Aug 28

Holiday knits

I’m currently enjoying a 1,5 weeks trip to Slovenia, which despite lots of rainy weather, has so far been a very pleasurable experience. The biggest challenge of the trip so far was limited luggage, which also meant I needed to have a big think about what knitting to bring.

I ended up packing two skeins of sock yarn with some needles, the first skein of which (sock yarn by Artemis yarn) has by now been cast on as the Fade X Sox pattern by Leeni Hoi.

As you might notice, I am not fading these at all. However, I figured it would also work really well with this sort of variegated yarn. I’m really loving the look of these and they’re honestly flying off the needles, as I have just cast off sock nr 1.

Right before setting off I also cast on a sweater pattern, which has proven to be equally addictive. I’m using some very subtly speckled DK merino yarn by Snailyarn and am knitting the gran crown pattern by Dora Creadora. I honestly wish I could have everyone squish this sweater, because the texture it is creating both looks and feels ah-mazing.

As a pattern that I mostly brought out of wishful thinking is the Summer Rain shawl by Veera Välimäki, which I’m knitting out of yarn by Viking yarns. I cast this shawl on the very first day I moved to Paris and found myself in desperate need for endless garter stitch. Suffice to say that need has passed and this project has been lingering. I still think it’s going to make a lovely and wearable shawl, but garter stitch over hundreds of stitches with still many many many rows to come isn’t exactly motivating me.

And that’s it! I think it’s more than enough to still keep me busy for the rest of the trip, even if it doesn’t sound like all that much. What sort of knitting projects to you like do take with you on holidays?

Aug 19

FO: Tulsi & vanilla socks

It’s mostly still too hot to knit anything other than socks, which is why, especially after my last pretty sock FO, I made it a goal to get some of my lingering sock WIPs off the needles. So hereby I’m proudly showing off the first two pairs that benefited from my burst of sock motivation.

Pattern: Tulsi socks by Verena Cohrs
Yarn: Sock yarn by Koperdraadje (not sure if the colourway has a name, someone *ahem* misplaced the label)

I started these socks while on a neon-yellow high earlier this year, but then they quickly became buried under all the stress of finishing my PhD and moving countries. I’m so so happy I picked up this WIP again. I had already started the second sock and it pretty much flew off my needles.

The pattern in itself is pretty, the neon yellow toes and cuffs make them fantastically pretty. I made only one tiny modification, which is knitting the fish lips kiss heel instead of the heel in the pattern. I honestly can’t even remember why I chose to do so, but the fit is great so I’m not complaining. In any case I’d highly recommend both the yarn and the pattern!

The second pair I finished is a simple vanilla pair, with some yarn I purchased at La Bien Aimee during one of my very first weeks in Paris! The brand is called Mondim, which is a Portuguese brand if I’m not mistaken. It comes in all kinds of speckled fun colours and is a great value for money kind of sock yarn. If you happen upon this yarn in your LYS, it’s definitely worth stashing up a skein or two, as it’s perfect for cute vanilla socks that are likely to be very durable.

These two finished pairs means I only have two sock WIPS floating around in my life. Given that only yesterday I also cast off a new top (more on that very soon), I reckon I’ll be having a little cast on party first before continuing on my WIP finish-itis 😀

Aug 5

FO: Prairie Spring 2.0

I guess there is no point in complaining about the weather, because it seems to be super hot just about everywhere. Nonetheless, it definitely affects my knitting mojo, and I’m currently mostly sticking to small projects that take up no lap space. That’s why Brandy’s (of Long Dog Yarn) current indie sock along challenge is perfectly timed. And my first FO for this KAL is an old familiar pattern!

Pattern: Prairie Spring by Samantha Myhre
Yarn: Undercover Otter Squirm sock in the Wicked Little Things colourway

If you have been following this blog since way way back, these socks will definitely look familiar. In 2014 I knit this pattern for the first time, and they are still one of my most worn pairs! The old pair is nowhere near being worn out yet, but still I’ve been itching to make a new pair.

