20131009

Cancelled Color Craving

I got stuck in the last three rows of Clue I and when I had time to pick it up again I also had a peek at the FO's of others:
©Stephen West

I didn't like what I saw and decided to frog what I had and find a different pattern for my Einband yarn.

Sorry Stephen, but not my cup of tea.

20130929

Feeling grateful and honoured

Not only did I finish my shawl, I also grabbed the chance to have it photographed by the lovely Ameria during our last knitting session in Bruges. Thx AJ!
One of those pictures is even featured on the pattern page now, which is a great honour on Ravelry:


And here are the other shots, in beautiful light and detail:










20130916

Nahuatl

I think I finished my fastest project of the year yesterday:
The triangular scarf Yexcampa Tlamachiotili only took me 3 weeks to knit!

It's currently pinned out for blocking:
Pattern: Geometry @ Julia Weiss
Yarn: Lang Mille Colori Lace & Sock @ Suzywol
Great fun project which puzzled many who witnessed me knitting this in public.

Once this was bound off (by the fumes of my yarn), I could start clue 1 of the WestKnit's Mystery KAL.
At the moment it looks rather bizarre, but appeals to my inner dragon and I love love love the colours (though in this photograph the lime/petrol combo looks more like yellow/blue. I hope it'll photograph better on a less rainy afternoon).

So here it is, the first half of clue 1 for the Ixnēzcā shawl:



In case you're wondering about the strange title of this post and the names of my projects: I have decided to hencefort name all my projects in the language of the Aztecs, which is Nahuatl. For reference, I'm using the Nahuatl Dictionary of the University of Oregon

Why, you might ask?









20130826

Waiting for West

My knitting friend Dominique took part in a Mystery Knit-Along last year, creating a lovely version of Stephen West's Rockefeller. So when I discovered that she'll knit-along in another of Mr West's mysteries, it didn't take me long to jump right in. The project name "Color Craving" matches my crafting into the rainbow motto too well.

Together with Rozemie I went yarn hunting, and this is what I chose:
Yarn Lopi Einband @ Suzywol
Pattern @ Westknits
However, the MKAL only starts on September 13th, so until then I'll keep my hands busy with more colourful stitches:
Yarn Lang Mille Colori Socks & Lace @ Suzywol
Pattern @ kNotArt

And last but not least [imagine drum roll here], K is back in blogland! Best news of the week so far, but it's only Monday ;)

20130818

Latl

A year ago, I took Crazi Henri along when my crafty friends Rozemie and Karin took me to the international teddy bear and doll fair in Bruges. Karin fell madly in love for little Henri and asked if I ever had the time and felt like knitting another one, could she have one too?
As summer progressed and we started making plans for another visit to that show, I started knitting.

Meet "Latl" (short for Teocuitlatl, "gold" in the language of the Aztecs, Nahuatl), posing with Henri during a coffee break in Bruges yesterday:

Yarn: Rowan Silk Twist @ Stoffenidee
Pattern: Henri @ The Yarnigans

20130815

Lazy light

Half-way August, the light is starting to be lazy, but the critter knitting needs to continue.

Yarn: Rowan Silk Twist @ Stoffenidee

20130809

Crazy Critter Lady

Helen over at Breien in Oostende called me "our reigning queen of knitted and felted critters" in her post about Dagobert the dragon. This got me wondering how many knit and crochet toys I have made in the last 6 years (you've seen the felted ones here).
Luckily I tagged my projects on ravelry, so I could easily create the following screen shots:




This represents 56 different projects, with anything between 1 and 6 versions of the same pattern.
How many did I give away as presents? 50.

So I say thank you to:
- those who designed these awesome patterns
- those who sold me the materials
- those who inspired me to make presents for them
- those who intend to keep their inner child alive and / or decide to procreate so I can knit and crochet for them.

20130803

Quickie Bling

Sometimes a crafter needs an instant gratification project. Crochet jewellery can provide just that.

Over the years I made earrings, bracelets and necklaces

  

Today I had some fun with cotton yarn and a treasure of buttons / oversized sequins I had purchased many years ago





20130802

When it's done, it's finished

He's finished!

Oddly, the pattern didn't include a tail, so I had to add one.

Pattern: Joris by Annita Wilschut
Yarn: Scheepjes Invicta Everest @ Stoffenhuys Paulette

I'm very happy to have finished Dagobert (there were moments when I didn't think I would). He'll be a great companion for knitting events. I love Annita's patterns for the fact that she works in a very organic way. Each feature grows naturally from the previous one, the knitter doesn't have to spend an afternoon attaching body parts. "When it's done, it's finished", as a famous Buddhist monk is sometimes quoted.
Sunday I'll help a knitting friend get started with another of Annita's patterns, Suusje the mouse, if I'm not mistaken.

And I'll cast on for yoga socks with the same yarn now. Not for yoga classes though, but for a four session introduction to meditation, taught in the lovely Begijnhof in Bruges: