Üksik ja üldine/Particular and general

Küsimus, milline üldistusaste on millalgi mõistlik ning kas teatud asjad on üldjoontes sarnased  või siiski mitte ei kerki üles ainult kudumises ja disainis. Minu meelest on piisavalt oluline ja huvitav teema. Algpunktiks oli minu jaoks seik, et tihti küsitakse õpetusi kudumitele, mille sarnaseid leidub üsna palju ka tasuta, kudumisõpikutes jne. Ma ei mõtle pärisalgajaid, kes ilma õpetuseta ei julge kududa, vaid neid, kellel on kogemusi ja kes suudavad õpetuse teha oma kalkulatsioone oma lõngale. Ma ei taha kedagi ümber veenda, las igaüks koob, nagu talle meeldib, aga küsimus, mis on sarnane ja mis mitte, on siiski tähelepanuväärne.
The question about what degree of generalization is reasonable and whether certain things are more or less similar or not does not come up in knitting and design exclusively. I think it is a sufficiently relevant and interesting topic. The starting point for me was the fact that often people ask for instructions to knitwear that has plenty analogies and free at that, also in knitting textbooks etc. I am not talking about beginners who do not dare to knit without a pattern but about those with some experience and who are able to make their own calculations for their yarns on the basis of an instruction. This is not to convince anybody in anything, everyone is entitled to knitting in preferred way; however, the question what is similar and what is not is remarkable.
Võtame näiteks inimese, kes ise ei koo. Ta suudab küll näha erinevaid mustreid, kuid mõnikord ajab nad ootamatul kombel segamini (näitkes, üks inimene kiitis seelikut alumisel pildil ja ütles, et toredad palmikud, kuigi kudujad teavad, et need ei ole palmikud) või paneb kokku erinevaid pitsimustreid. Aga samas võivad ka sarnased mustrid olla tema jaoks päris erinevad. See on arusaadav.
Let us consider a person who does not know how to knit. The person is able to distinguish between different kind of stitch patterns but sometimes confuses them in an unexpected way (for instance, somebody praised this skirt in the picture below and said that the cables are cool, although knitters would know these are no cables) or confuses quite different stitch patterns. At the same time, this hypothetical person can view quite similar patterns as rather distant ones. This is understandable.

Kuid räägime nendest, kes koovad. Kas iga jakk või sviiter on unikaalne või mõned on siiski omavahel sarnasemad? Muidugi, on olemas mõned üldtunnused, mis teevad sviitrist sviitri: eest kinnine (muidu oleks jakk), mingid varrukad (muidu oleks vest) jne. Aga see on liiga kõrge üldistustase ja pole antud juhul kasulik. Vaatame neid pilte. Kas need mudelid on sarnased või erinevad? Kuidas tundub? Kirjutage palun kommentaare, siis jätkan järgmine kord.
But let us talk about those who do knit. Is every jacket or sweater unique or some of them are more similar than others? Of course, there are some common features that make a sweater a sweater: it is not opened on the front (otherwise it would be a jacket), it has some kind of sleeves (otherwise it would be a vest) etc. This degree of generalization is too high to be useful for our discussion. Let us observe the pictures. Are these knits similar or dissimilar? How do you feel? Please write comments and I will continue another time.
Esimene on Suvi võrratu  jakk nimega Roheline (pilt Twist Collective ajakirjast, talv 2010).
The first one is the delightful Roheline-jacket by Suvi (picture from Twist Collective, Winter 2010).

Teine on Islandi kampsun (pilt leidub siit, pole kindel, kas seda tohib kopeerida)
The second one is an Islandic swater (the picture is here and I am not sure I am allowed to copy it).

Ja kolmas on siinsetele lugejatele tuttav sviiter:

And the third one is a sweater familiar to the readers:

Ootan arvamusi!
I am looking forward to reading your opinion!

Roheline villane/Green wool

Kunagi eelmisel aastal kinkis mulle Helin Hiiumaa villast. Ilus jäme kahekordne lõng. Vill oli värvimata, antud juhul helehall. Mõtlesin, et tuleb ära värvida, sest mu perekonnast kellelegi selline värv ei sobi (meile kolmele sobivad külmad, intensiivsed värvid). Vahepeal on aga Ruth endale värvimise selgeks saanud. Kuna mul kodus pole värvimiseks mahti, andsin selle tööö hea meelega Ruthile. Siin on tulemus. Nii ilus roheline, et ei raatsi lõngakorvi või kappi ära panna, las olla mõni päev siin arvuti lähedal. Aitäh! Vihtide värvi vahel on väike vahe, aga see pole probleem: kavatsen kududa 2 rida ühest, 2 rida teisest vihist.
Last year Helin gave me some Hiiumaa wool as a present. It is a nice thick two-ply yarn. The wool was undyed, pale grey. I thought I have to get it dyed because this colour would not suit anybody in my family (all three of us need cold, intensive colours). Meanwhile Ruth had mastered the art. As I have no facilities at home, I gladly delegated this job to Ruth. Here is the result. Such a beautiful green that I don't want to put it away into my yarn basket or into the closet: let it be near my computer for some days. Thanks! There is a small colour difference between the skeins but it does not pose a problem: I will alternate skeins after every 2nd row.

