Grasflecken

my heart skips a beat

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:11:00 +0000

when i saw this new sweater made by anke [aka fallmasche]

my heart skips a beat - such a cute thing!!!!

she invited me to test the pattern - and here is my organic

yarn. merino/acrylic (90/10) mix from unlabled cone

needles. 4 mm circulars and dpns

i couldn't get a matching mohair for edings and ruffles

so i went without - i did my ruffles on smaller needles

as called for, so i increased 4 more stitches

to achieve given width

the pattern is easy to follow

seamless, topdown construction with contiguous set-in-sleeves

little pleats under the saddle shoulders and this uber cute

ruffleband !!!

ok, not totally seamless (hahaha)

you have to sew the ruffles to the middle of the front

i think we can call it seamless anyway

all in one i'm absolutely in love with my new sweater and would

loooove to have it in several colours!!!!

by the way - several colours!!!

working on a testknit for.... not new, i know...but...

fair-isle!!!!!! that is new!!!!

i have hard times to manage knitting with more than one colour

and keep my knitting even

it's slow going - a completely new experience

hmmmmm....think i have to practice more ;))

hugs,

isa k.

testknitting for veera

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

had the pleasure to do some testknits for veera

pattern. that time (think she will publish this soon)

yarn(s). wool tweed superfine by ICE YARNS

held together with sportweight merino

to get correct gauge

a fun and quick knit, the pattern itself is (as always)

easy and clear written

was thinking of adding 2 more buttonholes if I will do that again

......we'll see

the next one is a doublebreasted cardigan

before dark contains all of my favorites:

garter st, topdown construction, cowl collar.....

really love this little one

worked with 2 strands of wool tweed superfine and got gauge

so this is superlight and cozy ;)

both cardis are purple!!!! no fear! the next project on my

needles is grey - as usual (hahaha)

hope you all have good days

isa k.

Gerda Hat

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:22:00 +0000

did another in between test for milja

the pattern will soon be available via rav or on her blog

pattern. Gerda Hat by milja uimonen

yarn. Maxi Tosca by LANG YARNS (discontinued)

needles. 5.5 mm

was a quick and easy knit, think one could knit this

in one day

the textured pattern turned out really nice in this yarn

only my fluffy hair does not look very nice ..:(

still working on the patterns of grandpa and il grande favorito

have nice days

isa k.

stashbusting - skihase [free pattern]

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:31:00 +0000

would you trust me, if i told you that i prepared this post

in december? i really have to work on my time management

the hat itself is simple and easy to knit

i had a few skeins of merino 70 laying around and i

truly have to reduce my stash!

you could also use any other bulky yarn that knits up

to the gauge.

the pompom is made out of lambskin

materials:
merino 70 by LANG YARNS
2 skeins in maincolour
1 skein of each contrastcolour
you will need about 140 meter [153 yards] in total

5 mm [US 8] circulars 40 cm [16"] long and dpns

gauge: 16.5 sts x 23 rows in St st
size: one size (to fit head circumference 54-61 cm [21-24"])

adjust the size easily by adding/reducing multiples of 2 sts

CO 72 sts and join to knit in rounds

pm at beg of round

rnd 1-10: *k tbl, p1 around

rnd 11 (inc rnd): *k4, m1 around (90 sts)
rnds 12-20: k all sts
rnds 21-39: work colour chart
rnds 40-44: k all sts
rnd 45 (dec rnd): *k13, k2tog; rep from* around (84 sts)
rnd 46: k around
rnd 47 (dec rnd): *k12, k2tog; rep from* around (78 sts)
rnd 48: k around
rnd 49 (dec rnd): *k11, k2tog; rep from* around (72 sts)
rnd 50: k around
rnd 51 (dec rnd): *k10, k2tog; rep from* around (66 sts)
rnd 52: k around
rnd 53 (dec rnd): *k9, k2tog; rep from* around (60 sts)
rnd 54: k around
rnd 55 (dec rnd): *k3, k2tog; rep from* around (48 sts)
rnd 56: k around
rnd 57 (dec rnd): *k2, k2tog; rep from* around (36 sts)
rnd 58 (dec rnd): *k2tog around (18 sts)
cut yarn, pull through rem sts and weave in ends

abbreviations:
CO: cast on
st(s): stitch(es)
pm: place marker
beg: begin
rnd(s): round(s)
k: knit
p: purl
k tbl: knit through backloop
inc: increase
dec: decrease
k2tog: knit 2 sts together
rep: repeat
rem: remaining

did a second one with scraps of the same yarn

the only change i made, was working with 2 sts less (88 sts)

due to the checkered pattern (multiple of 4 sts)

hope you have fun

isa k.

