New Lopi sweaters

I haven't done much blogging for the past few months. I guess I've just been to busy. 

But I'm back now and have lots of new sweaters to show:

 

These two have a yoke pattern from a sweater called Var which can be found in the knitting book Lopi 29 by Ístex. I've done some changes to it though like changing the cut.

 

These two have a yoke pattern from another Ístex Lopi book. It's called Él and I use it alot, I guess it's my favorite. But since it is a pattern for a children's sweater, I've designed the cut myself.

 

This one is kind of my own mix. The yoke pattern is (if I remember correctly) an adaption of an old Lopi pattern. The cut is my own.

All of the sweaters are made with double strand plötulopi and are (or were) for sale on Etsy. My youngest sister, Magga, was nice enough to model for me :)

Then I had some custom orders and made these two, which I've never knitted before:

The blue one is called Ranga and can be found in Lopi 29. The green one is called Jón and can be found in Lopi 31. I had to adapt both patterns a little so I would be able to use double strand plötulopi. But I think they turned out really nice :)

Two Lopi vests

I just finished these vests made with Létt Lopi and Evilla preyarn. I just love ... no LOVE yarn that changes colors gradually.

Over the rainbow

Autumn foliage

Both vests are for sale in my Etsy store if you are interested ;)

Einband

I have a love/hate relationship with the yarn called Einband. It's all Icelandic lace weight wool that comes in a variety of beautiful colors but stings like crazy ... or at least it stings me like crazy.

I have loads of it in my stash and buy even more from time to time. Why? ... Well the colors. They're just so beautiful. They range from muted natural sheepish colors to vibrant, bold colors in almost every shade. I'm such a sucker for colors.

Click here to see all the colors available.

Einband is a great yarn for shawls and delicate lace designs. But like I said, it stings me like no other yarn. I'm able to wear regular lopi next to my skin without problems but Einband I almost can't wear. For example I made this dress in 2009 but never wear it, mostly because of the stinging.

The only use I have for Einband is when I combine it with single strand plötulopi. By doing that it doesn't sting as much. I often use this method with shawls to strengthen the plötulopi which tends to tear easily.

It would be so great to be able to wear it and make beautiful shawls or light but warm garments out of it. It helps a little to wash it with a hair conditioner but sadly not enough for me. But I do know a lot of people who can wear it without problems so do not be to discouraged by my bad luck and sensitive skin.

Although it's lace weight, Einband can be knit with bigger needles with good results. My dress was knit on 4 mm needles (US size 6) and I'm currently making a sweater on 6 mm needles (US size 10). Both look great but very different. I think it's the fuzziness of the yarn that makes this possible, kind of like mohair but less fussy.

Istex has published a pattern book with a few pattern made with Einband. Click here for the online preview.
There are also a few designs in Lopi 30 and Lopi 31 (not available online yet).