Gold medalist(s)

I'm back from London, with a finished downhill cardigan in my suitcase. The last yarn end was fastened Sunday morning, well before the hockey finals and the end ceremony. More details, and photos, later.

Some other medalists you need to check out:

My team-mate Eva finished last week already, and is already persuing new goals...

From Team Finland: Anne knit the most increadible lace cape. Pattern repeats? Oh no. It's all unique, and she finished on time. I look forward to seeing it blocked!

The Yarn Harlot, the brain behind this madness, surprised everyone by finishing on time too.

The amazing Sigrid from the Swedish team finished her winter coat as well. Impressive!

Sewn bind-off / Sydd avmaskning

For once, this post is written in both Swedish and English.
För en gångs skull skriver jag både på svenska och engelska.

One of the objectives of the Olympic Knitting is to learn new techniques and challenge ourselves. I decided to try the elastic sewn bind-off for the edges of my down-hill cardigan.
Ett av målen i den olympiska stickningen är att deltagarna ska lära sig något nytt och utmana sig själva med nya metoder. Jag bestämda mig för att göra en sydd avmaskning på min alpina kofta.

When the time comes to bind off, cut the yarn, leaving a yarn end that is 3-4 times as long as the row you want to bind off. Thread the yarn onto a (preferably blunt...) tapestry needle.
När det är dags att avmaska klipper du av garnet så att garnänden är 3-4 gånger så lång som varvet du ska avmaska. Trä garnet genom en stoppnål, helst trubbig.



Insert the needle from the right through the first two stitches.
För in nålen från höger genom de två första maskorna.



Pull the yarn all the way through. This is the tiresome part of this method, especially if you have knit the entire body in one piece and have a 4 meter yarn end.
Dra igenom hela tråden. Det här är det arbetssamma md den här metoden, särskilt om man stickar hela fram- och bakstycken i ett och har en garnände på fyra meter att hantera.



Insert the needle from the left through the first stitch on the needle.
För in nålen från vänster genom den första maskan på stickan.



Pull the yarn all the way through.
Dra igenom hela tråden.



Slide the first stitch from the needle.
Låt den första maskan glida av stickan.



Repeat until all stitches are bound-off.
Fortsätt tills maskorna tar slut.

New tricks

In a sudden flash of (ice hockey induced?) inspiration, I added some rows of garterstitch at the foot of the Body hill. I'm now binding off the body using a new method (for me, that is), using a tapestry needle and a very long thread. In this webpage it is attributed to Elisabeth Zimmerman. Slow, but stretchy and very nice-looking. Lana Grossa has another variation in their site, called Italian bind-off. There is a cast-on that matches. Lana Grossa says it's difficult but well worth the trouble. I'll have to try, when this is finished.

It's all downhill from here

The body (too wide, I'm afraid) of the downhill cardigan is slowly coming to its end, and the remaining parts are: two slopey sleeves, one curling collar and two short tracks of icord.

I'm going to London the upcoming weekend, and I believe the journey (by train) will be enough to finish this challenge on time.

AsI've said before, I don't like the unevenness that shows so well with this yarn. At the same time, I love the colour, the subtle shine and the crisp cables. You'll have to take the good with the bad, I suppose...

Going for gold

My top-down-raglan-cardi is growing, slowly but steadily. I still have a few centimeters to go before I can separate the body from the sleeves and go on with shorter rows. (The sleeves will be a breeeze, stockinette on dps, wooosh!) The body has its cables and the slower purled rows, but it will be fine, I'm sure. I'm thinking of making an icord edge and place a zipper behind it. The collar will be straight and simple, possibly with cables.

I have caables along the front and the raglan "seams". The yarn is a cotton/microfibre mix in a prett blue colour. It's light and makes a nice fabric BUT it shows any incosistencies in the gauge without mercy. My purled rows are slightly tighter than my knit, and it shows. I'm usually a very even knitter, or at least I thought so. Now I think the forgiving elasticity of wool has something to do with that.

Sweden won two gold medals today, both in the ski sprint relay. Luxemburg has one single athlete in the games, a young figure-skater called Fleur Maxwell. Heja Fleur!

Counting down

The tension is rising all over the knitting world (watch you gauge, friends!). We're stretching and swatching and making last-minute adjustments to our equipment.

Beadlizard gives some valuable advise, read it to limit the risk of damages. And save it for future reference!

The figure skaters of the KO are carefully reviewing their lace programmes. The level of difficulty must be high enough to impress the audience, but it must still be doable. Noone wants to fall flat on her face and rip something.

Then we have the curling teams, those who slide along gently, polishing their way to perfection. Your latvian mittens and baby sweaters will be amazing!

The cross-country skiers of the KO are preparing for miles and miles of tight stockinette.

I was thinking of ski-jumping, and it's knitting equivalent, and I couldn't really come up with something. Then it struck me: they are knitting ski jumpers!

Since my project is a top-down raglan, it must be some kind of downhill event. I added some cables to the plan last night, so I suppose it makes it slalom then.

Team Wales has already claimed the title "the Jamaican bob-sleighers of the KO", i suppose they're a tightly knit team zipping along in their rockets.

As for ice hockey, well, are there any afghan teams out there?

My guess is that the rad new knitters, with fun-yarn scarves and hats will be in the snowboard arena, throwing themselves around in the halfpipes to come up with tricks that make more experienced knitters pale.

Good luck, and remember that KO stands for Knitting Olympics, not Knock (you) Out!

A knitting movie

Beware! The Knitwitz!

(link via iHanna)

Magknits february

The february issue of Magknits is up, with a mixed crop of knits.

Fragola, an übercute girl's cardigan, nothing for my boys and probably too sugary for their only female cousin.
Odessa, the undisputed winner of this issue. Grumperina continues her research into slanted knitting and comes up with a pretty design. I had to cast on for this one hour after I first laid my eyes on the pattern. I had no suitable beads at home, so my first Odessa will be a pure white unbeaded merino/micro twirl. So far it's a fun knit, I think there will be more of these if the fit is OK. (I'm working on a pair of Jaywalker socks in Trekking XXL, and I admire Grumperina's attention to detail in her designs.)
Silk Garden Swirl is a knitted skirt in a beautiful yarn, but somehow it doesn't work for me.
Tech Guy Socks - another pair of basic socks, no less, no more. (Well, with some pixelated video game graphics for those ith such inclinations...)
Sushi. I love sushi. The edible kind, that is. Knitted sushi, on the other hand, well, I wouldn't know what to do with it. if I ever knit a bag for my sushi-loving friend M, I might make a piece as a decoration.
Ziggy is a nice soft scarf, and might be something for chilly spring days.
Trellis is another scarf/stole, but I'm not really attracted to it. I prefer fatter cables.

So, as a whole, not one of the best Magknits issues, but one or two very interesting designs.

My own Magknits design, the Swatch and Block coinpurse and bag, wasn't a success. So far I haven't seen, or heard of, one single person who tried the pattern. It would be so interesting to know if the pattern works.