Hello and Goodbye

Six years sure is a long time. Just see my second post on this blog about "loving to knit with cotton" - now? Not so much. Not at all, actually. I avoid knitting with it at pretty much any cost, although I still like it for crocheting and probably would for weaving (yes, a new interest has been awakened, but not yet consummated :)).

In fact after six years (and almost two years with no posts on this thing), I've decided to move to a new blog with a new blogging service and new name. Several reasons for that, although I suspect they’re not really of any interest to anybody but me.
For one, I've never liked the posting interface for Blogger which has caused many a delayed or scrapped post. For another, the name hasn't been true for a while. When I started this, the name was true. In Germany knitting was pretty much something that old ladies did - and only them. So Knitting in Granny Land seemed appropriate. Now the wave from North America has swapped over and it's not true anymore. There are so many great knitters, designers, dyers and authors from Germany out there that the name simply didn't work for my anymore.

To cut a long story short: You can know find me on Wordpress, where I'm going by Knitosphere. First new post is up and I'd love to see you there!

Finally fulfilling a dream …

… turning this mess …

… and these empty shelves …

… into this:

My very own knitting/spinning shelves. *happy sigh*

Dangerous thought of the day: Tidied up, it seems like I have less yarn than I thought I had.

April Roundup and May Resolutions

Let's see how I did with my first monthly resolutions in forever.

• Finish Knitted Woven Scarf

Yep. :) Although the tiny little braids for the fringe almost drove me insane.

Pattern Specs:
Name: Noro Plaid
Designer: Jessica Suzanne
Yarn: Schoppel Zauberball in rainbow and Wolle Rödel Siena in black 
Hook: 4mm
Yardage: 460 yards (1 skein) of Zauberball and 194 yards if Siena (1.3 skeins)   

• Knit Leftover Sockyarn Blanket as far as possible

Yep. I'm now waiting for me to finish more socks and have more leftovers.

• Block Laminaria

Nope. Problem is that I moved and put Laminaria somewhere, but I just can't remember where. *headdesk* And I'm not going diving into all the boxes that are still unpacked.

• Sockmadness round three and four

Yep. :) Finished both round 3 and 4 and am on to round 5. Don't know when that is going to start though and I'll probably not get on to round 6 since I'm starting work on Monday, which will seriously limit my knitting time.

Round 3 – GAMs

 

Pattern Specs:
Name: GAMs
Designer: Taya Schram
Yarn: Tausendschön Handdyed in Valentin 2010
Needles: 2.5mm
Yardage: 377 yards

 

 

 

 

Round 4 – Emma

Pattern Specs:
Name: Emma
Designer: Jenny Lee
Yarn: Online Supersocke 100 in 1184
Needles: 2.5mm and 3mm 
Yardage: not sure yet, since I ripped the feet back out after finished them for Sock Madness. They were slightly too tight, so I'm reknitting the feet.

 

 

 

 

May Goals

1. Round 5 and 6 of Sock Madness
2. Finish Emma
3. Finish my Rowanspun Scarf
4. Finish Beaded Lace Scarf

The Madness, Part IV

Like every year around March since 2007 Sock Madness is once again driving knitters into a competitive frenzy, trying to finish the next pair of socks to get one round further ahead. The system is simple: The signed up knitters get divided into groups, receive a new pattern and start knitting. Those who finish first go on into the next round. Of course, each round the number that advances gets smaller until in the end the winners from each group compete against each other. The years before this had taken place on the Sock Madness Blog, this year it's done exclusively through Ravelry.

I entered the first time for Sock Madness II and got to round five before giving up on the pair I was knitting (and frogging and reknitting and frogging and reknitting), last year I didn't have enough time around March/April/May since I was starting my thesis, but this year I can finally participate again! We're now in round 3 and I thought I'd do a little blog update before the new pattern is released some time tonight.

Round 1 – Simple Side to Side Socks by Deborah Swift, aka Mt. Mom

After the pattern already came out on March 9th or 10th, I only cast on on March 13th for this pair (we will not talk about the attempt made on the 12th in some yarn that really is much better off being turned into something else) and finished two days later. These are knit sideways with the foot and leg being knit in the flat, leaving a hole for the heel. After grafting the 80 (!) stitches together, you have to pick up the heel, toe and cuff stitches and knit those separately in the round. The finish to the cuffs is a tubular bind off. So, lots of kitchenering on these socks, but the result is well worth it. 
  
I had knit sideways socks before, mostly reinterpreting a Opal pattern to actually fit human feet, but there the heel and cuff were included in the flat knitting and only the toes added afterwards. Even though that is much less work, it also makes for a less stretchy cuff and a somewhat shallow heel. Knitting all three parts separately creates a comfortable sock (or so my Mum says, since I gave these to her) with a very unique look. 

