tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3869537917159968202024-02-07T09:20:33.001+01:00I Like to KnitAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-65732752899706277812013-12-16T11:02:00.001+01:002013-12-16T11:02:38.882+01:00It's a WrapToday is my birthday, and I'm surrounded by gifts, but none of them are for me!<div>
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I'll be going home to Ireland on Wednesday, and I'm wrapping up all the gifts I've made for my family. </div>
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Just one sock and one pair of gloves left to knit before Christmas. I think I'll make it!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-14255693870847132382013-12-06T12:46:00.002+01:002013-12-06T12:47:25.764+01:00Gift Knitting So FarJust under three weeks until Christmas is here. Nineteen days until Christmas eve. I have one and a half pairs of socks and a pair of gloves left to knit.<br />
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I think I have enough time.</div>
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Here's what I have finished (though weaving in ends and blocking remains to be done):</div>
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1. A miniature pair of socks for the little girl I mind. These took two or three evenings to knit. They are a merino-bamboo-nylon self-striping by Online Yarns, and the toes, heels and cuffs are knit in some sock wool from Lidl which is nowhere near as soft as the other wool. This is because I want enough of the stripy yarn left over for a pair of socks for myself. (Even in my gift knitting I'm selfish!)</div>
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2. Something secret</div>
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3. A convertible cowl/hat. This is the clever <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/howlcat">Howlcat pattern by Alexandra Tinsley.</a></div>
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And I have a feeling I'll be binding off on <a href="http://i-like-to-knit.blogspot.de/2013/12/speedy-socks.html">this pair of socks</a> later on today!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-67311018103716074202013-12-05T10:02:00.000+01:002013-12-05T10:02:01.561+01:00Speedy SocksA few weeks ago, I posted about <a href="http://i-like-to-knit.blogspot.de/2013/11/seven-days.html">my fastest pair of socks ever.</a> That pair took a week to knit.<br />
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Today, I am posting about a pair that seems to be flying along even faster. I started this pair at the weekend, and got the first sock knit in two days. Part of the reason is that I had a lot of knitting time, another part is that they're only 60 stitches around. I did my normal 64 stitches on 2.25 mm needles and found them far too baggy, so I decreased and kept going. This is my progress as of this morning:<br />
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I do a lot of travelling on public transport during the day, usually about two hours, so I might even get this pair finished today. Maybe I should pack some extra yarn?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-61261011592267095112013-11-20T11:34:00.001+01:002013-11-20T13:07:06.432+01:00Gift knittingHave you heard of the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/indie-design-gift-a-long">Indie Design Gift-Along</a> on Ravelry?<br />
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I came across it last week and was inspired to make something other than socks as Christmas gifts. Up until Friday, there was a discount on every pattern included in the giftalong.<br />
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The first pattern I bought was the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/howlcat">Howlcat by Alexandra Tinsley</a>. It's a simple but clever pattern which can be worn as both a cowl and a hat. <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/howlcat">My version</a> is in progress at the moment.<br />
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I liked the colour combination at first, but now I think I would have preferred a lighter colour for the blue portion and a darker colour for the thin, fingering weight section. The beige, tweed wool is a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/schoellerstahl-fortissima-tweed">sock wool by Schoeller + Stahl</a>, and I really hope it gets softer after washing. The blue wool, on the other hand, is divinely soft. It's a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/online-linie-20-cora">merino-acrylic blend</a>, as I can't seem to be able to afford 100% wool yarns in this city. I think this cowl/hat will definitely be worn with the blue side against the owner's skin.<br />
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I bought a second pattern in the Gift-Along. The <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/woodstove-season">Woodstove Season cardigan by Alicia Plummer</a> caught my eye, and I snapped it up. It would be naive to think I could knit an entire cardigan between now and Christmas, but maybe this one will get started in the New Year.<br />
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And let's be honest, it will probably be for me!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-66846575775493415652013-11-12T17:13:00.002+01:002013-11-12T17:15:12.709+01:00Tension Issues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There are a lot of things I love about <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/larch-cardigan">my current project</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBf6GuiWXDzDxaCbvjbyjAqhLVRTsGGcHexFLrFo0U0GdZIMiPfy-Kwnvsa0-2knMpwx56GDk5No_-fCfLPb201EGLcCSnLsqWDRLovHRboYF0lA760Q-d6tW3mnv-v-z5j_532P8HXPU/s1600/2013-10-30+12.53.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBf6GuiWXDzDxaCbvjbyjAqhLVRTsGGcHexFLrFo0U0GdZIMiPfy-Kwnvsa0-2knMpwx56GDk5No_-fCfLPb201EGLcCSnLsqWDRLovHRboYF0lA760Q-d6tW3mnv-v-z5j_532P8HXPU/s400/2013-10-30+12.53.45.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I love the pattern. The<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/larch-cardigan"> Larch Cardigan</a> is another beautiful design by Amy Christoffers, who is firmly at the top of my list of favourite designers.</div>
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I love the yarn, which is a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/anny-blatt-sublime">70% wool/30% silk blend by Anny Blatt</a>. It's one of the softest yarns I've knit with and it looks like the finished product will be very squishy and comfortable. The yarn does split a lot, but it was also on sale at 50% off, and I got amazing value for my money. Each 50g ball cost €3.65, and back in Ireland I struggled to find acrylic blends which were cheaper than that.</div>
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I love the colour. It's perfect for this autumn weather, even though I don't think it will be finished until the orange leaves are long gone.</div>
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One thing I'm not so sure about is my tension. After starting this cardigan, I realised that I hadn't knit stockinette flat in a long, long time. As a result, my purl rows are much looser than my knit rows.</div>
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The uneven rows certainly don't bother me enough to rip back and start all over again. The more I knit, the less obvious it becomes. It might even be less visible after blocking.</div>
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And if not, I'll happily look back on this cardigan someday when my knitting is smooth and beautiful and think back to the time I was young, inexperienced, and struggling to knit evenly.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-18893334631382620472013-11-08T11:48:00.000+01:002013-11-08T11:52:16.651+01:00Seven DaysIt's been just over a week since I cast on a new pair of socks on the train to college on the morning of my graduation. Imaginatively, these socks were named<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/graduation-socks"> "Graduation Socks"</a>. In those eight days I have spent a lot of time travelling and a lot of time knitting.<br />
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Yesterday morning, on day seven, I bound off the last stitches on my fastest ever pair of socks.<br />
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One week for a pair of socks; six weeks until Christmas... Does that mean I'll have time to knit up a few pairs to give away?<br />
