I'm back!

Well, I haven't been gone really, but I had a terrible bout of lazyness, hence such a long silence. But I wasn't slacking otherwise. I made lots of things. I worked with fine lace wool, summer cottons and heavier wintery combos. And I finally managed to make some sweaters for myself. Come to think about it, I was really busy:)

I'll try to show you at least some of the pieces. Since it's getting cold, let me start with a new winter collection. All one skein project, triangular shawls in variegated yarn. In other words some colorful stripes for winter.

Triangle shawls are the best! First of all they are great with all V-neck coats - they will cover what gets cold the most in those kind of jackets. You can wrap them over your head, forming a hood-like thing to keep your ears warm. Shoulders and upper back warming is obvious, but this scarves can be wrapped around the hips to cover the lower back too! Perfect accessory, I tell you:)

The shawls are available at www.KnitsDeLuxe.Etsy.com

In other news: I'm on Instagram. The plan is to show you some work-in-progress (I've already posted some), so if you're interested, follow me @KnitsDeLuxe

That's it for now. But I'll be back. Sooner than in a year, I promise:)

Cowls, cowls, fresh cowls!

Hello dear readers,

Dzień dobry drodzy Czytelnicy!

First of all thank you for reading my blog and leaving comments - I appreciate them all!

Przede wszystkim dziękuję za to, że tu zaglądacie, i że zostawiacie komentarze - jest mi bardzo miło je czytać!

Now let me show you what I just listed in KnitsDeLuxe store:)

A teraz pozwólcie, że pokażę Wam nowości, które ostatnio pojawiły się w sklepie KnitsDeLuxe:)

I'm in a wintery mood, though it's still summer (and they say this week will be extra hot). But I'm having fun with cowls and infinity scarves. I'm testing new yarns, inventing new patterns, trying to figure out the best way to wear them. The last thing usually boils down to: wrapped around the neck or hooding the head:) I love the idea of these neckwarmers: no loose ends that can be a nuisance sometimes, hood and a scarf in one, and with a little bit of imagination and an extra pin they can be turned into a vest protecting the shoulders and lower back. And they are so in! The keywords for this winter seem to be: infinity scarf, neckwarmer, cowl, circle scarf - I'm guessing they do differ a little, but the general idea is the same.

Jestem w zimowym nastroju, chociaż za oknem pełnia lata (co więcej, ponoć w przyszłym tygodniu mają wrócić upały). Ale ja bawię się kominami i otulaczami. Testuję nowe włóczki, wymyślam nowe wzory, próbuję znaleźć najlepszy sposób noszenia. To noszenie najczęściej sprowadza się do dwóch wersji: zawinąć wokół szyi, naciągnąć na głowę:) Otulacze są genialne - tak ogólnie, jako pomysł na dodatek. Nie ma luźnych końców, z którymi czasami nie wiadomo co zrobić, jedna rzecz może być jednocześnie szalikiem i czapką, a przy odrobinie fantazji i dodatkowej zapince, łatwo można je przerobić na kamizelkę, która zasłoni ramiona i ogrzeje nerki. A do tego otulacze są supermodne!

All the cowls below are knitted either in the round or flat and stitched up with the kitchener stitch - anyway, there are no inside seams, which makes them very easy to wear. Some of them are reversible (the same on both sides), others have the right and left side, but the left one can also be worn as the right one (it's up to the wearer to decide).

Wszystkie otulacze z poniższych obrazków zostały wydziergane w kółko albo na płasko i zszyte kitchenerem - w każdym razie żaden nie ma szwów, dzięki czemu nie ma problemu z tym, jak je zamotać. Niektóre są dwustronne, czy raczej identyczne po obu stronach, inne są różne, ale wtedy lewa i tak wygląda na tyle fajnie, że można ją nosić jako prawą.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/106112429/infinity-scarf-chunky-pink-and-brown-mix

https://www.etsy.com/listing/106338255/handknit-chunky-ivory-cowl

https://www.etsy.com/listing/106861725/handknit-red-cowl

https://www.etsy.com/listing/106338424/alpaca-infinity-scarf-in-light-ocean

https://www.etsy.com/listing/106339541/infinity-scarf-chunky-green-and-teal-mix

https://www.etsy.com/listing/105696770/infinity-scarf-chunky-beige

https://www.etsy.com/listing/107093189/infinity-scarf-chunky-green-and-teal-mix

I survived Christmas (and New Year, and the first week of 2012:))

