This is not real eighties style – I maxed the dimensions of a simple sweater so that it can actually be used as a dress. The material is very lightweight – Kidsilk Haze knit with 8 mm needles – so it is quite easy to gather or tie the excess and mold the sweater to another shape. Dropped shoulders I kept, stretched the sleeves oversized and sewed the seams from the top. Couple crochet rows gather the neck opening and protect the hem and sleeve openings.

Almost too cute for me. But I’m definitely in love with the clever construction, beautiful buttons and lovely yarn (Plymouth Yarn Suri-Merino in unusual heathered dark seafoam color). This knit really reminded me that actually I like seams…

There is not too much cover in the back. Unfortunately the back photos were not too good, but you get the idea…

I will publish my notes here in April – but I doubt that I will write actual pattern out of this. The construction is quite difficult to scale to different sizes without serious test knitting. But for brave at heart this will give a nice knitting challenge! Although it will probably require some trial and error to get it right the small pieces knit up pretty quick and result is very rewarding.

So I let my brain go on process idle a while, and something just popped out. What if I made a ring scarf? I remember that those separate funnel hoodies were very fashionable… …well… …on the beginning of nineties? Ending of eighties? Dunno, but the idea of that kind of “separate funnel neck” just started to haunt me. I would only like to make a large, sculptural one, using some scrumptuous texture stitch.

Here it is. Some stockinette stitch in the beginning, simple lace rib body and then again couple of rows stockinette. Couldn’t be much simpler. I like to wear it like in the previous image, just thrown over a jumper or coat.

But it is large as a small poncho and I can easily slip it over my shoulders for some extra warmth.

My soggy bottom harem pants really enjoy its company.

Bonus task: find the cat from the picture!

There should be also an image of the thing as a hood, but none of those qualified to be published, sorry. This page could also include images of the thing as a skirt, top, coffeepan warmer, cat bed etc. What a multipurpose little thingie! I actually got so excited about the idea that probably some laceweight yarn from my stash will end up as a longer, larger, lacy version of this kind of ring scarf.

I’m so sorry about the image quality. The first thing I will invest in when I have more money is better optics for my camera. This light is simple not enough for my current one (and I stubbornly refuse to use the direct flashlight).

One closeup of the texture. It will probably soften out even more, I guess that the yarn has still some oil residue left in it.

Enter Prudence shawl, slightly altered successor of the simple mohair shawl, introduced in this post, before 2007 collage. Simple eyelet borders added just right amount of prim prettiness.

Handpainted yarns are amazing! I indulged myself with some beautiful alpaca-silk-cashmere blend from Pigeonroofstudios. The picture does not do justice to that gorgeous material.

But something is coming out soon, really! Ophicleide has been in test knitting, I want to thank my two lovely test knitters for the first time public right now! But will get back to that later… Ophicleide pattern will include two sleeve options, the short pouf sleeve of the original and gently gathered 3/4 length version. Then I have two sock patterns coming out, the first will be Harlequin socks, second one will be a pattern for these:

Another sock is still on progress. I quite like both of these patterns. They produce socks that are thin enough to use in fitting winter boots (my usual use for handknitted socks), but I’m quite sure that people who like to show off their handknitted socks will find the patterns interesting enough.

My bookmark scarf is finished – and I love it!

Some knits I do just for pure knitting fun. When my friend fell in love with the Butterfly Dress, it was enough encouragement for me to begin the second one. Luxurious material, that is pleasant to knit (hmm, I’m not saying a thing about frogging, though), playing with hundreds of lovely little glass beads, delightful lace border and well thought finishing works made this one of my favourite projects of all time – from the process knitter’s view. I got also a good reason to get to know Garnstudios kid mohair – silk blend.

