Paulalle Paulat

Huhtukuun SNY-paketin taikapallo pääsi käyttöön. Kuten jo silloin kerroin, Paulalle pitänee tehdä Paulat (paketissa oli Niina Laitisen Paulat-sukkaohje). Nämä siis tein erittäin tehokkaalle, pirtsakkaalle ihanalle entiselle työkaverille - toivottavasti kohtaamme vielä myös työn merkeissä, mutta nyt on ainakin hyvä syy lounastreffeille tai terrassitreffeille tänä kesänä!

Ja tuo lanka oli aivan loistava tähän tarkoitukseen. Värikäs yhdistelmä josta löysin sekä Brasiliaa että lappalaista revontulta. En olisi parempaa löytänyt millään.

Eskariprojekti #2

No niin, eilen vielä puuttuva sukkapari on tässä:

Ja koko kuvakavalkaadi tulee tässä:

Aika tyytyväinen olen. Kieltämättä.

The Socks for Kindergarten Teachers -project can now be closed. It was a tough race against the clock, I lost, but that's ok 'cause the teachers will be around at least another two weeks. Satisfied with the result, although the socks are not exactly flawless, but you need to be a good knitter & examine them from the wrong side to find the mistakes :-).

Eskariprojekti

läheltä piti, että olisin ehtinyt saada eskariohjaajien sukat valmiiksi jo kevätjuhliin, mutta sitten en kuitenkaan ihan jaksanut valvoa sitä tarvittavaa tuntia. Raskas viikko, ensin yh-päiviä muutama (mies työmatkalla) ja sitten vielä eskarin kevätjuhlien jälkeen kahtena iltana ulos juhlimaan - ensin työkavereitten kanssa kahden läksiäiset (meni vähän överiksi ollakseen torstai-ilta mutta kivaa oli) ja hiljaisen perjantaityöpäivän jälkeen entisiä naapureita tapailemaan.

Mutta tänään viimeistelin viimeistä sukkaparia (ei kuvaa, saunassa kuivumassa) ja sain kolme ekaa kuvattua. Katsotaan saisinko ne kuvat tähän, kuvalataukset ei oikein tahdo toimia tällä hetkellä...

No niin, tässä eka pari. Schachenmayer Regia Fluormania Color käytin kolmessa sukkaparissa neljästä. Tämä eka kerä oli lempparini.

Miesohjaajalle Fabelista "ASecond Chance for Mr. Rushworth Socks jostain Jane Austen Knits -lehdestä. Tarkoitus oli tehdä toiset sukat samasta lehdestä mutta niistä tuli jotenkin isot/ oudot. Onneksi, koska nämä ovat varmaan kauneimmat sukat mitä olen ikinä tehnyt. Olen todella tyytyväinen!

Ja kolmantena sukkaparina taas Fluormania-lankaa. Huomenna kun neljäs pari on kuivunut pitänee paketoida.

Seuraavaksi neulon sitten jotain aivan muuta. Eikun. Sukat edelleen puikoilla.

Hauskaa vappua!

Salainen neuleystäväni todella tietää, mitä lapsiperhe tarvitsee, ja sopivasti ennen vappumatkalle lähtöä saapui taas välimuistaminen:

Oikein metallihohtoisetkin! Tulossa käyttöön tänään.

Ja kun kerran täällä käy, niin näytänpäs vielä tämäkin, eli mitä on tällä hetkellä työn alla:

Puikot ovat muuten salaisen ystäväni maaliskuun paketista. Ihanaa neuloa näillä, muuten, kyllä puisetkin kelpaa! Tumman langan kanssa saattaa olla hankalaa, mutta näin vaalean langan kanssa juuri sopivat! Lanka on Fabel, ja ohje A second chance for Mr. Rushworth, jostain Jane Austen knits-lehdestä. Aivan ihana malli! Eikä edes ollut mahdoton oppia ulkoa, vaikka alussa siltä tuntui. Kuuluu projektisarjaan sukat-eskarihenkilökunnalle, katsotaan miten käy, noin puolet sukista tehtynä...

