Cute toddler tunic

When I saw this pattern, I knew I had to make it immediately - the largest size given in the pattern is two years - although it wouldn't be too difficult to scale it up. Isn't it pretty? :) So soft and cute and pretty... It practically oozes of country chic.
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The lace border at the top gave me some headache, and it was clear that I wasn't the only one (Ravelry is great for spy work). When I realised that the lace border will fold down and therefore right side becomes wrong side, the whole thing made more sense…. This bit was still a bit tricky to figure out. Details on Ravelry.
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Branching Out repeated

A quick knit for grandma. Added natural white Lace to grey Alpaca for a slightly lighter and more varied colour. Liked the result! It knits up fast that way too, which is always a nice thing.
Also, it was fun to get a real impression of how much my lace knitting skills have improved. I’ve never thought about it until I re-knitted this pattern, which was my first attempt at lace knitting in 2010…
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Measurements: 16 x 90 cm before blocking, 21 x 130 cm during blocking, 19 x 125 cm after blocking. The Alpaca is springy, and contracted when released from the pins. Ravelry link.
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I thought I'd show you how I block straight edges, just for fun! Maybe you've seen it before, but hey, it's just one picture. On my bright, energetic green exercise mat. :) I don't own blocking wires and last time I did this scarf I used a million and a half pins, which only served to give me an edge of tiny scallops and a back that ached for three days... No more, I decided, and came up with this cheap DIY solution when the next triangular shawl was ready for blocking. I weave a strong cotton thread into the edge and stretch it taut between two strong pins. Every 10 cm or so I add another pin to keep it straight. Works like a charm. Two tips: weave in the cotton thread before soaking your knitware, and make sure it's more than long enough for the project in its finished size.

Autumn leaves baby cardigan



I've finished a few knitting projects lately. Although, strictly speaking, I'm not sure September last year qualifies as "lately"... Ahem. The finishing of knitware can be the most time-consuming part of it all, whether it's weaving in those ends, or finally getting around to those pictures. In fact, this grey and purple cardigan was knitted in just two days, proving my point nicely.



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It was a gift for a friend of mine's new little girl back in the aforementioned September, and I have since seen it in use - it seems the size was just right for this winter. This is wool, making it a nice add-on on a cold day. This is really a one size only recipe, but it provides three gauges that will yield cardigans of varying measurements. My particular yarn - needle combo gave me a gauge of 19 sts over 4inches, which corresponds nicely to the medium size. Please see my Ravelry page for details.

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Monstrosity

Having made one sensible and neutral (and boring?) card for my brother's 30th birthday, I decided to go nuts on the other. My parents gave the first one, and I figured I should be his crazy sister and give him this montrosity! :)

The picture doesn't show it very well, but the chipboard "30" is painted in crackle paint and rubbed with some white ink to lighten it a bit. The monster paper has some sparkle in it and the "hey!" is lifted with 3mm pads.

The Latte stack to the rescue - again

Wow, this was made a long time ago... It's for my brother's birthday, which is in October... Wow. Well, it's about time it made it to the blog then! :)

Clean and simple again, what else to do for a thirty year old man? The DCVW Latte stack has been my go-to stack in these cases for a while, the colours and patterns are so great. Not quite what I'd expect from the name, but I'm not the one to judge a stack by its cover. ;)

Panda hat

A good friend of mine sent me a picture of a panda hat and I suggested we did a trade - hat for embroidery. This is my end of the bargain! Cute, eh? :)

I did a search for panda hats and only found a couple of recipes, none that worked for me. The result was to improvise the whole thing. I made a grid in Excel and fiddled around until I got something that resembled a panda face. It took two tries, as the first one used too many stitches. The decreases are worked along the sides, where the ears were knitted on later. It's also on my Ravelry page.

Pink&green

Just a quick and easy card to get us started again. I still have a bug in the image uploading, but have found a different workaround that isn't too complicated. Possibly even easy enough to live with in the long run. :)

The layout is clean and simple, with not too much fuss. Just enough to give it a little bit of texture. It's actually a baby card, although that's quite understated. The baby feet and princess crown is all that gives it away...

Technical difficulties etc

Hello everybody!

It's been a while. Again. Life gets in the way, more large knitting projects than quick cards, and so on. And I don't feel guilty about it! This blogging thing is fun - as long as there's no pressure. And since I have no advertisers to pressure me, I blog when I want. :) :) No regrets. :)

That being said, I've wanted to post some stuff lately but not been able to. There seems to be a bug in the image uploading that I haven't found a fix for yet. And what is a craft blog post without images??

