glitterhippo (gestrickte sachen)

Shalom Cardigan - Deutsche Version / German Version

glitterhippo — 2009-07-30T19:45:00Z

this is the german version for the Shalom Cardigan by Meghan McFarlane of Involving the Senses - ravelry link. if you're on ravelry, you can read about my own version of the shalom cardigan here. and if not, you're really missing out! go join, it's brilliant! ;o)

Auf ravelry gibt es viele wundervolle Strick- und Häkelanleitungen, viele Designer sind sogar bereit, ihre Anleitungen kostenlos bereitzustellen. Eine dieser wunderbaren Designerinnen ist Meghan McFarlane, die großzügig die Anleitung zu der von ihr entworfenen Shalom Cardigan mit uns teilt. Ich habe die Anleitung mit ihrer Erlaubnis ins Deutsche übersetzt und hoffe, so einigen von euch geholfen zu haben. Viel Spaß beim Stricken!

SHALOM CARDIGAN von Meghan McFarlane in Involving the Senses

SHALOM ist eine einfach gestrickte Weste mit eindrucksvollem Design. Diese Jacke mit dreifacher Passe (yoke Kragen) wird von oben beginnend nahtlos in einem gestrickt und mit einem einzelnen Knopf verschlossen. Die Flügelärmel strecken sich ein wenig vom Körper weg und sorgen so für eine ausdrucksvolle Form.

Größe: Small/Medium, ca. 80 cm Brustumfang
Anmerkungen zur Größe: Die ursprüngliche Shalom Cardigan passt einer mittleren Größe (ca. 85 - 89 cm Brustumfang) bequem. Da die Weste nur am Hals zu schliessen ist, ist ein perfekter Sitz an der Brust nicht nötig. Wer seine Weste lieber größer hätte, hat mehrere Möglichkeiten dies zu erreichen: mehr Maschen in den kraus rechts gestrickten Rändern nehmen, stärkeres Garn mit stärkeren Nadeln verwenden oder von vorne herein Maschen in der Passe/im yoke Kragen sowie im Körper dazu addieren.

Garn: passend für Maschenprobe 13 Maschen x 20 Reihen glatt rechts = 10 x 10 cm nach dem Spannen

Materialien:

Rundsticknadel Stärke 7 oder die passende Stärke, um die Maschenprobe zu erzeugen
ein Knopf, Durchmesser ca. 3 cm
Wollnadel zum Vernähen
Nähnadel und Faden zum Knopfannähen
2 (oder 4) Maschenmarkierer

Glossar:
R - Reihe
M - Masche
1 re - eine rechte Masche stricken
1 re verschr - eine Masche rechts verschränkt stricken
1 li - eine Masche links stricken
1 li verschr - eine Masche links verschränkt stricken
1 zun - eine Masche zunehmen
düAbn - doppelte überzogene Abnahme: 2 Maschen rechts abheben, eine Masche rechts stricken, die beiden abgehobenen Maschen überziehen

der Rapport wird jeweils in Klammern angegeben

Muster:

