Not fooling around

As you might now, I spend a lot of my time working at Espace Tricot, the knitting store extraordinaire in Montreal. Also, I have weekly posts on our blog which are hopefully entertaining and informative to the readers.

Now Lisa, Melissa and I are up to more wonderful things - we are co-operating in publishing patterns for you to enjoy! They are featured on our blog and, best of all, free for you!

I am aware that this blog is my 'personal space' but I do put much work and love into my designs, so I want to share them here, too. Have a look at the first: The Ombre Tank, worked in the absolutely beautiful Habu Tsumugi Silk. This yarn is crunchy, summery and yet very soft once blocked. I very much enjoyed working with it.

 

Watch out for more to come! 

New Patterns

If you still follow my blog you know by now that I also blog over here every Monday. Today there are two new patterns available for you, if you feel so inclined.

I seem to feel quite Susie Homemaker at the moment. Here one of my latest baking attempts: Marzipan Muffins.

Shopgirl

Well, yes, that would be me. The girl (ahem, rather: woman) working in a yarn store. Making money by selling lovely yarn, advising people with their knitting...and, most of it: Having time for selfish knitting! Over the last six months I have been knitting for myself more than in six years time. It's fantastic. I'd forgotten how that goes.

This year alone I have knit EIGHT sweaters etc. for myself (not all of them a success, but that's another story) and several other smaller things. Then there are some gifts and store samples...I can't believe I've been that productive and didn't have to give most of it away. Also, I've been choosing fun projects, meaning they were quite a digression from what I would have knit three years ago. FUN!

That's why my designing life got put on hold - more or less. I haven't given up designing, but I think I needed a real break. I won't deny it's hard to go back, but there are some ideas that need attending to!

Egg has been going to daycare since last August, she's loving it and I'm loving that. It's easier to have a life on your own when you know your kid is happy, too.

Life is good. (Apart from the trouble with my teeth. But, honestly, WHO wants to know about that?)

Two of my favourite knits:

Drops Design No 108-33 "Jacket in Lin"

Carol Feller's "Adrift" (Ravelry link) in Noro Sekku

September!!

I know. The blog suffered once again. But a lot has happened chez Knit Stricken, and I had to prioritize.

August was very eventful. A new daycare opened at the corner of our street, and at the same time there was talk of me working part time in a yarn store (Espace Tricot) - so off I went and asked if there was a part time spot available, and it was. Egg is going to daycare three days a week now, and what can I say, I'm still not used to it. Today was especially bad, since she anticipated what was coming and was crying all the way there. Apparently she was not alone in being miserable, half of the kids there were crying, too. (I blame this effing heat. Usually they are all quite content.) I definitely have to get over the 'feeling guilty' part, I am well aware that it is futile. We're always told that she had a great time when either of us picks her up and she usually is happily playing when we arrive. And, while I am working, I don't get the time to think about it too much, so that helps!

I am also going to teach a lot of knitting classes - most of which I haven't taught before and that means a lot of preparation. I'm not saying I can't pull it off, but it is a bit scary. Then again, it's knitting, there's hardly anything else I'd rather talk about. So on to new adventures!

Last but not least, I have a design in the upcoming Twistcollective. Yes, I know it is early to talk about a new issue, but I am so excited about it! I mean, sitting here in this heat it is hard to imagine we will be wearing sweaters again soon.

Nooo, I'm not ready for my close up DAYCARE!!

More love

I don't do this very often, actually it's very rare that I do this, but today I have to.

Because we had an earthquake yesterday and Germany advanced to the next round in the Soccer World Cup, it's St Jean Baptiste and because, well, my ego is pleased:

Turns out I love them even more when you follow the pattern. (Who knew?)

Anyways. I just thought you should know and if you want to knit the Embossed Leaves Socks, too - the pattern is available in my sidebar or in my Ravelry shop.

