Conscious Knitting

I have not bought any yarn this year. 9 months without a single new hank of yarn. And what is even more surprising: I'm enjoying every second of it. I going to continue till the end of this year (as originally planned) and far beyond, until I can't knit anything interesting from the remaining stash.

9 months ago, I had 15 kg of yarn, I did not fully realised what I had, and I did not like the half of it. Now, I have approximately 10 kg of yarn, I have several forthcoming projects in my mind and I have used a lot of yarn that I wouldn't have knitted otherwise. This doesn't mean that I've knitted 5 kg of yarn this year. I gave at least 2 kgs to a local elementary school for their crafts project.

During this time, I have visited many yarn shops, both LYSs and others. I have spent hours in knitting in one local shop. I love to fiddle with those wonderful colours and feel the softness of new yarn, but I do not feel tempted to buy any.

Another challenge that I have put to myself is that I have to knit something wearable for myself. I've been knitting for almost 30 years now, but I still don't have any good-looking, self-knitted cardigans, pullovers or vests to wear at work. Currently, I'm knitting a cardigan and a pullover at the same time (that's another mistake: always focus only on one project at the time!), and I still have at least two sets of yarn for cardigans. Still, my next project will be Revontuli, the Finnish classic made of Estonian wool.

Buying yarn seems to be the only area of life that I have a good self-control. But, as my dear friend said: as long as you have sweets at home, you don't need to buy any.

Things that made my day:

• Cleaned house
• Home-made dinner
• Sunny and exceptionally warm weekend

Semele

Two scarfs in a row: Spriteling and Semele.

Semele is a beautifiul design by Åsa Tricosa! It is knitted sideways in one piece, and it is long and quite narrow. The pattern is very well charted, although so difficult that I had to follow the chart all the way till the last stitch! But the result is so nice and wearable!

Next, something totally different! (Well, not that fancy, just socks. But at least not lace scarfs...)

Things that have made me happy:

• Two weekends in our summer cottage. The first with dear friends, the second with the dearest family.
• Trees that are greener than green!
• Our first own geocache was published yesterday!

Spriteling

Spriteling KAL is finished!

This was my first KAL, and I really did not know what to expect. At the beginning, you just don't know what the final project will be like. Along the way, I learned to love the pattern more and more. Especially the last clue and the bind-off edge are beautiful!

In general, triangle scarfs are not my favourites, but this I've alreary worn once at work. It is a bit too small for me, but light and delicate!

Things that have made me happy:

• Summer is finally here!
• Weekend full of laughter and knitting with dear friends
• My dearest at home!

Spriteling, clue1

I finished the first part of the Spriteling KAL. Along the way, I missed a few YOs, but I think I got most of them right. I used 5 mm needles, so the holes might be bigger than they should be. In the beginning, I had 105g of yarn, and after finishing the swatch and the clue1 I have 76g. I don't fully get the idea of the centre panel, but the sides and the edge are beautiful!

It's interesting to see where the remaining two clues take me, and what shape the shawl will take!
Things that have made me happy today:

• Long-waited warm spring weather
• New plants and pots in the living-room

A knitter in New York

Since last November we had been planning a holiday trip to Japan.We aimed at cherry blossoming season, and booked flights and hotel rooms in good time. Then came the Big Quake and the Big Wave and changed all our plans. We got an opportunity to change our flights to any other destination (Thanks to Finnair!), and we chose New York. And off we went!

What comes to knitting, I traveled light: I had no needles nor yarn with me, I did not search any local yarn shops in advance, and I did not buy any yarn. Still, I made some notions of New York as a knitter.

Firstly, I was impressed of the variety of knitting books in local book stores. We visited Barns & Noble in Columbus Circle and some other stores as well, and they all have meters of fancy knitting books, some of which were familiar to me, some of which were new. After considering my luggage space, I bought two knitting books: Super Stiches Knitting by Karen Hemingway and Knitting Brioche by Nancy Marchant.

Secondly, we went to see Wicked, the new and very popular Broadway musical in Gershwin theatre. I loved the show: the fabulous actors, fantastic songs, impressive settings and everything about it! Costumes were designed by Susan Hilferty, and we saw beautiful dresses, miraculous fantasy suits and classical school uniforms. Curiously, all the most weird characters and not-so-popular pupils at school wore a crocheted hat! I was only wondering why, and what does this little detail tell about knitting and crocheting...

Thirdly, long rubber boots were very popular in Broadway. Classy ladies wore them even when there were no signs of rain. Maybe long rubber boots will become a hot fashion trend? Start wearing yours right now and be ahead of your time!

