Blowtorch Crafts

Three cowls and fingerless mittens for presents:

red cowl and mitts with roses

plum cowl and mitts with teeny roses

blue-green cowl and mitts with green silk scrunch

Still trying to wrap my head around the selbu pattern. It’s quite fun, but also quite frustrating. I have made some unexplicable mistakes, but I’ve decided to keep on going. It’s my first pair after all.

A bit more alternative on the inside of the hand. This does not resemble the normal plaid pattern very much:

I have no patience for frogging, so they will have to be alternative.

This is the world’s largest Calorimetry.
I learned a few things from this:

• My head is small.
• I knit very losely.
• Checking the gauge is a good idea.

I can use it, but I have to make a knot from the ends…

I am learning to knit, and lace patterns are fun! It demands concentration, and I think it would have been easier with a thicker yarn – it is really difficult to make out the pattern as I go. Fortunately, the mistakes are nearly impossible to spot as well :)

I finally finished the red mittens. Apparently, I crochet tighter now than I used to, and they became smaller than the last pair. So, I only felted them at 40 degrees, and I am rather happy with the result.

I have started making jewellery again: these are some of the latest examples.

I’ve written this post in Norwegian as response to a request for pattern to my felted mittens. If asked, I will try to translate it into English at a later point.

Jeg har blitt spurt om oppskrift på vottene mine, og ble selvsagt veldig smigret :)
Så her kommer den:

Legg opp 45 luftmasker
Hekle staver i 13 runder
Der du vil ha tommelen, hekle 10 luftmasker og hopp over ti masker før du fortsetter med staver. Jeg liker å ha “skjøten” inni håndflaten, og har derfor plassert tomlene på hver sin side.
Hekle i tre runder til før du begynner å ta inn.
Jeg har heklet sammen to masker for hver tredje maske i en runde, heklet vanlig rundt i en runde for så å ta inn i neste igjen.
Fortsett med dette i til sammen ni runder.
Nå har du så få masker at du bare tar inn fortløpende.
Hekle rundt tommelåpningen i ti runder, ta deretter raskt inn.

Mine votter er heklet i PT2, og tovet på 60 grader. De må formes litt når de er våte, men de passer perfekt!

Jeg har en veldig liten hånd, så du må nok gjøre den litt større. Jeg synes det blir bra når man beregner ca 1/3 større enn det du ønsker å oppnå etter toving.
Vær også oppmerksom på at hvitt garn tover mindre enn annet garn. Jeg har blitt fortalt at dette er på grunn av blekingen av garnet.

I have finished a hat and mittens for a friend, all in double crochet in Drops Ice yarn (thick cotton). I think she must be mad – who wants cotton mittens? But she picked the yarn herself, she must take the blame:

I am trying to reconstruct the pattern for the crocheted felted mittens (on request), and will hopefully manage it before I leave.

I haven’t shown you the finished mittens yet! I am really, really happy with them, I have been wearing them every day since they were finished:

Before felting on the left, after felting on the right. Aren’t they CUTE? I really feel the need to brag about this. Aside from the slippers, this is the best thing I’ve ever made. And I even made them entirely myself, without a pattern!

So, project felted/crocheted mittens is underway. I am a bit worried that I am making them too large, but then I’ll just have to felt them over again, I think. I am using a fairly thin yarn, PT2, and working them in double crochet. Not only is it faster, but I think the felt will be thinner as well. The samples in double crochet seemed all right, but I am using a smaller hook than in the samples.

Tomorrow I’m meeting a couple of friends for crafts and wine. This seems like a good idea, but I have a sneaking feeling that the wine may not be very smart… We’ll find out. Drunken crochet, anyone? I plan on trying a new batch of muffins for the occation, this time with all milk and no oil, and chocolate chips. Perhaps I’ll try a little cardamom or vanilla as well – or maybe both?

I came back from Trondheim on sunday, and I was exhausted. This year was more than usually tiresome for this festival, and I will not do it again next year. It has progressively gotten worse regarding management and preparations, and this year was almost hopeless. No thank you, I’d rather be at work… After that joyful experience, I came back to work in time for the launch of a big campaign, and spent hours punching code yesterday.

On the bright side, I won 500 kr off a lottery ticket (something I normally do not buy). I decided to use these money on a new headset, something I would not normally afford on the spur of a moment. I researched a bit, and bought a Sennheiser HD 465 headset. It is HUGE, compared to my old Koss PortaPro, but the sound is amazing. The downside is that my old speakers at home sounds like crap in comparison… So this will be expensive over time! I am not like most girls in this respect – good sound is very important to me, like shoes are for other girls. I am, sadly, hooked now. Ah well. Kitchen improvements will have to wait…