Undecided

Rosa sjal
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Approaching the bottom edge I thought it was high time to change pattern shapes. Actually, my intention was to do that long before, but I rather liked the ones I'd come up with first and decided to let them be the main pattern.

For contrast I drew new shapes on graph paper, one of which I have knitted now. It consists of big holes arranged in an elliptical shape around a centre hole. The width of the shape is based on the width of the repeats in the main pattern for cohesion.

I'm not quite sure whether I like it enough to keep it, so I've got to take a break from this project, maybe draw some alternative shapes, and return to it in in a few days. Does it look like hortensias or sponges, I keep asking myself. Measles or mumps? The beauty or the beast – or perhaps their offspring?

Cape cast off, shawl cast on

Lady's circular cape
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Knitting the border that runs around the whole garment did get mind-blowingly tedious in the long run, I must admit, but it's a wonderful finishing touch that I wouldn't have wanted to leave out. Some things are definitely worth the perseverance it takes to make them.

The cape is very light, perhaps 120 grams of the 350 grams I bought. What to do with the remaining yarn? Well, after knitting several lace shawls of different shapes, some with and some without modifications, I think I'm ready to try designing my own lace shawl! I really liked the shape that consists of three triangles, so it will be one like that.

While knitting another shawl last month I thought the patterns resembled rain and flowers, so I'm working with that idea. (That is, until I change my mind.) There are drop-like pattern shapes of different sizes to begin with and my plan is to fill next border with flower shapes of some kind.

New knitting group but familiar faces

On Tuesday I met a group of knitters – the fourth one in about a month! This particular event was very special, because I knew some of them but hadn't seen them for 15-20 years. You see, it took place where I spent most of my childhood, in a building only about half a mile from the house where we lived. Since moving I've only passed through the area a couple of times, so it was quite exciting returning, especially for this reason.

There were about 15 knitters there; I didn't know all of them but the ones I did know (like mothers of old class mates – no fathers in sight, strangely enough!) I recognized immediately or in an instant. Speaking of mothers, my mother joined me and it's nice sharing this day with her: it wouldn't have been the same thing just telling her about what it was like. Unfortunately, my sister was busy, but I hope there will be more opportunities.


The picture above shows where I lived as a child – and knitted, of course. If I remember correctly, it is actually where my grandmother showed me how to knit during one of her visits.

I've started knitting Jane Sowerby's "Lady's Circular Cape in Shell Pattern" (Victorian Lace Today) with the pale pink wool-silk blend that I tricked myself into buying last week. Sooo easy to trick sometimes!

An enjoyable project, even though it looks like assorted intestines right now...

The Foster Knitter

Sleeping Beauty
Originally uploaded by Asplund

This knitting was once started by Ebba while she was living in Spain. A mother of four she never finished the project, but it was left like this – in 1922!

Yesterday two of her daughters asked me if I'd be interested in trying to finish it, so now it’s in my happy hands. There are some handwritten notes, but they are difficult to decipher; however, I’ve knitted similar patterns before and can continue knitting it. Words can't express what it feels like being trusted with a knitting project that's been kept for more than 80 years.

The main problem is that I don’t know what kind of garment it was meant to be. Well, "problem" is not the right word, since I’m happily intrigued by the project and like the challenge. One piece is finished and there seems to be enough yarn for a small sweater with short sleeves, so I’m going to search for vintage knitting patterns from the 20’s for inspiration. Low-cut? V-neck?

I’ve never seen a “yarn bracelet” before, a kind of cross to wind yarn around attached to it with a short chain, but I think it’s brilliant! Does anyone know if there's a name for it?

A quick fix and a slow one

Alpackahalsduk med katt
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Yesterday I surprised myself by finishing two projects, a fichu cast on last week and a scarf cast on last year; this made me think about what makes some things quick to knit and others slow.

Obviously, it’s a question of motivation – but in my case it doesn't seem to have much to do with level of difficulty. The scarf certainly wasn’t more difficult to knit, on the contrary. My sister chose the yarn and we agreed I’d knit a scarf with various patterns: she liked the idea of a scarf with a lot of variation in it, and I liked the idea of being able to test different lace patterns. Therefore, I really should have been able to finish it ages ago.