Tämä sukka lukeutuu muuten myös joukkoon "neuletyöt joista saa kommentteja tuntemattomilta". Siinä ryhmässä on ennestään vain revontuli-huivini, eihän suomalaiset turhaan kommentoi ventovieraiden juttuja. Tätä sukkaa olen neulonut paljon bussissa, ja tällä viikolla eräänä aamuna kun jäin bussista pois, niin yksi nainen tosiaan huomautti, että onpas kaunis sukka! Aah, tällaisena keväänä kun huolia on riittänyt, niin näitä ihania ihmisiä todella tarvitaan!

Got some balloons from my secret knitting friend for the festivities. And finished the first Mr Rushworth sock for one of DD's pre-school teachers. Love this pattern! (And love the knew dpn's I got from my secret friend in the March package too!)

Wine Santa's

Some christmas presents. Just because it's dull to give away just a mere bottle of wine. Pattern from Garnstudio. Link opens pattern in Swedish, but it does come in many languages.

Autumn update

As I said, still not much time for knitting. I have found some little time to knit on the bus when commuting to work, though. Circular needles and dpn's, I really likyeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyybb       jjjhjhfggf - sorry about this - have my 3-year-old assistant helping me here. Tried to say I really like those needles, since bus-knitting would otherwise be absolutely impossible.

No time for blogging either, but now it's time for an update.

Last thing first, since this is also the project I started first, in May!

This is a traditional Ostrobothnian Jussi sweater for a friend. I was asked to bring her one for Midsummer, but as all those for sale were the crappy acrylic ones, I soon decided to knit her a decent one in wool instead. (Besides, those for sale are always grey-dark red, and we both prefer blue. Pattern from an old Novita magazine, rather heavily modified. Yarn Novita 7 veljestä. Width from pattern using Nalle yarn size 160, length from 7-veljestä adult pattern using size S or M. Yes, my friend is tall and thin. Also the traditional Jussi sweater pattern is rather male and not exactly fitted...

Anyway, started out in May, finished knitting in October I think, and then gathered courage to block for quite a while. After blocking it felt as though it turned out too big, so then there was some more time before I finally sewed it together and fastened all the loose ends. Not so much sewing to do fortunately, since I knit this in the round, but still... but far far too many loose ends... The size seems perfect now, I think she'll be really happy when she gets her gift tomorrow!

Between working on this huge project, I knit a pair of gloves for myself to match the hat I made last spring. I did not have enough Fabel yarn left, but made the cuffs a bit shorter, and voilá:

Also, for the kids, hats:

Novita 7 veljestä yarn, pattern from Novita's new extra magazine; can't remember the name. Fortunately a quick and easy project as I had a deadline that I barely made. Would like to make one for myself too, maybe the patterned version. Have plenty of red yarn left as the pattern calls for one skein per hat, and I knit these two out of the same skein...

September is here! Already! What happened?

Summer went by oh so fast. And I did not get much knitting done - first I had pneumonia and was too tired even to knit, then it was too hot to knit - oh yes, we had a really warm summer this year!

Anyway, summer ended, kids in daycare, DH and me working. Not much time for extras. Have actually had time to knit a little now, since I've had to stay home with sick kids a lot... sigh... Nothing big to declare, but a pair of mittens for DS as gloves with fingers may only be used at their daycare if the child can put them on himself.

I'm not a fan of easy quick projects, but after all, they usually are the most useful! Best thing with these: left and right mitt are identical, so when dressing the kid, I won't have the trouble of figuring out which is which.

Ended upp pretty small, I think - made size 3-5 years, and he just turned 3 and they're quite perfect size right now. Too small for my 5-year-old. Maybe my kids have big hands/long fingers?

Oh, and sorry about the last update/missing pic. Was supposed to be a bunch of Jane Austen Knits magazines. Love them! Do not love my phone's Blogger app.

The Mad Hatter

Täytyy todellakin olla hullu hatuntekijä, kun tekee villapipoa näillä keleillä...

Ohje löytyi Noita Näppärän blogista, Sukkalankapipo. Ja sukkalangallehan minä tosiaan selailin ohjetta - sain SNY:ltäni Fabel-lankaa maaliskuun paketissa. Sukkiahan sitä ensiksi ajattelee tekevänsä. Sitten törmäsin sormikasohjeeseen, ja sen jälkeen jotenkin vahingossa tähän pipoon.

