Handprjón.is

I love shopping for yarn and knitting related products. That's why I'm going to write about my favorite yarn stores here in Iceland starting with Handprjón.is in Hafnafjörður which is among my favorites.

It's not a very big shop but the variety of yarn is wonderful. Unlike so many other yarn stores here in Iceland they do not emphasize on Lopi, Sandnes or Dale yarn. All wonderful yarns but one likes to try other things as well. Among the brands they sell are Cascade, Abuelita, Novita, Evilla and more.There's also a good selection of books and various knitting supplies.

Abuelita - One of my favourite yarns.
Buttery soft and  comes in beautiful colors.

Cascade - What a wonderful brand.

Evilla - Comes in both spun and unspun varieties. Perfect for
 shawls or combined with Lopi for beautiful Lopi-sweater designs.

But the thing I love most about Handprjón.is is the service. I'm always greeted as an old friend and basic stuff like returning or changing yarn is never a problem. There's even a Lego-table (see below) for the kids so I can spend hours choosing yarn ;)

If you are in Iceland and haven't gone to Handprjón.is yet I recommend that you do. If not, at least check out their website: www.handprjon.is.

(Just to make clear: I am not affiliated with any of the yarn stores I write about.)

Knitting on a plane

I've just returned from my trip to London. I stayed there over the weekend, mostly dining and shopping.

I always used to love flying when I was younger. I even set out to be a flight attendant but started to have children before I could. Everything changed when I had the children and somehow I stopped enjoying the flights as much. At least until I discovered the joy of knitting on a plane (makes me think of the movie Snakes on a plane ... dunno why).

Now I always take some knitting project with me when I fly. I get a bit nervous every time when I go through security but no one seems to mind my wooden or acrylic needles. Then when I'm on the plane I have enough time, peace and quiet to knit away. This time I brought along an Aeolian shawl that I'm knitting with Einband (yes the scratchy laceweight wool). Three hours of flight time just disappeared as I knitted my way through the first charts. I also save money on magazines (which I tend to buy in bulk) and have something to do while I'm waiting for the flight.

If you want to try knitting on a plane then here are my tips:

- Use plastic, acrylic or wooden needles.
- Use screw on needles so you won't loose stitches if the security
    won't allow them on the plane.
- Only take one project.
- Choose a project that will keep you occupied enough without too much
    trouble.
- Choose a project that has only one color (no fair isle or intarsia)
    because that tends to take up space and/or be complicated.
- Don't bring a very big project that will bother the people next to you.
- Avoid yarns that shed a lot.
- Bring an extra set of needles in your luggage just in case.
- Remember that scissors are not allowed.

I have also tried crocheting while flying and that's perfect too. With a wooden hook it's no problem and takes even less space and fuzz as the knitting does.

Dreadful days

I'm to busy to knit these days. How dreadful is that?
Instead of knitting my beautiful Þinborg-lopi sweater or the gorgeous alpaca/silk Aeolian shawl, I have to write an intelligent chapter about balanced scorecard and strategic management.
Oh how I long for warm summer days and enough free time to knit, knit, knit ...

Snow

It has been snowing a lot in Reykjavík the last few days. I went for a walk yesterday with my camera and tried to capture what my neighborhood looks like all covered with snow.

When the weather is like this it's really nice to stay inside and knit some lopi garments to keep warm.

New pattern - Snowflake fingerless mittens

I've added another pattern to Ravelry. Fingerless mittens for women, inspired by traditional Icelandic designs. I use them over leather gloves to keep my hands really warm during the cold winter months.

They're knit with Icelandic Létt-lopi but most aran or worsted weight yarn can be used.

The pattern is available here if you have access to Ravelry and here if you don't.