Swedish Knitblogger who loves spinning, knitting, dyeing and yarn. I will do some other roundabouts about life too.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

...and in darkness bind them

So, I tried to get stash overview picture from my YARN ROOM! but that is not an easy task! It just very clearly explains the mess that is going on. So, to the right this is my bag that I'm doing in RYA yarn (which is really coarse weaving yarn for carpets) Is it the long coarse hair from the sheep? It is done in Märta-Stina Abrahamsdotters inspired style, which means you always have two yarns and you weave every stich in (bind it), as well as colourful patterns. (no, it is not Two-end knitting this is more fair-isle, but having the yarn you nit on the long finger, and the one you do not knit on the pointy finger, and the you grab the yarn alternatively over and under the other yarn).. Aslo, here one could se a lime shawl starting (debbie Bliss alpaca silke, and Noro Aurora (the green glitter part from no 1). Vauge in the back you might see two almost finished sleeves in beige - Noro (Shinano?)
So, now moving to "the room" which has a table in the middle! Total mess. I might just confess, that is not ok. There are all my sample yarns, since a dwell on the knitting magazine in Sticka in my yarn explorations. An expensive hobby, but hey, better excuse I have never had to at least treat me with one ball of all weird yarn, every time I browse the LYS. So my last picture maybe capture the essense. I have 15 boxes filled, and then bags and bags hanging around. Of course, I do plan to buy shelfs, put in glass for moth protection, and just have everything like big painting. A "at home yarnshop". So,curious of the content? Well
the two bags on to contains, looped mohair in light blue (one of my options for border in circular cardi, that I was not happy about) Now I have 200 g light blue/turquoise and 200g lime. 400g is not enough to make a sweater. So, the other bag is the finish yarn from Svalan "Syksy" in brown. Planned to be a cabled sweater (hmm... much aran in the planning here!) but I do have great books. Hidden behind is a bag with a started Jaeger merino Wool and unfortunately from my superwash days. It feels so dark. Probably going to be changed into a gent's sweater. Probably going to be moved to the knitting machine. So, sorry for the dark ages. But good is that you can click on any of my pictures and get an enlargement. So, now it will be silence until sunday from me. Going to my dear friend in Helsinki. I cannot wait. We have planned this for months! The real deal. Hopefully it will be a long shopping saturday, but you never know! We might just snuggle in front of the fire. I doubt she knits. I will. All the way there and back!

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Camera bad Stash flash

So, I start easy! Afraid this is going to be a long series. And my camera is not cooperating at all. With flash it is black (even if it was daylight). Weird. So I took my dear Hopechest (done in Rörås in Norway, also - a place for great yarn I'm told! both the chest and Rörås...) But when I starting to look at the yarn! First - The Wåhlstedt wonderful yarn of great wool beautiful handcolored. It is the best and truest Swedish wool - since the origin was the persons how started to preserve the Swedish sheep for wool (when it was all about meat). Likey,Likey (as Carrie would say!)
The plan for this yarn is probably an aran styled larger sweater with a shawl collar, pockets and that can be wrapped around... (and of course mitten, cap, socks and whatever with the rest!)
Long for sure! Cabels Cabels Cabels.
The hope chest is also the stash for some of my Bohus knitting. So it is Green Meadow pattern, sweater, mitten and cap. And Blue shimmer, (2 sweaters), And the new Grey Mist (with a green-greyish backdrop). All from Solsilke in the wonderful merino- angora (50/50). (Best quality Makes me go mad!). Anyway, on this black picture (enlarge it!) up left is a knitted wool patterns (swans and hearts?) (Farmer wool yarn from Konsum, 1970 something) that is supposed to be grey with purple pattern. But Size is for a 10 year old! Happily I discovered scissors. So my plan is that this will be the front of a great patterned sweater (or back?). You can also see the Norweigan Alfa 100% wool from Sandnes. It is all shades of grey from black to light grey. And to make some spiff I bought 4 turqoise balls from Britt to add it up. No idea what to make, but sure going to work the little dots of colour into that grey... I always start with sweater thoughts.
Found this Colinette handcoloured yarn- totally frogged sweater. Thinking of domino-squares (since the pieces are short!) Typical "sail-boat" project. Takes forever, (just to sort the yarn) summer-sweater. Enough of dark pictures: The rest which in short was: Twinny yarn (black, grey lime and some other for a newspaper sweater),and a big bag of collected chenille yarn bought on sale) and finally the 70 handspun angora in bad colours from Hemslöjden in Uppsala. I ignored the eyelash yarn from germany (fox something) and found a bag of mixed samples.. Later friend later...More to come!
After the stress culminates - I realize I have new deadlines! Got my weekend picture on a frozen first flower. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Im truely amazed of the world! It is getting smaller. Spring.. Ahha finally spring...

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Fashionable or not?

