More socks. Heels and toes knitted with the Norwegian "4-ply Strikkegarn" from Rauma (dark blue).
Syfestivalen is a textile fair that takes place two times a year in Stockholm. It is said to be a fair for anyone with a love of textiles, sewing, stitching, knitting etc. It is an opportunity for shopping, meeting friends, workshops and many more activities. I think it is great because of the many sellers of quality yarns that you can find represented here. It is nice to be able to touch the yarn and talk about the wool instead of ordering on the internet. I have often thought that I should make a post about it but I have always been so distracted by all the things to look at that I have always forgotten to take pictures. But today I remembered ...
This is a garter stitch scarf knitted with old 2-ply wool in charcoal and light grey. All in all I used 350 grams of yarn and a substantial amount of knitting hours.
The right colour was hard to capture in the photos. Only the first picture is close to the charcoal colour. I like knitting these big garter scarves despite the many hours knitting that they require. This one is 30 cm (12 inches) wide and 210 cm (84 inches) long. Knitting needles 3,00 mm.
They are warm and perfect for cold Swedish winters. Some posts on other garter scarves can be found here:
Mr grey´s scarf
Garter stitch
One more Baktus
Baktus - Grey and green
Elongated Baktus in grey and blue
Söderängskrage
63 360 stitches
Last year I knitted a lot of socks, and learnt a lot in the process. This year sock knitting continues. At the moment I am test-knitting different samples of yarn. The different yarns, one of which might become a commercial yarn made of 100 % wool, are spun by a factory in Sweden.
By choosing and mixing wool with various properties, but also changing the amount of twist in spinning and plying, the purpose is to produce a strong yarn for socks. I think that this is a great idea.
I am now knitting socks out of the different sample yarns. In the process I am taking notes about how I judge each yarn while knitting and how the finished socks fabric feels. The next step is putting the socks to use and to test their durability and warmth.
I do hope that in the future we will have a good Swedish 100 % wool yarn for socks.
I finished my Lopapeysa just in time for the cold spell! It was a fun project. I really like the yarn Alafoss Lopi. It has a very genuine feel and it is easy to knit with.
I have read that many people find the yarn a bit itchy, but after washing the sweater I think that it is very nice. After wearing it for a week I am already contemplating knitting one more of these sweaters.
It is an easy knit. I planned the sweater in November and made some changes starting with omitting the borders and just keeping the yoke pattern. I also added some short rows at the back for a better fit, and made the neck a bit more narrow and higher.
Very functional.
