Woolgathering in Iceland



Sheep on the pseudo-craters
of Lake Myvatn

 We had a fabulous 11 days in Iceland earlier this month, it was more than I expected!  Despite days including some wind or rain, or both all day.  Pristine landscapes, stark volcanic mountains, desolate lava fields, empty black rock beaches, green pastures with sheep and cows, glaciers near the coast, waterfalls everywhere.  Not touristy, every landmark we walked to or on, was fairly devoid of other people, and absolutely no hawkers. Just quiet...or maybe the roaring of water or wind.

Got No Wrong Side Cowl
worn at Godafoss

I blogged about the trip at http://marceasworld.blogspot.com/2012/08/iceland-first-day.html . And I made GREAT use of my Got No Wrong Side Cowl!  DH also called the scarf I knit him a "life saver". Yippee!!




Got No Wrong Side Cowl
in a self-portrait at
lava field beach




















Magic wall in a market


Because this was an organized small group trip, I failed to ever find a LYS, no time to myself!  But what I did find was yarn in a general market, and at a department store.

I did spot the wheels of yarn in a sweater shop in Reykjavik. But it was clear that I would not knit with it effectively.  Just loved taking its picture.

Wheels of Lopi yarn



Components for my sweater

 I bought my LETTLOPI yarn, with the hopes that I will learn stranded colorwork around a yoke, to resemble a traditional Icelandic style. It's a rough wool, but with the water-resistant and lightweight warm properties from Icelandic sheep, it might be useful a couple times a year! I will knit it with button-front, to use my REINDEER ANTLER buttons...or the ICELANDIC PINE buttons also found along the way.

Scarves for Iceland

We are going to Iceland the end of August!  And with weather that will be variable, highs in the 40s-50s, wind and rain and sun, it is recommended that we have layering pieces in our wardrobe to include a hat and scarf.  YIKES!  I don't have a scarf, and neither does DH!

Thus I took a break from knitting my sweaters.  My last 2 projects shown here turned out really nice...Pan Am Indigo jacket was done in a KAL (always fun, but I finished first).  And Because I'm A Gemini finally put to use some older yarn, and gave me plenty of room to modify for fun!

 

Both of these had particularly interesting backs...

So, FIRST is a scarf for DH.  He wanted SIMPLE, no frills, manly, not scratchy wool.  What I wanted to do was something reversible, nice on both sides.  I'm really happy with what I ended up with.  The cables are reversible, as each cable has half-knit and half-purl stitches, so when you cross them...it looks like it travels with knit stitches on top on BOTH "right" sides!  Made in an organic cotton/wool blend, DH says his Palindrome Scarf is soft.

Can hardly wait to see him in it!

For mine, I decided I wanted to use Mirasol Nuna, a sport weight yarn, so it would not be bulky.  And rather than a hat and scarf (that could blow away or be left behind), a long cowl can be worn long and draped, doubled around the neck, or covering the head and neck at once.  To get warmth, a slipped stitch pattern works.  But I don't want an "ugly" wrong side...I want reversible.  Having just done all those cables in DH scarf...I never considered doing cables in my own!

The journey was a little more painful that I had anticipated.  After all...the Pan Am Jacket was a HUGE project, that had its forward, and backward, times.  For my scarf, I started out with a Slipped Stitch Honeycomb pattern, but it was designed for a heavier yarn.  In my yarn, it was pretty, but tiny, and the wrong side not as nice.  SOO...I decided to make bands of it with slips on front, then slips on back, and that was really NICE.  I also wanted to use some lefter Nuna yarn colors...and that was NICE also.  At the center, wanted some change. At first I tried this Indian Cross Stitch that would have been fabulous...except it involved all these YO that cinched closed on my circular needle cables, and then I couldn't slip them onto my needles!  I literally had to CUT THEM ALL OFF!  Try again...found a variation of a stitch, that when combining with alternating knit and purls, comes out really pretty AND reversible.  Voila!  I have my new scarf.

And I wrote up the pattern as a Free Ravelry Download, calling it the Got No Wrong Side Cowl .  At least this one doesn't require sizing!

BETTER than a Tattoo!

My niece recently got a tattoo on her back, and my husband asked "Why did you put it in a place you can never see?"  Well, of course, she knows it is there, and that is enough!

My most recent knitting included some details that really did not make them any better, and in fact, might not even be seen...but I LIKE THEM like a tattoo.  I do not have a tattoo, and will never get one, but my knitting hidden details is BETTER than a Tattoo...because it can be different every day!

I knit Nevis Delicato, a duster-like accent piece that goes over another new knit shell Emerald Staghorn Tank.  Both have my tattoos.

Nevis Delicato has a long lace panel, and another lace medallion, on the back. Not very obvious, as the yarn is busy.  But I enjoyed adding the lace to make the knitting process less boring (nothing is more tedious than knitting laceweight yarn in stockinette in a LONG garment!).  And I like that when the lace motifs are noticed, they are a surprise!  And they are on the back, so I won't be looking at them all day (but I know they are there).

The Emerald Staghorn Tank shell has a deep square neck on both the front and back, with the cable detail down center front.  But rather than repeat it on the back, or leave the back in plain stockinette as most people would do...I did an unplanned traveling cable. Seriously unplanned, I started it with no concept of what it would become.  Every round, made a new decision.  This made the knitting FUN, and the outcome completely unknown!  In addition, working top-down, the resulting cable pattern turned upside down became...A BIRD?  I'm not sure.





Now, my back cable will never been seen when worn under Nevis Delicato...but I'll know it's there.  And when the weather gets hot and I take of the duster...surprise, it's my tattoo!