Well, my new found NY-fab blog-friend claimed she is not exactly fashionable and gave me this great link of what REALLY is fashionable.. ! So now it is for true! I'm not. My scary age- - oopps, I'm already moving into 45 years ! but I hang out with students in their 20s mix....of enjoying the latest Harry Potter (just bought the DVD) that my husband and my workfriends totally "dissar "(swedish slang for reject) but moves my student pals to a discussion of how great Douglas Adams - "Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" (remember the knit scene?) is...well confusing. So, how do I transend from being the management power lady (which at work undoubtly means Jacket! or suit!) to being a non-threatening "one of the gang" in a "not too expensive sweater" -hood? I'm just so out of fashion! I look trendier 25 years ago (check my schoolphoto - here!). Timeless! Purlneckless! ha. I still got the same leather boots. Had them on yesterday. So, what do one KNIT? A replica of Marvin? Well I am a fan of the hitch-hiker! Thinking about knitting the Mag-knits T-shirt with a big 42 on the belly! Will be great for my PhD! The answer of it all ;-) Secondly, I stare at this beautiful knit magazine, and the "latest trend" which is black with white and I saw some very few other colours. Having just finished skogsmörkret (bohus) in black, - it is HARD to knit black. White is great! and White looks great for patterns. Hmmm. All white yarn I have is BOUGHT is to be used FOR Dyeing. Hmmm.. So now I remember my white Cashmere yarn I bought in Dusseldorf - since I didnt like the colours they had..Project, Knitting project...But honestly I see my self very colourful. Working up energy for ORANGE and RED for this fall. Doing my automleaf sweater... or should I wait??
Like my brothers picture up there. So this is fashion from within - or do we create it? Do we follow others? Artists lead! Knitters are artists, hence what we knit is fashion (at least for us!). But fur brims? Well... hmmm that I need to ponder. This is my Raku-fired tea-pt I made some years ago...A tea, and doing some knitting is great for contemplating! No, I stick to my favorites, and I'm challenging, the lime, green, blue, purple,with more orange, pink and red..... but first, some real natural colours. Not fashionable - But happy! The birds are finally starting to celebrate spring!

Monday, April 03, 2006

Blushing Swedish Knitter!

My face is red! Dear hpnyknits linked me up - a fashionable NY lady! Wow, it just feels that NY came here! And I do not have to watch Sex in the City! Yarn from the city! And Scrubs... There is a fantastic song called "Aunt Fantasy's travel" - if you can't go - BLOG!
So, I just have to flash my stash... (That is a challenge will come in the next few days!)...because her's were AMAZING! Pictures pictures... like candy for the blogger... Don't I have any in my store (hmm again. NOT MY KNITTING! but it was ALLOWED to take pictures without a flash! sorry Tartu!)

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Another week - working stress and new yarn

Wow, the pressure of a deadline! My mentor at University told me he is off to Oz for 3 weeks (and my paper has a deadline before), so suddenly my deadline became monday! At the same time, my class I'm attending has its deadline on monday with a seminar in the afternoon. On Wednesday my Valencia speech should be done, and on Tuesday I will me my new (?) manager and might get moved into a new area of work. What can I say. Between stress and hysteria, I do some knitting, so my enterlach has now one sleeve. It came out very neat! But the other sleeve is really in a rot. It just doen't fit. Tricky, very tricky. Needs a clear mind, and that is not what I have - I need an easy knitting right now. No "solve the Escher" squares. So, dearest hubby said, lets do a walk in town yesterday, and we parked near Maria's garn. She was lovely as always, and we discussed the nitty gritty of Baylan and colouring in the micro. Of course I fondled the new Cotton yarn, admired Åke (the sheep in the window), and admire her Hanne Falkenberg sweater.... But my eye caught the recycled silk yarn, something I already have a hank from (in green), but somehow it does not do it for me. Cannot see a sweater in front of my eyes. So, with a impatient hubby we went to check if the Vougue Knitting has arrived (missed to pay the renewal). But it hasn't hit the stores yet. But found 3 other knitting magasins, so, not so bad. A nice shrug.. well, so we headed in the sunshine to Gamla stan. And so easy to sneak up to dear Ann Richter and her yarn store. So, I thought, another Noro Aurora (to finish my second shawl). Then I saw the new Noro Cotton Polyester mix. Feels like paper-cotton. Weird. but in a good colourscale, lime with red, pink. Ok, it was a trial! After some chatting on how to get to their summerhouse with our boat, my eye caught one of her wonderful coloured silk in that alive lime, that I just could not resist, and I thought it was best to leave before I totally flipped out. Anyway, she had stashed up on Colinette, which was interesting.

Well, back to the busy busy.. After wednesday. Knitting, pictures and breathing. Next weekend I'm going to my friend in Helsinki, so I hope there is some time to browse yarn - no, I do not need any more, but just look (ha!)!