tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40470212563817420362024-02-08T02:00:35.679+01:00KantajourMarjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.comBlogger268125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-34096478346002624912018-01-07T15:26:00.001+01:002018-01-07T15:26:29.973+01:00First project in...<p><a title="View 'IMG_0004' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/39553803611"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0004" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4739/39553803611_7ec67084ff.jpg" alt="IMG_0004" width="408" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I wish you all a happy 2018!</p>
<p>My first project for the new year is a pair of mittens, grey mittens with a touch of red. Grey is reflecting the rain and more rain that we have had basically since June. Hopefully the weather patterns will change soon and we get a bit drier and more pleasant weather and a bit colder too… So in anticipation this pair of mittens. I have made a full scheme of them, so it will be a pattern but I want to knit another pair just to get it right, but hopefully soon<a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/marjotse/gray-day"> Gray Day</a> will be published….</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_0004' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/25683531088"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0004" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4642/25683531088_8b8ffcde41.jpg" alt="IMG_0004" width="488" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-33075741196002302572017-12-02T15:56:00.001+01:002017-12-02T15:56:40.656+01:00Small things<p><a title="View 'IMG_9951' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/24908328678"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9951" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4543/24908328678_30e3a8c06f.jpg" alt="IMG_9951" width="500" height="423" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I like knitting sweaters and normally I would always have a sweater on the needles. But recently, with the weather getting colder and a trip to Saskatoon for work, I have been drawn to smaller items, socks, hats and mittens… A warm cowl as well. The good thing about knitting small items is that it is so much easier to work on them while in a bus, plane or automobile. Not all of them of course, the multi-coloured fair-isle cowl was not a commuter project, but it was lots of fun to make. Apart from having to seam a load of small threads at the end. </p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9904" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4566/26409353629_cc5ee59110.jpg" alt="IMG_9904" width="500" height="333" border="0" /></p>
<p>Another matter is that these assecoires are really used heavily at the moment as there was even the first thin layer of snow on the ground here… Who knows it might be a proper winter this year.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9926' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/38449450346"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9926" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4571/38449450346_e09cd89e2c.jpg" alt="IMG_9926" width="500" height="438" border="0" /></a><a title="View 'IMG_0938' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/36839395254"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0938" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4447/36839395254_ed3c6985a5.jpg" alt="IMG_0938" width="375" height="500" border="0" /></a><a title="View 'IMG_9861' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/37688359551"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9861" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4491/37688359551_faf199a2e6.jpg" alt="IMG_9861" width="402" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-75741371925757974262017-10-28T13:18:00.001+02:002017-10-28T13:18:18.748+02:00It has been some time<p><a title="View 'IMG_9894' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/37954709422"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9894" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4508/37954709422_c3a0030178.jpg" alt="IMG_9894" width="388" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>It has been some time that I have been writing here, lets say it was just life…. busy at work and not really finding inspiration to write when on free time. It is certainly not that I have not been knitting. Maybe not as much as I normally do, but every day at least a couple of rows to keep me sane. Even on Ravelry I am not really that active anymore. Yes I do update my projects and occasionally I write a message on the board, but it is occasionally and not more regular than that. </p>
<p>Anyways the last couple of weeks I have started to make autumn/winter items. It’s not that it has been really cold yet, in fact there have been some freaky warm days, but it is getting stormy and the days are definitely much shorter, so good to make yourself more cozy. M wanted a real cozy sweater with a polo/roll neck please. <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/september-morn-2">September morn</a> was deemed to be just what she wanted. I dug out some yarn from my stash, some Madelinetosh vintage tosh that I had bought at WEBS during a sale a couple of years ago. A nice straightforward knit, good for just relaxing...</p>
