Finished: Ribbed Lace Bolero

Pattern: Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher
Yarn: Filosoft by Wolle Rödel, 52 % merino, 48 % cotton, handwash at 30 °C, recommended needle size 4 -5 mm, recommended gauge 22 st x 28 rows = 10 cm
Color: white
Price: €3.75? per ball
Amount: 2.5
Needles: 3.5 mm for the ribbing, 4.5 mm for the body
Gauge:
Dimensions:
Modifications:
"Switch to size 8 needles now"

I think I did this a row earlier, so that the stitches that were going to be cabled would be on the needles with a size 8, just like the stitches that had been undergoing ssk and k2tog on the other side had been sitting on needles size 8.

Comments:
I'm convinced shrugs look like very clever constructions (you have a circle/rectangle and sew it here and here and voilà, a finished garment. How easy and clever is that?), but the fit is weird. There are three interconnected issues: collar, back, arms (armhole). Either the collar is too big or you have this bulk in the back or your armholes are too small. I think you will always only get a fit that is ok, but not great. Or maybe it's just my body. Ok, I might also rearrange the back material a bit by turning the collar in a bit more, then it might be acceptable. From the front it looks nice.

Love the yarn. I've already used it in another color, red, but it didn't feel as nice as in white.

Oh my, the combination of bad posture and ill fitting clothes...


I think I like pictures taken without flash better. It's weird how different I look in the picture with and without flash.


I like kitty, but kitty doesn't like me. Hmpf. Supposedly it's a very affectionate cat, but while I was talking to it, its tail was swinging nervously back and forth, as if it was sweeping the street.

Finished: clutch with red-white flowers

Pattern: Clutch from "The Happy Hooker" by Debbie Stoller, p. 137 by Ileana Rodriguez
Yarn: "Soft-Merino" by Wolle Rödel (for those who don't have any of their stores in town, here's the link their webshop), 100 % merino superwash, 100 m/50 g, 18 stitches x 22 rows = 10 cm in stockinette stitch, recommended needle size: 4 - 5 mm, wash at 30 °C
Color: blue, red, white (not in order: #308, #360, #331)
Price: 3 € and something per ball
Amount: one ball in red and white, two balls in blue (= one ball and a little bit of the other)
Hook: 4 mm (G-6)
Gauge: was a bit off, but since the pattern is very simple it's very easy to make modifications
Dimensions: 25 cm wide and 15 cm high
Lining: red cotton
Modifications: I made three small flowers instead of one big flower.





I like the clutch although I find it a bit floppy. Next time I would maybe use cotton to give it more rigidity and stability. The lining did help somewhat. At first I wanted the lining to go up to the upper edge of the bag instead of letting it end below the handle as it says in the instruction which might have added a bit more stability to the bag, but then it started to look more complicated than I had planned and I didn't really think the added bit of stability would not have justified spending more time fussing with the lining. In any case, I'm really pleased with how the clutch turned out. It took me a bit more than a week to finish it, so that's a quick project (hm, now I think I want to make one with cotton, in green with little daisies).

The yarn is very loosely spun and probably will pill a lot.

I like this book a lot. I had borrowed it from a friend and then eventually got my own copy. If you have no clue about crocheting this is the book I would recommend. Debbie Stoller starts from 0,00 and explains every "stupid" question you might have. I've never been as proficient with crocheting as I am with knitting and I've been never been really sure if what I did was a 100 % correct. Crochet is somewhat more forgiving of mistakes than knitting and you can crochet happily along without getting busted that soon (although I have heard of people who had been knitting through the backloop instead of the frontloop for years), but with this book you can end your miserable existence as impostor and become a real crochet queen. Apart from the excellent explanations there is also a very nice compilation of crochet designs (hats, a wrap, scarfs, belts, cardigans, bags, a blanket, toys, a pair of gloves, a pair of slippers, a shawl, tops, a skirt, a doormat, a necklace and a bracelet made from wire, etc.) from various designers.

