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.
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 couldn'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 self-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.
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Knit in Ultra®Alpaca & Geode™
Skill level: Easy
FREE
pattern instructions
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Knit in Ultra®Alpaca & Geode™
Skill level: Intermediate
FREE
pattern instructions
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Happy knitting and safe travels!
Cirilia Rose
Designer |
Better than vacation slides! Take a trip back with us through previous Global Gifting issues of KnitBits |
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Congratulations to
Andrea of Powell, OH who has chosen
Assemblage from Norah
Gaughan vol.3
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