Pagode in Frog Pond

I switched the ivory with wheat, so there is a nice contrast with blue and ivory, but the yellow and wheat pretty much blend with each other.

Last night an hour was put in to rip out almost a quarter of a sweater knitted on size 3 needles, and hundreds of stitches were picked up.

I'm going to get my money's worth out of this kit.

TweedieI

I´ve been asked to post a picture of my Tweedie - so here it is. I knitted it during my summer holiday this year. It took me 3½ week to finish. It was fun knitting it, but it was difficult to keep the different colors apart, as I was knitting. Sometimes it just messed up. First you knit one row in color a, then you push the work to the back and knit one more row from the same side with a new color. And again once more. Then you turn your work and knit one row with all three colors.

This Tweedie is not made in the original yarn.

As you can see at the picture, I have a small yarn store at home.

Hello from Denmark

Hello everybody.

I am new to this blog, and like to introduce myself. I am a 35 year old and from Denmark. I have been knitting for a long time on and of. 2½ years ago, I got Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and started knitting for real. I knitted 8-10 hours a day. I wrote a book about how my stress was eased by knitting and it was published last year.

I have knitted 2 Mermaids, a Diva, a Linus, a Tweedie and have just started my third Mermaid.

Mermaid Jacket

I am so glad I found this site and what fun to share in all the excitement. So many of you have done such a beautiful job and are so willing to share your experiences and expertise. I am anxiously waiting and hoping to receive a spreadsheet from Amy, so I can get started on my jacket.If anyone can send me words of encouragement or any secrets to making this beautiful jacket, all comments are welcome. Can't wait to get started. Thanks.

Linda@SquabbleHollow

Mermaid body finished

yippee, the body is done! thanks to this other KAL. knitting I-cord tonight and casting on sleeves tomorrow. plan is to do two sleeves simultaneously - this encourages them to be identical - and to omit the contrasting stripe that goes lengthwise. has anyone else done that?

Mermaid Shoulder Issues

I've started my mermaid and have reached the cast off section for the shoulder. Does anyone know at which ridge number I should start the dec for the shoulder? I feel like I should count from the cast off ridge 9, but now I'm not sure. Each time I read Hanne's directions I become more confused so now I've hit the wall & stopped knitting.

Any help or clarification would be great. I should probably just be patient and wait for Amy's spreadsheet to arrive, but I just couldn't hold off any longer due to itchy fingers. Love the yarn and the knitting- not so much the the directions as written. Thanks!

Promenade problem

This will be my first post on any KAL discussion. I'm working on the Promenade shawl in the mustard color combo. The kit consists of only 5 colors. However, the instrucstions indicate you know several ridges in "f" which would be a sixth color. What to do? Also, if I'm following the directions correctly my colors don't reflect thepostcard picture that came with the kit. Has anyone else knit this with only five colors? I'm thinking of looking at the photo and trying to copy the colors for those rows. BTW, when it comes to the chart there are only five colors shown so that part is right. It's just the first 20-26 rows before following the chart begins. Thanks for any help. Sally

Studio or Studio Long

Has anyone knitted Studio or Studio Long? I was interested in this pattern before I purchased Ballerina and was told that Ballerina was easier to knit. I can't believe either Studio would be more difficult. Please let me know.

Ballerina Small or Medium

I bought yarn to make another Ballerina. I know, that will be #4, but I love this pattern so much! More Brown Sheep NatureSpun Sport, which I love. We were at the Brown Sheep Outlet on our vacation, and I just couldn't resist! You wouldn't believe the amount of yarn I decided to get! And then again, you just might!

Right now I'm trying to decide whether to knit a medium or a small. I'm a medium right now, but working on changing shape to a small. I'd love to have this fit when I reach my goal weight, I'd hate to put all the work into it and have it be too big at the end. But there is that niggling feeling in the back of my mind that says it is more practical to knit to where I am as opposed to where I'd like to be.

Anyone else in this situation? What would you do?

I also bought some new hand-painted Nature Spun Sport, there is a part of me that thinks it might be glorious with 2 other (solid) yarns in a Mermaid. Anyone else tried this?

another KAL

hi all! because my Mermaid is taking forever to finish, I've also joined in with the Tour de France KAL. who knows that'll give me a good kick in the behind. would love to finish my project before the cyclists do on July 29th. anyone want to come along for a ride? you'll find me among those wearing green jerseys. deadline for signing up is 3pm London time on 7th July 2007, this is when the official start for the Tour de France Prologue is.

join in, it looks like a fun Knitalong and a great way to speed up your knitting! besides random prizes there are prizes for those who score enough points by posting on the KAL blog.

DaCapo

My DaCapo has finaly arrived. And I got started right away. The wool is just perfect. I'm still not sure what size to make it though. Have to decide soon (the start is the same for all sizes). Normally I would choose an M size. But I've read some things about very long sleeves, and I'm also a bit worried that with time the finished jacket may become a bit bigger through wear and tear. So I may decide to go for an S.

Any advise on size is much appreciated!

DaCapo

Hello everyone,
I finished a DaCapo this spring, more details here. This was my first HF kit and it won't be the last--I found the design just brilliant. Beautiful wool, too.

Stockinette Anyone?

Has anyone tried altering any Hanne design by knitting all or part of it in stockinette rather than garter stitch? I love the shapes of her designs and the clever colorings, but I'm generally not crazy about how garter stitch looks and find knitting it very boring.

getting closer...

