Summer Stripes – finished

I changed my mind. I'm not going to sell this one. Dear Daughter S in Umeå got all amazed, so this shawl will find its way up the country to help her cope with the rest of the winter.

/Maia

Summer Stripes – waiting

Summer Stripes – waiting, originally uploaded by Maia Andréasson.

I can't help myself. Here it is again. Waiting.
/Maia

Summer Stripes shawl – almost there

Summer Stripes shawl – in progress Originally uploaded by Maia Andréasson

This weekend I will be blocking again. My Summer Stripes shawl is completed. And the photo is just a teaser. The shawl is lovely, and will be for sale.

/Maia

Sneak peak

Förutom den vackra Hélène de Troie-sjalen som ska lottas ut kommer jag att ta med en stor bunt med mobilfodral till Montessoris bazar i morgon på Brattåsskolan i Kållered. 17:30–20.00 blir det försäljning och lotterier. Här får ni en sneak peak på lite handarbetsgodis. Det som blir över kommer att säljas på internet. Håll ögonen öppna!
/Maia

Apart from the beautiful Helen of Troy shawl to be a lottery, I will bring a big stack of cell phone cozys to the Montessori bazaar tomorrow at Brattåsskolan in Kållered. 17:30 to 20:00 there will be sales and lotteries. Here's a sneak peak at some home made goodies. After the bazaar the rest of the cozys will be sold on the internet. Stay tuned for that!
/ Maia

Green Retro iPhone cozy

Crocheted mobile cozys

Blue Flowers iPhone cozy

Crocheted mobile cozys 

Brown Retro iPhone Cozy

Hélène de Troie

Winter white

One large but very light and soft winter white knitted shawl, with a frill at the bottom.

Close-up on the lace pattern and the frill ending. I came up with the pattern myself, and I call it Reykjavik, after the first shawl with this pattern that you will get to see here tomorrow.

It is large. But thin enough to wrap around your neck, if you like.

/Maia

PS. The shawl was not this thin and nice at first when I knitted it, see the picture here where it looks more like a sweater. But by washing it and ironing it the lace pattern emerged.

Correct

In English the word correct may be interpreted both as a verb (to correct something) and an adjective (that's correct). I have been redoing the edge of this shawl over and over again. I want it to be just right. Correct.

But it is not until I actually see how a new edge looks like with the body of the shawl that I realise that it is not the optimal one. So I have to redo it. Correct. Again.

/Maia

Apple cozy

DD Julia asked for an apple cozy inspired by this one at Pyssel. So, I made one yesterday. Ad lib.

The pencil button makes it a little more like the apple you give to the teacher, doesn't it?

And the pencil button is also fixed so that you don't lose the upper part.

/Maia

Hélène de Troie

Helen of Troy. The beautiful.

It was actually a really beautiful woman named Helena that inspired me to crochet this sideways pineapple shawl. At a parent's meeting, she saw one of my big crocheted pineapple shawls and talked about not being able to make one for herself. Well, I said, I can make one for the class bazaar in December.

And here it is. Hélène de Troie. I made it in some heavy Egyptian cotton that I had in my stash and it came out just nice for a little wrap.

This little shawl will be the price of a lottery at the Montessori Bazaar in December at Brattåsskolan, Kållered. Isn't it lovely?

Update 2010-11-25: And – believe it or not – it was indeed Helena who won the shawl. Amazing!

/Maia

Hup, hup Oransje!

The Swedish football (soccer) team did not do well against the Netherlands in the qualification to the European cup – or whatever – this Wednesday, but as the Netherlands did a very good game I'd like to present the Oransje scarf.

The scarf is in a soft mohair wool that I bought a long, long time ago, so this is part of my stash project. The lace ending is from another quality of wool, and a bit flimsy, but suits well with the softness of the mohair.

My model, A, would never ever wear one of these scarves for real, because she seems to be allergic to any kind of wool. She even gets rash from the woollen neck strap that she has got for her alto saxophone. She had to cut out a small cotton patch to protect the skin while she is playing!

Now, this scarf is going to be on the market! I am going to sell it and give the money to the girl's 90/99 football (soccer) team of Kållered's Sports Club (KSK). Stay posted!

