Fantasy Mittens

I'm very proud of my new fingerless mittens! I used the pattern Mitt Envy (Ravelry) as the basis, but made them longer and played around with different motives and colors. I had so much fun planning and making them that I forgot to eat! I love to be in that creative flow!!
I never thought that I would enjoy knitting on tiny needles, but it's very relaxing. Also, knitting mittens is a great way to use up all those small amounts of left-over precious yarn in the stash and they are finished in a couple of hours. Instant gratification! I've been bitten by the mitten bug, for sure!

                                 

Zebra Cowl

I really like how this cowl turned out! It looks great with my black coat and is warm and cosy but light and airy at the same time.

It's very easy to make and is done in a couple of hours. You will need about 100 g of super bulky yarn in each color.

Here's what I did:

CO 21 stitches with needles 12 mm. This will give you a cowl 30 cm wide. You can easily change the width by casting on more or less stitches, but always an odd number.
Every row: k2, *yo, k2tog*, k1.
Change color every other row and always pick up the new yarn from behind the yarn you just used.
Knit for about 140 cm. BO with same color you started with. Twist the garment once and sew together. Voila!

    

The easiest fingerless mittens - ever!

I have to admit it: I have a large stash! I decided to start making something out of every small skein. I came up with these fingerless mittens. They took only a couple of hours to knit and I used just 60 meters of DK weight yarn. They are knitted in the round and NO seeming is required!

Here's how I made them:

CO 32 stitches on 5 mm needles and join in the round. Either use double pins or, as I always do, use the magic loop-method (you can find great tutorials on youtube).
Knit 3 rounds.
Purl 1 round.
Knit 3 rounds.
Purl 1 round.
Knit until piece measures 9 cm (or the length that fits you).
BO 2 stitches in the beginning of next round.
Knit back and forth (knit one row, turn the work and purl back) for 3.5 cm.
At the end of last row CO 2 stitches and start knitting in the round again.
Knit 3 cm.
Purl 1 round.
Knit 3 rounds.
Purl 1 round.
Knit 3 rounds.
BO loosely.

Make another one and you've got yourself a pair of nice and cosy mittens.

Sweet Baby Sweater

I friend of mine had a grandson, I wanted to knit something for him and came up with this little sweater. Unfortunately it took me a while to knit it, write up the pattern and testknit it, so now the boy is too big for it...

Well, well, hopefully I get som grandchildren of my own some day!

The sweater can be made in endless different ways and it's easy to make it smaller or bigger since it's knitted from the top down without any seams. The pattern is a free download here.

More mysteries

I have participated in a couple of more Mystery KAL's. Great fun!

First it was another one by Threebagsfull: Mystery KAL Shawl. I used Kauni Wool Effekt and the result is lovely. I have used the shawl a lot this cold and endless winter, it´s really warm and cosy! Here's my project page: November Mystery.

Then the turn came to She-Knits' beaded Cynthia Shawl. My project page is here: Cynthia Mystery KAL. For this beautiful shawl I used Regia Silk and I'm very happy with this result too! I love the jeans look. It's a perfect shawl for spring.

New pattern

I have released a new pattern. Nothing special, but it is fun designing things that actually can be worn. It´s a supercozy cowl you can wear in several different ways. It comes in two sizes, has a simple but effective lace pattern and is closed with three big buttons.

You can download the pattern for free here: Midwinter Cowl

The longer one you can wear both as a cowl and a scarf and you can pull it over your head on those cold winter days.

The short version is perfect to wear under a jacket or over a sweater.

Mystery Kerchief

KAL´s are fun! I have participated in another one: Criminal Minds Mystery Kerchief by Threebagsfulled. Every week you get a piece of the pattern and it´s exciting to see the project grow. The thing is, you don´t know how it will look when it´s finished.

This one started OK, but after a while I thought the shawl just looked like a sample of different stitches. I decided to frog and put it aside. Then I hadn´t much time to think about knitting since I moved to a new flat. Wow, that´s heavy work...

But after a couple of weeks I looked at the projects the other participants had made, and to my surprise the shawl was quite beautiful! So - I picked mine up and finished it yesterday. I´m really pleased with it and have signed up for another KAL!

The yarn is Marks & Kattens Fame Trend.

Mystery unveiled

The finished shawl looks like a work of art. The pattern is beautiful!

Mystery KAL

I´m attending a Mystery KAL for the first time in my knitting "career". KAL means knit along and is a group of people knitting the same pattern at the same time. Mystery KAL is when you don´t know how the finished project is going to look like, since you receive the pattern in parts, for instance one clue every week.

My first Mystery KAL is called 22 leaves by Lankakomero and is great fun. It´s going to be a shawlette. The only thing is the pattern is revealed too fast. Five clues in three days. I would have liked a little bit more excitement. Otherwise it´s great! I´m halfway through clue #5, but the picture shows clues 1-4.

More magic!

I have said it before, knitting is magic! Just look at these two pictures:

The secret is yarn made of wool and a washing machine.

