Favorite Fibers

Something new

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:19:00 +0000

I felt the urge to start a new blog. You can now find me here.

In Danish only...

Learn to knit

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:28:00 +0000

Simple but excelent

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sat, 07 May 2011 21:04:00 +0000

About a month ago I finished this cardigan for Ella.

The construction is oh so simple but never the less it's quite clever.

I love the I-cords on the inside which make sure that the fronts are kept in place.

I dived into my collection of buttons to find two suitable buttons and I think that these turned out really well.

Even though I love this little cardigan there are things that I, in hindsight, would have done differently. For example I should have picked up less stitches at the armholes. But... I was in a hurry and didn't want to unravel... Also, I should have continued to pick up stitches for the edging along the side of the fronts. Experience is a good thing ;-)

Some facts:

Pattern: Garter Stitch Baby Kimobo by Joji Locatelli

Yarn: Malabrigo lace in the color Dusty

Needles: 2 mm

I think I'll knit another one making these changes. And also, I'm not going to knit another one on 2 mm needles... I'm happy about the result but it takes ages and there's a slight possibility that it will be too small by the time I finish it.

Baby Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:56:00 +0000

Last year when I was expecting I made this blanket:

It is the Tweed Baby Blanket by the famous Jared Flood. I chose Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light because of its softness even though I knew it would pill. The softer the yarn, the more it tends to pill... But you know, for a newborn baby it has to be soft. You can see by the photos that it has been used a lot.

The pattern has now been updated with a version with three colors instead of two, and I'm very much tempted to knit this three colored version. Maybe not as a baby blanket but just as a cozy knitted piece for the sofa.

Brioche Hat Pattern

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:25:00 +0000

Way back when I had my old blog I made a pattern (in English and Danish) for a brioche stitch hat. Some people have been asking for the pattern, so here we go: (I can't garantee that there's no errors in the pattern. Please let me know if you find any)

I’ve made a pattern for a women's size and a men’s size. The Women’s size is in brackets.

Yarn: 2 skeins of Rowan Scottish Tweed DK

Needles: Small circular needle 4 mm and dpns 4 mm

Cast on (64) 72 stitches

Join in the round.

(Remember to mark the first stitch)

Round 1: *purl 1, YO, slip 1 purlwise*, repeat until the end of round.

Round 2: *YO, slip one purlwise, knit 2 together (one knit stitch and one YO)*, repeat until the end of round.

Round 3: *Purl 2 together (one purl stitch and one YO), YO, slip one purlwise*, repeat until the end of round.

Repeat round 2 and 3 until the hat measures (13) 14 cm. End with a round similar to round 3.

Decreases begin: (Change to dpns when suitable)

*YO, slip one purlwise, knit 2 together (one knit stitch and one YO)*, repeat (6) 7 times. YO, slip one purlwise. Knit 2 together (the first stitch has a YO, the second stitch is single), place the stitch on the left needle and pass the next stitch (with its YO) over. Place the stitch on the right needle. There should be 2 stitches less now.

Continue in brioche stitch:

Repeat brioche stitch and decreases 2 more times in this round.

Continue in brioche stitch and make the decreases on every 4^th round with 2 stitches less between every decrease.

When there are 8 stitches left (not including the YOs) break yarn and thread through remaining stitches.

Weave in loose ends.

You might want to sew in some elastic as the hat is not particularly stretchy.

Hue i patentstrik

Jeg har skrevet opskriften for en damestørrelse og en herrestørrelse. Damestørrelsen står i parentes.

Garn: 2 nøgler Rowan Scottish Tweed DK

Pinde: Lille rundpind 4 mm og strømpepinde 4 mm

Slå (64) 72 masker op.

Strik rundt på rundpind på følgende måde:

(Husk at markere første maske)

omg: *1 vrang, slå om, 1 vrang løs af*, gentag omgangen ud.
omg: *Slå om, 1 vrang løs af, strik omslaget og den næste maske ret sammen*, gentag omgangen ud.
omg: * Strik omslaget og den næste maske vrang sammen, slå om, 1 vrang løs af*, gentag omgangen ud.

Gentag 2. og 3. omgang indtil huen måler (13) 14 cm. Slut med en omgang der svarer til 3. omgang.

Herefter begynder indtagningerne: (Skift til strømpepinde, når det passer)

*Slå om, 1 vrang løs af, strik omslaget og den næste maske ret sammen*, gentag (6) 7 gange. Slå om, 1 vrang løs af. Strik de næste to masker ret sammen (første maske har et tilhørende omslag, anden maske er enkelt), sæt masken over på venstre pind og løft næste maske (med tilhørende omslag) over. Sæt masken over på højre pind. Der er nu taget 2 masker ind.

