Summer knitting

Last summer was so hot that it was impossible to wear any woolly knitted garments. Not a real problem, only a bit boring as I missed wearing my knitted lovelies and really missed knitting. Consequently I had to try out some new yarns. I’d dabbled with cotton and bamboo before but wasn’t overly impressed. In my experience they’re both too close to wool which I found much superior in both feel and texture that it didn’t seem worth the lesser knitting experience and the splitting yarn. To me wool is pretty much what knitting is all about. But in the heat of summer I was missing knitting and decided to try linen, a fairly common yarn here in Sweden. I bought two shades of Swedish Karin Obergs Kalinka, a 100% linen yarn in fingering weight and knitted Vasa by Dianna Walla. The pattern called for a merino fingering and as I stuck to the pattern the linen fabric wasn’t quite as tight as the merino, but I really like how it turned out and the drape of the fabric. It’s nice and cool on a hot day. I’m also very fond of the simple design of the garment.

 

I really enjoyed knitting with linen but even more so I enjoy wearing it as it’s very comfortable against the skin. A perfect summer yarn!

Pattern: Vasa by Dianna Walla
Yarn: Karin Oberg Kalinka in blue and lilac
Needle size: 3 mm                                                                                                                            Link to ravelry project page

Stashbusting – getting creative with Featherweight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can hardly believe it is true but after nearly five (5!) years I have finally knitted up the yarn I bought at knitcamp in Stirling the summer of 2010 – with only a couple of inches of yarn to spare. At the time I was on the hunt for something green. After searching high and low for the right colour I finally chose three skeins of manos silk blend Augusta (4635), a variegated yarn in green and white. A novice knitter at the time, I was attracted to the changes in colour and the incredible softness of the yarn.

Once I started knitting I couldn’t decide on a pattern. I felt a jumper would look to busy so I started to look for a cardigan and decided on Veera Välimäki’s Hooray cardigan. I just about completed the cardigan, which I still feel is lovely and probably will knit in a different yarn, but the reverse stockinette and cables did not work with the yarn at hand. I blame my stubborness for not realising this before finishing and I’m grateful that I was brave enough to frog it in favour of a much simpler design. The silk blend is incredibly soft and I got obsessed with the idea of being able to wrap myself in it. A modified Featherweight would be perfect! I had previously knitted two different version of the same pattern, both in lace weight. One following the pattern and one with larger front pieces. As the thicker fabric of the silk blend didn’t drape quite as easily as the lace I chose to add snap buttons at the top. The result is a light, warm and soft cardigan. It is knitted in one piece, including the edging, from the bottom up using the stitch count for a size XS. Each front piece has the same number of stitches as the back.

Pattern: Featherweight by Hannah Fettig
Yarn: Manos del Uruquay silk blend 4635
Needlesize: 4mm                                                                                                                            Link to ravelry project page

Color Affection

Comfort knitting. Miles and miles of garter stitch. Perhaps not the most challenging knitting but easily achieved in front of the telly on those dark and long February evenings. And surprisingly quick. I’m happy with the result. color affection by Veera Välimäki is very comfortable and the yarn drapes beautifully.

The yarn is all yarnpony. A soft gray cashmere mix and a lush burgundy merino. The two skeins complement the skein I dyed at one of her workshops. When selecting the colours I was hoping the colours would shift fairly seamlessly from shades of gray to rich burgundy and I think it worked. I think my color affection will get a lot if wear this winter.

A second featherweight

I never thought I would say this, but I have now completed not one but two cardigans in lace weight yarn. A slightly modified version of the featherweight by Hannah Fettig I knitted for my mum, also in Fyberspates Scrumtious lace (this one in teal). It’s amazing what one can achieve from one skein, or 1km, of silk weight yarn. Knitted from the bottom up, I extended the sleeves and front pieces and made the ribbed edges around the neck and on the front slightly shorter. I was holding my breath I bound off as I with this modified version with larger front pieces ending up with a mere few yards to spare.

I’m enjoying wearing the cardigan. It is truly as light as a feather and the silk/merino mix makes it as warm as any chunky cardigan but without the heavy weight. It is very comfortable and I think the yarn drapes beautifully. And all at the bargain price of £4 from a Leith walk thrift store.

     

     

Embroidered baby gifts

I made some embroidered vests for my friend’s baby. To prevent the stitch from pulling and ruining the fabric I ironed interfacing to the back of the vests.

 

For some embroidery advice hop over to embroidery queen Wendy Gratz’ guest post over at Made By Joel’s blog.

Edinburgh Yarn Festival – the overdue blog post

A long overdue blog post about Edinburgh Yarn Festival that came and went quicker than you can say Indiana Jones. If you haven’t already, do check over at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival blog to take a look at our photo album.

