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.

Kui ilmub hea raamat / When a great book is published

Siis tuleb see osta. Kui selles heas raamatus, mis kätkeb endas nii põhjalikku selgitust vastavast teemast kui ka kamaluga kauneid kudumeid, mida kududa, siis ei aita ka abikaasale antud lubadus, et lõnga enam ei osta. Või hullem veel, kui ei võtaks vastu kingitud lõnga.
Ostsin Nancy Bushi "Knitted Lace of Estonia" kohe kui seda Rahva Raamatu riiulil nägin ja sukapüksipood on ju Kaubamajas lõngapoe kõrval, niisiis ei suutnud ma ostmata jätta ühte väikest vihti Titan Wooli Merinos Extra't, et samal õhtul silmad üles luua ühele kaunidusele, mainitud raamatust.

Then it must be bought. If the book has great instructions for the technique it describes and most beautiful designs then it is no wonder that nevertheless of the 2 kilos of lace yarn one has waiting at home, a new skein has to be purchased and new project cast on.
I bought Nancy Bush's "Knitted Lace of Estonia" as soon as I saw it on the shelf in book store and cast on for this beauty:

Hetkel olen teise mustrikorduse juures ja mingisugune koll on sees, ma ei suuda sugugi aru saada, kuidas mul silmuseid kord vähem, kord rohkem on. Kuigi kõik klapib ühel real, ei klapi enam järgmisel real üks pisike nurgake. Interneti errata'd ei ole veel vastust andnud. Ühel hetkel olin enda peale nii kuri, et ostsustasin korraks ämblikuvõrgu pitsi kõrvale panna ja midagi muud teha.
Kuna see sall sai Knitpicks'i Harmony varraste otsa, millega ma ei raatsi pardale minemist proovida, siis oli midagi muud vaja pooleööpäevaseks lennusõiduks tagasi koju. Üle kahe aasta õnnestus mul sättida Milaanos olemine laupäevale, mil toimus kohalik Stitch and Bitch ja sealt lahkusin kingitusega Silvialt. 3 kera Gringasco uut bioloogilist soja-meriino-siidi lõnga Mousse, millel igaühes meetreid kahesaja ligi. Juba samal öösel lõin bambusvarrastele teise projekti samast raamatust.

At this moment I'm at the second row of Lilies and cannot understand where a mistake is hiding, because the chart is faulty - I haven't been able to find an errata on the web so I laid aside the piece for awhile and finish something else I started .
This lacy beauty is knit with Harmony needles, which means I do not risk taking them on board. And since I would go nuts on a 12-hour flight and since Silvia gave me 3 amazingly soft skeins of new yarn from Grignasco I cast on on bamboo needles for Lily of the Valley Scarf from the same book:

Muster on nupuline, aga nii imepehme lõng, kui õige teravusega vardad, kui ka juba tekkinud teatav vilumus ja pikkus aina kasvas. Kokku sai salli 137 cm.

There are lots of nupps in this scarf but I must say that I've gotten them right in my hand and it doesn't take any effort to do them. The scarf is 137 cm long.

Muster: Lily of the Valley Scarf Nancy Bushi poolt
Vardad: 3,5 mm
Lõng: Grignasco Mousse

Pattern: Lily of the Valley Scarf by Nancy Bush
Needles: 3,5 mm
Yarn: Grignasco Mousse (50% soya, 40% new wool, 10% silk; 185 mt for 50 gr)

I used just a tiny bit more that 2 skeins.

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

Kuninganna Anne emale / Queen Anne

Kes veel ei tea, siis sellisel meesterahval nagu MMario on ilmunud mitmeid huvitavaid pistist ringsallide mustreid - täitsa tasuta muuseas.
Minul pitsilõnga puudust pole näha ja tükk aega pole päris ämblikuvõrkku ilusaks venitada saanud, seega lõin silmad üles elu esimeseks ringjaks tööks: Kuninganna Anne'i Pits.

