More Finished Items

This is the fourth Tomten I've made since just before Christmas - such a gorgeous combination - pale blue Angoretta and a small bit of that mysterious chenille in green/blue someone gave me!

The buttons were absolutely perfect - an exact match with the chenille - how lucky can you get? Found them in my button box - had totally forgotten they were there!




Another Soft "N" Seamless Sweater - I had enough of the aforementioned Chenille left to do the yoke, and one 50 gram ball of Angoretta in a pale-blue-nearly-aqua colour - unfortunately, not enough for the sleeves, so used a dark forest green instead for those - it does look nice.








Another little cotton set for a newborn - in Cleckheaton Fiddle-dee-dee.

I bought ten of each colour on ebay recently - it is so soft and yet nice and nubbly - 100% cotton nice and cool for little babies.


This is the finshed but as yet not sewn up Baby Albert Jacket - I've wanted this pattern forever - and just before Christmas found I had enough Reward Points on Your Voice Surveys to get a $50 voucher on D Store! So I bought "The Knitting Experience: Book 1 - The Knit Stitch by Sally Melville" just for this particular pattern - and the rest of the book is wonderful too!
Not just for beginners either - I've learnt a few tricks already - never too old or too late to learn!






The colour isn't quite right - it is more of a burgundy colour - the yarn is Villawool Saturn, 68% acrylic, 27% mohair and 5% wool. Oh, so soft and cosy, not at all scratchy and ideal for a little one to keep toasty warm on a cold day. She just had a little boy last week!

The Tomten above is for my friend Ferda in Turkey who has a little boy due in March. I am now working on a summery set for him, for when he is a bit bigger.

Oh yes, for my $50 voucher, I also bought Baby Knits 2 by Debbie Bliss - I had to pay an extra $2 on the bill but oh, I am so happy with these books!

Fastest little sweater I ever made!

I was given some yarn on Friday morning about 10 am. It was three skeins of Eden; the label says, in German, "Jakob AG - Bernetta Wolle - Col - 1933 " It is 28% Wool, 71% Polyacryl, 1% Viscose And three skeins of Moda Vera Jazz furry yarn - in a milk chocolate brown. So yummy!!

I knew right away it wanted to be made into a Tomten Modular Jacket.

The Eden is a lovely tweedy looking yarn - sort of a grey/green/brown with a tiny fleck of apricot, which you can only see when you look closely. I wasn't sure it would be enough - but as I thought I only had two skeins of the Jazz - I could have done the whole thing in alternating stripes including the sleeves - I found the third skein lurking in my tote bag after I had finished it!! Never mind - I have enough to make something else now!!
Because I wasn't sure if I had enough - I made the body up to the armholes fairly short - only about twenty ridges, starting with 6 ridges of garter stitch in the Eden at the bottom.

After I had done the sleeves, I came back and picked up front bands, starting at the right front, and then continued all the way around the bottom, picking up from the cast on edge, and up the left front. Then I knitted garter stitch front bands and bottom, mitreing at the bottom corners of the front bands. This gave it a really tailored look I feel. I am so in LERV with this little jacket. I just knew the two yarns would combine well.



See what I mean about the wide garter bands??

Now here's the thing - as I said, I was given this yarn on Friday a.m - I started knitting it on Saturday evening - then continued on Sunday evening, then picked it up again Monday afternoon and finished it Monday evening about 10.30 p.m!! This was a classic case of the yarn talking to me!!It literally yelled at me to be made into a Tomten!!


I think I shall go with the Teddy Bear buttons - I have a gazillion buttons and would you believe I couldn't find any to go with it - they are just sitting on the bands - not sewn on yet - I do have some wooden ones like flowers but I may have to dye them - they are a bit pine coloured - sort of yellowy wood - I want them a bit browner.

Must tell you what my husband said though - he said he thought I was knitting a dead mole!!!!

Now isn't that a charming thing to say???? LOL!!

Ok for those who would like to know - the pattern is by Elizabeth Zimmermann - you can find it in her book "Knitting Without Tears" (Page 87) and in "Knitting Workshop" (Page 102)

Both these books are available online from http://www.schoolhousepress.com