Hello! I hope you’ve had an enjoyable Easter weekend. Or perhaps you’re even having a longer Easter break? For us it was a long weekend, with several little outings. On the Saturday we first worked in the garden, and in the afternoon I went cycling. It was a lovely, sunshiny day for a ride, with lots of blossoming trees along the way.
After a little under an hour, I arrived at my destination – Atelier Lindelicht. I’d come to collect my scarf that had travelled to several crafts fairs with Marianne. Her studio is always such a nice place to have a browse.
(The shawl with the crocheted border is from her hand-dyed Oda kit.)
After a cup of tea and a chat, I took the long route home, partly through an agricultural area…
… and partly through a nature reserve along a river.
On Easter Sunday, we always have a special breakfast that wouldn’t be complete without my husband’s home-baked paasbrood, the traditional bread with a marzipan core that is basically the same as our Christmas stollen.
Our grandson got to try on his new Norwegian pullover and wanted to keep it on straightaway. Knit in a fine yarn, it took me longer than I’d thought. It’s the same number of stitches and the same number of rows as my own Sundborn cardigan.
It is a Nordsjøgenser, knit from Sandnes Babyull Lanett. (Pattern not on Ravelry; I wrote about the pattern booklet here.) It is knit from the bottom up, with the body and sleeves knit separately first. Then everything is placed on one needle for the raglan yoke.
In the pattern, several stitches are bound off under the arms to be seamed later. I placed the stitches on pieces of waste yarn instead of binding them off.
This creates a big gap.
Here is how to close it:
1) On the wrong side, pIace the stitches from the waste yarn on two needles and bind them off with a third needle. Make sure to leave yarn tails of at least 4” (10 cm) at both the start and the end of the bind-off.
After binding off there are still fairly large gaps left on either side.
2) Using a darning needle, thread a yarn tail around one of the gaps and pull the gap closed.
3) Weave in the end and repeat on the other side of the bind-off.
Repeat steps 1 – 3 for the other underarm gap. I’ve closed underarm gaps in this way several times now and find it easier and neater than casting off under the arms and seaming the gaps.
Well, that was pretty technical. To close off and bring a smile to your face (or maybe even make you laugh out loud), here is a photo I took at a fair we also visited during the Easter weekend. Somebody had been knitting for many, many hours…
Hello! A day earlier than my usual Friday posts because I’m away tomorrow, I hope this reaches you well. I was going to publish this, my hand-knit ode to love, even earlier. Two months earlier to be precise, on Valentine’s Day. But when it comes to knitting, I’m not rushing anything.
For me, knitting is all about love. Love for the people I knit for. Love of the materials and the techniques. Love of working with colour. And love of the rhythmic and relaxing nature of knitting. With all of that in mind, I designed a shawl I named OXOX XL.
One side of the shawl is adorned by the traditional OXOX cable, also known as the hugs-and-kisses cable.
That explains the OXOX part of its name. The XL part refers to the size of the cable. Traditionally it is worked over 8 stitches and 16 rows, but for extra large hugs and kisses I’ve enlarged the cable both widthwise and lengthwise.
With a wingspan of approximately 1.80 metres (71 inches), OXOX XL is a generous but not overwhelmingly large shawl.
It is big enough to be worn with the point at the back and one end draped over the shoulder…
… or tied in a nonchalant single knot.
(Can you see the windturbines in the distance behind my left shoulder? I was not the only one posing against that background. What’ll the cormorant have thought of those two humans there on the dyke, with one of them holding up a strange sort of wing and wrapping it around herself in different ways?)
OXOX XL is also the perfect size to simply be wrapped around the neck, the way I’d usually wear a shawl like this.
I’ve loved working on this shawl, especially knitting the final version. Not just because of the interesting cable and the soothing stocking-stitch-with-garter-ridges alongside it, but also because of the yarn. It is Big Merino Hug from Rosy Green wool, an aran-weight 100% organic merino. Big Merino Hug is super soft, and knit on 5.5 mm (US 9) needles, it gives a lovely and drapey fabric. The colour I’ve chosen is red hot ‘Chili’ – the colour of love.
A colour that feels at home on the IJsselmeer coast, where the photos were taken.
If red isn’t your thing, there are 35 other colours to choose from.
Or perhaps you’d prefer to stash dive? In case you don’t have exactly the kind or amount of yarn specified, or would rather make the shawl larger or smaller, the pattern includes tips for adapting it.
