Monster and yarn

Yeah. Toilet paper rolls were coincidently perfect as yarnholders.

This summer, as far away as it seems right now, I got some purple and grey wool for spinning or felting or whatever. Mostly it has just been lying around, but lately I discovered that some spinning in my paper-writing-breaks was a treat. Some days ago I got around to unwind the yarn that has accumulated on the spindle (a common drop spindle) and it was quite a lot! Now I really want to spin all of it, and the grey wool to make a 2-ply with one thread purple and one grey.

I hope everyone has a great holiday whether you are celebrating something or not. I have.

Black is Black

I want a really simple black scarf that I can wear to everything. Luckily I got a skein of Malabrigo lace for my b-day. It will be perfect.
I also noticed that Malabrigo lace is best knitted on metal needles, because of the fluffyness. 

Mad hatters and sick cats

So I finally finished that Green Memories hat I have been working on for the whole autumn. For making a really dubious translation from a Swedish way of speech: There has been a lot of trolls in this one...

At first the colours. If you want to make this hat, and I can warmly recommend the pattern, be careful in choosing your colour combo. I used some leftovers and had to frog it at first because there was just a gutter of colours. This is my second attempt and it's better, but there were supposed to be stars there somewhere! I think it's ok, just be careful with how you want your to come out.
Aaand in the final stages when I just wanted to make it finished (and watching Batman at the same time) I made the error of picking the wrong colour at the top. I don't care, and I WONT frog it again. It will just have to be that way.
Maybe I meant for it to happen? Yeah, that's it. I MEANT for it to happen. So there.

The last couple of days I have had a satelite cat at home. Someone bit Whisky right through the ear (bad kitty, why be out and fight when you could be inside and cuddle?) and it got really yucky and infected. He is ok now, but he was not a happy kitty for a while there.

Poor kittie gets the cuddles.

And the usual hillarities happend as he bumped in to things as he tried to move about in his huge satelite. Horrible me, I shouldn't laugh, but it's really hard not to.

Saturnine Mitts

Yay! New mitts! And with a free pattern as a winter gift! For winter is coming, at least of this little spot of the world. We have a had a dash of snow that melted away, but a lot of nights and days have been really cold. Since I spend almost all of my time studying, a neat pair of mitts can be the best thing.

You need: 5 DPN:s size 2,5 mm

Yarn: Any kind of fingering will do. The pattern is dependent on the colour changes, of course you can make it in one colour but I honestly think it will loose some groove.

 I used Drops Fabel, colour pink (109) as MC, Drops Fabel

colour Black (400) as C2 (colour two), and Drops Alpaca, colour bright Green (7238) for C3

(colour three) You really don't need a lot, like half a ball of each will do.

Yarnholders

A stitch marker

A grafting needle

Read before you start: They get rather stretchy, so don't be alarmed of the low cast on number of sts. They fit my hands that are neither small or large. If you need to make them larger or smaller, add or subtrakt sts in groups of 5.

How to:

Cast on 50 sts with MC.

Knit 1 row and join to a circle. Place the stitch marker to keep track of start and end of the rows.

Purl one row.

Knit two rows.

Change to C2.

*Knit one row.

(K2, yarn over, slip 1, knit 2 together, slip knitted sts over the last two, yarn over) Repeat to end.

Knit one row*

These 3 rows (* to *) make the whole pattern repeat. Change colour every time you have done a whole repeat.

When you have made 29 repeats (ten of every colour except MC, that is nine and the edge) knit as follows.

Knit 5 sts, place the next nine on a holder, knit to end of the row.

Next row ( K2, yarn over, slip 1, knit 2 together, slip knitted sts over the last two, yarn over) to end, except when you come to the gap where the stitch holder is, you cast on nine sts.

Knit one row.

Continue with the pattern report 9 times (3 of each colour).

Now, with MC, knit 2 rows.

Purl 1 row.

Knit 1 row.

Cast off.

Thumb:

Place the sts from the holder to a needle.

With MC, pick up 11 sts around the rest of the hole.

Knit all 20 sts 6 rows.

Purl 1 row.

Knit 1 row.

Cast off.

Fasten all ends.

