Trine Knits

Monday I bought 6 wonderful skeins of Alpaca from Garnstudio in colour # 7238. It's a bit darker in real life, though. I also got two sets of circular needles: 3.5 mm. and 4.5 mm., both 60 cm., and two rolls of "glitter" thread in green. I'm still missing buttons, but I figured I'd wait with those until it's done.

I need real life knitting pals. Seriously. And online, too. I've got purka (don't think I forgot you!) but I don't have any irl. It gets a bit lonely, I tell you. People around me are getting sick of my "squee'ing" about the yarn I bought, and my complaints about the circular needles I bought. I'm not sure the one for the cardigan body will be long enough. It's 60 cm., which I'm not quite sure about.. On the other hand, I don't want to go exchange it. Maybe I should e-mail grandma and ask. If it's too short, I'll ask if she's got a 3.5 mm. circular needle, 80 cm., that I can borrow. *crosses fingers*
I haven't cast on yet, because I'm thinking I might wait until I see my grandma again. This'll be my first time using two strands at the same time, knitting something with more than one seam, buttonholes, cables; it's my first time making a freaking garment. I'm a bit nervous - what a waste of yarn it could be. :( I'll get grandma to help me with the seaming, though; I'm absolutely horrible at seaming. Which shows. Not so much in my mittens (and wow, have they felted and pilled - I'm not sure I'll be using that yarn again sometime soon), but like my pixie hat and my brother's hat. And no pics of last-mentioned yet; our camera has run out of battery.

I've been wanting to dye my own yarn for some time now. I think I'm going to use Eunny's tutorial, and I'm gonna knit myself a pair of socks! Jaywalkers, to be exact. I'll just need Kool-Aid and Dale's Baby Ull. I'm still trying to figure out where I can buy this stuff. I know that I can get Kool-Aid online, but it's more about the yarn.. I'd hate to have to order it. Because I like feeling it with my fingers before buying it. o_o Also because I hate waiting.

Will now go search for yarn.

Check out the new DROPS catalogues - no. 94 and no. 95.
There are SO many fancy patterns!! I particularly like this one. The Safran yarn comes in some pretty colours, too - I'd love to do that shirt in colour 38m. It reminds me of raspberry ice cream! The yarn's not expensive, either - 28 kr. for that particular colour. 5 skeins adds up to ... 140 kr.!! Now THAT's not expensive at all!! I think that pattern is pretty complicated, though. I've never followed a chart before, so maybe I should learn that before attempting that particular pattern.

There's also a few knitted/crocheted dresses that are actually very pretty, like this one and this one.

And isn't this just a happy cardigan??

Ooh, so many things to knit..

I've finally forced myself to realize that my stole will NOT be done in time for the carnival on Friday. :( Speed-knitting won't help me - it'll just cause wrist-pains and funky vision. o_o I've started on my brother's birthday gift instead. I'm doing the Hot Head hat for him from SnB, except I'm using black, white, light and dark blue instead of black, yellow, orange and red. He likes blue better.
I've never worked with small stripes before, carrying the yarn etc. so this will be interesting. Hopefully I can finish it before his birthday the 27th Feb. Eh, shouldn't worry about that. My main concern is if I'll EVER finish the stole now that I don't have a deadline. It's taken me a couple of days (at least 3 hours a day) to complete 5 pattern rows. o_o And I've vowed to do 26. My gauge is WAY off, due to the fact I'm using some mohair blend yarn from Garnstudio instead of some microfiber yarn from Lionbrand. *shrug* It'll be really nice once I finish it. I can use it when the weather is warmer and milder over a halter or something.

I'm not sure I've got enough yarn for the hat, though. I'm using Eskimo from Garnstudio (in 1, 2, 12 and 15), and I've only got one skein of each. It's 50 g./50 m. and the pattern (in Danish) calls for 100 g./100 m.. Now, the smart ones will have guessed that I'd actually need TWO skeins of each colour, so why oh WHY do I only have one?? Because the nice(?) lady at the store, where I also got my mohair yarn, told me that I'd only need one skein. So far, I don't think she's right. I hope she is, because that'd save me money. I'm trying my hardest not to waste yarn, meaning I CO thrice to make it right. *sigh* My brother better wear this hat! He said he wanted one (we-ell.. I did ASK him if there was anything knitted he wanted for his birthday. It's easier than buying something for him, since he doesn't want anything). So if he doesn't wear it, I might probably have to staple the damn thing to his head. Or wear it myself. Whichever is the easiest.

I'm thinking of doing the Boobholder from Glampyre knits.. It would be foolish to think I could finish it for the carnival, though. So I'll wait, and make it in a colour that I really like, instead of one that would match my outfit. For the carnival, I'll have to search my mum's closet, or go shopping for a cheap, simple stole/shawl. Blerh. I wanted to finish the Lionbrand one, but I didn't know it would take such a damn long time. Now I know. -_-

/bitching

I should start on the hat again. But my vision gets so fucked up from knitting too long. o_o And from sitting at the computer for too long. My eyes suck.

Okay. NOW /bitching.

Sorry, no pic right now, but it's pretty much like the other mitten, except it's ... prettier. Neater done. Still didn't work out the p2tog tbl, but I just saw a video of it, and it's actually what I thought it would be when I first read the instructions. Seems like a weird stitch, though. o_o

It took me about 3 hours and 20 minutes to complete the mitten! This includes seaming the sucker up, too. I'm quite proud of myself; it's the fastest I've ever worked. Next up is the shawl from Lionbrand - as soon as I get my hands on some yarn, that is!

The first mitten I did has begun to felt a little, so the second mitten looks all weird next to it, but I'll just have to wear it a lot to make them look the same! I'm also thinking of getting my hands on some Kool-Aid so I can dye my own yarn for a scarf or wrist-warmers or something. That would be lots of fun.. and unique. ;) It's not easy to get hold of, though I know there's a Danish shop (americana.dk) that sells Kool-Aid. Only in 3 or 4 colours (not any blue, sadly), so maybe I'll just have to buy it off some American/English shop. *shrug* What don't you do for knitting...!

I had to frog the other mitten. I was almost done, too, but I ended up having to undo EVERYTHING. I missed two rows, because I'd stopped in the middle of the pattern, and then continued some days later. I thought I could remember where I'd gotten to, but apparently not. I don't mind, though; it'll give me a chance to improve the thumb. It's horrible; I always end up with large holes where it joins the rest of the mitten between the thumb and index finger. For the life of me I can't see why. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I think I might be slipping the last stitch wrong so that it comes on backwards. Oh well.

I've decided to do a shawl/stole for my school carnival the 24th, and I found a nice, easy (and free) pattern on Lionbrand.com. Of course, I'm going to substitute the yarn, since I don't want to order some expensive yarn AND pay for postage. I'd rather just buy expensive yarn.
I'm going to work with YO's for the first time, but they don't seem too difficult. Thankfully, there aren't any p2tog tbl. STILL haven't gotten the hang of doing those yet (which is also why I frogged my second mitten).

Meanwhile, I've decided to do a "I MUST MAKE THIS!" list. So far, DROPS Design's model 88-4 is on the top of the list, right after the stole, of course (yes, I do realize that the pattern is in Danish. It's available in English, too).

I'd also like to do:

From Knitty.com:
* Arisaig (cardigan)
* Mrs. Beeton (wrist warmers)
* Pomatomus (socks)
* Tempting I and II (tops)
* Kate (it's just so darn cute!)
* Vicki (corset-ish top)
* Petit chou (underwear - I LOVE the rose design)
* Allusion (corset - if I can ever make it fit around my chest, that is)
* Twins (tops - just the red one, though. Looks like it'll fit my chest perfectly!)
* Lacecap (hat)


From elann.com:
* Victorian Lace Shawl (shawl)
* Lace Shell (top)
* Flower Petal Shawl (shawl)
* Flickering Flames Circ. Skirt (skirt - gorgeous!!)


From DROPS Designs:
* model 90-4 (socks)
* model 87-15 (shrug)
* model 81-17 (top)
* model 93-12 (hat, scarf, gloves)
* model 93-25 (socks)
* model 86-10 (head-band)
* model 74-21 (cardigan)
* model 73-12 (cardigan)

There's also a new summer catalogue, but it's not up yet. Perhaps I will simply have to buy it... o_o


Others:
* LANA GROSSA: Filati magazin 30, model 4 (wrap cardigan)
* Magknits: Odessa (hat)
* Magknits: Jaywalkers (socks)
* Marnie Maclean: Bella Paquita (top)
* Glampyre: Minisweater aka. boobholder (shrug/top)

These next ones aren't for free, but they're just stunning. Please take a moment to savour the details on each shawl...

* Flower Basket Lace & Shawl (shawl)
* Spirit of the Southwest (shawl)
* Shoalwater Shawl (shawl)
* Leaf Lace (shawl)
* The Seascape Shawl (shawl)
* Field of Flowers (shawl)
* The Sheep Shawl (shawl)
* The Landscape Shawl & Scarf (shawl)
* The Peace Shawl (shawl)
* The Pacific Northwest Shawl (shawl)

Aaaand.. that's about it for now. There's probably a ton more, but I'm not going to find them all now. I've got a mitten to do...!

Here's the notebook I made for keptwench. I bought two very simple (and cheap) notebooks in Søstrene Grene (Danish discount store), two postcards from a spiritual store, some decoration paper that I think you use for scrapbooks, and some fairy stickers. I cut the postcards and decoration paper to size, and glued them onto the front and back with extra strong glue. Then I decorated the insides and the back with stickers.
Inside hollys', I wrote "Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts." -- Henri Frederic Amiel. I want to let her know how thankful I am for the magazines she sent me...

Anyway, onto the pics!

Front of the notebook:


Back of the notebook:


Detail of the sticker:


I couldn't get a better picture of the details or anything because the lighting in my room sucks, and the digi-cam didn't work like I wanted it to. I used more stickers on the inside - butterflies, stars, the likes. They're very pretty, and I'm quite proud of myself. I'm keeping the other one for secrets. ;)


***

I just wanted to say that I'm not planning on friending anyone for this journal, because I've already got your journal's added to my personal LJ. :) This journal will be strictly crafy-related, and the only journals/communities added to this one will be related to knitting, paper arts, etc. Nothing here will be friend's only or private, no worries.
Just wanted you to know, so that you don't freak out over me not adding you back. ;)

Booyah! My first FO post. Here goes:

Here's my scarf (first FO):



That's the CO end - it's pretty loose, and much wider than the BO end, as should clearly be seen. The yarn used is Peru Wool from Grønhøj (100% wool) in dark green and gray.



It was supposed to be a HP scarf, but since it was my first attempted scarf, and since I didn't understand English knitting patterns (it's from atypically.net), I knit it flat. It curls like hell, but I actually don't mind so much. It's not too thick around my neck, and I can roll it up over my face if the wind is really biting. Bit scratchy, but that's how it is with wool!

Next up is my pixie hat from Amy R. Singer's "Knit Wit". I borrowed the book from the library and then copied the patterns I liked. I hate spending unnecessary money. ;)



It's knit flat in the same yarn as above, but with eyelash yarn in a silver/icy blue. I realized too late that my colour choice might not have been the best. I look like Santa's freaking helper.



Finally, my 3rd FO. A single mitten! My first mitten. It turned out okay, I suppose, but I had some serious problems with the thumb-seaming, and I don't know how to p2tog tbl, so I just p2tog. You can tell, too. Oh well. I'm going to do the second one the same way, but hopefully I can make the sts tighter around the finger tips; the wind blows right through it sometimes.



And on my hand:



And finally, the yarn I used. It's lying on my beautiful handpainted bedspread from Africa! The colours are a bit off; in this one it's too blue, and in the others it's just too bright. But it's got red metallic hints when you put it under the light.



It feels good finally being able to show off some stuff that I've made. In the next post, there will be notebooks. Be warned!

Okay. So not much to see here as of yet.
I'm working on the "Gifted" mittens from Kate Gilbert's site, and they're going along pretty well. Except from the seaming of the thumb. Not quite sure how to do that, but I'll get it done somehow.

I've finished a (what should have been) Slytherin scarf, and a pixie hat from "Knit Wit", and I'll take some pics ASAP. It's nice to have pictures of your FO's.

Anyway. That's it. Just wanted to make a post so that the journal isn't all empty!