State of the Project: Haapsalu scarf, part II

Although I got a bit distracted by the Clara sweater, the Fleuriste cardigan and the baby stuff, I have not forgotten about my Haapsalu scarf and recently returned to it. 

It has grown large enough to cover my laptop and I am currently on the fifth repeat of the broad border pattern (out of 7). Some more rows to go and then it's time to make the lace edge!

I've never felt so validated! :D

Also: yes I like to live dangerously and take screenshots when my phone battery is at 8% :D

Loose Ends: Bobble Sheep.

As you could maybe tell from my previous posts, I used to be into Amigurumi a few years ago. I bought all the books by Lilleliis and several patterns by different designers. I also bought this cute sheep pattern by Kristi Tullus and started making it (using Drops Karisma). I got as far as having the face and nose finished up to a point where they were ready for stuffing and I also got started on the body, but then I must’ve got distracted by a new project or something, because the unfinished little sheep ended up in a plastic bag in my craft drawer. That would’ve been in 2017, according to the timestamp on my print copy of the pattern. 

Lucky for me (and the sheep), I was invited to the baby shower of one of my dearest friends, which took place today, so I decided to finish the sheep and make a couple of other bits and bobs for her baby:

The hat is the "Snow Baby" hat (Drops Baby 13/18) and was made with Drops Muskat, the jacket is the "Precious Moments" jacket (Drops Baby 33/11) and was made with Drops ❤ You #5.

What's on my handcraft book shelf?

I will be the first to admit that I buy too many books. When it comes to handcraft books, I apparently also seem to have a bit of a collector mentality, because several of these books belong to one series or another. But anyway, I thought it would be fun to show what handcraft books I have on my shelf, because I think they are a nice summary of the kind of handcraft that I like. 

So, from left to right, the first five books are about Haapsalu lace. First, the legendary "Haapsalu sall" (Haapsalu Shawl) by Siiri Reimann and Aime Edasi, which has been out of print for years and I don't know why the publishing house won't bring it back, especially since the Haapsalu Lace Centre has said that all Haapsalu Shawls should be made according to the guidelines laid out in this book. Next, another legendary book that they unfortunately haven't reprinted yet: "Haapsalu rätt / The Haapsalu Scarf" by the same two ladies. The next three are collections of patterns by individual master knitters: "Siiri rätid. Triangular Lace Shawls by Siiri Reimann", "Linda rätid. Square Haapsalu Shawls by Linda Eigas" and "Aasa Sallid. Knitted Shawls of Aasa Jõelaid". This last book also seems to be out of stock everywhere, but I feel very attached to it, because Mrs. Aasa Jõelaid was the master knitter who blocked a Haapsalu shawl that a colleague commissioned from me for her mother's birthday. I didn't have a blocking frame back then and I didn't want to block a shawl that was going to be a birthday gift by pinning it to my couch so I sent it to the Haapsalu Lace Centre to be blocked. Of course it turned out that I had made the rookie mistake of sewing the lace edge to the central part too tightly with not enough give and the yarn snapped on the blocking frame and Mrs. Jõelaid had to redo the seam. I felt very embarrassed, but also very grateful when I got the shawl back. 

The next book is also from the same publishing house. It is called "Eesti silmuskudumine 1. Tavad ja tehnikad" (Estonian Knitting 1. Traditions and techniques) and was written by Anu Pink, Siiri Reimann and Kristi Jõeste. It's really awesome and thorough and features photos and reconstructed patterns of various knitwear from different eras and regions. Volume 2 was also published a while ago, but I don't have that one yet.

I also have three issues of our biggest handcraft magazine, aptly titled Käsitöö (Handcraft).

Next, I have a book that was a total impulse buy: Think Outside the Sox by Elaine Rowley, which includes over 60 winning designs from Knitter's Magazine's international knitting contest. There are several designs here that I hope to make one day - I want to try knitting socks from the toe up, which I have not done before. I was even inspired to buy two sets of of circular needles when I started looking at the patterns, but alas I did not get further than that.

The next two books are books of sock patterns by Niina Laitinen: "Villaste sokkide aasta" (I guess the literal translation would be Year of Wool Socks) and "Muinasjutulised silmused" (Fairy-tale Stitches if you want to get literal, I guess). I have mentioned Niina several times before on this blog, but it bears repeating that I really like her style and I plan to participate in more of her KALs in the future and I will also be getting her third book, "Villasukkien uusi vuosi" (New Year of Wool Socks) when it comes out in Estonian. I can read Finnish patterns just fine, mind you, but I already bought the first two in Estonian, sooo...

The next three books are a bit of a change of pace: they are namely books of Amigurumi patterns by Mari-Liis Lille aka Lilleliis: "Võluväega mänguasjad" (Magical Amigurumi Toys), "Kaisuloomakirg" (Cuddly Amigurumi Toys) and "Imeline nukumaailm" (Lovable Amigurumi Toys). Lilleliis is a well-known Estonian Amigurumi designer and her books and patterns have been translated into several languages. I love the cute backstories she has for her creations and I have made some designs from her first two books to give as presents to the children of my friends, but I haven't yet made anything from the third book, which mostly includes doll patterns.