Sock Specs: Name: Simple Side to Side Socks Designer: Deborah Swift, aka Mt. Mom Yarn: Regia Wellen Color in 07555 Needles: 2.5mm Yardage: about 354 yards Size: European size 39 (80st cast on)

Round 2 – Cool Beans by Heatherly Walker

My first completed pair of stranded socks! The knitting was surprisingly simple on this, mostly because I finally found the right way to hold the yarn in stranded knitting. I knit Continental and will probably never get the hang of the English style, so holding the strands in two different hands is right out. It just creates fabric with one yarn at the right tension and one waaaay too loose. I also tried holding both yarns on the left hand, but on different fingers, which just led to cramps, and holding both yarns over the same finger at the same time, which led to tangles. But I finally found something that worked well for me: the Clover Yarn Guide. I had tried using a knitting thimble before, but since that is closed at the top, I always had problems with my longer fingernails and it never sat properly on my finger. But this yarn guide is open at the top and flexible in the width, so I can put it on my finger right where I need it. The material doesn't catch the yarn and it's simple to keep the two strands apart, especially since I ended up winding them over different fingers. A very enjoyable knit and I finished them in two days, making me second or third in my group (which was the fastest last round).

What I especially enjoyed in this pattern were the attention to all the little details.

Sock Specs:
Name: Cool Beans 
Designer: Heatherly Walker
Yarn: Das Strickjulchen handpainted sock yarn in Holunder (elderberry) and Plymouth Sockotta in 367 
Needles: 3mm
Yardage: 202 yards of the Strickjulchen and 195 of the Sockotta 
Size: European size 41 (6 reps for leg, 7 for foot) 

Round 3 – ???

As I mentioned above round three knitting starts tonight (CET between 8pm and 2am) and all we have so far is a teaser picture of a somewhat lacey ribbed part of the socks and list of materials. The socks need a solid or semi-solid light yarn to make the pattern show up, so I'm a bit hard up for choices. Most of my yarn is handpainted and darkish, but I think the ones below are a definite possibility. Knowing myself, however, I will most likely completely change my mind once the pattern is released.

Top cake is Noro Kureyon Sock in S150, which is the one I'd like to use since it's been in my stash the longest of the four. Below that is Malabrigo Sock in Indiecita and to the right my pretty new stash additions from Tausendschön (their standard sock yarn in Valentin 2010 and Rostrottöne).

I'm really looking forward to this round since there is a slight rule change in that we don't have to adhere to the sizing in the pattern quite so strictly and can knit a bigger size if we want to. Definitely a plus for somebody like me, who always needs to add a few stitches in order to get fitting socks.

April Knitting Goals

Since the rest of my life has become less stressful (apart from the, you know, searching for a job I can pay my livelihood with and actually enjoy), I thought I'd introduce some small amount of stress through my knitting. In other words: my monthly knitting goals are returning. :)

1. Finish my Knitted Woven Scarf. The original scarf is made out of one skein of Noro, but I wanted it to be a bit longer, not to mention that I wanted to avoid the guessing on when to stop crocheting the dc mesh and start chaining the… chains. So the dc mesh in this is done in one skein of Schoppel Zauberball (colourway: rainbow) and then I used some black merino sport weight to make the chains. At first I was worried that the sport weight might overpower the much thinner Zauberball, but it actually makes for a nice firm fabric and the rainbow colours still come out beautifully. Finishing this shouldn't be a problem since I'm almost done with the chains and then only need to even out their lenghts and braid the fringe. For evening out the chains, I think I'll attack blocking wires to the end of the scarf, through the mesh *and* through the knots of the fringe and then pull at both ends to even everything out. The small black loops in the pic are parts of the chains I have 'in reserve', so to speak and even if I don't need all of that, I can simply pull the chains out to the right length and then start braiding from there.
2. Finish the yarn I already have for my leftover sockyarn rug. After several attempts at using up my leftover sockyarn, I have finally found something that seems to work. At first I tried crocheting various motifs, all from the centre outwards, and always had problems with curling. So now I'm knitting the Ten Stitch Blanket with two strands of sockyarn held together. I tried this with only holding the same yarn together, but in the end decided that the colour changes would be too ´jarring. So now, I'm using two different yarns at all times. The order of the yarns is chronologically, so that I can just continue knitting on this with any new leftovers I have until it's big enough. Resolution for April is to knit up the leftovers I already have and then see if the rug is big enough already.
3. Block Laminaria. My Laminaria has been knitted for at least three months, but I haven't even gotten around to taking a picture of the finished shawl or block it. At first I had the problem that I didn't have enough room to block a shawl, but now I do, so this is definitely on my list. The yarn I used is KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Tidepool.
4. Sock Madness round three, four and possibly five. I'm once again taking part in Sock Madness after skipping last year since I didn't have enough time. With the second round still going on (I have finished mine already, pictures soon) I'm not sure if we'll get to round five this month, but if 2008 was any indication the later rounds will be incredibly fast, so it's possible.

