Madiba

Todays blog post is dedicated to Nelson Mandela who passed away last night.

Photograph taken by Naashan Zalk, friend and film-maker, in 2008;

" I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and to see realized. But my Lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
- Nelson Mandela, defense statement during the Rivonia Trial, 1964.

Madiba, as he was fondly known to all us South Africans, was one of these great men that walked the earth. I feel very priviledged to have had the opportunity to have met and shake the hand of such a great person. Anyone who has met Madiba will tell you that it's a moment you'll never forget.

Nelson Mandela bought peace to a country that was on the brink of cival war and he united a divided nation. It is amazing the difference this one person made in the hearts of his friends, enemies and detractors.

Madiba will live on in the hearts of all and may we never forget what a long walk it was to freedom!

Madiba our moral compass is GONE .... What a pity for the world, but for HIM, it was a great life and time to go ...VIVA MADIBA ... Hamba Gahle!!

Ps: Here is a link to a brillant article dedicated to Mandela's memory.

A mes lectures francophone, je suis desolée qu'il n'y a pas de traductions en français pour ce post. Je ne saurais pas m'exprimer aussi bien en français. C'était mon hommage à Nelson Mandela ... un grand homme.

Open for business

I finally managed to open my new ETSY shop. So if you're looking for a unique gift for Christmas, please have a look. Http://www.etsy.com/shop/aditisshop.

J'ai enfin ouverte ma boutique sur ETSY . Si vous cherchez un idée de cadeau de Noël , vous y trouverez peut être votre bonheur. Http://www.etsy.com/shop/aditisshop.

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Henslowe: A tale of three shawls

Henslowe by Beth Kling. One of my favourite shawl patterns. It looks complicated to make but in fact it's very simple. I made three of these so far and see more in the future. These make great gifts. I made one for myself and the other two were gifts.

I used different yarn for each of the Henslowes. I knitted the patern as is each time.

Henslowe using Juliespins MCN, Shoot.

My first Henslowe, the one I kept for myself is made with Juliespin's MCN. I just love this yarn, it's very light and soft due to the cashmere. This however makes a smaller shawl.

Wollmeise 100% Superwash merino, Merlot

The second Henslowe was made with Wollemeise 100% merino. I didn't like knitting with this yarn, it's a bit stringy. Once I blocked the Henslowe, it grew a lot and I love the way it drapes. I think the Wollemeise is the perfect yarn for this pattern. It's give you a nice sized shawl.

Henslowe usng Madelinetosh merino light, Curiosity

The third Henslowe was for a last minute birthday gift. I used Madelinetosh Merino Light. Here again, it gives a bigger shawl than the Juliespins and it drapes lovely. I used almost every gram of the skein.

CSF la suite

Voilà le Salon est fini. Je suis content d'y être aller encore une fois cette année. C'était l'occassion de revoir des amis, faire de nouveaux contact et de revenir avec  pleins d'idees. Et maintenant ... au boulout car le 1 décembre j'ouvre enfin ma nouvelle boutique ETSY. En attendant, je vous laisse regarder les quels photos que j'ai ramené du Salon.

En direct du CSF

Je suis arrivée au Salon CSF il y a 3 heures et comme tous les ans il y a trop de choses à faire et voir. On vera bien si je tiens jusqu'au fermeture. Pour commencer un petit saut chez Deer and Doe, c'est le premier stand qu'on voit en entrant, pour demander un peu de conseille à Eleanore pour que je puisse terminer mon Datura qu attend depuis des semaines. Puis passage chez Aime comme Marie et biensûre incontournable Linna Morata, tous le monde sait que j'adore Linna Morata. Merci a Clara qui s'est occuppé de ma commande et on admire  le jolie cabas offerte. J'adore! Plus de photos tout à l'heure.

Nathalie de Linna Morata et sa fille Clara

On penserais presque de vrai petits gateaux

Kaetsu

Petit rat de l'Opera

Sparkly legwarmers for my daughter. These are very quick and easy to make, especially when you use 23cm Hiya Hiya circular needles.

Pattern: Petit rat de l'Opera, available on Ravelry in English and French
Needles: 3mm and 3,5mm Hiya Hiya Circular needles
Yarn: Dream in Color Starry

Kina

Un gilet kina, qu'on ne présente plus, pour un cadeau.

Modèle : Kina de Kids Tricot

Laine : 4 pélotes de Drops Baby Merino pour une taille 6 ans.

Modifications : 3 boutons, tricoté une taille 6ans avec la longeur pour une taille 8 ans

Circumnavigate

My new favorite cowl. I made one of these a while ago but a very persuasive friend convinced me that she needed it more than me. This one is just for me! I used two skeins of Malabrigo Silky Merino. Before blocking the cowl measured 90 cm. After blocking the cowl grew to 116cm. This is due to the silk in the yarn. Next time I make one of these, I'll make one repeat less of the pattern to get the perfect size.

Mon nouveau doudou de cou. J'ai déjà fait ce col il y a longtemps mais amie très douée m'a convaincu qu'elle l'avais plus besoin que moi. Cette fois je me laisserais pas avoir :-) Celui là est à moi! Pour réaliser ce col, j'ai utilisé 2 écheveaux de Malabrigo Silky Merino. Avant bloçage le col mesuré 90 cm et après 116cm à cause de la soie dans la laine. La prochaine fois que je ferais ce col, je ferais une répétion de moins du motif pour avoir la taille idéal.

