for her to put in the zipper.
I also almost finished the baby thing (cardigan?) from Marie Claire Idées.
It just needs a button now instead of a safety pin. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out, except for the bottom line, which looks a bit wonky from blocking. I think I'll go downtown this afternoon to look for a button. Unfortunately, the weather is horrible at the moment (13C/55F with rain). Where did the sun go? It was so lovely a couple of days ago... That was when I got to see this butterfly:
It's a Map Butterfly [landkaartje], a first generation. I had never seen one from the first genaration before, even though it's not rare at all in the Netherlands. It's always nice to add another one to our list!
We had a very busy week at work. To cheer myself up, I allowed myself to pay a little visit to Pietronella, a yarnshop in Leeuwarden. It sells some nice sock yarns, solid colored as well as patterned like these:
I'm not really a fan of the self striping yarns, but I do like to have some of them at hand, just in case I don't feel like knitting something more complicated than simple stocking stitch socks.
Posted by saartje at 11:23 AM | Comments (5)
May 9, 2006
Small things
The hooded baby sweater is almost done. I just have to graft the two halves of the hood together, block it and put in the zipper. Here you can see what it looks like now:
It's posing in the sun with the Oosterhaven in Groningen in the background. The weather still is great over here!
Since I had more than two balls of this luscious yarn left (slight miscalculation on my part), I started something new with it.
It's going to be a little baby sweater too. The pattern is in the Fall 2004 edition of Marie Claire Idées, my favorite magazine. It's in French, and it's so inspirational! Not much knitting, unfortunatly, but well worth checking out if you're into crafting.
Posted by saartje at 8:24 PM | Comments (12)
May 6, 2006
Hooded baby sweater
Finally, the weather gods have decided we can have some spring/summer like weather in the Netherlands! The past few days have been gorgeous and I have enjoyed it immensly. We might even go for some butterfly watching this weekend. I think I will have to install my automatic watering system for the plants on my balcony as soon as possible. The balcony is facing south, and even with just a little sunshine, it can get quite hot. Even one day without watering can be fatal under those circumstances. I'm not complaining though!
News from the knitting front: I finished Ellen's stockings last Sunday, and I wore them on Monday, so they're in the laundry right now. Pictures will follow later. On Sunday evening, I started the baby sweater, using the lovely Rowan 4 ply soft. And soft it is! I usually like wool that is a tiny bit scratchy, that way it feels more like wool, but for a baby this will be just right.
Last Wednesday, I took the sweater to the Prinsentuin in Groningen. The Prinsentuin is one of my favorite spots in my favorite city.
It is a lovely garden, right in the middle of the city. It is enclosed by walls, so if you just pass it, you would never know there is this tranquil, green, beautiful place on the other side of the wall. Just imagine living in the house in the picture, looking out into the garden!
And now the baby sweater is looking like this:
My grandmother and my mother made lots of these hooded sweaters. You put a zipper in the back (my mother will help me with that....) which is very practical for a baby sweater, or so I'm told. The pattern I'm using is one my grandmother copied from some source. Here is a similar (free) pattern I found on the internet: Zip Up The Back Hooded Baby Sweater.
I leave you with this picture I took yesterday:
Have a great weekend!
Posted by saartje at 10:34 AM | Comments (18)