Stashing

I'm moving next week and probably won't have the chance anymore to visit a great yarnshop that's about an hour from here, but many, many hours from my new place. So, in celebration of finishing my last exam, I went on a little shopping trip yesterday. The store is Tausendschön in Saarbrücken, and I especially like it because the owner not only dyes her own yarn, but also has a very unusual selection for a German yarnshop. Usually you can easily find Schachenmayr, Opal, Austerman, Lang Yarns or Lana Grossa, but anything more adventurous and your have to order online. But at Tausendschön, you can also find a very nice selection of Noro, Schoppel, Colinette (!), Araucania and Kauni. None of the usual suspects (except Lang Yarns), but since I can get these anytime, I don't miss them. The shop assistant was very nice and the atmosphere in the shop is comfortable. In fact, the only negative point is that the shop is kind of long and only the front and back have good lighting. The middle is illuminated with strobe lights and they just don't give off enough light to properly see the colours. So a lot of walking back and forth is needed. ;)

I've been trying to widen my horizon in terms of colour choices in my yarn and take a plunge into some colours that I wouldn't normally choose, just to explore a bit more how different colours work together and change the palette of my stash a bit. So some of my selections at Tausendschön are a bit unusual for me.

 

Pretty, aren't they?

From left to right there is some Tausendschön Sockenwolle in Rostrottöne (rusty reds) and Valentin 2010. Next there is a Tausendschön cotton sock yarn in blue, purple and black. Next Noro Cashmere Flavor in a brown colourway with bits is rose and blue shot through and finally Colinette Jitterbug in the new colourway Phoenix.

Okay, I have to admit the Colinette and cotton sock yarn colourways are totally in my usual spectrum. But I usually don't by rusty reds or orange and he Valentin is a tick too bright to be in my comfort zone. I usually don't like brown at all, so the Noro is also very unusual for me. I have some plans for a small lace shawl for that and socks for the three Tausendschön yarns. Since I always think Jitterbug is too thick to be proper sock yarn, I'll probably be making a lacey scarf out of it.

All in all a very beautiful and successful day before I had to face packing today and cleaning tomorrow.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I can't even begin to explain everything that has happened in the last year in family terms as well as university-wise. But if everything went right with my last exam, I'm done with my degree and am currently job searching. Which means I finally have some time to devote to blogging.

So, where to start? Considering my last post was about my then recently planned foray into spinning, it might be good to start with that. It's official: I have yet another hobby. I'm still in the spindling stage, since I don't have money for a wheel yet, but the whole thing is very addictive. Problem is, of course, that now I'm not just buying yarn, but also producing yarn in ever increasing yardages since my spinning has gotten much thinner (progression from top left to bottom right).

All the info regarding fibre, etc. can be found on my Ravelry page. The first one is a super bulky and the last one a fingering weight. 74 yards per 100gr compared to 414. And for the last two I even changed from 2-ply to 3-ply. For my current project I'm aiming for a 3-ply lace weight.

This is some Merino roving on my homemade spindle. I simply put a donut bead on a chopstick and added a hook at the top to get a very lightweight spindle.

Ultimately, I want to ply this fuchsia colour with one in magenta and baby pink, but I'm still a far way off from getting that far. I just started with the first third of the fuchsia. I'm doing these in approximately thirds to keep the spindle lightweight even during the later parts, since I'm still not that good with spinning thinly (and especially evenly) when the spindle is very full. Since I'm plying with two others, ultimately I'll still get three 50gr skeins. Hopefully around 800-900 yards since I want to knit the Nefertiti Wrap out of it.

Preview for my next posts: current knitting projects, the insanity that is Sock Madness IV and the return of Knitting Goals

Round and Round...

In July 2006 I briefly mentioned that I had bought a drop spindle and was desperate to try spinning, but then I never mentioned it again. Mainly because my tries were an absolute disaster (mainly because I only had a small instruction leaflet and it didn't occur to me to look online). I quickly stuffed the spindle and roving into a bag in the attic in my parent's house and tried not to think about it again.