It is available in English and Dutch and contains written instructions as well as charts.
Well, I’m going to love you and leave you now. Thank you as always for reading, and if you’re going to knit an OXOX XL shawl, I hope you’ll love knitting it – for yourself or for someone else you’d like to wrap in a soft, hand-knit embrace.
Last week was so busy that I didn’t get round to posting. This week life is back to normal, so here I am again. Hello!
Just before things got busy, several people simultaneously alerted me to an article about the gradual disappearance of colour from our world. The author states that compared to two centuries ago, when only 15% of all items were monochrome, our present world is far more black, white and grey (60% of all objects, items and materials). Fascinating!
I had been thinking about this when I was designing a new knitting project, long before reading the article. Intuitively, I’d chosen a vibrant red, but all the stylish neutrals I saw in shops and online made me doubt my choice. Was it terribly untrendy? Should I choose grey instead? In the end, I decided to go with my initial colour choice. While my mind can appreciate the sophistication of a monochrome palette, my heart craves colour.
Closing my eyes and visualising a location for the photoshoot that would match the red in colour intensity, what popped up was this:
It’s the little city of Stavoren in the southwest of Friesland, with its red lighthouse and colourful harbour. Somebody involved in the construction of the lighthouse in 1884 had the lovely idea of decorating it with rosettes.
Little city may sound like a contradiction in terms, but with around 1,000 inhabitants and city rights granted almost 1,000 years ago that’s exactly what Stavoren is. There are lots of interesting stories to tell about Stavoren, but let’s keep those for some other time. Today, let’s just soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the colours. This is its harbour,
with a mixture of old and new pleasure boats and a small fishing fleet.
Because the light wasn’t right for a good photograph of the fronts of the colourful new houses along the harbour, I walked around to their backs for a better picture:
Stavoren is not a complete riot of colour, though. The rest of the little city is more muted, and even in the harbour area there are some monochrome elements. Hello heron!
Where there’s a harbour, there’s usually a sea, but not so here. At least not anymore. Stavoren lies on the IJsselmeer, a former inland sea that is now a lake. Near the lighthouse with the rosettes there’s a flight of stairs that we can climb to the top of the dyke.
The dyke isn’t very high, but high and robust enough, with grass on top…
… and basalt blocks and other rocks lower down.
The blocks and rocks are covered with lichens. From a distance they look sort of browny-greeny, but from close up they are a bright golden yellow.
And that brings us back to vibrant colours and the reason we are here. According to the article mentioned above, ‘yellow is connected to happiness in our brains.’ And ‘Red can elevate heart rate and blood pressure.’ Ooh la la, a knitting project that makes your heart beat faster – isn’t that exciting? If all goes according to plan, I’ll tell you more about it next week. For now, here’s a peek…
Hello, and welcome to the 5th instalment in the VERY irregular series Places to Sit and Knit (the last instalment was published nearly three years ago, crikey!). To get to today’s place, we first need to walk a short way along the path on top of Steenwijk’s old town ramparts. They date from the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648).
After last week’s post, my husband said, ‘Your readers must get a very strange picture of our country with all those old buildings and idyllic spots. No industrial estates, no modern apartment blocks, no motorways.’ This brought me up short. Am I being untruthful? It is not my intention to paint a false picture, but, well, take the photo below:
From the top of the ramparts, I could have pointed my camera downwards and photographed a parking space with cars, old garage doors and wheelie bins. Or upwards towards the rooftops and the sky. I happen to prefer the latter. I also enjoy taking you (and myself) to places that bring a sense of joy and/or peace. I hope you don’t mind my giving you an incomplete picture. Perhaps we can call it being selective?
A little further along the ramparts, I am pointing my camera downwards, for an overview of a small park called De Nettelbosch.
The red arrow points to the bench that is today’s Place to Sit and Knit. Sitting on the bench, this is our view – the Nettelbosch itself, a shopping street and the spire of the St Clemens Church:
The knitting project I’ve brought is the first of a pair of Imker socks. Another pattern from that wonderful book 52 Weeks of Socks (for anyone not on Ravelry, an overview of the patterns in the book can be found here.) Socks with all-over cabling that will keep me on my toes.
The yarn I’m using is Onion Nettle Sock (50 g/202 yds/185 m), made from 70% wool and 30% nettle fibre. This (and the fact that I had an errand here) is why I’ve chosen this spot to sit and knit – Nettelbosch means Nettle Patch, which is what it was before it was transformed into a public garden. Ah, it’s lovely to sit here, knit a few rounds and look around. There is a witch hazel with vibrant yellow flowers, fresh green shoots are appearing, and the rhododendron already has fat buds.
No need to feel embarrassed about knitting in public, because there is nobody else around. Do you feel comfortable knitting anywhere? I don’t, although I’ve only ever had positive comments.
There are so many things I’d like to knit and make, that I often find it difficult to choose. And then more project ideas come along on Ravelry and in newsletters to distract me. That’s why this time I’ve made a looooooong list of possible projects. Getting them out of my head and onto paper felt better straightaway. Then I chose several to focus on this spring and put all of the materials together in a box.
Yarn for two cardigans and several small projects, some spinning fibre and some fabric and ribbons. And then there are the socks and the wee Norwegian pullover on my needles. Far too ambitious? We’ll see…
Well, that’s me nattering on about my making. How about you? What do you have on your needles? Or do you crochet, embroider, quilt, spin, felt, paint, draw? How do you choose? Do you have multiple projects going on simultaneously or do you focus on one at a time? Any suggestions for great patterns to add to my long list? I’d love hearing from you in a comment, but if you don’t feel comfortable commenting that’s fine, too. You’re always welcome to just spend some time here. Well, it’s time to go. Hope to see you again soon!
Hello! Today, spring has officially sprung and it really feels like spring here, too. Our crocuses that have done so well this year have finished flowering. Now the scillas and miniature irises are in bloom, and the grape hyacinths are poking their heads above the ground as well. The daffodils in our garden are still in bud, but I saw some blaring their trumpets in Zwolle the other day.
They literally brightened up a dark and cloudy day.
The daffodils grew next door to the bookshop I was visiting for some gifts. In the fantasy novel section, I leafed through a fantastic knitting book – The Fellowship of the Knits: The Unofficial Lord of the Rings Knitting Book. It contains 27 amazing patterns by many different designers. I would not particularly want to knit a Gollum softie or a pair of mittens with Sauron’s scary watchful eye on them, but I find the Elven Armor Pullover absolutely stunning.
After that dark day in Zwolle, the sun began to break through the clouds.
And now it is gloriously warm and sunshiny weather. Perfect for some gardening. I’ve been pruning and weeding, and have sown some edible flower seeds.
I have also started on a fresh springtime knitting project – another sweater for our grandson. It is a bit like a blue sky with puffs of white cloud.
The pattern is Nordsjøgenser from Sandnes Collection 73 Norwegian Icons for Kids.
There isn’t a single sweater in this pattern collection that I wouldn’t like to knit. Besides looking adorable on the models, the pullovers and cardigans also look interesting to make – some with round colourwork yokes, some with all-over patterning and some steeked.
The yarn I’m using is Babyull Lanett, a 100% wool yarn, but so fine and lightweight that it’s ideal for springtime knits. Ah, spring, lovely spring. I’m fine with winter and don’t mind dark and cloudy days, but basking in the light and warmth of springtime sunshine is truly wonderful and relaxing.
Wishing you a wonderful and relaxing weekend, whether spring has sprung where you live, too, or not.
‘Var välkommen kära du, till Carl Larsson och hans fru!’ it says above the front door of Lilla Hyttnäs in the Swedish village of Sundborn. ‘Welcome to the house of Carl Larsson and his spouse!’ A warm welcome to the house that Carl and Karin Larsson made into such a special place, Carl with his paintings and Karin with her textiles.
Carl and Karin in a detail of Carl's painting When the Children have Gone to Bed.
Carl is best known for his watercolours of family life at Lilla Hyttnäs. In the house itself, beside all kinds of other decorations, he also painted his family on walls and doors.
Karin was a painter as well, but after getting married and having children she poured all of her creativity into embroidery and weaving.
Walking through and around the house, I was amazed by everything they achieved while raising eight children. Below, a photograph of their living room from the outside, with a bird decoration by Carl between the windows.
After my first visit, in the early 1980s, I had a postcard of one of Carls paintings on the wall of my 6 m2 student room for a long time. It was the well-known painting of the interior of the Larssons’ living room with one of the girls watering the plants.
In her cardigan book Koftor, knitwear designer Maja Karlsson tells us that she spent some time at Lilla Hyttnäs studying the colours and patterns of Karins textiles, and that this inspired her Sundborn cardigan design. She photographed the cardigan in the same living room, with the model watering the plants just like the girl in Carl’s painting. The stars in the cardigan’s yoke echo the stars along the edges of Karin’s blue-and-white table cloth.
I thought it would be fun to photograph my Sundborn cardigan in the same way. Only in our own living room instead of at Lilla Hyttnäs. The little red wooden Dala horse on the window sill is a souvenir of my second, more recent visit to Sundborn. And now I also have the cardigan to remind me of that wonderful place.
At this point, I’ll say goodbye to the non-knitters among you. I quite understand that you’d rather do something else than read about cutting a pullover open to turn it into a cardigan. See you again next time!
A Hand-Sewn Steek
For those of you who are interested, let’s dive into steeking. In this case, I knit the button bands on first, before cutting the steek.
Instead of machine-sewn steek reinforcements, I wanted to use hand-sewn seams this time, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. Fortunately some of you came to the rescue. Helga checked the Swedish version of the pattern book and confirmed that the designer uses machine sewing thread. Angelique said that the seam might become too tight using machine sewing thread. I have never liked the idea of synthetic seams in my woollen sweaters anyway, so that was out. She also suggested trying things out on a swatch first, and that was what I did:
As an experiment, I sewed a back-stitch seam using the same yarn used for the cardigan (Léttlopi) on one side of the centre stitch and on the other using a thinner yarn (Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper weight). The Léttlopi was on the bulky side; the thinner yarn worked better, as L. had already predicted, so I used that on the cardigan.
L. also advised ‘piercing every row’s stitches’ and to be on the safe side I did that as well. Then, using my small embroidery scissors and holding my hand between front and back, I cut the steek.
The steek stitches looked fairly stable after cutting. (Below, the blue line through the centre of the pink stitches is one of the hand-sewn seams.)
But I’m glad that I pierced through the yarn of the knit stitches while back-stitching the seams, because at the top end the knit stitches did fray. With the extra strong reinforcements they wouldn’t unravel any further.
Finally, the steek stitches were folded over and stitched into place using whip stitches on the inside. Very neat!
All in all, I’m very happy with this hand-sewn steek reinforcement. It is easy and relaxing to do, and doesn’t stretch the knitted fabric as machine stitching can do. No more machine-reinforced steeks for me from now on. Thank you for your advice Helga, Angelique and L.! And to all of you – thank you for reading on to the end!
Links:
Maja Karlssons cardigan book Koftor can be found here on Ravelry, and the Sundborn cardigan here. (It has been translated into English, German and Dutch.)
Lilla Hyttnäs is now a museum called Carl Larsson Gården. Although only Carl’s name is mentioned in the museum’s name, the museum’s website now pays equal attention to Carl and Karin.
Hello! Thank you so much for your thoughts on steeking my Sundborn cardigan – very helpful! It isn’t finished yet, but I’m getting there and will tell you about it next time.
Today, I’m taking you on a little outing. In between an errand and a visit, we had a couple of hours to spare in Deventer. I brought my camera because I thought you might like to stroll along through its lovely old city centre (it has two yarn shops!). It is market day…
… and the barrel organ treats us to some cheerful music. A similar one used to drive through our street every Saturday when I was a child, and I still always put a coin or two in the organ man’s money box.
I like the hustle and bustle of the market, and I love the quiet back streets. There are so many fun and interesting things to discover. Take Thomas à Kempis’ words on a wall in a narrow alley, ‘You’re sure to feel happy at night after a day well spent’.
The combination of picture and words makes me smile. It reminds me of our grandson who loves cleaning with his own little broom and his dustpan and brush. Who did he get that from?
And take this gable stone, with Barbie looking at it through the window.
Dat regenvercken – the rain pig. Huh? Oh, I get it! A piggy bank for saving water instead of money. A hogshead! The spelling and general look suggest that it is centuries old, but the date on it says 1984. Such fun that someone would add a decoration like this to a wall just because.
The building on the left at the top of this post used to be the municipal savings bank. There are three words above its three upstairs windows: Arbeidzaamheid, Spaarzaamheid, Voorzichtigheid – Diligence, Frugality, Prudence.
The building was renovated at the end of the 19th century. I wonder what the words above the windows would have read had it been renovated recently. Spend, Spend, Spend?