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Last year I didn't give any knitted gifts for Christmas. I had only been knitting for a year, and I still felt like I hadn't knit enough for myself. Until now, a pair of socks has taken me at least two weeks, and I loved them too much to give away.<br />
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Of course, I won't get six more pairs knit before Christmas, but maybe I can finish that half-made pair for one of my sisters and knit up the self-striping picked out by my other sister. And maybe a kids-sized pair for the girl I babysit, who is always interested in what I'm knitting and has asked me several times for a pair of socks (or a jumper!). I think that can be done!<br />
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For more FOs, check out Finished Object Fridays at <a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.de/">Tami's Amis.</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-37906862997511679792013-11-03T15:16:00.000+01:002013-11-08T11:51:55.797+01:00A Successful WeekThe weekend is nearly over and I've had a wonderful week.<br />
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First, I finished up my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/incredible-custom-fit-raglan">turquoise raglan jumper</a>. I followed the<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/incredible-custom-fit-raglan"> Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan</a> pattern, and was originally unhappy with the fit, but after blocking it has stretched out nicely and softened up quite a bit. The wool was a gift, and it has a very interesting texture. It's a two-ply, and one ply is loosely spun and the other ply is bouclé. The yarn looks great and I love how it has turned out in the jumper. I also added a dip at the back like I've seen on commercially knit jumpers by using short rows before the ribbing. It's completely improvised and turned out surprisingly well.</div>
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Then, I finished up <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/stripey-ribbed-socks">a pair of socks </a>which I had been working on for a while. I knit them in a 3x1 rib, which takes me a lot longer than plain stockinette socks. The wool for these socks was bought in Lidl and was very cheap. It also seems like great quality.</div>
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I weaved in the ends, and washed and blocked these two projects and took a very quick snap of them as they were drying.<br />
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As I had finished my big project, I went on a wool-seeking excursion so I could cast on a new jumper. My first stop was a shop called <i>Handmade </i>in Berlin, Germany. It's a yarn shop and café, and I'm very happy to have something like this in my area. I was very fortunate to find a wool-silk blend at 50% off in a beautiful autumn orange colourway.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9UvBAdkN5kGGo1_5p8VyMwVKZPbjTTefIsYYbDQBYrW4P8wzMBhdtigYKRswP71dpQi-c6ujE5rJ_wDA6NVasLm0XcYrurdP0jXWuuQTH4qX-zJXvj2uXVSS6EECxy4aJioM0EHInPs0/s1600/2013-10-30+12.49.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9UvBAdkN5kGGo1_5p8VyMwVKZPbjTTefIsYYbDQBYrW4P8wzMBhdtigYKRswP71dpQi-c6ujE5rJ_wDA6NVasLm0XcYrurdP0jXWuuQTH4qX-zJXvj2uXVSS6EECxy4aJioM0EHInPs0/s320/2013-10-30+12.49.12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I bought enough for a jumper, and cast on a swatch straight away. I tried both 4mm and 5mm needles (US 6 and 8), washed and blocked, and preferred the denser fabric. Then I measured my gauge and did search on Ravelry and came up with some patterns with the same gauge. One of the patterns which matched my gauge was the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/larch-cardigan">Larch Cardigan by Amy Christoffers</a>, a pattern I had admired since I first spotted it a while back.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgua1LFbmD0bJZOpzFbyRlALmQ4NlxRFE9Mm63uG7J6rMSFqYo_YgEaGev8sTx2-u2khl0arffgWzsYHPjjOm28JioNcfofxWURsXiSO9Ym0uK0_N9NFTQ5emlpwtQ-JQ2eoWZ7w4BYL-s/s1600/2013-10-30+12.50.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgua1LFbmD0bJZOpzFbyRlALmQ4NlxRFE9Mm63uG7J6rMSFqYo_YgEaGev8sTx2-u2khl0arffgWzsYHPjjOm28JioNcfofxWURsXiSO9Ym0uK0_N9NFTQ5emlpwtQ-JQ2eoWZ7w4BYL-s/s320/2013-10-30+12.50.02.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
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So I bought the pattern and <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/larch-cardigan">cast on</a>! It's in the early stages, but the wool is so soft and I can already tell that I'm going to adore wearing this cardigan.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHryc7rYLOfbYZsFSH47S72WBIdNNB6U5zra1vGlZPwl26VUykIlUmoF0DFdZEqCYxA0OAgRZpCgeKlM-aZisFBmUu0AiyDsbnqUAtKUsz6NhciEJbJav6UDslcJZ2CNHSJyUimElLVzk/s1600/2013-10-30+12.53.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHryc7rYLOfbYZsFSH47S72WBIdNNB6U5zra1vGlZPwl26VUykIlUmoF0DFdZEqCYxA0OAgRZpCgeKlM-aZisFBmUu0AiyDsbnqUAtKUsz6NhciEJbJav6UDslcJZ2CNHSJyUimElLVzk/s320/2013-10-30+12.53.45.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then on Wednesday evening, I left all this knitting behind to go home to Ireland for my graduation! Here is a very unprofessional photo of me on the blustery day:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUExqFuyV3z7iTeSoZvG4yGVbh-PRnvzSFhjTFIpCQ8-KjoDmreAvwJMT7XuTyhgvaYGJPYhCVa-KI_5xWjuzGgqa0A-F6VO31_tB5LavuJvfqJsvos0IprRB1YxvAkWMgeg_GyZNG390/s1600/2013-10-31+11.28.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUExqFuyV3z7iTeSoZvG4yGVbh-PRnvzSFhjTFIpCQ8-KjoDmreAvwJMT7XuTyhgvaYGJPYhCVa-KI_5xWjuzGgqa0A-F6VO31_tB5LavuJvfqJsvos0IprRB1YxvAkWMgeg_GyZNG390/s320/2013-10-31+11.28.45.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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So I'm enjoying my short time at home at the moment. I'm flying back to Berlin on Monday, and will take some nicer photos of my finished objects then, and I will also blog about what I've been knitting this weekend. Hope you're enjoying your weekend too!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-3389522422421495032013-10-23T13:50:00.002+02:002013-10-23T13:56:42.648+02:00Work-In-Progress WednesdayToday's works-in-progress are very simple and straightforward.<br />
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First of all, let me show you my<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/incredible-custom-fit-raglan"> turquoise jumper</a>. The pattern I followed was the<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/incredible-custom-fit-raglan"> Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan</a> pattern "recipe" by Pamela Costello. This wool was given to me as a gift and I love the colour! Unfortunately, I'm just a bit less impressed with my knitting. The fit of the jumper isn't great, and it's quite baggy under the armpits. Maybe I did too many raglan increases, I'm not sure. The problem is that this is my first jumper of this type so I had no experience to rely on, only the pattern recipe which I was following. My next jumper attempt will almost definitely be a detailed, well-written pattern rather than a recipe-type one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFJ9ERJpMPD9rBvCu6W-XJt-9EyUjw9SYucqG3fA90fXVKLXQKn_HGnR-jzAybxaH38C0CSifOvruxq6_dE1s5qHMxs1GFhEnvKLzIBw8ZlvxdtiMmQGRFA56Ifn2E5htNP4q_2l2jDs/s1600/2013-10-23+13.26.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFJ9ERJpMPD9rBvCu6W-XJt-9EyUjw9SYucqG3fA90fXVKLXQKn_HGnR-jzAybxaH38C0CSifOvruxq6_dE1s5qHMxs1GFhEnvKLzIBw8ZlvxdtiMmQGRFA56Ifn2E5htNP4q_2l2jDs/s400/2013-10-23+13.26.03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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My next project is a very portable <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/stripey-ribbed-socks">pair of socks</a>. I've been working on these during my 50-minute commute while reading <i>Little Women</i> on my Kindle. It's a beautiful book and I can't believe I'd never read it before, especially as it's a free book on the Kindle. </div>
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The socks are a 3x1 rib pattern, and are knit from some great-value sock wool from Lidl, which seems to be very good quality. The wool came in a pack with enough for two pairs, one self-striping and the other in a denim-blue solid. The self-striping is a gift and the blue will be for me. I might even invent my own sock pattern, we'll see.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXMcqPlMiCbFMw7QWfx6sUbTgSqRo9SWdiR2EXKLn9TPbfK-4fEmYNO8ZMRmC8m7jFNDDzYvEyxaaMCyGODYumu45jisa6Oxz24LzePGR4VX36gKiciPJeVQfwpTTa4SMl3xkcF3iTfSc/s1600/2013-10-23+13.05.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXMcqPlMiCbFMw7QWfx6sUbTgSqRo9SWdiR2EXKLn9TPbfK-4fEmYNO8ZMRmC8m7jFNDDzYvEyxaaMCyGODYumu45jisa6Oxz24LzePGR4VX36gKiciPJeVQfwpTTa4SMl3xkcF3iTfSc/s400/2013-10-23+13.05.13.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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Both projects are almost finished, so maybe I'll have some things to show for Finished-Object Friday!</div>
