Something Blue

A dear friend of mine is getting married this summer. Actually, as I've mentioned before, about half a dozen dear friends of mine are getting married. However, this is the first gift for the first wedding.

The thing is, weddings are a lot like Christmas. You have all these great gifts you've made for people you love, and you're desperate to publicise them to much acclaim, but you CAN'T. Or, at least, you can't publish them until the recipient has already received the gift.

And I've totally messed up already, as I was SO PROUD of the beautiful ***** I finished for this wedding, that I texted her a picture, not realising how dumb that was :/

Megan, if you're reading this, I'm sorry. I would flip my wig if someone showed me my Christmas gift before the big day, and I'm guessing brides feel the same.

But, to whet your appetites, check out the hint below, or search through my project page on Ravelry.

Otherwise, wait until July :)

No, it's not a dream catcher.

Heidi Kirrmaier's Buttercup (my version)

Hello!

Look what I made:

Honestly, one of these days I'll get some friends so I don't have
such ghetto photos. Until then...this is me and the bathroom mirror.

This is a fantastic pattern from Heidi Kirrmaier, a brilliant Canadian designer who has a collection of lovely patterns for sale and for free on Ravelry. I recommend this pattern because

• It's free! Download it from Ravelry.
• It's hilariously popular- so far, 1,459 projects have been posted! And the pattern was only published 3 years ago!
• It's knit from the top down, beginning across the upper back and working in raglan increases across the shoulders and down to connect across the bust. The bust detail is a lovely, simple lace design, and the body and arms are A-line stockinette.
• It's very easy to modify- Heidi wrote the pattern with slightly poofed sleeves, a low-rise neckline, and a swingy, A-line body, but it would be simple to adjust it for fitted sleeves (as long as you like), a higher neckline, and a tighter, fitted body.

The neckline detail is lovely, but the stretch of the yarn makes
it lower than I anticipated-hence the visible, black bra.
From now on, I wear it with a tank top underneath.

Details:

Pattern: Buttercup by Heidi Kirrmaier

Yarn: Schulana Sojabama - 7 balls

Needles: US 4 for the body, and US 2 for the neckline finishing






Modifications:

I had used this exact yarn before, on Shiri Mor's beautiful V-Neck Pullover. That pattern has stretched a bit since I've worn it, which, on the one hand, makes the beautiful lace work all the more apparent, but on the other hand, means it doesn't quite fit as I would like it to.

Unexpected stretch is a fairly common result when knitting. The best ways to combat it are

• Rigorously knit, wash, dry, hang, and measure your swatch, so you have an accurate understanding of the gauge, and how it changes from pre-washing to post-washing.
• Knit on a smaller needle throughout the entire project.
• Incorporate more seams into the pattern, so the fabric has support built in along the shoulders, sides, and underarms.

I did not want to alter the structure of the pattern, as I had just under 7 skeins of yarn, so I purposefully chose a top-down pattern that I could adjust if I ran out, and I had already knit an entire sweater in this yarn, so I felt I understood the gauge and how that yarn handled.

Thus, I chose option 2- I knit the sweater on US 4's, which have me (pre-washing) a gauge of 19 stitches/4 inches (the pattern calls for 22/4). My V-neck pullover was knit on 5's, so I decided to go down one size.

I also tightened up the neckline. A-line designs are meant to hang and swing from your body, so lengthening or widening of the fabric is not as critical as, for example, a fitted, knit dress. If an A-line goes baggy, it's just a bigger A-line (more swing!), but if a fitted sweater, with shaping along the bust, waist, and hips stretches out of shape, then you've got the breast portion of your sweater around your waist. (And let's not speed up the natural results of gravity any sooner than necessary...)

Tightening the neckline was simple: Instead of knitting back and forth for 3 rows along the sides and back (ignoring the front) as per the pattern, I picked up 3 of every 4 stitches ALL AROUND the neckline, on size US 2's and knit 4 rows of stockinette, before binding off knitwise. This not only added a bit more fabric around the neckline, but offered a more secure "ring" from which the rest of the fabric can hang.

As I wanted to use up all of my yarn, I added a few more rows to the sleeves (16 in total, before beginning the knit/purl bind off), which lengthened them to about 2" from the underarm.

Ghetto photo #2...
I've had that camera for over 6 years. Can you believe that?
That's quality.

Conclusion:

This is a lovely, free, fun pattern. I completed it during several academic lectures, where I was able to pay close attention to the speaker (I promise!) and continue knitting. I'd recommend a drapey fabric on a tight gauge if you're following the A-line increases, or a more resilient fiber that will maintain it's shape, if you're planning on adjusting for a fitted look through the body.

I'd also recommend tightening the neckline regardless of which yarn or body style you choose-it rides low and would likely require a top worn beneath it, as the lace pattern shows a bit of skin at the bust. But, if you're into that, I won't judge :)

Designer Interview Series: Suvi Simola and Mari Muinonen

The Designer Interview Series highlights the artistry and creativity of knitwear creators. If there is a designer or company you are interested in, please contact me with suggestions.

Today's designers are

Suvi Simola

and

Mari Muinonen

to discuss their new book

Hold Your Needles 1 & 2

Welcome to TheCompassioknitter Mari and Suvi!



When/where did you both meet? How long have you known each other?

Suvi: I started to read Mari’s blog at the beginning of 2007 but we actually spoke (wrote) to each other at the beginning of 2009, so it’s been a few years now.

Mari: Maybe the same time, beginning of 2007, I read Suvi’s blog for the first time. The amount of the Finnish knitting blogs was tiny, so tiny that I noticed almost every blog and Suvi’s blog and knits pleased my eye and I added it to my reader asap.

 Have you collaborated on any knitting projects before?

Suvi: We both were involved in making “Playground knits”-ebook which is a collaborative project among 5 Finnish designers and it includes designs for children.

This  isFriika, a beautiful tunic with
kimono sleeves- my favorite of the
collection. I love the cables down the
front (and I LOVE the model's hair!!).

When did you decide to create a book together? Whose idea was it?

Suvi: We first spoke about the book at the beginning of 2009. Mari brought it up, but I had received kind emails from another knitter who encouraged me to make a book so I had thought about it myself, also. I remember we were very excited about it and had lots of ideas to discuss.

 How long did the entire process, from idea to publication, take?

Suvi: Almost 3 years. Oh my, did it take that long?!

Mari: Really, 3 years? I’m surprised :)

Walk us through the process of the book-how long were you sketching, then swatching, then knitting garments, then making patterns....

Suvi: At the beginning, we had a blog for sharing the ideas with each other. There we posted photos about sketches, swatches and finished garments, discussed them, gave each other suggestions etc. Later we moved on to google docs which became  our main “tool” and also Flickr for photo sharing.
When we had a good amount of design ideas, we did a yarn meet-up at my place, which was great fun!

The day began with Mari standing at our front door with a huge amount of boxes saying, "I'm not going to move in, that's just yarn."

So the rest of the day we sat in the middle of that nice wool and tried to find a perfect yarn for each design.

We were knitting all the time, some of the garments were finished even a year before the others.
At the end, there were some very intensive work days (and nights) when we gathered all book materials together, checked that all photos and schematics were included and sent the whole package to the graphic designer.

 Do you have a favorite pattern in the book?

The adorable Pikkuapila.
OMG how cute is this kid?!?!?

The lovely Kuurankukka mittens.
Aren't they elegant? Like
something out of an Edith Wharton novel

Suvi: Yes, I have. My dearest design is definitely the Kuurankukka-mittens and my favorite of Mari’s designs is the super cute girl’s tunic Pikkuapila.

The beautiful Armas sweater.
I love this. If there is a handsome, single
man out there who would like me to
make this for him in exchange
for a date, email me. :)

Mari: I also love the Kuurankukka -mittens. I really gasped when I saw the idea of them and the design is even more beautiful and interesting. Of my own designs, my favourite is Armas, a men’s sweater with cables on the upper body.

Suvi, is that your dog in the pictures? I think I recognise her!

Yes, it’s her! She’s grown a lot since then.

Suvi's beautiful dog (next to the
Mai cardigan).

Who are the models?

Suvi: Our friends and family helped us modeling the designs and they did a great job!

Was there a particular pattern, or part of the entire process, that was the most difficult? Were there any unexpected difficulties?

Suvi: Kuurankukka charts were the most challenging part for me. At the first, there was one chart for each mitten but our tech editor suggested separating cuffs and hand which I think was a great idea. It made each chart larger and easier to follow. I’ve also knit them three times to make sure everything is ok.

Mari: The most challenging thing for me was, and is always, to write patterns without mistakes and errors. I really want to give clear and easy-to-follow patterns to knitters, but sometimes I feel hopeless. Happily Suvi and our tech editor have been very exact and helped me a lot.

Is this the first book for both of you?

Suvi: My designs have been in books “60 quick knits” and “playground knits” before, but otherwise this is the first actual book we’ve been making all by ourselves.

