Back to reality

Now we only have one week left off before we start working again, and we're spending all of it getting Ella used to her preschool. Here in Sweden children usually start preschool after they are one year old, so Ella is definitely one of the younger kids in her group. She has two weeks where we go with her there, to get her used to all of her teachers and her new surroundings before we actually leave her there for the full days. She'll be there from 7.30 to 15.00 every day, and so far everything is going great. She loves to play with the other kids and all of the new toys, so I think she'll be fine there.

The weather this summer has been really really awful here in Sweden! It's been cold and raining for almost all of July, which means that all of the house projects we had planned have been postponed. We've done some small outings around our own county, and we've spent a lot of time with our parents in Borås. We also rented a cabin for a week on Tjörn, a small island off the west coast of Sweden, at the end of July. Even though it was raining almost every day, we spent the week going round the island and the surrounding areas, and it was a perfect week. I got to buy some souvenir yarns as well, which I'll tell you about later.

Other than that the summer has mostly been spent hanging out as a family. It's been really awesome to have all of the summer off together, I wish we could do this every year. I have done a fair amount of knitting too, and I have six FO's since the last time I wrote. I'll just show them in the order they were done, and then I'll show you all of the acquisitions at the end.

First, at the end of June I finished a cardigan for Ella. It's the Kyoto cardigan, and I made it with Karabella Lacampo yarn that I bought when we were in New York a couple of years ago. 

The yarn is half cotton, half camel, and it is really super soft and nice. I only bought two skeins though, and about half-way through the cardigan I realized it wouldn't be enough. After finding out that the yarn seems to be discontinued, I went on Ravelry and found a woman who had ten skeins for sale, and she was very willing to sell only two of them to me, so I was eventually able to finish the cardigan. The new skeins even turned out to be the same dye lot as mine!

As I only used about half of one of the new skeins, I decided I wanted to make a matching hat with the rest of the yarn. I just cast on enough stitches to fit around Ella's head, made a couple of inches of ribbing to get a folded brim, and then used the same stitch pattern as on the cardigan to make a little hat. To use up most of the yarn I also added a pom pom at the top.

I think it turned out very cute! It will be perfect for fall when she spends the days outside at preschool!

Next up I finally finished the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star shawl that I've been making with the Chili Gredelin Geisha yarn. The pattern actually calls for a sport weight, so as mine is made in lace weight it turned out pretty small, more of a shoulderette than a full size shawl. I was well aware that that was going to be the case, so that was ok. 

However, I'm not crazy about it anyway. I think I might not enjoy the 100 % silk, as it didn't bloom at all when I blocked it. I guess that is the case with all silk, but I still think the stitches look uneven and the shawl is a bit too airy for my taste. I'll probably not use this one very much, and I'm thinking of giving it away to a better home. We'll see.

The Stockinette Zombies are running a "Not a sock self striping sock yarn (nasssy) KAL" during July and August, and once I heard about it I got a sudden craving for a colourful shawl. So I cast on for a Daybreak shawl out of Marks & Kattens Fame Trend yarn and a black Austermann Step yarn. I finished the shawl just before we left for Tjörn, I actually left it on the blocking mats when we left. 

I really like this one, but I hated working with the Fame Trend yarn! It is very thick-and-thin, and there were a couple of breaks in the skein I used that really messed up the colour repeats. I had two skeins, and I only used up one for the shawl, so I decided to get all of it out of my stash by making a Sockhead hat out of the remaining skein. I knit all of it during the week on Tjörn, and when we got back home I made a pom pom out of the last bits, so now it's all gone. 

I kind of like the hat, even though the colours are a bit hysterical, but I think I'll use it a lot this Fall. It was a good vacation project as it was all stockinette! Plus, I got to enter this one in the KAL as well.

The final FO is a small stuffy that I made for Ella. It's a Miffy rabbit that I made from Järbo Mini Akryl, the mini skeins that I bought ages ago to use for Christmas balls. I used up almost two white skeins of the white acrylic, and almost one skein of the blue wool ones (remember the skeins are only 10 g each). 

