Kuduaasta kokkuvõte/Summary of the knitting year

Aasta viimastel päevadel kohtusin Miaga, kes tuli Tallinna kuduma. Kohtusime eile ja täna, siin mõned fotod.
During the last days of the year I met with Mia who came to Tallinn to knit together. We met yesterday and today, here are some pictures.

 

 

Selle aasta kõige olulisemad kuduasjad oli õpetamine uuel tasemel (Tallinna Rahvaülikooli kursus, millest jäi väga hea mulje) ja kindlasti osalemine Tallinna Moenädalatel koos Mattis Meekleriga. Aitäh, Mattis! Loodetavasti koostöö jätkub. Olen üsna palju uut teada saanud. Tänan kõiki kudumissõpru ja -õpilasi! Jõudu järgmiseks aastaks!
The most important knitting-related matters during this year were teaching on a new scale (the course at Tallinn Folk University, which is a very pleasant memory) and, without doubts, participation at Tallinn Fashion week together with Mattis Meekler. Thank you, Mattis! I hope our cooperation will continue. I have learned quite a lot. I thank all my knitting friends and students! I wish you a successful new year!

 

Rattajälg-2/Tyre track-2

See on selle kudumi talvevariatsioon. Lõnga sain Diteksasest, kui viimati Leedus käisin. Kuna lõng on karvasem ja jämedam, otsustasin, et võib olla üks augurida korraga. Ülle, tänan pildistamast!
This is a winter version of this sweater. I got the yarn at Diteksas during my recent visit to Lithuania. Since the yarn is hairier and heavier, I opted for just one row of eyelets at a time. Ülle, thanks for the photos!

 

 

 

Lõng/Yarn: tundmatu Igea lõng/unknown yarn by Igea, ~ 100 g/320 m, mohäär/mohair, atsetaat/acetate, ~200 g.
Vardad/Needles: 4 mm
Ravelry

Tehnilisi kaalutlusi patentkoe puhul/Some technical considerations concerning patent stitch

Teatavasti alustan oma n-ö põhikonstruktsiooni enamasti abilõngaga, et hiljem kaeluse viimistlemisel/krae kudumisel silmused ära kasutada. Aga patentkude on selles suhtes kapriisne, sest 1.rida on lõtv, kuigi alguses on lihtne soonik. Mida teha?
As you probably know, I usually start my so-called basic construction with a waste yarn in order to use the stitches for finishing/making the collar. But patent stitch is somewhat moody because the first row tends to be loose, even if there is ribbing in the beginning. What should be done?

Niisugune on kaelus pärast viimistlemist. Äär oli lõtv ja kaelus päris avar. Iseenesest olgu pigem avar, sest hiljem saab alati kitsamaks teha. Võtsin peenemad vardad, kui kusagil oli liiga lõtv silmus, siis korjasin kõrvalt juurde veel ühe silmuse ja kudusin kokku, nii et auke poleks. Kudusin ühe ringipahempidid, kahandades iga 6. silmust (5. ja 6. s. ph kokku kududa). Täpne silmuste arv pole oluline, kui ei jagu ja jääb üle näiteks 3-4 s, siis pole viga. Aga selline kahandamine (u. 15-17 % võrra) teeb asja ära. Seejärel kudusin veel mõned ringid ripsis ja kudusin maha lõdvalt. Olen tulemusega rahul.
This is how the neck opening looks after finishing. The edge was rather loose and the neck opening quite wide. Actually, it is better to have a little bit too wide neck opening because you can always make it smaller afterwards. I took thinner needles and if some stitches were too loose, I picked up an additional stitch and knitted theem together in order to avoid holes. I purled one round, while decreasing every 6th stitch (by purling together every 5th and 6th stitch). The exact number of stitches is not terribly important, if it is not dividable by 6 and you have 3-4 stitches remaining, that's no big deal. But such a decreasing by approximately 15-17 % worked quite well. Then I worked some rounds in garter stitch and bound off loosely. I am satisfied with the result.

