I did knit a lot on Still in my Christmas holiday, I knitted the whole front. But now I have to re knit the back (tension problems) and I am so bored with it. No idea why this knit is so boring. I should probably stay away from simple stocking stitch sweaters for a while.

Maybe I should try some lace or cables or fair isle. I haven’t knitted much sweaters with interesting stitch patterns. Maybe this is a good idea for 2012, to make my knitting a bit more challenging.

I am really in love with the new Rowan magazine 51. I already bought it, and I would like to start a project asap. It’s really hard to choose this time, there are a lot of must haves in this magazine.

This is probably going to be my first knit (Frontier/Julia Frank). It could be a nice knit, I think. I’ve never knitted such a pattern before and I have the yarn in stash.

If only Still was done..

January

No knitting because of rsi-like pains. Sewed a skirt and started sewing a blouse.

February

Slowly working on the Olivia cardigan in Purelife British Sheep Breeds yarn.

March

White Rabbit Wristees from TinyOwlKnits.

Olivia from Kim Hargreaves.

April

Knitting Still from Kim Hargreaves.

Featherbed from Louisa Harding

May

Started the Paloma sweater from Kim Hargreaves in Pure Wool DK, but this didn’t work out at all. Gauge problems with Still. Started Ripple from Louisa Harding but knitting in the lovely Ondine cotton gives me pain in my hands.
A little bit bored with knitting.

June

Knitted the Robin hat.

July

Knitted the Fair Isle Yoke on my holiday to Sweden. First proper Fair Isle, I love it. I want to do more!

August

Fair Isle Yoke from A Stitch in Time with Robin from Kim Hargreaves.

A new Fair Isle project: the Halla sweater from the wonderful Nordic Tweed booklet from Rowan.

September

Side Slip Cloche from Boutique Knits.

October

Knitting on a lot of WIP’s.

November

Damson shawl from ysolda Teague.

Vintage Beret from Rowan magazine 44, my fastest knit ever.

December

Started the Plaid Jacket from A Stitch in Time vol 2.

A happy 2012 to you all! Thank you for all the nice comments and emails, and happy knitting!

I am really happy with my choice, the colors look really pretty together and it’s a great way to knit up some leftovers too!

I decided to purchase the Excelana yarn the pattern is knitted with for Simple – But So Attractive. Because this pullover is really a must have for me. The Excelana feels really nice in the skein. Compared to the Shetland it’s very soft, but it’s sturdier than a Merino yarn. It’s a pretty yarn in a really subtle way. I would call it a luxurious basic yarn.
I can’t wait to cast on, but I am already knitting three sweaters, so I am trying to wait!

Excelana is made from 75% Exmoor Blueface (Exmoor Horn crossed with a Bluefaced Leicester sheep, also called the Exmoor mule) and 25% Blue Faced Leicester. I love to know which sheep breeds my yarn is made from.
For the Plaid Jacket I am using leftovers from the Scottish tweed yarn from Rowan. And I was wondering if this yarn is also made from Shetland wool. It really resembles the Shetland Supreme, but it’s more loosely plied.

It’s Shetland Supreme jumper weight from Jamieson and Smith. The colour is called Yuglet and it’s a dark gray. It is an undyed yarn.

Definitely not a soft yarn, but it does feel nice in your hands in a different way. It feels strong and natural. I like it!

I did already swatch a little for this great jumper in the Stitch in Time vol 2 book:

I am not happy with my swatch, it’s too holey. It’s knitted on 3,75 mm needles, a smaller needle would be better. I also didn’t match the tension, so I have to use a smaller needle anyway. A bit surprising, because my sample of Excelana does look thicker than the Shetland yarn. But it’s a rib pattern, so it’s hard to measure. Maybe the Excelana is stretchier.
I will experiment further.
In the mean time I am knitting on Still. The second sleeve is almost done, now I have to restart the front (and frog the back and reknit it, but I am trying not to think about that).

