Valmiit! / I'm done!

Olympialaiset alkoivat - ja paattyivat :) No, ainakin allekirjoittaneen osalta, vahaksi aikaa.

Sain olympianeuleeni eli kirjoneuletumput valmiiksi:


Laitoin kaksi kuvaa, toinen on otettu auringonvalossa ja toinen salamalla. En tieda kummassa kuviot nakyvat paremmin. Nayttaisi etta toisessa varit ovat luonnollisemmat ja sitten siina toisessa ne kuviot ovat paremmin esilla. Klikkaamalla saa isommaksi.

Naihin meni aikaa vajaa vuorokausi: aloitin ne eilen iltapaivalla kolmen aikaan ja tanaan vahan jalkeen kaksi iltapaivalla ne olivat valmiit. Lanka on paidasta jaaneita Patonsin merinolangan loppuja ja puikot 4,25 mm. Mallit on muokattu Co Spinhovenin kirjasta otetuista malleista ja sovellettu talle langalle ja tiheydelle. Kasittaakseni tata voi siis sanoa ihan omaksi mallikseni. Koitan saada jotain ohjetta tai edes mallineulekuviota aikaiseksi tanne blogiin.

Taidan nyt kylla antaa noiden puikkojen ja tuon saman langan vahan aikaa huilia lankalaatikossa ja miettia jotakin muuta neulottavaa valilla. :)

The Olympic Games started - and ended :) Well, at least for my part, for a while.

I finished my Olympic knitting, a pair of colorwork mittens:


One of the pictures was taken in sunlight. I'm not sure which one displays the colors and the pattern better. Well, click on the pics for a bigger picture and decide for yourself :)

These mittens took me less than a day: I started them yesterday afternoon around 3 and today right before 2 pm they were finished. The yarn is left-over Patons merino yarn from the sweater project, the needles were of sixe 6 (4,25 mm). The designs were adapted from Co Spinhoven's book, and adjusted for this yarn and gauge. I believe you can call this a design by me, then. I'll try to get some sort of pattern or chart published here in my blog.

I think I'll let my needles rest a bit now, and work on something completely different next :)

Kisakuumetta / Olympic fever

Ensin tarkeimmat: pipoja on vaihtanut omistajaa.

Riikka sai pipon Kristalta:


Ja DistantKnitter Hannalta:


Hienoja pipoja! Olen paivittanyt samalla PipoGallerian, kaykaapa kurkistelemassa.

Pahoittelut kun kesti nama paivitykset. (Koitan muistaa paivittaa listaa tuohon palkkiinkin.)

Omalla rintamalla on neulottu ne mietiskelysukat:



Ei ne niin kivat ole kuin ne ensimmaiset, muotopuolet ja rujot Isoveli-sukat, mutta ihan kivat kumminkin.

Olympialaistunnelmiin on virittaydytty myos taalla. Poydalle kasasin Inspiraation, Langat, Puikot ja Ohjeen.


Ohje on omasta paasta, siis otin sielta taalta ideoita tuosta ihanasta kelttikirjasta ja sovelsin merinonlopuille, joita paidasta vahan jai. Langan pitaisi riittaa, mustaa ja punaista on (samaa varjayseraakin) jaljella viela noiden nottosten lisaksi kera kumpaakin.

Nyt mie meen sit noita kilkuttaan. Katotaan mita tulee.


First, the most important thing: more caps have been exchanged.

Riikka received hers from Krista:


And DistantKnitter from Hanna:


Really fine hats! I have also updated The CapGallery, go take a look at all the caps.

I'm sorry for the delays in updating the cap exhchange info. I'll try to remember to update the sidebar also :)

As for me, I knitted the socks I mentioned yesterday:


They're not as nice as my first pair of socks of this yarn (which were truly ugly and badly knitted), but I like them all the same. (The yarn is Novita Isoveli Color, a medium/bulky Finnish superwash yarn.)

The Olympics have begun officially, so I dug up my Inspiration, my LO yarn, my Needles and my Pattern.


The pattern is my own, I adapted various ideas of the Celtic design book and altered them to suit my merino yarn that I had left over from the red sweater. I should have enough yarn for a pair of mittens, I still have 1 ball of each color (in the same dye lot even!).

