Cosycactus

a touch of purple

 

This must be one of my fastest big projects yet. I only used ten days from start to finish and I am very happy with the result. 

It is the minoan shawl released just in february this year. I saw it while browsing through ravelry and had the urge to cast on inmediately!  Most of the projects I knit start this way, there is always something that attracts me to start inmediately. It was also a perfect way of using my stash. I had two balls of abuelita in gray left from my neverending cardigan and thought gray would be a perfect, simple, everyday color for my the first shawl I make for myself. And there was something about the combination of dark and light purple that caught my attention while searching my stash for possible color combos. It turned big enough to wrap around shoulders whithout having too much fabric hanging down, about 1.5 meters wide and 60 cm from top to bottom.

I haven't got anything else that has caught my eye to start so I am using my energy to finish a couple of projects I have started and that are close to end. I have done a couple of longies as well and need to start on a gift for someone special.

Happy week!

 

the strawberry cardigan

Hope you manage to see beyond my dirty bathroom mirror and actually look at my latest cardigan! I started and nearly completed it while I was in Tromsø for 10 days. I didn't take any knitting with me so I could buy some new yarn and start a fresh and quick project.

It is the annabel cardigan (ravelry notes) in pure and simple garter stich. It uses 6.5 mm needles which makes the project grow really, really fast. Its a bit tricky to catch the actual color of the yarn in bad indoor light, It is a dark strawberry color, cheerful but not too bright.  And well, every girl needs a red cardigan now don't they!. The buttons are from my stash, they have several tones of red which fit perfectly with the yarn color. I gave it a good stretch while blocking to increase the length, garter stich stretches very well.

Anyway, I wont be wearing it until the baby bump has disappeared since it is supposed to be a fitted cardigan and I don't want to stretch it too much. I am very happy with the result and think I will be using it a lot during next autumn and winter.

trying to catch up

I can't believe it has taken me so long to post again! I am still not finished with my essay, although I am nearly there. Days go by and the daylight gets longer and longer each day.

During the weekend we could nearly feel the warmth of the sun on our faces. Soon, very soon the mornings of having coffee bundled up while sitting on the veranda will be back. We still have too much snow but I am hoping this year it will melt faster than last year (when we had snow until mid-May...)

We have also made glittery birthday cards, played a lot with trains and I have started obsessively knitting longies for this babe who will sooner rather than later appear in our lives. I can't believe I only have a few weeks left, although I am asked each day by my dear sons if I am going to "explode" soon since my belly is so big. I personally think this pregnancy has been the one with the smallest baby bump, in spite of it being so similar in all other ways to the other two. Might this mean it is another boy? Time will show is what I keep repeating to all family members who ask (every single time they call) if we know the babys gender yet. It was easier this time around to pick baby names as well. It took us a long time with the first one, a little shorter with the second, and this time we decided pretty quick.

Anyway, I hope to deliver this essay by the end of the week and start working again on my manuscript which has to be sent to the journal soon. I also hope to catch up on blog reading which I haven't been doing at all these days. And of course I have picked out some new knitting projects and have a couple to show you, once I put the buttons on. So much going on!

 

puerperium

Here is my latest completed knitting project. Not quite sure what Puerperium means but that is the name of this little cardigan (ravelry). It turned out a bit bigger than new born, maybe three months I guess since my gauge was a little bit off.

I am finding it quite challenging to knit in colors which are neutral and in picking buttons that are genderless as well. During my other two pregnancies I knew I was expecting baby boys and it seemed just so easy to pick blues and earth colors. On the other hand it is nice to choose plain and simple colors like beige, white or yellow. I suppose if this baby turns out to be a girl I will be buying a few girlie colors of yarn and get going with some more girlie patterns (like this, or this). 

Otherwise I have been working a lot this week. I am nearly finished with the first article from my PhD and hope to send it to the other co-authors and then in a couple of weeks to a journal for publication. I feel the day has not enough hours (specially when I am doing statictics...) and find myself quite exhausted at the end of the evening cuddled up with some knitting and going to bed at 8.30. But this too shall pass and I know I have to give a bit more of myself during this time before I go on maternity leave at the end of March.

And we are finally welcoming the Sun back to these latitudes! Maybe we will get a glimpse of it this weekend...

on skis

I finally found the yarn to knit the Mr. a sweater. It helped it was 50% reduced and that it is a combination of two colors which should give the sweater a tweedy look. I suppose I should aim at getting it finished by next winter. I have only one project going on now and I need to start making longies soon!

Otherwise we finally got the skis out for the boys. Erik is a litte skeptical yet to have something as foreign as skis on his feet, but he will no doubt come around once he sees how much fun Matias has. We hope to spend some time this weekend outside practicing.

Happy weekend!

for the boys

I finally got a couple of pictures of these boys of mine wearing their Christmas cardigans. I had to wait til they were having a bite to get a photo of them without it being blurry. Winter photography light really sucks!

The pattern is from pickles (of course!) (ravelry link). I used their own yarn, pickles soft merino and then some worsted abuelita for the stripes. I made a 5-6 year old size which is a little too big for Matias and a 1-2 year old for Erik which fits him perfectly now and will soon be too small.... but no worries, with another baby on the way the cardigan will be used!

And I think this concludes the round of knits I had to show! I am working now on something for myself and yet another little something for baby. I am really itching to make a shawl since I don't have any but there is so many out there.... And then my goal for february is to make lots of longies from the picky pants pattern. Now that I remember I have actually already knit one pair and haven't shown you yet, so the round of 2011 finished knits is not over yet!!

Happy weekend!

a productive end of the year

So its been a productive end of the year, at least knittingwise! In the last three months I have knitted more than during the whole year. It must be the pregnancy hormones! This is the hat I have been meaning to knit for ages now. The pattern is from Soulemama and I used a strand of merino wool and a strand of a merino and silk blend. It is absolutely perfect for winter, as silk is supposed to be warmer than wool. I used the rest of wool left from my neckwarmer.

.

And yet another cardigan for this babe of mine. I think this baby is not going to be cold when he/she decides to come out! It is the easy peasy cardigan. And it is as the name states a breeze to knit.

And then some bootie love! I think I have found the perfect bootie pattern. I still need to test them on baby but I have the feeling these will stay on the feet. I am playing a little bit with different yarn weight which gives different bootie sizes. I will be knitting more of these after new year. I have a couple of cardigans I knit for the boys to show you still, I just need to get those buttons on.

And as for the new year knitting goals, I haven't really set any yet. During 2011 I completed about 90% of the projects I had lying around, which was my years goal. I am happy with that. This next year I suppose I should knit something the the Mr. He is the only one who doesn't have anything made by me (except hats and neckwarmers). Yes it sounds like a good plan.

I will be also taking another go at the 365 project during 2012. I was so happy to complete my first one during 2010 that I want to do it again. I will be posting a photo a day over here (actually 366 this year!). Well, I may not manage to post everyday but will be taking a photo everyday, you know how busy life can get. We have managed to get a better internet connection (better but still not good...) so I am again diving into Flickr and uploading my pics over there. It is such a source of inspiration!

And now I must begin the battle with the king crab that is waiting for me in the kitchen and get it ready for tomorrow. I think I will win. 

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

 

weekending

Two main things this weekend:

- Time spent outdoors. Winter is being very mild this year. We have snow but the temperatures are between 0 and -5 Celsius, when at this time last year we had -20!

-And finally completing projects which mostly only needed buttons. I have another two tiny cardigans and one cardigan for Matias waiting for buttons to be sewn on. I even have the buttons, I just don't know why I can't be bothered to sew them on! It must be like folding laundry, I always wait until the last minute... And I am nearly done with Erik's cardigan as well, I only need to knit the sleeves and of course the buttons. I am hoping in finishing it this week since Christmas is next weekend (already!!!)

Happy crafting in this last week before Christmas!

randomness

Not really anything exciting to share, just some random photos from this week. 

Lots of games being played by the boys. Even Erik who is only 20 months can join in the pairing/memory wooden game we have. And the puzzles are suddenly being rediscovered. I think Santa might just have to bring a couple more board games to get us through the polar night.

Peekabooing is about the little ones favorite thing right now, so sweet!

I know, I know I said I would not cast on anything big for a while. But I just could not resist myself! I had some lovely yarn waiting for something special in a beautiful dark aubergine color (which is really not appreciated in the photo at all!!!!), and I just had to cast on. I do a row here and there in between other holiday projects.

And well, a day is not complete without a morning trip to the snowy outdoors. We are usually out by 9.30 everyday which is about the time it gets light outside. Even if we just have twilight for a couple of hours, it is necessary for our bodies (and minds!) to get out and grasp the little light we have. Then one can just snuggle back inside and make (even more) pepperkaker. 

Lots of celebrations this week. We have Lucia day, the Christmas party at the boys kindergarden, a friends wedding on friday and then just like that there is only one week for Christmas! Oh my!

nearly a year and a half later

I have actually finished this cardigan. 

According to Ravelry I started it on the 10th of June 2010. It has taken me nearly a year and a half to complete it! I think it is just the curse big projects bring with them. Specially when I have a tendency to start many other projects in between. 

Again, I will have to refrain myself from using it until the growing bump has gone. There is something about my finished cardigans and me being pregnant. Specially since I decided to put lots of buttons in spite of the original pattern only having three. I really like the row of black buttons agains the gray.

Anyway, sorry for the terrible pics. The light is leaving these latitudes really fast and it is basically impossible to take any decent photographs anymore. 

I now feel my knitting basket is empty! I have looked and looked at this cardigan for months on end and can't believe it is finished. I have a couple of tiny finished projects to share once I get hold of some buttons. And now I have to find something else to knit, although I am refraining myself from starting anymore big projects. I think I will concentrate on hats for the family and on things for the boys for a while.

I'm sure it wont be difficult for me to find something new to knit, Ravelry here I come.....