Friday, November 28, 2008

Tales of wat is, wat was and what's coming...

To start off I want to show you this picture of some very beautifull beads and buttons and tell you absolutely nothing about it!
Ok, maybe a little... ; It's a quick glance into the future of my next Knit Kit. It's special, it's different and I'm working with two other talented ladies to make it happen. You'll have to wait a little longer to see what's coming. Ha!


On the knitting front there's actually been a conquest! Cobblestone is, finally, after a whole 10 months (shame on me).... READY! And, more importantly, loved by it's new owner; Boyfriend Dear. Eventhough I'm not so worried about 'the curse of the boyfriend's sweater' since we have a son and one on the way, I didn't want to take any risks, so I let him pick the pattern, the material ánd the color. Personally I would've gone for a green or a brown, but there's no educating BD when it comes to colors. Black is the only option. Or in this case a tweedy dark grey.

It may have taken me forever to knit it (in between other projects) but I've done it cleaverly if I do say so myself. I even let him fit it a couple of times while in progress. So now he has a fitting, long enough for his taste, long enough sleaves for his comfort, very special sweater.

Ofcourse you won't be surprised to hear that there was a little downfall in this conquest.
All glowing with pride and joy I presented him with the finished project the night before he went to ..... Taiwan. Where it's about 20 degrees Celcius (short-pants-weather)...


On newer news...
In a week or two I'll be hosting Knit Nights at the Naaicafé. For all those students (and other knitters) that have finished their lessons but want to continue knitting in a friendly, warm and cozy environment where you can share thoughts, get inspired and ask me questions about your latest project.
I'm working on the details. But it will be held every tuesdaynight from 20:00 to 22:00, it will include drinks and a 10% discount on knitting materials and coaching plus tips & tricks. All this will come at a very reasonable price. Pay for a Knit Card, decide when you want to come and get your card stamped when you do.

Keep reading the blog or send me your mailadres to keep posted!

Voor de Nederlandse lezers:
Over een week of twee zal ik Brei-avonden organiseren in het Naaicafé van Caroline Vogel. Voor de breisters die klaar zijn met de lessen, maar wel gezellig verder willen breien en geinspireerd willen raken en voor breisters die al kunnen breien maar dit graag met een groepje gelijkgestemden willen doen in een gezellige omgeving.
De avonden zullen op dinsdagavond van 20:00 tot 22:00 plaatsvinden. Drankjes, coaching waar nodig en 10% korting op materiaal zitten in de prijs die fors lager zal zijn dan prijzen van de lessen. Je betaald voor een strippenkaart dus kan komen wanneer het jou uitkomt. Hou deze blog in de gaten of stuur me je mailadres als je interesse hebt in deze avonden.

ps I seem to have troubles with the 'mail me' button on the right. sasknitsitagain@hotmail.com is the adress you want to use!

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Glorious Fall Days

What a way to wake up today... Obama is the new president of the U.S.A.!!!! I'm serious, I got all teary eyed and when my wee one couldn't stop kissing his daddy it got worse and worse. Loads of tears this morning. Tears of joy! (I'm sure a lot of it had to do with hormones, but still... it was a special beginning of a special and historic day) On the knitting front....
I couldn't resist to knit up the two skeins of Noro Kureyon I got for my birthday in between all the other projects I have lying around the house (I swear Cobblestone is coming soon!!) I decided to make the scarf that everybody that has ever touched Noro has made. It's a really simple pattern, but the yarn doesn't need much more so why elaborate? It has beautifull green/brown colors to match the leaves on and off the trees around my house.
This is what I did (I won't call it a free pattern as such because it's all over the web in different varieties, shapes and forms and I wouldn't want to claim anything!)

Materials: 2 balls of Noro Kureyon (100 gr/420m each) # 5mm needles tapestry needle
Finished Size:
Your scarf will be about 1110cm / 44" long
(add more yarn to make a longer scarf... duh!)
CO 39 st *[row 1: Work 1x1 rib row 2: sl 1 p wise, *work 1x1 rib, repeat *to last st, sl 1 p wise] Add the second ball of yarn making sure that the shade at the starting point is different than the first one.
Twist the working thread behind the just worked thread to start working a new set of two rows for a nicer edge.
repeat * untill you run out of yarn.
BO in pattern.
Weave in ends.
That's all!

ps my spellingcheck hasn't been working for a while, so forgive me any (stupid) mistakes...

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Double Knitting (with free pattern)

I became aunt today for the first time, but to two wee ones!
Twins Steen (boy) and Venstre (girl) were born last night. I'm very proud of the tough mama-cookie who did all the hard work. This afternoon I'm going to visit them for the first time, I can't wait!!


I knit these two hats in one night. It's a very, very, very basic pattern (suitable for a first knit in the round project!) and fits newborns.

Finished size:
30cm / 12" (a bit smaller than the usual 13" newborn size since they're twins and usually twins come into the world a little smaller)

Materials:
Needles:
5mm/ #8 dpns

Yarn:
Pildar Partner Potiron (orange) and Ecorce (chocolate brown)
Tapestry needle

Gauge:
15x21 = 10cm/ 4"

Hat
CO48 sts on dpns.
Place marker and join for working in the rnd, being careful not to twist sts.
[Knit 1 round, Purl 1 round]*
Repeat * 2 more times

Change to St st (Knit all st every rnd) and work even untill piece measures 8 cm/ 3" from CO.

Shape crown: Dec as foll:
rnd 1: *K4, K2tog *repeat from* to end of round
round 2: Knit
round 3: *K3, K2tog *repeat from* to end of round
round 4: Knit
Cont to dec every other rnd in this manner, working 1 less st between decs each dec rnd until you've worked a rnd of K1, K2tog.
Knit 1 round
Next rnd: *K2tog; repeat from *
8 st remain. Break yarn, thread tail on a tapestry needle, draw through rem sts, pull tight and secure to WS of hat. Weave in loose ends.