So I'm off to get started on the mittens. We'll see how they turn out :)

Innostuin sitten postittamaan oikein urakalla. Ja posteihin liittyy tamakin :)

Sain ystavanpaivakuoren valmiiksi ja se lahtee tanaan kohti Suomea:



Tassa kuoren taustapuoli lahikuvassa. Vaihtoehtoperhosnappi ei halunnut pysya suorassa millaan, se taitaa olla kierossa nytkin. :) Turkoosi lanka on harsinlankaa, pitamassa kuorta kiinni lentomatkallaan. Muuten kuori menee kiinni rusetilla perhosen ympari.

Etupuolella on osoitteen lisaksi pieni kuva:



Taman kuoren nimi voisi olla paitsi Picasso-kuori myos DMC-kuori. Harvoin kay nain, mutta tama kuori on tehty DMC-muliinilangoilla DMC:n punaiselle kankaalle DMC:n ohjeella ja DMC:n neuloilla. Langan katkaisuunkin kaytin DMC:n kirjontasaksia! (Mulle pitas maksaa tasta, eiko?)

Halusin kuoresta erilaisen, mutta iloisen. Onneksi talossa ei ollut vaaleanpunaista kangasta, muuten oisin varmaan sortunut nalleihin ja ilmapalloihin. Sen sijaan, tein DMC:n sydankirjasta naita iloisia Picasso-naamoja, vaihdoin vain vahan vareja. Minusta tama on kaunis, toivottavasti saaja tykkaa.


I'm really posting today, since this second post of today involves posting, too! :)

I finished across-stitched envelope for the Valentine's Day swap (on Finnish XS mailing list). This envelope will start its long journey to Finland today:



This is the back of the envelope. The butterfly button would not stay straight, I think it's still tilted :) The teal-colored thread is basting thread sealing the envelope until it reaches its destination. Otherwise the envelope can be closed by tying a knot around the button.

On the front (address side) there's also a small picture:



This envelope could also be named the Picasso Envelope or the DMC Envelope :) Very seldom this happens, but this was stitched with DMC floss on DMC red aida using DMC chart and DMC needles. I even cut the thread with DMC embroidery scissors. (I should be paid for this much advertising, right?)

I wanted this envelope to be a different Valentine's Day mail art piece. Luckily I didn't have any pinkish aida, or I would've stitched teddy bears and balloons and whatnot. Instead, I chose these happy Picasso faces on the DMC Hearts pattern book. I just changed the colors a wee bit. I thought this was pretty, I hope my exchange pal likes it, too.

Vain tosi fani neuloo tammoisen / Only a true fan would knit anything like this

Takki on siis valmis. Etupuolelta luulisi sen olevan tavallinen tylsa takki:



Mutta eipa se olekaan:


Pahoittelen kuvien surkeata laatua, tama on varmasti yksi vaikeimpia neuleita kuvata, mita olen kuunaan tehnyt. Valosta huolimatta varit vaaristyivat, ilmeisesti kameran asetuksia pitais saataa.

Takista sen verran, etta se on ihan omaa suunnittelua ja olen tosi ylpea tasta, kuva ei tee takille oikeutta. Ei se taydellinen ole, mutta se on oikein hyva. Kuvion suunnittelin itse.

Takista tuli aavistuksen iso, eika siina viela ole vetoketjua, koska ostamani vetskari oli liian lyhyt. Mulla tahtoo muutenkin tulla neuleista vahan liian isoja, ehka kasiala on liian loysa. Taytyy keksia siihen joku viksu niksi (eli muuttaa kasialaa) kunhan hamsterikisa on ohi. Toisekseen tasta langasta tulee vahan ryhdittomia neuleita, en tieda miksi. Ajattelin kokeilla huovuttaa tata kevyesti, ehka siten saisi sita pienemmaksi ja muotoa ryhdikkaammaksi. Pesuhommia siis edessa.

Lankaa meni 700 g joten hamstereissa ollaan tilanteessa 1150 g. Ei huono.

Seuraavasta projektista en viela tieda. Taidan tehda sukkaparin tassa pohtiessa. :)

My sweater is finished. The front would make you think it's an ordinary sweater:



But it's not:



I'm really sorry for the poor photo quality. I couldn't get a decent photo of this.
No matter what the light was, the colors were distorted, I might have a wrong setting in my camera.

