LunaKnit

"What do you mean by 'it's yours'?" Luna stole my shawl. Yesterday I was taking a photo of my Vector shawl for Ravelry to show how much progress I've made when Luna decided that the shawl would much better serve as a blanket for her. She seems to think that everything I knit is especially made for her and she can get away with anything by just looking cute. I hate to admit how often it actually works. She looked so happy that I just let her have it for a while. And she really matches the colors perfectly, I wonder where I got the inspiration...?

This is such a cute pattern for a warm little baby jacket. It's knitted flat and in one piece starting from one sleeve and continuing sideways to the other. The hood is knitted last. This is such a quick little project, knitted with fairly thick yarn and big needles in garter stitch, I finished mine in only a few nights. There is a free pattern called Lino's Coat that I was going to knit at first before noticing the improved (although not free) pattern with more sizes. Lino has only one size "+/- 9/12 months" whereas Jules has sizes ranging from 1 month to a 4 years old. I made the size for the three month olds so that my little baby can use it next autumn. My yarn weight was heavier than in the instructions: Jules calls for worsted weight yarn, and the one I used was bulky. This is because Lino's coat suggested using bulky yarn and I succeeded not noting the change in yarn weight before I had already started. I still tried to follow the give...

It's rare that I knit the same pattern twice. And here's something that has never happened before: of the few things I've knitted in the past month or so I have liked two so much that immediately after binding off I've bought yarn for another one. My Exeter cardigan was one of those two, and this pattern is the other one. They are next in queue for me. I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this shawl. I actually found it quite surprising because it's mainly just garter stitch knitted flat so nothing more than mindless knitting back and forth, but apparently there was just enough things happening (increases/decreases, stripes, different sections, changing colors) that I didn't get bored at any point. I was actually sad to bind it off my needles, that's how much I liked knitting it! I also like how light the shawl is but the garter stitch still gives it enough thickness to make it warm. I didn't have quite enough of the medium grey yarn to comp...

I came across this really cute pattern for a baby cardigan on Pinterest, but there was only one size and it was for an 18-month old. I though it's a bit too early to start to knit things that far ahead so I decided to use the pattern as a guideline but go down with needle sizes and yarn weight. I used DK weight Garnstudio Drops Lima that was left over from my Fuse cardigan . I made the cast on edge and the two first rows of every part (except the hood) with lighter grey Drops Karisma (the last bits of the colorway I used for my Maeve shrug ).   I first started knitting with 3.0mm needles, but that gave too small a fit so I started again with 4.0mm needles. In the hindsight 3.5mm would have been the perfect size because I was aiming for a cardigan that would fit a six-month old but ended up something for maybe a 9-month old instead. I didn't do the buttonholes but instead picked up stitches around both fronts and the hood, knitted one row and then finished the...

I've been having an incomprehensible craving for carrot cake for a few days now. First I was blaming the pregnancy for the sudden desire until yesterday when I sat down to continue knitting my Vector scarf and really took a good look at the yarn I was working with. Just look at it! What does it remind you of? In my opinion it's exactly the color of carrot cake! The colorway is called Goldcrest but I would suggest taking renaming it under serious consideration. (The yarn is Supersoft 100% uld from Holst Garn.) Carrot cake is on of my all time favorites. I never seem to get bored of it. If I could choose only one cake to eat for the rest of my life carrot cake could very well be it. I usually like frosting more than the cake itself but carrot cake is one of those rare treats that work just fine on their own - it could be served without the frosting just fine - but the combination of those two is unbeatable in my opinion. I usually use this recipe when I make ca...

These were my favorite treats as a child: I remember we made (and ate) them often and they were the staple at every kids' party and get-together. The cake bites were easy enough for children to make on their own, we always had the basic ingredients at home and the colorful sprinkles appealed to every kid on the block. And most importantly they were delicious, almost too sweet had there not been the coffee flavor to tone the taste of sugar, moist and very addictive. We called them mokkaruudut which could be translated as mocca squares but I've heard they are called kärleksmums or love treats (or more literally "love nom") in Sweden, and I'd much rather use that name. Now days it's very seldom that anybody makes the mocca cakes anymore, and if someone has baked them the usual reaction from everybody I know is an enthusiastically nostalgic one. I still love them but somehow they have fallen off my usual cooking grid and it must be years since the last...

I had knitted the hat already once before and it's one of my favorite and best fitting hats so I wanted to make another one. I have noticed over the years that I have a smaller head than what seems to be the norm according to the hat sizings so I have learned to go down a needle size. Instead of 4.5 mm needles I used 4.0 mms and it worked out great. I used an odd leftover skein and a half of mustard yellow Drops Karisma and made the pompom with some unknown light brown wool yarn from my stash. For the cowl I used dark green Retrosaria Beiroa that I bought from my trip to Amsterdam last November. I'm not sure if I liked this yarn; I didn't expect it to be this rough and stiff. It wasn't very easy to knit - it seemed to get stuck, like there was a lot of friction between the stitches and the working yarn. It also has a slight gasoline-like odor that irritated me a bit and a lot of pieces of small and sharp sticks and straws that I had to keep pulling out...

Can I just start by saying that I'm in love? This cardigan is just perfect. This was one of those knits that you are happy to get off your needles but at the same time your fingers are itching to knit another one. Happy to bind off for two reasons: it was a lot of work and at the same time I just couldn't wait to wear it. The Exeter pattern is one of those rare designs that feel perfect in every way: the shape, the fit, the details, the finishing. I'm finding myself wanting to cast on for another one immediately but at the same time wanting to focus on other projects for a while. I'm still undecided what to knit next, but first I need to finish the countless WIPs I have already on my needles (3 baby cardigans, as well as socks and a hat for the little one + one scarf and a cowl for myself). *** Update later in the evening: ok, I just ordered yarn for a second Exeter, couldn't help myself, I need another one . *** This took me almost one month to fini...

As I've been going through all my clothes and tried to empty my closet of everything I don't actively use I've noticed that even though my wardrobe was full of clothes I seem to lack the basic things everyone should own. For example: I do not own a black cardigan. (Or actually I do but the one I have is an expensive one and I only use it at parties and other special occasions.) Nor do I have a grey one either except for my Fuse but I don't really count it as a basic cardigan. I dress quite casually and wear the same clothes at work and in my free time. My "uniform" consists of knitted sweaters or cardigans with plain t-shirts or simple blouses combined with jeans (usually black), a scarf and ankle boots. I mostly use black, grey and muted shades of green and burgundy. But despite these preferences my closet was full of clothes in almost every shade and color there is. No wonder I never used over half of them! Still, my wardrobe lacks a dark grey pullover...

  The back of my Exeter cardigan. I've been suffering from serious case of indecisiveness and lack of concentration and it manifests itself with a pile of unfinished projects. A few of them are just still in the swatch phase for the right gauge but of others I've had time to knit a bit more. The biggest and most time consuming project I've been knitting has been the Exeter cardigan I've been working on for almost a month already. It's almost ready now, only missing its last sleeve. I'm already so in love with it and can't wait to get it all finished so I will get to wear it.  Other stuff I've been knitting is the Bough set . I've knitted the Bough hat already once earlier but never the cowl. The hat is just the right size for my head so I wanted another one and this time I also decided to make the cowl as well. For the hat I used an odd skein of Drops Karisma in mustard yellow (shade #52) and for the cowl I chose the Retrosaria Beiroa...