FO: Powdersnow shawl

Pattern: Powdersnow by Lisa Hannes
Yarn: Zazu yarns in Morocon Mint colourway

Hurrah, my powdersnow shawl is all done! This turned out to be a very light (both texture and colour-wise) shawl that I think is perfect for Dutch summer (or as other countries would call it: autumn), but will also transition fantastically into colder weather.

Although the cable section obviously stands out the most, I think my favourite section of the shawl is actually the first textured part. It makes for such a bouncy and squishy fabric, I could’ve easily made an entire shawl this way (except that it would’ve been a tad boring to knit). Any eagle-eyed knitters might notice that I made one tiny mod to the pattern. As I was knitting I noticed I would end up using a lot less yarn than the pattern calls for, so I added 1 repeat of the cable pattern to lengthen that section a bit.

Despite that mod, I actually still have enough of this yarn left for a short pair of socks. Which I don’t mind at all! I have such a weak spot for mint green, which is why I have a mint green coloured wall in my bedroom.

Overall happiness with the project is pretty high, although I’m a bit bugged with how wonky my cable knitting is currently. Guess I’ll have to practice a bit more regularly. Also, this shawl got me into a shawl knitting mood.. Only I have no other shawl patterns in my queue at the moment (say whaaat!!). So, does anyone have any brilliant suggestions?

It’s not all socks

I want to start this post by pointing out that, contrary to popular belief, I do not only knit socks. Do I hardly knit anything besides socks at the moment? Pretty much, but sometimes I do! And now I’m proving it by showing actual progress on my powder snow shawl. It is a lovely shawl and all, but not a fast knit. At the moment I am somewhere around 450+ stitches and a single cable row takes me approximately 30 minutes to get through. The end is in sight though, I’ll only do 2 more cable pattern repeats (8 rows each) before I’ll start knitting the ribbed border.

I did not exactly envision this year to be the year of socks (I had high hopes for mountains of sweaters), but alas, the other WIPs on my needles are socks. I won an instagram giveaway hosted by brand new sock blank dyer Joyance Fibre arts (check out her Etsy shop here!), and as soon as the PINEAPPLE(!!!) sock blank arrived I had to cast on. Seriously, how cute is this?? I’ve actually never knit a sock blank before, but I’m definitely seeing what makes it so much fun. I’m foreseeing much more of this in the future.


I’ve also reknit my Mash Potato sock, and although by now it looks considerably less fun, it fits. I put in a fish lips kiss heel, most importantly because at the moment I know the pattern by heart so I’m putting it in all my socks out of laziness. Then I worked the back of the leg in stockinette and voila, a perfectly fitting sock. I’m still madly in love with the fun Spectrum Fibre yarn, so cheerful (especially given the very autumnal weather we are experiencing at the moment).

One stitch at a time

Summer is truly and fully here, and its arrival has brought many feeling along with it. The week before last I was in Greece for a summer school (which was very lovely and inspiring), but coming back has catapulted me into PhD related stress. There’s a sudden realisation of time ticking away. Where did the last 4 years go really?

I’m trying to keep calm and take things one day at a time. This weekend I calmed myself down a little, by taking deep breaths and doing what works best, knitting. My projects are progressing one stitch at a time, and I’m enjoying the process. The rhythm. The mindlessness.

I’m working on a mint green shawl for which I finished a textured section and am now working a cable section. With well over 350 stitches on the needle there’s nothing fast about this.

I’ve also finished a sock that pretty literally puts hearts in my eyes. The only problem? The pattern across the leg is way too tight and it’s a massive struggle to get them on. They’ll be frogged either way. Then I’ll either make the back stockinette or maybe I’ll go for a new pattern entirely. Who knows, I’m definitely not worrying about it.

I’m simply taking my knitting one stitch at a time, while I will finish my thesis one day at a time.

Triple FO post!

This is a unique post indeed, as I’m showing off not 1, not 2, but 3 finished objects! I’ve come back from my holiday, and as expected I brought far too much projects with me and didn’t exactly get home with a bag full of sweaters and shawls and socks. But still, 3 finished pairs of socks (even though two were already in progress when I left) is a very good score indeed. So without further ado and in order of finishing, here they are!

Pattern: Show-off Stranded by Anne Campbell
Yarn: Cosmic Strings Sock in the Zest colourway

Show-off stranded if one of those easy to remember free patterns that will work well in whatever yarn you throw at it. The particular skein I used had me puzzled a bit as to how it would knit up, so I decided to play it safe. Even though the yarn knits up decidedly less wild than I thought it would, and thus could’ve handled a busier pattern as well, I do like the match a lot. The only mods I made to the pattern is that I only patterned half of the leg, and put in a fish lip kiss heel instead of a heel flap. I absolutely adore the colour of these, it’s even better than I expected actually. The combination of beige, pale yellow, pale neon yellow and full on neon flecked with black works SO well.

Pattern: Girl on Fire by Cookie A
Yarn: Uschitita the Twist in Purrrfect purple and contrasting mini skein in Corn

You might remember these from a previous post, there’s a chance I might’ve been rattling on about loving the contrast between the purple and the yellow. Rightfully so I might add, this is a brilliant pair together. I should add contrasting cuffs, heels and toes to all of my socks (I shouldn’t though, there’s a time and place for everything..). I’ve knit a couple of Cookie A lace patterns so far and they never really disappoint. I think the only thing I could’ve changed is go down a needle size. Even though the lace works out just fine as it is, it could pop a bit more.

Pattern: Simple vanilla socks
Yarn: Twisted Limone self striping sock yarn in Lavender Mint

So this ball of self striping yarn was delivered by the post man the day before I left on my trip. I’ve been trying to get my hands on one of Twisted Limone’s self striping yarn for a bit now, but it seemed like every shop update sold out within the hour and I was always too slow. This time I was sitting ready for the shop update though, and within the blink of an eye I popped a skein into my check out basket. The stripes are so much fun, not only the mint-lavender combination, but also the fact that the mint is speckled. I even made an effort to make them oppositely striped, and I usually don’t bother with these sort of things. These definitely brighten up my day.

Now as this is already a very long post indeed, I’ll leave the details of my trip for another post!

The art of travel knitting

Tomorrow I’m leaving on a holiday to Denmark and I am EXCITED! It’s been years since the last time I went on holiday by car, which is a shame. I love road trips, and I hate packing for trips by plane. So for this trip I basically have unlimited luggage, and obviously I’m most excited about packing all my knitting.

Jus to give you an idea; I’m going to a summer house by the sea for 1,5 weeks and my plan is to simply be relaxed. Which leads to the question of how much knitting I’ll need to bring. This is everything I have got packed right now (minus the cat tail in the upper right, as much as she’d like to Iva cannot join unfortunately): 2 sock WIPs, a jumper WIP, a to be cast on shawl and two completely non existent socks. Remember, this is for 1,5 weeks. Surely this is enough? There’s just no way I’d come pack from this trip with a finished jumper, a finished shawl and 4 pairs of socks. I mean.. 1,5 weeks right?

Still.. You just don’t know.. What if I run out of yarn and I find myself in a summer house by the sea without knitting?! I guess I’d have to find a yarn shop then. Hmm.. maybe this isn’t all that bad after all.

And in case you are wondering, I’m bringing 6 books (I usually finish around 10 books a year).

……

*runs back to the yarn stash to pack more yarn*