Caspians

Tools of trade. We, crafters can't go without them and if they are somehow special to us, it makes the whole thing - crafting - even more pleasurable. Personally, I'm a real sucker for good quality craft tools. I'd rather have a few quality ones than a bunch of cheap and unreliable ones. It's not a secret that card makers have their own favourite papers, punches and stamps, crocheters have their own favourite crochet hooks and finally knitters have their own favourite yarn brands and knitting needles. I'm no different in this respect. Caspians from knitpicks.com  - is a luxurious collection of knitting needles and crochet hooks I've been wishing for months. Finally an Amazon packet carrying two types of Caspian knitting needles made its way to my door :) I'm on cloud nine! 

Naturally when buying them I couldn't decide which set I wanted more. I'm using DPNs (double pointed needles) more at the moment but I've always wanted to have a go at circulars too. So I gave myself a real treat and bought both :) 

They are beautiful and I'm so excited to use them. They arrived nicely packaged in the clear pouches with the American and European sizing on it. 

A nice surprise was also the fact that Knitpicks give you six dpns in each size set rather than 5 like most producers do. Just in case if you lose or accidentally break one ... somehow but it is rather unlikely to happen. These laminated birch needles are so durable and with a a bit of TLC they will last you a long time.

The circulars look really intriguing with all these extras included. Everything is nicely colour coordinated. I will have to learn how to assemble and disassemble them. The shiny metalic elements give the Caspians a nice luxurious finish. 

This Caspian wood is so nicely polished, warm and pleasant to the touch. The yarn doesn't slip off it easily yet it slides along nicely as you knit.  Oh and the colours! Gorgeous aquatic hues, just as I love!
This is how Knit Picks describe their product :)

Oceanic waves of sea green, teal and marine ripple across Caspian - the newest addition to the Knit Picks Options family! Boasting the same strong and smooth layers of laminated birch that you know and love, Caspian shows off a sea-inspired colorway along with a distinctive emerald cord to complement its oceanic hues.

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 The burnished surface of Caspian delivers just the right amount of grip to easily manage slippery yarns while warming quickly in your hands for hours of comfortable knitting.

In a nutshell - poetry! :)

So below here is my little private premier league of the knitting needles :) KnitPro Symfonie and KnitPro Karbonz and now the Knit Picks Caspians too :) I just love the knitting / crocheting experience with these quality products. KnitPros are very similar to KnitPicks, I'd say, a kind of European equivalent of Knit Picks in America. Their range is great so do check their websites for some lovely knitting tools.

I couldn't wait and switched to my new needles straight away :D Now the pink bunny is being knitted with Caspians. Doesn't he look a bit creepy with his head open like this? ;)

Alongside I'm also knitting a beige bunny. Sometimes I need a rest from sweet pink colours :) It's coming on slowly :)

For this spring season I'd also like to knit some new spring eggs and balls :) Patterns printed out and ready. These are always joy to make. I'm hooked on knitting these balls and thanks to who? Arne and Carlos from Norway.

And here is my latest bargain shopping from The Works :) I love all sorts of craft bibles and this quilting one is a particularly tempting one. I'm not ready for taking up quilting yet but it's my dream to be able to quilt and patchwork in the future and of course a good reference book will always come in handy. As for the second book - Mollie Makes series of books I just love to have :)

Have a good week folks :)

Greetings x x x

Martha

Mishmash :)

Hello. A few things to blog about today. When the latest issue of Cross Stitch Card Shop came through with the post last month, there was a letter attached for its subscribers. Basically the publishers dropped a bombshell announcing that they are stopping publishing this magazine due to marketing difficulties. I'm gutted. I really am. I liked it. Entirely devoted to cross stitched cards and with a variety of motifs to choose from. One of its kind on the market and now taken away while other similar mags still sell alongside. I will miss this mag definitely.

