Finished: Gretel beret

Pattern: "Gretel" beret by Ysolda Teague (I'm also wearing the Backyard Leaves Scarf by Annie Modesitt)
Yarn: Numero Uno Tweed by Lana Grossa
Color: Green
Price: ?
Amount: 1.5 balls?
Needles: ?
Gauge: a bit smaller, I think, but the beret is still big enough
Dimensions: Fits
Modifications: None

I'm pretty late with posting about that one, I think I finished it last year? But never say never! (Hmm, that green of the scarf looks a bit dull in the picture...). It's a ver nice pattern. I made another one with Rowan Felted Tweed in pink, but I haven't uploaded the pictures yet. The cables take a lot of time though, even when you don't use a cable needle.

Finished: South Bay Crochet Beret and my Amor Intenso Scarf

Pattern: Crochet Beret from South Bay Crochet
Yarn: Schulana Tweed Lux, 85% virgin wool, 10% silk, 5% cashmere, 110 m/ 50 g
Color: #05 charcoal
Price: I'm not sure anymore, maybe about 7 € for a skein, must be so pricy for all the expensive stuff like silk and cashmere. The yarn is ok, but well, it's not causing me to gush about it. I mainly bought it because it had the right color, was tweedy and had the right weight.
Amount: 1.1 skein (I had to start the second one because of the brim I think)
Needles: 5 mm hook (you can all be so glad that I'm on Ravelry where it's supereasy to enter the details for your projects, because I have such a lousy memory; just yesterday I entered the information for a scarf I had knit like a couple of weeks ago and I just couldn't remember the needle size anymore...)
Gauge: I got told that it's not so important, because you can increase until it's big enough and then you decrease. What I can tell you is that the maximal number of double crochets between the front post double crochets is 8. After that I started decreasing.
Dimensions: The circumference is 24 cm.
Modifications: If you follow the original pattern you will get a spiral pattern. I somehow felt that I did not like the spiral pattern, but I was not not following the instructions on purpose, so you probably will have to pay very careful attention to the instructions if you want to get it right (but what is right anymore, I like my version better :D). I will include here the notes I made on Ravelry for this project:

I'm doing the front post double crochet (fpdc) on top of the fpdc from the previous row instead of on the following double crochet (I used this online tutorial - http://www.crochetkitten.com/tutorials/fpdc.html - because I just couldn't figure out how to do a front post double crochet ). It doesn't create a spiral, but looks much better I think. TheWilk told me about her modifications, but the instructions are a tad confusing I think, because without thinking too much and simply following the directions I did the same thing as she did.

It also seems that I only made one row of single crochets instead of two.

My notes seem a bit messy, but the pattern is really easy and I was able to finish the beret in a couple of hours.

I forgot, the second knit item I wanted to post about is my scarf. I call it Amor Intenso Scarf for the colorway of the yarn.

Pattern: Mine, see below
Yarn: Handspun bulky from handpaintedyarn.com, 135 yard/ 100 g
Color: Amor Intenso
Price: $6.20
Amount: 2 skeins
Needles: Like I said, I can't remember, probably 6 mm
Gauge: Not important
Dimensions: about 24 cm wide and 2 m long
Modifications: None

DSCN4512, originally uploaded by projektleiterin.

The colors are gorgeous, aren't they? :)

Directions:

Cast on 27 stitches (I used the backward loop cast on). Knit 3 rows in garter stitch for the edge.

Pattern:

1. Row: Knit
   
2. Row: Knit 3, purl 3, * (knit 3, purl 3), repeat from* to the end

Repeat the pattern till you nearly run out of yarn. The pattern should end with the first row. Now knit 2 rows in garter stitch and cast off with a technique whose name I just can't remember anymore. :D Ok, I'll try to describe it: Knit 2. * Insert left needle into the second and first knit stitch and knit (as if you were knitting them through the back, it's just that the stitches are mounted differently). You have one stitch on the right needle again. Knit another one. * Repeat from * Break yarn and pull through the last stitch. Voilà, finished! :)

More information about the sweater that I'm wearing here.

Finished: Lala Scarf

Pattern: "Lala Scarf" from "Greetings from Knit Cafe" by Suzan Mischer, pattern by Kat Coyle (she has a couple of other nice patterns in the book)
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze
Color: #580 "Grace" (main color), #606 "Candy Girl", #592 "Heavenly"
Price: $ 12 for 25 g (thank God you don't need that much yarn for the scarf)
Amount: plenty left for more Lala scarves
Needles: 6 mm
Gauge: looked ok to me
Dimensions: it's small (good grief, I'm lazy today, am I? :D I'm not going to measure it, but it's a cute little thing that is big enough to wrap around your neck)
Modifications: none

Lala scarf, originally uploaded by projektleiterin.

The scarf is a quick knit, except for the border, nearly 400 stitches to bind off, plus the loops. And personally, I don't really like the mohair, it's so thin and I'm afraid of breaking the yarn. And knitting very thin yarn with huge needles feels a bit awkward, too. It's the second time I've knit this scarf and I appreciate that it's knit with big needles, so the pain goes over fairly quickly, except for the last part, which drags on and on. But I do love the end result, so it's ok. :) I'm a bit surprised that the mohair doesn't itch, especially since I have a sensitive neck, but it seems that if you apply some lotion on your neck before wearing it helps.

Lala scarf, originally uploaded by projektleiterin.