And we're on Ravelry! Saturnine Mitts

Mummy knitting book and sleeves

I got a knitting book from the 30ies from the BF. It has tiny illustrations all over, like a dinosaur, a mom spanking her kid (!), a small dog having a tea party, some boxers and lots more. My favorite is this one, a person making a mummy! Awesome.

I am also currently making a sleeve on very thin yarn and needles 2 mm. It's taking forever... People who made a living from this in the past has my never dying respect.

Something new...

 Another pair of half mitts. I never thought it would look this cool, I just wanted to get rid of some leftovers and screw around a bit. Good screwing too, I think I'll make a pattern out of this when I'm done.

Me and my new 2,5 mm DPNs named Karbonz love each other very, very much, by the way. No more accidentally breaking tiny needles, not me!

When it is your birthday...

... you get to start a new project, especially if someone gifted you yarn from amazing Garnkorgen. It was a short sweet period of having just a few projects at once. Since I also managed to start a second (or first really) one a couple of days back since my last bring-along project (you know that one that fits in your handbag and can be brought everywhere) was finished a while back, I'm back in my old habits. And paper-period starts at the Uni. Very good timing...

I am currently amazed at a pattern from the new Knitty and to no surprise it's Princess Franklin Plaid collar . So amazing, it really took me a while to get a grasp of how the heck it was done- my brain just did not compute the surface with the notion that it should be knitted! But I tell you folks, this one is really clever. So simple that everyone can do it, and still looks really difficult.
I have to try this one, sooner or later. 

Argyle Friend Mittens

To my amazement, I finished another project yesterday. Good thing, they are made for a friend who does a huge favor for me as a way of saying Thank You.
They are all i recycled yarn, leftovers from other projects and made up from the pattern of scratch or the wrinkly parts of my brain or something like that. Stranded knitting is so much fun!
I almost thought for a moment that I didn't have any projects left, but when I started to look around in my small room, I realized that was NOT the case... Bugger, I really wanted to start another one just for fun.

Caramelized Burtonesque

Another cardi done! I'm in a flow! This one is a blanket style cardigan called Caramel knitted in Drops Loves you 3. It's a really easy knit, but a bit on the boring side. You have to be prepared to knit endless rows of stockinette. The only thing that really happened was the stripes, so if you don't have the patience of a world-record holder I kinda suggest that you make it stripey.
But hey, it's you cardi...

It's really easy though, so it's a good one for newbees. 

The back tends to be rather large, too. So if you are like me and have a narrow back, be warned. I have not decided yet what I think of the backside, but I really like the colors and it's cozyness so I will keep it.

A discussion

Two darlings in one picture.

-So....
-Yeah?
-Now that we are a couple, will you start knitting a lot of things for me?
-(Evil grin) Oh yes! A whole bunch of huge sweaters with bears and mooses and stuff. And I'll be really really sad if you don't wear them like always. Maybe I'll cry...
-(Looks increasingly worried) ....ok?...really?
-Haha, hell no. Just kidding. Maybe I'll knit you a pair of socks if you ask really nicely but that's it.
-(Looks very relived) Oh, good... Have you ever knitted anything for a partner?
-I made a hat once, because I was asked. I don't do the whole boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever sweater things. It's cursed, anyway.


Then on the other hand, I have always wanted to make a Gregor for someone....

The 1930ies cardigan- at last!

Not the right attires for the 1930ies, but anyways.

It's all done! Well, except a big button on the front flaps, but the receiver will have to sew one on, I simply don't have any of the right sort. Actually it's going to come to use at Skansen....  The story behind this is that I started to make one while I had my apprenticeship there last spring, but I never had time to finish it. So I brought it with me, and after a looong time, finally had time to finish it.
It fits so nicely I am a bit tempted to make one for myself, something I never thought when I started it. But so many patterns, so little time and the amount of vintage patterns I am tempted to try is starting to reach a HUGE amount so we'll see about that.

The solution of the yarny leftovers

I have finally found the perfect solution for all my leftovers in sock yarn qualities. I found this blanket pattern jumping around of Ravelry, and realized it's exactly what I wanted. This is a project that cam go on forever, for all I care. My genious plan is to make lots and lots of these tiny squares, and when I decide it to be enough I just fix them together and Voilà- a blanket. And I wont have to sort through tons of leftovers whem I'm looking for something in my yarn boxes.
Perfect plan, wouldn't you say?

