The Knitting Cookie

Done

2006-06-28T17:45:00.000+02:00

It's done.

[scary music]

I've decided to cast Blogger aside and become my own host.

So, if anyone is actually reading this blog, they can continue doing so at http://www.syltcookie.com/blog/.

See you there!

/Fi (a.k.a. the Knitting Cookie)

No camera...

2006-06-25T21:49:00.000+02:00

otherwise I would have posted a picture of the lovely Snowdrop Shawl I'm making. I think I've seen it somewhere among our not quite unpacked stuff... I really hate unpacking. Packing is much, much more fun, filled with a sense of anticipation (at least for me), but unpacking is just pointless. Urgh.

Oh, and I may be moving my blog soon; will let you know if/when that happens.

A very quick post

2006-06-08T14:50:00.000+02:00

... just to let you know that we've finally moved to our new apartment :)
Hopefully I'll manage to extract my knitting from a box somewhere, sometime in the near future. Until then, happy knitting everyone!

A mysterious tube

2006-05-31T13:15:00.000+02:00

Guess what the mailman brought me today?

We have a very, very nice mailman, he actually brings us any larger items, instead of just leaving them at the local post office for us to come and pick up.

Anyway, this is what he had in his hand when he rang my doorbell this morning:Taking a closer look, the tube turns out to be from someone very, very secret:

Yup, it's my first Secret Package from my Secret Pal! (Oh, and Pal? I'm sending you virtual hugs right now.)

There was a lot of tape around that mysterious tube, so I unraveled, and unraveled... and finally managed to extract the letter attached to the outside of the tube. I read the letter as I opened the tube, and found...

a lovely scarf! (One that, as it turns out, perfectly matches the brand new, navy blue jacket that I got yesterday!) It's just so very pretty, I'm sure I'll be wearing it a lot. The edging is apparently crocheted by hand. I'm impressed. That must have required a Very Small Needle.

But alas, there was more... (Well, I knew there was more, since I cheated and read the green Customs Declaration sticker before opening.)

I don't know why the right-hand picture is so blurry (I re-took it three times), but anyway, these are two magazine covers from 1942 and 1943! They're so cool! I think I'll have to frame them and hang them in our new apartment. I love how there's one girl all ready to go to war, very masculine and patriotic, doing the men's work, and another struggling with her knitting--which is really the exact opposite. I like to think of it as two sides of the same girl.

So in case you were wondering, Secret Pal, this was a wonderful package. I love it. Thank you so much!

Bye-bye stripes!

2006-05-28T12:07:00.000+02:00

So I started a sock. I cast on, knitted a few inches, yada, yada, yada. I won't even mention the name of the pattern, but it showed off the stripes quite beautifully.

However... the cast-on edge looks... disastrous. Really awful. I mean, look! It's terribly uneven--the cast-on stitches are about twice the size of those in the pattern. Being a perfectionist, I just can't live with an ugly cast-on edge.

When you read this, I will have frogged the whole damn thing. Turned out, when I took a really good look at it, that the ribbing looked really weird, too. Apparently, I knitted the first inch of ribbing far too loosely.

Oh well, it was just supposed to be a swatch, anyway. R.I.P. Sock.

An unexpected pause

2006-05-23T17:22:00.000+02:00

I know I promised no baby posts, but... this is what someone's been doing lately. The Evil Baby's crawling all over the place and generally requiring much more time and care than ever before! (He's not actually that evil, but when you're two people trying to study and the third one makes weird noises and attacks anything within ten feet... you get the picture.) Aaaargh.
And to top it off, believe this:

I haven't knitted anything At All for two weeks.

Aargh!

Of Being Un-Independent and Yarn

2006-05-17T10:58:00.000+02:00

Dear self-patterning sock yarn-hating friends (and you know who you are),

I have let thee down.

*sigh*

I am now the owner of not one, but two (the horror!) balls of Self-Striping Sock Yarn. If you want to kill me, please do so now.

[pause]

Okay.

First, I just want to say I have the fullest respect for all the lovers of self-patterning / multi-colored yarn out there. I'm just not a fan myself. Such was also the case with self-striping yarn, until... I realized one day that my mother was on holiday in the Land of Plenty of Sock Yarn (i.e. Germany) and got this weird idea to call her and ask her to hunt down a fine specimen of self-striping for me. So she did. And if I were any less down with a really bad cold right now, I would post pictures. In fact, my head is so fuzzy right now I can't even remember the yarn brand. Argh. -- Pictures to follow soon, anyway, promise.

I know I'm late ;)

2006-05-07T21:23:00.000+02:00

but here are my answers to the SP8 questionnaire:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love wool. All kinds of it, from the stickiest, most unknittable thing that ever came from a sheep to the lovely alpaca fibres. Silk is also nice. I don't like synthetics, and I'm not a big fan of cotton, either.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Um, well, I have a rather strange-looking pinkish tube that I crocheted for the purpose, and it works as long as I don't buy more needles...

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

Well, I knit my first, uh, object when I was about -- 8? I've been knitting seriously for about two or three years. What's the difference between intermediate and advanced? Oh well. Since I usually don't have enough patience to finish things, let's say I'm intermediate.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Nope.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Uh... I don't really like scented products (except perfume in a bottle).

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I absolutely adore chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I can make quite tasty cookies, cakes, and buns, if I do say so myself. I don't spin. I crochet, but I'm not very good at it and I much prefer knitting.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Jazz is my thing, and, strangely enough, old country music. My computer can play mp3s.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I love warm/burnt colors, the colors of fall. I don't really like pastelles, or very bright, loud colors.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I live with my boyfriend and our six-month-old son. No pets.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear scarves and mittens. Hats are difficult to find because I have a really large head. I don't wear ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I like variety, so just about anything.

13. What are you knitting right now?

A red vest, self-striping socks (first time), uh... and that's probably it (not counting the UFOs I haven't decided yet whether to finish or not)

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

I haven't received that many to date, but I think I've liked all of them.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Straight ones are nice because they look so traditional, like you're a little old lady who's been knitting forever. Circulars are very practical, and I love them for colorwork. I haven't used circulars much either, so they're still kind of new and exciting.
Bamboo rules. Aluminum and plastic are nice, too, but bamboo... ohhh.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Nope. Neither.

17. How did you learn to knit?

My mother taught me. Later, I read books and freshened up my skills.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?

Oh... I have no idea. I've ripped the oldest ones. A year, maybe?

19. What is your favorite holiday?

I don't think I have one. Christmas is always nice, though.

20. Is there anything that you collect?

My boyfriend says I collect old knitting books and magazines (up to about 1956), and old cookbooks (and he's probably right, judging from my bookshelf).

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Well, I'm always up for books about lace or the 1940s-50s period. I don't subscribe to a knitting magazine.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Probably yes, but none that I know of. I tried magic loop and wasn't too impressed. I love doing cables without that ridiculous special needle, though!

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I am now (got my first ball of sock yarn about two weeks ago). I have really large feet, about 10.5 inches/26.5 cm long.

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

October 6.

Yarn porn, by request

2006-05-02T21:06:00.000+02:00

Well, it's been a while... I'm kind of ashamed of myself. I got a request for some more yarn porn, and, well, here it is!

Garnstudio's Vivaldi, black (1 ball)

Garnstudio's Alpaca, some kind of raspberry (4 balls)

Atacama Alpaca, blue-green (2 skeins)

Araucania Nature Wool, darkish red (1 skein)

The other week, I found myself in a yarn store with a very limited amount of money in my pocket, so... I just bought a little bit of everything :) I adore alpaca, so I had to have some of that. (Enter raspberry and bluish-green yarn.) Then I realized I don't really have any black yarn, and maybe I wanted a scarf or a shawl or something. So I got the Vivaldi. The Nature Wool, I don't know, it just sort of came along. In the general spirit of yarn-buying, I guess.

At last....

2006-04-12T15:30:00.000+02:00

...my love has come along

My lonely days are over

and life is like a song

Yes, it's Glenn Miller. Listen to it, it's a really great song! And what's more, it tells me... I'm done. The Liseuse is finally done. See:

Isn't it really, really cute? I'm so proud of myself, I actually finished something (and those of you who know me, know I rarely do). It even fits.

I don't know if you can see it, but the collar is double, and was supposed to contain a piece of silk ribbon, which was then to be tied together at the front, sort of like a bow tie.

If I had followed the pattern, that is.

Since I'm not a big fan of bow ties (except on men in tuxes), I went with the three white silkyish roses instead. I have to pull the shrug over my head now (so I'm not sure it's even a shrug anymore) instead of just putting it on and tying the ribbon, but the bow idea seemed so... I don't know, Easter bunny-ish. You know what I mean? Anyway, I think it turned out great modified.

Ah, I'm so in love with this baby :)

It's all a question of red.

2006-04-12T14:57:00.000+02:00

Can you guess what that is?

Oh yes, that's me knitting. Duh. Sometime in the future, that reddish stuff will hopefully have blossomed into a beautiful red vest. We'll see about that. The yarn I'm using is a beautiful deep red 100% wool from Helylle, which, by the way, I love. In fact, I think I love the store, too.

Here's some yarn / vest porn:

[drool here]

See? It's gonna look mighty pretty when done. I'm almost done with the right front part, and I promise to post a picture of it all steamed and ready. Verrry soon.

Too many different subjects to fit in title space

2006-04-04T11:16:00.000+02:00

I'm still not quite sure what yarn to pick for Forecast. Argh! I'm inclined towards a non-superwash wool in a kind of pearly gray... but then, raspberry is a very pretty color too.

I've also been persuaded by my knitting buddy, Linn the Linster, to join SP8. $60 though, is that a lot of money or just me that's broke ;) I haven't joined yet, but I will! Must have some lunch first though.

Oh, and here's progress on my, in my opinion, très cute tiny white shrug, the Liseuse (and look! no baby anywhere to be seen in the pictures! Not even a tiny little foot!):

Below is a closeup of the pattern. It consists of... well, triangles, made up of... half-cables? Anyway, you twist 4+4 stiches every nine rows. I think it looks quite cool. I wonder how much it will stretch, though, particularly sideways. The superwash yarn is very stretchy in itself, so... we'll see. Only about five inches left to knit now!

Yesterday, I was really tired, but I managed to get on my bike and ride aaallll the way to Linn's apartment, where we and two of her other friends knitted away all evening. It was very nice, especially since it got me out of the house (finally). I have to agree with Linn--Sofie's progress on her vest is very impressive!

Must join the SP8 now. I have finished considering, and yes, I am in.

[scary music in background]

Progress on Liseuse

2006-03-24T18:20:00.000+01:00

Well, the liseuse (little white shrug) is progressing, anyway. I had to frog about ten rows when I realized I'd read the pattern wrong (argh, argh) but I'm back on track now. I think it will be very, very cute when it's done.

I also changed needles: The pattern specified 5mms. I found this very strange seeing as the gauge is supposed to be 30 stiches / 4 inches, and I'm using Marks&Kattens Karusell (29 sts / 4"). Anyway, I started out using 5mms, but it felt very strange and I had to stretch the yarn quite a bit to avoid giant loops of loose yarn. So I changed to 3.5mms.

Hmm, I think I get it now. Maybe the pattern (in Swedish) at some point has been translated from English? In that case, it might be a US5 size they've specified, which apparently corresponds to 3.75mm needles. Much better.

I would post a picture of the shrug in progress, but I don't really see the point, since it looks almost exactly as when you saw it last, due to the frogging and stuff :(

Final question: a) why do I always have so many WIPs? b) where, oh where is that beautiful navy blue, probably slightly acrylic-y yarn I got from my grandmother?

More yarn!

2006-03-22T10:21:00.000+01:00

I ripped an old sweater the other day.... a very cute sweater, but unfortunately too small for me after a little too much time in the dryer. Anyway, last night I washed the yarn, and this morning it was (almost) completely dry! I have absolutely no idea what to do with it, though. Here's what it looks like:

Blocking

2006-03-17T12:05:00.000+01:00

Gah! Argh!
And yes, I know the picture quality sucks, but once again I'm too lazy to use the real camera...

Is this color Gold?