However the magazine itself doesn't mention a word about closing off. What's more, there is even a preview of the next issue. I do hope I'll find it in my mailbox 'cause I really love those cute cards with pink and orange owls :) The attached letter says The World of Cross Stitching will be taking over the ideas and it will be sent out to those subscribers whose subscription of Cross Stitch Card Shop hasn't finished yet. 

While Cross Stitch Card Shop is soon disappearing from the Brititsh magazine market, a new magazine has turned up on the shelves - Total Crochet Amigurumi. This is a nice mag full of crochet projects in form of amigurumis. I managed to get hold of the two first issues. I especially love the crocheted bunnies and teddies featured on the cover. The overall style of the magazine differs a lot from the British ones and one can easily guess it is not a product from the UK. It must be American, Candian or perhaps Australian, not sure.

The nice thing about this magazine is the fact it doesn't feature any advertisements (yay!) as opposed to the British craft mags that are excessively padded with paid adverts and wasted pages, which really gets on my nerves sometimes. It contains written crochet instructions followed up by numerous photos which makes it easier to work through the projects. I hope it lasts on the market and we will draw many interesting ideas from it.

My dear boyfriend-o has recently treated me to some Easter craft goodies :) Bless him. Here is what I brought from Hobby Craft - some cute wooden block stamps and springy ribbons. 

I particularly love the ribbons. They are cute and I could adorn my knitted bunnies with them :)

Apart from the stamps and ribbons, a few balls of DMC Natura cotton made it into my shopping basket. The juicy green and the slate grey balls came from eBay though. 

I'm especially craving for something fresh and this juicy grassy green is particularly attracting my eye.

In the meantime I'm knitting a pink bunny :) Currently I'm working on its arms and head :) It's coming on! Bit by bit. I'm thinking of giving it to a little girl who adores everything sweet and pink :)

And here is what has happened recently to my cross stitch project - a disaster. I'm gutted as these were supposed to be the cards finished for February and now this major setback with the threads has cropped up. After washing the stitches in lukewarm water and drying them out on a towel, the red Anchor thread discoloured and left the pink stains. I am really mistrustful of this brand now. My fault, I should have pre-washed the Anchor cotton first. For comparison, I've never been let down by the DMC reds. 

There is no other way than to stitch the background over with a white thread and hope for an improvement. So it's DMC this time. No more Anchor for me please.

Well, I went even a bit further and experimented with a colour catcher. Nope. It didn't really help and it even altered the remaining colours. Will have to stitch this motif again. 

Well that my experimenting with washing the cross stitch done. I always wash my stitches no matter how small they are. Whether it is a motif stitched for a card or a large sampler. I just like to know it is fresh and clean. I just couldn't bear a thought is was stitched, touched many times and just left grubby. 

So, what do you do for your stitches? :) 

Minty, the rabbit

I've been into knitting lots recently. Now that Easter is approaching I thought I could knit some bunnies. Perhaps you remember my first knitted rabbit. The pattern taken from Arne & Carlos book Easter Knits. Eggs, bunnies and chicks with a fabulous twist. Time I had a go at another Easter bunny :) Actually I started knitting this minty green rabbit months ago, I just couldn't finish it for a long time until one day I told myself: That's it! No more UFOs! No more leaving the unfinished stuff behind.

So here he is! Minty, the rabbit :) Finished and ready to be adopted by a soft toys loving kid :)

All I had to do is to help him out of his rabbity "deafness" and knit him a pair of ears as well as his jumper :)

I'm pleased. I think he came out quite well. The stitches are smooth, the yarn knitted well, the colour looks fresh.

Doesn't he look happy, this little soft fella? :) I'm also happy with this tiny cute stripey jumper :)

Minty has quickly found his companions - the rapping bear from Muller Rice and Monkey from PG Tips :) If you watch the British adverts you must surely know these advertising characters. 

They have even had their photos taken at a photographer's :D

Cool, huh? :)

Have a happy crafty weekend x x x

Martha

Scandi-style knitted bags (2)

Hi all. Hope you are enjoying your weekend :) I'm trying to catch up with my long overdue blog posts so here is another one, this time about the knitted bags I made last autumn. 

Perhaps you remember these - my first ever 3 knitted pouches from Arne and Carlos crochet / knitting book. I found them very enjoyable to knit so I made some more! Floral theme is definitely my favourite and I just fancied seeing some colourful patterns on them. 

I tend to knit the bags in threes then take a break and move onto something else as I get bored easily and need frequent changes in my crafting. This time I made 3 floral ones and one extra pouch using my own pattern and colours. I was very pleased with how they turned out. 

I used various types of yarns to knit them - Vipe from Dalegarn (mercerized cotton), DMC Natura (DK Cotton), Sublime Egyptian cotton and a mercerized cotton yarn called Wendy. They all give slightly different textures and thicknesses. I like to see these knitted pouches in various colour combinations. 

DMC Natura cotton seems to be working really well for these kind of knitted bags. The thinner yarn, the better because as it always happens in colourwork, the thickness doubles depending how many colours are used in the pattern and it's just nice when a bag is nice and flowing rather than overly thick and puffed up from the yarn. 

For the knitted bag below I used the well know Marius pattern and combined it with my own colours. Sort of wintery hues. The Ivory shade of DMC Natura looks so ... natural here and I like how it combines the with ashy blue shade.

My mum ordered some of the pouches and some have already been sent home. They have so many uses. You can store anything you like in them.

There is always a dilemma for me: should I crochet a string for the pouch or just use a ribbon. Actually I like both ideas so I do a bit of both. 

These seashells in the photos make me really want to go to a seaside now! :)

In the meantime a new knitted pouch is coming on on my needles. To be seen soon on my blog! :)

Have a great weekend and enjoy your crafty time. 

Thank you for your comments and feedback. 

Martha x x x

Knitted Bags - Scandi style and KnitPro Spectra Flair

Hi everyone. It's been a very "knitty" week for me as I've been working hard on my current knitting projects and trying to finish them asap. Today I have finished my 3rd knitted bag and they are ready to be presented to the public :) So here they are: the three Scandi-style knitted ... bags ... pouches ... favour bags ... gift bags, name them all...

The knitting pattern for these pouches comes from Knit-and-Crochet Garden book by Arne & Carlos. I've kept my eye on this knitting project for months and finally I got round to do it! I even managed to buy the recommended yarn - Vipe from Dalegarn. It's a thin mercerized cotton with a sleek satin touch. It knits well and smooth and creates that nice knitted pattern so typical of cotton yarns. I just love it! 

I'm pleased with how they turned out. When knitting your colourwork, you have to stretch your knitted fabric every so often so that it doesn't pucker on the surface when you've finished. I tried to avoid that at any price otherwise the pouches wouldn't look nice. 

The bags are knitted on double pointed needles. It took me well over a week to knit all three with 2-3 hrs knitting daily. They are about 12-13 cm in height and larger than the Christmas balls (julekuler) I knitted in the past. The Vipe yarn is thinner than Heilo wool and there are more stitches to work through but all is done in almost the same way as you knit the balls. The pouches are finished off with a crocheted frill on top and a string / ribbon drawn through the yarn-over loops.  

I really love the floral designs on these bags - they are my favourite and there's a Scandinavian vibe in it. It's the whiteness and simplicty of the design I love in them most.

This what the bags look like when spread flat. You can use a crochet chain or a decorative ribbon or even a tape according to your preferences.

These cute bags are very versatile. You can use them for many purposes. They can be scented pot pourri bags, seed bags, jewellery bags, gift bags, favour bags, Easter treats bags, bags to keep coins or beads or spools in or even any beach treasures - sea shells, stones, sea glass etc. In my case, they are going to hold my jewellery pieces safe. I already know I will be knitting more of them. Would love to try out new colour combinations and perhaps use different patterns on them. Oh, I may even try knitting some festive ones and give them away at Christmas. My mum is a keen gardener and a fan of scented sachets, she's likely to ask for a couple of them too!

I really enjoyed knitting those bags. It was great fun trying new yarn and working out the new patterns. There will be some more coming in the future.

Now on the shopping-tool front line, this is what my postman left for me today in the mailbox - a set of 5 funky pink double pointed needles! :) I love them! So girly.

They are the KnitPro Spectra Flair Acrylic needles :) I love all KnitPro products.

I didn't even know such existed! I only came across them as I was browsing through eBay offers searching for some 9mm dpns. This is my first acrylic needle set from KnitPro and my first acrylic knitting needles ever. Hope it knits well with them. If you have got any of these yourself, please, feel free to share your opinions in the comments. I'd love to hear from you.

Girls love pink. I'm gonna have fun knitting with them! :D

Thanks for reading and even more thanks for your comments x X x

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Hand-made Moday Blog Hop no. 182 :)

Arne and Carlos - Knitting Scandinavian Style - a new book!

This is a great news for all Arne and Carlos fans - their new book Knitting Scandinavian Style (the English edition) is out on the market and can be purchased on Amazon. When Amazon had sent me their email saying that the A & C book is on its way, I was on tenterhooks for the next 3 days checking out my mailbox a few times a day! Finally last Friday my postman brought me this:

... a package from Amazon with my long-awaited copy of the book. Woohoo! It really made my day :)

This is a paperback and as all Arne & Carlos books, it is published by Search Press. It's the fifth book by this Scandinavian duo and as a great fan of A &C I'm lucky to have all of them including their Advent Calendar and a magazine with some Easter eggs, both published in Norwegian.

Looking back, the whole Arne and Carlos mania began for me with their first book: 55 Christmas Balls to Knit. I even learnt how to knit on dpns just for those gorgeous festive balls. This is also the moment when Arne and Carlos became the knitting stars in Europe (esp in The Netherlands, Germany and the UK), obviously excluding their own country where they have been known for years now. Each of their books is full of vibrant, colourful projects to knit or to crochet. Many projects have lots of child-like and dream-like character and perhaps this makes them so attractive and tempting. There is also that Scandi flair looming in the background in each of their books, which I just love and I'm always amazed at the abundance of the Scandinavian patterns and colour combinations. Lots of their projects is based on double pointed needles so if you know how to knit with them, you're half way there! These books are rather for intermediate and advanced knitters, beginners may struggle a bit as sometimes their instructions are not entirely clear and straightforward. I remember how I struggled with knitting the bunny's heel, the bunny being from their "Easter" book. In the end I worked it out but it required a lot of patience, trial and error method, consulting some other knitting books and a bit of frustration and swearing from my part. Anyway, with a bit of will and persistence you will be able to work through their patterns and instructions. 

Now, back to the new book. For those who are interested in this book, here are some photos of what you can expect inside. Prepare yourself for lots of photos :)

The contents:

Lice sweaters - this one made me laugh and cringe at the same time. What an awful name for such nice knits! I googled it to find out what this is all about and Wikipedia says that lusekofte, the Norwegian name for this type of sweater translates as lice jacket and it refers to those small single dark stitches scattered over the knitted fabric and reminding the Norwegian people of insects. Ewwww!  

Here below Arne (on the right) is modelling such a lice sweater :)

More "lice" patterns, they are really nice and so detailed.

With this book you are in for a cultural treat - there's plenty to read about the knitting traditions in Norway esp about patterns from Setesdal region. Arne also goes back to his roots reminiscing about his knitting grandmother from whom he learnt his skills. 

There are female and male jumpers to knit :)

Plenty of pillow covers to knit. Personally, I just love this red and white pattern. Would love to have a go at knitting this cushion cover sometime.

There is also an absolutely sweet teddy to knit. Doesn't he look great in those knitted patterns?

Expect also hats and mittens, all with beautiful geometric patterns, so characteristic of the Scandinavian knitting tradition.

Another pillow to make. Simple patterns and great colours make a lovely project.

Just love this cosy hat and mitten set!