"The Opera Fichu" by Jane Sowerby, on the other hand, is a different kind of garment that I haven’t knitted before. You begin by knitting a rectangle, then pick up stitches around it to knit a border, fold it, pick up stitches and cast on new ones to knit a neckband and ties.

It was far less complicated than I expected from the photos of the finished garment, but still very enjoyable learning how to knit it.

What is time-consuming about the fichu is the number of stitches: a border row consists of more than a thousand stitches, which is something of a paradox considering it’s a fairly small garment. However, the border pattern isn't very difficult; a repeat is six stitches wide and consists of two rows, one of which is knits only. I must admit it was rather monotonous, but then it didn't require much concentration so I could knit it even when it was getting late and I was getting tired.

What, then, is important for me to really get into a project? These seem to be the main factors:

• A plan. Not necessarily knowing all the details but a general idea about the construction of the garment and what it will look like. You could say I like having a plan that I can change if I want to. (I did change some things in the fichu pattern, but let's not go down that road right now...) Perhaps the scarf idea was too vague: knit different patterns until you run out of yarn or it is long enough. Well, at least it seemed like a good idea in September.
• Variation is important. Why then do I complain about a scarf that practically consists of variation? A strong sense of democracy: only a few lines above I complained about how monotonous the fichu border was, so in all fairness it's my duty to find fault with the scarf. I'm probably too much of a control freak: I like controlled variation, knowing the different elements will blend well. Perhaps you could compare it to colours. I don't mix all the colours and shades of colours I like in the same garment, but combine the ones I believe look good together.
• Developing my skills by learning new things, testing ideas and stretching my limits - that's both exciting and rewarding. And I did get to test patterns making the scarf.
• My personal taste. Call me selfish – I do! – but in my opinion life is simply too short for me to knit things I'm not that fond of.

Now, the scarf was a good project, worth knitting not just because I learnt more about myself as a knitter, but because my sister is pleased with the results. That's an important factor too, of course. But can you use the scarf to dress up as Rasputin, which is possible with the fichu?

Sometimes I'm efficient

Ljusfallshammar
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Last night I met up with two groups of knitters, first at a café in Finspång and then in this beautiful house in Ljusfallshammar.

What's more, they were all into twined knitting (Sw. "tvåändsstickning") so it was an unusual and unusually pleasant evening.

I even managed to buy some yarn: seven hanks of wool-silk blend, enough for at least two shawls.

Not that I need shawls, but I do need to make them (Dr Asplund's orders) and I think "Lady's circular cape in shell pattern" would be lovely in this pale pink hue. Where the pattern is? Victorian Lace Today, of course.

Eva's shawl finished

Evas sjal
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Both major and minor changes to the design made it quite exciting to see if the shawl would look anything like what I had in mind! It actually does, so I'm happy with my modifications:

1) adding three small groups of holes near the top of each triangle;

2) replacing the "Barège" pattern with a "Leaf and trellis" pattern from the Cap Shawl in the same book;

3) the edging I "designed" (sounds fancy!) to frame three sides of the shawl; the points are formed by increases and decreases, their width based on the number of stitches in the repeats; I used yarn-over increases to make groups of holes for decoration and to make the edging elastic. (I tried invisible increases first, but I thought that made the edging look too solid compared to the rest of the shawl; it seemed too tight too.)

4) adding a knitted-on border, basically "Mrs. Hope's Vandyke edging" (also in Victorian Lace Today) except I skipped two rows (15-16) to make it match the number of stitches picked up along the edge.

It's ca 120 cm (47 in) wide and very light, ca 120 grams (1/4 lb). Eva hasn't seen the finished shawl yet; those who have tried it on say they like the shape, since it doesn't slide off the shoulders the way a triangular shawl easily does. However, it keeps your arms free rather than covered, so if you want a shawl to keep your arms warm this might not be the best choice.

Inspiration

Marmeladkragar
Originally uploaded by Asplund

You never know beforehand what might become a source of inspiration, do you?

I've been knitting some neck warmers lately. The colours of this yarn somehow made me think of a wonderful (ie wonderfully tacky) tea-strainer and I thought I could make use of the shape of it to knit collars of some kind. I had two skeins of each colour, so it was the perfect amount to experiment with this kind of garment.

