Risti-rästi patentkoes / Crissed-crossed in Brioche stitch

Vahel ma koon ka midagi ka patentkoes. Enamasti lastele mütse, sest kuigi tulemus on mõnusalt pehme ja soe, siis annab patentkude kõvasti volüümi juurde. Sügisest Vogue Knitting'u numbris aga leidsin põneva viisi, kuidas saab patentkoes palmikuid kududa. Kohe hakkasid näpud sügelema. Lõngavarudes leidub alati vajalikku ja kahe õhtuga oli müts valmis kootud. AGA küll see tuli suur. Sama tulise jutiga, millega sai kootus, harutasin ka töö lahti ja võtsin väiksemad kudumispulgad. Sedasi kaks korda kududes sain risti-rästi tulpade hingeeluga päris hästi tuttavaks ja võimalik, et taolises stiilis töid tuleb tulevikuski. Kui nüüd Jõulud Eestis tuleks ak piisavalt külmad ja lumerohked, et seda mütsi ka kanda saaks...

Sometimes I knit things in brioche stitch. Usually children's hats, but I must admit it is not my favourite stitch combination because the fabric properties that tend to add to the volume of the knit. In the Fall issue of Vogue Knitting I got hooked. They had an extensive article on cabling in brioche stitch. I was intrigued and cast on straight away. In two nights I had the first hat, but it came out enormous. So I frogged my work and went down on needle size. The second one came out way better, thanks to knitting the hat twice I got to know the secrets of brioche cabling quite well, I will probably use this technique again quite soon. If only Christmas in Estonia would be white and cold, so I could actually wear this hat!

Link to the hat in Ravelry

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.

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.

Midagi väikest / Little something

Oeh, koon ja koon ja tikin ja tikin, aga ette näidata pole midagi. Kuni tänaseni. Annan endale ausalt aru, et kudumite kõige keerulisem osa on otste peitmine ja viimistlemine. Pildistamisest rääkimata. Aga vanad võlad tuleb ju likvideerida ja seekord sai süütunne võitu, otsad peidetud ja modelle mul ju jagub, niiet püüdsime selle bareti ka mälukaardile.

Knitting and knitting, stitching and stitching some more, but I've had nothing to show you. Until today. I'm truthful about the fact that weaving in ends and blocking knit is the hardest part of this craft. Not to mention taking a photo of the FO. Luckily guilt wins sometimes and stuff gets finished from time to time. And it only took me 2 months to take a photo!

Bareti juures meeldib mulle kõige enam selle serv. Kudum tuli küll suur ja lohvakas, aga mulle meeldib nii. Ainult et heledaid lokke, mille peal seda peakatet kanda, mul enam pole. Nii juhtub, kui ühe töö valmimist kaks ja pool aastat edasi lükata.
Vaatasin Ravelry'st järele, et silmused lõin üles 11 Oktoober 2008. Lõnga sain mäletatavasti Liannist Tallinnas ja selleks on Alvita Alpaka. Väga mõnus lõng. Vardad olid 3 ja 3,5 mm. Puudu on veel vaid kummist, et müts paremini peas püsiks. Muster on Dropsi leheküljelt pärit.

I like the picot cast-on on this beret. It came out a tad bigger than it was meant to be, but seeing other projects on the web, I think it actually works out well. Only, that the long blond curly hair I imagined to have under the beret, I no longer possess. I guess it's a price to pay when one takes 2 and half years to finish a project.
I checked it up on my Ravelry notebook and looks like I cast on on 11th of October 2008. I used Alvita Alpaca yarn and 3 and 3,5 mm needles. Pattern comes from Drops website.

Ma pole kaua tikkinud. Viimati tikkisin põlle ja enne seda jäävad mu sellealased katsetused eel-teismelise ikka, kui ristpistes linikuid ja töid kukkus nõelalt mitmeid.

I haven't embroidered for a long time. The last work of the sort was the hip-apron back in 2008 and before that I'd have to go back years into preadolescence when I used to whip up cross-stitch items of all sorts.

Singapuris leidsin ühe armsa linnulõike ja võtsin tikkimise taas käsile. Aga, nagu ikka, kui on tegu selliste komplektidega, siis jääb puudu tikkimisniidist. Kontrollisin kogu mustrijuhise üle, et ega ma pole valesti aru saanud, aga ei. Puudu jääb helesinisest värvist ligi veerand.

While vacationing in Singapore, I came across a bird design that was soooo cute that I decided to have a go at stitching with a needle. It was very nice until I noticed that the kit contains less light-blue thread than necessary for completion. It was clear that there was at least a quarter amount less than needed.

Kus häda kõige suurem, seal abi kõige lähem. Mõtelsin, et kuna ta nagunii mustrikohane ei tule, sest ma ei viitsi tikkimisniite juurde minna ostma ja tea, aks neid samu värve siit saabki, siis teen omaloomingut ja harjutan erinevaid pisteid ka. Nii ta siis praegu töö käigus kujuneb.

This put me back a little. While trying to come up with a solution, and going shopping isn't one in my mind since I have no idea where I could find DMC threads in Abu Dhabi, I thought why not have a go with other stitches and practice a little. So I started stitching the wings differently and am liking the result so much that I am considering of expanding my stitch practice to other areas as well.

Lahtised otsad / Loose ends

Aasta viimane töö:

See kaunitar kampsun on olnud tegemises juba 2,5 aastat. Ja puudu jäi tookord.... julgusest. Kui olin tükid valmis kudunud, hoidsin peos vaid kümmekond grammi lõnga ja ei julenud taskusoonikule silmi üles luua. Kokkuõmblemisega sai küll algust tehtud, aga seegi jäi poolikuks, sest viimaseid gramme ei raatsinud juppideks hakata lõikama. Ja siis tuli vahele ju kogu titendus, selle aasta oktoobris sai nõuks võetud see asi ükskord ometi lõpetada, et ta enam ei näriks kuklataga.

This beauty has been in the knitting for the last 2,5 years!!!! I am deeply ashamed to admit that the only reason for me not finishing it was the lack of.... courage... I did not foresee the fact that I'd be left with just barely enough yarn for ribbing. And until I had knit it I wasn't even sure, I'd be able to finish this long work. Decided to do it this December and I am sooooo happy that I did. The cardigan is now part of my sister's wardrobe.

Järelejäänud viimasest 10st grammist jagus täpselt sooniku jaoks. Aga pidin ülesharutama proovilapi, et kokkuõmblemiseks lõnga saada. Ja järgi jäi nii umbes nelja meetri jagu lõnga. Väga napilt seekord. Kandjale muidugi meeldib hirmsasti. Kampsun on kootud Alvita 100% alpakalõngast, 4 mm vardaga. Mustrit ametlikult enam netis pole, aga mulle kirjutades võin mitteametlikku allikat jagada.

After knitting all of the pieces, I had 10 grams left - that was barely enough for teh pocket ribbing. I had to undo the gauge swatch to obtain more yarn for sewing up. In the end I only had few meters of yarn left. It was too close!

The cardigan is knit with 100% alpaca yarn from Alvita, and I used a 4 mm needle. The pattern is no longer available on Phildar website, but I know a website where the pattern is hosted.

Minu jaoks oli see esimene kogemus prantsuse keelse juhendiga. Päris alguses oli keeruline, netisõnastike abiga suutsin endale küll juhendi peaaegu korralikult ära tõlkida, aga raske oli ikkagi - ei ole harjunud. Olen täheldanud varemgi, et erinevates maades on erinev mustrite ülestähendamiskord ning seetõttu vajan harjumiseks aega.

For me this was the first time I knit from a French pattern. And man, it was tough. First had to translate, and though it is fairly OK with the help of online knitting dictionaries, it was tough actually understanding it. I've seen a myriad of patterns in my life, yet this one struck me with it's complexity. That was just the first glimpse, once I got used to it, it was fairly simple.

Kõige põnevam detail on kindlasti tasku. Esmalt kood esiküljega koos tasku ja hiljem tuleb taskusoonik külge õmmelda keset kampsuni külge. Ma kasutasin selleks lihtsalt heegelnõela - jäi kenam ja korrektsem tulemus.

The most curious detail of this cardigan is it's pocket. Love the result! And yet it was the reason why this cardigan never got finished in time. The only alternation was that I used the crochet hook instead of the sewing needle to attach the ribbing.

Teisetes uudistes aastakokkuvõte. Päriselt küll viimase kahe aasta kokkuvõte, sest mullu ma seda ei teinud. Ega siin pole midagi lehvitadagi. 2009. aasta kudumised lõpetas Lea sünd ja sel aastal sain vardad pihku alles paar kuud enne kalendri lõppu.

Seega viimasesse aastasse jäi 7 tööd, tunamullune varrasteliigutus 5 kudumit.

In other news, looking back at the last year, pardon, last two years, since 2010 beginning I didn't make an overview of previous year. There is not much to show. Knitting year 2009 finished for me with the birth of Lea and 2010 began just a few months ago. But here they are, 7 works accounted for previous one, and mere 5 for 2009.

Teadmatust teadmiseks / Unreported being reported

Sügisel, kui Eestisse lennupileteid ostsin, teadsin ka, et tuleb varrastele valu anda ja korralik talvevarustus kaasa kududa. Eriti väiksemale tüdrukule polnud ei salli, mütsi, kindaidki mitte. Villastest sokkidest rääkimata. Ja kampsunit oli vaja head ja sooja, mis ka sügavates miinustes hoiaks kere soojas.

In the late autumn, when I was booking flight tickets to come back home in Estonia, I realised that we were short of winter equipment. especially my younger daughter was unprepared for the winter. So I drew up a clear plan to knit her mitts, hat and a nice warm sweater for when the temperature takes a deep drop below 0 C (wollen socks as well of course).

