Entering the realm of machine knitting

 Some weeks back I attended a course in machine knitting and I must say I am hooked! This scarf on the picture above I knitted in 2 hours instead of two weeks that it would have probably taken me by hand.

 

We made our own patterns using the punchcard system on the course and I made both this bird pattern and the above seen dragonfly pattern.

 The machines we used in the course were all Brother machines and after much pondering and wondering I bought my own used Brother knitting machine. The above knitted piece with bird pattern I knitted on my own machine that I got to work after a thorough clean up and some fixing with the help from youtube tutorials. I am so excited to see that it seems to be working!

 

 My cozy knitting studio on the kitchen table :)

View from underneath the knitting machine carriage. I had to use all my engineer genes I have from my grandfather to work out how to fix some of the springy thingys underneath the carriage. With the help of youtube and some DIY engineering it seems to now be working!

Tröja Lilah in Blueberry forest

Summer days are great days for knitting, finally a finished project! I adore the colour on this cardigan and although the motifs are a bit peculiar I am happy with how it turned out. I had intended to make it in a much bigger size but the lace took up much more yarn than I had anticipated so this is probably the the tightest yoke I have ever done, fortunately it fits nicely because it stretches so much.

I knitted the Lilah cardigan with Garnstudio Drops Alpaca yarn in the color denim (number 8120) using double threads on 4mm needles. 

 This is probably the best button row ever, something always happens when I knit the final edges and I have to fix them many times to get it right, this time it turned out perfect. Well almost perfect, you can't really see it from this picture but I lost the last ninth button and had to sew on a larger button instead... 

Some summer meditation by the lake, planning the next knitting project...

Winter wonderfulness in knitted lace mittens, a sweater and a green wool coat

I knitted these lace mittens with Drops Alpaca in raspeberry red. I used 3 mm needles, the lace motif on the upper side of the mittens are the same as in the Audrey cardigan, I really like the small bobbles. I think the mittens are too chilly to wear as such and I am knitting simple mittens in stocking stitch in Drops Alpaca light camel to wear with them underneath.

Knitted Sweater 

I chose a very classic motif for this knitted wool sweater, the colours are quite demanding so I felt it was best to keep the style quite simple. I used Cascade Heather Birch and Pacific, the darker petrol is Drops Alpaca Mix turquois/blue and the undyed natural wool yarn is Aholaidan Suomenlampaan villaa. The sweater was knitted in the round on circular needles 5mm and 4mm.

The pattern for this sweater can be found on Ravelry

A Green Wool Coat

I always have trouble finding a nice winter jacket (I am not a big fan of black) so I decided to make my own. I used wool fabric in green for the outside and for the inner lining raspeberry red wool fabric and a fleece layer in between to make it extra warm. i took the pattern from an old Burda magazine, the pattern was for a classic duffle coat but I altered it a bit. It was really fun to make and think about all the details, I knew I wanted big pockets and a big hood. The whole thing took about a week to make.

I wanted to make some emroidered details and chose wool yarns in different red shades. The fabric is quite dense so it was a bit tricky to det the needle through, took some time but I am happy with the result!

I wanted to make some embroidered details and chose wool yarns in different red shades. The fabric is quite dense so it was a bit tricky to get the needle through, took some time but I am happy with the result! I found the perfect coloured buttons in the handicraft paradise Karnaluks in Tallinn, they are a bit kitschy but I like that it doesn´t get too serious.

The big hood was an absolute must and I sew some fake fur for extra softness around the edge.

Neule pudotetuilla silmukoilla

Neuloin pinkin kesäneuleen Novitan Miami ja Kaste langoista 7mm puikoilla. Malli on hyvin simppeli,  sileää neuletta ja pudotetut silmukat etu- ja takakappaleessa. 

 Neuloin suljettuna pyöröneuleena hihoihin asti, jatkoin etu- ja takakappaleen neulomista edestakaisin ja vähensin silmukoita pääntietä ja hihoja varten. Aivan lopussa ennen pääntien päättelemistä purin yhden silmukkarivin etukappaleessa ja kolme silmukkariviä takakappaleessa. Ompelin olkasaumat yhteen ja poimin silmukoita hihoja varten 7mm sukkapuikoille ja neuloin suljettuna neuleena. 

7mm puikoilla työ sujui todella nopeasti!

Novitan Miami ja Kaste langan yhdistelmä antaa neuleelle kimmeltävän pinnan mutta tuntuu todella pehmeältä ja on sopivan viileä.

Takakappaleessa on kolme pudotettua silmukkariviä, jokaisen rivin välissä on yksi "ehjä" silmukkarivi.

 Etukappaletta koristaa keskellä yksi rivi pudotettuja silmukoita.