They are all slightly different; it's fun testing different versions and trying to improve the idea. Hopefully, I will come up with the version soon - and manage to understand my own notes so I can write a pattern.

Mont Tricot

Mont Tricot
Originally uploaded by Asplund

It just occurred to me that judging from my previous posts you could get the impression I only knit for others.

Not really, no...

To prove those who might harbour such scandalous ideas wrong, here's a picture that shows some of the things I've made for myself!

Not because I'm worth it, but simply because I want it! :)

Rosa's beret

Rosa
Originally uploaded by Asplund

When Harriet, a friend’s mother, passed away her family asked me if I wanted to take care of her knitting needles and yarn.

There was one skein of black wool, just enough for a small child’s hat, so I decided to knit something for my friend’s three-year-old daughter from her grandmother.

Yesterday Rosa modelled it for me! She also treated me to a fairy tale: she informed me she had a library, pulled three novels from a shelf, sat down on the floor and told me a rather intriguing and tantalizing story while turning pages at random. There was a princess in the opening sentence I believe, but she quickly got lost among all the monsters and ghosts that filled the rest of the tale. (I didn't quite get the plot, I must admit!)

Beret pattern improvised but inspired by a Tammy pattern in "Ylle & bläck" (Wool and ink) by Celia B. Dackenberg. There are two other pictures of the beret among my Flickr photos: here and here.

The Dangers of Yarn Hunting

Ulla's cardigan
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Some five years ago I promised my friend and colleague Ulla a cardigan. There is a design in Solveig Hisdal’s “Poetry in Stitches” (Dikt i maskor) that I thought would suit her, except I wanted different colours and a slightly different shape. (The original design is in purple, pink, green, mustard and white; quite spectacular but not Ulla’s colours.) She liked the leaf pattern too, and we decided I'd go yarn hunting for something suitable.

Every time I saw a yarn shop I checked it out to see if the right yarn would be there waiting. I knew I would find it eventually, I just didn’t know when and where – but the sooner the better, of course!

One day in a town in Småland, a province in the southeast of Sweden, I came across a shop I hadn’t entered before. I went inside, saw there was nothing for me there (mostly fabrics, only one shelf of yarns and it didn't take much more than a glance to see they weren't what I was looking for). What would you have done? Well, I turned around, nodded to the woman behind the counter and was about to open the door to leave.

“Didn’t you find anything?” she asked in a tone of voice that wasn’t exactly friendly.
“No, afraid not,” I replied – kindly. “I’m looking for thin yarn, wool, 2-ply,” I added – still kindly, but to make it clear I wanted something that just wasn't available there.
“Does it have to be 2-ply wool?” she snapped. “Won’t bouclé do just as well?” (My question mark; it didn’t really sound like a question the way she said it.)
“No, I’m afraid not,” I replied – still kindly, but a bit surprised to say the least. Especially considering what pattern I intended to knit; I still find it extremely difficult to imagine that leaf pattern knitted with bouclé... “Sorry, but 2-ply wool was what I had in mind.”
“Well! That’s the worst kind of customer, those who know what they want before they enter!” That was news to me, but I couldn’t really think of anything to say. Besides, she might be joking.
“There was a woman in here before who wanted green fabric, and I showed her every single one I had, but nothing was good enough for her. It’s like that all the time: when I have striped fabrics everybody wants single-coloured, and when I have single-coloured they want checkered! ”

Why why why didn’t I think of saying something about the worst kind of salesperson, those who try to make customers buy things they don’t want, until after I had left? As far as I can remember, I didn't say anything but just left.

So, no yarn that day - but at least I got a good story and a useful quotation. Whenever someone who has heard it says something like “I’ve been looking for this or that but can’t find it,” the reply is obvious: “Won’t bouclé do just as well?” It still makes me laugh!

I don’t think Ulla minded she had to wait until I had been to my old reliable LYS "Yll o tyll" in Uppsala. Of course, I found what I wanted there, wonderful wool (a wool-silk blend if I remember correctly) that she was pleased with – and she enjoyed the story too.

For those who want to know the original Swedish words:

Måste det vara tvåtrådigt ullgarn? Går det inte lika bra med bouclé?

