…but I did find a new technique that I quite like – well, it isn’t so *new* considering it is a traditional technique used in Finland and Estonia, and possibly many other countries with long knitting histories…

Tuulia’s Karelian Embroidery Mitten 

I started this lovely mitten pattern at the Nordic Knitting Conference a few weeks back, and I actually ripped out my progress and went down a needle size, so this is fresh and new.  And my new technique is that little vikkel braid on each side of the stranded colorwork…

-Vikkel Braid Tutorial at The Daily Skein-

It isn’t perfect – it is supposed to be alternating colors instead of a random smattering of stitches – but I am pretty happy with how it looks, even with two red stitches in a row!  (I am not losing sleep over it!)  Tuulia patiently taught the class how to knit the vikkel braid and it wasn’t until I did this second go at it that it really “sunk in”.  It took me awhile to do the one row, but it is worth it!  Nancy Bush also uses this technique in some of her sock patterns, but I never knew how to do it until someone actually showed me.  Thanks Tuulia! 

 …now I am gonna “vikkel” all the time!

Well, maybe not all the time. Simple edgings are definitely appropriate for lots of projects;  I still love the plain edge of the long-tail cast on in a pretty yarn…

…a new beret in a lovely kid mohair…

The Nordic Knitting Conference was absolutely great.  Taking classes with Tuulia?  even greater!

Lucky Lolly had a full day with this knitter/designer extraordinaire.  Friday started with a long bus ride and my own personal tour-by-bus through Seattle on my way up to the Nordic Heritage Museum.  Once I got to building, I registered and peeked around looking for my classroom.  Tuulia and I talked a few times before class, and we read each others’ blogs (she is in Project Spectrum!) but this was our first time meeting.  I walked into the auditorium and there was Tuulia!  …and she was wearing this!  and I gasped! (yes, all of the drama is completely warranted!)

Seriously people. Get a load of that.  She knit it in a week specifically for this conference.  The stranding at the bottom is based off of two traditional Finnish mitten patterns with the added braids.  So she did that and just kept knitting until she had a beautiful skirt.  She sure can churn out the amazingness (check out her “Northern Lights” shawl!).  She designed even more things – like the two class projects!

The first class, Finnish Mitten Design, went so well.  Tuulia shared a table full of beautiful mittens in traditional patterns, and then unveiled the special mitten pattern for our class.  The patterning on the cuff is based on an embroidery design from the region of Karelia.  She framed this piece with vikkel braids in two colors, and then moved into the simple traditional stranded pattern for the main mitten piece.  Take a look at this beauty:

Tuulia’s class sample and my humble beginnings on the double pointed needles – knit in three colors of Knit Picks Palette yarn.

My classmate, Karen, knitting her mitten.  This was her first foray into stranded colorwork and she just jumped right in and had great results!

Oh vikkel braid.  I have read about you in Nancy Bush’s books – it is an Estonian and Finnish technique – and I had no idea how to do it until Tuulia showed me in class.  Now I want to try it all the time!

The mittens will take me a little while because I have several other projects on the needles.  I teased that this is more likely to become a knitted oven mitt since I am unlikely to knit two full mittens.  However, they are so beautiful that a pair really would be nice (but almost too pretty to wear!)

The afternoon class, Finnish Textile Traditions,  was more of a history and storytelling session about Finland, some elements of the culture, and lots of information about traditional textiles.  Tuulia talked about the sheep breeds in Finland, handspinning and the equipment used, weaving, embroidery and needle arts, ryas, and about knitting and crochet.  Like so many countries with early textile traditions, things were created for a function and a purpose, and it was not until much later that items took on a more decorative element.  Lace, stranded colorwork, special embroidery additions:  all of these things are known in Finland’s traditional textiles. My favorite part of Tuulia’s presentation was on her research of the Saami, the indigenous people in northern Finland and through Scandinavia.  She shared some of her experiences of working with the Saami as a historian.  It was so fascinating.  I hope we have the chance to sit together again, I want to hear more stories!

[Full Conference Photo Set Here]

One of my classmates brought in a handwoven textile heirloom for analysis.  Her family was Finnish and she wanted Tuulia’s opinion on origins.

Although I have not started on the class project for this class (alas, no picture!) Tuulia adapted a well-known Finnish pattern to a pair of ladies stockings.  She put together the pattern and I am looking forward to starting it in the beautiful green yarn I showed last time.  The lace stitching looks similar to dragon scales, so I think the lightly variegated green will be perfect!  You can see the finished socks on Tuulia’s blog.

What a wonderful day!  I felt so inspired after seeing her work and learning more about Finland.  Thank you Tuulia!  let’s meet again (stop by DC en route to Finland!)

