time team

i’ve finished my time team inspired jumper! i’m very pleased with it, it’s very warm and soft. i think i’ll wear it a lot this winter! i call the jumper “aston” as a tribute to time team’s mick aston who often wears colourful striped jumpers in the programme.

my aston jumper

Pattern: Aston
Design: Katarina Wiberg
Yarn: Visjö from Östergötlands Ullspinneri, colours Light Gray and “Ljus Karamell”
Yarn Source: Hemslöjden i Linköping
Needles: Both dpns and circulars. 2,5 mm, 3 mm, 3,5 mm and 4 mm

back of jumper

neck detail front

neck detail back

detail of ribbing

the jumper is knitted from the bottom up on circular needles. sleeves are also knit from bottom up but on double pointed needles. when i’d knitted up to under the arms on all pieces, i joined on circulars and knitted up the yoke to the neck. i added some length in the back of the neck to achieve a better fit. this was done by consulting elizabeth zimmerman’s knitting without tears. i didn’t follow a pattern otherwise, i measured one of my favourite jumpers and used those measurements as my pattern. since two-colour ribbing is much firmer than a normal rib, i used 4 mm needles for the ribb at the hem and cuffs, and 3,5 mm for the neck ribbing. the body and yoke is knitted with 2,5 circulars and the sleeves on 3 mm dpns. the reasons for the discrepancy in needle size between body and sleeves is simply because my “circular” gauge differs a lot from my “dpn” gauge.

the photos aren’t great, but it’s been very hard to take photos lately, since there’s often not enough daylight, even at noon. it’s very gray and dark out. but i’m not complaining. i like this weather.

well, now i’ll get on with some mitten knitting, i’ll show you more of that tomorrow. i have a rather bad cold at the moment, so i’m going to snuggle up in my favourite chair with my knitting, some ben & jerry and gone with the wind on tcm!

 

autumnal delights

most of the time we knitters don’t knit because we need something. it’s far easier, quicker, and most often cheaper to just go out and buy a pair of mittens, a scarf, a jumper or what ever we use to keep warm. but sometimes i do believe we knit because of need. and i’m not talking about the need to be creative or the satisfaction of making something by yourself, that’s a different need. for instance; i really, really need the jumper i’m working on right now, and i want to finish it as soon as possible! hang on, according to my previous statement, why can’t i just go to a shop and buy a jumper if i need one? because this very jumper is not available in any shops! i simply can’t find the type of clothing i want in shops! sure, some of it. if i could afford to buy all my clothes at nygårdsanna, i probably would, but i don’t. and even though yarn and fabric is expensive, it’s still not as expensive as the clothes i could consider buying. my sewing skills, however, are not so very advanced, which means that i will have to continue to buy clothes of the rack. but i’m fairly skilled at knitting by now and can make most of the things i need. it takes longer, no doubt, but i thinkt it’s worth it. of course i have bought machine knitted jumpers lately, too, when i gave in and realised that i would not finish one in time for the chilly season. but i often regret it afterwards. why did i buy that jumper? do i need it? and from h&m! quality is poorer, it has been transported half way around the globe and i know nothing of the conditions the people who made it are working under.

we are all aware of what’s happening to our planet, and more and more people see the benefits of shopping locally produced food. but what about all the other stuff? clothes, toys, furniture? i feel more and more disgusted by the way most of us live today, including myself. shop ’til you drop. let’s face it, the only power we have as individuals, except for voting, is our power as consumers. where we choose to spend our money. where do you spend your money? who benefits from it? who are you supporting with your money? well, i have decided to be much more careful with who i’m giving my support to in form of money. which in one way means more yarn and less ready-made clothes. doesn’t that sound like a good equation? which brings be back to my earlier point, i really need to finish that jumper if i want to have a nice, warm, and above all: stylish! article of clothing this fall. and there are fringe benefits: it’s an original, i will have the only one in existance and i had the fun of knitting it myself.

here it is, in all of its unfinished glory:

aston jumper

i have also made some progress on my maple scarf:

maple scarf

the cotton bolero i had to finish in time for a friends wedding was almost finished, i didn’t have time to complete the crocheted edgings, but i wore it anyway. it turned out a little too big, so my plan is to wash it in the washing mashine before finishing the edges, i hope that will do the trick. one reason for the size was the time issue. i didn’t have time to block properly, so i ironed the pieces instead and then pressed them a little too vigorously… it looks a bit sad and wonky at the moment, but i have hopes for its glorious return as a successful fo!

wonky bolero

 

coming along

the visjö yarn from östergötlands ullspinneri is really wonderful, it’s so soft and easy to knit with. satoko mentioned in a comment that the visjö yarn does pill a little, but it’s only to be expected with this type of wool (“finull”, but i don’t know how to translate that, does anyone know?). i only have a few centimetres to go on the ribbed botton edge before i’ll begin the striped body part.

 
2×2 ribbed bottom edge

the inside is quite pretty too

 

a wooly summer

i suppose i should be knitting something in light and airy in cotton since we’ve had such warm weather here recently. but somehow i’m much more in the mood to knit wooly jumpers. tonight it’s the start of the fourth season of foyle’s war, one of my favourite tv programs, and it always inspires me to knit nice and wholesome jumpers and slipovers.

hemingway

i’ve come quite far on the hemingway jumper and i’ve started the steeks for the sleeve openings.

steek on the hemingway jumper

i’ve also cast on for the aston jumper and i’m very pleased with it so far. i hope it will fit, i’m quite tired of ripping out the things i knit.

aston jumper

 

swatching aston

i am trying not to rush my aston jumper. i know from experience that when i try to knit something of my own design, i usually end up with something that’s too big. so, i’m taking this new project one step at a time. i’ve made a swatch (in the round, of course), i’ve cut it, washed it and blocked it.

aston jumper swatch

the next step is to take some new measurements and then calculate the right amount of stiches and decide on the shaping details. i don’t want to end up like i normally do – having to rip everything out about four or five times and starting everything over. i mean, you might remember how many times i’ve cast on for the hemingway jumper, right? i don’t. five? six? i’d like to avoid that if i can.

 

music and yarn and archaeology

anything and everything can inspire creativity. i happened to visit linköping the other day and took some time to visit hemslöjden i östergötland and garnverket (they have a shop in stockholm, too). a new aquaintance from ravelry, ulrika, who lives in linköping was kind enough to giude me to these lovely nests of inspiration. i bought six hanks of yarn at hemslöjden. the yarn is visjö from östergötlands ullspinneri. it’s 100% wool, 2-ply (and i really mean that it’s plied with two strands of yarn!) and it is soft beyond belief.

visjö yarn from östergötlands ullspinneri

if i didn’t know better, i would say it feels as a mix of angora and the softest lambs wool. östergötlands ullspinneri only uses wool from swedish sheep and i would love to visit their mill sometime.

i didn’t just buy this yarn at random, i have a plan. one of my favoutite tv programmes is the british channel 4 production time team (if you don’t know it, follow the link to their official website). i studied archaeology in the middle of the 90’s and i have worked as an antiquarian at the national museum of antiquities in stockholm as well as at the national heritage board, also in stockholm. but i never got the opportunity to work as a field archaeologist. i regret this very much. i suppose that one of the reasons for my undying love for time team is that i, in a very unrealistic way, get to experience field archaeology. unrealistic because a normal excavation isn’t executed over a three day period and the resources they have for the program isn’t always available on a normal excavation. the other reason i love the show is the people that are in it. mick aston, who in general is in charge of the excavations on time team, almost always sports very colourfully striped handknitted jumpers. so, inspired by mick’s jumpers and as a hommage to time team, i will knit a striped jumper using my newly purchased yarn.

mick aston in stripey jumper no 1

mick aston in stripey jumper no 2

music has always been important to me, and i like going to concerts and gigs. a few weeks back i saw alison krauss and robert plant at hovet in stockholm. they were touring with the music from their album raising sand.

alison krauss and robert plant in stockholm

yesterday i experienced some zydeco madness with evil emil & the king kongo cobras on a joint gig with the old timey band rockridge brothers at stampen in stockholm.

evil emil & the king kongo cobras

rockridge brothers

i cannot say that either experience will result in a hand knitted garment, but i find it very inspirational to listen to people who love what they’re doing and doing what they love. it means that we can all do it if we put our minds to it and that we can find inspiration in anything and everything.