67 Maschen anschlagen um mit dem Kragen zu beginnen

Reihe 1-5: kraus rechts (in Hin- und Rückreihen alle Maschen rechts abstricken)
R 6: 2 re, für das Knopfloch 2 M abketten, re M bis zum Ende der Reihe
R 7: re M bis zu den letzten 2 M, 2 M anschlagen, 2 re
R 8: 5 re; (1 zun, 1 re, 1 zun, 2 re) bis zu den letzten 8 M; (1zun, 1re)x3; 1 zun, 5 re
R 9: re M
R 10: 5 re; (1 li verschr, 1 re) bis zu den letzten 6 M; 1 li verschr, 5 re
R 11: 5 re; (1 re verschr, 1 li) bis zu den letzten 6 M, 1 re verschr, 5 re
R 12-18: R 10 und 11 abwechselnd wiederholen
R 19: re M
R 20: 5 re, 1 zun, 2 re; (1 zun, 4 re) bis zu den letzten 8 M; 1 zun, 3 re, 1 zun, 5 re (133 M insges.)
R 21: re M
R 22: 5 re; (1li verschr, 1re) bis zu den letzten 6 M; 1 li verschr, 5 re
R 23: 5 re; (1re verschr, 1li) bis zu den letzten 6 M, 1 re verschr, 5 re
R 24-30: R 22 und 23 abwechselnd wiederholen
R 31: re M
R 32: 5 re; (1 zun, 4 re, 1 zun, 3 re) bis zu den letzten 9 M; 1 zun, 4 re, 1 zun, 5 re (169 M insges.)
R 33: re M
R 34: 5 re; (1 li verschr, 1 re) bis zu den letzten 6 M; 1 li verschr, 5 re
R 35: 5 re; (1 re verschr, 1 li) bis zu den letzten 6 M, 1 re verschr, 5 re
R 36-42: R 34 und 35 abwechselnd wiederholen
R 43+44: re M
R 45:19 re, 46 M abketten, 39re, 46 M abketten, 19 re
(der Kragen ist jetzt fertig, der Hauptkörperteil der Weste beginnnt)
R 46: 5 re, li M bis zum ersten Armloch, 15 M anschlagen, li M bis zum zweiten Armloch, 15 M anschlagen, 14 li, 5 re
R 47: re M (An dieser Stelle werden auf beiden Seiten jeweils die 27. Masche vom Rand aus markiert. Diese beiden Maschen markieren die Seitenteile und alle Zu- und Abnahmen werden rechts und links von diesen beiden markierten Maschen erfolgen. Die Designerin nennt diese Maschen "center side stitches" - mittige Seitenmaschen.)
R 48: 5 re, li M bis zu den letzte 5 M, 5 re
R 49: re M
R 50-54: R 48 und 49 abwechselnd wiederholen
R 55: re M bis zu 1 M vor der ersten (markierten) mittigen Seitenmasche, düAbn, re M bis zu 1 M vor der zweiten (markierten) mittigen Seitenmasche, düAbn, re M bis zum Ende der Reihe
R 56-62: R 48 und 49 abwechselnd wiederholen
R 63: R 55 wiederholen
R 64-68: R 48 und 49 abwechselnd wiederholen
R 69: R 55 wiederholen
R 70-74: R 48 und 49 abwechselnd wiederholen
R 75: R 55 wiederholen
R 76-82: R 48 und 49 abwechselnd wiederholen
R 83: re M bis zur ersten (markierten) mittigen Seitenmasche, 1 zun, 1 re, 1 zun, re M bis zur zweiten (markierten) mittigen Seitenmasche, 1 zun, 1 re, 1 zun, re M bis zum Ende der Reihe
R 84-90: R 48 und 49 abwechselnd wiederholen
R 91: R 83 wiederholen
R 92-98: R 48 und 49 abwechselnd wiederholen
R 99: R 83 wiederholen
R 100-105: R 48 und 49 abwechselnd wiederholen
R106-114: kraus rechts (in Hin- und Rückreihen alle Maschen rechts abstricken)
R115: alle Maschen abketten

Fertigstellung:
Den Knopf annähen, die Enden vernähen und Meghan würde sich über einen link zu eurer fertigen Weste sehr freuen - und ich natürlich auch!

Fragen, Kommentare, Errata?
In deutscher Sprache: Bitte hier posten, ich helfe dann und/oder leite eure Anmerkungen gerne an Meghan weiter.
Auf Englisch könnt ihr ihr gerne selbst ein Kommentar auf ihrem blog hinterlassen.

Zu guter Letzt: Ja, ich habe auch eine Shalom Cardigan gestrickt, in lana grossa tre. Ich war mit der an sich Weste wirklich zufrieden, nur in diesem speziellen Garn hat sie mir dann leider doch nicht gefallen, ich habe sie einen Tag lang getragen und Fotos gemacht, habe sie dann aber wieder aufgetrennt. Wenn ich eines Tages das richtige Garn finde, werde ich sicherlich noch eine machen!
Wer auf ravelry ist, kann sich hier meine Version der Shalom Cardigan ansehen (und hier nachlesen, was daraus geworden ist =) - wer nicht, worauf wartet ihr noch? Ravelry ist die Antwort auf alle eure Strick- und Häkelfragen, versprochen! ;o)

Ich bedanke mich für die Aufmerksamkeit!
Herzliche Grüße,
glitterhippo

woolly pillbox & muff - pattern in progress

glitterhippo — 2009-07-30T19:20:00Z

when i last went to switzerland to audition, i bought some yarn at a local yarn store - actually, i bought two 100g balls of a swiss handspun pure lambswool yarn, aran weight, with about 100 meters / 109 yards per ball. it was rather stiff and rough, but not overly scratchy and produced a rather stiff fabric with a lot of body. i thought these characteristics would lend themselves well to crochet and since i've been dreaming of making a pillbox hat and matching muff, i whipped out my crochet hook and got to work.

