April?

I'm starting to think this moving business might have been a mistake.

And a big one at that.

Saattaa olla, että muutto tänne pohjoiseen oli virhe. Isohko sellainen. Täällä tuli nimittäin eilen lunta.

Late Friday afternoon, it started.

Perjantai-iltapäivänä myöhään se alkoi, viattomasti räntäsateella.


And then came some more.

Illalla tuli sitten sifonettia oikeen taivaan täydeltä.


In the end, there was quite a lot of it.

Ja sitä tuli sitten oikeen kerralla paljon.

Snow in April! There was still some snow left from that snow storm this morning! And it still is very, very cold.

Luckily, I am prepared. All those mittens and socks and cardis knitted in San Diego will be worth their weight in gold here, I'm sure. And I have some new ones, too!

Lunta huhtikuussa, kaikkea sitä. Aamulla tirpastiin Karvakintun kanssa markettiin ja sitä oli vieläkin, vaikka yöllä oli tullut vettä. Ja 3 astetta plussaa on kylmä, silloin tarvitsee hanskoja.

Onneksi pöytälaatikkoneulonta maksaa ittensä takaisin näillä kolkilla. Laatikot on piukeanaan tumppua, sukkaa ja villistä, ja nyt niitä saa pitää oikeen väsymykseen asti. Ja uuttakin pukkaa koko ajan.

I've talked about the Li'l Red Ridin' Hood a lot, but now that it's finished, I am happy with it, but not thrilled. I can't really say why - but I do find it a bit boring. It's alright, it's very warm, I've worn it a lot (which shows in the pictures, but that's what Patons merino will do, sadly), I even like the cranberry color. I guess it is alright. And it fits perfectly, although I definitely need to lose a few pounds. (Well, actually dozens of pounds.)

Punavilliksestä on paasattu Luolassa useammankin kerran, mutta nyt kun se on valmis, en tiiä oikein mitä aatella koko riepaleesta. Se on vähän tylsä. Lämmin se on, kovin lämmin, ja malli on suorastaan onnistunut (ts. myötäilee mukavasti keskivartalonkurvia eikä liepota mistään), ja värikin, mutta vähän enempi vipinää ois saanut olla. Ens kerralla sitten. Tätä on pidetty niin paljon, että Patonsin merino alkaa nikotella ja nyppyyntyä, joten kovin kauaa ei taida pysyä läjässä. Neuloo sitten uuden kun tää on entinen. Tai iso. Sais meinaan olla, ei haittais vaikka putoais paino kilon, kaks. (No, optimi ois kai useampiakin. Kymmeniä, jopa.)





Noticed it? Yeap, can't sew a zipper. I was livid when I noticed the mistake but I won't let it bother. I guess that's what you get when you don't think before sewing zippers. Will remember this next time, though.

Ja siellähän se vetskakin on ommeltu ihan päin seiniä. Ens kerralla lappu otsaan - mieti mitä teet ennenko tohkeissas tirpaset vetskan kiinni.

That red cardi happened when PS3 had the fire theme. Now it's all browns and greens. Luckily, I had some pretty Opal Regenwald in the Owl colorway in my stash so I made me a pair of plain ol' socks. I love them!

Punavillis menee PS3:een, samoten pöllösukat. Punavillis valmistui tuli-teeman aikana, nyt on menossa kaiketi maa, ja vihreätä ja ruskeaa väriä on puikoilla. Opalin Regenwald-sarjan Pöllö-väristä tuli perusperussukat, ja ne on ihanat.


And they fit, too!

Ja sopivat jalkaan!



I find photographing socks incredibly difficult (although lace beats socks anyday). For some reason, my feet look in every picture like someone disguised Polish sausages with oddly shaped fibery tubes, and that, to be utterly honest, is not the most exquisite sight. Not to me, anyway. I'm sure there's a subculture of people fancying Polish sausages wrapped in wool and mohair and whatnot. (How disturbing.)

But the socks turned out to be quite alright. There's nothing fancy about them, just stockinette stitch socks with toe-up square heels and 2+2 ribbing at the cuff. Used almost a whole ball of yarn, and they are superwarm and comfy. Love them.

Sukkien kuvaus on vaikiaa. Ei niin vaikiaa kun pitsin kuvaus, mutta vaikiaa silti. Jalat näyttää aina makkaroilta, jotka on oudosti verhottu villasukkaan, ja jotenkin villaan pukeutunut makkara ei ole viehättävä näky. (Ks. villiskuvat yllä.) Varmaan jossain on alakulttuuri, jossa väki hepulioitsee makkaroista villakuorissa. (Häiriintynyttä, etten sanoisi.)

