Here's a better photo when it comes to showing the pattern, although the one in my previous post is a prettier photo.
Asplund the Narcissist is trying to knit aspen trees using the twined technique; six trees around the sweater will make an aspen grove, an "asplund" in Swedish. (For a while I thought the trees looked more like broccoli, but now I'm confident about them again!)
Kerry asked about the technique. You knit with two strands that you twist between each stitch. It's time-consuming but well worth it for the deep-relief effect when you combine knit and purl stitches; keeping the strand you don't knit with in front makes a difference too.
In this post there's a photo of the right and wrong sides and a link to a great blog about the technique.
To answer some questions in comments on the "Reunion" post:
Christine: I love the lingonberry pattern too and found it in a book by Inger and Ingrid Gottfridsson. There is an English translation of it, "The Mitten Book". Hope you find it! I agree with you about being critical right after one has finished a project. It's so easy to (or impossible not to) compare the garment to what one had in mind.
Ann: alas, no new labels. Actually, there's evidence I'm still Mormor because a group of pupils once gave me a mug with that word on it!
About the green ribbing (Martin's green and white sweater): I used thinner needles and made it fairly wide (3k, 2 p in this sweater. If it's still flabby (which happens) I'd knit it twice as long as I want it and fold it in half.
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Det som göms i snö
kommer upp i tö. (What's hidden in snow emerges when it's thawing. Perhaps "murder will out" is the closest English expression. Other suggestions?)
At long last I've felt like excavating my second twined sweater project from the (crammed) basket where it has been hibernating for about a year and a half. Not quite sure how to go on with the pattern I put it aside and then didn't pick it up again for a number of reasons. Other projects, of course, but also the fact that I've moved twice and started a new employment during this period.
Actually, the main reason I've stayed away from this project is probably associating it with worries about work and where to live.
Looking at the sweater among the anemones makes me feel completely different about it! And the more and stronger memories and feelings that are attached to a project the better.
At long last I've felt like excavating my second twined sweater project from the (crammed) basket where it has been hibernating for about a year and a half. Not quite sure how to go on with the pattern I put it aside and then didn't pick it up again for a number of reasons. Other projects, of course, but also the fact that I've moved twice and started a new employment during this period.
Actually, the main reason I've stayed away from this project is probably associating it with worries about work and where to live.
Looking at the sweater among the anemones makes me feel completely different about it! And the more and stronger memories and feelings that are attached to a project the better.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Reunion
Here are two sweaters I haven't seen for quite a few years: to the left one I made for my sister's then boyfriend Martin for his 25th birthday in 1999, and to the right a sweater I made for my sister in the mid-90s.
I haven't seen them for quite a few years; the one to the right had been missing for years when my mother recently discovered it in a box in her basement and I don't see Martin that often after he and my sister split up some ten years ago. (Shortly after he got this sweater, come to think of it - surely that must be a coincidence! Unless there was some kind of Curse of the Green Sweater.)
Anyway, I was very pleased to see them again: I like them a lot better than expected. I remember Martin's sweater didn't turn out the way I had hoped, that I thought the patterns looked a lot better on graph paper than knitted up.
As for my sister's sweater, I didn't think the colour combination was that succesful when it was new, but I like it now. The lingonberry pattern is from one of the books that belonged to my grandmother, but the sweater shape is my own. A detail I remember fondly is that it was one of the first times I used a picot edge.
I haven't seen them for quite a few years; the one to the right had been missing for years when my mother recently discovered it in a box in her basement and I don't see Martin that often after he and my sister split up some ten years ago. (Shortly after he got this sweater, come to think of it - surely that must be a coincidence! Unless there was some kind of Curse of the Green Sweater.)
Anyway, I was very pleased to see them again: I like them a lot better than expected. I remember Martin's sweater didn't turn out the way I had hoped, that I thought the patterns looked a lot better on graph paper than knitted up. Today I like the patterns, especially details like the cuffs, which I had forgotten completely. I was inspired by the Russian sweater from Unskijposad in Uuve Snidare's book about fishermen's sweaters, although this is far simpler. Echoes from the Russian sweater are the horizontal borders with lines between, and if I may say so myself the two patterns blend nicely across the lines (which was what I wanted to achieve).
