Sunday, December 15, 2013

Elementary

finally finished my last sweater
and i need to confess....i am in love!!!!



worked from the top down with an navajo inspired colorful yoke
in some really girlie colors!!!!
(somehow the little girl in me wanted PINK!)



lately i rediscovered the pleasure to work with
pure, rustic, low-processed yarns
love the feel of this yarn (and its smell ;))
....aaaand such yarns are perfect for those who have
not much practice in colorwork (like me!)

the pattern is now ready to test
and we have some free places in the testing pack
(maybe some of you could have fun with us testing the pattern?
deadline would be the end of january/beg of february....)

yarn. rustique fine/ masgot fine by Sylvie (PoloandCo)
needles. 3.0 mm and 3.5 mm
gauge. 22.5 sts x 30 rounds (10 x 10 cm)

you will need approx. 2 (2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4) skeins in main color
and 1 skein in each of the other colors

if you like to test this pattern, please leave a comment
(make sure to leave your email add or ravelry nickname!)
with the size you'd like to test

sizes available: xs, s, m1, m2, l, xl, xxl
(bust circumference: 85 (89, 94, 100, 108, 115, 124) cm)

....wishing you all calm and merry days

isa m.



Saturday, November 16, 2013

Antler testknit

had the pleasure to do a testknit for Anke (aka fallmasche)
...aaaand had the pleasure to use TML again (love this yarn!!!!)



worked from the top down using contiguous set in sleeves method
developed by SusieM, this sweater has a stunning, beautiful 
neckline...love the garter st parts and the slightly rounded hem

had to alternate skeins from the very beginning, cause my skeins were so different (one was heavily darker than the other)
but i think it turned out nice, even with this differences in color


pattern. antler by ankestrick 
yarn. madelinetosh merino light col. gossamer and nutmeg
purchased here 

now i will need to take my sofa (...had a long day at work...)

happy creating out there and have a great sunday

love,

isa m.







Friday, November 15, 2013

italian and french version of muse n.

italian and french translations of muse n. 
are now available!

THANK YOU Carla and Sandrine



Monday, November 4, 2013

Kinu love

a new sweater went off my needles a few weeks ago

tadaaaaa!!!



i bought this yarn at the raveler meeting in cologne this year..
i simply couldn't resist, when i saw all those beautiful little cones....
there was no special plan for this, so i went with blue and sand
(i know, i know,....not a brave color choice!)

spent some time with swatching...(Rililie! you can take my word for it, sometimes i do it!!!)
different needles, different needle sizes, single stranded,
doubled,....
and then this sweater came to my mind
simple shaping (subtle waist shaping), a wide rounded neckline,
simple (rather raw) edgings and... some stripes (how extra- ordinary!!!!...hahaha!)

i so loooove my new sweater!
...i did a second in woolen yarn, to see how the pattern works
with a less drapey yarn, and what can i say, it turned out great

love this one too ....;)


the only change was to add length to the sleeves
aaaand the stripe sequence is a little different,
other than that - the same sweater (how cool is that?)

the pattern will be ready to test the next days

...a few places in the test knitting group are available...
any volunteers out there in size L or XXL???


hope you all have good days,

isa m.



Sunday, November 3, 2013

a new hat!!!!


had again the pleasure to testknit for Rililie 
we had so much fun while testing this little hat... ;)
in case you're in need of some fun today, check out our
conversation in the testing thread 
the key word is: swatch (hahaha!)

was the first time with this yarn (masgot fine) 
and what can i say.... immediately ordered some more for
a fair isle sweater i have in mind for a while....
i love the feel of this rustic, low processed, sheepy yarn
and i love Sylvies dyework (she will dye up some yarn for me
today...YAY!!!...so exciting!)

now to the pattern
a well thought and clearly written pattern, that leads you
through the pathlessness of basket weave worked in rounds

though i need to confess, that i am no basket weave knitter
(i know this by now!!!)...not that i do not love the look and
the behavior of this stitch...i need stitch patterns with
at least 1 or 2 rows of mindless knitting in the repeat...
i am a lazy knitter, you know  ;)


G. is hiking with the guys today, so i will have the day off ;)
....the plan is to work on my new cardigan
cables
garter
ribbing
contrast coloured trim
classic (but cool...i think)




have a great day out there

isa m.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

beccs and some testknits

finally beccs has left the building!!!!
we had a good time testing the pattern - thank you ladies!
you all did such great jobs



beccs is an open front cardigan designed for upcoming autumn days

little cable panels travelling down the fronts make this cardigan
unique and fun to knit

knitting starts in the middle of the back neck, the back piece of the collar is worked first, then sts are picked up from the long side of the collar to work the cardigan top down with raglan increases.

