At least I'm getting some knitting done...

Yeah, I've been sick for almost the entire week. On Monday evening I felt an itch in my throat that wasn't supposed to be there, but I ignored it and hoped it had something to do with all the dust lying around the apartment. We're living in boxes everywhere right now, as we move in two weeks, so there's really no point in cleaning. Anyway, I went to work as usual on Tuesday, and just felt crappier and crappier as the day went on. So at two i decided I had had enough, and went home and went to bed with 38.5 centigrades in fever. So that's where I've been these past three days! No fun at all, I've been coughing my lungs out and have a smashing headache, so I've been watching a lot of old TV series and knitted a lot. Today I woke up without a fever, but my temperature is rising as I write this (which I feel by the increasing headache and increasing chills) so I'll probably spend the weekend in bed as well.

Well, yesterday I managed to FINALLY finish my panama shawl! I blocked it this morning (and afterwards I felt dizzy and sweaty, so I probably wasn't ready for that kind of "strenuous" activity), and it's looking very pretty. Here is the usual blocking picture:

It is kind of big, I'm guessing it's at least 1.5 m wide at the top, but it's incredibly thin so I think it will work as a scarf around the neck as well. I started this one in February last year, so it's been lying around for more than a year before it finally got done! I'm so very happy to have this one out of the way!

As I'm currently kind of hooked on lace, I decided yesterday to focus on the Ethereal Triangle shawl now that the Panama was done. But the cable is starting to come loose on the KnitPicks needle, and I got so tired of the yarn snagging at the glitch, I decided to wait until I get me some new needles. I finished the Panama with my new ChiaoGoo Bamboo needle, and let me tell you: I am IN LOVE! The join between needle and cable is incredibly smooth, and the cable itself is incredible. It is completely memory-free, which means that it doesn't coil up at all. So I went and ordered three more of these needles yesterday evening as well, in sizes 2.25, 2.5 and 2.75 mm. I just hope that the tips are as sharp on the bigger needles. I still like the KnitPicks needles, but I think I might just love the DPN's, while the circulars are just ok. The join isn't as smooth as I first thought when I bought them, and the cables do coil a lot. Plus, I've had several needles break on me these past couple of weeks, so I'm not that fond of the quality either. We'll see if the ChiaoGoo ones are any better. The main drawback with these ones though, is that they don't come in any interchangeable sets, so you have to buy a lot of different needles to get different lengths of cables for every needle size. I'm not sure if I'm up to that, so I'll just start with the smaller sizes (that doesn't come in interchangeable version at KnitPicks either), and see how I like them.

Ok, now my energy is running out, so I think I'll go lie down again. I'll bring the Silken Scabbard sweater with me to work on, I think.

/ Jenny

New Needles and New Knitting

Even though I haven't finished anything since last I wrote, I've managed to start something new. It seems like four projects is the perfect number for me! I actually picked up the Panama shawl two weeks ago, for the first time in ages, and found it a real treat. I think I've been bitten by the lace bug once again! It's been a while since I've felt the slightest bit motivated to knit any lace at all, but now it's all I want to do! I've just finished the first of the two skeins I plan to use on this shawl, and it's looking good:

(Yes, that's Hobbe's butt. I couldn't be bothered to move him before the phot shoot) I'm using a yarn that I found on Etsy a while ago, at a shop called Chopped Tomatoes. The owner has since quit Etsy and started her own web shop, which can be found here. Although it seems like she won't be dyeing any more yarn until this summer, so I urge you to take the chance to buy while it's available! The yarn is called Heavenly Infusion (which isn't available any more), colourway Sister Sister, and it's 499 m/50 g of yummy 85 % wool/15 % cashmere. The yarn is very nice and soft, but it is very fragile as it's very thin! I think I managed at least four breaks in the first skein alone, so it means a lot of ends to weave in. But I can live with that as long as the shawl doesn't break.

However, as I was happily knitting away on this one two weeks ago, I went up to pick up something from the kitchen, and when I came back to the living room, Thomas had managed to sit on my 2 mm needle, and break it. It was one of my fixed circulars, from KnitPicks, and as it was the wooden one, it snapped like a twig. Luckily, I had another, shorter one in my case, so I just switched needles (while muttering silently to myself, at least I didn't yell at Thomas as I know this is an easy mistake to make). Then, on Sunday, I sat down on the second needle as well... Darn! So I ordered two new ones from Garnkorgen, and they arrived last Tuesday, almost two weeks ago. I haven't had time to knit very much on it the last couple of weeks though, as I've been too busy at work and too tired in the evenings, but now I at least have a needle for it!

