Paris was a bit misty this time, at least the first couple of days. Have a real close look:

Yes, that is the Eiffel tower a little  to the right in the horizon - view from the top of the Centre Pompidou. We (my best friend and fellow-fiber-freak and I) spent alsmost a whole day there going to the different exhibitions. A new way of displaying more contemporary artwork by grouping them into themes instead of by artists (the Big Bang exhibition) was very interresting. Impressing, really. And if you want to explore the thrilling and humorous world of dada-ism, this is the place. And lots, lots more. Only the building itself is so worth seeing.

And here is another venue absolutely worth visiting while in Paris. (At least if you have the slightest interrest in fibers, ribbons, beads, and all imaginable related items.... ;) ):

And buttons. Everything. We spent a long time just looking and playing mind-games of what wonderful creations could emerge from all these delicious ingredients. But to even try to purchase anything in here is a whole different story. You have to stand in line. You would be absolutely better off being fluent in french, which I am not, but it helps knowing a few words, especially being able to count in french and to give the desired amount of grams or meters in french. After having told the right Madame what you want, she will get it from downstairs - or somewhere (at least the yarn), bring it up, weigh it and direct you to another Madame who actually stands in a cage! She will receive your payment. And finally hand the yarn over to you. And if you thought this was a long journey towards a happy new purchase; -  you ain't seen nothin' yet!

Because in order to get the ultimate yarn-purchasing experience  -  you need to take a trip to Le Bon Marché. Oh la la.
This is a true parisian departement store. So luxurious, so expencive, so interresting just to watch the whole scene. No - I did not buy a new wardrobe there. I got me 3 skeins of yarn. Toodidoo!
The yarn departement is on the top floor. It has a wide range of brands, Rowan, Noro, Phildar, Anny Blatt, Bouton d'or, and even 2 skeins of Colinette, my friend bought the entire stock (of Colinette, that is ;)). The yarn was so neatly and wonderfully displayed - in black shelves and with flattering spotlights above. (Black shelves - I must remember that  when I open my own yarn store...) I think it must have been all the spots that made it so hot in there... But it was delightful just to walk along the shelves, look, fondle and dream...

I found myself some cashmere. I really wanted it - just a few grams to make me a little scarf. 3 skeins, 25 grams each. So I stand in line. And stand in line. All those spots. Really hot. After a long time I get to talk to the Madame. I tell her what I want. She writes it down and asks me politely to wait. And she is gone. For a while. Comes back with the yarn and I am relieved - finally I can get out into the fresh air! So hot in there. But no. Then she writes down on another piece of paper the amount of yarn and the price. Directs me politely to the cashier. Over I go. Another line. I stand in line, I pay for my yarn and then I have to go back to Madame again and show her my receit. Fortunately she was available at that point - otherwise it would be another line before finally being able to pick up my yarn.
Here they are - those hard-to-get and lovely bundles of fiber (actually I got 2 of the brown one..):

And using the Debbie Bliss pattern from Scarf Style, with my own twist to the stripes,  I have casted on my luxurious bon-marché-scarf:



So soft, my very, very first cashmere project. I have to touch it all the time, I really can't believe the softness and warmth of this fiber! A true oh-la-la experience!

I have a couple of other pictures from Paris to show, a little more yarn and a building I found so impressive. But that'll have to wait until tomorrow or one of the days...

Finally - here are some pictures of the mohair wrap...I have sort of been busy lately, there are a lot of pictures waiting to be posted. Keywords: Paris. Yarn.

But today - here she is - the wrap/shawl/cardi which I am very pleased with, so light and soft:

details:

yarn: alessandra super kid seta (70 % mohair / 30 % silk - very similar to rowan KSH) 25 g pr. skein, used a little bit more than 4 skeins. shade: 368, dark olive
needles: 5 mm addi turbos, circular
pattern source: Design Strik by Jytte Slente
model: mohair wrap

More posts. More pictueres. More yarn. Paris. Very. Soon.

But my blogging is a bit slow these days...The main reason being no new FOs to show, and the reason for that is a lot of other things to do - BUT this afternoon I will finish the Jytte Slente wrap so she'll be so lucky to go with me. To where? To there. The yellow spot in the middle.Tomorrow morning I'm on my way! Can't wait!  Next posts are garuanteed to have photos of what I've been up to!

I heard him this morning. Through the heavy rain. The little nasty green creature. "Ripit ripit ripit". I tried to fight. I measured and measured. The first sleeve. The gauge. Too tight. Measured stitches. Measured rows. Too tight. I never knit too tight. Never. But it's too tight. Splendour. No no no. Ripit ripit ripit. The frog won. But Splendour will rise again. Just taking a break. Ripit ripit ripit.

I am working on all my projects. A little here and a little there. No more FOs yet... but I am eventually getting there. There has been some lightweight mohair knitting going on - the Jytte Slente wrap - I confess - it takes soooo long to do all this garter knitting with such a thin yarn - but I see the light now - at the end of the tunnel. Here is the body - and believe me - it is long! - and to the left - a bit more than a 1/2 sleeve:

I would go insane if someone forced me to only knit this - with no variation inbetween. I am a big fan of inbetween knitting. So my Splendour is doing great - inbetween:

It's knitted sideways and here is the first sleeve. I am just starting the increases to shape the body. I really love knitting this - both the yarn and the pattern where something is "going on" all the time...increases, decreases... great events that add exitement to a knitters day! (Don't worry - I also have a non-knitting life..)