Being part of the knitting community (however, peripherally) makes that very difficult. It's impossible to not hear about handspun yarn or spinning on the various blogs I read and podcasts I listen to.

Then last summer I went to a small craft's fair an tried out spinning at a wheel. I couldn't do it, of course, but it was still such fun. And the spinner who owned the wheel actually said I wasn't doing too bad for my first time (despite the completely overtwisted mess I produced), so the idea has been sitting in my mind for a while. I started researching courses to learn spinning. And realised they are absolutely impossible to find where I live.

Today I had an epiphany. I taught myself how to knit from a book, why not teach myself how to spin from one? With a handspindle. I don't have room (or money) for a spinning wheel anyway. Yeah, I know big revelation that I could've already had three years ago. ;)

I just ordered Start Spinning by Maggie Casey from Amazon and some different rovings from Das Wollschaf, as well as a top-whorl spindle. The one I bought years ago is bottom-whorl and I didn't even understand the concept of how that is supposed to work and the roving that came with it was pretty rough, so now I have two different spindles and several different rovings to try this again. All of this is getting delivered to my parents' house where I'll be spending Easter, so I should have will have time to try it then. :)

Spotlight: Elann Incense

I've been contributing swatches to the Walker Treasury Project for a couple of months now and in my first enthusiasm even ordered a few single skeins from Elann that I'd been meaning to try for a long time, but never really had any idea what to make out of them. The WTP gave me the perfect excuse to go and buy those in colours I wouldn't normally buy and simply swatch.

If you haven't heard of the WTP yet; it's basically a project to swatch all the stitch patterns from Barabara Walker's Treasuries in modern yarn and post colour pictures of them. The pictures in the books are all black and white and pretty small, so it's fascinating to see them in bigger pictures. There are pretty detailed rules about how to post the pictures, so that the blog is an easy to use and useful resource for knitters, but everybody is welcome to contribute.

Anyway, since I'm now trying out all these new-to-me yarns, I thought it'd be a good idea to keep a log of what knitting with them was like, so I'd also have a resource to go back to when I go searching for a yarn.


09 - Persian Violet

Specs
Yarn: Elann Incense
Fibre Content: 50% Wool/ 25% Silk/ 25% Bamboo
Gauge: 19 st/4 inches 4.5 mm (US 7)
Weight: Worsted
Yardage: 105 m (114 yards)
Size: 50g (1.75 oz) ball
Price: $3.98 USD

First Impression
Doesn't look or feel that much different to normal wool. Slightly shinier. Very crisp. Next to skin soft.

Knitting
This is were the beauty of the yarn really comes out. Great stitch definition. The wool mixed in with the silk and bamboo makes this very easy to knit with and I had no problems at all with hurting hands as I sometimes have with the less elastic yarns.

In my second swatch (German Herringbone Rib), the limits of this elasticity became aparent, however. I had some problems with the make ones since the running thread didn't have enough give to make this an easy stitch. On the other hand, it made sure that the make ones before the knits were completely invisble, and even those before the purls disappeared in the reverse stockinette. So maybe not the right yarn for patterns with lots of stitch manipulations beyond the basic increases and decreases.

At the same time the yarn is very strong. I tried pulling it apart at the end of the swatch and couldn't; I had to cut it. My first impression of it seeming just like regular wool is reflected in the way it behaves while knitting. But at the same time it has something more. The resulting fabric (before blocking) is slightly slinky, with very even stitches and a slight sheen that gives the yarn a lot of depth.

One small negative point is that I had several instances where bits of unspun yarn (sometimes of different colours) clung to the yarn. But they could be removed pretty easily and without damaging the yarn at all.

Swatches

Flame Chevron


German Herringbone Rib

Knitted Up
Stitch definition stays crsip after blocking. Also blocks well, no pilling so far. Very drapey, but doesn't seem like it would stretch over time. Light. Works for lace and textured patterns. I bet cables would look great in this yarn.
Potential pattern for me in this yarn: Bonsai Tunic

Knitability Factor

Et Voilà!

No, don't worry, I won't start writing in French (that would turn into a massacre of the language...), just need to impart my sense of accomplishment. :) The Crochet Flower Scarf is done! And it's preeeetty!







Crochet out of three skeins of Schachenmayr Catania (a mecerized cotton), just over 400 yards of yarn. I'm very happy to have another crochet project to add to my FOs. I don't really find as many crochet patterns I like as I find knitting patterns, but I do like to crochet, so a successful project is extra special to me.

But now that spring is here, my prediction from last time happened, of course, and I feel absolutely no desire to knit my two other scarves. That didn't keep me from starting a new one, of course. :) And two more pairs of socks.



Those are the Swirl Socks by Sulala and I'm knitting them in some Shelridge Farm Ultra. This is my first time knitting with Sheldrige and I'm enjoying knitting with it. It's a great, soft yarn and goes very quickly since I can knit these on 2.75mm needles. :)

Actually, I went a bit crazy when I bought the Shelridge since it was 30% off. My first order was only 4 skeins (for 2 pairs of socks), and when it arrived I immediately ordered 4 more skeins because it was so soft and the sale was only going on for a few more days. Can't go wrong with the kind of discount, even though I had never knit with the yarn at that point. And I don't regret the purchases in the slightest.

The second new pair is from a yarn I've had in my stash for a long time; my Unique Sheep Verve. I'm usually not big on semi-solids (though I am starting to like them more and more), but this pattern needed something a little tamer than my usualy sock yarn. :)


Magic Mirror Socks by Jeannie Cartmel. The first one is done, but I still need to find the motivation to start the second. The charts are really great because they are given for three different sizes, but the socks do require a bit more attention, since they are asymmetrical and involve lots of twisted ribbing.

Outrunning Spring

After years of not being a scarf-person at all, I suddenly started wearing a lot of scarves at the beginning of winter. It mostly has to do with the fact that I don't have a car and public transport to the grocery store is shitty, so I've been cycling there. You need a scarf then. And now I'm suddenly working on five at the same time.

Then today I noticed the next scary thing: spring is just around the corner. Birds are chirping, the ice from the lake in the park I live next to melted, there are buds on a bush I walked by and today I saw the first crocuses. I'm guessing as soon as it gets warmer, my desire to knit scarves will drop to zero, so I plan on finishing 3 of them this month.

The other two either don't have to be finished for a long time (my best friend's birthday in December) or are on hiatus (didn't like the pattern/yarn/needle combo and need to rethink things), so three it is. Two of them are warm scarves, so they definitely need to be finished, the other one is crochet, so that one isn't quite as urgent.



The top two are actually the same pattern, the Berlin Scarf by The Purl Bee, a basic brioche pattern, just in very different yarns. On the right it's in Rowan Tapestry and on the left in a mix of Austermann Defilè and a novelty yarn I received as a gift. I absolutely adore the brioche pattern, don't know why I always thought it'd be too difficult. It's just the same simple row repeated over and over again, but without getting boring for me. This incredibly stretchy pattern just emerges and I can imagine so well how fluffy and cozy the scarves are going to be. Which is why they need to be finished before it gets warmer.

The one on the bottom is a flower crochet scarf by Drops Design. From time to time I just get the urge to crochet and this pattern goes incredibly fast. The neatness of the clover leaves (even though you couldn't tell from the picture where they are all scrunched up) just make me want to block this now, right now, so it will be easier to appreciate it. Since it is a cotton yarn and is crochet, it won't be a scarf for warmth and speed is not as essential as with the other two, but what is the only thing I feel like making, of course? Right. :)

Catch Up

I've been trying to get my life back under control since New Year's. My family life has calmed down and I'm finally back on track with my degree, so I'll try to also get this blog back up and running.

So, quick rundown of the last... gosh, has it really been 5 months?

First of all, my biggest accomplishments, especially stash-wise: three blankets.

Finally, finally my Log Cabin Blanket	Actually managed to use up most of my left-over sock yarn in a crochet afghan
~280,000 stitches, ~6,000 yards of yarn, 1.5 years to finish	~4,700 yards, less than a month to finish
Hemlock Ring Blanket, which I still have to block properly, I just don't have enough space here
less than 1,000 yards, a month to finish

For winter I needed a warm set of accessories. Five things made out of four skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Azul Profundo. Very useful when I have to go grocery shopping on my bike.

Coronet Headband	Evangeline Fingerless Gloves
Simple ribbed gloves	Here and There Cables
Calorimetry

At first I only wanted to have cabled things in this set, but then the ribbed gloves were the most sensible thing to knit and the Calorimetry followed since I still had enough yarn. I really like that all of those match in colour, if not in pattern and they have been really useful. Especially the scarf is incredibly warm (even though I left out one repeat) and the Calorimetry has been getting *a lot* of use.

I've also knit four pairs of socks, but since I can't show my favourite pair yet (it was a test knit for Sock Madness), I'll just skip those here. One thing I want to show, however, is my French Market Bag. I have been meaning to knit this since I saw the pattern in Knitty and finally realised that my New Lanark Aran would be perfect for this. The bag has now become my to-knit-soon yarn bag.



If you'd like to have more information on the projects I mentioned here, or would like to see what else I have knit, I did keep up with my Ravelry page despite my hiatus here.