I am still knitting though. I would really like to start a project from the second A Stitch in Time book. I would like to knit Simple – But So Attractive and the Tri-Cable Stitch Jumper first. I put yarn for one of the projects on my wishlist for Sinterklaas. I couldn’t refrain myself from asking which yarn my boyfriend had chosen to order, so I already know what it’s going to be: Shetland Supreme from Jamieson and Smith. I can’t wait to see how it looks! Shetland Supreme is undyed yarn. I ordered the Yuglet colour, and it’s hard to see on the screen if it’s brown or gray. But I like both.

I’ve never knitted with Shetland before, I think I will like it. I think it will be strong and warm.

Did I already mention the Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius? Kate Davies mentioned it on her blog, and I ordered it. This is a terrific book if you want to know more about different sheep breeds and the differences between the yarns they produce. It’s a really thick book with loads of information. I you like the Knitter’s book of Wool and The Knitter’s book of Yarn, you will like this too. I might even take up spinning, this book is really inspiring. But it’s really useful for knitter’s too.

I’ve already read all there is to know about the Shetland sheep.

I am trying to knit on the WIP’s I already have, and to not start a new project until my yarn arrives. I am somehow really bored by Halla (I feel a bit guilty about this, the yarn is super and the pattern too). But on the plus side I really feel like knitting on my other neglected WIP: Still in Rowan Calmer.

Rowan is discontinuing this yarn, and I am a bit sad about this. It’s a cotton/acrylic blend, and it’s really nice to work with because it’s super elastic. And that’s unusual for a summer yarn. I always thought this was one of Rowan’s classics and thought that it would always be there.

I am knitting the sleeves:

I’ve shortened the cuffs a little, because they looked ridiculously long on me. I am also shortening the sleeves, because a lot of Ravellers commented that they turned out a bit long.

I’ve also, for the first time in my life knitted a project in two days! I am a slow knitter, and accessories that take others a few days, can take me weeks. This is the Vintage Beret from Rowan 44. This project was so quick that I don’t have an in progress photo of it.

I couldn’t put this project down, the lace pattern is really addictive. The color is actually Teal, much prettier than in this photo.

I’ve knitted it in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK, and that’s a really nice yarn. I am not so in love with cashmere anymore as I used to be (it doesn’t wear well) but this is a very nice yarn to work with. This yarn was a leftover from my Willow vest, so I’ve also used up some stash yarn with this project.

I finished my Damson shawl, and it’s blocking now. Because my hands were already wet, I also blocked my Citron shawl. I finished that one almost two years ago, but somehow never came round to blocking it. It’s a shame, because I loved knitting it and I’m sure it will be nice to wear. I even bought a shawl pin especially for it.

I guess I’m not really a shawl person. I am happy with Damson now it’s done. I already wore it in front of the mirror, and the shape is really good. It stays on your shoulders without the need of a pin.

I didn’t like the yarn I knitted it with, Malabrigo sock. A very inelastic yarn, it didn’t feel like wool at all. Somehow my stitches kept sliding of the needles. I had to stop a lot of times to pick up stitches. This has never happened to me before. Maybe because it’s a slippery yarn it would behave better on wooden needles or lace needles instead of the Addi turbo’s I used.
But I’m not going to knit it with it again, it’s just not my type of yarn. But the color is fantastic! It sometimes looks like aubergine and sometimes like gray.

The postman made me very happy today! My Stitch in Time vol 2 arrived. I pre ordered this book last March, and now it’s finally there! I really like it. It’s a really big book, and contains 80 patterns.
I have already planned a few projects. I am now planning which yarns I would like to order…mmmm…I love new knitting books.
Because I pre ordered early I also got a sample of the Excelana yarn, and it feels very nice. Soft, but strong. I think I will order it. I am also thinking about ordering Jamieson and Smith’s Shetland Surpreme. It’s undyed Shetland wool, the colors are wonderful.

