Shetland Tea shawl

Nu så är min Shetland Tea Shawl från A Gathering of Lace färdig. Jag är väldigt nöjd med den måste jag säga. Det var ett ganska enkelt mönster att följa genom att rapporterna var ganska korta. Problemet var att det blev ganska många maskor och därmed många mönsteromgångar på varje varv. För att hålla isär så använde jag många stickmarkörer. Nu kom mina gummisnoddar väl till pass som stickmarkörer igen.

Now my Shetland Tea Shawl from A Gathering of Lace is finished. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. It was a rather simple pattern to follow because the patterns was rather small. The problem was that it in became many stitches and therefore many repeats on every row. To keep track I used stitch markers. Now my rubber band came to use again as stich markers.

Nästa projekt är Heere be Dragone men försöker hålla mig lite. Om jag nu kan det vill säga. Det suger bra på att börja med den:-). Ben tänkte komma igång med väskan till min väskbyteskompis och kanske hinna framåt lite på makens tröja;-).

My next project is Heere be Dragone but I'm trying to wait a bit. If I can. I'm really longing to start with it:-). But I thought I should start with the bag for my Bag swap pal and maybe do some rounds on my husbands sweater;-)

questionnaire for SP10

This time I’m writing just in english. That’s because I have joined the Secret Pal 10. They want us to post our answers to the questionnaires in our blogs. Therefore I do that now. Here they are:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
My favoite yarns are wool and all naturfibers. I would love to try yarns that I can’t get here in Sweden. I don’t like acrylic yarns. The only yarns use of that kind is fur yarns and other funny yarns.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I use a sewing box for all my knitting things. No special box for my needles yet.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I’ve been knitting since I was a child, my mother tought me when I was about six years old. As a knitter I think I’m more advanced, but there will alvays new things to learn. I love to learn new knitting techniques.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/36WQPO602RODK/
5. What's your favorite scent?
Hard to answer, but love flower and berry scent’s if they isn’t to strong. For example strawberry and Lily of the walley.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Love dark chocolate and also love different sorts of coffee, but do love different sorts of tea too.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I’m trying to learn how to spin and I’m doing some crocheting to but not much. I have done some embroidery too but now a days it’s mostly knitting for me. I’m thinking of learning to weave too.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)Love all kind of music, from groups like Evenescence to opera, but mostly I listen to jazz and blues. My stereo can play mp3.
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I don’t have any favorite colours but many of my things are read and black. I like gold coloured things to. But I don’t like pastel colours. I love warm colours.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I’m married with three grown up children, only my son is still living at home. We also have three cats.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I were scarves and shawls often. Mittens to, but I don’t were hats so often. I never use ponchos. 12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
My favorite items to knit is lace in any form, mostly in shawls. Love to see how it turns out. But there are always a pair of socks on the needles to.
13. What are you knitting right now?
Right now I’m knitting on a sweater for my husband, a tank for myself, a scarf and a pair of mittens. Of course there are a shawl and a pair of socks on the needles to. There always is.
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I would love handmade gifts. They are done by people thinking of me and therefore it make them special.
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I prefer circular needles. I use Garnstudios circular mostly and of course Denise Interchangable and love them. For dpn needles I love hardwood needles, but I also use bambo needles. I almost never use straight needles anymore. Feel it takes the stress out of my shoulders.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I own both a yarn winder and a swift. I also have a magnet board for my patterns.
17. How old is your oldest UFO?
My oldest UFO is about one year old. But actually I think that one will getting much older before I will finish it.
18. What is your favorite holiday?
My favorite holiday is christmas, love everything about it. Doing the decorating, planning the presents and so on.
19. Is there anything that you collect?
Actually it’s books and yarns:-). I love reading and very often comes out of the bookstore with a new book. Either for me or my husband. And I almost can’t go into a yarn shop without buying anything. Love the feeling of yarn.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
There are many yarns that I would love to have to, just because you can’t get theme here in Sweden, like Knitpicks yarns or Alpaca with a Twist. As for patterns I’m glad for most shawl patterns an that goes for sock patterns to. I have a subscription on Interweave Knits but I also buy Vogue Knitting and Simply Knitting. I love lace pattern books.
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I’m always intrested in learning new techniques. Right now I’m learning to spin, knitting with two-ends. Later on I want to learn to weave and to make needlebinding.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes I knit socks as I wrote before but not just that. I consider myself more of a shawl knitter. My foot measures 28 cm.

Stockholm

Idag var vi till Stockholm över dagen. Denna gången hade jag bestämt att jag skulle gå både till Nysta och Marias garn, med risk för plånbokskrasch:-). Så det blev en del promenerande i snöyran. Detta var vad jag kom hem med.



Today we went to Stockholm. This time I had decided to go both to Nysta and Marias garn, with a presumtive risk for wallet disaster:-). So there was a bit of walking in the snowfall. This was what I came home with.

Från Nysta:

From Nysta:

Tre härvor Hifa superwash, tre nystan Noro Kureyon. Dessa har bestämda ändamål. Ska bli en väska och lite strumpor. Den sista härvan är Colinette Jitterbug. Den vet jag inte vad den ska bli ännu, men kunde inte låta bli att köpa den. Den var ju så ljuvlig, merinoull.



Three hanks of Hifa superwash, three balls of Noro Kureyon. These have certain goals. Shall become a bag and some socks. The last one is Colinette Jitterbug. That one I don't know what to do with yet, but couldn't resist buying it. It is so lovely, merino wool.



Från Marias garn:

From Marias garn:

Tre härvor Viva. Jag hade problem med att få den rätta färgen. Det är därför ni bara få se ett av dem. Denna bild är den som kom närmast färgen. Dessa härvor ska bli Heere be the Dragone shawl.

Three hanks of Viva. I had trouble to get the right colour. That's why I show you only one skein. This picture is the one that are nearest in colour. These skeins shall become the Heere be the Dragone shawl.

En härva handfärgat ullgarn. Jag kunde inte låta bli att köpa den. Så ljuvlig. Vet inte vad jag ska göra med den heller, men visst får man göra sådana köp också:-).

One skein of handdyed wool yarn. I couldn't resist buying it. So lovely. Don't know what to do with this neither, but surely you can do that kind of buying to:-)

Men jag har stickat lite också. Har kommit till uddkanten på sjalen, fast den kommer att ta tid. Nästan 600 maskor som ska stickas ihop med kanten, så jag tar lite i taget. Mina "maskar" går framåt. Kom rätt långt på den fjärde på tåget till (och från) Stockholm. Och till sist: så här ser min tvåändstickning ut nu. Stickar båda vantarna samtidigt.

But I've done some knitting too. Have started with the edging on my shawl, though it will take some time. Almost 600 stitches that shall be knitted together with the edgin, so I take a bit at the time. My "worms" are slowly wwalking forward. Got rather far on the fourth when sitting on the train to (and home from) Stockholm. And last: this is what my two-end knitting looks like now. I'm knitting both mittens at the same time.

Ganska lyckad spinning/ rather sucessful spinning

Nu så har jag lyckats få till lite garn. Gick hyfsat i alla fall, men väldigt ojämnt tjockt:-). Fast det blir väl bättre hoppas jag när jag får lite vana. Blir däremot ingen bild. Kommer bilder när jag är bättre på detta med att spinna. Provade också min Tysklandsslända. Den kändes bra, fast jag inte kan så mycket om detta.

Now I have succeded in spinning some yarn. Went rather well anyway, but very uneven:-). But I hope it will be better as I learn more. It won't be any picture. They will come when I've learned more. I also tried my Germany spindle. It felt good, though I don't know so much about it.

NHV5

Idag fick jag ännu ett paket. Denna gången var det från min Nordiska hemliga vän Mette i Danmark. Tack Mette, vad glad jag blev. Synd att bilderna blev lite suddiga bara. Fina roliga garner att prova och en bok med stickmönster. Nu är kvällen räddad. Den ska jag bläddra i. Jag tycker väldigt mycket om att bläddra i sådana böcker och fantisera. Chokladen är snart slut. Där får jag hjälp av maken och sonen:-)

Today I got another package. This time it was from my Nordic secret pal Mette in Denmark. Thanks Mette, I became so glad. To bad the pictures became so bad. Fine nice yarns to test and a book with knitting patterns. Now my evening is saved. I will look in it. I love to look in books about knitting and fantasie about what to knit next. The chocolate is soon finished. I got some help from my husband and son there:-)

Tysklandspaket/package from Germany

Idag fick jag en underbar överraskning. Fick ett paket från Tyskland trots att det är söndag. Det hade varit ute på vift och kommit fel, men när jag fick det idag så blev jag jätteglad.

Today I got a wonderful surprise. Got a package from Germany even if it's sunday. It has been on the run, but when I got it today I was so happy.

Det är ett underbart paket från Anja i Tyskland. Titta vad som fanns inuti. Jättefina sockor, en liten väska, en burk te och nästan det bästa, fast det går inte att gradera något här, en slända med mitt namn på och merinoull i flera vackra färger. Jag älskar hela paketet. Tack Anja, du gjorde mig jätteglad.

It's a wonderful package from Anja in Germany. Look what was inside. Beautiful socks, a small beautiful bag, a can of tea and almost the best of it, though I can't graduate anything, a hand spindle with my name on it, merino wool in several beautiful colours. I love the package. Thanks Anja, you made me very happy.

Tvåändstickning/Two-end knitting

Igår var jag hos Nystvindan på workshop i tvåändstickning. Jättekul, men inte gick det fort framåt inte. Jag hann inte långt på de timmarna:-). Men det blir väl lättare när man tränat lite. Tyvärr glömde jag bort att ta kort, hade inte tid att tänka på det:-), men kort blev tagna så jag hoppas ni kan kika på Mälarmaskans blog snart och se oss i action.

Yesterday I was at Nystvindan on a workshop in Two-end knitting. Real fun, but it didn't go fast forward. I didn't knit very long on those hours:-). But it must be easier when you have trained a bit. I forgot to take picture, didn't have time to think about that:-), but there where pictures taken so I hop that you will be able to look att Mälarmaskans blog soon and see us in action.