I guess you all know of MMario who has designed quite a few lace shawls and offers them free of charge online.
I have way too much lace yarn and my mom had her 50th birthday coming up, so I was on a lookout for a perfect non-triangular shawl for quite awhile. Until I found Queen Anne's Lace.

Oma väiksest abielusõrmusest tõmbasin ta nagu niuhti läbi: kudusin ta ammuostetud Itaalia meriinovillasest kohekordsest kuid siiski imepeenest pitslõngast.

It is knit with Italian nearly cobweb weight merino wool that i found a few years back in Milan on offer for only €10 for 0,5 kilos. I got a whole bag and though I did Kiri, Shallowtail Shawl and Swan Lake and now Queen Anne, I still have a skein of it left!

Vardad nr. 3,75. Lõpukudumine oli üks paras vaev, sest varrastel julgelt üle 600 silmuse. Ja mahakuduminegi oli pitssallile kohaselt kahekordne - ainult et sedakorda jäi ta kuidagi tugevalt, nii et päris kauneid piike ei õnnestunud sallile venitada.

I used needles nr. 3,75mm. The only thing I'm not 100% content is that my BO was too tight and I didn't manage to block the edge spikier, but overall it was an easy pattern to read and a nice lace to knit.

Peaaegu kuu aega kulus aega, aga eks ma tegin muid asju vahele. No ja mida ma siis järgmisena ette võtan? (Ravelry järjekorras on 150+ kudumit)

It took me nearly a month to complete but I took it very easy.

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!

MS3 Complete!

My Swan Lake is ready. The actual knitting part I finsihed already a month ago, but due to lack of a blocking area I blocked it just yesterday and from late evening last night it has a new home with my new friend Laura, who actually dares to wear it.
My main concern when I started to knit Swan Lake (having heard It won't be symmetrical), since I am not a shawl person (too young, in my opinion) and most people I know wouldn't have the courage to wear it, was that it might stay in my closet for a very long time. Luckily I met Laura.
It was a tremendously fun project to knit, and I have many thanks to give to the designer Melanie Gibbons, from Pink Lemon Twists. If the next years Mystery Shawl sounds even half as interesting as it did this year, I will be knitting MS4 along as well.

Mystery Stole 3 - week 1 & 2

I'm happy to be part of the huge group (+5700 people from all around the world) and have eagerly finished both of the clues.
I'm using my all time favouruite lace knitting yarn, but this time doubled up (I've knit Kiri and one Swallowtail Shawl with it). I'm not using any beads this time, for actually for me this is more like a try-out knit. If I like what I see, I might consider something more luxurious to knit with and surely add the beads as well.
I must admit that since I was missing the big picture, knitting (especially the first clue) was tricksy. In lace knitting I usually know what it is going to be like and therefore I doubt less in pattern and in myself and make less mistakes (again, confidence plays a huge role in my knitty life).

So I'm knititng with cobweb weight Canetta merino wool, using Addi Turbo 3,5 mm circulars (I wanted to find the new Lace needles, but couldn't) and am very anxious to get the next clue.

Quick knit lace

A very quick pattern I got from co-authored Motivi a Maglia (all knitty Italians unite!) blog. I bought some yarn a long time (ha, maybe a year) ago for a pair of stockings from Vogue Knitting, but it wasn't good enough to be knit in black and white (black ate all the bright color) so I had one skein of white and two black. White turned into a relax-knit between many other bigger projects, for it really didn't need much attention, the pattern is very simple, yet effective. the yarn is really a miracally soft, very fine though, so if you want to knit more than lace, make it a double.
Data
Yarn: Ornaghi filati "Real Baby" (100% pure new wool, 50 gr = 280 mt)
Needles: 2,75 mm
Pattern: Typesetter's green scarf
Length/width/weight: 117 cm/16 cm, 43 gr

Now What shall I do with 2 skeins of black?

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.