/Maia

Small, quick projects

When I traveled to and from Denmark 2007–2008 I bought a lot of yarn. Much of it is cotton, since mercerised cotton is really cheap in Denmark, don't ask me why. I also bought discount yarn whenever I found something interesting. Like this one. Rosa means 'pink' both in Swedish and in Danish.

This yarn has given me trouble ever since. But when I heard that my niece had mixes a fluffy yarn with cotton, I tried adding a thin cotton to this wool mix and I was home.

With pins number 15, I knitted a small scarf very quickly. My youngest daughter will not wear it, since she has inherited her father's severe wool antipathy. So maybe I'll just sell it and give the money to her soccer team? It is really soft and lovely.

I also crocheted a small beanie friend for my daughter to have when she watches TV, instead of biting her nails...

...and a couple of hearts from the same yarn that I used for the Red gooseberry and Red currant scarves. All this to reduce the stash and use even the small balls of yarn. 

They are filled with soy beans. I had some in a cupboard in the kitchen, and I'm really not going to eat it so it's good that it comes to use. My dear husband suggested that I'd fill them with coffee beans instead, for the lovely smell. I think whole wheat would be great, because then you can heat them up in the microwave.

/Maia

Helping hands

In my aim to empty my stash of yarn dear sister and dear niece have taken to crocheting some beautiful shawls for themselves. Helping hands are always appreciated.



Dear niece chose a smaller version. Maybe due to lack of material in the right colours. But this size is indeed more handy and may be used as a scarf around the neck.



Dear sis has not yet finished her beautiful shawl in the most beautiful aquarelle nuances.



/Maia
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Progress

Jag virkar vidare. / I crochet away.


/Maia

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Pineapple shawl to be

Detta, kära vänner, är underlaget för ytterligare en ananassjal. Om jag bara får de trassliga härvorna utredda och nystade. / This, my friends, is going to be yet another pineapple shawl. As soon as I get the tangled skeins untangled.

/Maia

Small crocheted bag

På lediga stunder (det vill säga när jag behöver något som ännu mindre kräver uppmärksamhet av min hjärna än garnslukaren) har jag virkat en liten väska som kan användas för att förvara några äpplen eller lökar. Eller smutsig tvätt (men äpplen ser bättre ut på kort). / On my spare time (that is when I need something more mindless than the yarn eater I have crocheted a small bag to carry some apples or onions. Or dirty laundry (but I prefer apples for the photo).

/Maia

Yarn eater finished!

Garnslukaren blev till slut ganska bra. Min kära syster donerade ett litet nystan med mörkblå bomull och jag kompromissade och använde två nystan med något tyngre garn i slutet, så jag fick den mörka tonen rätt hela vägen till slutet. Det är verkligen svårt att uppskatta hur mycket garn jag behöver för varje rad, och de sista två raderna var jag tvungen att ändra färg i mitten av raden, men jag tror inte att det egentligen syns så särskilt mycket.
/The yarn eater turned out pretty well. My dear sister donated a small ball of dark blue cotton and I compromised and used two balls of slightly heavier yarn by the end, so I got the dark tone right all the way to the end. It is indeed quite hard to estimate how much yarn you need for each row, and the last couple of rows I had to change colour in the middle of the row, but I don't think anyone actually can tell.

Sedan bilden togs har jag fäst alla trådar. / Since this picture was taken I have secured all the loose threads. 

Storleken på sjalen är underbar. En bra sjal ska alltid kunna nå från fingerspets till fingerspets när armarna är utsträckta, och från axeln ner över armbågen när du har den om axlarna. I alla fall om du vill att den ska vara ett alternativ till en filt på en sval sommarnkväll. / The size of the shawl is wonderful. A good shawl should always be able to reach from fingertip to fingertip when your arms are stretched out and go from your shoulder down covering your elbow when it is wrapped around your shoulders. That is if you want it to be an alternative to a blanket on a chilly summer's night.

Nästa garnslukare är på god väg. Den kommer att bli mindre och jag virkar den i rosa nyanser och en del bruna linjer, och om min yngsta dotter, A, vill ha den, får hon den. Den blåa ska vara till mig och till dem som kommer på besök nu i sommar!
/ The next yarn eater is well on its way. It will be smaller and with nuances in pink and some brown strokes, and if my youngest daughter, A, wants it, she will have it. The blue one, I'll keep for myself and whoever comes visiting in summer!