Sunday, 17 April 2011
White shawl finished
Of the shawls I've made since I first tried lace knitting some five years ago this is the one I like best, almost so much I want to wear it myself!
If I had only known earlier how much fun it is to make shawls I would have given it a try long before. I do like the challenge of making sweaters, joining the different parts into a unity, but it is also nice not having any seaming to do, very few loose ends to take care of and no real worries about size.
I think the "Cyprus" border from Victorian Lace Today turned out very nice after blocking. As mentioned in a previous post I changed it from garter to stocking stitch.
Comments on my previous post made me smile and laugh, not least christinelaennec's suggestion the curtains had morphed to match my sweater :-D Thanks, everyone!
If I had only known earlier how much fun it is to make shawls I would have given it a try long before. I do like the challenge of making sweaters, joining the different parts into a unity, but it is also nice not having any seaming to do, very few loose ends to take care of and no real worries about size.
Comments on my previous post made me smile and laugh, not least christinelaennec's suggestion the curtains had morphed to match my sweater :-D Thanks, everyone!
Thursday, 14 April 2011
A perfect match
This is rather worrying: it suddenly dawned on me I match the kitchen curtains at work! Is there such a thing as Freudian yarn colour choices?
If so, I probably don't want to know more...
Still, I'm more than happy with how this sweater turned out, especially how I changed the pattern of the side panels knitted sideways and blended it with the sleeve pattern.
I'm working on a knitted-on border for the white shawl. It's a modified version of Jane Sowerby's "Cyprus" border for her "Shoulder shawl in Syrian pattern" from Victorian Lace Today.
My modification is simple, namely stocking stitch instead of garter stitch. I'm not very fond of garter stitch, especially not in lace knitting: I want the knitted fabric to be airy, and garter stitch makes it more compact. I also wanted the slight curling effect of stocking stitch.
If so, I probably don't want to know more...
Still, I'm more than happy with how this sweater turned out, especially how I changed the pattern of the side panels knitted sideways and blended it with the sleeve pattern.
I'm working on a knitted-on border for the white shawl. It's a modified version of Jane Sowerby's "Cyprus" border for her "Shoulder shawl in Syrian pattern" from Victorian Lace Today.
My modification is simple, namely stocking stitch instead of garter stitch. I'm not very fond of garter stitch, especially not in lace knitting: I want the knitted fabric to be airy, and garter stitch makes it more compact. I also wanted the slight curling effect of stocking stitch.
Saturday, 9 April 2011
"Jaws" cuffs
Thanks everyone for all your positive comments on my previous post - I appreciate them very, very much!
Ron asked about the cuffs, so here's a photo to show what I did: I took a row of "teeth" from the body (slightly thinner needles) and made it smaller, six stitches wide instead of eight. Then I knitted stranded stripes, cast off loosely and sewed it in place.
One of the many things I love about this yarn, BC Shetlandsuld, is how soft it becomes after washing. It's a bit rough to work with - which is a good thing in my opinion. I'm not very fond of slippery fibres like baby alpaca.
I think Marianne Isager would recognize her design "Andes" from Inca Knits in spite of my modifications, in short:
Ron asked about the cuffs, so here's a photo to show what I did: I took a row of "teeth" from the body (slightly thinner needles) and made it smaller, six stitches wide instead of eight. Then I knitted stranded stripes, cast off loosely and sewed it in place.
One of the many things I love about this yarn, BC Shetlandsuld, is how soft it becomes after washing. It's a bit rough to work with - which is a good thing in my opinion. I'm not very fond of slippery fibres like baby alpaca.
I think Marianne Isager would recognize her design "Andes" from Inca Knits in spite of my modifications, in short:- Colours (completely different, 7 instead of 4, and a slightly different colour sequence).
- Rows knitted sideways on front and back not garter stitch but stranded colourwork.
- Sleeves in stranded colourwork, not garter stitch.
- Neckband split in front to match bottom border splits.
- Cuffs in “tooth” pattern to echo the front and back.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Jaws: the return
Having several projects at a time suits me!