Back to old crap*

*crap: lovingly used for old WIPs

So, last year in October I decided to cast on for the Featherweight Cardigan (rav link) because it would be so nifty to have a light weight cardi when it was getting colder and it would be the perfect layering piece and...well. Not so much. The cardi was begun in some vintage 2ply yarn, that said 'fingering' on the label, but is definitely lace weight at nowadays standards. I had no idea how much yardage there was, but since it was about 280 grams, I guessed I was safe. (I am, BTW.) Winding it into balls from the skeins it came in was a bitch. The single strands clung to each other as if there was no tomorrow and more than once I had to cut and begin anew. Thanks to a patient husband we made it through all of that was there and I was left with about 260 grams.

As always, the first bout of knitting on a new piece went swimmingly. I don't really know what made me stop, I just did once I reached the underarms and had knit the body more than halfway through. Wait a minute, now writing this I remember: I couldn't decide what kind of rib I wanted to use. Definitely not the 1x1, I don't like that much. 2x2, or any other? See, I couldn't decide. So the "Grünes Fliegengewicht" (rav link) lingered.

Two nights ago I was so pissed off with the design I'm working on that I decided to take a break from it. It's not that the design is bad, I just have to figure out some numbers and need to think about that for a while. So back to the green flyweight I went.

The body is done and one of the sleeves almost. I did a broken garter 2x2 rib, to make it lie almost flat and not pull in as 2x2 rib. The photo was taken before I got to the sleeve, but you get the picture.



Expect a FO soon. Maybe.

This might be too much.

I finished a pair of knee highs for Egg on Sunday. I always try create outfits to show them off, since I think her chubby legs look übercute in them.

Newsboy cap, Allison cardi and Kickers. Darn, I don't have knickerbockers. Well, let's roll up the legs of her jeans, they are a smidgen too short anyways.

She was quite disobliging when I wanted to take pictures. But maybe you get the picture. (And, I do realize that you can't see the knee highs, but I do know they're there!)



Is this too much?

(I'm acutely aware of the fact that I won't ever win a photographer's contest. I suck.)

The first Kill of the season

Rather, the first Kill ever!

Before my zealous attempt to get all the laundry done in one day (ha, who was I kidding?)



After (be assured, it won't fit her anymore)


Never ever in my long knitting life have I felted a knit in the washing machine accidentally! On purpose, yes, but never did I miss a sneaky knit amidst all the other laundry and effed it up. There goes a hat...(and it just was perfect with all the coats Egg owns *sigh*).

Oh, and I don't know how I ever thought there's nothing to blog about - I manage to procure enough material, interesting or not.

Knitting!!

That's how I found Egg after coming back to the living room, I'd left my knitting on the couch. (Oh, and please excuse the MESS.)

Outside!

The weather has been fabulous for Montreal in April. Whenever there is sun I get the request "outside!" and thankfully we have the outside right off our kitchen. (No sandbox yet, though. They were labeled as 'in stock' online and when we went to the shop to pick one up, they were of course not.)

This is how 'outside' might look:

Grapes taste soo much better in fresh air!

Even though it doesn't look like it, I have been working/designing. There is one piece in particular I am sort of proud of, but of course I can't show you a picture just yet. Here's a peek:


I have lots of plans - publishing some kids patterns, for example. One is being test knit as you read this, repeatedly, which means it will be hopefully ready soon.

In the meantime I have finished some knitting for myself and Egg: Hex is done, and so is a skirt and knee highs for Egg, amongst other things. I should get back to write more about what I am knitting, that might encourage finishing faster. BTW, I need to take photos of the finished Hex, once I've done that you'll get to see it, of course!

This is the Twirly skirt (ravelry link)



and these are the new knee highs:

For now Egg is still excited when I finish something for her, and accordingly very willing to try/put it on. The perfect knitter's child!

Embossed Leaves Redux

I have had a couple of inquiries why the pattern of the Embossed Leaves socks is not available online. That would be because I had not made it available - until now!

If you feel so inclined you can buy the pattern via the ravelry link on the sidebar (even when you're not a member) and get knittin'. For 5 USD CAD you receive a brand new version of the pattern with a couple of updates.




I added links to the tutorial of the tubular cast-on on my blog (since I did not use the twisted cast-on described in the other versions of the pattern) as well as a link to the sizing information.

