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23 October, 2006

Glowing Colors Sweater


The second of my three projects. It's been so long since I published FO number one, that it seems lame to now bring out FO number 2. We will just forget about that whole numbering scheme... Instead I am naming it the Glowing Colors Sweater, formerly known as the yellow, red and green sweater.


I finished this on Saturday morning, and I have been wearing it ever since. It is so incredibly comfortable, nice and warm, but not too warm, very lightweight. I love the square neckline, and the tapered sleeves. It is practically windproof with that double thickness of wool, but not too hot at all. This yarn is perfect. I have usually worked with worsted yarn before (worsted type, not worsted weight), and this is woolen yarn. It traps a lot of air, and therefore is very lightweight, and seems to keep the perfect temperature indoors and out. Most knitting yarn is worsted, and therefore heavier.


I tested it out by walking all around Cambridge Sunday, in alternatingly sunny, windy and overcast weather, and then sat down on the ground to watch some of the Head of the Charles regatta, and never got cold, never got hot. It's also been great for walking Pippi.

Detail of sleeve patterns

Only problem, you don't get to see this sleeve pattern much, because the sleeves are too long on me and bunch up a little. I may have to make them shorter... Arrgh! Blossom, I am ready to swap this now, for a bottle of tequila...

The finishing for the neck and the sleeve.

Pattern: From "Norsk Strikkebok", 1990, Tone Takle and Lise Kolstad
English version known as "Sweaters: 28 Contemporary Designs in the Norwegian Tradition".

Yarn: Rauma 3-tr Strikkegarn, from Nordic Fiber Arts

Size: Unisex size Small

Colors: Yellow 131, red 144, green 198, honey 146, brown 199
(I think of the colors as Saffron, Red Pepper, Apple, Honey, and Chocolate. I am always thinking of food). The red is one of the most beautiful dark reds I have seen.

Modifications: Square neck instead of round, tapered sleeves with cuffs and picot edge, changed the dark natural brown with a lighter brown. I kind of wish now that I had stuck with the original dark black/brown color; it would have been a much better contrast.

The great thing about this book is that it's kind of a recipe for making sweaters. It has modular sweater instructions in the back where you pick the neck style (boat, round, square), the size (kids to adults), the gauge (baby wool to bulky). But there is so much more than sweaters though; there are several jackets, child's dress, a cape, a long coat and many really cute hats. I have made a few in the past. Too bad this book is out of print, it's one of my favorites.

Thanks to the husband for taking the pictures!


31 comments:

  1. That looks great! And great timing too since it's starting to get cold.

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  2. Hege; That sweater is absolutely fabulous! And the finishing!?! You could almost wear it inside out. It looks great on you as well. Thanks for sharing your awesome FO. Oh, and your pictures make me want to move to a climate where trees can be found.

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  3. Beautiful sweater! Wow! I think if you can pull off colorwork as fancy as that, you should feel absolutely no shame in how long it takes. I'm sure it would take me years to successfully make a sweater like that.
    It looks great on you!

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  4. this is absolutely gorgeous! oh my goodness!!! i love it.

    hmm, we need to come up with something to swap. i think i want some norwegian fairisle!

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  5. Okay, you get a big huge WOW! It looks beautiful! Totally and amazingly beautiful, and the colours are perfect on you. See, now I may multi-task or multi-project, but you actually get big projects finished... Oh it makes me want to cancel all the Christmas presents and choose yarn for Kate.

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  6. The colours on your sweater reflect the changing colours of the leaves on the trees so well, was that exactly what you had in mind? It's so intricate and beautiful, and the colours look very good on you too!

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  7. I just love it!! It almost glows and it looks gorgeous on you. Also, Pippi is looking quite cute. :)

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  8. Stunning! A brilliant blend of colours.

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  9. Oh no! Another book I need to buy. I don't think I've live long enough to do everything on my list.

    It's gorgeous! Love how the colours just come together.

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  10. this post made me happy! the amazing sweater, the (indeed) glowing colours, the pictures of you and pippi on your walk. everything is beautiful!