The sweater is my own design, including the pattern for the back. I love it, even though it is not perfect (the picture does no justice whatsoever), it's perfectly good for me. I'm really proud of myself :)

The sweater is a bit too big, and I did not sew in the zipper yet, because the one I bought was too short. My knitted garments tend to be a bit too big, it might be me or this yarn. I might try and change my knitting a bit to avoid this. But as for this sweater, I'm thinking of fulling it slightly, to make it a bit smaller and fit better.

I used 700 grams (roughly 25 oz) of yarn for this, so in this month (for the yarnhamsters') I have used about 40 oz yarn in 9 days. Not bad.

I'm not sure what to knit next. Maybe a pair of socks, that'll give me a good few hours to think about the next big project. :)

Olkaa karsivallisia, kylla meilla paivitetaankin. Punainen takki on pingottumassa ja kun saumat on yhdistetty ja vetoketju paikallaan, saatte kuvia. Se on upea, upea, upea!

Aijuu, noista teksteista. Suomilukijat nakojaan tykkaa tasta, etta ensin on suomiteksti ja sitten enkku. Nama kolmannella kotimaisella polkkaavat tykkaa toistepain. Demokratian nimissa teen niin kuin enemmisto haluaa :) Vaihdan fontin noihin lontoonkielisiin, on ehka helpompi erottaa.

Kuvia takista siis... pian. :)

Please be patient with me, I do update my blog more frequently than I have done this week :) My red sweater is being blocked and when I have sewn the seams and the zipper, you'll get pics. I must say, it is gorgeous!

About posting.. My Finnish readers thought it'd be best to post first in Finnish and then the same text entirely in English, and since this blog is (supposedly) part of some sort of democracy, I'll post first in Finnish and then in English. I'll change the fonts so it'll be easier to notice the difference of language.

But, pics of the sweater, coming soon! :)

Nurja puoli / Purling

Ei kannata huolestua otsikosta, ei meilla vallan ole sorruttu melankoliaan :) Kysyn vaan lyhyesti teilta molemmilta lukijoiltani nurjan silmukan neulomisesta. Aiemmin en tahan juuri ole kiinnittanyt huomiota, mutta asia tuli sattumalta esiin kahdelta eri taholta.

Nimittain, joka viikko paikalliset suomirouvat kokoontuvat askartelemaan, ja tietenkin olen seassa mukana puikkoineni. Eraan kerran tuli puheeksi nurjan neulominen, ja teen ilmeisesti nurjan eri tavalla kuin nama toiset, joiden kanssa nurjaa silmukkaa ihmeteltiin.

Itse nimittain neulon nurjan nain: nostan langan vasemman puikon paalle, ja koukkaan langan oikealla puikolla niin, etta silmukka ei kierry nurinkurin. En tee kuitenkaan niin kuin Kaspaikan ohjeessa neuvotaan, eli kirista joka silmukkaa erikseen, tai nosta sita lankaa puikolle joka silmukan jalkeen. Neulon niin, etta lanka jaa vasemmalle puikolle, jolloin se ei edes kay pois puikolta.

Muistan eraan kaverini aidin ihmetelleen tata mummuni minulle opettamaa tapaa. Han neuloi sen minusta aivan hullunkurisesti, eli niin, etta lanka on puikon alla, samalla tavalla kuin oikeaa neulottaessakin. Minusta se puikko teki niin hullunkurisia koukeroita ja mutkia, etta olen karsastanut tata toista (ilmeisesti tunnetaan Norwegian stylena) siita asti. :)

En muuten tata ottaisi esille, mutta kun tasta on suomalaisissa blogeissa ja Ihan Itsessa kayty keskustelua, ja tama tekniikoiden ero alkoi askarruttaa tuossa kirjoneuletta nykertaessani. Nimittain, nurja puoli kirjoneuleena on mulle todella hidasta ja tuskaista neuloa. Langat menevat sotkuun, silmukat jaavat liian loysaksi (tai aivan liian tiukoiksi), ja useammalla kuin kahdella varilla neulominen on utopiaa. Miten te muutte selviatte tasta? Onko jollain joku pomminvarma niksi tammoiselle kadettomalle?

Ja toinen kysymys (ei tassa mitaan kommentteja kalastella, ei ollenkaan): Onko parempi, etta englanninkieliset patkat ovat postin perassa vai joka kappaleen jalkeen kursiivilla? Kuten muistatte, fontin koossakin kansan aani ratkaisi, niin tassakin. Tastakaan kyselysta en jarjesta mitaan arpajaisia, koska ajatuksena on jarjestaa arpajaiset tuossa 25 tonnin kohdalla. Mutta mahdollisuus on siis vaikuttaa blogin luettavuuteen. Siispa jata jalki blogiin!