Today you'll have to settle for this Instagram picture I managed to sneak in via an emergency solution (not one I will bother using in the long run). It's some absolutely gorgeous Manos del Uruguay yarn, a lovely Silk Blend skein I wound up. The biggest skeins I've ever wound. :) 13 cm in diameter, 10 cm high. Massive. You can always look me up on Ravelry, there are many WIPs there that will be finished in the near future.

I hope to figure out the image uploading thing soon and will be back with something to show you!

ETA: This might be related to the Java issue that has been in the news lately. I keep thinking about switching to Firefox or something like that, without getting around to actually doing it. Maybe this is the kick in the backside I need to get it done?

All the best until then,
Eva

Finally, some grunge!

Ah, it's been too long. I love grunge, but for some reason don't do it often enough! The 60th birthday of a man is a good reason to grunge it up though. He likes bicycles and I actually managed to find some bicycle related papers! Add some gears, baker's twine, Scrapper's Floss, chipboard numbers and some other leftovers, brighten it with splatters of white Crackle Paint, and you've got a detailed, layered look that works on a man's card. In fact, I wouldn't mind recieving this myself, even though I'm neither 60 years old or a man. ;) But that's me, and I realise I'm surely a minority in the card making community in that respect. There's room for all! :)

Keep joy in your heart

This card matches the layout of the previous one, because we had a party for two colleagues that same day. Very different colours though. The sentiment is another little poem wishing the recipient all the best in the future. It's not easy to read in the picture, because I've stamped it once in white and once in muted black, creating a kind of shadow effect that looked better IRL than here... I still wish I had been a little bolder with the black ink though.

May you find happiness

The challenge of making cards for colleagues who quit or retire is, what sentiment can I use?? In this case, I've made a card using a little poem wishing her happiness. It has a very intense colour scheme, but the last one she got from me was quite the opposite and think she might appreciate somehting different. And anyway, the pink colour is a sort of theme at this particular workplace, so I thought it would fit. :)

Nordic style dress and bolero

There was talk of a "bunad" dress. Something knitted, that resembled the Norwegian national costume. When this was first mentioned, I had already just started knitting this dress. What to do... Was it similar enough to what she was looking for? Should I keep it a secret or reveal my plans? But as the bunad recipes were few and their decision dragged out, the choice was easy. I finished this one and gave it as a surprise for her birthday! It has a few traditional elements, although it doesn't exactly resemble any particular bunad. The original recipe uses bright reds, but I went with neutrals because I thought that would be more to their taste. Here's my Ravelry link.
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The previous dress I knitted for this girl was smaller than it’s intended size - this one’s on the large side. And that’s despite my sincere - and successful - attempts at obtaining the correct gauge. Also, I have almost two skeins of dark brown Alpaca left over…! How did that happen?

 

This was easy peasy, mindless knitting. I might do some things differently next time (as always), but overall it's a nice project and a pretty result.

I might have chosen a sturdier yarn than Alpaca to go with the Fabel, because the fairly heavy skirt pulls and stretches the waist border and yoke quite a bit. Also, doing stranded knitting might be easier with a less slippery yarn. Other than that, the recipe is nice and easy - but man, am I sick of garter stitch… ;) At least the skirt was done in a painted yarn with gorgeous blue, white and brown colours and something was continually changing there, but that bolero was a trial. I need lace!!!

 

The bolero is constructed in a strange way… But it seems to work anyway. It's knitted flat in garter stitch and sewn together under the arms. It looks like I've knitted a poncho and forgotten the hole for the head! :) But as you can see, it's not too bad really.

Another wedding card

In contrast to my previous wedding card, this one sports rough teared paper edges and a completely different colour scheme. The recipients of this card aren't the pink and frilly type, so it was a good match - but that happened entirely by accident! This was a commissioned card and I had no idea who I was making it for, so I took a chance and was very lucky. :) That cool blue and gold paper is by Panduro, and I swiped some blue StazOn ink over the Prima chipboard letters.

For the bride and groom

Wedding season is winding down and I have a couple of cards to share. This one is cute and pink and frilly! Pretty basic layout. I love that placement of flowers, and have lately developed a bit of an obsession with adding lots of flat-backed pearls among them. The sentiment is stamped on die-cut and sanded Core'dinations Whitewash cardstock.

Pink&purple baby card

I don't think I've shared this card yet? Life has taken the front seat around here these days, so updates here have been scarce. But I have a few cards and a knitting project to share - soonish. This one is clean and simple. Basic Grey pattern papers and some random stuff from my stash. Easy peasy!