holidays

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas-time. I did.



Almost two weeks of family, friends, gifts, lots of food (with minimal cooking on my behalf), films, knitting and a mountain of chocolate. It sure was wonderful, but it's as nice to be finally back home.



Our little gifts included some knitted hats and scarves (of which the one for my husband is my favorite) and a simple calendar for next year. So only hand-made gifts this year - maybe next year i won't do everything myself...

hats

After finishing my plain and simple sweater and casting on two rather big projects, i found myself dreaming of a new hat. Now three days later i have knitted two new hats, but i'm not completely happy about them.


Berets have been my thing for a long time now and finding quick and easy pattern for one made me cast on. My gauge was way off, but i liked the look of it so i figured i could easily adjust everything while knitting. Somehow that was not the case... First it was too small, then too big and now (after finishing) it's just too fluffy (or something).

Pattern: A Country Beret by Erssie Major
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donegal Chunky Tweed
Needles: 6,0 mm


The other hat is a sweet and easy beanie. I love the woolen yarn that i used in my drops-jacket and had some left, so this was a perfect project for it. I love the fishbone-pattern in this beanie and simply adore it in this shiny gray color. Even though it is slightly too big for me, i love this hat!


Pattern: Pescovegetarian Beanie by Veera Villapuu
Yarn: Reused wool
Needles: 6,0 mm

plain and simple

Finally! It's done.


I like this sweater, it's not exactly what i dreamed of but it's kind of nice. I like the collar with those buttons, i like the length and i love the color. Maybe it could have been better with different and a lot thicker yarn.


Pattern: My own improvisation.
Needles: 3 mm and 2,5 mm
Yarn: teetee Kamena

a treasure

Yesterday i was doing a lot of household chores, a lot of rather boring everyday basics (which i some day just don't find so appealing). But then i found a real treasure when i was taking out all the trash. How could anyone have thrown out such a classy metallic airplane?



Knitting? Well, all my projects just refuse to finish. I've been knitting things over and over again, making stupid mistakes and trying to get everything perfect...

cake

We (i) did bake a cake. It was a disaster, even though my husband liked it. That was a good thing.


Otherwise it was too wet, too sweet and absolutely too yellow. I should stick with my needles and hooks. The recipe looks wonderful as well as the pictures, found it from Orangette.

gift

Fathers day is approaching, and fast. We have a lot planned for this whole weekend, and for Sunday especially - but mainly nothing to celebrate fathers day. So i did think about a quick gift, found some nice rough yarn (left from a project) and crocheted these ancient-feeling fingerless mittens for my husband.

Pattern: improvised
Yarn: Sandnes Garn Smart
Hook: 4,5 mm


Maybe we should also bake him a cake or something. Do you happen to know any special recipes? With chocolate, maybe?

Have a happy and sweet weekend.

costumes

Yesterday we got a sudden invitation to a sort-of Halloween dinner. I thought we could sew something nice (and comfy) to wear, at least for the little boys.




My 3 year old insisted that he wanted to be a Recycle-Matti (like his little lego road-sweeper guy). Well, that was his choice and not much for me to argue... I took my old sweater (which was felted a bit in the washing machine earlier), shortened the sleeves, slimmed from the seams and added a fun recycle-logo to the back. Since i still had time, i made also that "elfish" cap.


For my smaller boy I got to make the decision and dragon he was! I made this hoodie measuring from his shirt an it turned out great. I've always thought that hoods are challenging, but this was perfect. (Sheer luck!) And good thing I have such a big stash of fabrics...

high water

Nice autumn we have here. Quite wet, not too cold (yet) and extremely dark, or so it feels at least.

Mittens

I needed mittens and have seen most beautiful pictures of Elizabeth Zimmermanns Mitered Mittens. On Ravelry, naturally. I searched trough my stash and decided to go for bulky. Nice yarns i found, tough holding them together made my mittens super-bulky... So i'm hoping for real winter and if we don't get that, i can at least use them as oven mitts. (I only need to weave loose ends and block a bit and they'll done.)


Pattern: copied from pictures of Elizabeth Zimmermanns Mitered Mittens, i didn't have the original pattern.
Yarn: Gjestal Naturgarn no. 1 and unknown sockyarn held together
Needles: 6,0 mm dpns

japanese inspiration

Shoji Ueda: Papa, Mama and Children, 1949.

We visited Ateneum Art Museum. There was - among others - an exhibition of photography from Japan, Black and White, Classics of Japanese Photography. The whole exhibition was touching, but mostly i was drawn to Shoji Uedas pictures. There was magic in them, something between real and surreal, sadness and happiness. Like there only is a thin line inbetween.

short sleeved or a vest?

Is there a difference between a cardigan with extremely short sleeves and a vest? Vest seems a bit unfashionable at the moment, so I go for short sleeved. I loved to knit this project - easy enough to knit in front of television, but still there's something special.

This might be the first self made cardi/vest I really love to wear. The yarn is great too, warm enough even for colder days. I didn't follow the pattern this time either, but who does?

Pattern: 105-9 jacket with lace pattern and raglan sleeve by DROPS design
Yarn: DROPS Silke-Tweed
Needles: 3,5 mm

sweet baby

Pattern: Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap / Djevellue by Gro
Yarn: DROPS Silke-Tweed
Needles: 3,0 mm


I love this pattern as well! Easily followed and very simple. Simple seems to suit me well... The yarn is maybe a bit harsh, but it has a nice texture and 52% silk can never be wrong! The cap is a gift for a friend and all i have to do now, is wait for the sweet baby to arrive!

into the woods

I have been oddly interested in mushrooms, or actually all kinds of fungus found in our backyard. Maybe it's the autumn-feeling.

cardigan for cold days ahead

Welcome fall and cold, windy days! We are prepared.

Pattern: nagasaku's top down garter stitch yoke vest, with modifications (sleeves for example...)
Yarn: O-Wool Classic
Needles: 5.0 mm

I really love this pattern, its simplicity and beauty. I think I would like to knit something similar for myself!