Fun lens

My boyfriend just gave me this lens for my birthday!

I am not at all familiar with it yet, of course, and the light is gone now (argh!) but I anticipate much fun :)))

A "Fibrehound" fuzzy Molehill

I was extremely pleased when I saw this project pop up in my Ravelry recent pattern activity:

This is a Molehill shawl knitted with the hair of a lovely dog! I cannot say it better than Raveler Karen, aka luvmypony herself:

"This shawl is 100% Turk hair. Turk is my Border Collie x Norwegian Elkhound. He has a lovely, soft coat with little to no guard hairs. I brushed him and saved his hair for spinning. He’s the gift that keeps on giving. I often refer to him as my Fibrehound.

I intended to spin a fingering weight yarn but it came out slightly heavier than that. Then when I knitted with it, it BLOOMED! This shawl is thick and warm.

Fun project, just to see if it could be done and what would happen."

Turk

The shawl looks indeed lusciously warm! :) luvmypony has knitted a second Molehill with mohair. I do think the fuzzy yarns suit the pattern.

And this inevitably brings me to the little story of why I started to knit in the first place... I could simply not bear to throw away my cat's fuzz that I was combing out! thinking of what useful purpose to put it to, the obvious one is spinning it into yarn, then... knitting something with it? of course I didn't want to spoil the fuzz with my first attempts at either, so I endeavoured to, first learn how to knit, then eventually learn to spin. Learning to spin seemed the most daunting, and so I still have not gotten started! I started knitting in March 2009, designing in December 2010, and still the cat fuzz is stored safely away waiting for me to learn to spin and finally figure out what to knit with it! A very special, tiny stash of cat fuzz is that I have of my late cat Mino:

Mino in 2010

Mino was a short hair with very little fuzz, and he hated brushing, which he actually didn't need anyway, so I have a very little amount of it. I do have the greatest amount of fuzz from Iris, she is a longhair with loads and loads of fuzz! she doesn't like brushing very much, but she actually needs it :) and then of redhead Loki, who is also a shorthair but has a little more fuzz than Mino used to have, I also have a little amount. He doesn't mind brushing much, but he just cannot stay still for a second so it is difficult to!

Mino, Loki as a kitten and Iris in 2010

Grand Place

I have recently published my latest pattern, Grand Place, but due to blog mishaps I could not post about it!

It may not be nice of me to say this, but I love this cowl ;) I finished knitting it last March, so I still had plenty of weather to wear it :) and boy, did I wear it! it is warm (so warm when folded down around the neck!), fluffy and versatile. It deals with everything that annoys me in cowls, scarves and hats! No drafts percolating through the gaps of my looped scarf. No gaps between the bottom of my cowl and the lapels of my coat. No drops of rain somehow finding a way between my hat and my shawl, then down my nape... nice :D

I bought the yarn, which I LOVE, on a whim when I saw it at my LYS, and this cowl/capelet/hood/whateveryouwanttocallit is entirely inspired by it. Or, may I say, the yarn reminded me of the stonework you see in the pictures (taken in the same Grand Place of Brussels that gives it its name), and of cobbles, and I took it from there.

Being as I am a little OCD when it comes to matching my accessories, I knitted a pair of matching mittens with my leftover yarn:

I waited all summer to publish this pattern in more appropriate weather, and finally here it is :) available in Ravelry, as Cowl, Mitts or all together in an eBook. Also available in my Etsy store: Cowl, Mitts. I have also just uploaded all the info to Patternfish so it will also be available soon!

And loving this yarn so much... when I saw these 4 balls in purple in a YS in Germany, I could not resist!

And so I am knitting another capelet/cowl, for a friend. It is somewhat similar, but has a turtleneck instead of a hood. 

More colour-accurate

I am planning to also release this pattern soon, and I will probably crete an eBook with everything together, so stay tuned!

Blog back on!

I haven't posted in a while... again, but this time I had a reason not to!

It all started with my web hosting company going rogue on me. Word to the wise: if you are considering dh2.net, run, run in the opposite direction like the wind! if you have your website hosted with them, I would say get your domain name transfered to enom.com and back up all your data! Now researching a little online I also found this which doesn't look good at all, does it?

So shortly after paying for renewal of my domain + hosting for another year, my website went down. Unlike other less fortunate people the domain was still at my name with enom (dh2.net is -or was?- their reseller) so I could transfer it to my account with them. Had to pay for it again but at least I didn't lose it!