My "Jaws" sweater has been resting for a few weeks; I couldn't make up my mind about the cuffs and therefore started knitting the white shawl I had been thinking about while knitting "Jaws".
It's the other way around now: I'm not sure how to frame the white shawl yet, but had made up my mind about the sweater cuffs while knitting the main part of the shawl. When the sweater is finished I will hopefully know how to finish the shawl.
If not, I could always start something new!
There are a few dangling ends to weave in before washing and blocking the sweater, but it is practically done. Unfortunately, the photo is blurred, but I guess it's better than no photo.
I changed the collar by splitting it in front; this was to echo the bottom border. I wanted a line in a contrasting colour but couldn't decide whether I preferred red or yellow, so I surprised myself by having both. A small step for a man, but for a control freak in favour of symmetry a giant leap!
My "Jaws" sweater has been resting for a few weeks; I couldn't make up my mind about the cuffs and therefore started knitting the white shawl I had been thinking about while knitting "Jaws".
It's the other way around now: I'm not sure how to frame the white shawl yet, but had made up my mind about the sweater cuffs while knitting the main part of the shawl. When the sweater is finished I will hopefully know how to finish the shawl.
If not, I could always start something new!
There are a few dangling ends to weave in before washing and blocking the sweater, but it is practically done. Unfortunately, the photo is blurred, but I guess it's better than no photo.
I changed the collar by splitting it in front; this was to echo the bottom border. I wanted a line in a contrasting colour but couldn't decide whether I preferred red or yellow, so I surprised myself by having both. A small step for a man, but for a control freak in favour of symmetry a giant leap!
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Cries and Whispers
One "wing" done, so the shape is clearer now. This shawl is actually very much like what I had in mind, which hardly ever happens. There's usually quite a big difference between project-in-mind and project-in-reality, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.
An example of the latter is this cardigan I made for my sister some ten years ago. The two colours looked great when I held the skeins together, but knitted they ate each other up, and you can barely see the pattern. Stripes would have worked, but not this kind of pattern.
What irritates me most about it is that I saw what was happening and still refused to see it, hoping (as far as I can remember) that blocking would make a difference. Not very realistic... Still, I'm happy with that cardigan because my sister likes it. Recipients' reactions can make quite a difference!
Edited to add: the photo of the white shawl against the red background suddenly made me think of a beautiful but deeply unnerving Ingmar Bergman movie that has haunted me since I first saw it quite a few years ago. Perhaps I should rename the shawl "Viskningar och rop"? (English title: Cries and Whispers.)
An example of the latter is this cardigan I made for my sister some ten years ago. The two colours looked great when I held the skeins together, but knitted they ate each other up, and you can barely see the pattern. Stripes would have worked, but not this kind of pattern.
What irritates me most about it is that I saw what was happening and still refused to see it, hoping (as far as I can remember) that blocking would make a difference. Not very realistic... Still, I'm happy with that cardigan because my sister likes it. Recipients' reactions can make quite a difference!
Edited to add: the photo of the white shawl against the red background suddenly made me think of a beautiful but deeply unnerving Ingmar Bergman movie that has haunted me since I first saw it quite a few years ago. Perhaps I should rename the shawl "Viskningar och rop"? (English title: Cries and Whispers.)
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Caught blue-handed
I'm helping a colleague adding sleeves to the cardigan she is knitting. Not only my hands are proof of surplus dye: you can also see the difference between the sleeve cap I have made and the body, which she made and washed before handing the project to me.
I like sleeve caps but I also like knitted-on sleeves, so I'm experimenting with different ways to combine the two using short rows. There's a detailed description in this post.
I like sleeve caps but I also like knitted-on sleeves, so I'm experimenting with different ways to combine the two using short rows. There's a detailed description in this post.
Friday, 25 March 2011
Breaking promises
The shawl is a true joy to knit, so I'm making fast progress! About 2/3 done so far.
A few weeks ago I went through my stash and discovered there was far more than I thought - even though I tried to exaggerate! A familiar phenomenon, anyone? This made me decide to try (note "try"!) not to buy any more yarn this year. Complete failure. Not unexpected, but it happened sooner than I thought.