charcoal fay

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:12:00 +0000

was pretty cold this morning when i took the pics

the only good thing about the weather these days

is that i am able to wear all my woollen sweaters..(hahaha)

my cowls, my mittens,.....and new hats

this is such a cute hat. love everything about it

the pattern for this new design of milja

will soon be available via rav and on her blog

pattern. Faye Hat by Milja Uimonen

yarn. nimbus by Zitron, col. 413

needles. 5 mm circulars and dpns

i will definitely knit another one - maybe in red???

hope you all have nice days

enjoy your weekend

isa k.

ready for testknitting

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:50:00 +0000

part 1 of the contiguous sweater patterns is ready for
testing now

contiguous stripes
is a simple v-neck sweater worked from top down in one piece
knitted on larger needles to get a loose gauge for a drapey fabric

This garment is worked seamlessly from the top-down using the contiguous sleeve method developed by Susie Myers, SusieM on Ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/people/SusieM).

materials. 4 mm circular needle (optional - for neck finishing)

5 mm circular needle and dpns

light sport weight yarn; approx. 980 (1100, 1250,

1400, 1600) meters - those are rough estimates!

we need to check this while testing

gauge. 18 sts x 26 rows

sizes. xs (s, m, l, xl)

there is no tight deadline for the testing (this will knit up very quickly), but i hope you could finish that sweetheart till march?

~~so come on girls - i need your help!~~

~~send a PM via ravelry or an email with you emailadress~~

~~to isabell(dot)kraemer72(at)web(dot)de~~

Thank you girls! I think I have found enough testknitters

have nice days

isa k.

samples are ready

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:21:00 +0000

the samples for both contiguous projects/patterns are ready!

as i said before the cardi is on the big side -
it was intended to be comfortable, but i'm not sure
if i have to edit the stcounts?!

the simple contiguous-for-beginners v-neck sweater turned out

great (if i may say so?) knitted on a loose gauge with

2 nonlabled yarns i had in my stash for a long, long time

so my work for the next days will be to write clean copies

of the patterns and check the numbers, that we hopefully

could start the testing next week?! (or the week after next :))

have creative days

isa k.

more purple storm

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:11:00 +0000

captured a bit of daylight this morning for taking
better pics of my purple storm

so for now i will take my sofa with a nice new in between testknit,

had a long day at work and the weather is really

not fine here!!!!

happy creating out there

isa k.

1/2012

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:19:00 +0000

got it ready! it's a bit on the big side after blocking,
but that's ok.

the sample of the simple striped sweater is blocking right now
and i think i will be able to show it next week...
hoping for a bit more daylight

yesterday Joji published one of the patterns i testknitted in
december.... my purple storm is made out of recycled
silk/merino doubled throughout to get given gauge

i really need to take more and even better pics...

hugs

isa k.

where's my time going?

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:51:00 +0000

2 weeks of this new year are already gone....
i had so many plans for posting.....

i noticed that there are a few of last years projects
that i didn't show.....hmmmm
don't ask me why, sometimes i think there is tooooooo
much going on at the same time -
so some fall by the wayside

ok, best will be to do this step by step....

first my favorite lounging sweater ever
il grande favorito is worked from topdown, oversized
and soooo cozy

bottom is shaped with a few shortrows

pattern. not published yet, but i work hard these days to

get rid of all those raw patterns laying around

yarn. angora/merino blend

needles. 7 mm circulars and dpns

at the moment i work on two samples for upcoming

patterns, both worked topdown with contiguous set-in sleeves

developed by SusieM

one basic sweater for beginners and a cardigan with mock-cabled fronts and a cute, deep shawl collar

so let's see if i could keep the promise to post

more constant......

have nice days

isa k.

happy new year

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:14:00 +0000

now this blog is nearly 1 year old

i have to THANK YOU for your kind comments

and encouragements....

paul is here since april

M. did his graduation in summer

my first written pattern went online

oh - i know - full of errors and a little strange

there were ups and downs, but all in one

i have to be very grateful

for ~~this year~~ today i will leave with

best wishes from the bottom of my heart

a happy new year for you and your family

full of joy, peace and creativity

keep calm and carry on

isa k.