Malli on loistava - vihdoinkin pipo joka mahtuu päähän! En tiedä onko minulla iso pää vai liikaa hiuksia; ehkä pääni vaan on omituisen muotoinen?. Ehkä tykkään vaan väljemmästä mallista, tai siis en arvosta kiristäviä pipoja? Tai ehkä käsialani vaan on liian tiukka? Oli miten oli, tavalliset pipo-ohjeet eivät tuota päähäni sopivia pipoja. Tämä ohje tuottaa :-) !

Lankana aika tasan yksi kerä Fabel, väri 910p. Puikot ohjeen suosituksen mukaan, olisikohan ollut 3mm. Eikä tämän tekemiseen montaa päivää mennyt - helppo ohje, voi hyvin neuloa vaikka lapset "häiritsee" minuutin välein.

Must be mad, making a warm hat during a heat wave. Love the result, though, will be much in use after a few months :-).

Godiströja eli karkkipaita!

SNY:ni huhtikuun paketissa oli kaksi harmaata puuvillakerää, jotka näyttivät varmaan vieläkin harmemmilta siksi, koska samassa paketissa oli kolme pirteänpastellinväristä Miami-kerää... Mutta silti, tuo harmaa puuvilla puhui minulle, ja halusi heti päästä puikoille, mieluiten sileäksi neuleeksi. Alkoi siis ohjeen metsästys. Luulisi, että maailma olisi täynnä lasten bolero-ohjeita, mutta ei se nyt niin helppoa ollut... Törmäsin kuitenkin puolivahingossa Ullaneuleen Villavintiö-ohjeeseen, jota sitten muokkailin sileäksi, noin koko 116cm neidille sopivaksi boleroksi... (Taisin käyttää kaikki suurentamisen vinkit hyväksi - paksumpi lanka, enemmän kieroksia ennen kainaloita, sekä neljän silmukan lisäys kainalo-aukossa.)

Ihme hyvin tuo onnistui, jos itse saan sanoa...

Ja miksi tämä harmaa tekele siis on karkkipaita? No siksi kun saaja näki silmukkamerkkejäni kun neuloin. Valmiiseen paitaan kun en voinut enkä suostunut silmukkamerkkejäni jättää, niin nappien valinta oli tärkeä. Hiukan pelkäsin kun neiti ei ollut nappikaupassa mukana, että miten onnistuu, mutta valintaani hyväksyttiin, ja bolero on (yötä lukuunottamatta) ollut päällä siitä lähtien kun valmistui.

Yksi kiva idea olisi ollut lisätä karkkineuleeseen isoja kiiltäviä helmiä vähän väliä, mutta sellaisia kun ei tähän hätään löytynyt, niin olen aivan tyytyväinen nappiratkaisuun. Loppuun olisin ehkä myös voinut tehdä muutama ainaoikein-riviä kuten kaula-aukossa, mutta kun neuloin periaatteella "kunnes lanka loppuu" niin en ehtinyt.

Jotenkin neule kiertäytyy oikealle, saan suoristaa vähän väliä. Pitää vähän seurailla/tutkia. Ehkä tämä tapahtuu vain siksi, että neule on vielä vähän iso. (Eikä ole sivusaumoja, tiedän, epäilen kuitenkin, että jos istuvuus olisi napakampi niin tuo ei tapahtuisi yhtä helposti...)

Kiitos SNY:lle jälleen kerran!

A Candy bolero for DD made from two balls of cotton yarn that I got from my secret knitting friend. Felt lovely to knit in cotton again after a long break. Named by DD who loved the stitch markers I used, hence I had to choose buttons to fit the name.

Pääsin maaliin!

No niin, talven kestoprojekti valmistui! Syyskuussa kun aloittaa niin ehtii näköjään ilman suurempaa stressiä saada neljä paria villasukkia valmiiksi kevääseen mennessä. Eli päätin jo kesällä, että tänä talvena haluan neuloa tyttären kerhon ohjaajille villasukat. Syksyllä sitten huomasin että ohjaajia on tänä vuonna yksi enemmän, eli kokonaiset neljä. Joten piti aloittaa heti. Viidennellekin olisi ehkä ehtinyt, mutta kivempi näin, ei stressiä siis ainakaan tästä!