Sideway shawls

Lately, I´ve been knitting a few shawls sideways. One of them, "Forest Beauty", is knitted from tip to tip with a lacepattern to the right and stockinette stitches to the left. The shape is made by increasing the stockinette part and then, after you reached the middle, decreasing again until you only have the lace tip left.



The other one, Amalia, is made in another way. First you knit the lace border and then pick up stitches all the way and knit garter stitches in short rows, thus forming a crescent.



They both are lovely patterns, but I have realized that I like triangular shawls much more. But the shawls was fun to knit, and since I´m always looking for something new and exciting, a new shape, a new yarn, a new color, you have to acccept that it doesn´t always work out in the end.

Now on to the next project!!.

Timantti

Wow! I´m so excited and happy! I have published my second original design on Ravelry and I am getting a huge response!

Here she is, Timantti:

This shawl is made from the softest merino yarn and the result is a light and airy shawl with a diamond pattern border as the only decoration. Timantti means diamond in Finnish and I think it´s a beautiful word!

The pattern is available as a free download:http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/timantti

Magic!

Knitting is pure magic! A single strand of yarn transformes into a beautiful cardigan or a soft and lovely shawl. I´m so thrilled every time I´ve finished a project! All those stitches on my needles have turned into something nice to wear myself or give away to somebody I care about.

When a project is off the needles it often looks creased-up and out of shape. It is not as soft as you would wish either. But when soaked and blocked something has happened!
It´s like when the caterpillar bursts out of the cocoon transformed into a beautiful butterfly!

I have been knitting on a shawl for my friend who is moving up north. The yarn felt hard and itchy, but when blocked it turned soft and beautiful.

Here is before and after:





The pattern is found here http://muro.vuodatus.net/blog/881297 or here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/revontuli--huivi-northern-lights. The yarn is Kauni effekt 100% wool.

Myrtle - finally!

My Myrtle is finally off the needles! I love the way it came out, it is really beautiful and fits me perfect. Snowden Becker, I bow to you! The yarn, Regia Silk, is lovely too, especially when blocked. It´s a blend of wool and silk and it´s soft and shiny.

I haven´t decided on buttons yet. Maybe a lot of small ones or just one at the top....

Myrtle - a love-hate relationship

I´ve been knitting on a beautiful lace cardigan called Myrtle a couple of months now. The reason it takes so long is that I have to be fully concentrated on this project in order to make it work. I have to sit all alone, no TV, no nothing.
There is so much to keep in mind and if your thoughts wander just for a moment, sh-t happens!
This project has been accompanied by a lot of curses, but there is so much satisfaction when it all comes together.
The trickiest part is when you are going to shape the sleeve caps. The instructions are somewhat unclear, and you have to improvise a lot. I´m so proud that I made it so far, I just have a couple of rows left! I cross my fingers that it will fit me well!

Look at all those markers!!

Another one

Creating your own designs is addicitive! I want to make another one! It is so much fun when other people appreciate what you have come up with! Over one hundred persons have downloaded my free pattern for the Harry Shawl at Ravelry since it was released on March 20th. 34 people have placed it in their queues and two people have started on the project. I feel like a proud mama! Somebody else likes my Harry! Yeeehaaa!

I have been knitting a triangular shawl in plain stockinette in a gorgeous handdyed baby merino (it´s the yarn in my blog header). The colors are bright pinks and oranges. I had the Seraphim Shawl in mind, but now I think I have changed my mind. I will try to design a nice finishing all by myself! Exciting!

Never give up

Knitting is like life itself. Sometimes all goes well and things turn out the way you want them to. And sometimes all goes wrong and you have to start all over again with a different approach.

I knitted a beautiful lacy vest for my daughter (#100 Little Lace Vest at sweaterbabe.com). It fits her perfectly and she loves it!

Then she wanted me to make another one in a different color, and this one should have small puff sleeves. Ok, I thought, that shouldn´t be a problem. (I would do anything for her...)

The vest finished up quickly. It is all knitted in the round, so I had to figure out a way to pick up stitches around the armhole and shape the sleeve nicely. I did some reading in my knitting books and searched on Ravelry, and finally I came up with a solution. The best tip ever is from the book "Custom Knits" by Wendy Bernard, and is called "afterthought sleeves". Ok so far so good! But the tricky thing was to shape the sleeve to the proper form.

I made one sleeve, took the vest to my daughter for a fit - the sleeve was way to big and "princessy"! It would have been cute on a little girl.

So I ripped it all out (the sleeve that is!) and started all over again. This I did three times, it just wouldn´t come together the way I (and my daughter) wanted. If the vest was for me, I would have given up and made the original ribbing. BUT: you do everything for your children, don´t you? So: yesterday I sat down all day and tried to figure out what I did wrong and lo and behold! Now it looks the way I want it to look!

Today she will try it on and I really hope the sleeve looks good! If it does I´m going to be sooo proud of myself and also will be one step closer to becoming a designer!

By the way, the most important thing when you try to design your own stuff, is to write everything down as you go. Don´t for a second imagine that you will remember it all! :-)

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8 pm: Finally! It´s finished (except for some nice buttons)! And looking good!