Sukat on kuitenkin vallan mainiot. Aivan perussukat tuli, sileätä neuletta ja nurinkurin holskukantaa, lopussa 2+2 -joustinta. Melkein koko kerä meni, vähän parsintanöttösiä jäi. Kovin lämpimät ja mukavat ovat jalassa.

Semmoista tänään. Ens kerralla sukkia lisää ja ehkä kiehkuravilliksenkin edistymistä.

That's all for today. Next time, we have some more socks and maybe a little progress on the Swirly, too. 'Til then, take care!

A Mess by the Pond

We're back! We got the internet connection set up, all (well, almost all) the boxes have been unpacked, and we're starting to settle in. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and messages - they were most appreciated!

I can certainly say I don't want to move anytime soon. Everything went smoothly and we had friends helping us, but the whole process is so exhausting. I threw out so much stuff, and still, we apparently have too much just unexplained materia in here. It really isn't so exhausting packing it all away, what's difficult is finding a place for everything in the new place. We've managed to do that to a degree, but it'll take a while to really settle in. So far, looks good, though. We like the place and the people, so I'm sure we'll love it here. We even had beautiful spring weather this weekend, with temperature around 80F. The tree in our backyard got leaves literally in one day, it was bald in the morning and had tiny little leaves in the evening. Very, very pretty.

I have been knitting, too. Not extensively, but there's been some knitting. These will fit nicely in the second category in Project Spectrum, as they are of a nice, earthly color. The yarn in these second Chevalier mittens is Telemark Squirrel Heather, which you've seen in this blog in the form of the Brego Set. I like the yarn, and so did my friend, who got these mittens right before we left San Diego.



I think I have to knit myself a pair, too. It is a wonderful design, and supereasy to knit.

Still no pictures of the red cardi, please be patient. I will be waiting for DH to come home, with the camera, so I will post the pictures as soon as we have them. It's too dark to take pictures now.

Finally, a meme! Ilu came up with this idea of taking a picture of your desk, as you would like it to be seen, and as it actually is. Well, here's the picture of how I imagine my desk should be.

On my ideal desk, there would be the essential knitting books, sketch pads, pens and color cards for me to "create". Also, there has to be a cup of coffee, and it has to be a specific Eeyore coffee cup. My sister brought it for me from Thailand, and coffee just tastes wrong in any other cup. Also, the Eeyore cup is massive so I need fewer fill-ups when sitting at the computer. Perfect! On my desk, there also would be the latest yarn acquisitions (thanks Karin, for taking me yarn shopping!), and the latest project for me to just knit away should I feel like it. Everything would be organized and there would be harmony around my desk, with the green and relaxing background of a pond and ducks and trees and such.

The truth, however, is somewhat different.

The knitting books and sketch pads and the yarn, they are there. So is my sewing machine, a few pin cushions, CDs, candles (I don't know why), scraps of yarn and fabric, UFOs, WIPs, my camera usually hangs around in there somewhere and I'm sure my pens and pencils are also there but for the photograph, they were nowhere to be found. (I'm sure they're up to something with the Swingline stapler on DH's desk.)

I am not what you call an organized person. To the untrained eye, my desk (and the den and the apartment) might seem like utter chaos, but do not be fooled by this. It might be an anarchy of materia on the outside, but in fact, it is a system. I usually have a pretty good idea where everything is. (Except for the pens, but I blame the stapler. They're sneaky, them staplers.) I refuse to clean up and organize stuff, because I can't find anything if I do.

So my desk is not an oasis of tranquility and harmony and organization. And the pond is not a nice pond either.

It's a frog pond.

(Seriously, it is infested with frogs! They croak every night, and they're really loud. I think they're mating or something. I hope the existence of a frog pond is not a sign in any way, though.)

Lyhyesti, perillä ollaan ja about kaikki roinatkin suurinpiirtein läjässä. Tattista kommenteista ja viesteistä, kaikki sujui suurinpiirtein mutkattomasti.

Neulepuolella kaikenlaista pientä on näprätty, isoimpana valmiina lähinnä Chevalierit ystävälle. Lopussa on meemintynkää Ilun idean kirvoittamana. Aivolohkosta ei nyt tiristetty kotimaista versiota, se ainoa solu on uupunut tänään. Ens kerralla sit taas.

Moving

I'm writing this, sitting on our bedroom floor, using HairyFeet's laptop. Everything is packed and tucked away in the truck, so we're good to go tomorrow morning. We still have some cleaning to do, but everything looks good, so we should begin our 1,300 mile journey tomorrow around noon. I can't say I'm looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to this all being over.