I've been knitting on Pagode #1 for 18 months now, and the end is in sight. Underarm seams are sewn, and the first sleeve extension/cuff is 2/3rds done.

I did run out of the ivory yarn about 3 stripes from the end on the back--but was resourceful, and tea-dyed some J&S Shetland to nearly match Hanne's yarn. I'm knitting the XL size.

I still have the sleeves to finish, additional sleeve seaming and 2 pockets to knit and sewn in. Woot! Close to the end. Fit is acceptable, but on the large side. Large is better than small...

More photos and details on my blog: http://www.randomthreads.com/?p=290

Progress on Pagode

With over 300 stitches per row, it's quite a slow going. But I'm glad to see the pattern emerging. This is half a front and one sleeve. Fun to knit and lovely yarn.

My previous posting is here.

Another Mermaid Question

With the hot weather coming, has anyone tried knitting a Mermaid or other Hanne pattern using a fine cotton or linen yarn with the appropriate guage? The thought of starting mine in wool right now is overwhelming - I can just imagine having hour upon hour of it sitting on my lap in a pool of sweat.

Mermaid Question

Has anyone knit a mermaid using a slightly heavier yarn (with a lower gauge) and compensated by making a smaller size. So, for example, if you would normally be a size L, knit a size S but using a sport weight yarn (with say 22 sts/4") rather than the state guage? How did it work?

Finished with LUDO children´s jacket

I got so bored with this project that it´s taken me forever to finish it!
But here it is in all it´s beauty. I´m very happy with the result at least.
There´s a good 1/3 of the yarn left if not more, which makes me a bit sceptical that I´ve done something wrong, but the knitting is right on gauge and the jacket fits. Except the super-wide arms, but I´ve taken care of that.

Now I just have to get some nice hooks and my 4-year old will have his new Hanne Falkenberg LUDO jacket.

Introducing myself

Hi everyone,

I'm new here, and new to Hanne Falkenberg. I've just ordered my first kit this week; DaCapo no 8. I am now waiting impatiently for it to arive!
I've just re-discovered knitting this winter. I learned knitting as a child from my mother. Knitted my first pair of socks when I was at primary school. During my teens I knit a lot of sweaters. But then I stopped. Knitting wasn't the 'fashion' anymore and I had other hobbies. But this winter I discovered a site with beautiful knitted socks, and I decided to give it a try. Since then I've not been able to stop! But now it's time for something else and that's how I stumbled onto Hanne's creations.

I am really impressed with the things you've all made. Seems to me that a lot of you are working on the Mermaid at the moment. I've seen some beautiful pictures. You can all be very proud of yourselves!

Hope to join you all soon as a real Hanne Falkenberg knitter.

Tessa

LaStrada Spreadsheet Clarification

Just fixing a few things I noticed in the first revision of the spreadsheet, and I realized that I'm distributing the S/M size, not the M/L size. Silly me. Sorry for the confusion.

Also note, it currently does not include the sleeve.

Spreadsheet for LaStrada

I can't take the credit for creating this one. Ellen has put it together and I'm handling the distribution. This time it's LaStrada, size medium. So far, the right side is available, and she's working on the left side.

As always, e-mail me and I'll send you a challenge question to verify that you own the pattern. Information on the other spreadsheets I offer is here.

Da Capo-ette

I finished a De Capo last fall and wore it alot this winter. One day, sitting in particularly cold meeting room, it occurred to me that I have plenty of wool left over to make a matching pullover shell. Imagine that, a twinset! It is in progress now; I haven't worked out all the details and won't need if for several months. Has anyone else tried their hand at designing something Falkenberg-esque with leftover yarn?

I'll post a picture when I get the front finished.

Ellen

There's a new Falkenberg kit!

I just discovered there's a new Hanne design. I don't think it's up on the official Falkenberg site yet, but found it in a Norwegian online shop called Pinnsvindesign. It's called Plissé (which means pleated). I like the shape of this, and ordered one immediately.

And another one...

More pictures at my blog www.lulsblog.blogspot.com

Another finished Mermaid

Three cheers for Amy's spreadsheet!! She's done it again: helped yet another lost soul to manoeuvre her way through the minefield of an HF pattern with no problems at all. Not one visit to the frog pond, I swear.

I have now finished my Mermaid colourway 8 (now dubbed "the hot pink one") - as you can see from the photos above.

Having read all about all the problems of garter stitch stretching, I made my tension on the tight side, so it fits perfectly. When I blocked the sleeves, I eased them out an inch to the perfect length (I have short arms so I normally look like I'm wearing my big sister's clothes, if I'm not careful). It says in the pattern that, once you wash it, the wool sort of relaxes and so I am expecting it to grow a bit, which won't be a bad thing.

It had its first outing this morning and had a lot of admiring comments. Can't wait to do the next one!!

Ballerina

I love the thought of knitting Ballerina, but the more I think about it, the more I am persuaded that it isn't going to be flattering for me. Which is disappointing. I have the pattern, I have the yarn, but... I don't want to knit something and not like the way I feel when I wear it!

Has anyone made it and found it flattering?

Perhaps it is time to knit another Mermaid! Or one of her other patterns.

Ludo jacket - progress

Finally! Some progress on my son´s LUDO jacket.
I actually almost finished the first half before measuring gauge - call me lazy. And I´m spot on, to the millimeter! The reason for measuring were the super-wide arms, which are as they should be according to the pattern. I will probably try to narrow them down when putting the whole thing together, and if I´m feeling very brave I´ll even cut off the excess (after thorough sewing of course).