Big sheep Wee sheep. The Pom Pom sheep created by visitors in collaboration with CraftReactor

I had a wonderful time, and was slightly overwhelmed, meeting all the talented and enthusiastic knitters, some of which came baring gifts:

I received some  gorgeous swiss biscuits from knitter and volunteer Sigi (who is also the maker of these amazing recycled bags) and a set of beautifully handmade envelopes from Louisa of Cathnesscraft collective fame. Listen to Louisa’s podcast about EdinYarnFest which features a brief conversation we had on the day and an interveiw with Karina Westermann (Kari Bookish) who taught on the day but is perhaps better known for her lovely knitwear designs. Thank you! Such a treat! 🙂

At the end of the day I walked away, exhausted but incredibly happy, with a mere skein of Old Maiden Aunt Corridale 4ply. The ‘Aniseed’ colour complements the teal coloured corridale I dyed at a workshop at the Old Maiden Aunt studio many months ago and I’m currently combining the two to finish off my Larch cardigan.

Tired girl wearing a CraftyAlly bag at the end of the day

Thank you to everybody who came along on the day and to all of you who helped to make this day so memorable!

The Edinburgh Yarn Festival was captured elsewhere by other bloggers:

Roobeedoo
Creating Ruth
Woollie Mind
Kristenmakes
Oranges & Apples
Yarn For The Road
Blue Blue Grey
Chatiryworld
Yarn Poetry Bliss
Stitch Mastery
Fourth-Edition
YarnPony

Featherweight

I’m so pleased to be able to say that the Featherweight I’ve been knitting for my mum is finally finished (blogged here). And she loves it! I think it will be perfect for the slightly cooler summer days or evenings. It’s been a bit of a slog, partly because I decided to up the size right after I completed the body, but it is so pretty that I might very well knit it again!

It was knitted in Fyberspates Merino Silk Lace in colour way Day (80% merion, 20% silk). A yarn that I believe sadly has been discontinued. The yarn is soft and the colour subtle. Beautiful!

Hannah Fettig is such a wonderful designer. I adore her simple designs many of which are in my queue including June’s Favorite Cardigan and Effortless Cardigan.

 

Shop update with a wee Easter special..

We survived Edinburgh Yarn Festival! Did you come? It was incredibly busy, and it was absolutely fabulous to meet so many passionate and knowledgable knitters and wool people right here in Edinburgh. More on that in a separate blog post.

With less time spent organising festivals and more time crafting I have had a chance to  update my etsy shop. There is a whole heap of knitting project bags and notion bags in a range of spring colours and I have also added a new range of linen bags with hand embroidered animals. Timely with the Easter break I will also offer an Easter Special. During the Easter weekend (March 29th – April 1st inclusive) there will be no postage on UK orders.

There are tote bags and draw-string bags large enough to fit a larger knitting project such as a jumper….

… and a range of smaller zip bags that are small enough to easily slip into your hand bag but large enough to fit a pair of socks or a smallish jumper (I’m keeping my featherweight in one of these at the moment). Good to know is that they are wide enough to fit dpns.

 

Ta da!

Edinburgh Yarn Festival

If I’ve been a bit quiet over here lately it’s because I’ve been blogging over here. The Edinburgh Yarn Festival is less than a week away and in the midst of all the hard work I’m really excited to be part of it. It is going to be a day of knitting, crochet, spinning, yarn and buttons but most of all a wonderful creative crafting community.

I must be crazy because I decided to also have a stall in the marketplace selling a range of knitting project and notion bags. There will be pattern, embroidery, cotton and linen, rabbits and foxes.

Hope to see you there!

Edinburgh Yarn Festival
16th March 2013
Out of the Blue, Drill Hall
Dalmeny Street
10am-5pm
£2 at the door

(eventually) Flowing Lines

I have been on a strict yarn diet over the last year. I have pretty much only been using yarn from my stash and haven’t been adding much at all. It’s been very satisfactory to watch the stash reduce and to actually be able to see what is in there, forcing myself to be inventive with those odd skeins of 4 ply or dk that were gifted to me some Christmases ago but never seemed enough or felt too special to do anything with. As it turned out I was in desperate need of a long sleeved comfy jumper to wear around the house and as I’m determined not to buy any more yarn until Edinburgh Yarn Festival I once again had to look through my stash, spend hours on ravelry and see what could be achieved with what is now left.

I finally knitted Flowing Lines by Vera Välimäki of rain knitwear designs.

I have long been a fan of Veera’s ever popular designs (particular favourites being the Hooray Cardigan, Color Affection and Gathering Stripes) but had never tried any of her patterns before. I’m attracted to her use of simple shapes and stark designs using both colour and texture. Flowing Lines seemed to do just that. It is a very simple boat neck jumper in reversed stocking stitch and flowing lines created by a simple cable stitch. It is finished now and I love it. It’s really comfortable and incredibly warm. Knitted in New Lanark Donegal Silk Tweed Aran it is just warm enough to be comfy in a drafty Victorian Edinburgh Tenement but too warm to wear in a well insulated restaurant (I tried).

To the untrained eye my Flowing Lines might look remarkably similar to another jumper I knitted in the same yarn. The knit and feel of the finished garments are however completely different. The reversed stocking stitch with only a simple cable stitch creates a much looser fabric that makes this jumper feel much more casual than the Beatnik with its fairly complicated cable pattern that creates so much structure and density to the garment. I love them both.

Generally, Flowing Lines provided an overall a pleasurable knitting experience but with a fairly traumatic beginning. I moaned fairly extensively about this over on ravelry and I think I better keep it there. 😉