I did finish the red cardi and have worn it quite a lot, but forgot to take pictures. I will post those once we've settled in and have the internet connection set up. I also finished a pair of mittens for a friend, and did take pictures of them, but I have no idea where the camera is now. I packed a lot of knitting for the long road ahead, so I should have plenty to show once we get the new internet connection and I get some pictures.

The Lair will be quiet for a couple of weeks now, but after that, normal blogging should resume, so do check back then. Take care and keep your fingers and toes crossed everything goes smoothly!

Istun entisen makkarin lattialla kirjoittamassa tata, Karviksen kannettavalla. Kaikki on autossa pakattuna enempi vahempi siististi, aamulle jai enaa hieman siivottavaa. Luulisin etta paastaan matkaan huomenna puolenpaivan hujakoilla.

Punavillis on valmis, mutta kuvaamatta. Joka paiva olen pitanyt sita ja siita tuli eri hyva. Tein myos lapaset ystavalle, ja kuvasinkin ne, mutta kuvat on kamerassa ja kamera Hyvassa Tallessa (toisin sanoen sen nykyinen olinpaikka on tuntematon). Polkkaan niita ja matkaneuleita jahka saadaan taas bitit virtaamaan uudessa kolossa.

Luola hiljenee hetkeksi, mutta parin viikon paasta palaillaan uusien juttujen myota!

Update on Swirly

I'm avoiding packing. In my book, blogging is a great excuse to avoid any packing, so here goes.

Mie välttelen pakkaamista. Polkkaan siis.

While you're waiting for the pictures of the finished red cardigan (two words: attaching zipper), I have an update on the Swirly Cardigan. It's giving me unprecedented amounts of gray hair, since I can't figure out what works best as far as colors go.

Punavillis on vetskarivaiheessa - tuskin tarvitsee sanoa enempää? Ja just kun se alkais olla valmis, meillä alkaa olla t-paitakelit. No, pohjoisessa sitten villis ylle useammin. Sillä välin kun vetskari kiinnittyy takkiin (kotitontut, hoi!), tässä pari vaihekuvaa kiehkuravilliksestä.


I separated every skein into colors, and ended up with beautiful light greens, mints and blues for the body of the cardigan. However, these will not be quite enough for the entire cardigan, and also I wanted to use more brown overall. I came up with the brilliant idea of using dark borders with the darker greens and blues, and in theory, it worked out fine. But when I started knitting..

Tirpasin joka värin (no, suurinpiirtein) omalle kerälleen ja sain mukavan läjän vaaleita vihreitä, minttuja ja sinisiä itse villiksen vartaloon. Ne eivät varmaan riitä ihan koko villikseen sinänsä, ja halusin enemmän ruskeaa mukaan, joten viksuna likkana otin ja suunnittelin borderit. Paperilla idea toimi, mutta..


The problem seems to be that the blueish green is too dark for the border and it doesn't quite go with the overall colors of the body. I figured I'd use some blue and lighter green for the border, and I might have enough yarn for them. Also, Ilu promised to dye more if I run out of yarn, which I hope won't happen with either the body or the borders.

Sinertävä vihreä on aivan liian tumma reunukseen, eikä se oikein istu noihin muihin väreihin. Onneksi erässä oli mukana vaaleampaa sinistä ja vihreää, joista saattaa piisata lanka reunuksiin. Ilu lupasi myös värjätä lisää jos kämmin tämän ja lanka loppuu kesken.

This first version is worth mentioning though, because it gives me very very precious information regarding the borders and the cuffs in particular. The gauges of my swatch and in the sleeve match, which is very good (and very rare), but I might need to go down a needle size in the cuff to make it a tad smaller. Also, I now know the width of my border, which comes in handy later on. I plan on casting on invisibly for the body and the sleeves, and adding the borders later. This gives me good, mindless knitting time with the body and I have to worry about the borders much later.

Eka versio on kuitenkin aivan hyödyllinen, koska se kertoo pari tärkeää juttua itse villiksestä ja noista reunoista. Ensinnäkin tiheydet näytelapussa ja hihassa ovat samat, mikä on onnekas ja harvinainen yhteensattuma. Toisekseen reunus on aavistuksen leveä, joten kakkosversion tikuttelen neljännesmilliä pienemmillä (ts. 2 mm) tikuilla. Seuraavaan versioon tulee näkymätön aloitus, ja pistelen nuo reunukset menemään sitten ihan viimeisenä. Tällä lailla saan monta monta tuntia aivotonta tikuttelua tuon itse vartalon kuvion kanssa, eikä reunuksia pähkiessä mene yöunia (ainakaan vielä).

