hello!! Thank you all for your thoughtful comments on my last blog, things have been cooling down in Shetland and now the clocks have changed it is dark at 5pm :( so i took the chance to get Amy to take a few photos at work today of my most recent finished object – a new icelandic jumper!
When I was in Iceland in May I went with my friend Lara to the Alafoss Shop and bought the yarn for a Dalur jumper, I love the tweedy yarns so I picked up the light grey tweed and the dark black tweed along with a white. I started a sleeve of my Dalur jumper and there was just not enough contrast between the white and light grey so the 3 colour rows proved to be pointlessly annoying. I’m not going to go through that for nothing! So I frogged it and looked again for another pattern I could use.
I had a look on ravelry for projects using Alafoss Lopi, the chunky Icelandic yarn and I saw this project and fell in love with the colour scheme so I decided to give it a go with the similar colours I had, the pattern is a free one available from istex which is also in the Knitting With Icelandic Wool book which I have looked at before but it didnt shout out to me as a cardigan, in fact I actually own it in a cardigan version which I bought from a charity shop in Reykjavik!
I own a very basic chunky knitting machine which is not the most fun to use but I thought I would get it out so I knit the body and sleeves on that and then picked up the yoke on a 60cm circluar needle and went right into the yoke! Usually I go back and do the ribs after but this time I did them while it was in pieces and sewed up the seams. This meant a bit less finishing at the end which is always good. Traditionally these kinds of jumpers are knit completely in the round but on my machine I do it in pieces – the front, back and two sleeves separately and then sew up the seams which with chunky yarn doesn’t take long!
I got the yoke nearly knit in one night then got it pretty much finished last week while waiting for my driving lesson (knitting helps my nerves!!) I am so pleased with how it came out and I love how fast it was to make. From nothing to a new jumper in 4 days! I wore it today and it definitely helped keep me warm without being too hot.
I am now gearing up for the big Craft Fair I take part in in November and I don’t know if it is Wool Week being later in the year or just work being a bit busier I am the least prepared I have been, sigh! So you might not see me for a peerie while but I’ll be back again as soon as I can,
Happy knitting! xx
pattern: Icelandic Zip Cardigan by Vedis Jonsdottir
ravelry project page here
ella gordon 
You are a darling. This sweater rocks. Can’t go wrong w/grey, black, and white. It looks cozy warm. The yoke is beautiful.
oh how I love yokes. This one in particular.
Another great garment, love the colour choice. Good to hear a KM is in action again.
Apart from the yoke (great) what sets it off to great advantage is the wool for the body of the sweater, love the black flecks in it. Nice work…4 days, JEALOUS!!
This is a lovely jumper Ella, the shades you have chosen are spot on and the fit is so flattering. I have a Lopi sweater WIP patiently waiting somewhere! Enjoy the upcoming craft fair and good luck with the driving.
Regards janeyd1
Love it; really great choice of yarn and pattern! My mum made me one when I was a kid, I used it so muh! It is on my to-do list to make one! Hege
That looks great on you. The yoke is lovely and the fit is really good. Wish I had one/had time to knit one. bx xxx
Very nice and it looks cozy and warm!
Hi Ella
Your jumper looks gorgeous, not sure if it is just me needing a new pair of glasses but the little black centres make me thnk of a row of sheep all huddled round your shoulders…Good luck with the driving and also with the craft fair, your work is beautiful.
Beautiful jumper! it must feel cozy to wear :)
Great choice of a pattern for those colours, Ella. It looks terrific on you!
I just finished watching Sense8, the Wachowskis new TV series. One of the characters is Icelandic, and after she goes back to Iceland there are some really solid yoked sweaters in rotation. I want to go back to get some stills so I can better study the designs!
Mind, where I live it’s not really cold enough for Lopi sweaters. Maybe I should look at re-working one into a DK weight gauge. It won’t be quite the same, of course. But hopefully still pretty.
This is adorable. Having found you on instagram… clicked through to your blog… I’m now going to blatantly check out your Ravelry too!
It’s perfect! I wish lett-lopi came in those tweedy colours too, they are lovely! x
I know Amanda, they are so lovely!!
Do you have a link to the pattern in English? Also would love to see a pic of the knitting machine!!!
Looks great! Thanks for writing this, as I too have a chunky, very basic knitting machine and was thinking of converting an Icelandic sweater pattern called Jon, into a mainly machine knitted one for my partner. I don’t mind hand knitting the colour work, but he’s a big rugby player so I knew the large areas of plain for the sleeves and body were going to be my nemesis. This looks to have worked really well. Is it done on one of the Bond knitting machines?