st. alba

as you all know there are a few things in life that inspire me. among those alba and knitting so i have knitted a lot for her since she was born. and when her mum asks her, who do we know who knit, she promptly answers: merete knits. she is even starting to request things. i gave her mum the bookmark scarf and alba said: i want one too.

this year i have been very interested in cables which have resulted in different cabled knits. among those i enjoyed to knit both st. brigid and na craga enourmously. hence i will knit another st. brigid for my sister soon. but while waiting for the yarn to arrive from outer hebrides i decided to knit an alice starmore inspired sweater for little alba. when i order yarn abroad i normally order generous amounts and therefore i had enough left of beaverslide worsted for a sweater for a child. and even for a hat.

i used all my starmore literature to find the cables i wanted to knit and put it all together, my way. i thought the heart cable is so cute for a little girl, i am in love with the aran braid and the sand stitch is a great pattern. the rib is called knotted rib and is really lovely and fun to do. the neck line is inspired by na craga with 5 rounds of knitting after the ribbing.

i hope she will wear it a lot. she is as sweet as pie in it. in my opinion.

knitting stats:

3 skeins of beaverslide worsted in the colourway lichen

needles no 4½mm

the thing is knitted in 4 pieces and then seamed.

the measurements are based on ez eps however.

knitting bliss

here is my na craga all finished.

stats:

10 skeins of cascade 220 heathers, olive green

needles 4 and 4½ mm

size: largest

alterations: i knit it in the round up to armholes where i divided it and knit back and forth. it is slightly tighter since i was off gauge.

it is the most lovely and logical pattern and i loved knitting it. i would not hesitate to knit another or two (my brother and sister both want this for their autumnal birthdays). i love all the cables and the way they are distributed. and i love the sailor rib at the sides and on the sleeves. it would make a very nice sweater as an over all pattern.

the recipient is andrés who is alba's dad. he looks soooo good in it, i think. he is the right type for this kind of sweater. and i added a picture of alba and dad in my knits. actually we were all wearing my knits yesterday when i came to deliver the sweater. alba her red aran, my niece the fair isle yoke, andrés his new sweater and i was wearing my saddle shouldered aran. close knit family.

and now i am knitting st. brigid. it is more complicated than na craga and the yarn is very elastic which i have to get used to. i have decided to knit it back and forth. i don't really mind seaming. it can be great fun when one takes the time it needs.

wwkip and a lovely gift.

well first things first. kent sent me a lovely pack with great green tea with a coconut scent and a lovely wild blackberry honey. the photo is awful but the tea is so good i couldn't wait for my camera to behave in order to take a more arty picture. everything was nicely wrapped up in red paper and i am not surprised since kent seems so meticulous with everything he does. i am looking sooo much forward to seeing his finished ssac since i am sure it will look like a dream.

secondly i pulled myself together and went to wwkip day yesterday. i always find it hard to go to such things on my own. but i had promised myself to go and see what it is like. it was a lot of knitting ladies have a great day together knitting (and talking) in public. there was a lot of sock knitting and bag knitting. i had hoped to see more people wearing finished objects but i guess it was a little too warm for that. i wore my meg swansen cardi and it got a really nice reception as did the na craga i am knitting. talking about na craga. i actually think i will finish it this week but i wonder if it will be too warm for any climate in these times of global warming. other wise it is a beautiful sculpture to hang on the wall.......

swimmingly

i cannot begin to say what a big joy it is to knit na craga. the pattern is so well and logically orchestrated. and the result is quite beautiful. i only hope the sweater will stay in shape and not pill awfully..

i am knitting a lot in public these days. i get all kinds of comments from strangers passing by like:

how diligent you are (elderly ladies)

is this for someone for christmas (middleaged men)

and all such things.

the lady remark is very process oriented.

the man remark is very product oriented.

i wonder if that applies for most things in life.

but the funniest thing was yesterday when i saw a youngish woman sitting knitting by one of the lakes here i cph. i went to the bench and took out my knitting too. and after a very short time we were talking and talking about knitting and designers and colours and good and bad ways to write patterns. she was actually writing a pattern for a company. i was shocked to hear how little those companies pay for such a big effort. i sometimes think it could be fun to publish knitting patterns but i want money, that's what i want, as the song goes. it is sad that it gets paid so badly and it is even more sad that it is because knitting is so biased. but maybe that will change in the future. i think we need handwork in the world today where so many people don't do much else but eating and playing on the computer whenever they have some time off!!!

oh and i have decided to go on a small trip to vilnius lithuania. i have heard there is a whole lot of knitting going on there. i will indulge.