T stands for.......Christmas Knitting!

 Hello! I'm back for "T stands for ..." after my two-week vacation! I stayed at home, but didn't really feel the need to post anything. Just running some errands and sitting on the sofa with a cup of coffee or tea and do some knitting. Christmas knitting that is! I ordered some gorgeous yarn with 20% wool and 80% acrylic and it's so soft. There was a loop scarf pattern coming with each skein and I really liked it.

Since the yarn is thick and knitted with big needles, the loops work up quick. Here's no 1 finished. Just need to sew the ends together. The colorway is called "India".

No 2 is in a rainbow colorway.

And then there is progress on my Stripes Gone Crazy cardigan. Gladly the sleeves and body are separated now and the rows are shorter again.

And since there is always a cup of coffee or tea on my side table while knitting, here you go! Can you smell it? Delicious crema, right? Yum!

Decken-Update/Blanket Update

 Meine Sockenwollrestedecke kommt langsam, aber sicher voran. 23 Quadrate sind es nun  bereits.

My sock yarn scrap blanket is growing slowly, but steady. 23 squares done.

Sommerpulli von Katia: Ein lange vernachlässigtes Projekt/A long neglected WIP

Im Mai 2019 habe ich mit diesem Sommerpullover der Garnfirma Katia angefangen und dann dummerweise in der Mitte des ersten Ärmels weggelegt. Es hat nun ca. eine Stunde gedauert, bis ich das Muster wieder drauf hatte, aber glücklicherweise habe ich mir alles haarklein aufgeschrieben.

In May 2019 I started this summer shirt by the yarn firm Katia and put it away in the middle of the first sleeve. Dumb move! I took me almost one hour to work out the pattern again, but gladly I wrote down every little thing, that I did. 

Ärmel Nr. 1 ist nun inzwischen fertig und ich habe den zweiten bereits angeschlagen. Dann fehlt nur noch das Zusammennähen (örks!) und der Kragen und der Pulli ist fertig.

Sleeve no 1 is now finished and I cast on sleeve no 2. Then sewing it together (ugh!)and knitting the collar and it's done.

 

"History of Socks"

Ein bißchen an der Decke aus Sockenwollresten weitergemacht. 20 Quadrate sind es es schon, fehlen also nur noch 180. ;)

Added some more squares to the sock yarn blanket. 20 down, 180 to go. ;)

 

Taaaadaaaaaahhhhh! Fuss Free Baby Blanket

Ich muss hier definitiv wieder mehr posten. Schon wieder zwei Monate her, seit ich das letzte Mal was geschrieben habe. Ein neuer Erdenbürger ist eingetroffen. Linus heißt der jüngste Familienzuwachs von guten Freunden und natürlich hat auch er eine Decke bekommen, gestrickt nach dem Muster ,,Fuss Free Baby Blanket" von Louise Tilbrook.

I definitely need to post more often on here. Two months ago was my last post. So here we go with a blanket for  a baby boy named Linus. He is the newest family addtion of good friends and got a blanket I knitted with ,,Fuss Free Baby Blanket" pattern by Louise Tilbrook.

Fuss Free Baby Blanket

Schon wieder so lange her seit dem letzten Beitrag, aber dafür gibt es was Farbenfrohes. Gute Freunde erwarten nochmal Nachwuchs und da darf natürlich eine handgemachte Babydecke nicht fehlen. Diesmal wurde es nicht Gehäkeltes, sondern die Fuss Free Baby Blanket von Louise Tilbrook. Es gibt da hunderte tolle Farbkombis, aber Regenbogen gewinnt einfach immer.

Long time no see, but here I am again with something colorful. Good friends expect another baby and of course I'll make a abyb blanket for them to welcome the little one into the world. This time it isn't a crocheted blanket, but a knitted one: Louise Tilbrook's Fuss Free Baby Blanket. There are a hundred beautful color combinations, but rainbow always wins for me.

Post-Socktober: Noch mehr Socken/More socks

Ich habe wirklich jede Menge Socken seit Ende Oktober gestrickt. Zum Beispiel dieses Paar aus Sockenwolle, die noch meine Oma gekauft hat und die ich nun geerbt habe.

I knitted a whole lot of socks since the end of October. For example this pair fromo yarn my Grandma bought and that I inherited now.

Ich habe eine Detailaufnahme gemacht, weil man sonst die schönen Regenbogenfarben gar nicht sieht.

Needed a detail photo to show the beautiful rainbow colors in the yarn.

Und dann kam noch eine Sockenwolle ins Angebot, die ich schon lange mal ausprobieren wollte. Sehr weich und schön zu verarbeiten und ich hoffe, sie hält eine Weile. Auf der günstigen Seite ist sie nicht gerade. ;)

And then a sock yarn I wanted to try for long was on sale. Very soft and great to work with, so I hope it holds up to the stress I put my socks through. The yarn wasn't on the cheap side. ;)

Ich habe aus dem ersten Strang ein Paar Fallreep-Socken gemacht. Das kostenlose Muster von Edda Foken findet ihr hier.

The first skein went into a pair of Fallreep socks. The free pattern by Edda Foken can be found here. 

Regenbogensocken/Rainbow Socks

Das neue Jahr fängt so an, wie das alte geendet hat. Mit Socken! Genauer gesagt Regenbogensocken. Meine ersten aus 6fädigem Garn und es hat ganz gut geklappt mit der vorgegeben Maschenzahl. Und die Farben sind natürlich der Kracher! Gruselig ist, dass ich sie sogar genau gleich hinbekommen habe. Normalerweise ist mir das egal, aber diesmal hat's gepasst.

The New Year began like the old ended. With socks! Rainbow socks to be precise. My first socks from 6ply sock yarn and they worked out fine with the recommended stitch count. And I LOVE the colors! Spooky that they even turned out exactly the same. usually I don't care much for that, but it worked nice this time.

Katia Sommerpullover

Nachdem mir dieser Sommerpulli bei Katia Yarns ins Auge gesprungen ist, musste ich den doch gleich annadeln. Allerdings war das Muster eher rudimentär beschrieben, so dass ich ein wenig Starthilfe in Form eines Videos gebraucht habe. Aber dann hat es geklappt.

After I saw this summer sweater on the Katia Yarns homepage, I had to start it at once. And while the pattern was easy, it was only described very, very rudimentary, so I needed the help of this video to get started. But then it turned out nice.

Inzwischen ist das Rückenteil fertig und ich bin bereits beim Halsausschnitt des Vorderteils. Das Muster strickt sich dank der 5mm-Nadeln und des Bändchengarns wirklich schnell.

Meanwhile I finished the back and am up the v-neck of the front part. The pattern works up quickly with the 5mm needles and ribbon yarn.

Alfa Knits' Stripes Gone Crazy Cardigan

Manchmal ist der Beginn eines neuen Projektes pures Chaos. Als ich die Stripes Gone Crazy angefangen habe, war das der Anfang...........

Sometimes the beginning of new project is pure chaos. When I started the Stripes Gone Crazy, it looked like this...........

Glücklicherweise ist das Muster so toll beschrieben und begleitet einen durch jeden Schritt, so dass es nach ein paar kompletten Runden un so aussieht. Super, gell? Ich bin ganz verliebt in das Muster und das Garn.

Gladly the pattern is so well described and clear and leads you through every single step, that now after a few rows it looks like this. Gorgeous, isn't it? So in love with the pattern and the yarn so far.

Nicole's Socks

At the end of 2018 my sweet FB friend Nicole of Beadwright said, she can totally see herself wearing a pair of socks I made. Since I had some leftover yarn, I made her a pair while on a road trip during the Christmas holidays. The bigger adventure was sending them to the US west coast, since customs guidelines, shipping restrictions etc. changed..........

.......but finally last week Nicole sent me a message and a photo wearing the socks. YAY, they made it and they fit! More then happy about this! 

Woodland Walk Sweater: Taaaaadaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!

Ich habe ganz vergessen, vom fertigen Woodland Walk Sweater ein Foto zu machen und zu teilen. Hier ist er nun, schon mehrfach getragen und zur Nr. 2 bei den Lieblingspullis aufgestiegen. Gestern beim Wühlen in den Wintersachen habe ich dann noch passende Stulpen dazu gefunden. Die Kälte ist also kein Problem mehr. :)

I completely forgot to take a photo of my Woodland Walk Sweater and share it with you. So here it is, wore it several times already and it quickly became no 2 on my list of my favorite sweaters. Yesterday I found a pair of wrist warmers in my stash of winter accessories and they are the perfect match. The cold isn't a problem any longer. :)

Warme Füße/Warm Feet

Ein weiteres Geschenk ist fertig. Da meine Schwägerin, wie ich auch, immer kalte Füße hat, war es mal wieder Zeit für ein Paar Socken. Von den Farben war ich im Knäuel so gar nicht begeistert, aber verstrickt finde ich sie super.

Another gift is finished. Since my SIL has, like myself, always cold feet, I knitted her a pair of socks. I realy didn't like the colors in the skein, but they worked up so nice in these socks.

Woodland Walk und Esja

Als ich den wunderschönen Esja Sweater von Lilla Björn gesehen habe, musste ich mir natürlich gleich das Garn bestellen. Drops Flora. Das ist zwar nicht das Originalgarn, aber das hätte für meine Größe weit über 60 Euro gekostet. Irgendwie.......nee. ;)

Since I saw the beautiful Esja Sweater by Lilla Björn, I had to buy the yarn for this sweater. Drops Flora. It isn't the original yarn for this sweater, but for my size it would have cost me over 60 euros.........Nope!

Das pinkfarbene maßband kam als kleines Geschenk zum Garn und ich wollte sofort loslegen, aber.......da war ja noch was. Ein angefangener Pullover, den ich wegen der Sommerhitze im August und September weglegen musste: der Woodland Walk Sweater.

The cute little tape measure was a free gift, that came with the yarn, and I wanted to start at once. But.......there was a little WIP waiting, that I put away for the summer (too hot to knit with alpaca yarn): the Woodland Walk Sweater.

Aber so ein ganz kleines bißchen Esja musste ich doch schon mal machen. ;)

But I had to make a wee bit of Esja. ;)

The (Crochet) Sockalong 2018

Der (Crochet) Sockalong 2018 ist vorbei und das sind die Ergebnisse. Da Stricksocken ebenfalls möglich waren, habe ich natürlich auch diese hinzugefügt. Leider ist das letzte Paar noch hnicht ganz fertig.

The (Crochet) Sockalong 2018 is over and here are the results. Knitted socks were also allowed, so I added them, too. Sadly the  last pair isn't finished yet.

Meine Standard-Stricksocken mit Bumerangferse

My standard knitted socks with boomerang heel

Zwei Paar Hipsulaisen Karuselli nach Kati Koitto

Two pairs of Hipsulaisen Karuselli by Kati Koitto

Magdalen Socks von Vicki Brown

Magdalen Socks by Vicki Brown

Cosy Crochet Socks von Kaye Adolphson

Cosy Crochet Socks by Kaye Adolphson

Einfach Schräg Loop: Taaaadaaaahhhhh!

Dass das erste Knäuel meines Geburtstagsgarns ein Plane Trip Scarf werden würde, war recht schnell klar. Aber was mache ich mit dem zweiten?

That the first of my birthday yarn cakes will become a Plane Trip Scarf was clear very soon. But what to do with the second one?

Dann habe ich den Einfach Schräg Loop von Tanja Steinbach in einer meiner Handarbeitsgruppen auf FB gesehen und schon ging's los. Ich musste ein paar Maschen mehr anschlagen, da mein Garn ein wenig dünner ist als das Originalgarn, aber das war auch schon alles.

Then I cam across Tanja Steinbach's Einfach Schräg Loop in one of my knitting groups on FB and the knitting started. I only needed to cast on some more stitches as my yarn was a bit thinner than the original.

Ich habe die Variante mit Knöpfen gemacht, falls man den Loop mal nicht über den Kopf ziehen möchte.

I made the version with buttons, just in case you don't want to pull the loop over your head.

Die asymmetrische Form macht den Loop erst interessant, obwohl mir das während des Strickens echt Kopfzerbrechen bereitet hat (Wie zum Teufel bastelt man das Ding nachher zusammen?). 

The asymmetric shape adds interest to this loop, although I had to think hard about how to put that darn thing together in the end. I didn't get it while knitting it. *LOL*

Wie das Garn hier rauskommt, gefällt mir super.

Love how the yarn worked up in this piece.

Einfach-Schräg-Loop

Das zweite Knäuel Rico Ito Iro wollte verstrickt werden und in einer meiner Facebook-Gruppen hatte jemand den Einfach-Schräg-Loop von Tanja Steinbach vorgestellt. Mir gefällt er super bis jetzt.

The second yarn cake wanted to be knitted into Tanja Steinbach' latest loop pattern. It's knitted in seed stitch and I love it so far. 

Und keine Sorge, der Plane Trip Scarf ist bereits fertig und am WE schaffe ich es bestimmt, schöne Fotos zu machen. ;)

And don't worry, the Plane Trip Scarf is already finished and maybe there will be nice pics taken on the weekend.

Hipsulaisen Karusellis go Italy!

Hallo zusammen, ich bin wieder da von einer sehr schönen Reise nach Italien und habe mein zweites Paar Hipsulaisen Karusellis fertig genadelt. Für einen Adriaurlaub baucht man natürlich auch Adriafarben für die Socken. ;)

Hi everyone, I'm back from a great trip to Italy and finished my second pair of Hipsulaisen Karusellis while there. And for a vacation by the Adriatic Sea you need Adriatic colors for the socks, ofc.

Neben den Handarbeiten gab es noch jede Menge Katzen, ....

Besides the handcrafts there were lots of cats, ....

....Hühner, ....

....chicken, ....

....Hunde, ....

....dogs, ....

....Käse....

....cheese....

....und Lorbeerblätter.

....and bay leaves.

