So, been a while. I see that I'm repeating myself in that. Pattern? sure not a knitting pattern. I had to keep resting, well, moving actually. Stupid shoulders were all tightened up. Tomorrow dancing classes will start again! And I must say, the resting has been worth it. Cause in the mean time I knitted a jumper, half a shawl, finished the eyeletshawl, knitted a pair of socks and finished Pieters scarf. So much for resting, but as I moved a lot I can knit full speed again just fine.

Here's some fotos:

Pieters scarf:


I just used up all my red and yellow leftovers. Had exactly enough for this scarf. It's about 40cm wided and 150 long. Looks very nice with the brown winter jacker Pieter usually wears. And is much better than the black scarfs he's got. Brings back some colour.


























Socks:


This yarn is from garnstudio. I never actually bought yarn through the interwebz. But had to buy some for a swap I was in and wanted some more of a particular kind of yarn that I used before to make wristlets. This time I am going to make a jumper out of it. And as it nearly got to 50 euro free shipping, I just had to buy 4 balls for sockyarn. What a pitty...















and last but not least:

This is before itś been blocked. It is drying at the moment. But can't take a nice photo of it as you can't see it through the background. I can say it its twice as long and wide now! it is just amazing how lace can stretch. And at the start it is really hard, but the it is all pinned out and you can move the pins out by another 5 cm. And when that is done, you can do that again. Just amazing how the project just grows and grows.

Yesterday I finally started on actually knitting the weddingdress. First ever project that has me scared. Scared I can't do it, scared it is too hard. Have no idea where to start on it and still can't imagen how it will look like. But I did know I wanted to use a particular stitchpattern for the top. So I started to try that. Really liked it and now the whole top will be made of it. Just using 1 stitchpattern, much easier then. I started knitting it from the middle front. So the top will be knit from bottom to top. The skirt will be knit the other way around and I'll attach them together later. Or while knitting, not sure yet. Better get this top done first. It's lovely to knit and goes real quick. I won't be surprised at all if it is done by the end of the month.


I got some real nice yarn for my b'day tomorrow. Cant wait to knit that. Will knit a vest with some grey alpaca and use the yarn for the edge. Nice long lacy vest.
Got this project for in the train:
It's from a gathering of lace. I used the same yarn as the eyelet shawls is from. THat's right, another reason why things are taking longer than supposed. I knitted upto 32 eyelets on the shawl. Measured it and found 1 eyelet was 4,5 cm, which meant the shawl was heaps big enough. So I quickly finished the yarn I was spinning, as I got up to 2 bobbins, enough to twine. I washed it, and dyed it with black henna, which makes my wool nicely green. Only to realise half way through that I had measured 2 eyelets and that 1 eyelet was thus only 2 and a bit cm. I was only half way! Damn it. So I needed to spin again, which takes so long. I wish I could take my wheel onto the train. I could take a spindle, but think it might look ridiculus. People look funny at me already for knitting on the train. So that's why all the other projects have been able to get inbetween. And as I was looking for yarn for this swap, I was in the yarnshop and found some great yarn, just enough for a jumper. Can't handle wool just sitting around, so the jumper is just about finished. Only got to put it together and add a collar.

the matching shawl

so, been a while since I posted last. I still got sore hands/arms and haven't knitted hardly at all. I went to physiotherapy and aparently my neck was to blame. It's pretty much solved now, just got to take it slowly still. not knit more than 10 minutes at a time.

so I've been spinning. And spinning nicely. I got this north holland wool and it spins so fine! It washes up a nice white colour so I decided to make my weddingringshawl out of it. I can't promise it will fit through a weddingring, but it sure looks like a wedding ring. well, honoustly, it will be 3003 weddingrings by time I finish. for now, it is this many:


pretty cool ay!

Easy as pattern, only 4 rows 7 stitches repeat. You knit every row and every row has pattern stitches, thus it's real lace.

I got the pattern from here: http://www.heirloom-knitting.co.uk/

I see they are off air at the moment, cause they're on a break. Can't understand why you'd take the information off as well, pretty dum really. but anyhow, itĺl be back surely.

if you want the pattern and want it now, you can ask here, it was available for free so I'm sure they don't mind me giving it away for them.

I got sore hands and arms from all that knitting :( Decided it is better to stop for a little, to let my muscles rest. Who knows, it might be rsi and never get better! but after one week it's not sore anymore, I hope to start knitting again next week, slowly. But what a bummer, right in the middle of my holiday. Not that I was having fun anyway, granddad died, it's raining nonstop, plans got busted, blegh.