bright and merry days

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:19:00 +0000

phew! all those busy, busy days in december!

but all in one this is my favorite time of year...

crafting, knitting, cooking for the ones i love

this little mouse is on its way to austria

to my third owlsister

hope she will love her shining face as we did

as long as she was here....

another lovely felt mouse i made for a good friend

some goodies went to france last week

all the best xmas wishes to mademoiselle c.

i had lots of fun :)

simple but really stylish leather bracelet

made for my coworker

gifts and goodies for manu

i planned a couple more posts in december,

but there was too much to do to make it work..

so i will leave with wishes of peace for you and your family

take care and have bright and merry days

may the world revolve in peace

...

isa k.

new passion

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:11:00 +0000

sock animals! what a cute thing..

got this book some time ago

and did my first sock zebra! isn't he lovely?!

just a sneak peak - there are many, many more

adorable guys in this book

...

for now i have to quit

no time - xmas crazyness, you know!

a new sweater project is on my needles

hope to be able to show the next days

we will be away for xmas shopping

this weekend.... a 2 days trip to lake constance

maybe i can show some pics on monday

(if my hunt will be sucessful?!)

stay calm theses days

isa k.

zig cowl - free pattern

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 07:16:00 +0000

need a quick last-minute gift?

here's the how-to.

materials. 8 mm circulars

3 skeins montana by lang yarns (90m per skein)

measurements. 28 in x 12.5 in (70 cm x 32 cm)
circumference 140 cm!

co 132 sts and join to work in the round

- be careful not to twist!

pm to mark the beg of rnd

rnd 1+2. *k3, p3 around

rnd 3+4. p1, *k3, p3; rep from * to 2 sts before end, p2

rnd 5+6. p2, *k3, p3; rep from * to 1 st before end, p1

rnd 7+8. *p3, k3 around

rnd 9+10. k1, *p3, k3; rep from * to 2 sts before end, k2

rnd 11+12. k2, *p3, k3; rep from * to 1 st before end, k1

rep those 12 rnds until you have used up one and a half skein

now reverse the pattern

rnd 1+2. *k3, p3 around

rnd 3+4. k2, *p3, k3; rep from * to 1 st before end, k1

rnd 5+6. k1, *p3, k3; rep from * to 2 sts before end, k2

rnd 7+8. *p3, k3 around

rnd 9+10. p2, *k3, p3; rep from * to 1 st before end, p1

rnd 11+12. p1, *k3, p3; rep from * to 2 sts before end, p2

rep those 12 rnds until you used up the most of your 3rd skein

BO loosely in pattern

that's it - hope you enjoy!

crafty days

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:23:00 +0000

wanna show you those cute santas

i made out of branches

all you need.

cutting tools to get the bark off

sandpaper for a smooth surface

brushes, paint and a steady hand (hahaha...

not one of my strong points)

happy crafting

isa k.

advent

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:54:00 +0000

have a nice sunday

isa k.

featherweight shawl

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:14:00 +0000

finished this beauty yesterday

....weighs only 100 grams!

inspiration for this was a similar shawl/scarf

i saw in a mag last week

increased every 4th row until i was finished with

the first skein, the fringe is built-in

tripled 5 sts at the beginning of one row(RS)

bound off 10 sts on the following RS row

needles. 7.0 mm

yarn. aura by ice yarns

have a nice week

isa k.

back again

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:53:00 +0000

sorry for being absent so long,

so much work, so less time....

couldn't resist showing this "little" angel

i made out of a styrofoam ball, wooden toothpicks and

papier-maché

...

also have many projects on my needles

a few are ready - have to do some pics!

(both cameras were on holidays the last weeks;

one in egypt with my third owlsister, the other went to heidelberg with M.)

working on a mohair shawl/scarf with ruffles,

a sweater (simple outdoor sweater in grey -

raglan construction, scoop neck, big needles),

a seed st cowl,

a bunch of hats for x-mas gifting,

some cute crocheted owls,.....and many more

...

and last but not least

i'm working on secret testknits for joji

so hard not to show any of those gorgeous designs,

time will come and i will show you all!!!!

hugs

isa k.

cabled cardi for paul

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 06:17:00 +0000

did a little baby knitting

don't know why this is rare for me?!

those little knits are soooo cute and really fast to do

and it's a pretty good option

to test stitches and yarns

working on a cabled tweed cardigan design

this cute baby garment came to my mind

lined with an old shirt from M.

