Sooza's Knitting Stuff

 
Here's a knitted FO from back in October that went to a friend as a gift. Ishbel by Isolda Teague is one of rare patterns I've knitted more than once. And since the results are always so nice I'll probably do it again. I'm thinking Wollmeise this time. Project details on Ravelry.

 
People have been asking for this pattern ever since I've knitted the first version. Fitting the motifs into a bottom up shawl does require quite a bit of math, calculating and tinkering so it's taken me a while to work out the charts and the stitch counts. Motivated by the success of the scarf pattern I sat down and finally got it done.


 
The instructions and chart for the triangular shawl are now part of the already published Hearts in Estonia pattern. The pattern has an additional 3 pages now. I've updated the pattern information on Ravelry and raised the copy price a bit to reflect the additional amount of work that's gone into creating this combined pattern. Everyone who's already purchased the scarf pattern has been notified and automatically gets the expanded pattern for free.


 
Details

Yarn: 600 meters of laceweight yarn. Prototypes were worked in Filcolana New Zealand Lammeuld (600 meters/100 grams) and Zitron filigran Lace No.1 (600 meters/100 grams). Even though they’ve got the same yardage they are as different as day and night. Filcolana is a lofty, wooly, Shetland type of yarn that works up into an open but still very substancial fabric even on 4 mm needles. Zitron Filigran is a dense, smooth and very inelastic singles yarn that creates a much more open and ethereal fabric even on the smaller 3.75 mm needles. Personally I really didn’t care much for working with this yarn but after blocking it turned out nice and it seems to hold the shape well. In the finer Zitron yarn I was able to work 7-sts nupps and still ended up with a few grams of leftovers. While with the Filcolana I stuck to 5-sts nupps and made the cast-off with just a couple of meters to spare.

Needles: 3.75 to 4 mm or size to achieve desired gauge

Size: 160 to 170 cm wide, about 70 cm deep

 
Originally this has only been an improvised design. I wanted to knit a wee little scarf with lots of lace, bobbles and color that would make use of one skein of sock yarn. It's basically a different interpretation of my Hearts in Estonia Shawl I blogged about back in April 2010. I took my inspiration from Nancy Bush's book 'Knitted Lace of Estonia'. After showing the pictures on Ravelry a lot of people asked about a pattern so I decided to invest the time and write it down and put it in a nice layout. The scarf pattern is available in the Ravelry pattern store for your knitting pleasure now. And I'm currently also working on the shawl pattern right now and I'm hoping to have it available soon.


 
The scarf is worked in two directions. It starts with an edging and a border sequence which are then put on hold. Next the edging and border sequence are worked a second time followed by the body part of the scarf for as long as you want your scarf to be. In the end both parts are grafted together. This way you not only have matching mirror images of the border but can also make the most out of your yarn.


 
Details

Yarn: 420 to 500 meters of light fingering to fingering weight yarn

Needles: 4 mm or size for desired gauge

Size: 145 cm x 28 cm. The pattern contains tips on how to modify the pattern to make a wider or longer

Techniques needed:

• making nupps Estonian style
  
• grafting two pieces of knitting together in stockinette stitch
  
• reading charts for lace knitting
  

 
This shawl pattern had caught my eye the first time I browsed through Meg Swansen's magnificent book "A Gathering of Lace" back in 2001 when the book first appeared. It's simple but at the same time stunning and beautiful. It's knitted in Icelandic lace-weight yarn which is a very special thing. Back in May in finally managed to procure the yarn and cast on.


 
This yarn is a stark contrast to everything we're used to today. It's not soft. It's plain, rustic wool and no fancy blend neither. It's a rustic singles yarn that feels pretty harsh when you're knitting with it. But when you wash it it develops this beautiful halo and the harsh yarn turns into a drapey fabric that holds its shape wonderfully. It's still not soft by a long shot. But it fluffy and warm and all wool.


 
This project has been my companion throughout spring and summer. The pattern is easily memorized and the round construction makes for very compact travel-friendly knitting. The rounds got really long in the end there and it took some real effort to finish it before August turned into September.


 
As always blocking worked its usual magic and turned a somewhat rumply and ugly duckling into a beautiful swan, or shawl as the case may be.


 
Details
Pattern: Super-Spiral Shawl by Meg Swansen (Ravelry link), A Gathering of Lace
Yarn: Ístex Loðband Einband / Icelandic Laceweight (50 g/225 m, 4.5 skeins), color: 9044 lavender
Needles: 4.5 mm
Size: 150 cm in diameter

* from the lyrics of 'Wake me up when September ends' by Green Day

After a short but very hot summer it already feels very much like autumn in our neck of the woods right now. Although the sun is still shining brightly in a brilliantly blue sky it's already pretty nippy in the shadows and the nights are getting quite cool. The days are getting noticeably shorter, too. Now starts this magical time of year when most knitters turn back to their needles and tackle old unfinished knitting projects and start planning new projects with renewed energy. Finally the hot days that turned even the lovliest linen yarn into a sticky, icky affair that is best left in the knitting basket are over. And I couldn't quite believe my eyes when I saw the supermarket already had all those yummy Christmas sweets stocked. Jeesh, time's flying. Let's have a look back then at some of my summer knits.

Clothilde


 
This is a wonderful little shawl that works wonderful with slightly variegated or semi-solid yarns. It was so much fun to work up this quick small shawl. The dovetail lace pattern is entertaining and just when you might start to be bored the lace edging starts. And if you want to you can knit this in ANY yarn and to ANY size. Perfect.



 
Pattern: Clothilde by Kristen Hanley Cardozo
Yarn: Saffron Dyeworks Wasabi Sock, Butterfly Bush (100% Merino 365 m/100 g)
Needle: 4 mm

There's been more lace shawl knitting this summer but I'll put this in a post of its own since it turned out downright spectacular.

Linen Dress


 
This one is an improvised design. It's a basic top down raglan construction with an equal number of stitches for front, back and arms to create shoulder straps instead of sleeves. The gauge is very open and see through since the yarn is a very skinny weaving yarn. Even though this is a summer knit I'm hoping this will make a nice layering piece with long-sleeved shirts all winter long.


 
Yarn: Bockens Lingarn 16/2, lavender (690 m/125 g)
Needle: 2.75 mm

The Skirt

I've never knitted a skirt before. I always REFUSED to knit a skirt because I wasn't conviced it would wear all the well. The usually look very flattering on skinny models posing for a magazine but I'm by no means a skinny person and I just couldn't imagine a wool skirt looking good after a day of sitting around in an office chair for a day. But then I saw this wonderful swingy summer skirt on Ravelry. I could instantly imagine wearing something like this. So off I went to buy some sturdy DK weight linen/cotton yarn to to purchase the download pattern.

The beginning with casting on over 400 sts was pretty strenuous. They hardly fit on my 80 cm Addi Turbo needle. But things got easier and faster with every decrease row. The construction is very clever and typical of Nora Gaughan. The pattern itself isn't very clear written and could have been explained easier, imp. But after some extreme knitting the skirt was done in under 3 weeks. And I love it!


 
Pattern: #12 Skirt by Nora Gaughan, Knit.1 Spring/Summer 2008, also available at Vogue Knitting Online Store
Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Cotton Linen, black (78%/22% Cotton/Linen100 m/50 g), 12 skeins
Needle: 4 mm

Fluttery Linen Top


 
This linen top was also a spur of the moment thing. I'd seen some very nice projects in this pretty linen yarn and when I found this yarn in a store I had to take two skeins with me. Now what to do with 520 meters of dk weight linen yarn?! Then I found this top in my Ravelry queue and off I went. Knitting with Karen Noe Linea has been a real pleasure. And the mindles stockinette in the round provided good carn and on the road knitting.


 
Pattern: Rosa's Sleeveless Cardi -Jumper by Emma Fassio
Yarn: Karen Noe Design Linea Hør (75%/25% Linen/Cotton 260 m/100 g), 2 skeins
Needle: 6 mm

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

 
Spring has really arrived in our neck in the woods and I am mighty glad for it. It's so lovely to see all those trees in full bloom and the hyacinths, tulips, daffodils and not to forget those pesky dandelions, which are a pain in the neck. Our little vegetable patch seems to do nicely, too. The salad peeks out and we'll hopefully complain about way too many radishes some time in near future.
 

 
Besides spring feeling there is still lots of knitting going on in the house of Sooza. The latest finished shawl I'm mightily proud of. I took the basic construction of Miralda's Triangular Shawl and added in different patterns. The pretty hearts edging is from Nancy Bush's Greta Garbo Shawl which is pictured on page 2 of my copy of "Knitted Lace of Estonia". Unfortunately the shawl pattern isn't included in the book due to space restrictions or something. So I took the photograph and charted the edging by examining it closely. Initially I wanted to fill the inner part of the shawl with the star pattern only. But somehow the Greta Garbo pattern stitch wouldn't leave me alone. So I gave in and took the basic Greta Garbo pattern stitch from Bush's book and incorporated it in the shawl.
 

 
Knitting this shawl has been tremendous fun and a great knitting adventure. Should I ever find the time I actually plan on publishing this pattern. There's been lots of requests on Ravelry. If it just wouldn't be quite as time consuming to make the charts, check the numbers, write some halfway readable instructions and put it all into a nice layout.
 