Vintage Thistle Cardigan

Knitting vintage patterns were so much fun I just couldn't contain myself. After a long period of having to choose what I would knit, I fell for this cardigan from 1947 with thistles on it. The red yarn on a cone that I found in a thrift store a couple of weeks back were perfect and I added white yarn is a similar quality from Rauma, called Finullsgarn.
I have to say that so far, things are moving on much quicker then I feared they would even though the needles are really tiny (2 mm) and I have to knit from the wrong side half of the time. I guess the real neverendingstoryness will come with the sleeves, but that's a later problem.
This is fun! I see myself knit lots and lots of vintage patterns in the future. 

Oh, and if you speak swedish and want to win some really neat prices, you should go to Hedvig Handarbetar and join the lottery.

I forgot the dashhound pic! Fixed it...

The one sleved woman

I have a sleeve! One! Now there's the matter of the other one. I realize I will love this cardi, but it's so incredibly boring I will never make another one....
The thought have occurred, that if I cut off my left arm, I wouldn't have to make a left sleeve.... On the other hand (hahaa) I wouldn't be able to knit. Decisions, decisions.

Little Owl

Aaaaaand done! This was a quick one. It didn't use all the yarn as I had hoped, so I have some scraps left. The owl pattern was really great, I kinda want to knit more things with owl on them. It was a bit bubbly at first, but came out really great after blocking. I put a few pins in the owl itself when I blocked, to regulate the tension in it. The sweater pattern was ok, I kinda think they made the instructions more difficult then they could have, but it wasn't hard.
Since I also have (finally!) finished the 30eis cardigan, I have actually allowed myself to start something new..... Against better knowing, perhaps, but a lady does need her fixes sometime. I haven't decided what yet, so I'll get back to you about that.

#LoveAlwaysWins

Picture borrowed from AllOut.

So, there's the Olympic games in Russia soon... This is a video that really should be spread around the world. Use the hashtag #lovealwayswins , and we might just at least make a stand against a hateful government, and a "see not, hear not, speak not" policy that seems to be the general one in the Olympic Commitee.  

Night Owl and things that eat time

This baby owl needs a good blocking.

Yeah... I haven't been too busy here for a good while. My studying currently takes way more time than I have, I don't even have enough time to knit for the moment so there has really been nothing to write about and no time to do it in.
Oh, well. It's a limited period my life will be like this, and I keep my nose above the water line and paddle on. Also, it's really fun so I'm not really complaining although if someone invented a way to get more hours a day I'll be first in line to get some.
One thing I managed to wedge in between reading and writing and going to seminars was the start of a baby cardigan. No- I'm not pregnant. I just had three balls of Drops Karisma and couldn't figure out what to do with them. Until I found the Matelot sweater in a magazine I had lying around, and combined it with the UuuuHu! owl . It's a easy knit, it will be a good use of the three balls of yarn I had, and the owl was so incredibly cute... Sooner or later there will turn up a kid for this sweater, and then I am ready!

The coming together of the 1930ies cardigan

I kinda like grafting. I like when the two pieces join and it get's all smooth and even and it fits all perfectly. When lots of weird looking bits and pieces turn out to become one whole garment.
And I like being able to use my huge pins. I only have three so I have to move them around a lot, but it's ok.

Things going on

I have a lot going on right now, but everything's seems to be in the middle of the process which is kinda a bugger. I like my projects to spread out a bit, it makes it more variegated to work with them. And frankly, makes better pictures...
The red and black stripey sweater got frogged and immediatley turned into something else, namely a Caramel . For some reason or another, I don't really agree with the name on this sweater. It makes my mouth imagine a caramel that is too big to and has lots and lots of fuss on it, like cat hair and stuff. Don't know why because I really like the cardigan, just not the name on it. On the other hand, it's not up to me to choose either. This is one of those "Can I please knit faster so I can put this on as soon as possible because it's gonna be soooo cozy"- knits. I haven't done much but the cozyness already starts to spread out from it. I'm gonna be stripey for the rest of the winter, folks.

