The weather has been a mixed bag here lately – something in between autumn and winter, with quite a bit of rain and wind, but some sunnier days as well. On a chilly day with rain showers interspersed with sunny spells we went for a walk in the nearby wetland area.
It’s quiet at this time of year, and the colours are subtly beautiful.
I never really noticed before that water lily leaves have autumn colours, too, just like the leaves on trees.
Small metal windmills are used for managing the water levels. The land needs to be wet enough for reed and other plants to grow, but not too wet for reed mowing and haymaking.
During these walks the exercise keeps me warm. But at home, working at my computer, I often get chilled to the bone. In other words, I could do with a warmer sweater than the ones I usually knit, like Sundborn – the cardigan on the front cover of the Swedish cardigan book I brought home from the Handwerkbeurs:
It is knit from Léttlopi, just like several other cardigans in the book. Léttlopi is an Aran-weight Icelandic yarn I’ve had my eye on for ages. It is warm, affordable and comes in a large range of beautiful colours. But it feels so rough and scratchy on the skein that I thought I’d never be able to wear it.
I’m very sensitive to itchy yarn. Clothing labels can drive me crazy, synthetic fibres bring out patches of eczema, and I’ve had to part with several hand-knit sweaters because they itched so much I just couldn’t wear them.
I’ve heard good stories about Léttlopi, though, and oh, those gorgeous heathered colours! So, I prudently bought one skein and knit a few swatches to get to know it better.
The swatches felt a little softer after a Eucalan bath, but still pretty rustic (can you see the hairs?). I decided to ‘wear’ one of them for a day and first pinned it to the inside neck of my red cardigan.
No itching in my neck or between my shoulder blades after an entire morning. Then I wore it on the inside of my elbow (a very sensitive spot), between my cardi and my shirt sleeve for several hours. Still no itching. Finally I wore it inside my shirt sleeve, on my bare(!) skin, for several more hours. And strangely it didn’t itch at all! Yay! Now, what colours to choose? Subtle ones, like those of our countryside in autumn and winter? Or brighter ones reminiscent of summer skies and flowers?
I’d also love to make a cardigan from Maja Karlsson’s cardigan book for my daughter, knit from the same yarn – this one:
I’ve given her a Léttlopi swatch, so that she can try it out and for herself answer the ultimate question about knitting yarn – does it itch?
Mooi garen is het! Ik kan het wel dragen, maar ik kan er niet mee breien helaas, mijn gevoeligheid is het ergst aan mijn handen tijdens het breien.
Mooi vest ook! Ik zou kijken wat je het meest erbij gaat dragen en dan voor de boorden een kleur die daar goed bij past, voor het lijf een mooie neutraal en een accentkleur erbij, die duidelijk veel lichter of veel donkerder is dan de hoofdkleur, zodat die ‘stipjes’ die hier roze zijn goed opvallen.
O, wat jammer dat je er zo’n last van je handen van krijgt. Bedankt voor je gedachten over het kiezen van kleuren; heel nuttig. Ik laat het eens goed in me omgaan.
Wat een goed idee om zo het garen te testen op de huid! Prachtige patronen!
Je moet wel even investeren in een proeflap, maar dat is beter dan een hele trui te breien en er dan pas achter te komen dat het niet lekker voelt. Ja, ik ben ook helemaal weg van deze patronen.