I Have Grown Old (and still can't take pictures)

And I have proof of it. I knitted a skirt.
kirjoneulehame 1
And I have worn it too! I am not a skirt person at all, and always thought only elderly women wore them, but then I wanted to use some of this yarn (Novita 7 veljestä, a Finnish worsted weight sock blend) I had in my stash. It needed to become this skirt, so I knitted it for the Finnish textile history class and the Finnish mitten class I was teaching at the Nordic Knitting Conference last weekend. It was a fun knit, took me about a week, and it fits nicely. It's superwarm - perfect for winter! (We had snow again yesterday..)

Neulaisin hamosen. En ole hameihmisiä ollenkaan, jostain syystä en ole viihtynyt hameissa ennen. Mutta veikkaläjä halusi (päätti) olla hame, joten pistin hameen puikoille. Neuloin tämän neulekonferenssia varten. Olin opettamassa pariakin kurssia ja päätin että pistän jotakin hauskaa neulottua päälle, ja tämä hame sopi siihen hyvin. Viikon verran tikuttelin, ja tykkään tästä kovasti. Se on tosi lämmin, sopiva talvihameeksi. (Lunta tuli taas eilen taivaan täydeltä.)

Here's a detail of the stranded patterning in the hem. I chose these patterns from Eeva Haavisto's book, they're both traditional Finnish mitten patterns which I modified for the skirt.

Kuviot on Haaviston lapaskirjasta, valkoisella pohjalla oleva kuvio on Rovaniemi-lapasista ja reunuskuvio on tavallinen ässänväärä.
kirjoneulehame 2

The classes were a lot of fun! I enjoyed teaching and I hope my students enjoyed the classes too. There were some knitters I had met before, and some new ones. I even met a fellow blogger, Lauren from Lolly Knitting Around! I hope to meet her again, I had so much fun with her :)) (I forgot to take pictures, go bug Lauren so she'll post hers!)

Oli tosi hauskaa olla opettamassa! Toivon mukaan kurssilaisillakin oli lystiä, mie nautin viikonlopusta kovasti. Kanssapolkkaaja Lauren Lolly Knitting Around-blogista oli tullut ihan maan toiselta laidalta asti - meillä oli kovasti lystiä mutta tietenkin unohdin ottaa kuvia :D Lauren varmaan polkkaa niistä jahka pääsee kotiin asti.

For my classes, I also made a pair of socks. I guess every Finnish girl must have had a pair like these at some point. They're fun to knit and very pretty.

Perjantain kursseja varten neuloin sukkaparin. Joka tytöllä on varmaan ollut tämmöinen pari joten se sopi teemaan varsin hyvin. Näitä on aina ilo tikutella ja lopputulos on aina sievä. Tämä pari tuli Nalle-langasta, väri muutaman vuoden takaa muistaakseni lehmuksenvihreä nimeltään.
green lace socks 1sm

The stitch pattern reminds me of dragon scales.
green lace socks 2sm

For our class, I designed a mitten pattern which is traditional, and yet it isn't. The hand pattern (gray and white) is very simple, and traditional, but I paired it with a dramatic red and white pattern which I adapted from a Karelian embroidered tablecloth border. I think the combination looks really nice, and knitted up relatively fast with sport weight yarn.

Lapaskurssia varten suunnittelin lapasparin, jossa on perinteitä käytetty vähän uudella tavalla. Kämmenen kuvio on perinteinen kuvio, mutta varren kuvio on muokattu karjalaisen kirjonnaisen reunuksesta. Teknisesti se ei siis ole perinteinen lapaskuvio, mutta perinteinen kuvio, jonka muokkasin lapasiin. Minusta nää näyttää suorastaan viehkoilta.
karelia embroidery mittens 3sm

I call them the Karelia Embroidery Mittens. (Pattern coming soon.)
karelia embroidery mittens 2sm

I found a hand on ebay - now I can display my mittens a little better. Here's another picture of my new favorite mittens.
karelia embroidery mittens sm

And another knit just for the class was a pair of socks. I chose the pattern from Mary Olki's book, and used fingering weight yarn for these. They turned out to be really nice, but I think I will reknit this pattern for a pair of knee-high socks.