But I am working on finishing some older projects and I am happy to anounce that my first knitted lace shawl is finished!!!! it's not the first one to finish, but the first one I started.

Man what a job!!!! Didn't help it is handspun alpaca. Handspun horrible tangled up dirty full of grass and other horrific weeds alpaca :D

Anyhowz, here is the outcome:







I am so proud of myself

it's 1,9m bij 1,9m bij 2,7m. huge. so comfey.

note to self

Beads!!!



ordered wool, can't wait. In the mean time I'm busy finishing old projects. Going well, as I am on holliday. I finaly attached the pillowcover to the pillowslip. I finished scarf for fiancé. I nearly finished scarf I started over a year ago. I needed to spin more yarn. Yukkie black alpaca covered in dust and full of sharp sticky haybits-yarn. I measured, so far its only 2,2 m length and 1,2m wide (triangle). Should be 2,5 and 1,5 at the end. Crazy lady I am :S

weightless dress

hi Cat,
not sure what the size of the cotton is, it's from annell max. 100g 550 meter, 30 st and 60 rows on 10cm square, using needle 2,5. I am knitting on 3mm needles. Just got through my 2nd ball, at row 159
It's about 50cm length now. 100 rows to go! So I ll prbably need another 2 balls instead of 1.

I weighted the samples. Even together they wouldn't measure. So they are less than 1 g. Now I need to calculate how much I need for the dress.
I assume the dress has a size of about 1.7m2 that is 2x40x50 for the top, 2x20x30 for the sleaves and 120x90 for the skirt. The little sample was 7 by 13cm, thus 91cm2. I would need about 190 times the sample in size. Thus I would need about 190 times the weight. Assuming the weight is less than half a gram (I weight both samples, the little one should thus be less than half) I would need about 95g for the whole dress.

This makes me think:

Spend a day at a knitting friendsplace. How great!!! Sheś got the pistilised book. Fantastic inspiration and I really got somewhere with the dress.

Here is the middle part:

The leaves will have cables around them and there will be a flower at the bottom of each. There's this pattern in the modern book of lace knitting 2, with falling leaves and circles. THat will be the rest of the skirt. And I thought the top might be cables with lots of yarnovers in some sort of pattern, got to think about that for a while still. And how I would make it at the sleaves. I know Iwant pointy edges, that's about all.

And this is how far I got at the total so far:


At the bottom will be a pattern from Knitting lace of estonia (lace edge pattern 7), and the edge will be from a gathering of lace (mediteranian lace)

Next week I am going to a weddingdress shop, where they design the dress for you. I hope they will be able to help me with sizing and fitting. I also need a dress underneath the lace, otherwise I'd be a bit too sexy ;).



Still knitting as much as possible on the green skirt. Getting along well, but much slower this week. I got sore hands and arms. Overdone it a bit in the first week :( I am as carefull as possible now.

This is what I got up to:


row 150! only 100 to go now. They're getting long quickly though, it's amazing how many stiches there are on a row now! at the end there should be about 1600.I wonder how long it would take me to knit that many. The other day I knitted 300 in the train, thats about 5-7 minutes I think. So this last row should take half an hour at least!

Yesterday some samples arived from colormart. They're really lovely. I love the cornflower cashmere/silk. Knitted up the sample to see what it would look like. First I knitted on 4mm, then on 3,5mm. What a difference, about half the size. I like the 3,5 better though, the yo and stitches are better balanced. I wonder how much yarn I'd need for the dress, they haven't been able to help me yet. I probably should;ve measured the lenght of the yarn before I made the swatches. Perhaps weight would be ok too. but I'll use many different patterns, so who knows how much Ill need.

anyway, here are the two swatches, being blocked:

The pattern ideas

As I said I've been thinking about the design. I've come up with two ideas so far.
1. the singlet with skirt, grafted together, but afterwards I could take them apart again and wear them seperatly.
2. the coat, I have to show the pictures of what I mean.

Here are some sketches I've made so far:

Back and front of the "coat"
I would need to knit these sections and put them together afterwards:


I hope you can see them, they're pretty light.

The advantage is that using the lace at the back and a bit of smocking at the sides, I could control the fit quite acuratly, without changing the design. This would be nice as I do change bodyshape like all people. The disadvantage is that it would be harder to change the dress so I could wear it to any occasion and it would be just hanging in the closet most of the time, wasting away.

Perhaps I could make a combination though, have lace fitting at the back of the singlet part and just have a round skirt underneath.