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  11. Wow...so beautiful sweater!!!
    I think it's perfect and great job :>

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  12. what a beautiful sweater! The colors are amazing!

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  13. That is an incredible sweater. I love the autumn inspiration. Perfect for walking around with your cup of hot choco from Burdick's :)

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  14. A very beautiful sweater. The colors are perfect - glowing is the right word.

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  15. I tried to post a long comment here yesterday, but Blogger ate it. It just figures - it was probably pissed off because of what I posted on my blog. :-)

    Anyway, what I wanted to say was - A-HA!

    No, not the band. :-)

    I knew that sweater was from the Takle/Kolstad book! The colorscheme looked so familiar...I have all of their books and LOVE them so much, though I haven't yet made anything from any of them (I've borrowed the occasional motif, tho). They're always on my to-do list, though, and it's so exciting to see your FO!I love the square neck, the colors (and the knitting!) look fabulous...it also looks less baggy or boxy than the one modeled in the book...did you make the sleeves and armscyes smaller than the pattern, or did you just knit a more close-fitting size? Either way, the fit looks great. And such a perfect complement/compliment to the New England fall colors!

    Also, a question - did your yarn come labeled as woolen-spun rather than worsted-spun? I've long been curious about the difference, but don't know enough to be able to tell, and have never seen a commercial yarn that says one way or the other. Is it that almost all commercial yarns are worsted-spun? Or have I perhaps tried woolen-spuns without knowing that's what I was doing?...I have knit with Rauma 3-tr strikkegarn before...

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  16. Wow ... it's a piece of art! So beautifully made. I like the square neck too ... makes the sweater a bit more special.

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  17. Hmmm... I can't decide, while the sweater is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, I think the pupper takes 1st place as being MORE beautiful :)

    Coincidence? The sweater matches the pupper--now you need to knit a matching one for her!

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  18. Wow, there are all kinds of pretty fall colours in this post!

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  19. I came over from Kate's link, that sweater is so beautiful, what a stunning knit, wow. Will be looking into that particular yarn, thanks.

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  20. That is fabulous. I'm drooling over norwegian colorwork right now but in a little quandry about what to choose. I'm sure I'll decide soon.
    Great sweater. Kate sent me by the way.

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  21. Your sweater is absolutely gorgeous! The finishing is superb. This is the perfect time of year for a sweater like that. Congratulations.

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  22. This is absolutely amazing - stunning to be exact, this must be one of the most beautiful sweaters I've seen for long - and I'm not exaggerating here! The photos your hubby did of you are so gorgeous too, they're really artsy with these awesome fall colors in the back - and it is so good seeing you and your doogie too!

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  23. Lovely! The sweater colors are perfect for the fall. I like the square neckline modification. It gives the the design a more updated look.

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  24. I've been reading through some of your past posts, the one dated 10 May, you had a photo of a plant you were wondering what it was...we have them here in Oklahoma, we call them flowering quince, I love them, they are one of my very favourite, so lucky you to have one! I love the colour of their blooms, such a cheerful warm pink/red.

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  25. Oh, that sweater is lovely! And it looks just as good on the inside as on the outside! Very nice work.

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  26. What beautiful work. It looks like an autumn forest made of fabric.

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  27. Such beautiful colors and perfect workmenship! You fit in perfectly with the gorgeous fall foliage. I'm envious of the tree you have around your home! Congrats on finishing. :) (And Pippi is beautiful too.)

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  28. Your Glowing Colors Sweater is gorgeous! Makes me drool! What a great job you did!

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  29. beautiful! you should climb a tree in the midst of the fall leaves and see if we can spot you.
    i love the neck of the sweater, too. i think you did just fine without the contrast. it's lovely.

    and pippi longstockings is a natural beauty. does she ever get gifts from your knitting skills?

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  30. What a great jumper (Aussie for sweater!). I asked my mother if she could teach me to knit like this and she rolled her eyes at me. Trust me to go from scarves to wanting to knit the most complicated jumper!

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