Can you already feel the Scandi atmosphere of a wooden house by looking at these pictures? :)

Knitting mittens and socks is always what I wanted to learn. I hope this book will finally motivates me and gives me confidence to take up the new knitting challenges.

And another lovely pillow to make :)

Aren't they just beautiful? Pointy shape, lovely pattern, cosy yarn? :) Get your yarn stash ready guys!

There's also a quilt-type blanket to make. This one has got unusual colours. How do you like it?

More cosy geometric goodness :)

I just love this hat. So cosy, so warm, so distinctive. How do they do it? The Norwegians, I mean...

Another great pillow to make. I feel temped to try it  sometime in winter :)

Another great pillow to knit in interesting colour combination :)

And how about this draught excluder? Isn't the pattern beautiful?

There is also a smaller project to knit - a tea cozy with cheery pompoms. Could you resist that?

Socks, socks, socks... fabulous colours and patterns.

They would even look good as Christmas stocking hung by the fireplace :)

Some gorgeous redness to knit :)))

Perhaps a project for the festive season?

A Christmas tree skirt - if you want to celebrate in Nordic style from the top to the bottom :D

Snuggly, cosy, warm, bliss... Roll on winter!

there are also cowls and wrist warmers to knit :)

And something for home too - checkered pot holders...

... and pretty festive coasters with 2 patterns to choose from :)

Oh, and a knitted mouse pad. You haven't expected it, have you? :P

Well this is more or less it what you can find in the new A & C book. When compared to the previous books, this one is definitely more about the traditional Norwegian knitting rather than toying with some playful childlish projects. What I like about is that the fact that Arne and Carlos included both bigger and smaller projects in it. Some will require a good knitting experience, some will take you only a while to make. Everyone should be able to find something for themselves. So if you think this is the book for you, head to Amazon and treat yourselves to some Scandi love. 

In the meantime as the book arrived at my doorstep, I have been working on a new A & C project from one of their books. This time it's not going to be a knitted ball or an egg. Shh.... I won't tell you yet. You will find out soon!

And the last piece of news - well, Arne and Carlos are not spending their time wallowing in the success of their previous books. They are already working on the next one! It is going to be a book about knitting cozy house slippers and this is what the Dutch edition cover is going to look like. I guess we will have to wait a while for the English edition of this book. In the meantime let's enjoy our Knitting Scandinavian style! 

 In Dutch:

Arne & Carlos zorgen voor een warme winter met gebreide sloffen voor jong en oud. In Arne & Carlos breien op hun sloffen passeren ruim 30 sloffenparen de revue, gemaakt met 1 basis breipatroon met hierop 3 variaties. Van hoge sloffen met pompoms tot sloffen met een Noors dessin en in bonte kleuren; veel vormen, maten en motieven komen aan bod. Arne & Carlos staan garant voor uren breiplezier. Brei de sloffen met pure breiwol en vervilt ze vervolgens in de wasmachine. Het resultaat: heerlijk warme gebreide sloffen. Inclusief stapsgewijze breipatronen en sfeervolle fotografie.
Arne & Carlos zijn bekend van hun breiboeken en breipatronen. Het Scandinavische breiduo ontketende een ware breihype in Nederland met hun eerste boek Kerstballen breien met Arne & Carlos. 

Google Translate:

Arne & Carlos provide a warm winter with knitted slippers for young and old. Arne & Carlos knitting on their slippers passing more than 30 pairs of slippers in review, made ​​with one basic knitting this pattern with three variations. High slippers with pompoms to slippers with a Norwegian design and bright colors; many shapes, sizes and designs are discussed. Arne & Carlos guarantee hours of knitting fun. Knit slippers with pure yarn and then felted them in the washing machine. The result is wonderfully warm knitted slippers. Includes step knitting patterns and atmospheric photography.
Arne & Carlos are known for their knitting books and knitting patterns. The Scandinavian breiduo unleashed a knitting hype in the Netherlands with their first book Knitting with Balls Arne & Carlos.

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