Knitted Lovikka Mittens in Álafoss Lopi

Here comes a picture of the finished lovikka mittens before they were washed. They almost look like the famous Swedish Lovikka mitten but made in Icelandic yarn (100% wool) instead. Álafoss Lopi is very good for these mittens. It is perfect. Warm and nice!



If you want to knit these mittens you can buy the pattern in english in my webshop. Pay by credit card and get the pattern sent by PDF. See link below. The mittens comes in sizes from children to adults. I will also put out mittens for sale now and then. So be on the lookout.

Link to pattern:
http://islina.se/en/products/patterns/patterns-on-pdf-file/pattern-lopi-mittens-lovikka-no-12.html

Knitted Love Mitten - for 2

My brother got his gift but has not opened it yet since he was celbrating Chirstmas with his dad (we have not the same dad). He will open it today when my mum and sister are visiting him. We will see what he says. It is for him and his girlfriend of course. He may not know what it is. It is a love mitten: a mitten for 2 people. You just stick your hand in together with your girlfriend´s hand and you will be able to hold hands inside the mitten. Cosy!
I have to knit one for me and my darling too.
This is how the mitten looks like:



It is available for sale in Swedish via this link:
http://islina.se/produkter/monster/monster-pa-pdf-fil/monster-handtak-20-islandska-vantar-i-lettlopi-1.html

Now during Christmas I have also knitted a pair of mitten in Álafoss Lopi. It resembles the well known Lovika mittens (well known in Sweden at least). I will put out a pattern for sale in english in my webshop very soon. I just need to wash them and take a picture then they are complete. I used brown as main color. I will soon put out a picture of the result.
I so want to knit a pair of blackish grey for my self soon.

Right now I am knitting a pair of shorts in wool for my boyfriend. He is going by bike to work almost every day even in the winter. And his ass gets a bit cold he says. So this is just perfect for him. He can use them over his regular underwear while he is biking to work.

2 new Icelandic Sweaters for dogs finished!

I have knitted 2 more Sweaters for dogs. One i size Medium and one i size Large. They are washed and ready to be bought. I have put them out for sale in the webshop. This is how they look like:


For sale at this link:
http://islina.se/en/products/home-knitted/for-animals/icelandic-knitted-sweater-for-dogs-m-1.html

And this one can be found for sale at this link:
http://islina.se/en/products/home-knitted/for-animals/icelandic-knitted-sweater-for-dogs-l.html

After that I have also started to knit a Christmas gift. I started the day before yesterday and I will be done this evening. It is a mitten for two. A lovemitten. It will be a gift to my brother and his new girlfriend. I will put out a picture as soon as I have one. I have also a small baby sweater in Álafoss Lopi going on. But I have not done much on it since I started with the dog sweaters.

Icelandic knitted Sweater for a Dog

I have made a Icelandic knitted sweater for a dog. It is knitted in Lopi light (léttlopi). Such a cute little sweater. It fits small dogs such as Chihuahua and small badger-dogs. I made it in rust heather, which I really like. I could do a sweater for myself in that color.

This is how it looks like:


It might be difficult to imagine it on a dog so here comes a picture of a dog wearing a sweater like this:


I will be selling handknitted sweater like this one in my webshop. See link below:
http://islina.se/en/products/home-knitted/for-animals/icelandic-knitted-sweater-for-dogs-s.html

Another thing I just need to write about is this lovely mitten for two:

I will knit one as a Christmas gift very soon. Lovely gift for a couple inlove. You only need 2 hanks of Álafoss Lopi, 100g in different colors to knit it.

On the needles right now I actually have another sweater for a dog. This time I am doing on in size Large. The one I just finished is in Small. After that one I was thinking about doing one i Medium too. But in between I probably need to knit the love-mitten above since Christmas is getting closer.

Another Icelandic collar

I started another Icelandic collar a while ago where I changed black to white and white to black. It is also very beautiful. I finished it and washed it a while ago. Here is the result:



The collar itself is for sale via this link:
http://islina.se/en/products/home-knitted/scarfs-and-collars/icelandic-knitted-collar-female-1.html

After that I have started with 2 other projects. One is a knitted Sweater for a dog (in Lopi light) and the other is a Sweater for a one year old baby (in Álafoss Lopi).

