Wabi Sabi Threads

Knitted Flowers

Mimi was wondering if I was overwhelmed at having to put all the blocks together, well the answer to that question is that I’m just trying to ignore that the enormous task have to be done. But I have it on the back on my mind and tonight while the alarm clock was buzzing (I’m working this weekend) I have a wonderful idea about mounting the quilt. So as soon as I get some spare time (I’m working this weekend, did I tell you?) I can start sewing them.

To all of you that have written offering help and I have not answered back please be patient. Help is needed but I need to organize ressources.

Life is really interferring in dollmaking or craftmaking, I’m missing my dollmaking badly.

The only thing that I manage to do is some knitting, at lunch time, conmuting, before going to work. I can  pick my knitting for fve minutes, knit a few rows and just drop it. I can’t do that with dollmaking or any other craft I need tons of stuff, supplies, fabrics and beads just to pick the simpler colour scheme, so in five minutes I only get to open all the boxes, and get an untidy room.

Alice Azul’s block inspired my search of knitted flowers, so far I have only been able  to find a couple of patterns. Two flower patterns at  On my mind, a rounded petal flower at Frogpond and some roses at Knitty (scroll the page until you arrive to the flowers). Most flowers are crocheted, I don’t have nothing against it, but I don’t know how to crochet and right now I just can’t handle learning a new craft.

Knitting Meetup

Yesterday we hold an extra knitting meetup. I come back home really late and a bit dizzy. It's amazing the amount of things that I ignore about knitting. I finally found out the differences among fair isle and intarsia and got to meet another knitter in Madrid.

As a group project we are trying to develop a blog about knitting in Spanish. I had to add my Moebius Scarf Step by Step Tutorial... and of course a lot of work needs to be done regarding the Tsunami Quilt!!!

Moebius Scarf 2 and a hat.

I have been knitting a lot this weekend. All the projects come from "The joy of knitting".

The red scarf was my first Moebius and I have posted about it before. The orange one is my second try. I really enjoyed knitting it. At the center of the scarf you can see the cast stitches  that are tighter than the rest of the knit. Altough this is a beginer mistake I think that it doesn't look that bad with the pattern.

I have also adapted the hat pattern that appears on the book to suit a thicker yarn.

When I try something I want to see results fast so I used a thicker yarn to get results faster. Anyway the results have been good enough. My sister has asked for it, my dad also wants one, and my husband "needs one" in a thinner yarn.

I have never knit on circular needles before, but it's so addictive I guess that I will be making hats as crazy in the following weeks!!!

Other spare time has been used washing by hand my handmade pullovers, another of the things that should know about knitting before getting hooked, that and the price of some of the yarns, yarn doesn't like washing machines.

Tomorrow we have an extra Knitting Meetup, and I would carry all my new stuff to the Meeting.

Moebius Scarf

I have just started reading "The Joy of Knitting" by Lisa R. Myers. So far I like it very much.

When I arrived to the end of chapter two (named: A Feminist History of Knitting", I just love it) I found the Möbius Scarf. A project that after reading a couple of times I still couldn't figure it out in my head. But I tought that the instructions would work once I put my hands on it. I didn't own circular needles, so at coffe break I went to a Yarn store that it's close to my workplace and bought the needles and a skein of Polar (Valeria di Roma)

I have enjoyed very much knitting with my circular on this project. I found it quite relaxing.

The picture is quite wierd. One reason for this is that  it's a direct Scan... I'm at work. The other thing is that the scarf is still on the needles, not finished yet so it looks stiff. Other reason for the siffness can be that in that store the yarnlady always sells bulky yarn and very thin needles. I don't know why, but I never walked out of that store with a couple of needles that teamed the yarn, that it's why I stopped going to the store, well and also because it's a crazy store with bags piling on the floor, it's even hard to enter. I know that she has nice wool but it's like a treasure hunt. And well the third reason for the stiffness look is that I was so eager to try the method that I just started with a hundred of stitches, instead of the 200 of the project. So It's as little as I could manage with this yarns and this needles. I think that it will fit a toddler, so I can give it to my niece.

I liked the experience so much that I will like to try one for myself. And I highly recommend people that doesn't have tried circular needles to do it..

There are some free patterns on the net for this easy (once you get to manage those needles) and fun project.  Planet Shoup has three knitting patterns for a Moebius Scarf. The first one is the closer to the method that I have tried. Other pattern with plain needles is at twinwillowsfarm.com.I have even found a group that discuuses knitting a Moebius Scarf as Soulwork:

"The process of creating the scarf, and the twisted surface of the finished möbius itself, symbolize the precarious balance of our inner and outer selves - how our inner beliefs affect our outward actions (and vice versa), and how it is important to be mindful in both areas of our spiritual path."

