Suvetöö / Summer job

Muud moodi ei saagi kirjeldada selle salli tegemist. Alustasin kudumisega suvevaheaja esimesel päeval ja lõpetasin vaid päev enne vaheaja lõppu. Arvestada tuleb sellega, et suurem osa kudusin Eestis olles ja Itaalias ei õnnestunud kolm nädalat midagi kududa kuniks oma perega suvekodust hotelli ümber kolisime. Väikesed vastsündinud tited ja nende raskest sünnitusest taastuvad emmed ning trall, mis selle kõige ümber käib, ei ole kudumist soodustavad. Palavus ei olnud ka abiks, Itaalias on Augusti esimene pool alati põrgukuum, selleks ajaks oli sall juba nii suureks kujunenud, et süles oli teda paras hulk ja siidi-villa segu all hakkab lihtsalt kohe palav. Aga valmis ta sai.

I don't think there is any other word that describes this project better. It began with the first day of vacations and ended on the last. Most of the shawl was produced in Estonia, the first 3 weeks in Italy I knit maybe one row in total. Newborn babies and their c-section recovering moms with all the fuss that goes around them are not productive in terms of knitting time. Of course the weatehr factor was an issue as well, first half of August in Italy is very hot, so having a huge amount of woolen-silken stitches on the lap doesn't make it easy to pick the project up. But I did finsih it!

Vormi venitamine tegelikult kõige raskem, sest nööpnõeltega hotellivoodil ukerdamine võtis kaela- ja seljanärvid täiesti läbi - ega ma sajaprotsendiliselt rahule ei jäänud selle tööga. Igatsesin väga oma vormivarraste järgi. Igatahes järgmise päeva taastusin basseini ääres vedeledes. Lõng on selline pehmeke, nii et teda väga "teravalt" ei saagi vormi panna. Kui ma järgmine kord teda näen, siis tuleb vist uuesti üle vormitada. Järsku auruga?

The hardest part actually was blocking. I had very primitive tools - hotel room with big enough bed, but very little room around it and regular sewer's marking pins. I was not happy with the blocking and missed my blocking wires dearly. No wonder my back and neck started aching and I had to relax by the pool the whole of next day. Well the yarn is a "softy" so I am not sure you can block it "crispy". I may have to do this again next time I see the shawl.

Lõngaks on seekord mu praeguse kodukoha "kohalik" looming. Jocelyn on me lemmik lõngavärvija, sest kaup tuleb koju kätte (ta ikka osaleb päris tihti me kudumispärastlõunatel ja tuleb alati kahe suure kohvriga ja värske toodanguga). Ma kasutasin Pure of Heart'i lavendlitooni pitsilõnga. See on meriino ja siidi segu pooleks ja väga kauni läikega. Varrasteks 3,25 mm Knitpicks Pro ringvardad mitme erineva suuruse juhtmega. Lisaks vähendasin ülesloodavate silmuste arvu kolmandiku võrra. Ometi sai sallist nii suur elukas, et minu 50mm objektiiviga ei õnnestunud seda korralikult isegi mitte vaatevälja saada. Ämmakene saab end sellesse tervenisti sise mässida.

I used my friend Joecelyn's hand dyed yarn this time: Pure of Heart which is half merino, half silk. It has the loveliest sheen and flows like a dream. I'm glad we have Jocelyn here, because she brings the merchandise "home" every month or so! We love it when she decides to join in our knit meet ups with her two suitcases. I used 3,25mm Knit Pro needles with different cable lengths, and decreased the number of cast on stitches by a third, yet it came out HUGE! I couldn't even fit the shawl in my viewfinder using a 50 mm lens. It covers my MIL in whole :P.

Teadmata kadunud... / Long time, no posting

Jeerum, ma ei usu oma silmi - 4 kuud on viimasest postitusest möödas! Kahjuks pole ma suurt midagi suutnud selle aja jooksul korda saata, isegi mitte kudurindel. Me jõudsime koju tagasi augusti keskel, mõnusalt pruunide ning Itaalias trullakateks muginutena. Käisin ühel kohalikul kuduistumisel ja oma sõbrantsi Loisi pulmas, aga sellega saavutuste jada piirdubki. Olen kolm kuud lihtsalt maha maganud ja meeleheitlikult püüdnud toitu alla saada ja all hoida: ei ole kerge see beebide ehitamine. Võimalik, et ongi kõige keerulisim isetegemine, eriti kui sellega kaasneb pidev iiveldus, vetsupoti sagedane kallistamine ja tappev uni. Viimaste päevade progress on küll suuremalt jaolt need mured likvideerinud ja loodetavasti nii muretuks ka jääb kuni aprilli lõpuni, kuni meie pisikese perega liitub veel üks eluaegne mure (rõõm muidugi ka!)