<p>Before that I made <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/korra">Korra</a> for S. In that case it was the name of the pattern that caught our eyes. Actually that’s not true, it was <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/toph-2">Toph</a> that we spotted first. During the last couple of years we have a cat that stays with us for a couple of months and then leaves. Then after a couple of months he is back and stays for a while. I am pretty sure he lives at tho households. He is nice and loves to be petted, and we gave him the name Toph, since we fought he was a female cat (which he isn’t, he is a castrated male…). Anyways Toph is the favourite character of both my children from the Last Airbender and therefore we had to check out the other patterns. S liked Korra very much, especially in the colours as in the pattern. So for once, exactly the same colours and yarn as from the pattern, and yes maybe a bit matchy matchy with her hair… Knitting this hat was real fun, short row shaping and all in garter too.</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9861' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/37688359551"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9861" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4491/37688359551_faf199a2e6.jpg" alt="IMG_9861" width="402" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-70294883755152454672017-03-05T10:50:00.001+01:002017-03-05T10:53:43.789+01:00Cables are fun too<p><a title="View 'IMG_0319' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/33210442445"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0319" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/620/33210442445_7c436b5a7a.jpg" alt="IMG_0319" width="333" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>After a number of projects with colour work,it was time for something different, a bit of cable work. M is normally not really that interested in wearing sweaters but she spotted Vika when I was browsing through patterns and she really liked it. She liked the cables and the neat turtle neck. Since I had some Madelinetosh in my stash in a nice blue that was a good match for the gauge, it was an easy decision to make this one. I didn’t really make any changes when knitting this one, had to play a bit with the sizes though, as M is quite thin, so I knitted the body is size 8 (she is 12) but lengthened it considerably. The sleeves are knitted for size 10 and also longer. For the sleeves I also changed the increase rate to space it out evenly at the end. Other than that, no changes at all. I knitted this without a cable needle (there is a tutorial <a href="http://blog.ysolda.com/ysolda-blog/2014/5/8/technique-thursday-cabling-without-a-cable-needle">here</a>) which makes knitting cables so much quicker. Also the project becomes easier to transport as there is not that little cable needle that can so easily get lost. It is just a bit tricky to learn, and it needs a bit of dexterity, but once you’ve mastered it, it makes cable work actually easier. </p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_0318' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/33210439475"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0318" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/722/33210439475_e0a801fa2c.jpg" alt="IMG_0318" width="399" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-19899700548172331502017-02-07T20:35:00.001+01:002017-02-07T20:35:26.671+01:00Winter Hat<p><a title="View 'IMG_0174' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/32759797145"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0174" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/426/32759797145_6f63d66f6e.jpg" alt="IMG_0174" width="408" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have been a bit obsessed with colour work lately. After knitting the Fair-Isle sweater for S, I wasn’t entirely done with it, so a quick-ish hat to really satisfy my stranded knitting needs… Funny story about this, I was at a meeting and somebody noticed my knitting in my bag and was really nice about it. One of the guys who was in the group when this happened, smiled, lifted his trousers to bare his ankles and there were his knitted socks ;-) Now this was really nice since he was in “hard-core” physics and he said that he knitted socks mainly in meetings…. So yeah, us knitters unite in the strangest places….</p>
<p>The hat is <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/saudade">Saudade</a>, yarn bought as a kit at <a href="https://ysolda.com/">Ysolha</a>.</p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-72977513263648229492017-01-29T12:47:00.001+01:002017-01-29T12:58:26.027+01:00Colours<p><a title="View 'IMG_0155' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/32463722101"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0155" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/642/32463722101_54e30f5593.jpg" alt="IMG_0155" width="357" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>My first big knitting project of the year got finished yesterday and I feel quite pleased with it. The pattern came from a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/kazekobos-traditional-knits-">Japanese book</a> and I wanted to knit it for quite some time but other things came always in between. During the autumn my big daughter asked if I could knit her a Fair-Isle sweater, slightly vintage inspired and this pattern came to mind. The biggest problem was the yarn. Spindrift and Jumperweight bot come in lots and lots of colours, but this sweater was knitted in yarn that had slightly more weight but as it was Japanese not at all easy to get here. In the end I decided for Duett superset which is just slightly thicker than the yarns from the shetlands. S wanted the sweater in similar colours as the book, so we had to match them and there are quite a number of them. The Superset really worked well since it is slightly sticky yarn and that really helps for getting the tension right for the stranded knitting. </p>