During the lunch break, I walked through some of the galleries at the museum:

In the process of peeking, I spied a certain Ms. Nancy Bush   That was a nice surprise, and I talked to her and thanked her personally for the great interview I got back in 2006. I hear her classes went quite well – she did a series of Estonian lace classes on two days of the conference.

The Nordic Heritage Museum was a wonderful place, and they are planning to continue the Nordic Knitting Conference in the future.  There was some talk about moving the dates to the fall.  Either way, I would love to go again and learn more about this region of the world and the beautiful textiles that come from it.  As you know, I was already a fan of yoked sweaters and stranded colorwork – so I have plenty of inspiration to knit more and more of these Nordic patterns now!

…and I have been doing just that with some crafting of my own…

After months of saving wine corks, I finally decided to go ahead and use them. I made this cork trivet using a small 4 x 4 pine frame, with particle board backing (purchased at the craft store) and some wood glue. It took some time to come up with an arrangement that I liked, and that fit well into the frame. Once it was settled, I glued the corks to the particle board backing, and voila! now my hot bowls and pots can rest on the pretty corks on the dinner table.

I have a few dozen more corks in the bucket, so I may have to make some more of these! Simple, easy, and instantly functional. Plus, it is a nice conversation piece – each of the corks reminds us of a wine tasting, a vacation, or a special event. If you have some wine corks saved, you might consider putting them to use with some of the tutorials outlined here. I am still thinking about a large cork board with a more intricate pattern. But we need more corks for that… and that means more wine

We had a wonderful afternoon meetup with the DC Namaste Knitters. While the weather outside was frightful (thunderstorms and lightening galore!) we were indoors practicing yoga, knitting, and telling stories. We even had delightful desserts. We were having so much fun that I forgot to take a photo. Next time! If you are interested in joining our group, we will be meeting again on May 10th. More details to follow in the Ravelry forum.

Once I got home, braving the deluge, I sat down with a nice cup of tea and finished my Inca mitts.

Inca Earth Mitts
Pattern: Classic Elite free pattern
Yarn: Habu Lamb Wool Linen A-175 1/3.3
Needles: Size US 3 and 4 dpns
Source: Habu Textiles Store (NYC)

The pattern calls for a worsted weight yarn, but I wanted to use this earthy palette together, despite being a lighter weight. It is between a fingering and sport weight, so they fit nice and snug over my hands. The pattern was simple, and could be a good introduction for the knitter who wants to try stranded colorwork for the first time. I made a few pattern modifications, other than the yarn substitution. To lengthen the mitt more, I added another repeat of the butter yellow/sage green pattern on both the top and bottom cuff.

The mitts are part of my stashbusting project, spurred on by the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, a little knitalong I am calling Lord Stanley Stashbusting. Watching hockey and knitting are fine companions! “My” team has advanced to the next round, but I am still devotedly watching the other teams and their competitions. This is a good time of year for stashbusting too… I have a trip to NYC coming up this week (NYC = yarn city) and of course, Maryland Sheep and Wool festival is right around the corner. The stash is moving and making room for the new neighbors!

I finished this little cowl on Friday night while watching the Penguins/Senators game. I was casting off just as Malone put in the 4th goal that led to the Penguins win! Two balls of yarn that sat in my stash for far too long are now a pretty wearable knit – in appropriately themed colors too, I might add. I used Karabella Aurora 8 and held it together with an unidentified mohair thread (it was in the clearance bin at Springwater last year, and was ballband-less). My intuition tells me, however, that it is Rowan Kidsilk Spray. Size US 8, 16″ circular needles, about 2.5 hours, and now I have a cowl for spring!

…and I followed with a quick second on Saturday night while watching the Montreal/Boston game…

I am loving the new Classic Elite email newsletters with the lovely free patterns! I saw these mitts [Inca Alpaca Fair Isle Mitts] in last month’s newsletter and knew that they would be a great match for some of the skeins in my stash. My mind immediately thought of the earthy quartet of Wool Linen that I picked up at Habu Textiles last spring in NYC. Perfect for Project Spectrum, and a fun colorwork project too! I finished mitt #1, now on to #2!

The yarn has the sturdiness of linen (20%) with the softness of wool (80%). It is a smaller gauge than the pattern calls for, but the mitt fits nice and snug, even though I went down a few needle sizes from the pattern. I had planned to cast on for mitt #2 today during the Washington/Philly game, but I got a little surprise this morning – Kris got tickets for us to actually GO to the game!!! So, I am thinking that colorwork, thousands of people, and the possibility of beer spilling on my knitting, means that it should wait for another game viewing… tomorrow perhaps?

If you wanna join the stashbusting and hockey fun, feel free! Check out the Puck This! group on Ravelry to follow along, and you can even grab the little button I made!