Altough I don't know if I have been so enlighted I found it very relaxing and would recommend it for meditation knitting.

Time flies

A month has passed already and the 2nd Knitting Meetup took place yesterday. We missed Sabine the founder of the group. She wrote me telling that she was going to the meetup, but I didn't have time to answer until late on the afternoon. I hope that she didn't thought that anybody will show up, because at the end Urraca and myself showed up.

Urraca has also a weblog (in french) about knitting, and left an awesome link to a Japanese Illustration site as a comment to my last post. I loved it. I think that it's a must see to those interested in illustration so here is the link again: Kodomo

We have a great time but again more talking than knitting. And I want to be proud of knitting in public.!!!

A 2 inch pullover

I'm very stressed with my real life job, so for detoxing I thought about making an small pullover for my Xmas present. I have been a good girl this year so I bought myself a Blythe. So I used some Noro wool to knit a 2inch (6.0cm) high pullover.

The wool is too bulky for this scale, and the Noro stripes sort of got lost. Still I like it.

It's December already so it's time for another Month of Softies Project. December's Theme: Holiday Hang-Ups. I don't understand the meaning of Hang- Up. I'll have to ask Loobylu (By the way, her Xmas cards arrived and they are so gorgeous... better in real life that in the web. It only took them 10 days to come from Oz)

...getting there?

When you are self employed and take a day off, all the work is waiting for you when you come back.So this week I really didn't have much time to write and when I had some time I was tired of writing mails, and letters for my job. So I'm really delayed in my knitting as well as in my posts. This is how much I knit in Amsterdam. I hope I can knit a little bit more this weekend. Another thing is Xmas. Is this time of the year... when you have to focus on Xmas presents. I'll love to make them but I don't think I'll have time to make them all...  I'll have to start working and see how it turns. So I guess I'll not have time to play dolls for a while... I have some neat ideas for three dolls, sculpted dolls, big projects...together with thousand of small projects... and I have designed three bags or purses... I don't know if I'll ever get to sew these.

November Knitting Meetup

This is what I knit at the Madrid Knitting Meetup.

We had a great time, only Sabine and I showed, so I have one to one classes from her on sockmaking... Wonderful.

It was my first time with five needles, socks, etc, and we spent most of the time just chatting. So I guess I didn't get really far.

We had a great time, and even went for dinner later, so I think this is the beginning of a great friendship, as well as the beginning of a Knitting Group.

Regarding the Group I have some Hot news from the oven, Hilda (the knitter superstar of Lisbon) is coming in December to Madrid and she said that she may be able to join us! Wow

Today is the day...

... I'm going to the knitting meetup. The appoinment is at 7:30 pm at an Irish Bar. I can't wait to ge there.

I have spent all my free time surfing the net , looking for knitting sites. I can't find any in Spanish or from Spanish people. If you can understand German (wich I don't) you can read Sabine's blog: Knit a bit, Sabine is the other member of this growing Meetup Group.

A great post on knitting in public, an article on KIP (Knitting in Public), and another article about the new generation of knitters (this one is great).

At Knitters Review I found two wonderful tips or techniques for creating exclusive yarns. One is about mixing two yarns, and the other one is for using your leftovers. I have to try these two.

There are more essays but I just read the two mentioned above and the one on colors. Do you remember that I'm through a green phase? Well if I follow this article my pick means that I have chosen to improve my Family, I guess that as a newlywed this is true. And also:

"Green: Corresponds to your fourth chakra, which is located at the center of your chest. This chakra controls your heart, personal power, and healing."

So I made a green flat for improving my family and empower myself...nice!!!

See some nice green shoes at WeeWonderfuls.

And I found a wonderful site: Knitting from Japan, with lots of eye candy, articles and links that I didn't have the time to explore in depth. I just went for the eye candy, and now I have three super super super favourite knitters: Chizu Nakamura, Noriko Takamatu and Mininami Ishibashi. Awesome!!! Which one are your favourites?

And a great definition of Wabi Sabi

Things...

I'm knitting an sleeve in beige alpaca, the color is a bit boring, but the texture is amazing. It's for my knitting meetup on Wednesday, we are just two, but proud to knit in public.

My order from Material Girls arrived faster than I expected, and they have a sale on some Amy Butler patterns, so somebody is going to receive a Velma bag for Xmas.

And I also wanted to show my 2005 Agenda, i s a gift from my dad that went to Lisboa last weekend, it's from the Selo-fan store, of the Portuguese Postal Office (not available online yet), it depicts old toys mostly portuguese, and it's very beautiful. I think that you'll get to see more in this blog.