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This post has been shared on <a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.de/2013/10/work-in-progress-167.html">Tami's Amis</a>. Go take a look for more WIP Wednesday posts!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-5768208968626440042013-10-21T10:16:00.000+02:002013-10-21T10:17:01.827+02:00Hello, Berlin!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfb6Bylq80UaKx0Khte-9U03A1MitA8Wzj8JPGulEptjv77rrby30NA1GGPpsLpArM-YJwxoVt9KL5YzrbDaNQ8ezNc6QgcvykWAiYpJvnnWJg-0cIH8Q5d43DZ6oGb6KexGhFHQCI14/s1600/100_1870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfb6Bylq80UaKx0Khte-9U03A1MitA8Wzj8JPGulEptjv77rrby30NA1GGPpsLpArM-YJwxoVt9KL5YzrbDaNQ8ezNc6QgcvykWAiYpJvnnWJg-0cIH8Q5d43DZ6oGb6KexGhFHQCI14/s400/100_1870.JPG" width="300" /></a>Orange leaves, pumpkins, and a chill in the air... Knitting season has arrived!<br />
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Just like many other knitters, my knitting slowed down this summer. There is less always motivation to finish a warm, woolly jumper when you won't have much opportunity to wear one. I was also working from 8am til 11pm at a summer camp in the Swiss Alps, so time spent alone was rare. I think I completed two sleeves over the course of the whole summer, and they weren't even full-length!</div>
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After the summer I moved to Berlin, and it didn't take long for autumn to catch up with me. Now that it is unmistakeably October, I wish I had finished my jumper during the summer! It's still languishing on the needles, waiting for me to complete the last few inches.<br />
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So what's Berlin like? It's definitely a city with character. </div>
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<b>It has history.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VniVDvkbtJCVO06wF-cDTvixOnXdGaxpPqMCp8RkP-2MLCkPOvDA8TQq_DJ4uy_onwyKf5CnAOUqnTeMfOtCPksoYXL0KD4q8EqKbDtiU4z9URFVaZDBVoC4UYnyGP9wIkD5juX8AH0/s1600/2013-09-11+16.39.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VniVDvkbtJCVO06wF-cDTvixOnXdGaxpPqMCp8RkP-2MLCkPOvDA8TQq_DJ4uy_onwyKf5CnAOUqnTeMfOtCPksoYXL0KD4q8EqKbDtiU4z9URFVaZDBVoC4UYnyGP9wIkD5juX8AH0/s640/2013-09-11+16.39.04.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This is where the Berlin wall once stood. I live on the east side of the wall and always wonder about living conditions here during the Soviet era.</div>
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<b>It's grubby. </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9G8LrdituYcbjtZnV61Ro2SbawMO24lBFENJjtnoCYdSadDWHcDfWYeIAIVuigqPKlHlLZTZeAOhJKKI_GTCuMFsfeKbi_RMYl13H4qCgJ6LnNBudyFl7-ZJ1suvLH-oZeFHjv6SqlQ/s1600/2013-09-27+21.46.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9G8LrdituYcbjtZnV61Ro2SbawMO24lBFENJjtnoCYdSadDWHcDfWYeIAIVuigqPKlHlLZTZeAOhJKKI_GTCuMFsfeKbi_RMYl13H4qCgJ6LnNBudyFl7-ZJ1suvLH-oZeFHjv6SqlQ/s640/2013-09-27+21.46.53.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This street lamp has years and years of posters stuck to it. And of course there's graffiti everywhere. </div>
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But most importantly... <b>It has knitting!</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXaZqmwAk4uF7ICADAdrkCZvSbRgkUhdg5_A2bJ2ZnAJb2GFm8HNoVvV6OwNo-0zsOkOylUvOa13XD6cALrrFk-kLECVZx3an4Pk22c7C4Te5dh1tv-v-XJKZYXIVYIVXrLmPmMK1BTkI/s1600/2013-10-15+14.09.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXaZqmwAk4uF7ICADAdrkCZvSbRgkUhdg5_A2bJ2ZnAJb2GFm8HNoVvV6OwNo-0zsOkOylUvOa13XD6cALrrFk-kLECVZx3an4Pk22c7C4Te5dh1tv-v-XJKZYXIVYIVXrLmPmMK1BTkI/s640/2013-10-15+14.09.00.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyv5uKZqzxNiNgAxN_5E9x_oWV2y88f60S1Lqw1woNzGJFU8b1K3o2Y0OLPrqJz-twAfK4roGWRUSh58j2LuyjhB2g5Mi5hUY0ijSZ-0A357MvVIR6KZdk30d56cifBD1rVg5RzTfF5rQ/s1600/100_1869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyv5uKZqzxNiNgAxN_5E9x_oWV2y88f60S1Lqw1woNzGJFU8b1K3o2Y0OLPrqJz-twAfK4roGWRUSh58j2LuyjhB2g5Mi5hUY0ijSZ-0A357MvVIR6KZdk30d56cifBD1rVg5RzTfF5rQ/s640/100_1869.JPG" width="424" /></a><br />
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Well, knitting and crochet! Now I just have to scout out a good LYS and maybe a knitting group. With yarnbombing like this, there must be knitters around here somewhere!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-58366133215877891942013-03-13T11:28:00.001+01:002013-03-13T11:28:56.690+01:00Am I crazy?<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is it just me or is everyone knitting jumpers (sweaters) at the moment? It seems like lots the podcasters and bloggers I follow are anyway. Maybe I just notice it more because it's exactly what I want to do next.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wore my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/aidez">Aidez </a>for the first time yesterday, and it is so warm and cosy that I want a whole wardrobe full of woolly jumpers and cardigans. But when I try to find the wool to knit a jumper, I am not-so-pleasantly surprised. It seems like a jumper's worth of wool doesn't come any cheaper than €40 ($52/£35), even the bargains online add up to that with shipping. I'm a student without a job, so I was preparing myself for quite a bit of saving.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then <a href="http://thisisknit.ie/">This is Knit</a>, a lovely knitting shop in Dublin, wrote a blog post about a new yarn they're stocking. <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/araucania-botany-lace">Araucania Botany Lace</a> in some beautiful semi-solid colours. And it struck me that I could probably knit a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/featherweight-cardigan">Featherweight </a>cardigan out of 2 skeins for a grand total of €24 ($31/£21). And for some reason the alarm bells in my head are not ringing to warn me away from kntting a cardigan in such a fine yarn...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It looks like a loose gauge, so it won't be as slow as socks, and people who have commented on the pattern on Ravelry seem to suggest it goes much more quickly than they expected. And by the time I'm finished the cardigan it will probably be too warm for a big bulky Aidez anyway, so a featherweight might be perfect.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Am I crazy to consider knitting a laceweight cardigan, or would it be even more crazy to not take advantage of the €16 savings?</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-80447930422043441332013-03-11T08:47:00.000+01:002013-03-11T08:47:47.374+01:00St Patrick's Day KnittingGood morning! The sun was shining directly through my bedroom window this morning and gave me some perfect light to photograph my most recent thing to be proud of.<br />
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Last night I sat down with my Aidez cardigan and decided it was time to finally sew up the seams, weave in the ends and make it wearable. The cardigan's been finished for a month now, I should really stop putting off finishing.<br />
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I played a few podcasts, and some podcasters were talking about the knitting they're doing to wear on St. Patrick's Day, and it struck me that my green Aidez will be finished right on cue to be worn on Sunday.<br />
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It's currently blocking, but I wish it were dry because it has just started snowing here in Dublin and a big cosy Aidez would be the perfect thing to wear on a cold day like this.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7vjgcZ6KIwqi1yb3bPYYng_hej-AclEfcESTA1sz0iCxwEkzOx4MotXk_2idzAaN4rxMOHESsdU-JCoCmGZ_CLNtgNjDluDeHY5oU7eOSH4KENFjoiYyZmxr8hU3uO576qFqWCyssHw/s1600/100_1614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7vjgcZ6KIwqi1yb3bPYYng_hej-AclEfcESTA1sz0iCxwEkzOx4MotXk_2idzAaN4rxMOHESsdU-JCoCmGZ_CLNtgNjDluDeHY5oU7eOSH4KENFjoiYyZmxr8hU3uO576qFqWCyssHw/s640/100_1614.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-38945703508191514142013-03-02T13:50:00.001+01:002013-03-02T14:28:00.878+01:00Weaving in EndsWeaving in ends is probably my least favourite thing about knitting. So much work has gone into the item, so much excitement as it nears completion, so much pride when the last stitch is cast off, and then when you're looking forward so much to showing the world the thing you've accomplished it's still not ready to be worn. I used to be very good about weaving in the ends straight away, but now I let it drag on and on. I have to admit, sometimes I just tie them in a knot so I can wear something before weaving in the ends.<br />
