Luce

La luce pugliese mi ha ispirata..e la mia sciarpetta rossa?Fatta!
Light in Puglia did inspire me...and my tiny red scarf? Done!

schema-pattern: Branching out
ferri-needles: 4 mm
filato-yarn: l'ultimo gomitolino avanzato dalla stola rossa Diamantblumenshal - leftover of Diamonds and flowers schawl

Giorni di Natale

Sono lontana. Lontana da casa, dal lavoro, dal web.

Sono vicina. Vicina agli affetti, alla terra, alla luce.

I'm far away. Far from home, from my job, from the web.

I'm so close. Close to my loved ones, to earth and light.

S.Vito a Natale

Chiacchiere natalizie ai ferri!

Questo incontro pre-natalizio è stato davvero simpatico, ci siamo messi in posa con l'autoscatto per farvi un augurio personalizzato "ai ferri"!
Ci ritroveremo l'anno prossimo il 12 gennaio fissando l'appuntamento per il secondo sabato di ogni mese.
Buone feste a tutti!

Our pre-Christmas knitting was really pleasant, we posed using a self-timer to prepare a special Chirstmas "knitted greeting" for you!
Next appointment will be on January 12, and every second saturday of each month.
Season's greetings to you all!

Stoppatemi!

Lo so faccio ridere! Per favore stoppatemi ...
I know I'm ridiculous! Please stop me ...

Domani è sabato 15...ci vediamo?

SP11 - III

SP11 è finito, il mio pacco finale non è ancora arrivato a destinazione..le rotte verso il nuovo mondo sono ancora perigliose!
Comunque proprio ieri ho ricevuto la mia ultima sorpresa! E' stato un momento di gioco e spensieratezza..infatti abbiamo trovato una corda per saltare, una pecorella ai ferri che lavora ai ferri, musica, golosi calendari dell’Avvento, bamboline segnalibro… spille e gadgets dell’eroe di carta H.Potter … e per meee? Questa caldissima e amplissima stola, una rivista e tantissime matassine …. So già per cosa le userò.
E ora? A cosa giochiamo? Innanzitutto una piccola pausa per rilassarsi e poi nell’anno nuovo troveremo nuovi stimoli. Questo scambio è stato lungo, ben tre mesi, ma se si ha la fortuna di incrociare una persona disponibile a comunicare, aperta e affettuosa come Sabine, l’esperienza diventa unica! Lo scambio di mercanzie è divertententissimo, ma ancora di più è stato bello affidarsi al caso, lanciare un messaggio srotolando un lunghissimo filo di lana e vedere cosa succede. Chissà che nelle vacanze estive questo gomitolo non si riavvolga!
PS: Sabine mi ha detto che il modello della stola, lavorata a macchina, è "Persian Tiles" di  Jade Starmore! E' fantastica!

SP11 is over, my final parcel isn’t arrived at destination yet ….. routes to the new world are still perilous!
Anyway yesterday I received my last surprise! It was a moment of light-heartedness and fun. We opened the parcel and found a jumping rope, a knitted knitting sheep, music, sweet Advent calendars, doll shaped bookmarks … badges&gadgets with H.Potter character … and what for meee? This comfortable and warm stole, a knitting magazine, and a lot of hanks … I know well what they are for!
And now? What will we play now? First of all a break to relax, then we’ll look for new spurs along upcoming year. This swap was long enough, three months, and if you are lucky and you find a communicative, open and kind person, just like Sabine, it’s a really unique experience!
The swap of goodies is a great fun, but besides this I found it wonderful to rely on fate, to throw a message by loosening a long thread of yarn waiting for what will come!
Maybe we could re-wind this ball during next summer holidays!
PS: Sabine told me that the pattern for this machine-knitted stole is "Persian Tiles" by  Jade Starmore! It's  fantastic!

Torino smorza le tue luci

Smorziamo le luci esagerate e fredde che in questi giorni ci abbagliano e ci confondono, accendiamo solo una fiammella per ricordare chi muore lavorando.

Let's dim the cold and dazzling lights that are confusing us in these days, let's light a small flame to remember the ones who dye working.
(many workers died in Turin during a fire broken out at Thyssen steel mill few days ago)

Notes to Fall Rainbow pattern

Vorrei aggiungere qualche informazione alle spiegazioni del cappotto Fall Rainbow. Lo faccio solo nel "mio inglese” sperando di scrivere prima o poi tutto in italiano!