Pic is courtesy of fbz, taken at the textile market in Benediktbeuern, yep, I haven't posted about it yet... :o Still need to upload the pictures. In the meantime, keep yourself entertained with the blog entries of Alala, BockstarkKnits, Tini, Deknit, and Elemmaciltur, some of whom I had the pleasure of meeting them there for the first time (of course, they are all totally adorable :) )

Finished: Hydrangea Lace Scarf

Pattern: "Hydrangea Lace Scarf" by Eugen Beugler
Yarn: Colourmart 100% cashmere, 3/28 heavy laceweight
Color: Shagreen
Price: $34 per 150 g cone
Amount: 50 g
Needles: 3.5 mm
Gauge: no clue
Dimensions: 25 x 137 cm
Modifications: None
Difficulty: Easy

I love this scarf. It's perfect. The green is perfectly light and delicate, the pattern easy to memorize. The blocking required more time and pins than usual, because I wanted to get the edge right.




From my last dyeing experiment.

Cast-on for Hydrangea Lace Scarf

Pattern by Eugen Beugler. Available at Fibertrends. I'm using Colourmart 3/28 100% cashmere in "Shagreen".



By the way, I just saw that this beautiful wrap cardigan with kimono sleeves by Sweaterbabe is sold at half the price throughout August. And yes, it's all mine already. :D

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. :)

Japanese Feather scarf

I've finished another item! :D Ok, I've have been working on it for a while, so it's not as if I made this since my last post.

It's a scarf for my mom. It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but as it was not a secret anyway she has received it today.

This is the scarf while blocking:



This is me modeling it, so you can see how it is when worn.



The pattern is called "Japanese Feathers" and has been used in this freely available Japanese Feather sock pattern , but first I saw it on some other blogger's website, Knitting Interrupted. Her stole was then in the beginning, but now she has finished it and it just looks gorgeous. There is a pattern for a stole called "Baltic Sea Stole" which incorporates this pattern and it looks soooo great. Take a look here. I've ordered the pattern and might start working on it one day. At the moment I'm waiting for my yarn package to arrive so that I can start with the "Deep V Argyle Vest".

Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr wool-silk, 50% merino wool, 50% Chinese Tussah silk
Color: White
Price: $ 8, bought at Theknitter
Amount: Less than a 2oz ball (630 yards), I still have some yarn left.
Needles: 3 mm
Gauge: none. I cast on 62 stitches with a garter border of 2 stitches on both sides.
Dimensions: about 20 cm wide. I have no clue how long, long enough to wrap it around my neck once and to have some ends dangling around. :D

Here's a picture of the leftover, not sure yet what I will do with it. I wonder if there is enough left for these cute mitts.



I forgot to give a report about my knitting experience with this yarn. It was weird at first to knit with such a fine yarn as I'm more used to thicker yarns, sock knitting yarns were as far as now the thinnest yarns with which I had ever knitted, but it didn't take me long to get used it. The yarn seems so fine, but it's astonishingly resistant, you have pull quite a lot for such a thin yarn till it breaks. I would definitely recommend it.

I'd also like to take a moment to express my gratitude to the the internet :D, because it's impossible to find yarn in lace weight here. I've visited several local yarn shops and none had anything in lace weight, sock weight seems to be the bottom of what is possible. I wonder where other people get the yarn for their lace knitting as internet shopping is still somewhat new. Where did they get their yarn, let's say, 10 years ago?

Last, but not least, I would like to add that in the last couple of months I have finished a couple of more projects than the ones I have posted about, it's just I'm a bit lazy with taking pictures. So, I've been a good girl and I deserve the rosewood needles that my mom has got me for Christmas. Yippiiiieeh. :D It seems these are luxury rosewood needles, can't wait to get them and try them out. My mom got these in a shop and thus saved shipping costs, but as far as I know you can ask them for special orders with no additional fees. I've contacted them to ask for shorter needles (I mean the needle part on circulars, not the length of the cord), we'll see what they will reply.

P.S. If someone needs a program for recalculating units, try Jonelo's software. It's open source software and in this case for free. I find it useful for converting yards, ounces, pounds, etc. into meters and grams.

Finished: Birds Eye Scarf

I finished something! :D Yeah! It's a white scarf, knit in Regia Silk. I got the pattern from the Heirloom Knitting site, it's called Birds Eyes (um, not sure if this is such a great name for a pattern - eyes of birds?! - freaky :D). The original pattern is for a triangular shawl, but I wanted a scarf, so I modified the edge a bit (actually my mom was so nice to do it for me).

Scarf unblocked:



I've actually finished the scarf quite a while ago, but I just never managed to block it. I didn't know how and where. Now I did it on my couch with a microfiber towel. At the moment it's still drying. I can't really say that I like blocking, it's all this pinning that I don't like. Some people don't like seaming, I think I don't like blocking.

The yellow thing is the microfiber towel that is kind of, um, waterrepellent. :D Not sure why they produce a towel that absolutely takes up no water. I used it once after taking a shower and I was just as wet as before. Anyway, it has found a new purpose. It does not soak up the water and therefore allows for a quick drying.

Scarf blocked:




Yarn: Regia Silk sock yarn, 4 ply, 55% merino, 20% silk, 25% polyamide
Color: white
Price: about 5,50 € per ball
Amount: 1 ball, 200 m/50 g

There's a shawl in "Victorian lace today" which uses the same pattern.



I think I'm going to knit this one, too. I love the color and I really like the pattern, although it's quite boring to knit, requires attention at every row (no purl rows...) and the many yarn overs and decreases slow my knitting down. By the way, the sell this book at the Book Depository at a pretty good price and you also get free delivery. I bought it by the same seller on Amazon, but here I had to pay an additional 3 € for shipping.

If you want to see some pictures of the models in this book, take a look at Grumperina's blog.


Last but not least, a picture of my cat. I think she looks so cute in this pic. She hates me, because I'm occupying her room, but ok, I'll forgive her. :D