I like vintage clothes and visit flea markets quite often. I tend to avoid those second hand boutiques – yes the selections ale usually great but the expertise for picking the clothes usually raises the prices. And one thrill on buying used clothes for me is to find excellent bargains, quality clothes in very low prices. Recently I found this lovely cotton velvet vintage skirt from the neighborhood charity shop. It looks like it has been used only couple of times – and the size is just right. I hesitated a bit of the length of the skirt and thought about shortening it a bit – but now when I have played around with it a bit I’m totally seduced by its vintage charm, and I’m afraid that that charm has lot to do with that conservative length.

If I had a lighter build on the top of my body, I would love this skirt with black fitted thin wool turtleneck, broad belt on waist and some simple black pumps.

I have always loved the flea markets, but don’t buy from them often. That is probably so, because I have some simple rules for myself for buying second hand. I seek for clothes and accessories that have really good materials and are well made. They should be in excellent shape and right size for me. I’m afraid that a cheap piece would not inspire me for large adjustment work – and probably I’m right. I wish so badly that I had this kind of discipline for all clothes and acessory shopping…

It is sort of sad to see that overall quality of secondhand clothes is getting gradually poor. Of course the best ones are always picked to vintage boutiques, but it is amazing to see piles and piles of 5-15 years old clothes that are made with uninviting materials (90′s viscose dresses and skirts, polyester stretch trousers, suits and skirts, nylon sportswear) and poor craftsmanship.

I guess that this skirt will be one of my favourite finds. I photographed two other second hand jewels with it, a small snakeskin bag I found from the lovely outside flea market of Hietalahdenranta (a must visit for Helsinki visitors in summer) and a short dyed rabbit fur – it cost me 10 euros… Side note: I really don’t want to encourage fur usage overall, fur farms are not good places for animals. But I would like to encourage second hand fur usage, the material lasts well for 2-3 generations and is 100% biodegradable.

I love this Kureyon colourway #183. Gorgeous shades of brown, black, gray, intensive teal, lime green… Four skeins of Kureyon are enough for pretty long scarf, unfortunately I did not remember to measure it before giving it away. Again one skein contained a knot and the colours did not continue seamlessly. Fortunately I did not buy all skeins at once, so I had some room for adjustments. Kureyon softens considerably in bath – and wet blocking made a world of difference to the look of this simple knit.

I still occassionally play with new ideas to make use of those long and bold colour changes of Noro yarns. Challenging, yes, but a good idea might produce a garment with otherworldly beauty.

I really like the fit: loose, but not tentlike.

The top has a racerback, not very revealing, though. The neckhole and armholes are finished with I-cord. The top is textured with knit and purl stripes – actually this is kind of cheat, from side slits to armholes I just knitted – and turned the work every tenth row. A dream project for TV-addict…

Oh being still in pics seems to be too hard . I don’t have that bulky arms, really.

The top is so lightweight that it fits under many garments – and yes, it is warm!

Oh, this jacket transfers color, away, away…

Ouch, it does not fit here… …or to be honest I don’t fit this jacket. Perhaps later on this autumn… …I love the jacket, though…

Then to my other… …diet. I’m on very strict clothes shopping diet, no slips allowed especially for impulse purchases. If I’m buying something, I should really need it – and I have to plan my purchases. I can’t complain about lack of clothes – oh girls, I’ve certainly done my share of both well planned purchases and whimsy impulse shopping. Now I’m initializing an expedition to my wardrobe, just to get those clothes to healthy circulation – or to second hand shop if I don’t find use to them.

So I have to find some useful combinations for unused clothes – and why not combine the staples in new ways. Sometimes I’m able to visionarize the new combinations by lying on our living room couch – but the results are considerably better when trying the outfits on. Feels much more secure, when there is actually need to use that combination. I’ve found that the camera is a good assistant, too. Sometimes I tend to be so blind to what I really see in mirror – for photographs I always have the distance required.

About year ago I bought this cute tunic/dress from local (well, actually Swedish) high street shop sale. Yes, I really saw that it was short… …but then again I thought that the largish size would compensate, yeah right…

And then again… …that mirror is in a slightly dark corner, so the image quality is not good. But you get the point.

