Manchester, England, England and the long wait for our girls to come home

No, our girls have not gone to war but waiting for them to come back was equally painful! Two friends of mine had gone to Manchester to a conference and I sent them to Purl City Yarns :) They came back with these beauties:



The variegated skeins are Malabrigo Lace and the mohair (argh!) is Drops' Kid-Silk, the latter bought at their own initiative, to be turned into... well, a scarf ;). Unfortunately, they bought just one skein of it, which is only 25g and 199m so not much of a scarf potential there but I guess I could whip up a skinny Wisp?

Birthday presents

The first surprise came on the day before my birthday so I was completely unprepared! And I still am! What I found in my mailbox was a gift token for Barka yarn!

Girls, you made me cry, that's how touched I was! Thank you for all the care and consideration and organization that you put into this!



And then, on the day of my birthday, while I was still at my morning coffee, the postman rang and these beauties arrived, a gift from Magrit and Olga. I was tempted to phone in sick at work, that's how much I wanted to stay at home and fondle the yarn!



Neizmerno ste me obradovale, hvala vam do neba! I nazad!

Veliko spremanje u hrčkovom domu

Proteklo je, začudo, brzo i glatko, bez mnogo poteškoća i velikih nedoumica. Pobacah sve one male klupčiće, ostavljene za "zlu ne trebalo" ili za "poslužiće već za nešto" a ostavih samo ono predivo koje znam šta je i koje je marke, ili kojeg ima toliko da se od njega može nešto i napraviti. Bilo je teško, šta da vam kažem... ali vredelo je. Sada su zalihe bezbedno smeštene u kutije. Bezbedno jer im ne preti opasnost od moljaca ali bezbedno i zbog toga što ne mogu iskočiti i misteriozno se pojaviti na nekom neočekivanom mestu u stanu, što je do sada bio čest slučaj :)

Za hvatanje u koštac sa zalihama bila mi je potrebna estetsko-psihološka pomoć, za koju sam mislila da ću je pronaći u onim prelepim dezeniranim kutijama koje se prodaju po bolje snabdevenim prodavnicama za opremanje doma. No, videvši im cenu, brzo sam odustala pa su u pomoć priskočile jednostavne kutije od mlečnobele plastike, kupljene na pijaci za trećinu cene.

U jednoj je kutiji predivo koje zovemo opštim imenom "vunica", a u drugoj je pamuk. Treća kutija (koje ovde nema) rezervisana je za konac za heklanje, kojeg nisam ni znala da imam toliko mnogo. Doduše, on zauzima dosta mesta jer je namotan na kartonske kaleme. Sve u svemu, oko 80 litara prediva.





I pre nego što počnete da me kritikujete zbog gomilanja zaliha, a kritika bi svakako bila opravdana, moram vas podsetiti na to da živim u zemlji gde stalna isporuka neke robe nije zagarantovana, gde ako ne kupiš odmah svu količinu vune koja ti treba, sledeći put je skoro sigurno neće biti ili, ako je i bude, predivo neće uopšte biti istog kvaliteta ili će nit biti drugačije debljine i teksture, a o boji da i ne govorimo. Zbog toga, a i zbog godina nemaštine kad su se šećer, brašno i sl. kupovali na džakove jer ko zna kad će ga ponovo biti u prodavnicama, skloni smo devizi "Od viška glava ne boli" pa tako ni ja nisam izuzetak. A kad se to spoji sa već postojećom tendencijom da se ništa ne baca i sklonošću ka sakupljačkim hobijima, dobijete 80 litara prediva :)

Only Serbian this time, apologies to international readers. The post is about sorting out my stash, 80 litres of it :)

Pripreme, 2. deo / Preparations, Part 2

U ovom delu, 2 ekološka venčića.

In this part, 2 eco-friendly wreaths.

Jedan je napravljen od ostataka prethodnih projekata ("ostosa", kako bi bensedinart rekla :) ) - pletenica je bila neuspeli pokušaj pravljenja drški za jednu tašnu, crveni cvetovi su trebali da budu ukras na nekoj drugoj tašni ali ih na kraju nisam upotrebila - praktično jedino što sam naheklala baš za ovaj venac jesu 2 listića imele (po uputstvima iz 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet).