Meanwhile my files were apparently still hosted ay dh2.net. They still are as we speak. Once my domain name started working again, I could back up all my files via FTP. Most of my website is working over at my boyfriend's server anyway, so once it all goes down, which I have no doubt it will*, I'll just move the rest over there.

So well, in all this debacle my custom blog domain blog.innershelter.net of course stopped working. Once I got my domain up again, it kept not working, despite me trying various settings and following blogger's instructions. I changed it back to the blogger URL (inner-shelter.blogspot.com), then back again... still not working, and then I got slapped with some blogger maintenance that disabled any changes for days... argh!!.

Today I was able to change it back again, finally! and decided to just give up, at least for now, and update my website with the working URL for the time being.

So well that was my little stressful adventure of the last few days! ugh.

A more pleasant post is coming right away :)

*I run my teacher's website focgallery.com which we also had hosted in dh2.net ... and the same thing happened a few days later, of course. This time I knew what to do!

Woah!

I have been neglecting the blog... shame on me! I tend to get a little lazy over the summer months ;)
I didn't even post about Canicule when it was released... well ok, here it is. Makes for a nice summer shawl and I've been using both of mine a lot! I also used the mittens quite a bit when it was still rather chilly. I am liking the assymetry of them so I'm sure I'll be revisiting that theme and the modular element.

To be found in Ravelry, Patternfish and my Etsy shop.

o0o

My latest release has come with a bit of a surprise to be honest! after a hint-suggestion by my friend Vane on Saturday, I bought the yarn and started knitting a mane for my cat Loki. I finished, photographed and published the pattern on Sunday, which was my cat's birthday. I was pleasantly surprised when Loki posed with it on for a full 5 minutes before pulling it off! I was also more than pleasantly surprised when the pattern made it to the top of the "Hot right now" Ravelry pattern page after just a few hours! Still there with currently 875 favourites (!), with many comments and mentions in the forums.

Beyond that, I am seeing it popping up in Facebook (We Love Wool's post has been liked 882 times and shared... 1124 times!), many blogs (this post totally made my day), pinterest... wow! :D I mean, of course Loki is such a charming little lad (and has his own tumblr!) but I didn' expect such a response! I am truly overwhelmed :D

Oh, and the pattern is free! ;)

Shawl #2 finished!

In a bit of a fever these last days, my hands are sore!

I finished the shawl (it looks orange on the top pictures since it was still wet). I had to run to the LYS to get an extra ball of yarn just for the bind-off, annoying! however I couldn't leave all that leftover yarn lying around. I did not plan to make any matching item this time, but you see, I am cursed. I knitted these mitts too. They are not even blocked in the pic, and the lace definitely needs it. This is a modular design, so the top edging and cuffs can be mixed and matched as desired. I wanted fraternal twins so they are quite different. I am off to block these now and then on to much neglected chores!

I am having these two shawls and the mitts test knitted now so if you are interested let me know!

Chain smoking shawl knitting

I am in a shawl mood!

Two shawls on the needles and one just finished!

The one I finished yesterday and photographed today is this big, big mint-coloured shawl:

With my treasured, beautiful 50's Spanish
nightgown I was gifted long ago.

5 tassels

Loki who must pose in all pictures!

I wrote about this yarn when I got it. I used up nearly all 5 balls! I was considering full fringe but finally went for just the 5 tassels. The central spine divides towards the end so I put 3 tassels at the tips of the "spines" and at the tips of the triangle.

The fabric is very drapey and perhaps the stitches look a little loose, but it really feels very nice and light which is nice for summer, so I am glad I used rather big needles. Even before I finished this shawl, I had already started another! I forced myself to put it aside to finish this one, then picked it up again :) I am using the yellow yarn I bought yesterday, and a variation of this pattern. The mint one is a deep triangle increasing 4 sts every RS row, and the yellow version increases that plus an extra 2 sts every WS row, because I want a shallower shawl. Also smaller. I got two balls of yarn and knitting at a somewhat loose gauge again (also 5mm needle) but this time the stitch definition is pretty good none-the-less:

The yarn is soooooo soft! I really love knitting with it :> the fabric feels amazing and light, and the yarn while knitting it too! very happy with it, we'll see how it wears. Considering writing the pattern of this shawl up! it is rather simple but I am thinking of a more decorative edging for the yellow version...

