Currently working on...

I decided to put the pictures on the right side this time, to create a little action... Er... I don't think I want that kind of action. But I'll let it stay.
One should do new things every day ;-)

The first picture is two socks in one - inside each other. It was supposed to be my Olympic mission, but - nah. I'm bored with socks right now.



Next one is the pink cotton I got from my sister and that I used to knit the Horseshoe Cardigan. The pattern was from Magknits, and Magknits is gone now, so - no pattern. And I found out that the last page of the pattern was missing... So I frogged the whole cardigan (The bodice was done) and thought of doing something else with the yarn. Now... I found the rest of the pattern. The creatrix had kindly put it in Ravelry... So now I'll start all over again and knit the horseshoe cardigan :-)




The next image is a cotton net cap to my hubby.






Magic Mirror socks. I started both at the same time on circular needle, but there was a little miss in the pattern and I chose to believe the Creatrix' word instead of my own common sense. So the other sock was "wrong", so I frogged it. Now I'm thinking of whether to knit it to this point separately and then join the socks and finish them together or not. But as said - I'm bored with socks right now. (And then I join the Sock Harvest... :-D I'm mad!)

The last beauty is Patricia Kristoffersson's doily. Patricia's specialty is structure... My crochet hook is a bit too small for the thread, so the doily gets a little squashed look, but it will be fine with a little blocking :-)

I've joined a couple of new mysteries...

The Goddess Knits anniversary shawl is amazing... I'm going to have to make me one of each option, they are all wonderfully beautiful!

So, I joined the Mystery Stole IV. I like the stoles they have created earlier and I like knitting. Then I hunted forth more mysteries and found Holiday Mystery Gifts... Last year they had like 200 nice patterns, and this year... "Socks, hats, shawls, toys, and much more are on their way to you." :-) So pretty things, quick and simple and nice, ornaments and gifts... Last year they had this big, wonderful pi shawl... I can't wait to see what they'll do this year. It starts September 20th. Three months before Christmas.
You know, it's not even 120 days left to Yule. It's high time to start thinking about those issues. ;-)

I would really like to give back a little for everything I have got from the wonderful, kind and generous internet community I'm part of... I'd like to be able to design patterns and give them for everyone for free... organize mystery KALs and CALs and so on... Like for the Sock Harvest. *sigh* One day I will be courageous enough to do that :-)

Until then, here's some existing free patterns:
felted bowl I
felted bowl II
felted bowl III
felted bowl IV - she has also other quick, easy, simple and nice patterns for gifts :-)
felted bowl V
felted bowl VI
felted bowl VII (you can embroider anything in the bottom, like smilies or yin-yang symbol...)

Also, see the Black Purl ezine and Roxy Craft :-)

Hats

Kody creates very nice free hat patterns and charts.
She mentioned the Xmas Tree Hat.

I was thinking of Diana Wynne Jones' books and the hat shop in Howl's castle... I'd like to get the same response to her books as Joanne Rowling's Harry Potter has received... Sure, there're no knitting mommies in Chrestomanci's world, but when has that stopped anyone?

When I think of knitted and crocheted hats for the hat shop, it's more this sort of things I'm referring to...
Vintage hat
hat and bag from 1960
Soft Brim casual hat from 1947
Draped beret from 1947
Yellow picture hat and bag from 1953
Lacy cloche - 1953
"Antique" hat patterns
hats and bags from 40's and 50's
Ladies' hat from 50's
Bobble hat
1940's luncheon date hat
sunlight hat
3-piece angora set

Not all of them are as fancy as I'd like, but in all the woman wearing the hat has a nice hairdo, makeup and clothes. Just a little care and consideration before one goes out the door, like Trinny and Susannah say ;-)

I WILL RESIST!!!

I won't join any more swaps. I won't! But they are organizing Harry Potter Sock Kit Swap again, and I WAAAAAANT!!!
I am going to get myself a package. :-)
It will be packaged in a big box - I think I'm going to buy me one of those nice boxes from IKEA.
The box will be filled with tissue paper in my house colors (blue and bronze - I'm a Ravenclaw girl :-)) and then I'll make dozens of those cute paper strip stars instead of styrofoam. I loved it when one of my swap pals had sprinkled a handful of tiny sparkly stars in the package :-)
There will be a couple of magic sock yarn balls filled with surprises, ebony needles tucked in the balls. I think I'll put some rosewood needles in the other ball.
One of the yarns will be hand-painted in Orion nebula colors - as that fits the Ravenclaw :-)


The other will be koigu, so that I too can get my Ziggys :-) I think I need two balls of Koigu...
(You know, I joined a magic yarn ball swap several years ago, and never got my yarn ball... Or an explanation then either >:-> And, yes, I'm still sad about that.)
I think I'll make some potpurri pillows to be used as the "heart" of the yarn ball.

There will be knitting tools, like stitch markers with matching scissor chain and row counter bracelet; tape measure with nice cover, clover yarn cutter medallion, if I can find one somewhere, and the lovely sheep needle sizer/gauge measure I have been drooling over for years now... And a stitch saver.
Needle case - or wand case :-D - of chinese brokade.
There will be nail file, an everlasting glass file or a stone file. Or a handy pocket case for emery boards. A small tube of quickly drying hand cream. I'll see if I can find a jar of bond's butter.
In the yarn balls will be hair accessories, like sticks and combs... I really love hair accessories :-)
There will be a pretty medieval-looking notepad and marker, bookmarks and magnets. I don't like stickers, but I think I'd like some fake tattoos :-D
There will be Harry Potter candy, a big bag of jellybeans, Lindts chocolate and a box of the new toffee I saw in the store last week. I think I'll make some chocolate chip cookies... toffee chip cookies?
I think there could be a raven too, for example a pin cushion... with self-decorated pins... for example shrinky-dink pins or polymer clay pins... (I think this is absolutely adorable... and the silver charm is great!)
There definitely will be a pair of earrings.


Then there will be a "book" of sock patterns. I have copied hundreds (yes!) of free patterns from the net for Summer of Socks, and I think it would be nice to finally get them on paper and in plastic pockets in a binder. I think I will also give me a knitting magazine... I was really happy to get the Interweave Knits in one swap :-)
Perhaps I'll also buy a sock pattern. I love Lucy Neatby's patterns, and Cookie's socks are wonderful too :-)

And then there will be a cigar box decorated with decoupage collage, and filled with magic stuff... I might even buy me a new tarot deck :-D
There will be a pocket book which might not have anything to do with HP, and bookmark.
There will be socks, tam and house scarf in Ravenclaw colors.
Then there will be dog toys and candy for Boris the Springer Spaniel.
There will be some good tea and a teapot cosy, and perhaps some other tea related stuff, like tea ball or sugar sticks.
There will be a soap sweater made from stone colored yarn with inscripture, with vanilla soap inside, and a HP washcloth...
Then there will be something with fox... a mixed CD with my favorite songs... Maybe I'll buy myself Nickleback's or Staind's CD. Maybe some coasters... a real quill, dragon's blood ink and paper... some hundred pretty beads for knitting... I think it would be fun to find something like a zen garden in your pocket or braingames or so... a knitting calendar with quotes about knitting, life and other important things. It would be nice if I'd find a raven cookie cutter. It really is nice with some recipe cards too... perhaps some spices and such to make something nice for dinner. I'd love a gargoyle. And a tiny owl...

These will be packed in their own totebags. Or perhaps I'll wrap them in shawls and scarfs and pretty pieces of fabrique ;-)

I'd like to add some funnies too... I love the idea of sending a little bottle of syrup or liquor with self-made "magic potion" lable, or "a sample of transformation magic" - elephant poo paper :-D Subversive cross stitch. "Grow your own enchanted castle" (sunflower seeds) or "magic" beans :-D Perhaps some seeds of witchy plants like mandragora.
Or a bumber sticker... "Save the Broom - Ride a Quiddich Player"... SO NASTY!!! ROTFLMAO

Something self-made:
Themed list: Harry Potter Patterns

Here are some of the best freebie patterns I have seen outside Knitty and Ulla :-D

Sukkasato

Sock harvest in Finnish. I just found out and of course I want to join! LOL

Sukkasadon kotilato
Ravelry group

KnitWar adventures...

Some time ago I found the knitting scout badges.
Now I found the KnitWars with adventures and XPs... I love this kind of things :-)

It's really hard to concentrate, because I have such an anxiety attack going on I want to hang on the walls

Today's gift

I was surfing the net and found Tapestry Crochet Blog and there was a link to Tejemanejes, a Spanish netzine like Knitty or Ulla.

Indeed there's no updates!

I saw that the photo of the full knitting basket was almost the last thing posted here, and there has been some things happening after that...

First, here's the summer socks:

knit during the summer vacation in Finland:

Jaywalkers,

Slipstitch socks andVictorian lace socks,

my brother's Yule socks

Crown socks.
There should be a picture of a pink buddy to these, with hearts,
I gave them to my sister as birthday present and I haven't got any pics yet.
I also knitted her a scarf, and I'd like to get pics of that too...

I bought the yarn from Finland to knit the snake socks, but the yarn is too thick...
so I experimented a little.

Two pairs of socks are on the needles, but the inspiration to knit socks is gone.
Also... I think there's some socks missing...

This is the crazy afghan I mentioned earlier. I just started crocheting
Free crochet, of the effect yarns I inherited from my mother...

And this is an try-out afghan.
I am taking different granny square patterns I think look interesting
and crochet them with wool of colors I think look if not nice, at least interesting together.

Flora from silk-wool I got in my first one skein swap.

This is my Olympic knitting - swallowtail butterfly shawl enlargened, with beads, of silk-merino yarn... it is dreamy soft and light, like clouds or dreams...
My hubby made a coup - he asked me to knit a white shawl, beautiful, with beads, and I thought he was to give it to a friend who has been very kind and generous... and then he said it was to a "friend" who is very kind and generous - to a woman he loves more than anything - to me. :-D
He didn't know anyone else who could have knitted it... now he knows that I have sisters who can. But I'm happy anyways, it was lovely to knit. Boring, but the yarn was lovely LOL

Mystic Lights KAL. I made a mistake with this, but I'm quite ok with the results anyway. Though the "painting" of the yarn didn't come through as I thought it would. Obviously it works well only in crochet.

Monk's travel sachet. Needs lining, because it stretches awfully.

Then there's a lace doily in a bag... It is the same doily that was being crocheted in the pic of the basket too, but I have managed to crochet a couple more rows :-D
It's a bit bigger, that's all. I'll post a picture when it's done.

Seen at Craftzine...

Conceptual scarf patterns/art

CraftStylish

Twist Collective e-zine

I feel so stupid!

On row 132 the pattern changed and I should have knit the purl side in pattern... I noticed this on row 165. I have been knitting the purl side pattern as knit side pattern and purling every other row straight - that means that I have knitted over 30 rows too many - and this is a shawl with 4 added stitches every other row - a lot of stitches on rows 135-165...

In my version the addition was every 4. row... One think I should have noticed there... >:-> I didn't. I just wondered why it was changed, but decided not to question the designer... X-D

I should take it all up and knit it right this time, but I am not going to. It doesn't get the pretty wavy, feathery border as it should, but it's bigger than it should and I like it that way. Besides, it's quite pretty this way too.

Besides, I should be participating in the Knitting Olympics, and it's already day 2 of the two weeks time, and I don't want to waste any more time.