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These were the items I brought on the train last weekend hoping to get the ends woven in once and for all.<br />
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I managed to do one sock and a half-hearted job on the cowl. (You can see where I did my knot trick on it!) And yes, I wore the socks before the second one was done.</div>
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And that <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/aidez">Aidez</a>. It is beautiful, and I can't wait to finish it and finally have my first 100% wool hand-knit cardigan, but the amount of seaming to be done is so off-putting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XWUrkT86EanExc11GeaxtWZK5c7Z9iSEJBbSBz38R2Edh18ASVpsDrSGMpXaDNin9K0PKVp9m8YQm8CpCgnMOY6cFO9629Z0u9QGU8LRuDvG5SIfLoOI6_rTX9bzmfK7JG2FIFmCpxo/s1600/100_1592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XWUrkT86EanExc11GeaxtWZK5c7Z9iSEJBbSBz38R2Edh18ASVpsDrSGMpXaDNin9K0PKVp9m8YQm8CpCgnMOY6cFO9629Z0u9QGU8LRuDvG5SIfLoOI6_rTX9bzmfK7JG2FIFmCpxo/s400/100_1592.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Next time I knit a jumper I'll remember to it in one piece!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-77806679577683065352013-02-19T21:20:00.000+01:002013-02-19T21:20:07.483+01:00Picking up where I left off<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you get more motivated to knit after you finish a certain project?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I always do. I think it's the feeling of accomplishment that pushes me towards the finish line on projects which are taking longer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last week, after I finished my cosy red cowl, I picked up where I left off on my Aidez cardigan. This is an absolutely beautiful cardigan, and I'm knitting it with really nice wool. It's Cascade Eco + in a gorgeous shade of green with flecks of blue and yellow, and I love how it looks so far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But it's cabled, and cables take me so long to knit and it felt like my progress was very slow, so I took a break. I knit the back and front panels already, so all that's left to knit is the two sleeves, which I cast on yesterday morning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm knitting them in the round so that I'll have less seaming to do at the end, and so far I've knit about 14 inches of the first sleeve. It's knitting up much faster than I thought it would. Maybe by this time next week I'll have a whole new cardigan!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here's a picture of my progress:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdIEJMAwEaNHA7hVA7c5rDTkb_8dEr6K2YT5XgKr88MN_I-WxHEewr_gGjgja7Fc8pP3wFX6JoY2sXNckjFFndidG3xhUbXL1SALaPIUGKUBAUYtRrVfvHxjgzSOQ2dx6Jv5Nqgwi4zvw/s1600/100_1581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdIEJMAwEaNHA7hVA7c5rDTkb_8dEr6K2YT5XgKr88MN_I-WxHEewr_gGjgja7Fc8pP3wFX6JoY2sXNckjFFndidG3xhUbXL1SALaPIUGKUBAUYtRrVfvHxjgzSOQ2dx6Jv5Nqgwi4zvw/s640/100_1581.JPG" width="470" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for the cowl, I've worn it every day since I finished it, and it feels like it gets softer the more I wear it! It's so snuggly and warm, and I've got loads of compliments on it. I haven't enlisted anyone to take a picture of me wearing it yet because I keep forgetting to bring my camera to college, but I'm hoping to do that some time soon.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-90765429817396451842013-02-11T02:18:00.000+01:002013-02-11T02:18:18.662+01:00Finito<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've surprised myself!</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Writing about my cowl seems to have given me the motivation I needed to finish it. I think I may have done more in the past 24 hours than I had done all week!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: center;">So here is a quick picture. My room is dark so I've tried to brighten it up a little. Hopefully I'll get some better ones in the morning.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMY4Mt0fKTZ5nbBzfQhjfeniHE7QBvvzMtZ_lpIw16Yd9jTNblUrYi3ztUFTsZ1u2YziCZ8DqnWLtQcNMf3RNoTa_1fqxQtWTYKOEmpdmTyy1mXOYH-DQqgpH0lDzXsnenwMo8uT439rI/s1600/Picture0079.jpg_effected.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMY4Mt0fKTZ5nbBzfQhjfeniHE7QBvvzMtZ_lpIw16Yd9jTNblUrYi3ztUFTsZ1u2YziCZ8DqnWLtQcNMf3RNoTa_1fqxQtWTYKOEmpdmTyy1mXOYH-DQqgpH0lDzXsnenwMo8uT439rI/s320/Picture0079.jpg_effected.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What a great end to the weekend :)</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-71437514768613090602013-02-09T22:54:00.000+01:002013-02-09T22:54:04.161+01:00Possibly my favourite knit yet!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's been such a long time since I've had a minute to sit down and write a blog post! I had deadline after deadline this term in college, and this weekend is the first chance I'm getting to catch my breath.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not only have I been too busy to make time for my blog, I haven't even had much time for knitting. I think I might have to train myself to knit while reading to help me get through the next few months of college work!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The worst part might just be that I didn't get to show you my birthday wool! I haven't photographed it all</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, so I will get round to that and show it off over the next few posts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first, and most exciting thing I'll show you is my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/mirasol-yarn-tuhu">Mirasol Tuhu</a>. It is a DK weight yarn in a llama, merino and angora blend, and I think it might just be the softest wool I've ever felt! It makes it all the sweeter that I got it at 50% off with free shipping. I bought it in the Cranberry colourway, and my, my, it's gorgeous!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMwtFN8i70dkopDnFgKFCKuEsfmVYMhj-flG0jYpYyS8r9bjZbYPq3YYnuHf68ApPVEkLBoLXlxXzbi37oflsmTPxf5rwZLG-i8Oe9o58lHJ1iB24pUKxNuk8dj_84y4ZK5oezSWnmvs/s1600/100_1561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMwtFN8i70dkopDnFgKFCKuEsfmVYMhj-flG0jYpYyS8r9bjZbYPq3YYnuHf68ApPVEkLBoLXlxXzbi37oflsmTPxf5rwZLG-i8Oe9o58lHJ1iB24pUKxNuk8dj_84y4ZK5oezSWnmvs/s400/100_1561.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There has been some pretty chilly weather here in Ireland of late, so I knew I wanted some sort of soft, cosy cowl to keep me warm. I loved <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lovely-ribbed-cowl">this one from Purl Soho</a>, but I was worried it might be so simple I'd find it boring. How wrong I was. I love simple! Simple means I can knit in the dark and it still feels like no work at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I also thought that simple would mean it'd knit up in about two minutes, but I don't get a chance to knit every day so the cowl is taking its time. Here it is a few days ago:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIuOrdnetp51rtviA1ufcbPvfU-eQMeXkITtAb0bhRON_gJyrpn5ayrBejOaiJ-uyu3xUTJWzjIAcPxjC2-CDea3VQOe4MtuekYpOBikH9K3lqtIR55T1-19MnRuGylJpsimgNDYf2Upc/s1600/100_1559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIuOrdnetp51rtviA1ufcbPvfU-eQMeXkITtAb0bhRON_gJyrpn5ayrBejOaiJ-uyu3xUTJWzjIAcPxjC2-CDea3VQOe4MtuekYpOBikH9K3lqtIR55T1-19MnRuGylJpsimgNDYf2Upc/s400/100_1559.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If it looks as lovely as Purl Soho's when it's finished, this cowl has the potential to be my favourite project yet. So soft, so comfy, so cosy and so simple, I don't think I could ask for anything more!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-62124389160644273182012-12-20T00:36:00.002+01:002012-12-20T00:36:40.564+01:00I've run out of knitting!Well not really, but my ball of wool for my cardigan is very nearly gone so this is what I'm doing for the evening:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqaE1KAekSD9eFOwYfa2SvT28NMRM59U-KuF5qAxGJstYAuXf_9Tucrib2HD4nARxv8W4Zf5sScu6PxVkc-PTaFLF_EBHKfQ5YVcyh2tiNFiptyCiNzepYKfUI08Ft9TqUQmdpH43e3NE/s1600/Picture0075.jpg_effected-003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqaE1KAekSD9eFOwYfa2SvT28NMRM59U-KuF5qAxGJstYAuXf_9Tucrib2HD4nARxv8W4Zf5sScu6PxVkc-PTaFLF_EBHKfQ5YVcyh2tiNFiptyCiNzepYKfUI08Ft9TqUQmdpH43e3NE/s400/Picture0075.jpg_effected-003.png" width="366" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Yes, I've put an Instagram-type effect on the photo because I took it with my laptop's low-quality in-built webcam and it wouldn't be very nice otherwise.)</span><br />