One is made from odds and ends I had lying around from previous projects - the braid was an unsuccessful experiment in bag handles, the red flowers were meant to be an embellishment on another bag but were not eventually used. Practically the only thing I made specifically for this wreath are the mistletoe leaves (from 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet).





A drugi je Springtime Wreath Lucy of Attic 24 koji je, kao što se vidi i iz imena i iz izgleda, više pristaje za neko drugo godišnje doba, ali nema veze. Koristićemo ga i za Uskrs :)

The second is Springtime Wreath by Lucy of Attic 24, which is, as you can see both from its name and its looks, more appropriate for a different season, but so what? We'll use it for Easter too :)

Pripreme, 1. deo / Preparations, Part 1

Ja sam od onih koji ne veruju u Božić ali volim sve što je u vezi s njim: atmosferu, jelku, ukrase, kolače, poklone... I to toliko da ga slavimo čak dva puta: jednom po gregorijanskom, a drugi put po julijanskom kalendaru :) Za jednog ateistu - malo li je? Ove godine sam čak uspela da napravim i poneki ukras.

I don't believe in Christmas but I like everything related to it: the atmosphere, the tree, decorations, cookies, presents... And I like all this so much that we actually celebrate it twice: first by Gregorian (Western) calendar, and then by Julian (Eastern orthodox) calendar :) And all this coming from an atheist, lol! This year I even managed to make a few decorations.



Ovi Dropsovi podmetači za sveće (je l' zna kako se na crkvenoj sveći zove onaj obruč koji služi da spreči da vam vosak kaplje na ruku?) su mi zapali za oko još prošle godine. Vrlo su jednostavni i brzo se prave. Uputstva su data i za veliki i za mali podmetač.

These bobèches (I had to look up the word - it's a ring placed around a candle to catch the drippings) by Drops caught my eye last year. They're very simple and very quick. The pattern includes instructions for both a large and a small bobèche.

veliki/large:


mali/small:


Ovi mali su nastali naknadno jer mi je, pošto sam napravila dva velika, ostalo još crvenog konca. Međutim, izgledali su pretamno na crnom svećnjaku pa sam odlučila da ih malo razveselim zlatnim koncem. Meni ovako svečanije izgleda. Kako se vama čini?

These small ones were an afterthought because after making two large ones I still had some red yarn left but it looked too dark on the black candlestick. So I decided to lighten it up a bit by adding a layer of gold colour. And a boring old candlestick that looked more suitable for a spooky Halloween dinner table got a new, more Christmassy look. Definitely an improvement, don't you think?

pre/before:


posle/after:

I won some yarn! :)

I won the second round of Škrinja's giveway and look what I got! A lovely Russian merino wool yarn in fingering weight! In a gorgeous rich red colour! Thank you, Škrinja! I can already see a pair of gloves on my hands :)

Moher / Mohair

(for the text in English, scroll down)

Kao što znate, završila sam nedavno onaj šal od mohera. To me ponukalo da napišem post o tom materijalu.

Sudeći po reakcijama pletilja, ljudi se obično dele na one koji ga vole i na one koji ga ne vole - retko ko je prema njemu ravnodušan. Bio je naročito popularan 80-ih godina prošlog veka kada je u modi bilo sve što je čupavo i paperjasto i ja ga tada nisam mnogo volela. Zapravo, nisam mnogo ni znala o moheru, osim da je čupav, da je prirodnog porekla i da ga nikako ne želim na sebi.

I onda sam rešila da razbijem kod sebe taj tabu i da naštrikam šal od mohera. Veliki korak, nema šta! :) I dalje mi to nije najomiljenije predivo, ali sam ipak malo smekšala prema njemu.

Elem, moher se dobija od angorske koze. Ova sorta koze poreklom je iz Turske i ime je dobila po glavnom gradu, Ankari, koji se ranije zvao Angora. Angorska koza ima dugu dlaku i meni, kao laiku, više liči na ovcu, verovatno upravo zbog tako dugog runa koje podseća na ovčije. Evo, procenite sami:

Photo by Erica Peterson (IMG_0168) [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


Photo by Sharon chestnutt at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

Je l’ da da više liči na ovcu nego na kozu?

