Train knitting

We’re spending the yule tide away from home this year. I’m looking forward to good food, reading and… knitting, of course!

I couldn’t wait until we’ve arrived, and brought out my knitting on the train.



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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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hourglass, take two – a sad story

well, there is a jumper. a rather sad looking jumper. and a sad story.

it all started with very nice blue yarn and a nice looking pattern. i think the knitter might have had the right gauge at one point, but alas, the poor jumper turned out too small and was rejected. it was angrily bundled up at the bottom of the drawer. after several years a thought appeared. “what a shame – the yarn was nice and the pattern was nice. let’s give it another go.” the jumper was ripped out and new knitting needles was brought out of the basket. it all sounds very nice, but i’m sorry children, this is not a happy story. two fatal mistakes were made. the first was this: the ripped yarn was not washed and stretched and looked like very much like tangled wires from an old-fashioned telephone. the second mistake was that the knitter was sloppy and over-confident and didn’t read the pattern in the book properly and therefore accidentally cast on the number of stitches intended for a much larger jumper. the knitter also thought “the sleeves were too short the last time, i’ll make them a lot longer this time – long sleeves are nice!”

the yarn turned into a jumper for the second time. this time the jumper was very much too big. the knitter was ashamed. had she not learned anything? hadn’t she been knitting for many years now? if there is a dream jumper; this clearly was not it.

but there is a silver lining to every cloud. fortunately, the knitter has a very tall and slender friend who doesn’t mind a far from perfect jumper. a jumper with very long sleeves and an enormous opening for the head, but also a jumper to cuddle up in when it’s cold outside. the jumper found a new home with someone who appreciates it and the knitter will never make those mistakes again. hopefully.

a very large jumper

pattern: hourglass sweater from last minute knitted gifts
design: joelle hoverson
yarn: araucania nature wool
yarn source: nysta
needles: 5 mm

detail of raglan decreases

perhaps not the happiest of endings, but not the saddest either.

happy knitting!

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a wee hat for a wee girl

i’ve made a small bonnet for the daughter of a dear friend of mine. we were invited to the little sweetheart’s christening, and this was our present for her.

small bonnet

pattern: “baby bonnet” from last minute knitted gifts
design: joelle hoverson
yarn: rowan kid classic (grey) and rowan yorkshire tweed dk (green)
yarn source: wincent
needles: 5.5 mm
modifications: none

the hat is still a little bit too big for little miss redhead, but when she’s grown into it, i’ll try to take a photo of her wearing it.

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