Nothing Like Wool For The Summer

Not a lot of sun or warm weather. We are using umbrellas, rubber boots and looking long and far for a bit of sunshine. But I am not complaining. Oh, I think I just did... LOL! Please sent a bit of summer. Please!!!

Now, this is what I call a perfect summer for using a woolly sweater. I simply fell for the pattern from Sandnes called Mogen. Thick yarn, big needles and a fairly quick knit. 

 

Showing off at a beach in Mandal.

Only thing is that raglan in this kind of sweater is a heavy thing on the needles. Not good for my shoulders. 

 

But raglan is my preferred bind off. It suits me the best and is excellent under a jacket. In this case an rain coat...

I really love the colors of it. The pattern had a photo of an oversized sweater but no mentioning of how to get that. 

 

I would have knitted it a couples of sizes bigger. And I actually did. A new one in red - coming to a blog post near you very soon. Need to get out in between the rain showers.

I used the yarn from the pattern. It is called Fritidsgarn. It has a very lovely feeling to it. Warm and soft after a turn in the washing machine. And it is a nice feeling using a sweater I knitted.

 

It is always a big thing to be so blessed that I can still do that. Although I had to let a lot of creative activity go the past years - I am even more grateful for the things I can actually do. Sometimes less really is more.

So, while I wait for the sun I can keep warm. Not bad at all. I wish for you that your summer is sunny and bright. And the brightest of days may not even have sun in them. It can be a small act of kindness from a stranger, a telephone call from a friend or simply be happy about what is life right now.

A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed

Henrik Ibsen

The Stitch Story

Yarn: Sandnes Fritidsgarn

Needle: 5.5mm, 6mm

Pattern: Mogen by Sandnes

My Ravelry Page: Dreaming of the sea  

No, this is not my boat. Nor do I intend to go sailing... I love the sea, but there are limits. LOL!

So Lucky Am I

I am so blessed. I have received gifts from Viola. I was so surprised getting cards and handmade gifts from her. We have been following each others blogs for a while. She brings so much light and joy into blog world. And she have the nicest words when she comments. I am so happy to have found her online in this dark world.

So the first gift was a little purse which I can open all up. And those colors - they are just what I love. And Viola knows that. How thoughtful. There were also two handwritten cards with images from where she lives - what a treasure these days.  

A few days ago I got another gift. She makes purses from chocolate wraps. Is that not amazing - before creating you can eat the chocolate. I simply have to learn sewing. LOL! The gift also hold a handwritten card with an image from really old paperclip and that beautiful colored thread around it.

That little purse is so delicate made. It even has a fabric inside with meerkats on. I think these small creatures are adorable. Viola did not know that - and that made a really lovely surprise.

 

You should visit Viola on her blog. See her photos from the nature where she lives and all the fun projects she creates. Thank you dear sweet Viola - you made my days and gave me hope. 

May no gift be too small to give, nor too simple to receive, 

which is wrapped in thoughtfulness, and tied with love

L. O. Baird

Should I Get Help?

 

Or should I knit another one? That is really a big question. LOL!!

One 3mm and one 9mm needle.

This is number 19 from the same pattern. Yes, I have knitted 19 shawls of them. That may qualify as something out of order. At least in my head. 

But nothing is so bad knitting will not cure it. Well, most of it anyway. Enough babbling. 

So when I knit the shawl I use an interchangeable cable where I add one 3mm needle in one end and a 9mm needle in the other end. 
The pattern is simply rib knit with one purl stitch and one knit stitch through the back loop.  

That creates the structure. Cool, isn't it? No wonder I have knitted so many. I should go for at least one more. 20 is such an even number. 

 The pattern is a free German one. I read German but I struggled a great deal with translating it to English. 

Google translator is not quite reliable for knitting patterns yet... But I found out in the end. And I was ecstatic when I saw the stitch pattern.

Right now I am knitting another sweater. I also finished a sweater - I will show it to you soon. In the meantime I can think of a new color for a new shawl... 

Enjoy creating no matter what it is. It soothes in these times.

The Stitch Story
Yarn: Rauma Finull Pt2, Mayflower Kid Silk
Needle: Interchangeable cable with 3mm and 9mm needles
Pattern: Geschickt Geschickt
My Ravelry Page: Number Nineteen 
 

 You are not crazy. You are a knitter. There is a cure for crazy.

Unknown

It Is Not Even Christmas

Well well well. Just in time for some really cold days and it is not even christmas: May I present my new sweater. I never expected to finish it so fast. But here it is. Although I wish my legs would grow a litte longer. About 10 centimeter to be correct. 

Let me explain. I am a very loose knitter. In fact I normally use one needle size smaller than suggested in every pattern. So I did this time as well. But it seems I knit even looser than before. Does that make me a looser??? Just kidding - LOL!

What is really strange is that I never discovered it before it was too late. I do not unravel unless it is really important. And this was not. And all this "Everything needs to be perfect" is killing all the joy in the world. 

The sweater is a highly modified pattern in which I added a stranded pattern. Garments in one color can give a body shape without shape. If you know what I mean? 

So if you divide it with some stranded pattern, stripes or another color in the right places it will turn out a compliment to your body shape. Just saying...

The sweater is knitted from Rauma Finull Pt2. What is really annoying is that when I finished the sweater it turned out that the dye lot was in different colors. 

Even I made sure the skeins all had the same number. At least I get a replacement - but this annoying color difference will stay on forever. 

But, the stranded pattern does in fact take most of the attention. So who cares? It is like visiting someone and they say: I am sorry I did not get to wash the windows before you came. 

