Sooza's Knitting Stuff

Oh my, it's been a more than a month since I wrote something here. Time is flying. When I'm not working or knitting I'm playing support team and pit stop crew for DH. He's doing autocross competitions. What's autocross, you ask? Well, here's what the international Wikipedia has to say about it:

Autocross is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe, low-cost competition and active participation. An autocross is a timed competition where drivers navigate one at a time through a temporary course marked by traffic cones, rather than racing on a track with multiple other cars, as in road racing or oval racing. Autocross tends to place more emphasis on car handling and driver skill than on sheer horsepower, and events typically have many classes which allow almost any vehicle, from economy sedans to purpose-built vehicles, to compete. Speeds are slower in absolute terms when compared to other forms of motorsports, usually not exceeding highway speeds, but the activity level (measured in discrete turns per minute) can be higher than even Formula One due to the large number of elements packed into each course. Autocross courses are typically 40 to 70 seconds in length. In addition to being a national-level motorsport in its own right, autocrossing is a good way to learn skills that transfer to road racing, as drivers learn vehicle control and club ethics. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocross


 
It's actually a pretty cool thing to do for a hobby and not in the least as involved as playing any of the usual team sports. There are no training sessions twice a week, no real need for any club memberships, no nothing. For starting out you only need a car and a helmet.

That being said, it's most likely that once involved in the whole scene certain investments will HAVE to be made. Slick tyres, anyone? Better brake shoes? And this data recording stuff and software analysis is seriously neat. But what else is to be expected from a Geek extraordinaire turned autocross racer? I'm not complaining though. I mean, look at me! I've got a hudge spindle collection, more wool and yarn then I can knit up in the foreseeable future and shelves of knitting books. Did I already mention that I'm pondering buying a weaving loom?


 
Those autocross weekends are something of a mixture between boy scout camp, carnival and family reunion. Most people there seem to have known each other for 30 years or more. And then there's already the kids racing around on bicycles, little dirt bikes or karts. And if the weather is as nice as the weekend before last, you can enjoy a relaxing weekend in some out of the way place. The pictures show Groß-Dölln, an abandoned Russian air base about an hour north of Berlin. The whole place is fascinating and totally creepy at the same time. If you imagine that not even 20 years ago they had nuclear bombers stationed there ready for take-off 24/7. And now some crazy guys are using that perfectly flat tarmac to race cars. Weird but happily weird.


 
After starting out on the family car, a 2008 Subaru Impreza, DH's got himself the perfect autocross car - a Mazda Miata/MX5. This model already came with sports suspension and whatnot. Driving in this little powerhouse of a car takes some use. Forget comfort. Pure driving fun here we come.


 
People are trying to get me to compete, too. Sure, I enjoy driving most of the time. But this autocross thing kinda scares me. Maybe one of these day I might muster the courage and try my hand at it. It won't be in the Miata though because I barely fit in there without a helmet. But since helmets are required I wouldn't manage to get in there at all.


 
Right now I'm perfectly alright with driving the support car which basically means having it loaded up to the roof with a full set of sports tyres. And knitting is a good method to while away the time - when you're not taking pics, keeping the Little Girl from getting run over or enjoy a little chat with your "paddock" neighbor, that is.


 
If all goes well, your weekend ends with some of those kitschy trophies


 
And you've had some fun in between.


 
And maybe even got some knitting done.


 
Pattern details
Pattern: Sound of Waves by Kieran Foley
Yarn: Soft Silk by BC Garn (100% coarse silk/noil; 350 m/100 g), 2 skeins, color ss13 - turquoise
Needles: 4.5 mm
Size: 40 x 200 cm

 

I haven't done much of Elizabeth Zimmerman's pattern so far but I thoroughly enjoy her writing style and her practical and sensible approach to knitting. The modular Tomten Jacket for a small child seemed a good project to venture into EZ's knitting world for the first time.