This jacket has really been playing a few games on me, as it seems what is referred to as the wrong side and the right side in the pattern seems to change throughout. This gave me an odd number of rows, and it just went horribly wrong. I ripped it several times before I finally understood that it was actually ok, it just ended up beeing backwards/opposite sides compared to the pattern.

Also, since the pattern is juuust boring enough to seemingly let me concentrate on watching TV or surfing while knitting, every now and then I would forget to knit two together every other row, alternatively forgetting not to knit two together in the pattern rows. Deeming me to more ripping. So even though it is simple, this project needs concentration!

This has been a bit of an irritating project, actually. But I seem to have the hang of it now, soon ready with the second and last part.

Question on Ballerina spreadsheet for Amy

Amy,
I was reading the updated spreadsheet for Ballerina size m/l and here is my question. I notice that it ends with Row 1302 with only a single transition row being knit. Is this the final row or do I need to do a couple of more transition rows as per the first sleeve? Page 43 doesn't indicate that you knit any rows although row 1304 is partially filled out. I am thrilled beyond belief that you were able to provide this for all of us who would nevere have been able to knit this garment without your remarkable tool. Many thanks over and over again.

Mermaid

I have finished the body of my mermaid and am now working on the first sleeve. Unfortunately too much knitting during easter break caused a tennis elbow. Sigh.
For the body (size S) I used a provisional cast-on and an I-cord bind of. It worked oút just perfect! I have reduced the lenght of the sleeve with 10 stitches as everybody seem to agree on them being too long.
I just wish I could knit more than 2 rows a day, this way it will take me a year to make the sleeves.

Tweedie

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since I've posted, but I've been reading everyone's posts and loving your HF knits. I finished my Mermaid back in March of 2006. I'm just now reading to think about starting the Tweedie kit I already have.

I took one look at the directions and I'm totally confused;

"Knit 3 rows from the same side....each row with a separate ball. Slide stitches back to other end of needle between each row. Then turn and knit one row from the other side of work using all three colors at the same time."

Is it just me, or is that totally confusing? Do I knit each row three times? Yikes! Has anyone started Tweedie or knit it in the past and do you have any clues for me?

Thanks in advance.

Annie

Pagode Cast on

I'm new on this blog and new to Hanne Falkenberg sweaters. I bought a Pagode kit last year (there are some write ups on my blog here and here) and finally had a chance to cast it on this past weekend. So far I really enjoy the yarn. I'm making the smallest size, so as to avoid counting more than 386 stitches.

Pyramide

Hallo everybody who knows / and remembers the PYRAMIDE-chaos of last September!

After almost 7 months of knitting I'm really proud to present the 3/4 finished jumper and I would be even prouder if this piece of art would fit me.
the jumper is simply too short - it fits well at arms & shoulders but 5-8 cm more in length would be needed. Right now I'm finishing off the sleeves and the neck - and I hope to get some good ideas of how I can add some length.
Has anyone come across a similar probelm ?

Any suggestions welcome !

Gruss Eva

Mermaid spreadsheet question

I'm knitting Mermaid in size Large. did anyone adjust the spreadsheet to make a Large version?

Ballerina Finished

Here is the Ballerina. I actually finished this in early November, but I've been lazy about taking pictures. I thought I'd go to Petra and take pictures there, but I've not been to Petra once in the time I've lived in Jordan. Now, it's going to get hot here, so when I went to California last month I took the Ballerina and left her there. So, no fancy photos, but here she is anyway:

Here you can see the big panel of stripes that goes under the arm. What I particularly liked about this jacket is that the sleeves are knit as-you-go, which is good for me since I hate knitting sleeves.



Here is the detail of the sleeve and neck. I really like the way the different angles of the ridges come up to the arm and meet.



What I don't like about the jacket is how it just hangs off of me. It is pretty heavy, and it wants to pull back and make my shirt choke me while it just droops over the front of me. Still, I wore it a lot here this winter.



Here is the back. I love the shaping of this jacket. My husband picked the colors. I would have gone with one of the three color choices, but I'm really glad he picked these. For one, this jacket goes with most everything I wear, and the simple colors of this combination make me look more at the knitting than the palette, and I just love the shaping.



Here are my two Hanne projects. Less than a year ago I found her web site and declared I'd never pay that much for a kit, and, well, here we are. I enjoyed knitting both of these, and I wear them both often. I am an experienced knitter, but I'd never done such a large project with short-row shaping, and I enjoyed learning something new.


Lessons from the Ballerina:
1. Hanne’s patterns are not perfect. I used them as guidelines. It's important to have symmetry with her patterns, but it's not the end of the world if you have 200 stitches going into a sleeve and you're supposed to have 204. Just do the same thing throughout, and it will turn out.
2. Hanne thinks that women have arms that are no less than 2 meters long. I'm short-ish, and I shortened the sleeve lengths for both the Mermaid and the Ballerina. When I began the first Ballerina sleeve, I read in her pattern that there is the option to shorten or lengthen within her guidelines, and I shortened even more than her pattern "permitted." Still, they are quite long on me. Don't be fearful about shortening sleeves on her patterns!
3. There is no use for me in reading the whole pattern ahead of time; I have no short-term memory. But, I did find it helpful to read each section prior to knitting and asking myself if her directions made sense. The garments are beautiful, but the patterns are not user-friendly. Focus on symmetry rather than strict adherence to her pattern.

Thanks for letting me join your knit-along!

Need Encouragement

I have to confess that I have been sitting on a pile of yarn waiting to become a Mermaid for almost a year. I agreed to knit a second Mermaid for a friend and have put if off by compulsively knitting socks. Many, many socks. I need to find the energy to knit something that takes more than a week to complete. Any suggestions?

Ballerina Spreadsheet Update!

The much awaited Ballerina spreadsheet update has been sent out! This update includes the entire 2nd sleeve for both sizes. It was really hard to work through this part because the "mirroring" and the written instructions didn't always sync up, no matter what I did. So I had to take a few liberties to make it work out right, those are explained with the spreadsheet. With the spreadsheet, I could easily count ridges and stripes to see if it all mirrored up. I can't imagine how much of a pain it would be figure this out while you were actually knitting it.

Anyway, if you're on the list for Ballerina, you should have the update in your e-mail. If not, e-mail me.

If you are interested in the spreadsheets for Ballerina or Mermaid, click here to find out more.

Public Shaming, please.

Hello everyone! Since discovering this knitalong I've been motivated to begin work on what has become my #1 Most Shameful Unfinished Purchase. Clearly I am spoiled and/or lazy, to have this kit sitting on the top of my shelves in my yarn room for a year and a half after coveting it online for a year previously. That's two and a half years, people!

I have a swatch. It has been washed and is perfect! Seeing all the finished Mermaids and other Hanne designs will help. Anyone here can also make me feel guilty for having the money to spend on this and then just letting it sit around. Let the guilt be my motivation!

Diva

hi. I'd like to knit Diva. I have the pattern but want to knit it in my own choice of colours, using Jamieson's Shetland wool which is a good match for the wool Hanne Falkenberg uses. Does anyone know what the yarn weights are so I don't order too much or too little?

Mermaid 8 - the hot pink one

Here are some photos of my part-completed Mermaid in colourway 8 - cyclamen, brick red and thunder blue. I think the top one is more accurate in terms of colour but neither really does them justice. They are gorgeous!

Thanks to Amy and her wonderful spreadsheet, this has been remarkably straightforward so far. I made sure my tension was correct - not something I have always been rigorous about in the past, I admit. This time, I didn't want to risk it.

As you can see, I have nearly finished the body. Just need to do the sleeves and the i-cords. I have opted for Amy's idea of a provisional cast on which I will undo in order to make the two i-cords match. But I'll be saving that for a day when it isn't school holidays and I can have some peace and quiet!!! It's not always easy doing something like that with a 6 year old boy and a nearly 4 year old girl bouncing around me, asking lots of questions...

Modeling Mermaid

A few people asked me about how well Mermaid fit, my typical clothing size, etc. I've been wearing Mermaid quite a bit since spring seems to be delayed this year in Chicago and the weather has been quite cold (it's snowing today!). However, my personal photograher (otherwise known as my husband) isn't always handy when I'm wearing it. Finally, here are a couple photos of me wearing Mermaid. The details follow.




This is a size Medium Mermaid. In my previous post about finishing this project, I noted that the sleeves came out a bit longer than I prefer, but otherwise it fits very well.

At this point in time, I typically wear a U.S. size 14 (*gulp*, I'm working on losing weight). This translates to approximately a 40-inch bust and 42-inch hips. At times I do pin the jacket closed and it still fits well, although the gussets are not as flared as they probably should be. I think this knitted fabric can be very forgiving and stretchy, and I'm sure it will look even better after I lose some weight.

Now...can someone who has finished Ballerina return the favor? I would love to make another HF design, but wouldn't dream of doing so without one of Amy's spreadsheets, such as she made for Mermaid and is in the process of making for Ballerina. However, I'm concerned that Ballerina may not be that flattering to someone with my body shape. I do not believe that women with larger frames and figures should wear boxy, baggy clothing. I think Big Girl Knits explains this very well and find their advice very applicable: curvy women need to draw attention to their assets and accentuate their curves. Does Ballerina do this?

I-cord after provisional cast-on

After reading all the posts here I did a provisional cast-on when beginning my mermaid. But now I can't remember nor find how to make the I-cord !! Stupid me!!
Can someone help me?

mermaid

This is how my mermaid look so far.

One finished Diva:

Coral Mermaid

I finished my Coral Mermaid today. This is my second completed Mermaid kit. My first was Mermaid with Curry in November 2006. The coral kit was a Christmas gift from DH and very enjoyable to knit. Amy's spreadsheet is helpful. Orchids to Jane at Cucumberpatch UK.

Ballerina help please!!

I am using Amy's spreadsheet and am now on row 770 of the size m/l. This is the center back. The pattern directions say that from this point forward, the remainder of the jacket is a mirror image of the first part. I am having trouble understanding this since the stitch numbers do not mirror each other. There are 20 more stitches on the first half than the second(row 768 has 181 stitches and it's mirror image, row 772 has 161 stitches). Can someone please explain what the directions mean. I assume that a mirror image is precisely the same with the same number of stitches. This is probably a stupid question, but it doesn't make sense to me. I'm afraid I'll be in big trouble if I don't understand this and will have to finish on my own since I'm almost to the end of my beloved spreadsheet.