It was a fun knit, even though it was a little bit fiddly here and there, but the end result was really cute. Ella really likes it as well, she has been watching some Miffy on Netflix so I think she recognizes her.

Ok, that was all of the FO's. The KnitGirllls are running their usual Stash Dash this summer, where you use up stash. They have three categories this year, 3K, 5K and 10K. The idea is that you use up either 3000, 5000 or 10000 meters of yarn during the summer (middle of June to August 14th this year, it's the time Laura has her summer break I think). I actually managed to reach the 3K this year, which was very nice!

I currently have seven projects going too! I had a day a couple of weeks ago where I wanted to cast on all the things, so I did! I'll start with a report on the oldest projects though, to get them out of the way.

The longest running project so far are the Firenze socks that I'm making out of the FibroFibers Nightfall yarn. I've been working on them since November last year! I think they're taking so long as I'm really not enjoying the yarn. I thought the colour changes would be much more gradiating, but they're much more flecked than I like. 

I'll finish them as I really like the pattern, but I'll not buy any more of this yarn. I've turned the heel and started the gusset decreases on the first sock, so it should be finished pretty soon. I've actually worked some on them the past couple of days as I want them finished!

I've also worked some on the Fiori di Sole shawl, and this one I really love! The Malabrigo lace yarn is soft as butter, and the beads really pop. I managed to break my tiny crochet needle that I use to place the beads so I had to order a new one, but now it's going again. I can only work on this one when Ella is asleep though, as it is a bit difficult to follow charts when you have to chase a toddler around!

I've also tried to work a bit on the Alvi sweater, but it's a bit slow going. I think I'm just not in the mood for colourwork right now, but I would love to have it finished this Fall. I've gotten about to the waist, so half of the body is done. Then you put that aside, make the two sleeves, and then put all of it together and knit the yoke. We'll see when it gets done.

At the end of June I also cast on for a new pair of striping socks. I'm making a pair of knee-high socks for my mother, in some Regia Zoo striping Zebra yarn. 

At first I thought they were a bit boring, I think the white and black threw me off, but now that the first one is done I kind of like them. I think they turned out pretty cool! They are just plain vanilla socks, so it's all the yarn. I wasn't sure that they would count for the self-striping KAL (the year-long that the the Stockinette Zombies are running, not the nasssy KAL that I mentioned earlier), but I asked Megan on Ravelry and she approved them. I knit the heel on the second one last night, and if I finish them before the end of August I will actually have eight self-striping projects this year.

Then on the cast-on day, I started a new sweater for myself, the February Fitted Pullover by Amy Herzog. I'm using MadelineTosh Tosh Vintage yarn, in the colourway Copper Penny, and as the skeins seemed almost identical, I didn't bother alternating them. I'm just about to start the waist decreases, so I haven't gotten very far on it, but I enjoy it so far. The pattern is really easy, I had it memorized after the first repeat, so this one is pretty mindless.

I also started a new cardigan for myself, as I only had two sweaters on the needles. It's the Spelunking cardigan by Anna Dalvi, and I'm using Wollmeise Lace garn in the colourway Cassis. It is turning out very pretty, but as with the lace shawl I can only work on it while Ella sleeps as I need to follow the chart. And I know that the photo isn't much to see, as I only just started it!

Finally, as I had finished the Kyoto cardigan for Ella, I cast on yet another cardigan for her, the Teatime with Teddy Bear, and I'm using Dream in Color Smooshy in the colourway Melon Bomb. I've only made the ribbing collar so far, but I really enjoy the yarn.

And that's it for the knitting! I'm trying to finish up both pairs of socks first, and then I think I need to get to town on the Alvi sweater. But that might change...

I've also bought some nice stuff this summer! When my crochet needle broke I ordered a new one from Stäkets Hantverk, and as they had free shipping above a specific sum, I also got a skein of yarn. Or rather, I got my very first sock blank.

It's a basic 75 % superwash wool/25 % nylon sock yarn that has been knit up into a blank and then dyed. I am a sucker for green, so this one really fits me. It's marinating in the stash for now, but once I finish bith pair of socks I currently have going I might cast on with this.

