strik i skumringen

I was just browsing patterns at Ravelry and it made me think about how my use of that particular site has changed. I am now far more likely to use it proactively than I was at the beginning.

Before casting on for a project I have a look at what others have done.

Before buying yarn on sale I have a look at what others have used it for - and which yarns it might substitute and how they in turn have been used.

I am making an effort to update my stash (it’ll take a while) and my library, both for organizational purposes and for having handy shortcuts when I want to be inspired.

Once that is done I think I’ll weed out my Queue and my Favorites to make them more usable to me. And make some changes to the tags I use and how I use them.

Hmm, maybe I’m beginning to miss the library a little after all.

Things are slowly returning to a closer to normal state. And to celebrate that I managed to get downtown and join the rest of the gang for the usual Tuesday Knitting. It was great.

I brought the baby so the actual knitting progress wasn’t impressive but it was great seeing everyone again.

And the knitted Fiona’s Top I brought was used on the way home. It isn’t summer yet.

Normally, I don’t have a problem parsing written patterns at all. Getting started on Pine proved to be quite difficult but I can hardly blame the pattern for me being less-good at brioche stitch. Nevermind, I have passed the line of “having to rip out and start over because I missed something” and it seems to be easy enough from here on. Good thing I’m doing it in a hard-wearing New Zealand wool though

The lace cardigan is done and has been since before my broken wrist. I still need to sew on a few more buttons I think and give it a vinegar rinse but other than that it’s done.

Fiona’s top is almost done as well. I need to sew it up, get two buttons for it, and make the model cooperate. The Isager Alpaca 2 was a dream to knit with.

And then I passed out on the 14th (I got up too fast) and broke my left wrist.

It’s a Colles Fracture Type II and I’m in a cast till the 17th

So we’ve set up camp on the living room floor so I won’t have to carry the baby anywhere. And my Fiona’s Top is on hold. My mother did show me how to knit with one hand but I think it’ll mess with the tension.

For my birthday my husband got me the Amimono booklet and (although I’d told him not to) some Isager yarn.

The yarn will not be used for anything from the booklet though. Rather, it is going to become a dress and a cardigan for the baby. I’ve decided on Sanne B’s designs and got them promptly today when I ordered them. Great service and very sweet designs.

I’ve almost finished a cardigan in a nice blue wool as well. During naptime I finished sewing on the lace border, so now I just have to weave in ends, block it lightly and get some buttons for it. I think I’ll go with mother of pearl for a soft, retro look.

A big one this time.

And somewhat belated. Dicte was born on the 2nd of February at 8.22 in the morning.

And she is plumping up already:

Being on maternity leave leaves time for things that the Danish winter doesn’t really leave room for if you work full-time. Such as taking progress shots. And shots of FOs.

There’s been more knitting going on lately, though I cannot begin to hope to match my mother when it comes to productivity. She’s celebrating her impending new status by knitting lots of woolly underthings for the kangaroo.

I have knitted various items. Djævlehuen is a must of course. This is the bringing home version. I’ll probably make a couple more in various sizes. The pattern is from Blød Begyndelse and is really good because it consits of only two rows.

I’ve made a pair of pants, and some soakers . The latter still need some extra lanolin.

I’ve also made some vests, and what my mother insists used to be called a Felini-jacket or something like that.

A Tomten jacket - love that one. Although I haven’t finished it yet. I’m not quite sure how I want to sew up the sleeves.

As for the WIPs, there are socks and a sleepsack and various other items.

For myself I’ve made a bolero from Ysolda. Pics will have to wait till I get my body back

I’ve bought Kauni for a cardigan and some linen yarn for a skirt and perhaps a top for summer. I am also knitting a woolly cardigan for myself. It’s taken from Klassisk Vintage Strik that was a booklet that came with Hendes Verden (a Ladies Journal) last year. The yarn is a bit scratchy but the color is lovely and it was languishing as part of a halfway finished Rogue that I’d never get done. I had to knit it with an alpaca yarn to match the tension and it was just getting too bulky and too warm.

So much to knit, so little time. Especially when it comes to baby stuff. Seeing as how it can be any day now.

It’s been quiet on the blogging front. And on the knitting front. I got pregnant in May and have been even more prone to dooze off than normally, something that’s really put a dent in my knitting time.

However, things are slowly turning around now and I’ve picked up the pointy sticks again. And what am I knitting? Baby clothes. People seem to expect that you do that in this situation – myself (occasionally) included.

I did find a ridicously cheap Navia kit for fingerless mittens on sale that I plan to knit for myself, but all other things have been put on hold in favor of old-fashioned woolly vests, a baby surprise jacket (though I’m not sure whether the yarn is really working with that particular pattern), tiny socks and so on. Maybe a blanket if I can find one that won’t bore me to death.

I’ve been reseraching options when it comes to yarn with a high lanolin content and I have found a couple of Danish sellers that seem good. I’ve been toying with the idea of cloth diapering and if we do go that route I’ll need suitable woolly pants.

I haven’t blocked it yet, but I did take care of all the loose ends.

Slå-Om Vest (Wrap-Around Vest) with a choice of pins.

More pictures after the cut.

Continue reading Done

I was bad last weekend. I was unfaithful.

But I had good reason. See, I was almost done with my ribbed vest. I just lacked the last third of the back and the blocking and sewing. But then it got really warm and it’s no fun sitting with your hands full of wool when it’s really hot outside.

So I cast on for the Shapely Tank in a cool, light blue cotton yarn.

I made all sorts of excuses last night at Knitting Club since I had sort of promised to be wearing it. At that point the only thing left was casting off. One of the others mentioned that it seemed like I was [overspringshandling] and she was probably right. Sewing the last sticth and slipping a garment on can – to me at least – be somewhat anxiety inducing. Because I want the finished product to look good. On me. In bathroom lightning. And sometimes that just isn’t the way it works.

Now all I have left is the seaming. It’ll be done tomorrow.