Since I wanted to knit the jacket in a worsted weight cotton/microfiber blend I calculated the needed amount of stitches for the circumference according to my gauge and went on from there. The back is made longer with 5 short row sections. The pattern is fairly easy to knit and you can modify and change it to your heart's delight. At some point it seemed as if the garter stitch would never end though.



 

It turned out as a nice, slouchy jacket that can be thrown over when spring or summer air turn a bit chilly. Even though I had the feeling the sleeves would be wayyyyy too long they could actually use a few more rounds. But this will be easily fixed.

Details
Pattern: Modular Tomten Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Size: probably a size EU 104, 2 to 4 yrs
Yarn: Lang Yarns Kappa (97% Cotton/3% Polyester; 125m/50 g); 4 skeins fuchsia, 2 skeins purple
Needle: 4.5 mm

 
It might not always seem that way if my recent blog posts are anything to go by but I've indeed been knitting away on all kinds of things and managed to complete a few of them. My latest infatuation has been a shawl pattern from the book "Knitted Lace of Estonia" - Miralda's Triangular Shawl. It's one of those bottom-up constructions that has you cast-on a bazillion stitches that are gradually decreased on the course of your knitting to form a triangle in the end. Not my preferred shawl construction but this one looked so pretty, with the diamonds and the nupps, I knew I would succumb one of these days. It finally happened when I took a closer look at this pretty dark blue lace yarn that had found its way into my stash not so long ago. A nice 2-ply yarn with a bit of a rustic charm to it. I knew it would work fantastic with the lace pattern. Only problem was I had only 600 meters whereas the pattern asked for 750 meters of yarn. Mhm, bummer. But I'm not easily deterred. A closer look in Ravelry showed lots of projects in similar yarns with similar yardages and needle size combinations that had gotten away with 400 to 500 meters of yarn. Still not totally convinced but I cast on anyway. No risk. no fun.


 
All worked out in the end. This shawl has been knitted in record time because the ever decreasing rows have been a real motivation. The pattern was well written and I loved knitting with this rustic wool yarn. Instantly went and ordered a few more colors. The shawl itself turned out lovely, too. It's just the right size between scarf and shawl. Wasn't sure about the nupps at first but like the overall look of lace, nupps and solid areas.


 
What's a nupp, you might ask?! Well, it's those special kind of bobble Estionian lace knitting is well known for. On a right side row you increase 5, 7 or even 9 stitches from just one single stitch just to purl all those stitches back together in the following row. It's kinda tedious at first but once you've gotten into the rhythm of things it get easier. The nupps give a nice, three-dimensional effect and sometimes even look like little pearls worked into your knitting. Strange but neat.

Details
Pattern: Miralda's Triangular Shawl by Nancy Bush from Knitted Lace of Estonia
Material: 1 skein of Filcolana New Zealand Lammeuld, 100% wool, 600 meters/100 grams
Needles: 4 mm
Finished Size: 160 cm wide, 80 cm deep

There's been a few other projects that got completed in the last weeks, like my first pair of Socks out of Wollmeise Twin yarn for example. They belong to the best husband of all now and I'm really curious about how well the yarn will stand up to wear. My last Wollmeise socks were still out of 100% superwash and they were worn through in record time. The Twin yarn consists of 20% nylon so it's supposed to wear better. Yeah, well, seeing is believing.


 
Details
Pattern: Earl Grey by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Yarn: 2/3rds of a Wollmeise Twin skein, 80% Merino/20% Nylon, 466 meters/150 grams; color 'We're different Tant Grön...'
Needles: 2.5 mm
Size: EUR 41/42

And then there is this small shawl knitted from only one 50 grams skein of Malabrigo Lace yarn in the funky and intense 'Gernanio' colorway.


 
Details
Pattern: Birch Leaf Shawl sideways, my own pattern
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace Merino, 100% Merino, 400 meters/50 grams, color 'Geranio'
Needles: 4 mm
Size: 140 cm wide

And knitting continues, of course. I'm bit on a shawl binge right now so there is already the next one on the needles. It's Evelyn A. Clarks Prairie Rose Lace Shawl from The Knitter's Book of Wool.

Well, it's snowing up a little storm out there and the wind keeps heaping up snowbanks in the most inconvenient places. Like our door for example. But I won't complain. It's weekend, all the snow looks real pretty and we don't really need to go outside if we don't want to. Gives me the chance to get in some knitting and spinning and blogging and of course some quality time with Little Girl and the best husband of all. So, on to the blogging part.

When KnitPro started to make clear acrylic needle tips (KnitPro Spectra = KnitPicks Zephyr Acrylic) for their interchangeable needle system I was instantly hooked. They looked so stylish and the idea of lightweight, flexible and warm needles appealed to me. I bought a couple of tips to give them a try. Even though some people complained about icky noises and about the needles being too sticky I got along very well with mine. So when KnitPro offered a special needle set in fuchsia I couldn't help but buying the whole set. I'm a sucker for everything pink/fuchsia/purple. The set contains 8 needle tips from size 3.5 to 8 mm and 4 different cables. It's not as if I really needed more knitting needles but who can refuse something that looks like this?
 

 
The Spectras feature the same sharp tips as all the other KnitPro needles. I like the fact that they are less slippery than the metal and wooden needles and that they are more flexible and kinda feel nicer to the touch. Not sure how long the smallest size needle will survive though because it really BENDS quite a bit. But maybe that's the trick. I like the little case the set came in. My other needle tips and cables fit in too so now I finally have a place where to keep them all in one place. Since it's a KnitPro product it has the same quality issues as all their other needles. On one pair of needles the acrylic part of the needle is glued to the metal casing off center so their is this place where the yarn catches. I contacted the seller about a replacement and will see what happens. Personally, I think these needles are great value for your money and a good investment for a beginner or if you want to complete your needle collection. It might not be ideal choice of needle for if you're knitting really tight or if you like to work with acrylic yarns. I shudder at thought of the electrostatic buzz you'd be creating.

The first thing that came from this needles was an airy piece of nothing I dubbed Ice Leaf Scarf. The construction and lace pattern are inspired by a commercially available pattern Cedar Leaf Shawlette.
 


Details
Pattern: Cedar Leaf Shawlette by Alana Dakos
Needles: 4 mm
Yarn: 25 grams of Cascade Baby Alpaca Lace (100% Aplaca, 400 m/50 grams), color: Carribean
Size: 12 cm wide, 190 cm long

This little shawl is obviously the most knitted project from the newest Knitty issue. As of today Ravelry lists 379 projects and counting. When I first browsed this issue it was this pattern that instantly caught my eyes. And I was totally set to knit it in the original yarn - Malabrigo Lace Merino. Alas, I kinda got side-tracked by one of my older hand-spun yarns though. “Bewitch” is something about a lace to light fingering yarn which I spun back in April 2009. Somehow I thought stripes or color transitions would suit this little scarf/shawl well. As it turned out, pattern and yarn fit each other remarkably well.



And here's how the yarn came to be.






 
Details
 
Pattern: Citron by Hilary Smith Callis, Knitty.com Winter 2009
Yarn: hand-spun yarn, 100 grams/400-500 meters, Slushie's Special Blend from FatCatKnits in colorway "Bewitch"
Needles: 4.00 and 4.5 mm
Size: 120 cm wide

I finished the hand-spun socks last week pretty much in record time. The turned really nice and I've already worn them twice. The yarn got me a pair of mid-calf high socks (when worn they are 34 cm from floor to cast-off edge) that work especially well in boots. They tend to slouch down a bit with wear but I don't mind that. The soft merino yarn might not be ideal for hard wear and the heel and underside of the toes are already a bit fulled (felted would be too strong a word here) after two days of wear. But it looks like this might actually help with durability. I take this as an experiment and see how it turns out. The spinning and knitting process was tremendous fun and both socks getting finished at the same time was just great.



