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Swatching…

June 17, 2011 in Design, Knitting, yarn | Tags: Design, design process, Knitting | 3 comments

Jeg er ikke normalt en, der strikker strikkeprøver. I hvert fald ikke “rigtige” strikkeprøver, I ved, dem der er store og fine og bliver vasket før man måler. Oftest er det bare lige et par pinde og så måle-måle-måle og væk med det. Det betyder selvfølgelig også, at jeg rammes af interessante oplevelser mht. pasform og størrelse, men det lever jeg med.

Normally I don’t knit swatches. At least not “real” swatches, you know, the ones which are of a decent size and which are washed before measuring. Usually it’s just a few rows on the needles and then an aproximate measure and goodbye swatch. This of course means that I’m a prime target for … interesting… knitting experiences with regard to fit and size issues, but I’ve decided to live with that imperfection.

Til gengæld er jeg ved at få øjnene op for det gode i en fornuftig strikkeprøve, når jeg er i udviklingsprocessen af et design. Det nytter jo ikke at prøve at få en trøje til at hænge sammen, uden først at have afprøvet nogle af komponenterne og på den måde have set, om ideen overhovedet fungerer.

Jeg har leget med nyindkøbt (ups, første gang jeg har brudt mit løfte om ingen-garn-indkøb) Rasmilla Yndlingsgarn. Planen er en børnetrøje/cardigan med en lækker, integreret zigzag. Ideen har været i mit hoved i flere år, og nu hvor den lille babytrøje er færdig (og næsten finpudset i opskriften) tør jeg godt kaste mig ud i endnu et børnedesign. Strikkeprøven viser vejen, og jeg er glad for, at jeg lavede den, for jeg er allerede blevet klogere. Dejligt med et nyt “lege”projekt.

On the other hand I’ve begun seeing the reason in a good swatch, when I’m working on developing a new design. It isn’t much use trying to get a garment to go together without first having tried a few of the components and by that having seen if the idea will work at all.

I’ve been playing around with some newly aquired (woops, this is the first time I have broken my own no-yarn-buying-promise this year) Rasmilla Favorite. The plan is for it to become a children’s cardigan with a nifty little zigzag integrated into the body. The idea for this design has been haunting my brain for several years, and now as the little baby cardigan is finished (and almost through the final edit) I have allowed myself to go for another design for kids. The swatch shows the way, and I’m very happy I did that swatch, as I’m already aware of several good and bad points. It’s wonderful to have a new “play” project.

On blocking and buttons…

June 13, 2011 in Design, Knitting | Tags: Design, Knitting | 7 comments

Jeg er endelig blevet færdig med at teststrikke Verdandi’s sidste størrelse. Det er en lille baby/børnetrøje, som jeg har arbejdet med opskriften på i flere år, ikke fordi den har været træls, men fordi jeg er blevet distraheret af andre ting undervejs. Nu er jeg endelig tæt på at kunne udgive den, og samtidig har jeg en fin lille trøje at kunne putte mindstemanden i, når han engang kommer (jep, det bliver en lillebror).

I’ve finally finished the test knitting of the last size of my Verdandi pattern. It is a little baby/toddler cardigan, which I have been working on for several years. Not because it has been particulary difficult, but because I’ve been distracted by several other things during that time. Now I’m finally close to being able to publish it, and at the same time I have a lovely little cardi to put the wee boy in when he finally arrives (yup, it’s to be a baby brother).

Det med at blokke ting med snoninger volder altid problemer for mig, men jeg har fundet et par ting, der hjælper. Nu er sådan en babytrøje jo for lille at bruge mine almindelige blocking wirer på (det ville ellers have været mit første bud), så i stedet har jeg brugt nogle af mine tynde strikkepinde af metal. Dels et par jumperpinde til ærmerne, og dels nogle 1½mm pinde til kanten. Det giver et mere jævnt resultat, end hvis jeg havde forsøgt mig med bare at sætte nåle i.

Blocking things with cables have always been tricky for me, but I’ve found a couple of things that helps. A baby cardigan is too small to use blocking wires on (those would have been my go-to solution in other cable-blocking-situations), so instead I’ve used several of my smallest knitting needles (those of metal). A couple of straights for the sleeves and some 1½mm needles to thread through the buttonband edge. The result is a more even blocking with straighter edges.