Via a circuitous route we’re arriving at the Kleine Overstraat. With its small non-chain stores it is one of the nicest shopping streets I know. It is extremely hard not to spend, spend, spend here. Yarn is my weak spot (or one of them anyway).
Astrids Wol is specialized in Noro. She has other yarns as well, but many of her shelves are filled with these colourful Japanese yarns. So beautiful! I have knit quite a few things with Noro yarns over the years, and now there are some very attractive summer yarns, but I’m being frugal and prudent.
Astrid also has socks for sale – machine knit socks. They look deceptively like hand knit ones. It’s unsettling – why would I keep knitting socks if similar ones are for sale for little more than the cost of the yarn? Fortunately they are not the same thing at all – not nearly as nice and soft as hand knit socks. And look at the toes:
No, we hand knitters can do much better than that. I’m so glad we have not been completely made redundant by machines yet.
The second-hand shop where someone has spent so much love and attention on the window display…
… has vintage wooden knitting needle cases in a basket outside.
Oooh, look at that! All those gorgeous blues and greens in an oh-so-soft blend of cotton, wool and cashmere. Yum!
But I already have so many other knitting plans. Still in frugal-and-prudent mode I file the yarn away in my memory, perhaps to take another look at later.
Well, time is up. I hope you’ve enjoyed our stroll. xxx
Hello, I hope you won’t mind listening to some of my knitting struggles today and perhaps giving me some advice. I also have the answer to a question one of you posed.
Knitting struggles and a game
When I’d finished the yoke and tried my Sundborn cardigan on, my husband said, ‘Isn’t it rather on the short side?’ Although I really didn’t want to admit it, he was right. And the sleeves were too long.
Looking at it and realizing I needed to rip out the entire yoke, I thought of Pollyanna, one of my Mum’s heroines. Faced with difficulties, 11-year-old orphan Pollyanna often plays the ‘just being glad game’ her father taught her. It’s about finding something to be glad about in every situation, no matter how bleak.
It started when Pollyanna was longing for a doll and hoping it would be in the missionary barrel for the poor. But when the barrel arrived she got a pair of crutches instead. The thing she and her father found to be glad about at the time was that she didn’t need them.
I think ignoring disappointment, pain, fear or anger and ‘just being glad’ is a terrible strategy. So, after a brief denial phase (‘The length is just fine and extra long sleeves are nice and warm’) I first vented my frustration (‘Nooooo, all those hours of knitting!’). And then I played Pollyanna’s game.
I’m so glad that:
I tried the cardi on before cutting the steek
the yarn unravels easily
there is enough yarn to make it longer
I quite like knitting
now that it’s unravelled I can start knitting again!
Advice welcome
After finishing the yoke for the second time, I’ll get to the stage where some advice would be welcome – the steeking.
In the pattern the stitches on either side of the centre stitch (which will be cut through) are reinforced by handsewn seams – a technique I haven’t used before. I have found several useful videos about hand sewing such seams and that’s clear to me. The problem is what yarn or thread to use.
The Dutch translation tells us to use ‘een gewone naainaald en draad’ (an ordinary sewing needle and thread/yarn). I think it means a thin sewing needle and machine sewing thread, but I’m not sure. Would that be the best choice? Or would using the yarn I’m knitting the cardi with be better? Or a thinner wool yarn? I’d be very grateful for any thoughts on this.
Answer to a question
Last week, after reading about my sock knitting basket, one of you asked, ‘What is that wooden thing that has the ribbing of your sock sticking through?’ Well, actually I don’t know what it’s officially called, either in Dutch or in English, but it’s a sock-knitting-needles-with-a-sock-in-progress-on-them-protector.
The wooden one was a free gift with a magazine some 45 years ago and I treasure it. My knitting student is now learning to knit socks and found two similar ones on Marktplaats (a sort of Dutch eBay). ‘Wooden sock knitting case’ or ‘Wooden sock knitting needle holder’ seem to give the best results in an online search.
I also have a cardboard one – from KnitPro if I remember correctly (in front of the wooden one in the photo above). It is okay, but not nearly as nice as the wooden one. For one thing, it is much narrower and really only suitable for very short double pointed needles. For another, it is easily damaged.
I don’t know if such wooden cases are still made, but if you can find one (new or second-hand), I’d say go for it. If you’re a sock knitter it’s something you’ll use and treasure for ever.
I’m so glad you stopped by today and hope to see you again next week!