While I went two days without a working lace project, I of course had to start a new one to keep me busy. I chose the Ethereal Triangle shawl, and I'm knitting it in Madelinetosh Prairie yarn (100 % merino, 768 m/114 g) in colourway Oxblood:

This is a nice pattern, and the first chart is really easy. Which means I can sometimes work on it at work! These past few weeks have been super busy at work though, so I haven't really had a chance to even look at my knitting while there, but it's nice to know that once it slows down I have something perfect to pick up! I'm knitting this one on 2.75 mm needles, which are at least a little bit sturdier than the 2 mm ones. Let's hope I don't break these as well!

Oh, I have to brag a bit as well! About two weeks ago I had my annual salary talk with my boss at work. As I've taken on some extra tasks at work this past semester (I'm going to tutor biology students who do their internship at our lab, among other things), I managed to negotiate a bit of a raise! Yay! It will come in effect on April 1st, which will be perfect for when we move (that is only one month away now, it's going so fast!). To celebrate, I decided that I wanted to try out a new brand of knitting needles, to see if I couldn't find one that was a bit more durable than the KnitPicks ones (I bet you thought I would buy yarn, didn't you?). I finally settled on a bamboo needle from ChiaoGoo. 

I chose a bamboo one, as I don't like metal needles, although I've heard terrific things about their Red Lace metal ones. I ordered one 32 inch circular needle, in 2 mm, and it seems very nice and slick, with a very sharp point. However, I think I maybe should have ordered a thicker needle, to evaluate the sharpness, as it's almost impossible to make a blunt 2 mm needle! Oh well, maybe next time! I bought mine from the Etsy shop Grandma's Knit & Crochet.

While I surfed around looking for a shop that would ship the ChiaoGoo needle to Europe for a reasonable price, I came across a new type of needle: The Blackthorn Needles. They are made from Carbon Fibre, and look Oh So Slick! They are insanely expensive too, but I actually splurged on one set of 6 inches long, 1.75 mm thick needles. I bought mine from The Little Knitting Company in the UK, so the shipping was practically nothing. And amazingly enough, both packages came after only three days in the mail! And let me tell you: These needles are everything they are said to be. Very sharp, incredibly hard but oddly enough a little bit flexible, and warm to the touch. I LOVE THEM! 

I wish I could afford one set in each size! But when you think about it, as these needles are so incredibly hard and will probably last longer than my lifespan, it is probably a pretty good buy as you wouldn't need to buy any more dpn's for the rest of your life. Does it sound like I'm trying to justify another buy? Yeah, it does to me as well. I won't order any more right now, but I thought I might wish for some for my birthday in May!

Last Sunday, Anna and I spent the day together for the first time in ages! We both agreed that we probably hadn't seen each other since September! That is five months ago, which is WAY too long! But we had a really nice day, we knitted a lot (altough Anna mostly frogged), we made a bit of food, and we ended the day by going to a yoga lesson together with my sister. I'm not convinced that Yoga is for me, since I really suck at it and spend most of my energy trying to get the motions right. But I might give it one more chance, we'll see.

Other than yoga, I have really kept the exercise going this semester. At least so far. I've been going twice a week since January, and even though that isn't very long, it's more than I've exercised for the past two years! And I think it's pretty fun too, and I already feel that I have a little more energy. Win-Win!

Ok, Thomas has been out of town for a week now, he came home yesterday night, so I'm going to spend the weekend with him. We'll mostly be packing, but I think we can manage to sneak in some movie-time tonight as well. See you all soon!

/ Jenny

New photos!

I've finally gotten round to taking some new photos today, so now I present to you: The Ramona mittens:

They're double-knitted in KnitPicks Palette yarn (100 % wool, fingering weight) in colourways Cream and Teal (I think you can guess which is which), and I really really like them! They are a bit big, but that's ok, it just means I can get another pair on underneath :)

I also took a new photo of the Silken Scabbard sweater, but that one is taken inside this evening, after sunset. So it's a bit darker, and looks a bit yellow, which it absolutely isn't. Also, the red lines are lifelines (I put them in so I can try the sweater on, as the needle cable is too tight for me otherwise), so ignore those.

I'm just about where the waist is narrowest, so it's pretty straight forward knitting right now, so perfect for work. And I love making sweaters in a bit heavier yarn (this is DK), as it REALLY eats into my stash. And as we're moving in about a month and a half, that is a very good thing!

Other than that, not much has happened these past few days. Thomas had his birthday on Friday, so yesterday a couple of our friends came here for birthday cake, pizza and board games. It was a really nice afternoon/evening, even though Klara won both games we played (I'm not a sore looser, no no!)!

Maybe I've gotten to the sleeves on the sweater when I see you next?

/ Jenny

Still Alive

(Did you get the Portal reference?)

Yes, I'm still breathing. I'm sorry I have neglected you all! As usual, I don't have any real excuse, other than being lazy. I've been doing quite a lot of knnitting these past two weeks, but I've only mnaged to finsih the Ramona mittens. I haven't gotten around to taking a photo of them both together, so you'll have to do with the old photos again. I'm at work right now (it's a slow day!), so I can't get any new ones right now either. But I LOVE the mittens, and as we've had temperatures way below freezing these past few weeks, they have come in handy too.

Other than that I've mostly knit on the Silken Scabbard sweater, I'm a bit below the arm holes now and knitting my way towards the waist. So far it's looking really good, and I love working with this yarn! It's Rowan Silk Wool, which is a discontinued yarn unfortunately, and right now it looks like I have plenty of it! It's incredibly soft, but still very shiny from the silk, so I'm betting this sweater will look good :)

Yesterday I managed to break my hand bag! I ordered it with my very first KnitPicks order I think, and it has been perfect for me!

It held my work shoes (as I go to different places quite often, I can't leave them at work), my iPad, my travelling pharmacy (which isn't too big, but not too small either. Remember my stomach?), and at least two knitting projects, as well as wallet, phone and miscellaneous small stuff. Just perfect! So I was very sad yesterday when one of the handles broke in two. As soon as I got home I got on etsy to see if I couldn't find something else to replace it with (as KnitPicks no longer carry this bag. Otherwise I would have just ordered a new one immediately!), and finally settled on this one:

It's from the shop Burlapdesign, and I really, really like it! I just hope it gets here soon! And I hope it's big enough, when I went to fetch my measuring tape to measure the KnitPicks bag (so I would know what size bag I was looking for, I'm still not a natural when it comes to thinking in inches as opposed to centimeters), it turns out I have replaced it somewhere. I seem to remember playing with it with Hobbe a couple of months back, and I'm not sure I've seen it since. I think I'll just have to buy a new one! I ended up measuring the bag with a ruler and then going online to translate it into inches...

Tomorrow Thomas has his birthday, so we're going to celebrate a bit this weekend by making a cake and maybe playing a bit of board games as well. I'll try not to be away as long again!

/ Jenny

I'm getting a bit tired of mittens...

I thought I would have a finished pair of mittens to show you today, but alas. On Monday night this week I noticed that I seemed to have switched one stitch about ten rows down from where I was. This meant that one of the stitches on the side of the second mitten would be white instead of green (on the green side of the mittens, remember they are reversible?). I thought a while about it and finally decided that I could live with that. I figured I might be able to double-stitch it afterwards. Then on Tuesday I had an incredibly slow day at work, and knitted A LOT on the mitten. I was about to take stitches off for the thumb, when I had a closer look at it. It turns out that it wasn't just one stitch I had switched colour on. It was HALF A ROW! It looked really bad, and I just had to bite the bullet and rip it out. By then it was more than half the mitten!

Ok, fair enough. On Wednesday I knitted a lot after work too, and in the evening I noticed that once again I had switched colour on a row about ten rows down. On about ten stitches. Sigh! Rip rip rip. But now I've taken off the stitches for the thumb (again), and knitted about 2 cm above that, and it FINALLY looks good again! But you can see why I'm getting a bit sick of these mittens now, can't you? I haven't gotten any new photos of it yet though, so you'll have to wait until next weekend. By then I WILL be finished!

To cheer myself up a bit, I decided to cast on for a pair of socks instead. I chose a pair from the 10 socks collection that I'm knitting from, the Blue Lagoon socks. This is the seventh pair I'm knitting from that collection, just three more to go! I'm making them in KnitPicks Stroll yarn (75 % wool/25 % nylon) in colourway Saphire Heather, which is really gorgeous. When I made the gloves I spoke of last time, the Guinevere gloves, I used this yarn too, and I really really like it. I know that it's insanely cheap sock yarn, but I enjoy both the feel of it and it's durability. I've only made one pattern repeat yet, and haven't got any photos to show for it either, so you'll have to take me at my word that they look good :)

If you're wondering why I haven't taken any photos of anything, it's because the snow finally arrived this weekend, and the past couple of days have been quite stormy. So no good daylight! I've spent Saturday on the couch watching bad TV and knitting a lot on the mittens (which even though they are kind of boring to knit on right now look amazing, so I really want to finish them). Thomas has visited his brother in Gothenburg this weekend, so I've had the apartment to myself. Today I've done some cleaning and laundry, adn me and my sister went to our first work out session in about a year. Boy was it hard! My stomach has prevented me from pretty much any exercise this past year, but now I finally feel good enough to start working out again. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow!

/ Jenny

I've found my Mojo! I've found my Mojo!

Yes, it's true! I've finally had a real urge to knit again, after being in a bit of a slump for quite a while. I told you I finished the Brandywine shawl the other week, and here it is in all it's glory:

It's made with Wetterhof Silla yarn, which is fingering weight 70 % wool/30 % silk, and it's not amazingly soft but comfy enough. It's not scratchy at all, it's just a bit stiff, it kind of feels a bit like paper. But it feels nice around my neck, and I think it will soften with wear. I like it a lot, it's not as lace-y as a lot of the shawls I've made so far but it feels good to branch out a bit.

I've also finished the Ookuru socks, and they turned out pretty good too, even though the pooling on the feet turned out pretty much the opposite on the different socks...

I like them anyway, even though these too, are not the softest I've made. I think I told you that the yarn is a bit stiff as well, I'm guessing it's from the bamboo content (it's Marias Garn Handpainted sock yarn, 75 % superwash wool/25 % bamboo), but it makes really durable socks. I bought two of these skeins in 2010, when I turned 30, and so far I've made 2 pairs of socks from it and I still have more than 60 g left. So it's lasted long too, which is nice. I'm making a last pair of socks from it some time in the future, but not right away.

I've also finished the first of the Ramona mittens, the double knitted ones:

I LOVE these! It's taking me forever with the double knitting, but it's well worth it. They look awesome on both sides, and I love patterns from Laris Designs. They are very well written, with lots of clear instructions with photos. I've only knitted one of her patterns before (The Guinevere Gloves) but I kind of want to knit pretty much all of her patterns! They are just that pretty. These mittens turned out a bit too long though, so I decided to leave out a few rows on the pattern, where it wouldn't be very visible. Now it fits me perfectly!

I'm making the mittens in KnitPicks Palette yarn (100 % fingering weight wool), and even though it is pretty soft, it still isn't the softest wool there is either. I think this might be the reason for the knitting slump: I just haven't knitted with any really fun yarn! But I think I need to finish up these projects I'm currently working on before I cast on for something new though, I feel like I've been working on them forever!

I still have the Panama shawl and the Silken Scabbard sweater left in my projects bag, and I think the sweater will be the one I tackle next. That one has been in a time-out since I had to frog the whole thing due to a very wonky-looking collar. I've since then knitted the other type of neck that the pattern gives, but I just lost the steam on that one. Once I finish the mittens it's time for a second wind on it though!

As 2011 ended, I had a look at my finished stuff for the year. I haven't been as productive as in 2010, I finished 21 projects in 2011, compared to 27 projects in 2010. I think a lot of it is because of my new job, which makes me too tired some evenings to even think about knitting. I still love the job, so it's ok. And I think 21 projects is fine! I only managed to make 2 shawls for the 11 shawls in 2011 challenge on Ravelry though... That didn't stop me from signing up for 12 shawls in 2012 (as you can see by the banner in the right column!), but I doubt I'll make 12 this year. I still want to make more than two! But I think I have to finish the Panama first, before I cast on for a new one, otherwise it will never get done!

After a very busy week at work, it's so nice to finally have two days off during the weekend. Not that I don't always have that, it's just that I've been really tired this week. But today has been spent on the couch knitting and watching TV-series (Big Bang Theory, The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural) and movies (Red Riding Hood and Contagion), and now Thomas is playing Skyrim on the x-box, which means even more knitting time for me. Maybe I should take a walk or something, so I move something more than my hands today? Nah, I think I'll stay right here!

/ Jenny

And the winner is...

... Klara! Kind of weird that I should pull out one of my best friends, but since there only were three competitors, the odds were pretty high I guess. Klara is also coming here today for some board game playing, so she'll get the book then. Maybe we should knit instead of game? I wonder what our boys would think of that...

I hope everyone had a lovely New Year's Eve! I had such a blast, the best New Year in a lot of years! We went to dinner at Klara and Micke's place, and saw a bunch of friends that we very rarely see. I think I haven't seen Jenny and Tomas (lovely names, aren't they. Not confusing at all when we hang out together...) for almost a year! We didn't come home until 3.30 in the morning, which I've been paying for all week. I think I'm starting to get too old to be out so late! But it was well worth it, so that's ok. Plus, the week was only four working days, since Friday is a national holiday here in Sweden (it's called 13th day, and I think we're celebrating when the three wise men visited baby Jesus, or something like that. I'm not sure!), so we've had a three day weekend here. 

In those three days I've managed to finish a shawl! Last week I picked up the Brandywine shawl again, after a very long time in time-out, and yesterday I finished it! Unfortunately, I've washed two of my old sweaters this weekend, and they're currently drying upstairs on my blocking mats, so I don't have any room right now to block the shawl. It will have to wait until some time this week. So I don't have any photos right now, I'll be sure to get them until next time too.

Today I think I'm going to knit some more on the Ookuru socks, so I can finish those as well. I think I might have found my knitting mojo again!

/ Jenny

Back before the new year!

Wow, I'm a bit impressed with myself! I have to warn you though, that this post won't be very long either. I just don't have that much exciting to report!

Although, we have decided to buy the house! We move the last weekend in March, and it's going to be so much fun! Well, not the actual move, but you know. Owning our own house, doing the interior decorating, stuff like that. You are hereby all invited to come visit! I recommend coming during the summer, when Sweden usually shows its best side :)

Christmas has been really good, although it's been a bit hectic to find the time to see everyone. I think we managed most of our family, and a few friends too. We got to see our god son Alex, who got a stuffed Super Mario toy for Christmas from us (you have to teach them about the important stuff early....) . I got an awesome gift from my parents, the book "Julkulor" by Arne & Carlos (it's the book 55 Christmas Balls to knit, but in swedish). The book came with a small kit with yarn and stuffing to make two Christmas balls. Our Christmas tree next year is going to look awesome!