Mari: Yes, the first book ourselves, my designs have also been in “Brave New Knits” and “Vogue Knitting Mittens & Gloves” as well as “Playground knits”

How has the response been? Which patterns do people seem to like the most? Are you surprised by that?

Suvi: The response has been very positive, we’ve received lovely messages and comments! I’ve never compared the success of patterns, partly because there are so many of them and partly because I love them all so it doesn’t really matter. But I’ve noticed one thing - the patterns for men get a lot of comments and positive feedback, so maybe there’s a lack of men’s patterns out there?

Mari: Or our great, bold models ;)

The Mirkku jacket.
I think Suvi and Mari's next challenge should be knitting
a tractor :)

How did you decide which designs to include in the books? Did you have more ideas, but decided to limit yourselves? Or did all your designs for this book end up in the book?

Suvi: At the beginning there were just as many ideas as we could come up with, we didn’t decide that there should be a certain amount of sweaters, accessories etc. We certainly thought about it, but we didn’t want’ to limit the creativity so it was much later when we actually started to decide which garments will stay and which will go. Some ideas just didn’t work out while knitting so this reduced the amount also.

Did you each create your own patterns, start to finish? Or would one of you do more sketches, and the other work on swatches or writing up the pattern?

Suvi: We did create our own patterns by ourselves. I think it’s easier this way, since we both have already established our own ways and style of doing things.
We did have some task delegation though, but this didn’t concern the patterns. I’m not good at drawing schematics so Mari kindly drew them all. I did most of the photography.

Were there any test-knitters?

Suvi: I didn’t use any test-knitters this time since I had a tech editor to check the sizing and pattern.

Mari: I have test-knitters some of my patterns and it was good. As I said I’m not so good with pattern writing and testing help me out with some problems.

And, most importantly, when's the NEXT BOOK!?!?!

Suvi: Unfortunately there are no plans for the next book. We’re still recovering from this huge project :)

Mari: Yes, I think after this creativity- and work-process we need a holiday to knit whatever we want, without thinking about patterns, sizing etc.

Thank you both so much for stopping by! I have a copy of your BEAUTIFUL book and I can't wait to get started making lovely things!

Read my review of Hold Your Needles 1 &2 here, and buy your ebook copy here. Buy them together for the bundle price of 25 Euros. 

Find Suvi and Mari online on Ravelry and through their blogs:

• http://madebymyself.blogspot.com/ (Mari's)
• http://50villapeikkoa.blogspot.com/ (Suvi's)

 

2011 Donations Summary

Hurray! This is one of best posts!

Today, I will be running to the post office to mail my check first to The Foodbank of Western Massachusetts. Kirsten Hipsky's beautiful, and kindly donated pattern has sold 5 copies, and I will match the sales to make a total of $30.00 US.

It's not a huge amount of money, and I wish it was more :( BUT, according to their website, the wonderful people at the foodbank are able to provide $13 worth of food for every $1.00 they receive. So, it's almost like donating $390!!!

Secondly, my patterns have sold a total of $32.00 so far, and I will top that amount to make it $80.00, which I will send to Thosamling Nunnery. The cost of sponsoring one nun (food, accomodation, and daily necessities) is $40.00 a month. This money will sponsor one nun for two months, or two nuns for one month (Oh! Maybe a pair come as friends :) )

I will continue to sell the above mentioned patterns through 2012, hopefully adding more as this year progresses. Although, my design time has been extremely limited. PhD's are time consuming...oi vey!


I'd like very much to thank everyone who bought a pattern, visited the site, or involves themselves in any knitting for charity work. I frequent many different knitting blogs, and I'm always so inspired by the beautiful creations people are making, the donations and charitable work they affiliate themselves with, and the encouraging comments that passers-by leave.

The knitting world is a wonderful, helpful community and I am proud to be a part of it :)

I knit 11 miles of yarn. What did you do in 2011?

What a year!

Not only did I leave Thosamling in the autumn, but I moved back to the US after 10 years away, finished my novel and began the long road to publication, and began a PhD program on the West coast. I can't imagine a more dramatic shift then moving from a nunnery in the Himalayas to a college campus outside of Los Angeles, and I doubt you can either. INTENSE.

However, 2011 was also the year I create this blog! My happy, happy blog that brings me so much joy :) I've had over 16,000 pageviews so far, which is very exciting and I hope those of you who are reading this enjoy it as much as I do!

I also found a groovy website called www.knitmeter.com. It keep tracks of the total yardage of all your knitting projects, so you can see how many feet/yards/meters/miles of yarn you've knit in any given period of time.

I kept track of all the projects I completed in 2011, and guess how much yarn I have knit?

19.294 yards!! Or, in other words,

58,182 feet
or
17,734 meters
or

11.02 miles

11 miles! Is that crazy? That's CRAZY!! 11 miles? I've never done ANYTHING in 11 miles before. I've never walked it. I've never run it. I've never...anything. 11 miles is almost half a marathon. I almost completed a half marathon of yarn. I am a ROCK MOTHERLOVING MARATHON KNITTING STAR!

Where did that 11.02 miles of yarn go?

HATS

Each of the Knits for Nuns hats I made clocked in at around 230 yards each.





HEADBANDS

Beautiful Betty's Braided Band and Choenkyi's Spring Headband took 760 and 130 yards respectively.

20 BALLS OF YARN

I made various and sundry gifts for nuns and friends from 20 balls of Ella Rae Extrafine Heathers, which works out to 1,700 yards.

THOSAMLING CARE PACKAGE

Another motley crew of gifts for friends, the contents were made from 10 skeins of Shepherd Classic 100% wool, which works out to a total of 2,200 yards.

SWEATERS

Man, I'm getting tired just writing this. Sweaters suck up a lot of yarn. Short-sleeved, fitted tees are between 800 and 900 yards, while long sleeve designs with stitch patterns cross over 1,000, and big, sexy, cabled cardigans can push upwards of 1,500 to 2,000 yards each (in my size, obviously-these figures change depending on who you're knitting for).

If you're interested in the details, check out my Ravelry page, which lists the exact amounts and dates of each garment. I think I made about...6? 7? I love sweaters. There is no limit to the amount of sweater making in my future.

Lastly, I am calculating the profits from the sales of my patterns, and will publish the amounts I've accrued, as well as to which charity they're going. So, if you're keen to donate/buy and haven't yet, please stock up!



Christmas Gifts

November and December were busy months for me. Of course, none of you would realise that, since I didn't post anything here regarding what I was making. That's the tricky thing with making your own gifts for holidays- your most productive periods are publicly the quietest, otherwise your recipients would know what they're getting.

However, the holidays are past, my gifts have been doled out, and, while more details will follow, here is a quick look at the fun stuff my lucky loved ones received:

My lovely sister got a Fireside Sweater, designed by Amber Allison.



I had my camera ready Christmas morning,

This is the second time I have knit this pattern and I LOVE it!! Although I have not yet written up the details about the first version I made (that information can be found on Ravelry, but I'll write a post about it soon), my sister commented on a picture I had posted. She said she liked the color it was in and wanted an exact replica, so here it is! Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted yarn in Grey Heather, size 34" bust.

Details will follow, but for those of you considering this pattern, I recommend increasing at least 1-2" for the body, but not for the arms. Also, the shoulder caps seem to be about twice as big as the armholes, so I slowed my decreases along the tops of the sleeves to stretch them out.

This is a lovely, easy to follow design that is beautifully tailored to really flatter the waist and bust area. If you're interested in trying Aran designs, or just love the look of cables, these are stunning, very dramatic, and look more complicated then they are!!

I also knit hats for my sister's boyfriend, Roger, my Dad, and my Mom:

The first, the hat for Roger, came out a tad longer than I expected! Luckily, he commented that he wanted something really warm, so I turned the bottom third underneath, seaming it loosely along the inside. This decreased the length by a third, so the hat fit perfectly, and doubled the thickness of the wool over the ears. I quite like this technique, actually, as it means your ears and neck stay extra warm, without making the rest of your head sweat. Although, I guess if I were purposefully making an extra-hat to turn the bottom bit under, I wouldn't bother to include colorwork on the part which will be seamed underneath. Or maybe I would. Who knows.

My Dad's hat had a similar problem, which I solved by turning under the bottom third as well. (I guess I need to pay attention to my row gauge as well as my stitch gauge! Or find a conehead to knit for...)

I used the slowflake design from the Ravelry pattern Norwegian Star Earflap Hat for my Dad's hat, and Roger's was from the Basic Lined Hat Pattern Instructions.




Mom got a three colour cap from the Norwegian Snowflake Hat pattern.

All of these patterns are available for free from Ravelry. I was extremely liberal in my interpretation of them, and used them primarily for a variation of snowflake colored yarn designs. I think they're all equally lovely, although I am partial the last one.

The yarn I used was some great stuff I found in the back of my Mom's stash. It wasn't labeled, but it was a beautiful, crunchy, Aran weight. I used the neutral and grey for the first two, switching which color was background and which was detail, and incorporated a third color, the deep blue, for the third hat.

