She made me knit again!

Of course I enjoyed myself at maximum in Constanta. It was great to see my parents again after so long. But, the best thing during this trip was to find again my best friend from childhood – Florina. We accidentally came across in a bookshop. After 7 years we can keep in touch again. It is wonderful and I am so happy. On 24^th June it’s her birthday and I am planning to mail her a hand knitted purse as a present. My first thought was to use some black color yarn to match almost all of her clothing. Yesterday I visited 2 LYS but couldn’t find something really eye-catcher. I still came back home with a pair of bamboo bag handles and 2 balls of 100% cotton green! yarn. Those shades of green appealed mostly to my eyes. But green is not black! Finally, I decided on some fancy ribbon yarn from my stash. It’s not black. So it wont be a casual purse but a fancy one. I know, I am too undecided; Last evening I had already started this project and now I don’t have any more reasons to think and re-think on this matter. I can’t post pictures of the yarn, I am afraid Florina might read this post and her birthday present won’t be a surprise anymore. But who knows what my itchy hands will do?

I'm back!

I'm back in Istanbul. Istanbul is very hot. I am still trying to accomodate myself to this temperature. I haven't started any knitting project, this hot weather really discourages me. Tomorrow I will re-arrange my yarns on shelves in cabinet. Let's see if my inspiration will come.

Good Bye Istanbul!

I won't be posting for nearly one month. I'll be off, I will visit my parents and sister in Romania. I am very happy because I miss them a lot and spending time with them makes me sooo happy. So, I will resume my knitting experience in May 2007. Of course I will check out the yarn stores in Romania too.

See ya! and Happy Knitting!

My favorite LYS (Local Yarn Store)

I am buying all my yarns from Dikiş Kutusu (The Sewing Box). The main reason is because they are caring ONLY high quality yarns and knitting accessories. The lady owner, Ms. Vildan, is so helpful with lots of recommendations and instructions, you could say she will do the knitting herself for you!

Ms.Vildan, the yarn store owner and the most talkative (in a good way) knitter. If you are short of inspiration, just drop in and you will leave with a bag full of stash and ideas.

don't be too envious please :)

This is my second knitted bag. I used 2 skeins of Lidya from "Himalaya" yarns (Turkish yarn from local small manufacturer) and wooden needles. As a technique: entrelac. I embellished the knit with wooden beads. The handles are made of plastic. The lining is made from 100% cotton fabric.

Knitted Bags

Since one week I have been knitting a lot. I am going to visit my parents in Romania at the end of March. I want to give to my mom and my sister a knitted bag each as a present. I am working (knitting) hard. But I don’t complain. I recently discovered a “magic cabinet” in my LYS. “The magic cabinet” is packed with discontinued yarns, and of course the price is so low. The yarns are beautiful. It takes time and a certain amount of luck to find 2 or 3 skeins of same yarn but it is worth it. It is a real pleasure and joy to knit with high quality yarns. I don’t like anymore 100% acrylic yarns. It is like: "after fresh Danish pastries, dry bread tastes horrible". My favorite LYS owner knows I am knitting to relax so she recommended me good knitting needles too. Knitting with cheap, low quality needles and yarns is so frustrating. You wish every single second to finish the project asap. Grrrrrrrr!

So, here are my projects (finished and unfinished).

First pic is of a small black purse (my “failure” in felting) knitted by request for my mother-in-low. It is embellished with silk ribbon embroidery (my first attempt of silk ribbon embroidery)

And ENTRELAC bag for my mother. I can’t wait to see her face.

1st March - Celebration of Spring in Romania

Romanians have a beautiful ancient tradition on the first day of March : Martisor (The Amulet). Mărţişor is the celebration of the beginning of Spring in Romania and Moldova. Mărţişor consists in small jewel or a small decoration like a flower, an animal, etc., tied up with red and white string. Women wear it pinned to their blouses on this day and up to two weeks after. It is strongly believed that the one who wears the red and white string will be lucky and healthy for the rest of the year. Exchanging them is a gesture of love, friendship, respect and appreciation. Today people wish each other health and happiness.
Today is the first day of 7 days of continuous celebration dedicated to Spring and women. Women are gathering together without men (now it is men's turn to stay home and take care of the kids and household generally) and are having fun in parties.

Amazing! Every knitter should get one!

I have just gotten my amazon.com order. Our new postman is so lazy, this week he needs to rest (I got this shocking information from a “blonde” voice when I called the post office). I had to go myself to a post office in Bağlar Mevki (damn it, this city called Istanbul is sooo big with sooo many intricate streets). It was a real adventure with my poor Turkish to understand the instructions given by the people on the street. Well, I know how to ask “how do I get to….”, but the problem is the answer I get. Turkish people like to help a lot, especially if they see you foreigner, but English language is still an issue here, especially in some neighborhoods. And my issue is Turkish language, the many dialects from different counties (I think even after 10 years of living in Istanbul I won’t be able to understand what my husband’s relatives from Rize are saying).

Anyway, now I the happy owner of a copy of a Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book (Hardcover). My first impression after flipping some pages: I have knitted very amateurishly till today. Reading this book will improve my knitting dramatically. I am very sure about this. This book makes me see knitting in a total different way: a professional way. I especially love the part that teaches you how to design and “think” your knitting. The book is thick indeed and every single page is a source of useful information. I think its price on amazon.com is more than fair. I am very happy because I bought it. Highly recommended to every (English speaker) knitter in the world.

next (project) please

Now, when this bulky yarn project is almost finished, I realized or, better say, I recalled that bulky yarn is not recommended for fitted projects. But, it is too late and the damage doesn't look so bad. There is a bright side too: it is cold outside and I have always wished for a tank. Since it is knitted plain, without any motif (bulky yarn...), I am considering some embellishments. Picture of the FO later... on other post.