Võrdluseks Raasiku 8/3-ga: ligikaudu sama jämedus, võib-olla on roheline lõng pisut jämedam. Arvatavasti tuleb sellest kunagi jakk.
For the sake of comparison with Aade Lõng (by Raasiku factory) 8/3: approximately the same yardage, maybe the green one is slightly heavier. Probably some day this will become a jacket.

Midagi pitsilist/Some lace

Vahelduseks midagi muud. Pitsiline rätik. See on alles algus. Lõng on peenike meriino, varras 3 mm.
Something different for a change. A lacy shawl. This is just a beginning. The yarn is laceweight merino, needles 3 mm.

Kudumeid vitriinides/Knitwear in shop windows

Välismaal on huvitav vaadata, milliseid kudumeid on väikeste poodide vitriinides. Ei saa öelda, et olen siin näinud palju, kuid siiski midagi on.
When abroad, it is instructive to look what kind of knitwear is on the display in small shops. I cannot say I have seen much here but still there is something.

Suhteliselt traditsiooniline triibuline-sakiline sviiter, aga siiski köidab tähelepanu. Järgmisel päeval läksin mööda, aga seda enam polnud!
This is a relatively traditional striped zigzag sweater but still it attracts attention. When I was passing by next day, it was gone!

See sviiter on põiki kootud. On tuttava musrtri varatioon. Ilmselt on puuvilla ja millegi segu, suvine kudum.
This sweater is worked sideways. It is a variation of a familiar stitch pattern. Apparently, this is a blend of cotton yarn and something else, a summer knit.

Ja selline raamat on müügil raamatupoes. OZ creativ  on terve sari. Teame vähe, mida antakse välja saksa keeles (v.a. ajakirjad, mida Eestis müüakse). Pealkiri ütleb: "Õmblusteta kudumine. Kena mood ilma õmblusteta". Hakkasin loomulikult uurima. Konstruktsioonides kasutatakse Barbara Walkeri raamatust tuntud võtteid, aga konstruktsioonide autorluse üle ei saa midagi kindlalt väita, sest paljusid asju avastatakse iseseisvalt (olin ise juba tükk aega kudunud nii, nagu koon, kui sain lugeda Walkeri raamatut). See on umbes selline asi, et kes on õmblusteta raglaani konstruktsiooni autor jms. Kudumid ise ei olnud minu maitse järgi, välja arvatud kaanepildi oma, sellepärast otsustasin, et ei osta. Siiski on tähelepanuväärne, et selle sarja raamatuid on igasuguseid.
And this book is on sale in local book shops. OZ creative is a whole series. We know very little about German-language knitting literature (except for the magazines that are available in Estonia). The title reads: Seamless knitting. Beautiful fashion without seams. Of course I had to give it a closer look. Constructions utilize techniques known from Barbara Walker's book but one cannot say anything but one cannot say anything definite about the authorship of the construction because many things are being discovered independently (I had been knitting the way I usually do before I heard of Walker's book). It is something of the kind "who invented topdown seamless ragalan?". The garments in the book were not to my liking except for the one on the cover, so I decided I will not purchase the book. Still, it is noteworthy that there are quite a lot of different book in this series.

Sama värv, erinevad lõngad üheskoos/Same colour, different yarns together

Kuna praegused kudumid peavad jääma mõneks ajaks salajaseks, räägime muul teemal. Eelmises postituses saksa kudumisajakirjadest mainisin, et Stricktrendsis oli paar kudumit, kus vaheldusid sama värvi, aga erinevad lõngad. Mõlemal juhul pean silmis musta kudumit.
As I have to maintain secrecy as my current projects are concerned, let us talk about something else. In the previous post about German knitting magazines I mentioned that the recent Stricktrends had a couple of designs where different yarns of the same colour alternated. I am speaking of the black garments in both cases.

Siis tuli meelde mu kunagine kudum, kus vaheldub mohäär ja viskoosi-puuvilla segu.
Then I recalled my older knit where mohair and rayon-cotton blend alternate.