And yes, I said I have two shawls on the needles. The second is Amanda Muscha's Medusa. I couldn't possibly resist this pattern. Apart from being really pretty, we share name! well, I am talking about my screen name of course, Medvssa (a lot of people seem to have trouble with it and write a variation of "medvessa", I guess the problem is the v, I chose a v due to the lack of the letter u in Latin, I know Medusa comes from Greek but, poetic licence right? ;) same goes for the double s, inspired by modern Italian... in any case my screen name should be pronounced Medusa - that one is just too often already taken and Medvssa never is!).

I am knitting this one for my mother in law. Now let's hope she doesn't stalk this blog, I don't think so ;) I got this silk yarn from Colourmart very long ago, because I thought she would like the rust orange (and she does! made a comment on the gorgeous colour when she saw the cone :)). I have started kerchiefs several times and ripped them. But I think this time it will stick :) I am modifying it though. She never wears anything else than rather small and very thin silk neck kerchiefs, no matter how cold it is! so a deep shawl might be too big even if relatively small. So I did a rate of increase of 4 sts on all rows for the St st version, and now I am doing the lace edging following the pattern, but I will make it rather narrow. We'll see how it looks and I hope I don't rip this one up :)

Rust 100% silk cone from Colourmart

Mustard

Found yarn which perfectly matches my mustard yellow shoes! :D 60% silk 40% cotton for a summer shawl :))) determined to overcome my not-knitting-in-summer curse ;)

Setanova by Lana Grossa 004

Blooms

Miltonia

Phalaenopsis

http://lokibicho.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/Loki_bicho

Phalaenopsis

After a long, long break, three of my orchids are in bloom! The miltonia was first, and one bud on each of the phalaenopsis have just opened, more to follow. Another two phalaenopsis have flower shoots with very little buds which will still take a while to open (left & right). I think those are completely white. I may be a little bit boring but... I love pure white flowers! If I ever had a yard I would be very tempted to have plants which bloom white exclusively. Difficult to stick to that though, I guess ;)

Yesterday I went to Brussels with my man for a little secret photoshoot. I am glad since the pictures turned out rather well! The day was chilly and cloudy which was perfect because the sample to photograph is decidedly for winter, and with the last warm, sunny days I was worried I would not have the occasion to photograph it on a cloudy day (and without discomfort!).

eBook promotion

Enter "paseitje" (without quotes) coupon code at Ravelry checkout for a 25% discount on each eBook you purchase! Applicable to all innerShelter eBooks (Esporòfits, Chordata, Somnium/Venenum and Ledrada). Valid until the 15th of April. Click here to redeem your coupon code.

Ledrada give-away and other life stuff

In order to boost Ravelry project pages for the Ledrada set, I’ll be giving away 5 copies of the eBook to the first 5 commenters to this thread!

Hurry up and post :)

And of course it would be nice if you took some pics of your FO (shawl and/or mitts!) and created a project page! ;)


In other life news, yesterday I finished the test-week for the DTP course for the unemployed. It was in fact some sort of protracted evaluation. In the end I was selected for the waiting list, even though I was told to improve my spoken Dutch (which is admittedly not great...). So the waiting list may go from a few weeks to a few months. I may know which tomorrow. Meanwhile, wait! and prepare to wait! some more...

Grey and green pt.3

Just finished it! perhaps it needs a little ironing...

Too big for the XS mannequin of course.

Inside out

I got a couple of sports bras two days ago (the only ones I found that fit me and didn't have underwires), but they are a little too high on the center. Thinking of unpick the binding off one and cutting away a little bit. They are grey like this dress so I think it could be a good match (definitely after fixing since this dress has a very deep neckline). I think I am gonna try it out now :)

Oh, and the inside of the dress, it is all lined except the sleeve caps. I wonder if it will be too warm for summer, but hey now it is spring :)

Edit: Ok, I fixed the bra :) first I unpicked the binding and stitched a line further in on one of the cups, cut off that piece and tried it on. Then I used the cut-off piece to mark the other cup, stitch etc the same way. Before unpicking the other side of the binding I marked the middle point with a pin. The binding was a bit short for the new lower neckline, but very stretchy, and once sewn brings the cups in a little which is a good thing since I just sliced across a less cupped-in place than the original edge (does that make any sense?). So I pinned and basted and stitched the binding in place. The cup foam is thinner at the edge, this was challenging since now the new edge was like twice as thick. Makes for a less than perfect edge, but I am happy enough with it. I put it on the mannequin over the other untouched bra to show the difference.

