going commercial

I sell stuff! T-shirts, totebags, cards and posters!
If you have requests I just might go ahead and add what you need if you tell me what designs you like. This is the US version of cafepress.com so US and Canada fans, take your pick! European shoppers - until I find a european equivalent the shipping costs could be a bit much, but hold on - the visalisa shop will hit you too eventually!

business

Ok, you've convinced me. Once I'm back from Glasgow next week, I'll look into the possibilities to make tshirts with prints. My knit-purl ambigram could be one print and my little globus fellows could be another idea...

Please let me know what your favorite motif of mine would be and I'll look into it.

a quick knit

What did I do for Easter? I tried to work, and in all my breaks I knitted. That's how I finished a Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style in three days! Ok, I admit... Sometimes I took a break from knitting by working rather than the other way around, but still... And it's difficult to take a decent photo of your own back, so this is what I have to show for now.



And one up close:

knit purl

Inspired by the shirt I made the other day I found myself playing with the shape of letters... This is what I came up with:

I don't have a specific need for a knit-related logotype at the moment, and this sketch could use some brushing up (I just scanned the paper I was doodling on), but I still thought it came out rather neat. A purl IS the reverse of a knit and so on...
Anybody want it as their logotype? Then I guess the idea could be for sale or something...

temporary insanity

I'm knitting Tubey (irrevocably bored with 3+1 ribbing). I'm making a present that I carry with me as on-the-bus or waiting-in-line project. I'm making little knitted cups when I feel like doing something else. Today I wanted to do something else entirely. I wanted to celebrate Easter I guess... So I dived into my Easter present and look!

Everybody needs a good stash of WIPs (Work In Progress) right?

easter egg

My mum is the best! Look what I got for Easter!

My list of projects I really badly want to make just grew by numerous wraps and scarves...

love and hate

Okay I admit I stole it. From here. But I just had to have one for myself so I brought out a brush and some paint and created a genuine copy (Though I flipped it). This is the coolest thing isn't it?
This is how it looks in my closet and on me when you meet me:

And this is how it looks in the mirror:

A loving front with a hint of a dark side... Yes, that's me!

flash my stash

I bought even more yarn this past weekend, so I took the opportunity to arrange a flash-my-stash-photo-shoot while rearranging my precioussssssses. Here they are:

1. Tindra furry red stuff 75g (I used half a skein to make a barbapapa who still needs eyes. This is weird yarn.)
2. Regia 100g (Might be gauntlets. Might be the first pair of knitted socks. Ever. )
3. Alpaca Garnstudio 150g petrol blue, 50 g black (Two blue skeins are missing in this picture. They will become a matching set of toque and shawl.)
4. indiecita laceweight alpaca a full cone(shawls... shawls... )
5. Araucania Nature Wool 250 g green (Gift from Mandy that already became gloves and a toque. I LOVE this yarn. I need more green stuff.)
6. indiecita alpaca 50g each of turquoise and black (The best kind of stash yarn. I love it but I don't know what to make... yet. Possibility yarn.)
7. Karisma and Alpaca from Garnstudio beige (These two are becoming my Tubey. Refill necessary.)
8. Hedängen thin wool 100g each of four colors. (One skein missing in photo. And: Can someone teach me the differences in yarn weight in English? 4ply, 2ply, DK... I know what some are, hence what others aren't, but I don't know what this one is)
9. colinette tagliatelle 100g (It is SO gorgeous but what wil it be? Any ideas?)
10. Araucania Nature Wool 200g brown (A capelet possibly. I just needed more of this quality really.)
11. Paris Garnstudio 50 g (It only became a very unfortunate swatch)
12. Marks och Katten sock yarn 200g brown (It was on sale. It's brown, soft and stretchy. I just fell in love.)
13. DoRedo 210g total in two colors (a present to be)
14. Classic Cashsoft 4ply 100g (From Rowan. I'm making swatches for my first own design in this soon. If it turns out well I'll need more.)
15. Estonian wool 250g blue brown terracotta... (Meant for a present, but it depends on how it turns out if that is the fate of this beauty.)
16. red ombré 100 g (Luscious. Delicious. What will it be?)
17. Hjerte sock yarn 50g (Another sudden love that followed me home for no apparent reason.)
18. Rowan Kidsilk Haze 100g black and about 30g lavender (I see lace in my future.)
19. orange-yellow lace weight alpaca 50 g (another gift from Mandy. These are not my colors, but it's the softest thing ever! Undecided on how I'll make this touch skin more frequently. I'm thinking shawl again.)
20. svarta fårets (black sheep) thin wool 200g (I mean to learn how to make a top down raglan with this. I need more though.)
21. koigu 50 g green (Also a gift. To luscious to be used carelessly. I need a plan - A good plan - for this.)
22. yarn from fur sheep 200g green from Östergötlands Ullspinneri (Many shawls can be made. Sooooo shiny.)
23. Visjögarn (more wool) olive 300 g (A shrug to be.)

...and there is one skein of white mohair without a number lying there to the left. And I didn't take a picture of all my leftovers. No. But I thought I ought to do this while I have the chance to present my full stash in one shot. If it grows this fast in the future too, I have to redecorate my apartment. Considering I've only knitted for nine months I must say I'm becoming a yarn nerd with frightening speed. Wool fetishist. Alpacka lover. You name it.

SPIKE

My dearest mum got her christmas present about three months too late, but I think she thought it was worth waiting for. At least she looked happy when I finally handed over the finished Spike! The reason it took me so long was mostly because of the pick-up-very-many-stitches-stage to complete the second half. I wasn't much good at it. I'm an expert at it now...
It turned out SO good. Mandy, I've always said you're a genious, and after this knit I'm even more convinced. And inspired. Mum promised she'll wear it to the theatre next time she goes. "I can't wait to hear B (her best friend) exclaim her jealousy over this!" she said. I think it means she liked it.


The difference in this design before and after blocking is huge! It's like watching the hands of a magician during a card trick. You see it happen, and you know how, but it still looks like magic...

It's long. It's beautiful. It's strangely magical. And I made it. That is truly the best feeling about it.

knitting trip

I had my bag packed for a knitting trip this Saturday.

UllaKarin and Börje who own Östergötlands Ullspinneri greeted us when we got there. Börje is standing by one of the looms. They make wool as well as felt, blankets and fabrics...

The coolest machines EVER. These are both details from the huge carding comb machines.

You don't see a Spinning Jenny in action every day.

They make luscious, delicious, wonderful yarn here...

But they also weave fabrics to make felt. Blankets. Beautiful. From wool to blankets... The machinery is old. Many things are made by hand, but in this little barn they make wool become the most gorgeous things. Really.

And they have a shop. We went nuts! And this is the pile I went home with:

There is lime/oliv wool that will become a shrug, there is lace weight yarn from FUR sheep (soooo shiny) and 100 grams of the red ombré that I gave Mandy for christmas. It was still haunting me so I had to have some. The blue and grey is a thicker wool that I think I'll make a present out of.

Did I mention the surroundings being magical? They have sheep made out of radiators too. They're genious. And those oak trees would make Tim Burton do a cartwheel!
Are you jealous? You really, really should be.

weak

Ok, I have issues I need to get rid of. Today I had a window seat in a full bus. The man beside me got off and at the same stop a woman got on. I was now sitting next to the only empty seat in the bus, but she chose to stand over by the doors. Panic.
I went through my whole repertoire of "what's-wrong-with-me?"s. I discretely checked my nose for bogeys, flattened my hair, breathed in my hand to do that totally bogus how's-my-breath-test... I even had to think back and make sure I showered this morning. I didn't smell did I? No I didn't. I couldn't figure out why that lady rejected the seat next to me. I went as far as considering she didn't think she'd get enough room next to my fat ass... (No, I'm not that fat).
Thirty seconds later it turns out she was getting off at the next stop. Easier to stand by the door to go for a 45 seconds bus ride. And I'm still so insecure it's scary.

email

Subject: I'm going to be a father
From: Spencer
To: Lisa

A Canadian goose has laid an egg on my balcony and has taken up residence

------
Yes, he is wonderful...

update

I picked up the body today, but in this picture from last night at least the two sleeves are finished with beautiful I-cord cuffs. I think this might turn out to be a great sweater...

wearing birch

Different ways to wear a huge shawl:

Just lain over the shoulders. Must be careful not to trip over the ends though...

Better to tie those around your waist and wear it like a shrug. This is the comfiest shrug ever.

If I lift the back you can see how it's tied two times around the waist.

Or you can just tie it behind your back. You just have to beware of the long tails dragging behind you...

Or you can snuggle in it wrapped around your neck. This goes four times around. Either with it haning down the back to show off the pattern or like a bib in the front. It looks good however really...