Saturday Night Fever

I am also part of Estonian/international project "12 bags". Which means that using any technique preferred, we try to make one bag per every month of the year, it started out in January, but this is the first time I managed to do a bag to fit the subject of the month (chosen by members themselves) - there is no obligation to make 12 bags, so I haven't been very commited, but from now I'll try to be more active.
Anyways this is the first birdy called Saturday Night Fever for May. It fits my powder, lipstick and some cash - and that's about it, I can also slip in my ID card, but considering that it is for my summer night parties then I have no need to fit in a phone, driver's licence, keys or such. because the parties I go to are held in a small summer villa area in Southern Italy, where you can walk from one end of the village to the other in 30 minutes and friends are always around.

Yarn: "Milleluci"; Lana Mistral, color: melanzane, 100% merino
Pattern: my own
Needles: 2,5 mm

Summery cold feet

There is nothing more I detest than cold toes, yet I always have them, especially here on the marble floors, but i don't like knitting socks- because my ribbing looks horrible and lacey ankles require too much preplanning.
Nevertheless last September, while visiting Estonia I bought corgeously colored 100% wool yarn in order to knit a pair of feetwarmers. But I just didn't get to start them... until... I read an article on Knitty about toe-up socks, and of course I got excited. And tried out the traceless cast-on - it was easy so I had to continue until it was time to do the heel (I know well how to knit a heel for ankle-down socks... but toe-ups?), "Hell," I thought "if I am already learning new tricks I'll try new heels as well." And I surfed around and chose short row heels. I knitted them3 times always frogging again, for I didn't like the small holes they leave on the sides. I couldn't get rid of them so finally I just hid them with needle and stockinette stitch.
But I fell in love! And I've searched out other yarns for socks to begin with new ones (hahaha, Italian sumemr and woolly socks), but this is the first pair (with little picot ont he edge to make them more merry) and I'm hooked!

They fit perfectly!

Yarn: Schoeller Und Stahl Limbo Mexico.
Needles: 3,5 mm
Pattern: my own

For chilly summer nights I also made myself a mohair cardigan, pattern from Simply Knititng April 2006 issue where it was knit with double alpaca yarn.

Yarn: Jaeger Softy Mohair (70% mohair, 30% polyacryl),
Amount: ca 120 grams
Needles: 6 and 3,5 mm

Kknit in one piece, except for the ribbed edge.

London results

Over a long time again at home, and this is what I've done in London:

Merino wool light top for springy winds with a little flower joy. I had to use these stitches for I wasn't able after many many efforts to embroider flowers with satin stitch, simply because merino wool starts to play a lot in moss stitch . It stretches tremendously. But if someone reading this has a solution for my problem I would be very very grateful, for I am not satisfied with the current look.

A close-up as well, unfortunately I couldn't get the true colors on the picture: the basic tone is melanzane or egg-plant and embroideries are much much brighter. I need to block the sweater once more though, since it slightly tends to move upwards, yet I knitted it 2 cm longer than in the pattern (yet my one looks a lot smaller than the original).

My daughetr received a very cool green sweater for Xmas (it wasn't very welcome present, but she loves to wear it), unfortunatley the lady who knit it made a planning mistake, forgetting that cables draw the garment together a lot, so between the two fronts there was a gap of several centimeters, first I thought I'd rip the front, add a touch of nice yellow and knit it again, then I discovered that back and fronts are knit as one piece, I couldn't make a new edging cause the current one was knit double (it would have looked ugly), then I took out my crochet hooks and made something, I don't like it, my daughter does. When I get my hands on it, I'll rip it :P.

Clapotis gloves and a black Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino set. I gave away my Clapotis and am now searching for new yarn.

Since I had finished all big projects on mind and I also found great bead shops in Govent Garden (London) I came up with two cases - one for my cell and one for my iPod, since all my stuff tends to get scratched in my bag (I can't go anywhere without my knitting, including sharp scissors). The yarn is same as my flowery sweater one: Lana Mistral, 100% merino, pinkish beads are from Neal's Yard Bead Shop and metallic ones are from an old necklace (I've tried to find the same beads from London, but they only have the small ones, luckily I have quite a lot of left)

And of course I had to try bead knitting, since I found very nice wire from John Lewis. The earrings are missing the hooks on the picture.

And I bought a load of stuff: Simply Knitting magazines (pretty nice); Nicky Epstein: "Knitting over the edge". And my favourite knitting bible I've ever got my hands on: Montse Stanley "Knitter's Handbook" (David & Charles, 2004, ISBN 07153 1286 3). It is simply amazing: it has 40 different cast-on methods, as well as cast-offs, tips, tricks, blocking, fixing mistakes, embroidery on knits etc. It doesn't have nice colored photos, but the main point is the mere complexity of the book. If you don't believe me, ask the rest 200 000 book owners.

And of course I visited bead shops. (The beads in the towers are not from London). I am not a normal woman you know, when usually women use their personal money on a new skirt, new shoes, cosmetics, going to cafe with friends etc, then I spend all my money (except necessities) on haberdashery. I am not a normal woman. One day I spent in a bead shop 20 pounds. And knowing myself I won't probably use them all!!!!
Here are my favourite ones.