Then, on Christmas Day, I actually got the very same book from Thomas' grandparents! So I've decided to give one of them away here on the blog, instead of exchanging it. If you want it, just leave me a comment here on the blog telling me you want to be in on the draw. If you follow the blog, you'll be eligible for one more entry. Bear in mind though, that the book is in swedish! Most of the patterns are charted, but the description on how to make the actual ball at the beginning of the book is in swedish. I'll draw the winner on the 6th of January.

On my own knitting front, nothing much has happened. I just haven't had the time to knit during the weekend, and this week I've been alone at the lab so there's been plenty of work to keep me occupied! This weekend we need to get out to the cabin to see if the recent storms have blown the roof off, and then on Saturday night we're celebrating New Years Eve with some friends. It's going to be awesome! But there won't be much knitting I think.

Have a nice New Year, and I'll see you some time next week!

/ Jenny

VERY quick update!

We're just on our way home to our parents for the Holiday, so I'll be very quick today! The building inspection went ok, there are some issues with the roof and the foundation, but we don't think it's stuff we can't handle. We have until next Friday to decide what we want to do, so I'll be back by then.

Have a very Merry Christmas, and I'll be back before next year starts!

/Jenny


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I'm not even going to bother making excuses

It's just been one of those months. I feel like I haven't had a day to relax in ages, which means that the blog has suffered a bit. Let's see if I can remember everything that has been happening around here since I last wrote (which was almost a month ago!)

On the last weekend of November I got a terrible cold, and spent the entire weekend knocked out on the couch. I was even too sick to knit much! No fun at all. I spent Monday at home too, but then got back to work. 

Then on the first weekend of December we went to Borås to watch the Christening ceremony of one of our friends' baby, Gustav. It was a beautiful ceremony in Brämhults church, and we got to see lots of friends that we don't meet very often at the celebratory gathering after the ceremony. Then that evening we visited my grandfather, who had a birthday party, and on Sunday before we went back to Linköping we visited Thomas' father and had a lovely dinner. A really busy weekend, without knitting practically anything.

Last weekend, which was the third of Advent, my mother came to visit. When she had her birthday back in October, me and my sister bought her concert tickets for a Christmas concert with two swedish musical artists, Peter and Matilda (who are cousins, by the way).  That's their official fan page, but I recommend watching one of their YouTube videos to actually hear them sing instead, this is by far my favourite one. They have had a Christmas show for three years running, and the past two years I've been there with Anna. This year I went with my mother and sister, and it was an amazing concert! Even though the weather has been war and rainy (and by warm I mean not below freezing), we aren't getting much in the way of Christmas spirit here. But the concert helped.

Then on Sunday, third of Advent, me and Thomas went to Mantorp to look at the house we want to buy again, and meet with the seller. We stayed for over two hours, and went through stuff like the heating system, water pumps and other such fun inventories. Anyway, it ended up with us signing the purchase contract on Monday, so now we're just waiting for the building inspection to pass, then we will own a house! This house, to be exact:

The inspection will take place on Tuesday this coming week, and if everything is ok we will be moving in at the beginning of April. I can't tell you how excited we are about this! It still feels a bit unreal, but the house is just so pretty and exactly what we want. I will be a lot closer to where I work, and Thomas will be very close to a very convenient train commute. Perfect! Plus, the house has an extra guest house in the yard, so if you ever want to come visit us in Sweden, you will have a place to stay :)

Then finally, this weekend, we spent yesterday in town buying the last Christmas gifts, then went to the cabin to close it  up for the winter, and then me and my sister made chocolate candy the entire afternoon and evening. Today has FINALLY been a day of rest, we've spent the day lounging on the couch watching the first of the Lord of the Rings movies and playing video games.

Last Christmas I got an unfinished Santa doll from Thomas' aunt. Her mother had started knitting it before she died, and Aunt Kerstin asked if I wanted to finish it. I felt really honoured by this, and as I really only needed to knit a small hat and finish the face, I of course accepted. So this past week I've been knitting a small red hat from stash yarn, and today I glued on some wool for hair and beard. I think it looks really cute!

And please excuse the harsh flash photography, it's just so dark here these days! As the weather is really crappy (it's not snowing, it's slushing), it's almost dark all day long too. Thankfully, on Thursday it will all turn around, as that is the longest night of the year on the northern hemisphere, and by the end of January I bet we will start to see the difference! January feels like a long way off though.

