LunaKnit

I don't crochet anything often, and I must admit I'm even not very good at it, although I would like to get better. I don't think I've ever purchased a single crochet hook and the ones I have are "heirlooms" and hand-me-downs. This is also the first blog post that I've written about crocheting and I had to create a "crochet" tag especially for it. However this baby mobile pattern was so cute that I decided to gather all my crocheting skills and give it a go. The pattern was just challenging enough for me, but if you are more familiar with the craft it's probably just a piece of cake and won't take multiple afternoons to pull together like it did for me. The mobile was a good way to use leftover bits and pieces of colourful yarns. I used mainly DK weight yarn, and for example ran out of orange yarn after finishing the sun so my rainbow has a purple stripe instead of an orange one. The pattern can be found on Ravelry and is freely

For a while now I've been on the search for the perfect basic cardigan pattern. You know the kind of cardigan that works with everything you have in your wardrobe and in every occasion and you just keep reaching for it day in day out. I already found one perfect cardigan pattern - the Exeter by Michele Wang - and you've probably read me praising it on this blog already more than once. However, I think the Exeter is a bit too "busy" with all the cables and lace, to be considered a "basic" knit - it takes the attention away from everything else you wear (in a good way that is). It's more of a statement piece than a basic, despite the gray shades I knitted mine with. When I saw the Yuki cardigan by Lori Versaci , I immediately knew it could be the one . The original design is knitted with two colors and two different yarn weights held together, but I decided to make mine monochrome black and substituting the yarns for just one strand of DK weight

It's been a bit quiet here on my blog for the past two weeks. I've been trying to get used to not going to work anymore and just staying at home instead. My maternity leave will start on 1st of July but until then I'm on sick leave. Don't worry, everything is fine with me and the baby but the hectic schedule at work started to become too exhausting for me leaving me zombie-like on the sofa after I came home from work. The doctor thought it was pointless that I wasted my energy at work instead of taking care of myself and the baby so now I'm trying to relax while I still can and gather strength before the coming ordeals.  I've been knitting some new stuff for the baby, although it seems like I don't have much to show for the two weeks I've been at home. I thought I would have had a lot of time to just knit but in reality on most days I've been too tired to do anything and my usually fast knitting tempo has substantially slowed down. I'm s

Do you ever get the feeling of amazing accomplishment when you try a new knitted piece for the first time? With this cardigan my first thoughts were "I can't believe I've actually knitted this!" It looks so finished, complicated, store-bought (and I mean it as a compliment) and the yarn gives a great stitch definition. The cardigan looks so professional that even I have a hard time remembering that I just spent ages on it! I have never before knitted such a sweater with such a light weight yarn and I love how the cardigan only weights like 175 grams. It still doesn't feel too thin, and it holds it's shape amazingly well. The yarn, Holst Garn Noble - a blend of wool and cashmere - was a pleasant new acquaintance, something I will definitely use again. It was a joy to knit with and as I mentioned before the stitch definition is outstanding so it's perfect for textured fabrics such as this one. It's also unbelievably warm and doesn't itch m

This was my second time taking part of the Me Made May challenge - and the first time officially participating. I wear something me-made almost daily by default - I don't own store-bought knitted hats or woolen socks for example - but usually I just grab something on my way out or from the sock drawer and seldom really think about what I'm wearing. This year I've been trying to concentrate more on a functional wardrobe and knit more things that I need and love to wear, rather than just random stuff on a whim - things that aren't necessarily essentially my style even though I would adore the color of the yarn or have fun time knitting the pattern . So this challenge has been a good opportunity to see which pieces of clothing I keep wearing over and over again, and which ones are left on the shelves. During this challenge (and the pregnancy) I've noticed the shortcomings of my wardrobe even more evidently than before. There is a clear shortage of the so call

Today is the first day of June and officially summer (although you wouldn't believe it if you looked outside: it's storming and cold as h*ll) and May - as well as Me Made May - is once again over. May 24th: Visiting friends and family. This cardigan is probably the oldest me-made knitted piece of clothing that I have and still use. There is no pattern for it, it's something I made up as I knitted (this was my pre-Ravelry time, when I was only starting out and found it hard to find patterns that I wanted to knit, you know, something other than granny-like). I still hold it dear and use it from time to time even though it's knitted with some cheap yarn that is itchy and probably has a high synthetic fiber content because I always feel like I sweat a lot when I use it. May 25th: At work, again. It was a cold day so I was wearing a chunky cardigan. I don't really fit into my coat anymore (and I refuse to buy a new one for these last two months of the preg