Fiber Fairy

This year I planned to learn the fair isle technique - knitting with two colors. But I just knitted a pair of socks and I can't tell that I really was able to knit with two strands of yarn. After I felted almost all my sweaters for a patchwork project and winter is coming very soon I decided to knit a sweater in fair isle technique. I choose sock yarn as I had so much of that cheap yarn in my stash - I will never knit so many socks! Ok, a sweater made from sock yarn. At least I decided to use double sock yarn so I will see progress soon. I took the seamless sweater pattern from Elizabeth Zimmermann and started knitting. 

After a few rounds with holding two different strands of yarn on one hand I got it and couldn't stop knitting. Yeah, I managed it! And one week later my sweater was finished:

Now I'm planning to knit more and more in this technique: Socks, hats, mittens and of course another sweater. Perhaps I will try steeking!!! 

Here is a scarf for my nephew Max - the alligator/snake scarf with mittens integrated:

My next attempt in knitting a Baktus shawl is done. I really love my second version, the yarn is much better and so unbelievable soft, the colors are bright and the pattern is adorable. 

Unfortunately I'm not able to present the colors in the right light, so this will do I think. 

I will start with my latest addiction, the Skuld Lace Shawls. I joined the Norns-KAL from knitandknag a few weeks ago. I also ordered the original yarn Sappho II from Sanguine Gryphon. Unfortunately my yarn got stuck between US and Germany so I ordered more yarn from wollbox here in Germany. I spent a little fortune on yarn just for this only shawl - I ordered only handpainted yarns, silk and sea silk yarns and other luxury yarns. I have been in great dispair!!!

But luckily I got the delivery from Sanguine Gryphon on june, 16 - one day after the start of the KAL. I started right now and knitted and knitted and knitted and on june 17, late in the evening (ok, it was midnight!) I finished the gray Skuld. My choice was the grayish yarn because Skuld is the norn of that what will be. The future lays in a nebulous fog for me  - so gray and steel colors resemble this feeling best. 

This is the first Skuld:

One day later the other yarn arrived and I think this steel gray and blue yarn is a good choice for the second Skuld. The pattern is so addictive that I have to knit another one what is a very rare occasion!

The Unbeaded Nymph Sweater is a little raglan tshirt knitted from 2 skeins of sock yarn. I just wanted to try if I am able to knit a sweater with very fine yarn. And yes - this is addictive too! I have already plans for the next sweater!

The Fountain Pen Shawl - another very fast lace project that was great fun to knit with Malabrigo Lace yarn:

And at last there is a summer project, the crochet top:

More pictures of all projects can be found on the photo pages...

The door stopper cat got a face and my mil is very happy with it.

I made two pairs of potholder for my mum's birthday - now I'm so fed up with potholders I think I have to take a break crocheting potholders...

My cardigan is finished - it took me only one week to crochet and it turned out fine. More pics of the cardi can be found on the crochet-sides...

.

Well, I think I got the crochet fever or something like that. I do more crochet than knitting - I don't know if this is good? But I enjoy it as it's much faster than knitting...

I had some old crochet hooks that I got from my grandma (or was it a grandaunt?). While crocheting with these hooks my fingers got sore. I don't like that plain steel or aluminum hooks very much they look so boring. Some time ago I saw handmade hooks made from polymer clay. A great idea and I have so much old FIMO (polymer clay)! Now here are my first two handmade hooks - aren't they adorable?

Crocheting potholder again, this time a norwegian pattern (with english translation) I enjoyed very much: Grytekluter is an easy to follow pattern and so adorable. I made this potholders for my ex-mother-in-law.

After finishing the potholder I started a new cardigan - it's Prepster from the book "The Happy Hooker". I wanted to crochet that cardigan since I got the book but why did it take so long to start? I use black cotton yarn and I know that I don't have enough. So I just ordered some more skeins. ;-)

My last knitting project was a pair of summer socks made from leftover yarns. I will have to knit some more of this short and black socks as I had to sort out some of my very old and worn out socks.

I was working constantly on different projects trying to finish them all. But I started a whole bunch of new projects because...

I had to wait for more yarn for this project: The turkish star potholder - for the german potholderswap! 

As I can't order only the yarn for one project I found this great and very cheap cotton in two shades of blue. That will be a rug for my shower as the old one is unraveling. I tried to make a picture but the cat...

...she's learning to crochet! Ok, perhaps she will just eat up all the yarn.

Finally my cardigan is finished. I don't know why but I did NOT enjoy the knitting but the outcome is phantastic!

More pictures of that cardi in the knitting photos...

I'm in need of summer socks and so I knitted this small socks of soy yarn:

Now I have only one shawl, one skirt, one afgan and the rug for the shower as WIP. *sigh*

I wasn't lazy with my knitting. But so lazy in blogging! I was knitting very much on my red cardigan but then I got an invitation for the german potholder swap. I couldn't resist and ordered instantly cotton yarn. Waiting squirrelly for the parcel I found so many granny squares for potholder ideas so I was very exited to start. Here are the first three pairs:

This one will be the next potholder but I'm not sure if I can give it away. I like it so much...

Then I went totally nuts and ordered some japanese crochet and knitting pattern books from amazon.jp. I spent a fortune on the books and the shipping but I had to wait only 8 days for the delivery! And the books are worth the money! There are so many great ideas and pattern - I MUST CROCHET NOW!!!!

Well, I definitely can't work on only one project and I needed to do some crochet again. Since long time I wanted to work the skirt from the book "The Happy Hooker". Why not? You can vary the length of the skirt easily and I prefer short skirts (as my beloved husband does). So after a few hours and only 250 g yarn this is my skirt:

I love this skirt and today I went to my lys and got me some blue cotton yarn for another short skirt and lots of fun. 

I love coffee and I love my french press - but coffee gets cold in it in no time. So this is the final resolution. A french press coffee cozy made from scrap yarn:

I visited my sister and her family in Dresden and went there by train. As I can't read in a moving train (I get sick!) I tried knitting a pair of socks. Unfortunately I had only one skein of sock yarn with me otherwise I would have finished a third sock. So I knitted this pair of ordinary socks:

Another two papuffs done and I used up at least 2 kg of yarn. Hey, that means I can buy yarn again! The lilac papuff was made of 9 strands of lace yarn with silk and merino and 50% polyester. Not the yarn I love to work with and the color is UGH! The small papuff is made of 7 strands of slippery viscose yarn, my darling loves this yarn so it's his papuff.

It's still snowing and we have about 45 cm snow here. I don't know where I can park my car as I am no longer able to drive to my parking space. The road is to steep and I'm lucky to get my car to the road again. I think I will head off for a walk through the snow, yesterday I got stuck in a snowdrift, today I will take another chance to get stuck! ;-)