I think my plan will still work out alright, but I need to swatch the colors for the cuffs before I knit them. Also, I seriously need to just knit the sleeves and the body and worry about the borders later.

And I need to pack.

Epäilisin, että tää toimii vielä, kunhan saan kaikki yksityiskohdat toimimaan. Odotettavissa siis näytelappuilua.

Ja pakkaamista.

No Rant Today (Surprise!)

I noticed I have been using the Lair as a method of venting, and although being occasionally alright, it's not always pleasant, is it? So I grabbed my beloved once more, got out, and took photos. The sun was (and, this being San Diego, still is) shining, the sky was absolutely cloudless (better enjoy that now, see last post), the birds were singing and the spring is definitely in the air. It is coming, albeit somewhat slowly.

Kevättä ilmassa, mieli kirkkaampi, menneet avautumiset takanapäin. Kamera kainalossa, auringonpaisteessa, tuliaisina pari näppäisyä. Takapihan puussa ei vielä ole lehtiä, mutta se on silti kaunis. Mie pistin tuohon alemmaks photoshopatun version samaisesta kuvasta, tästä saattaa tulla jotain vielä tulevaisuudessa.

Lately, I've been fascinated with trees. I loved to draw trees with chalk and pencil in high school, and I still love the graphic simplicity of trees. I use them as ideas for knits, and this photoshopped picture will probably become something later on. It means very much to me as this is one of the trees in our backyard.

I am also fascinated by the beauty of flowers. I can't draw flowers, nor photograph them, but I love the colors and the wide range of shapes of flowers.

Mie tykkään kukista kanssa, vaikken varsinaisesti sisusta niillä, en osaa piirtää enkä kuvata niitä, mutta näin keväällä tosi moni kasvi kukkii kauniissa väreissä, joten värien vuoksi tämä PS3-henkinen näppäisy myös näkösille.

This picture is very PS3, so is this next one. Can you guess what this is (part of)?

Sopinee samaan teemaan tämäkin, arvannette mikä tämä on.

It's part of our broom*. I love the yellow color of it, it reminds me of fields of wheat in late summer.
* Also known as transportation. No, wait..

Son mein luuta, takapihalta. Minusta se kyllä näyttää vähän syyskesän vehnäpellolta, väri on jotenkin makea.

And speaking of PS3, this cardi which goes by the working title Li'l Red Ridin' Hood (the name brings Larry the Cable Guy to mind every time!), is almost finished. So I have pictures of the finished garment soon, very soon.

Pikku Punahilkan työnimellä kulkeva punainen villis on valmis ihan pian. Sitä odotellessa, pari näppäisyä maistiaisiksi. Nuo kulmat on parhautta, Lavold on nero!

I especially love the corners. Elsebeth Lavold is a genius.

Angst

The word describes my week perfectly. Or, to put it in other words, the top three highlights of my week have been driving 1200 miles in 24 hours, a visit to a graveyard and one glass of Syrah* spilled on a sparkling white carpet.
*It was a horrible waste as it was Chateau St Michel's Syrah, of all things. The wine I didn't spill was very, very good.

We drove my car to Washington, and didn't have much time to enjoy the trip, because it consisted mostly of trying to find an apartment. I hated every single minute of the apartment hunting, although the scenery in the Seattle area was gorgeous. Everything was green and fresh and cool, and the mountains were beautiful. And on the plus side, we did find an apartment, and we managed to squeeze in a little trip to Jimi Hendrix's gravesite in Renton, Wa. (Click to enlarge.)


We left my car in Washington and got back on Friday night. I took my Harmony needles with me on the plane and managed to finish a sleeve. (Love the Harmony needles, by the way. And no, didn't finish the red cardi for the trip, it's still missing some cable bands and pockets.) I haven't done much this weekend, if one does not count doing the laundry and dishes and watching a few quite poor movies. And spilling one glass of red wine on the carpet. (Got it all out, though.) I plan on taking this Sunday very easy, since starting tomorrow, I have to start packing. We got 15 days until we have to have everything packed and ready to go.

I am not panicking. Not yet anyway.

Runosuonessa taitaa olla kolesterolia tai jottain, nyt ei irtoa proosallista tykitystä olleskaan. Käytiin viemässä Viivi Washingtoniin (osavaltioon), ajeltiin pari tuhatta kilometriä yhteen vuorokauteen. Reissu ei ollut silkkaa hupia, kun pääasiassa tarkoitus oli etsiä asunto (joka löytyikin kyllä), mutta tirpaistiin siinä vesisateessa hautuumaalle Rentoniin ja käytiin katsomassa Jimi Hendrixin hautapaikkaa. Siinäpä ne viikon kohokohdat, jos valkoiselle matolle tirpaistua punaviinilasia ei lasketa. (Sain kaiken rypälejuoman pois, mutta harmitti silti. Oli hyvää viintä se.)

