076knits: Kille

If you've been reading the blog, you might have seen the pictures. I can't get enough of Bubs running around and doing anything but standing still to have his picture taken.

It all started when Bubs had only just joined us. I wanted to knit something for me, instead of the pile of baby knits that had gone before. I had a really (really) nice skein of Ripples Crafts Assynt Storms, a circular needle, and a naptime to gather my sanity before the next round of nursing, nappies and cramps. A new mom needs a bit of pampering, and that hank of yarn was just the trick.

One thing led to another (ever so slowly) and with help from two lovely professionals (hello Dutch Wool Diva and Yarn and Pointy Sticks) I can now present you my first ever pattern, Kille

Kille is a cowl with lots of nice and easy stitches, not a lot of counting and lots of pretty colours if you pick your yarn carefully. The sample shown is a new colourway by Dutch Wool Diva, Strolling through the Woods, and it's perfect for matching the Autumn colours out there right now. The sturdy Sock Star is perfect for sharing the cowl with your little one, especially when they like chewing on your knitwear, and soft enough to be worn against the skin. If you don't have a little one or like to live dangerously, go wild with your yarn choices! Be careful though, changing the gauge means changing your yardage! The pattern is carefully tech edited, but if you find a problem, please let me know!

You can wear Kille inside out and upside down, but not twice around your head.*
You can even try it on your other person, but I would keep it. It's a selfish treat, remember?

You have to knit it first, and you can do so after going right here: buy now (you don't have to be a member)


Love,
J



*definitely not twice around a little head so that pulling on it doesn't pull it tight

WIP Wednesday-on-Friday: Jump!

I hope you didn't all just jump off your seats, but it seemed like a good way to start a slightly late blog post. You see, I was busy, tired and have very little I can show you, so I felt a little uninspired. Fortunately, no one tells me when to write to you but me, and I gave myself two evenings off to deal with being me (and appointments). Since then, Spring has arrived, and since Spring is Dutch for Jump!.... well, you get my drift*

The reason I can't show you much is that much of what I did last weekend is a big secret. Recipient of said secret is currently 13,5cm (plus another week's worth of growing) in size, so he or she can't actually read this. Since at least half of the expecting parental unit reads this I'm only revealing the picture below.

100% 4-ply BFL, soaking

I had a lot of fun playing with colours, but you'll all have to wait about 6 months to see the result of the dyeing session. A little swatching happened, and I'm a little giddy just touching it. Oh! the softness! the springyness!** the colours! I can't wait to learn to dare to do some steeking.***

Below you will find a few pictures of some bootees that I knit. They were ordered by the happy recipient of some gift bootees late last year. I took some inspiration from the original (hello? multi-colour knit-purl ridges? how cute is that?) and re-imagined and modernized them to make the purl rows look a bit like icing, dripping down from in between layers of cake. 

They are knit from the sole up and in the round, leaving you with nothing more to do than weave in a few ends after finishing. There is also some slipped stitching, and a few short rows to cover the top of the foot.   

A yarnover-k2tog combo creates little holes to pull the string through with which you can secure**** the bootees. As you can see, there is a bit of colourwork going on, carrying the cake or icing colour for about 5 stitches behind the work. I choose to secure them, just so little wandering fingers or toes won't get caught in the float.  

I think the pom poms really finish them off, don't you? I really, really like the Clover Pom Pom Makers I got myself last Christmas. One of these, from start to completely finished (including trimming), takes less than 5 minutes! To boot, you don't have to mess around with cardboard when you use these...

Layered Cake

And finally, proof that Spring has really Sprung.*****

Enjoy it, and whatever you do, don't throw your litter in between the daffodils I pass on my way into work. You're spoiling my mornings, whomever you are. 

*I did just spell it out...
**Yes that is, in fact, a word. Casually insert it into dialogue.
***Technical term. Actually.
****Babies and bootees. There is never a guarantee they will stay on, but the string helps.
*****No seriously, it has. Even if I still have cold feet in my wool socks right this very moment.

WIP Wednesday: No Knitting for Me

Making up for it with cake (lemon),

Woollen dress, tights and handknit socks in Noro,

and some spinning. 