On the spinning front I got a wonderful delivery from Amazon.de today. After months and months of waiting it's finally here. Abby Franquemont's book "Respect the Spindle". The books deals with knowledge and techniques about hand spindles exclusively. It's fun reading and has lots of interesting information about this most ancient and simplest of fiber tools and shows contemporary spinners what great stuff can be achieved if you're open and willing to practice.

This was one of those patterns that I instantly liked when first seeing it in Knitty. I like knitting with skinny yarn and skinny needles. And I like plain sweaters that can be dressed up or down according to occasion and mood. But somehow I never quite worked up the nerve to cast-on. The pattern was in my Ravelry Queue for a while and I checked other people's finished Thermals from time to time. In the end seeing all these nice sweaters on Ravelry and following the posts in a very inspiring Knit-Along on the German Knitters forum made my fingers itch to finally cast on. In the end it took me not quite three weeks from start to finish. I sewed in ends on Halloween eve while the door bell kept ringing incessantly and kids kept demanding treats.


 
Details
 
Pattern: Thermal by Laura Chau, Knitty.com Winter 2006
Yarn:Rowan Felted Tweed, color Whisper (SH141), 7.5 skeins (375 grams)
Needles: 3.75 mm
Modifications:

• Pattern is originally written for sock yarn with a gauge of 28 stitches per 4''. I chickened out on the skinny yarn and chose some Felted Tweed from my stash instead. It's still fingering weight yarn but is much more fluffy and lofty than sock yarn. The Felted Tweed gave me a gauge of 20 stitches per 4''. I had originally planned to knit the smallest size but with my gauge that would still have meant I'd end up with a HUGE sweater. I compensated by casting on only 200 instead of 224 stitches.


• Worked body much longer than pattern suggested.


• Didn't like how the button band looked on most Thermal sweaters on Ravelry. Worked it sideways and added two more buttons.


• Knitted the set-in sleeves from the top down according to directions in Wendy Bernard's book 'Custom Knits'. Worked like a charm. Did I ever mention how much I dislike sewing in set-in sleeves?

Comments:
This is a lovely, very simple sweater that wears very well. The waffle stitch was interesting enough to keep me interested but easy enough for TV knitting at same time. And even though I pretty much improvised this whole thing it turned out fitting really well. To top this awesome knitting experience off I found THE PERFECT buttons in your run of the mill department store. No fancy button store. Nope. Just Kaufhof at Alexanderplatz. They match the strange blueish/greyish/greenish (un-)color that Rowan called 'whisper' exactly. Wouldn't have thought this was possible.
 

It's not as if I wouldn't own a sizable stash of yarn and fiber to choose from. How does one choose fiber for the next project anyway? Well, this nice and soft Merino/Nylon top in the tempting colorway 'Magnolia' was calling to be spun as soon I had opened the parcel it came in from Zauberwiese. I divided the combed top in two halves and spun up each half on one of my two latest Kevin Rhodes spindles. Since I had 130 grams of this fiber in total I didn't dare using my wheel for plying because I was afraid the bobbin might be too small for the whole finished yarn and I was really not keen on breaking this lovely yarn. Alas, what's all those lovely spindles for? I knew I could easily fit 130 grams of a fingering weight 2-ply yarn on one of the larger spindles in my collection. The Quad from Tom Forrester did its job beautifully and my appreciation for spindles as a powerful fiber tool even grew, if that's at all possible.

The finished yarn was very beautiful but I wasn't really sure about the color distribution and the barber-pole effect in lots of places. Yet somehow my mind kept coming up with possible projects for this hand-spun. One pattern came up again and again. I took it for a sign and just went with it. Ishbel is a cute little shawl pattern by Ysolda Teague that everyone and their aunt has already knitted if Ravelry is anything to go by. Currently it has 3553 projects and counting. But you know, what can I say, it's what the yarn wanted to become. The kitting was done in about a week and was a delightful and addicting process. I used my new KnitPro Spectra needles in the 4 mm size. The more I knitted with my own hand-spun yarn the more beautiful it became. What a heady feeling to know that you've made this item nearly from scratch. Can only be beaten by knowing the name of the sheep the wool came from

Here's the story of my Magnolia Ishbel in pictures:


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Details
Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig
Yarn: 2.65 skeins of Malabrigo Baby Merino Lace (100% Merino, 400m/50g), Color Pearl Ten 69
Needles: 4 mm
Size: Something between M and L.
Modifications:

• Knitted body much longer than specified in the pattern.


