Ophicleide

I have challenged myself to knit mainly my own designs this year - and after this first attempt I feel no regrets!

Let me introduce you Ophicleide, a short sleeved top-down knitted cardigan in beautiful brass shade of Rowan Wool Cotton (thus the name of brass instrument).

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I’m so sorry about the image quality. We live in the lowest floor and the darkest time of the year doesn’t actually help. But I guess that you can get the big picture. Another shot:

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I really need to steam those front pieces to help them to set.

Detail shots are actually better, that windowsill is the brightest spot of the whole apartment.

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Yoke is textured with knit and purl stitches, extended stitches and slipped stitches. One increase row is incorporated to the pattern. Neck opening and sleeves are finished with i-cord. Simple metal hooks and loops are used as fastening.

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Some short rows shape both the neck opening and modest pouf sleeves. Narrow garter stitch border is used for fronts and hem.

I guess that we will live happily ever after!

Selma is hemmed

Another attempt was a success and I managed to create a hem for Selma, a ribbing without pulling or excessive ruffling. Now I just realized that I probably don’t have enough yarn. Sleeves from different dye lot, perhaps, that won’t do too much damage to overall look…

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When shopping the 100 cm circular for that hem something snapped in my head and I bought two balls of Noro Silk Garden Lite. I have a love-hate relationship to Noro yarns. I love the rustique feel of those yarns and love the overall look. But colours tend to hurt my delicate eye. This particular shade, however, makes me think spring. And at this time of year I’m somewhat sensitive to such thoughts.

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Makes me think spring, why? Well, have a look inside…

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I’m thinking socks. I shall begin from the toe with this clever magic cast on, knit a nice basic sock with better heel that I ever made for toe up socks (at least this looks like one).

Why is this the greatest winter to learn to knit

The bulky scarves in simple garter stitch have never looked this good!

This image is from Stockholm Street Style. And if you like that you should check Hel-Looks, too!

My version:

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Definitely not process knitting. And eats yarn like there is no tomorrow. But I’m still in love with it!

Too many stitches

I don’t know why didn’t it come into my mind that almost 400 stitches of Selma’s ribbing will never fit to my 60 cm needle. So that’s it for Selma knitting this weekend, will return in Monday. But let’s have a look to my another design / knitting project, let me introduce Ophicleide.

This is a pattern for several things I like!

I like to texture with my needles. I love my knits most, when the yarn is great quality, but relatively quiet. Lovely colour, subtle heather or very modest tweedy impression are the usual “effects” that I search from yarn. Let the knitter do the work - that’s the fun part of knitting after all! For Ophicleide I swatched two patterns with stretched stitches and knit/purl texture.

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I like yoked sweaters. They suit well broad shouldered women, like me. They draw eye towards neck and face. Best ones have almost jevelry-like effect, good thing for us shy jewelry users. For limited amount of yarn a great advantage is the possibility to knit from top to down. I managed to incorporate one increase row neatly in the pattern.

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I like short sleeved sweaters. Yeah, I hear several cries about unpracticality. But honestly, how many somewhat boring long sleeved t:s and thin knits do you have? Of course I don’t know about you, but I have many. All of them can be converted as part of interesting outfit by layering them underneath a short sleeved sweater, light enough to not bulk the oufit out.

I like cardigans. I like the versatility of them, possibility of wearing them open or closed.

So now you have seen her!

Brand new and building up

Now are all my English posts in their own blog! If you happen to end up here, there might be some disturbances hence all this is still very much under construction.

But in the meantime you can still read the old posts in http://reunasilmukka.net under category In English. In the future Reunasilmukka will be only in Finnish, though.

Very exited to start something new!

Image update

This is my Selma now:

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Looks pretty good. A thing I would change might be gauge, tad looser might do good for drape. But washing and blocking might change my thoughts about this…

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Chunky cables

I love knitting cables! And I’m practising some pattern writing skills while that Anthropologie - copy advances.

Don’t those cables look deliciously chunky?

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As far as I can see the construction of this cardigan is fairly simple. I guess that the body is just a large rectangular piece with vertical holes for sleeves. Other pair of corners of that rectangle come to front center and the long side between them goes behind the neck. Another two corners form those neat tails to the sides. Very clever construction - few seams and nice trapeze silhouette! I swatched three different cable patterns for the cardigan and charted them, seems to me that they are pretty good match to the originals. Now I have advanced just past the sleeve holes and my first fitting seems to confirm my assumptions about the construction.

