Monday 21 April 2014

Happy Easter!

Monsieur & Madame

A certain sign that spring is really here is that our feathered neighbours are allowed to roam the gardens freely.

I'm experimenting with a top-down cardigan using two strands of yarn. One is a wool-cotton blend and the other one is silk. This combination of fibres should make a nice summer cardigan!



The colour is so dark (darker than in the photos) I thought there wouldn't be much point in knitting lots of patterns, but a far better idea to bring out the beauty of the fibres with a lot of stocking stitch. Moss-stitch panels makes it more fun to knit, and the slightly elastic effect is an advantage if I don't get the size exactly right. Knitting it top-down is also a way to make it more interesting and challenging to knit.

Napoleon




Monday 14 April 2014

Alba cardigan finished again

Some three months ago I finished my "Alba" cardigan - and after finding the right hooks and eyes for it the other day I finished it again yesterday by sewing them in place. I love the drop shape!





Then I remembered Margaret Atwood's poem that we read when I studied English years ago. The way it shifts and all the things it implies still makes me shudder and smile at the same time!


You fit into me
like a hook into an eye

a fish hook
an open eye


 Here's my finished twined hat - and I'm happy to say it's too warm to wear it:

Hamlet, the twined version


 
Man kan ju aldrig vara säker så här års, men jag hoppas slippa slita på koftan och mössan. Koftan går förstås att ha i stället för jacka, men yllemössa betackar jag mig för. Nej, så här års tycker jag att det är mer lockande att sticka tunna spetssjalar. Inte för att jag bär dem själv, men det roliga är att sticka. Om en dryg månad (helgen 17-18 maj) kommer jag förresten att hålla kurs i just spetsmönster och sjalformer på Ekerö. Här finns mer information om du är intresserad.



Wednesday 9 April 2014

Spring Onion hat (Vårlöksmössa)


Thanks for your comments on my twined hat - in particular, Sandra's comment made me smile! I finished it today, but right now it's too dark to get a good photo of it. At least I've got a photo I took a few days ago, which shows the pattern after the increases.



I wanted something in the style of Greek key patterns, which I always liked. The lines, colours, and shape suddenly made me think of slicing an onion, so I might rename it Spring Onion. In Swedish it's a pun as vårlök - "spring onion" - is the spring flower Gagea lutea. The English name apparently is Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem, which is rather far from this hat...