This posting is about purling techniques. On some Finnish blogs and a crafting forum there's been some discussion about purling techniques or styles, and I got curious because this matter was also the topic of my discussion with two of my friends. Every week us Finnish ladies gather together to craft and yack, and one time we happened to discuss the way we purl. Obviously, I purl differently than they do.

You see, I purl like so: I lift the yarn on to the left hand needle and take the right hand needle under the yarn, through the stitch, around the yarn and back through the stitch and under the yarn. (Difficult to explain, sorry.) I do not tighten the yarn after each stitch, or lift the yarn on to the left hand needle after every stitch. Over the years I've learned to purl so that I have no need for this, for I slip the stitch off the left hand needle without dropping the yarn.

I remember my friend's Mom wondering about this style my Grandma taught me. My friend's Mom used to knit in a way that seemed really peculiar to me, since she never picked up the yarn on to the left hand needle. She kept the yarn under the left hand needle on the left index finger and made all sorts of funny loops and circles with her right hand. I believe the method she used is known as Norwegian style; to me it always seemed to funny I never even wanted to learn it. (I knit in the Continental method, so for you English style knitters this might sound totally gibberish. :D)

The reason I'm bringing this up now is that I've been wondering these techniques when I finally got the colorwork part of my red sweater. For me, the wrong side of stockinette stitch garments in colorwork has been a total nightmare. The yarn gets all tangled up, the stitches become way too loose (or too tight) and I can only manage bicolor knitting. I'd like to hear your thoughts and ideas about purling with multiple colors. Do you have any handy tips on how to manage more than one yarn when purling?

I also have another question for you (nope, not after comments, not me): Is it better that the English text is after the Finnish text (i.e. almost like two postings within one) or should the English text be in between the Finnish text (in Italic), as it has been? As my Finnish fellow knitters and bloggers remember, I asked your opinions on font size and acted according to your votes. Also, this time I will do however it seems fit to my readers. I will not arrange any sort of lottery based on the commenting, because I' have a surprise contest for you when the hit counter gets to 25k. But now you have a chance to have your say in which is better. So, please leave a comment!

Murheellinen viikonloppu / A sad, sad weekend

Viikonloppuna tapahtui iloisia asioita, kun sain Kristelilta vaihtolapaset:

Something nice happened this weekend, when I got these mittens from Kristel in the mitten exchange:





Aivan ihanat, hyvin viehattava malli ja lanka on aivan ihanaa Drops Alpacaa. Malli istuu kateen todella hyvin, ja lapaset on tosi lampimat. Naille taytyy tehda varmaan joku tres chic hattu kaveriksi ;)

I love these mittens. The design is simple yet delicate and the yarn is the amazing Drops Alpaca. They fit like, well, a glove, and they are really warm. I believe I must knit a tres chic hat to go with them :)

Viikonloppuna sain tehtya myos omat vaihtolapaset ja -pipon vaihtoihin, ja ne paasevat talla viikolla matkaan kohti Suomea. Vaihtolapaset kuvasin, mutta kuvat ei onnistuneet hyvin, kuvaan ne uudelleen myohemmin. Piponkin kuvasin, joten parini, jos et halua pilata yllatysta, ala klikkaa tata linkkia kuvaan! Siirran kuvan blogiin ja galleriaan, ja laitan lankatiedot, kun pipo on parilla.

I also knitted my exchange mittens and cap, and they will be sent this week. I photographed the mittens but the pictures were not good, so I will try to take another pic later. I also took a picture of the cap, so, my exchange partner, if you want to keep it a surprise, do not click this link to the picture! I'll publish the picture in my blog and in the gallery of the cap exchange, and give the yarn information, once the mittens are with my partner.