The next book is "Pitsilised koekirjad" (um, simply Lace Patterns, I guess) by Leili Reimann. This book was published in 1986 and includes lace patterns from all over Estonia - not just the very fine lace of Haapsalu. It's an Estonian classic and a really good source of inspiration.

The next booklet is one I was very happy to get my hands on. I attended Haapsalu Lace Day 2016 where the ladies of the Haapsalu Lace Centre were presenting it and of course I had to grab a copy, as well as a pair of Haapsalu shawl needles (which are basically two double pointed needles with plastic beads attached to one end of each). It's "Koome Haapsalu salli" (How to Knit a Haapsalu Shawl) by Siiri Reimann - who else? - and it is basically a condensed, very practical oriented version of the original Haapsalu shawl book, which contains all the guidelines for making a Haapsalu shawl, but somewhat less patterns. 

Next to the book is my project planner, which I have also mentioned before on this blog. 

And next to the planner is a set of cards with Haapsalu shawl lace edging patterns. 

That's it! Now back to some regularly scheduled lace knitting, I guess. 

More vintage crochet from The Moody Knitter!

While at my family's summer residence for Midsummer Night, I also came across these two bunnies that were made by me when I was but a youngling. Well, when I say "came across" I actually mean that they hang out on the couch where I usually sleep, but I digress.

At the time I made these bunnies, I was not yet aware of the word amigurumi. I found the pattern in a book called "Väike lihavõtteraamat" (Little Book of Easter), which was written by Anne Karu and Liivi Soova and published in 1992. I would have been six or seven years old at the time. The book, which was published one year after the end of the Soviet era - a time when celebrating religious holidays was not really a thing - talks about the history of Easter and offers ideas for celebrating it, as well as recipes for Easter foods and some patterns for toys and other decorations. I loved reading the Little Book of Easter, but even more so the Little Book of Christmas, which had been published the year before. I read the book several times, so I can't be sure exactly when I made them, but they are for sure at least 20 years old.

The Moody Knitter also crochets!

Happy first day of summer! I have some days off work and I am spending Midsummer Night down South in my family's summer residence and since several little Amigurumi creatures that I made out of boredom or because I found the pattern cute have ended up here, I thought it would be fun to share these as well. These are all pretty old - I think I made them about six or seven years ago -, but I think they make for lovely little decorations.

From left to right: the squirrel is made after this pattern that I bought from Etsy. I used to be in a student organisation that had a squirrel as a mascot and I thought it would be nice for the squirrel to have a mascot of its own, too. As you can see, I didn't exactly choose the right size of hook for the job.

The pattern for the three birds (can you tell that one is a robin, one is a blue tit and the third one is a goldfinch?) was purchased from Ravelry and written by Ana Yogui. If I remember correctly, I used them as Christmas decorations at work and then brought them home with me for the holidays.

I think I made the little owl family around the same time, because I had a thing for crochet birds. I found the  free pattern for them here. 

State of the Project: Fleuriste cardigan, part V - the finale!

Woop woop, three weeks after casting it on, I finished the boring bits (e.g. sewing on the sleeves and the buttons) and blocked the cardigan last night! Oh by the way I bought new buttons because I ended up something that was  a little more natural looking than the acrylic dark blue ones. 

I have to give Sari Nordlund props for the pattern - I was very impressed with how much love and work had gone into it. I mean, she graded it for nine different sizes and included regular charts as well as written charts for the laced parts! I thought the instructions were very clear and she included links to videos showing how to do the three needle bind off for the shoulders. All in all, the pattern was well worth the price tag.

I also enjoyed learning a couple of new things as I was making the cardigan - like doing the aforementioned three needle bind off and using the mattress stitch to sew the sleeves to the body. I clearly still don't know how to make the button band look nice though.

Anyway, it's a real scorcher out there today and the weather is meant to stay warm, so I don't know when I will be able to wear this cardigan, but it's so pretty and I love it! :D

State of the Project: Fleuriste cardigan, part IV

AKA "This project must be cursed because I am an airhead", vol. ... idk, 4? 5?

I managed to finish one sleeve without any stuff-ups, but the other one didn't go as smoothly. You see, I was traveling from where I live to see my mom this past weekend and I did some knitting on the bus, but I misremembered where I left off so I stupidly skipped ahead 6 rounds when I picked the knitting up again once I was there. 

I got through a whole repeat of the sleeve pattern before I noticed my mistake and was not pleased in the slightest that I had to rip it up, but hey ho. 

State of the Project: Fleuriste cardigan, part III

I just finished the main part! Now all that remains is to make the sleeves, sew them on, sew on the buttons, hide the loose ends and block the garment. I tried it on and it fit, but was quite tight so I am wondering if I maybe should have gone for a size 3 instead of a size 2, but from what I've seen in the photos, it's meant to be quite a snug cardigan, and also there is meant to be 4 cm of positive ease.