You didn't really see dirty window until it was mentioned. Never tell anyone a mistake. The world will soon enough find one and magnify it. Well, now I have told mine about the sweater. Please, don't tell anyone. LOL!!! 

I actually enjoy wearing it. It is nice and warm. And it is still frost in the nights here - so I get to use it a lot in days to come. 

The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one

Elbert Hubbard

The Stitch Story

Yarn: Rauma Pt2

Needles: 2.5mm

Addition: Star pattern is from an old pattern called Jærkofta

My Ravelry Page: A Star Is Born

Showing off - nothing more to say about that. LOL!!

A Star Is Born

A raglan sweater is on my needles. One sleeve is half done.

A Norwegian quote by Henrik Wergeland tells us not to complain about missing spots of light under the stars. It may apply to life right now. 

Some do not see any light - everything is fear, darknes, loneliness and hopelessness. It is hard to see any tiny spots of light when the rest of the world seems dark. 

But if we allow the darkness to consume us, we put on the darkest of glasses.

I love Easter. It is a celebration and also a time to pray and give thanks. Giving thanks for those tiny or big spots of light I can find every single day.

The Horisont scarf is a spot of light.

I addition I knit as much as I can. It is not much - but who cares? I do what I manage and that is more than enough. 

And of course I eat as much marzipan eggs possible without having to buy a new wardrobe. LOL!

Right now I am knitting a sweater. It is a highly modified pattern in which I have added a stranded pattern. 

I am very excited to think that I maybe are wearing it this year. At least it is finished before the next winter. 

In between I knit a scarf in garter stitch that is really easy and not that hard on my shoulders and hands. 

That is another spot of light. Just as hearing the birds, seeing nature coming to life and see the love in other peoples eyes. 

Anyway, the scarf is called Horisont and I use Kauni in rainbow color in addition to a feather light mohair in turquoise. 

I wish you spots of light. I wish you a happy Easter. I wish you marzipan eggs. May you be blessed.

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite of all the darknes

Desmond Tutu

Is White A Color?

Did the white color draw your attention first? What color takes takes most attention?

Some will say that white is not even a color only absence of color. That means that you can't mix colors to create white. But, we refer to it as a color - how should we relate to it otherwise? Others say that white contains all the colors in the world - good luck mixing that. LOL!

I rarely use white in my knitting. Not because of what it is called, or not. But white steals all the attention from all other colors. 

It does not create any harmony and it reflects light in such a way that it can almost shine. 

In stranded knitting a lot of people think that white creates a great contrast. But it doesn't. Instead I either use a dark color that I like and a light color of it. You can see an example on how it works here. 

Or for really contrast I use complementary colors. See an example here. You can find the pattern for it here. But no rule without exception right? 

This time I tried loads of colors for my new scarf. But ended up with white. I made the stripes in white much smaller to even out - but white do stand out anyway. 

I think it works. I have even knitted another scarf in different colors, also with white stripes. 

The scarf is a Martina Behm design and I love her simple yet striking designs that really is all about mathematics and garter stitch. She is a genius. 

The photos are taken before the frost came. Not my cup of tea with under minus 10 degrees. I would rather drink tea and eat cake. LOL!

The scarf is knitted in Rauma Finull Pt2. Warm, nice and in fact quite colorful. At least it is a necessary this winter. Some bright white and a lot of hope is really what we need now. How do you use white in creating?

I think white is the most wonderful color of all, 

because within it one can find every color of the rainbow

Richard Meier

The Stitch Story

Yarn: Rauma Finull Pt2

Needles: 2.75mm

Pattern: Match And Move

My Ravelry Page: A Match

The white stripes are much smaller so they don't get too dominating.

Knitting Puzzles Me

Well, not literally. Or - maybe how cables are created just by moving stitches around. That is really amazing. 

In a really stressful period I discovered jigsaw puzzles. I started out with 1.000 pieces. No need to be a chicken - or a cat for that matter. LOL! 

You can see the first puzzle here. It is totally absorbing to puzzle and I forget everything else. 

In addition to create with small pieces and see a wonderful image emerge from the pile of what seems hopeless, you empty the brain from all worries. 

Work in progress - 1.000 pieces and one cat.  

I have had this cat image lying around for quite some time. Now was the time to piece it together. 

It is like life: Sometimes I wonder about the hardship. Sometimes I wonder about the joy and wonderful things. Does it make sense? I found that every piece has its place. If it is dark or colorful, if it is a mix of everything. If one piece is missing the whole puzzle is not complete.

At the end this wonderful image comes together from all those tiny pieces. Like a whole life put together.

Enogh of that. The puzzle is from Heye and is called 9 Lives. If you want to give it a go.

I have the hardest time taking my puzzles apart. All that joyful puzzling. And I love the images of them - would not puzzle them otherwise. They end up in frames - there is a slight chance of not getting enough walls if this continues. LOL!

I puzzle them on the rabbet of the frame so I don't have to move it when it is finished. 

I had actually no idea where to put the 9 Lives. But it ended up next to my scarves. I think it looks fantastic colorful and it makes me happy before I go out and when I get in. The Dot The I scarf and Lifelines are both free pattern you can download here.

How do you to put your mind at rest? What do you find joyful in everyday life?

There is not one blade of grass, there is no color 

in this world that is not intended to make men rejoice 

John Calvin

Fresh air, bright colors and a coffee with some nice chocolate - it brings joy for many days. This photo is from when I knitted my scarf Dot The I in fun colors. You can see more here.