You can really knit this pattern out of any yarn and it’ll look brilliantly. You can probably see that these two socks look very different from one another, but it is really from the same skein I promise. With this pattern it really isn’t a problem though, and I even like the uneven feel to them.

What are you knitting this summer? If you want to join in on the Indie Sock Along KAL, go check out the LDY ravelry forum!

Jun 22

FO: Bolan Tee

I am hereby ending what is officially the longest time I have abandoned this little blog of mine since starting it a couple of years ago. I hope you can agree with me that it was for quite understandable reasons. While absent I have moved to a different country as well as obtaining my PhD degree. So from now on I am dr. Tahnée living in Paris (rather than just Tahnée living in the Netherlands).

I’ve been trying for a couple of weeks now to re-enter the blog-o-sphere, but failed to find the right words. But now I figured, what better way to return my blabberings about knitting than by showing an FO!

Pattern: Bolan Tee by Leila Raab
Yarn: Isager Viscolin (in what I think is colour # 60?)

 

This is my first ever attempt at knitting something that is meant to be worn in summer. I pretty much fell in love when I came across this pattern and immediately wanted to knit it, throwing all prejudice I had against knitted tops overboard. I picked out a yarn out of materials I’ve also never worked with (Linen/Flax/Viscose, I honestly don’t even know what that means), and off I went.

 

So first of all, was this a fun knit? No. Not.at.all. Was that the patterns fault? Also not at all. It was 100% my own fault. Somehow my brain decided to turn to mush post-PhD defense and following even the most basic instructions left me confused. I think I had to reknit every section of this piece a million times, and doing that on tiny needles with tiny yarn is just plain frustrating. And then when I finally finished all the knitting I managed to do this;

   

Yes, I had twisted one of the pieces when sewing it together. Honestly, I can be such an idiot sometimes. Anyway, am I happy with this project nonetheless? Here I have to answer with a whole-hearted YES! It is really such a lovely design, I love everything about it. It is incredibly light and breezy, I love the fit, I love the simple colour. It’s exactly what I had hoped it would be!

The yarn was pretty scratchy when I was knitting with it, but it has softened up so much after washing! I’m curious to see how it’ll behave with wear and more washes.

And quite to my surprise, this has converted me to the idea that summer knits are a thing, and I’ve already cast on a new top! But more on that soon (because you know, I’m back and everything!).

How about you, are you a summer knitter?

Apr 7

FO: Henslowe 2.0

Just as I had hoped, my Henslowe flung itself off my needles on hopped onto the blocking boards and voilà (casually practicing my French here), it’s done!

Pattern: Henslowe by Beth Kling
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in the Ochre colourway

Henslowe requires 1 skein of fingering weight yarn, which is pretty great. I’m pretty sure 99% of knitters could just dive into their stash right now and come up with a pretty skein, either solid, semi-solid, or even lightly speckled would be great. There’s not too much knitting time involved in this either, the pattern is really not that difficult but has lots of fun lace to work through. Obviously all this, the speediness of the project and low yardage, does mean it is not the biggest shawl ever. If you are looking for a shawl you can bury yourself in, move on. If you are looking for a light lace shawl you can drape over your shoulders and prance around in during summer, this is the shawl for you.

I also just love Malabrigo sock. I have used it a couple of times before, also for some shawls and hats. Ironically, I’ve never knit a pair of socks out of this yarn, and to be honest I don’t think I will. The yarn is lovely and pretty and soft, but has no nylon content and I’d be so worried they would wear out in no time. But yes, for shawls I’d recommend this yarn all the way.

I’m super pleased I now also made this shawl for myself, and look forward to wearing the hell out of it this summer. And for comparison, here is a side-by-side shot of the shawl I knit in 2015 (and gifted) and my brand new shiny Henslowe shawl. I might honestly end up knitting one of these in every colour of the rainbow.

Do you have any pattern you’ve knit multiple times?