Good bye, year 2007!

A few hours left and gone it is! For me it was a peaceful year with plenty of knitting. What more to want, right!? Here's a mosaic of my favorite works in 2007:

And here is my last work this year, wishing You all the very best new year! Happy knitting!

Latvian mittens

mittens3
Originally uploaded by Muhv

First Christmas present given over! Isn't it a nice time, making and giving gifts. This year I have managed to avoid the christmas panic and really enjoyed planning what to make as a selfmade gift to everybody and knitting them. Well some are still to be finished, but still - I love the feeling when you put your best wishes and thoughts into and later giving them over the joy you get back from the eyes of the gift recievers, it's worth every stitch knit :)

I like having an idea or a point in every knitpiece. These mittens are special, cause the pattern reminds our Estonian national flower rukkilill (cornflower). Therewhy I chose this blue color and added our Kihnu vits (braid) in the cuffs to make those Latvian mittens more like Estonian ones. My friend was very happy and so am I.

Pattern: Vidzeme no.81 from Latvian Mittens by L. Upitis
Yarn: Shoeller Stahl Fortissima Socka 75% virgin wool, 25% polyacrylic - black and Titan Wool Winner 100% merinowool - blue
Needles: no 2.00mm
Notes: worked over 64 stitches.

Eesti keeles loe siit.

A little gift for my younger son.

pillow1
Originally uploaded by Muhv

Beside needles and hooks I own a sewing machine too. In the past I loved to sew and did it almost as much as I knitted. But it seems that me getting older is also me getting more lazy- although the machine is on the sewing table all the time, it's only job seems to be to get coverd with dust.
Every now or then I still have to use it and now was the time. In the day-care center wher my son goes they decided that children should get fun pillows as pre-christmas gifts. I made one with a car for my boy, since he is a big fan of cars (what boy isn't, right). The car is applicated by hand, the tires are crocheted and the pillowcase itself sewn by machine. It was a fun to make it, even though I had to do it at night, so that little A. wouldn't catch me. It had to be a secret!

Lace Gloves

gloves_lace52
Originally uploaded by Muhv

That happens when one has two blogs, I just forgot to post here my new lace gloves. Well, it's a real pleasure to make Christmas gifts for friends and family, but I needed something for myself too.
These are my lace gloves to go with my Gretel beret. The lace pattern is from Anna Extra Strickmustern magazine. It doesn't show well on the photos with the dark yarn I used, but they look really nice on. This is only the third time I knitted gloves, but this time the fingers came out really nice and the gloves are very comfortable to wear. Not a single hole at the beg of the fingers to sew afterwards! I'm so proud of myself :) The thumb is made with gusset and that made me wonder if it's anyhow possible/appropriate to make traditional Estonian/Latvian mittens with gussets too. It would make them so much more comfortable. Afterall, the Selbu mittens are with gussets...

Pattern: lace pattern no.63 from Anna Extra Stricmustern
Yarn G-B Wolle Jil dark grey 100% wool 50g/125m
Needles: no.2,5 bamboo dpns
Notes: made over 40 stitches

Eesti keeles loe siit

Gretel Beret

gretel2
Originally uploaded by Muhv

Since childhood I've been sure that berets don't fit me! Decpite that I've dreamed about a big slouchy beret since last year. Well, this fall I already needed it to wear with my new coat. As a cabel-lover I chose Gretel of course.
Well I loved all those turns and twists. And that I had not to ravel, the pattern worked out well! I did a little change, making a rib hem so that the beret would sit tighter and not fall on my eyes. I like the result a lot and now I just have to get used how I look in beret, cause I really haven't wore one since childhood and I didn't like it back then at all.

Pattern: Gretel Beret by Ysolda
Yarn: Novita 7 veljestä dark grey (044)
Needles: 2,5; 3,0; 3,5mm

Eesti keeles loe siit.

We Call Them Pirates

Few weeks ago I made my boys (10 and 5) the famous We call them pirates hats. At first I was going to knit it only for my older son, but me miscalculating the gauge, it became younger son's hat. He was very happy about this, of course. So I had to knit the other on too. Here they are, my boys looking like twins:

Pattern: We call them pirates by Hello Yarn
Yarn: Novita Nalle black and Steinbach Wolle's Merino Soft natural white and green
Needles: nr.2.5mm bamboo dps
Notes: the decreasings seemed just too sudden for me, so I made some minor changes there. Started decreasing a few rows earlyer and made them every other row instead of every row. Closer to the end, although decreased on every row as the pattern tells to do. The inside hem is also made wider to protect the ears from cold and wind (we do have cold winters here occasionaly, although this is not the case at the moment).

I love colorwork and enoyed knitting these hats. Boys are sattisfied and I'm happy, what's more to need!

Eesti keeles loe siit.

Swallowtail Shawl vol2

Well, I've finished my second Swallowtail this year. I still think that it's the most beautiful shawl pattern ever seen, although I have seen lots and lots of other beautiful ones too. Perhaps it's these nupps that makes it so close to heart. After all, the nupps are from Estonia!



Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave Knits Fall 2006
Yarn: Aade Lõng 100% wool
Needles: 3.00mm bamboo circles
Measurements: 170x80 cm / 70x32 in (enlarged version)

It's an exchange gift for a friend from our Isetegijad forum Sussimemm who makes wonderful felted slippers!

Eesti keeles loe siit.

My first post here

Hei!
I have a handicraft blog called Muhvi ja Sipsiku Laegas in Isetegija.net, but it's in Estonian, so after been invited to Ravelry I decided to have one in English too. It's gonna be quite a challenge, as I've never had a blog in Blogger before and I certenly haven't blogged in English before. So please, be patient, it'll take some time, before I'll adjust!