Before we went to Tjörn me and my mother were out shopping in Borås, and I decided I wanted to visit the local yarn shop, Stickat och Klart. I've been there before, and I find it a bit boring, They mostly have standard base yarns, but I figured it was worth a look. I had looked through all of the yarn and found nothing I wanted, so we were about ready to leave, when I just threw a glance at the needle display. And saw a full set of KnitPicks Caspian wooden exchangeable needles! I have never seen these in Europe before, and I've been wanting a set since I first saw them on KnitPicks' website (where I borrowed the photo, my phone didn't want to upload my photo), so I immediately grabbed them. They are absolutely stunning and I really love them. They might have been part of the reason why I wanted to cast on so many things once I got back home...

I also wanted a pretty needle roll to hold them, as I really don't like the plastic bag that they come in, so that evening I had a little shopping spree on Etsy. I bought a needle case for the new set, and also a needle roll for my 6 inch KnitPro dpn's that I got a while ago but never got a case for, both from See Jane Sew. The case with TARDISse (or TARDI?) on holds the Caspian needles, and the one with the Daleks holds the dpn's. I really really love them!

One of the days we were on Tjörn we went shopping in Stenungsund, the closest town past the bridge to the main land. I went to the local yarn store there, Garn & Hantverkshuset (of course I had scouted it out beforehand), but this was also a little bit boring. Lot's of mainstream base yarns that I can get anywhere, so I just bought a couple of pairs of scissors and darning needles. I also got a package of ten mini skeins (Marks & Kattens Pysselnystan), that I'm also planning on using for more toys for Ella. 

We also went to a huge toy store in Stenungsund, and they had Järbo Mini Akryl skeins sets, so I bought two sets, one in Metallic and one in Neon.

Another day we went to Skärhamn, which is a town on Tjörn, and I visited another yarn shop there, Vinterverkstan. This was a much more fun store, probably because it has an extensive web shop as well, and I left with a few more skeins. I got three skeins of Crystal Palace Panda Silk yarn, in a gorgeous blue /teal colour. I'm not sure what I'll use it for, but it was very nice souvenir yarn. 

I also got three skeins of Onion Knits Tussah Silk yarn, in red. I already had two skeins of this yarn in the same colour, that I bought at the sewing festival last year, but I wanted a few more to make a bigger project. I don't know what yet, but now I should have enough.

Finally, one day we went to a huge shopping center on Orust, the island just to the north of Tjörn, and I got some sock yarn. I got five skeins of Marks & Kattens Fame sock yarn, which is a basic 75 % superwash wool/25 5 nylon yarn.

About a week ago I also got a set of Järbo Mini Acryl skeins in the Prints colours, to add to my collection. These mini skeins are about the most fun things Ella wants to play with right now...

I think that's about it! It's been a productive summer, and it seems I've really added to the stash! But to be fair, I haven't bought any yarn since February before this, so I think I'm ok. All of the yarns still fit in the same boxes, so at least I've used up as much as I've acquired.

This past Thursday Ella came down with a really nasty cold (daycare germs!), which she promptly gave to me, so this weekend has been spent on the couch watching lots of cartoons and taking it easy. I think the sleep deprivation is probably the worst part of it, as Ella seems to wake up and cry every time she coughs. But she's a lot better today, so let's hope that the worst is over. We're going back to preschool tomorrow, and in a week me and Thomas both go back to work, so we really want to have a good last week!

I'll be back in a while, as usual I don't know when :)

/ Jenny

Late night posting

I really should go to bed, but I just have to show off my just recently finished Pikmin:

This is only my third or so attempt at crochet, so I'm pretty darned pleased with myself! It's a little bit wonky, the ears aren't exactly similar, and the legs are pretty weird too, but I don't care. I really really love this little guy! I'm going to start a red one as soon as I have time :)

I also, finally, got my shipments in Mad Color Fiber Arts Doctor Who club yesterday. The shipment had been stuck in customs, as I kind of suspected, but I was extremely happy to find that Heather had included an extra skein as an apology for forgetting my shipment in the first place! I think I'll start by showing you the club shipments. First, there was April's yarn:

This is Bling (63 % merino/20 % silk/15 % nylon/2 % metallic, 411 m/100 g), and the colourway is called Life is Short, and You are Hot (which is from the episode Blink, which is one of the very best, where we meet the weeping Angels for the first time). It is a little bit intense, but I think I like it anyway. 

Then, there was the May yarn:

This is Trance (80 % merino/10 % cashmere/10 % nylon, 412 m/100 g), and the colourway is called The Church at Auvers. This. Is Awesome! It's from the Vincent and the Doctor episode, which is probably even better than Blink. And that is kind of hard for me to admit, as Blink has David Tennant as the Doctor, while the Vincent van Gogh episode stars Matt Smith. And even though I prefer David Tennant (probably over anyone!), the Vincent episode is just so amazing!

Anyway, back to the yarn. I love the colours, and I think Heather did an amazing job capturing all the colours in the original painting (she sent along a picture of it, and I had to look extra closely to see if there was a monster in the window. There wasn't.). I think this skein might be my next pair of socks, after the Mind the Gap socks are done. Which they should be this weekend, I've only got the toe and heel let on the second sock.

Then, as a bonus, I got a skein of Verity (100 % merino, 247 m/100 g), in Dk weight. The colourway is called Police Box Blue!

Even more awesomeness! This is the one colour that I've really been coveting from Mad Color, but I've been too cheap to buy it. And now I have a skein! I think this will probably become a hat for me for next winter, I imagine it will go pretty well with the Tardis shawl I made last summer :) After getting all of these goodies, I decided to join in for the next round too, which will be themed Firefly.

Ok, now I really need to get some sleep. Tomorrow we're having my mother-in-law and at least three (out of four possible) brothers-in-law here for the weekend, which will be a lot of fun and probably lots and lots of board games, but I need some sleep before that. We've cleaned most of the house, I only have one bathroom left to rinse out, but I'll do that tomorrow. They won't arrive until the afternoon, so it should be fine.

See you after the weekend, with some teasers for the upcoming give-aways. This blog is celebrating its fourth anniversary on the 29th of June, and I think we should celebrate!

/ Jenny

New yarn and some knitting non-progress

I'll start with the fun stuff. I got yarn in the mail both yesterday and today! Yesterday after work I picked up my Wollmeise yarn from the post office. I got three skeins of DK (100 % superwash merino, 428 m/200 g), in the new colourway Zartbitter (which means bitter sweet), which I believed to be a reddish brown. My three skeins, however, are just cocoa brown:

They are a bit darker than the photo shows, and I think I kind of like them anyway, but the colour I had seen on the Ravelry forums was prettier. I think these will mature in the stash for a while, to see if they grow on me. Otherwise I think I might sell them.

Then today I got another package in the mail, the June shipment in the 7 Degrees of Kevin Bacon sock club. The yarn is The Knitting Goddess 4-ply Merino Nylon sock yarn (75 % superwash merino/25 % nylon, 424 m/100 g), and the colourway is called Looking Down.

I have no idea yet which movie this is from, but I LOVE the colour! It is such a pretty, dusky rose, and by far my favourite so far in the club. I can't wait for the pattern, to find out where the inspiration came from. Hopefully that will be stated in this pattern, as the last one didn't say which movie it was from (It was from Alice in Wonderland, but I had to google it to find out).

I'm almost finished with my first Pikmin! I only have three flower petals and two ears to finish, and hopefully I can manage that this weekend. I almost got the whole flower done this past weekend, but my hands were hurting too much. It is looking pretty cute so far though. I haven't gotten any new photos, as I haven't sewn on the new pieces yet.

I almost had the first sleeve finished on the Parcel sweater too, when I finally tried it on. It turns out that the shoulder is way too wide or me, so the sleeve cap looked really weird. The arm hole was also too long, so I decided to rip most of it out. I ended up ripping it out all the way down to the waist increases, as it was a little bit puffy in the chest area too. I made two less increases, and now I'm almost ready to divide for the sleeves again. It really sucks to have to rip that much out, as I felt I was almost on the last stretch, but I want the sweater to be wearable. Hopefully I can still finish it soon!