Strik igen patentstrik:

*Slå om, 1 vrang løs af, strik omslaget og den næste maske ret sammen*, gentag (6) 7 gange.

Strik de næste to masker ret sammen (første maske har et tilhørende omslag, anden maske er enkelt), sæt masken over på venstre pind og løft næste maske (med tilhørende omslag) over. Sæt masken over på højre pind. Patentstrik og indtagninger gentages 2 gange mere, så der i alt er taget ind 4 steder på huen. Sammenlagt er der taget 8 masker ind på omgangen.

Fortsæt i patentstrik samtidig med at der tages ind på samme måde på hver 4. omgang med to masker mindre i mellem indtagningerne hver gang.

Når der er 8 masker tilbage (omslagene er ikke talt med) lukkes af ved at trække tråden igennem maskerne.

Hæft enderne.

Sy evt. elastik i kanten, da huen ikke er så elastisk.

The Silver Neckwarmer

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:15:00 +0000

I have been looking for the perfect cowl pattern this winter, and I knew what yarn to use. Some lovely soft Malabrigo Silky Merino yarn in my stash just yearned to become some kind of neckwarmer. I found a pattern on Ravelry.

Twisted Rib Neckwarmer

I don't have much experience with Malabrigo other than the Malabrigo Lace that I use for the Garter Stitch Baby Kimono. But as you know it's soft soft soft, and no one can really claim that it itches. I'm curious about how it keeps shape over time, though...

Goodbye mitts

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:20:00 +0000

Soon there will be no need for these anymore.

They have been warming Ellas hands during the cold winter ever since she was born back in November. It was a quick and fun little project to knit. You can find the free pattern here.

Unfortunately I don't remember what yarn I used.

I'm back!

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:08:00 +0000

After a good long blog break I'm now longing for posting again. Many things have happened since my last post a year and a half ago - wow that's a long time! Among other things I've become a mother to a gorgeous little girl, Ella. Of course this means a lot on the knitting front, as she's an obvious reciever of my knits.

Also, we've moved to a bigger place, and now that we're facing spring, a lot of things will happen in the garden. So maybe once in a while I'll be doing a post about that.

Right now I'm knitting the Garter Stitch Baby Kimono for Ella.

She's growing so fast and I just hope to finish it in time. It would be a great little spring cardigan. I've chosen to knit it in Malabrigo Lace on 2 mm needles - don't know what I was thinking! But I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel...

See you soon :-)

Viften/The Fan

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:28:00 +0000

Not long after Marianne Isager's newest book (another one is on its way right now) was published in Denmark almost two years ago, I decided to buy it and knit some of the fabulous designs of hers. But it wasn't until now that I actually started one of them. I went for The Fan (Viften), which is a cardigan, and I'm referring to the book Japanese Inspired Knits (also published in English by Interweave). I'm going to make it with long sleeves, as it gives a slightly different look, I think, not as sweet and romantic as the one in the picture above.

I'm knitting with two strands together, one Isager Tvinni Tweed and one Isager Alpaca 1, and it looks like the perfect match so far. Isager's yarns are definitely top quality yarns in my opinion. My favorite!

Of course I made a swatch first :)

The idea in the book is to make a swatch from a written instruction and then sew it together and use it as a wrist warmer. I like that.

So I followed the instructions and now I have one wrist warmer. (I do plan to make another one, though.)

I've now started the first front of the cardigan, and I'm really enjoying knitting it.

Time to catch up

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:05:00 +0000

I've been neglecting the blog lately, but maybe now's the time to catch up. Lately, I've been knitting some baby stuff, as there are two new babies in the family, a girl and a boy.

For the girl:

Cardigan in Rowan Felted Tweed. There's no pattern. I wanted the cardigan to be simple but with details. So I decided on a small cable along the sleeves and on the right front. The i-cord edge was made to add a little contrast to the gray. I was lucky to find the perfect buttons for this.

The famous Saartje's Bootees made in left over yarn from the cardigan.

Socks, also in left over yarn. No particular pattern, just 2x2 ribbing, my preferred heel flap, and a grafted toe.

For the boy:

A vest in Drops Alpaca. This one gave a lot of bother. I had to give it several tries before I was satisfied enough to give it away. Unfortunately it also meant that this was the only thing he got. There simply wasn't time to knit another piece. It is knitted in the round, and the ribbings are 1x1 and twisted.

I've started something for myself now. Another post about this is comming up soon.

Boyfriend cardigan

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Apparently blogging hasn't been one of my top priorities the last couple of months. It doesn't mean that I've abandoned knitting, though. I've finished Frankie, a boyfriend cardigan by Kim Hargreaves.

The pattern is from her collection Breeze. This was the second time I tried one of Kim Hargreaves's patterns, and I'm loving this as much as the first one.

