Please stay with me today... it will to be a very long and wooly story...
For a long time I have been looking for a wool that is thin. About 30 stitches on 10 cm and would be soft and with a slight heathered look. I was hoping that Jamiesons of Shetland would have their shade cards ready... but no they have been working on that for 2 years. Then this lady came along and I am happy. The yarn Holst 100 % uld is perfect and she sells it already rolled up in 25 or 50 gram and in 96 different colors. To start with I ordered 24 different colours in 50 gram balls.
It was just perfect. I could start the little plan I had been working on in theory:
One basic wool to be knitted with either one or more strands...
Make swatches in all the colours available.
Every swatch should test either a technique or a pattern.
Wash the swatch and block it.
Every swatch should have a Little tag with the most important information.
I keep all the swatches in a plastic box. So far there are only 12 swatches but I am already enjoying taking them out, looking at and feeling the texture. I keep a notebook while knitting and it has all information about the swatch being made.
So far I have mostly been testing basic stitches, basic techniques for casting-on and casting-off and different types of decreasing.
I am trying to get a collection of knitting books that will make me design as freely as I want to. I needed some good books on stitch patterns, and I havent seen anyone as good as Barbara walkers A treasure of knitting patterns volume 1-4. I ordered the books from schoolhouse press and just when we came back from a week vacation in Sweden they had arrived. When I took them out of the packaging they reminded me off going to the university library picking up books for the new semester. I have studied Pharmacy for a short time before i realized that was not my call...I used to love the smell and feeling of new unused student books. So much knowledge all packed together in that thick book... its just beautiful.
Inside the book Meg Swansen has written a few words:
Thirty years ago Barbara Walker dedicated this book "... to the creative knitters of the past and the creative knitters of the future."
I hope I will be one of the creative knitters of the future... 
Volume 3 and 4 has a complete list of symbols. All the symbols are simple and hand drawn. Why is that important? well It is if you yourself has to chart some of the symbols on a pattern of your own it is actually possible to copy the symbols with a pen and paper... 
Are you still here... If so, thank you... It is nice to know I am not the only obsessive person in the world...
15 comments:
hi mette! this post is so inspiring! i think i will do the same thing. I love the idea of using one wool for many loved sweaters. your long cardigan was an inspiration to me- i stopped knitting the pattern i was using for a cardigan of my own, got EZ and barbara walker from the library, and now i am making my own without a pattern. I love this kind of knitting! thank you for the inspiration. i love your blog, especially the knitting!
love to read your blog and the effort u take in each thing in u do in ur life. I am not a perfectionist myself wanting to do it all in one go. I am getting there though trying to do it well than do it all and I like all your notes on organizing especially with knitting, so please keep updating.
Thanks
B
Fantastisk, Mette. Jeg bøjer mig i respekt og er grøn af misundelse. Det gælder både garn, bøger og noter. Jeg er også i gang med at opbygge et lager af det Holst'ske garn. Bøgerne er altså en god investering.....!? kærligst herfra
wow, you are so organized!
i love to check in and find out what you are up to. always so inspiring:o)
great post.
you always have a beautiful way to organize things.
Hej Mette
Jeg elsker din blog. Den er så spændende og inspirerende, og jeg er lige dele misundelig (på den gode måde selvfølgelig) og fascineret over din kreativitet. Næste gang jeg besøger svigerfamilien i Videbæk kigger jeg forbi :)
God dag.
Knus Pialouise
ooh I love your obsession. That looks so beautifully organised - just brilliant. And it's lovely you now have all those tactile squares to play with.
as per always you make me want to knit more. ive already been in to holst and im so close to buying myself some yarn.
thank you for being such an inspiration!
I'm always so amazed by your skills of organizing your creativity. Those swatches look so inviting and the colors are just beautiful.
Great post! Seems to be a wonderful yarn. Looking forward to see your projects! /Annika
hi mette,
thought you might like to know, barbara walker's book "knitting from the top down" has been very helpful in designing my own sweater. I think you would love this book. :)
For hulen da, hvor er du bare top-tjekket organiseret på strikkefronten, Mette, vildt inspirerende for sådan en som mig, der bare har alle mulige små lapper papir med idéer til strik, prøver, garnstumper og servietter med færdige udregninger til at ligge sådan hist og pist.
Jeg er ellers et rimeligt "ryddeligt" menneske, der får tingene ordnet omkring mig, men lige på strikkefronten er jeg virkelig rodet.
Vildt vildt inspirerende indlæg, du her har lavet, måske burde jeg gå i gang med at etablere et lignende system.
Og Holst Garn, det er bare det bedste. I love...
Hej Mette, Du er bare så formidabel til at organisere og være produktiv - det må vi drikke en skål på engang ved lejlighed...Knus Tina
Lige et lille spørgsmål til Barbaras bøger:
Hvis man nu kun lige skal ha' en enkelt af dem til at starte på, hvilken ville du så vælge??
god start
Post a Comment