Dahlia

Kaks kampsunit / Two cardigans

Nende kahe nii pikaaegne valmimine seisis puhtalt nööpide/kinniste taga. Mulle teadaolevast kohalikust kaubandusvõrgust ei leidnud midagi kõlblikku, seega ootas Tangled Yoke ainult viimast nööbiliistu rohkem kui neli kuud.

The two cardigans have been in such a long making for the mere reason of lack of buttons. From local haberdashery shops I know of (there are not so many, what a pity), I couldn't find anything remotely suitable.

Tangled yoke hakkas mulle meeldima sel samal korral, kui ajakirja numbrt käes hoidsin, mul oli peaaegu olemas ka lõng selle tarbeks, 6 kera Jaeger Luxury Tweed'i, mis juba siis oli tootmisest maha võetud. Arvutasin küll kõigest väest, aga vajalikku metraaži kokku ei saanud, puudu jäi täpselt pool kera. Seega ma vardaid lõnga ei löönud ja jätsin mõttepoja seedima. Sel kevadel surfasin parajasti Ravelry's, kui leidsin ühe daami Euroopast, kes enda 10t kerakest müügiks pakkus. Saimegi kohe kaubale mõitsliku hinnaga ja aprillis lõin silmad varrastele.

I instantly took to Tangled Yoke when I first noticed it in Interweave Knits. I also felt it would look fab in Jaeger Luxury Tweed, which I had in stash, but was already discontinued back then. I only had 6 skeins, so I did my maths and figured out, I would need a minimum 6,5 skeins. I tried to find some more, but to no avail so I did not cast on. This Spring I was surfing Ravelry, when I found a lady from Europe who was selling her 10 skeins. I contacted her and we made a deal. So in April I cast on for the cardigan.

Roheline kampsik, ei oleks üldse pidanud kampsun olema. Algselt pidi sellest lõngast saama mu meheõe pojakesele tekk. Tellisin lõnga kohale Dubai sõsarlõngapoest, jäin ootama kõnet paki saabumisest, aga seda ei tulnudki. Nädal hiljem hakkasin oma lõnga taga otsima, käisin poes, helistasin Dubai poodi, kust olevat lõng juba ammu ära saadetud, lõpuks helistasin otse juhatajale, kes müsteeriasse valgust tõi. Abu Dhabi "sõbralik" müüjaskond oli mu lõnga kellelegi teisele ära müünud, hoolimata kotile kirjutatud minu nimest ja telefoninumbrist. Nii et tekike sai hoopis teisest lõngast.

The green cardigan was not supposed to be a cardigan at all. It was supposed to become a blanket for my nephew born in July. I ordered the yarn from Dubai, to be sent to Abu Dhabi branch. I was waiting for the call from the shop for a week and then went on to inquire about the fate of my yarn. After a visit to the shop, where no one had never heard of a yarn order and a call to Jackie, our yarn person in Dubai, we found out that the package had arrived and then had been sold off to someone else. It was for the better though, because I cast on blanket in another yarn and it came out beautiful. This green yarn turned into a Mondo Cable Cardi .

Link to the Tangled Yoke Cardigan in Ravelry.

Link to the Green cardigan in Ravelry.

Kampsun väikesele preilile / Cardigan for a little miss

Selle kampsuni algus jääb, kujutate ette, pooleteise aasta taha!

Alustasin kudumisega enne Lea sündi, kui ma veel ei teadnudki, et tütreke on sündimas. (Sisetunne ei petnudki, sest nii suur tahtmine oli just tüdruku kampsunit teha, kuigi ma olin end ammu veennud, et kõhus on poiss. Nojah, eks ta meil ongi paras marakratt juba esimestest kõhumürglitest alates)

Ja ma kudusin ta valmis ka ainult loetud tundidega. Ja alustasin kokkuõmblemisega. Ja siis kolimise käigus panin ma oma sukanõela kuhugi iks kohta. Ja koos sukanõelaga kadus ka igasugune tahtmine kokkuõmmelda. Ja üldse kogu kudumine jäi soiku.