/Maia

Garnslukaren

Jag blev plötsligt sugen på att göra en halv-farmorsrutesjal och nu när jag är en bit på väg inser jag: Det är en garnslukare! Hoppas att den merceriserade bomullen i garnförrådet räcker!


I had a sudden urge to crochet a half granny square shawl. Just like the one Ma Ingalls had in the Little house on the prarie. Only multicolored.

Now, when I'm well on my way I realise: It's a virtual yarn eater! I hope the mercerised cotton in my stash will last.

/Maia

Till Aklejalotte lägger jag som ett post scriptum in detta försök till beskrivning, enbart på svenska (English readers: I refer to Ravelry.com, where you may find similar patterns):

Börja virka såhär:

Lägg upp 5 lösmaskor (lm), slut till en ring med en smygmaska (sm).

Varv 1: Virka 4 lm, 3 stolpar (st) i lm-ringen, 3 lm, 3 st + 1 dst (dubbelstolpe) i lmringen. Vänd.

Varv 2: 4 lm, 3 stolpar i dst-hålet, 2 lm. Spetsgrupp: 3 st, 3 lm, 3 st om de 3 lm från föregående varv. Avsluta varvet med 2 lm, 3 st + 1 dst i hålet för de fyra lösmaskorna som inledde föregående varv. Öka antalet mellanliggande stolpgrupper för varje varv, men börja, sluta och gör spetsgruppen på samma sätt varje varv.

Tänk såhär:
Hela sjalen består av stolpgrupper och lösmaskbågar (och en spetsgrupp där två stolpgrupper samsas i en lösmaskbåge). Varje stolpgrupp består av tre st, varje lösmaskbåge består av två lm. I spetsgruppen gör man dock tre lm.

I början på varje varv gör man fyra lösmaskor. Sista stolpgrupp i varje varv ska göras i denna lösmaskbåge.

I slutet av varje varv gör man en extra dubbelstolpe efter stolpgruppen. Första stolpgrupp i nästa varv ska göras med denna dubbelstolpe som lösmaskbåge.

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Nätkasse – ett snabbprojekt på mindre än ett dygn

En filmkväll igår och Humanistdag med föredrag idag, så blir det en liten kasse. Uppmuntrad av Krummi stoppade jag först sockar i den, men de försvann helt. Fördelen med nätkassar är att de rymmer oändligheter av saker. Nystan med bomullsgarn till exempel. A movie night yesterday and then the Humanistdag (listening to a lecture) today, that's optimal if you need some time to make a small bag. Encouraged by the comment by Krummi in the Flower bag post yesterday, I first put socks in it, but they sunk in completely. The advantage of net bags is that they may swallow infinities of things. Balls of cotton yarn, for instance.

Jag började med att virka en liten blomma och sedan ville den blomman helt enkelt bli en oväntad botten i en nätkasse.I started by crocheting a small flower and then the flower simply begged to become the unexpected bottom of a bag.

Äntligen är det här gröna garnet slut. Jag har en slags hatkärlek till nyansen. Farmor hade en underbar stickad kofta i just den här färgen. Ändå fungerar den liksom inte till något annat. Hela kassen går att stoppa i tvättmaskinen, förstås. Bra om man ska ha smutstvätt i den. Finally, this green yarn has been used. I have kind of a love-hate for this color. My grandma, Farmor, had a wonderful knitted cardigan in this particular nuance. Yet it doesn't work for anything else. The entire bag can be put in the washing machine, of course. Good if you're planning to have dirty laundry in it.

/Maia

Min virkning och jag

Min virkning och jag är på Humanistdag. /My crochet project and I are visiting the Humanistdag.



/Maia


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Vårblommig påse klar

Blomsterpåsen är klar. Lagom till våren. Bag with African Flowers completed. Just in time for the arrival of spring.

Frågan är bara vad man ska ha den till. Några förslag? The question remains: What to do with it? How to use it? Any suggestions?

Längst ner kunde jag inte låta bli att sätta en tofs och några pärlor, just som förebilden på Min inspiration. I couldn't help myself. I just had to add some pearls and a tassle (?) at the bottom, just as the model at Min inspiration

/Maia

Våren kommer närmare

Jag gör framsteg med de afrikanska blommorna. / Making progress with the African flowers. Spring is nigh.


/Maia

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