ásta sóllilja

This was my last knit of 2014, and definitely the warmest. The pattern is from Kate Davies' most recent book, Yokes. I had saved it to read during the holidays so I'd be able to enjoy it more. Kate's essays are wonderful and worth reading slowly. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the lopapeysa, the Icelandic traditional sweater, and the interview with Hélène Mágnusson. 

I was surprised to read that the lopapeysa was not that popular to wear among the Icelanders until the last twenty years or so, because when we were in Iceland they were everywhere to be seen, not only in the shops but also worn by a lot of people. I can totally understand why, the yarn (Lopi) is extremely warm and perfect for the Icelandic weather. Not so perfect for the Portuguese weather, but I've been wearing mine a lot since Christmas when this cold spell started. Lopi is also kind of itchy, but I found that a good soak with hair conditioner softens the garment considerably.

 (Reykjavik, Aug 2014)

(Alafoss store, Aug 2014)

Pattern: Ásta Sóllilja, by Kate Davies

Yarn: Istéx Lett Lopi (details on colors and yardage on the Ravelry project page). The yarn I used was bought in the Alafoss store near Reykjavik, but they also sell online with very good prices.

Needles: 4 and 4.5 mm

Size: smallest (29'')

Notes:

1) Same colours as the original pattern except for the main grey, which is a bit darker (0056)

2) Started off with size 2 but since I rarely swatch I realized after finishing the ribbing that it was going to be too large for me, so decreased and increased until I got the right number of stitches for size 1.

3) Since I don’t like very high necklines I left off the last 4 rows of the yoke chart 

dragonflies

Another pattern I've had my eye on for a long time. I also had the yarn (Madelinetosh DK in Tart) chosen for this since the beginning and knew I had to knit it someday. It's one of my favorite yarns for sweaters and cardigans, since it has amazing colorways and pills very little but it's also quite expensive and not so easy to find in Europe

When Joji announced the Fall KAL I couldn't resist the opportunity and cast-on as soon as we came back from vacation.

Changes: just the ribbing - I knit a twisted 1x1 rib instead of garter

Otherwise followed the pattern as written and didn't have any problems with the directions.

Sizing: I knit the smallest size (30/32) because my experience with this yarn tells me that it grows a bit with blocking and the lace pattern on this sweater is both in the front and back and so quite stretchy. I could've probably added some waist shaping if I wanted, but decided not to in the end.

Pattern: Dragonflies Jumper, by Joji Locatelli

Yarn: Madelinetosh DK in Tart (used a bit less than 4 skeins)

Ravelry project page here

 

Ripples

This was finished last month, so I'm way behind posting about it. This is another design I've had on my queue for a long time, ever since I fell in love with the sleeve detail.
See what I mean ?

Unfortunately I can't say it turned out exactly as I had hoped. The sleeves look great, but they're actually a bit too heavy with this yarn, and don't exactly feel right when you're wearing it (I would probably go down one needle size for the sleeves if I was to knit this again). Maybe I'm just being too picky ...

Pattern: Low Tide Ripples, by suvi sumola
Yarn: Cascade Yarn 220 Heathers (5.5 skeins), shade 7811
Needles: 4.0 and 4.5 mm
Changes: added a couple more decreases and increases, and a couple of inches to the body length.
Ravelry project page

pomegranate

A Christmas sweater for myself, made with some squishy yarn I got on my birthday. I fell in love with this design as soon as I saw it, and the end result didn't disappoint me. The back features the same lace pattern than the front (sorry, but couldn't get a decent picture of it), which although it looks quite intricate, was actually not so difficult to memorize.

Pattern: Pomegranate, by Bonnie Sennott

Yarn: Quince & Co. Chickadee, 6 skeins in Peacock.

Used 3.5 skeins for the body and 1 skein for each sleeve. The neckband didn’t take much, so there was about 30 gr left of the total 6 skeins.

Also, it grew just a tiny bit after blocking.

 

Project page on Ravelry, where I have a few notes of the changes I made (not many, mainly the sleeves).

on mosaic knitting

Yesterday I finished a sweater !
It's this sweater, by the way. I've had it on my queue for two years (and had the yarn on stash for just as long), and I managed to knit it in just under a month. I have no finished photos yet, it still needs blocking and some buttons to be sewn, but I thought I'd give a small explanation on a very interesting technique I learned while doing this project.

It's called mosaic knitting. Now I've been knitting for a few years and had never heard about it till I started this sweater, so my guess is that it might not be exactly common knowledge.

Basically it's a very simple method of knitting colorwork. You work with two strands of different colors, but you only use one at each time, meaning you work one right side and one wrong side row in each color, alternating every two rows.

When I started the front of this sweater I had a hard time understanding this at first. The pattern itself doesn't explain it, and while trying to follow the chart that was provided I probably frogged those first couple of rows a dozen times till I decided to use mr. google and clarify this mystery.

So the technique itself is actually very simple, once you get the hang of it. Starting with color A, for example, you follow the chart by knitting all the stitches in that color, and slipping all the stitches - keeping the yarn in the back -  in the alternate color (color B). On the wrong side, you do the same: purl all the stitches that were knit and slip the ones that were slipped (which means that each slipped stitch is actually slipped twice) with the yarn in front. On the next right side row, you change to color B and work the next two rows just the same, following the chart.

This is how the reverse side looks like ...

And basically that's it. You don't have to fiddle with two different strands as you would in regular colorwork, and it is very quick to knit once you understand the rules. This herringbone pattern in particular was easy to memorize, which is very useful when you're doing shaping with several increases and decreases (which the original pattern didn't specify but I decided to add in).

More details on mosaic knitting here and here.

rebecca lacy sweater

The second of my summer knitting projects has been finished for a while now, but I've been too lazy to photograph it properly. This sweater was quick and fun to knit, and the pattern is very easy to remember.




Pattern: 29 Lacy Rose Sweater, from Rebecca #31 magazine
Yarn: Garnstudio Muskat (100% mercerized cotton, about 5/6 skeins, I think)
Size: the second smallest
Needles: 4mm




A few things:

1. Changes: I made the second smallest size to account for the difference in gauge, since I was using a thinner yarn (8 ply instead of 10 ply) and smaller needles. Apart from that, the only changes were adding length to the ribbing and one more pattern repeat before starting the sleeve increases. The other examples I'd seen on Ravelry were great, but seemed too short to me.

2. Yarn: having used this yarn in 3 projects already (I'm currently working on the Ribs and Lace tank) I'm quite happy with the final result although it has a tendency to split sometimes.

3. Blocking: it did wonders for this project. Trust me, when I finished all the seaming it didn't look so nice and tidy. A quick wash and it all came together. My not so perfect stitches suddenly didn't look so bad anymore...

4. The color: have I mentioned how I love this color ? I love it, it's this deep turquoise that really makes me happy. I have to say, the Muskat comes in beautiful colors.