First, I discovered Sannstick's sale: Lucca Fino Tweed from BC, yarn that I've used once before and really liked - and which won't be made anymore. What could I do but get enough yarn for two sweaters, blue and yellow?
Then I had a great evening with Born to knit a couple of days ago. Her knitting library is incredible, rare Alice Starmore books, lots of vintage books and magazines... She also showed me some of her sweaters, and I was particularly impressed with her Starmore design Henry VIII; it is certainly a sweater I'm going to make some day, but I felt it was high time to give in to my ca-ten-year-old desire to get my top favourite Starmore design Alba. So I did. Anticipation...
Some things are so easily done!
A few weeks ago I went through my stash and discovered there was far more than I thought - even though I tried to exaggerate! A familiar phenomenon, anyone? This made me decide to try (note "try"!) not to buy any more yarn this year. Complete failure. Not unexpected, but it happened sooner than I thought.
Then I had a great evening with Born to knit a couple of days ago. Her knitting library is incredible, rare Alice Starmore books, lots of vintage books and magazines... She also showed me some of her sweaters, and I was particularly impressed with her Starmore design Henry VIII; it is certainly a sweater I'm going to make some day, but I felt it was high time to give in to my ca-ten-year-old desire to get my top favourite Starmore design Alba. So I did. Anticipation...
Some things are so easily done!
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Spring feelings
Spring may be here at long last: does an instant urge to air sweaters count as a kind of spring feeling?
Today I'm going to write seven things about myself as promised in my previous post. First, two things I look forward to this week:
Seeing fellow knitter and blogger Born to knit tonight. We first met live about a year and a half ago after getting acquainted thanks to the internet.
A concert on Sunday with Dee Dee Bridgewater, a favourite singer I'm going to get to enjoy live for the fourth time. I love her gorgeous, rich voice (she can sound like anything from a caress to a grater), her way with lyrics, athletic scat singing, interaction with musicians and her sense of humour - all of which plus some present in this version of "Love for Sale". (It takes about 1½ minute before she actually starts singing.)
Through her albums, Dee Dee's singing is knitted into many of the things I've made since I first heard her some ten years ago.
Last, five favourite tastes, simply because I can't think of anything better to write about: lemon, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and pomegranate.
Today I'm going to write seven things about myself as promised in my previous post. First, two things I look forward to this week:
Seeing fellow knitter and blogger Born to knit tonight. We first met live about a year and a half ago after getting acquainted thanks to the internet.
A concert on Sunday with Dee Dee Bridgewater, a favourite singer I'm going to get to enjoy live for the fourth time. I love her gorgeous, rich voice (she can sound like anything from a caress to a grater), her way with lyrics, athletic scat singing, interaction with musicians and her sense of humour - all of which plus some present in this version of "Love for Sale". (It takes about 1½ minute before she actually starts singing.)
Through her albums, Dee Dee's singing is knitted into many of the things I've made since I first heard her some ten years ago.
Last, five favourite tastes, simply because I can't think of anything better to write about: lemon, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and pomegranate.
Friday, 18 March 2011
Shawl shape
Today I thought I'd share my ideas for the shape of my current shawl project. I want a V shape made up of three equally big sections: the middle/bottom one filled with stars, and the wings with grids similar to the centre of the previous Estonian shawl I made.
You can see a tiny sketch of the shape in the centre of the photo, and in the upper right corner is the start of the grid pattern. The shawl will be framed with a knitted-on border, but I haven't made up my mind about what kind of pattern to use. No need to decide yet, though...
Christine has passed on an award to me, a Stylish award, which is very flattering. Thank you! I'm supposed to write seven things about myself. That will require some thinking, so I'm saving that for next post. In the meantime, I suggest you check out her blog and the other bloggers she nominated.
