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.