The picture is from tonight's Stitch and Bitch night with Ulliganen . Lot's of things was dealt with, from how to deal with overly cute sweaters to role playing games to why the knitting/crocheting/crafty community in Sweden is so bad at giving/taking/dealing with constructive critique of any sorts. I could go on about this, but if you read swedish and think this is interesting I could recommend you to check up on articles in Kravallslöjd right now on the subject.

Now, I probably should go to bed or something.

Wooly undies for chilly nights

Winter is coming, get ready.
Anyone up for a pair of nice undies or camiknickers in knitted lace with a crochet edge? Not me, but they are really cute.

The knitting Fairy smiles upon me!

Mine! All mine!

I had a great thrift store bargain day today! The Knitting fairy was definitely on my side, and had her/his best wand brought with her/him. I found nothing less then two books from the 30ies, one about sewing and one full with knitting and crocheting patterns. Both in great shape. Aaaand three knitting magazines from the 50ies and a huge cone with bright red 2-ply wool yarn (no bugs, no bug shells, no mold and it doesn't smell funny. I checked). I was grinning like a madman and probably behaving a lot like Smeagol. The rather new bf took it relatively well which tells me good things about him too.
I really really want to knit a lot of the things both in the new found books and mags, and some older mags I have. Because they look really fun to knit, and because it would be a challenge. The problem is that I'm not really sure I would wear it, it's not really my style and I would feel bad to make it just because. I have thought about selling on etzy, but I'm not sure about that. Opinions?

I don't have pictures of the buns when they were done. I was too busy eating and then being incredibly full....

Oh, and it was the Swedish National Holiday The Cinnamonbun Day yesterday. A very important day. We celebrated by baking cinnamon buns, two different recipes because the flatmate and I couldn't get along about which one was the best (this is important stuff, folks!). Since it's well known that I harbour a second personality best called "the eleven kids mom from the great famine period" tend to show up when ever I cook or bake I should have been more careful but that did not happen.
Let's just say this. I can eat cinnamon buns until I die and still have some.
I don't now why I tend to reason that if I make more they probably taste better (or something). I guess it is the sight of a small mountain of cinnamon buns that is so stuck in my brain that I just can't wrap myself around the idea that maybe I don't need like 100....

The Curse of the 2,5 mm Needles

Not the Hulk. Just cursed.

I must have accidentally waltzed into a ancient tomb or something like that and got a curse cast on me, because I just keep on breaking or/and loosing all my 2,5mm wooden needles!
I had a set that got broken on a gaming night session because someone thought they were a couple of wooden barbeque skewers and broke them into tiny pieces when I wasn't looking. Then I sat on the new set and broke one needle and when I got a new set just a couple of weeks back I really thought this was the end of it.  Was I wrong, or was I wrong? I have already misplaced one, and another one is broken. I don't know how and can't even find the piece that's broken loose.
Any knitting hoodo priests/esses out there that can help me lift this really annoying curse? I'll pay in knitted goods and love. Srsly. 

Mouldy green socks

I really don't know if I'm supposed to be happy or sad right now. On one hand I have a pair of really nice new sock, on the other hand my stash of Klazien's Kreaties Arwetta yarn is finally up. And is no more, unless they against all odds decide to start making more again. It was wonderful, and we loved each other dearly, that yarn and I.

Oh well, everything has it's end and so on. And I still have the socks.
The socks, yes. They are originally Blackrose socks from Knitty . The yarn, you already know that one, and I should stop yammering about it. I liked the pattern, but made 10 repeats in the shaft instead of the original 8, because I tend to like my socks a bit longer. The only thing I didn't care for was the toe grafting, I don't get along with that. After having tried that in a couple of socks now I kinda decided to not do it again... My socks, my toes.
Now I have to spend a couple of hours picking out the perfect knitting, because I'm going to get a cup of coffee of what we call a Swedish "fika" with another knitting blogger! I'm really excited, and it's going to be so much fun.

A red buttony cardigan (another UFO down!)

