Presents!

Is there anything better than sending something in the mail?

Presents for my friend Laura's first baby, the AH shawl, socks for her Leo and some day gloves for my newlywed friend MT yay!

Back to (sock) basics and hooking Paola

My friend Paola visited me this week and we got to do many of the things we love to do together: go window shopping and trying into stores to try on pretty (and sometimes ugly) dresses, look (and buy!) shoes and just have long, fun talks. This visit we started a new tradition: I taught her how to knit! This is a picture of her, needles in hand!

And this is a picture of me, also knitting (just in case anyone wondered what I look like with needles in hand!):

If you're wondering what I'm making, it's a pair of socks. The basic pattern for a 7sts per inch sock from my favorite sock book. I love knitting socks, there's something that feels a little like magic in turning a heel :) (this is the sock wool I used, and which I use regularly to make my little lovely presents

Leaves for Sara (or Shawls galore 2)

In my  never ending quest of making things for the people that I love, I gave the Emily shawl a try with the same lovely moss green I found for Eva's shawl. I realize I never write what kind of wool I use, but I will start soon (I promise to start right after this post! I already tossed all the little paper thingies that came with the wool!)

This is a picture of the pattern:



And this of me. I like this pattern, it gives a real sense of movement and light. I'm going to try and make it in orange too, also as a present. I feel like the little leaves can also look like candles!

Shawls galore! (1)

When I was still practicing for knitting the Kj shawl I made this Shetland border shawl out of the completely wrong kind of wool. I ended up just stashing it someplace but thinking I would revisit the pattern once I had more skills... and then the xmas season fell upon us!

And I have made the shawl again, this time for my lovely friend AH, who always ends up with my first tries at socks, gloves or hats but never with something I've already sort of mastered. This is a picture of a detail of the shawl:



And this is a picture of it being blocked in my living room carpet:





And of me, modeling it before packing and shipping it off to Sweden! Here's to hoping it gets to its owner before she goes home for the holidays (and that she likes the shawl!)

Kj's mittens (a walk through three Scandinavian winters)

This week I was gifted a beautiful pair of mittens! My friend and 'former supervisor' Kj knitted them for me. I have wanted to have something green for son long and she just hit the mark! I can't take any credit for the color scheme other than I asked for them to be green. Here is a picture of them:





Kj explained that she has made this pattern three times. The first time was in 1978, for a particularly cold winter (they hit -42C), those are the red mittens in the pictures. The second time she made them in blue for a winter circa 1995 and the third time in green for me, in 2012. Aren't they lovely?

And a picture of all three pairs together. I think the green ones are the prettiest pair, but I might be biased ;)

Poor Poet's Mitt's (again)

This is actually the third time I make this pattern, but I just think fingerless gloves are a fast, nice and thoughtful present. Currently, these have no owner. I have toyed with the idea of keeping them for myself but I know better: I always give all my projects away and can never manage to make anything for me. I guess it's because I already feel like I enjoyed the knitting so much that keeping it is selfish.

Go figure.

This is a picture of both gloves















And here is a detail of one, hopefully, my iPhone camera captured the little roses well enough

Xmas knitting: the Eva shawl

'tis that time of year when I am stressed out and worried I will not have enough time to finish everyone's presents. I did start a little later than I would have liked this year, since that whole PhD defense and getting visits from Guatemala ate up all my time...

I am back to my knitting stride and put a little extra work in for finishing my first project in record time. I had tried to knit this pattern before. In fact, it was my third lace project out of my 'Wendy Knits Lace' book. The first one had been the Poor Poet's Mitts that were super easy and then this scarf that came out all sorts of wrong, but that my mom still liked well enough. When I first tried to make this shawl, back in early February, l I had to rip it out and repeat it so many times. This was not long ago, but I have seen my knitting skills increase dramatically. I think it was because I didn't know now to read charts a year ago and now I can. Lace charts are fun.

So this is the first xmas project. I will post more pictures on other mini projects I have made in these days of late autumn darkness.

These are two details of the shawl

A detail for the shawl (note I blocked it before weaving in the ends. I really don't like that part and postpone it as long as humanly possible!

A more complete view of the shawl

I will make sure to upload a picture of the shawl with its owner after Jul!

I learned how to knit when I was a little girl, although I never got the chance to practice much or to learn how to do anything more than to knit and purl. In my little heart, I always wanted to learn how to knit socks. Today, it is not a secret how much I love to make socks and virtually everyone I know owns a pair of socks from me.

This year I was pretty devoted to lace, and didn't make a pair of socks until late September. I made two pairs of socks, one for the lovely A and one for the lovely K, the two toastmasters at the party after my PhD defense.

Knitting socks is pretty easy, but I find I have become better at it since my first pair in winter of 2010. They fit better and they look more 'even', if that makes any sense. Here's a picture of a basic 8sts per inch sock from this book, that I completely love.

I have to start getting on those xmas projects for Mg's family soon! yay!

I'm especially proud of this pair, since they fit A like a glove! 

Sort-of-quick knit: the K-shawlette

I've wanted to knit something green for a while, but all the greens I came across where not the right kind of green... and then while walking through a farmers market in Gammlia last September I found it! I would have liked the wool to be softer but I like that it was procured from a local source and my friend K looks lovely in it.

There is nothing that I like more than knitting for the people I love. Corny, but true. Here is a picture of the shawl, that is a free pattern by the lovely Wendy D Johnson. K is holding up the shawl on the day I gave it to her. I would have liked it to be a little wider, but I am happy that it was such a quick, happy knit!

WiP: blanket for my niece

Two of my brothers are fathers now (well, one is almost a father, with a baby due in January) and I decided I could make baby blankets for them. The idea that something I made in the north of Sweden will keep those little cuties warm all the way in Guatemala city makes me happy and feel like I am not so far away.

These are some pictures of Erika Knight's first blanket. I already finished the body of the blanket and I'm making the edging now. I chose a lovely deep blue thinking of how pretty it will look with my niece's black hair.

This is a picture of the blanket, knitted in garter sticth

And this is a picture of the edging, which is what I'm working on now. I wish my iPhone had taken a better picture, but I take what I can get!

Stupid gauge

I was very excitedly making a pair of poor poet's mitts and then, as I was finishing the thumb gussed I had this strange feeling: are these too small for my hands?

Yes, yes they were. I had to rip them out. I will give it another go with larger needles. I am such a loose knitter that I usually have to worry about my knitting being too big.

Must learn to measure gauge, must learn to measure gauge.

Co-supervisor cardigan (and one for me!)

When I first got the Wendy Knits Lace book I just knew I had to make the cardigan that she has on the last pages of the book. It would be a hard project, I figured... it said it was 'advanced' and I had never knitted lace before. I started out slow with other projects, and even made the co-supervisor shawl (that I will write about later).

After I had finished A-K's cardigan I just couldn't bare to be torn away from it, so I made one for my self. Here are some pictures of it as WiP and of me wearing mine (A-K's is in a box, waiting for it to be given to her future owner. Only three weeks left in the countdown!)

Here I have the finished pieces (and I blocked the hell out of them too!)

And a little close-up of one of the sleeves

And two of me wearing it in our balcony on a sunny Bergen day

WiPs

I have many works in progress this week. I just started a pair of little girl socks for my friend A's little soon to be four year old, started a pair of fingerless gloves for a newlywed friend and have some knee high socks that are waiting for me to finish the gusset on the second pair. I'm excited that I have so much knitting going on!

Supervisor projects 1: main supervisor sweater for Miguel

Although I have devoted most of this year to learning how to knit lace, I didn't really think it was appropriate to give my male main supervisor a delicate lace shawl (although I would have liked to see his face if he had gotten one).

For Miguel I chose a simple pattern with lovely cables all around. I knew I wanted cables and something of an Aran feel, but I didn't want to knit something that was too busy. I also knew I wanted nice blue wool. I chose this pattern for the sweater because I loved the simple, clean look it had and I thought it would suit my supervisor very well.

Then it was time to get the wool! Nothing really is as exciting as going to the wool shop for a project you are going to give someone that is very important in your life. Miguel has been a thoughtful, kind and all around A+ supervisor, and I wanted to give him a graduation present that reflected how thankful I was for this opportunity.  I used a visa run to London as the perfect opportunity to get some lovely, hand-dyed, Aran weight wool. I went to Loop for the wool and spent a little more than I had hoped (but after spending the better part of an hour talking about wool with the nice woman there I just had to pay the eighty pounds :/ )

I knitted the sweater with some help from E, Mg's mom. She explained some things I didn't understand about the pattern (I didn't know how to read sweater patterns!) and it took me about three weeks of full-time knitting. It did come out even better than I imaged though!

Aaaand I'm back!

It has been too long since I felt the need to sit down and write in my knitting blog. It's definitely not that I haven't been knitting. I have just been completely overpowered by my thesis. Anyway, I am back and have done tons of knitting and have a lot of works in progress. My thesis is printed and I'm enjoying these last few days as a PhD student. I think I might write a lot of posts today, along with pictures (which is what really has me excited!)

Ripping out is hard to do...

About 70% into the knitting of the 'supervisor shawl' from my 'Wendy Knits Lace' book (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tiffany-triangle-shawl) I realized I had to rip it out. I had knitted a lot of it in airplanes, didn't quite bother with paying too much attention to the pattern and when the stitch count had not matched I just 'knitted through' by adding or reducing stitches. It looked OK but my supervisors did more than just OK with me and its important to follow patterns. I mean, if I'm committed to learning how to knit lace I have to face the fact that I will have to rip out hours of work, right?

So I ripped it out, rolled the lovely hand dyed purple Merino wool and started again... hopefully, more careful knitting and stopping when I'm tired (and adding 'life lines' after finishing sections deemed 'OK') will help me learn to do better

:S

The shawl

So on my way to Granada I decided I needed a project. I mean, it was a long trip (took more than 12 to come from Bergen, thanks to awful weather and delays)... so I needed something to do. I didn't have any sock-weight wool, but I did have the lovely lace-weight Merino I got for my supervisor's graduation present. So I started the shawl. It all went fine until I found myself having more than 80 sts and being tired and just too bullheaded to stop and rest. I continued and made a lot of mistakes. I am now almost done with it but think it might not be good enough to give to my supervisor. I might keep it to throw on a chair or to wear and try to make it again. Sigh

At least I got some fly time and now I know more and better!

My mom's scarf

My mom likes to call me her 'little spider', because she says that every time she turns around I'm just knitting. That might be true. When I was at home this January, she asked me to make her something. Guatemala City is not a place where you can a lot of knitted things, so I decided to make her my first lace scarf. It didn't come out perfect, but I am proud of having done that project. Just like with the shawl I'm making now, I have to learn to be more careful when counting stitches, and have to just learn to rip out what doesn't come out right instead of just 'knitting through'. It really messes with the pattern. Any way... here are two pictures. One of my  mom wearing the scarf and a close up of my mistakes, so that I remember not to make them anymore! :)

Finally some pictures!

So I am finally more or less settled in Granada. I came here to spend two months with my supervisors, who are currently on sabbatical in this lovely town in the south of Spain. This is a picture of the fingerless gloves I made for my friend Lisa (as a thank you present for hosting us in Philly this January). I'm very proud of the gloves and when she got them she gave me a lovely compliment: they look store bought! to a beginner lace knitter, that is something alright!

Guatemalan yarn shops är inte bra

It's so hard to find wool in Guatemala city. I have gone to shop after shop and get the same blank stare back when I try to explain that 'acrylic' is not 'wool'. Natural fibers? Nope, not even registering.

So I finally found a shop in a posh part of town... and I went there with my mom to find two women who could hardly knit trying to make me buy this awful, static-charged acrylic swearing it was Merino wool. Alas, I came fully loaded so I think I have enough to make my mom a scarf. I did manage to get a circular needle (which was almost brain-surgery level for these poor women).

I can't wait to go back home and be able to go into a store and find what I need. I will miss going around in shorts in January, though. 

Practicing cast-ons

Since I am back home for an extended holiday/introducing my boyfriend to my family-visit, I can take time away from my thesis to relax and just focus on the things that matter: being with my family and friends, and reading my new 'Wendy knits lace' book.

Today, after I came back from a long breakfast with a friend from grammar school that I hadn't seen in a good 20 years (and I'm only 30!) I sat and finished a pair of lovely day-gloves. They are now on top of a towel on top of my bed drying after blocking. After, I still wanted to knit a little more and started to practice different ways of casting-on. I managed to 'master' the lace cast-on and maybe do a passable easy garter stitch tab. Not bad this just being the second day of the year.

I will take pictures of my lovely gloves tomorrow, once they are dry and hopefully, even prettier. I am kind of glad no one reads my blog, because they will be a present!

Casting on!

Having grown-up in a sub-tropical country, I hardly ever had the chance to develop my curiosity when it came to knitting. Three years ago, I started a PhD program in northern Sweden and almost two years ago, one of my supervisors taught me how to knit in the round. From then on, I just got hooked. Living in such a cold part of the world has let me jump right into knitting, and the weather also lets me wear everything I make (and knit things for my friends!).

This is my last year as a student. I'm set to finish my thesis this spring semester and defend in the autumn. In my department, PhD students usually give a small present to their supervisors in the post-defense party. Rather than giving them something bought back home, I decided I would make something for all three of them. This blog is to help me document my knitting as I navigate my way through learning how to knit lace and maybe share some of my baking stuff. It feels nice to write something that is not meant to go through peer review! (or my supervisors!)