adding

i don’t buy yarn very often anymore. i have quite a lot of yarn (relatively speaking of course, you should see my friend tanja’s stash! it’s enormous. and i really do mean enormous) and quite a few unfinished projects, so i’ve tried to limit my yarn intake, so to speak. i do enjoy buying yarn when i travel somewhere. especially buying something that i can’t find in a yarn shop at home in stockholm. as far as i know, kauni is not available anywhere in stockholm, and since the store i visited in växjö (umbra) a couple of weeks ago does, i took the opportunity to buy some. but it wasn’t just shopping without a purpose; heléne is working on a lovely double knitted scarf by lucy neatby and both the pattern and the yarn inspired me!

this is the kauni i bought for the bubbles scarf

but as i was browsing ravelry the other day, i came upon another double knitted scarf! and this one had crows on it! and let’s face it, i’m not very much of a bubble person when all is said and done. crows, however – it really can’t be more suitable. and i think that my new red and black/grey kauni will make that crow scarf even more dramatic! crows it is. i’ll save the bubbles for someone who will wear them with pride. the crow scarf is designed by alasdair post-quinn and is available here (link to pdf).

and if some new kauni wool does not satisfy you, i’ve also added two skeins of 3-ply rauma wool yarn to my stash. and i didn’t even know i was going to! last week i received a thick envelope which contained said two skeins. what a wonderful surprise! but it wasn’t the yarn fairy paying a visit, i’m taking a class on sunday on knitting norwegian selbu mittens, and each participant was sent a parcel containing the yarn we are intended to use (e.g. marika, who also recieved yarn in the mail). wonderful! we were also instructed to knit a cuff beforehand so that we can get on with the mitten immediately on sunday.

i’ve finished the cuff and i’m now looking forward to the class on sunday!

happy knitting!

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what’s this?

what’s this? what’s this? there’s colour everywhere. what’s this? there’s white things in the air.

what’s this? i can’t believe my eyes, i must be dreaming, wake up, kat! this isn’t fair! what’s this?!

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orange

you know that orange thing i started recently with the ugly decreses? well, i decided to give the original pattern a try without any so many changes this time. it’s a pattern from interweave knits, autumn 2007, called placed cable aran. my first attempt was with a slightly smaller gauge but larger size pattern. with added waist decreases. in the round. well, the decreases were ugly, as you could see, and i became certain that i would not have enough yarn. frogging, washing and stretching ahoy! (no, maria, i’m not making that stupid, stupid mistake again).

placed cable aran from interweave knits autumn 2007

knitting and terry pratchett – perfect when travelling!

i’m still working it in the round, but i switched to larger needles (absolutely enormous, 6 mm – my hands and right arm are in pain!) and smaller size pattern. i’ve split the work for front and back at the sleeve openings, but to avoid getting a different gauge i’m using 5,5 mm needles on the purl rows, and it works! thank the gods for knit pro (knit picks) needles that allows me to have different size needles at either end of the wire.

mittens at smålands museum in växjö

i spent a part of last weekend in växjö (i’m taking a course at the university) where i took the opportunity to visit the local yarn store, umbra, which is really nice. i did some shopping (what a surprise!) and ended up with to large balls of kauni. i haven’t been able to take any decent photos of the yarn yet, the days are really growing short and there isn’t much daylight when i get home from work. anyway, i had several hours knitting time on the train to växjö and back, and the best part of that was that i met another knitter on my way back! i was seated opposite a girl that hauled out a pair of mittens in the making (she also had a pair of mittens in two-end knitting (twined knitting) with her that caught my eye immediately). of course we started talking! about knitting and yarn. and ravelry, of course. there are more of us than you know… have a look at her lovely mittens over at her blog, elaknit.

anyway, i’m off to another course tomorrow, which means more travel and more knitting time! it’s a bit boring being away from home two weekends in a row, but it’s nice to have so much time to knit. and listen to audioooks! i’ve finished pillars of the earth. it was ok. i gave it four stars on goodreads, and now i wonder why i did that. i’ll have to change it to three. anyway, i’ve now begun listening to jonathan strange & mr. norrell by susanna clarke. i’ve read about one third of it before, but got stuck so i’m hoping that listening to it will change that. the narrator, simon prebble, is really good, i enjoy listening to him very much.

happy knitting!

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