Lõppkokkuvõtteks said vaid loetud tunnid enne kohalejõudu valmis kaks paari kindaid - ühed suuremad teistele peale tõmbamiseks kirbukirjas kaheksakannaga ja teised niisama kirbukirjas. Lõngaks Leenu kampsSunist ülejäänud kerad ja pisut Rowan Purelife Organic Wool'i, mis oli suureks pettumuseks. Joosis nii hirmsasti värvi, et näpud olid mustad ja pidin lõnga enne läbi pesema - kolmandal korral jäi vesi puhtaks.

Just a few hours before arriving in estonia I finished the mitts - one pair is bigger so that they can be used as second pair over the first for very cold weather. I used the yarn left over from Leenu's Guernsey (last post before this one), and Rowan Purelife Organic Wool which was a horrible experience. After knitting just ten minutes with it, my fingers were black! So I had to wash the yarn before using it. It took three washes before the yarn didn't bleed and water was clean.

Siis veel üliarmas Aviatrix müts, mis kootakse kuklatagant ette kasutades lühendatud ridu, kogu töö sai valmis vaid paari tunniga. Nii mõnus tegemine, et kindalsti ei jää see viimaseks.

And also the supercute Aviatrix hat, it's construction is ingenious and knitting easy and pleasant, and foremost! quick. I will for sure knit more of these hats.

Ning lõpetuseks veel üks kampsun Leale, 100% alpaka lõngast. Inspiratsiooni sian ma Alice Starmore'ilt ja esimest korda kudusin kaenla alla siilud - nii saab kogu kampsuni kududa ringselt ja see on ju puhas rõõm. Kahjuks hetkel paremat pilti pole, sest allameetrine ei saa paigalseisukäsust aru.

Last but not least, 100% alpaca sweater for which I drew inspiration from Alice Starmore once again and knit for the first time underarm gussets. It's lovely when you can work the whole sweater in round!!! Unfortunately I couldn't make the small model stay still, so I'll add more pictures as soon as back home.

Leenu meremehe kampsun / Leenu's New Guernsey

Ma ei ole kaua aega Leenule midagi kudunud. Eelmise talve käis ta lausa poekampsuniga, sest ma ei jõudnud saja toimetuse kõrvalt rohkem, kui mütsid ja sallid kududa. Pikkust on nende kahe aasta jooksul nii palju juurde visatud, et oligi viimane aeg uus kudum talle meisterdada.

Last year Leenu didn't get a new sweater. In fact she got through the winter in a store bought acrylic blend cardi. And though I, as an avid knitter, am a bit ashamed of this fact, I couldn't do better than hats, scarves and mitts last year - there simply aren't enough hours in a day of you run a house and two kids alone for 5 days a week. So it was about time she got one. Also because she has grown outrageously tall in the last 2 years.

Tahtsin proovida midagi uut, midagi lihtsat ja midagi huvitavat. Lõnga mul muidugi käepärast polnud, kogu mu kollektsioon on ju ikka veel kuskil konteineris. Seega ostsin lõnga Singapurist, kus me vahepeal koolivaheajal käisime. Leen ise valis värvi ja lõnga, mina vaid suunasin ta villaste juurde. Mustri leidsin Alice Starmore'i raamatust Kalameeste Kampsunid. Iseenesest on tegumood ju lihtne ja sobib suurepäraselt kiireks kudumiks. Kehaosas ega ka käistel pole erilist modelleerimist vaja. Pidin vaid arvutama aran lõngaga kootud juhise dk lõngale vastavaks. Huvitav ja minu jaoks esmakordne, oli kududa kampsun õlasadulatega (saddles). See annab nii palju võimalusi uute detailide kampsunisse kudumiseks, et kindlasti kasutan seda viisi tulevikuski.

I wanted to kit something interesting, yet simple, with possibly new feature to learn. Leenu picked out the yarn from Singapore (my stash is STILL in a container and I have no access to it, at least until March. I fear for it's state!). She chose the colors and the weight and the brand, I just pushed her towards wools and paid afterwards. The pattern is from Alice Starmore's vintage book Fishermen's Sweaters. I love the saddles! Actually I think I may use them more often, since they give the sweater a new designing feature and save me trouble from shaping the sleeves.

NApid kümme päeva kulus kudumisele ja kokkuõmblemisele. Leen on nüüd peaaegu valmis jõuludeks kodumaal. Loodetavasti meile ikka lund ja pakast jagub. Oleme siin päikses juba valge, külma jõulupüha ootuses.

Teadmiseks

Muster: Alice Starmore'i Nantucket

Vardad: 4 ja 4,5 mm

Lõng: Sirdar Balmoral (72% villa, 25% alpaka, 3% siidi)

Knitting took me mere 10 days. Yestreday and today went to sewing up and hiding the ends. Luckily the guernsey was greeted with utmost glee and modeled with pride. I think she will be even happier once we go back home for Christmas, where there are already -10 degrees and half a meter of snow.

Specs

Pattern: Nantucket by Alice Starmore

Needles: 4 mm and 4,5 mm

Yarn: SIrdar Balmoral (72% wool, 25% alpaca, 3% silk)

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