Knitty Nerd

I tried to make one of the beaded bows with a lovely cotton yarn, but the whole thing came out all flopsy and droopy. It kind of looked like a sad clown bow.

So, instead I had to find a pattern that fit a cotton yarn, and Drops provided again. This lovely set of socks and bonnet for a baby was made in a jiffy and came out quite well, I think. The yarn would be soothing and cool on a summer day, and provide warmth on cold days.

The free patterns from Drops is now making it on to my useful links for knitting, as a fledgeling pattern designer, I've found it very helpful to have a large resource for looking up solutions that others have had.

And I'm learning from my red experiment, now I know that a cotton yarn is not very firm and can not provide a shape on its own. If I want to make something that isn't clothing and should stay in a particular shape on it's own, choose something else. Although, cotton yarn is definitely nice for clothing.

Until next time,

Happy Knitting

I have decided how to begin my journey towards writing my own patterns.

One of the skills I lack is choosing yarn. Usually I just use the yarn recommended in the pattern.

So now I have bought a whole heap of different yarns, all approximately sport or sock weight and all in dark red. I have chosen all sorts of materials in the yarns, all sorts of brands, and both the discount stores and fine yarn shops were visited. In the picture above are some of the skeins I bought. I wanted all of them in same or same-ish color so I would not get distracted by color when I looked at the results and evaluated qualities.

Next, I will try to make the same things with different yarns, and try to learn about their qualities and what they are best used for.

Hopefully this will be the first leg of my journey, maybe it will get me from Hobbiton to the Old Forest, or if I'm lucky, all the way to Bree. Or maybe it's just a little adventure before the journey begins for real.  Either way, the yarn looks tempting and I can't wait to begin.

Until next time,

Happy Knitting

Vacation time is coming up for most people, but I have already come back from mine.

I went to Cambridge, and filled my time with pubs, colleges, punting, museums, crumpets, tea and all the other things you'd imagine doing in there.

But the reason for my post, is the yarn shop in Cambridge, The Sheep Shop. It is a little out of the way, but, as it turns out, well worth the trip. The staff was simply the friendliest, and most service minded I have seen in a long time. After browsing the yarns for a bit I was offered a cup of tea (how British, right?) and a seat where me and some other customers sat and talked for a bit about knitting, yarn and England. It was just lovely. Don't you wish every yarn shop was like that?

They stoked quite a few types of yarn, both the larger brands and some locally made. I found a brand called Sparkleduck, and chose a skein of some type of dark red in the yarn called Galaxy.

The staff at The Sheep Shop told me it was hand dyed right there in Cambridge, witch made me like it even more. There is something special about a yarn made just where you are, somehow. Well, at least it's that way for me. And hand dyed is also an attraction.

The yarn is fingering weight and made of 75% wool, 20% nylon and 5% stellina. (See more at their website.) As you can se in the picture above, there is a little sparkle in the yarn, but is's quite subtle. Most glitter-type yarns are so overdone I don't know what to make with them, but this can be knit into quite a few things without becoming too gaudy.

Now I just have to find the time to use it...








Isn't it tempting? Don't you just want to knit when you see it?

Until next time,
Happy Knitting

In my language this kitchen utensil is sometimes called a mother-in-law. It is sharp, dangerous and can bite your fingers off, but still it has it's uses. Luckily, my mother-in-law does not bite, and is actually very nice, so I made her this cowl.



She wanted a new one in the same size as her old one, so the pattern gave itself.

It is knit in a "thick and thin" yarn using stockinette stitch (right side rows knit and wrong side purl). This yarn is discontinued, I think, 'cause I could not find it on the net or on ravelry, but I did find a yarn of about the same yardage and thickness. It is called Lumpy Bumpy Yarn by Charlene and comes in semi-solid and variegated color ways.  And it is really beautiful.

I made the cowl 30 cm (about 12 inches) wide and 170 cm (about 67 inches) long, but if I made it for myself I would have made it about 20 cm (about 8 inches) shorter. However, give people what they want, and this is the length my mother-in-law wanted. Then I sewed it together to make it a cowl. And that is it.











Download the almost cowl patten, if you can somehow use it.

Until next time,

Happy knitting.