• For the collar I picked up 3 stitches for 4 rows. Don't know how the ratio in the pattern could have been achieved. Worked out fine.


• Added a feather and fan pattern to cuffs, hem and collar for some decoration and to keep edges from rolling.

Comment: This is a lovely and very easy pattern. Since it's knitted from the top-down you can incorporate modifications to your personal shape/taste/size as you go. Very cool. The Malabrigo lace yarn was a joy to work with and this won't be the last garment I've knitted from it. With only 150 grams of yarn you end up with a very nice wearable garment. Which means this is actually a fairly inexpensive knit.

 
In einem Anflug von Tuchwahnsinn MUSSTE ich die Anleitung für den Herbivore scarf einfach kaufen und praktisch SOFORT anstricken. Ich bin für alles zu haben, das lediglich 100 g Sockenwolle verbraucht und außerdem, Schals/Tücher kann man immer brauchen. Aus dem Anstricken ist dann kurzerhand ein "kann ich nicht aus der Hand legen"-Projekt geworden und das Tuch wurde innerhalb von nur vier Tagen fertig.
 

 
Do I need more shawls? Mhm, probably not. Then again, can you ever have enough shawls? Probably not. I knew I had to buy and knit this small shawl as soon as I saw the pictures of test knits popping up on Ravelry. I'm a sucker for shawls and patterns that call for only one 100 grams skein of sock yarn. I hit the buy button as soon as the pattern was released and cast on in a matter of hours after that. The whole thing knitted up really fast in a matter of days.

Details
Pattern: Herbivore by Steven West
Yarn: Uschi Strumpfwolle Universal (75% wool, 25% nylon; 410 m/100 grams)
Needle: 3.75 mm

 

Die kleine Maus will ständig Socken anprobieren, die ich noch auf den Nadeln habe und lässt sich nur schwer überzeugen, dass Größe 42 vielleicht ein ganz klein wenig zu groß für ihre Füße sein könnte. Da dachte ich, stricke ich doch wieder mal kleine Socken. Außerdem wird es ja jetzt bald wieder Winter und kann man Wollsocken schon mal brauchen.

Little Girl seems totally fascinated by my sock knitting and is constantly trying on my half-finished socks. Can't convince her that a size 11 might be a tad too big for her. So I took the chance and knitted pair of wee little Noro socks. Can't hurt to have nice and warm wooly socks when the cold season is about to draw in.

Diese schönen Socken sind schon vor über zwei Wochen fertig geworden, nur leider hatte ich nie Zeit, hier mal ein Bild einzustellen. Sie sind gestrickt aus dem handgesponnen Corriedale-Garn, dessen Werdegang ich im August hier gezeigt hatte. Das Muster ist vor mir ersonnen und ich bin gerade dabei, die Anleitung dafür fertigzumachen, bzw. wird die Anleitung gerade testgestrickt. Mehr dazu, wenn die Anleitung tatsächlich fertig ist.

This nice pair of socks got finished 2 weeks ago but I somehow couldn't find the time to post the picture here. They are knitted with the hand-spun Corriedale yarn I showed a month or so back on the blog. The pattern is of my own making and I'm currently writing it down. Or to be more precise, it's currently being test-knit for me. More when the pattern is ready to be published.

Während des Umzugs habe ich mir extra eine recht einfache Anleitung ausgesucht, die man auch im größten Stress ohne viele Gehirnzellen einzusetzen stricken kann. Ein Featherweight Cardigan schien da genau richtig. Ich stricke ihn aus dem Origianl Garn, dem wunderbar weichen Malabrigo Lace. Das Jäckchen soll länger werden als von der Designerin vorgesehen, d.h. es sind noch viel mehr Reihen schmucklos glatt rechts zu stricken. Aber es macht trotzdem noch Spaß. Hier mal eine Detailaufnahme vom sehr schönen Garn in der Farbe "Pearl Ten".