So, as I told you in my last post, I have been working on this for quite some time now. More like almost a year, but who counts? Now, all the buttonholes are sewn and every single one of the threads are fastened and it is finally DONE. Can you imagine? I almost can't. But I tell you this- it it really cozy, winter can come any time it wants.
It's made of recycled yarn from an old cardigan that was too small for me, but was made of yarn(wool/alpaca) I really liked and not really could let go of. I have altered the pattern a bit, it was supposed to be more of a bolero and have tie bands in the front and no buttons at all but I felt I wanted it this way. Retrospectively I'm happy I went with it.

And a selfie. If the pope can- so can I.

Button time!

The last thing to do, making buttonholes.... Then I have a spanking new cardigan! About time too, I started this baby last fall, but it was left at a friends house for too many months in a bag, half finished. Better late then never, eh?

Double safe

This little mobile cosy was knitted in Drops Fable, the pink and the black one. The pattern is sort of made up, but originally something I found in a old book of knitting years back(sorry, don' remember the title). It's in Faire Isle tecnique.
The reason I knitted this one is that I tend to constantly misplace my "original" mobile cosy, so I knitted another one. I realize that I probably will misplace that one too, but I kinda hope it will be easier to find one out of two cozies then one out of one. Come to think of it, I should make a third one... Or even a forth.

Precious time

Winter is coming, and I want my sweater!

My knitting time was drasticly limited when I started all this studying. I really miss having more time for it, but I still manage to sneak in a stitch or two every now and then. It is especially a bugger when there seems to be a flood of spanking new pattern releases, Knitty, Softsweater has already dropt some patterns and Canary Knits seems to be on the verge of doing so.
Ugh. Have to knit faster! So much neat things to do!

Oh, and the concert was awesome! All my photos are really bad, but here's a link to the video . There were soooo many people they had to do another concert after the first one...

Sewing Machine Music

If anyone is in Uppsala, Sweden tonight and were planning to visit the Kulturnatten (Culture Night? Night of Culture?) I can really recommend going to the Museeum of Arts and listen to Leo Correia de Verdier play sewing machine. If this feels familiar to you, it's because I have been writing about this before, but this is the first time at least I get to see it live.
It's gonna be so awesome!

My old Nemesis and other amazing creations

Gaultier. So much lace! Everywhere!

When I was a small kid I was a bit scared of Madonna. Not Madonna the person, I was too young to grasp the concept of that person in the pictures being a real person of blood and bones I think. It was mostly those pictures with her in that bustier with those pointy boobs. For some reason that scared me a lot, or at least made me a LOT suspicious.
I mean, come on, those pointy boobs- she could have anything in there, bombs or I don't know...

This is it! The Gaultier bustier for Madonna. My old Nemesis... We meet at last....

Then I grew up and started to get very interested in a lot of things among other clothes and identity-issues. And the name Jean Paul Gaultier popped up. And I kinda liked his work (like- he is not dead yet, and still going strong), and realized that he actually was the person behind my old Nemesis, The Bustier with the Pointy Boobs.
I don't know where I am going with this, it's rather late and it's been an intense week, so my head is spinning with things. Still love the work of Gaultier, though. Could talk forever about all the aspects of his artistery but this is hardly the place. Or forever about the link between clothes and identity, but the same goes for that area.

Gaultier

I think I'll just tell you a little about the exhibition. It's a travelling one, and it will stay in Stockholm for a few days more, until the 22/9. Then apparently it will go to New York (lucky yankees!) so if you are currently at that side of the Atlantic you will have a chance to see it there.
DO IT.
It's main focus is for the craft in the Haute Couture garments, the amazing craftmanship it takes to create something like that and the very wide array of different professionals that have been working of the clothes. Somethimes the hours it took for a garment to get made was printed out, and at first sight you got overwhelmed with the enormous amount of hours it would be. Then you started thinking. And calculating. And realized that they must have worked really really fast and intense.

Gaultier. Corset dress in hay! So amazingly done.

For example. Look at this leopard. It's not a real one, it's made of tiny tiny beads. One person made it. Think about it. And I mean, this is NOT things you are allowed to take a year or two to finish, no UFO:s here, no sir....

Gaultier. Kittie, kittie, kittie....

In other news, there's a new issue of Knitty up, if anyone's missed it. Some neat things, I wanna knit a beermitt!

Oh, and I took all the pictures, but Jean Paul Gaultier is the owner of all the creations in the pictures. Just so we're clear.