Kursseja varten neuloin parin nilkkasukkia Mary Oljen sukkakirjasta. Muistaakseni ohjeen nimi on Piikkiön sukat, koko on lapselle mutta muokkasin tästä isomman koon. Malli on tosi kaunis, taidan neuloa nämä polvisukiksi paksummasta langasta jahka löydän aikaa jostain lisää.
valkoiset sukat 2

The cuff pattern is very pretty.
valkoiset sukat

I was teaching on Friday and had most of Saturday off, so I went to pick up a new flyer for my Sylvie. I also needed to pick up my "Forest" mittens from the Fiber Gallery. Nearly by accident my mittens ended up in the mitten contest Fiber Gallery organized in February. A fellow knitter in our knitting group asked me if I wanted to enter mine in the contest and as he was on his way to the yarn store, he dropped them off for me. Happily, my mittens won the first place and I got a gift card. I thought about what I should buy and decided to go for laceweight mohair blend since I have wanted to knit it for at least six months.

Lauantaina en ollut opettamassa enkä istunut kenenkään kurssilla, joten painelin lentsuntorjuntamielessä lankakauppaan. Hain uuden kehrän Sylvieen, ja hain metsätumput pois. Ne olivat päätyneet pienen sattuman kautta lankakaupan lapaskisaan ja voittivat yleisöäänestyksen. Siitä hyvästä sain lahjakortin, joten mulla oli ikäänkuin tekosyykin ostaa lankaa. Päätin että ostan Kidsilk Hazen tyyppistä mohairsekoitetta huiviin, koska semmoista on tehnyt mieli neuloa varmaan puoli vuotta jo.

I bought the lace yarn.

Ostin pitsilangan.
mohairit

I told myself I could look at other things too. I did.

Ja katselin vähän muitakin.
norot ja ecowoolit
It was Cascade Ecological Wool. And a discontinued colorway of Noro Silk Garden. I'm sure you understand.

Cascaden Ecowoolia hyppäsi koriin paidallinen, ja Norojen väri oli lopetettu joten ymmärtänette, ne oli pakko poimia (raukkaparat!) mukaan.

Happily, I didn't buy everything I wanted. I wanted to be sensible and only buy stuff for which I had a plan. And I certainly wasn't going to buy anything on a whim.

Päätin että en normaaliin tapaan tyhjennä kauppaa vaan olen järkevä ja ostan vaan lankaa jolle on suunnitelma. Eikä mitään heräteostoksia olleskaan.

Good thing I was so sensible on Saturday, because on Sunday.. I just had to have this brooch.

Hyvä etten repsahtanut lauantaina. Sunnuntaina sitten senkin edestä. Pakkosaada-solki.
solki NHM
It's pewter and will be a gorgeous shawl pin. I don't know the manufacturer but there is a stamp that says it was made in Norway. It's only 2,5 inches long, but I love the delicate design on it.

Korumetallinen solki on tehty Norjassa ja mittaa sillä on kuutisen senttiä. Tälle täytyy neuloa huivi kaveriksi oitis, se on täydellinen huivisolki.

The conference took my time for a few weeks, and finally on Sunday, I was ready to play and design again. I have this new skein of yarn I desperately want to knit. Right now. It was beautiful in the top when I dyed it...

Neulekurssien valmistelu ja edellisen postauksen tekniikkapaketti vei ajan ja energian muutamaksi viikoksi. Sunnuntai-iltana neulekonferenssi oli ohi, ja mie päätin leikkiä vähän. Merinosilkki huutelee joksikin, oitis. Kaunis oli villaletti kun värjäsin...
lila merinosilkki
..but as yarn, it's even better! Some 640 yards and 3,5 oz waits for me. Screams for me to knit it. Now.

...mutta lankana se on vielä kauniimpaa. 580 metriä ja noin 100 grammaa oottaa että neulon sen. Hetimiten.
violetti vyyhti

Did you notice it? Yes, there is a new kid on the block.

Huomasitteko? Meillä on uus perheenjäsen.
pocketwheel
It's my new Pocket Wheel! I picked him up a week ago, and after a rather rough start, there's definitely some love in the air. I'm going to write more about him when he gets his new finish but I had to spin with him just a little. Which is what I plan to do for the next few days - I got a cold over the weekend and I think I need to just spin and rest. It was a fun weekend and I met some really wonderful people, but the cold drained me of all energy.

