Thursday, December 17, 2009

more christmas cables


Here we go. I couldn't resist.
I had two skeins left over from my Christmas cables cardi and they turned into this matchy matchy hat. Fun and nice and warm. Now I think I have it all for perfect Christmas, it might be time to think others for a while!


Pattern: my own
Yarn: Hjertegarn Lima
Needles: 5 mm

Sunday, December 13, 2009

christmas cables

Oh, it's December. Christmas is coming and it shows everywhere. Cheery Christmas carols, all the lights, all the waiting. Boys have been playing Santa and his little elf for some time now, and I've had the honour to be the reindeer occasionally.

We've not done much for Christmas, some gingerbread has been baked and that sort of things. But the best thing is my new cardigan. It's so perfect for this time of year - warm, layering and festive with honeycomb cables. And the color grey - I seriously have a thing for grey at the moment. A big thing.


Pattern: my own, and I think I will write up the pattern.
Yarn: Hjertegarn Lima
Needles: 5 mm


Thursday, December 3, 2009

kerrera


Oh, it's December already. Finally I have something to show you, something new. New and oh so great! It's Kerrera-hoodie, by the talented designer Gudrun Johnston.

This was a test knit, but I was one really bad test knitter - we had a nasty flu in our family most of the test knitting period. I wasn't much help for Gudrun. I loved knitting it and the pattern is
really clear and well written.


Pattern: Kerrera by Gudrun Johnston
Yarn: Gjestal Janne
Needles: 5 mm and 5,5 mm

The grey color is perfect but otherwise I'm not happy with my yarn choice - though I liked it after swatching. Even the gauge was spot-on in my swatch. But somehow I managed to get the row gauge wrong in actual knitting and the feeling was a lot different.

Finished hoodie is wonderful, it fits perfectly and it sure will be my winter favorite this year! (It still needs two more buttons to completely finished...)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

the second


We have snow - well more water than snow, but you can still see some white spots here and there. Little O was astonished in the morning: Look mommy, there's crumbs in the air. This might be the perfect time to show you my second design - Modern Garden.

Quickly knitted with super bulky yarn, it's great for winter. Thick, but still flattering. Almost all shaping is done with the leaf motifs and I'm so happy it worked! The pattern is charted, but the carts are so basic that every knitter can knit this.


Happy knitting to all! I hope you enjoy my patterns.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

slowly


Look, there's something new on the sidebar.

It has taken me one whole year to design, knit, write, edit and design a layout for my first pattern. Slowly the good things come, I hope. I loved every single phase in this process. The actual writing was unexpectedly hard for me - finding the right conventions, using the right words, making it clear and getting all the numbers right. But I loved it so much.

What's even better is seeing the finished test knitting pieces. From my pattern. My design. Oh, the feeling when I saw the first. It was hard to believe my eyes, the pullover was gorgeous! All the work really has been worth it.

Thank you dear test knitters for making this possible!

I hope you enjoy the pattern.

Friday, October 30, 2009

against wind


Winter is coming as we reach the end of October. Trees are bare, the breeze is crisp and the days are getting darker day by day. Daylight is a hidden treasure. And the colors fade. It's beautiful to sense this moment, when all the colors are almost diluted to brown and grey and black.


I've made some preparations for winter, against cold and wind and darkness. I've been thinking about new caps and matching cowl for both little men for a while now, but finally I got the perfect idea. Nothing too complicated, garter stitch because I love it and thick yarn. The color is kind of crazy cold (why on earth have I bought yarn in this color?), but I hope it gives winter the same freeze treatment as it gives to us! And keeps little A warm and happy.

Patterns: my own
Yarn: Pirtin Kehräämön Hahtuva - unspun
Needles: 6 mm


Oh, the best thing in the cap is how the garter stitch pulls the front panel slightly upward and makes the cap fit just perfectly!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

white


How is it possible, this bright autumn light? When there's supposed to be yellow and red, I find white and blue and grey. How beautiful is that subtle balance between color and light.

Inspired by all that white light I thought of this simple bag, spent a day - that should have been spent studying - with my sewing machine and love the result.