Neljännelle ohjaajalle valikoitui Knittyn Maeva-sukat. Näitä olikin ihanaa neuloa, ohje oli täydellinen ja siinä oli sopivasti tekemistä! Lopussa sitten mokasin, enkä toistanut viimeisiä kierroksia riittävän monta kertaa, mutta varret olivat jo näin ihan riittävän pitkät, ja pysyvät erittin hyvin jalassa, joten lopulta päätin jättää korjaamatta ja tein toisesta sukasta samanlaisen.

Minulla ei ole käyttökokemusta tästä langasta (Lana Grossa Meilenweit), mutta ainakin tämä neulomiskokemus on hyvä. Helppo lanka, ja tätä keltaista oli kivaa muutenkin näin keväällä! Harmaat kohdat näyttävät helposti kuvissa sinisiltä, mutta ovat todellisuudessa sellaista miellyttävää harmaata.

Seuraavaksi pitää keksiä tapa pingottaa kaikki sukat, niin että ne näyttäisi hyviltä myös paketeissaan eikä vain jaloissa.

These Maeva socks from Knitty have been such a joy to knit. The yellow (and grey) yarn, the beautiful, well-written pattern! All I had to do was lean back, knit and enjoy the math of the pattern that so perfectly composed these socks! The last pair of socks for DD's playschool teachers are thus finished, well in time, and now all I have to do is figure out how to block socks, so that they'll look beautiful also when wrapped up and not just on my feet.

Oh yes, and the confession: I did not make enough repeats of the ribbing. Not due to shortage of yarn or anything, I just made a mistake on the first sock, and then decided to make the same modification on sock #2 as the socks were long enough after all. I did consider fixing the mistake, it would have been a quick and easy fix, but decided it unnecessary.

Hyvästä ohjeesta on moneksi!

No niin, vaihdetaan kieleksi suomi nyt, kun kevään SNY-kierros on alkanut. Työstän virallisesti edelleen sukkia kerho-ohjaajille, mutta hiihtolomareissulle piti keksiä helpompaa mukaan otettavaa. Ja koska tyttären Unikkokauluri Ullaneulesta on ollut useammin käytössä hänen lelukaninsa mekkona kuin tyttären kaulaa lämmittelemässä olen jo kauan sitten luvannut tehdä kanille oman.
Jemmasta löytyi vanhaa "vintage"-lankaa 90-luvulta (vai onko peräti 80-lukua, en tiedä, koska sain nämä kerät kaverilta kymmenisen vuotta sitten). Sama värimaailma kuin kaulurissa, joskin valkoisempi. Samalla tavalla tein kuin kaulurin, lopetin taas ennen viimeistä lisäyskerrosta. Ja sitten tein vielä olkaimet omasta päästä.

 

 

Tänään sitten tuli heti uusi tilaus, kanille haalarit... En taida... no, katsotaan miten käy!

 

 

A good pattern can be used for many things, like the cowl I made for DD from Ullaneule. As the cowl was more in use by her toy (as dress), I now finally made bunny her own dress. 

Socks and Moomins

Project Knit Socks for all Teachers at DD's playschool progress! Now 3/4 ready! This time a pair of Kalajoki Socks (link in Finnish, can be found in English on Ravelry), size female, approx. 82 grams of Novita Nalle Taika yarn. Simple pattern due to the variegated yarn (which I chose because it had the perfect colors for the teacher who will get them). Still not a pattern that I managed to learn by heart, though, due to some assymmetry of which I do not completely understand the necessity. Anyway, good pattern, nice socks, and perfect color so I'm happy!

Also adding a sneek peek of some Moomins... Found the book Mukavat Muumiamigurumit (in Finnish) at our local library and decided to make some for my kids. So far three figures ready, but Little My was MIA during the photo session. And I have not yet got to buy eyes and some wire for dad's stick, so they're not complete yet.

 

Quite good patterns, I think. Detailed, not too simple. Could have made these up myself but they would not have been this good. Dad's made of Novita Kotiväki, the others from scrap crochet yarn from my crochet period (1983-1995). The thin yarn made the project a bit more challenging at times, I do recommend at least Kotiväki-thickness. Now moving on to the next character, taking a small break in the sock project (deadline end of May - I think I'll make it!)

