My knitting and crochet goal…

Last year I said that I was going to crochet and knit every design from this japanese book:

And while I’m not good at keeping promises or craft goals or any goals in general,  somehow I’m keeping this up. The reason might be that it’s not a serious oath, neither something that fiddles with my everyday life and I don’t feel any pressure from it. Why do I bother with such a small goal? Well, my theory is that if I find what keeps me on completing it, then I might use the same mechanism for every abandoned goal, oath, promise (believe me, they’re so many) that I’ve had in the past and I might make them complete. Could it be that I find this particular goal easy to keep because it gives me pleasure? Could be…

Back to the book. This summer I’ve finished two more patterns from it. One for me and one for a friend. And they’re both made with the lovely Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy yarn in color 023. I love this yarn. First, it’s cool for summer, second, once washed it softens and drapes beautifully, and third, it comes in wonderful deep colors.Plus it looks like it will never be worn out or destroyed…

This time I made the front cover tunic for me. That was an excellent pattern, easy and fast! And you get a look that everyone you meet will compliment (and feel jealous if they can’t make it for themselves).

and look how cute the scalloped edges look:

The next object is one of the two hats of the book and I really believe my version came out cuter.  Here’s my friend modelling the gift:

I added a button to the crochet flower and also a pin on the back so that she can remove it and wear it somewhere else if she wants to.

And now that we’re talking about hats and this book I remembered I have actually knitted the second hat design on this book earlier this year. I made it for a Ravelry Swap prize and it’s already mailed to its new home in northern Europe.

I’ve made many changes to this pattern.  I omitted the visor and knitted ribbing at the end in order to make a simple beret.

I used undyed greek cotton that I dyed red after knitting. I think it came out quite nice and summer-y!

A reminder: all patterns can be found at the japanese book: Easy Knit Wardrode Spring / Summer (ISBN: 4529045234)

 

Hide the winter projects, here comes the spring!

I’m officially done with anymore winter sewing or knitting or crocheting from now on. I will now only work spring and summer projects.

This was the final transitional project from winter to spring. A crochet tunic made from one of my favorite japanese books, KNIT, from which I’ve also knitted this cardigan last month.

The truth is it came out looking more folksy on me than what it seemed in the original photo from the book. But I still like itand I think I’ll be wearing it throughout spring. I used Rowan Pure Wool DK for it, because the original calling for Anny Blatt Angora was too pricey for me. Rowan Pure Wool is stiff when worked but after washing and blocking it becomes soft and drapes beautifully. But that’s a problem with this pattern because the collar doesn’t stand straight as it should. the garment is worked in one piece and then the sides are stitched on the upper side together and you add a decorative button. Mine doesn’t show in these photos but it’s there, I promise! It produces a looe tunic that opens at the sides.

Somedays are sunny and hot in this part of the world and you can go out with short sleeves and some days are rainy and chilly, like today. but overall I don’t think we have lot of cold days left, so I will not produce more winter garments. Because given the fact that I need at least one month to finish something, by the time I finish it will be too hot to wear. And I’d hate to put a new project in hold in a dark closet without wearing it. So, bye bye wool, alpaca and beloved baby llama and hello cotton, linen and bamboo. Same goes for sewing.

Yesterday I got all my summer cottons out of the boxes and searched for the perfect wrap skirt. I found an IKEA quilt cover that is going to be transformed into a lovely skirt. I’ll finish it today and take a photo as soon as the sun shines again. Till then take care.

 

iknit

This blog has seen better times. But there are times when life is too sad, hectic and stressful and the blog is one of the first things to go. It’s been so long that I’ve visited my dashboard since the last time that wordpress logged me out. But I’ve used that away time to learn a new craft.And that is always a good thing. Last year I learned how to crochet and that was enough. I said to myself: You’ll learn how to knit when there’s a need for it. When you’ll find a project that you can’t crochet. Because I need a strong motive if I’m going to learn a new skill. It’s hard work since I always teach myself and it takes time.

The story is that I found a crocheted cardigan that had ribbed waist, sleeves and collar. And it was the right time to grab a pair of needles and start practicing. I tried many styles and ways to hold the yarn and move around the needles and I finally found what was so annoying with my first attempts. It’s impossible for me to coordinate my moves with english knitting method, like I learned as a kid and like most people in my country knit. But when I  tried continental for the first time it was a revelation. I could be effective, fast and pain-free. English method makes my right hand hurt soooo much.

I used some scrap yarn for my first tries, because I didn’t want to practice on  my cardigan. This is my fourth try and the first succesful one:

Then it was time to move on to the real project.  It took a lot of time to finish because that’s when life became sad, hectic and stressful as mentioned above. But I did finish it last week. It’s a pattern from my new favorite knitting book by Ondori (again). The designer is called Asae Misono and the english title is KNIT.

It features 21 absolutely fabulous everyday-wearable knitting and crochet projects (mostly knitting though)  and they’re the kind of designs I would be determined to pay a lot of money to have them bought (if I could find them around). But since I can’t find and buy them, I’ll make them.  Maybe all someday, who knows.

My version of the no.4 project “cardigan” is right here:

I like the intentional long sleeves, the crochet pattern and especially the big collar. I also like that you can find many ways to wear it, looser, tighter,different pins to close it in the front. I was afraid after the first rows that the color would look a bit army-like, but it looks much more moss-like and I like it. I used Cascade Bollicine Etoile mohair/nylon blend that I bought on sale a year ago. It’s nice and soft and VERY warm. I love mohair. And good yarns on sale. And the collar. Oh, I already mentioned that:

Now, inevitably, I’m hooked on knitting. I know how to knit, purl, rib, increase, decrease, how to knit into forth and back, how to do a stitch called brioche and that’s all for now. After this cardigan I also knitted a scarf, a beret and a turban hat. I’m gonna show you in the next post. ok?

 

The 75% syndrome or How it Took Me 4 months to finish a stole.

When it comes to crocheting (but I guess it comes to knitting too), I diagnosed myself recently with the 75% syndrome. Ravelry helped me figure it all out. You know, it has the feature to add a percent number to any project you are currently wip-ing. So I noticed that each time a project reached the 75% percent or around that number, I stopped it, put it on a shelf and started a new one. Then another. Then another.

Hm, a repeating pattern, I thought. But why am I doing such a thing? i tried to explain myself to myself and here’s what, I believe, happens.  You start a crochet/knitting project, excited, oh la la, the picture at the book looks awesome! Then you spend the first rows understanding and learning to repeat the pattern. That’s enjoyable. Once you do learn it, you can know go on and crochet/knit it without looking at the pattern. That’s enjoyable too. Right before you reach the 50%  it starts to get boring. but you say to yourself, come on we have to finish at least half of it. And you reach 60-65% slowly. But it gets more boring and then you are close to 75% which is very close to the 100%. You convince yourself that you don’t need much time to finish it. “If I need to, I can finish it in x number of days.” So you say. So let’s start a new project just to wipe the boredom away. And from that point on the syndrome repeats itself. And I start to squeeze my UFOs on a shelf I use for WIPs.

This is the story of the Pineapple Lacy Stole (ravelry link). And the Legwarmers, the armwarmers, the slippers and some tawashi in between. But it’s finally finished!

My mom saw me twice working on it and both times asked for it, so I gave in. I will go to my mom and not the original recipient.

The pattern is from the japanese crochet book: Let’s Knit Series: Crochet Lace, ISBN # 978-4-529-04342-7, no # 19

I used Habu Tsumugi A1 silk lace yarn. This is a very special yarn. Feels like cotton, it’s lace and has tweed details. It’s sturdy and strong and perfect for lacy designs that won’t feel like there’re ready to fall apart. Looks pretty and holds the stitching pattern and when looked upon closely it reveals it’s tsumugi beauty. Look how pretty it is.

I started this project late July/early August. It kept me company on hot nights out in the garden, it traveled with me at my September vacation, suffered months of loneliness due to my 75% syndrome and now it’s blocked and gift-wrapped, ready to give to mom for Christmas.

So…I’m curious, do you have a syndrome that haunts you and doesn’t let you finish your projects? What is it?

 

Knitting and crochet all-in-one converter

There are many conversion tables out there. I have them all, but still they won’t help me. I have metric hooks, japanese hooks and US ones too. I read US patterns, European patterns and mainly I follow charts from japanese knitting and crochet books. What I really needed (and couldn’t find anywhere) was  a table to help me link projects with yarn weight and hook size in all languages and lingos. There wasn’t any, so I made one for myself. And I thought I’d share one with you. I’m not an experienced knitter/crocheter, so this does the job for me. If, unlike me, you are experienced, it might seem useless. But who knows… Here it is anyway.

Example of use No1: I have a japanese pattern that calls for a 5/0 hook. I have a set of japanese crochet hooks and I don’t need to convert to metric. What I need is a link to the yarn I’m gonna need. I don’t read japanese symbols and I need help for that. Trial and error is too time-consuming for my limited amount of free time. So, before I made this table, I had to consult 2 different tables, first convert japanese hook to metric, then consult the yarn standards to see what yarn weight this hook typically calls for. Then I can go and order online or search through my stash for the yarn. The chart helps me solve the problem called “japanese hook to yarn weight” using only one piece of paper. Oh ok, I keep a pdf  at my computer desktop too.
Example of use No2: Then there is another very important use of my table. In my country people don’t call yarn by the yarn standards names. If you go to a LYS and ask for a worsted they will probably assume you entered the wrong kind of store. They just know the thin, the normal and the thick yarn. And the very thick one probably. Virtual sigh. So, all the information I get is the size of needles, suggested by the manufacturer, on the yarn label. Since I mostly crochet, this information is not very useful to me. But with the help of my chart I can convert the needle size to hook size and then to yarn weight and see if the particular yarn is suited for the japanese project I’m gonna crochet with a japanese hook. Too  confusing? Globalization, what can I say…
I’m sure there are more ways to use this conversion table. And I hope it helps you too.
I have printed it and I always take it with me when shopping for yarn, downtown Athens or online. I also keep it right next to me when I browse my japanese knitting books and I search for my next project. It helps me get an idea of what yarn I need and whether I have something in my stash or not. The chart doesn’t substitute a swatch of course, but it gives me something to start.

Here’s the all-in-one conversion table in pdf file.
Feel free to print it, share with friends and link to it. Just don’t make any profit out of it, as is.

(It’s the first time I’m making a pdf and uploading to the internet, so please  report any problems. Thanks.)