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I'm winding wool by hand. It is a boring, monotonous job, but I have a few knitting podcasts at the ready to keep me company. And I might need a few, because this is no average-sized ball of wool. It's a whole 250g of Cascade Eco +. ("Less ends to weave in at the end," I keep reminding myself.)<br />
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I've given up on centre-pull balls of wool. They keep falling apart at the end, and I'm rarely in the mood to spend my knitting time untangling knots.<br />
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On the bright side, wearing the wool like this has made me realise it'd be oh so warm and pretty and comfy knitted into a squishy green cowl. And I might even have enough left over after I finish my Aidez cardigan. We shall see...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-16223385629563335382012-12-14T14:37:00.000+01:002012-12-20T01:10:29.402+01:00Wool-free craftingI read a blog post about DIY satsuma candles earlier this year and I love making them. I think they're the easiest DIY project I have ever seen! I make them every time I find easy-to-peel oranges, and decided that this time I should take pictures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdbshrFdmFJdjBfYnX_90dwOvou_SzPgZohFAJIXyNeAgYZ0dreF7pDiiTsrAplgjXHfHO2B01yVHcvt7SvzUuMDVpK9Pz9rxjiEt-cAwD3pzf5kUCVBw4_Vk6w1QktW0D9A7P_-pnzA/s1600/100_1309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdbshrFdmFJdjBfYnX_90dwOvou_SzPgZohFAJIXyNeAgYZ0dreF7pDiiTsrAplgjXHfHO2B01yVHcvt7SvzUuMDVpK9Pz9rxjiEt-cAwD3pzf5kUCVBw4_Vk6w1QktW0D9A7P_-pnzA/s640/100_1309.JPG" width="582" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYCYWmY-GarJ0vRFUQ5OwikslSc8hULOIAiSOEey8afxj5FWwPirFkA8e3JUFVYJPKD7LfI5hasp0Z3dk7gE4Y7g24iBzu8rHxyqSYrGrAsqEmW2ux5mcvTvjkTWT_P-a1z46pMl2lME/s1600/100_1314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYCYWmY-GarJ0vRFUQ5OwikslSc8hULOIAiSOEey8afxj5FWwPirFkA8e3JUFVYJPKD7LfI5hasp0Z3dk7gE4Y7g24iBzu8rHxyqSYrGrAsqEmW2ux5mcvTvjkTWT_P-a1z46pMl2lME/s400/100_1314.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I think they're so clever and look really pretty as well. The original blog post with instructions can be found <a href="http://honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-satsuma-candle/">here</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-70911491471509702142012-12-07T13:05:00.003+01:002012-12-07T13:05:50.870+01:00Yummy Self-Patterning Socks<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have a new Work-in Progress I'm very excited about!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've wanted some self-striping or self-patterning sock wool since I first saw it in Germany a few months after I started knitting. I didn't pick some up then because for some silly reason I thought I didn't need more sock yarn, at least not until I knitted a successful pair of socks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then I came home, and suddenly realised what a mistake it was that I didn't bring home a suitcase full of it. Self-patterning sock wool costs about €6 ($7.76 or £4.84) in Germany, and comes in a huge range of colours, even in the tiniest of wool shops. In Ireland however, I struggled to find a shop which stocks it, and of the two I've found, both of them had only two balls of a single colourway. Oh, and it costs €11 here ($14.22/£8.87).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I've been putting off buying it for a while. Instead, I just had a look around the only LYS in the city. The shop is called <a href="http://thisisknit.ie/">This is Knit</a>, and it's a very pretty shop in a gorgeous little shopping centre. It's run by a very friendly mother-daughter team, which adds to its charm. I feel bad going in when I know I can't afford anything there, so I haven't been very often.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And then one of my Knit-Pro (same as KnitPicks for you Americans) needles broke. This is Knit is the only shop I know of which stocks them so, lucky for me, I could get it replaced without any huge effort on my part. And the lady there was so helpful. When she realised I would be without a needle until the order arrived, she let me borrow one of her own.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I picked up my new needle this week. I felt I should buy something small to show them my gratitude so I picked up a ball of <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/zwerger-garn-opal-feen--elfen-fairies--elves">Opal Fairies and Elves</a> in a navy and blue colourway. I was so excited to get started on a pair of quick-to-knit, plain stockinette socks that the next day I went to buy some circular needles. (All of mine already have a WIP on them, oops!) I went to two shops near my house, the type that sells mostly acrylic yarn, but neither of them sold circs smaller than 3.75mm! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I didn't make it to This is Knit to see if they had them (I'm sure they do); instead I went home and put a pair of socks in time out to free up the needles. And now I have the beginnings of what are hopefully going to be a speedy pair of socks:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I really love the wool, I love how the colours change, and I love the prospect of these socks lasting forever because they're made with Opal yarn. And I've come to the conclusion that sometimes I will be so much happier paying a bit more for wool that I'm excited about knitting with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This whole experience has taught me that sock wool and sock-sized circular needles are extremely hard to come by in Ireland, even in the capital city. Why is it that Irish people don't like to knit socks? My mum has told me of her stressful experiences as a little girl being taught how to knit in primary school, when she struggled to learn how to turn the heel. I'm glad I was never forced to knit in school, and that I only learned when I really wanted to. Maybe the entire nation had traumatic sock-knitting experiences back when knitting was a compulsory subject (for girls).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Or maybe Ireland is just slow to catch up with the advances in knitting. Circular needles and magic loop make sock knitting easier and more portable (at least compared to my own experience with DPNs), and we have a ton of information on the internet which makes sock-knitting less daunting. I'm knitting these socks using <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/FEATsocks101.html">Knitty.com's Sock-Building Template</a>, and the whole process is so straightforward. I hope Ireland catches on to a sock revolution some time soon, but in the meantime I'll probably have to make do with finding my sock supplies online.</span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-83152852786543585122012-11-30T13:09:00.000+01:002012-11-30T13:09:52.966+01:00Back in Action!It's hard to believe my last blog post was a whole six months ago!<br />
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My blogging break started off when I came home from France and was spending time with my family and friends again, and it continued because I got into the habit of not taking pictures of my knitting. I do enjoy documenting what I've knit though, and I would hope to be able to look back at projects and remember everything I've given to friends. It's also very nice to be able to read what I liked and disliked about certain projects long after I've forgotten what it was like to knit them.<br />
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So a lot of this blog is for my own benefit, but I'll try my best to make it interesting for you other readers as well!<br />
