My Knitting Almanac

Dot-a-Dot jacket

By: purepurly June 30, 2015

Jacket, JuneAlpaca, Cashmere, Jacket, June, Kids4 Comments

Still finishing up old projects… The Dot-a-Dot jacket was planned to be like the Jente Jakke, but as I realised I probably would run out of yarn (bought on sale; a beautiful blend of mohair and alpaca from Sandnes) I had to supply with some yarn I got in Paris (Sweetgeorgia Superwash Chunky). And the daughter who…

Crossing the mountains

By: purepurly June 26, 2015

Jacket, JuneJacket, KidsLeave a Comment

Almost every year we go for vacation visiting my husbands family in a fjord at the western coast of Norway (Vestlandet), spending lazy days fishing in the fjord, eating all kinds of fish dishes and enjoying the company of relatives we see too seldomly. And it gives a lot of room for knitting! First as…

Yarn shopping in Paris…

By: purepurly June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

June, StashParis, stash, Store, Yarn5 Comments

I did not plan to look for yarn stores when we were going for a weekend trip to Paris, but last week I stumbled over a nice piece written by Miss Agnes (Paris, Saint-Germain des Pres) about the district we were to stay in. And I could not resist asking her if she knew about any nearby…

The Everyday Jacket

By: purepurly June 15, 2015

Jacket, June, SideprojectsAlpaca, Jacket, June, Kids5 Comments

This is a must-have-jacket my pre-teen daughter has begged me to make… She wants sweaters and jackets that are soft, airy and preferably without any buttons or zippers. So when I made the (smaller) Jente Jakke for one of her sisters some weeks back, she convinced me that now it was her turn … The yarn is…

A more than 20 years old Rowan sweater…

By: purepurly June 9, 2015June 10, 2015

June, VintageIntarsia, Rowan, Sweater, Wool4 Comments

In my early twenties I discovered (through my knitting sister!) the fabulous world of Rowan yarn and designs. The designs were indeed different and much more diverse than most Norwegian designs at that time. In addition, the huge variation in yarn types and the colour palettes was amazing, although the Norwegian yarn was in my opinion of…

Travelling with Needles

By: purepurly May 30, 2015July 11, 2015

May, Scarf & shawl, Structure patternshawl, Structure, SummerLeave a Comment

Follow my blog with Bloglovin As part of my job I frequently have to travel, mostly by plane. For longer trips I work on my computer, but It gives me lots of small slots which is not suited for writing; like train/bus to and from airports, waiting at the gate and the first and last…

Warm Leaves for a cowl

By: purepurly May 19, 2015May 19, 2015

May, Scarf & shawlCowl, Kauni, May, scarf, WoolLeave a Comment

This cowl is knitted with the same technique I have used for the blanket (my side project that is slowly growing in size…). This time I have used Kauni 8/2, a yarn that shifts from off white through beige to rose/lilac. As I have knitted the leaves as strands, just adjoining them into the previous…

Scarf and Shawl

By: purepurly May 3, 2015

May, Scarf & shawlAngora, May, scarf, shawlLeave a Comment

The April jacket is not even a week “old”, but is used every day by a happy girl! So the sister has asked for one as well… I have started on it, and this time I will try to write down the pattern in case someone would like to try to knit one! But May will…

Jente Jakke

By: purepurly April 30, 2015May 3, 2015

April, Jacket, Structure patternAlpaca, April, Jacket, Kids, Structure2 Comments

The last day of April was sunny but a bit cold; perfect for the “premier” of the jacket I finished last night! It is in a warm but light yarn (cashmere and alpaca blend), deep blue and with semi-long sleeves. I have used garter stitch for the lower part, but the upper part is in…

Magnificent mending

By: purepurly April 26, 2015

April, Sideprojects, StashMending, stash, winter, WoolLeave a Comment

One of my daughters favourite sweaters got a hole on one of the elbows. It is actually a handed-down garment from her cousin, 100% wool, soft and good quality, so it was not an garment to be easily replaced! I had some stash yarn (Rowan, Donegal Lambswool) and knitted two pieces with matched sizes for the elbows, sewed…

Jente Jakker

By: purepurly April 7, 2015

April, JacketAlpaca, April, Jacket, Kids, StructureLeave a Comment

I actually started on my first April project in March… It was too tempting when I brought home the very nice Alpaca/Cashmere yarn that one of the girl chose herself. The picture of the baby jacket is from a magazine from the 50’s (“Alt for Damene, Babystrikk). As my girls are too big for such a…

Vintage Jumper finished!

