October 2009 Archives

Portland, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 31st January 2009
Finish: 10th October 2009
Needles: 4 mm / 80 cm Addi Lace and 4.5 mm / 60 cm Addi Turbos
Yarn: GGH "Cumba"; 42% new wool, 28% alpaca, 30% acrylic; Colour #001, dye lot #8072271; Used up 7 balls and a bit of the 8th ball in total
Pattern: "Portland" by Lisa Lloyd from the book "A Fine Fleece - Knitting with Handspun Yarns"
Modifications: Lengthened the sleeves and added back-neck shaping to the collar.

George, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 18th September 2009
Finish: 05th October 2009
Needles: 4 mm / 80 cm Addi Turbos
Yarns: GGH "Cumba"; 42% new wool, 28% alpaca, 30% acrylic; colours #014 (anthracite), #020 (turquoise)
Pattern: "George" by Jane Ellison in the Queensland Collection Book 9
Size: XS
Modifications: No turned-cuffs for the sleeves. CO less sts than required and then increased the sts. Knitted the edge band in one piece instead of dividing it. Also changed the buttonholes from the right-front to the left-front.

Sorry about the long silence. The backlight on my laptop screen has decided to give up a month ago and I still haven't got a new laptop. Right now, I just make-do with tilting the screen back to an angle and shining two lamps onto the screen, which allows me to see what's going on, but is pretty straining on the eyes, since everything is quite dark. Anyway, having left my blog idle for such a long time is really making me restless. So, I thought that I should update anyway, since the photos are already there.

I really used my offline time very well. I mean, I couldn't get online at home and the only entertainment I had were books, TV, music and knitting. So I got very prolific with knitting and have some FOs to show and this here is the first one.

As the weather is turning cooler, I have been trying to get warm by putting on warmer garments at home instead of turning on the heater, just to save energy (and the costs that entail). I have been meaning to knit myself more cardigans and jackets, because I like the fact that I put them on and take them off easily without so much fuss that comes with jumpers. To my dismay however, the only jacket I have is the Janker I knitted three years ago. So, I set out to knit myself cardigans and jackets.

I can't exactly recall when and where I first saw Jane Ellison's Queenlands Collection Book 9, but I remember distinctly that I was mesmerised with the patterns in that book. I set out to get a copy of the book but couldn't find anyone who carried it in Europe. Online queries to shops in the USA who carry the book bore no fruits (i.e. they didn't even bother to answer) and so I didn't think much of it until recently.

This brilliant idea came to me out of nowhere. A friend of mine from Munich emigrated to New York a while ago and so I thought that I would ask her to find the book for me. As my luck would have it, she actually found an LYS who carried the book and bought it and sent it to me.

The cardigan "George" had caught my eyes ever since I have seen the preview of the book on the internet and since I have been seeing this kind of cardigan in shops everywhere, I have vowed to knit myself that cardigan. And there was the opportunity.