Wow, I can't believe it, it's been four months! And sadly to say I haven't knit much or done much anything else. We finished our vacation and were back in Singapore in the middle of August. I managed to get to one knit out and had great time at Lois' wedding (Congratulations, girl!), but apart from that I haven't done much, but sleeping and trying to eat: you see, it's not easy making babies. I think it's the most difficult craft of all, especially when the consequences are a constant nausea and terrible sleepiness. Luckily I got out of a week ago or so and hopefully won't have any more problems until end of April, when another lifetime of troubles (and joys, of course) will join our small family.

Kudumisest paari lausega ka, viimastel nädalatel suutsin midagi alustada ja lõpetada ja mdiagi jätkata.

On the more knitty note, I have started something and surprise-surprise finished something.

Esiteks, alustasin ma oma Cobweb Lace Stole (Interweave Knits Kevad 2008). Selline otsus tuli kohe, kui nägin Lois' imeilusat versiooni totaalselt erinevast lõngast, ning kuna ma pole varem kahepoolset mustrit kudunud, siis oli kiusatus suur ja silmad lõin üles augusti keskel. Sain kümmekond sentimeetrit kootud, aga siis käis diivanil hüplemas üks seitsmeaastane ahvike, ja mu puidust Harmony vardad ei kannatanud 25+ kilo lihtsalt välja. Seega jäi edasikudumine selle taha, millal saabuvad lisavardad. Kätte sain need mõni nädal tagasi ja koon tasapisi edasi seda kolli.

First of all I started Cobweb Lace Stole from Interweave Knits Spring 2008. After seeing the incredible one Lois made out of Jaggerspun Zephyr 2/18 I instantly was intrigued by the double-sided pattern. Unfortunately my 7 year old monkey jumped on the needles and Harmonies obviously don't tolerate 25+ kilos. So I had to order new ones and got them at the end of October. So I'm knitting that again.

Lõpetet asjast ka. Oktoobri lõpus vedasin end hetkeks kudukoosolekule, sest tellitud kraam tuli kätte saada. Minu pisike raamatukogu sai täiendust kahe suurepärase raamatu näol:
E. Zimmermani "The Opinionated Knitter" ning P. A. Gibson-Robertsi "Knitting in the Old Way". Lisaks üllatusena sõbralt Susanilt (Minnesotast) kaks vihti sokilõnga. Teda ma peangi tänama, et mul kudumise isu üldse tagasi tuli, paar sokke ajas näpud just parajalt kihevile, et taas mingigi huvi tekiks:

Regarding mentioned FO.
That October end knit out that delivered me two amazing books (E. Zimmerman "The Opinionated Knitter" and P. A. Gibson-Roberts "Knitting in the Old Way") and my Harmony needles, also had a surprise from Susan. She is such a lovely friend and I guess I have her to thank for bringing back my knitting mojo. I think it was exactly a small project and not too difficult to get my fingers itching again. So as soon as I got home that evening I cast on these beauties for my little princess:

Paar päeva kulus aru saamisele, kui suured jalad mu printsessil on ja milliseid sokke ta ise sooviks ja milliseid ma kududa viitsiks. Ainus minupoolne mõte oli, et ikka tervenesti lõng kasutatud saaks (mul on sed anii hullusti palju, et pean kiiremas korras vähemaks hakkama kuduma)

It took me a few days to figure out how exactly I wanted to knit them, and in the end I decided to go with toe-up socks to be able to use all the yarn.

Taha tekkisid suurendamise käigus mõnusad V-d.

Figuring out the increases for the upper leg were extremely easy and though I didn't have a specific idea, they turned out very nice.

Mulle lühendatud ridade abil saadud kannad ei meeldi ja proovisin Wendy Knits' Sportweight Toe-Up Gusset Heel Sock mustrit - lihtne kududa ja istub tütre kannal ilusti.

