Monday, August 26, 2013

Willow, thank you for www.nordicstore.net. That’s exactly the source I was looking for yesterday – an Icelandic supplier of Icelandic yarn. Oddly, perhaps, Magnusson, whose book I referred to yesterday, doesn’t list it. She has the spinner, Istex – an interesting website, but they don’t seem to sell yarn directly to knitters.

If you visit the Istex website, have a look at the list of Icelandic distributors, including, of course, Nordic Store. The population of Iceland is less than the population of Edinburgh -- I just looked it up. They seem to have ten times as many yarn stores.

It’s ridiculous to go all the way to the Schoolhouse for supplies (which Magnusson does list), when we’re so relatively near Iceland.

It has occurred to me that the Calcutta Cup will be contested in Edinburgh next year, meaning that Scotland’s chances are slightly better than negligible. Perhaps, if we win, I’ll knit Icelandic sweaters to celebrate.

Here is the result of a rather feeble attempt to scan Magnusson’s take on the lopapeysa. I like it. That line of colour at the wrists, as if a lining were showing, is a detail I have often admired but never employed. One could put a row of Calcutta Cups just above the waist ribbing. Could I scale it down for the Little Boys on Loch Fyne? Or would I have to knit it for Archie?


First catch your Calcutta Cup.

Relax2

The second shoulder has been joined, without mishap. It fits! With the necessary ease, and, better yet, with the neckline not quite falling off the shoulders. Which is not to say that it flatters. All that knitting across the prominent elderly stomach? I’d better get back to Herzog.

But it should be somewhat improved with the addition of sleeves and a neckband and tidying and blocking. The first sleeve is well advanced – after labouring around for weeks on nearly 400 stitches, whizzing around the sleeve on 82 is a doddle. I used to suffer agonies in my younger years, picking up stitches. I could never find as many as the pattern specified. I’m better now, but the process is still the source of some anxiety.

I’m sure you’re right, Grannypurple, that I must have dropped a stitch or two during the joining of the first shoulder. I can’t find them, for the life of me.

For the second shoulder, instead of knitting-two-together off both needles at once, I first arranged the stitches on another needle (four-needle bind-off?), alternating front and back of course. It seemed quicker and more secure.

More knitting


My sister writes that she seems to have snagged her shawl in two places during my recent birthday celebrations. Oh, dear. She is going to send it back for repairs. I hope I can find the yarn. I keep left-over sock yarn in the Sock Odd-Ball Bag, but other remnants are more casually distributed.  I don’t think I would have given it away – that’s for complete skeins.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:29 AM

    That sweater looks made for Archie.

    Beverly in NJ

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  2. I just go for making sure the stitches are picked up neatly and evenly most of the time, rather than worry about exact numbers.
    There are quite a number of UK places stock lopi yarns if you wanted to save shipping (and taxes? no idea what customs arrangements with Iceland are) e.g. http://www.carregyarns.com/index.php They even sell yarn in the supermarket in Iceland, wise country.

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  3. Gerri1:06 PM

    You can order online from Alafoss,which is also the factory store near Reykjavik. I've actually called there when I was trying to get one more skein in the same dye lot as I'd purchased when I was there. Wasn't really any more expensive than buying it here. It is much cheaper there but adding the phone call and exchange made it similar. Tale ends in really bad luck: clerk put it aside to ship out the next day-some one took it!)

    You can combine strands of the unspun (plotulopi)to get the equivalent of the other yarns, einbaud (1), lett- (2) and alafoss(3).

    Oh, to be back in Iceland! It's headed to to 98 today, for one thing...

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  4. Delurking here. You can get unspun Icelandic from www.carregyarns.com/ in Wales.

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  5. skeindalous1:50 PM

    I am working on two projects right now where the picked up stitches bear only a passing resemblance to the suggested number. How is this possible? For one, I believe it is because the yarn used was very slightly heavier than the suggested yarn, throwing off the row/inch count. (Will have to adjust the subsequent pattern stiches to account for this.) The other....who knows?
    At the risk of casting a shadow on you idea of working on Rams and Yowes.....I loved doing the color work. The garter stitch border was LONG but uneventful. However, tacking the border to the body of the blanket is not going well. I did most of one side and found a definite skew on the folded hem. Clearly the stitches in the border were not connected with their counterparts on the picked up edge. The project has been in time-out for months, as I do not want to un-sew it and start over. Sigh. Perhaps you have given me the nudge I needed to begin again!

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