Mandala Madness finished!

I finished the last part this morning, even though it came out a while back, but I was working on other projects. And now it's done, I even weaved in all the ends right away. The only thing that's left is blocking but I'm probably not going to do that because there's no room for it.

First, here's a close-up of the final part.

And now the finished blanket! It's pretty big, that bed is 120cm wide and it drapes over both sides.

It wasn't easy taking photos because I had nothing to stand on to get a better shot, but this is what the blanket looks like "in action". It's also very heavy and warm, when I was making the last few rounds with the blanket on my lap I was sweating like crazy.

I really enjoyed this CAL, there were lots of new things and techniques for me and each part was different from the last. It looks gorgeous! This definitely satisfied my need for making blankets for at least a little while.

Because this is the final part, I'll link the CAL website HERE. All of the parts are free.

Finally done

A vest for my brother.

This was another project that took way too long to finish. I started it sometime during last summer, I think, and it was forgotten pretty quickly. Then I picked it up again last month because I was determined to give it to my brother as a birthday present. I did finish it in time, kind of, because it was yet again left alone for a month before I sew on the buttons. And now it's finally 100 % finished!

This pattern is called Everyday Vest and it's from a book called Knitting Everyday Finery by Mel Clark. The yarn I used is Novita 7 Veljestä Viidakko with 5mm needles. The yarn makes a fun pattern which in my opinion looks very nice here because the vest itself is just simple stockinette stitch. The neckline is a bit wonky but maybe it will fold down better with time.

It also comes with pockets.

This pattern looks very nice, a great simple vest that would look good on both men and women. But I must admit that I find just plain stockinette so boring to knit, maybe that's why this vest took so long to make, although it is perfect with simple everyday pieces of clothing, such as this one.

Mandala Madness part 17

Only one part in this post because the next part is the last one and that'll be the "here's the finished blanket" post.

The edge looks wobbly but it's not, I just couldn't stretch the blanket out properly. Also the light is not the best. But making this part was fun as always.

I really want to block the blanket when it's finished but I know I'll have no room for doing that. I might try blocking it in sections but I'm afraid that it will make the blanket uneven, not that it hugely matters because it's a blanket and it's rarely seen stretched out.

I'll have to buy new balls of yarn for the final part and I'm trying to decide what colours I'm going to use. I'm thinking that the main colour could be something dark so it would frame the blanket nicely, and the second colour would be a bright one to peek through. I waited for part 18 to be published before I buy the yarn because I wanted to see what it looks like and what colours would work. Still not completely sure but I really want to buy the yarn already and start making the final part!

Random stuff with scrap yarns 3

A sample for a shawl pattern, looks better when it's more loose, this sample was made with a small hook and hasn't been blocked. I actually started making a shawl using this pattern with Felted Tweed, but it's now on hold because I ran out of yarn and my local store didn't have more of that colour.

Trying out this pattern to see what it's like to make and it turned out to be pretty fun. I have a ball of yarn that's perfect for this pattern, so I'll be starting yet another project very soon.

This is just a random sample, for testing the zig zag pattern I guess. The colours look nice together.

A pair of wrist warmers. I had no ideas when I started making these but they turned out pretty cute. Again not blocked or anything so they could look a bit better but whatever. I haven't actually worn these anywhere yet but they are nice to look at.

More Pairfect

After the first pair I was totally hooked and had to make some more. There's just something so addicting with watching the pattern form and not having to count the stitches, because it's like someone has already done that for you.

I used 2,5mm needles again with 64 stitches in total.

I think I'm done with Pairfect for now, after these I really feel like making some crochet doilies or something similar, or a jacket with leftovers, or maybe a new shawl... So many ideas and I only have two hands!

Light pink

A big shawl with a fringe that's super warm, perfect both for winter and the Finnish summer.

It has lots of different stitches: bobbles, leaves, a zig zag pattern and more.

This pattern is from a book that I bought from a second hand shop. It's from the 1980's and the original German title is Brigitte Stricken No 2 and the Finnish title is Oikein, nurin. Perusneuleita ja uusia malleja. It has a lot of patterns and stitches and I do want to make something more from this book in the future.

The yarn I used is Novita 7 Veljestä with 4,5mm needles.

Here it is blocking, without the fringe. I couldn't get the top edge to be perfectly straight but whatever. This shawl was actually knit from the bottom up, with a huge number of stitches at the beginning and then decreasing on every right side row until only 5 remained, then cast off. Because of that, making it felt very slow and kind of boring at first, but then got quicker and quicker as I went on.

I hadn't made a fringe in a long time, so that part was fun too and it makes the finished shawl look better than it would be without it.

Mandala Madness parts 15 & 16

There are only two parts left!

Part 15.

Leaves and ruffles.

Part 16.

I really like this edge right now. I can't wait for next week to see what will happen to it.

Random stuff with scrap yarns 2

A square pattern with puff stitch. In the first picture is the original one but the yarn was very shiny and squishy so it was hard to see the pattern, so I made another one with light blue acrylic yarn, with a couple minor changes to the pattern I had written. These have not been blocked so the edges are not straight.

Another random crochet pattern that can either be turned into a square or a circle. The right one has very bad contrast with the two colours in the "star" but you can just kind of make it out, the star is more of a grey-ish green while the background is grey.

A knit sock with crocheted toe, heel and cuff. It doesn't really fit, but this was just an experiment and not made to actually be used. But maybe I could use this as an inspiration for an actual pair of socks.

A cute little heart, very basic and simple.

A crochet flower in mohair, kind of a mix between freeform and regular crochet.

 It's very light in weight and a very bright pink colour. I don't know where this could be used, maybe I'll attach a pin (or whatever it's called) so it could be placed as a decoration on a jacket or a bag or something.