Mermaid

I have spend the last couple of days reading just about every post in this blog, as I am about to start knitting the mermaid. I will order the yarn tomorrow when I receive the colour scheme -if I can make up my mind :-)
Hopefully I will be able to read the pattern (I have it in danish -being danish myself) but I am a little worried as I am not an experienced knitter.
However, reading the posts have been a great help so for, now I just wait for a copy of the spreadsheet as it seems to be a must have.
A friend of mine has made the mermaid, but she can't cope with the wool. Does any of you have experiences in making it using a different kind of fiber? I will be using shetlandwool myself.

Ballerina

Would someone with the Ballerina kit please weigh the amounts of the various colors? I'm curious -- would like to know please!

Mermaid

... and while Diva is blocking, I have started a swatch for Mermaid. see, swatching isn't actually knitting yet, but I can't cast on the real thing until Diva is 100% done. here's pics of the yarns I bought, and the dining table turning into a mill. did I mention I love my shift and ball winder? all skeins transformed into nice stackable things. no horrible knots or yarn breaks. and the colours... love 'em! the off-white silk will be the contrast colour. yum.

Finished Mermaid and Spreadsheet update!

After more than a year, I wove in the last end on my Mermaid last night. Here she is:


Now I just have to block it. And decide what to wear it with for it's debut!

With that done, I also finalized the Mermaid Spreadsheet. I've had around 200 people request it in the last year. If you are still on my mailing list, you should have received an e-mail a little while ago from me with version 2.0 attached. If you didn't (I had some e-mail addresses bounce), contact me again!

Diva update

put it off forever, but i'm working on sewing up Diva since yesterday. sleeves are blocking - I had knit the cuffs separately, so had to sew those to the sleeves first. don't know why it took me so long to start sewing after i finished knitting, i guess it's not our favourite part of the game :)
tried the body bit on yesterday. it looks a bit small. i might be blocking the hell out of it. pics soon.

Diva Progress

I had much trouble working the collar, it took an entire week of daily ripping and re-starting to understand all the design elements. Here's what I have now:


Also, it was necessary to make a chart, I posted about it here.

Now for a little distraction: the Stella Beret, purchased from Sommerfuglen. I hope in the next few weeks I can finish up Diva and start Mermaid.

Lastrada 11 just arrived!

I want to abandon all household chores and start knitting. I've been wanting to do one of these for ages, and finally decided to take the leap. Looking forward to knitting along with y'all.

Christine

Tokyo information

Hello everyone,
As I am drawing to the end of my Lastrada project I have wondering about starting another Hanne. I am really interested in the Tokyo jacket but I haven't seen any feedback about how difficult it is. Have any of you seen the pattern or knitted the jacket and can give any insight to that project before I spend up big and take the plunge?
Thanks, Carolyn

Diva Help Needed

Hi I am knitting Diva and am beginning decreases for the collar. I am totally confused about the OUTER EDGE decreases, is there someone who can help with the directions for K2tog within the 3 slipped edge stitches? Does this mean to slip the 1st st knitwise, k2tog, then slip the 4th st purlwise?

Help, yo no comprendo :0

thanks, Jules

*****UPDATE*****

Problem resolved! The instructions say to decrease inside the 3 edge stitches, and I think it means to k2tog right after the 3 edge sts. I tried to k2tog inside the 3 edge sts which made a weird wonky edge. I ripped that section out and am continuing with the new understanding that the edge sts remain constant while the decrease happens adjacent to the edge.

Finished!

I completed my Mermaid a couple weeks ago, but my digital camera was broken and I couldn't photograph it until yesterday. This is the #3 colorway in a size Medium.

My one cautionary observation concerns the blocking: the sleeves grow in length very easily, so be careful! The sleeve length was perfect before blocking, but way to too long after blocking attempt #1. I had washed and blocked my swatch and didn't notice any difference in before/after measurements, so this isn't necessarily because of the yarn. I re-blocked and was able to reduce the sleeve length a bit, but I just can't figure out how to squish the fabric any more to shorten the sleeves.

BTW, Mermaid is only on the hangar for the photo. I do not store my handknits this way!

Thanks again to Amy for the fabulous spreadsheet. I never would have been able to complete Mermaid without her directions!

Linda in Chicago

Ballerina Help Please

I am making the larger size of Ballerina and am now on row 643. The directions say to k5, turn. The row breakdown is 6-T-(151). If you knit 5, then the total # of stitches should be 156, not 157 as per the directions, right? So do you k6, not k5 to make the stitch count come out right? I am confused.

Ballerina question

I know that a number of people have had problems meeting the guage. I'm wondering whether anyone wound up knitting ballerina with a larger guage than it was designed to be, so that they wound up with a longer and perhaps wider garment and how it looked.

Also, I am still wondering whether anyone has weighed the 2 colors in the kit.

Thanks

Poking my head up!

Hi Everyone --

Many apologies to people who have been waiting on spreadsheets from me. If you've been following my blog, you'll know that February was awful for me.

Anyway, I'm back on top of things. I've responded to everyone who has sent me a request so far. So if you didn't get something from me, your request got lost somehow and please resend it.

If you're knitting Ballerina, look for an updated spreadsheet soon as I work out the directions for the second sleeve.

Happy knitting!

