Knitting woolly projects!

I started 2019 buy blocking this sweater that was knitted in Lettlopi yarn.  It was an enjoyable knit and I modified some of the design by Jennifer Steingass.  This sweater is called Telja and is a popular Lopi design.  The toughest part o modify was the neck.  This took some time but was worth the effort.  I like sweaters to have a collar and it was a challenge to get this one to work out.

 

I have fallen a bit into the rabbit hole of mitten knitting this year.  The above mitten is a wonderful knit and I have knitted this pattern before.  Snow Ghost is a design from Whitefish, Montana from my favorite local yarn shop. I decided NOT to knit them in blue and went for a fun bright color I could easily find! I knitted this pair in Rauma Finullgarn yarn.

 

 
I found this pattern on Instagram and loved the bold yet simple old Norwegian design.  The name of this mitten is Malangen Mittens by Jorgen Johnsen.  I want to knit more mittens using this design.  I would change the thumb to a gusset as that is my preferred thumb technique.  I went stash diving and used some worsted weight. This pattern I will be using again with different weight yarns.

One of the great tools for knitting is an iPad.  I love downloading my patterns and being able to keep track of colorwork on this device---great purchase for me!


The next pair of mittens on the needle is this cuter than cute design by Swedish designer Sofia Kammeborn.  The Trondheim pattern has many interesting design features.  I am knitting this pair of mittens for myself and joined the #twtmittenkal2019.

Knitting the Telja Sweater & Tundra Update

Three projects on the needles!  Right now the focus is a Lopi for a KAL at The Woolly Thistle.  I love Lopi yoke sweater designs.  All the colorwork added to a rather very simple design has always intrigued me.  I casted on the Telja Sweater which is a design from Jennifer Steingass.  I am knitting this sweater up in Léttlopi yarn which I have not knitted with this weight of Lopi yarn before.  I knitted up both sleeves first and did a provisional cast-on.  I plan to pick up those stitches and knit a hem to finish them.

The body has been a bit of a challenge!  I originally did a provisional cast-on which for over 220+ sts is a pain in the butt!  I then followed the colorwork pattern which I was thinking I should change but I pushed on through it.  Once I was done with the lower body colorwork, I put the body of the sweater on two needles to check the fit. I do this all the time no matter what!  This saves a lot of frustration later if you know your sweater is going to fit once done!  I put the body on two needles to see how this sweater is fitting! UGH!!!!!!!

I knew it was going to be too large!  Dang, it all!  Why is it I often don't listen to my gut feelings when knitting? I swear, I make more work than is ever needed when I ignore these little snippets of instinct!  I slammed on the knitting needle brakes and frogged all this work.  I totally readjusted my sizing and the design of the pattern. As many of you know I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Zimmermann and her EPS (EZ's Percentage System). 

EPS (from Wikipedia)

Zimmermann devised her "EPS" (Elizabeth's Percentage System) calculation for sizing garments based on gauge and desired body circumference.^[6] Her "EPS" is still widely used by designers: it consists of a mathematical formula to determine how many stitches to cast on for a sweater, given that the sleeves and body are usually proportionate no matter what yarn or gauge is used. EPS can be found in her books that are sold through the family-run business Schoolhouse Press.

Once I frogged out my work, I went right back to my gut instincts!  I quickly crunched the numbers again with EPS method.  Casted my new amount of stitches back on my needles with a Knit2, Purl2 rib.  I made several mistakes in the colorwork over and over again after knitting five rounds of gray!  All signs that I should have stopped long ago!  I removed the colorwork again and the five rounds of gray that went with this design. I did knit the five rounds of gray on the sleeves and I liked that look there, but I found on the body since I am not following the design it just looked off-ish. 

Low and behold all the color work for the body is now done! I only did two rounds of the gray to help tie in the design work. Everything is now spot on!  I can just knit mindlessly around in circles until I get to the where I will be joining up the arms.

Tundra Update! 

October 10th we saw heavy wet snowflakes mixed in with rain!  For me, this is always a great sign to know Mother Nature is doing her job and teasing me with a bit of the white stuff.

October 12th we are closing in on single digit daylight hours. I love this time of the year as we move into darkness with the hunkering down feeling for the arrival of winter.

The tundra always has some wonderful play on light.  I was biking last Thursday and was able to watch this play on light through the clouds and across the tundra.

Little Miss Tally sums up her day of beach walks, and a tundra walk . . . ah, bliss time to rest after dinner.

Thanks for stopping by!