Last, I'm going to answer a couple of questions in comments on a previous post:
Ron asked about the yarn. It's "Viva" from Wetterhoff in Finland, easily my favourite yarn for knitting lace. It's a glorious wool-silk blend (70-30%) and 100 grams is enough for a big shawl. It drapes beautifully thanks to the silk, and it has a sheen that enhances lace patterns. I just counted my "Viva" projects on Ravelry: this is my tenth since I first discovered more or less exactly two years ago. For most of them I've used 4 mm needles (US 6), but after some swatching I decided 3½ mm (US 4) worked best to make Estonian nupp patterns.
Ann asked about the edge. I simply slip the first stitch, as if to knit on the right side and as if to purl on the wrong side. I find this makes it easy to pick up stitches for a knitted-on border, and at the same time it looks nice enough in case I don't have enough yarn for a border and the shawl has to be naked. (Shock horror!)
Ron also asked about the green shawl I mentinoned in a previous post. It hasn't found an owner yet, but I have a friend's friend in mind. I understand she'd be interested in having one, and I believe it would be a great colour for her.
Edited to add: I just learnt a new word I could relate to instantly, namely shawlcoholic! Liisa's pun sjalkoholist is even better in Swedish, but I think it works in English too.
You can see a tiny sketch of the shape in the centre of the photo, and in the upper right corner is the start of the grid pattern. The shawl will be framed with a knitted-on border, but I haven't made up my mind about what kind of pattern to use. No need to decide yet, though...
Christine has passed on an award to me, a Stylish award, which is very flattering. Thank you! I'm supposed to write seven things about myself. That will require some thinking, so I'm saving that for next post. In the meantime, I suggest you check out her blog and the other bloggers she nominated.
Last, I'm going to answer a couple of questions in comments on a previous post:
Ron asked about the yarn. It's "Viva" from Wetterhoff in Finland, easily my favourite yarn for knitting lace. It's a glorious wool-silk blend (70-30%) and 100 grams is enough for a big shawl. It drapes beautifully thanks to the silk, and it has a sheen that enhances lace patterns. I just counted my "Viva" projects on Ravelry: this is my tenth since I first discovered more or less exactly two years ago. For most of them I've used 4 mm needles (US 6), but after some swatching I decided 3½ mm (US 4) worked best to make Estonian nupp patterns.
Ann asked about the edge. I simply slip the first stitch, as if to knit on the right side and as if to purl on the wrong side. I find this makes it easy to pick up stitches for a knitted-on border, and at the same time it looks nice enough in case I don't have enough yarn for a border and the shawl has to be naked. (Shock horror!)
Ron also asked about the green shawl I mentinoned in a previous post. It hasn't found an owner yet, but I have a friend's friend in mind. I understand she'd be interested in having one, and I believe it would be a great colour for her.
Edited to add: I just learnt a new word I could relate to instantly, namely shawlcoholic! Liisa's pun sjalkoholist is even better in Swedish, but I think it works in English too.
Monday, 14 March 2011
To rip or not to rip
My intention was to write a post about whether I should rip 2½ rows to add a nupp I forgot to make, but it's too late now. Instead, I'm going to write about why I did :)
1. I never liked mistakes in my knitting, and even though I've grown more tolerant over the years I don't want to keep major flaws. A nupp missing makes a mutilated star.
2. For a while I toyed with the idea of making a "nupp prosthesis" - it could be a good challenge trying to make one afterwards and get it to blend in with the others. On the other hand it might not work, and I was too eager to make progress to start nupp swatching.
3. An hour or so spent ripping out and reknitting a few rows (even if they're rather long) is far less time than years or possibly a lifetime source of irritation I didn't correct a mistake I discovered fairly quickly. I know myself: one of my sweaters has an ugly flaw that I told myself might disappear during blocking... Instead it stood out even more clearly!
4. I tried telling myself a nupp missing is a scandalously ridiculous thing to think about considering the recent disasters in Japan and New Zealand, what's happening in Libya and other countries etc etc... Still, it's as if I just can't help following my knitting instincts.
Ann and Ron: I will get back with answers to your questions!
1. I never liked mistakes in my knitting, and even though I've grown more tolerant over the years I don't want to keep major flaws. A nupp missing makes a mutilated star.
