{"id":7654,"date":"2022-02-26T07:59:18","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T06:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=7654"},"modified":"2022-02-26T08:22:14","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T07:22:14","slug":"full-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/full-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Full circle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have finished a project! A lovely Icelandic-style yoke sweater that has been on my wish list for a few years now. I have knit it with my handspun singles lopi-style yarn. An Icelandic sheep sweater shorn in October on an Icelandic pasture, spun from November to February and knit in February into a sweater for me with a round yoke. A full circle from fleece to sweater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been working with the Icelandic lamb’s fleece for this sweater since November, a lot more monogamous than I usually do. Since I decided to spin the wool in the grease I didn’t want to let it sit longer than necessary, so I made an exception for it in my fleece queue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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27 skeins of Icelandic singles yarn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Telja pattern<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The pattern I chose is Telja by Jennifer Steingass<\/a>. I wanted an Icelandic style pattern that was designed for a lopi-style yarn in a yarn weight I could manage to spin as a singles yarn. I figured that my lopi-style yarn would stand the best chance of resembling the stranded colourwork if the original pattern was designed for a similar yarn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shifting shades<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The light grey, lighter grey, white and dyed blues come from one Icelandic lamb. I also bought 200 grams of fleece from a dark grey lamb for some contrast in the colourwork. I used the light grey (in the middle of the picture below) as the main colour. As it turned out, the contrast between the light grey and the dark grey was too small, so I needed a solution that would show the pattern despite this challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These skeins come from one and the same fleece. The middle skein is the overall shade of grey of the fleece. This is also the shade that I have dyed in two blue tones.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some parts of the fleece were lighter, almost white, and I decided to spin these parts separately into a white yarn. In the sweater I used the white yarn as main colour just before, during and just after a colourwork section, making the light grey ex-main colour a contrast colour over the colourwork sections. I tried to make a gradient from the light grey to the white with a couple of skeins that were sort of a light light grey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Will there be enough white yarn left to finish the neckline?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was a bit nervous about the white yarn, though, I wasn’t sure I had enough of it. When I bound off the last stitch of the collar I realized that it was enough, I even had a meter or so left. At least just enough to tie the leftover skeins of the remaining other colours into a bundle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I dye with my little eye<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Last summer I read about the Bengala mud dye colours in Handwoven magazine<\/a>. I got a bit obsessed by the earthy tones and decided to buy some and try. A few pinkish tones, orange and yellow, plus indigo that would work with the other colours. I hadn’t found a good project to experiment with, until now. I wanted two shades of the same colour and decided on the indigo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have said it before and I say it again: Dyeing is not one of my superpowers. The shades got a bit too close to each other and somehow they both dry bleed. But I still love the result. And I’m very happy that I dyed on the light grey, it gives such a beautiful depth in the colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will continue experimenting with these colours in upcoming projects. I’m sure I will learn a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A teared watercolour painting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I had some thoughts about the shades and colours in the beginning, but as soon as the stranded pattern started to unravel I just loved the effect. It looks a bit smudged, almost like a tie-dye or watercolour art painted with drops of rain or tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The pattern falls from the yoke like a watercolour painting. Photo by Dan Waltin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I wanted the yarn to be as simple and ras aw as possible. With that comes a sweater with that same raw expression. As I knit round and round the pattern runs down from my hands and land comfortably in an organized structure. On the wrong side the soft floats emerge like gentle waves on a summer lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n