Patentkude/Patent stitch

Patentkude sööb palju lõnga ja võib välja venida, pealegi on üsna raske välja arvutada, mitu silmust luua. Siiski on võimalik koe omadusi edukalt oma kasuks pöörata (peale selle, et sööb palju lõnga - aga mine tea, võib-olla on mõnel teatud lõnga hästi palju, ei tea, mida sellega peale hakata). Teisisõnu, võib kududa midagi, mis on vaba istuvusega ja täpne arvestus pole oluline.
Patent stitch eats up a lot of yarn and can stretch a lot, and besides it is quite difficult to calculate the number of stitches to be casted on. Still it is possible to sucessfully use the inherent features of the stitch (expect eating up a lot of yarn; on the other hand, who knows, maybe you have a whole lot of yarn of a certain kind and don't know how to use it up). In other words, it is possible to knit something that has a loose fit and an exact calculation is not critical.

 

Kaelus on üsna lai, kuid kindlasti näete üleval abilõnga. Pigem olgu laiem, pärast võtan abilõnga välja, panen silmused vardale ja koon mõne rea, vajaduse korral kahandades. Kui kirjutada otsingusse "patent stitch" või "Englsih rib", leiab palju pilte. Olen üsna palju leidnud Pinteresti kaudu, soovitan.
The neck opening is rather wide but you see the waste yarn on top. Better to have a wider neck opening rather than a too narrow one; the waste yarn will be removed and I will use the stitches and work some rows with decreases, if necessary. If you look up "patent stitch" or "English rib", you will find a lot of pictures. I have found quite a few on Pitnerst, which I highly recommend.

Üht ja teist/Various matters

Lilla sviiter on valmis ja kuivab. Ei tea, millal saan näidata korralikke pilte, aga siis, kui saan, siis kirjutan sellest rohkem.
The purple sweater is finished and drying. I don't know when I will be able to show decent pictures but once I will, I'll write about it more.

Tegelikult pole sviiter läbipaistev, aga vastu akent pildistades jääb küll selline mulje.
In reality the sweater is not at all as transparent but when taking pictures against the window you may get such an impression as if it were.

Ja siis on veel niisugune jutt. Vaatasin, et see kudum on kuidagi hästi õnnestunud. Kaelaauk võib olla hästi pisut kitsam, aga visuaalselt on kõik korras ja üldine proportsioon igati sobiv. Pealegi meeldib mulle patent ja poolpatent. Seega otsustasin kududa sokilõngast midagi taolist. Varrukad tulevad ilmselt pikemad ja pisut teistsugused.
And yet another thing. I've noticed that this knit has turned out quite well. The neck opening could be a bit narrower but visually everything is right and the gerneral proportion is quite suitable. In addition I like patent and half-patent stitch. Thus, I decided to knit something similar from a sock yarn. The sleeves will probably be longer and slightly different.

Sellest sviitrist on rohkem juttu siin.
Here you can read more about the sweater.

Kooskudumine/Knitting together

Täna olime jälle koos Pärlis ja Lõngas. Malle ja mina saime kingituseks ananassi.
Today we met for knitting together at Pärl ja Lõng. Malle and I got a pineaple from Anne as a present.

Siis ütles keegi, et ananassi sobib värvi poolest kokku mu sviitriga, nii et võtsin selle kätte.
Then someone mentioned that the colour of the pineapple goes well together with my sweater, so I held it in my hands.

Näitan ka oma praegust kudumit. Õige värv on palju tumedam, kui siin paistab.
And here is my present wokr. The right colour is much darker than it seems.

Sellest kudumist kirjutan kindlasti hiljem.
I will certainly write about this knit a little later.

Aitäh kõigile!
Thank you all!

