Knitwear for four-legged family members

I used to belly dance a couple of years ago. (I miss the tablas and shimmies). And it seemed to me that most belly dancers preferred cats to dogs. I don't know why. I also feel that maybe the same is true about the knitting community, but to a lesser extent. Maybe it's because cats and knitters share the love of balls of yarn... In any case, a lot of us have furry family members, be it cats, dogs, guinea pigs or other creatures. Do we knit for them? Well, I know that none of my cats would be caught dead wearing anything that resembles cloth so I wouldn't even try. But I found some patterns online if you'd like to have a go. Click on the link to get to the pattern. Most of these models seems to be feel very comfortable in their outfits! Even the last one...

Log's Turtleneck

Cat Hoodie

Little Black Dress with Pearls

To humiliate the dog

Knitting IS my cup of tea

Debbie New's teacup from Unexpected Knitting.

I always start and end my day with a big cup of tea. And lots of coffee in between.

Strict non-knitting diet for at least two weeks

Yes, you read it. I'm on a strict non-knitting diet for several weeks. Now who on earth would come up with such a stupid rule? Well, it has been decided, by myself and others, that we are to move in TWO weeks! Yikes. It's something that we have been trying to do for some time but when we finally did find a new home everything just needs to happen so quickly. So there won't be a single teeny tiny moment left to knit. It's not just about throwing all of our stuff into boxes but we also need to manage the art of squeezing our home into a place that is almost only half the size we have now! Ok, I don't mind getting rid of some of the junk that inevitably always seem to sneak into our home. But there is really some challenges in this. For instance my yarn stash. Have. Too. Much. Yarn. Sometimes I think that maybe I'm fooling myself. Maybe I'm not a knitter at all. Maybe I'm just a yarn collector. Better not go there.

Anyhow, I really need to dive into that compact living lifestyle. I really hope that I will post pictures of my stash all neatly organized sometime in a not too distant future.

This also means that some of my current knitting projects will be put on hold for a little while, but I will be online too quench my knitting thirst and of course to attend to this blog, which by the way had over 1000 visitors yesterday, yay! It makes me SO happy that so many knitters have found my little corner of the web! It will definitely be a comfort when I'll be off the needles for a couple of weeks.   

Now you see it, now you don't - illusion knitting

 

Have you seen this before?  I remember the first time I saw pieces like these, I was so impressed! Now I know a bit more about how it's done but I'm still really amazed at how a knitting pattern can work like this. When you look straight at the piece you only see two-colour stripes. But when you look at it from the side - voilà. A picture is revealed.

Stripes...

Mona Lisa!

Stripes....

Girl with a pearl earring! 

 Pretty cool, huh? Although these pieces are very pretty I couldn't imagine putting panels like these on my walls at home. I'm not a fan of putting fabric on the walls. But I think that it would be great to add an illusion knitted cushion to my sofa. Like this one;

Fleur-de-lis

All pictures come from Woolly Thoughts where you can also buy patterns for all kinds of motifs. And what's even better, they tell you all about how the pattern is done! They break down how you can take a picture of your own choice and turn it into an illusion knitting piece. AND the website also have tutorials for simpler patterns so that you can have a go at illusion knitting right away! So do check it out.

Now you see it...

Now you don't. Well, almost not.

Plans

Whenever I come across a person who creates beautiful things, be it paintings, garments, jewelry or home decor, I always feel that I have a thousand questions that I'd like to ask them. I have always been interested in the process of creation, what inspires people and how do they plan their work? What obstacles do they encounter and how do they deal with them? And if they have their own business I'm even more curious since I used to be a gallery owner and miss the whole entrepeneurship lifestyle.

So I've decided to add a new feature to this blog. I'm going to interview people that I'm curious about and admire and post everything here so that we all can share the magic!

If you have somebody in mind that you think that I should interview, I'd love to hear about it. I hope to start these posts pretty soon so stay tuned...

Why have diamonds when you can have yarn?

Max's World

I'm usually not that crazy about people flaunting their hobbies as jewelry but I just had to share these earrings, I think they're really cute. I also recognised myself in this pendant...

Knit Purl Etc

drowning

Monday = long hours at work = less hours for creating = over crowded head. Sometimes it feels like I'm drowning in my own life. How do you make the most of the hours you have?

Yummy art yarns

Mushroom Hunting from Weird & Twisted

Atomic Forest from Kitty Grzz 

I really enjoy looking at art yarns. I say LOOKING because that's all I've done so far. I have actually not yet seen a knitted item in art yarn that I felt that I just HAD to knit. If you have a knitted art yarn piece that you admire, please share! I think that the skeins are small artful pieces already, they're almost like paintings. They have different elements and some of them even tell a story.

Floribunda by Magnolia Handspun

Detour to lace and stripes

Yes, yes, I know that I said that I would go straight from the cabled tunic to the Snake-a-licious sweater. But I just had to make a little detour... all knitters make detours, right? Just a quickie here and there and suddenly you have 15 unfinished projects! But I just HAD to make this one. I've been knitting so much for kids lately and need a break from it. I will show you what's on my needles as I proceed. It's from a pattern I bought on Ravelry and it involves LACE and STRIPES. Isn't that an unusal combination? I just love stripes. But I'm not a lace knitter. After the first rounds I was like "what the heck is this supposed to be? Just a mishmash of stitches." But as I got better and better I actually saw a pattern take shape. So then I had to unravel and start all over again so that the pattern would run smoothly.

Pattern for Chunky Cables Cape out now!

The pattern for the cape is finally done! I think it worked out really nice, it's so soft and cosy and Isola just loves wearing it. And mums and grandmas will love it to - thanks to the chunky yarn, it will knit up in no time! It's great for gifts, one size fits most toddlers so you don't have to worry about that. Please check it out, it's available at both Etsy and Ravelry. PS you don't have to be a member of Ravelry to shop there.

The cape is great for in-between-weather and easy to put on. It looks particularly cute in the stroller. See all of my patterns here!

Colors, please!

via

November in Sweden is so GREY. And not a misty, dewy, romantic grey but a dirty, concrete-ish, agony type of grey. No fun at all. And if we don't get any snow it can stay like this for four or five months! It makes me sad and the need for beautiful things aches in me. I really miss a bit more color in my life.

Cables for me too, can't wait...

... to finish THIS project:

 It's a pattern by Deborah Newton, from Vogue Knitting magazine and I'm making it in light grey. It is the project that I work on "when I'm not knitting", ie I pick it up and make a few rounds when I don't want to think about WHAT I'm knitting and just do it. It's for those rare moments when I'm not making up kids patterns of my own but just want to occupy my hands. Or watch TV. It feels like I've been working on it forever but it's actually only about 25% left. I will post pictures of the end result when it's done! And I can't wait until it is, because I've decided that my next "not-knitting-project" is going to be... THIS:

I think it's absolutely stunning. I need to cast it on right now! It's called Snake-a-licious sweater by Tiny Owl Knits and you can buy the pattern on Ravelry here. Please do and knit along with me! But I just can't decide which color I want...

Chunky cables coming up

 I've been having some chunky cables on my needles lately since I'm working on a new pattern for a toddler's cape. I really like mixing moss stitch pattern with cables and it has been real fun to knit with chunky yarn again because you se the pattern take form in no time at all. Capes, or ponchos as some call them, is great for that in-between weather, not to mention that they are super cute on small kids. 

This time I worked in an alpaca and sheep wool blend from Garnstudio Drops, it's called Andes. They have the same yarn in three different weights which is great, but unfortunately the color range isn't so exciting in all of them. But it is soft, warm and very price-worthy.

The Chunky Cables Cape Pattern needs a bit more test-knitting but I hope that I can present it to you soon!

Buy ready-made or knit yourself?

A friend of mine (non-knitter) once said that she couldn't see any point in knitting since it is so cheap to buy knitwear in the stores. And that is true. You can get great knitwear for almost nothing. I took two examples from HM here. One girls cardigan with cables and moss-stitch and a girls dress with cable pattern. They both cost SEK 199 which is about 31.00 USD. And I don't think it's all crappy yarn either, the cardigan is in a cotton and alpaca blend. And they are both super cute. So why would I prefer to spend a couple of weeks knitting one of these garment for more money than it would cost me if I pay now and get it right away? I'm not quite sure.

But I would knit something, however, if I find a pattern that is very unusual or unique. I would be ok with spending time and money on it if the result is a garment that I'd cherish and wear for years. So it had to be something really special. I would also consider knitting smaller projects, like accessories, if they're made in a favorite or luxurious yarn. Or if I want to make a unique gift. I also like patterns that are versatile and can be knitted in several different types of yarn or yarn weights.

I'm a bit amazed at how beautiful knitwear like this could be so cheap. Zara has nice knitwear for kids too, in almost the same price range, and some of the garments even claims to be hand knit. How is that possible?

It makes me think of all the people who thinks that they can make extra money selling their knitted crafts online. Some of them do but most don't. If you charge enough to cover the material cost AND the time that you spend knitting it you should be happy if you find a buyer. I don't think that people will buy an item just because it's hand knit. It has to be hand knit AND something special AND at a fair price. They won't buy it just because you knitted it and it has a pretty color. And they will certainly not pay 70 USD for a knitted girls poncho just from a picture of it lying on your living room floor with a plastic hanger stuck into it. Why on earth would they? I see a lot of listings like that.