First attempts at spinning

I bought the fibers at Wolle Rödel, but I don't think they had been really meant to be spun into yarn. Probably for more suitable for other handicrafts. The pink stuff was the second product that my talented spinning fingers gave live to. The talent is clearly clearly there. Me, not stupid, also had bought something called "Eiderwolle", a white something that smells like sheep and produced a pre-product for ropes. I concluded spinning was something for fine motor geniuses...

The fibers from Wolle Rödel were not ideal, but I was able to spin much finer singles. The green ball gave me hope that I might be able to spin something nice one day. Spinning is pretty hypnotic, by the way. Or meditative?



Rovings from TheFiberDenn at Etsy. I spun two small samples to see how it would work out. As you can see I have improved tremendously. :D After spinning with the sticky Wolle Rödel stuff, these rovings were supereasy to spin. Laceweight? - Easy as pie!



On the left hand side:
Fiber: Fine Shetland
Colorway: PeachesNCream

On the right hand side:
Fiber: Corriedale
Colorway: Coleus
Quite overtwisted... I will finish the sample I'm knitting at the moment and maybe it won't be that bad.

Spun with this spindle:


It looks a bit like a toy, but it spins well actually.

Good night socks

I've told that I don't seem to update my blog anymore... That's because - *looking frantically for believable excuses* - I got abducted by terrorists from Absurdistan. Yep, many attempts were made to break and brainwash me, but I resisted and escaped. I escaped to bring you local stories from this wonderful place (I got told that this is what people want to read - aha...). I will also do any pending updates - I swear and promise. :D But not now I need to go to bed. But in order to have a reason to fill this post with a little more content here are pics from one of my current projects:





These are going to be my good night socks. See how nice they look with my pajama? You may notice that they are knit quit tightly (maybe even a bit too much), that's because for socks I like a snug fit. Pattern my own. More details when I have finished them, which is going to be sohooon! :D

P.S. "But in order to have a reason to fill this post with a little more content here are pics from one of my current projects:"
Ugh, this sentence doesn't make any sense at all. It was late, you know. :o

Finished: Backyard Leaves Scarf

Pattern: Backyard Leaves Scarf by Annie Modesitt, from "Interweave Knit Gifts, Holiday 2006", can also be found in "Scarf Style"
Yarn: Siena Big by Wolle Rödel, 100% merino, 80 m/50 g
Color: #14241
Price: about 3 €?
Amount: 4.5
Needles: 4.5 mm, recommended were 5 - 6 mm, but somehow I prefer a tighter gauge
Gauge: not necessary, because it's a scarf - yay! :D
Dimensions: 2.30 m long (I think I will shorten it, it's just too long for me) and 12 cm wide (could probably be a bit wider, but I didn't block it very much, just lightly to preserve the 3-dimensionality of the leaves)
Modifications: 15 pattern repeats on each half instead of 11, but I think I will take out two pattern repeats, because the scarf is so long

I like the color, even though it's a very bright green, but I think with the Karabella Aurora 8 it would have been a bit nicer, because it's more fluffy and thicker. I think next time I would substitute it with Karabella Aurora Bulky, that would make the scarf wider so that you can also use it in winter, that one is a bit too skinny for me.

Although there were so many pattern repeats to knit, I was not able to remember the pattern by heart, but still had to glimpse every once in a while at my copy, because the pattern repeat is long and strangely it's not symmetrical as I would have expected. Overall I think it's a very very cute pattern and if I find a nice and suitable yarn some day I might do another again.

My model today is a very old teddy bear that my brother loved to death as a kid. Now he sits on my couch and seems to be quite happy to wear such a nice scarf. :)








Oh, and I would definitely recommend the magazine and the book. Both have a lot nice designs. I was skeptical regarding the magazine as I had assumed that it would be full of Christmas stuff like stockings and handmade ornaments for the Christmas tree, I did not even bother to check it's content on the Interweave website, but my grandma sent me a copy and it turned out to be a collection of really great and beautiful designs from old Interweave Knit issues. I'm really glad I have it now. :)

My "Somewhat Cowl" sweater

My wonderful sweater. :D You can find the pattern here. Note my cat in the lower right corner. :)


A close up.