Augustis leidsin nõela üles ämma ja äia juurest oma asjade hulgast ning võtsin endale ühe õhtu kohustuste vabaks. Paar tunnikest ja kampsun saigi kokku.

Läheb veel sel talvel miskit moodi selga. Lõpp hea, kõik hea. Ja kuduisu tuli ka tagasi.

Ravelrys

Can you imagine that the beginning of this cardigan was cast on more than a year ago? I actually knit it up in counted hours (why I chose a girl's cardigan while I thought to be expecting a boy was a mistery back then. Little hint from innerself I'd say.) I also began to sew it up in May 2009 and then I lost my darning needle. Never thought this could kill the mojo, but it did. I even tried to sew with another darning needle, but to no avail. Into the hibernation bin it went.

Just recently I went to check my suitcase at my inlaws house and among other long missing items I found my needle. It was just a few hours work and the cardi was all sown up. On the last hour it seems! Ends well, all well. And my mojo is back as well!

Link to Ravelry page

Inspiration

First: I'm in Ravelry. Got an invitation yesterday and started discovering that constantly growing and interesting community straight away. It'll take some time to settle in with my UFOs, WIPs, stash and accessories, but it'll be worth while.

***
Now something that is ready. Finally.

I saw Elisabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket for the first time few months ago. I thought it's a clever idea, but wasn't tempted enough to buy the pattern. A month ago I found from local market an amazingly soft handspun merino from Southern Italy and thought that it would be fantastic to knit something in garter stitch. And then I remembered EZ's jacket. But I didn't want to buy the pattern (I was in the midst of packing before a big move and long vacation away from home, so it would have arrived to me probably not before September) and wanted to solve the mystery myself. I surfed around and read some comments from which I understood that it is based on mithered square and it's about double increases and decreases. So I started knitting it. I don't think I've ever ripped and reknit an item this many times before. After the 3rd attempt, I had figured out how it worked, but couldn't get the sizing right. Once over that part it was an easy knit. And I am tremendously happy that I finished it :)


So it's not EZ Baby Surprise Jacket, but she was the inspiration and motivation. Thank You, so much!

Information:
Yarn: 1,5 skeins of handspun natural white merino from Puglia (DK) and Noro Silver Thaw (wool 50%, angora 25%, nylon 25%) colorway 09 about 15 grams.
Needles: 4 mm Addi Circulars

The sleeves with this techique never come full-sized, in Inspiration's case it was less than elbow length, so I had to lengthen it somehow. I tried picking up stitches in regular way, it wasn't nice, I think it can only be done without leaving obvious line if you are using colors. So I decided do follow the clue of the full construction and knit mithered squares inbetween and then picked up stitches to continue.
Noro Silver Thaw is a difficult yarn (uneven color sections, scratchy and uneven surface) to knit I-cord with, but without a doubt it was the best option for this edging.

Forecast done!

Tadaa! My Forecast is done.Actually it was done quite a while ago, I just didn't get to taking the pictures.
I like the design a lot and it was really fun to knit, which explains how it got ready in only 5 days.

And I did sew on the self-made buttons.

Modifications:

• I didn't purl, I knit the garter stitch part, which meant changing the pattern a wee little in the beginning.
• Different kind of yarn. I went down on needle size, that meant more bobbles (iiiik), but I got them done.
  
• I didn't turn my work while knitting bobbles, I just slipped stitches back to left needle and knit them through then just passing stitches over the last stitch.

What I wish had done differently: knit the ribbing part longer (blocking again will help I hope, or losing weight :P) and knit the first stitch of every row. I trusted the pattern, but should have trusted my experience, now I have this strange cross-stitch row between body and button bands (It's because my stitches are quite loose). But I guess you can call it DESIGN element.

Info:
Yarn: Unknown producer, 100% merino, cream, 350 grams
Needles: 4 mm and 3,25 mm Addi Turbo circulars
Pattern: Forecast
Time: 5 days