It got a name, too. It is Selma.

For 2007

Just few last FO:s for this year. My steel gray Montego Bay scarf from Colourmart cashmere silk is a drapey, buttersoft and very usable piece of accessory.

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I made another as Christmas present. Unfortunately I don’t have an image of it in finished state, but this picture shows well the beautiful colours of Skeinqueen’s lovely handpainted yarn. See also her site.

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More scarves! I made this mohair shawl from yarn I got from Finnish swap. Just stokinette stitch and some crochet edging from beautiful Sublime Kid Mohair.

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And here’s almost all knitting from 2007. By clicking the image you start Flickr-slideshow with extra images.

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And to finish with, meme from KnitLit:

1. your best FO of the year
Hard pick. I’ve used a lot Twinkle’s Karate Sweater. Another favourite is Butterfly Dress, which I haven’t actually used at all. But it is waiting a special occasion, you know! And Eunny’s bayerische were a dream to knit.

2. best FO of the year made by a blog you link to
A very hard pick! Mentioning few (and doing general violence to so many others). Maud made a beautiful v-neck to Eunny’s stunning Venezia pullover. Jatta and her candy slipover. And Another Shopgirls lovely cabled vest (those pictures are lovely!). Neja gets the overall recognition for her work, Mohairmetsä was the main inspiration for me to wake from my knitting hibernation…

3. best yarn you tried
Umm, don’t even want to count the euros spent in Colourmart…

4. best new book/mag/pattern of 2007
Twinkle’s Big City Knits!

5. best new knitting technique or gadget you tried in 2007
Two socks with magic loop!

6. top 5 inspirations–what five things inspired you the most over the past year?
Flickr, ravelry, endless sources for knitter! Street fashion. Wenlan Chia’s way to use bulky yarn. Socktoberfest woke up the inner sock knitter in me.

7. designer who most amazed & inspired you throughout the year
Kamicha the process knitter loves Eunny Jang’s interesting and well thought patterns. Always new techniques, great attention to details and well fitting results. Kamicha the fashion victim just adores Wenlan Chias way to make chunky wearable!

8. knitting resolutions for 2008–what’s next for you and your blog?

Next year I will make many of my new knits based on my own designs. At least one should be written down as pattern. This blog needs some serious work. I chose WordPress and separate installation for flexibility - and here I am with barely modified template! Probably these English posts will go to a separate blog for better usability. Name suggestions, anyone?

Happy new year 2008 to everyone!

Christmas presents, giant cats and greetings from London

I love how the perspective sometimes does its tricks to photographer. The cat is actually small and man just over 180 cm…

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Those are Cable Rib Socks from Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave book.

Note: I’m testing Amazon affiliate program. I don’t have dreams on getting rich with my humble knitting blog, but I would be more than happy to get my maintenance costs via advertising.

Mods: Thicker yarn for larger socks and some modification for the side cables. I did not like how the cable does not continue smoothly after leg part in the original.

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These socks are mainly intended to be used inside. Our kitchen has ceramic floor and it gets very cold at winter. I love the yarn, it is Finnish lambswool, unwashed with natural gray color.

*****
This Christmas my husband and I gave each other a shopping trip to London. This is the first time I understood to search some yarn suppliers. Unfortunately small shops tend to be closed from Christmas to new year (at least Loop was). Of course there are department stores and actually I was pretty impressed about John Lewis’ yarn selection. And lots of yarn in sale, yay!

I took a sackfull of Rowan Alpaca Soft…

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And some Rowan Wool Cotton in beautiful shade of patina…

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I won’t introduce my clothes finds, but some shoes… …I love Topshop for great selection of very affordable and beautiful flats - and look those bone white platform shoes, yep, they are patent leather, not plastic…

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Copycat

This knit from Anthropologie caught my eye on last fall. But they don’t ship to Europe. And that one was rather expensive…

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As you wish. I’ll make a copy. Sackfull of Rowan Alpaca soft from John Lewis yarn sale (greetings from London) is waiting its destiny as pirate copy cardigan.

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