Mens trøjen ligger og tørrer overvejer jeg, hvilke knapper der skal i. Jeg har tre versioner, der kan bruges, i gemmerne, og af dem hælder jeg mest til den grå (længst til højre), men synes samtidig at de måske går lidt for meget i et med trøjen. Så jeg overvejer, om jeg i stedet skal gå ud og købe nogle knapper… måske nogle blå?

While the cardigan is drying, I’m wondering which buttons to put in it. I have three versions in my stash, which could be used. Of the three I’m favoring the grey ones (furthest on the right), but I’m not quite sure if they are too bland. So I’m wondering if I shouldn’t go out and buy some new ones… perhaps some blue ones?

Where sock knitting will take you…

June 12, 2011 in Knitting | Tags: Knitting, sock, wwkip | 9 comments

I går startede WWKIP ugen (world wide knit in public), og i den anledning har Sock Knitters Anonymous gruppen på Ravelry altid en billedskattejagt, hvor det gælder om at få billeder med sin igangværende sock i alle mulige sjove situationer. Jeg var i byen med en rigtig god ven, og hun invilligede heldigvis i, at jeg teede mig tosset fra tid til anden. Det blev til ganske mange sjove billeder.

Yesterday the week of WWKIP (world wide knit in public) started, and in honour of that the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry always hold a picture scavenger hunt, where the goal is to get as many crazy pictures with you current sock project as possible. I was out with a very good friend, but luckily she accepted me being slightly strange from time to time. I ended up having quite a lot of fun photos.

Jeg strikkede i metroen på vej til mødestedet og fik en stakkels uvedkommende ikkestrikker til at tage dette billede. / I knitted in the Metro on the way to meeting my friend and got a slightly confused non-knitter to take this picture.

I zoologisk have lykkedes det mig at overtale tre vagter til at holde sokken. Det holdt hårdt at få herren med, men ved hjælp af de to piger lykkedes det. / In the zoo garden I managed to persuade three employees to hold the sock. It took some doing as the gentleman really thought it too strange, but with the help of the two young ladies we managed.

Der var Pinsekarneval i København og Rådhuspladsen var fyldt med sambadansere. Jeg kunne ikke lade være med at spørge en flok af dem om de ville holde sokken. Især fordi den ene matchede det orange garn så fint. / The yearly carneval was on in Copenhagen, and the town hall square was filled with dancers. I just had to ask a bunch of them to hold the sock, especially since one of them matched the orange sock yarn so wonderfully.

Ude ved havfruen var der som sædvanelig fyldt med mennesker, så ofre var der nok af. Dette søde spanske ægtepar havde ikke noget mod at lege sokkeholdere og synes vist det var ret sjovt. / Out by the little mermaid statue the crowds were thick (as usual), so potential victims were close by. This sweet Spanish couple didn’t mind playing at holding the sock, and I think they rather enjoyed the madness of it.

Det blev også til en bid mad undervejs (cæsarsalat), og selvfølgelig fik jeg tjeneren til at holde sokken på et billede. Denne dag er den normale danske reserve lagt væk, og jeg morede mig storartet undervejs. / I managed to grab a bite (caesar salad) during all the fun, and of course I had the server hold the sock for a picture. This day all the Danish reserve has been put away and I had great fun during it.

Future and present sewing adventures…

June 9, 2011 in General life, Sewing, stash | Tags: fo, life, patchwork, sewing | 5 comments

Jeg er begyndt at synes, at patchwork er meget, meget sjovt, og med morskaben følger naturligt et ønske om at lære mere. I stedet for at købe mange, mange bøger, som er min sædvanlige fremgangsmåde med en ny kreativ hobby, har jeg valgt at gå kursusvejen. Dette skyldes især, at jeg ved i et tilfælde så, at Speich Design lige har offentliggjort deres kursusprogram for efteråret 2011 og foråret 2012. Jeg har før gået og sukket lidt over deres kurser, men har ikke før synes, det var så relevant. Men nu er det anderledes, nu skal jeg på kursus og lære og lade mig inspirere. Jeg har meldt mig til et begynderkursus i patchwork henover en weekend i efteråret, og I kan tro, at jeg glæder mig helt ustyrligt.

I’m slowly becoming totally enamoured with patchwork and thinking it a very fun and enjoyable way to spend time with my sewing machine. With this enjoyment also follows a wish to know more. Instead of buying a lot of books, which is my usual approach to a new creative hobby (or indeed any hobby), I’ve this time chosen to go the workshop way. One particular reason for this is that I saw that Speich Design has just made their programme for workshops in the autumn of 2011 and spring of 2012 public. I’ve previously sighed over their programme, but haven’t thought it relevant. But now it is different, and I’ve signed up for a beginners course in patchwork during a weekend this fall, and I’m looking very, very much forward to it.