Oh, on Tuesday it was St Lucia day here in Sweden, which we celebrate with Lucia processions. This year too, the swedish TV station SVT aired a very pretty version of it, you can go and watch it here. The show will be up until the middle of January, so you have a while to enjoy it! I kind of miss my choir days, when I participated in lots of Lucia processions, but I enjoy it enough just to watch it too. And I get to sing along as much as I want!

Ok, Christmas next weekend! We will be going to Borås for the weekend, trying to squeeze in all of our families in the puny three days off from work we have. I'm not anticipating lots of rest, but hopefully some at least. And we will celebrate New Year's Eve here in Linköping, at our friends' Klara and Micke, which will be super fun! I'm really excited about that evening as we see them way too seldom!

There has been exceptionally little knitting this past month, but I've accomplished some at least. The first of the Ookuru socks is done, and the second is just past the heel:

I know I said I wanted to make these knee-highs, but I changed my mind when I saw the... interesting... pooling on them. Once again I'm making socks only a crazy knitted could love! So I think I will be able to make a third pair of socks from this yarn eventually. I have to admit I'm not overly fond of the yarn though, but the socks I made about a year ago have worn very well and they seem to be incredibly durable, probably due to the bamboo content in the yarn. But even after lots of wear, the socks are a bit on the stiff side. And they still bleed something terrible every time I wash them. But it sure is pretty though!

I also decided on a whim to start a new pair of mittens, and I chose the Ramona mittens by Laris designs. They are double knitted, and I'm making them with KnitPicks Palette yarn in colours Cream and Teal:

I'm a bit obsessed with double knitting right now, I've never done it before and it is so much fun! I love that the mittens are reversible, and twice as thick as ordinary. I'm almost up to putting the thumb on waste yarn, so about half-way on the first mitten. I'm very glad I started these though, as yesterday when we were out at the cabin, I managed to break my Cat mittens!

There is a huge hole on the thumb on one of the mittens, and as I have no idea how to darn it with two colours, I think I will rip the thumb up and re-knit it. I'm definitely not ready to throw the mittens away, as I LOVE them! But that will be a project for after the holidays, when I will hopefully have a whole weekend off some time!

I will try to get back to you with at least a short post about how the building inspection goes on Tuesday. And to wish you a Merry Christmas too, of course!

/ Jenny

Lots of good mail

There has been so much going on here lately that I completely forgot to post! First of all, I don't think I told you, but a while ago me and Thomas decided that we wanted to start looking at houses to buy. We have been renting a semi-detached house for a while, but we've figured that we are probably rooted enough here in Linköping and its vicinity, to actually buy a house. And we've found one! At least, we've found one we want, now it's just a question of money. We've put in one offer that has been declined, so right now we're more or less thinking about how much we will be able to pay, where our limit will be. I'll let you know how it goes, but it's very exciting!

I've also gotten some stuff in the mail that I really want to tell you guys about. First, I got my small package from Eat.Sleep.Knit, about a week ago I think. I bought four skeins of yarn, which was very moderate of me, don't you think? The first one is MacKintosh Yarns Celtic Sock yarn, in colourway Black Plum:

It's 366 m/100 g, 90 % wool/10 % nylon, so perfect sock yarn. I really adore this colour, it's very pretty, and the yarn is nice too :)

The second, and third, skeins that I got were Shibui Knits Sock yarn, in colourway Periwinkle:

It's 175 m/50 g, 100 % Merino, and oh so soft! I have two of these skeins before, in colourway Honey, and I adore them. I think a pair of these might move high up in the sock queue soon, as I really want to break into them!

The last skein I got was a skein of The Sanguine Gryffon Bugga! yarn in colourway Oleander Nymph:

It's 377 m/113g, so it's listed as sport, but I think it will do perfectly for socks. It's 70 % Superwash Merino/20 % Cashmere/10 % Nylon, and it's also incredibly soft and squishy. I've wanted to try this yarn for a long time, but it's pretty expensive with over $30 for one skein. But now I finally decided to splurge this time, and ordered myself a skein. I'll let you know how I feel about it once I knit it up.

I also got two pairs of tips for my interchangable needles set from KnitPicks. Actually, the tips I got this time weren't from KnitPicks, but rather Knitter's Pride Cubics needles. But they fit on the same cables, so I just got the tips. They are wooden needles, but they are cubic in shape, and I actually find them pretty comfortable. But I think I prefer the regular ones though, so I'll probably not get any more of these.

I also got a scratch ticket from the Eat.Sleep.Knit shop, I think they send one out with every order, and you can win skeins of yarn or store discounts, things like that. I actually managed to win one skein of Malabrigo yarn! Yay! I haven't decided yet if I want a skein of lace yarn or sock yarn (although the store is having trouble with supply of the sock yarn, so there are about three colourways available right now), but I guess I don't have to send the ticket in right away anyway.

