News and older tales....

just realized that i didn't keep the promise to post right after our "meeting" at Frankfurt airport....shame on me (but i think you know me already quite well and this is no surprise)

we had some incredible hours together....when i saw Jo sitting at the table in this italian coffee shop at the airport it was like a reunion of good old friends...not faint-hearted at all, we saw each other and the minute later we were in each others arms ;)
there was a lot of giggling and laughing, loads of yarn and coffee and way too less time (but we will meet again...sooner than we both hoped for ;))

 

seams that the upcoming season will be filled with neutrals and blue (hahaha...)

in the meantime (while Jo was travelling around the world....Helsinki, St.Petersburg...)I did some knitting (haha...how extraordinary ;)

 

seashore was released 2 weeks ago, after a wonderful test-KAL

with some outstanding ladies who never get tired to help me with testing my patterns

you can see all the incredible "seashores" they made during the test here in the test thread

finished a quick in-between-testknit for Justyna (Lete)

to practice my still not-good-at-all stranding skills....

because i signed in for 2 colorwork designs for Swans Island...

 

pattern. zig-zag-wings by justyna-lorkowska 

yarn. lang-yarns touring 

col.natural/beige and dark blue

aaaaand my first (yes there will be a second one...) pattern for Yarn Stories is live!

I did the sample in early august and need to confess that i didn't like the colour they picked for my design, but......it looks so freaking cool on this beautiful model!!!!

 photo: yarnstories

photo: yarnstories

this is such a lovely batwing-sleeve jumper.....need to knit one for me too!!!!! maybe in orange? or yellow? or toffee?

they carry some beautiful colours! go and check them out here 

for today i need to leave...need to do up a parcel (sample of the first colorwork design for Swans Island)

 

looks pretty good, right? 

take care out there

love,

isa m. 

Gretchen

our dearly beloved "Bittersweet" was released this week!!!!!
finally!!!!!!!!! 

 

get your copy of the pattern here 

 

a simple but flattering top down raglan sweater with some cute eyelet increases down to the rounded hem... you might want to check out the glorious FOs of my dear testknitters here in the test thread

 

this one was the very first sweater i did in cooperation with Swans Island. I was overwhelmed by these wonderful colorways and impressed by the softness of their yarns (feels like knitting butter!) when i got some samples of their yarns early this year and it happened that the ideas came off my mind in no time

(2 kids sweaters will be published soon and currently we work on a colorwork collection....)

want to see a little sneak peek?????

 

this new yarn (all american fingering - Swans Island Yarns) feels like a little teddy bear and covers beautifully my lacking stranding skills (hahaha)

stay tuned, I will need some testers for this one aaand for another soon ;)

but now to some exciting news...i fear that they are not as exciting for you as they are for me...cannot think of other things the last days and today my heart goes out to....Joji

I will meet my dear Jo tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

after years and years knowing each other, we finally have the chance to meet in person, for me that means to get out of bed tomorrow very, very early in the moring...to take the train (I rarely take trains, so this is an excitement itself...hope i do not get lost...) to Frankfurt and spend the morning with Jo until she has to leave for Helsinki, isn't that cool?

Cathrin of WalkCollection (cwc on ravelry) and Melanie (mairlynd on ravelry) will join us too - bet we'll have a wonderful day together

i swear, i will come back soon to tell you more about a dream that will come true ;)

love,

isa m.

 

 

testknits part 2

....the  harder i try to keep the promise to post more regularly the less time i have to do so...

nevertheless,....here is the second part of the (latest) testknits i didn't show here

dessine-moi-un-mouton is a lovely light weight jumper, seamlesss, worked from the top down with raglan increases to shape the yoke.
an easy-peasy textured pattern makes it special and keeps you interested while knitting

 

love the stripes (and the texture) of this one!

but i think i need to redo the bottom and add a little length to this beauty, because i still feel uncomfortable wearing this cropped sweater

pattern. dessine-moi-un-mouton by LaMaisonRililie

yarn. holst-garn-supersoft-100-uld (you'll need 7 different colours) 

the next one is another winner designed by ankestrick (aka fallmasche on ravelry) 

light weight, colourful, extraordinary - just love it!

had a hard time choosing colors....so many possibilities...

 

you can wear this one inside out, or the other way round ...it's beautiful in every way ;) i already have a second one on my needles ;)

pattern. holsten by Ankestrick

yarn. holst-garn-supersoft-100-uld (shown in col. iced, clementine, bleached white)

the next one was a very special testknit i did for my dear Jo

a worsted version of her beloved boxy  

she published the pattern for this one on her birthday...as always i completely forgot to send her a gift for this day...and so i did a little embroidery to the back of my worsted boxy (...guess she loved it ;)

 

 

i did mine without the double garter part on the shoulders, also picked up my stitches for the sleeves and the neckband from the WS to highlight the "seams"....aaaand i did a 2-color version, just for the fun of combining colors ;)

pattern.worsted-boxy by JOJI

yarn. malabrigo-merino-worsted (shown in col. polar morn and ravelry red)

...need to go back to my knitting needles now (have to keep some tight deadlines for some new designs for fall)

hope you all have great days

love,

isa m. 

 

 

 

...it's been a while....

some of you know it already....i am still alive ;)

busy as always i couldn't find the time to come back to this little blog and tell you what's going on....sorry

so many testknits, new designs, collaborations with yarnies and yarn companies, the house renovation and the move (!!!!!) back to the house had eaten up my time...

you won't believe it (i do not believe it myself!)...since this last post i made 16 other projects...what???? 16????
not counting the ones i didn't already put on my rav project page...

so what to do now
..think the best will be to start telling you about them and trying to keep up posting until i have shown you all of them ;)

ok, so here we go:
i did a lovely lila (just because i couldn't resist, when Carrie released this fantastic pattern)

 

pattern. lila  by Carrie Bostick Hoge

yarn. lang-yarns-denim-cotton-recycled in col. 35

a wonderfully written, easy peasy bottom-up raglan sweater with an adorable and flattering shape, just love it and will do anotherone in wool for autumn (..if i ever find the time to knit all the things i'd love to ;)

 ...

next was a testknit i did for lilo

i didn't finish in time (...sometimes i am an awful testknitter, right?), but i can say, that this also looks so cool with short sleeves (hahaha!)

 

pattern. askia  by Cailliau Berangere

yarn. unlabled Sockyarn doubled

changed the neck increases to make it wider, no other mods (so far...)

...

the next and last for today was this beauty

 

this is such a beautiful, romantic cardigan (don't know how she does this again and again...Jo is a genius!)

pattern. old-romance  by Joji Locatelli

yarn. handdyed by me (fantastic color, isn't it ;)

some minor mods to make it mine:

no contrast color for the lace insets

shorter body

slightly a-shaped

picot bind-off

....i will be out for hiking this weekend (...aaaand for celebrating a good friends 40th birthday), so i won't be able to continue with this update before next week..

do i hear someone laughing???? 

anyhow i can try, right ;)

all the best and take care

love,

isa m.

 

 

 

 

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 

De Rerum Natura (Thank you, Solenn!)

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.

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.