By: purepurly April 6, 2015May 5, 2015

March, VintageMarch, Sweater, vintage pattern1 Comment

So it took two months to finished it…. but finally as we just entered into April I managed to finish my Vintage Jumper! It do not resemble the original much any more but I think it turned out pretty nice. I have made a description of the puff sleeves here: puff sleeves and for the shoulders here:…

Shaping sleeves and shoulders; “seamless shoulders”

By: purepurly April 6, 2015

March, Technique, VintageMarch, Technique, vintage patternLeave a Comment

As mentioned before; I am not very fond of too much sewing so if I can knit together seams I prefer that (thus the name “seamless”…)! This is the first time I have done it for shoulder seams, and it turned out pretty nice. It was quite easy but it is important to always keep an…

Shaping sleeves and shoulders; puff sleeves

By: purepurly April 4, 2015April 7, 2015

March, Technique, VintageMarch, Silk, Sweater, vintage patternLeave a Comment

In February I started on my Vintage Winter project, and now I am almost done. The jumper needed more concentration as soon as I started on the sleeves, so the number of times per week I were able to work on it decreased remarkable. Good for all other projects (such as my Leaves Throw, Trellis…

More yarn…

By: purepurly March 28, 2015April 7, 2015

MarchJacket, Structure, WoolLeave a Comment

I often get the feeling that my kids are in an eternal need of new clothes; at certain ages clothes seem to disappear, get ripped and outgrown very easily. I like to knit to the kids, but it is not very rewarding to make complicated garments that is outworn (or not liked…) almost before I…

Joyful Trellis Hat

By: purepurly March 22, 2015April 30, 2015

March, Stash, Structure patternMarch, Structure, Trellis, winterLeave a Comment

The trellis pattern is excellent to use for warm garments like this winter hat. Here I have made the trellis pattern by knitting one stitch, lifting three stitches (with yarn in front), knitting one. Next row is knit, then the third row is the same pattern but shifted two stitches. The most important part is…

Trellis pattern

By: purepurly March 15, 2015

March, Structure patternMarch, Structure, TrellisLeave a Comment

This is a pattern which is easy to knit and can be used in different ways. It uses lifted stitches with the yarn in front which create regular strands of yarn. You can either keep them as horizontal strands and shift the stitches making a “ladder-like” pattern or you can include the strand in a stitch at…

Learning new techniques

By: purepurly March 15, 2015April 7, 2015

March, Patterns, Structure pattern, TechniqueMarch, Structure, TrellisLeave a Comment

To me, learning a new knitting technique requires good instructions and a calm atmosphere. I get easily annoyed when I do not figure out what the description indicate, especially if I have to try (and retry!) several times. Good photos are always helpful as is detailed descriptions. I have lately worked with old patterns and they…

St.John’s Wort

By: purepurly March 2, 2015May 5, 2015

March, Stash, Structure pattern, TechniqueCotton, Lace pattern, March, stash, Summer1 Comment

This is a very nice lace pattern called St. John’s wort. This is also a name of a flower (not the one in my post but one called Hypericum Perforatum or Johannesurt in Norwegian). Johannesurt has yellow flowers and if you rub a flower between your fingers it will give of a red colour. It…

The Persian Carpet 2

By: purepurly March 2, 2015March 2, 2015

February, SideprojectsFebruary, Mistakes, Mittens, winter, WoolLeave a Comment

As I mentioned before about the Little Miss Summer socks where I got the lace pattern wrong several times (and did not undo all of them…), I think knitted garments still are beautiful with small errors. Can you spot the error in the Selbu pattern…? (Answer: look at the diamond square at the top of…

The best gift

By: purepurly March 2, 2015May 5, 2015

February, SideprojectsFebruary, Mittens, winter, WoolLeave a Comment

The best gift is homemade, and I got these lovely Selbu mittens from my mother for my last birthday. A knitted gift is really something I appreciate to give away but also to get! I think most people “tailor” a knitted gift to the person who will get it; what sort of item, yarn type,…

Structure!

By: purepurly March 1, 2015May 5, 2015

March, Stash, Structure patternAlpaca, March, Pillow, stash1 Comment

March came today with even more snow! So I decided to have a theme for the month that is still “warm&wooly”. I am very fascinated by different techniques that generate either the impression of a more complex pattern although you only knit with one colour at the time (like lifted stitches) or techniques that result…

Vintage Jumper

By: purepurly February 21, 2015March 2, 2015

February, VintageAlpaca, February, Silk, Sweater, vintage pattern, winterLeave a Comment

Jumper is a word we do not use much, but from what I can see it means a neat sweater, often combined with a cardigan. I have decided to modify a jumper/cardigan set from the pattern book from 1951, and have selected some quite pricy yarn as I think this project deserve it! The yarn is from…

More leaves!

By: purepurly February 19, 2015May 5, 2015

Sideprojects, Stashleaves, stash, TweedLeave a Comment

The stash-leaves project is so fun; I seem to prefer that project above all others I have going on at the moment…! I’ll make a pattern description soon; it is easy to do and will be good for pillow-covers, throws etc.!

Vintage Winter

By: purepurly February 6, 2015April 6, 2015

February, Patterns, VintageFebruary, knitting, Silk, vintage patternLeave a Comment

I had originally decided a different theme for February, but February the 2. I stopped by my nearest yarn store and knew I wanted to realise a project I have had in mind for a while. My mother-in-law found some old knitting magazines from the 1950’s. I really like the style from that period, and several…