Cutting the yarn after knitting the heel has been questioned numerous times, I eliminated that also.

Yes, I will be back to blogging without peddling my wares, I promise!

Done

Just to let you know: the beret is fixed and done and I wore it today. Love it.

One of these days

That would be today. Nothing goes right, child is cranky, makes me cranky.

Knitting a simple beret. Had to rip twice already. It's done now. Or so I think. It's too big. Rrrrrip.

Not to mention the countless scream fests we had today, and I had no clue why or what to do about it. Somehow the day went by only to end with another bang.

Child usually goes to bed without any drama. Not so tonight. Am close to nervous breakdown, but manage to stay calm. Child still doesn't sleep. Her dad is on sleep duty now while I hide in the office.

Please keep your fingers crossed that tomorrow will be better! Thanks, that would be all.

Hex

Last year in June I got me some Kauni Lace yarn in the coveted colourway EQ from Tausendschoen. Once I received it I marveled at the size of the skein (280 g of lace yarn) and stashed it away. I had no idea what to do with it.




Then came Hex. For the last year or so I haven't been spending a lot of attention to knitty but some day I scanned the patterns of the Fall 2009 issue.

And there it was. The project ideal for my Kauni Lace in the coveted colourway EQ. Hex.

I felt attracted to the Stockinette heavy lace with the hexagon pattern - though I knew the size and form of the shawl wouldn't work for me. Not a problem, I have lots of yarn and can make it longer. So I wound my yarn into the biggest cake of lace yarn I have ever seen.




I started with a small swatch for the foam pattern, and didn't like how it came out. (Hm, even to me it seems now I'm a bit hard to please...) The Kauni is way different from the soft Malabrigo Lace and the drop stitches just didn't seem right. No foam then, I decided. I cast on and added one repeat, to make my shawl as big as I dared. I think my Hex sans Foam (Ravelry link) is going to be about 75" long and I haven't even figured out how wide it is. Huge, that's for sure.

I was worried that the pattern would become tedious over time, but the colour changes in the yarn kept it from getting there. I am still enchanted by the gradual changes from one colour to the next, and knowing the pattern by heart helps to enjoy the knitting process as I go.



The Kauni lace works up beautifully, and I do love the crunchiness (is that a word?) of the yarn. I'm sure it'll soften up some and so I'm not worried about any itch factor. My yarn cake has shrunk considerably over the last two months, and I'll just go on until there's nothing left.

By now I have only 67 grams to go, there will be seven colour repeats once I'm done.

First FO of 2010 - and lots of irritation

Gaaah. I'm having a bad day because Egg is having a bad day. She just does not want to nap. And I can tell she's tired, very tired. She's cranky, needy, pick-me-uppy, whiny...It's just - I have no words.

She's also wearing my first FO of 2010 - a dress made from Noro Iro which was a Christmas present.


I don't know how, but she must be aware that I am irritated beyond anything, because after our second try to get her to nap, she came to me and smiled, said 'hello' and tried to give me kisses, all the while not wanting to nap...Gaaah.

ETA at 3.35 p.m.: I might have overreacted. A little bit.

2009 Statistics

Blog statistics

6 unmoderated comments, discovered today. Yes, dear readers, I'm terribly sorry I didn't check better if someone had left one. Please excuse my sloppiness, I do very much appreciate comments, always! I got some unwanted crap, so I decided to moderate and look what happens...

To answer the questions:

@quinn: yes, it's her first - but most probably not her last.
@KnitandPurlMama: I picked the name Erna, 'cause that's what I secretly called Egg when I was pregnant before I knew she was a girl. Now we have another Erna around.
@lori: Erna didn't come with the sweater, I made it. And Egg was very excited about that. Just as excited as when I made the hat. She does appreciate hand knits.


Knitting statistics

Now to the other statistics, the knitting. Ravelry makes me look prolific, as my friend Melanie assures me. But then she clearly didn't have a closer look at how many childrens' hats I made to pump up the volume...no, not really, that just happened. I do admit though that there were a lot of smaller things I made in 2009, but also a baby blanket, two shawls and some scarves.

