Knitting: mens' scarf

My nephew has a knack for choosing the most intricate designs.  I know that, and, on purpose, when I give him options about a project I (almost) always make certain that there is nothing elaborate.  How I end up with yet another pattern that will test my abilities, I really have no clue... Case in point:

I wanted to knit him a scarf, as I did for my niece.  No problem so far.  I gave him two alternatives, he chose one of them. Again, no problem.  Once I started reading the pattern in detail, it dawned on me -- I had no idea what was going on...

Enter the search for a similar pattern that could provide a way out of this problem: the Array scarf seemed straight-forward and looked fairly similar to the original design.

I cast on 75 stitches, knitting it flat so that I would get the scarf I wanted.  On I went knitting and ... after 18 rows I discovered I was doing it all wrong.  Scratch everything and start anew.  The second time was a charm and I was content.

What I was not content about was the time it took - because each row is basically knit twice (once in black and once in white), it eventually took double the time to finish.  Note to self:  think very carefully before committing to such projects...

The end result is wonderful however:  a great little scarf, perfect for the young man!

Knitting: winter cowl

When preparing for Christmas, I always ask friends and relatives to name any requests for (small) projects I can make:  I almost always have delighted candidates who wish to have something handmade - from me!

This is a cowl for my lovely niece, in the colour she chose.  I knit it flat and weave in the ends.  I reckon the total length of the finished project will be around 2.5 metres, which should be sufficient for a double cowl.

The yarn is really chunky:  Lima+ from Scheepjes (which I believe has been discontinued...).  With it, I use no. 9 needles - and let me tell you, these are huge needles...

One skein gone - 7 to go...

I ordered from from Dolce Lana in Belgium, and I'm really glad they offer such good service: in ordering, I can choose the parameters with which I want to find the yarn I want, and the delivery took all but 2 days!  I think I've found my new best friend...

On to the knitting then: it took me a while to get used to.  As the majority of the projects I knit tend to be more of a delicate nature (see no.2 needles), I initially struggled to get round to using these huge needles.  No need to have worried though: this yarn knits itself really easily, and the first skein was up before long! I really like the fact that the yarn is varied in thickness, and that even though the pattern is straight forward, the change in density adds additional depth in the pattern... Looking forward to knitting the rest of it....

Knitting: summer cardigan

Yes, it is winter already... I know.  And yes, in the meantime I've knitted many wintery things... But sometime during the summer I also knitted a little cardigan for my darling sister and I believe it's high time I wrote a post about it:

This is how I go about with my family: I send them 2-3 alternative patterns, and they get to choose which one they prefer, indicating the colour combination they want at the same time.  This is how it went with this one as well:  My sister chose the pattern and, while on vacation, we discovered a craft shop together and chose the yarn on the spot...

The yarn is Camilla from Madame Tricote and I just loved the  way it makes little designs of its own.  With a simple knitting technique, the results are just amazing!

The pattern is the DROPS 120-20  jacket.  It served as a good basis, upon which I made several changes (I never said my sister was an easy customer ;-))

I knit it longer in the back so as to match the length of the front, which I also did without the triangles - in a few words, I knit it as a proper cardigan.

I knit the sleeves at 3/4 length, so that she could wear it over a longer period of time, and not just the summer (I agree...)

When doing such substantial changes, I found that having my sister around helped a lot, because I could immediately try the part on her and either confirm or make changes on the spot so that there was no waste of time.  Don't know how the whole thing would turn out if we were apart...

As to the buttons, the shop we got the yarn did not have anything that my sister liked, so at the end we decided to leave the cardigan open.  And it looks just fine!

I'm really pleased with how the cardigan turned out and I'm even more pleased that my sister has worn it over and over again and she just loves telling people that I've made it for her <3

Knitting: baby booties

While I'm still trying to finish the epic afghan, I took time to quickly whip up this little treasure:

how cute are these??? they take no time at all, and the end result is soooo lovely!!

Using Regia Aquarius Color 6 ply yarn and 4.5mm needles, I followed the Eco baby booties pattern to the letter.  It knits flat and is then assembled.  In half an hour I got one bootie ready and was able to see how it looks like finished (nothing worse if the end result is not what one expects...)

Anyhoo, this will be my friend Patricia's first grandchild and I just wanted to offer a little something to celebrate this addition to her family. I believe these little booties fit the bill perfectly!

Now, do I knit them in another colour as well?

Update 17.01.2015: welcome to the world little Mattis!

Knitting: Knit-a-long progress

Once upon a time (in May), there was a knit-a-long organised by Rowan that offered 8 different patterns for 20x20cm squares.  These  were meant to be knitted one pattern per week, and so have a finished blanket within 2 months' time.

Fast forward ... six months:  after a (small) hiatus, in order to knit/sew/cross-stitch other projects, I'm in the final laps of this - my first - knitalong!

I've managed to finish the first two patterns and I'm happy to report that they are all nice and pinned, slightly sprayed with water to highlight the pattern, waiting to be assembled:

Does this mean I may actually have the blanket ready by Christmas???

Knitting: baby blanket

There is nothing better than to handcraft a present for a new life.  I was moved when my friend Jessi asked me to make a blanket for her first baby and I wanted to make this a special one.

After several patterns, she and her husband chose the Daisy pattern, which in the beginning slightly disappointed me:  I thought it was way too easy, and wouldn't show off my craftsmanship!

Was I wrong... This pattern is fairly difficult to learn - but at least once learned, it's easy to memorise and I did not even need to keep track of my knitting.  I just stopped at 70 cm and started the edging.

But starting from the beginning:  as the sex of the baby was not known (it's a boy!), I went with trusted colour green.  But not just any green:  groovy green if you please!  The yarn is Baby Bamboo from Sirdar and I really loved the fact it's 80% bamboo -- so soft, and so right for a newborn!

I slightly changed the pattern (as I always do) and cast on 204 stitches, working with 4.0mm bamboo needles.  The blanket was my true companion many evenings in front of the TV, in the early hours of the day when I couldn't sleep, and even traveled with me abroad and kept me sane after long days of meetings...

But even in my wildest dreams I couldn't imagine it would turn out this beautiful.  I'm really pleased with the result and it made me embrace all those little presents that make a new addition in life so much more comfortable - welcome to the world baby John!