Swatching Spriteling!

First clues for Spriteling arrived on last week, and now I have completed the swatch.

Since I've decided not to buy any new yarn this year, I went to my stash and searched for a proper yarn for this. This asks for 400 meters of fingering yarn, and I use Dazzle HT Sock by The Natural Dye Studio.

The pattern is well written and charted. I made a lot of mistakes in knitting the swatch, but I think I noticed all of them in time. Yet, I'm not sure if I love this lace pattern or not. It reminds me of the spider's web in I do: it's difficult to see what the pattern presents. But, let's see how this project proceeds and how this swatch pattern is used in the shawl. Can't wait the next clue to come!

Things that have made my week:

• A feverish cold
• Spring sun that melts snow

Pray for Japan

Angels, please spread your wings over Japan!

My crafty roots

If you grow up surrounded by yarn, carpet rag, needles and weaving accessories, what else can you become than a knitter? I visited my birth home where my mum still lives, knitting and weaving. And where my grandma used to live, knitting and weaving. 

My grandma taught me to crochet when I was 5 or 6 years old. I only learned to knit at school. I still remember how sweaty my hands were, how tight my gauge was, how ugly colours I had, and how awful projects I made. Considering that, it's a miracle that I still knit.

My grandma Elsa and her neighbour Aale were knitting buddies. During the Second World War, they took care of the farms, kids and animals and knitted socks for their husbands at frontline. After that, they still had to knit to keep their families warm. But at the 1970's, they probably knitted and wove only for fun. If Raverly would have existed then, they would have been first to join!

Things that have enlightened my week:

• Week of winter holiday
• Skiing and sledging with my mum and daughter
• Bright spring sun

Spring, spring, spring-a-ling!

My outdoor thermometer seems to be stuck. It has shown 20 degrees Celcius below zero for ages now. The four seasons are ok, but I've had enough of this winter now!

The only thing I can do is to bring the spring in. Twenty tulips shine like little suns!

I joined Soctopus's Spriteling Mystery Shawl KAL. This is the first "official" KAL for me, and I can't wait for the first instructions and knitting clues.

Things that have enlightened my day:

• A happy 11-year-old girl
• A handy 42-year-old man

Inspiring workspace

In our office, the nearest meeting room to my desk once was a laboratory. Various product tests were conducted in that room. During the last ten years, the room was filled with gray metallic shelfs, old books that nobody read, broken chairs and forgotten tables. And in the middle of everything was our most used meeting table. The room was everything but inviting and inspiring. Still, we spent a lot of valuable worktime there, but nobody brought customers to a meeting there if there was any other room free.

Then, one of us (that is me) got bored of it, and simply ask: Is there anything we can do to this room? And voilá, miracles happen! First came removers, then a carpenter, a painter, cleaners, designers and electricians, but no supervisers who would have said what is allowed and what is not. And today, the makeover is finished. I'm so sorry that I did not took any 'before' pictures, but here's how it looked 'after'.

In the one end of the room, we have a big and tall table with fun and colourful chairs:

In the other end, we have a cozy group of comfortable chairs, a sofa and a rocking chair. And a big screen and a design lamp to inspire us:

For some reason, this layout encourages people to move: in every meeting, someone starts to walk around the room, stands up or changes places. That must only be a good thing! Anyway, this is soooo much better  now than before!

Things that have enlightened me this week:

• My birthday
• A surprising call with a surprising message from a surprising person
• The spring sun, brighter than a bright!

Rovaniemi Mittens

Tämän neulevuoden ensimmäinen projekti on valmis: Rovaniemi-lapaset, eli ohje nro 89 Eeva Haaviston kirjasta Sata kansanomaista kuviokudinmallia. Kirjan ohjeille omistettu blogi löytyy täältä.

Lopputulos on varsin kaunis, vaikka työssä olikin monta mutkaa matkassa. Ohjekaavio ei ollut täysin yksiselitteinen, ja esim. ensimmäistä kuvioriviä ei käytännössä voinut neuloa niin kuin se oli piirretty, vaan siihen oli itse kopioitava vastaava rivi ylempää mallista. Itse tarvitsisin ehdottomasti peukalokiilan, mutta en kämmenpuolen mallineuleeseen ruvennut sitä säätämään. Lisäksi mallineule oli ihan liian pitkä ja siisti lyhentäminen oli haastavaa. Onnistui nyt jotenkin, vaikka vähän harmittaa, että kämmenselän kuvio ei nyt ole pituussuunnassa symmetrinen.

