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

The Pale Cast of Thought

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

About a month and a half ago I started knitting Sharon Miller's "Bressay Hap Wrap", a free pattern from Rowan. I do like the design, but should have read the instructions carefully before casting on. After some consideration I have decided to frog what I've made and modify both the construction and the pattern. Here are the two main modifications:

Original design: four outer borders knitted separately with their corners sewn together.
Modified version: stitches for outer borders picked up around the centre section and knitted in the round to avoid seams.

Original design: all garter stitch.
Modified version: a combination of garter stitch and stocking stitch, partly for variation, partly to show and compare the difference in a single garment. (I'm bringing this project to Saturday's lace knitting workshop at GarnGalleriet.)

Encouraged by all the positive comments on my previous post I returned to Litet nystan to add even more to my stash of Shetlandsuld. Thank you! :-)

Ron and Francesca asked about Shetlandsuld, how it compares to Jamieson & Smith and Isager's Tvinni. I have actually never worked with J & S, so I don't know. I'd say Shetlandsuld is slightly rough to work with (which I like - not very fond of slippery yarns) but a lot softer after washing and blocking. It is quite similar to Tvinni, but thicker.

Ron also asked about the picot edge. First, I knit a few rows of stocking stitch; next a "knit two together, yarn over" row (even number of stitches); a few more rows of stocking stitch.

It is possible to fold and sew it in place, but I prefer knitting it in place through the cast-on loops: not only does it look neater to me, but it is also over and done with. I knit through every second loop, the ones about the yarn-over holes - I have found that doing so accentuates the points.

knitting the picot edge in place

Lace knitting

"Bressay Hap Wrap" in progress, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Here's my new lace project, "Bressay Hap Wrap" by Sharon Miller, a free pattern from Rowan. The yarn is also from Rowan, a blend of merino and alpaca called Fine Lace and I got it from Wincent in Stockholm. Thanks, Eva!

Speaking of lace knitting, as mentioned in a previous post I will be leading a couple of workshops with GarnGalleriet in Uppsala. The dates are settled, October 16 (all day) and 29 (afternoon). For more information, write to info@garngalleriet.se

(It feels rather silly writing this in English - as if anyone would even consider travelling from another country for a workshop - but changing languages in the middle of a blog post would also feel silly!)

But first a twined knitting workshop at Litet Nystan to warm up! I'm having fun preparing material and sort of relearning the techniques (studying what my fingers to more or less automatically by now) to be able to explain them well.

"Bressay Hap Wrap" by Sharon Miller