Lastrada help

Hello everyone,
I am a new member of the Hanne knitalong. I am currently working on the Lastrada and I have a question regarding the neckband decreases. The pattern states: knit until 1 stitch before the corner stitch, slip 2 stitches together knitwise, knit 1 stitch, pass the 2 slipped stitches over the knit stitch. What happens to the stitch marker? It seems to me that it would be caught in the middle of the slipped stitches?
Thank you for you help!
Cheers, Carolyn

Better Late Than Never

Hi! I'm new to this knitalong, and I'm knitting my first Hanne Falkenberg design. I ordered 2 kits about 2 weeks ago (Mermaid and Ping Pong) and chose Mermaid as my first project. I've been trying to finish other projects I have on the needles right now so I can devote most, if not all, of my knitting time to this jacket. I love it so far. Haven't made a lot of progress since casting on, but I did manage to get through the first gusset last night.




A bit of a closer shot that shows the true colors in the kit I ordered.



I've been reading a few of the earlier posts and was wondering about these spreadsheets. Are they really worth having if the instructions aren't confusing me?

Delana (in Ohio)
http://delanaknits.blogspot.com

HELP with Dacapo Jacket

This is my first HK project -- I love it -- even if it is taking me months to complete. But, I have become confused in working with the right front. Before I bore my sister/fellow blogsters with the minutia -- does anyone think they can help me?
Hail to Hanna.

Help with Ballerina

I need to ask for some assistance. I'm just plain confused and not all that experienced. I am finished with my first sleeve on ballerina and am now getting ready to pick up the stitches that were on the holder(71). Do I knit them first or do I knit the 78 stitches on my needle and then knit across the stitches on the holder? I am confused. Also, the spreadsheet is superb. Does anyone have it charted where Amy left off? I know she is super busy and I didn't know if anyone had taken on that monumental task of finishing where she left off?

Hi,
I am new. And new to knitting Hanne Falkenberg. I tried to knit the Ballerina and was not having much success mostly with size, so I took it apart and have started on Jazz instead. I am posting two pictures. One of my checking the gauge and the other of my progress. It does feel like some days I take out more than I knit. But I think I may be getting it. Fortunately, the rows are not that long in the beginning because you start at the sleeve edge. I will plug along.
Happy to be knitting on a snow day off from school!, wendy.

My Mermaid update

I think I last posted shortly after I started Mermaid (#3 colorway) in October. Some of you are so fast at knitting Mermaid that I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I'm still not done. I've had other projects to do, though, so I haven't been able to devote all of my knitting time to Mermaid.

As of today, I only have one sleeve left to knit. I finished sleeve #1 last night and then started on sleeve #2 immediately. I'm hoping to finish Mermaid completely by the end of this month. I didn't carry colors along through the gussets, so even though I wove in the ends as as I knit, I do have quite a bit of neatening to do besides the blocking and sewing. I'll be sure to post a final pic when I get there.

I have to thank Amy once more for the fabulous spreadsheet she put together for Mermaid. I couldn't have knit the pattern without it. For a while, I thought I would have to work out the sleeve instructions myself. After spending a couple hours trying to figure them out, I was quite relieved to find that a version of the spreadsheet with the sleeves was available.

There are several other Hanne Falkenberg designs that I like, such as Tivoli, Diva and Tweedie. However, I'm just not willing to give them a try unless I know the instructions are better than the ones that came with Mermaid. Are all HF patterns written the same way?

My Mermaid update

I think I last posted shortly after I started Mermaid (#3 colorway) in October. Some of you are so fast at knitting Mermaid that I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I'm still not done. I've had other projects to do, though, so I haven't been able to devote all of my knitting time to Mermaid.

As of today, I only have one sleeve left to knit. I finished sleeve #1 last night and then started on sleeve #2 immediately. I'm hoping to finish Mermaid completely by the end of this month. I didn't carry colors along through the gussets, so even though I wove in the ends as as I knit, I do have quite a bit of neatening to do besides the blocking and sewing. I'll be sure to post a final pic when I get there.

I have to thank Amy once more for the fabulous spreadsheet she put together for Mermaid. I couldn't have knit the pattern without it. For a while, I thought I would have to work out the sleeve instructions myself. After spending a couple hours trying to figure them out, I was quite relieved to find that a version of the spreadsheet with the sleeves was available.

There are several other Hanne Falkenberg designs that I like, such as Tivoli, Diva and Tweedie. However, I'm just not willing to give them a try unless I know the instructions are better than the ones that came with Mermaid. Are all HF patterns written the same way?

Ballerina yardage and using soft yarn

I know I've seen questions and answers about what the yardage (or weight) is for making mermaid, but does anyone have that info for ballerina (either the 2 color or 4 color version or better yet both)!

Also, has anyone tried making any of the Hanne designs using a very soft yarn like alpaca or merino? I know someone hypothesized that they would not be firm enough, but I wondered whether anyone actually tried and what was the result.

Thanks

Mermaid yardage

I'm almost done with Diva in purple & aubergine. Pics will follow soon, promise! She is lovely and I can't wait to see how she looks when I wear her. Next on my list is Mermaid. A fellow knitter around here bought the Mermaid kit, I had Diva and we swapped patterns. I hope you don't consider this a bad thing, as we both bought our kits. I was wondering if someone on this list can help me with the following: how much yarn do I need for a Mermaid? I found a great source for Shetland wool that is very similar to the original Hanne Falkenberg yarns. The shop that sells it will be present at a fair I hope to visit next weekend, so I'm getting my shopping list ready. The best thing is, I'll get to pick my own favourite colours in real life! I don't mind mail ordering, even from abroad usually works out well, but I'd really like to see the colours when I buy the yarn. Haven't decided what it'll be yet, but there's plenty of choice. I'd be very happy if someone can tell me how many yards or meters or grams of each colour I'll need for Mermaid.

