Busy September

Where did September go? In my case mainly workshops! Not only the workshops themselves, but also planning them. For example, even though stranded colourwork has been a favourite pattern technique of mine for some 30 years I actually haven’t taught it before. High time!

I do enjoy all aspects of workshops: the best thing is meeting the participants, of course, but I also really like planning content, writing and rewriting instructions, and swatching. To the extent that I often swatch swatches... (“Hmm, in this case 96 stiches would be even better than 100” and so on.) Also, I’m grateful I get opportunities to be a teacher, which was my profession for some ten years but which I quit a couple of years ago. In short, I miss the teenagers and my colleagues, but not the school system. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with details. I'll write about some sweaters instead!

 

Hanne Falkenberg's Bellis

I finished the "Bellis" sweater, a design by Hanne Falkenberg, just in time for a friend's birthday. Funny - and how typical - that I suddenly had only some ten days to finish it considering I cast on at least half a year ago. Well, at least I managed - and it was even dry when I wrapped it up.

With a sweater off the needles I felt ready for  My friend Lena and I decided we'd both knit Alice Starmore's sweater Na Craga, which is on the cover of her book Aran Knitting. Confession time: I'm being unfaithful to Alice Starmore, using Cascade 220 instead of her Hebridean 3 ply.

Alice Starmore's Na Craga

Another highlight in September was a book release: "Sagornas stickbok" by Celia B Dackenberg. She used illustrations in children's book as her starting point, turning them into real garments in a kind of reverse process. She did a similar thing in "Ylle & bläck" - wool & ink - a few years ago, a book about writers and their real and fictional knitwear, and I have been hoping for a sequel since I first came across it. My sweater Thorsten fiskares tröja was based on a pattern in "Ylle & bläck". 

To brag, I found the book release extra thrilling since I actually made one of the garments in the book, a brownish grey brioche sweater. It was quite a challenge using a picture instead of a pattern to make a sweater that not only should be true to the illustration but also possible for others to knit. And hopefully comfortable to wear. I learnt so much from it – thank you, Celia, for inviting me to take part in this project!

an old in-progress picture of my sweater interpretation

Time to go fishing

Thorsten fiskares tröja, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

"Thorsten fiskares tröja" (Fisherman Thorsten's sweater) is washed and blocked but not quite dry yet. I look forward to trying it on!

One of the many things I love about this yarn, BC Shetlandsuld, is how soft it becomes once the garment is washed and blocked. It's slightly rough to work with, which I like, but not scratchy to wear.

Bernadette asked what I think of Drops Lace, which I mentioned in my previous post. I think it's a very nice yarn for shawls. I'm not very fond of 100% alpaca, but it makes a huge diffence that it's a alpaca-silk blend. The silk not only adds some weight and a lovely sheen, but it also makes it less slippery to work with. It's the first time I try it, though, so I don't know yet how it will be affected by washing and blocking. To be continued!

I was lucky enough to win the latest book from Korsstygnsbolaget in a lottery! As "The winner takes it all" I'm going to keep the sweater for myself too - but I will make an exception when it comes to the shawl :)

BC Shetlandsuld är ett av mina favoritgarner: det är lite strävt att arbeta med, vilket jag gillar, men blir mjukt när man tvättar och sträcker det färdigstickade plagget. Nu väntar jag bara på att "Thorsten fiskares tröja" (från "Ylle & bläck" av Celia B. Dackenberg fast med en del ändringar) ska torka, så att jag kan prova den. 

Apropå garner, i mitt förra inlägg skrev jag att jag håller på med en sjal i Drops Lace. Det är första gången jag stickar med det och jag tycker att det verkar vara ett riktigt bra sjalgarn. Jag är inte så förtjust i ren alpacka (för halkigt för min smak) men det gör stor skillnad att det är blandat med silke. Det får lite tyngd och en så fin lyster också. Återstår bara att se hur det beter sig när det tvättas och sträcks.  

Sweater progress

Thorsten fiskares tröja, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Back and front done and armhole steeks cut; next step will be joining the shoulders.