I mellemtiden kan jeg stadig finde ting at more mig ved symaskinen med. Det varme vejr kaldte på kortere bukser til MM og med hans hjælp (han holdt pænt stoffet og gav mig knappenålene en ad gangen) blev et par piratbukser hurtigt færdige. Stofvalget er også MMs, og han er meget glad for sine krokodillebukser med bånd med togvogne på. Det broderede hjerte er for at lette hverdagen for Magen, sådan at han ikke skal spekulere, hvilken side er forsiden.

In the meantime I am still very able to have fun at my sewing machine. The very hot weather, we’ve had resently, called for shorter pants for MM, and with his help (he held the fabric for me and gave me the pins one at a time) I quickly finished a pair of pirate pants (is this the correct name in English as well?). MM also chose the fabric and is very happy about his crocodile pants with embelishment of the ribbon with trains on. The embroidered heart has nothing to do with MM, but is mostly to ease the everyday for the Mate so he needn’t use too much brain power thinking about which way is the front.

Mønster/Pattern: det sædvanlige Minikrea posebuks / the usual suspect, Minikrea baggy pants
Stof/Fabric: kraftig bomuld fra Frau Tulpe i Berlin / sturdy cotton from Frau Tulpe in Berlin
Strørrelse/Size: 4 år, men klippet uden sømrum for at gøre dem lidt smallere og forkortet 20 cm for at gøre dem til piratbukser / 4 years, but cut without seam allowance to make them slimmer, and made 20 cm shorter

Summertime and sunshine knitting…

June 5, 2011 in General life, Knitting | Tags: fo, Knitting, sock | 3 comments

En dejlig Kr. Himmelfartsferie er ovre. Vi har været på familie-mini-ferie i Sverige og nydt sol og skov og vand og hygge. MM har leget med sine fætre, og jeg har fået strikket på en masse gamle projekter. Dejlig måde at lade op på.

A wonderful mini vacation is now over. We have spent the past few days having a family-mini-vacation in Sweden and have enjoyed the sunshine, the forest, the water and a lot of wonderful family time. MM has played a great deal with his cousins, and I’ve managed to knit quite a bit on several old projects. It’s been a good way to recharge our batteries.

Jeg blev færdig med et af projekterne (jeg løb faktisk tør for garn på to af de andre, men håber at kunne udbedre dette i aften), nemlig et par sokker, jeg startede på tilbage i januar. Garnet blev købt i slutningen af november på operatur i Berlin med min mor. Derfor er det passende, at sokkerne nu er hendes, og at de blev færdige på endnu en ferie sammen med hende. Når jeg tænker over det, er det egentlig imponerende, at hun stillede op til sokkemodel i 25 grader i skyggen…

I finished one of the projects (I actually ran out of yarn on two other projects, a fact I plan to correct tonight), a pair of socks I started back in January. The yarn was purchased in late November while I was on a opera trip to Berlin with my mother. I find it rather fitting that the socks were finished on another mini vacation with her, and that they now belong to her. When I think about it, I find it pretty impressive that she said yes to being a sock model, when it was 25 degrees Celcius in the shade…

Projekt/Project: Pink House Socks (Ravelry link)
Opskrift/Pattern: en simpel 2r, 1vr rib på skaftet og ellers ganske vanilje sok / a simple k2, p1 on the leg and a plain vanilla foot
Garn/Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit 6fach
Pinde/Needles: 3,25 mm

Pillow fight…

May 30, 2011 in Sewing | Tags: fo, patchwork, sewing | 4 comments

Det har godt nok hjulpet med det syhjørne… Jeg går og fryder mig ved tanken om alle de ting, det skal blive til i løbet af den kommende tid. Men inden nye projekter drømmes om, kan jeg præsentere de seneste færdiggjorte. Det er blevet til to pyntepuder i denne omgang. Den første (med firkanterne) blev påbegyndt tilbage i februar og har ligget stille siden, men nu er det blevet lidt nemmere bare at hive tingene frem af gemmerne og få dem færdige. Begge puder er forsøgsprojekter udi patchworkens kunst. Jeg synes, at pudebetræk er perfekte til at afprøve nye ting i patchwork.