Other than that I'm knitting along on the Mind the Gap socks, and I've almost finished the leg part of the second sock. I think I'll probably finish those this month too. I haven't gotten any new photos of them though (or of the Parcel sweater), but you know what the first one looked like. I'm making the stripes matching on the two socks, so this one is more or less identical to the first one.

Friday is Midsummer's Eve here in Sweden, and we get the day off work. My mother-in-law and possibly some of my brothers-in-law are maybe coming to visit for the weekend, they haven't decided yet. We plan on making some barbecue, have pickled herring (which is traditional Swedish midsummer food) and just relax. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with us too, so we can sit outside. It's supposed to rain though, which it seems to do almost every Midsummer's Eve. Last year the rain didn't start until late in the evening, so we got to have dinner outside at least. As we had over 30 guests last year, that was very fortunate!

Ok, time for some knitting. I think I'll work on the sweater, just to make some recovery on it!

/ Jenny

I'm crocheting!

I just couldn't wait, so about right after I finished writing last, I cast on for my very first Pikmin. I'm using the 100 % acrylic yarn I showed you last time, and it's actually pretty soft. The hard part for me is the actual crocheting, I'm really not good at it! But I have finished the main body and legs on the Pikmin, so now I just have to make two arms, ears and a head flower.

It's pretty fun, although I get a cramp in my hand after a while. I'm not used to the movements you make while crocheting, so I can only do it for a short time before I have to take a break. I'm planning on making a blue one and a red one too, while I'm at it. A whole Pikmin family!

This weekend I mainly worked on the Parcel sweater though, so now I've finished the body and started the first sleeve.

It fits me almost perfectly, although I've only tried it on while not wearing a bra. I think it will be fine anyway! In the photo the sleeve cap looks like it's a little bit scrunched up, but that is because the cable pattern started on the first row and pulls the cap together. It will block out. I like the sweater a lot, and it will definitely be very warm to wear this winter!

I've also been knitting a bit on the vanilla socks that I'm making from the Mind the Gap yarn, and I've finished the first of the socks:

The sock is amazingly pretty, and I love all the colours, but I'm just not overwhelmed by the yarn. It is a bit on the thin side for a fingering, and a bit too stiff for my taste. I'll probably wear them a lot anyway, as they are so cool, but I won't be buying this yarn again.

Yesterday when I came home from work I had gotten the final shipment in the Hunger Games yarn club from Friday Studios. The yarn this time is a little bit more luxurious, it's her Saturday base which is 80 % Merino/10 % cashmere/10 % nylon, and the colourway is called The 75th Arena:

It represents all the tropical colours of the last Hunger Games arena (in the final book), and I really, really like it! This has been a very good club, and if Frida has any more themes that I'd enjoy (the next one will be Breakfast at Tiffany's, which is a movie I've never seen, so I chose not to join), I'll definitely consider joining again.

And speaking of clubs: Mad Color Fiber Arts will be starting sign-ups for her next round of yarn clubs newt week. The coming three months will be themed Browncoats (which of course is about the TV show Firefly), and I'm very tempted to join. The problem is that I still haven't gotten the first two shipments of this round of club yarn. When the first month's yarn didn't show up I contacted Heather on Ravelry, and it turned out that she had completely missed my order. This is fine, I know that we're all human and it's easy to miss stuff sometimes. Heather was really nice about it too, and apologized profusely  As she didn't have any more of the yarn dyed up, she had to make a new skein for me. She then sent it together with the second month's yarn, but I think the package is probably stuck in customs. If the yarns had been sent separately, the packages' values would have been marked as below $30, which is the amount that I don't have to pay customs for. But as the yarns were combined, I'm guessing that Heather put the actual value of both skeins on the envelope, and then it gets held up in customs. Which sucks. I know that this isn't Heather's fault, but it still irritates me somewhat, so I'm thinking I won't join in for the next three months. We'll see.