Then on Thursday last week I think, I got my package from the Sarahkincheloe etsy shop. I got three needle organizers! The first one is for my fixed circulars, as they have just been lying in their original packages from KnitPicks, in my very boring, plastic bag before:

Here is their new home:

Isn't it pretty?! It's very well made as well, and takes up a lot less space. I also got an orgaizer for all of my accessories, like my scissors, my measuring tape, my cable needles and stuff like that:

All of that stuff was also located in the plastic bag before, but as that bag was so bulky it was difficult to lug it around with every project I was working on. Most often my notions just ended up lying loose in the project bag I was using, this is so much better!

Finally, I got a smaller notions pouch to keep the smaller stuff in, like stitch markers, buttons, needle and thread, and stuff like that:

Don't you love how they all match! And I am so pleased that I can finally throw out the ugly plastic bag, now every needle in my stash has a pretty home! I have a green needle roll for my small sock dpn's, I have a striped and flower-patterned needle roll that my sister sewed for my larger dpn's, I have a small needle roll with faces on (that my sister also made for me)  for my wooden interchangeable needle tips, and my KnitPicks Spectra acrylic needle tips are currently residing in a very cute pencil case. I think my needles are spoiled...

Oh, did you want to read about actual knitting? Well, there hasn't been to much of that happening around here lately, I've just been so tired these past few days! I did manage to put the sleeves on hold on my Silken Scabbard sweater on Saturday, and then tried it on. I found out that the collar was WAY too wide for me, even though I followed the pattern and the rest of the sweater fit me. I don't know how anybody could wear it without drastic changes, so I decided to do the wide collar option instead. So I frogged the whole thing. I'm getting really good at frogging! I've only finished the collar so far, but I'll try it on soon to see if it looks better this way! Apparently a lot of people seem to have the ribbed collar look wonky, so maybe I should have checked Ravelry first...

Other than that I have no new knitting to show you. I'm passed the heel on the Ookuru socks, but I haven't gotten a new photo of those so I think you'll have to wait until it's done. But today at work the woman I'm working with in Ödeshög, Barbro, had brought her finished sweater for me to look at. She is also a spinner, so she's knitted this Drops pattern in her own handspun merino wool, and it is soooo soft!

Isn't it pretty?! It's a little bit felted, as it turned out a little bit too big for Barbro's Daughter-in-law, but now it fits her perfectly. I really love this sweater, and Barbro was just happy to get to show it off on my blog! Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you: The blanket that the sweater is resting on is a 100 % pure rabbit fiber felted blanket that Barbro also made. Gorgeous!

Ok, now I'll get back to my new Stephen King novel (it's called 11.22.63 and is about the JFK murder). That book is also a reason why you haven't heard from me for a while, and it might continue like that until I finish it...

/ Jenny

2.5 FO's

Yep, that's right. My needles have been on fire lately! On Monday I finished the Romy beret that I started last Friday, it was such a quick knit. 144 m of DK yarn and I' very happy with it.

It's made with KnitPicks Capra yarn (merino/cashmere), the same that I used for the Baby Cables dress, and it is incredibly soft and cozy. I'm very happy with it, and as you can see in the photo it matches the Evenstar shawl perfectly (that was made with Wollmeise lace yarn in colourway Sabrina, by the way). The temperatures have started to get lower this week, with below zero nights at least, so it's good to have a warm hat!

Then on Wednesday I finished the Lothlorien socks, from the Enchanted Sole book:

They were made with Malabrigo sock yarn, colourway Lettuce, and I couldn't be more happy with them! The yarn is incredibly soft and the colour is amazing! I'm very glad I bought myself a replacement skein of the Violeta Africana colourway that I gave away to Virginia the other week (the yarn is on its way, by the way!).

And speaking of the give-away yarn: as most of you voted for dyeing the socks, this past Sunday I gave it a shot. I had a lot of KoolAid powder in the Cherry colour, which is bright red, so that's what I chose. I dissolved two packages in a pot with enough water and vinegar to cover the socks, then heated it and dropped the socks in. I let them almost simmer for a while, until all the colour had disappeared from the water, then let the whole thing cool until I could touch the socks without burning my hands. The socks got VERY red:

There is still a difference between the socks, as I suspected there would be. It's not strange, considering that they were different when I put them in the pot, but I think the difference is at least less noticable now, so I'm happy I tried this. I still have my Kai-Mei socks in the original colourway, so I'm happy!

So, that was my 2.5 FO's (as the socks have actually been done for a while before I dyed them). I decided on Friday to cast on for some more socks, as I can't seem to go many days without having a pair on the needles. I chose to start the Ookuru socks, in Marias Garn handpainted sock yarn (75 % superwash wool/25 % bamboo). I've already knitted a pair of socks in this yarn as well, and like them fine even though the yarn is bleeding incredibly when wet, so I wanted to finish it off. As I want to use up all of the yarn, I decided to make the socks toe-up instead of cuff-down as the pattern states, and I'm guessing they will be about knee-high as I have 130 g of yarn left. So far they are pooling A LOT!

But I still like them, I'm just hoping that the other sock will look roughly the same. 

Other than that, this weekend has been spent cleaning and relaxing, which was sorely needed! Today we went out to the cabin to have a look around, but had to turn around as we realized when we parked that we had left the cabin key at home in the apartment...

I hope I'll get back some time next week when my yarn gets here!

/Jenny

I feel so lazy!

My stomach has been acting up a lot this week, so I have been home lounging about and feeling a bit sorry for myself. I haven't really been doing too much knitting, as I've been so tired, but I have re-organized my queue and my favourites on Ravelry :) But I have actually managed some knitting at least.

I'll start with the Baby Cables and Big Ones Too sweater/dress. It was finished a while ago, and I wore it for the first time last weekend, when my sister had her birthday party. I'm very pleased with it!

I haven't got any make-up at all in the photo, so excuse the somewhat shiny face. Just look at the dress instead! It's made with KnitPicks Capra yarn, in merino/cashmere dk weight. I love this yarn! It is so soft, and it really shows off the cable pattern. I have two skeins left, and I decided I didn't want to waste them, so yesterday evening I cast on for a new hat, the Romy Beret:

I have just started the cable pattern today, so it's not much to look at yet, but as it's just a hat in dk weight, it is really flying off the needles. It shouldn't take long to finish! So far, we've had a pretty warm autumn with temperatures around 10 centigrades, but last year the snow arrived in the middle of November and stayed until March at least, so we might be in for a nasty cold surprise next week if we're unlucky. Then it will be nice to have a new, warm hat!

I've also knitted a lot on the Lothlorien socks, in the Malabrigio yarn. I've finished the first sock, but I discovered today when I tried it on that I have bound off a bit too tightly, so I think I'll redo the cast off. The second sock is well past the heel, so I guess I don't have far to go on this one either. It might get finished this coming week as well!

And as I finished the Cable dress, I wanted to start a new sweater project, and this time I chose the Silken Scabbard pattern. I'm knitting it in Rowan RYC Silk Wool, which is a discontinued dk yarn with 50 % merino/50 % silk, and I know it is another cabled sweater... I just love this pattern too! I'm almost ready to divide for the sleeves.

The yarn is very lovely to work with, and the stitch definition is awesome! The sweater seems to eat yarn however, as I've already used up four whole skeins! This made me worry that I might not have enough, as I want the sweater to be pretty long, so I searched around on Ravelry and found a woman in England who had four more skeins for trade or sale. Yes! I bought them very swiftly, and the shipping took no more than two days! So now I have 16 skeins in total (minus the four I've already used), and if that's not enough I'll just have to make it a bit shorter.

I also got some yarn in the mail this week, that I won in a raffle in the European RAK group on Ravelry! Handywoman from Greece gave away three hand-dyed skeins of sock yarn, and I won one. I LOVE it, it is just so bright and happy!

It's 75 % superwash wool/25 % polyamid, 420 m/100 g, so well enough for a pair of socks. I think I might knit some colourwork with it, together with some black yarn, to mute it down a bit. I'll let you know what I decide!

And I don't think I told you about the iPad stand I bought from Etsy a while ago, did I? It's hand made by the store Comfy iPad Creations, and basically it's a cushion with velcro, but it's exactly what I wanted. And, it's pink! The shipping is free everywhere, which is amazing, and it arrived in a week or so. I'm using it practically every day!

Oh, and I have something awesome to tell you! A while ago, a telemarketer called me to ask me some questions about people who had gotten money from Trygghetsstiftelsen. Trygghetsstiftelsen is a foundation that is made to make life easier for unemployed researchers that used to work at a university. It is very hard to find a job here in Sweden if you've got your PhD, and what Trygghetsstiftelsen does is that if you get a new job with less pay than at the university (like I did), they give you the pay difference as a stipend for two years after you leave the university. Awesome, right? Anyway, when this telemarketer woman called me, I realized that I never sent in my papers! When I left my previous job, I was just so completely miserable, my stomach was sooo crappy, and I completely forgot. So I sent them in a couple of weeks ago, meaning that I got all of that money retroactively! Yay! Since we bought the new car this summer, we haven't really had any saved money or any real buffer, and it feels so good to be able to put all of that money into the savings account.

Well, not all of the money. I get to have some fun too, right? I splurged on myself yesterday, and made a new, small order at Eat.Sleep.Knit. So now, some new yarn is on the way! I'll tell you more about that once it arrives, which should be in little more than a week or so. 

I also bought a circular needle holder from Etsy today, from the shop sarahkincheloe, which i also guess will arrive in a week or two. I have great holders for my interchangeables, and for all my dpn's, but no good one for the fixed circulars. So I figured it was about time. I'll show that one once it arrives too.

Ok, now you know what I've been up to these past two weeks. Tomorrow we are going to Borås for the day, to visit Thomas' grandparents who celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this weekend. 

See you next weekend!

/ Jenny