While managing the moving adventure I totally needed a plain knitting pattern that would not require much brain or concentration. A Featherweight Cardigan seemed the perfect choice. I love my Whisper Cardigan/Shrug/Thingie and find that another very lightweight cardigan would really come in handy. I knitting this one out of the original yarn Malabrigo Lace. It's such a delight to handle and even though I'll knit even more plain stockinette than the designer intended (because I want my Featherweight considerably longer) it's still such a fun project. Here's a detail shot of the wonderful yarn in the "Pearl Ten" colorway.


 
Allerdings brauchte ich mal eine kleine Abwechslung von all dem glatt rechts Gestricke, und so wurde dieses kleine Tüchlein gestern fertig. Es ist nach langer Zeit das erste Strickprojekt aus handgesponnenem Garn und ich bin sehr begeistert. Ich werde mal mein Archiv abgrasen, ob sich noch mehr so nette Anleitungen für den Verbrauch einiger der Garne finden, die ich in den letzten Monaten von Hand gesponnen habe.

As much as I enjoy all this stockinette knitting I still needed a bit of a change. This little shawl/scarf pattern had been in my Ravely Queue for ages and it struck me as perfect for using up some of the hand-spun yarn that's been accumulating in my stash. I totally adore the finished project and am already thinking of other lace patterns that might work nicely in hand-spun.

 
Details

Pattern: Diamond Fantasy Shawl/Scarf by Sivia Harding
Yarn: hand-spun yarn from Pink Lady batts by Fiber Monster
Needles: 4.5 mm
Size: 140 cm wide, 70 cm from tip to neck

Bevor ich mich daran mache, 150 Umzugskartons zu füllen, hier noch ein paar Fotos meines letzte Woche fertig gewordenen Whisper Cardigans. Das Muster ist einfach umwerfend und besonders für klimatisierte oder leicht zugige Räume im Sommer ist dieses Teil sehr praktisch. Das Jäckchen ist ein Hauch von Nichts und lässt sich schnell noch in jede Tasche stopfen.

Before I start on filling up 150 moving boxes that are waiting in our staircase I'd like to share some pictures of the awesome Whisper cardi that I finished last week. It's a wonderful pattern that's perfect for air-conditioned or slightly drafty rooms in summer. It's so light you can throw it into your bag are prepared for everything.


 


 
Details

Pattern: Whisper Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, Interweave Knits, Spring 2009
Yarn: Touch Yarns Mohair/Merino 2 ply (900 m/100 g), 80 grams
Needles: 3.75 mm circ
Size: M
Modifications:

• elbow-length sleeves without flared shaping (cast on 76 sts.)


• 30 rounds of ribbing


• cast off 12 sts. less for collar to avoid body hitting armpits


• worked 3 more short rows to compensate for more body stitches


• after blocking body measures 32 cm from ribbing to hem

Während ich noch fleißig am Whisper Cardigan stricke und parallel dazu die letzten Reihen eines einfachen Raglan-Pullovers, an dieser Stelle mal wieder ein Paar Socken, die irgendwann in den letzten Wochen fertig geworden sind. Sie dienten lange als S-Bahn- und Bus-Projekt.

While I'm knitting away on my Whisper Cardi and at the same time try to finally finish a simple top-down raglan sweater I'll show you some sock pictures. This pair got done a couple of weeks ago. They were my public transport knitting for the longest time until I got really fed up with the pattern and finished them in one go.



