Abalone cardigan - the first knitted cloth

A few months ago I bought a beautiful, hand dyed yarn from Bucilla. If you want to get a Buci yarn, you have to be very fast. :) She uploads her new works to her blog, and if you in the right place at the right time, maybe you can get those.

So, I had a hand dyed Buci yarn, 100g, 700m. It's just enough to make my first cardigan. :) I've knitted just wraps, cowls, mittens and hats. Originally I didn't want to make clothes, because I need a lot of ball of yarns,  and I think, to knit for example a jumper is a little boring. :P If I still make clothes, they will have to be really special, which I can't buy in a shop.

The colours make my cardigan special. The yarn was very thin, I knitted with 3.5 needle, so finally I've got light, colorful, really springlike clothes. I would have never used the green color with purple and rose, but fortunately Buci have used. ;) The color of the cardigan recalls the colors of tourmaline gemstone. The tourmaline is one of my favourite stones, and the knitting was refreshing in the grey, cold and boring February.

Ravelry project page
Abalone Cardigan pattern

My favorite knitting project in 2012

When I only knew crocheting, I found a beautiful hat on Ravelry. This is a knitted project, but I bought it immediately. :) Finally 1 year later I could start to make this hat. I loved to knit, because it's very easy and fast! And the two pompons are really funny and cheerful.

Pattern: Toorie
Yarn: Barka Díva (50% Merino, 50% Alpaca)
Needle: 3.0 mm
Ravelry Project: here

Monday moodboard

Fish! 

tenderblue / oneandtwocompany / VillaYlle / krize

You can check more Monday Moodboards at Estella!

Secret Swap Cowl

I'm a member in a Hungarian knitting and crochet Facebook group. I love this group, because I can ask for help, if I don't understand a knitting pattern, and I like to admire the works and photos of other members. Now we are making a game: this is the secret swap cowl, so we must to make asecret cowl for the swap partner like long time ago, in the school at Christmas. :) We have filled a table about the most ideal cowl for us. For example, what colors and pattern you would prefer.
My swap partner would like to get  a not-too-tight cowl, and she wrote about her favourite colors, and she prefers the knitting cowl against the crochet. I have searched the ideal yarn, when I've found a pretty and very soft yarn: the Lana Grossa Merino Mix. I love its color (but I mustn't write more information, if my partner reads my blog... :)!

I've collected some beautiful patterns on Ravelry, and I tried to figure out for 3 days, which one to choose. ;) Finally I've started to make a pattern, but I wasn't satisfied. I've started again. Three more times. :P And when I've understood the pattern, I've choosen a new pattern. :P

Pattern: Origami Falls Cowl

My Ravelry project is here

(the color of cowl is in the reality, of course, not purple ;)

I had to start with picot hem technique. I start with provisional cast on, and I knit 7 rows (in round). The 8. row is *yo, k2tog* till end. Thereafter I knit again 7 rows. I extract the first chain row, and I pick the knitted stitsches to the needle. I fold back the knitting, and I knit a row till end with k2tog: 1 stitch from the first needle, 1 from the new needle. Finally, you have same stitches, and you must start to knit the pattern. The picot hem border is thicker and prettier as a normal, just stockinette border. And the 8. row, the *yo, k2tog* row now looks like as picot hem.

I think the cowl is really practical accessory, and this pattern is very pretty: a little laced, and a little geometric. I will knit this for myself too. :)

Choose the right necklace length!

I made a picture about the length of the necklaces. On the Etsy there is a new function: you can choose the items length, color, size, etc. I've made this picture in order to help you to choose the right necklace length.

Monday Moodboard

Last time I wrote about the knitting fashion, and I showed my unfinished cowl. Now I've collected some modern and exciting cowls from the european group of Etsy.

dekkoline / Fnine / Berniolie / TheYarnKitchen

You can check more Monday Moodboards at Estella!

Cowl designing

I read a (Hungarian) blogpost about the 2012 knitting trends. The article wrote about this autumns trends to wear cowl, mittens and collar. I've learned quickly to knit in round (yet before the article ;), and started to collect some patterns on Ravelry. And I felt I urgently need a cowl! Now I have 2 works in progress, but no problem, I'll quickly make an easy cowl, without a direct pattern. At least that was what I thought. :)

I ordered my things during the weekend, so now my yarns are organized in boxes. I've chosen a purple yarn, whereof I made a shawl last year. I made a test with a 5.0 mm size needle, but I found, my needle is too big for this yarn. I tried again with 4.0 mm needle - it was much more nicer. So I started to make my cowl...

I knitted a short part border, then I tried a "dotted pattern". That was terrible...

Where are my dots...?

In a knitting forum the people said, I use a too thick needle. I pulled down the dotted part, and after the border, I changed the needle to 3,5 mm. But the dotted pattern still didn't look good. Finally I've chosen a lace pattern, and I've bought a 'high quality' needle for the magic loop technique.

Now I'm halfway through, and I think, I've divided back about fifty times. :P
If i ever have it completed, I'll post the knitting pattern! ;)