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Here's a look at what's on the needles at the moment:<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/red-herring">Red Herring by Cookie A</a></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ELMxtoTVgajfbnUpYxcB75i11mMFuj06J5t6EahWl0I6Wnf6qdaMKnHMYuXnRntIgbBQjXoasx9WjhC35llbypjYLXJ_-Vc75D6ZB8RCdZ4tmDf3L22wIInPBPHpbPqDGKlAZT6-RcQ/s1600/100_1294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ELMxtoTVgajfbnUpYxcB75i11mMFuj06J5t6EahWl0I6Wnf6qdaMKnHMYuXnRntIgbBQjXoasx9WjhC35llbypjYLXJ_-Vc75D6ZB8RCdZ4tmDf3L22wIInPBPHpbPqDGKlAZT6-RcQ/s640/100_1294.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
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This is the second of a pair of socks which have been sitting in my knitting bag for a little too long now. The beige wool is from Aldi and the red wool is a hand-dyed. I attempted to knit a lacy sock in the red wool, but it didn't show off the lace pattern at all so I decided to add in the beige and see what happened.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoTWcSmGvoOhWjKn5NcaIWZmZViFTMj2JHWClXLMyGBisfhoZRBPiyBF0CsIySZ5zNEOEl5CZukLfIZeVH_MDkfpJoNPfJrOfqYOh0kCPI6wNfddsp6MKQrWSp8qh_r9jCN0zx0qXqqs/s1600/100_1203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoTWcSmGvoOhWjKn5NcaIWZmZViFTMj2JHWClXLMyGBisfhoZRBPiyBF0CsIySZ5zNEOEl5CZukLfIZeVH_MDkfpJoNPfJrOfqYOh0kCPI6wNfddsp6MKQrWSp8qh_r9jCN0zx0qXqqs/s320/100_1203.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisfitVG6DU-5g1-X5xvqYNgJZP8GqLUfiCC9LXX51MSR7E9I5EOsq1g-SKTiSuZoWIlXfFoqRiIzy-aHt_qFMHvzJo8aoXdcfHqO40Who32dNgYHYDlfJ0WxdlRd_yW2XqyN63yAMJ3aA/s1600/100_1204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisfitVG6DU-5g1-X5xvqYNgJZP8GqLUfiCC9LXX51MSR7E9I5EOsq1g-SKTiSuZoWIlXfFoqRiIzy-aHt_qFMHvzJo8aoXdcfHqO40Who32dNgYHYDlfJ0WxdlRd_yW2XqyN63yAMJ3aA/s320/100_1204.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm very happy with how the two colours go together, and of course Cookie A's pattern is really pretty. Unlike Cookie, I continued the herringbone pattern all the way down the foot of the sock. It takes a lot more time, but it will be worth it for the lovely socks at the end!</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/turband">Quick and Pretty Headband:</a></b></div>
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Headbands are everywhere these days! They've got the benefit of keeping your ears and forehead warm without the disadvantage of messing up your hair like a hat might. For a knitter, it takes very little wool and very little time to whip one up, and the versions in the shops seem to be easy to copy. This project is for a friend who gave me two balls of this wool, I think it's time I gave it back to her in the form of a pretty headband.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipawxxZOpzMLwyyyLrZn_cDdCWYllp4nk1JyWxqrtQrUhDp5ZoNB9ORY8lYEyiui0jbtzVAKB_RTiAeebmwdKszC0ot1GSNmQjTwhggum3Rsfs-opAdZILeKLVvgizZmeBoF64yo_f4YA/s1600/100_1298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipawxxZOpzMLwyyyLrZn_cDdCWYllp4nk1JyWxqrtQrUhDp5ZoNB9ORY8lYEyiui0jbtzVAKB_RTiAeebmwdKszC0ot1GSNmQjTwhggum3Rsfs-opAdZILeKLVvgizZmeBoF64yo_f4YA/s640/100_1298.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/aidez"> <b>Aidez:</b></a><br />
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I have been eyeing this cardigan up for ages now, and I'm so glad I finally started it! It's taking me a while to get through it (I'm slow at cables), but I can see it's going to be gorgeous when it's finished! Hopefully I'll get it done before the end of the winter so it can keep me nice and toasty.<br />
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This colour is very difficult to capture, the above picture is the closest I could get. It's a deep emerald green with flecks of yellow and blue. I have no idea why it comes out so grey below!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwebkZ0IFeI3TRIX_B9irljeBVO5pqgeUcJdZf4F636vu4AUijMdJ9izvtUcx61Kf7_AcVOPnWtQNZvIWVoEb51EGk7s6tDiFLQuTELxd9PnPWHCiQXQIG782xZFfqN62G_cEvkdEVIOo/s1600/100_1301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwebkZ0IFeI3TRIX_B9irljeBVO5pqgeUcJdZf4F636vu4AUijMdJ9izvtUcx61Kf7_AcVOPnWtQNZvIWVoEb51EGk7s6tDiFLQuTELxd9PnPWHCiQXQIG782xZFfqN62G_cEvkdEVIOo/s640/100_1301.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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That's all I'm working on at the moment. The few projects I have finished will be online soon. I'm looking forward to regularly updating and hopefully being a bit more productive in my knitting in future!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-5666351273611095682012-06-11T10:25:00.001+02:002012-06-11T10:25:27.871+02:00Woldwide Knit in Public Day<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Worldwide Knit in Public day was on Saturday, and I was delighted to find out that there was a public knitting group organised in Strasbourg. I'm a bit shy about going to these things on my own, so when a friend asked if I wanted to meet up on Saturday I suggested we go to the park where the knitting was happening. She then said she had learned a few stitches over Christmas and had already knit a garter stitch scarf, but gave up soon after that. So I brought her a pair of needles and she got to work!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Because I'm shy, we decided to sit on a bench at first and watch the group to suss out if they all knew each other or if they were welcoming newbies as well. We were working up the courage to go over when a girl approached us and asked in English if we'd like to join. Somebody had heard my friend and I speaking English as they passed and the group got a girl who studies English to ask us to join. It was so nice how they went out of their way like that to include us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So we sat down and chatted for a few hours. It makes such a difference to have company while you knit. I don't have friends who knit so I usually do it on my own in front of a knitting podcast or an episode of White Collar. I maybe should have brought something simpler than my colourwork socks: I got distracted from the pattern a lot, and ended up making more mistakes while chatting than I ever did on my own!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was a great day out and the ladies from the Strasknitting group are so friendly! I'm disappointed I only joined them a few days before I leave for good, but I'm so glad I found out how nice it is to be part of a knitting group. I'll be much less shy to join one in Dublin!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I forgot to bring my camera, but I took a few photos with my phone:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidT4fuaMHEWd20ILNnt7gyruht4HtBNKE-_M9bzniFgL8gaeREuEskYoL91vIryQfNTGyYvL_mXQwJNK0Z9UHu90aDD1vI0C6h2A2isEIDRy8whi7TgwlrHX6D5HA2CJ8fiUplgUdqqGM/s1600/IMG-20120609-00013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidT4fuaMHEWd20ILNnt7gyruht4HtBNKE-_M9bzniFgL8gaeREuEskYoL91vIryQfNTGyYvL_mXQwJNK0Z9UHu90aDD1vI0C6h2A2isEIDRy8whi7TgwlrHX6D5HA2CJ8fiUplgUdqqGM/s400/IMG-20120609-00013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As I said, I won't be able to join them at their next meeting as my time in Strasbourg is coming to an end. Today I will be packing, tonight my dad and brother arrive and tomorrow we'll set off through the Black Forest region (and Paris on the way home).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-82209697784487634742012-06-06T17:10:00.002+02:002012-06-06T17:10:46.869+02:00Ribbit!<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes we have to frog a project we're currently working on. A lot of the time it's a very hard thing to do - when it's a project you can't wait to finish or have invested a lot of time into. Other times it's not so hard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today, for the first time ever, I was excited to frog a project. From the very start I was unsure of what I wanted to do with the yarn. It was my first variegated sock yarn and I couldn't decide on a way to show off the yarn and the pattern at the same time. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTJoncsRKsita1kqalfbJInXnq25HTHvviL_Ypm4VI3rVMvag3V1_lGHQG9YHh-eMnb2E3nxOt2CsvMrDDvV_HiJiWRpYprcw8RWPm2wFvPcb95RTw_IQhV-8COyvuBTyUzsFbTg_Nlg/s1600/100_0864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTJoncsRKsita1kqalfbJInXnq25HTHvviL_Ypm4VI3rVMvag3V1_lGHQG9YHh-eMnb2E3nxOt2CsvMrDDvV_HiJiWRpYprcw8RWPm2wFvPcb95RTw_IQhV-8COyvuBTyUzsFbTg_Nlg/s400/100_0864.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I picked a lacy pattern and got to work, only to find that the colours were hidden by the pattern and the pattern was hidden by the colours! I could tell it wasn't going to work shortly after starting, so I took some pictures and decided to sleep on it before frogging.