The Lion, the Yarn and the Franklin

Franklin Habit writes about his visit at Lion Brand Studio and now I want to go back to NYC again. How can I have missed this place?? My fav part of the blog post though is the knitted US map quilt with the legend:

"A wall map, about five feet across reminds one that there aren't Red States or Blue States, only states that like to play with yarn."

more mugs

I wrote some knitting quotes on some mugs again. Finally updated the shop. More to come!

OFFE

I made it. The pattern is Finally here. The cardigan Offe is up for sale on Ravelry!

I could have continued working on this forever. You can write it however detailed and varied you want, since it's designed to be played with. You can choose long or short, broad stripes or narrow, long or short front panels... Once you've figured out the construction it's very easy to mod and adjust to your taste. Make your version!

Click on the images to see them in bigger versions.

A few tech details used in the cardigan are well explained in many youtube clips.

I've chosen a few here:

Provisional cast on on waste yarn here.

Mattress stitch here.

I-cord bind off here.

smarge

I knitted a cowl, a hood, a shoulder snug, a shawl and a piece of knitted jewelry all in one! A simple but effective woolen hoop. I call it Smarge (Small, Medium and Large!)

I needed this garment, so I designed it. It's dead simple, but so wearable. The simple stitch pattern gives the fabric a little life, plus it lays flat and is reversible. It's a chevron pattern that is built in the contrast between knits and purls.

I can imagine this cowl might look very different in other yarns and colors, where this contrast is more pronounced. But I love my version in Manos Wool Clasicas bright red. I sell this pattern both through Ravelry (button below) and through Garnasinne, a new Swedish web shop for ecologically friendly and/ or fairtrade yarns (shop page in Swedish).

The pattern is availible in both English and Swedish.

urverk

Finally! A pattern, a combo of yarn and a finished product that is just so HIM. I love having been able to give him something I knitted he’ll actually use. It's the genius Stephen West's Clockwork in a lively, shaded, green Colinette Jitterbug and grey Semilla from BC Garn. Very long, very many garter stitch rows, with just enough action happening in each to keep you interested. And as usual, Stephen has written up a genius pattern, just skipping the difficult bits by simply including them in easy directions for the whole thing. Genius. And fun! I finished the whole thing in less than a week.

Don't they look good together? All three of them?

Am I happy with this shawl?
I am happy with this shawl.

Done!

And I LOVE it. It's just the splash of color I'll need in the collar of my autumn jacket. A jacket that will soon drop into my mailbox. I'll show you the ensemble when I have it.

Again: Stephen Wests' ability to simplify technique into concise directives in a pattern is like reading an art piece to me. So well done. If you've never knitted intarsia before, just knit this and go "Oh, so that's how you do it huh? I just did it, didn't I?", when you're done.

kollage square circulars

When at KnitNation I was told Kollage doesn't make their square needles as circulars... but I knew they at least had. So I came home and looked around and found a place that sold them, so I bought one. I love the square dpns, and was hoping for the same needle bliss... I was wrong.

Now I've figured it out. Kollage made circulars, but stopped, because the cable sucks. No I'm not exaggerating. It was actually impossible to knit with. The cable is flimsy and long and the joint to the needle folds so easily, I had to stop every five stitches and move stitches one by one from cable to needle.

I was told Kollage is going to release circulars (again) within the year. If they do, I'll look for reviews before I buy one. I'm hoping the pause in production is about finding a different solution for the cable.

My Kollage Square Circulars will now be part of my curiosity cabinet rather than the usable needle collection...

clue 2

So... I may be daft. I didn't realise until I saw these pictures next to the photo of the yarn in my previous post, that my Westknits shawl screams Gryffindor! Oh well, I still love it. The "yellow" is clearly more green or brown in some lights, and it's still gorgeous. I might add a teal stitch or two to counter the Potterverse connection if it's too blatant...

Other than that - I LOVE this design, this shawl and this mystery KAL! Even though I had to remake clue 2 after a clumsy mistake yesterday - it's worth every single stitch. I'm already looking at other westknits designs to start after this, and I still have a Clockwork of his to finish...

go go Gryffindor!

Yesterday I scored a Deeply Wicked Skein in Easyknits Friday update. YAY!

My skein is Goodbye Harry 2 - Very appropriate for a Potter fan like myself, but also just the colors that have been drawing my eye lately. I'm thinking this will be the star of my next Westknits shawl (after the Mystery KAL)... I am So in love with Stephen West's ingenious way of explaining intricate detailing as something so straightforward and obvious as the logic of each of his designs seem to be!

A favorite knitting friend just finished her Gratitude and it looks Awesome! The post is in Swedish - but look at the photos! I'm literally trembling with excitement!

Gratitude

FINALLY!

I can now reveal my shawl (or rather scarf collar) pattern GRATITUDE.
It's done, and you can buy it! You want it? Yeah you do. Just click right here:

The name of the pattern is a dedication. I am grateful for all the opportunities I have had this year thanks to Sandy.
This one's for you dearest!

Knit camp

I've been to knit camp and some people has asked me what it is and how it's done.
Short answer is: It's a knitting oasis.

Long answer is: A Swedish knitting site (whose owner is one of my closest friends) stickamera.se organises whole weekends as knit retreats. We went to the same place at about the same time last year and it was the best four days ever - until these past four days.

The place is booked for Just Us. There are cabins (no electricity - but a fireplace in each) where we stay in groups of three or four. It's located in the middle of absolutely nowhere in the vast forests of Dalarna, up on a ridge, and the views, the landscapes around it, the sunsets are spectacular!

Next to the little row of cabins there's a main house where iphone addicted knitters can charge their darlings and keep in touch with the outside world if they want. I didn't particularly want to. Here is also where we gather if it rains and here is where we eat. Three times a day the wonderful peple who run this place come out and tell you that "Food is served!" or "Now there's coffee for everyone!". It's part of the deal.

So what do we do? We eat, sleep, knit and laugh. That's it.

No cooking, no alarm clocks, no must do or should do, no laundry, no checking email, no stress. Basically it's a meditation retreat - with yarn. Yes - that good.

Also Ateljé Norrgården (Save that link - they will be THE yarn you want forever and ever if you try it. The site is as of yet only available in Swedish, but google translate can work wonders...) brought some yarn to sell and dye.

There was a raffle (In which I won a skein of Handmaiden Lace Silk! Yay!) and then there was me teaching a top down garment design workshop.

It will be an annual event, so guess what I'm saving up for? Yup - I'll go again next year. Fo' sho'!

First clue

I am at knitcamp. Best holiday ever. We sit and knit in the middle of nowhere with beautiful views and lovely people around us. I started by making my Clue 1 in the Westknits Mystery KAL. I hope my color choice pays off.

more inspiration

Oh my knitting Goddess... I saw Brooklyntweeds new collection Wool People yesterday and have you seen the stuff in there!? I bought two patterns without even realising I was clicking a paypal symbol. I Had To Have Them. So now I'll bring yet another started project to Knitcamp. I need a Seraphine.

sneak peek

It's done! I finished my first own lace shawl design, and two nice test knitters are busy making their versions of it. This "prototype" ended up being on the tiny side, which means the pattern will be available both as scarf and shawl. I'm offering it in Swedish to the few people I meet at Knitcamp in a couple of weeks... Then I need to decide when and where to make it available to all knitters. I'm all excited! Yay!

signed yarn

Wednesday was my bestest I's birthday and I went bearing gifts I bought at Knitnation. Being a knitter like me, I (and several of the guests) understands the beauty of yarn, patterns and needles. She had mulberry silk and a skein of Handmaiden silk and other wonderful knit related parcels. But I thought I'd tell you what I gave her:

First - a copy of Little Red in the City - signed with a birthday greeting by the ever awesome and lovely Ysolda. Thanks Ysolda!

Second - a skein of Socktopus yarn which I (kind of awkwardly) asked both sockdesigning geniuses Socktopus herself (the ever so wonderful Alice) and the ever smiling under blue bangs cute Cookie to sign! They wrote suggestions to what design of theirs they would knit in that particular color. Thank you both for that!

(Photo borrowed from I's rav-stash)

The gift was very much appreciated, and I think "signed yarn" is quite as good an idea as "signed book".

(There's more signed yarn in my bag, but I haven't given it away yet, so shhhh!)

whole lotta knittin'...

...goin' on.

So I teach a class in top down sweater design in a couple of weeks. I need to get crackin' on those "begun" cardis I was going to use as illustrations. Instead - I knit a shawl. But not just any shawl. It's my first real shawl design! And it's not just any ol' triangle... I actually feel this could be a Real Thing of Beauty where I'll actually feel proud to distribute or publish the pattern somewhere. It's damn exciting if you ask me.

Ergo: I knit like a maniac, and I need to knit more. Life is good.

Oh... and my slideshow below was mentioned in Michaela's blog today. I'm becoming part of new online circles of knitters. I am most thankful!

Westknits Mystery Shawl KAL part 1

This is the most perfectly timed Mystery KAL evah!
I was trying to choose which Stephen West shawl to make For Me (Because I’m on a Clockwork that’ll be a gift. It has to stand back for a bit.) and this pops up just as I was unable to pick one of the many…

YAY! Stephen chose for me!

Then I went to KnitNation and actually got to say hello to Stephen West himself (Hi Stephen!) and I actually told him I was making this in teal, the swampcolored green and a solid grey… Then I got home and this RED just popped at me and wanted to be part of it. They’re all quite "stiff" sockyarns, but it’s just the wrap I need. But now I can’t decide which one to leave out!

The red is a Colinette Jitterbug, the “green” and grey from the Yarn Yard and the teal is a Socktopus.

Care to give me your input on what to do? I think I'll be swatching quite a bit for this...

revival and KNITNATION

I just got home from KnitNation and I now have more reasons than ever to write about knitting in English again.

The past few years I've been writing more and more in my Swedish blog and less here, mostly because most people who want to read about my knitting are Swedish. However, there are a few international friends out there, and you just became a few more this weekend! Oh, the people I've met, the yarns I've seen and the memories I've taken home with me!

I have trouble describing it all, so here is a slideshow for you! The story is in the subtitles. I should have taken more of more of the wonderful people I've met in the KnitNation crew - but here's a big wave to all of you!

I had minimized my luggage as far as I could this weekend, so the photos are all taken with my iphone... Sorry about the quality on some of them.