More cuffs

I have to stock these cuffs of my own design, they have become popular gifts. See http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/frilly--lacy-wrist-warmers where the pattern can be downloaded.

And another pair:

Rådisar from Kalle K, Kalikå

Plenty of projects have passed my hands this summer, but nothing has been published. It is time to show them off, even if everything isn't knitted. I'll start with the cute rats. The orange one I made before my daughter was born, but this summer she finally started to play with it. Actually, it is not just a toy, it is a sleeping aid too which according to my daughter needed a friend. Sometimes you just have to check your stash when inspiration hits you and there, at the very bottom, some brown velour saw the daylight after a long hibernation. The pattern and instruction is from a book which is out of stock called Kalle K och hans vänner. It is from the shop in Stockholm named Kalikå. The book is a treasure!

What I have been up to?!

In case you wonder if I have stopped knitting?... well no, I haven't :-). I have been up to other things for a couple of months like moving, knitting gifts (Nowegian baby mittens and some lace cuffs). I have also published another lace shawl pattern, the Estonian Butterfly.

At the moment I am designing a new Estonian lace shawl in Grignasco MerinoSilk. Very exciting!

Easter knitting

I had such a nice Easter Holiday! I seldom publish photos of friends or myself on the internet, but this time I'll make an exception. I'll share one with you. Knitting with friends is one of my favourite hobbies. Yes, I know I knit almost every free minute I have, but seldom with friends which is so much more fun. The weather was fine, the company was excellent! To the right, in action, Strikkoman is knitting her vendestrikkjakke. To the left there's me and my Big Butterfly shawl. All lined up in front of my office which dressed up with its Janus Face "Stickarboden" for the occasion (it's just a play with two Swedish words meaning "knit" and "carpenter's workshop").

For Lapariagotte, poncho

Laparigotte,
I will try to describe how to knit the poncho main body by some text and the two pictures below (please note the diagrams are an example I haven't got the Poncho pattern at hand at the moment so please follow the instruction carefully):

The poncho main body is knitted in the quite easy Feather & Fan lace pattern. The front and back section are separated by two plain stitches and on each side of these on every other row you are supposed to increase a stich before and after those (4 stitches in total every other row). As the number of stitches increases more repeats of lace holes and corresponding K2TOG may be inserted. Keep track on the YOs and make sure there is an equal number off K2TOGs else the body will grow or get smaller than it is supposed to.

On the very first lace row the pattern has no decreases at all. It's the "set-up row" as you can read in the Sharon Miller "Heirloom knitting" book, Cobweb crepe shawl pattern frame. Like this:



Therfore the number of stitches increases a lot after the first row. Just mark the centre stitches before you start (make sure the number off stiches match the pattern)and follow the written instruction as many times as you can fit in before you reach the first marked stitch.

* means just a plain knit stitch
o means yarn over

Then the lace rows consist of the basic pattern repeat on every fourth row:


* means just a plain knit stitch
o means yarn over
/ means knit 2 together
\ means slip one knitwise, knit next stitch and pass slipped stitch over the one you just knitted


Good luck! and welcome back if you meet more trouble.

/Knitritious

Butterfly Shawl

Finally I managed to finish my Butterfly Shawl. It has been a UFO for months, I have been knitting and frogging and knitting and frogging. Finally I just decided to get it off the needles. Here it is, an Estonian influenced shawl -My way! I used nupps as pixels to make the big centre butterfly. Very untraditional, naughty me!

Hi Precious!

Welcome back little Tulipa turkestanica! The petals open as the sun rises and in the evening they close again. It's the earliest botanical tulip of all the bulbs I have planted. It'll be followed by many of its relatives: tarda, clusiana, bifolia sylvestris and the humilis varieties.