Summer patterns

Hello!

I have been really excited about summer due to the nice weather we’ve been getting lately. Therefore I chose some of my Ravelry favorites and created a new bundle for spring and summer inspiration. I have collected some nice short sleeved tops and tank tops because I think that type of patterns can be difficult to find. But even a long sleeved sweater can be a summer garment according to me, if it’s airy enough and not knit in wool. People often state that sheep’s wool is no nice because it keeps you warm in winter and cool in the summer… Maybe those people are just really cold in general or something, because they are wrong. However wearing some actual clothes in summer is always a good idea to block the sun and keep cool, especially if you, like me get sunburnt easily. Even if it might be too late now to start a summer garment and have it finished for this season, it can still be nice to knit in thinner yarns just to have a more portable project and less sweaty hands!

Happy knitting!

//Nelly

Icelandic dreams

Garnr has the feature that you can drag the colors around to see them next to each other! Here are some that i would like for my sweater, with the grey as the main color. I think the best contrast colors would be Lagoon Heather, orange and black. What do you guys think? Why not take a screenshot and share your color ideas in the comments!

My favorite yarn store, Garnr, have started retailing Léttlopi!

I have been planning for quite some time to make myself an Icelandic sweater. At first I thought I could not join the Icelandic sweater craze because I am soo itchy. Around the neck even baby alpaca or merino can be a bit itchy on me! But on the arms it is usually not that bad. I am thinking that I will make the size quite big, and wear it as an outer garment for spring and autumn with something underneath. The sweater will probably be too warm to wear indoors anyway. I will knit the Riddari sweater, which is knit bottom up. When it’s time for the neckline I will finish it a bit sooner to reduce the risk of an itchy neck.

Now you might be wondering, why not use a less itchy yarn with the same gauge? The thing is that the Icelandic yarn has a really special halo to it, and that fluffiness also makes the sweater extra warm. That and the roughness of the yarn gives the rustic look to the sweater. I’ve seen these sweaters knit up in merino yarns and it’s just not the same. Every time I wear the sweater I want to feel like I’m out in the wilderness to collect my horses on the Jökull, or something like that.

See you later! //Nelly

 

Right now

Hi! Right now I’m working on my Eyeball shawl by Stephen West: My eye

Here’s a bit of an unpopular opinion; I don’t really find his patterns that good. I would say that he’s my favorite of the popular pattern designers out there because the creations/garments/whatever are unique, colorful and they always feel fun and modern.

Many of the patterns out there are either classic and stylish but not that much fun, or
too much fun… Try to imagine those girls wearing those things outside of a photo shoot?
If you’re a grandma and give these things to your grandkids you obviously hate them, or the grandkids are too young to have a free will yet or to go to school and get bullied…

Loads of patterns are also really stuck in some age when I was not born yet… the 80’s! Yes drops design, I’m talking to you guys.

Anyways, even though Stephen West’s patterns are fun, it seems that people don’t always find them that easy to understand, and I can only agree with that. What I am trying to say is that a good design and a good pattern is not the same thing! And if I ever become a proper knitwear designer I will do my best to do both. Who has ever complained that a pattern was over-explaining the tricky stuff, really?

Do any of my readers have an opinion on this? Who is your favorite designer, pattern writer, or have you found yourself someone who can do both?

On another note, this week I came back after easter holiday to find that it had snowed. Or I actually got a bunch of videos of the snow so I already knew, but you know, I was thinking it could just be a new snapchat filter, one should always think critically. I’m now telling my radish sprouts to please get back down there and wait for another week! If they survive their first time in life I promise I will maybe post a picture.

I also want to share an online yarn shop that i found, called EatSleepKnit that I will probably never order from because it’s US only and super expensive, but it’s such a pretty webpage with only luxurious yarns. Another shop that I might order from at some point because I think they ship to wherever from New Zealand, is Stray cat socks. I’m not that into knitting socks like some people are, and regardless of that I would never knit socks with such expensive yarn, it seems like such a waste to me. But anyway, look at all of those color combinations, they are all spot on. I will go back at some point and steal them for a project!

Nice color combinations for knitting projects can also be found elsewhere, like this corridor staircase I found last week while I was out and about (which means drunk). I imagine the grey and yellow in a striped sweater maybe? And I guess I would also have to name the sweater Corridor A 20-23. Remember where you heard it first.

See you guys soon!