State of the Project: Suolaulu sweater, part I aka That's a lot of Emotions for a Sweater :D

As I mentioned in Tuesday's post, I cast on the Suolaulu sweater on Monday evening! 

Here's what happened...

After seeing the yarn and pattern sets on the Nurja IG and deciding that ordering a set from Finland was a bit too pricey for me, I spent some time thinking about my own stash and decided to use the natural white Kihnu native sheep's wool yarn that I bought when I visited the island earlier this month as the main colour. I do have other, coloured fingering weight yarns in my stash, but nothing that seemed suitable to use as the contrasting colour. The colours of the Retrosaria Pegulhal yarn in the sets are all very natural and fit in with the swamp theme, so I wanted something that was earthy AF. Inspired by Estonian Seto patterns, which traditionally use red and white (representing life force and light, accordingly), and also by the fact that traditional Kihnu knitwear patterns always contain some red (to protect the wearer from evil), I decided to look for a red shade. 

I turned to the e-shop of the publishing house that printed the Haapsalu scarf and shawl books. They also sell yarns and needles that they consider suitable for traditional Estonian handcraft. I couldn't pick a shade right away, so I ordered three different yarns: a cranberry red one and a madder red one from Aade Lõng, an Estonian yarn manufacturer, and a pure red one from a Norwegian company called Rauma Ullvarefabrikk.

Here they all are: 

I decided I liked the cranberry red one the most, and it also went very well with the swamp theme, so that's what I went with. The next step was winding the hanks of yarn into balls, which I spent the better part of Saturday night doing. I don't have the right equipment of course, so I had to improvise: 

The yarn I bought from Kihnu is also earthy AF. It made my living room smell a bit like a barn (which I don't mind, I like sheep) and it feels just a bit lanolin-y still, but I was very worried that I would mess up the hank or cause it to felt by washing it, so I decided to just wind it, make the sweater and wash that - I'm going to have to wet block it anyway.  Here is the end result:

Jenna the designer actually commented on the picture when I posted it on my IG, saying she thought it looked like cranberries on snow, which I definitely agree with!

On Monday, I started checking Jenna's Ravelry store for the pattern as soon as I woke up, and luckily I didn't have to wait very long - it was posted pretty early in the morning and I was super excited and happy about that. I began knitting the sweater later that night and worked on it for most of Tuesday. I also took it to work with me yesterday and today and even managed to make a fair bit of progress, because the shifts were relatively quiet (I mean, you're not really allowed to use the q-word in my profession, but my shift is over, so I think it's okay?). I am currently about halfway done with the colourwork portion of the body: 

Almost Weekend Project: Kiuru Hat.

Yes I did buy the pattern for the Suolaulu sweater and cast it on yesterday, but before that I thought I would be a good idea to knock off one more item from my to-knit list: the Kiuru hat by Sari Nordlund (I think I am turning into a stan). 

It was a quick and easy knit and the cables were not daunting at all. I cast it on on Saturday morning and finished it last night. I would definitely have finished it over the weekend if I hadn't been working Saturday. The yarn I used was the same Drops Flora in the colourway Petrol that I used for the Fleuriste cardi. The hat soft and light and thus probably more suitable for the autumn than the winter, and that's perfect because I have a matching autumn jacket. 

State of the Project: Fleuriste Socks, Part II: the Finale :-)

As I wrote a few days ago, I finished the lovely Fleuriste socks and used the stretchers I bought to block them. 

Here's what they looked like before blocking: 

And here is what they looked like after blocking: 

And here they are on the feet of yours truly:

I am also happy to report that the red yarns I ordered arrived yesterday and I think I managed to decide which one I am going to use for the Suolaulu sweater in combination with the natural white one :-)

Plans and More Plans.

I just finished the Fleuriste socks (there will be before and after pictures once I've blocked them) and of course I am already planning my next projects. 

After giving it some thought, I decided to skip on the cardi with my name for now, because I'm kind of scared of steeking tbh, and also knitting button holes and sewing buttons is a pain. Instead, I will focus on completing unfinished projects:

- the Wayne sweater, which still needs half of the body and the sleeves

- the Haapsalu scarf, which still needs the edge to be sewn onto the middle part, and blocking

Also on my list of stuff I have planned:

- the Kiuru Hat, for which I intend to use leftover Flora yarn

- the Rose Blush vest, for which I already bought the Sky yarn

- a Christmas present

And yes, I am also planning to make the Suolaulu sweater, but I decided to go about it in a slightly different way, namely to use the natural white yarn I bought from Kihnu as the base and knit the pattern with a red yarn. And true to form, I ordered three different red yarns to see which one I like best: a cranberry red, a madder red and a pure red one. The pattern will be published on the designer's Ravelry page on Monday the 24th and I am already quite excited about it!

State of the Project: Fleuriste socks, part I, and new temptations.