2006-03-10T18:41:00.000+01:00

Ok, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually considering Knitty's Forecast as my next project. Most likely with the alterations seen here, though. I want longer sleeves. I was thinking of knitting it using cotton yarn -- Garnstudio's Paris in this color, which I think should look like a greenish kind of gold. I hope so, anyway. We'll see. There's a Forecast knitalong somewhere also, but I can't seem to find it now...

Deep V, mon amie

2006-03-08T15:21:00.000+01:00

Okay. As promised, here are pictures of my Deep V. Unfortunately I couldn't find an empty memory card for the digital camera, so I had to use my cellphone, which frankly produces really lousy picture quality. Oh well. Here they are, anyway.

This is as far as I've gotten. You can see the front neck steek as the stripey part down the middle above the giant Hole, which actually isn't a hole but Supposed to Be That Way.

Below is a closeup of the pattern. I can't wait to finish this vest so I can start another one! Yes, I'm planning on knitting a second one; this was the most fun I've had knitting in a long time. I'm thinking another pattern for the next one, though, a little less Argyle and more Fair Isle-y -- I'm so very tired of checks. Maybe something in red and cream. Aargh. Need to buy more yarn.

Starsky, 1932 and Progress

2006-03-03T14:13:00.000+01:00

Oh, the joy. Yesterday the mailman brought me an old knitting pattern book -- a very old one at that, printed in 1932. I think I'm in love. There's this perfectly lovely little spring jumper I'm planning to knit... after I'm done with, well, everything else. So I'm guessing that'll be right around the time my baby finishes school.

Oh well. As soon as I've managed to get up and get the damn camera, I promise to post a picture or two of the lovely 1930s creations.

Oh, and I've also fallen in love with Knitty's absolutely gorgeous Starsky cardigan.

*sigh*

However, I do have some objections. (Here it comes...)

1) I'm not sure about the front panels. They're only 40 stiches wide, and the banana-whatever pattern is 21 stiches wide, so only one repeat will fit, meaning there's 19 stiches left in stockinette on one side... I'm thinking maybe change the panels into something more Aran. We'll see.

2) Also, I'm not sure I like the plain stockinette sleeves. Frankly, they're way too boring to knit.

But overall, it's a very beautiful cardigan. I want it.

Oh, and while we're on the subject (not) I thought I'd mention Deep V. It's coming along very nicely now, after a rather slow start. My progress as of yesterday morning can be seen at the Vestalong (I'm now about five or six rounds into the actual Argyle pattern. Pictures will follow.

Works in Progress

2006-02-21T09:58:00.000+01:00

Just so I know what I'm up against. Here goes.

(1) Light Green Mohair Shrug
Progress: Hm, I'd say the knitting's about 60% done. It's so very boring, though... mostly stockinette, and I hate stockinette (especially when knitting with straight needles).
Yarn: Garnstudio's Vivaldi, color 18 (I think...)
Needles: 4.5mm
Pattern: Bed jacket from a 1940s knitting magazine.
Hopefully this little darling will be ready to wear in a couple of weeks. I also hope it won't turn out too big -- it's already showing signs of expanding...

(2) Baby White Shrug
Progress: Not very good. Probably about 10% done. Have knitted the almost four inches of ribbing for one sleeve, and am now a couple of inches into the weird not-quite-cable pattern.
Yarn: Marks Karusell, color... white?
Needles: 5mm (2mm for ribbing)
Pattern: Another bed jacket from a 1940s knitting magazine. (There are lots of them, you know :))
This will probably take a while to finish... I do hope it will be done by this summer, though.

(3) Argyle Vest
Progress: Ehm... Actually I'm still just thinking about casting on... I've promised myself to get started in time for the Vest-along, anyway. That's March 1, for all of you who have yet to join us ;)
Yarn: Garnstudio's Alpaca, colors 6309 and 7120
Needles: 3.5mm dps; 3.5mm circular
Pattern: Eunny Jang's Deep V Argyle Vest

Oh, and just to cheer myself up, here's something I actually finished...

(4) Lacy Armwarmers
Progress: Well, I started them Saturday and finished them... Wednesday, I think.
Yarn: Garnstudio's Alpaca, color 1101
Needles: 2mm
Pattern: Something I got for free thanks to the combined efforts of yarn paradise YlloTyll and my knitting buddy Linn.