 
This has been the second time I've worked with this particular yarn and I absolutely love it. It's so different from the over-processed stuff that you can buy in your run of the mill local yarn shop. It has body and loft and blocks so nicely. And the best thing is, the un-dyed heather grey is much, much softer then the dyed yarn I've used for Miralda. Both shawls used only one skein of this light fingering weight yarn. IMO, this is the most fun you can't get out of a measely EUR 6.95.
 

 
Details
Yarn: 1 skein of Filcolana New Zealand Lammeuld, 600 m/100 g, light grey heather
Needles: 4mm
Size: 170 cm wide, 70 cm deep
Pattern: Inspired by Nancy Bush's Greta Garbo Shawl. Construction similar to Miralda's Triangular Shawl. Star pattern for shawl body from Laminaria shawl.
 
More details on the Ravelry project page.

 
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

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:


 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 
I just found this picture on my hard disk of me actually wearing my Lacy Cables Knee Socks. Thought I share it with you because otherwise I might forget, what with the whole moving thing going on.

 
Neuzugänge in meinem Wollvorrat, die ebenfalls diese Woche eingetroffen sind - mehr Lacegarn und noch ein wenig Sockenwolle. Von beidem kann man eigentlich nicht genug haben. Die Knitpicks Garne habe ich bei Die Wolllust bestellt. Das Sockengarn kommt direkt von Claudia von der Dornröschenwolle.


 
Here are some new additions to my yarn stash that also got here this past week. It's some more lace yarn and a couple of sock yarn skeins. You can't ever have enough of either, in my opinion. The KnitPicks yarns were ordered at Die Wolllust and the sock is hand-dyed by Claudia at Dornröschenwolle.

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

Sie sind hoch gefragt und mittlerweile nur noch sehr schwer zu bekommen, die Spitzenmuster-Anleitungen von Altmeister Herbert Niebling. Auf eBay erziehlen einzelne Anleitungen schon mal astronomische Summen. Einige der Rechte des alten Beyer Verlages, der die Muster eröffentlicht hat, liegen heute beim Verlag für die Frau in Leipzig. Vor einiger Zeit legte der Verlag bereits einmal Nachdrucke von Kunststrickmustern auf, die auch Modelle von Herbert Niebling enthielten. Die Mappen sind mittlerweile vergriffen. Zahlreiche Nachfragen aus der Strick-Community, auch aus dem fernen Amerika, bezüglich weiteren Nachdrucken von Niebling Mustern wurden lange Zeit nur sehr vage beantwortet. Aber mittlerweile ist wohl auch beim Verlag für die Frau angekommen, welche unglaublichen Schätze dort in den Archiven liegen. Im Mai diesen Jahres sind nun zwei neue Mappen mit Nachdrucken erschienen, dieses mal ausschließlich mit Niebling-Modellen. Die Nachdrucke mit dem Titel "Spitzenstrickerei" enthalten interessanterweise fast ausschließlich Muster, bei denen Spitzen an Stoffe angearbeitet werden. Es handelt sich also nicht um die weithin bekannten klassischen Deckchen und Decken. Ich kann nicht verhehlen, dass mich dies zunächst enttäuscht hat. Bei näherer Betrachtung sind die Modelle jedoch wirklich interessant und außergewöhnlich. Ein großer Dank an dieser Stelle an den Verlag, für den Nachdruck dieser alten Musterblätter.

Master lace knitting designer Herbert Niebling has been dead for half century by but his patterns are still - or maybe again - high in demand. Alas they are hard to obtain nowadays. It happens that a particularly rare pattern fetches astronomical prices on ebay. Some of the copyright for the old patterns lie with Verlag für die Frau who is succesor to the old Beyer Verlag who originally published Niebling's patterns. A few years back two reprints of old lace patterns were published that contained a few Niebling patterns. The folders have been long out of print by now. Lots of requests from all over the world went to the publisher for more lace pattern reprints but for a long time these were either answered only in a very vague fashion or in the negative. Alas, they seem to finally have seen reason. Back in May 2009 Verlag für die Frau published two new reprint folders, with Niebling patterns exclusively this time. What's interesting is that the patterns are not your standard doilies or tableclothes but mostly lace added to or inserted into fabric. I have to admit to a certain dissapointment when I discovered this but on second thought, there's really interesting stuff in there. Different and remarkable. Big thanks to the publishing house for giving these patterns a second chance.

Reprints from Verlag für die Frau:

• Niebling, Herbert: Spitzenstrickerei 1: Historische Muster, Verlag für die Frau, Leipzig, 2009


• Niebling, Herbert: Spitzenstrickerei 2: Historische Muster, Verlag für die Frau, Leipzig, 2009


• Schwetter, Berta (Hrsg.): Kunststricken: Große und kleine Decken, Verlag für die Frau, Leipzig, 2004 (currently out of print)


• Kunststricken. Decken, Garnituren, Spitzen, Verlag für die Frau, Leipzig, 2001 (currently out of print)