Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Autumn, finally time for knitting!

It's almost the end of November and the weather is still warm here in Greece, but the change of nature with the incredible colors of the leaves tells us winter is coming, the ideal season for warm clothes and the favorite season for knitters!
This year knits have a strong presence on the catwalks and the hottest trends are oversized sweaters, full with textures,but also with color!
Get inspired by the gorgeous knits of the season and start knitting! 

On a new design I'm working I decided to combine bold colors, fair isle and the honeycomb stitch:

The classic honeycomb stitch is worked as following:
Works with stitches multiple of 8

Row 1 (RS): *C4B, C4F,* rep from * to end.
Row 2: Purl.
Row 3: Knit.
Row 4: Purl.
Row 5: *C4F, C4B,* rep from * to end.
Row 6: Purl.
Row 7: Knit.
Row 8: Purl.
Repeat rows 1 – 8 throughout.

C4B: slip next 2 stitches to cable needle behind work, k2, then k the stitches from cable needle.
C4F: slip next 2 stitches to cable needle in front of work, k2, then k the stitches from cable needle.

My blanket design on Vogueknitting

So excited to see my design published :)

A very special award

A few months ago I responded to the call of the famous magazine Vogue Knitting and took part in the international competition «The Warmth of Mohair Blanket Design Competition", organized by the magazine and sponsored by the organization «Mohair South Africa", for the desinging of a knitted or crocheted blanket, using yarn with at least 25% mohair content in it's composition. 
The magazine's staff selected 10 projects as finalists from all entries, which were exposed two weeks ago during the big event VogueKnitting LIVE Passadena, where the final review of the entries was made three projects were awarded by impartial industry experts. Projects were judged on the conception, the uniqueness of the project and adequacy of the technical implementation. 
Drawing inspiration from the hottest decor trends of the next season, which have ethnic influences, I created a design with a pattern reminiscent of Moroccan tiles, but choosing more sophisticated color combinations.
I'm incredibly excited because my design  won the second prize of the competition, which is the 1st Runner Up and People's Choice and my pattern will be published in the festive issue of  Vogue Knitting magazine. :)

Working with colors

I love working and experimenting with various stitches, but I adore working with colors too! I fins fascinating the mixture of colors and patterns and the possibilities are endless.
If you are not a very experienced knitter and are hesitant to work with more colors, I suggest to start first with stripes, which are the simplest way of colorwork. In this case, color is changed always at the beginning of the row.

When working in stripes, the ending and beginning of each color is very clear from row to row on the right side of the knitting. On the wrong side of work, the  separation is not so clear. The 2 colors are mixed on the last and first row of each color

At the beginning of the row the stitches are a little looser by the color change. This can be easily fixed at the end, by tighting up the loose ends when weaving in.

There are two different techniques for colorwork:

1. Stranding, where two or three different colors are worked within a row.

2. Intarsia, where there are more colors and larger patterns and the stranding of the yarn behind the work is not suitable. The wrong side of work is clearer with this method.

 

Stranding

With stranding there are several small patterns that are repeated along the row and there are two or sometimes three different colors required. In this method, we work every time one color and carry the other/s behind our work. When we change color, we bring the new color on top of the other, spread the stitches on the RH needle, so that the float is smooth and work with the new color.
With this method, we have horizontal floats of yarn on the wrong side of our knitting. That results to a thicker and warmer garment, therefore thinner yarns are more suitable.

The most popular types of colorwork garments are Fair Isle and scandinavian:

Fair Isle sweaters have gotten their name from Fair Isle, one of the islands of Scotland. Their main characteristic is the use of symmetrical geometric patterns, the thin yarn and the subtle colors.

Scandinavian sweaters origin from Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland) and are worked with the same method, but they have larger patterns and usually asymmetrical, are worked with thicker yarn and have brighter colors.

Tips on stranding knitting:

The patterns are worked following a chart. The charts are read always from right to left on the RS and from left to right on the WS of work.

If you attempt for the first time to work with colors, select a pattern that has small repeats (2-6sts the most). If the pattern has more stitches of every color, you may not have the correct tension of the carried yarn and the fabric will pucker.
Therefore, spread your stitches out along the RH needle before you draw the float yarn over them to knit the next colored stitch. In other words, don't keep your stitches all scrunched up.

Choose initially patterns where the color changes are made only on the RS of the knitting and the pattern is repeated at the WS of work, because reading the pattern from left to right is more difficult and you may make mistakes on the pattern. Circular knitting is ideal for stranded colorwork, because the pattern is read always on the same direction.
 It is also better to choose a pattern with only two colors on each row for the beginning. After you have a little more experience you will be able to work with more colors. 

Be very cautious with the selection of the yarn type also. The best qualities for colorwork are light or middle weight qualities. 

Use needles one or half size smaller than the suggested size by the yarn manufacturer, to have more dense stitches. If your stitches are to loose, the it is very likely that the carried yarn will be shown and the result will not be very pretty.

