Somebody really really very Special

Just the other day, when I, after some time, picked up my grey top again, I received an e-mail from somebody I haven’t seen in a year now. Somebody very special in my life: my younger and only brother Tristan.

When I received his e-mail, I was surrounded by my latest fingerless glove designs and my head was full of future designs and things I wanted to improve and what not. But when Tristan’s e-mail appeared in my inbox, it stopped me in my tracks. And when Tristan ended his e-mail with the words that it was very very cold in Amsterdam, well, I pushed all my projects aside…

I miss my brother dearly and I want to wrap him in some warm love.

As said before, I dropped everything else and am now designing a scarf suitable for my 26 year old brother. Maybe some manly fingerless gloves too..?

I am using Misti Alpaca Chunky in colorway M684 Moss Green Melange and hope Tristan will like it. It took my a while to find the right stitch for Tristan’s scarf. I tried a basket weave stitch, a cable stitch a double moss stitch and many others. Just as I was about to give up on this particular yarn, I tried the seed stitch with stockinette stitch in between. I am very satisfied with the way it looks.

Knitting for others is not easy for me…

Very rarely do I knit for other people. This does not mean I never give out knitted items as a gift. Usually I knit an item because I am inspired by some yarn or some pattern, and when the item is finished, a person will come to mind to give it to. I have given out many knitted gifts this way!

But to set out to the yarn shop and actually choose yarn with the purpose to knit an item for another person… oi… not easy. Will the recipient like the yarn I chose for them? Will the recipient like the color I chose for them? Will the recipient like the pattern I chose for them?

I am telling you, all these questions cramp up my style severely and that is what I do not need in knitting and my ‘designing’ proces…

So when I do set out on that journey to knit for another person, well, you had better be somebody really really special to me!

Thanks for reading and untill the next entry!

The Best Christmas Gift

The turkey is roasting in the oven, the house is filled with happy energy, my husband and I are together… what more could I possibly wish for?

I am happy on this day… So very happy…

Happy happy Holidays, everybody, may it be filled with love and happiness!

(Are you here for Fingerless Glove Adrienne? It is the post just below this one, so just scroll down.)

Free Pattern: Long Fingerless Glove “Adrienne”

I was planning on writing a pdf.file for the pattern and to make some nice photographs on these long scalloped gloves but alas, I am running out of time.

Several people have been asking me to please please post the pattern soon because it would make such a nice Christmas gift.

Pdf.file will follow soon, for now you will have to do with this posting, aight?

Long Fingerless Glove “Adrienne”

This long fingerless glove is named after a beautiful and tall woman called Adrienne, who happens to be my friend!

First I will give you sort of a picture tutorial and the entire pattern is written out further down this page.

In this pattern you need to know how to increase by knitting in front and back of a stitch (kfb). You also need to know the slip slip knit decrease (ssk) and the knit two together decrease (k2tog).

If you do not know how to do this please go to knittinghelp.com and watch Amy Finlay’s video tutorials on Kfb, ssk and k2tog.

This pattern contains a 8 row repeat stitch which give you 7 scalloped purl ridges. The front side of the glove is scalloped, the back side contains simply stockinette stitch.

The first and last stitch are always knit in stockinette stitch which will make your life easier when you seam later on.

After you are done with the knitting part you will have to seam the glove, using the mattrass stitch technique. If you don’t know how to seam, go to knittinghelp.com and watch Amy Finlay’s excellent video tutorial on the mattress stitch. Scroll down her page untill you hit the “finishing” section and click on the mattress stitch!

Start Seaming down from the top for about 2.5 inches:

Then start seaming up from the bottom for about 8 inches untill you have a thumb opening left of about 1.25 – 1.50 inches:

Turn the glove inside out and weave in the ends.

In the end you should have a nice and neat seam:

And if all went well, your glove should look something like this:

I particularly like the scallop right on top of the glove. It is almost as if it “protects” your fingers by wrapping it in the scallop! And it looks so feminine on!

And now for the pattern!

Again, the pdf will follow shortly, for now you will have to do with this:

Materials
Yarn: Manos Silk Blend, dk weight, 150 yards. Any dk yarn will do as long as you have about 140-150 yards of yarn.

Needle Size 7 or size to obtain gauge! I am a very tight knitter so you might want to consider a different needle size!
Darning needle for seaming.

Gauge:
4.5 st and 6 rows in = 1” in St st
Be sure to check your gauge, okay?

Size: Length: approx. 12”
Width (when not seamed): approx. 6.5”

This pattern is knitted flat from the top down. The first and last stitch are always knit in stockinette stitch to make your life easier when you need to seam.

NOTE: The SSK in this pattern is done as follows: Slip knitwise, Slip knitwise , and then knit both stitches together into the back loops.

RIGHT HAND GLOVE

Cast on 36 stitches and make sure you have a 10 inch tail for seaming.

Step 1: The top part
1) RS: Knit 25, (k1, p1) untill the last stitch, now knit that last stitch.
2) WS: Purl 1, (k1, p1) 5x, knit 24, purl 1.
3) Repeat Row 1
4) Repeat Row 2
5) knit 1, (kfb)4x, (ssk)4x, (k2tog)4x, (kfb)4x, knit 11.
6) Purl all stitches

Step 2: The actual pattern

7) Knit all stitches
8 ) Purl all stitches
9) Knit 1, (kfb)4x, (ssk)4x, (k2tog)4x, (kfb)4x, knit 11
10) Purl 11, Knit 24, Purl1

11) Knit all stitches
12) Purl all stitches
13) Knit 1, (kfb)4x, (ssk)4x, (k2tog)4x, (kfb)4x, knit 11
14) Purl

Now Repeat row 7 to row 14 another for another 6 times! In the end you should have 7 purl ridges in your pattern.

Step 3: Last part of the glove and ribbing

15) Knit all stitches
16) Purl all stitches
17) Knit 1, (kfb)4x, (ssk)4x, (k2tog)4x, (kfb)4x, knit 11
18) Purl all stitches
19) K1, P1 ribbing accross.
Repeat row 19 for 5 times more.
Bind off loosely in ribbing pattern. Leave an 18 inch tail.

Now seam your glove!

LEFT HAND GLOVE

Cast on 36 stitches and make sure you have a 10 inch tail for seaming.

Step 1: The top part

1) RS: (knit 1, purl 1) 5x, knit 1, knit 25
2) WS: p1, k24, p1, (k1, p1)5x
3) Repeat row 1
4) Repeat row 2
5) K11, (kfb)4x, (ssk)4x, (k2tog)4x, (kfb)4x, k1
6) Purl all stitches

Step 2: The actual pattern

7) Knit all stitches
8 ) Purl all stitches
9) K11, (kfb)4x, (ssk)4x, (k2tog)4x, (kfb)4x, k1
10) P1, k24, p11

11) Knit all stitches
12) Purl all stitches
13) K11, (kfb)4x, (ssk)4x, (k2tog)4x, (kfb)4x, k1
14) Purl all stitches

Now Repeat row 7 to row 14 for another 6 times! In the end you should have 7 purl ridges in your pattern.

Step 3: Last part of the glove and ribbing

15) Knit all stitches
16) Purl all stitches
17) K11, (kfb)4x, (ssk)4x, (k2tog)4x, (kfb)4x, k1
18) Purl
19) K1, P1 ribbing accross.
Repeat row 19 for 5 times more.
Bind off loosely in ribbing pattern. Leave an 18 inch tail.

Now seam your glove!

Enjoy knitting this glove and enjoy wearing it!

Thank you for reading and untill the next entry…

I know I shouldn’t have…

I know I shouldn’t have… While I needed to work on some more testknitting on the scalloped gloves, and while my grey top is just screaming for attention, I casted on a new project… but didn’t it turn out just as cute as a button?

The Suri Merino from Blue Sky Alpacas, appealed so much to me that I just couldn’t resist! As soon as I saw and felt this yarn, my mouth started watering. A moss stitch came to mind, and when I bumped into one of my long lost buttons when I was organizing my yarnroom, I just knew what to design.

This is only the initial design. I need to make some changes untill I am a 100% satisfied. I just had to share.

And now… back to testknitting the scalloped glove!

Thanks for reading and untill the next entry!

Sweet Scents of a Happy Home

“Morrocan Chicken”, my husband replied when I asked him what he wanted to have for dinner on his birthday tomorrow. So off I went to gather all the herbs and spices to make his favorite dish.

A bunch of mint, a bunch of cilantro, lots and lots of garlic, a dash of salt and a dash of pepper all chopped up together and then mixed with gushes and gushes of extra virgin olive oil scent up the kitchen and soon permeates our whole house.

The anticipation of celebrating my husband’s birthday and celebrating that he is home, makes me just want to jump up and down of excitement.

Every now and then he peeks his head into the kitchen and tells me how much he loves the scent of the dish I am preparing… And then I smile, smile, smile!

They say that scent evokes very strong memories… I am sure, that when I am old and grey, the scent of chopped up mint, cilantro, garlic and olive oil, will strongly evoke memories of our happy home.

As for knitting

Knit in front and back, slip slip knits, knit two together. How much repeats for a short glove..? How much repeats for a long glove? Will it suffice for just one ball of yarn? Or do I have to cut out one repeat?

Test knitting, test knitting, test knitting. Now don’t forget to write everything down now! Oh boy… How did I do that last repeat on that one..? You see, that is what you get when you don’t write it down!

 

Now the left hand glove, mirror the pattern, will it work? And how about when I knit this pattern up in another yarn… will it come out nicely?

Soon… very soon I will write up the pattern and post it…just a couple of more test knits and it will be ready.

Thanks for reading and untill the next entry!

Manos Silk Blend and other goodies!

After my misfortunate Too-Much-Pleads-Freaking-Looks like a Pregnancy-Top adventure, I kind of felt bummed out… what better way to cheer myself up with some new yarn: Manos Silk Blend…

More of that later, first some other Inspirational Goodies!

Inspirational Goodies

Don’t you just LOVE to get some crafts supplies?Ooooh, I always feel like a little kid whenever I get some of those goodies!

Today, I went with some friends to a quiltshop in Multnomah Village to get the most beautiful buttons and some fabric. Do I have a project in mind for it? Of course not, but I am sure I will in the near future! We all know that feeling don’t we?

These large buttons make my heart beat faster… I grabbed the last two available at the shop:

And this beautiful Japanese fabric with Dogwood print…sigh… LOVE it!

After the quiltshop, we went to an Antique Market and I found these gorgeous vintage sewing patterns.

Can I sew? No, but they are a wonderful inspiration for knitwear design. I just love love love the schematics given and would very much like to see that with all knitted patterns.

The femininity in these patterns just rock my world:

And look at these ever so elegant necklines. You know I am going to design a top with a neckline like that!

And this wonderful low cowl neckline with cute button(right model)…sigh… wouldn’t that make a beautiful sweater or coat?

I am telling you, I am so inspired!

Manos Silk Blend

First of all, thank you all so much for giving me advice on my top! I really appreciate that and it encourages me to go on and not to give up…

I did have to step away from the project this week though. You see, if I don’t finish something in more than 3 weeks, this knitter gets anxious. And besides that, I needed to cheer myself up and what better way to do that with some new yarn: Manos silk blend.

I was thrilled when Manos silk blend arrived at Sally’s shop Close Knit and immediately purchased three colorways to play with: bleu dark grey, light grey with soft pink and finally variegated purple.

I wanted a a mindless project so I chose to play around with the feather and fan stitch.

The feather and fan stitch is one of may favorite lace stitches and you can make so many variations. Usually, it is given in a 18 repeat stitch pattern but I fooled around a bit and used 24 repeat pattern:

And this variation is with a 30 repeat pattern with extra stockinette rows in between:

And finally, I used a variation in which I omit the yarn overs and replace them with Kfb increases:

In the end I finished two scarves. I blended the bleu dark grey Manos with a dark grey Kidsilk Night, and the light grey with pink Manos got blended with a light grey Kidsilk Night. The Kidsilk Night has ever so subtle sparkles!

Playing around with the feather and fan stitch and the luscious Manos Silk Blend put me in a better mood and inspired me to design a new fingerless glove:

It’s cute, I am happy with it. As soon as I am completely satisfied, I will write up the pattern and issue it for free!

Well, it is time to pick up my top again. I will work on it in the next few days and see what will happen.

Thank you so much for your readership! I really appreciate it..

Untill the next entry!

Yikes..!

Sigh… methinks I increased a tad too many for my center pleads! It is absolutely not to my liking.

What..? You think it looks okay? It looks not too bad? You have got to be kidding me:

Ugh… thumbs down on this one!

Rip, rip, rip it goes!

Eh… what can I say? It’s a learning curve for sure…

Now if you all will excuse me… I think I am going to pour myself a glass of w(h)ine.

Have Faith

For the past few days I have been working my ever so slowly progressing knit 1, purl 1 with full twist rib. My hands were hurting, I was constantly thinking about how slow this stitch was and worst of all, I lost interest in the project.

Then when I finally got past that rib section, I had to knit my second section which was knitting and purling all through the back loop.

Dear reader, I became desolate… my hands were hurting even more and purling through the back loop seemed merely impossible so I let that go.

Even this section was so incredibly slow and then it happened. I lost faith in my project. The gates of doom opened and I started to worry: what have I started? This thing will never ever be finished! And if I do finish, it will probably look like crap!

My thoughts were spiraling down and at one point I really did not enjoy knitting this project anymore…

So… I had to have a little talk with myself. Have faith, I said firmly to myself. Have a little faith that it will come out okay. Negative thoughts will only get in the way of your creativity. Put that aside, lift your mind from it and get on with your work… okay?

Okay, I replied and picked up my work again!

Look at how wonderfully the first 2 section came out… the rib is tight and crips, the horizontal lines of the second section is just what I visualized it to be:

Now I can start with the third section of the body: making the pleads in the middle of the front and back part. These pleads are made by increasing using the KFB technique: knit in front and back of several stitches.

Now comes the question: how much stitches to increase? How to figure that out?

First I determine the exact middle of back and front of my work and mark it (little bird marker). Then I put markers on 2 times 10 stitches on either side.

The increases will occur within these markers. Within the green markers I will increase every stitch. In the area outside the green markers, towards the orange markers I will increase every other stitch.

I did not make some difficult calculation, I am just winging it and hope for the best.

At the same time of the increases, I will make decreases on the sides every 4th row.

Now fingers crossed!

Sometimes a project is a bit difficult and not so enjoyable… pair this with negative thoughts and you want to drop everything.

Two things you can do: follow the negativity, or put it aside and trust that you will make something beautiful. When thoughts are spiraling down, know that you can stop it. Bring it to a halt, lift your mind, and let the creativity flow.

Thanks for reading and untill the next entry!