PS – Happy birthday to two special ladies in my life:  my momma and my JennaPinkMonkey~

The color scheme for my mittens differs considerably from the original pattern (from Folk Knitting in Estonia), but I think it is working pretty well. I swatched around with the colors and this was the one that really popped in my mind. The cuff was a simple ripple pattern, and I am about to start the row with the thumb gusset. The pattern knits up so quickly.

I really love stranded colorwork. I see much more in my future.

I worked on this last night as Kris and I wrapped up the final chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was a pleasure to read it together the way we did. I must admit, however, that Kris had to read many of the final chapters because I was getting a little too teary to read aloud.

The mittens will benefit from a good blocking to even up the little stranding and the lace on the cuff. I am using a size 1.5 needle, and I am wondering if a size 1 would have been better…

Mittens (and gloves) have popped up in a few other places, so I am happy to see I am not the only one thinking ahead for the winter. Did you see Jan’s new Selbu mittens? and Joanna just finished some amazing Norwegian gloves! …and Sandy is thinking about (another) encore for the Warm Hands knitalong. So many lovely patterns to choose from!

~Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!~

While anxiously awaiting the arrival of a certain book on my doorstep, I decided to deter myself with some stash organization. One thing lead to another, and before you knew it, this yarn was all balled up and the project was assigned.

Woolarina Handpainted Fingering Merino
Purchased at Crafty Bastards 2006

Once THE BOOK did arrive, Kris and I decided to savor it. We are taking turns by reading aloud chapter by chapter to each other. It is quite enjoyable this way – and the best part is that we can discuss it together. It is slower to read aloud, as we are not even half way through the book yet, but since this is the last one of the series, I wanted to remember the magic.

…and the chapters that he reads? well, you see, that is when I knit…

On a whim, I decided to break from my usual Nancy Bush patterns, and I cast on for the “Classy Slip Ups” from Betsy McCarthy’s Knit Socks! book. The book was a gift a few years ago, and there are some cute patterns inside – many for heavier weight yarns too. This particular pattern caught my eye, and I wanted to see how it would work with the handpainted yarn. I did not realize just how perfect of a match it would be!

Just to keep things interesting, I also chose a pattern and some yarn for a new mitten project. Yeah, knitting mittens in August. Go ahead and laugh.

Koigu KPM and Louet Gems

You knew I couldn’t stray too far from Nancy! Hilja’s Mittens from Folk Knitting in Estonia. The colors are npt quite traditional, but I thought this would be a beautiful combination for the colorwork. I have been playing around with the motifs to decide what color should be the background, and what should be the motif. Any suggestions?

I love knitting pullovers and cardigans, however, I feel like small projects are the place to really experiment. Plus, they are so easy to carry with me – and I am going to be traveling quite a bit in the next month, so these little knits fit the bill!

Basic Mittens
Pattern: Family Circle Easy Knitting – Fall 2005 issue
Yarn: Ironstone New Wool (#5011)
Needles: Size US6 double pointed needles

1. Mittens on Quilt, 2. Ironstone Mittens,
3. Lolly & Mittens, 4. New Mittens

Small project with a big return! Warm hands!

Basic pattern – great for beginners! I made the cuff a little longer to cover the wrists. The yarn, Ironstone New Wool, is a good basic single-ply with a small nylon thread run through it. The colors caught my eye, and they remain the highlight of this project. The yarn comes in huge hanks – nearly 300 yards for only $12.00 (MSRP), so even after making these two mittens, it looks untouched. I am planning some other fun accessories with the rest of the ball. This yarn has been in my stash for ages – that means about 2.5 years – It was one of the first yarns I ever bought at a yarn shop… when I discovered "quality" yarns. When I bought it at one of my favorite yarn shops – now out of business, sadly – I had no pattern in mind (I rarely did in those days!) and I was happy to find a pattern that flattered the yarn so well.

I feel so properly outfitted with the new mittens AND my new coat!

Heck of a deal – $8 for a coat! – at a certain store that I frequent (starts with "T" ends with "-arget") Sitting on the clearance rack! in my size! I needed a casual winter coat too, since my coat from last winter was too big. Check out the buttons!

…and a new haircut too!

Thanks for your response to the *Bejeweled knitalong*! It is going to be fun! There is still plenty of time to get your pattern – and to donate to F.I.R.E. and the Dulaan Project. Shobhana reports that the response has been fantastic!

Fetching Mitts
Pattern: Knitty Summer 2006
Yarn: Karabella Aurora 8 in 1547 colorway
Source: Springwater Fiber Workshop
Needle: Size 6 Brittany Birch DPNs

There is a reason you are seeing these little mitts all over the blogs! They are fun, quick, and a perfect one-skein project! The Karabella ball was purchased back in August when I went to Springwater with MamaE and Carole. The beautiful color caught my eye, and even though it was only one ball in the clearance bin, I figured I could find a way to use it. This one ball was perfect for this project. I used all but 3 inches of the yarn in the entire ball! I plan to make these again very soon, as I have some other random 50g skeins in the stash that could whip up into this pattern in a matter of hours. It's also a perfect first cables project – easy and clearly written in the pattern. In fact, it is a perfect submission for the Fall Cables knitalong too (and I have another one planned!)

