Rainy Sunday knitting!

The weather is acting more and more like Autumn here and you won't hear me complain! :D Way better knitting time and motivation to get a go at all those sweaters I really want to knit (it's still 20°C so no chance of wearing them yet ...)

As my LYS was having a limited amount of a silk/wool blend in I started another sweater :

Pattern is the Alexandra Hoodie by Romi Hill, published in Knitscene Fall 2010. I already liked the pattern when I first got the magazine but I was planning on digging the stash. This yarn of course is perfect and my LYS lady agreed with me! So I started knitting as I need to know how much yarn I need so that I can buy just what I need. My LYS has a really small amount so she want to be able to sell what I don't need to others (which I totally don't mind!). I plan on making a few modifications, like not so much seed stitch (I like the seed stitch but it eats yarn like crazy!). What you see here was done in one day, last Friday. Due to technical issues I was stuck almost an hour extra on the train to work, giving me the chance to get a ton of this done!

Of course I hadn't planned on starting this pattern now. I wanted to start the tunic/dress I mentionned last time (the Still Light Tunic by Veera Välimäki). I had chosen the yarn (100% alpaca in a purple/grey colour) and ordered the KnitPro needles (I did have the proper size in my Addi collection but the cable wasn't long enough, so I decided to order a 3mm interchangable which I didn't have in my collection). The needles arrived and the swatch was knitted :

My gauge was a tiny bitt off but as this tunic is top down in one peice I could easily modify it. It's on hold now. I plan on starting it as soon as I get the striped cardigan done. On the last sleeve of that one. We'll see how quick it all goes.

I do need to organize my knitting time as I need to finish an order for my LYS lady as well and I have very little time left. I don't like it, but I have promissed.

Today was a productive day (even with the tiny bit of sleeping I got), though not for the knitting. I started a new scarf on the loom and I finished spinning the singles for the 4 Ounce Challenge (more about that later!). Off to do some more knitting before I fall asleep!

Fresh Veggies and New Handspun!

This morning, when the sun was still shining, I saw my little "garden" through my kitchen window and it looked like this :

(The stuff showing in the reflexion is garlic and some French herbs that are in my kitchen)

I only have 2 terraces and last year I started growing tomatoes on them. The boyfriend made the 2 big boxes (which carry crocusses and then tulips in Spring before I put in the tomato plants). There are 2 new boxes to the left that have nothing in them yet but will get stuff soon. Anyway, on the table is some thyme and rosemary herbs (the one in front is technically a flower plan but there are no flowers and I have the feeling the plant won't survive much longer either). At the right is a little Hot Pepper plant and on the bottom is a Paprika plant (was on the table but I put it down before we left on holidays as it's quite big and if we have a good thunderstorm it'll blow over).

Beneath the tomato plants are 4 boxes, 2 had radishes in them (all gone now, will plant some more I think), parsley and chervil. There are flower plants on there as well. The idea was to have all the flowers on the upstairs terraces and all the fruits and veggies on the downstairs, but I never managed so they are everywhere this year.

Anyway, the haul this morning :

I will of course never harvest what you get from a regular garden, but at the moment I wouldn't have the time to keep up with a regular garden anyway, so I'm pretty happy with this!


Sharing some other stuff, I got to take some more pictures (though it was already cloudy by the time I took these) :

These are the singles I spun on my spindle on holiday. The fiber it's called "The Last Unicorn" from Blaze of Glory Fiber arts, bought last year on out trip through the US. I plied it on my wheel and got about 343meters out of 2oz, which I think is great! Oh, and the fiber is Silk/Merino/Alpaca blend. I think I could call this a laceweight, right?

The next yarn I only wound off the bobbins :

It's the Myrtle fiber I spun for the TdF, actually my only totally finished project! I got a total of 460meters to little less then 8oz, so a good dk weight I think. Plenty for a nice scarf or so. It's dark BFL, a club colour for the Spunky Club.

I had planned to go to my LYS today but couldn't reach my friend (which means the store is closed I guess) so I'm at home and plan to get some fibery stuff done after I cleaned up the kitchen and get the laundry in the dryer!

Feels like Autumn!

I know it's still mid-Summer and Autumn is still at least 2 months away, but once we are August I start counting down. It's rather easy if you have weather like we are having today. It's cloudy, rainy and only about 19°C. It's perfect weather to stay inside and read, knit, do art, ... . Just lounge with some good music on. But I'm at work right now. It's still silent here so I have a bit more time to relax though I have plenty of work to get done today!

I have some yarn finished, but still need to take the pictures. Yesterday there was still quite a bit of sun in the morning, but by the time I was home it was pitch black and raining outside. It'll be cloudy for 2 more days but if I do get some better light at home I'll take the pictures!

I do have 2 shawls I knitted during my trip to share. Both are actually the same pattern and I totally fell in love with it! If I find the time tomorrow or during the weekend I need to dive the stash to find yarn for at least one more of these! I'm sure I'll get a ton of wear out of them during the coming Fall (I often wear them in the evenings now) and it's a great way to show of some of those fabulous sock yarns I have in my stash!

Pattern : Azzu's shawl by Emma Fassio (Ravelry link, but the designer has the pattern on her blog too!)
Yarn : 100% silk yarn (no brand of course)
Needles : 5mm

I should have used bigger needles on this one to get more drape. But I'm quite happy with how it turned out and it will get worn during Summer! I love the colour. Might make one more of this out of darker blue, but then with bigger needles for sure!

Pattern : Azzu's shawl by Emma Fassio
Yarn : Sheepaints Fairy Feet in Hanami
Needles : 4.5mm

I actually like the yarn quite a bit! It's very drapy and has a lovely sheen to it! I used bigger needles then with my first Azzu shawl (then I used 4mm) as I hope the shawl would be slightly bigger and it is. I used almost all the yarn this time and I'm quite in love! The colours are great.

As I said I love this pattern. You can drape it as a scarf around your neck (like the one above) or over you shoulders, like the silk one. I especially love to wear it like a scarf and that's why I want to knit more of them!


One of the neatest features on Ravelry (in my opinion) is the Friends Activity tab! It's often through this that I discover new designs, new designers and just new friends who knit inspiring things! Recently I came across this lady, Veera Välimäki (Ravelry link). She has a great blog were she not only has some great patterns but also shows of her lovely knitting! Most of what she did lately are her own designs, and I do hope she writes patterns for all of them! She usually knits with quite tiny yarn (or at least right now during Summer) and that's something I love too. I've fallen totally in love with this tunic. It's knit out of sportweight/Fingering weight yarn on 3mm needles. Even though I know it'll probably take me years to finish I do feel like searching the stash for yarn to start this! If I could do magic I would knit it up in a month and would probably get a ton of wear out of it coming Autumn and Winter. I'm so often so cold that I layer, and the more layers that are wool, the better I guess! :D Anyway, I do think I'll look in the stash to see if I have enough of a good yarn to knit this! I would rather not buy any yarn at the moment if not needed, so we'll see.

Back soon with spinning or more knitting!