Three inches to the length – and this would probably be my favourite summer dress. But now I really need something to go with this, underneath, just for decency. On the other hand my sturdy legs are constantly on bruises and I don’t especially fancy to flash them out. And I won’t change my body inflicting hobbies to get bruise free legs, thanks for asking .

With trousers this looks somewhat like maternity wear. So I took a pair of leggings and slipped a short chemise underneath.

This garment was so cheap that I would put straight to my charity bag if I wouldn’t like the details of the dress so much. Look at those cute fabric covered buttons and raw edgings. The material is lovely, too, very soft cotton voilé. I have a soft spot for decent materials and well thought details.

Uhum, back to business. I’m not too into that leggings and tunic -look. At least not like this. My legs look so sturdy without heels. And heels with this… …nooooooo….

In spite of that chunky leg syndrome the overall impression is unbalanced, top heavy. So I’m using a bit twisted logic and add some volume to the bottom. Long gray ombre coloured socks and sturdy, slouchy low heeled boots. They make a nice contrast to that girly dress. I don’t want it look too coordinated – I have black boots, too, but these brown ones bring on much more interest.

Mmmhmm, I could use this. At least with a bit longer coat. The bag would definitely be black, matching to boots feels just wrong with this.

Katia Nordic end up as another Twinkle knit… (calling the knitting police to stop this madness)

Peony Scarf from Weekend Knits. Oh, it’s pretty hard to photograph without extra equipment… …I’m just too lazy to take my tripod out…

Oh, sorry about this through-the-mirror -shoot. But I just had to show those cute looped fringes – and the overall funniness of this as an accessory!

Mom’s gonna get them tomorrow, hope she likes them…

Previous pair is lovely, but sloppy. Now I knitted a tight surface with 2,5 mm needles. Toe to top sock algorithm is now mounted in my head, so there is no actual pattern. Size is an educated guess.

Leg is a bit short: another ball had a knot on the red section – and continued with gray *sigh*. Otherwise matching the colourways succeeded pretty well.

Ouch. Not stiff enough for this…

Colourmart smooth DK weight silk is perfect for this pattern. Drape of the finished knit is beautiful, I emphasized it even further by ironing the knit rather flat. I just can’t imagine this in that mercerized, wiry cotton suggested in pattern, at least the gauge should be very loose to give the necessary drape for this garment. But bamboo yarn might be great choice for this pattern, too!

I did not adjust the pattern – well, knitted the body in round instead of two pieces, but that’s it. The pattern is a small wonder in all its simplicity: two rectangular pieces are attached to the top of that tube to form sleeves and upper body. They are sewn together few centimeters just to prevent the bellybutton to peek out from the neck opening…

The beige yarn was a bit unblanced, but ironing the knit helped a lot. Seams need some additional pressing, I see it now. There is one ugly loose gauge patch on the other side of the body (dropped few stitches for several rounds to correct a mistake), I hope that the first wash will help to even it out. But why on earth did I wear it on front for photoshoot?

These colours are not the easiest to incorporate in my wardrobe, but I still love them. I’m particularly happy to that, I had strong doubts about the colours while knitting this piece!

I love the silhouette of this knit. Knitting patterns tend to be very conservatively constructed – so happy to find something unusual. In my opinion this cut is not too hard to wear. Being fitting from below the bust the shape hugs the body where it tends to be smallest. And I like generous decolletage, it gives very feminine impression. Combined to that unusual, not too fitting overall shape the impression is not slutty. A spaghetti strap body will limit the view and give a nice horizontal line to the front when necessary…

Pattern: Chevron Sweater, Erika Knight: Glamour Knits
Needles: 3,5 mm bamboo circular
Yarn: Colourmart DK smooth silk, beige 2 cones, forest green, jade green, lime green 1 cone, very small amount of dark brown