A lot of the Stitch in Time patterns are already on Ravelry. The  ”Simple – But so Attractive”  pullover and “Tri-Cable Stitch Jumper” (this is a cardigan, actually) are my favorites.

It has an iron wood heater and also an iron stove, although the last one is not really in use anymore. It was all very 19th century.
We had our own bedroom in the former grain barn.

We were very lucky with the weather, lots of sun, excellent weather for walking. There were mountains everywhere.

I’ve never been on a holiday in autumn before. There were such beautiful colors. The few leaves that were left were yellow and orange, the grass was brown, orange and green, the sky blue. Norway is kind of a rough country, rocky mountains everywhere. The houses seemed very small next to the enormous mountains.

I am very curious how it will look in the winter, when there’s snow everywhere. And in summer, there are lots of wild flowers then. Hopefully we will visit again some day.

We also went fishing in the fjord. It turned out that Mark is quite a good fisherman, he caught three herrings! We ate them for dinner, I’ve never tasted such fresh fish before.

I did some knitting too, I worked on Damson, and I am now working on the lace border. It’s a slow project, lots of tiny stitches and the yarn is quite slippery. But 20 more rows and it will be done.

I’ve restarted a frogged project. It’s the Damson shawl from Ysolda Teague. Last time I didn’t like the fabric I created, too loose. But somehow I never could find another shawl I wanted to knit from the yarn (Malabrigo sock, Eggplant).This yarn really needs to be a Damson.

I still like the pattern, so I restarted it as a car and travel knit.
Just like last time I find the shawl easier to knit without the stitch markers. It’s easy to see when you need to make the yarn overs, after you’ve done the first few rows.

I am using the same size needles as last time, but I think I am knitting a little tighter. The garter stitch looks a lot better.

I am also working on Halla, but it is slow. I am knitting the ribbing of the front, and somehow this ribbing is really slow to knit. It takes forever. But I am nearly there now.

I am at that point that every sweater has, when it’s not new and exciting anymore and there’s also still a lot of work to do before you get the feeling that it’s almost done.
I think that’s why you always start new projects, because you want that excitement back. I am trying to restrain myself, because I’ve already a lot of wip’s (7!)

One wip is hibernating and needs to be frogged (Baxter mitts, my color combination is not right, two dark colors), one is ready but still needs to be blocked (Cloche hat), three are in fact hibernating: Still (might pick this one up after Halla), the Fleece shawl (lace, I somehow always get stuck on lace knits, I don’t like to count while I knit) and Ripple (in cotton, still hard on my hands).

It feels good to knit up a stash yarn with Damson. It would be good to knit more from my stash, but I am not going to make a rule of it. Because it always gets boring when there are too many rules.

Finally past the fair isle part on the Halla sweater, so I could see how the colors work together. And it looks just like I pictured it in my head.
Fair isle is fun!

Halla is not a fast knit (not for me at least), but this is partly because I added 10 cm to the length. I am glad there is some progress at last.

Maybe I’ll long to knit something in black after this is finished.

I made my first jam today of wild berries: sloes, hawthorn berries, and rose hips. We harvested them two days ago and I kept them in the freezer for two nights. I was really curious if it would work out, I’ve never made jam before. But it tastes really good. It is  fun to do, although a lot of work, I think I will make more next year.

This is the result (didn’t have enough jars, so one of them has to be eaten right away, not really a problem):

My Halla sweater is going well, I really like the way the colors work together. I will add least 5 cm to the length, I don’t want all my sweaters to be so short, because I love low waisted pants.

And I bought some nice second hand books for cheap. Those are Verkade albums, they were very popular in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 20th century. You could collect pictures for them. The albums I bought are not complete, but Jac.P. Thijsse’s texts are a good read. He really makes you enthusiastic about nature. The album on the left is not the real thing, but a reprint from the 70′s, but the other two are from the thirties. I love old books, they make me wonder about the past (and they smell nice).

My biggest achievement of today? I started running a few months ago and today I ran for 22 minutes! I didn’t know I could do it.