Vilniuse vest/Vilnius vest

Lubage esitleda, Vilniuse vest! Paremat nime ei tulnud pähe. Aga kuna lõng on Vilniusest ja valmis kootud sai ka Vilniuses ja mõeldud on just Vilniuse suve jaoks, siis miks ka mitte.
Please allow to introduce, Vilnius vest! I could not come up with a better name. While the yarn was purchased in Vilnius and the vest was completed in Vilnius as well and the garment is meant for Vilnius summers, why not!

Kuna päike paistab, pole eriti hea pildistada. Midagi saime ikka.
As the sun is shining, it is not very helpful for taking pictures. But we got something.

Lõng/Yarn: linen/linane, 100 g/500 m, ~130 g

Vardad/Needles: 2,5 mm

Pildid/Pictures: Kornelija

Üht ja teist/Various matters

Eile oli kudum nii pikk, täna on juba valmis ja kuivab. Loodetavasti saan näidata lähiajal.
Yesterday my knit was this long, today it is finished and drying now. Hopefully, I will be able to show it in the nearest futures.

Eile oli Mezgimo zona lõngapoes kudujate kokkutulek, tavaline neljapäevane üritus. Sain näha vanu tuttavaid, oli päris hea üle hulga aja kokku saada. Sonata pildistas lahkesti.
Yesterday there was a regular Thursday meeting of knitters in the Mezgimo zona shope. I saw old friends and it was very pleasant to meet after such a long break. Sonata was very kind to take pictures.

Lähedal asub veel üks lõngapood. Selle nimi on Casa Lana/Siūlų namai (Lõngamaja), aadress Basanavičiaus 1. Müüakse palju peenikest mohääri (GGH, OnLine), mitmesugust puuvillast (OnLine), viskoosi-puuvilla segu (ka OnLine), mitmesugust meriinot (BBB, OnLine jne), villast, mingil määral linast jms. Müüjad on hästi sõbralikud ja seletavad üsna lahkesti. Ise koovad ja kannavad oma kudumeid. Mingi info on siin, aga ainult leedu keeles.

There is one more yarn shop nearby. Its name is Casa Lana/Siūlų namai (Hous of Yarn), the address is Basanavičiaus 1. There is quite a lot of thin mohair on sale (GGH, OnLine), several kinds of cotton (OnLine), rayon-cotton blend (by OnLine as well), various weights of merino (BBB, OnLine etc), wool, some linen etc. The salespersons are quite frendly and kindly give advice. They knit and wear their knitwear. There is some information here but in Lithuanian only.

Ja lõpuks kuulutus. Mind paluti rääkida pikemalt, kuidas kududa ülevalt alla ilma õmblusteta. Nii et järgmisel neljapäeval (04.08) kl 17 Mezgimo zona poes jagan seletusi. Arvan, et mul on selleks ajaks mõni kudum alustatud, nii et võin täpselt kirjeldada töö käiku.

And finally an announcement. I was asked to explain in more details how to knit top-down without seams. So I will do that next Thursday (04.08) at 5 p.m. in Mezgimo zona. I think I will have started something and will be able to describe with a greater precision what I do.

Demesio! Kitą ketvirtadienį 04.08 Mezgimo zonos parduotuvėje 17 val. papasakosiu, kaip megzti iš viršaus be siulių.

Koon edasi/I keep on knitting

Nagu öeldakse, mitte mingeid rabavaid uudiseid. Koon edasi. Võib-olla olen juba sel suvel kudunud üsna palju linast, seetõttu see kudum tundub igavavõitu, kuigi midagi pole valesti.
As they say, nothing to write home about. I keep on knitting. Maybe I have already knitted a lot of linen this summer and this is why this knit seems a little bit dull, although nothing is wrong.

Nagu ikka, Sonata lahke abiga saab näidata, mis toimub. Väga tüüpiline minulik ürp, eks ole.
As usual, with Sonata's kind help I am able to show what is going on. A wrap jacket that is very typical of me, isn't it?

Jälle linane/Linen again

Mezgimo zona poe perenaine Sonata pakkus täna, et võiks teha paar pilti uue kudumi algusest. Kuid pärast üht pilti sai aku tühjaks.
Sonata, the owner of Mezgimo zona yarn shop, suggested today to take some pictures of the initial stage of a new knitting project. After a single shot the battery was empty.

Pole midagi, nagunii ei ole veel palju jõudnud teha. Nimelt murdsin tükka aega pead, mis muster sobiks ja kuidagi ükski muster ei istunud. Otsustasin väga lihtsa lahenduse kasuks.
No problem, in any case not much has been done. Namely, I have spend a lot of time pondering over a suitable stitch pattern and did not like anything. I opted for a very easy solution.

Tuleb lihtne linane jakike, pealeviskamisasi, nagu öeldakse. Seekord koon 2,5 mm vardaga ja tundub päris hea.
It will be a simple linen jacket, a thing to throw on, as they say. This time I am using 2.5 mm needles and the fabric feels quite right.

Kahepoolne/Double-sided

Head lugejad, kas tuleb meelde see?

Dear readers, do you recall this?

Too oli prototüüp ja nüüd on pärisrätik.
That one was a prototype and this one is a real shawlette.

Pildid on tehtud Mezgimo zona poe vahetus läheduses, naaberukse juures.
The pictures are taken in the immediate proximity from Mezgimo zona shop, literally next door.



Pildid/Pictures: Sonata (ačiu!)
Lõng/Yarn: Drops Fabel, 75 % vill/wool, 25 % nailon/nylon, 50 g/205 m, 81 g
Vardad/Neeldes: 3,5 mm
Paar sõna lõngast. Suurepärane lõng! On pehme (minu jaoks pole see peamine, aga küllap on palju tundlikke inimesi), samas püsib vormis. Muster on ilusti nähtav. See on küll oluline, sest mulle meeldivad tumedad värvid ja ühtlasi igasugu pitsimustrid. Metraaž on väga hea. Värvikaart on päris viisakas: kirjude lõngade austajatele on päris mitu varianti, samuti minu jaoks on sobiv punane, lilla, must ja rohekas-sinine. Ametlikult sokilõng, tegelikult on rätiku, aga ka kleidi, jaki jms lõng.
Some words about the yarn. Wonderful! It is soft (not terribly important for me but there are a lot of sensitive people), at the same time it stays in shape. The stitch pattern has a great definition. It is relevant because I like dark colours and also all kind of lace patterns. The yardage is very nice. The colour card is rather decent: for fans of multicoloured yarns there are quite a few options and for me as well: red, purple, black and greenish blue. Officially it is sock yarn but really it is shawl, dress, cardigan etc yarn.

Vilniuses/In Vilnius

Tänasest alates olen 4 nädalat Vilniusest. Selge, et kohe astusin Sonata juurest läbi. Oli meeldiv kohtuda. Nagu näha on, Sonata koob ja nimelt midagi linasest.
Starting from today I am going to spend 4 weeks in Vilnius. It goes without saying that I went to see Sonata at once. It was a pleasant meeting. As you can see, Sonata is knitting and namely something from linen.

Tegin linasest mõned pildid, aga Sonata seletas, et pole eriti mõtet pildistada, kuna varsti peaks saabuma uus kaup ja siis on rohkem värve. "Rohkem" on suhteline mõiste, sest juba praegune valik on päris lai.
I took some pictures of linen but Sonata explained that there is no point to photograph now because new stock will arrive shortly and there will be more colours. "More" is a relative concept because already now the choice is quite broad.

Edaspidi tuleb kindlasti veel juttu lõngapoodidest, lõngadest, leedu kudumisajakirjadest jms.

Further on there will be more talk about yarn shops, yarns, Lithuanian knitting magazines etc.

Lõppude lõpuks/Finally

Nii rõõmus, et lõppude lõpuks sai valmis!
So glad that I finished it at last!

Täna hommikul oli ideaalne ilm pildistamiseks.
The weather was ideal today for a photo session.






Pildid/Pictures: Kristiina
Lõng/Yarn: Austermann Kid Silk, 25 g/ 225 m (75 % mohair, 25 % silk), ~ 3 tokki/balls; Güttermann Sulky metallic (200 m), ~ 4 rulli/bobbins
Vardad/Needles: 4,5 mm
Pole kaalunud, aga ilmselt kaalub sviiter u. 75 g.
I have not weighed the sweater but I think it is about 75 g.
Tänan kõiki, kes mulle nõu andsid. Olen ise üht-teist õppinud, loodan, et kogu loo kirjeldusest on kasu ka teistele kudujatele.
I am grateful to everybody who gave me advice. I have learned something and I hope that the description of the whole adventure will be of some use to other knitters.

Jälle algpunktis/Back to square 1

Tavaliselt on nii, et kui tekib kahtlus, siis peaks seda uskuma (antud juhul räägin ainult kudumisest, mitte elust üldse). Muidugi juhtub mõnikord ka nii, nagu oli ühe vestiga, aga see on pigem erand. Niisiis, eile õhtul proovisin selga ja mulle tundus, et kudum annab mulle juurde 10 kg ja teeb ümaramaks. Tean, et paljud hakkaksid kohe laginal naerma, aga asi pole selles, millised on kellegi kehaparameetrid, vaid selles, et optiliselt tekib massi juurde. Teadagi, mohäär on siiski karvane, mõni rohkem, mõni vähem. Täna hommikul tõmbasin jälle selga ja tegin pildi (vabandan kvaliteedi eest, aga probleem on minu arust nähtav).
Usually if doubts arise, you should take them seriously (I am talking exclusively about knitting now and not about life in general). Of course, some times you may end up like I did with this vest but this is rather an exception. So, yesterday I tried on and it seemed that the garment adds 10 kg and makes me more plump/round. I know that many would laugh out loudly hearing that but it is not about one's body parameters but exactly about optical effect of adding volume. It is clear that mohair is hairy, some brands more and some less. Today in the morning I pulled it on again and took some pictures (I apologize for the quality but the problem is visible, to my mind).

Siis arutlesime Suvi ja Dianaga nii ja naa. Üks variant oleks laiendada järsult taljest, et oleks täitsa lai seelik, aga siin on vähemalt kaks vastuväidet. Esimene: mohäär on kerge ja ei lange hästi, olen näinud selliseid kleite. Teine: nuku siluett 1950-ndate stiilis pole üldse minu rida. Niisiis, otsustasin ära ja tõmbasin vardad välja. Vaadake alumist pilti!

Then together with Suvi and Diana we deliberated on that. There is an option of abrupt increases from the waist line so that the skirt would be rather broad but there are at least two objections. First: mohair is light and does not drape or fall well, I have seen such dresses. Second: doll-like shape in the spirit of the 1950s is not my cup of tea. So I made up my mind and removed the needles. Look at the bottom picture!

Näete, et kasvatusi on juba niigi liiga palju. Niisiis, otsustasin, et seekord olgu sviiter. Harutasin taljeni ja koon sirgelt. Kindlasti pole see mõni eriline sviiter, aga üht lihtsat asja läheb ka vaja. Kleiti aga tahaks küll, mõtlen, mis lõngast teha, et see poleks suvine, samas aga mitte väga palav. Meeles keerlevad sokilõngad. Kui keegi oskab soovitada, oleksin tänulik.

You see that there are too much increases. Thus, I decided that it would be a sweater this time. I ripped up to the waist line and knit without increases. Of course it is not a special sweater but some times you need a plain thing, too. Still, I would like to knit a dress and I am pondering about yarns, so that it would not be a summer dress but also not too warm. My mind is busy with sock yarns. If anybody could give an advice, I would appreciate it very much.

Kui see oleks sviiter/If it were a sweater

Kui see oleks sviiter,
If it were a sweater,

siis ta oleks juba valmis.
then it would be already finished.

Aga sellest tuleb tuunika või kleit. Võrdluseks on pandud aluskleit, mida kootud kleitidega kasutan. Nagu näha, on vaja veel kududa. Suurendasin silmuste arvu ühekorraga kolmandiku võrra. Tundub, et on paras.
But it will be a tunic or a dress. For the sake of comparison, beneath is an underdress that I use with knitted dresses. As you can see, I have to knit more. I increased the number of stitches at once by 1/3. It appears all right.

Üks varrukas ja vardad/One sleeve and needles

Pole aega kirjutada, hea veel, et on aega kududa! Üks varrukas on valmis. Kohe alustan teist. Oleks kena, kui saaks teise varruka tänase ja homse päevaga valmis. Edasi läheb kleidiks või tuunikaks.
No time to write, so I am glad that I still have some time to knit! One sleeve is ready. I am immediately starting the second one. It would be nice if I can finish the second sleeve during today and tomorrow. Then it will develop into a dress or a tunic.

Tegemist on raglaaniga. Kuna kaeluse ümbermõõt on suht suur, siis on raglaanjoon püstjam.
This is a raglan. While the circumference of the neck is relatively large, the raglan lines are more vertical.

Ja nüüd varrastest. Mõnele meeldib kududa sukkavarrastega, mulle eriti mitte. Õnneks on olemas 40 cm tamiiliga ringvardad. Nüüd küsimus on selles, kas puu, metall või veel midagi. Jällegi on asi individuaalne. Tean selliseid, kes koovad mohääri ainult bambusega, teised jälle ainult metalliga. Kui mohäär on ilma "seltsiliseta", siis koon puu- või plastikvardaga (meil müüakse Pony vardaid, mis on läbipaistvast ja hästi kergest plastikust). Antud juhul on aga "seltsiliseks" polüamiidiniit. Tavaliselt on mul üht vardanumbrit mitu pikkust. Kõige lühemad 40 cm vardad 4,5 mm olid mul ainult teflonist. Sain hakkama, aga tundus, et metall oleks õigem. Läksingi Karnaluksi ja hankisin metallvardad, hoopis teine tunne. Loodan, et teine varrukas läheb kiriemini.

And now about needles. Some like DPNs but this is not my cup of tea. Fortunately, there are circulars with 40 cm cable. Now the question is, whether these should be from wood, metal or something else. Again, it is a matter of individual preference. I know knitters who knit mohair with bamboo needles only and others who knit with metal only. When mohair is without a "company", then I use wood or plastic (there are Pony needles available, these are of a very light and transparent plastic). In this case a polyamide thread accompanies mohair. Usually I have several lengths of the same needle number. The shortest 4.5 mm needles with 40 cm cable was of teflon. I could manage but I thought that metal needles would be better. I went to Karnaluks and bought them and it is a completely different feeling. I hope the second sleeve will grow faster.

Soome kudumissõbrad/Knitting friends from Finland

Täna tulid Tallinna Mia (pildil vasakul) ja Helena (paremal). Ilmaga meil vedas, käisime mitmel pool, Pronksi poes ja uues lõngapoes. Uues poes sai lõngu vaadatud ja nüüd on see koht teada.

Today Mia (on the left) and Helena (on the right) came to Tallinn. We were lucky with the weather and visited several places, the Pronksi shop and the new one. We inspected the yarns there and now the place is known to them.

Helena tegi pildi Miast ja minust. Minust paremal on mingi lilla lõngakera.

Helena took a picture of Mia and myself together. Some purple ball of yarn is at my right side.

See lilla on mohäär, talle seltsiks on üks sinine polüamiidi niit ja praeguseks on olemas selline asi:

The purple thing is mohair and there is a blue polyamide thread to go with it and so far this much has been knitted:

Veetsime kenasti aega, ilmselt kohtume järgmine kord Helsingis.

We had a nice time, probaly the next meeting will be in Helsinki.

Mia ja Helena, kiitos paljon!

Uus lõngapood Tallinnas/A new yarn shop in Tallinn

Kirjutasin varem, et Tallinna tekib uus lõngapood. Tänasest on see lahti, nii et astusin sisse. Aadress on Tartu mnt 60. Omanik on sõbralik, rääkis, et siis Karnaluksi külastajatel oleks ühtlasi hea ka siit läbi astuda.
I have written that a new yarnshop will be opened in Tallinn. Starting from today it is open and so I visited it. The address is Tartu road 60. The owner is friendly, she told that those who go to Karnaluks can conveniently come here, too.

Lõngu on mitmesuguseid. Tuttavatest markidest on Drops (näiteks alpaka, aga ka Safran, Muskat, Cottone Viscose, Delight jms), Grignasco, aga ka üsna palju lõngu pooli peal. Kõik tellitud värvid pole veel kohale saabunud, nii et esialgu on värve suhteliselt vähe. Poolilõngad vajavad uurimist, neid on mitmesuguseid.
There are various kind of yarns. Familiar yarns are Drops (for instance, alpaca, but also Safran, Muskat, Cottosne Viscose, Delite and others), Grignasco and quite a bit of yarn on bobbins. All ordered colours have not yet arrived and so far the colour choice is modest. The yarns on bobbins require time to be studied, there are several sorts.

Nendes hallid poolilõngad on Noro omad. Ei ole siiani Noro austaja olnud, aga nüüd nägin, et neil on ka enam-vähem ühevärvilisi lõngu ka. All on veel üks lõng, mis köitis tähelepanu, ainult polnud mulle sobivat värvi.

These gray yarns are Noro. So far I have not been exactly fond of Noro but now I learned that they have also more or less solid colour yarns. The next photo shows another yarn that caught my attention, only that there was no suitable colour.

Ja siin saab istuda ja kududa!

And here you can sit down and knit!

Kindlasti lähen sinna veel tagasi.

I am certainly going to visit the place again.

Peedilõigud/Beetroot cuts

Lõpuks valmis! Head sõbrad, kujutage ette, et väljas ei ole 25 kraadi sooja, vaid, ütleme, nullilähedane. Niisiis, Tallinnas oli eile vähemalt 25 kraadi sooja, mina aga näitlesin, et mul on hästi külm ja mässin end kampsunisse.
Finally, it is finished! Dear friends, imagine that it is not plus 25 degrees Celsius outside but, let us say, around zero. So, yesterday it was at least plus 25 in Tallinn but I was acting as if I was terribly cold and wrapped myself in the jacket.

Mööda voorisid turistid ja heitsid imestunud pilke, et mis siin toimub.
Tourists were passing by and casting amazed glances: what is going on here?



Neli ülemist pilti tegi Silver, poeomaniku Anu poeg, kes oli poes abistamas. All on aga "obligatoorsed" pildid poe terpil, juba Anu tehtud.
Four upper pictures were taken by Silver, the son of Anu, the owner of the yarnshop, while assisting in the shop. The "obligatory" pictures on the stairs of the yarnshop are taken by Anu.

Pitsimuster koosneb (peaaegu) poolringidest, värv on peedi oma. Sellepärast pakkus Kaja veel päris alguses, et jaki nimi võikski olla "Peedilõigud". Värv on uus. Ei ole seda veel poodides näinud, aga vabrikust juba saab. Lõng on tavalisest 8/2-st pisut jämedam, kudusin 4 mm vardaga.

The lace pattern consists (almost) of half-circles and the colour is that of a beetroot. That is why Kaja suggested in the very beginning that the name of the jacket should be "Peedilõigud" (beetroot cuts). This is a new colour. I have not seen it in stores yet but it is already available in the factory. The yarn is slightly thicker than usual 8/2 and I used 4 mm needles.

Disaini tellinud/Designed for: Barka Fonal.

Lõng/Yarn: Aade Lõng 8/2 (100 g/400 m)

Vardad/Needles: 4 mm

Pildid/Phictures: Silver, Anu