Curiosity

Ever since reading Elizabeth Zimmerman I have been intrigued by unspun icelandic wool. For some reason or another I never did anything about it, but as things go, there is a moment that curiosity takes over and one dives in. I bought some plötulopi to make a warm cardigan for myself now the autumn is there. When reading the yarn page for plötulopi on Ravelry, I got a bot concerned, best to knit with continental style, very loose tension required… I am an “English knitter" with a very average tension, which is very nice as I come often very close to what recommended gauge is on the skein-band, so continental with loose tension would require some learning, and while I am all for learning (that’s part of my job after all), sometimes it is also difficult to obtain new tricks. So I thought, well why not simply try with my own method, and as it is, it is fine :-) 

Yes I have broken the yarn a couple of times, but this is the easiest yarn to reconnect as well, so it is not a big problem. The fabric is nice and airy, it is not "next to the skin wear” wool, as it is a bit prickly. But not too much either and with  T-shirt it will be absolutely fine. It has very nice drape and the colour is great, blue with a hint of black, lovely and lively.

I am knitting Freya, but I am knitting the cardigan “flat”. I all will not do the crocheted button bands, they look very wobbly in many of the projects and I think normal knitted bands in garter will be nicer. The pattern is a bit oddly written, overly descriptive in some parts and absolutely no information in other places, so I am going my own way here.

One thing this project isn’t, is portable. An that is mainly due to the unspun yarn. You need to thread it with some care, mainly in how you pull the yarn from the wheel. The slightest friction then, and it breaks, so I put the yarn so it is unobstructed and wind it of carefully, not something you do in a bus or car.And as I like to knit on my 2 x 45 minutes commutes everyday, I need a portable project. 

So I started Warble, a nice cowl/shawl which is going to be very useful in my sometimes draughty house. For this project, the fact that I am a crystallographer, very aware of symmetry, kicks in. I had to make the pattern more symmetric, so I changed the direction of the cables ad the twisted stitches in one half of the pattern, so there is mirror symmetry… I couldn’t help it….just had to be done.

When things don't work

Last year I had bought some lovely organic cotton (Alba from BC garn) that I felt could really work with a nice little short-sleeved  cardigan that I had spotted on Ravelry. Since I always think I can knit much more than I actually do, the yarn had simmered in my stash until August when I really thought, one more summer project before the dark part of the year starts… So I downloaded the (free) pattern and started it. It was an usual construction that just didn’t work. I should have browsed the project pages on Ravelry a bit more thorough since more people had this problem and in the end I just gave up. Just a very nice idea but a yielding garment with wrong dimensions….

But i still wanted to knit something and the year crept forward and it rained and rained and then some, so I got in the mood for a cardigan with long sleeves instead and it was also clear it did need to have pockets. I ordered some more yarn, with a contrast colour too. I like stripes in garter stitch and got an idea of having the pockets behind a very deep border of garter stitch strips. 

So that is how this one came about, it is knitted top-down, with raglan sleeves. No shaping in the body for a loose fit, finished with striped garter button bands going along the whole front and neck

I am practising though as I think I would like to make this one again, but in a DK wool just a bit more fitted for the winter. I do have the yarn already, so I think later this autumn...

But practise is good of course….

Squishy

Sometimes one just has luck. S wanted a sweater in yellow with a bit of texture and after a browse through Ravelry, Bedford was chosen. Now sometimes I can write  lot about a pattern or the wool, but this one was straight-forward. No changes to the pattern, a simple super wash wool (Cascade 220 super wash) and voila, a good sweater for a teenager. Just one thing, the stitch pattern makes this lovely squishy fabric, when knitting it I kept squeezing it as it was so nice and bouncy. Which is of course good, as winter is coming, autumn is almost here…. And S remarked, oh I hope it is going to get cold soon as this is one warm sweater, butt for me, it can stay warm for just a wee while longer…...