Obviously, the yarn this will be when it's done, is not for me. 

I swatched.

for this, which is also not for me. I think this is its 4th incarnation, and I'm currently rows away from finishing its 5th and final incarnation. It's been a journey...

I took a delivery, for me. 

But I think I need some crafting, for me. 

When things are done, finished, taken to the point where it can't be taken further, then I'll make something for me. 

This week was, and still is, a bit of Craptastic. Just a blip...

WIP Wednesday: Say it with Colour

Maybe I'm tired of winter, or maybe I'm just craving a little colour in general, I don't know, but colour is what I worked on this week! You may also have noticed I picked a new colour scheme for the blog. Much more inviting to the new season, which seems to be on our doorstep now the frost has gone. However, it only rains now, so it might as well be Autumn still.

I spun and since n-plied this bobbin full of wool, I started a third Tomten cardigan for a friend's sister's soon to be born baby*, once more did not read the book club book by Paul Mceuen (Spiral), burnt a few candles. I had a lovely lunch and found a trigger and food for thought, knit some more on the never ending Tanit's Jacket, and listened to some podcasts. 

Celebration

Dutch Wool Diva

Tomten the Third

Elizabeth Zimmerman

Tanit's Jacket

Gudrun Johnston

Colour Swatches

by me

The Photographer celebrated his birthday and promptly soiled his new Kindle by putting a picture of me on it. I (re-)established some priorities. I slowed down. 

Float on the good stuff, or sink.

*follow my project here

WIP Wednesday: Frosty

Brrrrrrrrrr


I thought it was cold last week, but little did I know*
Doubling up on leather gloves *and* wool mittens, fleece cowl *and* hand spun hooded scarf *and* wool hat, jeans *and* leg warmers and a comfy wool/cashmere coat, I kept unsurprisingly warm while cycling back and forth to work this past week. It's a good thing I don't have to commute by car, since that has been frozen shut (not even the locks, the doors themselves) for almost a week. Well, it's too cold to fill it up anyway...

So, inside I've been, drinking my coco, staying warm, knitting away...

I love yarn cakes. They look so pretty, don't they? Just before they collapse... And there are only two ways to make them look like that. Pull the yarn from the centre just to make it look pretty, but I prefer to pull it out and make something at the same time. Something, like a finished Damask shawl...

Seems more practical, doesn't it? It's even more gorgeous** in real life, which is a bit of a relief. I'm working on an outfit to match it, so I can show it off on Saturday Lunch With The Girls. Where else to better show off a really, really nice shawl, right?

After all that knitting, it was time for some spinning. I finished the first braid of Tardis BFL and transfered it to a bobbin I can't use on my one working spinning wheel. It looks prettier this way anyway, so that's a bonus!

Taking a break from that blue now, and had to do some serious thinking about what to do next. Such pretty spinning fibres came in the post this year. I just had to subscribe to another quarter!

Frostbite

Mixed bat

Borealis

BFL/silk

With all that, the current weather, still not sleeping enough, and oodles of knitting around, I find it very difficult to get up and dressed and out the door in the mornings. However, it does bring a little happy to the gloom of every day dragging on like nobody's business. We seem to be in the midst of another round of everyone feeling "very sorry about the situation" and needing constant explaining that nothing has changed in any direction for the last 3 years. I know I don't need to explain myself every single time someone asks, but every once in a while it does feel like I need to defend the choices we've made, so I do, vigorously. 

I do count myself lucky to be surrounded by friends and family who don't need explaining, who understand the reason for the decisions we've made, even though they don't always understand the decisions themselves. Friends who help keep me grounded and lead me back when I wander of into the deep dark forest of Maybes, pretty and treacherous as it is... So it's a great pleasure to do something back. Which leads me to the last and final (duh) picture of this post.

I'm playing with colours! Tomten the third, you're about to be cast on! In a few days, maybe... I have until April on this one, unless baby decides to arrive early, of course. 

Until next time, dear reader. Keep warm.