Making Mermaid to XS- Any Thoughts?

hello all!

Before laying my hands on Mermaid, I have a concern I want to share with you all:

The smallest sizing for mermaid is chest 36 1/2 which is a small , I'm 5'3 bust 34. Small Mermaid seems a little loose on me, any thoughts?

Lascala scarf

Hi! I'm busy working away on the LaScala scarf but have figured out I most likely won't be wearing it this winter! My, my, there are a lot of stitches to cast on and that is only for the first half of the scarf. The colors are really beautiful. It is color scheme #3. I'm almost at the point where I get to switch to the warm colors. Next up is tomatoe and fushia. Here's a picture of what's done so far...

Large Mermaid on straight needle

Hello,

I made this picture to show that the approx. 200 stitches of the large Mermaid fit perfectly into a 'classic' straight needle.

You can have a look at the picture in original size here: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=382574467&size=o

Isabel

Another Mermaid in the making

Hello,

After working on a Mermaid no 4 during last weekend, I am already on the first striped bit on the back. I consider myself an 'advanced' knitter. I had discovered this blog when I was looking for a shop to buy my kit and your posts already helped me understand the instructions.

Here are my first impressions on the kit and some recommendations for those planning to embark on the same project.

• The Mermaid jacket is easy enough to knit; what is difficult and confusing about it are the instructions you get with the kit. I have not seen Amy's spreadsheet yet, but it seems to me that it contains the kind of detail one would expect to get directly with such an expensive kit


• One would also expect that the balls of yarn would be colour-coded. As many other kit -4 owners, I have to pay a lot of attention to pick the right shade of turquoise every time I change from stripes to gussets.


• Last comment on the kit: an indication of all the important measurements is another essential element that is missing from the instructions. Maybe I am spoiled by the mostly German knitting magazines I usually buy, but they always include graphics of the different parts with measurements, plus frequent indications of how many stitches one should have obtained after a certain number of increases or decreases... and when to break the yarn.


• I am knitting my Mermaid with the classic two needles (about 40 cm long). It is a matter of taste –I am quicker with two needles. A circular needle is not strictly necessary, as there are never too many stitches in one single 'classic' needle, even for the large size I am making.


• In my opinion the slipping stitches at the shoulder are not mere decoration: they will keep the shoulder-sleeves area in shape, which is an essential element of the tailored look of the jacket. If we were sewing this model out of a soft material, we would use some kind of reinforcement at these seams. By the way, keeping the tailored look and shape of the jacket would be the reason for choosing a 'coarser' type of wool instead of the lovely soft merino or alpaca yarns.


• Finally, an advice I would probably not follow myself because I am too impatient: make one or two swatches to test the slipping stitches with the stripe pattern and the turns for the short rows used in the gussets. I did not get a perfectly regular lower edge until I was already past the second gusset and by then I did not have the courage to undo what I had already knit.

That's it! I hope the post wasn't too long.

Isabel

Provisional Cast On for Mermaid

Hello to all!

I am preparing to start Mermaid, and would like to know which Provisional Cast On was successful for the front edge? At times I've used the crochet cast on, then knit into the crochet chain, but the stitches are very tight, besides there being one stitch less. The crochet cast on doesn't seem right for the front edge of Mermaid. What has worked for others?

I haven't had many chances to practice Provisional Cast Ons and tried to avoid them in the the past. Which cast ons were used for the completed Mermaids? Any and all tips are appreciated :)

Thanks to everyone [especially amy! for the spreadsheet].

Jules.

ps, knitting stripe 27 on Diva has eluded me, I am on stripe 25, hopefully by tonight I'll be finishing the big triangle. I'm a knitting fool.

Ballerina Help

Hello Ballerina knitters. Can someone please help me with the pattern symbols? On side 3(noted at bottom of pattern page) column 1 about halfway down, there are some strange symbols which I can't figure out and I have searched everywhere for an explanation. After it says At The Same Time.........it ends with Work 1 ridge-then work short rows to make sleeve slant towards raglan seam (6) to (8) -Then there is the first symbol. The second symbol appears after Ridge 2 . Then I see another one of these symbols at the top of the next column-almost looks like 4 $ signs. What are these crazy symbols? I am going crazy trying to figure them out.

New Member =)

Hello All!

I'm new & this is my first knitalong. I purchased the mermaid in colorway #6- slate & purple, still waiting for her to be arrived from UK. Can't wait !! I have a few questions here if anyone of you don't mind to help me out:

- i've heard there's millions of ends to weave in during the finishing process, is that true?
-it seems the project level is moderate, but the pattern is hard to understand & the small guage takes forever to knit, do you agree?

Diva at 22

Here's Diva after a dozen-or-so hours of knitting, and she's 14.5"/ 37cm from base to peak. I wish I had fewer WIPs so I could concentrate only on Diva, but I'm easily bored and distracted so am forever casting on.

This photo shows 21 cyclamen/ plum stripes completed, of which I need 27 for size medium. At this exact moment I am halfway through the 22nd stripe, it's really hard to see here, but there are ~300 pink stitches on the needle. I WILL knit through till the 27th stripe tonight, eek it's almost midnight already.