The yarn is Rowan Classic Pima Cotton DK, probably the best cotton yarn I've tried so far. It came as a kit, ordered directly from hargreaves's website where I also ordered the book. The kit also included the buttons.

I was having troubles getting the right gauge, so I followed the instructions for size small and it came out as a size medium/large. Just perfect.

Frankie in Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Mini Icarus

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:28:00 +0000

3 skeins (=183 m)of Phildar Phil Soie 100% pure silk are transformed into this little scarf.

I followed the instructions for Icarus Shawl by Miriam L. Felton and modified it by leaving out numerous pattern repeats.

I love the combination of yarn and pattern. The color is warm and the silk makes a fabulous shiny look.

I've thought about knitting the Icarus Shawl for a long time, and now I'm convinced that I want to knit another one full size.

Mindless Summer Knitting

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:50:00 +0000

It's finally time for summer knitting. And once again I fell in love with several Kim Hargreaves designs, one of them being Frankie from the spring/summer collection Breeze. This is my swatch for Frankie

I purchased a yarn kit - indluding buttons - directly from Hargreaves' s website. It went smoothly, a very good reason to do it again sometime.

The yarn is Rowan Pima Cotton DK - deliciously soft cotton yarn. Right now it's all about stockinette stitch, very straightforward and mindless knitting. Frankly speaking!

Marlene

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:07:00 +0000

I finally finished the Marlene socks by Cookie A. from Knit.1 Magazine. They are knitted with Shibui sock yarn, which Karin gave me. She and I had a little Shibui knitalong. (She finished her socks over a month ago.)

I love the golden semi solid color (called Honey) even though you can't predict exactly how the color turns out. On these socks the color expression changed at the foot. I like the color on the cuff best as there is a better blend of light and dark.

It was a real pleasure to knit with this yarn using 2.5mm Knit Picks dpns. Lucky me, I have more Shibui Sock in my stash.

Digging Out My Summer Tweed

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:21:00 +0000

I've started knitting a cardigan using the highly popular February Lady Sweater pattern as a guide. I wanted to try knitting from the top but not doing raglan increases. Instead I'm doing a rounded yoke. Also, I'm considering to knit the body in St st rather than using the lace pattern.

The yarn is Rowan Summer Tweed (70 % silk and 30 % cotton), a birthday present from Karin. She gave it to me last year in August and now is the perfect time to use it. I'm thinking about adding some big buttons, maybe these white ones... I'm not sure.

Reckless Raglan Alpaca Project

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Time to blog about the alpaca project.

This pullover was an attempt to make a rather simple knit with a few details, namely the ridges with reversed stockinette and the shape of the sleeves.

I had 6 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in my stash, 2 of each of the three colors. I never got to the point when I was 100 percent sure of how to place the colors, I just knew that I wanted broad stripes and that the stripes of the sleeve weren't going to match the ones on the body. I simply rushed into it and didn't plan where to change the colors before i knit it. Maybe I should've done that. Well, next time perhaps.

I had to rip the collar a couple of times as it didn't turn out as I wanted. Pretty much because I hadn't decided on anything specific! I first thought about making a big collar, which somehow would've matched the sleeves, but instead I ended up making it rather tight. (I can ditch the kerchief then.)

Overall I'm pleased with the result. I already use it outside in the rather cold spring chill.

New inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:49:00 +0000

As I wrote in my last post I participated in the knitting class taught by Britt-Marie Christoffersson. Katie asked how it was, and well, it was awesome! It was great inspiration and it made me want to try and think about knitting in a slightly new way. I'd like to experiment more with knitting than I do at the moment. During the class we all tried out different stitch patterns, which Britt-Marie had used in the exhibition. Here's how my swatches turned out. I didn't pay that much attention to the color combo - I wanted to just knit as much as I could while having Britt-Marie around helping out.

I think that these swatches have helped guiding me in the direction of more experimentation and exploration. Now that would be fun!

Swatches on Parade

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 11:57:00 +0000

Last weekend I went to an exhibition - a knitting exhibition. It was the Swedish knitter Britt-Marie Christoffersson who displayed her experiments in knitting. The main elements are what we would call swatches, all in the same size (40 x 40 cm), and it made up a beautiful coherence even though they were all very different. There were also a few knitted sweaters. With the exhibition she intends to contribute to a development of the craft, as she finds it somehow stagnated. It was so inspiring and I loved the way she used colors and shapes.

More photos on Flickr

She was also teaching a knitting class (which I participated in) during the weekend so I caught her with my camera. She was such a nice and friendly lady.

Ripping back

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:29:00 +0000

The Alpaca Pullover was almost done, only underarm seams and ends were left to sew. There were, however, a few things I wasn't satisfied with, namely the neck and the raglan decreases, so ripping was the one and only option.

And now: Back on track!

Bringing a Hibernating Project Into the Light

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:19:00 +0000

Are you the kind of knitter who has several unfinished projects lying around that you just can't seem to complete? Or - are you the kind who always makes sure to finish up what you've started - at least within a reasonable amount of time? I'd definitely say I'm the latter. Except from the fact that I have this one project which I started years ago - 4 years at least! It's almost embarrassing and not at all typical for me.

It's a pullover knitted in DUO Merino Wool from Design.club.dk that I decided to design myself. The problem is, though, that I'd make many thing different if I were to start the project now. I've learned so much about knitting the past couple of years and now I'm just not really into finishing this pullover. But it's knitted on 2,5 mm needles, 2 x 2 ribbing, sooo time consuming. Besides, as I've finished the front, almost the back, and the sleeves are nearly half-way, I just can't bring myself to frog it.

If I need to frog something it'll be the neck. I'm not satisfied with the way it is but I haven't decided how I want it to turn out either. I need to think about it and try and finish this project ASAP!

New Scarf - Old Pattern Motif

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:09:00 +0000

Ever since my Ogee Cardigan was in the making I've been fascinated with that specific pattern motif. I first found it in Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns (an old but very useful book) and I've used it again in this Scarf - which I happened to name Ogee Scarf.

The border is knitted in moss stitch to give some kind of frame to the continuous pattern motif and I'm quite happy with this solution.

There are interesting details in this pattern and I particularly like that you can see the individual threads twisting around each other, surrounding the oval shape.

The yarn is Tapestry from Rowan in the color Highland, my first experience with yarn containing soybean protein. It says 30% on the label and the rest is wool, so it should be warm enough. I used 6 mm needles, which I usually don't prefer. I find them too big and a bit clumsy to handle. I do make exceptions, though.

The yarn is wonderfully soft and I really like the color. It's a little variegated which shows in some subtle stripes in the scarf. Knitting with this yarn was at times anoying, though, because the yarn tends to split very easily, and it pretty quickly felts a little bit, so you don't want to rip back an awful lot if you can avoid it - I mean, don't make any errors!

Despite this minor detail about the yarn, I really love how the scarf turned out. I know that it will follow me the rest of the winter, all the way to the beginning of spring.

Shibui on a Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:49:00 +0000

Today was the sunniest day we've had for a long time and even though it's only early February, it reminds me of the spring, which can't be that far away.

The other day I received a fabulous and unexpected present from Karin. It was the most wonderful sock yarn one can imagine: Shibui Sock in a so, so beautiful color (it looks like caramel). Yesterday, when Karin had invited a few knitters over, she and I started a Shibui knit along. I casted on for a Cookie A. pattern, Marlene from the latest knit.1 magazine. I love it already!

I'm using my new Knit Picks dpn's - only 15 cm long - and the combination of these needles and my new Shibui yarn makes knitting such a pleasure. ... It's true!

Alpaca Pullover in Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 23:09:00 +0000

Thank you all for the nice and wonderful comments on my camisole. I'm considering writing up the pattern.

I've started a new project using the really delicious Berroco Ultra Alpaca. I have three colors, two skeins of each. I hope it's enough for a pullover. Maybe I'll make the sleeves shorter. Let's see how it turns out. I made a few calculations beforehand but I'm pretty much making it up as I go.

My Very Own Camisole

noreply@blogger.com (Lise) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:57:00 +0000

First FO of the year: A Camisole for a very special purpose.

I'm a member of a knitting society where we meet once a month to knit, talk, and share ideas as well as and inspiration. The challenge is that we are suposed to knit things without patterns - it's so fun! Also, it's becomming a tradition to make a small exhibition every year with something knitted - designed by one self, of course. We discussed what the theme should be and decided it together. This time we ended up with a very broad one: "Something-with-clothes" which more or less means that everything will do! The idea is, though, that it should be some kind of wordplay where the word 'clothes' is included. As this is a Danish context the options are of course slightly different from English. However, a camisole will work with the theme just fine. Anyway, this is my contribution.

I knitted this with merino wool from a Danish spinning mill (Henrichsen), on needle size 2.5 mm so it wasn't such a quick project. The most challenging part was the lace at the top. I made a garter stitch edging and garter stitch shoulder straps, so I wanted the lace part to have garter stitch in it too. I ended up combining garter stitch with a leave motif, which I think came out pretty.

I really like the two colors together, especially on the edging. The rib on each side makes it very stretchy and close-fitting, which I prefer when using it this time of year. It fits perfectly under a shirt, keeping the body nice and warm.

I'm not exactly sure when the exhibition will take place but I hope that my contribution will look fine among a whole lot of other knitted garments and things. I'm quite excited about it!