Icelandic Knitted Child Sweater for a 3-4 years old finished!

I have finished the child sweater for 3-4 years old. It took some time because i did not have a suitable zipper at home. So I went out byuing one and now I have finally sewed it in.
Sad to say my 3-years old daughter do not want to stand model. So I will not get a nice picture. She just screams and starts to cry if I try to put the sweater on her. She is very stubborn now. It will not be any nice happy pictures there.

The sweater is knitted in Álafoss lopi and the pattern I made/designed myself. It is actually the same pattern as the sweater I made for a grown-up a while ago, which I call VATNAJÖKULL. I really liked the pattern so I had to do it in a child sweater too. Here is a picture:



The sweater is by the way for sale in my webshop:
http://islina.se/en/products/home-knitted/sweaters/icelandic-knitted-sweater-with-hood-child-3-4-years.html

I got this idea of knitting Icelandic Collars

3 weeks ago I got this idea of knittig Icelandic collars i Létt-lopi or Lopi light. I am now almost finished with the second one. The first looks like this:



Of course I put it out for sale in my webshop:
http://islina.se/en/products/home-knitted/scarfs-and-collars/icelandic-knitted-collar-female.html

After that one I felt like doing the next one and just change white to black and vice versa. This is how it looks like this very moment:


What is left is to fold and sew cast-on edge, weave in loose ends and then wash is and stretch it a little bit.

Almost done with a Icelandic Sweater for a Kid

I have been knitting a Icelandic Sweater for a 3-4 year old in the same pattern as the latest Sweater I made for a grown-up. It has taken forever to get it dry. After 4 days of drying it was still moisture in it. It of course depend on me not spin-drying it in the washing machine. The washing machine is actually broken. Very bad. Big pile of clothes is lying there now. Soon we have to buy new clothes. No, just kidding. I hope the spare part is coming tomorrow.
Anyway, now it seems like it is dry finally. So next step is to sew in a zipper and then put it out for sale in my webshop.

This is how it looks like right now:

A small scarf or neckerchief knitted in Einband

I have finished a small scard i lace weight yarn. I used the Icelandic yarn Einband. I actually found the work in a bag when we moved in here. One day I had to finish it and this day came last weekend when I went by train to Stockholm. I knitted the whole way there and finished it just about 3 minutes before we arrived. Yes!
When I went home to Gothenburg again I had planned to knit but I was too tired and slept all the way.

So here is the result:


The pattern can be found in the book Einband - Icelandic Lace, which looks like this:


You can for example buy it in my webshop together with the yarn here:
http://islina.se/en/products/patterns/books/einband-icelandic-lace.html

Felted slippers - I have tried to do felted slippers in Álafoss Lopi

I watnted to try to do felted slippers in Icelandic yarn the other day. So I knitted 2 pieces in Álafoss Lopi, sewed them together and placed them in the washing machine 60 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) twice. They ended up pretty big but my daughter can have them anyway and they will be perfect in 2 years or so.
I am going to try do some felted slippers in Plötulopi next time.

But now I at least know that it is possible to felt Icelandic yarn. However, I had to wash the pieces twice in 60 degrees Celsius in the washing machine.

This is how the pieces looked like when I had knitted them:


And this is how they looked like after sewin them together:


And this is the result after washing them twice in the washing machine:

Icelandic Sweater "Lopapeysa" -VATNAJÖKULL - finished !

The Sweater is finished! The hood is done. The Zipper is sewed in. The only thing left is to sew in a nametag, which says "Islina". After that it is time to send the Sweater to the girl, who ordered it. I hope it will fit and that she will be satisfied with it. But it is not for her. It is a gift for her boyfriend. I just hope he is not finding my blog before she has given it. It will be interesting to hear how he likes it.

I at least thinks it is very nice. I like it a lot. It must be my best Sweater ever. The only thing I am thinking about doing different is the cord in the hood. Maybe I could have bought a small cord instead. But that is easy to do later anyhow.

The pattern and the design I made myself. I depicted it after the customer's wish. I will put it out for sale in my webshop as soon as I have written it down as a PDF.