So here it is under the new dress. When it peeks out a little at the center it is ok since it is nearly the same grey :)

Grey and green pt.2

Well underway with this dress! I am so far very happy with the results. I like to think that this green is flattering to me, and the fabric is oh so soft! I worry about durability but oh hey.

So I am at this point:

I still need to serge the join between bodice and waistband, then move on to the skirt. Very straightforward from here on. I finally used gathers under the bust instead of darts, it looked much better.

For this project I am trying to exercise restraint. I am a very impatient person and I rush into things looking for instant gratification. Quality suffers. My joints suffer (perhaps stress makes me tense up). So I decided to breathe deeply and do one thing at a time, a little every day (I even cleaned up the work surface -read dining room table- every day! yay me). Day 1 I bought the fabric and cut the pattern, Day 2 I cut the fabric, Day 3 (yesterday) I put the bodice and sleeves together and attached them to the bodice, Day 5, which is today, is for the waistband. I got home quite early today and I put the waistband together carefully, still feeling fresh and relaxed I decided to take a little break and then continue and attach it to the bodice. I am now taking another break, and considering finishing the dress today. Or perhaps I should just serge this last seam and leave it for tomorrow. This formula has worked so beautifully perhaps I should continue at the same pace :) I'll see.

For this dress, I originally wanted to use a waistband based on this dress (source unknown unfortunately, Google picture search was fruitless as well), but with alternating colours. I decided to take it a bit easier on the waistband and try this later on another dress, meanwhile "training" with a similar but simpler waistband, like this vintage image. So it turned out like this:

The lining is peeking out. I learned a few things to make it easier and better next time, so I am glad I went with the simpler one.

I have been saving pictures for quite a long time to use as inspiration for sewing these jersey dresses (and recently uploaded many of them here, since then I just pin to this board what I find around that I like).
I have a lot of woven fabric in the closet but it has been completely forgotten as of late. The jersey dresses are flattering, extremely comfortable and easy to wear (dresses in general I guess, just pick one and some shoes and you are done, but since ready to wear dresses very rarely fit me I didn't really know!). They do wear off faster than your average woven fabric, but the other pros make up for it, I think. And they are so much easier to make! At least I have found a formula that works very well for me. Narrow shoulders and small bust means I can get away with no closures whatsoever (I must admit zippers are my bane). I just slip all of these dresses over the head. I like fitted clothes, on the upper part of my body anyway, and these stretch a lot, so I basically modify my base pattern, which was based on a combination of garments that fit with some negative ease, on a rather freehand manner, cut the fabric adding the seam allowance as I cut (oh the horror :D), sew it up, and it nearly always fits. When in doubt I baste and make adjustments, which are usually none to minimal. The skirts are always A line since I have wide and heavy hips. Easy peasy.

It turns also rather cheap. Clothes here are quite expensive, at least the ones with a nice material and finishing are. Add to that that I don't find dresses that fit me or colours that flatter me. Depending on the dress (sleeves, facings etc) I use between 3 and 1,5 metres of fabric, viscose or cotton jersey, which costs between 10 and 15€ per metre (fabric is not too cheap here either). This one dress was around 20€ including thread and lining, and I think that's a pretty good deal!

Grey and green

Last Monday I bought some fabric on a whim, 1m of very soft grey jersey rayon and 0.5m of a vibrant mossy green, for a short sleeved dress. The grey is rather beautiful, very slightly warmish, so that it goes rather well with this green. At least I think so :) I can't quite get the tones right in the pictures:

I modified my jersey dress pattern a bit and then cut the pieces on Tuesday. I did not have enough for lining the back bodice part so I cut it from a very fine nude nylon jersey. I thought I better line other pieces as well so I ended up cutting linings for all pieces (except the front of the bodice that is lined in self fabric) minus sleeves (cuffs are folded double too).

Today I put together the bodice and sleeves:

Temporarily pinned at center and some "darts"

Hopefully tomorrow on to the waistband which will be a bit challenging I think.

These days I am going to a "test week" for a DTP course I mentioned some time ago. The waiting list may still be very long (unknown exactly how much) but they are already having us "tested" to see what level we are at. Or something. I am having to wake up at 6:45 which I am totally not used to! Yesterday there was a lot of talking but today we got to work. I finished everything there was to do quite early so they sent me home!