Hipsulaisen Karuselli or the funny sock story

Als ich Kati Koittos Hipsulaisen Karuselli das erste Mal gesehen habe, musste ich die einfach nachstricken. Ich bin immer auf der Suche nach interessanten Sockendesigns und diese sehen einfach zu lustig aus.

I'm always looking for interesting sock designs and when I saw Kati Koitto's Hipsulaisen Karuselli for the first time, I had to make them. They looked so funny.

Man glaubt ja nie, dass sie passen, so seltsam wie sie beim Stricken aussehen.

By looking at them, you'd never believe that those weird looking socks would fit.

Aber siehe da, sie sitzen perfekt. Man sollte allerdings zwei Sachen beachten. Einmal unbedingt mit dem 8er-Anschlag beginnen, damit es an der Ferse kein Knubbelchen gibt und beim Abketten unbedingt elastisch abketten, sonst wird es am Bündchen zu eng.

But look, they fit perfectly. But there are two things to consider. Use the figure 8 cast on for the start to avoid any hard spots on the heel and use the elastic cast off on the ribbing, otherwise it would get too tight.

A stack of handmade clothes......

A stack of handmade clothes.....knitted, crocheted, sewn.....handmade by me with one exception: the brown knitted Norwegian cardigan at the base of the stack. My Mom made two of them (one for her and one for my Dad) back in the early 1970's, when wool wasn't readily available through online shops and couldn't be shipped all over the world. Her aunt ordered it for her, as she had contacts in the knitting and embroidery scene. My Mom gave me that cardigan some years ago, as she knew I''m attached to it and the memories woven into it. A heirloom piece! (And scratchy as hell! *LOL*)

Why I do tell this story? Because this was the cardigan that started my journey of handmade clothes and I'd love to encourage others to try and make their own garments, too. So prepare for some reading. ;)

Around the same time I got the cardi I took a sewing class and tailored myself a pair of linen pants (third from top) which has the perfect fit for me (a seamstress was teaching the class and she did a great job!). At home I sewed myself a blouse (fourth from top). And then I came across Crochetverse's Garden Party Jacket CAL (fifth from top), so why not crocheting a piece of garment? The pattern was great, while the fit, due to my curvy outine, wasn't that great. But what? I was so proud of that first crocheted piece, that I immediately started another one: KT & the Squid's Kram Cardi (second from top). And boy do I love that cardigan! Warm, cosy, perfect loose fit, great yarn and so easy to make due to a great pattern. And those buttons! Perfect find!

A bit later I came across the Drops Garnstudio page........don't ask, but I saved dozens of patterns on the first days. *LOL* Then I decided to give the Christel Vest (top of the stack) a try. What I absolutely love about the Drops patterns is, that they are available up to sizes XXL or even XXXL, so curvy ladies don't have to do their own math and can start right away. The Christel Vest was made during a camper holiday in beautiful October last year and again I found the perfect buttons for the vest. And then my love for Norwegian/Scandinavian sweaters hit in......you know the heirloom cardi Mom gave me........

The Arctic Circle Sweater was born, made from another Drops pattern and the lovely original yarn Drops Nepal, and I never ever had a sweater fitting so perfectly. I love, that's all I can say. Of course I had to practice the Fair Isle knitting on another piece, which led to the Winter Berry Cushion, but otherwise I never knitted anything else than socks.

Next in line became Linda Skuja's Convergence Top (5th from bottom). I saw it and had to have it. Skinny model with almost no curves.......ok.......I think I can do that. With some help and tips from Canadutch and her version of the top, some online research about how to shape crochet garment and trial and error I made it. I noted my changes on the Ravelry project page linked above, so others can use them, too. I do this with all my projects, as it's a great tool to use. Next one in line was the Drops Country Dream Tunic, which I made more a casual sweater than a tunic. Loved the effect the variegated yarn adds to this piece.

Then another I HAVE TO MAKE THIS moment came with Fran Morgan's Granny Stripe Top (2nd from bottom). I did like the overall idea and the look of this top, but I knew I had to add some shaping to it to make it wearable for me. So I did it (notes again on the Ravelry project page) and it turned out perfect. I didn't wear it yet, but fall and winter will be here soon, so I'm looking forward to wearing it for the first time.

Did you read all through it? Looks like a straight journey, right? But no, it wasn't. There were struggles with the fit, with gauge swatches, with finding a substitute yarn and there were failures like the beautiful Lilla Bjorn Sweater. I loved this sweater, the look, the idea, all........and then, almost finished, I had to frog it, as I couldn't make it fit to my body, not for the life of me. But in the end I have 10 finished pieces on my list (and two WIPs) and they are all wearable.

So if you always thought about trying and making your own piece of garment, just get started, with a first simple piece, sewn, knitted, crocheted, whatever you like. They won't be perfect in the beginning, but with every piece you will learn and you will get better. So do it! :)