Finally, today I got another book package in the mail. I've been buying books like crazy lately, but most of them have been very good. First, I got the package with the new Joe Hill book, Nos4A2, which was AMAZING, by the way! I usually say that I'd leave Thomas for Stephen King, if he only promised to keep writing for me, but I think the same might be true about his son too (and possibly about Neil Gaiman too...). He is such a good writer, and his comic book, Locke & Key, is the best comic I've ever read. The last two issues will be out this summer, and I can't wait!

Anyway, while I was waiting for that package to arrive, I re-read some Dianna Wynne Jones books, the main one being Howl's Moving Castle. If you haven't read that one you really should. It's such an amazing book, and the anime movie does not do it justice at all. I happened to look the author up on Fantastic Fiction, and discovered that there was a sequel that I hadn't read, so I immediately ordered more books. I'm planning on slowly getting all of the books by Dianna, as I really, really love her. It's a shame she isn't around any more.

Then, on my birthday, Thomas had gotten me three more books. And today I got yet another, albeit small, package of books! This one contains the new Stephen King book, Joyland, so now you know what I'll be doing for the rest of the week! I also got a knitting book that I've had my eye on for a while, Cast on, Bind off by Cap Sease. It's a really good reference book about cast-ons and bind-offs (obviously), which is actually something that I'm really lousy at. Or maybe lazy. I just keep using the same starts and finishes to most of the stuff I make, and I thought this book might inspire me to try some new things. 

Now, I'm going to go put on my PJ's and start m new book. See you in a couple of days, possibly with some more knitting contents. And there might possibly be a package on it's way from Germany with some more Wollmeise yarn. You never know!

/ Jenny

Looking back on 2012

Wow, this year has gone by so fast! I wonder if it's a sign that I'm getting old, that I feel like time is going faster?!

I've done a lot of new stuff this year, but I think the biggest thing that happened is that we bought a house. We moved in March, so we've soon lived here for a whole year, and we love it! We haven't regretted that decision one second. The house is old, and we have mice in the walls, but I'm ok with that. The cats will catch them if they come into the house. I hope!

And speaking of cats: We got a new family member this summer as well. Toki is settling in very well, and after having spent Christmas at my parents' house, him and Hobbe seem to be much better friends too. They are just the cutest babies!

Knitting-wise I've managed to finish 20 projects this year, which is only one less than last year. I thought it would be a lot less, since I didn't knit very much during the move and the following unpacking period, but I think the last month's Crazy KAL when I knit down to zero helped me a lot. I'm quite happy with 20 projects, that's almost two every month. And since this year also seem to be the year of frogging (I ripped out nearly a whole cardigan when I decided that the Chili Gredelin Anastasia yarn and the Austin Hoodie pattern didn't work well together, and recently I ripped out more than half a shawl when I ran out of yarn on the Omelet shawl), I could almost say that I made 22 things :). I actually had to rip out the start on my Gray Havens sweater today as well, as it turned out way too big. I've restarted it with smaller needles and in a smaller size as well, so I'm hoping that will be enough.

I've branched out in my needle usage this year as well. Since I started this blog in 2009 I've almost exclusively used KnitPicks Harmony needles, both circular and dpn's. But this year I grew tired of the quality of the circulars, so I've tried some new brands. I have a set of interchangeable ChiaoGoo bamboo needles in the smaller sizes, and I really love those. They aren't as sharp as the KnitPicks', but the amazing cables makes up for that. I got myself two sizes of Blackthorn dpn's as well, in carbon fibre, and those are really amazing as well. I don't plan on using these exclusively though, as I still love my KnitPicks dpn's a lot. They are super sharp, and the hard wood makes them practically unbendy (except for the smallest size). But I like the Blackthorn's a lot, though they are very expensive. I had high hopes for the Knitter's Pride Karbonz needles that came out about a month ago, but it turns out that they are nickel-tipped, and as I hate working with metal I decided not to even try them.

Today I got a Christmas package in the mail as well (from myself, I spent some of my Christmas money at Garnkorgen), which contained a set of Addi Click Bamboo needles that I was really curious about. They are size 3.5 mm, and I can say without even trying them that they are pretty blunt. I think that the Addi lace needles are a lot sharper, but as I don't like metal I don't think Addi's are for me. I don't know about the sharpness of Signature needles, as I haven't seen them, but I think I might be set for now with my KnitPicks and my ChiaoGoo.