Projects begun before but finished in 2009:
- one baby raglan
- a pair of socks
- fingerless mitts for Rolf

That's 3 projects I won't include in the final tally.

Projects begun and finished in 2009:
- 8 baby/toddler tees, vests or shrugs
- 15 baby/toddler/kids sweaters or cardigans
- 11 scarves, cowls etc. (some lace)
- 2 lace shawls
- 7 pairs of baby/kids shoes or socks
- 1 pair of socks (OMG, just one pair?)
- 1 baby blanket
- 12 kids hats
- 2 hats
- 1 doll hat
- 1 doll sweater
- 1 kids tie
- 1 kids scarf
- 1 kids skirt

That's 64 projects, 1.23 projects a week. I was a bit stumped by the amount, I don't think I ever knit that much in one year.
Now I'm under pressure to make at least one more this year (which is, I can safely assume, not going to happen).

On growing but not outgrowing

Egg has been growing like a weed - at least in my opinion. I mean, in one year she managed to add 30 cm to her height and put on about 8.5 kg of weight. So one would expect that she outgrows her clothes in no time, right?

Well, most she does, some she didn't. I wanted to put some knits away I had made at the beginning of the year and just for fun put them on her once more. And, don't you know it, they still fit without looking outgrown. I know they had been too big when I made them, but I never expected them to kinda grow with her. So if you want to knit for a baby and make sure to get some a lot of use out of what you worked hard on, try one of these (pattern to come soon):

The Tapestry Tee:

January 2009

November 2009

The Velvet Yoke:

February 2009

November 2009

I been busy

With life. You know how it goes.

With knitting. Small things for small people.

With working. Now, that's a lie. Though, it depends on what one calls 'work'. So maybe not.

Here are some of my favourite FO's:

The "Lili Kimono" - I think Egg just looks übercute in it. Two balls of Diakeito Diamusee Fine I had in my stash did the trick. I'm working on the pattern. The sample knitter is already waiting for it. And there will be a vest version, also.


This is the "Shishiza Cardigan" - it was a gift for my nephew's first birthday. It's worked from yarn from my stash.


This scarf is inspired by the "Baktus Scarf" - I modified it and as you can see it looks great as a head scarf also! This one is Malabrigo Worsted. What can I say, it's just the perfect pink.


The "Purpleneck" - Egg can totally grow into this sweater. Lorna's Laces DK Swirl Blackberry. Love it.


And, last but not least and only finished yesterday (sewing on the darn flowers!): "Flower Power". It's also large so Egg can wear it for a long while. (First thing she did was try to pick off the flowers...) It's made from Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. Who else could get away with colour combinations like that??

Whirligig Shrug

Saturday Egg and I spent the day at the Roxham Woolgathering with some friends. More about that tomorrow. Today it's about the Whirligig Shrug from Interweave Knits Weekend that I finished after we came home from said Woolgathering. I had started it Friday afternoon.

It's a sweet little knit and I didn't think I would like it that much, but I do! And Egg looks really cute in it. I used Reynolds Odyssey, a 100% merino yarn in variegated reds. It took only 86 grams (about 200 yds) for the 12-18 months size, so it is the perfect project for leftovers I dare say. Come to think of it, why not hand spun??

Are you fed up yet with Egg pictures?

Thanks for your good wishes - the toe is on the mend. Today it's already much better!

More than one year later

Remember last Summer when I was put on bed rest when pregnant? Some of that time was spent in the Hospital, which was no fun at all. While being there Mary and Molly Ann brought me two skeins of Schaefer Anne, which is one of my all time favourite sock yarns. They even brought me a set of dpns to get knitting. Problem was, I didn't feel like knitting socks.

So after looking through some pattern books which Rolf brought me I cast on for what I thought a small cardigan. I had to think of that baby in my belly a lot, after all. It turned out a bit large, I thought Egg might be able to wear it in Spring, but it is only now that it fits. I didn't use the whole skein, and it's quite loosely knit on a 3.5 mm needle. The body is a lace pattern and the sleeves have garter ridges, that can be found in the raglan decreases also.

Here, have look again: