PHOTOS!!!!

Ok, I think, I screwed up my math test. Which is really, really bad. I try not to be panicing, instead knitted and took some photos.
Here are my slippers, which were done in 3 hours total. I love them and I'm currently wearing them ;-)

blueslippers


And the fuzzy pillow I did out of Lana Grossa "Pep". It's really soft. It's supposed to be closed by buttons on the back, but I'm too lazy to sew the buttons on...

fuzzypillow


Then I talked to a friend after my test disaster and in order to brighten me up, she told me she had a littel easter present for me. So, I needed to make her a superfast present too:

for Conni

getmecloser


And an update on the Sommertop. The front is now to the point where I have to decrease, but somehow my calculations are gone. I should stop writing important stuff on these little papers. They get lost so fast....

Sommertopvs.2

purple unevenness

Apart from studying math today(big test tomorrow!) I felted the bag today.
It felted good, just not the same amount everywhere...
I think that's due to the fact, that the yarn was a thick'nthin one. In total it shrinked to half its size and now just has the right one for carrying knitting projects or a book. I'm going to line both of them once I did get pass tomorrows test.
postfelt


I'm currently searching for Kool Aid overhere and so far haven't found a better place then Ebay. They import it directly from the US though and I'm a bit afraid of that. But the two online shops which did send from Germany
a) sold them for 0,89€
b) took to much postage
or/and c) didn't had the colors I wanted
Really disappointing...

mashed-potatoes bag

So here is my mashed-potatoes with sprinkles formerly known as the Sansibar purse. I really like how it came out and that it felted so good.
It's a bit small, but big enough to fit in all the essential things, aka lip balm, money, cell phone and cigarettes.
I'll definately would make a purse again from this yarn and will search for a sale next week.

prefelted


postfelted


This is my second to be felted purse, no name yet. It's really big before felting and I used almost all yarn I had...
prefelted

Craftstore story

I went to the craft store today with no real plan as what to buy. That's always a bad idea, cause I end up with more things then I should...
I saw that they had small diameter dowels and took two of them. Next to me a woman also took some dowels.
Then I picked up a bamboo ring to use it for a bag I'm planning to sew.
I wanted to try to attache some wooden balls to the end of my selfmade needles, so I went to the wood rack. There stood the woman with the dowels, searching for balls to fit th dowels...
Ok, grabed some wooden balls and went away.
"Sorry, do you also have bamboo rings...you know, for bags" the woman asked a sales girl...
...I had to smile(more like a big grin) and had a hard time not to burst out laughing. I really should have spoken with her though...

SUMMER!

Hawaii

This dress just screams SUMMER, don't you think?
It's my second try at a dress for my little cousin. the first one she got on christmas was much to short'n little. She grows too fast...
Anyway, I saw the fabric and had to buy it. I still have some left-over and will probably make a skirt for me.
I also brought some bear buttons for the dress, but my camera refuses to make an acceptable photo of them...

woken by the postman

I had such a sweet dream and then the doorbell rang...
but hey, the packet did make up for it!
I brought these over ebay and I'm quite happy about it. The yarn is 100% wool and will be dyed and felted! And the bag handles are great too. Instead of buying them for 10€, I spent 1,99€!!!





Yesterday my friend rang at 21.00 and since the door is closed by 20.00 I had to speed down the 3 floors! But what don't you do for a friend?!
She just wanted to wish my happy Eastern since she won't be here over next weekend.
And she gave me these:


No, they are not for your feet! They are for bags or other crafty things(haven't found out yet, but like the purse idea).
It was nice of her, but I hope she doesn't feel obliged, because my mum gave her these things for her first household. I mean it were left-overs and things we didn't need anymore! My mum collected them for me, but it will take some time till I leave home....

Ready again!

Yesterday was just too much for me. Not only did the knitted top not fit at all, also my sewed top was much to wide! I think I have a top issue ;-)
But I'm feeling better today and ready to take the challenge given to me!
As for the sewed one, I'm going to sew it in the smallest size the pattern gives and then add a zipper. By the way, the pattern is from NewLook number 6326.
I maybe could have foreseen the problem, cause how should it work otherwise? If your using unstretchy fabric (like the pattern suggests!), it must be cut wider. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to put it on!
This may look ok, when your making the version with the sleeves, but as a top?!!!

And I began to knit the sommertop again after I frogged it...
I now have 24 stitches less on the needles, hope that will be enough!

I also tried to felt the Rekal-yarn and it works perfect! Too bad I have only approx. 300 yard of it. That maybe enough for the sophie but not for a much bigger purse.

Then I also went to a fabric store today to get a magazin for someone else... Couldn't help and brought some gorgeous fabric for my cousins dress. I'll maybe getting the same in blue for me and sew myself a skirt.

sommerflop

I could crie....
I have completed the front and back of my Sommertop and provisionaly sewed it. It's much too wide! I have forgotten to calculate that the top stretches and now I can frog it all!!!
When I do it again I will have to make it 5-8cm less in width.
I'm too depressed now to write more...
sommerflop

Rekal project

I went to a fleamarket today. I can't wait for season to start again and more(better) fleamarkets to go to! Actually this has been the first fleamarket I went to since....I can't even remember!!!
Anyway apart from this sweater I didn't found anything. I brougth it for 1,50€. The third picture shows the true color the best. It wasn't easy at all to unravel it, cause it was a bit felted. The yarn will become a felted purse. I have approx. 320m. Hope that it's enough!

Today I returned to the LYS after calling them and asking about there opening times!
Well, the woman there was really nice, but I don't think I'll drive there again. They only have Lana Grossa yarn, which I can get around here too.
But I brought some yarn anyway ;-)
Two balls of "New kid" to test for the shawl. I'm not sure I will be using this yarn, cause I have used up one ball and it's only approx. 20cm long. Ok, I could stretch it a bit...




featherandfan

a few hours later...

and I'm almost done with the slippers!!! Now I know what everybody will get as christmas present this year!
While watching figure skating and a bollywood movie these knitted up very fast. All I have to do now is to sew the heel part and add a crochet row.


almost finished

new day-new project

My mum works as an "home help"(not sure that's the right word?) for older people who can't manage the household themself. One of them, an really old lady complained about her cold feet in bed, so my mum wanted to knit her some bed-slippers.
Guess who volunteered to do the slippers? Yes, me. Like I don't have any other projects. I'm using this pattern.
And here's the yarn I'm using, but it's a lot more purple:


slippers

I also did begin to test a few other lace pattern. Now I think the father and fan is my favourite.

Today I found out there's another LYS near me-like 20 minutes with the car. Well, I thought, let's see how it is. Just took a short look at the route planner cause I have been to that small town(better area) before. I can find my way easily, it's just driving straight untill that road and then turn right.....
See my fault? I felt uneasy when I started the car and drove left like the route planer had told me...
Well, I got completely lost! I drove around for 30 minutes and realised there was something totally wrong. I decided to try to follow the signs back to my hometown...
and voila there was the LYS!!!!
That was so not the way that stupid route planner had told me!!!
Anyway the LYS was closed and would reopen at 14.30, so I drove home. This time the right way, I remembered from visiting a friend a few years ago....
The fault? Well, I should have driven right from my house, not left...
I'm never going to use a route planner again!

quizes

You are Merino Wool.
You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to
keep you close because you are so softhearted.
You love to be comfortable and warm from your
head to your toes.


What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.
You are through those knitting growing pains and
feeling more adventurous. You can follow a
standard pattern if it's not too complicated
and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've
started to experiment with different fibers and
you might be eyeing a book with a cool
technique you've never tried. Perhaps you
prefer to stick to other people's patterns but
you are trying to challenge yourself more.
Regardless of your preference, you are
continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as
well you should since your non-knitting friends
are probably dropping some serious hints, these
days.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Questions???

I began testing a basic lace pattern with my left-over Mohair:

row 1: purl across
row 2: k1 *k3, pull first st over other 2 (and drop it), yo* repeat to last 2 st, k2
row 3: purl
row 4: k2 *yo, k3, pull first st over other 2 (and drop it)* repeat to last st, k1

Anyway, I "lost" a few stitches somehow... I'm going to try to frog it later and begin again.
This is the left-over Mohair from my mum. I don't know if I will use this for my shawl. I'm still watching some on ebay and also thought about buying Rowan KidsilkHaze. It just looks soooooooooo great and I really like the colors, but 11,95€?


mohair

And an update on my Sommertop:
I'm 5cm away from the the shaping of the neck and haven't decided yet which one to do. Just plain and straight? A V-neck? A round one?


summer

first KAL

I joined a Lace Shawl KAL! I thought it would give me the motivation to begin the lace shawl I've been dreaming about for weeks...
I still have the problem of deciding which pattern to use! Since this will be my second lace pattern I probably shouldn't make it too complicated.
I thought about one of these:
lionbrand
kiri
scarf

Well, I'm going to test the patterns with the left-over mohair of my mum.

I needed a quick project while watching TV, so I'm making a pillow case. I use Lana Grossa "Pep" for it. I have completed the front yesterday as you can see in the pic. Thanks to my supersduper camera the pic does not show the real nature of the yarn...

pillow

Poncho

This is a poncho I designed myself. Pretty basic, but from this pattern on I altered and made my own Ponchos! A little warning if you want to do this poncho you might use different decreases then I did plus do less decreases. As you can probably see in the pictures my decreases are very much visible, which is the way I intended it to be!

Material:
100g "Cara Print" from Lana Grossa
150g "Cara" from Lana Grossa
[I still have some left-over yarn, so if you use another yarn you might need less]
Size 9mm(Us 13) circular needles and DPNS

Gauge:
8 stitches and 14 rows are 10cm X 10cm in stockinette

directions:

Cast in 95sts.
Work 4 rows in Garter stitch.
Knit next 7 rows.
dec 5 next row.
Knit 3 rows.
Change color and knit 3 rows.
dec 5 next row.
knit 11 rows.
Change color and knit 5 rows.
dec 5 next row.
knit 4 rows.
dec 5 next row.
knit 4 rows
dec 5 next row.
Change color and knit 5 rows
dec 5 next row
knit 3 rows
dec 5 next row.
knit 1 row
dec 5 next row.
knit 1 row.
dec 5 next row.
knit 1 row.
Change color and knit 2 rows.
dec 5 next row.
Knit 1 row
dec 5 next row.
knit 1 row.
dec 5 next row.
knit 2 rows
dec 5 next row.
knit 2 rows and bind of.

EDIT: Since several people(sorry, I'm so late) have now asked what kind of decrease I used, here's what I did:
I used k2tog(knit two stitches together). I spaced them in such a way over the rows, that the decreases where above one another forming that dart like thing you can see in the pic. Hope that helps! If not feel free to ask again.


pdf-file of this pattern


Original pattern and photographs © 2005 Janin Den.
You have the permission to reproduce, sell and distribute this pattern in any form!
Hey, it’s so basic, anyway.

Green stole

This is the green stole I knit a few weeks ago. I couldn't find a pattern I like that used the yarn I had. Therefore I tried a pattern from
woolgathered
and then altered it for my stole.
Here's the pattern I used in the end:
Materials:
100 g/4 oz of fake fur yarn. I used "Apart" from ggh and "Fox" from Lang Yarns
9mm/US13 needles

Gauge:
11-12 sts and 15 rows= 10cm/4" in garter stitch with two strands held together

Directions: Cast on 75 stitches with the two strands held together.
1. Knit two rows
2.decrease at the beginning of row three and at the end (in between you knit)
- Repeat step 1 and 2 untill you have knitted row 21.
- knit the next 5 rows
- in the next row decrease at the beginning and at the end of the row
- knit two more rows and then bind off

Somehow it's very hard to make a photo of the right color. The second picture is nearer to it's actual color, but in nature the stole is a bit darker and the yellow/light green is more golden


pdf-file of this pattern


Original pattern and photographs © 2005 Janin Den.
You have the permission to reproduce, sell and distribute this pattern in any form!
Hey, it’s so basic, anyway.

Cross-it-scarf

This is my cross-it-scarf. I liked the my-so-called-scarf on another blog, but found the pattern a bit confusing. Looking through my old stitch pattern book I found a similar pattern which was much easier but had the same effect!
I used Lang Yarns "Sansibar", but it very much resembles the Lion brand "Landscape"-atleast on photos I've seen.
I used three skeins and it's approximately 1,50 cm long. It will be a bit longer once I block it.
Here's the pattern:
Row one: *hold thread behind needle; slip one stitch purl-wise; knit one stitch; yo; pull the slipped stitch over the knit and the yo*
Row two: purl

Attention(so my book sais): The pattern leans toward one side and is therefore not recommended for larger pieces!
Plus it curls up at the sides, because it's not the same on both sides. But maybe the blocking will help...

pdf-file of this pattern


Original pattern and photographs © 2005 Janin Den.
You have the permission to reproduce, sell and distribute this pattern in any form!
Hey, it’s so basic, anyway.

Organise it!

I reallyreally love IKEA!
This week I drove to university to sign up for a test(math). I waited over two weeks cause it was always snowing or raining and freezing->no car weather. I could have gone there by public transportation but that takes 45 minutes to uni AND 45 minutes back home, assuming I get every train and bus immediately after leaving the other...
After signing I drove to ikea and brought these two boxes. They cost 2,40€ each with te lid. I like them cause you can see the yarn inside. Unfortunately I miscalculated the amount of yarn I own! I mean where does all this yarn come from?
You can't see it in the picture, but a bit more to the right is one of this big brown IKEA bags full of yarn. I think I have to get two more containers....

Lucy Lu

This is the cardigan from berocco I'm currently knitting. It would have been a really easy pattern if not my gauge is different. Though I completed the back and one front part i'm not able to say if it will fit. Well, I can always frog it and start again.



This will become a summer top. Since I couldn't find a pattern I like I'm making up my own!
A top shouldn't be too complicated...
Another problem was my gauge. Somehow all patterns I found used much thicker yarn.
My gauge is around 18-19 stitches per 10cm.

Having some issues with posting pictures, especially posting more than just one. I have to find a new solution for this one...

First Post

Hello There!
Welcome to my new Blog! As you can see it's still under construction so you'll have to bear the boring design untill I find the time to change things.
I'm a computer science student, but don't expect too much since I'm still learning.
Originally I wanted to build my own cool and hip website without using any programm.
They are for non-nerds, not for me! But with learning for university, knitting, sewing etc., the homepage never made it to be published on the internet.
Therfore I now create this blog. Here I will babble about my crafting ventures and eventually post my projects.
If you find any typos or wrong words feel free to correct me! I'm not a native english-speaking person, but always want to improve.