Here below is two pictures of the Sweater. My boyfriend had to stand model.

In the first one the cord is visible_


And here the cord is tucked in:


I will call this sweater "VATNAJÖKULL".

It starts to look like a sweater now - a Icelandic sweater with a hood

Yes, it is finally starting to look like something here. The sweater I am making for a customer. I have knitted a bit on the pattern and still have a bit to go before the hood. As it looks like now I like it a lot. I hope the person, who will get the sweater will be satisfied.
I am thinking about knitting one like this for my self later. I actually do not have a Icelandic sweater with a hood.

Video - How to knit a Icelandic Sweater

I have made a short movie on how to knit a Icelandic Sweater. Actually I recorderd the film clips in 2009 when we still lived in Iceland. Then I never came to do anything with the clips. But now finally I have put them all together with speach and text. I hope you like it. It is quite long.
But for those, who has never knitted a Icelandic sweater and would like to should definitley be able to knit one just watching the video. should Jag har satt ihop en video om hur man stickar en isländsk tröja.

The pattern can be found in one of my earlier blog contributions
http://knitline.blogspot.com/2010/02/free-pattern-and-description-how-to.html

It is also possible to download the pattern as a PDF-file for free in my webshop. Look under patterns on PDF.
http://www.islina.se/en

HERE COMES THE VIDEO:

Two pink knitted Icelandic Hats finished!

I have finished 2 pink hats for my daughters. The first one I made was a bit too big for my oldest daugher Olivia, I thought. At least when we tried it on. So I started another one with the same pink yarn. I could actually do 2 hats from one hank of Álafoss Lopi yarn. But of course I needed the other colors too.
When I was done with both hats I prepared some fleece fabric to sew in. When the fabric was sewed in the hats was of course smaller than before. So now the first hat was perfect for Olivia. The second hat was just too tight she thought. So I am giving the second hat to my youngest daughter, Alva (10 months old).
So now both my daughters have warm and cosy hats this winter. They are however too warm to have outside now. Olivia almost freaked out when I tried it on inside. Tooooo warm she said.

This is how the first hat looks like:


The inside of the hat:


And here we have the second hat. The smaller one with one color less in the pattern.


Besides that I am of course knitting the white Icelandic sweater. Yesterday I joined body and sleeves together and now it is time to knit the pattern. That is the fun part.

Icelandic knitted hat

Today I finished the Icelandic hat. However, something that I did not thought about was that when I had crocheted 2 rounds around the edges the hat became longer. So next time I have to bear that in mind and decrease 2-3 rounds on the hat instead. It is still very nice. I made the pattern by looking at a old hat I bought in Iceland 5 years ago. It was easy to see how they made it.
I like it with the earflaps. It is incredibly warm and comfortable. It is good to be able to tie it under your chin. The warmth stays inside and it does not blow away in the wind. (The wind in Iceland can be really strong)

3 semi-finished Icelandic projects

I have of course started new projects since the latest Icelandic sweater was finished. For a while ago I started a Icelandic sweater in Álafoss Lopi, which a customer has ordered. It will be a white one with grey and black in the pattern and a hood. It will be interesting to see the result since I am making the pattern after the customer’s wish. So far the body is made:

I also got a whimsical idea to make a Icelandic hat in Álafoss Lopi and it actually turned out really nice. I like it a lot. I will put it out for sale when it is finished. I have jut washed it and it is not completely dry. I just need to sew together the inner lining fabric, which will be fleece. Then I need to crochet an edge and also crochet 2 cords to be able to fasten the hat under the chin. The result will be a very warm and nice hat.
Here is a picture of it almost finished:

Yesterday I also had the first knitting night. It was nice to finally start with it. Now I have more time to knit to when almost all the work with my web shop is done. I got a lot done yesterday evening. After I finished the body of the Icelandic sweater I continued with a hat for my daughter. She saw me knitting the dark grey hat above and she asked me if I could not do the same for her but in pink. Of course I can. I only made the ear flaps and a little bit further. But it goes quick if I just get the time.
I really like the pink color of the yarn. It is Álafoss Lopi, which I bought in Iceland at the store Álafoss in Mosfellsbaer before we moved to Sweden. It was a color the usually do not have in the assortment so I had to buy all they had (6 balls).