get the pattern here


...working on some other new ideas (all at the same time!!!!
sometimes this makes my head spinning...)

there will be a rustic cabled cardigan in collaboration with 
and a new sweater with .......stripes! what else ;)
aaaaand a little dress/ tunic will be ready within the next days

i also have a few finished testknits to show

first:
Cosy (me) designed by nadia
this perfect little cardi is part of an eBook called emmitouflage(s)
the eBook contains some wonderful garments for women and kids
all worked with De Rerum Natura yarns


sorry for this bad photo.....the light situation in the flat
is awkward! 

pattern. Cosy (me) 
yarn. gilliatt in col. poivre (this yarn is divine!)
needles. 4.5 mm

second:
laelia designed by Hanna 
a lovely lace flower pattern makes this cardigan so beautiful
i enjoyed the knitting from the very beginning to the end


pattern. laelia 
yarn. wollknoll-kammgarn 20/6 handdyed with ashford dyes
needles. 3.5 mm and 3.0 mm

third (and dearly beloved):
lipstick designed by my dear friend Jo 
a cute flattering cardigan....mine wanted to be a jumpper ;)


it was quite easy to modify the pattern:

i joined the front pieces with 3 additional sts to work in rounds
at approx. 20 cm from underarm
ktbl the center st of the front to match the front pattern
longer sleeves (plain Stockinette stitch)

pattern. lipstick 
yarn. wollknoll-strickgarn 8/3 handdyed with ashford dyes
needles. 5 mm and 4.5 mm

maybe i'll find the time to keep you updated... ;)

love,
isa m.


Sunday, September 1, 2013

latest testknits part 3

now to the last two testknits i lately did...

i had the pleasure to knit another adorable boxy sweater for
my dear jo 
worked from the top down, with an amazing tubular cast on
(can you image that this was the first time i did a tubular cast on in my knitting life????)
skinny sleeves and plenty of ease for the body

after working with this beautiful handdyed green yarn
which i used for miyayo's Lin-Lin Shawl 
i was in need of a sweater in this color!
so i spend some time with undyed fingering and some ashford dyes
and here we are:



the only thing i changed was to shorten the body (only a little 
this time - final length from underarm 41 cm)
and i did a different bottom ribbing - just for fun

pattern. boxy-and-buttony by Joji Locatelli
yarn. wollknoll-kammgarn-20/6 (dyed with ashford dyes)


think i will wear this to dead! .... love, love, love my new sweater


the last testknit i did was an asymmetric triangular shawl
designed by sylvie (poloetcie on rav)


this shawl is very light and absolutely cozy and soft
the pattern will be available in cooporation with WalkCollection
in late september

pattern. la havane by Polo Sylvie 
yarns. holst-garn-samarkand and midara-silk-mohair and some
unlabled lace weight silk-cashmere blend for the lace section


now....i think i am ready with all those beauties i forgot to mention here....
the next tests are on the needles...


have a nice sunday ladies ;)

isa m.



Friday, August 30, 2013

latest testknits part 2

...me again...
in july I had the pleasure to do my first testknit for miyayo 
a wonderful shawl, crescent-shaped with some lace, ribbings and
beautiful ruffles
you'll never get bored with this


the yarn is handdyed (by myself...ha!)
i only dyed 3 skeins (approx. 600 meters), what should have 
been enough yarn to complete this shawl - but i ran out of 
yarn right before the BO, so I bound off with another yarn
in a lighter green

pattern. lin-lin-shawl by Yoko Johnston
yarn. wollknoll-strickgarn-8/3 undyed (dyed with ashford dyes)


simultanuously i did a testknit for justyna (lete) 

when i first saw her new cardi design i fell in love:
beautiful lace, casusal shaping, top-down construction
...it contains everything i love....

my first yarn choice was a big mistake....
i had some drops-alpaca in my stash for a while and thought
this might match the gauge,...it did, but it was way too fuzzy
in the end
the stitch pattern wasn't that easy for me (don't know why, but 
sometimes such patterns crack my head....)
...when i decided to use another yarn, i had done over one half 
of the cardi!!!! so i had a real huge testing swatch (hahaha!)

the second attempt, with handdyed fingering, went smooth
and unbelievably easy ;)


pattern. casual-lace by Justyna Lorkowska
yarn. wollknoll-kammgarn-20/6, handdyed with ashford dyes


....more tomorrow (i really hope so :)

isa m.


