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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Dear Spring, could you please hurry up?

Greetings from the city of rain, fog and melting snow!

The weather in Łódź has been really nasty recently. Last week we had snow, which is now melting, and everything is wet and dirty. Today I'm having problems seeing the building on the other side of the street, as we are floating in fog. BTW, Łódź is Polish for "boat":) Anyway, fog I actually don't mind, I like fog, but not when it's mixed with cold, unpleasant drizzle that feels like tiny pricks of ice on the face. I prefer 25 degrees below zero, as it was a month ago (I mean Celsius, just to be clear:)). Snow in the city is no fun.

Luckily, I have my yarns:) So I knit, and I read, and I try to reduce my outside trips to a minimum. So far it works well for me.

I have finished a sample model of Queen of the Forest in a blend of silk and alpaca. And I fell in love with the color - who would have thought it could look good on me? It's grape, dusty plum, some kind of purple/violet, but it's not a "flat" color - it's a mix, with tiny little specks of different shades, some more pinkish and vibrant than the others.


http://www.etsy.com/listing/92995943/spring-green-lace-scarf-hand-knitted

The color is not the only great thing about this yarn - the quality is also wonderful. It's incredibly soft and light, very delicate and gentle on the skin. Plus, it's very easy to drape. I am so happy with this shawl that I will be knitting one for myself. I just have to decide on the color (right now it's down to royal blue, burgundy, and the one in the photos:))

And since the weather is so bad, I figured it would be good to do something for the spring. So I came up with a spring scarf with lace pattern. It's green, small, designed especially to work as a lighter outdoors scarf for warmer days.


http://www.etsy.com/listing/92995943/spring-green-lace-scarf-hand-knitted

I like it when the weather is nice enough to leave big scarves at home, yet not warm enough to leave the house without anything to protect your neck. And from a knitter's point of view it's lots of fun to knit the small scarves - they are usually one-skein-projects, quit knits you can wrap up in a couple of evenings. Be it the green one above, or the red/pink one from my previous entry, something tells me I will be knitting a few of those in the next weeks:)


And to finish, I think I have some good news - there is a bird giving a wonderful concert right outside my window. Perhaps spring is much closer than I think...:)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Busier than a beaver in a coffee lake

I have no idea who said the above words, but they describe my reality perfectly:) I've been working like crazy recently - but I'm happy with that. When you do what you love there is no other way:)

Before I show you my latest project, here's a quick update from the shop:
First of all I'm celebrating the Valentine's Day with a special sale

15% off with coupon code: VALENTINE

If you have never used coupon codes, have a look at this article: http://www.etsy.com/help/article/350 - it tells you how coupons work and how to use them.

Wait, there's more!

February 14 - March 14 
is the month of 
free worldwide shipping at KnitsDeLuxe!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!



OK, now on to the new knits:)

First of all, let me show you a shawl I knitted with one of my favorite type of yarns: kidsilk. It's a gorgeous and luxurious blend of kid mohair (75%) and silk (25%). It looks very elegant and sophisticated; the finished product has a delicate silky shine and shows a subtle halo effect. I love this yarn, it's like a cloud, or whipped cream, - soft, delicate and light as a feather.





My next project is a scarf knitted with another gorgeous blend: alpaca, cashmere and silk. The yarn is hand painted, there are lots of colors available. The scarf is a modified version of the zig-zag shawl and is available as a made-to-order item in my shop.






Last, but not least: back to my two favorites: kidsilk and Queen of the Forest.



I've decided to offer a luxury version of the shawl, again, as a made-to-order item. So if you want a luxurious shawl with leaf pattern, and in the color of your choice, have a look at this listing: http://www.etsy.com/listing/92974189/kidsilk-lace-shawl-triangular-hand

Plus, I'm currently finishing the same shawl but from an even more luxurious yarn (alpaca and silk), and that version will also be available on demand very soon.

That's it for now:) Back to work, back to celebrating:)
XO