Knowing roughly but not exactly what I want to achieve I've been thinking, testing, ripping out, reknitting, rethinking and so on and so forth for a couple of weeks. I've practically made up my mind now:

• Keeping the original design's black and white square pattern.
• Knitting separate saddles instead of finishing the back and front parts with the squares.
• Skipping a horizontal border pattern between main pattern and squares.
• Incorporating the saddle live stitches from the provisional cast on and the last row when knitting the sleeve and neckband.

To be continued...




Thanks for kind and flattering words about my needlework! :)

Carolina asked about blocking and using a frame when stitching. I have thought about using frames to make blocking easer, but like the freedom without a frame: easier both to turn while stitching and to carry around. (I sometimes stitch on trains and buses.) Blocking it to get the right shape can be quite difficult, thouhg, but I guess you can see it as good exercise.

Wrap and sweater progress

Bressay-ish hap wrap, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Bressay-ish hap wrap by Sharon Miller: I've finished the centre section, picked up stitches around it and started knitting the border - and it looks as if I'm trying to knit a brain! Or an udder.

Thorsten fiskares tröja (Fisherman Thorsten's sweater) by Celia B. Dackenberg: I'm getting closer to the shoulders. The original has a similar square in front, but with initials and a year. I wanted some kind of picture instead and found a bird in a book by Britta Johanson, modified it slightly and mirrored it, put a kind of tree in the middle and added some of the picot edge red.

About the edge: you're quite right, Ron - there are two purl rows above the join. I've found it helps keeping it from folding outwards.

Thorsten fiskares tröja

Spoiling oneself rotten

Adding to my stash, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Well, well... I decided to make an another exception to trying not to buy more yarn before using up a kilo or two of my stash - and instead have actually added about a kilo and a half. Good boy!

A sale that coincided with getting my salary for the twined knitting workshop resulted in twelve hanks of Shetlandsuld, and then there's irresistible wool-silk lace yarn that I got thanks to Good girl Francesca. Grazie mille! I've used this yarn, Jaggerspun Zephyr, only once before and have dreamt of getting my hands on it again since then.

What else? I've cast on yet another project, yet another sweater. After all, sweaters are my favourite thing to knit, stranded colourwork is my favourite technique, and this particular pattern is from a favourite book: "Ylle & bläck" (wool and ink) by Celia B. Dackenberg.

This gem of a book is a collection of essays about writers (mainly poets) and knitting, sweaters they wear in photos, knitting in their writing et cetera. Some designs are reconstructions of real sweaters, others are knitted interpretations of fictional garments. The sweater I'm knitting is dedicated to fisherman Thorsten, main character in a work by 18th century poet Erik Johan Stagnelius.

Modifications

• Bird added (from a mitten in "Knitting in the Nordic Tradition" by Vibeke Lind).
• Straight red edge changed to a picot edge.
• A narrow horizontal border pattern between stripes and main pattern skipped (because I didn't want the vertical lines interrupted).

My photogenic neighbours

More "Pacific" progress and knitting camp

WIP: Isager's "Pacific"
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Here's a better photo of how I've let the middle side cable continue along the sleeve. Another modification is purl instead of knit stitches next to the cables.

I haven't mentioned the knitting camp I'm going to in early August. (My birthday present for myself - sometimes I'm really generous!) It will be such a treat meeting old and new knitting friends, and I'm more than happy with the workshops I've been allotted:

1. Decorative details in Estonian knitting
2. Traditional tapestry crochet patterns from Korsnäs in Finland
3. Different decorative elements with Designer Idol Britt-Marie Christoffersson! "I guess I'm just a lucky so-and-so," to quote a song by Duke Ellington.

Two other knitting idols will be there too: Celia B. Dackenberg, who wrote Ylle & bläck (Wool & Ink) about knitting in literature and writers' knitted garments, and Uuve Snidare whose book Fiskartröjor (Fishermen's Sweaters) is one of my top favourites - she's the one who reconstructed the Russian sweater from Unskijposad. I'm thrilled to pieces!