25 February 2011

Ekstremi(teti) / Extremities

It took me years to muster the will and energy and sort out my stash. And then, after I'd done it, my friends showered me with yet more yarn! It seems I'll need another 30-liter box after all! Ain't life a bitch? ;)

But before the stash event and before I got those lovely, lovely birthday presents, I managed to finish two very extreme knitting projects. Extreme in every sense. A pair of socks (my first ever, would you believe it?!) and a pair of mittens to cover both pairs of my extremities - hence the title. The former in light fingering weight, the latter in super bulky - hence, too, the title.

The socks were an adventure I've wanted to plunge into for some time now but couldn't find any suitable sock yarn. And then, when they got PEKA Salo at my local yarn shop, I knew my destiny was determined! I got down to reading about different construction techniques, various cast-on methods, etc. and opted for Stefanie Bold's Amy Lee socks as they seemed simple enough, suitable for a beginner sock knitter. Besides, I got a self-striping yarn and didn't want a fancy complicated pattern which would only be obscured by the yarn.

And let me tell you one thing, socks are faster to knit than you may imagine, I finished the first pair in 7 days of light evening knitting. And they are certainly easier than they look. But what these first socks really did for me was that they made me fearless - I now know that I can knit anything! I mean, if I can knit a pair of socks in fingering yarn, what is there out there in the knitting universe that I cannot do?! At least this is how I felt when I finished them.





The mittens were an upcycling project. Once upon a time there was a hat. A beautiful hat. A warm hat. A loved hat. Knit in a fabulous, colourful yarn. But made for a head that didn't get along with it very well. Now, I'll avoid frogging finished objects at all costs but there was no point in keeping a hat I didn't wear. So, after a lightbulb moment, I decided to frog it and make a pair of superbulky mittens by Drops. You can choose what they remind you of: oven mitts or astronauts' mittens, but let me assure you that with this snowmageddon outside, they were certainly appreciated and got many an envious look :)



21 comments:

  1. Carape izgledaju skroz profi, kao da ti nisu prve. Samo ne kontam, je li u pitanju sve isto klupko ili si ga uparila sa nekim jednobojnim?
    A za rukavice sam sigurna da privlace paznju. Velike, sarene i niko drugi ih nema ;)

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  2. Heh, I see fewer scarves in your future, somehow ;^) Both pairs are gorgeous!

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  3. @ Olga: Ne, to je samošarajuća vunica (self-striping), tako je farbana da kad pleteš čarape (ili nešto drugo sličnog obima), dobiješ efekat štrafti. Kod ove vunice, ima 3 boje: svetloplava, tamnoplava i ta šatirana.

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  4. I taj život, baš je okrutan, pa moraš još jednu kutiju da kupiš:)!
    A rukavice su ludačke, mnogo mi se doapdaju!

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  5. Ja imam jednu kutiju viska, pa mogu da ti pricuvam visak vunice neko vreme :) :)
    A carape ... ja jos nikako da se odlucim na to. Nekako mi se cini da mi ne bi odgovarale... ali sta pricam, kad nisam probala !

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  6. @magrit Carape se prave lakse od rukavica, bar onih koje ukljucuju prste. Jedino mi je zao da ih pravim posto mi traju samo jednu sezonu. Pete se za cas izlizu. Mada ih non-stop nosim. :))

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  7. Loooooove the mittens!

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  8. Mislim da su rukavice puno bolje od kape! I da bas slicu na one za u kuhinju, ali meni se bas to svidja ovde :)
    carape su super, i meni je na pocetku bilo, super ali sad mi je dosadilo da pletem carape, cak imam dva para nezavrsenih

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  9. Ova vunica je stvorena za čarape. Mnogo su dobro ispale šare. Čak i u pakovanju po 3, kako se kod nas prodaje, su na slici čarape. Ja sam uzela 7 u nameri da pletem prsluk, i lepo idu štrafte, ali sam odustala za sada, nekako mi je tanka, a još nisam vešta, pa je bilo muke. Kaži mi da li se posle pranja izgubi čudan "miris" koji ima ova vunica? Moja Peka Salo: http://www.ravelry.com/people/miciii/stash/salo

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  10. @ milanarukotvorine: odgovorila na mejl :)

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  11. i ja sam dugo odbijala naštrikati prve čarape - kao to je jako teško. Onda mi je jedna blogerica rekla da su čarape ništa drugo nego "2 tubes with heel"! I od onda - prosvjetljenje!

    Rukavičke su gubastične - kombinacija oblika i boja je potpuni pogodak!

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  12. Čestitam na prvim čarapama! Dobra ti je ta vuna, izgledaju baš profi ispleteno.

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  13. Love the color!

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  14. I just gave away 3 half-finished pairs of socks, and their Zauberballs they were attached to, due to a bad case of Second Sock Syndrome...I applaud all who can finish a pair!

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  15. Štrikala sma kao mala djevojčica i uvijek se oduševim ovako lijepim radovima!
    Lijep pozdrav, hvala na komentaru i ugodan vikend vam želim.

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  16. Zdravo.Ja moram da pitam za cipele =o),koje su marke i gde su kupljene?Naime,podsecaju me na moje nekadasnje Karioka ili slicnog naziva,vec godinama ih trazim.Hvala unapred.

    Danijela

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  17. @ Danijela: Kakvo oštro oko imaš! Jeste, to su te cipele, Karyoka. Jedino što su meni jako neudobne pa mi, pošto ih slabo nosim, traju već dugi niz godina :) Imala sam i neke njihove papuče, ali ih već dugo nisam videla po prodavnicama.

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  18. Hi dear friend,
    Your work is really amazing.
    I love these gloves and socks. They look so warm...
    Thanks for the comments you wrote me, you are very kind.
    Have a good weekend.
    Lúcia

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  19. OhMyBob - I love those mittens!!!!!

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