It has made a world of difference in my production, having that sewing corner… I catch myself in contemplating all the lovely things, I’d like to sew in the coming months. But before I dream on, I’ll present the latest finished projects. Todays finishers are two small pillows. The first (with the squares) was started back in February and have been hibernating in my fabric pile since, but it has become much easier just to pull out the “old” projects from the hiding spots and finish them. Both pillows are experiments in patchwork. I think the small scale of pillows are a perfect medium for trying out new methods.

Den med firkanterne er lavet ved at sy strimler sammen til et rør, skære røret op i nye strimler, der så består af firkanter og sy dem sammen igen. Ret sjov teknik, der absolut er nemmere, når man har et skæresæt. Den er ikke blevet helt præcis i overgangene mellem firkanterne, men jeg er ok tilfreds alligevel.

Den pilestribede er en variation over “string block”, hvor jeg i stedet for et kvardrat har syet strimlerne på et retangel for at få en pilespidseffekt frem. Jeg tror, at jeg en anden gang vil gøre sådan at flere af striberne matcher sammen, men denne gang blev det den spraglede/rodede effekt, der vandt.

The one with the squares is made by first sewing together several strips of fabric into a tube , then cut up the tube into strips again, this time the strips are made of squares, and then finally sew together the strips alternating the squares. It’s a fun technique, and it’s much easier than I thought when using a rotary cutter. The finished front isn’t perfect, as the squares are a bit wonky in places and don’t match up exactly, but I’m still pretty satisfied.

The striped is a variation on a string block, where I’ve used a rectangle instead of a square, thus creating “arrows”. Another time I think I’ll try to match up the stips more, but this time the random effect won out.

Begge puder er lukket med hotellukning, men jeg vil lige sætte to små knapper på bagsiderne inden de bliver afleveret til en god ven. Så det bliver også til lidt håndsyning i aften, for maskinen kan jo (desværre) stadig ikke klare det med knaphullerne.

Both pillows have hotel closures, but I want to add a couple of small buttons on the backs before I give them to a good friend. So a bit of hand sewing is on for tonight, as my sewing machine (still) doens’t do button holes.

Summer pants…

May 29, 2011 in Sewing | Tags: fo, sewing | 2 comments

Det blev ikke kun til ét par bukser til MM, men til hele to. Det giver gevinst at have sit eget sybord, hvor man kan rode lidt i fred. Det første par (det med fiskestoffet) blev lidt for store, så det var meget godt, at jeg alligevel havde fundet stof og humøret frem til et yderligere par, der heldigvis ser ud til at være mere passende i størrelsen. Jeg er glad og tilfreds, både med produktionen og min nye krog, og jeg har gevaldig lyst til at sy en masse mere tøj både til MM og mig selv.

Begge par har lommer, og i forhold til at det er første gang, jeg prøver at lave den slags, så synes jeg, at jeg er sluppet svært godt fra det. Ribstykket på fiskebukserne voldte også lidt problemer, især da jeg skulle sy det fast. Nogen der har et godt tip til at få sat det fast i strukket tilstand uden brug af mindst fire hænder? Det lykkedes, men Magen havde svært ved at holde masken, da jeg tog fødderne i brug, mens jeg satte stoffet fast med nåle.

I made not one, but two pairs of pants for MM. It certainly pays off having a sewing spot, where one is allowed to mess about a bit. The first pair (the one with the fishies) ended up being a bit too large, so it was probably good that I had the energy and materials ready for a second pair, which fortunately looks to be just perfect in the size. I’m happy and has an urge to sew more clothes, both for MM and myself!

Both pairs are with pockets, which I haven’t tried making before. And all things considered, I think I did reasonably well with them. Another problematic part was the ribbing on the fishies pants, which I had to battle with some time before it allowed me to pin it in place for sewing. Any good tips on how to do that easily, preferably without needing 4 hands? I succeeded, but the Mate had his troubles with keeping a straigth face when I took to using my feet while pinning it to the pants.

Mønster/Pattern: minikrea posebuks (no. 30300). Denne gang brugte jeg nogle af variationerne i mønsteret / This time I made use of some of the suggested alterations in the pattern.

Størrelse/Size: 4 år, men gjort smallere i benene. Fiskebukserne er ikke forkortet, hvilket er skyld i deres “for stor” etikette, mens de grønne par er gjort ca. 4 cm. kortere / 4 years, but made narrower in the legs. The fish pants haven’t been shortened, which is the reason for them being too big, while the green pants have been shortened about 4 cm.

Stof/Fabric: Fiskestoffet er en tyk bomuld fra “Prestigious” Designs, købt i Paris. Det grønne stof med print er en Rowan bomuld, købt i Fingerbøllet, hvor ribkanten til fiskebukserne også er fra. / The fish fabric is a thick cotton fabric from “Prestigious” Designs, bought in Paris. The green, printed fabric is a thin cotton from Rowan, bought in Fingerbøllet, where the ribbing for the Fish pants also comes from.

Reorganizing…

May 28, 2011 in General life, Sewing | Tags: life, sewing | 2 comments

Dagens projekt her i hjemmet har været en omorganisering af vores kontor/arbejdsværelse/hobbyværelse. Computeren blev flyttet til den bedre plads på det store bord ved vinduet, og det lille bord kunne så pludselig fungere som et fast sybord! Det er noget, jeg har kunne tænke mig ganske længe, og jeg kan allerede mærke, at det bliver rigtig, rigtig godt. Hvis jeg ville sy før, var jeg nødt til at slæbe tingene ind på spisebordet, hvor der jo så skulle ryddes til side hele tiden for at skabe plads til det, spiseborde egentlig er tiltænkt. Nu kan jeg bare sætte mig ned og gå i gang.

Første projekt i min nye krog er endnu et par bukser til MM. Så der ser ikke længere så ryddeligt ud, som det gør på billedet. Der er også plads til et par forbedringer, bl.a. en lille lampe på væggen til om aftenen og måske en lille opslagstavle til ideer og lignende.

The project of the day has been the reorganization of our office/hobby room/work room. The computer has been moved to the better spot on the big table near the window, and that made it possible for the small table to be redefined as a permanent setting for my sewing machine! I have long wanted a place where the machine could be set up all the time, and I can already attest that the solution is working great. Previously, whenever I wanted to sew something I had to drag it all to the dining table, which then had to be cleared a lot, since the function of a dining table normally doesn’t involve a lot of fabric and thread. Now I can just sit down and begin sewing.

The first project I’m sewing in my little corner is another pair of pants for MM. Obviously this means that the corner no longer looks nearly as neat as on the picture. I can also see some possible improvements, which may happen soon. Among these a little light on the wall for work in the evening, and perhaps a memory board for ideas and samples.

Christmas calendar, part 4

May 27, 2011 in Sewing | Tags: advent calendar, christmas, embroidery, jul, julekalenderalong, sewing | 5 comments

Modsat flere andre er jeg ikke færdig med MMs julekalender endnu, men det går fremad. Der er intet som en St.Bededagsferie tilbragt i senge med lungebetændelse, der giver skred i tingene (det var stort set det eneste jeg kunne overkomme at lave), så jeg er langsomt ved at indhente den tænkte tidsplan.

I dag vil jeg tage på en lille udflugt og hente nogle af de sidste forsyninger der mangler (flere farver og et ophæng), og så vil jeg fokusere på at få nogle flere af motiverne helt færdige med al detaljesyningen.

Unlike several others the Christmas calendar I’m making for MM isn’t done, nor even close to being so, but progress can be detected. There’s nothing quite like spending a little week in bed with pneumonia for getting progress (it was the only thing I was able to do), so I’m slowing getting back on track.

Today I’ll go for a little excursion to get some of the last things for the calendar (more colours and the hanger) and then I’ll focus on fully finishing some more numbers with all the tiny detail stitching.

Newly released…

May 23, 2011 in Design, pattern | Tags: Design, Knitting, lykkefanten, pattern, sock | 4 comments

Mens jeg prøver at få et par ting færdige til fremvisning, kan jeg jo godt lige præsentere jer for 4 af 5 opskrifter fra den sidste MacKintosh Yarns sokkeklub, som sluttede her i foråret. Den sidste opskrift holder jeg på lidt endnu, for ikke at snyde abonnenterne for fornøjelsen af at strikke den først. Den næste sokkeklub er for øvrigt allerede i gang og anden forsendelse kommer snart ud.

Alle opskrifterne kan fås ved at følge Ravelry linkene under billederne. Linkene virker også, selvom man ikke er medlem af Ravelry. Bemærk at alle opskrifterne indtil videre kun findes på engelsk.

While I am trying to finish a couple of things to show on the blog, I might as well present 4 of 5 patterns from the last MacKintosh Yarns sock club, which ended earlier this year. The last pattern I’m holding back a while yet, not to annoy the members from the last round. The next sock club is already running and the second package will soon go out.

All the patterns are available by following the Ravelry links under the pictures. Note that these also work, if you are not a member of Ravelry.

Odin