Have been out taking some pictures of the new Icelandic Sweater - "AUTUMN LEAVES"

I sewed in a black zipper yesterday and before that I of course washed the sweater. So this morning or before lunch we went out to shot some quick pictures. It is autumn here and it looks really like a autumn sweater. I got a few good pictures, which I will use in the coming pattern for sale. I will just call the sweater "HÖSTLÖV" in swedish, which is the same as autumn leaves.

The sweater itseld is too big for me and i have in the pictures tried to pull it in, in the back. I will put it out for sale in my webshop (www.islina.se/en) right after I written this blog contribution. It feels good that it is finally done.

Here is a picture:

UPDATE: The knitting pattern is available for sale as PDF-file in my webshop (IN ENGLISH). Just follow the link below:
http://islina.se/en/products/patterns/patterns-on-pdf-file/pattern-hostlov-icelandic-knitted-sweater-no-6-1.html

Icelandic knitted Sweater almost finished!

I am almost ready with my latest Icelandic Sweater. It is really autumnish or how do you say it. The colors is very suitable now when autumn is coming. The only thing I have left on it is to sew underarms, wash it and sew on a zipper. I will use a black zipper for this one.

The Sweater also turned out to be a Large. This means I can not have it myself. It might depend on me being pregnant when I started the sweater. I expected to be finished when I still was pregnant and had a big belly. Other things got in the way.

So now I plan to sell this Sweater in my webshop instead. It is knitted in 3 threads of Plötulopi and it is very warm. It will be perfect now when winter is coming. Perfect now in the autumn too instead of a jacket. When I tried it on inside earlier today I really started to sweat. The thickness is equal to Álafoss Lopi wool or even a little bit thicker.

I really like the pattern by the way. I depicted it myself. I have seen similar leaves or flowers in other sweaters. So that inspired me. I am going to put out the pattern for sale in my webshop later.

This is how the sweater looks like right now:

It goes slowly forward with my Icelandic sweather

I have not been very active here on my blog recently. But that depends on my very active work with my new webshop instead. I have been totally in to that.

I have not knitted much at all and really miss sitting down and knit for a long time. There is so many things I want to do. I get ideas almost every day. I wish I had more time.

Time just flies. Think about the time you were young and went to school. Then I at least thought that i had a lot of time. Time went so slowly forward. I wondered what to do next. Now I am wondering how I can do all the things I want to do. How will I have time and when will I be able to sit down and do nothing? Maybe in about 15 years when the kids are older.

Anyway, it is not that much left to knit on my latest Icelandic sweater in 3 threads of plötulopi. It is only the yoke pattern left. After that I just have to decide if I want a zipper or buttons.

This is how the work looks like now:

I have finally launched my webshop - Islina Garn och Design -

Now it is finally launched on the Internet, my webshop ISLINA GARN OCH DESIGN (translation: Islina yarn and design). It took forever but that is how it is when you are a mother of 2 children and at home with them.

Here is the webaddress:

http://islina.se
eller
http://www.islina.se

Both should work. It comes in english too. Just click the english flag up in the right hand corner when you are in the shop. Or this link should work: http://islina.se/en

So far I have only yarn, books, patterns and one home knitted sweater for sale. It will expand soon. I just have to order some accessories like needles and pins. I am also going to put up one or two more hand knitted sweaters for sale.

You guys, who reads this and goes in to have a look in my shop, please give me feedback. It would be nice to hear what you think about it.

There is still a lot to fix there. I have to change the pictures to make them more professional.

Yesterday, by the way, I was outdoors with my daughers and my camera. So I had to take a picture of my youngest daughter in her little Lopapeysa (Icelandic sweater). She is now 8,5 months old. It is made in Alafoss Lopi. I just have to put out a picture:

Send wool - how do you want your package of wool sent?

Well, I was thinking about asking a question here on my blog. I am sitting here and wondering how I am going to send the wool and Sweaters I am going to sell in my webshop. And it is difficult to know with so many options. Almost all of the options are so expensive too.