Idee on tänuväärne, sest kui on mõni lemmikvärv, siis koguneb seda värvi erinevaid lõngajääke.
The idea has a potential because if you have your favourite colour(s), then you end up with remnants of different fibers in this colour.

See sviiter on kahest erinevast lõngast ja kahevärviline. Olen selle ära kinkinud, kuna mul on alpakaallergia. Olen mõelnud, et peaks tegema midagi taolist uuesti. Aga võib-olla prooviks teha nii, et värvid oleksid üsna lähedased või lausa samad. Vill ja mohäär või hoopis mingi puuvillasegu ja mohäär. Mida arvate?
This sweater is from two different yarns and in two colours. I had to give it as a present to someone because I am allergic to alpaca. I have been thinking that I should do something similar again. But maybe it would be nice to try very close or the same colours. Wool and mohair or maybe some cotton blend and mohair. What is your opinion?

Saksakeelseid kudumisajakirju/German-language knitting magazines

Paistab, et praegu on jälle põhjust kirjutada ajakirjadest. Olen Austrias. Muidugimõista olen juba vaadanud raamatupoodidest ja kioskitest, kas on midagi huvitavat. Grazi suuremas raamatupoes ei olnud ajakirjade valik kuigi suur. Raamatute hulgas oli üht-teist, sellest kunagi hiljem. Saksamaal on igas kioskis kudumisajakirju, nt ka raaudteejaamas. Otsustasin, et lähen vaatama, kuidas on siin. Ka siin on sama lugu. Hankisin 2 ajakirja ja ühe mustrivihiku.
It appears that I have yet another reason to write about magazines. I am in Austria. Needless to say, I've already checked whether there is anything interesting in book shops and kiosks. The choice of magazines was not very impressive in the biggest book shop in Graz. As for books, maybe I will write about it sometimes later. In Germany every kiosk carries knitting magazines, also in railway stations. I decided to go and check how it is here. This is true about Austria, too. I got two magazines and one small stitch patterns magazine.

Mulle meeldib väga, et saksa keeles ilmub kogu aeg mustrivihikuid. Muster on kogu kudumise alus. Mõni ei vajagi õpetusi, vaatab mustreid ja valib, mis talle meeldib. Nendes vihikutes on alati mõni haruldane muster. Näiteks mulle meeldib selle jaki muster, tõsi küll, jaki teeks teisiti, aga see on juba väike asi.
I quite like it that such pattern collections appear in German all the time. Stitch patterns are a basis for knitting as such. Some don't need instructions, just browse patterns and pick up what they like. These collections always have some less known patterns. For instance, the stitch pattern in this jacket is to my liking; indeed, I would knit a different jacket but this is not terribly important.

 

Siin on vana tuttav Stricktrends. Seda müüakse ka Eestis, aga Saksamaal ja Austrias on odavam.Kaanepildi sviiter on jaapani mustriga, mida olen varemgi näinud. Siin meeldib mulle värvilahendus ja pildi stilistika. Kena on ka see, et varrukas on ühevärviline keeruga soonikus. See sobib mustriga kokku, samas ei teki muljet, et kõike on kuidagi liiga palju.

Here is the good old Stricktrends. It is available in Estonia as well but it is cheaper in Germany and Austria. The sweater in the cover picture has a Japanese stitch pattern I have seen before. In this case I like the combination of colours and the styling of the picture. Also the fact that the sleeves are in one colour and in twisted ribbing. This goes well with the main stitch pattern and you don't get an impression that there is too much of everything.

 Kas võin niisugusest pealkirjast ja värvikombinatsioonist mööda minna? Selge, et mitte. Vasakpoolne sviiter on mitme tumeda (musta ja tumehalli) lõnga kombinatsioon. See on mu ammune idee, et kasutaks erineva faktuuriga sama või ligikaudu sama värvi lõngu. Siin on 2 puuvillast lõnga, üks puuvilla ja polüamiidi segu ja üks puuvilla, polüamiidi ja siidi segu. Ka teine sviiter on kena. Midagi niisugust võiks teha Raasiku üleminekulõngast.
Can I just ignore such a title and a colour combination? Clearly I cannot. The left sweater is a combination of several dark (black and charcoal) yarns. I have had this idea for ages, to use yarns of the same or approximately the same colour but with different textures. Here they have 2 cotton yarn, one cotton and polyamide blend and one cotton, polyamide and silk blend. The second sweater is quite pleasant, too. I can imagine something of the kind from Aade Lõng/Kauni variegated yarns.

Ka siin on vasakpoolne sviiter mitmest erinevast lõngast. Üks on mohäär ja teine hästi peenike metallõnga ja siidi segu. Parempoolne on mohäärist.
Also here the left sweater is from several different yarns. One is mohair and the other is a most thin metal thread and silk blend. The right one is from mohair.

Ajakirja Rebecca Eestis ei müüda. Üldse ei müüda minu teada GGH lõngu, sellest on kahju. Küll aga müüakse nii ajakirja kui neid lõngu Leedus, nii et olen sealt aeg-ajalt ostnud mõlemat. Selles ajakirjas on alati palju mohäärist kudumeid. On meelivaid mustreid. Kudumid ei ole enamasti ülekoormatud. Seekord köitis tähelepanu (muuhulgas) selline jakk. Lõngajääkidele oleks hea rakendus. Mina teeks sakke horisontaalsete triipude asemel, aga see ei muuda asja eriti.

The Rebecca magazine is not on sale in Estonia. To the best of my knowledge they don't sell GGH yarns either, this is a shame. But both the magazine and the yarns are available in Lithuania and there I have bought both from time to time. This magazine always offers plenty of garments from mohair. There are pleasant stitch patterns. Mostly the garments are not overloaded. This time this jacket (among other things) caught my attention. It would be a good way to use yarn leftovers. I would make a zigzag pattern instead of horizontal stripes but this would not be a great change.

Veel ajakirjadest/More about magazines

Nagu näha, eelmine postitus puudutas paljusid. Sellepärast kirjutan kohe vastuse kõigile. Aitäh kommenteerimast! Olen nõus, et parem korralik tõlkeajakiri kui Minu Käsitööd, kus on palju vigu. Ka algajatele kudujatele on vaja õpetusi, kus kõik suurused on olemas. Sain vaadata ka Maretit, see on teises formaadis ja stiilis, kui Käsitöö. Väga hea, las olla erinevaid. Samas on kartus, et kuulsad lõngafirmad oma võivad niiviisi kodumaised ajakirjad välja süüa. Ma ei ole protektsionismi pooldaja, kuid olukord on selline, et tõepoolest on väga raske (peaaegu et võimatu) avaldada oma disaine välismaa ajakirjas, rääkimata mõne lõngafirma omast ajakirjast. Sellepärast peaks olema koht, kus eesti autorit võiksid avaldada (muidugi mitte sellepärast, et nad on just eesti disainerid, aga kui nende tööd on tõesti huvitavad). Veel kord aitäh kõigile!
As I see, my previous post was relevant to quite a few people. Therefore, I am replying to all of you. Thanks for comments! I agree that a neat translated magazine is better than Minu Käsitööd that has so many mistakes. Also beginners need patterns where all possible sizes are available. I've looked into Maret, it is in a different format and style than Käsitöö. Very fine, there should be different kinds of craft magazines. At the same time, I fear that renowned yarn firms would crush Estonian magazines in this way. I am not a supporter of protectionism in any form but the situation is such that it is indeed extremely difficult (almost impossible) to get your designs published abroad, especially in a magazine belonging to a certain yarn company. This is why there should be a place for Estonian authors to publish (of course not because they are Estonian designers but because their work is interesting). Once again, thank you all!.

Uus käsitöösajakiri/A new crafts magazine

Täna hommikul märkasin kolleegi laual uut ajakirja Regina Käsitööd. Hakkasime kohe arutama. Tore, et on jälle üks käsitööajakiri juures.
Today in the morning I noticed the new magazine Regina Käsitööd (Regina's Handicraft) on my colleague's table. We started discussing it. It is nice that a new craft magazine has been added to what we already have.

