What the friday?

I actually know, I started this from an old DROPS pattern.

It was supposed to be a summer waistcoat, and now, it would not fit, nor can I find the rest of the yarn, I would need to finish it, so out it went. 
 

Swirl hat the second time. And the third

 

Remember the little leftover bit of sockyarn I had sitting on my desk, wondering what it wants to become? 

I enjoyed knitting the pink swirl hat for my reenactment teammate, while also loving the result, I decided, I want a swirl hat for myself too. Finding a base-color was not difficult either, I do keep several skeins of Flora around just for situations like this.

I guessed, the small ball of sockyarn would be just enough for contrast color, and I loved the result, as the orange and blue shades combined with the pearly, light gray reminded me of those Portugese tiles, I love so much.

Since I already waxed poetic about the pattern, how it pratically knits itself, I mean, how exciting is to see the swirls emerge, that I had a hard time stopping to knit.

And also, how the swirls that get smaller, thus faster and faster to knit, helps you to get through that point, that comes inevitably with every piece, be it a small hat or a huge lace-shawl, about 2/3rd of the way, when you get so bored by it, you would love to throw it in the fire. 

And there, sometimes in december, I decided to knit yet another one, as a present. 

Same old, same old, I will not even write it up in a separate blogpost. I could just copy paste what I written about this before. 

Though, maybe next time, I should try the long, pointy version of the pattern.

Pattern: Swirl Hat

Yarn: DROPS Flora, and sockyarn 

Photos (modelled): Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto

Weekly SO

 I did promised a Strong Opinion, and some other info on blocking for this week, but I am sorry, that will have to wait until next week, as I wanted to show blocking on the New year's sweater, which did get cast off, but it still needs some ends woven in, and I also need to put away some stuff from the floor I usually put my blocking lately. Yes, the making order in the flat is still going on, and I mentioned that I had to make my table presentable for a photo. Which meant, I needed to dismantle the heap of ongoing projects from the side of it... and that resulted another, though smaller heap on the floor, which will need another round of going through and decision-making, on what would happen to the stuff, where should they be put away, etc. Times like these, I feel it is never going to end. 

Anyhow, this brings me to this week's "controversial" topic, monogamous or poligamous knitting...

And I think you already know, into which group I am in. It is not only bigamy, its poligamy at its worst. I have so many things going on, that it is actually a wonder I finish things. 

Yes, sometimes I do get caught up in a project, and want to do nothing else, until I manage to finsh it. On the other hand, knitting (and other crafts) literally woven through my life, and I not only use strange bits of times for them, but I also use them as tools. You already know that I do a ton of travel-knitting, but even, if I narrow it down to knitting in the car, while N. drives, presents me with different circumstances, for which I have different types of knitting (see my knitting bag posts... come to think of them, do you like them? should I continue with showing, what do I take with me for trips, be it shorter or longer?). And there are other circumstances, like watching TV, or concentratingon one pattern, and I coud go on... and yes, I do want use all of those bits of times, thus I have projects for every eventuallity. 

Which of course, means, lots of works in progress. 

Disclaimer: as with all other strong opinions of mine, there is absolutely nothing wrong with someone doing/thinking/feeling the opposite way or differently. I do not care, if someone uses dosens of stitchmarkers, or zippers in their knitting, or interchangeable needles. Absolutely nothing wrong. This is just old me, set in my ways.

Cast off

The New Year's Good Luck Sweater, that is. 

I still need to weave in ends, and block it really hard, and then we will see. 

At the moment, I have my doubts, but trust the miracle of blocking.

Instrument-holder and stashbusting

 One of my reenacting teammate's job is making musical instruments, woodwind instruments, and lately he is working on histporical reproductions, like renaissance flutes and such. (My knowledge of music stops here). He asked me, if I can make him a holder for those of his instruments, he is taking to exhibitions. 

Well, I've never done anything like that... He sent me this picture, 

though his instruments are differently sized and shaped than the flutes used in our days. 

Like this one. 

I also found something similar, though from leather on Etsy. My friend sent me some measurements of the instruments, but I did not had them in my hand. 

I thought about it for a while, then dug through my fabric stash and started working. 

At the end, it turned out as a complete stashbusting project 

The corduroy on the outside was the oldest one of teh oldest fabric... Back then, I made a pair of flanell -lined winter trousers to PJ, my ex, long before our son was born. I have put away the slightly more than a meter leftover, because I wanted to make a little pair of dungarees to Chris, when he was small, a kind of father-and-son set, but I never did, and then we went our separate ways. The piece of fabric was sitting at the end of my sofa, for more than two decades, but now, except for two small pieces, I used it all up. 

The plaid cotton I used for lining was here, because there was a point, in my life, when I wanted to use it as a lining for a brown messenger bag. I have cut the outside of it out, I even embroidered its flap, I have the zippers for it, but never finished, it and now, the brown does not suit my wardrobe, thus I had no qualms about using the orange and brown plaid. 

The fleece between the layers is a piece of wool I bought last summer, because I saw a you-tube video on making a lace pillows, with pool-noodle in the middle (Norbert tells me, that is its name) and wanted to try it. I made one, it looks nice, but way too light, so I could use the fleece for something else. 

The bias tape edging... well that was this leftover from the late medieval dress. The bottom of the dress is long and arched, and it was the easiest to use a bias tape from the fabric, and back then, I have cut out way too much, but kept what was left and now, I could say, "you see, why do I keep everything?"

The long wooden buttons came from my button-box. 

So did the green elastic.

Just as I had the thing / design in my head, my friend sent me a note, if it is not to late to ask for a shoulder strap? 

And yes, the metallic... thingawhatsitsname also came from my boxes, from the times, I entertained the notions of making bags. 

My teammate seemed satisfied and happy with the holder, and sent me these pictures, when he filled it:

That is about three meters of fabric out of the house, and I have NOT bought any fabric this year. YET. 

Missing Saturday

 Of which I am wrinting on Sunday.

I had a shitty week: gallstones-attack, and lost two days, tea poured into a keyboard, work of which has an upload schedule that made me do three months woth of work in less than one, a trip in which getting out of the city took us more time than to get from the edge of the city to another 200 km away, an urgent need to make my desk presentable for photos (took me more than a day, wanna see before and after pics?), having to go through many thousands of photos of the reenactment foundation, just to mention some that happened. 

We left for that above mentioned short trip without me having prepared and timed posts for the blog, nor was I up to writing ANYTHING the like on my phone, and I don't even have a cute cat to send in, when I am not up to thinking up things to post about.

I am still no caught up with myself, and questioning the sanity of posting every day, also if it is worth it, and should I pursue longer than this two month, or should I go back to the occasional posting.

For now I was like, I still have finished stuff I have not shown, also strong opinions, and I fell of the horse, let's go back up, but I am stil debating in my head. Want to convince me in one way or another? 

What the friday?

Now, I actually know, what I wanted with this one...

Especially, because I had the magazine, the pattern had right beside the project...  

However, this was many years ago, I was at least two size smaller, and if I would finish this as it is, it would definetly NOT fit. On the other hand I rather like it, not in the least, because it is basically WHITE (and we will get back to the question of white in another post, I think). So I still have to decide if I would completely abandon this, or take the squares apart (unless, as I am afraid it is, not sewn, but crocheted together at the last round).

Mending

A small accident happened... 

My favorite pair of mittens got caught on my kedyholder in my pocket

One of the turqoise threads broke. I am not againts mending, even visibly, handkintted items, I have pretty visible patching on some of my mitts and socks... 

I've tried picking up the stitches, but there was no end of the turqoise, I needed to go in with an other, similarly colored one, and give it a few stitches.

Fortunately, it is at my inner hand side, and down, almost on my wrist... However...

Weekly SO

 Interchangeable needles are....

Umm, they never interested me. Never had any full set, but I never had the urge/wish/desire to get one.

I can't really say why. Maybe because i am not the most orderly person on the earth, i would most certanly misplace one or more sets of tips... also I have so many ongoing UFO-s I would probably need to buy their cables wholesale, and even then, I would hate taking of the tips from one and have to screw on the other. Come to think of it, I should probably buy fixed cables needles wholesale in certain sizes. If I would  put all the 3-3,5 mm circulars I have in the house, it would be a sizeable heap. Besides, i mostly use the 2-4 mm range, and those sets start from 3,5 mm... 

Same goes for dpn sets. I would much rather have five sets of 2,25 (my favorite size to use for "standard" sockyarn), than one set of 2,5 -4 mm... though, probably those are the sizes I do actually use. Well, I think I do have 5 sets of 2,25 mm needles.

Disclaimer: as with all other strong opinions of mine, there is absolutely nothing wrong with someone doing/thinking/feeling the opposite way or differently. I do not care, if someone uses dosens of stitchmarkers, or zippers in their knitting, or interchangeable needles. Absolutely nothing wrong. This is just old me, set in my ways.

Plans

For someone, who just worked weeks to put away her stash and declared that she has SABLE*, and really, really do not need more yarn... oops. But I have PLANS. And a need to know, and I have to swatch.

 *SABLE- Stash Amassed Beyond Life Expectancy

New Year, the Chinese way

For the second time is a tradition?

 

The leftover of leftovers

 Just as I was mentioning the petrol colored bubble pants, there was the story of the overdyed sockyarn and the Love in a Mist sweater... and the hat I have knitted from the leftovers, and the mittens I did...

And there I still had some of that turqouise yarn leftover, and I was wondering what to do with it. A small-ish wrap cardigan seemed like a good solution. What else, didn't I tell you I love the style, and I feel it suits me, and the way I dress in modern clothes? I like to wear if over dresses, in enchances the waistline, while warming up one's shoulder or arms. I did not look for any particular pattern, as I thought, I can make up one from my head.

I do have a copious amount of light gray fingering/sport-weight yarn, and it was not too difficult to find a few skeins of the gray Flora, I used for the sweater/hat/mittens.

I was looking for a really simple pattern, as not to kill/ broke up the color of the yarn too much. 

And I decided on this very simple diamond pattern in inverse stripes.

It travelled me me on trains...

And then I could see, what wonders a good blocking can do.

The style of the sweater is a simple, top-down raglan, with a foldover front-line, long ties. 

And I was still enamored, how the yarn and the simple pattern played with each other.

I usually wear it either over my petrol colored baby-courdory dress, or the one of the petrol linen dress I have,  (much like in this phone picture from the Day of wool event): 

but we got around to do some photos, when I was wearing with a long (foldover) white shirt.

Now, I -almost- used up the last bits of that yarn.

Yarn: DRops Flora and handdyed sockyarn

Photo: Bodeszphoto