Funky grandpa in Crete



Almaryda, Crete

Here in the UK we are basking in an unseasonably warm weather. I moved to England about 17 years ago and built my life here but I always long for the Mediterranean Sun. We had our long deserved holiday in Crete last week, our first time in Greece and I enjoyed the food (too much I'm afraid), views and friendly people but soon after arriving, it was storming for four days with very strong winds and rain. The drainage system just could not cope with that amount of water and streets became rivers. Inconvenience to idle tourists like us.

I packed my newly finished Grandpa by the lovely Rililie which was light enough to wear the last sunny day of our holiday. Not for the first time I stole/copied/inspired by the version of my dear friend the cycling-knitter  with her permission of course. Part of the fun of knitting your project is dreaming and planning the combination of colors and I always look at other ravelry projects to get ideas. I just loved the light background with the subtle stripes of the variegated skein cashmere fingering in 'Fig'. The background is not white nor cream but like a light fawn or stone color. Yarn purchased at 'unravel' from Kettle yarns Co Beyul- nice blend of yak, silk and merino in fingering weight, not too floppy just with the right heaviness. The scrumptious skein in Fig has colors ranging from purple, pink, yellow and beige. The deep brown sleeves in uncommon thread tough sock 'Pitch' with the whimsical saddle sleeves give a bit of boldness. Can you see the long stripe of Brown on the beginning of the button Band? beautiful little details. Oh and the icord bind off of the cuffs, nice short rows on the button band and double the yarn on the bottom Rib.. It really is a funky fun knit !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Endearment and a Donkey !

My Endearment is complete and here is the proof :-)
I was trying to persuade this beautiful mare to tilt her head to the camera but she stubbornly insisted of showing us ,ahem.. her ass. Where I live there are ever growing in numbers herds of well behaved donkeys. This late September there are few new adorable foals which will have to grow fast to survive the winter's cold.
Back to my Endearment, I thoroughly enjoyed knitting it. It is a beautiful pattern with a vintage feel to it and with some lovely thought details. I've never knitted before such double knit hems and cuffs so was happy to learn a new method. It took me less than 300 grams of 4 ply to make the small size.
It took me a while to decide on the buttons , had to find 6 pairs that match the greyness and lace pattern. I chose odd metal silver buttons I had in stash . They are almost all different from each other and it add to this cardigan's charm.

On the 16th of October I am flying with a small group of obsessed ladies. We all share the same obsession of course ;-)The destination is New York city and Rhinebeck wool show. I was there two years ago and it was an amazing trip which I intend to repeat :)
will keep you posted !

Endearment - Progress shots !

Am totally engrossed in knitting this beautiful pattern.

A design by Hanna Maciejewska , collaborated with my favourite Uncommon thread dyer, Ce as an exclusive kit for a limit period.

One of the knitting projects I loved

 

The lace pattern on the fronts is striking and well worth the extra attention in knitting it. It is actually easier than it looks. The yarn is uncommon thread tough sock . I've got an extensive collection of this base just love knitting with it. It has a certain crispiness to it , it keeps in shape, not too floppy and the stitch definition is exceptional. I'm addicted to greys and this is a fine example of a very light grey that is coming alive with darker shadows. Less is more here.

An interesting knitting detail is the hem which is double knitted so you are getting a think band with some short row shaping that makes the back hem wider than the front hem and with a saucy split at the back :)

 Soon to start on button bands . Have you notice those cute button pairing on the design?
Am now on the look out for buttons..

Will keep you posted ! :)