Goodness, time flies. Summer is so short around here that it seems to be running at the speed of light (it might also be me being on parental leave, but well…)! There are so many things happening at the same time that it’s hard to keep track. Kid #1 is on his summer break and happy picking (and painting his face and clothes with) wild blueberries, while kid #2 still sleeps through most of the day and is happily keeping me awake at night.

My mother was over for a visit and between walks in the woods and sightseeing with the little ones we still got a tiny bit of time to knit.

So this weekend it’s about time to grab my yarn and take it for some scenic outdoor knitting, before winter is upon us again! There is nothing quite like the sound of the wind in the trees and the clicking of my needles in unison, it’s almost like a symphony 🙂 Do you knit outdoors? And if so, where is your favourite spot? On your garden bench or at a park? At the beach or on a rock in the woods? Or do you prefer something completely different? Tell me, I’d love to know!

But first things first:

I am super excited to be featured as a guest at Fruity Knittings Podcast for her latest episode!! Andrea is an Australian knitter and video podcaster living in Frankfurt, Germany. Her podcast episodes feature a great variety of knitting related themes and are presented in a fun and enjoyable way.

For her latest episode #34 Andrea and Andrew were joined by Veronik Avery, a Montreal-based designer and member of the design team of Brooklyn Tweed. Veronik shares her designing tips and talks about her work at Brooklyn Tweed. Emily Greene presents her new shawl Diagrid in New Releases, and I am also appearing as guest on Knitters of the World. 😛 So if you want to see me fast-talking about my toys and designs and don’t mind my post-pregnancy face, check it out! Otherwise just fast-forward to the more interesting parts of the podcast 😛

I usually prefer staying BEHIND the camera, but this project was actually a lot of fun. When Andrea asked me to join her on her podcast I was a bit hesitant at first. I have my hands full with the kids and work, and was also just about to publish my latest pattern at the same time Andrea contacted me. But with a little help from my friend Kim aka Stringalchemist (do you remember her lovely first pattern that I introduced to you here?) we managed to film a bit between nap-breaks and had lots of fun doing so! Have a look (goodness, I never thought I was talking to fast :P)

These are the fingerless mittens I was knitting while filming. A lovely pair of Dart Mitts made from exquisitely squishy cashmere and merino blend yarn, that I brought back from my last trip to China. And here’s my favourite spot for outdoor knitting, right by the lake, about 5 minutes walk from our doorstep. You’ve got to love Sweden for its easy access to nature!

And the finished pair

While my mother is here I usually get way too many ideas for new projects. But with not so much time for knitting I almost explode with ideas now! At least I managed to try out something that has been on my mind for a long time: icord embellishment.

I wanted to use something simple and make an easy project pop a little more, so I grabbed two colourways of Schoppel Crazy Zauberball (Flieder and Indisch Rosa), combined them for a pair of Coziness Fingerless Mitts and added a little icord-swirl on the back of the hands.

I must say I really like the result. In fact, I liked it so much, that I had to make a second pair – and take it out for a walk in the woods with my mother 🙂

And OF COURSE it happened again. I opened Pandora’s Box and got hooked on my Zauberball stash, Great. Now I HAVE to keep knitting up these beauties. (Man, I’m SUCH a junkie…)

I just cast on a toddler cardigan for kid #1 and am planning on a second one for his girlfriend in matching colours. 🙂 Here they are. What really amazes me is the fact that I can’t follow any regular pattern. Where the pattern says: cast on 186st (fingering, 2.5mm needles, top down raglan) for size 92 I just need 75 stitches in total!! Isn’t that crazy? Are you really using that many stitches for kids sizes? That could have easily made a sweater for myself! Seriously… But well, As long as the result works 🙂

Well. I guess I’ll enjoy our back yard nature reserve this weekend and hope to finish the first cardigan soon, so that I can cast on the next colour combo 🙂 (Jeez…)

So what say you, are we going on an outdoor knitting trip together this weekend? Come and jpin me and enjoy the fresh air. And If you’re not into knitting outside, you could still take the finished knits outside for a walk or for some sightseeing, as Amanda-Abby on Ravelry does with her travel-turtles (See some of my Travel Turtle’s Adventures here and here).

Happy knitting!