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Global Gifting - Iceland
Global Gifting - Iceland
This week's destination, Iceland, is a wellspring of inspiration for Norah and me. Norah lent beautiful vacation photos for this week's KnitBits and Icelandic musicians Bjork and Sigur Ros are in constant rotation in my MP3 player. Famous for Nordic and Celtic heritage and dramatic vistas shaped by volcanoes and geysers, it is a place of complex beauty.GypsumPriyaLoppem

Lopapeysa, thick but lofty woolen sweaters with patterned yokes lend an ingenious construction method to any knitter's repertoire. This season's Loppem, Priya and Gypsum all boast an element of the efficient style of Icelandic yoked sweaters.

For all its splendor, Iceland's arborous landscape is somewhat lacking. Because of this, I Ultra® Alpacacouldn't resist adding a sparse tree motif to a pair of warming boot toppers, Kertasnikir. I chose Ultra® Alpaca for its insulating softness and Geode™ for its rustic twist and color changes that seem to be inspired by nature's most dramatic moments. As with last week's KnitBits, I saved myself a lot of hassle by using Geode, a Geodeself-striping yarn, as the foreground color. Because it is engineered to have long color repeats, color work appears to be worked in many carefully chosen shades that blend into each other with very little effort on the part of the knitter. I knit a matching accessory that I call Gryla's Howl using a simple ticking stripe. The howl, a combination hat and cowl, cinches closed with a drawstring so you can wear it multiple ways—very handy!

In researching the gift giving traditions of Iceland, I came across a bit of folklore that turns gift giving on its head. Jolasveinarnir or the Yule Lads are mischievous pilferers, though in recent history the tradition has changed and the Lads are credited with surprise acts of generosity (see the Berroco Design Studio blog for a little Lad induced mischief). I like to imagine the diminutive lads would enjoy climbing these colorful trees springing from otherwise barren vistas.

Stay with us for more globally inspired projects in upcoming KnitBits issues.

Cowl + Hat= Gryla's Howl:
a uniquely useful accessory, your striped cowl cinches closed for use as a hat.

Free Pattern, Gryla's Howl

Gryla's Howl - Hat
Detail - Gryla's Howl
Knit in
Ultra®Alpaca & Geode
Skill level: Easy
FREE pattern instructions

Free Patterns, Kertasnikir

Detail - Kertasnikir
Knit in
Ultra®Alpaca & Geode
Skill level: Intermediate
FREE pattern instructions

Happy knitting and safe travels!

Margery
Cirilia Rose
Designer

Better than vacation slides! Take a trip back with us through previous Global Gifting issues of KnitBits

Ang Pow


KnitBits Winner
Congratulations to Andrea of Powell, OH who has chosen
Assemblage from Norah Gaughan vol.3

 

Berroco Yarns Gryla's Hat Gryla's Cowl Kertasnikir RSS