to make your own woolly pillbox hat, you'll need:
about 60 meters / 65 yards of stiff&stubborn aran weight pure wool yarn, i used lewolaine handspun yarn
5mm crochet hook
tapestry needle for weaving in the ends

gauge:
not terribly important, as long as your final measurements are about right
you should be getting a rather dense fabric that will hold its shape well

pattern:
starting chain: chain 6, join with a slip stitch
rnd 1: ch 1, put 1 sc in each chain

from here, you can go either in spirals or rounds that you join with sl st and then ch2 to get to the next round. depending on your tension and yarn, 2 hdc instead of 1 into every other loop should do it - if it curls, do less stitches, if it curves into a bowl, do more, you'll figure it out. for the blue hat, i did rounds.

crochet in the round making a flat disc with hdc set only in the back loops, i did five rounds to have a diameter of 15 cm / 6 inch. i have a smallish head, so i wouldn't recommend going any smaller, i think you could go up to 18 cm / 7 inch or more, depending on head size and volume of hair. =)

when your disc is big enough, its time to turn for the side of the hat. for this, you join with slip stitch, chain 1. now you insert your needle into both loops of the stitch, but back to front, instead of front to back as usual. now, insert your needle into the next stitch as usual, pull up a loop, yo, pull through both loops. yay! you have made your first sc onto the underside of your disc! continue in this manner all round, join with sl st, ch 1. continue in rounds, again crocheting only into the back loop of the stitches, until yor hat ist about 5 cm / 2 inch high. finish off with a round of slip stitches to neaten and reinforce the edge - but don't work your stitches too tight or you'll pull it in. weave in your ends - you're done!

prop your new pillbox hat on your head at a jaunty angle, secure with hairpins if desired. scroll down to the end of the post to see the hat worn.

to make your own woolly muff, you'll need:
about 140 meters / 153 yards of stiff&stubborn aran weight pure wool yarn for the outer shell, i used lewolaine handspun yarn
about ? meters / ? yards of soft and luscious dk weight yarn for the lining, i used 5/14NM 30:70 cash/wool from ColourMart
5mm crochet hook
3mm dpns or circular knitting needle
stitch marker, cable needle or fifth dpn
tapestry needle for weaving in the ends

gauge:
with aran weight yarn & hook:
with dk weight yarn & needles:

techniques:
cable 2 front (c2f): option one - with a cable needle: slip two stitches purlwise onto the cable needle and let hang to the front. knit two stitches from left needle, the knit the two stitches from the cable needle. continue in pattern.
option two - without a cable needle: leaving the first and second stitch untouched, insert your right needle knitwise into the third and fourth stitch. use the inserted needle to push the first and second stitch off the left needle, also slip off the third and fourth stitch. you now have two "loose live" stitches and two slipped stitches on your right needle. slip the loose live stitches back onto your left needle, being careful not to twist. now slip the two stitches from the right needle back to the left needle and knit across all four stitches. continue in pattern. please see the excellent video at knittinghelp.com (you need to scroll down a little to "decorative stitches")
knit front and back of stitch (kfb): knit into the front leg of the stitch as usual, but leave the stitch on the left needle and knit into the back leg.

for the outer shell:
starting chain: chain 60, join with slip stitch
round 1: ch1, sc in the back of each chain, join with slip stitch
round 2: ch1, sc in each sc, in back loop only, join with slip stitch
repeat round 2 until you have a tube about 38cm / 15inches long, fasten off.

for the inner lining:
cast on 70 stitches and join for knitting in the round, place marker at beginning of round, if you prefer. you can leave a loooooong tail from the cast on and use that for assembly
rounds 1-3: *k4, p1, rep from * all round
rnd 4: *c2f, p1, rep from * all round
rnd 5-8: rep round 1
rnd 9: rep round 4
rnd 10-12: *k4, p1, rep from * all round
rnd 13-16: rep rnds 9-12
rnd 17: rep rnd 4
rnd 18-20: rep rnd 1
rnd 21: *k1, kfb of next two stitches, k1, p1, rep from * all round
rnd 22-34: rep rnd 1
rnd 35: *c3f, p1, rep from * all round
rnd 36-38: rep rnd 1
rnd 39: rep rnd 35
rnd 40-52: rep rnd 1
rnd 53: rep rnd 4
rnd 54-56: rep rnd 1
rnd 57-60: rep rnds 53-56
rnd 61: rep rnd 4
rnd 62-65: rep rnd 1
rnd 66: rep rnd 4
rnd 67-69: rep rnd 1
rnd 70: bind off in pattern, either sew in ends or leave loooong tail for assembly.

