Tuesday 26 June 2012

The Rat That Lie Flat

Squeezed inside a book this little fellow has to stay thin. So, that would mean that he is on a yarn diet...

Since the pattern is more like a guide I made a lot of alteration to it. And I am thankful to those on Ravelry who shared theirs - I simply jumped into it and made him as I knitted. I had to try out what I have learned from knitting other things.

I jumped into my stash - and it took a while to surface (!). I found some Rauma Finull in the colors I wanted and started knitting.

Originally all tiny things should be sewn on the rat and the head was supposed to be knitted flat.

No way I was going to knit and sew all those pieces. I would actually never have started on such a project.

I started knitting the head in the round, and continued on the body.

I added stitches to get the legs and a round shape. All in all, the rat is knitted in one peace. For the ears I picked up stitches on the rats head. I also picked up stitches for the feet. The tail is an icord knitted from the last three stitches on the body after BO the rest.

And now I can see this: How is it possible to put so much energy into such a tiny knit? Well, because it is so much fun to get it just as I wanted it. I love that rat - he makes me smile. And it is so fun to use the skills I have learned in knitting. I think I used about three hours for the bookmark.

It is the tiny things that makes the largest impact. Oh yeah!!

The Stitch Story
Yarn: Grey and pink Rauma Finull - black for the nose.
Needles: 2.5mm
Pattern: Squashed Rat Knitted Bookmark
Other materials: Small glass beads for eyes
Ravelry link: The Book Rat

Tuesday 19 June 2012

I Went Hitchhiking

Well, not in the sense of standing along a road waiting for someone to pick me up. I picked up someone instead, in this case stitches for a new shawlette. This is one of those projects that gives so much joy that it was nearly sad when I finished it.

I needed some mindless knitting and checked my favorites on Ravelry - and I must say that there is a lot to pick from. I have always thought garter stitch looks good on everyone else - but I did not like it for me. Well, everything changes.

So did my arguments against garter stitch. Having bought the yarn Socks That Rock I knew I was getting the best out of it with garter stitch.

After casting on I realised that I loved both the yarn and the pattern. The colors stands out with garter stitch and I was surprised about how fun it was to knit this. I like a tight knit so I used a 2.5mm needle. I think the garments holds up better when it is tight.

I love it when I can change my mind and get a new insight. It often seems like we has these notions of things. We simply has to try out things before making up our mind. I never thought I would like garter stitch - but I had never knitted anything with it. I could have missed this fun project just because I thought it was not me.

Having problems remembering rows?
As I have problems memorizing stitch patterns with different rows, I used a trick I saw on another blog. I am sorry - I do not remember were I saw it.

BUT, I copied and pasted each of the eight pattern rows into a table and cut them out.

I made a hole in the small sheets and draw a string of yarn through the holes to get them in order.

After each row I simply flipped over to the instruction for the next row.

Pure and simple - and I never lost track of where I was in the pattern. I used a clip to keep it together in the project bag.


The Stitch Story
Yarn: Socks That Rock (Fire on the mountain) from Blue Moon Fiber
Needles: 2.5mm
Pattern: Hitchhiker

Other materials: Tassels and small beads
Ravelry link: Hitchhiking To London


Wednesday 13 June 2012

For A Little Girl

A little girl is to be born soon and I have knitted a jacket and a bonnet for her. I never seem to finish my presents and always come up with just a little extra. In this case it was a knitted bird  - and it sort of completes the set. I also found a play suitcase to put it all in. It is going to be so much fun to give away.

Every one says it is so easy and quick to knit baby clothes.

But on the most I had as much stitches on my needle as for a grown up jacket. Tiny needles and thin yarn. I do not consider myself as a slow knitter but I actually spent about 70 hours on this.


But I am very happy about how it came out in the end. After washing and blocking it looks so nice and cute.

I had to frog my first attempt on the jacket - using a bad yarn from Dale. It was splitting and got fuzzy so I changed to Sandnes Lanett and that did the trick.

I like a tight knit - it gives a better stitch definition and keep the garment better looking over time. That made the stitch pattern a little fiddling, but it is so special and it looks nice.

Giving knitted things away is always scary - did it came out as it should?

Does it look good enough to give away? All those thoughts and all the time it takes to come to the point: It is ok, it looks good enough and I have a good feeling about giving it away. Familiar??

I hope the little girls parents will be happy about the set, and that it gives a little girl comfort in her first days.

The Stitch Story
Yarn: Sandnes Lanett (set), Dale Falk and Drops Karisma (bird)
Needles: 2mm (set), 3mm (bird)
Size: 3 months
PatternBaby setFree bird pattern
Other materials: Buttons, silk ribbon
Ravelry linkLittle Baby



Thursday 7 June 2012

Beauty And The Beast

This is the story about the fragile, sensible, delicate and the bulky, noisy and space taking. Welcome to the scarf with a story of a free german pattern the everlasting stash yarn and the thin mohair thread.

When I discovered the scarf first on Ravelry I finally found out what I could do with my stashed Noro yarn.

I have tried various things with it and never really liked the colors or the feel of the yarn.

Why do I buy yarn just because others says it is soooo good (and often expensive)? Well, I did.

Anyway, back to that story. I´ve knitted with the thin mohair yarn Plumet before and liked it very much. I found two skeins of a discontinued color to match my beast - or one of my Noro skeins and started knitting.

And did I love it - YES! I immediately saw the match. The scarf is light and warm and I think Noro finally found a place somewhere in my heart of yarn.

Used for the right projects it seems to be ok after all. It was a bit strange to knit with such an uneven yarn and the very thin one. But after a while it was ok. It knits up fast after all.

I have already planned another scarf similar to this - after all my Noro has to get out of those boxes to play with some friends. These two completes each other. Just like chocolate and chocolate...


The Stitch Story
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden Sock, Sesia Plumet
Needles: 3.5mm
Size: About 173cm long
PatternSonnensegel
Other materials: One pom pon
Ravelry linkBeauty And The Beast