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXicvVagf6QWzsed6y9y0Ncwi4VokYXMVyVjcDRgjx1KIPAOqc-sZaVvwYRl8fuotP-qN6rTej5DWIDQoLinecJojaGij4e3seTHuG1-yoE33KfXApzUZO_LE-KiRBEcJffXwhOjKLt0/s1600/100_1200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXicvVagf6QWzsed6y9y0Ncwi4VokYXMVyVjcDRgjx1KIPAOqc-sZaVvwYRl8fuotP-qN6rTej5DWIDQoLinecJojaGij4e3seTHuG1-yoE33KfXApzUZO_LE-KiRBEcJffXwhOjKLt0/s400/100_1200.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I knew this pattern wasn't right for the yarn, but I had no idea which pattern would be. Little did I know my answer would come to me that night. In my dreams I was knitting colourwork socks! I could not believe it, my subconscious had helped me out of my knitting dilemma. Colourwork socks would be perfect! Why not pair the red yarn up with another colour and knit a pattern which will both show off the colours of the yarn and break up any pooling which might have occurred?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I got to work straight away and remembered a pattern I had been wanting to knit for a while. And so I present to you the very beginnings of my new favourite socks: <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall06/PATTredherring.html">Red Herring by Cookie A</a></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-71360225382199215732012-06-03T20:12:00.000+02:002012-06-03T20:12:59.327+02:00The Harry Potter House Cup<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In my last post I mentioned the Harry Potter House Cup on Ravelry, but the post was already so long I couldn't really go into detail about why I signed up, what I'm making or how it's going so far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can't remember how I found out about the House Cup, but I know it was right before sign-ups for this term began. Each term is three months long, and every student must turn in at least one finished item per month. As I'm spending the summer at home while most of my friends will be abroad, I figured I'd have plenty of free time to contribute to my team's efforts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May was my exam month so I didn't have a lot of time for knitting. I did manage to finish a pair of socks just in time to submit them and I'm delighted with how they turned out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I could only spend half an hour knitting here and there during exams, so the first sock took me three weeks to finish. After my exams I had one week left to knit an entire sock, and to my surprise, I managed to finish it just in time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For the next two months, I imagine I'll have a lot more free time to knit, and I'd like to turn in more than just one project per month. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-78033261113302321962012-05-29T16:51:00.000+02:002012-05-29T16:51:54.303+02:00I'm back, and it's SUMMER!<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's been over a month since my last post! Here's what I've been up to (skip to the end for knitting!):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For the past month, my life was taken over by end-of-year exams. A lot of them were oral exams, which means you don't have time to sit and think about the answer because the teacher is right there waiting for you to say something! On top of that, they were all in French, a language I've just about got used to speaking after a year of living here. My last exam was on Friday, which means I am now on my summer holidays!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you know Strasbourg, you'll know that it's an inland city on the border between France and Germany. It's not by the sea so I didn't expect my summer adventures to be on the shore. However, when I got here I found out that there's a beach by a lake. I even hear the sand is imported from the Mediterranean...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A few months ago the back wheel of my bike was stolen, and I realised just how much longer it takes to walk everywhere! I took the opportunity to give my bike a little makeover:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I took it for its first big outing yesterday: a 30km cycle through the French countryside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I took this photo while I was riding my bike. Wheeeeeee!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was a lovely way to spend a beautiful day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And of course... knitting!</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">During exam time I haven't been knitting as much as usual, but I did find a bit of time every day to keep it going. First of all, my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/lalas-simple-shawl">Lala's Simple Shawl</a> has taken a backseat. I still like it and I looking forward to finishing it, but for the moment I'm more excited about other projects.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I've been admiring cabled patterns forever, and as I plan to knit the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/aidez">Aidez</a> cardigan soon, I thought I should learn how cables are done. I picked out some bulky yarn which I bought from a bargain bin and got started on a pair of <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/bellas-mittens">Bella's Mittens</a>. I don't have much interest in Twilight, but I do think the mittens are adorable! I overestimated how much wool I had, and had to frog and start over with a shorter wrist. I ran out of wool when I got about three-quarters of the way through the thumb, so the mittens are now in time-out while I try to figure out the best way to finish them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since finishing my boyfriend's socks I've been wanting to make a pair for myself. I had a bit of trouble with ladders on my DPNs and when I heard about magic looping I couldn't wait to try it out. I took a walk into town to see what kind of sock wool I could find, and I found some of my favourite colours ever. I spent about ten minutes looking at them, trying to decide which one I wanted. I settled on a beautiful greenish-turquoise, a colour called "eau vive", which is French for running water (the outdoor kind, not the kitchen sink kind!). With this wool I'm making myself a pair of <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/eimseims/spring-forward">Spring Forward</a> socks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">These socks are for the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup. For anyone who hasn't heard of it yet, it's a really fun way to motivate yourself to be creative with your knitting, crocheting and spinning. It's also a serious motivator to finish your projects on time, because if you don't hand in a project a month, you might not be allowed participate again! The socks have been going slowly due to exams, so now I have to finish a bit more than half a sock by the end of May. I think I'll make it; I have heaps of free time now that I'm on my summer holidays!</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-76444665142508756192012-04-26T12:23:00.000+02:002012-04-26T12:24:44.695+02:00Knit and Crochet Blog Week: Highlights<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I decided to take part in this year's Knit and Crochet Blog Week, I really wanted to challenge myself to post every day of the week. I looked at the topics in advance and thought about what I'd write for each one, which is the kind of preparation I don't usually do. Unfortunately, Blog Week is happening just before my exams - exams which are entirely in French and in a strange French format which I'm really not used to. I have eight exams, a few hundred pages of revision to get through, and I'm also working a part-time job. So it's tough making time for Blog Week too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, I don't want to just abandon it, so I'm goin to give you a summary of what I would have written if I had had the time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>TUESDAY - Wildcard Topic - Craft your perfect day</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My perfect knitting day: I would wake up to the sun shining through my curtains. I would have a lazy breakfast with a pot of tea and would have no commitments all day to rush to. Except maybe meeting friends for a picnic or something, that would be a lovely commitment. I would finish a pair of socks in the morning and wear them straight away (they don't need to be blocked!). Then I would cast on a project I've been excited about for months and knit all day. Simple.