Well, it wasn't that difficult, really:) But it was very busy, so today is really the first day when I'm starting to catch a break. First there were some gifts to knit:

This time I kept it to a minimum:)

Then I came up with a new cowl for the shop - close fitting hoody type of neckwarmer.

Blend of mohair and acrylic, available here: long cowl from KnitsDeLuxe at Etsy.

Then there was an order for one of my favorite models:

White Angel from Debbie Bliss - blend of super kid mohair and silk, great yarn to work with. I love this shawl, it's soft, delicate, big (usualy about 180-190 x 60 cm), and ultralight (less than 100 grams).
[Advertising mode on] available on demand via Etsy [advertising mode off] :)

And in the meantime, I knitted a quick "I-want-one":)

Now I'm working on a new Queen of the Forest shawl (pattern available here: Queen of the Forest at Ravelry or here Queen of the Forest at Etsy. This one will be big leaves in deep teal - great color, unfortunately one of those I can't seem to get right on camera. Anyway, here's a sneak peek:

Well, that's it for now. Time to go back to work:)

Pre-Christmas knitting madness

There are not enough hours in the day!

For the past weeks I've been knitting like crazy, hence my silence. I'm making new things, dealing with special orders, organizing the shop - it's a total madness. But I'm enjoying it enormously. Here's a quick update on my recent project (all available in my Etsy shop - BTW, I'm running a special sale before Christmas, so look in the shop announcement for current discount codes).

Let's start with something I have made especially for winter. It's a shawl that can be a scarf , or a hooded scarf, or a narrow blanket. I knitted a similar one for myself and I'm wearing it almost all the time. It's long, wide, warm and cozy.

Next two shawls can be worn all year round - they're lace shawls knitted from a very fine kid mohair/polyester blend. Both remind me of the tree just outside my window; one that changed its colors from green to gold.

And now back to winter neckwear: a scarf and a triangular shawl. I absolutely love the colors on both, and the structure of the shawl.

There are more shawls in my shop, so come in, have a look - maybe you'll find something for yourself or for your loved ones. Happy shopping!

Cowl-mania continues

It seems like all I've been knitting recently are scarf substitutes:) Whatever you call them - cowls, neckwarmers or hoods - here they are:

 

 

And since I'm a bit tired of this monotony, I've started knitting a new shawl. My favorite alpaca with virgin wool and acrylic will soon become another light and lacy something:) Here's the teaser:

Straight from the needles and the blocking board

OK, so I don't have a blocking "board", I just use my mattress. Which is about 2 meters long, so blocking things that are longer (and there will be more such things now, as the season for scarves is coming) tends to be rather difficult. But I managed somehow.

And the result is:

100% merino lace shawl in gorgeous cobalt blue color. This is the thinnest and softest yarn I've ever worked with. The shawl is incredibly light, and it can be worn with everything.

The color looks stunning with black jacket.

Well, this is not exactly a black jacket, but you can see how the dark background brings out the blue:)
 I used needles no 3.25 (KnitPro - love them), and two skeins of Merinos fine from ISPE.


The one straight from the needles is a quick and simple cowl:

Last week the weather in Lodz was terrible - cold, wet and unpleasant (and it's just early September!). So I dug into my yarn stash and found a lonely skein of wool/mohair/acrylic blend in a lovely washed-out green color. One skein is not enough for a decent scarf, but it's plenty for a decent neck warmer.

I wanted to make it light and a bit puffy, so I went for this special stitch (the name of which I do not know:) But I remember it's the first "fancy" stitch I learned when I was a kid. I haven't used in a while, but since it looks so great, I'm already using it for another cowl:)

Both the shawl and the cowl are available at my Etsy store here: http://amadeitknits.etsy.com/