The fabric is nice and squishy, light and huggable, and I love it. Lots of people notice Diva as I knit in public often, she's cute and gets a lot of attention. I answer more questions about this little beauty than any other project. Diva is simply beautiful.

Jules.

Hello from Wales

Hi
Glad to be joining the blog...I've been reading it for a couple of weeks and it's very inspiring. The kits I am getting are Pagode and Pyramide...I could not make up my mind between Pagode colorway 1 or 2...anyone got these??? I wasn't sure how representational the colours on Hanne's website were..given how some folks blog pigs seem lighter than the Falkenberg gallery pics.
I also couldn't find any webpics of the Pyramide blueberry/black and chestnut/black colourways. They both sounded lovely.
Anyhow, I'm based in the Uk and I plan to start on Pyramide.
Jackie

Diva and Mermaid

Hello! I am Jules and am joining in with 2 kits: Diva 7 and Mermaid 9.

I wanted to knit Diva for many months but felt I should wait until some WIPs were finished. That was plain torture so I gave in and ordered both kits on New Year's Eve.

Here's the beginning of Diva which is coming along after a few false starts. The needles are 3mm Addis, and I was able to achieve proper gauge by knitting slightly looser than normal, I am a tight knitter who consciously loosens up, as it is easier on the wrists.

I'll be posting progress and asking questions!

Jules.

Working on Mermaid

Hello,

I'm new to this blog, but pretty excited about it! I've been keeping my little gem of a kit in the corner and you all have inspired me to get it out (especially the one that has made 3!!)

I bought my kit about a year ago and waited several months to start it. I'm not too far into it. It just doesn't feel "right" when I'm knitting. I'm an A.D.D. knitter anyway and this "wrongness" hasn't helped my disorder. :)

Anyway, my name is Kallie and I'm from South Bend, IN. Been knitting since I was a kid. I also spin and quilt.
Looking forward to playing with you all via the web.

Kallie

Knitalong Maintenance

As some of you have noticed, I temporarily changed the sidebar of the knitalong where the participant list appears. Right now I am using the automatic blogger list which lists everyone who is a member of the knitalong. To visit someone's personal blog, click on their name which will take you to their profile. If they have a blog, they can put a link to the blog in their profile.

With 157 members, I got behind on adding everyone to the side bar along with their blog address and HF projects. So, I took the list down until I can get everyone added in and then I'll put it back up. Thanks for your patience.

Lastrada Help

Well, it sure didn't take me long to run up against a question I couldn't answer. On Page 2 of the directions, (bottom of first column) it says 14 more rows in Colour A , a total of -for me- 17 rows.
OK. then it says work 2 rows in colour B. 19 rows. Continue in stripes as shown in the chart. Each square=2 k rows=1 ridge.

Question: There are two charts shown. I'm assuming that they mean the chart on the right, where it says "Start here after first 10 ridges." (20 rows). Fine, but I have only 19 rows.

What am I missing here? Are they counting the cast on row?

Thanks,
Barb

Tweedie!

As a part of this year's goal to knit no less than 9 sweaters, I am trying to start off on a high note and begin with another Hanne Falkenberg design. I ordered and received this kit from Kangaroo, and despite a bit of a mix-up (the kit is missing a colour so I'm waiting for them the ship it to me separately) I am thrilled with the colours and pattern so far. I've had a bit of a read through and the pattern seems relatively straight-forward, and knit on rather large needles for a Hanne design too! I can't wait to really get started on it!

Studio Long

I am starting Studio Long. This is the turtleneck with the zig-zag on the front. I am doing colorway 3. Has anyone already created a spreadsheet to go with this sweater? Are there any pattern errors that anyone knows of?

Thanks for your help. I have previously knitted Mermaid and it went very smoothly, thanks to the spreadsheet. I find her patterns to be somewhat challenging, to read.

Thanks
Susan

New member on the blog

Hello everyone!

I´m new to this blog, my name is Marianne and I´m knitting a Hanne Falkenberg LUDO jacket for my son in colour 5.
I´m purposely choosing an easy - and small - first project just to see if I get along with the HF patterns.
Next, I plan to do the lovely Lascala Scarf! There are so many lovely items I would just love to knit, and I´m eagerly following all your progress with different patterns and colours to see what motivation may strike.

I have to read a little bit more about what rules you have for uploading pictures and such before I show you my progress so far, but please have a look at my blog for updates on the LUDO jacket and my other knitting projects. I´ve already had a few small run-ins with both the yarn, cast-on and pattern but now everything seems to be going well :)


Marianne in Norway
http://strikkebloggen.blogspot.com

New Member

Well, Lastrada #1 has been sitting my dresser, staring back at me for well over a year. Last month, when my LYS offered a series of 4 instruction-only classes for HF kit owners I immediately signed up. Right now, I'm in the swatching phase and have had to frog several times as I try to get the right needle size. I will say that the yarn holds up very well even after repeated ripping out.

The thought of casting 475 stitches is a bit daunting, but not as much as finding out I need about 10.5 yds for my long tail cast on!!!

I'll get a photo up as soon as I get the cast-on done.

Barb in MI

Ballerina Question

I just started my first Hanne Ballerina and thanks to Amy, the spreadsheet has made for an enjoyable knit. I am still a bit curious about sizing. I am 5'7' and about 135 lbs. I was making the larger size for the length. Does anyone have any more experience with this? I'd hate to goof, but would really be sad if I did all the work and it ended up being too small.