Hello! Do you know Flemish singer-songwriter Raymond van het Groenewoud? He has a song called In mijn hoofd (Inside My Head). In it, he sings: ‘Inside my head everything is simple; Inside my head everything falls into place.’ And also: ‘Welcome, welcome inside my head (…) It’s great to dwell inside my head.’ It sounds incredibly zen.
Inside my head it is often like the current state of my sock knitting basket – overcrowded and tangled. From time to time, I dump everything out.
The contents of my sock knitting basket onto the dining table. The contents of my head onto paper (I now know that this process is actually called brain dumping). When everything is out in the open, a soothing inner voice says things like: ‘There, there. Have a cup of tea and you’ll see that it’s not as bad as it looks.’ After that it’s time to take a deep breath and sort things out.
Knitting tools go in a dedicated knitting tool basket, crochet things go in a crochet lace box, leftover sock yarn goes in with other sock yarn remnants.
Things I can do something about go in my Moleskine planner, ideas and question marks in various notebooks, and worries about things I can do nothing whatsoever about are sent back into the universe (the latter have a tendency to barge right back in at the moment, though).
My sock knitting basket yielded three hankies with crocheted lace around them and four pairs of socks. After darning in the ends and washing them, these are now ready to be used, given away or sent off. Among them these socks:
The yarn for these is Gründl Hot Socks Semila 4-ply. It’s one of those yarns that guarantee a matching pair of socks. It has a fluorescent green starter thread that tells you where to start for the first and for the second sock. In my experience, these yarns only work for shoe sizes 37-40 (UK 4-7, US 6-9). For smaller sizes the leg gets far too long and the toes are finished before you get to the special toe colours. And for larger sizes there just isn’t enough yarn. Another disadvantage is that with those starter threads a lot of yarn gets thrown away. Having said that, I think the effect can be very nice indeed.
Ah, that feels good. A tidy sock knitting basket with just one sock project and only the bare necessities in it.
And also a clearer head. For now.
If you like, you can watch and listen to Raymond van het Groenewoud singing In mijn hoofd while he is trying out a new guitar here. And find a description of brain dumping more or less the way I do it here. Thank you for visiting with me – it’s always lovely to have your company. xxx
Hello! I’ve been immersing myself in colour and it’s been such a joy that I thought I’d share this small journey here. It takes us to Sweden, but let’s start at the beginning. I was going to knit a cardigan from Maja Karlsson’s cardigan book. This one:
It’s a gorgeous design, but the colours – although exciting and very well balanced – are not ‘me’ at all. The cardigan is knit from Léttlopi, an Icelandic yarn that comes in many colours. Which ones to choose to make the cardi really mine?
The cardigan design is called Sundborn, after the Swedish village where painter Carl Larsson and his wife Karin lived in their home called Lilla Hyttnäs. In the introduction to the pattern, designer Maja tells us that the surprising colour combination was inspired by Karin’s textile art and would never have occurred to herself. She ends with: ‘Challenge yourself to try something different…’
I’ve visited Sundborn (twice!) and thought the photos might inspire me. This is the entrance to Lilla Hyttnäs:
The house is that typical Swedish red, with yellow, green and white accents.
It’s an utterly lovely house, but the colours are not something I’d wear. An outbuilding has a blue-grey door decorated by Carl himself with a wreath, the name of one of their children and the year it was finished (if I understand it correctly). I quite like that shade of blue.
Hmmm. Let’s look at the garden for some more inspiration.
More red, yellow, and green, and a bit of purple and orange as well. It’s such a nice and tranquil spot and the colours are wonderfully uplifting…
…but not exactly cardigan colours for me. Another approach then – leafing through a book with Carl Larsson’s paintings. Oh, his colour palette is so attractive. In the end I chose a painting of Karin – scissors in hand, her weaving looms to the left, lush green house plants everywhere and a pink flowering azalea in the foreground.
I thought of combining the pink of the azalea and the deep blue of Karin’s dress with the green of the plants, but it was too different for me. In the end I chose the mixed colour of the ruffle at Karin’s neck to go with the blue and pink.
I’m sorry Maja, I tried to take on your challenge, but I’m staying within my comfort zone. The colours I’ve chosen will go with just about all my other clothes and I’ll love knitting with and wearing them. It’s been fun looking around for different and exciting colours, though.
Now I can’t wait to get back to my knitting. Wishing you all you a lovely weekend and hope to see you again next week!