you could just make a ribbed tube without the cables, of course, but i like the extra structure and body they produce. plus, the cables pull the fabric in, so it sits a little more snug against your wrists, keeping the cold air out and the warm air in. just the way i like it. =)

assembly:

you can sew or crochet the two tubes together, i chose crochet because i think it's easier than sewing and i'm lazy. i used contrasting colour yarn so you can see a bit of the detail here, the main part is not forgetting that the lining tube has to be turned inside out and placed inside the outer tube so that the wrong sides are touching and only right sides are visible. sew or crochet together with the tails you left hanging, same colour yarn or contrasting colour yarn, whichever you prefer. since the inner tube is shorter than the outer tube, you will have to turn the tube the way i'm showing you in the picture above.

and that's it, you're done!

and then, wearing it in your paris bedroom and having to have your picture taken before going out into the cold cold night to find some dinner, you can look like this:

sleevettes

glitterhippo — 2009-07-30T17:47:00Z

robert gave me a romantic weekend trip to paris for christmas and when i checked the forecast, it predicted warmish weather, around 10°C. great, i thought, i'll get to wear my new fifties-style jacket! and because the sleeves don't quite reach my hands, i thought i'd make some gauntlets or wrist warmers, but couldn't find a pattern that i liked, so i decided to make my own - and i'll share to with you. so, these are my new sleevettes!

to make your own sleevettes, you'll need:
? yards dk weight yarn (about as much as you'd need for a pair of socks, hints and estimates greatly appreciated!), i used 5/14NM cash/wool from ColourMart
1 set of dpns or circular needle, 2,5mm
1 set of dpns or circular needle, 3mm
stitch marker, cable needle or fifth dpn (both optional)
tapestry needle for weaving in the ends

techniques:
cable 2 front (c2f) is worked thus:
option one - with a cable needle: slip two stitches purlwise onto the cable needle and let hang to the front. knit two stitches from left needle, the knit the two stitches from the cable needle. continue in pattern.
option two - without a cable needle: leaving the first and second stitch untouched, insert your right needle knitwise into the third and fourth stitch. use the inserted needle to push the first and second stitch off the left needle, also slip off the third and fourth stitch. you now have two "loose live" stitches and two slipped stitches on your right needle. slip the loose live stitches back onto your left needle, being careful not to twist. now slip the two stitches from the right needle back to the left needle and knit across all four stitches. continue in pattern. please see the excellent video at knittinghelp.com (you need to scroll down a little to "decorative stitches")

using 2,5mm needles, cast on 55 stitches and join for knitting in the round, being careful not to twist. place a stitch marker at the beginning of the round if you want to.
rounds 1-5: *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rounds 6-15: switch to larger needles, *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 16+17: k9, p1, *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 18+19: k19, p1, *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 20+21: k24, p1, *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 22+23: k29, p1, *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 24+25: k34, p1, *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 26+27: k39, p1, *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 28+29: k44, p1, *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 30+31: k49, p1, *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 32+33: k54, p1, *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 55-56: knit all round
rnd 57+58: k4, p1, k to end
rnd 59+60: k4, p1 twice, k to end
rnd 60+61: *k4, p1, rep from * 3x, k to end
rnd 62+63: *k4, p1, rep from * 4x, k to end
rnd 64+65: *k4, p1, rep from * 5x, k to end
rnd 66+67: *k4, p1, rep from * 6x, k to end
rnd 68+69: *k4, p1, rep from * 7x, k to end
rnd 70+71: *k4, p1, rep from * 8x, k to end
rnd 72+73: *k4, p1, rep from * 9x, k to end
rnd 74+75: *k4, p1, rep from * 10x, k to end
rnd 76+77: *k4, p1, rep from * 11x, k to end
rnd 78: *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 79: *cf2, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 80-84: *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 85: *cf2, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 86-89: *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 90: *cf2, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 91-93: *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 94: *c2f, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 95-96: *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 97: *c2f, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 98-112: *k4, p1, rep from * to end
rnd 113-117: k all round (i used a contrasting colour for this)
rnd 118: bind off

weave in ends - you're done!

