Swedish Sweaters

I came across this book on a knitter's blog (can't remember which one). It looked interesting but the book is out of print. Then the blogger mentioned that this book can still be found for a very reasonable price. In a moment of job stress and mounting pressures last week, I did my version of "when the times get tough the tough go shopping" and bought a used copy off Amazon for a little over $6.

"Swedish Sweaters" by Britt-Marie Christofferson, published in 1990.


The first part of the book fascinates me. It shows historical examples of the sweaters and charts out the stitch patterns....
and the last half of the book shows some contemporary designs, which I did not find as interesting. I value this book for the stitch patterns from the historical examples. A nice find that didn't break my budget.

Bobbins

I crossed paths with KnittinDeb, author of the NeedleWerks blog, in one of the spinning groups on Ravelry. She mentioned that her husband makes replacement bobbins for her Louet spinning wheel. Not-so-long story shorter, I bought 2 of his handcrafted bobbins for my spinning wheel. Aren't they pretty. He did a great job. I am glad to have 'met' KnittinDeb and hope we keep in touch.

First steps

It is said that a grand adventure begins with a few steps. This is my first step on my spinning adventure. I was grateful that I had read somewhere that your very first hand spun yarn should be looked on as designer yarn because there will not be another like it. That satisfied my perfectionist side, which wanted to feel disappointed with the product of my first effort, and so my joy in the spinning was preserved.

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. T., for the wheel, for your encouragement, and for your support.

Inexpensive dpn storage

Toothbrush boxes 3 for $1. These are working even better than I expected.

Leaves and Pi in progress

I got stuck on my leaves pullover. The pattern has a simple drop shoulder, but this type of shoulder is not a flattering shape for me, so I tried to do a different shoulder. The problem is I need to study shoulder construction before I can do this properly and I got stuck. I am going to get unstuck by ripping back below where I tried to "just do it" and then knit the simple drop shoulder that the pattern calls for. It is more important to me to finish this sweater. I will do an in-depth study of shoulder construction soon, as there are patterns I want to knit but have to change the shoulder/sleeve construction.

My puddle of Pi...
I am knitting E. Zimmermann's Pi Shawl pattern using Icelandic yarn and size 8 circular needle. Rather than a shawl, this will be a lightweight afghan for the bed or sofa. It will not be a soft, rub-on-your-cheek type of afghan, but it will be light and warm. I am having fun trying something new. The yarn comes in a wheel and has little to no twist to it. I have not had it pull apart while knitting, but if it did it would be easy to overlap the ends and keep knitting. Fun and easy.

Posh socks

Very lovely yarn. (Thank you, Susan.) I like the colors and enjoyed watching them wander across the socks as I knit them. I kept the pattern simple so the yarn could have a strong voice. This yarn is soft but it also has substance; I like how the yarn is spun.

DETAILS
YARN: Posh Yarn, Lucia, colorway Twinkle.
NEEDLE: 2.5 mm circular, magic loop method.
PATTERN: Basic pattern - top down, picot edge cuff, stockinette, 4 inch leg, heel flap.

The Wheel landed

Cue the theme music for Space Odyssey
(Duhhh.... Duhhhh..... Duhhhhhhhhhh..... Duh-Duh...Boom Boom Boom .....)

The space pod arrived late yesterday afternoon .....
I opened the blast shield doors exposing the cabin door. The Wheel was peeking out at me....
The cabin door was opened revealing the Wheel bearing a gift......
Pansy used her superior communication skills to establish mutual good will....
To make the Wheel feel at home, I introduced Wheel to Chair and took a picture of Wheel sitting in Chair...
This is the warm, homey picture of Wheel adjusting to its new home...
This was the gift that Wheel brought. A bag of BFL with a note on it that says, "Be prepared to receive something special with no strings attached". Mr. T got this fortune at dinner the night before this wheel was gifted to him and he sent this to me. I want to attach it somewhere on the wheel.
(couldn't get the camera to focus)
How does a person say 'thank you' big enough? Mr. and Mrs. T made a dream come true. This is huge for me.

Waiting for a bundle of joy

This pretty little thing has been swaddled in protective padding and is rolling her way here even as I type. Good thing I am typing and not talking, I still get choked up. Two very generous and kind friends, Mr. and Mrs. T, are passing this wheel along to me. Mr. and Mrs. T made a dream come true for me. I still feel speechless but my heart is full.

p.s. Cecilia - Thanks for stopping by! Those tubies took about 320 yards, but I think I could have used less.

Knitting retreat at historic lighthouse

I just got back from the Oregon Coast. I attended a knitting retreat at the Heceta Lighthouse B&B, which is the beautiful historic lighthouse keeper's house (it is the large white building on the right side of the picture). Instead of staying at the B&B, I stayed at the vacation home owned by a friend on the beachfront in Yachats not far from the Heceta Head Lighthouse. I started my Sea Wool socks while sitting in the historic lighthouse keeper's home enjoying the view of the coastline (and thinking of Mr. & Mrs. T knitting at the warm beach in Southern California). I started my Pi Shawl afghan using Icelandic wool while sitting in the vacation home at Yachats gazing out at the ocean waves. It was a beautiful Oregon Coast weekend complete with rain, wind, spots of sun, and invigorating fresh cool air ( I may have hopped, skipped, and jumped a little). Most of all, it was a great weekend because of the people with whom I spent time knitting and talking.