had to shorten the zipper - was not funny

i never did this before, but i had no suitable

zipper on hand

in the end all the finishing work took me more

patience than knitting ....

but all of this work is so much worth it:

look at this adorable guy

the next sweater for paul is on the go

will be some kind of a fishermens sweater

we will see....

have nice days

isa k.

among the shades

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:24:00 +0000

new sweater on the go

inspired by these foggy fall mornings.

easy construction with a nice ribbing

wear it with an additional cowl

or with a [soon to be ready] slouchy hat

yarn. bamba wool/acrylic

(not the best, but ok for testing)

needles. 4mm circulars and dpns

pattern. hmmm....

hope you all have a nice weekend

sun is shining over here,

so i will leave you for spending the afternoon outdoors

with a little flower

isa k.

DIY advent wreath

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:07:00 +0000

i know it's a bit early for x-mas crafting

especially when it is such a quick and easy project..

but i couldn't resist posting

what i did last night.. :)

a super cute knitted advent wreath

all you need is some bulky yarn

matching needles,

one straw wreath (don't know if this is the right word?!)

tapestry needle,

crepe paper matching the yarns colour

ribbon and some decoration

and here is the how-to:

measure around your straw wreath

to figure out the width of your knitting

you also have to measure, or calculate the circumference

of your wreath

in my case this was about 18 cm in width

and the circumference was 94 cm

make a swatch with your yarn

my yarn knits up to a gauge of 1 st per cm

provisionally co the st amount you need to get the desired width

and begin working in garter st

you will not need to knit to the total length

cause this will stretch out very much

you may want to check the length from time to time

i didn't do that, so i had to ripp back a few rows

now undo the provisional co and graft

the pieces together

you can see that i grafted knitwise

to have some plain space for my ribbon

cut your crepe paper in 7cm straps

and wrap around your wreath

now place the knitted piece on your wreath

and do a simple whipstitchseam

to get your wreath wrapped with your knitted piece

and decorate.....

hope a few like this as much as i do

happy crafting

isa k.

driven [testknit]

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:05:00 +0000

tadaaaaaaa!!!!

my very own driven

a wonderful quick and easy knit

veera gave me the chance to testknit one of her

latest designs

and i am in love with it

reminds me of a clean and new version of

those alpine-style jackets

yarn. novena col. 768.0005 grey

wool tweed superfine darkgrey

both yarns held together to get perfect gauge

needles. 6mm circulars and dpns

cannot say how much i like those faux seams...

have a nice one

isa k.

my darling

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 06:42:00 +0000

my darling emma,

so romantic, so lovely.....

makes me thinking about loveletters, beds of roses,

.....

was a loooooong (hahaha) pleasure to testknit this

beauty for Joji

i admire all the other testers for doing this in

larger sizes, a long cardi in fingering weight

is a real challenge

but it's worth it!!!!!

yarn. fortissima alpaka 3.5 skeins for smallest size

needles. 3.5mm circulars and dpns

pattern. darling emma by Joji Locatelli

did some minor mods:

did only 20 patternrepeats

to shorten the cardi a little bit

didn't change needlesize for gartercuffs

(had no smaller dpns with me..)

skipped the last decrease on the sleeves

hope to be able to show some pics of

my testknit i did for veera tomorrow

happy knitting

isa k.

current projects

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 06:28:00 +0000

caught a bad cold last week..
couldn't think straight a few days

the hoodie is on hold, cause i have to finish my
testknit for Joji; emma is going to be ready today

was a pleasure to knit and to be part of her
testing group, but i'm not sure, if this looks nice on me,
maybe not really my style of clothing...?

also working on this as a test for veera.
1 and a half sleeve to go, think i will be ready
to post a pic at the end of this week

this is another test i did last month, no pic of the finished

bag yet, cause i need to finish the lining

chris designed this wonderful messenger bag

and gave me the opportunity to test his pattern.

mine is going to be a very rustic beauty

with little alpine details

yarn. schanzer trachtenwolle

needles. 5mm

have nice days

isa k.

tweed hoodie

noreply@blogger.com (isa k.) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 07:29:00 +0000

my hoddie is making progress

only the sleeves to go

now i'm thinking about lining it

maybe a dotted jersey lining?

.....

the next 4 days we celebrate a wine festival here

we live in a medieval village and all vaulted cellars

are open, many bands are playing and still more wine is flowing.....hihihi

much work, but also a lot of fun

so i think i won't have much time to post

see you at tuesday

isa k.