Viimeinen harmitus johtui ihan vaan omasta mokasta: olin juuri saanut lapaset neulottua ja pari oli päättelyä vaille valmis, kun heitin parin tyytyväisenä sohvapöydälle, vain huomatakseni, että olin juuri neulonut kaksi oikean käden lapasta. Kun lapsi ei suostunut siirtämään toista peukaloaan toiselle puolelle kämmentä, päädyin miettimään muita vaihtoehtoja: 1) neulo 2 vasemman käden lapasta samalla mallilla, 2) neulo 1 vasemman käden lapanen ja heitä yksi turha roskiin, 3) pura toinen lapanen ylhäältä peukkuun asti ja neulo uudestaan, 4) heitä molemmat roskiin, 5) yritä purkaa toinen peukalo ja yksi rivi kämmenpuolelta siististi, neulo vanha peukaloaukko umpeen ja neulo uusi peukalo vasemmalle. Valitsin vaihtoehdon 5. Kämmenpuolen mallineule on varsin pienipiirteistä, ja siihen jäi näkyvä sauma, mutta selvisin kuitenkin suhteellisen vähin vaurioin varsin lapsellisesta mokasta. Lienee turha edes sanoa, että alla olevassa kuvassa se arpinen lapanen on kämmenpuoli alaspäin :)

Minua ovat tänään ilahduttaneet:

• Pitkät yöunet
• 3 tuntia neulontaa hauskassa seurassa
• Kepeä suomalainen komedia
• Kohta kotiin saapuva perhe!

Knitting year 2011

Tein ison päätöksen neulevuodelle 2011: En osta koko vuonna uutta lankaa. Tavoitteena on sen sijaa neuloa varastoa alas. Keväinen Japanin matka on tälle haasteelle varmasti suurin koetuskivi. Varastossa on langat ainakin seuraaviin projekteihin:

• 2 paitaa itselle (Maija + Alpakka)
• Villatakki itselle (Kerry Woollen Mills)
• 3 paitaa tai takkia Merille
• 6 paria sukkia, vähintään
• 1 WM, josta en tiedä mitä tehdä
• 7 huivia
• 1 kauluri-pipo -setti
• Langat useampiin muihin sukkiin, lapasiin ja pipoihin

Lankavaraston koko on lakon alkaessa 15,0 kg. Eri lankamerkkejä oli 55 erilaista, ja tyypillisesti yhtä laatua on 100 g. Keskeneräisiä töitä on 2. Lakon tavoitteena on siis pienentää tätä varastoa. Osatavoitteena 1 on neuloa pois tyhmiä lankoja, eli parantaa varaston laatua. Osatavoitteena 2 on ensinkin mahduttaa langat paremmin nykyisiin laatikoihinsa ja kaappiinsa ja järjestää ne yksitellen tai yhteensopivina kokonaisuuksina laatikoihin.

Näissä riittää puuhaa vuodelle 2011!

Knitting year 2010

Tuntuu kuin näistä Kalajoki-sukista olisi jo kulunut ikuisuus. Sukat valmistuivat vuosi sitten, ja tuon vuoden aikana on tapahtunut paljon! Neulevuosi 2010 oli täynnä aktiivista neule-elämää, ihania neulovia ystäviä, uutta lankaa, uusia malleja, uusia taitoja. Keväällä osallistuin Ravelympicseihin, ja sainkin porukkatsempin innoittamana kaksi työtä valmiiksi. Yksi vuoden kohokohtia oli maaliskuinen neuleretriitti, joka sinetöi Taijan, Virvan ja minun sielunsisaruuden. Enpä olisi vielä vanhoilla päivilläni löytäväni niin ihania uusia ystäviä! Kiitos leidit! Neuletapaamiset jatkuivat pienemmissä piireissä ja sitten isosti KnitNationissa Lontoossa. Se oli unohtumaton tapahtuma täynnä uusia lankoja, samanhenkisesti ajattelevia neulojia ympäri maailmaa, isoja nimiä ja guruja, kursseja ja uusia taitoja. Vuoden aikana neulomani projektit edustavat kaikki eri tekniikoita, toiset helpompia, toiset vaativimpia. Projekteista aina viimeisin on rakkain. Periaate, että en juurikaan neulo samasta ohjeesta kahdesti on hyvä, ja siitä aion pitää kiinni ensi vuonnakin.

Things that have enlightened my day:

• Home alone week!
• Finished PhD courses
• Smoothly proceeding knitting!