I've tried a lot of new techniques this year as well. I started the year by finishing the Ramona Mittens, which were double knit. I have used those mittens all this winter, and I love them! I think I'll probably wear them to death, and then make a new pair when they break! I made an Entrelac Cowl for my mother this Autumn as well, which was also completely new to me. I'm very happy with that result, and now that I write about it I realize that I completely forgot to take pictures of that one, and the Bobbie gloves that I also gave mom for her birthday, when I was home for Christmas! Oh well, maybe next time.

On one of the very last projects I made this year, the Companion Cube that I made for Thomas, I got to try out three new techniques! I made steeks and cut them, I did duplicate stitch, and I did matress stitching when I sewed it all together. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for that one!

Finally, the last new thing I did this year was trying my hand at podcasting. I've only made three episodes, and there won't be a new one today as I'm still in my pj's. But that has been a lot more fun than I thought, and I think I'll ask Thomas to help me with that so we can set up the new camera he got for Christmas, and possibly try to get it on iTunes as well.

Ok, I think that was my year in hindsight! It's been an eventful year, but I've had lots of fun and learned a lot of new stuff. And I got a lot of yarn!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, let's talk about the more recent events. How has your holiday been? I went home to my parents' house on Sunday, and came back yesterday. It's been a good couple of days, but there are always so many people that you want to see in such a short time! I feel like I've been driving around almost constantly. But I spent Christmas Eve with my family, Christmas Day with Thomas' brothers and father, and Boxing day with some friends. Then we drove back home yesterday, and it felt rather good to just sit on the couch and knit for the whole evening yesterday!

I think I told you that I got the Cookie A sock club from my parents this year, so I didn't get very much else from them. I got an electric blanket from my sister, which I freaking adore (why haven't I had one of these before?!), and I got a Sandman comics collection from Thomas that I'm really looking forward to reading.

I also got some money from my grandfather and some from my grandmother (they're divorced), and I've spent some already. I should never be left alone with an internet! I was bored the other night while I was waiting for my sister to call (she was out partying with her friends, and I had promised to pick her up in the night as her designated driver), so I went on a small shopping spree on Etsy. I ordered three new project bags, and some buttons for upcoming projects. None of that has arrived yet though, so I'll tell you more about it next year when it gets here.

I also got the package with the Addi needles from Garnkorgen, and they were accompanied by two skeins of Koigu KPPPM sock yarn, in colourway 860:

I have been looking at these skeins for such a long time, and now that I got some spending money I finally ordered them. They are gorgeous! I'm just really into self-striping and self-patterning sock yarns right now! That is quite good timing though, as the Stockinette Zombies are hosting a January KAL for self-striping yarns. Actually, they'll be doing one each month, as the goal is for Megan to finally use up some of her stash, and all the other participants are just joining her. I'll probably cast on for a pair of socks on New Year's day!

Oh, and speaking of KAL's! I finished my For Good hat!

It's made with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted yarn (100 % merino) in colourway Berry, and I love it! It's a little bit big on me, but I'm ok with that. I'm just waiting on the buttons I ordered to arrive, so I can sew them on! I actually have almost half a skein left, so I'm thinking about making another one in a slightly smaller size.

I've also made some progress on the Ill Met by Moonlight socks, that I'm making in the Mackintosh sock yarn:

I enjoy these quite a lot, and they are turning out pretty great. I can't say enough good things about Claire Ellen, as all of her sock designs are gorgeous. I'm planning on making a lot more of them next year!

I have barely had time to knit on anything else while at my parents', but yesterday I made a lot of progress on the Grey Havens sweater. This morning I decided to try it on, and it was HUGE! I'd only made the bottom ribbing, and it was anything but tight on me. So I ripped the whole thing out, and started over again. So I have no new photos to show you on that one. I haven't knit anything at all on the Morning Echo cardigan either.