p.s. i know, the pictures could be better, i'll try and work on that! =)

finished october - december 2008

glitterhippo — 2009-01-06T23:16:00Z

update:

my latest FOs with you... all made with yarns i ordered from richard at ColourMart

except for the cash/silk cardigan which was air-dried, all of these were hand washed in hot water and then tossed in the washer & dryer and came out lovely fulled and soft and warm and generally gorgeous... okay, here goes:

made from colourmart 10/28NM heavy dk wt 30/70 cashmere/wool navy, 5/14NM heavy dk wt 30/70 cashmere/wool nero navy and 6/20NM dk wt 50/50 cashmere/wool fuchsia

my christmas dress! from a drops design pattern that i modified a little and embellished with a lace edging from a japanese knitting pattern book (mentioned in an earlier post, i believe =). i wore it on the 25th for all the family christmas celebrations and i really liked it! now i'm pondering if it's really only a christmas dress or if it could maybe be worn at other times, too...

made from colormart 6/20NM dk wt 50/50 cashmere/wool fuchsia & greige

the first dress i knit! and not only the first dress, but the first garment i produced that is actually wearable and that people other than me like! and it's soooo warm and soft and nice... of course, i intended to wear it as a dress but it turned out a little short so now i wear it with jeans and i think that looks just fine.

made from colourmart 10/28NM heavy dk wt 30/70 cashmere/wool navy and 5/14NM heavy dk wt 30/70 cashmere/wool cardinal

a blazer/cardigan "Prepster" by Fay Lin from the "Stitch 'n' Bitch - The Happy Hooker" by Debbie Stoller, which i modified a little to my liking. getting the sleeves to fit in the armhole properly took a few tries on this one, but i'm really pleased with the outcome. i wear it a lot and am already looking at colours for the next one! =)

made with colourmart 5/14NM heavy dk wt 30/70 cashmere/wool nero navy and 6/20NM dk wt 50/50 cashmere/wool fuchsia & greige

two pairs of mittens, one fingerless and one not. the pattern for the fingerless ones is "Fetching" by Cheryl Niamath, from knitty. the other is "Daisy Stitch Hand Warmers" by Whitney Van Nes from the purl bee and i modified it to make mittens. warm! nice! i wear the fingerless ones a LOT and the others when it's colder. i've also worn the daisy stitch ones over the fingerless ones for added warmth which works fine, until i try to remove only the top mitten layer. =) ah well...

made with colourmart 10/36NM dk wt 55:45 cash/silk lemonade

and finally and most recently, a cardigan/shrug made from the lovely cash/silk mix that is shiny and soft and a joy to work with and to waer. i made it shrug larger as specified in the pattern to turn it into a cardigan, next time i'd probably just make the next size up and still make the ribbing parts longer, but for now it's fine and in summer over less and lighter clothing will be even nicer. i also made an i-cord chinese knot closure but haven't attached it yet. for now, i'm wearing it open or close it woth a brooch, but open is nicer, i think, because closed it looks like it's just a bit too small... maybe i'll add to the ribbing. we'll see...

day 5

glitterhippo — 2008-09-18T21:45:00Z

my parents came back from japan tonight... and they brought this book back for me.

i only leafed through it so far, but i can tell you this - it's beautiful. the patterns are so pretty, the design so ingenuous, it is amazing.

i had already decided on a pattern for the silk yarn from my last post, but now i'm thinking i'll make a scarf/stole based on three or four patterns from the book. but i think i'd need to practise first, some of these look pretty complex. i'll keep you posted.

the book is absolutely gorgeous. seriously.

day 4

glitterhippo — 2008-09-17T08:11:00Z

i fell asleep yesterday before i could post, so this is oficially the new day four. yesterday, something very exciting happended - it's here! okay, so "exciting" is stretching it a little... let me rephrase, something that made me very happy happened. my yarn arrived! it's here! and it's soooo beautiful. and soft. and it shimmers. now, what to knit with it....

sadly, i don't know how to get the colours to show correctly - both pictures show the same yarn. i think there is just too much blue in the picture. i'll ask boyfriend how to tweak that tonight. (yeah, i know, get the right set-up and put it in a soft box, but that seems like just too much trouble....)

