LunaKnit

These are my favorite designs from the new collection. Photos borrowed from Brooklyn Tweed . I'm a big fan of Brooklyn Tweed patterns and I've knitted quite a few of them already. Actually the four last projects I've finished have all been BT designs: Hellebore, Ondawa, Wheaten, Hawser... And I love all of them.  I was really looking forward to the new collection. I have been praising the BT Fall 14 collection on this blog more than once and I still want to knit everything from it (it's not possible to have too many cabled fisherman-style sweaters, is it?). The following Wool People 8 collection was a bit of a let-down for me, but that was expected as I usually enjoy the BT collections more than the Wool Peoples.  So on Tuesday when the newest collection came out I was really excited (I was also sick at home so I had nothing else to do but to wait and be excited). They had been posting teaser photos of the collection on their Instagram feed for a few we

I've been a bit sick so didn't go to work today. Instead the cats have been keeping me company in the bed and I just woke up from a few hours nap. I finally finished this sweater that has been on my needles for a couple of years! I will post more photos as soon as I'm feeling better.

This was my first time ever reading a Donna Tartt novel. Although the book was good and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, I must say I was still left a bit disappointed by it because it didn't quite meet the high expectations I had based on all the rave and praise about her as an author. So there is a murder in the book: the main characters kill one of their friends by pushing him down a ravine. This is not a spoiler since it's told on the first page. The rest of the book is about the reasons leading to the murder and the aftermath and police investigation following it. The close-knit friendships built in the first part of the book are torn apart when everyone is trying to save themselves. Mistrust, paranoia, envy, alcohol abuse, nervous breakdowns. But despite al of this what bothered me was the total lack of emotion I got from the characters right after the murder: it felt like they weren't actually sorry about the murder itself (like it was justified) but only started

Ondawa Pattern: Ondawa by Michele Wang   published in BT Fall 14 Yarn: Drops Air #10 fog Needles: 4.5mm First project of year 2015 - one that I started and finished this year that is. I love this sweater and I'm already planning to knit another one. However, next time I'm knitting this I will add some length to the body because I think it's a bit too short (I don't mind crop tops, but they aren't the most suitable things to wear in the Finnish winter).  I left out most of the cables on the back of the sweater and did a simple k 1 tbl, p 1 ribbing instead. I often tend to like more minimalistic backsides and feel like intricate cable work on the back is a bit unnecessary. I think the back looks good with the plainer design. Regarding my yarn choice for this project:  + I love the foggy greyish blue shade + it's really warm and soft + it almost feels like the sweater doesn't weight more than a feather - it does

Wheaten Scarf Pattern: Wheaten by Anne Hanson published in Wool People vol. 5 Yarns: Pirkanmaan kotityö Roosa Nauha sukkalanka #54 dark salmon and Drops Brushed Alpaca Silk #5 beige Needles: 3.5mm (for the ribbing), 5.0mm (for the main pattern) I knitted the smallest sized scarf, but substituted for bigger needles and held my two yarns together to make a thicker and wider scarf. I was going to use the instructions for the worsted weight scarf but it had fewer pattern repeats both lengthwise and width-wise. I already finished this scarf a couple of weeks ago, but the days have been cloudy and dark so I haven't been able to take decent photos earlier. I've also been feeling a bit under the weather during the past week or so and haven't really found energy to do anything else besides the mandatory (read go to work).  I hope things are starting to look brighter now - both regarding the weather and my condition...

Of all the social media apps and sites Ravelry, Pinterest and Instagram are my absolute favorites. Especially Ravelry has been such an eye-opener for me; a gateway to taking my knitting to a whole another level, finding inspiration and learning a lot of new techniques. Before joining Ravelry (which I actually found through Pinterest) my knitting was restricted to the free patterns from the DROPS Design website (there is nothing wrong with their designs per se, but I love the variety and level of creativity found on Ravelry) and my own designs with varied levels of success. Another reason I love Ravelry is how it works as a project diary and how all my knitting information (yarns that I used, needle sizes, modifications I made or should make the next time...) is now easy to find in one safe place. I also love looking back on things I've created and how much I have accomplished. And taking a look back, I wanted to share my favorite knitting projects from last year. I had a hard

Hawser Pattern: Hawser by Jared Flood published in the BT Fall 14 Yarn: Garndstudio DROPS Alpaca #3969 red/purple Needles: 3.5mm, 4.0mm and 5.0mm First of all: Happy New Year to every one of you! So I'm back after a few weeks Christmas break. Today was my first day back at work since Christmas, and the time off was well deserved and much appreciated, I feel more energized again and anxious to get on with new projects. We spent the holiday visiting friends and family and even though I had great many plans (fixing our "new" vintage kitchen chairs, painting the bedroom, sewing curtains and knitting, knitting and maybe even some more knitting) all of them ended up left undone. I did have some time to finish a few projects I had on my needles, such as this adorably chunky sweater.  I used Drops Alpaca for it, knitting with the yarn held double all the way. It's quite a simple and straightforward pattern, maybe even a bit meditative to knit