And - no surprise, I guess!  - almost a whole week passed since my last post and of course I started yet another project. A quick one, hopefully. Big needles (10 mm) and the fantastic somewhat bulky Noro Kochoran. And a little bit of thin alpaca:

It's going to become the Sursa shawl from CT Hamiltons book 2. (I read, btw, on her site that book 3 is out now...) The pattern calls for silk garden, double stranded and cash iroha for the ruffle (cash iroha is discontinued now, I think? - but still available many places - on ebay among others..) I am using only one strand of the kochoran since it's bulkier than silk garden and I will use the alpaca, double stranded for the ruffle. Here we go:



This is yarn heaven. Kochoran...mmmm.....

I did a little swatching. For Arisaig. Using black alpaca from Garnstudio. First I gave it a try with 3 mm needles, sort of hoping I could use that "big" needles....But no - it was quite a bit off gauge - too lose. So I thought I might have to go all the way down to 2 mm - oh what a tiny little knit that would be...But I decided to try 2,5 mm first - and I landed right on gauge! Knitting in black is a bit of a challenge, I think- because it's hard to see the stitches - but this yarn is so wonderful - it has an incredible sheen - so I think it is well worth it. Here is how the swatch turned out:

And yes, that is a dropped stitch up to the right!..I will have to pay more attention when I get to the REAL knitting!  After knitting Birch I really find myself wanting to knit more lace - so I think I will be casting on quite soon - to have som lace to do "inbetween"...

Inbetween the dozen of other projects... like Splendour who's now got 1/3 of a sleeve:

I have never knitted using Rowan Kid Classic before. It's a new friend of mine. I absolutely adore her (him?!). So soft but yet firm and with just the right amount of fuzz. Love it, love it, love it!!

I'm out of bed and back in business again... Thank you to those who wished me well - it was really a nasty virus but it's gone now! While being ill I did some knitting - and  I seamed up Rachels Bolero! And I'm quite pleased with it, too! I knit it up on a bit smaller needles - 8 mm (pattern says 9 mm) -  which made it quite fitted - but I'm ok with that - because the fabric seems to stretch a bit... well ribbing always does...So here she is:

details:

yarn: one strand of 123 silk-tweed, shade "forårsgrøn", 100 g pr. skein, used a bit more than 3 1/2 skeins, - and one strand of rowan kidsilk haze, shade "jelly", 25 g pr. skein, used 2 1/2 skeins
needles: 8 mm, circular
pattern source: 123knit.com, pattern available both with a yarn kit or alone to download
model: rachels bolero, design by rachel søgård

So- having finished this I want to cast on to something new... of course while still knitting on my present UFOs... Why don't knitters come with 4 hands??! Or 6?!

Right now I am discussing with myself which one of these two I should at least swatch for this weekend:
1. This lovely cardi from latest Knitty... - I want to make it using black alpaca from Garnstudio. I don't know if it will work, gauge-wise - so I really need to make a swatch.

Or - should I start this one..I think really the question is: should I start it today or in a couple of days -because  I really can't wait to knit this one:

Observant readers may remember that I put in an order for this one a couple of weeks ago. I'll have to wait another couple of weeks for it because the "camouflage" shade is out of stock at the moment. After ordering it I also couldn't resist this one - so here we are...  I guess I should take it easy for a while, now, yarn-shopping-wise...Ever heard a knitter rambling over this theme before???! ;)

...with a high fever, fatigue and couphing... This blogger is ill! So there is not much going on - the last two days I managed to reach the coach and my knitting, and I actually did some stitches... I will be back posting regularly when this furious virus has left me alone... For the time being - take a look at the link below. Fever-fantasy? - or maybe a future project? ;)

Christmas gift for your man this year? (scroll up!)

When you don't like the rules - change them!! Hihi. I am not totally sticking to my plan of finishing 4 projects before casting on to something new... I slightly modified my plan... so now the rule is at least to finish one before starting one... Good rule, or??! So - after finishing Birch I casted on and made some rounds of the Marianne Isager Ribbluse:

It's ribbing. It's thin, fingering weight wool. Dull knitting? No! absolutely, I think not - in fact I think this is quite close to what I would consider "the ultimate knitting experience". It's so real, it's so basic and this yarn and bamboo needles together make the knitting feel so wonderfully firm and natural in my hands. I love it! So I keep returning to it - inbetween the other projects - It will for sure be my "inbetween-project" this fall - while indulging in some other, not so time-consuming knits.

Therefore -after finishing Klaralund i allowed myself to return to the green KSH from which I made my Birch. I had a little more than 1/2 a skein left over. So what do I do? I find a project for which I need this left-over + another two skeins of it... So - I take a big chance ordering this wonderful green yarn, hoping that it would go well together with the green KSH in order to make Rachels Bolero. The lovely danish blogger Nanna offers it as a kit in her online store. I wanted a green one, which is not available as a kit so I went ahead and ordered the silk-tweed, hoping it would become good friends with my kidsilk haze. Well the silk-tweed arrived on saturday - and they are not only good friends - they were made for each other!! Look at this:

and together now:

My green and green-loving eyes went bananas and I jumped to the needles and got started:



This last picture is not fair to the colors - they are indeed more like in the picture above.
So here I am, greening away...

Finished! Mini-Klaralund is done! My 10 yo is very happy about it, the colors and the shape - but complains about the SCRATCHING!!
She's sort of sensitive to that - but having a longsleeved top underneath will solve that problem, I'm sure. And I know Silk Garden gets abit better scratch-wise after a couple of gentle washings.
So here they are - my two babys:



details:

yarn: Noro silk garden shade #8, 50 g 7 1/2 skeins
needls: 5 mm circular, bamboo
pattern source: C.T. Hamilton book 2
model: Klaralund
modifications: made an xs-size by substracting from size s; the amount of stitches between size s and m
+ seamed the back edges together 4 cm to avoid the sleeves of sliding down over the shoulders.

a couple of more pictures:

Now I also want one ;)