okay, now i gotta work, then i'll go look at pretty patterns while i pat my yarn.

day 3

glitterhippo — 2008-09-15T21:04:00Z

it turned cold in vienna.

it's raining very nicely; and it's been raining all day. have to start my fall/winter knitting. and maybe christmas projects (although most people i know will be happier if i don't knit them anything for christmas).

okay, so while this blog is mostly about knitting and associated stuff, i'm not all about that. among other things, i'm also about street art and this is one of my favourite stencils:

back street beuys. love it. so clever. oh, and also this one:

knitting related - today i organized my printed patterns and put the neatly into folders. and i took pictures of all my wips and fos that were previously without pictures, so my ravelry project overview page looks really nice now. and becaude i'm very tired now, here's a picture of my recently finished bolero (pattern in ravelry), the first item of clothing i made that i actually like wearing for fashion sense and not only because of pride. =) the pattern is great and i love it.

i'm thinking i'll make another one! maybe with a few modifications.... but

day 2

glitterhippo — 2008-09-14T19:52:00Z

boyfriend and i are watching "bullit" with steve mcqueen and i'm trying to get all my project pictures updated. turns out, i have yet to take most of the current projects pictures, so taht will be my goal for tomorrow (when there's daylight).

but for tonight, i'm going to show off two pieces i finished in august. one is a wips-wrestling ravelympics project that didn't quite make the finish line (i finished it a few days late). it's a ribbed scarf i made purely because i got the grey and the pink merino wool cheap (turned out the grey had a few cut strands, i repaired as best as i could as i went along. the pink was perfect, though) and the black wool came from my stash. i didn't weave in teh ends but knotted them to little bows along one egde of the scarf - i have yet to decide wether i like it or not, it was more a choice out of convenience and lazyness than of personal preference. if temperatures keep dropping at the current rate here, i'll have a chance to wear it very soon. =)

the other one is the second pair of baby booties i made from an online pattern by sock pixie (via ravelry) for friends of ours who have a new baby - the first pair turned out rather too big, was finished with the recipient in the next room and the two booties somehow weren't the exact same size. i don't have any pictures of those (my first pair of booties ever!), but these are of the second pair i knit. this is pre-wash, so the still look a bit lumpy, but they will be fine i guess. i used a heavier weight wool than appropriate for the pattern, so i had to change it quite a bit. i'm thinking of making up my very own baby bootie pattern, actually. i'll keep you posted on how i'm getting along. i also made a matching bib from a pattern in ravelry, i'll show you pictures of that tomorrow.

until we meet again - be happy!

day 1

glitterhippo — 2008-09-13T20:17:00Z

okay, so i didn't keep my promise to post more often - but i'm trying! knitting keeps getting in the way. and singing. and life in general.

i have a few FO's that turned out rather nice - tell you what, we'll make a deal. starting today, i will post something everyday to get this blog going once and for all. i'm changing the title of this post from something even less original to "day 1". (no, i won't tell you what it was. i would be embarrassed. maybe i thought of this posting-thing just to hide that title from you. nah, okay, i didn't. do you know why? because i'm more lazy than embarrassment-prone.)

annnnnnyway... i joined two KALs in september, a loosely organized one on ravelry to do the celtic knot stole and a really very pretty, interesting and exciting one, the mystery stole 4 kal, which i both love. but i have to admit, i like the ms4 more because - it's a mystery. and i love surprises, especially nice ones.

i'm doing the celtic knot in a navy laceweight 50:50 silk/wool blend and the ms4 in a cobweb weight cashmere yarn with 15% lycra (i really don't know why i picked that, except it was the only yarn i could find that came in the colour i was hoping to get). i had the cobweb wight yarn wound double stranded so it's an untwisted 2-ply and it looks and feels great. i ordered both yarns from colourmart, they were quick, friendly and i think their prices are awsome. i'm impatient to be finished knitting, so i can watch the yarn bloom to full glory - their yarns are oiled for machine knitting and have to be washed to bring out their full glory. i washed the swatch and the yarn went from "nice looking and very soft" to "dreamlike". ms4 comes with beads, i swatched with different colours and setteled for black in the end - it's looking really good. will post photos tomorrow.