*More proof that I could be a weather women, just like the next person (kidding, but only if you're a meteorologist reading this)
**And I do say that myself

WIP Wednesday: Purple

Hello everyone, 

Good to see you again. Are you cold?

Light a few candles, wrap up warm in a shawl and some mitts, and have yourself a nice cup of tea. That's what I'm doing anyway. 

Gosh it got cold. I'm looking at cycling to work in the morning, when it's a balmy -12C according to some weather forecasts. Within 2 days the skin of my hands has given up on being able to handle it. Wool is my friend, my friends. A thick, long wool coat, handknit socks, cardigan, scarf, hat and mittens, none of which are colour coordinated, are part of my daily wardrobe. Right up to the moment I enter my office, where the heating system seems to think subtropical is the way forward. No wonder everyone at work is sniffling and coughing...

Last week wasn't so much busy as it was tiring, with a few things that should *give* energy surrounded by energy sink holes. Now that they're behind me, I'm still battling to keep my eyes open at work. The bottom of the pile of 'no thought required'-files is finally in sight, and soon I get to use my brain again. It's really difficult not to drift off in thoughts about plans and challenges....

On the bright side, I'm quickly catching up on podcasts I had a huge backlog of, like Hoxton Handmade, otherwise known as the Electric Sheep. While an otherwise very enjoyable and popular podcast, the adventures of the Sheep and it's band of.... I don't know what to call them... fellow... adventurers, are the best bits and make people look at me funny. A heist, a flying bathtub filled with Molotov chickens... Seriously funny. Go listen!

There has been some knitting when I wasn't working or otherwise engaged. I passed the halfway mark on my Damask (I did the numbers) so it's downhill from now on. Bottom Up shawls always take a while to get started, but the good thing is that rows only get shorter, and shorter, and shorter.... until there's nothing left! Right now, I have 7954 stitches left to go. This means I've already done 14468 of them. That's putting row 59 of 143 into the right perspective, isn't it?

Fortunately, one of the energy sink holes did allow some time for some knitting. In amongst a lot of musicians, at least a few recognised the craft of knitting... One of them asked if I planned to finish a sweater before the end of the day. I presume she has little sense of scale, since what you're looking at is the top of a bootee. A baby one. Stretchy though it is, I can't fit my freakishly small hands through them...

The young lad sitting next to me was mesmerized by the magic of the magic loop. Which was good, it's nice to show that a traditional craft can still be cool and technically interesting. Then again, the thing that impressed him most about the moment, was the very, very long sleeked back hair of the 12 year old pianist. the only thing missing from the outfit was a Count Vlad outfit. To each their own, and it takes a special kind of guts to be that young man. Power to him, I say. 

Anyway, I'm working on it, even if it isn't very fast. 

Right, I've got an hour left to knit a few swatches, so I'm going to start them now. Babyknitting for a friend's sister is fun, even though said friend can't decide on colours... This just means I have 11 of them to play with before she decides!

WIP Wednesdays: it's all about the due dates

Oh I know, I do go on about the local baby boom, don't I just?

Don't be so fast to judge, there may be more to it... Remember this? Back then the blackbird nest was very much Under Construction, with very real Mind Your Head This Might Collapse warnings all around it.

 

Turns out our building team is quite good at construction, because it ended up looking like this!

Mother Blackbird is usually on the nest, so I grabbed the rare opportunity to take a snapshot from above to see if there was anything in it. Obviously, no Empty Nest Syndrome here!

 

At least 4 perfect little eggs of a strange blue green hue... I'll have to mind they don't poop out the side of the nest... I walk past there thrice every day!

 

Obviously, there was also some knitting. I finished, then frogged the bind off and refinished the Jeweled Cowl, which goes by the name of Silkie on Ravelry. Which reminds me, I should update that. Normally, finishing one project means I get to start a new one, but there's another Due Date looming. Someone else is about to drop a little bundle of joy in about 2 weeks, so I've gone back to Tomtom because it needs rapid finishing! Just 7 more 8-row repeats on this sleeve, and it's downhill from there. Just as well because there's another Due Date!

You might not care, but I'm signing up for the Tour de Fleece this year (not to be confused with the TDF, which I follow diligently on the radio and tv, but nowhere else...). I believe there will be a lot of spinning involved, so that should be good. I have this single to finish, park it and ply some linen for mom, and when that's finished Navaho-ply the singles before moving on to the package we got from the Landelijke Spindag last year. I may or may not be able to go this year, because of another Due Date!!!*

The Photographer (remember him?) arrives just after the TDF is finished and is staying for a whopping 3(!) months this time! Due to changes in circumstances, he's able to stay the maximum allowed, and will do so unless the job calls and tells him he's needed and they will actually pay for his effort. Now I just have to convince him to pick my camping trip idea for our camping trip and everything will be as close to perfect as this year could get. Almost.

For now, I'm due some sleep and a good ponder about my next project...


*Yes, another one

WIP Wednesday: I'm Blue ladadee ladeedaaah

You must be so grateful that this is a written medium, without sound. Or, not to put myself down, you will wonder forever what that sounds like coming out of my mouth. Well Ladeedah to you!

Blue is still "the thing to be" if you want to be a thing that's made by me. Just look at these pictures. I can't get enough of it.

Rock Island, or the Rock 'n Roll project turned out nice after blocking just a few hours with mom's new blocking wires! Such an addition to her set of tools (that I get to use)!

And one more, just because I can, obviously.

Tomtom needs just the last sleeve, an i-cord border and some embellishment. We can do this in 4 weeks. Baby, take your time, because I need some.

Just another picture of goodness, this yarn has now been named Storm in a Teacup, because it refers to the shop I got it at and my ability to turn a midge into an elephant. Clever, no?

Last but not least a guilty pleasure... Starting something you shouldn't is such a joy, don't you think? A cowl I ask you, do I need one? Not really, but as the summer solstice is supposed to be a 16C day (that's Celcius), I might want one. It won't be finished on time for that.

If this wasn't enough, I read a book the other week (Fistful of Feet - Jordan Krall) and got about 200 pages into Bill Bryson's At Home so far. Both great reads for very different reasons.

WIP Wednesday: In with the New, while the Old is still lingering...

With life turning increasingly Craptastic(!), crafting gets increasingly more important to help with my sanity. Having found my Office-Away-From-Home, I've noticed that a week without it quickly turns more and more annoying. Tomorrow I get to go again (stupid Jazz festival*) so sanity might return. Eventually.

As I'm not really capable of commenting on non-crafty things without covering you in verbal blubber I'll stick with things with pictures.

Some of the fibre I got at the Breidag in early April, which has since turned into 360 meters of Navaho 3-ply, with much, much more to come. I might have enough for a garment! Also, I should note, I've mastered the art of Navaho plying. It's not that hard once you look it up on youtube.

The Babyknitting is coming along, just sleeves to go, and finding something to brighten it up with. This Zimmermann** woman is really onto something here. (Love, I shrink in her brightness)

If you recognise this, you've been through as many repeats as I have. Stunning result, but this garter stitch baby cardigan is less boring to knit. Getting someone else to buy blocking wires, because I'm not tackling this baby without them.

Ah yes, Manu.
As soon as I have a need for something warm, I'll finish it, promise. It's too warm to even look at it. Still only needs pockets and blocking.

Not sure I've shown this before, but it still needs all the digital work to it done. I can't quite find the energy to battle software to give me neat-edged cable symbols. If you know how to select/cut line sections in Illustrator, please please help me out...

Tomorrow, I'm taking some of that sock yarn I'm using for the baby knitting to try out something that's in my head. It'll help figure out what I want to do, while I try to make a decision on the yarn to use for it. I'm leaning towards cascade heritage sock, because just about everyone can have access to it and it won't quite break the bank.

See you back Sunday. Unless I implode before that. I hope you won't have to witness that...***

* Ok, it was a bit of fun, specially when we went to see Mr Pink with a pretty amazing impromptu drummer. He owns my microwave oven, he wore my dad's socks. It's a long story (not really)
** Elizabeth Zimmermann, of Tomten-fame
*** thinking good thoughts, chocolate, puppies, bacon, more chocolate. etc.