I wish to add a few notes to Fall Rainbow pattern:

• When you're knitting the body striped sequence, remember the best place to change color is first st past front garter edging. Just knit this stitch with both colors held together. Drop the old color and continue knitting in the new color. When you come across the double stitch on WS row, purl it with the new color. Then, pull on the end of the old color until it gets hidden.
• If you choose to sew this sort of braces, remember "do not" fix the back central point, in wich all the bands meet, to the knitted fabric. This point is too stiff and it would show on the right side of garment. You should simply fix the shoulder bands onto the underarm band but leave it separate from the knit.
  


• To alter size remember these points:
  - Fall rainbow is a top-down jacket, for little alterations of size you can cast on the specified number of stitches and follow pattern instructions to make raglan increases and to shape lapel. Place stitches on a scrap yarn and try the yoke on, if you haven’t reached your raglan measurement yet place stitches on circulr needle again and continue with raglan increases until your desired measurement is reached.
  
  - Now you have to set up the chevron pattern according to your actual number of stitches.You will work six "peaks": one in each front section, one in each sleeve section, and two in the back section. Place a marker at each peak vertex, and write down how many stitches you have at the base of each peak . (the peak in the sleeve will take only the central portion of the section).
  
  - You have to adjust peak shaping. I suggest you to make a test swatch and write down your changes onto a piece of paper, so you won’t get lost! Download this schematic to understand how the peak is shaped by using both short rows and increases. You’ll have a different number of stitches at the base of the peak, so you can either :
  a) change the number of stitches to work before each turn, working the same number of rows indicated in the pattern (your peak will be less pointed!)
  b) keep turning your work every three sts from previously w&t stitch (you’ll have more rows to knit to complete the peak, and your peak will be more pointed!)
  c) try to stir a middle course both increasing the number of stitches to work before each turn and the total number of rows to compleate the peak.
  
  - Your personal chevron "peak" is now established using short rows and increases, then it has to be continued using increases and decreases. Remember that the number of stitches each peak is made of, has been increased by 2 sts every odd row, according to your personal chevron pattern! All you have to do from now on is keep on following its shape according to pattern in a very simple way:
  RS Row : k1 (this stitch is your decrease line), SSK, knit “n” sts, m1, sl marker, k1 (this stitch is your increase line), m1, knit “n” sts, k2tog, k1 (this stitch is your decrease line).
  WS Row : purl.

Una forma confacente

I gomitoli morbidi e colorati nella barra del titolo sono stati usati da tempo, indossati, e abbondantemente fotografati durante la metamorfosi che ora finalmente li mostra così! Mi ci sono dedicata per parecchio tempo, credo due mesi ... ho fatto qualche campione e parecchi tentativi, ho sfilato e ricominciato ... e nostante tutto mi sono divertita! Sarà che fresca della lettura dei libri della Zimmermann, mi sentivo recettiva alle ispirazioni, ho anche scritto per bene le istruzioni e le ho inviate a Kerrie, l'editrice di Magknits. Nel giro di poche ore ho avuto un riscontro positivo! Poi è passato qualche mese per trovare lo spazio nella rivista, ed ora eccovi cotanto cappotto! La cosa che mi piace davvero è essere riuscita ad usare al meglio un sacco di gomitoli diversi, avanzi di vari colori, acquistati in blocco nell'outlet della Manifattura Sesia. La verità è che certe lane mi ispirano subito .... certe altre (il fatidico Mucrone!) sono davvero difficili e non riesco a trovare una forma che "lor si confaccia".

PS: nel caso ve lo chiediate ... no, non si tratta del balcone di casa mia! E’ invece la residenza di campagna del benemerito conte di Rignon, ora adibita a biblioteca civica e parco pubblico. La città di Torino e la sottoscritta ringraziano!

A proper shape
Those soft and colored balls up in the title bar, have been used up since a long time. I have taken a lot of pictures while they were undergoing a complete transformation to show themselves as they are now!
I devoted myself to this task for about two months … I made swatches, tests, I ripped them and I started again… and nonetheless I did have fun! Maybe it was because at the time I had recently read E.Zimmermann’s books, and I felt open to inspirations.
I wrote down the pattern and I sent it to Kerrie, the editor of Magknits.
I had a positive feedback within a few hours! Then I had to wait some  months before she could find a place for it in the magazine, but now such coat is here!
Most of all I like the fact I managed to use up at my best a bunch of odd balls of various colors I bought in bulk from Manifattura Sesia outlet.
Truth is I feel highly inspired by some yarns … some others(Mucrone, the fateful!) are very tough, and I can’t find a “proper shape” to knit them in.

PS: just in case you wonder about it...no, it’s not my home-balcony! It is the country residence once owned by the well-deserving earl of Rignon, and now used as civic library and public park. The city of Turin and the undersigner give thanks!

Fallrainbow step by step