The heat....

The heat at the moment - ok, not so much the heat but the humidity (it does feel like a steambath)- makes knitting difficult.

So, here is an addition to the blog, instead of work being done on one of my projects.

For those who are interested, my current knits under way are:

1. A men's cardigan for my stepdad for Christmas, made in Lana Grossa Pulcino in a lovely chocolate colour, the pattern is out of Filati Special Number 2 for men. It's model number 35

2. A men's sweater out of the same magazine, model number 12. The original pattern is in Lana Grossa Numero Uno Tweed, however, since this is for my brother and I made him a sweater in that material already, I substituted Lana Grossa Big Wool (100% Merino) in a wonderful claret red.

3. Another men's jumper, after the pattern "The Ultimate Gift" from Interweave (free pattern), for the man I love, however, instead of the cashmere specified I am knitting this in Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4ply, colour 279 (discontinued).

4. A Lace shawl, the Print O'the Wave stole by Eunny, out of Rowan Kidsilk in a lovely mossy green, for my Mom for Christmas. I changed the width by adding two more repeats of the pattern, since my Mom is almost 5'8" and it will look better with more width.

5. Another stole, this one for my Grandmother, in Kidsilk Haze again, in deep red. It's knit in plain stocking stitch, 150 stitches wide with 5mm needles. One corner has a rocaille pearl clef knit in. I'll add long fringe to the ends and it will look like a pashmina once it's finished.

Also, there are three jumpers for me, on all of them the knitting is finished and they are in various stages of blocking and finishing. When I have the time and the light is right, I'll take some pictures and post them.

Projects finished this year so far are:

A scarf and matching gloves for my brother's fiancee for Christmas, in an aran cable pattern made out of Lana Grossa Merino 2000 in a silvery grey, knit with 3.25mm.

A jumper for my love's little daughter, she's five years old, again in Lana Grossa Merino 2000 color. It's a plain 4x3 rib, with a stand up collar, this way, she can wear it for a while, it will expand. I also made her a pair of socks in shocking pink with pearls knit into the ribbed cuff. Since she is a little princess little pearly pink socks are perfect for her.

Another jumper for my love's little niece (she will be almost 1 year old at Christmas) in Lana Grossa Merino 2000 in cream and oak leaf green. The green is used for a leafy lace border on the bottom and for bobbles in the double picot hem of the sleeves and the picot collar.

A top for my best friend Jeanette's birthday, in Lana Grossa Print in pink from the free pattern section.

Out of the same material but in a turqoise I made a little jacket for my friend Cathy.

I also made Tempting I from knitty.com (Jenna Adorno) in Lana Grossa Cotofilo in a baby pink. One of the few things I made for myself that is actually finished. I bought ribbons in white, black, chocolate brown and hot pink, that way I can coordinate this little number with almost everything in my wardrobe. How versatile something so small and easy to knit can be. I loved the pattern and am currently looking for a yarn to make Tempting II.

Two pairs of socks for my brother for his birthday, one in a cable pattern out of Regia tweed in blue, and one with a two coloured cuff (knits in black and purls in light grey) and a jaquard pattern in a band underneath. The rest of the sock is plain black and the material is Lang Jawoll.

A little top out of Jaeger JB18, Model Iona, for my brother's fiancee for her birthday in April. I made it in black, out of Rowan 4ply soft, with silver rocaille beads. It looks fantastic on her and she wears it under a suit in the office and then on into the evening.

A baby blanket in Lana Grossa Merino 2000 (as you have noticed by now, I love knitting with it, especially for children, since it is machine wash and nicely holds its shape and softness, but is 100% Merino wool and therefore soft enough for even the tenderst baby skin.) It was made in cream with cable bands in between stocking stitch with a garter stitch edge and a reverse crochet finish.Little Sophia gets bundled up in it halfway across the world in Tokyo.

If I think hard, I'll probably come up with a couple more things, but my brain is fried from the heat.

I hope the links work, tried it for the first time, so... we'll see.

If you have any questions about the projects, don't hesitate to contact me.

Wish you all a lovely weekend,

Bettina