I plan to wear the Fetching mitts as I head to Stitches East later this morning. I am looking forward to a great day with some beautiful yarns, and some friendly faces. I am planning to look for some laceweight yarns, as I am interested in trying more lace projects, and also some Noro. After scanning my book and magazine collection, I reacquainted myself with several patterns that I really liked.

Among them, the beautiful Kolsva cowl-neck sweater, designed by Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton, in the Noro Revisited book. It calls for 5 skeins of Noro Kochoran, which is a beautiful (and pricey) yarn. I am hoping to find the fabled cheap Noro and make my purchase.

Wish me luck!

Life is definitely good.

Exhibit A: Without a weekly study group to attend, I had the whole Sunday free to do whatever I pleased. So, Kris and I made a nice breakfast, I read a book in its entirety, and I knit for most of the afternoon and evening. It was absolutely cathartic. It was still hard to break the thought that I should have been doing something else (namely, studying!)… because that was not the case!

… and this is what I accomplished yesterday afternoon…

This is the Basic Mitten pattern from last fall's Family Circle Easy Knitting magazine. It is such a fast and easy pattern, and I couldn't be happier with the way this one turned out. The yarn has been in my stash for so long – it is the beautiful Ironstone New Wool in colorway 5011. I bought it over two years ago – that is ancient history in my stash – and I was so excited to cast on for a project with it. After using it, I wondered why I waited so long. The colors are magnificent. Now for mitten #2 and then I will have Warm Hands!

My, how Fetching! Yep, I joined the craze – I saw these little darlings popping up all over the blogosphere, so I gave it a whirl. A few hours later, I had an adorable mitt! This pattern is fun and addictive. More in my future, no doubt. I am using a random ball of Karabella Aurora 8 that I picked up a few months back, and wow, what a yarn. I had never worked with this before. I love the "sproing" of the yarn. It is so cushy. Very cozy. Needless to say, I didn't waste any time casting on for its mate.

Yes, I realize they are not socks

Exhibit B: Knitty rewards for hard work. It's good to give yourself a little "pat on the back" after you accomplish something big, right? So, to congratulate myself for completing my grad school work, I treated myself to a pretty Fair Isle knit kit.

When I asked you back in September for some advice on where to start with colorwork, many of you mentioned that a hat was perfect for a first project. So, I listened. After seeing Keri's beautiful Flenten hat last week, I decided a Bea Ellis kit was the way to go. I chose the Kristen hat, as I really liked the snowflake motif. My colors are slightly different than the model, more of a navy and an ecru. I hope I can do it justice! I am very excited to try this!

My other big reward comes this weekend, as I will be going to Stitches East on Saturday and Sunday!

I don't have an exhaustive shopping list or anything – I am really hoping to find some Noro (Norovember, anyone?) for the beautiful Lady Eleanor wrap from Scarf Style, and some laceweight yarns.Of course, if I see something else that stops me "dead in my tracks", I reserve the right to purchase it. Going to Stitches? Let me know! and say hi if you see me, I would love to meet you!

Exhibit C: I leave for vacation in 10 days! Kris and I take one big vacation a year, and this year we are headed to San Francisco and Napa Valley. I am very excited to see this part of the country – I have only been to SF's airport! I am looking forward to exploring the city, checking out some museums, yarn shops, and hopefully meeting some knitters! For the latter part of the trip, we will be staying just outside of the town of Napa. I will celebrate my 26th birthday with some delicious wines and beautiful scenery!

Exhibit D: I think I found my life's calling. I am not saying that lightly! It may require some more schooling… but that is something that I am completely willing to do if I can make my passion my life's work. I am so excited about this opportunity. Yes, I know this is all very vague, but I feel this is the best way at this point so I don't jinx myself! More details as they come in, my friends

Exhibit E: Socktoberfest has been an utterly amazing project: Fun, successful, inspiring, rewarding, and educational. I could not have hoped for anything more. Thank you – strike that -

THANK YOU!!!!!

for the wonderful month. Yes, I know it is not over, but I just couldn't post without saying how grateful I am for your participation and support.

…and finally, one more exciting reason why life is good right now: I am going to see one of my favorite bands tonight! The Decemberists are in DC and you bet your bippy I am picking up their new "Sublime Stiching" limited-edition embroidery kits! I can't wait

*Knit, crochet, and be merry, my friends,
for tomorrow Socktoberfest is over!*