Ne treba je brkati sa angorskim zecom, čija se dlaka koristi u proizvodnji jednog drugog čupavog prediva, angore. A ni sa angorskom mačkom, naravno! ;)

Moher je vrlo lagan i vazdušast pa je dobar toplotni (a i zvučni) izolator. Osim toga, vrlo je otporan na vatru pa se često upotrebljava u materijalima za opremanje javnih prostora kao što su koncertne i pozorišne dvorane, hotelski lobiji i slično, mada se koristi i u proizvodnji tepiha i štofova za odela. Kada se od njega pravi vunica, često se kombinuje s nekim drugim vlaknom, prirodnim ili sintetičkim, koje služi da poveže i drži na okupu svilenkasti i vazdušasti moher. Kvalitet prediva zavisi od udela mohera i što je taj udeo veći, to je i vunica kvalitetnija.

Iako je moher vrlo mek, kažu da zna da iritira kožu kao i sva prirodna vlakna.



English text:
As you know, I recently finished that mohair wrap and that experience inspired me to write a post about mohair.



Judging by knitters’ reactions, people either like it or hate it – not many people are indifferent. It used to be very popular in the 1980s when it was fashionable to wear anything hairy and fluffy and I didn’t like it much then. As a matter of fact, I didn’t know much about mohair except that it is hairy, that it is a natural fiber and that I didn’t want it on my body.

And then I decided to break the taboo and make myself a mohair scarf. A bold move, don’t you think! :) It still isn’t my most favourite yarn but I have warmed up to it a bit. Anyway, mohair is obtained from the Angora goat. This breed originated in Turkey and is named after the Turkish capital, Ankara, formerly known as Angora. The Angora goat has a long-haired fleece and to me, as a non-expert, this animal looks more like a sheep than like a goat, probably because of its long hair. See for yourself:


Photo by Erica Peterson (IMG_0168) [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


Photo by Sharon chestnutt at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

Doesn’t it look more like a sheep than like a goat?

It is not to be mixed up with the Angora rabbit, whose coat is used to produce another fluffy yarn, angora wool. Or with the Angora cat, of course! :)

Mohair is very light and airy, which means it is a good heat and sound insulator. Apart from that, it is highly resistant to fire, which is why it is often used for public places such as concert halls, theatres and hotel lobbies but it is also used in the production of carpets and cloths for men’s suits. When it is used to produce yarn, it is often combined with another type of fiber, natural or synthetic, which binds the silky and fluffy mohair and keeps it together. The quality of the yarn depends on the amount of mohair.

Even though mohair is very soft, they say it can irritate the skin, just like all natural fibers.

Scarf Odyssey 2010

I know the title of this post sounds like a sci-fi parody in which, after centuries of battle for supremacy with Hats and Gloves, Scarves get to rule the world, but, trust me, a psycho drama is a more likely genre! I've counted the number of scarves and shawls I've knit so far this year and it is 15 plus 1 in progress. Now, if this is not material for a psycho drama, I don't know what is! 16 scarves! In 10 months. And out of these, three were knit twice and one was knit 4 (four!) times so it is actually 21+1! And still, by some strange whim of self-preservation, I don't think I am obsessed with scarves! Oh, sweet self-delusion!

The first in the row was Kim Haesemeyer's French Scarf, which I knit for myself in two shades of grey and then for my husband in brown and red. Looking back, this must have been one of the early signs something was not quite right but I missed it.





Later the same month, in only one day, a chunky cowl was born - Trish Woodson's My Kind of Town Cowl.



It happened after I got my hands on some Phildar yarn, which miraculously appeared in a local yarn shop. Another scarf that came out of the same miracle was Entrelac Scarf by Laura Spradlin.




February was marked with some green cotton used for Marina Orry's "Irene" Scarf.



After all those cables and chart reading, I needed some mindless, endless garter stitch scarf. And sure enough, tried and tested Strikkelise's Baktus came to my rescue, just in time for 2010 Ravelympics.



In March, for a short moment, it seemed Jolene Mosley's AeRang, with its airy lace design, might herald spring and with it the ebbing of my scarf mania.



But obviously, it was not to happen. If anything, it got worse and I knit 2 (not one but two!) identical scarves in super chunky furry yarn, one for my mum and one for my mother-in-law.



Such a heavy, robust yarn and 10mm needles simply begged for something finer, more delicate. What followed was AnneM's Revontuli



and soon after that Sabine Riefler's Anne Shirley.



In July I surprised myself by proving to be reasonable enough and choose not wool but cotton for summer knitting and make only two shawlettes by Liz Abinante: Yvaine



and Travelling Woman.



The summer cotton spree peaked with me knitting four Montego Bay Scarves, designed by Amy R Singer. Now, what tells me there may still be some hope for me is the fact that only one was for me and the remaining three were gifts. You'll see only three photos because two of the scarves were made in the same yarn.




photo by magrit


photo by magrit

September meant that birthday season was approaching. Hastily, I made DeVine Neck Warmer by Melissa McColl for my best friend's birthday and then, having bought too much yarn (surprise! surprise!), I made one for myself too.



The last in the row is Sharon Maher's 3-2-1 and you're done - curlicue scarf, the only crocheted one so far.



And yes, I almost forgot, there's one that is in progress at the moment and that will, let's hope, keep me occupied till the end of the year so that I do not make any more scarves/shawls/shawlettes/cowls/wraps/neckties/neckwarmers. It is Mags Kandis's Modern Quilt Wrap.



Ok, that's it. I've come out. If after this post you no longer want to read my blog, I'll understand. Really, I will.

Dve nove kape / Two new hats

Šta drugo štrikati u sred leta nego tople zimske kape?! Prva je Luxury Lid Meri Kinan, ovaj put bez pruga ali ukrašena heklanim cvetom.

What else to knit in the middle of summer but warm winter hats?! The first one is Mary Keenan's Luxury Lid, this time with no stripes but embellished with a crocheted flower.



A druga je još jedna Chunky Knit Beanie Lesli Frend, ispletena za jedan dan laganog štrikanja, ovaj put nešto duža kako bi se mogla navući preko ušiju.

And the second one is yet another Chunky Knit Beanie by Leslie Friend, a quick knit finished in a day of relaxed knitting, this time with a little more lenght to it so that it can be pulled over the ears.

Torbe, ponovo / Bags, again

Here's finally some photos of two finished bags. The first one is Drops' 98-55, knit in Eskimo, finished ages ago but now with some matching lining.





And the second one is Drops' 106-37b, crocheted in Phildar's Tribord, made to match our new yacht ;) (but, alas, photographed on a terribly overcast day).





More details on both can be found on my project pages on Ravelry.

Jastučići / Pincushions

Pošto je žuti stigao na odredište, sad mogu da postavim slike a da ne pokvarim iznenađenje :)

As the yellow one has arrived at its destination, I can now post photos without ruining the surprise :)

Pattern: Naalepuder

Ravelimpijske ige / Ravelympics

Učestvovala sam na Ravelimpijskim igrama 2010 s još jednim Baktusom i evo medalje i banera za blog koje sam osvojila time što sam završila trku u disciplini Scarf Super-G.



Takmičila sam se u individualnoj konkurenciji ali može se takmičiti i ekipno, a ima preko 9000 prijavljenih takmičara. Evo naziva nekoliko disciplina, samo da vam dočaram koliko je maštovito smišljeno:

Beading Biathlon
Cable Cross-Country
Giant Slalom-ghan
Hat Halfpipe
Mitten Moguls
Nordic Colorwork Combined
Short Track Shawls
Single Skein Speed Skate
Sock Hockey
WIPs-Dancing

Zvanična pravila Ravelimpijskih igara mogu se naći ovde. Pogledajte spisak disciplina, mapu ravelimpijskog sela, i radove koji su uspešno prošli kroz cilj, a postoji i prenos uživo. Dođite da učestvujete, nije kasno a stvarno je zabavno. Medalju možete osvojiti čak i tako što ćete nešto oparati ili završiti neki stari nedovršeni rad!

I took part in Ravelympics 2010 with another Baktus scarf and above are the medal and the blog badge that I won for crossing the finish line in Scarf Super-G event. I competed individually but there are also teams that you can join or you can start your own team. There are over 9000 contestants. Here are the names of some of the events, just to illustrate how imaginative it all is:

Beading Biathlon
Cable Cross-Country
Giant Slalom-ghan
Hat Halfpipe
Mitten Moguls
Nordic Colorwork Combined
Short Track Shawls
Single Skein Speed Skate
Sock Hockey
WIPs-Dancing

The official rules and FAQ about Ravelympics can be found here. Have a look at the list of the events, the Ravelympics village map and finish lines and check out live coverage. Come and join, it's not too late and it's really good fun. You can even win a medal for frogging something or for simply finishing a WIP!