knits by toveb

progress report

Just showing off my lovely aran projects. I seem to have a thing for cables right now...
Here is the Aran duffle. I've lightened the picture a little so that you can see the cables better, but in real life the yarn is really black with speckles. Actually quite soft to work with, comparetively...

This is Breezy cables from Interweave Knits Spring 2006. I'm skipping the bobbles in the middle of the diamonds. The rib cables are hell to knit, especially the left-turning ones. But thankfully only every 10th row. Yarn is Rauma Vamsegarn, as inspired by Marika's recent post about the same yarn. (She was thinking Aran Sweater from Norsk Strikkedesign.)

 
Lastly, just a swatch for a design in one of the books I mentioned yesterday, Vogue Knitting Library "Fair Isle and Textured Knits". This is Casual, Aran-style Sweater from 1978. I think I finally found a design for that slightly coarse, but lanolin "oily" yarn from Bartlett. The only questionmark is the sizing, because it's not quite clear from the pattern instructions whether the measurements are for the finished piece or actual bust. (I'm also looking at Oblique from Knitty for the undyed version I have of the same yarn.)

book hunt

I have three books in a series published by Vogue in the 80's, edited by Christina Probert: Cotton and silk, Fair isle and Thick knits (the bottom three). But I just realised there are 3 more books in this series of vintage knits. So now I'm looking for: Classic (yes, that is Andy MacDowell on the cover), Men's and Children's knits (no photo of that last one). Anyone seen them around lately?

sunday fun (with photos)

Here are some photos from yesterday's event. A bunch of us met up for coffee, cake and knitting. There was also an opportunity to swap yarn.

Anna, Maria and Katarina at the kitchen table.

Some of the delicious cakes...

Show and tell of the yarn to be swapped.

And my great finds: 4 balls of Visjö, 2 skeins Debbie Bliss Maya, 3 balls Blue Sky Alpaca and Silk, 3 skeins of Hifa superwash.

fun

Yesterday was knitting get-together and yarn swap galore at Karin's place. I had a blast. Will blog later and upload some photos too.

all over the place

The other day I had to stay at home and rest on the sofa. There was nothing else to do but to swatch with the darn Yorkshire Tweed Aran. As previously mentioned I don't get the targeted 16 sts/10 cm, but somehwere more like 14 sts. After rummaging around Ravelry for a while I found the perfect pattern!

It's the Aran Duffle Coat from an old Internweave Knits 1999. The yarn is still horribly tough to work with and taxing on my already sore hands, but I'm just loving the cables. It's been ages since I dug into an aran cable project. They used to be my favourites in the early 90's.

 
Next is the top-down cardigan I mentioned in the previous post. I'm using Noro Silk Garden (86) and three balls of Létt-Lopi. Seems to be a quick and easy knit.

Lastly, a pinwheel blanket. Yarn is Lucca, wonderfully soft alpaca, in three shades of grey. Practical, but perhaps a little boring. It's a super easy pattern, so I'm sure there will be more.

well

Slight change of plans.

As it turns out, I can't get a tension of 16 sts on the Yorkshire Tweed Aran. Not at the moment, at least. It's about 12 sts instead... On the other hand, it's a very tough yarn to work with and does not flow smoothly on the needles. So maybe it's better if I concentrate on something that is easier on my hands.

I will definitely make the Riding Jacket one day. But I need to find a differnt yarn for it.

I also want to knit the Asymmetrical Cardigan, but it will probably look better (and be more wearable) in Malabrigo Worsted.

So, for the time being I'm knitting away on some of the baby projects as well as an easy top-down cardigan in Noro Silk Garden and Lett-Lopi.

I think the Yorkshire Tweed may work for this cropped cardigan design by Vladimir Teriokhin, which was featured in Vogue Fall 2005. Although I wouldn't make it cropped.

help?

Ok, so it's possible that I am developing carpal tunnel syndrome. This peeves me just a little. But I've tried acupuncture and maybe it's helping. Time will tell.

In the meantime I like to plan my future knitting projects. And this one is for myself.

I want a long cardigan. With cables. I have 10 balls of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran in a natural black colour with speckles. 
It knits up at 16 sts on 5-5,5 mm needles and is 160m/175yds long.
And here are the candidates.

1. Starsky from Knitty. It's retro and has no button holes. Pattern is the banana leaf motif.

2. Asymmetrical Cardigan by Norah Gaughan. It's knit in one piece, which is always fun. And I've never knit any of Norah Gaughan's designs.

3. Cabled riding jacket by Teva Durham. Almost a classic already. And I have a friend who has knit this, so there's plenty of good suggestions to be had. But maybe it's a little too slim? I think I'm looking for something a little bit more relaxed.

So tell me, what do you think I should knit? Or do you have another pattern you can recommend? I was originally also considering Elsebeth Lavold's Gefjon, but I think I will leave that project for later.

holy smoke!

A new feature on Ravelry suddenly allows you to see basically everything that your friends have done on the board: favourites, queques, comments... Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I mean, there's lots more inspiration to be had, but on the other hand nothing is secret. (Suddenly your friends will reveal their "true" taste in quite an obvious way...!)