Details
Pattern: Leyburn Socks by MintyFresh
Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit 100 Fun (420 m/50 g)
Needles: 2.75 mm circ
Size: EUR 42
Construction: figure-eight cast-on, toe-up, flap heel
Comments: They came out nice and I like the color play between the main stitches and the slipped yarn a lot. But these socks are REALLY DIFFICULT to get on. Even though I changed the heel to a regular flap heel for more room in the instep and knitted them on 2.75 mm needles instead of 2.5 mm the strands you carry in front kind of bind quite a lot. They fit perfectly when worn though.

Wenn man sich die letzten Einträge im Blog so anschaut, dann könnte man meinen, gestrickt wird im Hause Sooza gerade nicht mehr sonderlich viel. Das stimmt so allerdings gar nicht. Ich hatte einfach nur keine Zeit und Lust, Fotos von irgendwelchen schrumpeligen, halbfertigen Sachen zu veröffentlichen. Aber jetzt gibt es wieder was schönes zu sehen. Das letzte Wochenende mit den zahlreichen Rennsport-Übertragungen im Fernsehen war absolut ideal um endlich den letzten Teil meines Laminaria Shawls fertig zu stricken. Es hat viel Spaß gemacht, trotz oder vielleicht auch gerade wegen der teilweise echt verrückten Maschenmuster. Nicht so spaßig war des letzte Knäuel Wolle. Nach vier Knäulen ohne großartige Knoten oder Fehler waren in diesem fünften Knäuel dann bestimmt 5 Knoten drin und mindestens 3 dünne Stellen, an denen aus einem ansonsten dreifädigen Garn plötzlich ein zweifädiges wurde. Sehr ätzend. Die Farben des Garns gefallen mir gut und nach dem Waschen fühlt es sich auch ganz gut an, allerdings war ich froh, dass ich es nicht mehr stricken muss. Vielleicht lags an der Superwash-Ausrüstung aber mir war es zu glatt und es fühlte sich irgendwie zu künstlich an, obwohl es reine Wolle ist.

Ich war bis zum Schluss skeptisch, ob das selbstmusternde Garn so eine gute Idee war, da sich in dem schrumpeligen Etwas, das da von den Nadeln hing das Muster total verlor. Wie immer jedoch passierte nach dem Waschen beim Spannen das Wunder von der Raupe zum Schmetterling oder besser gesagt vom schrumpeligen Etwas in ein schönes, filigranes Tuch. Und die sanften Farbübergänge im Garn stören das Muster überhaupt nicht, sondern bringen die dreieckige Konstruktion des Tuches schön zur Geltung.



If you're looking through the last entries of this blog you might come to the conclusion that there's not much knitting going on right now around here. Well, that's not true actually. I just wasn't in the mood to post pictures of crumply, only half-finished things. But finally there is something nice to show again. Last weekend was perfect for knitting the final 1.5 charts of my Laminaria shawl while there were all these motor sports transmissions on tv. It was a fun project with all those funky stitch patterns and strange maneuvers. But the charts were clear and easy enough to follow. Only the yarn stopped being fun on the fifth skein. The first four balls were fine but in the last one I had to discover like five knots and two or three thin spots where an otherwise 3-ply yarn suddenly turned into a 2-ply. Not funny at all. The colors and the subtle color transitions are very pretty but I'm still glad this is done and over with. It feels fine after washing but it felt strange and artificial - even though it's pure wool - while knitting with it not to mention the slipperiness. Might be due to super-wash treatment or something.

All the way through this shawl I've been a bit skeptical about my choice in wool and whether the variegated yarn might possibly obscure the pattern too much or not. You couldn't really tell from the squishy, crumpled lump that's been hanging from the needles. But alas, the wonderful magic of proper blocking did its thing and I could witness another from caterpillar-to-butterfly transformation. The crumpled heap became a wonderful, filigree lace shawl. And the soft color transitions in the yarn don't disturb the pattern in the least but kind of accentuate the triangular construction of the shawl.


 

Details
Pattern: Laminaria by Elizabeth Freeman, Knitty.com Spring 2008, large version
Yarn: Jojoland Melody Superwash (100% wool, 200m/50g)
Needles: 4 mm
Size: came out 2 meters wide and 1 meter deep