<p>I didn’t make any changes apart from the back where I also used the colour work (in the original the back was only in the main colour) and as the sleeve cap instructions were quite odd (or maybe I just didn’t interpret the scheme right) I did my own shaping there. As there are so many colours on a neutral background, it goes with almost anything, which is of course important ;-) .</p>
<p>Anyway this was fun, and that one has to treasure these days… So many days this week I woke up with dread, what will be in the papers today… Last week Saturday was a glorious counter of course, but the rest of it. So many decisions from Trump and so much worse than even imagined. <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/26/politics/donald-trump-mexico-import-tax-border-wall/">Mexicans</a>, <a href="http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/one-of-donald-trumps-first-moves-in-the-white-house-strips-women-of-abortion-rights/news-story/0b958833c3356ad3a00b785a6bfc21ef">women</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2017/jan/29/donald-trump-us-travel-ban-refugees-airports">muslims</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/24/epa-department-agriculture-social-media-gag-order-trump">scientists</a> all being targeted and what will next week bring? One other good thing of knitting this jumper is that I have quite a bit left-overs for stranded projects, maybe something like a bit of my own <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/peace-de-resistance-mittens">resistance mittens</a>. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_0152' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/32463719771"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0152" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/679/32463719771_94af1fa4d4.jpg" alt="IMG_0152" width="436" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-6242713167083001452017-01-03T13:24:00.001+01:002017-01-03T13:29:52.393+01:00P.S.<p>P.S. I forgot to activate the pattern download on Ravelry yesterday….too hasty I guess. It is fixed now and the pattern can be downloaded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And just a peek at what I am knitting now, challenge for January:</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_0134' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/31957167041"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0134" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5567/31957167041_6e89bc4871.jpg" alt="IMG_0134" width="481" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-38628105034188517052017-01-02T14:15:00.001+01:002017-01-02T14:30:04.377+01:00A small gift for 2017<p><a title="View 'IMG_0126' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/31901519382"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0126" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/763/31901519382_0d0e2a6b0a.jpg" alt="IMG_0126" width="430" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some weeks ago I knitted a slipped stitch hat for M. I really did like the way that it came out and I thought it would be a nice idea to make it into a pattern. I quite like slipped stitch knitting as it is easy to do and it gives a real nice effect. In this case the slipped stitches are giving rise to vertical columns. Slipped stitch fabric is also quite dense, so it makes for a good warm hat. Since I spent my last day of the old year and the first day of the New Year with a terrible cold, it gave me plenty opportunity to reknit the hat, take careful notes and make it into a pattern. So here it is a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/slipped-hat-3">Slipped Hat</a> for a fast quick knit too keep one warm for the year to come. </p>
<p>Just one note on the yarn, I used Rowan Fazed Tweed, unfortunately now discontinued. I love this bulky yarn as it is soft but doesn’t pill. Any bulky yarn would work. The hat comes in only 1 size ((Women’s), but using a slightly thinner yarn and smaller needles will make a smaller hat as I did with the one below (Bigger child). Notes on that hat can be found at the project page, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/marjotse/slipped-hat">here</a>.</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9455' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/31104711832"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9455" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5682/31104711832_0f827a78ba.jpg" alt="IMG_9455" width="444" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-17975530403926754282016-11-26T13:07:00.001+01:002016-11-26T13:15:07.020+01:00Shopping and what came from it...<p><a title="View 'IMG_9450' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/30851033040"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9450" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5785/30851033040_f08ce057a4.jpg" alt="IMG_9450" width="422" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>A couple of weeks ago during host-lov (autumn leave) I spend one day with my daughters shopping in Göteborg. I felt a bit guilty as I had to work during leave so I felt that at least one day could be used to do something with them. I kind of like walking/browsing through a city without buying a lot and so does the big one and although the smaller daughter is more like my husband in not liking shopping too much, going to Goteborg was still a fun prospect. It is a two hour train trip away and for once we had bought the tickets really in advance which meant that it wasn’t too expensive. The train comes with free internet, so that helps as well. In Goteborg we had a good time exploring the city (not really been there a lot) but I did come home with stuff as their are some real nice yarn shops… As we were there, the sky became dark and darker and then the first snow flakes of the season came down and then as we were in a yarn shop just then, I knew what to do with that tempting yarn… hats. We came home with some Rowan Felted Tweed and a nice organic wool from Italy. My youngest one spotted fake fur balls and really wanted one for a hat and OK that could be incorporated. </p>
<p>This week the yarn became hats, the felted tweed became a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/folklore-5">Folklore</a> hat. I knew I wanted to make a hat using some stranded knitting and after browsing the Revelry library we found that one. It is a good design and since the motifs are not large it is real fun knitting. There are no long floats so a very good item if one wants to try some stranded knitting. With a nice big multicoloured pompom at the top it makes a real fun and warm hat. For the other hat, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I had two colours grey so it could be stripes or stranded or maybe a two-coloured brioche hat. I did some browsing but nothing really caught my eye. In the end I went for a simple slip-stitch pattern creating vertical stripes. It is really very simple and I really like the result. This one is more like a beanie, but it comes over the ears, very important for keeping warm according to my smaller one.</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9451' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/31104709812"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9451" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5565/31104709812_af575c2ddd.jpg" alt="IMG_9451" width="450" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-47964878126667169422016-11-20T13:09:00.001+01:002016-11-20T13:30:51.441+01:00Polwarth<p><a title="View 'IMG_9444' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/30985853752"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9444" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5582/30985853752_68123f2bf1.jpg" alt="IMG_9444" width="472" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Slowly I knitted this sweater last month. It took a bit longer than I had foreseen, but then I had two false starts and my brioche goes very very slow. I started with a needle size 2.75/3.25 but I felt that the fabric was a bit too stiff, so rip rip rip and over to 3.25 and 3.5 mm. Much much better and the yarn really started to sing. This is Ysolda Blend no.1 and it is really lovely stuff, very soft and yet somehow sturdy too. Strangely enough it was also slightly splitty which really only bothered me when I was knitting the brioche borders and triangle. As for the pattern, as this sweater is for my teenage daughter and it is supposed to mimic a sweat-shirt, I decided not to have any shaping at all. I think that really worked well and I guess it will be a well-beloved item. It suits her well and is exactly her style. Way back in April, when I first spotted this pattern, I knew this would be a real good one for S. </p>
<p>Next things to come, are some hats, with 5 weeks or so to go in this year (I can’t wait for 2016 to be over, but then I also dread the year to come) and already one winter week behind us, some warm hats are really needed. So that’s the plan, a couple of warm hats, some mittens too and then probably a cardigan for me.</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9441' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/30985848982"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9441" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5677/30985848982_79d31533d8.jpg" alt="IMG_9441" width="333" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-40528776914383839762016-11-13T19:31:00.001+01:002016-11-13T20:08:51.347+01:00The Blues<p><a title="View 'IMG_9360' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/30005774904"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9360" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5328/30005774904_b11d1c8129.jpg" alt="IMG_9360" width="500" height="333" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am having a serious case of the blues. I lie awake at night and I am worried. Not much I can do but being worries. It was not my election, but as it stands, an US election does affect the whole world, so yeah, I have reasons to lie awake at night. Also similar populism is at work in the UK (Brexit, anyone), France, Hungary, basically the whole of Europe, including Sweden. I am sick of it and hate the small-mindedness of it all, the under-belly feelings that are brought upwards, the latent racism and misogyny that is awakened. Also I am a scientist and I am just so offended by the anti-science (experts are not needed, global warming doesn’t exist, and so on and so forth) almost anti-education vibes that are being expressed these days. Last month I spoke with a colleague in a similar position in the UK and he said that he had become a member of a political party as he felt he had been silent too long. Right! I have always been upfront about my (non)beliefs, my political stance and so forth and I will remain doing that. I will continue to discuss politics at a dinner table, at the coffee breaks at work and so on and I will try to speak out more when I hear bigots talking. On a what can I do level, I am also becoming Swedish as I have to vote where I live. Not an easy decision to make (I will lose my birth nationality) but I need to do this.</p>
<p>I also want to give honor to tech knitter for her<a href="http://techknitting.blogspot.se/2016/11/warning-politics.html"> latest blog </a>, I hope more people will follow this path, speak up, become party members or activist or something, but do not be quiet!</p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-7255538623918393032016-10-16T11:17:00.001+02:002016-10-16T11:17:55.122+02:00Socks<p><a title="View 'IMG_9248' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/30178285526"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9248" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5609/30178285526_996ed5f593.jpg" alt="IMG_9248" width="500" height="333" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>A couple of years ago I would always have a pair of socks on my needles. I would make other things too, but in parallel there would always be a pair of socks. Good for knitting in the bus when there is not a lot of space, easy to take in a bag and often one doesn’t need to take a pattern on the trip as one can store the information in one’s head. </p>
<p>In those days I had often 3 projects simultaneously cast-on and that didn’t really work for me, and these days I am a “monogamous” knitter, strictly one project at the time, unless I have to wait for extra yarn. And somehow when I changed to being a single project knitter, socks became less a priority and anyways I made so many pairs, so we were covered… But now after a good clean out as many pairs had holes (well they got worn) and it is getting colder, some members in my household started to ask for socks… I still have a quite a stash full of sock-yarn, so it is a matter of making a choice of pattern and sock yarn… So some Shibui Sock (now discontinued) and a nice Cookie Pattern (<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mona">Mona</a>) and time on the train and bus and:</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9257' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/30127863231"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9257" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5191/30127863231_f07922afe0.jpg" alt="IMG_9257" width="369" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>The other good thing with sock knitting is turning the heel, my favourite bit of knitting and I had kind of forgotten that… I’m not done yet with sock knitting, so I have now <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/marjotse/lateral">Lateral</a> on my needles…. just turned a heel,so I leave that here….. And there is a kind of KAL on ITFF so I think there will be more socks coming this autumn to fill those drawers in our clothing cupboards once again….</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9260' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/30303319146"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9260" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5324/30303319146_0346e07d08.jpg" alt="IMG_9260" width="349" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-50792389731966417312016-09-11T14:44:00.001+02:002016-09-11T14:51:53.441+02:00Sunny<p><a title="View 'IMG_0183' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/28953611074"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0183" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8694/28953611074_5dc0757b9e.jpg" alt="IMG_0183" width="500" height="493" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This time of year, with the students coming back to town and the days in the calendars get filled with appointments and meetings, it is good to remain in summer mood. The Autumn term is always busy, filled with things and quickly before you know it, it is dark and winter is upon us. So a project to keep the sunny up is most welcome… This one for sure is, an easy knit where the yarn does make the project. The yarn in this case is Madelinetosh merino tosh light in chamomile. I love this yarn, a sturdy single ply in such nice colours. Just very good for projects in the Spring or Autumn, when you need some warmth but not too much….</p>
<p>Th pattern for this little sweater is <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/folded">Folded</a>, I started with exactly the pattern, but for the yoke I went my own way. So my sweater doesn’t have the wide neck as the pattern, but I think that work better for me. I did quite extensive short rows to do the shaping and I am pretty pleased with it. It is a near sunny sweater and it will get plenty of ue I think.</p>
<p>Right now I actually don’t really need it, it is unseasonally warm here, so high-summer clothes it is right now, but I will need this sweater soon, too soon in a way... </p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-82110574898234095652016-09-02T16:00:00.001+02:002016-09-02T16:00:06.379+02:00Gradient<p><a title="View 'IMG_0057' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/29370023586"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0057" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/29370023586_6ede8a4434.jpg" alt="IMG_0057" width="411" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>During my long stay in the US this summer, I did have the good fortune to travel near to Northampton, the place where WEBS is…. and of course I did visit it and spend half a day and too much money…. But it was nice as it is a big place, the front is big and then when you go into the back-room, oh my… One thing I did do was a bit of thinking beforehand what I would want to buy. Normally I get completely lost in a big yarn-shop, everything is tempting and great and since I can’t buy “everything” it normally is nothing that I buy. That is of course not a bad thing at all, my stash does not need to grow and at least I get to see a lot of yarn. But this time I wanted to take something back, so I had done a shortlist.</p>
<p>One of the yarns I wanted was Zooey. I have used this yarn before and it is just lovely to work with. I made a sweater for M with it that she has been wearing a lot and it is just as lovely as when I made it. It comes in cheery colours and has a slight thick/thin structure that gives a nice fabric. M choose 4 colours that went well together so a sweater it had to be. I used a stripe design and a round yoke with some short rows… The only problem that I ran into was that the one ball of light- purple was not enough so I had to order one more. S is showing it here, but really it is meant for M.</p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-33935415894938345422016-08-12T15:25:00.001+02:002016-08-12T15:25:04.897+02:00Been away<p><a title="View 'IMG_0046' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/28646365410"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0046" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8642/28646365410_aaaffbceb3.jpg" alt="IMG_0046" width="500" height="375" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>It’s been a while...</p>
<p>I have been away, conferences followed by holiday. Just one picture above of a knit in use on a whale-watching trip in New Brunswick. One picture below of a knit produced during the last weeks...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yes it has been good (and I have visited WEBS, even better…).</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_1625' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/28646999310"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_1625" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8480/28646999310_e58c75ae01.jpg" alt="IMG_1625" width="325" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-56505693655195895742016-07-03T16:28:00.001+02:002016-07-03T16:28:07.666+02:00And stretch...<p><a title="View 'IMG_9421' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/28024755686"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9421" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7383/28024755686_8a5c7aa496.jpg" alt="IMG_9421" width="365" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>I just came home from a week of travels and meetings. Quite a number of train journeys once again, so I still got some knitting done. A small cropped cardigan for M, good to cover cold shoulders on a not so warm Summer’s day. The pattern is <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/carousel-8">Carousel</a> and apart from slightly longer sleeves (upon request), there were no other changes to this pattern. I knitted it in cotton, Cascade Ultra Pima fine, one of my favourite yarns. A soft cotton, with loads of colour options, still quite sturdy and so good for summer knitting. </p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9419' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/27444779353"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9419" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7357/27444779353_9d28904be7.jpg" alt="IMG_9419" width="370" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Green is M’s favourite colour of the moment, so I think it will get worn. I love the slight vintage feel of this one, who knows I might make a Grown-Up version of this one for myself one day….</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9414' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/27778056720"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9414" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7413/27778056720_5d490b0d3d.jpg" alt="IMG_9414" width="333" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-30317673503917346982016-06-24T09:21:00.001+02:002016-06-24T09:21:20.422+02:00Short and Boxy<p><a title="View 'IMG_9389' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/27770455052"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9389" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7705/27770455052_acb91bae94.jpg" alt="IMG_9389" width="367" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>I like tape paper-like cotton yarn. I knitted now for a second time with this kind of yarn and it just gives such a nice unusual fabric. It is almost linen-like in some aspects, but there is also a crisp to it that makes quite a different fabric. It is perfect for Teen- items, like a short and boxy tee… Easy to wear in summer time.</p>
<p>The pattern is called Hole in One, and I did actually make some changes. I had to adjust as the smallest size was way too big for S. I also redid the sleeve caps and made the whole item actually slightly longer. It was a quick knit, but those hours spent in trains did of course help a lot….</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9387' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/27770440162"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9387" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/27770440162_e7157a2314.jpg" alt="IMG_9387" width="375" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-72584642312398403832016-06-24T09:07:00.001+02:002016-06-24T09:15:50.267+02:00Rude Awakenings<p><a title="View 'IMG_9375' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/27795491931"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9375" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7300/27795491931_4cd425578a.jpg" alt="IMG_9375" width="365" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This morning I got woken up by a thunderstorm. It actually had thundered throughout the night but it intensified just around 6:30. My husband also woke up and started to read the news on his iPad, an even ruder awakening… Brexit….</p>
<p>I am a scientist, we work in a very international setting both at work and through our collaborations. We are in EU projects and although occasionally we sigh about the bureaucracy of the EU, it has given us an advantage. I think this exit will have effects on us, how and what, I can’t say yet, but I don’t think it will be for the better. Sad that is what it is!</p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-67395155007367567042016-06-18T21:05:00.001+02:002016-06-18T21:05:56.700+02:00Travelling<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_1601" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7313/27719210526_243e126b90.jpg" alt="IMG_1601" width="500" height="388" border="0" /></p>
<p>I just spend almost 15 hours of the last two days travelling…. Work duties but it gave me plenty of time to do some knitting…. On the way up I looked at my lectures but on the way back I just knitted, after all it is a Saturday isn’t?</p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-13838017922054753852016-06-13T20:02:00.001+02:002016-06-14T20:07:31.804+02:00Seaming done...<p><a title="View 'IMG_9295' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/27020229873"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9295" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7354/27020229873_bfca0b0a58.jpg" alt="IMG_9295" width="500" height="448" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>So it got seamed….yesterday afternoon my new cardigan was finally finished. This one took a bit of time, the lace was not hard but my row gauge was seriously off which meant that I had to think carefully about the V-neck and the sleeve caps and the whole process did take a bit of time. My stitch could was spot on, so there was no wiggle room. The back was no problem and that got knitted really fast, but as I had to rip and reknit the fronts partly twice, that took a bit more time and I also got slightly tired by it. When I finally had finished the fronts, the sleeves went really fast and that was good. In the end it all worked out and I am quite happy with this one.The yarn ( mostly cotton and a bit cashmere) is nice and soft. It was easy to work with and even though I redid part of the fronts at least twice, no signs of wear. Also this yarn has quite a bit more drape than just a cotton yarn and for a cardigan like this, without much waist shaping, it is required. The colour is nice and cheery. The patterns is quite ok but as I had to follow so much my own path, I didn’t really use it that much, but I do like the lace and the casualness of it. A good one for evenings and colder summer days (like this week….).</p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9312' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/27019091464"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9312" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7316/27019091464_c6415829cb.jpg" alt="IMG_9312" width="390" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-89878518682670711042016-06-12T15:40:00.001+02:002016-06-12T15:40:47.357+02:00Seaming<p><a title="View 'IMG_9294' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/27587953616"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9294" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7645/27587953616_b1f59efa14.jpg" alt="IMG_9294" width="372" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have kind of neglected this blog the last month or so. It has just been quite busy and with sudden very warm weather too, just not a good time to do some writing… But I promise, I have things coming, I am slowly seaming a new cardigan, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wisteria-21">Wisteria</a> and really when it’s done, I will make a proper entry. Back to my needle now..</p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-52165964300605516532016-05-02T19:18:00.001+02:002016-05-02T19:18:06.725+02:00Every last bit<p><a title="View 'IMG_9165' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/26750648246"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9165" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/26750648246_f21f125958.jpg" alt="IMG_9165" width="500" height="333" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Last week after I finished Polaris, I was a bit stuck. On the one hand, I had a number of summer projects that I had in mind for this summer, so one of those would be the obvious thing to cast on. Except that the weather was really not for summer knitting. Hail & sleet are really not enticing for starting a summer project. But it was the end of April, and surely a change of weather has to come...</p>
<p>I made a Cladonia earlier this year and that was quite a fun project. I had quite a bit of the counter colour left-over and if I would have just enough of a main, that would be fine little project to tide me over. I had to repair a small hole in one of M’s sweaters, so I went through my left-over basket and found more than 1/2 a skein of Tosh Merino light in Iris (blue), so ideal… I would have a red and a blue Cladonia…. </p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9163" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1493/26171899303_c5fcc92151.jpg" alt="IMG_9163" width="333" height="500" border="0" /></p>
<p>I casted on and about half-way through the main body I started to get doubts whether I would have enough blue… I did also have quite a bit of the main colour left-over from my first shawl, so that was an option. When I was at the point to knit the lace, I measured both my blue and my red skein and the red was just about 3 grams more, and I though OK I go for the biggest one and make a red, white, blue shawl instead. After all, I am dutch so there is that aspect ;-)</p>
<p>This was a good decision since at the end I started to get really really nervous, but I made it, but my red skein is completely gone now… </p>
<p>And the weather? The weather has changed now, mild sunny days is the prospect….</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a title="View 'IMG_9166' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/26750655136"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9166" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1484/26750655136_46b8231a6b.jpg" alt="IMG_9166" width="333" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-89127999356029638962016-04-27T12:14:00.001+02:002016-04-27T12:15:59.228+02:00Night-sky<p><a title="View 'IMG_9158' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/26580382522"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9158" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1674/26580382522_a1c59bcd9f.jpg" alt="IMG_9158" width="352" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>And it is done, my Polaris is finished. This was a breeze of a knit, no major changes apart from that I made the body quite a bit longer. The one difference I could have made is to redo the bind-off for the neckband, it is all right but it could have been a bit more loose. I do like this length of sleeves, just warm enough for the time of year, but also going it a bit more “warm part of the year” look.</p>
<p>I used Dandelion for this knit and it is lovely. A merino with a bit of linen. It has the same lovely colours as Madeline Tosh light, but it has a more rustic component. The colour is fitting a Polaris, a dark blue with some hints of purple and some white bits from the linen, just like a starry nigh-sky with Polaris as your guide… It has to be said too, the nights here are getting rapidly shorter and this time of the year there is always a hint of light in the sky. I have never been up-north in Sweden (I am afraid of the mosquitos) but one day….</p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-34887175765801817572016-04-25T11:53:00.001+02:002016-04-25T11:53:16.920+02:00Looking at you....<p><a title="View 'IMG_9139' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/26607624836"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9139" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1486/26607624836_7f153447fb.jpg" alt="IMG_9139" width="390" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just a monday morning picture, my Polaris is getting finished and I just tested the length. This is the second time that I had cast-off the main body, the first time round I felt it was too short, this time I am happy. This will be a nice spring sweater!</p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047021256381742036.post-60388619398417851832016-04-16T09:32:00.001+02:002016-04-16T09:32:55.567+02:00Silk and such..<p><a title="View 'IMG_9035' on Flickr.com" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/25825398033"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9035" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1669/25825398033_d863cf92b8.jpg" alt="IMG_9035" width="333" height="500" border="0" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>My first summer project has been finished, a fun top well suited for a teenager. I knitted this with <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/marita-rolin-garndesign-kiito">Kiito</a> which is a 100% silk yarn. But it is one of those dry silk yarns and not one of those smooth shiny silk yarns. It makes for a lovely slightly tweedy fabric which will work so nice for hot summer days. Not that we have hot summer days yet, but hopefully later in the year we get at least some of them. I made some minor changes to the pattern, the main one is that I didn’t do a single row of crochet at the neckline. That felt too flimsy, instead I did a couple of rows of garter in the contrast colour. Otherwise no big changes. As this was mainly stockinette, this was a fast project, just like the one I am working on now. With a yarn like this stockinette can work so well...</p>Marjotsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793882870896052776noreply@blogger.com0