Infoks ka:
Muster: omaenese aruga
Vardad: 2mm sukakad
Lõng: Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet (90% superwash meriino, 10% nailon), värv 13
Link Ravelry'sse

I'm not a big fan of short row heels so I decided to go with Wendy Knits' Sportweight Toe-Up Gusset Heel Sock pattern. It works very well on my daughter's foot, but I wouldn't be so sure on mine.

Info
Pattern: my own
Needles: 2mm 5 dpns
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet (90% superwash merino, 10% nylon), color 13
Link to Ravelry

No täitsa lõpp / I've failed...

Ma ju lõpetasin vahepeal Salapärase Valguse kaaskudumise! Ja unustasin sellest raporteerida!
Vähemalt Ravelry's on ta kirjas.

to blog about my Mystic Light KAL! I can't believe I forgot all about it. I did make a mark in Ravelry though.

Selle kolmnurkse salliga on selline naljakas lugu, et mi sono stuffata, ehk siis emakeeli mul on kõrini kolmnurksetest sallidest - oma veerandsaja eluaasta juures polegi mul paslik neid kanda, kolmnurksus eeldab ikka mingisugust küpsust - ha, ma ei kavatsegi veel suureks kasvada! Seetõttu on ta justkui kingiks loodud... kellele? Ämma õele nr. 2. Esimene läks ämmale, teine tema vanemale õele, ja praegune siis kõige vanemale õele. Nii, naispere on meelitatud enda poole :P Suguvõsa lähimate meestega on lihtsam, kaks onu olen oma Apuulia köögi oskustega ära meelitanud (muu toiduga pole lootustki) - 3 veel vaja "murda". :P
Salli juurde tagasi, kudusin ta Knit Picks Gloss lõngaga - kindlasti tellin seda juurde mõneks riideesemeks. Nad kutsuvad toda sokilõngaks, aga kuidas ma panen sellise koostisega jalasoojendaja kalossi sisse? Pealegi pole tal sokilõngale vajalikku toekust ega vastupidavust - selles suhtes olen ikka Eesti maalamba usku.
Kudumiseks kulus 11 päeva, vardaks kasutasin oma uusi Harmony Wood ringvardaid suuruses 3,75 mm. Kas ma tohin neid vardaid kiita??? Ma tellin endale kindlasti veel mõned pikemad ja lühemad juhtmed ning ka sukavardad samast materjalist - väga hea kvaliteet!

I used Knit Picks Gloss, which I ordered specifically for this project and am now convinced it deserves to be bought more, but I will not use it for shawls or for socks - it doesn't seem to have the durability necessary for socks.

Technical data
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss (70% merino, 30% silk)
Needles: 3,75 mm Harmony Wood Circulars
Pattern: Mystic Light by Anna Kalvi

I must say that I'm sort of tired of traiangular shawls, I do not wear them anyways - I think they require some sort of maturity in dressing style, and I'm not in possession of that yet. So, I think I'll adventure with other things from now on.

P.S I'm in desperate need of blocking wires which I hope will arrive soon!

Swallowtail Shawl 2

Second full version of Swallowtail Shawl.
Yarn: Lace handspun and dyed from Uruguay
Needles: 3,75 mm 80 CM Addi Turbo
Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark from Interweave Knits Fall 2006
Time: less than 4 days

I love, love, love this pattern!

Swallowtail Shawl

My Swallowtail Shawl. Knit in 15 hours, With Canetta Super Zaphir yarn (100% merino extra fine - coweb weight - used three threads at time) plus Madeira Metallic (45% polyamid and 55& metalliced thread) accopanying thread. Knit with 4 mm Addi Turbo needles.

Yes, yes those difficult yet so beautiful nupps. But it's not difficult at all if instead of p5tog you do: slip 4 purlwise, p1, psso :)

Will it be worn on the afternoon and night of 22. February? Yes? No?

***
TAST has been suffering due to this and another project. It will unfortunately suffer for at least another week. You just cannot imagine how I would like to stitch instead of knitting right now!

Kiri shawl

It is finally done. I do not suggest knitting KIRI in such fine yarn (it is 2-ply almost or maybe entirely cobweb weight lambswool) with 2,75 mm needels. It is a suicide. It took me near 1,5 months to complete it, of course I didn't knit it with one breath... I took a lot of breaths between, a lot without needles in my hands. But I am very satisfied. You can find the pattern here.
But oh it's so pretty and it goes for my awesome mother-in-law. I will do lace more.