Third pattern section taking shape

Now that I've reknitted a couple of inches I'm glad I decided to change the third pattern.

The pattern I've replaced it with and which looks a bit like leaves is from the "Cap shawl" (also in Victorian Lace Today) and I think it works well with the border above it. Now those circles almost resemble flowers, don't they? And the lines above them could be rays of sunshine or perhaps rain. (Provided the wind blows from opposite directions simultaneously!)

The yarn looks grey in this photo, but it is jet-black. I like the colour: even if I could see the shawl in any colour, this choice makes it both dramatic and elegant. It could be interesting knitting the same combination of patterns with different colours, for example green stems & leaves, red flower circles and blue sky. On the other hand, that might make the idea very obvious, not leaving much to imagination - and I like it when things aren't too obvious. Besides, I do prefer lace knitting to be one-coloured to do justice to the patterns.

Anna-Stina

Anna-Stina (ca 1940)
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Here is a photo of my grandmother Anna Maria Kristina (1920-1990) who taught me how to knit and crochet when I was around five years old. She was incredibly productive and creative. If we had lived closer to each other (and I hadn't become obsessed with knitting) I'm sure I would have learnt to sew and weave too, to name just a couple of her other skills. Needless to say, there's no reason to doubt she has knitted the sweater she's wearing in the picture.

I don't think I could ever knit anything without sending her some thoughts - it comes naturally. Of course, I think about her at other times too, but it's nice and somehow comforting to have this special bond with her still.

And today I have so many new knitter friends! Thank you all for kind & flattering words about my knitting and for encouraging comments on my new blog adventure! How could I not have my grandmother part of this new aspect of my knitting, which really is thanks to her?

I'd like to end this post with something she once pointed out to me (which her mother had told her) and that I keep in mind whenever I have to rip out a lot of work or think progress is too slow: No one can tell how long it took you to make something. People will only see how it turned out. Good advice from a good grandmother.

Edited to add: I later discovered it actually works the other way around too! You see, some projects look more complicated than they really are and didn't take nearly as long to make as it might seem.

Bye bye, Barège

I've made up my mind I don't like the Barège pattern that much after all, at least not well enough to keep knitting it. (It's barely visible in this picture since the edge curls.) To make sure, I made a small swatch without any modifications to see if I should reknit this section according to the instructions instead, but still wasn't convinced - so I'd rather rip out a couple of inches now than regret not having done it when it's blocked. There's nothing wrong with the pattern, not at all - it just seems like far too much and too monotonous work compared to what I think of the results.

I think I'm going to make use of the "Cap shawl" design (also in Sowerby's Victorian Lace Today) instead for the third section, but that will take some planning. Not that I mind it very much; it's a bit like solving crosswords trying to fit in a pattern shape in a garment shape.

The shape is nice, I think, and somehow it looks more comfortable (and practical) than a triangular shawl. That's a good thing about pulling out the needle at this stage: getting a better idea of what it will actually look like!

There are some pictures of the shawl with the Barège pattern intact here: http://www.thedailypurl.com/shawls/

Spider's-web shawl modification

I decided to make a modification moving from the second to the third ("Barège") pattern section. Instead of yarnovers and double decreases on the right side and purls only on the wrong side, I knit the pattern on the wrong side and get only knits (and increases) on the right side. Much easier and quicker! The extra row between the second and third section hardly spoils the design.

Something that does make a difference, though, is that I've decided to make the double decrease by simply purling three together. This doesn't result in the intended centred double crease (with the centre stitch on top). However, I tell myself that with thin black yarn and 4 mm needles it can't make that much of a difference even if mine will be less neat.

I can't tell yet what I really think of the Barège pattern. (It looks nice in the book, but that yarn is different, both material and colour.) It will take a few more repeats before I know what I think; well, most likely I won't until the shawl is finished and blocked. Right now it looks as if I can't knit! But that's one of the charms of knitting lace, the magic transformation when you block it.

If there's enough yarn I'm going to pick up stitches along the hypotenuse and add a border, something like Jane Sowerby's design "Three-cornered shawl in clover pattern" also in Victorian Lace Today. Not nearly there yet, but I do enjoy thinking about possible additions and modifications in advance. Also, when I have had time to think about different solutions &c. it's easier to make a decision once I get there.