Muuten viikonloppu meni ihan pilalle. Eilen Karvajalka oli vaijymassa tyokavereiden kanssa kainalopalloa, ja mulla oli koko paiva aikaa neuloa. No, sohvanmutkassa nykersin onnellisena punaista takkia, kunnes tuli langanvaihdon aika ja tajusin, etta mullahan on eri varjayserien lankaa. Vaikka mielestani olin tarkka kaupassa, ja koitin katsoa, etta ne ovat samaa eraa, kaksi keraa eri eraa (runollista) oli livahtanut kassiin. Ja tietenkin mie otin ne kerat neulottavaksi, enka niita kolmeatoista muuta, jotka on samaa eraa. (No ei niita ihan kolmeatoista ole.) No, eihan siina juuri muu auttanut kuin purkaa pois. Katsotaan, paljonko joudun purkamaan: pahimmillaan 1,5 hihaa, mutta jos tuuri kay, vain 7 cm. Laitan tietoa myohemmin. Tavoite olisi kuitenkin, etta takki on valmis loppuviikosta. Noilla barbaarisen suurilla 4,25 millin puikoilla en luulisi sen olevan edes vaikeata. :) Eli takaisin sohvanmutkaan ja iloisia elokuvia av-laitteisiin, eikohan ne hihat edisty :)

Otherwise, my weekend was ruined. Yesterday, my hubby (whom I call Mr Hairy Feet) was watching some armpit ball with his buddies, and that left me with good 5 to 6 hours of knitting. I did that, too: I was busy with my bright red sweater, until I ran out of yarn and had to get a new ball. I realized that I had yarn from three different dye lots. I tried to be careful when buying the yarn and I thought I made sure all the balls were of the same dye lot, but for some reason 2 balls were of different lots than the rest of them. And of course I picked those two balls instead of the other balls that would've matched the front pieces I already finished. Well, I had no choice but to take it apart. I'm not sure how much I must rip: if I'm lucky I won't have to rip the entire 1 1/2 sleeves I finished, but only 3 inches. My goal is to finish the sweater by the end of the week, which shouldn't be tough since I'm using these insanely big needles (size 6 US, 4,25 mm). So, I think I'll go back knitting and maybe watch something nice. :)


Paivitys: Taytyy ne hihat purkaa ja neuloa uudestaan. Savyero ei ole iso, mutta sen verran suuri, etta mina sen huomaan. Ja kun en halua, etta neule jaa kaappiin vain sen varieron takia, niin on helpompi nyt purkaa ja tehda ne hihat uudelleen. Ens kerralla viisaampi. :)

Toisesta hihasta syntyikin jo puolet Klaus Haron haastattelua (Punainen lanka) katsoessa. Suosittelen lampimasti kaikille katsottavaksi. Vaikka keskustelu lahtee sotalapsista ja heidan kokemuksistaan, Haro puhuu hyvin koskettavasti myos surusta, ilosta, erosta, katkeruudesta, ihmisten pahansuopuudesta ja anteeksiannosta. Oli todella antoisaa kuunnella toisen ihmisen (jonka maailmankatsomus on aivan eri kuin minun) ajatuksia ja kypsaa viisautta, asioista, joita on vaikea kasitella ja hyvaksya. Harvoin tulee nain nautinnollisia ohjelmia tv:sta. Punainen lanka on mun suosikkini muutenkin, Maarit Tastula tekee yleensa aina laadukasta jalkea. Ja onhan sen nimikin neulojalle ja pistelijalle sopiva ;))

Update: I must rip the sleeves and reknit them. The difference between dye lots is not big, but it's big enough for me to notice. And I don't want this sweater to be left unused only because of my laziness, then it is better to do some extra work now. Next time I'll remember to check the lot numbers better :)

I knitted half of the second sleeve while watching Klaus Haro's interview (on a program called Punainen lanka [tr. Red Thread] on Finnish television). He speaks very touchingly of sadness, of joy, of separation from beloved ones, of bitterness, of malevolence and forgiving. It's really emotionally fulfilling to listen to his thoughts and wisdom of things that are really difficult to deal with and accept. Very seldom I get to see something this enjoyable on TV. Punainen lanka is my favorite in general, Maarit Tastula's programs are always enjoyable and of highest quality. And the name of the program is also fitting for a knitter and a cross-stitcher :)

Edit: Kilikusvikreet. Eka hiha on valmis, takakappale aloitettu. En jaksanut purkaa viela toista hihaa, eilisen varjaysera episodi hiertaa viela mielta :)

Edit: A few spelling errors fixed. The first sleeve is finished, and I started knitting the back. I didn't take the second sleeve apart yet, I was still annoyed by the dye lot incident :)