My first felting project is a big failure but it has helped me discover the best yarn in the world!

I really love the look and the feel of felted knitting. I had wanted to have a felted small black pouch so I visited my favorite yarn store and got one skein of 100% wool. The lady from yarn store was talking and talking about the high quality of the yarn which made me think this is just an excuse for the high price.So, knitting with this yarn has been very easy and fast. I also have gathered lots of information about felting, how to do it at home, details, techniques, so on, therefore I was very sure this project would be a 100% success….

For two days I tortured this yarn (pouch): spinning it in washing machine many times, keeping it in boiled and soapy water, then using a very hot iron on it. I am pretty sure that even in factory the tests are not so rough. During the felting process I was using some jeans which now are in very bad condition, but the pouch is like new! Like nothing happened to this yarn! I am flabbergasted, I am amazed! I can't understand why this stubborn wool would not felt. I went to the yarn store and the lady owner tells me: “I’ve told you it’s a high quality yarn. Try some other cheap yarn, this brand is too good.” What can I say? This is like the “X-files” mystery.

Here is a picture taken during the felting ("torturing") process. Some other day I will post a picture of the "stubborn" yarn...or, should I say, high quality yarn…

But frankly speaking, there are some yarn brands here which are outstanding. Usually I am very grumpy and very critical in the yarn stores; but I can’t find any small reason to complain about yarns of some local brands. Their quality, the easiness of knitting, the feel and look, the color selection, the resistance of fiber – they are truly amazing. It is pity that Turkish yarns are not popular worldwide. At the beginning of my knitting I was feeling a kind of unlucky because I can’t easily purchase Berroco, Rowan , Debbie Bliss or some other famous brands. Getting in Turkey a VogueKnitting magazine is a miracle. It happens very seldom. But I discovered amazing yarns here. I would highly recommend “Feza” yarns to every knitter in the world.

Self striping yarn project FINISHED! READY! FO!

As you can see, my son is already wearing the vest knitted with self striping yarn.
It was first time when I used self striping yarn. Knitting with self striping yarn has many pros but cons too. Pros: you don’t need to know to change colors, to knit Intarsia or Fair Isle. BUT, if you want to knit a cardigan or a sweater, hijole you got a big head ache to match the stripes from one sleeve with the other sleeve, and the stripes from both sleeves with the stripes from front and back. Lucky me, my project was intended from the beginning to be sleeveless, otherwise I would have had to take painkillers while knitting...

So, from my experience, I recommend self striping yarn only for knitting bags, totes, tanks, blankets, throws, scarves, shawls, pillows.

just gorgeous, just simple Stockinette stitches only

My first knitted bag is ready. I used 2 types of yarn: classic (20% wool, 80% acrylic) and novelty yarn. Two squares sewn together, a flap decorated with a crochet edge, a wooden button. That's all, very simple, very easy, very pretty.

Thinking of ENTRELAC

I was so proud of my last knitting achievement so I took and showed it at a yarn store: the shop owner liked it so much. She said it wasn’t for the very first time when she saw entrelac but she had never tried before because of the lack of enough instructions. I was asked, when available, to share the “knowledge of entrelac making”. That day I felt I am growing bigger because, frankly speaking, I started to seriously knit just 2 months ago. I have neighbors who have been knitting for 40 years, but entrelac is still a mystery for them. Not because of lacking skills, but possibly because there is no will to learn something totally out of ordinary, here, in Turkey. Sometimes this reality makes me sad, because the “raw material” has very high quality but the willing is missing yet.

Of course there are a few exceptions as well. While teaching the yarn store owner entrelac technique, I learned some tricks from her. I will share with you some of them in my next posts.

Finally I’ve done it! My first entrelac knitted piece.

Last year I saw in VogueKnitting mangazine fall 2006 (page 42) an article about entrelac workshop. It was first time when I saw entrelac. It was love at first sight…. and only this because the article was so loooooong (5 pages) and I have no patience at all. That day I decided that entrelac was nice but it seemed too difficult and troublesome for me to try it. Later on, while surfing the net I found some blogs with detailed information about entrelac technique. Unfortunately the instructions have errors (my personal opinion) but I combined the information from VogueKnitting magazine and from blogs. Finally, I managed to finish my first entrelac knitted work. Tadaa!

a good start not only for my knitty side

January is almost over. I think 2007 started quite good for me: I was busy in a prolific way. How and why? For New Year’s Eve holiday my sister came over from Romania. Her visit was like a cold shower. I was feeling quite “lost” here, in Istanbul. I still feel myself as foreigner; even I got the Turkish citizenship instantly after marriage and my Turkish language improved a lot. Well, her visit woke me up; she gave me strength and made me think positively. We all need a cold shower from time to time. 2007 is a year for changes. I dramatically redecorated my home: all by myself, without any help. I painted the walls by myself, changed the furniture in a Feng-Shui manner. I am changing the water for my 2 small turtles more frequently, I am taking decisions faster. Big or small changes, they all are positive. I feel myself more confident. I really feel good.

Now my living room walls are vanilla color. Before they were lila and all the decorative items were matching lila. Now I have to change (changes again) them all. I wanna knit some decorative cushion covers. I did some researches, read a lot, and my colors harmony skills improved a lot. This will help me for my knitting. I have so many plans, suddenly my agenda got so busy. I really do feel so good.

She is my sister, thank you Giselle, your visit was a real blessing.