Lastly, I finished the super fun and very beautiful 2011 Advent Calendar Scarf, using 5 skeins of Bristol Yarn Gallery's Lyndon Hill in red. This went to my Mom as a belated birthday gift, but I liked the final product so much, I think I may make another for myself, perhaps trying out the 2010 Advent Scarf.


The total length was over 5 feet, so consider
shortening the Spacer Sections, or omitting
some of the repeats of the individual patterns
if that seems too long.

The stitch patterns came out beautifully, and
really popped in the cotton/silk blend.

The Advent Scarf is such a good idea, so much fun, and a wonderful way for knitters to practice and/or learn a wide variety of lace techniques and stitch patterns. I'll give more details later, but I highly recommend this for anyone who gets bored easily, enjoys watching the endless patterns that yarn can create, and likes surprises. If you think it would be too difficult, or you tend to have lots of questions when you knit and prefer regular feedback, it's also an ideal project because the Ravelry group has almost 1000 members, many of whom contributed to the discussion threads and groups, answering any possible question you might have.

It was a busy Christmas! I'm back on the West coast now, working on a version of Norah Gaughan's Open Rib/Cable Pullover in Berocco's Sensuwool (more delights from the buried depths of my mother's stash). It's coming along beautifully, but unfortunately my camera has trouble picking up the beautiful detailing of the cable/eyelet central pattern.

But don't worry! Photos, details, more info, and all the usual good stuff will follow! Soon! I promise!

Mari Muinonen & Suvi Simola's HOLD YOUR NEEDLES

Hold your needles?

Hold EVERYTHING!!

This is the Finnish title which came
out first, but the English version is
available through Ravelry.

One of my favorite designers, Suvi Simola and her friend/design partner Mari Muinonen (who is equally brilliant, although I haven't yet knit one of her designs) have come out with a GORGEOUS collection of handknit designwear.

It's stunning. The designs are absolutely beautiful- intricate, romantic, playful cables, combines with lovely lace work in designs for women, men, and children. I think they're all... STUNNING! There is no other word :)

Suvi and I are planning an interview to discuss the process and designs in her book, so stay tuned for that some time in January, but before I get swept away, details:

Hold Your Needles 1 and 2 are available in print in Finnish, and as ebooks in English. You can purchase the English versions through Ravelry.

Each book contains 12 patterns and you can buy both for 25 Euros.

If You Buy the Books BEFORE Jan. 6th, The Total Price Is 23 Euros.

You don't have to be a member of Ravelry to purchase the patterns- You can order them from the site through Paypal or credit card, and the PDFs will download directly or through an email link.

Hold Your Needles 1

Hold Your Needles 2

My favorites:

The working title of this design was
"Bloody Mary"- how cute is that?

Friika by Mari Muinonen

Isn't this lovely?

Featured in the second collection, Hold Your Needles 2, this is a beautiful dress, and the first piece I will make from the collection. 

You can read about the design process on their blog, and below is the description. 

Friika is a lovely and feminine tunic with kimono sleeves. Upper body and sleeves are worked flat and body as a round. I-cords shape the seams and make beautiful neckline. The cables are great details and highlight the curves. Friika is designed to be worn fit or slightly negative ease. Choose the size based on your under bust measurement and waist circumference. The i-cord is ment to be under the bustline.

Mai

by Suvi Simola

I think this is a beautiful cardigan for a child, and I love the yellow color! (and the dog!)

One of the things I love about Suvi's designs is her attention to detail. The cables along the front continue up over the hood to frame the face, and there are matching details along the pockets and the cuff. The cable looks very ornate and beautiful, but is not overwhelming. 

Below is the description of the piece:

 Mai is a close fitted hoodie with leaf motifs on sleeves and pockets and cable and leaf pattern on back and front edges. The body is worked in one piece to the underarms with sleeves worked in the round and then joined at the yoke. The garment is designed to be worn with approx 2” / 5 cm of positive ease. The hood is designed to be loose but the length is easy to adjust by working fewer pattern repeats on the edges.

Aren't the pockets beautiful?

Lastly, from the first book Hold Your Needles 1, I love the Aramas design by Mari. 

I think the detail work on this is striking, and I love the red color. The back detail is really handsome, and I like the collar. 

If I knew a beautiful man who was worth my time (*cough*) I would whip this up in a second. As is, I think I may make one for myself. 

More photos!

This sweater is really gorgeous.
Forget the man, I'm making one for me!

Beautiful Sweater!
Adorable Dog!

I wish I looked this cute gathering wood.