Another Year, Another Icelandic Sweater

Who has two thumbs and just made herself a sweater? 

The girl who is perpetually cold (pictured above) had some major jealously over Jeff's wool sweater. When my friend Katelyn told me Tolt Yarn and Wool has an entire month devoted to Icelandic knitting, I immediately hopped over to their website and ordered some pure Icelandic sheep wool and my favorite pattern. If you're a knitter and not already following Tolt, I hiiiighly recommend at least signing up for their email newsletter for inspiration.

I began this project on our way to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons this summer. Here I am pictured in the car covered by a child's blanket. It was 90 degrees outside (I did mention that I am perpetually cold). There was probably also Raffi music playing.

You'll notice that I knit the two sleeves at the same time. I attached post-it notes labeled 1 and 2 to keep track of where I was. I did this because I was too lazy to count, my children are constantly distracting me, and I wanted to make sure my tension was even on both sleeves. A lot can happen to knitting tension over the course of a project!

I told Jeff that my goal for our summer vacation was to relax and enjoy nature. "I just want to sit outside in the hammock and knit." Mission Accomplished!

It always feels strange to be knitting on the hottest days of the year, but I love having something ready for when the weather turns. And turn it does, seemingly overnight in the Pacific Northwest.

After a laid-back two months of occasional Netflix knitting (about an inch per TV viewing), the sweater was pretty much complete. A more enthusiastic knitter could probably finish it sooner, but I have lots of hobbies in my life.

While the plumbers were working away at our mess of a plumbing situation, I cast off and wove in ends. It was a glorious ending with lots of stressful noises happening in the background, but I am happy with the end result.

My other discovery and recommendation from this project was the Very Pink Knits YouTube channel. I learned her stretchy cast off method, acquired knowledge on spit splicing and other joins, used her methods for increasing rows, learned to wrap and turn, then pick up the wraps, and searched her videos at least a few more times over the course of the project. I love how short and precise her videos are.

In conclusion, knit yourself a sweater! At the very least it will give you something to do while watching TV.