Closing up 2013

Oh, well, time to show some stuff again. At last.

First a pair of Business Casual Socks, which was an excellent pattern for my needs. Not too complicated as I need to look after my kids while knitting, and am bound to be interrupted all the time, which also suited the variegated yarn very well, but still enough going on to keep me alert and interested.

These socks are part of my project to make socks for all teachers at my girls playschool. Deadline late May, I started in September and am now half way... will be some time for panic in April-May I suppose...
I had some panic with these too, and must say that I need no other excitement in life when sock-knitting can be this nerve-wrecking... After finishing the first sock, I had 50 grams of yarn left, and hence 50 grams in the finished sock... As my scales are not that precise, I had no idea if I'd have enough yarn to finish sock #2. Sock #2 was therefore knit with extra speed so that I wouldn't run out of yarn... I know that does not work, of course, but then again it really did help, right, as I had about 1gram left at the end... ;-) . The yarn was Lana Grossa Mielenweit, grey, by the way.

 

When I was at it, I finished a pair of mittens for my DD. Novita Isoveli yarn in AngryBirdsPig-green (no, that is not the official name...). Too thick yarn I think, but then again I am a friend of skinny yarn. Pattern can be found in Novita Fall 2011 magazine.



Project #3 this time is neither knitted nor crocheted, oddly enough. I still think it qualifies here as it is pretty close to yarn graffiti.

Since my 4-year-old drags home sticks and branches almost every day, we have a nice pile of them in our back yard - I used a pair of them.
And since I myself tend to drag home yarn all the time, we have a nice pile of that in the cupboard upstairs, so I took some of that too, and combined in something I thought we could do together. It turned out to be just a little bit too difficult for her, so in the end she chose yarns and colors, and I did all the twisting.
Also, do not do as I did - lace and fingering weight should not be usen except maybe double or triple. And do use simple branches, trust me, it is not much fun when a part you've already finished breaks off. (Could be fixed with more yarn and a tapestry needle, fortunately!)

Both me and DD were quite happy with the result, good decoration for our big vase!

Fall 2013

It feels as though I never get to knit anything. Still, evidently, I blog even less than I knit, as I have three finished items to show off!

First the big thing, i.e. the Green Pig Hoodie for DD.

Pattern from Novita Ipana - magazine, small moderations (e.g. knit in round).

Then a pair of Deflect-socks. Rellana-yarn from a ravelry swap (scandinavian RAK group, I think) years ago.

 

Yes, you're right, I wrote finished projects, but I still have to weave in those loose ends, I know! :-).

 

And last, a hat for DD's bunny. This bunny goes with her everywhere, and yesterday she realised that bunny has no hat. First order was a hat with holes for the ears, but the project grew as I was crocheting, and we ended up with a really nice helmet with ears. Can't have bunny's ears get cold, right! Fortunately stash consists not only of lace yarn, I found one bulky Novita Karuselli (acrylic) which was perfect for this project, start to finish while DS was napping.

 

 

Cowl

DD chose a very blue overall for this fall, so I think she needs some very pink accessories to help people understand that she's not a boy. Calls for a pink cowl, that is.

I actually got this yarn from my secret friend in the SSNY 2010 if I remember correctly. She had knit a pair of socks for my DD, back then a baby/toddler, and sent me the rest of the yarn for mittens and such. Well, I never got that far. Fortunately, because I'm very glad that I have this yarn now! (I love the old Sandnes Lanett by the way. So soft, thin, comfortable!)

Pattern Unikko from Ullaneule.net (in Finnish, I think you can find an English translation via Ravelry). Some modifications, since I have a thinner yarn, a younger and thinner daughter, and a will of my own (also to be known as accustomed habits).

Cast on 108 sts. Did the M1's left- and right-slanting one stitch inside the stockinette border. And bound off a couple of rows before the last increase row, since we (DD and I) thought it was ready. Bound off using my favorite stretchy bind-off that I use for my shawls.

Inlaid Lace Mitts once more!

I mentioned a project last spring that I still have no pics for on this computer, so I won't blog about that. Instead, I'll just let you know that they, too, were a pair of Inlaid Lace Mitts from InterweaveKnits spring issue 2013. (Actually, the last issue of my subscription, I'm glad I still got that one!)

Anyway, I used those pink mitts the other week when I was outdoors with the kids, anda neighbor asked me how much I'd charge her if I were to make her a similar pair. I did tell her what the price would be for a stranger/not good friend, so that she'd know the value of them, and then I went to dig through my stash for some nice leftover lace yarn.

Ended up with a small ball of Knit Picks Alpacka Cloud that I got some years ago in a lace swap on Ravelry. Most of the yarn ended up a shawl, of course, but the leftovers just might be enough for a pair of these mitts. Once again, I cast on, and started to be anxious about whether I had enough yarn or not.

Well, I did. I even knit two more repeats of the cuff pattern and still have 5 grams left.

 

Beautiful they are, and so I think I'll keep these for my self and give my neighbor the pink ones instead...

Adventure, Warmth and a Mystery!

Oh dear, I'm actually here! And I have some knitting to report!!!!

But first some crochet, including one of my two reasons for not knitting so much the past year or two.

This young pirate friend of mine spent a couple of days as a fairy princess (a friend's birthday party + just for fun), after which she decided she was a pirate. Immediate need for Mom to crochet an eye patch, that is. Note the necklace, booty from mentioned birthday party.

Anyway, I've been knitting on these trousers for ages, but today I finally finished them! These are meant for next winter, fortunately, and they're huge, but knowing how fast this pirate grows, I think they won't be too bad in half a year or so.

Used Drops Nepal yarn, and adapted a pattern from the same source.

And to finish for today, a book thought from this morning. I really don't have much time for myself, and haven't slept properly for 1½ year, and when I finally have two minutes, THIS is what pops up in my mind:
In Pride and Prejudice it's Lady Catherine who tells Mr Collins that he should get a wife (nearly misspelled that as wifi - oops!).  Why? What made her want him to marry? What had he done? Had he been too friendly with servant girls in the village (unwelcomed of course, but still annoying). Or perhaps Mr Collins never really was interested in women ;-). My own guess is that he had showed some hopes to marry Lady Catherine's daughter, that stupid man... Or even more freaky; that poor girl was about to do something sílly and had to be stopped?

Small standing project

Little brother needs mittens of his own, mom needs small knitting project, has recently learned fair isle knitting, and has some leftover yarn (Drops Fabel white and variegated). Resulting in these:

I borrowed the idea for cuffs from Lilia and the pattern's from Eeva Haavisto's book Sata kansanomaista kuviokudinmallia (phew, Finnish words can be very long and interesting...).

Also a picture taken by my three-year-old showing what's more important than mom's knitting:

Liten blå solstråle

The Good Day Sunshine shawl on Knitty's first page was just a little bit too tempting, had to knit! And since it's quite small and does not need much yarn, I found a nice blue left-over ball of Wetterhoff's Silvia in my stash.

Knitting with baby and toddler in the house had some effect, as usual, and I forgot to make the repeat of rows 13-16 (or something like that) on the Ray chart, but did not feel like tinking four rows when I found out. Would have had enough yarn - now I'm left with 15 grams (had approx. 45 when I started) which feels a bit unnecessary, but that's the only problem.

Since my toddler girl has a lace shawl addict mom, I thought it was about time she got a lace shawl of her own, this one's for her (Still haven't figured out how to keep pictures upright when posting here :-( )!

Proud Socks

I'm extremely proud of these socks! My very first successful project in two colors! There have been other projects. Several attempts. Never useful, always too tight or too loose. But now I think I'm on to something - these actually fit my feet!

I got the blue Drops Delight yarn in the first package from my secret friend in the Finnish fall 2010 SNY, and queued this pattern a month or two later. Got the white Fabel yarn almost a year ago, and finally started knitting a couple of months ago. And since I have virtually no time at all to knit at the moment, it took me a while.

In whole, I'm quite satisfied with the pattern, but were I to make another pair, I'd make a different toe - this one is too pointy for me - I have broad toes, like a duck ;-).

I have one skein left of both colors and am determined to make myself a pair of mittens with the same technique. Maybe already for next winter - wishful thinking?