But tonight I found the Christmas Ball that I completely forgot to unpin before we left, so I've stuffed it:

I'm pretty pleased with it, even though it isn't perfect. I just have to make a loop of that last yarn end, and hang it on the tree. I'm not sure if there will be any more for next year, as I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought, but maybe I can make a tradition of making one each year :)

Ok, I've been rambling on for ages! Tomorrow we're going into town to buy groceries for our New Year's Eve party, and Sunday will be spent cleaning and preparing the food. I'll be back next year, hopefully with a new podcast too.

Happy New Year!

/ Jenny

It's almost Christmas!

I really meant to write on Tuesday this week, but I had completely forgotten that I had made plans that evening after work! I went to a craft night with my friends Klara and Karin, at a local flower shop. I made a Christmas flower arrangement, candle holders, and a wreath to hang on the door. 

It was so much fun! We got to choose among lots and lots of supplies in the flower shop, and got lots of help from the shop owner and her mom. It really made us get into the Christmas spirit!

Then on Thursday I had also planned to write, and record a new podcast, but then Thomas called and said he wouldn't be at band practice that evening and came home. I haven't told him yet that I have started recording, because I've talked so much about his Christmas present! I know that he doesn't read the blog, but if I told him I had recorded I think he would be curious and have a listen. So I can only record when he isn't at home :)

But tonight he is a t a concert in Linköping, so I have a couple of hours to myself. I have just finished recording, and I was wondering if any of you know where one can edit the video files? I have Windows Live Movie Maker, but that program just saves the files as something that I can't post online. I want to be able to save it as an mp4 or wmv file, so I can put them up online. Anyone have any tips?

Anywho, I had really hoped that I would be able to show you a finished Omelet shawl by now. I don't remember if I told you the last time, but I was afraid that I would run out of yarn, and I did. I had about 10 rows left, and I really didn't want to buy another skein. I'm not very fond of knitting with this yarn (Färgkraft Pälsblend), and it's quite expensive, so I tried to match it with other stuff in my stash. I tried it with some green Madelinetosh, some green Chili Gredelin yarn, some green Kampes wool, but nothing worked. 

I then went online to Garnkorgen, and ordered another skein of Kampes lace one-ply wool yarn, in colourway Green 215. It arrived on Thursday, and it really, really didn't work at all!

I have no idea what to make with this skein! It's 600 m of lace weight wool, and it's also quite scratchy (I only ordered it because it's cheap). I'm thinking of raffling it off here on the blog, but I don't know if anyone would be interested? I feel like I'm not really promoting this yarn...

So, when no yarns worked, yesterday I finally decided to rip the shawl back. I had made 6 repeats of chart B, and I ripped back until I only had 4. That was 90 rows! That really, really sucked, because I'm so tired of knitting on this one! I just want it off the needles, and now I have to make all of charts D and E all over again (I've knit chart C today). Hopefully it will get done next week.

I'm also itching to cast on for new stuff! I want to make socks so bad! I'm going to cast on for the Ill Met by Moonlight as soon as I've finished the shawl and the Christmas Balls (remember, I'm doing the Crazy KAL where I'm knitting to zero). I also want to use some of my multicoloured Regia sock yarn I bought a while back, but I haven't decided on a pattern yet. I know I said I wanted to make a pair of Carousels, but I have some other options as well.

When I ordered the green skein of Kampes, I also got one skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted yarn, in colourway Berry:

I'm going to use this to make a For Good hat, and this one I want to make as soon as possible too. It's a really pretty pattern, and the proceeds go to charity. Plus, I want to support Megan of the Stockinette Zombies too.

Finally, I want to make me some sweaters! I have some Wollmeise DK in sweater quantity, and I also have the Madelinetosh Pashmina yarn, so I haven't decided which one I'm going to start with. I have several patterns lined up, and today I've also rearranged my queue on Ravelry. I just have to finish my projects first!

Ok, now I'm going to enjoy the rest of the evening alone (I'm going to pick Thomas up at the train station later tonight, so I need to stay awake). I'm sending lots of love and sympathy to all the grieving families in Connecticut today too, it's just too horrible to take in.

/ Jenny