It would be interesting to here from you people buying wool and stuff how you would like it shipped/sent to you? In a packet/box, or is it ok in a mailing bag?

I have a suggestion that I fancy. I was thinking about sending products in pink polyetehen bags (recyclable). I would be really happy if anyone could leave a comment and say what you would like. Do you rather want a packet/box? Or is it ok with mailing bags? It so much more expensive with boxes. Here is how the bag looks like:

I have registered my own business, which will sell Icelandic wool in the internet in Sweden.

I have finally registered my own business. Amongst two kids and very little time I have managed to finish my business plan and registered the company I am planning to run. I will sell Icelandic wool, patterns, books and Icelandic knitted stuff by my self. Now I have 2-3 weeks to find a good solution for a webshop. It will take 2-3 weeks until the registration is final.

The name of the company will be Islina Garn Och Design, which is the same as Islina Yarn translated to english.

The knitting is standing still at the moment. I have not been doing anything since I have all into the company. It is also like that in the Summer that I do not feel a much like knitting as in the Winter. Here are some pictures of the Icelandic wool I have in my closet.

Some Icelandic Álafoss Lopi


And some plötulopi:

New Icelandic Sweater (lopapeysa) finished

Time runs when you have a full house (Two kids around you) but now I am finished with a new Icelandic Sweater (lopapeysa). It is made in Alafoss Lopi yarn and 7mm needles. What do you think? I used the Farmers' market patterna and changed it a bit to my own pattern. I have also sold the Sweater to a girl, who contacted me here at this blog. I can also sell this pattern now without any problems. I am starting a Swedish web-shop and I am going to sfell it there amongst other things. So far I have only started to write down a business plan. But I am on my way!

Here is the Sweater:

If you want this pattern it is available for sale in english in my webshop "Islina Garn & Design"
www.islina.se/en
However, you need to by yarn to the sweater when you buy this pattern.
If you live outside Sweden and still want to buy it without buying yarn please contact me and I could let you buy it for a higher price instead.

Now I can continue on my own Sweater; the blackgreen one. It has been lying for a while.

Knitted Polo-neck Sweater finished!

I have finished the turtle-neck (polo-neck) Sweater. It took forever. What took very long time was to sew it together for example. And it was not very good result at the shoulders. And then I ran out of the turquoise yarn. So I could not do as long neck as I wanted to do. I could not buy more since it was very long time ago I bought it and it was also bought in Iceland.
So I am not supersatisfied with the Sweater. I am not so used to do these Sweaters where you sew every part together. It is quite nice at least.
But I can not wear it just yet. My stomach is still big (still have that baby-stomach left from the pregnancy). That is why I am not modelling in it either. I will just wait a while.

Here is the result:

Two different projects on the needles - A sweater with collar and a Icelandic Sweater

When I was going through my wool I found the project I started before we moved from Iceland. It was a normal Sweater with a turtle-neck collar. So I felt the urge to finish it, which means that I went from knitting the Icelandic Sweater to this one now for a while. It is not knitted as the Icelandic Sweaters in a round. So I have made one front- and one back piece so far. It is time to do the arms now:



The worst thing is that I do not have enough of turquoise yarn. When I bought them I did not look at the number so I did not get the same colorbatch. It is a little difference. This means that I have to do the collar in another color than the bottomrib. It might look bad. We will see. When I bought the wool I had no project in mind so I just bought something and did not look to closely at the numbers.

Otherwise I have not gotten far with the Icelandic Sweater. I am still knitting on the body. And it takes time.

Alva was born 20th of December and I knitted a Icelandic hat

Well, it was not long time after my last contribution here that Alva was born. She arrived 20th of December but was planned to 29th of December. So she got to celebrate her very first Christmas very soon after the arrival :)
Then I have actually managed to knit a little bit. I knitted a Icelandic hat from the left-overs of the German guy's sweater. This is the result:



Otherwise I have not done much on my own Icelandic sweater, which I started a while ago. It goes slowly forward. But now in the evenings I actually have some time to do stuff. Olivia and Alva is both sleeping at some point. But then I am also very tired myself :)