Se on uus Taskurukki! Käytiin hakemassa tää ja sen sisko (ystävän uusi lelu) viikko sitten lauantaina. Alku ei ollut lupaava, mutta pienellä säätämisellä tästä pikkuruisesta rukista on tullut kovin tykätty. Mie kirjotan tästä tulokkaasta enempi jahka saan sille vähän väriä pintaan. Sitä ennen parantelen lentsua ja kehrään vähäsen ja otan iisisti. Viikonloppu oli tosi antoisa mutta lentsu vei mehut, joten pieni kehruuloma lienee paikallaan :)

The Tailored Sweater

It began nearly two years ago. Slowly, but surely, it grew into an obsession. The obsession grew into system, and then a method. And then into some sweaters. A circle of friends encouraged (and cracked the whip), and test-knitted vigorously.

And now it is here. (Click to enlarge the preview photos.)
preview TTS 1

preview TTS 3 preview TTS 2 preview TTS 4
preview TTS 5 preview SS 1 preview SS 2 copy

The Tailored Sweater is a 38-page PDF tutorial on how to knit seamless garments (sweaters, T-shirts, cardigans, dresses etc.) with set-in sleeves from the top down. The tutorial comes with an Excel spreadsheet, which creates patterns based on your measurements and your gauge.

The method includes set-in sleeves with the sleeve caps worked simultaneously with the body. The number of stitches to pick up is very small. Sweaters knitted with this method have no seams to sew, which means, when you have cast off your stitches and woven your ends in, you're ready to wear it!

You will learn the steps of the method one by one, with an included pattern for a sample sweater. When you're ready to design your own sweaters, you will insert your measurements and gauge into the spreadsheet, and it will create a pattern for you! Use the spreadsheet over and over again - and get a perfect fit every time.

I have written this tutorial for my fellow knitters who are interested in trying new designs and new ways of constructing garments. I sincerely hope you will find it to be of use! I have done my best to bring you a top-quality tutorial and spreadsheet, but if you notice a problem, please let me know. Thank you for your support!

Get your own copy of The Tailored Sweater!


The method package (PDF and spreadsheet) is 18.00€ (euros, approximately $25.00).
You will be able to download the files directly after making your payment.
Join The Tailored Sweater Ravelry group and share your projects, ideas and comments!
Gallery of sweaters knitted with this method


denim henley 3 cotlin paita 2 lil red ridin hood 2 puuvillapaita 10
See kramox's amazing Li'l Brown Ridin' Hood!
And Charisa's beautiful striped sweater!
Note:

The newest version of The Tailored Sweater is 1.2, and was published on August 1, 2009. If you have purchased The Tailored Sweater prior to August 1, 2009, you will automatically receive the newest version.

If you have purchased the Tailored Sweater package from Lulu.com prior to July 31, 2009, you will receive the most recent files by following these instructions: forward your Tailored Sweater purchase confirmation email from lulu.com to my email address (in my profile). You do not need to purchase it again - you will receive the updated versions in e-mail from me.

System requirements: Microsoft Excel 2003 or later, for Windows or Mac. Adobe Reader. This product may work with other non-Microsoft products that run Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, but was not tested on any other products than Microsoft Excel and is sold with warranty only for MS Excel.

Errata:
PDF, p. 26, Back:
Row 1: (WS) Slip 1, purl 11 stitches, cast on 17 stitches between the shoulder pieces, purl 12 stitches.
PDF, p. 26, Right Front Shoulder:
Begin the right shoulder of front by picking up and knitting 12 stitches along the cast-on line of the Back Right Shoulder. Purl one row, then knit one row.
Row 3: (WS) Slip 1, purl 7 stitches, wrap and turn.
Row 4: Knit to end.
Continue according to pattern.

The Small Print
This tutorial and spreadsheet, including all illustrations, are copyrighted material. When purchasing the tutorial, you are granted a limited license to download the tutorial and the spreadsheet to one personal computer and to print a hard copy for your own, personal non-commercial use. You may not e-mail or otherwise share or duplicate any part of this tutorial or spreadsheet.

You may use this method and the spreadsheet to generate your own patterns, for personal or commercial enterprise, but you cannot reproduce or duplicate the tutorial or the spreadsheet or any part of them in any format without prior written permission from the designer.

Any other use, including commercial reproduction or modification, distribution, transmission or republication in electronic or any other means without prior written permission from designer is prohibited and is a violation of copyright and intellectual property rights. If you have any questions regarding the use of this tutorial or spreadsheet, please contact me via email and I will be happy to assist. Purchasing a copy of the tutorial means also an agreement to these terms.