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. 

SNY2014

I decided it was time for another round of Secret Knitting Friend last autumn. Well, it turned out I was one day too late to join. But now the Finnish SNY Spring2014 is about to start. I'm so excited! (Have charged up for this half a year now...) Soon, very soon, I'll get to know to whom I get to put together packages this spring, and can start planning! Will blog the SNY parts in Finnish, with an English summary like last time, I guess.

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...