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Once my exams are over I'm hoping I'll have plenty of time for a few perfect knitting days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>WEDNESDAY - Day Three - Your Knitting Hero</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I started knitting I had no idea there was such a huge online community of knitters. I had so much to learn. I can't remember how I came across Ravelry, but my goodness it's the best thing I've ever found on the internet! So my first knitting heroes are the founders of Ravelry, Jess and Casey, for making so much information available to us. I think without the huge database of patterns and all that information on different yarns, it would have taken me years to figure out all the stuff I've learned from the website.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My second set of knitting heroes would have to be The Knit Girllls, Leslie and Laura. They keep me company for an hour a week while I focus on my knitting. I have learned so many things from them - from interesting groups on Ravelry to various techniques (such as an Afterthought Heel). I have also become so much more interested in yarn because of them; the way they get so excited about certain yarns makes me want to try them out some day. And they spin. I had no idea that people spun before I watched The Knit Girllls and now I just want to make my own yarn too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My knitting heroes are knitting heroes because of how easy they've made it for me to keep knitting. Thank you all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>THURSDAY - Day Four - A Knitter for All Seasons</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I will most definitely be knitting this summer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My three-week contract at work is nearly over, and while I thought it was a tester to see how I got on with a view to hiring me for the summer, it's becoming more and more apparent that they have their permanent staff and just hire poor suckers like me for three weeks when it gets busy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Which means if I'm not re-hired, I'll be spending the summer back home in Ireland. I don't mind so much, I've only been home twice in the past year and it will be lovely to spend some time with my family and friends from home. And summer in Ireland is never too hot, so I'll be knitting comfortably all year round. I really <i>really</i> want an <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/aidez">Aidez</a> cardigan for the autumn, so I think that will be my big summer project.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My only problem with year-round knitting is that if you knit something warm and woollen in the spring, you can't wear it until it gets cold again. Which is why this time next year I think I'm going to try my hand at designing a simple motif (like the ethnic prints that are all over the high street), knitting it up in cotton and wearing it all summer long.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386953791715996820.post-38046414454822964282012-04-23T23:01:00.001+02:002012-04-23T23:01:42.781+02:00Knit and Crochet Blog Week : Day One - Colour Lovers<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This week is the 3rd Annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week! This means that every day for an entire week, participating bloggers from all over the world will be blogging about the same topic.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You an find the other participating blogs easily by searching the internet for the code of the day. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Today's topic is </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Colour Lovers </i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and the code is <i>3KCBWDAY1;</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> the rest of the week's topics and codes can be found </span><a href="http://www.eskimimimakes.com/2012/04/knitting-and-crochet-blog-week-2012.html" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">here</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some of the topics will be a challenge this week, so I'm glad to start off on one that's easy for me.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I love colour. I especially love the spectacular colour palettes of certain yarn brands: the deep, rich, vibrant colours and the light, bright, fresh colours - I love them all. I could spend hours upon hours searching various online yarn stores deciding what my favourite colours are and imagining what I could make with them, but for some reason (probably the fact that I'm a cash-strapped student) I never actually buy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What surprises me even more is that as much as I'm taken in by these colours and would love nothing more than to knit with them, when it comes to actually buying yarn for a particular project I lean towards more natural tones. I have the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/aidez">Aidez </a>cardigan in my queue and plan to knit it for the autumn, but I feel like the beautiful textures will be seen so much more clearly if I knit it in beige. And anyway, Aran always looks good in naturals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I want to buy more of those amazingly coloured yarns I spend all my time looking at, but </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I don't get to buy yarn often. My "stash" consists of enough Aldi yarn for three pairs of socks, and four skeins of some Bergere de France I picked up in the bargain bin. I only want to buy yarn if I'm ready to cast on for a specific project, w</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">hich means I'll only buy a colour if it's perfect for a pattern I'm about to knit. The last thing I want to do to a beautiful yarn is to commit to it, then not know what to do with it and leave it sitting idly in the back of my wardrobe. Funnily enough, my unused stashed yarn is all beige or grey - this might be why I'm not so excited to knit with it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think this is one reason sock yarns come in more colours than any other type of yarn. It's not such a commitment to the colour if you only need one skein for a project. Also if it doesn't turn out great, the socks won't be on show as much as jumper for example (that means sweater to you Americans). </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was with this logic that I took the plunge earlier today and bought my first variegated sock yarn. (If any non-knitting friends have stuck with me this far, a <a href="https://www.google.fr/search?q=variegated+yarn&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=Ur-VT57lK8uZhQeMqoyDBA&biw=1517&bih=666&sei=Vr-VT4n3BMm5hAeg8fCaBA">variegated yarn</a> is one that changes from colour to colour as you knit.) I think a variegated yarn is a gamble: while the colours might look gorgeous on the skein, you never know exactly how they are going to look once they knit up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'm very cautious about picking the wrong yarn, but as soon as I saw a </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/brands/three-irish-girls/projects?status=&category=&craft=&color=&photoless=0&search=maeve" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Three Irish Girls sock yarn in a colourway called "Maeve"</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I had to buy it: the yarn and my sister have the same name! It also seems to be a much more luxurious yarn than the Aldi stuff I'm used to, so I'm really looking forward to knitting her a pair of Maeve-coloured socks!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Find other Knit and Crochet Blog Week posts about <i>Colour Lovers</i> <a href="https://www.google.fr/search?hl=en&ds=i&pq=3KGBWDAY+1&cp=3&gs_id=26&xhr=t&q=3KcBWDAY%201&um=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1517&bih=666&wrapid=tljp133521486475132&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw&ei=FMOVT_z8MpGf-Qbu6oSJBA#hl=en&gs_nf=1&pq=3kcbwday%201&cp=3&gs_id=o&xhr=t&q=3KCBWDAY%201&pf=p&biw=1517&bih=666&sclient=psy-ab&oq=3KCBWDAY+1&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=2da8be2982b9ea5e">here</a>.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731342013817112600noreply@blogger.com4