Skip to main content

Amsterdam - Yarns and Knitting.



The post about my trip to Amsterdam started to become so long with all the photos and everything that I decided to divide it into two parts. The touristy stuff is in the previous post and this one is dedicated to yarn and knitting.

Even though I was really short on time during my stay in Amsterdam I made sure I had time for a couple visits to yarn stores as well. I think I liked Penelope Crafts the most of the ones I visited. I've written earlier about being dubious about buying yarn that I haven't tried before, especially ordering them online since I don't like buying yarn without being able to touch it, see how it looks and behaves and feel if it itches me before I buy it. I've been wanting to try to knit with Quince & Co. yarns for a while now: they look beautiful in all the photos, but I haven't been able to get my hands on them here in Finland. Now I got to fiddle the skeins a bit and I know what they are like so I can start ordering them online. I bought two skeins of Chickadee in a lovely green shade (Cypress) so I get to test it now as well. I also bought a few skeins of muted green Retrosaria Beiroa from Penelope Crafts.


I bought lovely spicy colored Rowan Fine Tweed from De Afstap and two different colors of Drops Air from a yarn store that I don't remember the name of. It was raining and dark when I went there with some people from the seminar and I was just following them so I'm not quite sure where we were... I was actually going to buy something else from the store but when I was waiting to pay my purchases I happened to touch the skeins of Drops Air and they felt like the softest kittens ever and I couldn't help myself! I just want to wrap myself in the yarn and sleep in a bed made out of the skeins. It's the softest yarn I've ever felt, I hope it's good for knitting as well and doesn't start to pill immediately...


And as for knitting during the seminar: I didn't actually make as much progress with the Stasis sweater than I had anticipated. Which is actually a positive thing because the seminar was so much more interesting than I had expected and I made pages and pages of notes instead of knitting to stay awake. I now have both sleeves ready and the part of the bottom edge of the body done compared to just half a sleeve I had knitted earlier. I believe the rest of the sweater will be ready quite quickly now that I've got the groove on with this one and the sleeves are finished; sleeves are the most boring part of sweater knitting in my opinion. 


Comments

  1. Ohhh the yarns seem to be so soft !
    And the beginning of your sweater is very nice !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Drops Air is every bit as soft as it looks, I'm really hoping it's as nice to knit as it is to just touch and hold.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Salut Chéri! Beret Pattern.

Here is the pattern for the berets I've knitted. The name for the beret is from the t-shirt I was wearing when I took the project photos of the first beret for Ravelry. I thought the name suited the beret, since it's quite classical take on the hat that has become the icon of everything French. Happy knitting! Salut Chéri! You need:  yarn: 105-125 m (114 - 137 yards) worsted weight yarn. The sample was knitted with Novita Joki ( 104 m or 114 yard per 50g) needles : 3.5 mm and 4.0 mm (US size 4 and 6) circular needles (40 cm or 16 inches) size 4.0 mm (US size 6) DPNs 6 stitch markers , one of a different color to indicate the beginning of the round Gauge : 10 sts and 16 rounds = 5 cm (2 inches) in straight Stockinette stitch with 4.0 mm needles Cast on 88 sts on 3.5mm circular needle. Join in round, careful not to twist the stitches. Place a marker to indicate the beginning of the round. Knit in straight Stockinette stitch (knit all

Cloud Mittens - the Pattern part 1.

This is so long overdue, but I have now finally managed to write down the pattern for the Cloud mittens. Here it is, my Christmas present to all you guys! Enjoy! CLOUD MITTENS ( Here is the link to the pattern on Ravelry ) You need: 125 m or 135 yards of DK weight yarn (blue sample knit with Novita Wool, 100% wool, 135 m/ 50g) 125 m or 135 yards of sport weight yarn for the lining (blue sample: Garnstudio Drops Baby Alpaca Silk, 70% alpaca, 30% silk, 167 m/ 50 g)  Needles : a set of 2.5 mm (US 1 1/2) DPNs or circular needles if you prefer Magic Loop method like me Gauge: 16 stitches and 22 rows = 5 cm (2 inches) To fit an average woman hand Intermediate knitting skills required LEFT MITTEN Cast on 54 stitches loosely on size 2.5 mm double pointed needles or a circular needle if you like knitting with magic loop method like me. I used the long-tail method to cast on. You can place a marker (beginning of the round) if you want, the

(By Far) The Easiest Way to K4Tog.

I have published earlier a post on an easy way to k4tog - knit 4 stitches together - which is an essential stitch in my Cloud mitten pattern. As you might already know it is a bit challenging especially with 2.5 mm bamboo needles that not only have sharp tips but are bendy and especially prone to snapping. Stubborn as I am, I wasn't going to give up and change the design just to make it easier to knit. So I came up with the idea of using a tiny crochet hook to pull the working stitch through other three.  I was planning to use this same method when knitting the second pair of Cloud mittens, but alas, I couldn't find the hook anywhere. I seem to have misplaced it and I just can't remember where I put it... And as you know I don't crochet often so the second smallest hook I had was size 3.5 mm which didn't work for this purpose for obvious reasons.  So I was back to square one trying to figure out how to do the k4tog in an easy way when I got the idea of rev