oh, and i ordered another yarn from colourmart, simply because i could. not. resist. i tried for two days and then i stopped trying. i was just going to post a picture, but appearantly the yarn has already sold out and then the pictures are no longer available. instead i'll post a link to the page where similar yarns are listed, so you can have a look and i'll show you mine as soon as it gets here. oh, and i nicked a picture of my ms4 yarn for you to drool at:

okay, so my resolution for tomorrow is getting my project pictures up on ravelry and writing another blog post, this time with my own pictures.

until we meet again - be happy.

hippo content

glitterhippo — 2008-08-15T13:08:00Z

okay, so i didn't make it to the top three winners at the mochimochi photo contest (and i don't know how or why my last post got duplicated, but there you have it... ), but i'm going to see this olympically and declare that "The most important thing is not to win but to take part!" (DeCoubertin) - and i DID make it to the top ten, so i'm happy. =)

and now to something completely different! who knew there was such a thing as a less territorial and thus less threatening breeds-well-in-captvity pocket-sized hippo? well, okay, not pocket-sized, as such. depending on the size of your pockets, of course. it's a pygmy hippo and if you go to its wiki-page, you can watch a video of it dipping its head in the water. i think it's cute.

on the knitting front, i'm working on my crochet-cotton-in-different-colours scarf-thingy experiment, i've decided to double it. i'll show you pictures and explain my master plan in my next post...

hearts in finals!

glitterhippo — 2008-08-15T01:27:00Z

my three of hearts in heels, as featured in my previous post, made it to the mochimochi photo contest finals! yay! *does happy dance*

hearts in finals!

glitterhippo — 2008-08-15T01:27:00Z

my three of hearts in heels, as featured in my previous post, made it to the mochimochi photo contest finals! yay! *does happy dance*

short update on knitting, the universe and everything

glitterhippo — 2008-08-10T17:57:00Z

i just typed in a comment and thought, hey, this would be a great introduction to my new blog post, so i'll give you an excerpt here:

sorry to be soooo late in replying, i got caught up in offline life... but now it's the ravelympics and i got to be a semi-finalist in the mochimochi photo contest and i just ordered magnificent laceweight yarn and am going to participate in the mystery stole 4 knitalong, so... i'm back! numerous photos will follow. i promise. =)

heehee... well, that's that taken care of. so, i'm back. also, i passed all my exams and everything - i am an official unemployed singer now. ;o) in the following days, i will be posting pictures and stories of my recent knitting and crafting endavours, but now i have to tell you something, because i am just so proud: my three of hearts in heels has made it to the semifinals in the mochimochi photo contest! yay!

so, maybe i can make it to the finals and maybe someone actually reads this and will vote for me, who knows... ;o) if you do, you make me very happy. so thanks.

anyway, on to some olympic knitting as my knitting time is limited these days - i'm taking a singer's master class which takes up pretty much all of the time in the day not needed for sleep (sundays are off so can be used for trying to catch up =)... i'll keep you posted. for real. i promise...

mission accomplished!

glitterhippo — 2008-04-08T12:58:00Z

it's finished! i did it! yay! you can see it in all it's baby-blue blocking glory.... who knew that blocking makes all the difference (or that it even existed, truth to be told - thank god for the internet! =). i'm rather pleased with how it turned out...

although i did screw up the tufted edge somehow - things just didn't line up, no matter how hard i tried and i didn't want to frog waaaaay back. the error must've been made fairly early in the piece, because i counted stitches and rows and everything (one night i even gave in and made myself some stitch markers) and the pattern lined up beautifully, only the last few rows were uncooperative. ah well.

maybe i'll add a crochet edge to make it a little bigger, although i have no idea what kind of stitch would be good for that. i'll figure something out... i'm thinking maybe i'll add the edge in a different yarn, something very lightweight and "hairy", if you know what i mean.... ideas, anyone?

the one hunderedth

glitterhippo — 2008-04-04T08:52:00Z

i just knit the 100th row of my japanese feather and fan shawl, as mentioned extensively in the previous post. and i thought i'd celebrate by posting my hippo-in-the-shawl picture. i like how it looks liek he's sitting in a lake. :o)

this picture was taken before i actually started knitting with the new yarn, so you can't see the difference, but the new yarn is working out quite well - the knitting actually looks much neater with the thinner yarn. i'm hoping the old yarn will even out a little better in blocking. all in all, i'm rather satisfied with how it's going and can't WAIT to be finished and show it off.... 33 rows to go. that is if i don't decide to make another pattern repeat, because maybe that will make it just soo much more gorgeous... we'll see.