Uuurisin lähemalt. Pidlid tundusid kuidagi tuttavad. Paistab, et tegemist on tõlgetega, ilmselt kõik või suurem osa on ilmunud välismaal. Ajakirja koduleht  on valmimisel ja avatakse 15. märtsist. Ühte kirjandusteemalist Regina ajakirja olen juba näinud, seal on eesti ja soome autorite artikleid ja intervjuusid. Ju siis sama kontsern. Siin aga tundub, et käsitööajakiri on sajaprotsendiliselt vahendatud. Lõngadeks on SMC, Viking, Mark & Kattens, Regia jms tuntud firmad. Disainterite nimesid juures ei ole.
I gave it a closer look. The pictures appeared somewhat familiar. It seems that the patterns are translations, all of them or the majority of them has appeared abroad earlier. The homepage is under construction and will be ready by 15 March. I have already seen a literary magazine named Regina that contains articles and interviews from Estonian and Finnish authors. This must be the same publisher. However, the content of this magazine is probably entirely mediated. The yarns are SMC, Viking, Mark & Kattens, Regia and other known manufacturers. I could not find the designers names anywhere.
Ühelt poolt on hea, et on jälle uus ajakiri. Aga meil on juba üks tõlkeajakiri olemas, leedu Minu Käsitööd. Saadaval on ka hulk välismaised ajakirju, Verena lausa kolmes keeles (saksa, inglise, vene, kes mida tahab).Teiselt poolt tekib küsimus, kus võiksid eesti kudumisdisainerid oma töid avaldada. Paistab, et Käsitöö ja veel eesti naisteajakirjad, mis avaldavad mõne õpetuse igas numbris, ja ongi kõik.  Käsitööl on ka soomekeelne variant, mis on tohutult oluline. Kas meie töid on vaja, kui turg täitub tõlkeajakirjadega? Muidugi Ravelry on ka, aga see on hoopis midagi muud. Selge, et Eestis on rahvast üldse vähe, aga siiski.
On one hand it is nice to have a new magazine. But we already have one magazine that is a complete translation from Lithuanian (Minu Käsitööd). Many foreign magazines are available, Verena can be purchased in three different languages (German, English, Russian, whatever you prefer). On the other hand, one may ask where Estonian designers would publish their works. It appears that there is only Käsitöö and some women's magazines that publish a couple of patterns in every issue and that is all. Käsitöö has a Finnish version as well, which is very important. But who needs our works if the market would be filled with translated magazines. Of course, there is Ravelry but this is something completely different. It is clear that the population of Estonia is very tiny, but still.

Punane kimono-jakk/Red kimono cardi

Valmis! Aitäh Avele pildistamast!
Finished! Thank you for the pictures, Ave!

Lõng/Yarn: Fabel (Drops), 50 g/205 m, 75 % vill/wool, 25 % polüamiid/polyamide, ~ 250 g
Vardad/Needles: 3,5 mm
Ravelry
Ilmselt tuleb ka jaki õpetus. Kus ja millal, ei oska veel öelda.
Probably, there will be a pattern. I cannot say yet where and when.

Nööbiliistud/Button bands

Kuidagi iseendale märkamatult sain valmis kere osa. Muster jääb kergesti meelde ja koob end ise. Eile õhtul pildistasin foorumi jaoks, kuidas korjan üles nööbiliistu silmused.
Somehow unnoticed I finished the torso. The stitch pattern is easy to memorize and it knits up itself. Yesterday in the evening I made a photo for our forum how to pick up stitches for the button band.

Mul on alati ääresilmus ripskoes, siis saab kergesti üles korjata n-ö sõlmekeste vahelt (või sõlmekeste seest), ei teki probleemi, mis on ridade ja üleskorjatavate silmuste proportsioon.
I have edge stitches always in garter stitch because it helps to pick up stitches easily between so-called knots (or from the knots) and there is no problem of ratio between rows and picked up stitches.

Üldpilt on praegu selline. Värv on pildil vale, siiski üldmulje olemas.
The overall picture is now like this. The colour rendition is wrong but you get a general impression.

Varrukad olemas/Seeves done

Nüüd on mul kimono jaki varrukad olemas. Esialgu oli pilt selline:
Now I have the sleeves for my kimono jacket. In the beginning it looked like this:

Siin on seljatükk ja esitükid veel ühendamata. Rohelised mummud tähistavad kohta, kus lõpeb varrukas (tegelikult on seal markerid). Tuleb kokku murda mööda õla joont, kokku kududa varrukas äärest kuni rohelise mummuni ja siis selga proovida. Järgmisel pildil näeb õlamustrit.
The back and the front pieces are not joined yet. The green dots designate the points where the sleeves end (in reality, I have stitch markers there). You have to fold everything along the shoulder line, to knit together the sleeves from the sleeve edge to the green dot and then to try on. The next picture shows the shoulder stitch pattern.

Ja siin on juba kokkukootuna, võib selga proovida. Varrukad on olemas, nüüd hakkan kuduma keret ühes tükis.
And here the sleeves have been knitted together and it is possible to try on. The sleeves are done and now I will start knitting the torso part in one piece.

Õige algus/A proper beginning

Mõne mustriga on nii, et väikse proovilapi järgi ei saa aru, mis see õieti on. Mustri ilu näeb alles siis, kui on palju mustrikordi.  Mida rohkem koon seda mustrit, seda rohkem see meeldib mulle.
It happens with some stitch patterns that you don't understand what it really is based on a small swatch. You can appreciate the beauty of the pattern only when you have knitted a lot of pattern repeats. The more I knit this pattern, the more I like it.

Kootud on peaaegu 4 mustrikorda kõrgusesse.
It is almost 4 pattern repeats in the height.