♥ 3 anos ♥

Danish summer top

Started back in October, this was supposed to be a test knit for my friend Freckle, but I just couldn't concentrate properly at the time so it was left lingering on my WIP basket until I picked it up again recently . The lace pattern is called "frost flowers" and is absolutely stunning, as you can see. The reason why this took me so long was because the pattern it's not easy to memorize so I had to keep checking the chart quite often, which slowed me down considerably.

I followed the original pattern exactly, except for these changes:
- Knitted 7 repeats of the frost flowers pattern (instead of 8) because I wanted to lower the stockinette bodice portion by an inch or so.
- Knit 6 inches of stockinette instead of 5 before starting the v-neck
- For the shoulder straps, didn't make any of the increases at the sides, and decreased each strap until I had a total of 25 stitches.

As I had expected, the Tosh Merino Light grew a couple of inches lengthwise after blocking which made this the perfect length for me.

Pattern: Danish Summer, by Elisabeth Colding Sivertsen
Yarn: Madelinetosh Merino Light, in Well Water (1.5 skeins)
Ravelry project page

Yarn shopping in Istanbul - Kurkçu Han

I had saved this post for last, but then I forgot all about it till I realised this morning it was still on my drafts. I have photos from a mini-trip to Vienna to share but first I must describe this experience of yarn shopping in Istabul. I didn't have much time to visit different stores so when I heard there was this place near the Grand Bazaar with a variety of yarn shops I knew I'd have to go there. It didn't seem very easy to get there, but if you follow the right instructions it's actually quite simple: from inside the Grand Bazaar follow the signs for the Mahmutpasa exit. You'll stumble onto a very busy road full of clothes and notions shops like this ...

The thing to look for is the dark pink building with the Nako sign above, which is located on the left side of the road as you go down (a couple of blocks from the Grand Bazaar). You know you found the right place when you see the  "Kurkçu Han" sign. The entrance to the courtyard is a bit narrow and has a staircase on each side. Just go ahead and you'll find yourself in this courtyard full of houseware and yarn shops.

The shops have all sorts of items displayed outside, including bins full of cheap yarn (and also nice kitchen towels, by the way). I entered this small shop located on the left corner...

And this is what I found inside. Most of the yarn is unfortunately acrylic, and to find the 100% wool just look for the 100% yun labels.

In this shop I ended up getting a few Lanoso wool/cashmere skeins.

Going up the staircase you'll find even more shops.

At the Nako shop I got some Nako Super Saf Yun, very good value for the yardage you get (about 8 EUR for 3 skeins, aprox. 720 m)

In this shop there was also some superwash sock yarn, very similar (if not identical) to the ones I usually get in Germany

Also on the corridors there were some interesting things to explore.

Yarn with pom-poms !

Or even better, yarn with beads and flower bits ...

And our last find, some gigantic skeins of yarn for just 2 turkish liras (unfortunately mostly acrylic, but for that money it was still a very good bargain !)

Istanbul - St. Savior in Chora + Kadikoy

Atelier

 

Pattern: Atelier, by Heidi Kirrmaier

Yarn: Madelinetosh DK in Tart (5 skeins, leftover yarn: about 30 gr)

Needles: 3.5 and 3.75 mm

Ravelry project page

 

Changes:

I rarely swatch so of course my gauge was off … I started knitting the S size but then realized it was too big and decreased to XS.

 

Also:

• made three back decreases, one right after starting the body and the other two spaced about 1 inch apart
• lowered the waistband by 2 cm (to match my natural waist position)
• knit full length sleeves
• knit longer garter stitch bottom hem: 8 ridges in total
• after starting the pockets didn’t make any more increases or decreases

Pockets were also made smaller, cast-on 28 stitches and put 22 sts on hold.

The yarn: Madtosh DK blocked beautifully and grew a bit lengthwise which made this even more perfect. The color is my favorite madtosh base, and although it ran quite a bit when wet blocking it didn't seem to alter the lovely red tone.

The pattern: Ingenious is probably the best word for it. I love the way this cardigan is constructed, especially the yoke and the biased fronts. And although it's a lot of stockinette knitting, it's quite worth the effort.