Muuttoon aikaa 15 vuorokautta. Ei paniikkia. Vielä ainakaan.

These two weeks can be summed up with this picture. It says it all, really.

Viime viikkojen tunnelmat on olleet.. no, kuva kertoo kaiken.


I haven't knitted much, let alone finished anything. But I have an idea or two. I am knitting this as quickly as I can but still, I can't seem to make much progress. And I need this cardi by Saturday.

Neuleplääh on tullut ja vallannut Luolan, ja juuri mitään ei ole puikoilla edistymässä. Idea, pari, muhii aivossa, mutta edistyminen on vallan hidasta. Ja tämän villiksen pitäs olla valmiina lauantaina.

This is a very, very simple top-down cardi with a hood and some cables (you may have seen these cables here before). I have been meaning to reknit some version of my cabled cardigans, and I got this Patons Merino (it was cheap, too!) which is alright for such projects. I also wanted to see if set-in sleeves could be knitted top-down and seamlessly. Apparently they can. This cardi is supersimple to knit, and I am quite happy with it already, although it has a few "remember-not-to-do-this-ever-again" spots. Structurally, it is interesting and fun to knit, although it seems to take forever to finish this.

Villis on mitä simppelein hupusta alas neulottava sileäneulevillis, palmikkoraidalla höystettynä. Mikään mielenkiintoinen neule tämä ei siis ole, lukuunottamatta ylösalaisin neulottuja saumattomia istutettuja hihoja. Pari mokaa rakenteessa on, mutta ens kerralla ollaan sitten viisaampia. Lanka on Patonsin merinoa, ja oli vielä halpaakin kuin saippua, joten tirpaisin tämän työnimellä "louhikolmonen" kulkevan villiksen puikoille. Reissuun pitäisi tämä saada mukaan, mutta kovin hidasta edistyminen on.

To compensate for some my poor (and poorly photographed) ideas, let's look at some yarn. A friend of mine sends me these surprise gifts, and I feel bad for being such a horrible friend. I forget to photograph her gifts, but I am so very grateful for every skein, believe me. So, here's two pictures of yarn she sent. First, 5 skeins of hand-dyed beautiful teal and green worsted weight yarn.

Aina voi katsella vähän lankaa, eikö? Eräs hyvä ystävä pitää tapanaan laittaa postissa kaikenlaista jännittävää, ja pahoitteluni, että unohdan kuvata näitä. Siksi näitä tulee nyt kaksinkappalein, ja molemmat (kaikki) lahjat ovat ilahduttaneet ja mykistyttäneet ja hämmästyttäneet, joten iso kiitos sinne Suomen suuntaan. Tässä ensmäinen, viis vyyhtiä ihanaa turkoosin ja vihreän kirjavaa veikkapaksuista lankaa.

Absolutely adorable! I have a plan for these, and I tried to dye some yarn to go with them, but failed miserably and these are merely waiting for me to redye the second yarn. I hope to cast on very soon, I love this yarn.

Värit on kuvassa vallan pliisut, nämä oikeasti hehkuu turkoosia ja vihreää. Näille on suunnitelmakin, mutta amatöörivärjäri ei saanut kaverilankoihin oikeaa sävyä, joten kunhan ne pääsevät uusiin väriliemiin, saan nämä puikoille. Toivottavasti se tapahtuu pian, nämä on pakko saada neuloa pian!

The second one is also very pretty, a skein (well, a ball now as I couldn't keep my hands off my winder) of handspun and hand-dyed yarn, in amazing hues of light purple, light green and burgundy. This is apparently 3 2-ply threads spun together, and it is worsted weight.

Toka vyyhti (no, kerä nyt kun vietettiin Ekan ja Vekan kanssa hellä hetki eilen) on käsinkehrättyä ja -värjättyä lankaa, jossa kulkee 3 2-säikeistä lankaa varsin löyhälti yhteen kierrettynä. Tämäkin on veikkapaksuutta, mutta vielä ei Suuri Idea ole ilmoitellut itsestään näiden kohdalla.


Thank you all for your comments on the shawl. I'm very happy with it, it turned out pretty :)

We're traveling next week, so I will be back with pics in about a week. See you then!

Tattis huivelikommenteista kaikille :) Ollaan reissussa ens viikko, joten sitten ens viikon lopulla taas reissukuvia ja muuta jännää.