This is my last design. The body of the sweater is monochrome, decorated with the butterfly stitch and the yoke is made with the stranding technique. I chose a thinner yarn for the yoke, than the yarn I used for the body, to have an equal thickness of fabric.

A wonderful surprise

I received to my surprise an unexpected prize a few days ago !! And I was surprised, because I'm guilty of prolonged neglect of my blog! But the surprise was very pleasant! And gave me one more incentive to try to find time to give it more attention.

It is the so-called Liebster Award. A virtual prize that serves give it forward and become known blogs with less than 200-300 followers. The beautiful blog http://fifirixtra.blogspot.gr did me the honor awarding me the prize.Ifigeneia thank you very much!

Let's begin:

The rules of the award are the following: 

1) Thank the blogger who proposed you and post the link to her/his blog. Include in your post the Liebster award icon either by copying and pasting, or using it as a widget or gadget.
2) Answer to 10 questions asked by the blogger who gave you the award.
3) Suggest 10 other blogs with less than 200-300 followers and write a list of questions for the bloggers to answer.
4) Post the nomination for the award to each of the 10 blogs that you have chosen and provide a link to your post to inform them of the Liebster award.

Here we go!
1) Why did you start the blog?
I started my blog  about seven years ago, wanting to share my love of knitting mainly, but also of creativity.

2. Tell us a little what excites you?
That I communicate with other people who have the same interests with me and that I share my love for creating

3. Why do you think the comments and communication help bloggers and how?
It is always pleasant, because they show that they are interested in what we write ....

4. What are you talking about on your blog?
Mostly about my passion for knitting, but also about other hobbies and my activities.

5. Have you created any friendly relationship with other bloggers? Have you ever met in person?
Actually yes. When I made my first posts, one of the very few knitting bloggers found me and a friendship began  between us, at the beginning on line, but soon became personal, because we discovered that we have so many things in common and since then we are very closed friends!

6. How do you imagine your blog in two years? What would you like to see growing / changing and how?
I've neglected it a lot in the last two years due to lack of time, but I would like to enliven it again, my goal is at least for beginning to make a post once a week and hopefully to be more active in a few months.

7. What do you do best?
To create and share my knowledge I think

8. How much time do you devote to your blog?
Very little lastly, with great effort a few hours a week unfortunately.

9.How are your posts born?
From something I read and I want to share about knitting, or the latest fashion trends, or from something new I create.

10. Wishes for the reader.
I hope to have time to deal more and to improve my blog to become more popular in the blogosphere and gain more readers.

I nominate the following blogs for the Liebster Award:

1. http://www.backtohandmade.com/
2. http://wool-and-cotton.blogspot.gr/
3. http://maritsa3.blogspot.gr/
4. http://plektoegomio.blogspot.gr/
5. http://eleonority.blogspot.gr/
6. http://sofiscrochetcreations.blogspot.gr/
7. http://e-crochet.blogspot.gr/
8. http://dromaki.blogspot.gr/
9. http://sofiscrochetcreations.blogspot.gr/
10. http://all-about-arts-gr.blogspot.gr/

Enjoy blogging!!!!

Animal print - timeless fashion element

Animal prints and especially leopard prints are my favorites! They’re seasonless, and you can wear them with almost anything, adding a little edge to your wardrobe. And I'm very happy to see that they are constantly updated with new and refreshing takes by the designers. This season they are a top trend again and  you can chose to go for classic pieces like a long coat, a midiskirt, or trousers, which can live forever in your wardrobe. If you think it is too bold, go for accessories in animal print, like a bag, a scarf or shoes.

 DSquared

 Bluegirl

Kate Sprade

My leopard print bag is always trendy!

You can knit it with wool yarn and felt it, or you can make a summery version using cotton yarn, because leopard print will be a hot trend this summer!

Elisabetta Franchi, photo credit fashionmodeldirectory

Fashion trend houndstooth

Houndstooth (or hound’s tooth), known to the French as “pied de poule” and to Americans as  “dog’s tooth” also, is one of my favorite prints. It is a checked pattern with broken checks or abstract four-pointed shapes and has a timeless classy and chic flair.

This winter it's one of the hottest graphic patterns.

Although it is traditionally in black and white, colored houndstooth print are also making their way into the fashion industry.

It is a classic pattern that can never be out of style.  You can find skirts, sweaters, pants, coats, scarfs, bags in this classic pattern. It looks great when combined with black, white, grey, red, burgundy, yellow and  other colors.

I love Stella McCartney's houndstooth dresses and coats for this winter.

Focus on : Stella McCartney's Houndstooth by montaignemarket featuring a black and white houndstooth dress

coat: nastygal.com

 karen millen coat from lyst.com

houndtooth dress, shabbyapple 

If you are reluctant to adopt this pattern in a dress or coat, you can wear an accessory like a scarf or bag and be in style:

Houndstooth by cindycook10 featuring an oversized purse

Juicy Couture handbag (see more satchel style handbags)

And if you like knitting, you can knit my  houndtooth clutch and have your unique and timeless piece of accessory: