My Year of Jumper knitting

2018 was a year of jumper knitting for me!  I have knit 4 jumpers this year, and looking at them, they represent the four seasons.

SPRING

"Birkin" from Laine magazine issue 2, designed by Caitlin Hunter.
I loved choosing the colours for the flowers on this yoke, they remind me of violets and pansies and wearing this jumper cheers me up and makes me feel fresh.

SUMMER

"Zweig" designed by Caitlin Hunter. This jumper has a pretty lace section that I really enjoyed knitting. I chose the colours to coordinate with my brown hair and blue jeans, so this is really easy to wear, and I feel a bit special wearing it. It's quite light and easy to layer if the weather is a bit cooler.

AUTUMN

"Afterparty" from Laine magazine issue 6, designed by Astrid Troland. I knit this as a favour to the magazine, by knitting it from a draft of the pattern I was able to send in any errors I encountered. It felt good to be helpful, but it was a lot of work and not a lot of reward. The original wool to be used was expensive and not a lot available to purchase, so I knit it in a lower priced wool and I do love it.

WINTER

"Ninian" from Marie Wallin's pattern book called "Shetland." Now this took a long time! I saw someone wearing this at 2018 Edinburgh Yarn Festival, and was really impressed with the colours and repeating patterns.  I started knitting my own version whilst on holiday in Orkney and Shetland. This took a lot of work, but I did enjoy it. It is my first ever time to make something so intricate. I overestimated my size and knit it too big. But I will leave it as it is and use it as a coat for outdoor activities.

So how will my 2019 look? I have already completed one jumper, and am planning a few more, but I definitely want to sew a few garments and make a few quilts. Thanks for reading! x

Birkin sweater

When I saw a picture of this sweater (which I shall call a jumper from now on) in the 2nd edition of Laine magazine, I knew I had to buy the magazine and make this jumper!  Those flowers!  Firstly I scrolled through the hashtag and the ravelry projects to get ideas from the colours and yarns chosen by other knitters.

Violets are my favourite flower, and as soon as I saw someone's Birkin jumper with purple flowers in the middle row I knew immediately that I had made a start on my colour choices!

I used the Knit Picks yarn called "Palette" with the main colour called "Oregon Coast Heather." I bought 3 shades of each of the other colours so that I could swatch and decide.  I ended up knitting all the way into the purple flower when I decided it was too yellow and so had to unravel it back and added in an orange flower instead of two rows of yellow flowers.  I also added another purple to give the big flowers a bit of extra depth. 

This is the only other alteration I made.  I added a row of the green leaves to each sleeve, as well as kept knitting the arm decreases until I got to a full length sleeve.

LOVE this jumper! I really enjoyed knitting it and am very happy with the end result! I wore it to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival and had a few kind ladies compliment me on it.  My first ever yoked, top down jumper and I am already planning another yoked top down !