Thursday, March 31, 2005
I'm a very lucky girl.
I got this in the mail yesterday from Lisa and Mike and Della and Jack ... just for participating in their caption contest!
Speaking of delightful things coming in the mail - this arrived a while back. A yarn swap with Melanie over at Das Kleine Nadelspiel got me Rebecca (complete with English translation) and yarn enough for the Two Part Sweater.
Posted at 11 pm |
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Hello!
It's been a gorgeous week - and I was work-free for 5 whole days! (Thursday, Friday and Monday are holidays here - even the grocery stores are closed. Easter is Very Big here.) And thank heavens for that. I was temporarily promoted (into the job of someone who is out until the middle of April) and desperately needed a few days off. I scraped the snow off the porch the first morning and spent most days basking in the sun reading.I was also quite a bit inside reading, reading then thinking and thinking some more ... but too much has been said already without me throwing in my 2 cents. I have clearly stated my own wishes to my parents, husband and best friend.
Now. Knitting. I've finished the back, arms and 1/2 of one front of the Ribby Cardie. I've signed up for
the 
T shirt along
for Alison's marvelous pattern, which is starting April 1.
I'll be using Rowan All Season Cotton in Dim and Jaunty
which I ordered (on sale!) from Tribsen, with whom I was very pleased. I'm not sure if I'll be writing "jaunty" on the t, but ... perhaps. And I've mostly finished with Abby Gail. Just need buttons. With your kind permission, I'll get 'er all finished up before I present her.
To tide you over here's the finished bunny, sitting among the gåsunger* - a sure sign of spring.
Pattern: Bunny by Jess Hutchison
Yarn: Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride Superwash in White Frost.
* The catkins of the goat willow are known as "goslings" in Norway.
Posted at 5:30 pm |
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
An idea!
That last bit, by the way, was about a Knitting Café* happening shortly after Easter at the local yarn shop. I'm so excited!And I'm expecting everyone who is reading this and in the area to come. Of course, I say that and then get all nervous and shy. But I really would like meet you guys that I know live nearby and all the rest of you who are reading this!
Shall we have something (something in the spirit
of the little blue sock)
to identify ourselves as online knitters? I don't mean just we who blog, but
those reading the blogs too.
Something simple would be good. I've got my hands full knitting
bunnies.
(From a a new pattern by Jess Hutch.)
How about a miniature scarf? Easy enough to be attached to clothing and the possibilities for personalization are endless. Sound good?
* Group knitting with food, I'm assuming.
Posted at 7:22 am |
Sunday, March 13, 2005
In which I write in Norwegian for a few moments.
En liten fugl har fortalt meg at Husfliden på Strømmen Storsenter skal ha en Strikke-Café rett etter påske! Woot!Dere skal få høre mer da når jeg hører mer!
Posted at midnatt |
Saturday, March 12, 2005
How annoying.
I was feeling really quite good about my score on this Commonly Confused Words Test I spotted over at Studio Zoe :Advanced
93% Beginner, 86% Intermediate, 87% Advanced, and 72% Expert!
You have an extremely good understanding of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of each of these three levels' questions correct. This is an exceptional score. Remember, these are commonly confused English words, which means most people don't use them properly. You got an extremely respectable score.
That is UNTIL MY NORWEGIAN HUSBAND scored:English Genius
100% Beginner, 86% Intermediate, 87% Advanced, and 77% Expert!
You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!
As if he weren't impossible enough before this...Posted at 1:14 pm |
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Ponchos.
I've been watching - with considerable amusement - the Martha Poncho thing develop. Not so many hours after Martha was released, I saw this thread at Knitter's Review forum. Then I spotted Manolo's opinion of the poncho. Today, I see over at Chicknits that Lionbrand has had a ton of requests for a pattern for the poncho. Heck, Martha's even trying to get the pattern from the inmate who crocheted it.Now. Let me be the first to admit I have knitted a poncho - a marvelous mitered garter stitch number with tassels - and it's been hanging, forlornly, in the front hall since it came off the needles. I never have it on. That's partly because it's so bleepin' unpractical in this climate (not warm enough when it's cold and too hot it's warm). But mostly because it's so totally unflattering on me. The resident 11 year old has worn it a couple of times, but she has no hips. It works on her.
Where am I going with all this? I'll tell ya where - I'm taking ...
With one slight modification: I'm not encouraging the throwing away of a knitted gift. There's gotta be other options.
Posted at 6:59 pm |
Sunday, March 6, 2005
Be the sheep.
I pulled out the two Lopi sweaters today and took some pictures to go with yesterday's post...
First the sweater using the one strand. (I'm still very much in love with this pattern.)
You might be able to see how the body of it swings in. It's not meant to. And I was a bit nervous about
stranding too tightly and wound up stranding too loosely, making the yoke too wide and a bit wavy.
Then the one using two strands. Here you should be able to see that it's a considerably heftier fabric.
The only trouble with it is that I'm not sure my row gauge was spot on... the neck wound up being a little too high. Makes me wonder if I can fix that...
.
I took a picture while I was at it of the distinctive "halo" that the unspun plötulopi acquires after it's been knitted and washed.
And since knit blogs and cats seem to go together like peas and carrots, I snapped a picture of the
downstairs neighbor's cat who was on the porch inspecting the sweaters as I photographed them in the snow.
Posted at 7:49 pm |
Sunday, March 5, 2005
Lopi
Joanne asked about the sweaters found here:I was curious about why you use double strands of lopi, since single strands seem to be very warm. Could it be more wind proofing? And do you still use the same sizing as if you were doing a single strand?
I made my very first sweater using one strand of the unspun Álafoss lopi type called plötulopi. It is very warm, but I saw a message on the knitlist later that you were meant to use two (or even 3) strands held together. The sweater I knit from one strand wound up being rather flimsy.
I wasn't as aware then as I am now of how I want a finished knitted fabric to behave. I knitted it following the Lopi pattern and getting the right gauge with the one strand, but the finished fabric didn't have the right "feel". I love the colorwork patterning of that first sweater but don't wear it very much because of the flimsiness.
The two sweaters I knit afterwards with two strands of plötulopi held together (same pattern size and likely same needles - this was before I had a "needle stash") have a sturdiness to them that feels right. They're thick yet still flexible, and have a halo after they've been washed that... well, it needs to be photographed again now that I know more about how to take pictures. Plus you can go out and ROLL in the snow and never get cold or wet. They're a marvel of warmness. Probably much like being a sheep!
Posted at 6:41 pm |
Thursday, March 3, 2005
Brr.
Temperature this morning:-7F /-21.6C
Slim says...
Pull that hat down over your ears.
Posted at 8 am |
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