2. For a while I toyed with the idea of making a "nupp prosthesis" - it could be a good challenge trying to make one afterwards and get it to blend in with the others. On the other hand it might not work, and I was too eager to make progress to start nupp swatching.
3. An hour or so spent ripping out and reknitting a few rows (even if they're rather long) is far less time than years or possibly a lifetime source of irritation I didn't correct a mistake I discovered fairly quickly. I know myself: one of my sweaters has an ugly flaw that I told myself might disappear during blocking... Instead it stood out even more clearly!
4. I tried telling myself a nupp missing is a scandalously ridiculous thing to think about considering the recent disasters in Japan and New Zealand, what's happening in Libya and other countries etc etc... Still, it's as if I just can't help following my knitting instincts.
Ann and Ron: I will get back with answers to your questions!
Friday, 11 March 2011
Crown Prince shawl no 2
Since I finished my first Estonian shawl I have been thinking about different ways to use the patterns in a different shawl shape. Well, I started thinking about it while knitting the first one. I'm usually most excited about my next project, which I surely have in common with many if not most knitters.
I'm very happy with how the first shawl turned out, but the almost square shape doesn't seem very practical to me: to wear it comfortably you'd have to fold it to make a triangle and then the pattern will disappear.
This time my plan is to combine the star pattern from Nancy Bush's book (which I love, both to knit and to look at) with small groups of nupps in a V-shaped shawl, a shape I tested knitting last year.
My "Jaws" sweater is resting for a while. I've knitted the sleeves but haven't decided how to knit the cuffs. I will probably repeat the coloured triangles from the body but am not quite sure exactly how.
I'm very happy with how the first shawl turned out, but the almost square shape doesn't seem very practical to me: to wear it comfortably you'd have to fold it to make a triangle and then the pattern will disappear.
This time my plan is to combine the star pattern from Nancy Bush's book (which I love, both to knit and to look at) with small groups of nupps in a V-shaped shawl, a shape I tested knitting last year.
My "Jaws" sweater is resting for a while. I've knitted the sleeves but haven't decided how to knit the cuffs. I will probably repeat the coloured triangles from the body but am not quite sure exactly how.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Comparing Russian sweaters, part 2
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about one of my modifications when I reknitted my all-time favourite sweater design from Uuve Snidare's Fishermen's Sweaters.
The red version (which I finished in 1992) has a vertical red line from hip to armhole, which is where the row starts. It is convenient, and I rather like how it looks even though the pattern isn't symmetrical on each side of it.What I like less about it is that it sort of pulls, unlike the other side. (It's a similar thing with the sleeves, but I don't mind it that the red sleeve "seam" pulls slightly.)
The armholes aren't shaped in the original version, which leads to a lot of excess fabric under the arms. (And extra perspiration, I'm afraid!) I shaped them in my russet sweater knitted a couple of years ago.
Also, I added a side pattern. When I got to the armholes I put those stitches on a safety pin, cast on new stitches for a steek, and later picked them up along with stitches around the armhole to knit the sleeve.
The red/russet "ribbons" are knitted separately and sewn on. I've become better at sewing over the years! In my new sweater I made them shorter so it's evident the side pattern continues uninterrupted from hip to wrist.
Evident to those interested in investigating my armholes, that is.
The red version (which I finished in 1992) has a vertical red line from hip to armhole, which is where the row starts. It is convenient, and I rather like how it looks even though the pattern isn't symmetrical on each side of it.What I like less about it is that it sort of pulls, unlike the other side. (It's a similar thing with the sleeves, but I don't mind it that the red sleeve "seam" pulls slightly.)
The armholes aren't shaped in the original version, which leads to a lot of excess fabric under the arms. (And extra perspiration, I'm afraid!) I shaped them in my russet sweater knitted a couple of years ago.
Also, I added a side pattern. When I got to the armholes I put those stitches on a safety pin, cast on new stitches for a steek, and later picked them up along with stitches around the armhole to knit the sleeve.
The red/russet "ribbons" are knitted separately and sewn on. I've become better at sewing over the years! In my new sweater I made them shorter so it's evident the side pattern continues uninterrupted from hip to wrist.
Evident to those interested in investigating my armholes, that is.
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