Perliukas/Perliukas

Alustame kaugemalt. Sattusin Diteksase poodi, kui seal oli üsna palju rahvast. Seal oli kaks kudujat, kes kavatsesid osta mohääri ja kokku panna peenvillasega. See on mulle lähedane teema, jagasime kogemusi. Nad käisid mööda poodi ringi, mohääripoolid käes, ja võrdlesid, mis sobiks kokku värvi poolest. Osa lõngu oli neil valitud ja erisuguse masinaga kerimisel. Valisin endale lõngad välja ja ootasin kerimisjärjekorda. Niikaua istusin diivanile ja võtsin välja kudumise. Üks neist prouadest tuli vaatama, mida ma koon. Nägi kahekordses pärlkoes sviitrit ja ütles: "Perliukas!" Leedu keeles tähendab see otsetõlkes "väikest pärli", aga ka leedu keeles on pärlkoe sõnast "pärl". See on siis selline hellitusnimi. Siis ütles ta, et küll on ilus muster ja mida lihtsam, seda parem. Kui sviiter valmis sai, polnud mul nimega probleemi. Sonata, tänan piltide eest!
Let us start from afar. I got to the Diteksas yarn store when it was full. There were two knitters who wished to buy mohair and to combine it with some thin wool. This topic is quite close to me and we compared our notes, as they say. The were walking around the store with mohair cones in their hands and looking for a laceweight wool with a suitable colour. They had already chosen some yarns which were being wound with a special machine. I picked up yarns for myself and waited for my turn to get my yarns wound. While waiting, I sat down on the sofa and took out my knitting. One of the ladies approached to look what I was knitting. She saw my sweater in double moss stitch and said: "Perlikukas!" In word by word translation from Lithuanian, it means "little pearl" because in Lithuanian, as well as in Estonian and some other languges, moss stitch is literally "pearl stitch". This is an endearing term. Then she added that the stitch pattern is beautiful and the simpler, the better. Thus, I had no problems with the name once the sweater was finished. Sonata, thanks for the photos!

 

 

Lõng/Yarn: Angora 2 (Midara, 50 % vill/wool, 30 % polüamiid/polyamide, 20 % mohäär/mohair, 100 g/750 m), ~200 g (kahekordselt/yarn held double).
Vardad/Needles: 4,5 mm.
Ravelry

Raamatuid/Some books

Täna mul vedas, astusin sisse väiksesse raamatupoodi, kus müüakse uusi ja vanu raamatuid, sealt sain aks niisugust raamatut.
Today I was lucky, I entered a small bookstore that has old and new books and got these two books.

 

Esimese pealkiri on "Reljeefsed ja pitsilised mustrid kudumiseks", teise oma on "Palmikute mustrid varrastel kudumiseks". Autori nime ei ole millegipärast kaanel, aga edasi lehitsedes selgub, et see on Vitalija Bagdžiūnienė. Mustereid on üsna palju ja igal pool on skeemid. Muidugi paljud on tuttavad, aga on ka mulle täitsa uusi.

The title of the first book is "Textured and lace knitting sitch patterns", that of the second one is "Cable patterns for knitting". The name of the author is not on the cover for some reason but after some browsing I found the name, Vitalija Bagdžiūnienė. There are quite a few patterns and each one has a chart. OF course there are many familiar stitch patterns but some are rather new to me.

Kraedest/On collars

Kui sügisel Rahvaülikoolis õpetasin, rääkisime kraedest. Nüüd mitmed on küsinud, kuidas teha selline krae, nagu viimasel mohäärisviitril. Otsustasin, et on aeg ka kirja panna.

When I taught at Folk University this Autumn, we discussed collars. Now several people have asked me how to knit a collar like in my recent mohair sweater. I decided it is time to write it up.

Niisugustel juhtudel on vaja strateegiat. Mitu silmust luua ja mitu silmust kasvatada on taktika küsimus. Aga üldine käik, mida üldse teha ja mis järjekorras, on strateegia. Esiteks, võib alustada kohe kraest, kuid viimasel ajal teen nii, et koon enne valmis kõik muu ja siis tegelen kraega. Nõnda on kohe selge proportsioon. Muidugi on ka erandeid, aga nendest praegu ei räägi lihtsuse mõttes. On võimalik mitu lahendust: (1) kasvatada silmuseid juurde; (2) vahetada vardad jämedamate vastu; (3) kududa krae paksema lõngaga, nt põhilõng kahekordset. Neid lahendusi saab omavahel kombineerida. Enamasti kasutan (1) ja (2). Mõnikord piisab ainult varraste vahetamisest, vahetada saab mitu korda, soovitan võtta 0,5 numbri võrra jämedamad vardad. Kuid alati see lahendus ei kõlba, oleneb lõngast. Sellisel juhul võib kas teha mitu kasvatusringi või esialgu kasvatada ja hiljem vahetada vardad jämedamate vastu.
In such cases you need a strategy. How many stitches to cast on and how many stitches to increase is a question of tactics. But a general plan, that is, what should be done and in which sequence, constitues strategy. First, you can always start from the collar but recently I would rather knit the whole sweater and deal with the collar afterwords. In this case you get a sence of proportions from the very beginning. Of course there are exceptions when you start from the collar but for the sake of simplicity I am not discussing this now. There are several possible solutions: (1) increase stitches; (2) switch to thicker needles; (3) to knit the collar from a heavier yarn, for instance, the main yarn held double. You can combine these options. Most frequently I use (1) and (2). Sometimes it is enough to switch to thicker needles several times (I recommend going at once 0.5 size up). But this solution is not universal, it depends on the yarn. In this case you can at first make some increase rounds or to increase in the beginning and then to switch to thicker needles.

Nagu näete, krae on trapetsikujuline. See on selle sviitri krae:
As you see, the collar has a shape of trapezium. It is of this sweater:

Enamasti teen nii. Koon 5-7 cm, siis kasvatan u 20-25 % juurde ja koon veel 10 cm, siis vahetan vardad jämedamate vastu. Järgmises Käsitöös ilmub kaks suure kraega sviitrit, võib juba konkreetselt vaadata.
Mostly I do the following. I knit 5-7 cm, then increase by 20-25 % and knit some 10 cm more, then switch to thicker needles. In the next issure of Käsitöö there will be two sweaters with a large collar, so you can study the particular patterns.

Sviitri pilte/Pictures of the sweater

Paar sviitri pilti. Sonata, aitäh!
A couple of sweater pictures. Sonata, thank you!

  

Lõng/Yarn: Misty (Patons), 50 g/150 m, 70 % mohäär/mohair, 30 % polüamiid/polyamide, ~ 5 tokki

Vardad/Needles: 4 mm, 4,5 mm, 5 mm

Ravelry

Vilniuses/In Vilnius

Olen Vilniuses umbes nädal aega. Praegu on kiire, seetõttu kirjutan lühidalt. Käisin ära Diteksase poes. Selle kohta olen korduvalt kirjutanud. Poes müüakse pooli pealt igasuguseid lõngu, väga suur on mohääri valik, aga on ka peenvillaseid, meriinot, poolvillaseid lõngu jms. Ei ole mõtet pildistada kogu sortimenti, aga uskuge, et seal on, mida vaadata!
I am in Vilnius approximately for a week. I am in a hurry right now and this post will be a short one. I visited Diteksas. I have written about it many times. The shop has all kind of yarns in cones, a great choice of mohair and also laceweight wool, merino, woolblends etc. No sence to accurately photograph the whole choice but you can believe me it is worth seeing!

 

 

 

Leedus müüakse ka saksa ajakirja Rebecca, mida meil millegipärast ei ole. See ajakiri meeldib mulle, ostan alati, kui on võimalus. Kudumid on lihtsad, väga palju mudeleid on mohäärist, skeemid on selged.
They sell the Rebecca magazine in Lithuania and we don't have it for some reason. I like the magazine and always buy it when possible. The knits are simple, there are many patterns for mohair and the charts are clear.

Jälle mohäär/Mohair again

Tegemist on suhteliselt kapriisse mohääriga. Nimelt on see mohäär pisut jämedam ja karvasem, kui tavalised peenikesed mohäärid. Nimi on Misty (Patons), 25 g/150 m, koostis 70 % mohääri ja 30 % polüamiidi. Langevus pole nii hea, nagu siidi silsaldaval mohääril, aga see pole oluline. Kuna lõng on suhteliselt karvane, siis unustage ära kõiksugu augud, pitsid, soonikud jms. Värv on aga täiesti haruldane. Kuna seda lõnga enam ei toodeta ja "minu" rohelist on üldse raske saada, siis otsustasin, et teen hästi lihtsa sviitri. Nüüd kuivab. Niisugusest kraest ja kraedest üldse võib kirjutada mõni teine kord.
This is a relatively moody mohair. Namely, this one is slightly heavier and fluffier than usual thni mohairs. It is Misty (by Patons), 25 g/150 m, fiber composition 70 % mohair and 30 % polyamide. The fabric does not drape as nicely as in the case of mohair-silk blend but this is not terribly important. As the yarn is relatively hairy, forget about eylets, lace, ribbings etc. But the colour is really extraordinary. Since the yarn is discontinuted and it is fairly difficult to find "my" kind of green,  I decided to make an extremely simple sweater. It is drying now. I can write about this type of collar and about collars in general some other time.

 

 

Tegelikult pole kude nii läbipaistev nagu tundub vastu valgust pildistades.
In reality the fabric is not as transparent as it appears when the pictures are taken against the light.

Lihtne rätik/Simple shawl

Näitan rätiku pilte. Helin, tänan pildistamast! Varsti teen ka õpetuse.
Here are some pictures of the shawl. Helin, thank you for the photosession! I will write up a pattern soon.

 

 

 

 

Lõng/Yarn: Angora 2 (Midara), 50 % vill/wool, 30 % polüamiid/polyamide, 30 % mohäär/mohair, ~85 g.
Vardad/Needles: 4 mm, 4,5 mm
Ravelry

Sall ja rätik/A scarf and a shawl

Panin Ravelrysse selle salli õpetuse:
I've uploaded the pattern for this scarf on Ravelry:

Rätik on lõpuks valmis. Õpetus tulemas. Väga lihtne ja kerge, täpset lõngakulu veel ei tea, peaks ära kaaluma.
The shawl is finally finished. The pattern coming. It is a very easy and light but I cannot yet tell the exact amount of yarn used, the shawl should be weighed.

 

 

Sain teada, et mu raamat Õmblusteta kudumine/Seamless Knitting ilmub tuleval aastal soome keeles (kirjastus Moreeni).
And I learned that my book Õmblusteta kudumine/Seamless Knitting will appear next year in Finnish (Moreeni publising house).

Ääremuster/Border pattern

Rätiku ääremustri suhtes ei olnud ma algusest peale kindel. Siis mõtlesin, et võiks olla hästi lihtne. Vaatasin, et poolpatent töötab. Kudusin siis ja tundus, et võiks olla laiem, lõng on aga otsakorral. Harutasin ära ja veel paar mustrikorda, alustasin hoopis jämedama vardaga, et oleks lopsakam.
I was not sure about the border pattern of the shawl when I started it. Then I decided it could be really simple. I discovered that half-patent works quite well. I knitted then in half-patent and realized this section could be broader but I was about to run out of yarn. So I ripped it and a couple of pattern repeats as well and started the border with thicker needles in order to make it fluffier.

Valget aega on hästi vähe. Mõtlesin, et koon veel natuke ja siis pildistan, aga siis oli juba hilja, loomulik valgus oli kadunud.
The light period of the day is so short now. I intended to knit some more and to take pictures but once I got to it, it was already late, the natural light had faded away.

Rätik ja mõned plaanid/The shawl and some planning

Rätik edeneb. Mõtlen intensiivselt ääre peale. Tahaks õhulisemat, augulisemat äärt. On paar kandidaati. Muster peaks olema lihtne ja selge joonega. Mul on praegu raske hinnata kasutamata lõnga kogust. Siiski arvan, et võin veel mõnda aega kududa põhimustrit.
The shawl is progressing. I am thinking about the edge quite intensively. I would like a more airy, eylete-patterned kind of edge. The pattern has to be simple and with clear lines. It is difficult for me to estimate the quantity of the remaining yarn. Still, I believe I will knit the body for some time.

 

Plaanidest. Pitsilise kampsuni õpetus (kerige postitust pisut alla) tuleb Ravelrys loodetavasti veel selle aasta sees. Loodan, et keegi oleks nõus testima L- ja XL-suurust (S-M on mul 2 korda kootud). Samuti pole unustanud seda sokilõnast sviitrit, mille õpetust ajakirjas ei olnud. Sellest hiljem. Etteruttavalt ütlen, et veel kahe TFW kudumi õpetused on tegemisel, ilmuvad kunagi Käsitöös.
About plans. Hopefully, the pattern for the lace cardigan (scroll down a bit) will appear on Ravelry within the current year. I hope someone would be kind to test L and XL sizes (I have already worked S-M two times). Neither have I forgotten about this sock yarn sweater whose pattern was not in the magazine. I will write about it later. Rushing ahead of the events, I am letting you know that patterns for two more knits from my TFW collection are under construction and will eventually appear in Käsitöö.