I am happy to report that the socks are coming along nicely. Knitting the heel from the bottom up was a little weird, but the German short row technique was fast and easy and I think I may actually prefer it this way. I am currently working on the leg part and I should be able to finish and block the socks before my vacation is over. 

In other news, I started following a Finnish yarn shop called Nurja who came out with the most gorgeous set consisting of yarn and a sweater pattern designed by Jenna Kostet. The sweater is called Suolaulu (Swamp Song) and is inspired by the third poem in the Finnish national epic, Kalevala. It speaks to my Fenno-Ugric soul! The colours of the yarn they chose for the sets (Retrosaria Pegulhal, 100% wool, fingering weight) are gorgeous and definitely evoke a swampy atmosphere. No wonder the sets sold out so fast.

I was super duper tempted to buy a set, but the cost of the delivery from Finland is a bit steep (which I don't blame the store for, that's literally what Itella charges), so I may buy the yarn locally and get the pattern from Jenna's Ravelry store. 

Garnstudio Drops has also began publishing their fall/winter patterns and this lovely pattern called Harvest Queen caught my eye, but I think I like Suolaulu more and once again, how many sweaters does a person really need?

A New Project: Fleuriste Socks.

Yesterday was Haapsalu Lace Day, a festival dedicated to showcasing the work of Haapsalu's master knitters and introducing the art of lace knitting to the general public. I was toying with the idea of going, but having to take a nearly 200 km detour to Haapsalu because there is no direct bus route between here and there (a distance of 107 km) and the fact that attending big public events may not be the greatest idea at this time deterred me from going.

Instead, I decided to have my own Lace Day and finally got the second lace edge of my Haapsalu scarf off the needles! I was too tired to start faffing about with sewing it to the middle part and blocking the scarf (yes I do own a blocking frame), but I did have enough energy to cast on these lovely pair of Fleuriste socks designed by Sari Nordlund, which uses the same basic pattern as the very lovely Fleuriste cardigan. The pattern was published as part of Sari Nordlund's summer sock KAL and although the other socks in the KAL were not exactly my cup of tea, I of course had to make these. I am using Alize Superwash and short 2.5 mm needles from KnitPro.  

This is the first time I have knit a pair of socks toe-up, and I was excited to learn a new technique for creating a seamless toe: Judy's Magic Cast-On. Can you see how seamless the toe is?!? Love that for me. 

There's a Cardigan with My Name!

I recently happened on an Instagram post by Laine Magazine, which is a big Scandinavian knitting and lifestyle magazine, depicting a beautiful Norwegian kofte style cardigan bearing my name! And no, it's not Moody, it's this. 

Err, I guess that means I have to knit it now?

The pattern was first published in Laine Magazine, but I also found it on the designer's Ravelry page and of course I bought it. I'm not sure when I'm going to make it, since my queue of of items for which I have bought the patterns but have not made yet has now grown to four beautiful knits, but hey ho! I may even use the yarn I bought from Kihnu as the main colour. 

On another note, I also found patterns for socks and mittens with my name on Ravelry :-)

 

The Moody Knitter also sews! Or well, sewed. That one time.

Seeing as I just bought a new knitting needle bag, I thought I would show one that I made myself a few years ago. Now, I don't sew and thus I also don't own a sewing machine, but saw the picture of a cute bag for keeping knitting stuff shared in a craft group on Facebook and decided to find out how to make it. I found the tutorial on the blog Momentos de Costura: http://momentosdecostura.blogspot.com/2016/10/tutorial-bolsas-guarda-labores-de.html

I did the measuring and the cutting and the drawing of diagonal lines on the fabric at home and took the bag with me when I went down South to my family's summer residence, because our neighbour has a sewing machine and was kind enough to let me use it. After a few hours of sewing and cussing, this is what I ended up with:

And here it is from the side: 

I was quite pleased with myself, but I don't think I will be sewing anything else anytime soon. 

Mini Craft Haul!

This weekend, I visited the island of Kihnu, a place that is renowned for its rich cultural space, which was included in UNESCO's list of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003. 

In addition to other facets of the island's cultural heritage such as the local cuisine (which is mostly fish-based, but Kihnu bread tastes amazing and yes I did also eat seal when I was there) and folk music, Kihnu is also pretty well known for its traditional handcrafted clothes and accessories, which the locals still wear every day. The best known examples of these - at least to me - are the ankle length skirts (made from handwoven fabric which is typically predominantly red and striped like the little fridge magnet pictured below), belts and gloves/mittens (traditionally knit from fine white and blue yarn and covered with intricate patterns).

Kihnu also has a very old native sheep breed, so of course I had to buy a skein of yarn from local sheep while I was there. It's undyed and has a distinct smell of lanolin and I can imagine using it to make a lovely pair of socks. I also got a knitting needle bag from a local crafter.