Thursday, August 29, 2013

latest testknits part 1

.....there is definitely too much going on in my life
to post more regularly....sorry 
yesterday i was looking through my rav notebook and saw
that there are many, many testknits i didn't mention here..
today i have a little free time (though i have my needles
waiting for me) and thought it would be nice to post about them


funky grandpa is one of the coolest cardigans i own...
i love everything about it
the ease
the shape
the stripes (for sure!...hahaha!)
and the overall design



think Rililie has such a great style and this shows
in her amazing designs (currently on my needles: her new jumper design ;)

pattern. funky-grandpa by LaMaisonRililie
yarns. trekking-sport-xxl shown in charcoal grey (sleeves)
trekking-tweed shown in light grey (body)
mille-colori-baby shown in grey-brown-yellow (stripes)


...oh and did you know that ravello is life?


we had an amazing time while testing this pattern
was a pure pleasure to work with all my awesome testknitters!
THANK YOU again ladies!!!!!!!

isa m.



Friday, July 5, 2013

a sneak peek, some daisies and a new pattern

proudly presenting:
marsa alam
this cute and classic cardigan is so versatile.....
you can do it with stripes
or without
with some intarsia
or even fair isle pattern
with short sleeves
or 3/4 sleeves
or, for sure, with long sleeves
there are sooooo many possibilities in this pattern...


get the pattern here (ravelry)

i am so grateful for my incredible testknitting ladies
without their help i would have been lost, that's for sure!
please take a look at those wonderful cardigans they made during
the test

currently working on a modified version of this

this time with random stripes (i am using 6 colors!!!)
a v-neck and long sleeves
it will take me another week or two to finish
but i'm sure you will love it ;)

...aaaand another beauty went off my needles the last month:


let's talk about some daisies....
i really enjoyed knitting the daisy stitch pattern 
and loooove how this turned out 

i dyed the yarn especially for this project when hanna 
asked me to test this cute little cardi

as the yarn i dyed was a little thinner than the recommended
my gauge was off - i did size 34 instead of 32 as usual
and this worked absolutely fine
the length i did is inbetween the cropped and long version
given in the pattern, also i failed with the pattern on the 
sleeves.....i interchanged the instructions for left and right
so my pattern goes the other way round, but i don't mind that,
i think it looks lovely as it is!

pattern. spring is pink 
yarn. merino 150 by LANG YARNS


....and now to the promised sneak peek
ha!...i made a new sweater!!!
nothing fancy - simple lines, a little bit oversized
aaaand with stripes (the love affair continues....)
pure stockinette stitch pleasure!!


easy raglan contruction with a flattering boat neck
and some really cute red stripes

i used some Holst supersoft 100% uld for this
and the result is sooo light and incredibly soft after washing
-i will definitely use this again


hope you all have good days

isa m.




Friday, June 28, 2013

once upon a time

it's been a long, long time ago....

18 years to be exact

...a little human being went into my life and has captured my heart from the very first day

today we're celebrating the 18th (yes! the 18th!!!!) birthday
of my little boy

I wish I had some photos here in the current flat
(yes, those photos are "real" photos - we hadn't a digital 
camera 18 years ago!) to show you all this uber cute little boy

I will search for the photo boxes over the weekend and try to upload some of the pics we made in 1995....
but now let me shout out a big 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAXIMILIAN!!!!!

my love,
you are the best thing that happend to my life - 
wishing you all the love and luck of the world!

stay the way you are - you are awesome!!!

xxx
your ma






Friday, June 7, 2013

muh-muhs for you - free pattern

do you remember this little striped shawl...?

found some nice ladies who went through the pattern and
encountered all the bugs i wrote into (hehehe!!)

so finally the pattern is released - and it's free!
get your english version here
aaaaand the german version here in the shop, where i also 
got the yarn for this

this was just the right shawl for our rainy, cold and grey 
spring here in germany - i wore it till last weekend....
would anyone trust me when i tell you that we had 10° celsius
on 1st of june?????

....but now to my current projects


marsa alam is in testing right now, and i plan to publish
the pattern in july (or maybe a little sooner...;)

working on a few testknits (all secret testknits...so i
am not allowed to show you these beauties...sorry)

and have some new ideas on my needles
a maritime sweater (fingering weight with stripes and a 
little twist)
and an open front cardi with a beautiful cable panel down 
the fronts

ha! not forgetting my second emerald


this time with long sleeves, folded hems and contrast color
on the quilted band
think this turned out quite cool, right?

for adding the contrast color you only need to work
rows 1, 4, 5 and 8 of the quilting pattern in contrast color
that's it...

i now need to do some house cleaning,...that we can spend the
evening outdoors with our friends (we will go for a bbq in the 
neighbourhood of our construction area....our old house!)

have a nice day,

isa m.