Pattern: Circumnavigate

Needles: 4,5mm circulars

Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino, color : Gray Green

Invaders

A few weeks ago my house was invaded by these little guys. They came to add some fun to my son's birthday party. The kids loved them and at the end of the day they each went home with their little monster. This is a great project for left over yarn.

Il y a quelque semaines ces petits bonhommes ont invadé ma maison. Ils sont venu pour participer à la fête d'anniversaire de mon fils. Les enfants ont adorés et à la fin de la journée ils sont tous partis avec leurs petit monstres. C'est le projet idéal pour les restes de pélotes.

Patron: Mini aliens free on Ravelry.

Work in progress

Simplicity cardigan

Here is my Simplicity cardigan. I finished this a few weeks ago and I just love it. This is my first lace weight cardigan and surely not the last.

The pattern is fairly easy, but it just takes forever to knit. I almost ripped it all out several times but I'm glad I finished it. If you plan on making this cardigan, a word of advice. Follow the pattern as is! I was a bit concerned about the edge of the cardigan rolling over, so I tried several things which all didn't work out so well. In the end I just bound off using Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn bind off.

Pattern: Simplicity Cradigan

Yarn: Madelinetosh Prairie

Needles: 3,75mm

Back to School: Boxy Pouch

 

The holidays are almost over and it's time to think about getting school supplies together. Yesterday I had a few minutes to spare and I decided to make a box pencil case for my son. I cut out two rectangles (27cm x 25cm), one in cotton oilcloth and one in cotton fabric, inserted a zip and this is how it turnt out.

I'm not really satisfied with the result. It's a bit difficult to sew the oilcloth, especially doing the topstitching. I will defienetly make another one but I will have to think of a way to not have any visible seams on the inside. I used biais binding to conceal the seams but I think I can do better. Evenalthough I'm not 100% satisfied with this pencilcase, Surya loves it and can't wait to take it to school. I'll try another kind of zippered pouch soon but maybe not in oilcloth.

the pouch is slightly asymetric

the inside of the pouch (oilcloth and fabric from Linna Morata)

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C'est bientôt la rentrée et le temps de penser aux fourniture scolaires. Hier j'ai eu quelques minutes de libre et j'ai fait ce petit trousse pour mon fils. Il a besoin de deux cette année. J'ai coupé 2 rectangles (27cm x 25cm), un en coton enduit et l'autre en coton, j'ai inséré une fermeture éclair et voilà le résultat.

Je ne suis pas très satisfaite du résultat. C'est un peu difficile de coudre le coton enduit, surtout quand on fait des surpiqûres. Je ferais sûrement d'autres trousse comme ça mais il va falloir trouver un moyen de ne pas avoir de couture visible à l'intérieur. J'ai utilisé du biais pour cacher les coutures. Même si cette trousse n'est pas tout à fait comme je voulais, Surya l'adore. Je ferais d'autres essaie de trousse bientôt mais peut être pas en coton enduit.

W.I.P

Almost done!!!

Gathering stripes

Modèle : Gathering Stripes
laine/ yarn: Holst garn Coast(Passion flower/ Aconite)

Mario

This is not weather appropriate posting but maybe this will give you some ideas for your upcoming winter knitting. In the days to come I will be posting a lot about the knitting I've done over the past few months. 

Mario, is this cute little hat I made for Ambre from the left over yarn of the cowl I made here. This is normally an adult hat but I modified the pattern by using smaller needles and knitting it a bit shorter. I only had 35g of yarn left and I used every bit of it. Till the end I wasn't sure that I'd have enough yarn but I just about made it.

Ce n'est pas de saison, mais peut être que cela vous donneriez des idées pour vos futurs tricots d'hiver.  Dans les jours qui suivent, je vous monterais plusieurs de mes tricots terminé cette hiver.

Mario, c'est ce petit bonnet adorable que j'ai tricoté pour Ambre avec la reste de laine de son windschief cowl. C'est un modèle pour adulte que j'ai modifié en utilisant des aiguilles plus petite et j'ai tricoté moins de rangs. J'avais seulement 35g de laine et jusqu'au bout je n'était pas sûre d'avoir assez de laine. J'ai utilisé chaque gramme.

Blog confessions ...

Dear Blog, 

I know I've been very naughty because I haven't been posting as often as I should. Please rest assured, I have not abandonned you! In fact I've been very busy making lots of pretty things for you but alas ... time and technology just doesn't seem to be on my side at the moment. I promise to get my act together soon.

                              Love Moi !!!

WIP : Lost in Lace

My quest for the perfect cardigan continues. This time I'm trying a lace-weight cardigan. Trying something new and stashbusting at the same time.

Madelinetosh Prairie

In search of the perfect cardigan : Lucinda

The weather is warming up and I realised that I didn't have any light weight cardigans in my wardrobe. I went through my stash and found lots of yarn which would be perfect for a light weight summer cardigan. So with yarn in hand I went browsing through Ravelry. There are so many lovely patterns out there but realistically I would never be able to make all of them.

So after lots of swatching and false starts, my choice was Lucinda.

I chose my Madelinetosh Merino Light in Curiosity, that has patiently been waiting for two years, and started knitting. As I was knitting this I wasn't quite convinced as the cardigan doesn't have a front, Lucinda is something between a shrug and cardigan. Now that I've finished it and worn it several times, I just love it and think this will be my perfect summer cardiagn.

There are lots of features that I like in this design and I'm thinking of making another one but with long sleeves and a front.

ps: For my French readers, I will do a translation of this post a bit later when I have time.

Pattern: Lucinda

Yarn: Madelinetosh Merino Light in Curiosity

Needles : 3,75mm