Icelandic lace

This weekend has been about finishing my lace projects. Last summer (2006) I started on a scarf/shawl in Pälsull by Östergötlands ullspinneri. It has been the kind of knitting one could always bring along, but never knit for long. The pattern is from Sigrídur Halldórsdóttir:Thríhyrnur og langsjöl. It is the central panel from Hvítt sjal and the pattern is called köngulóarprjón (spider knitting). Maybe because each diamond has eight legs?










The finished work measures 45 x125cm, so it is a small shawl or a big scarf, that is up to the wearer. Someone I know will get this for Christmas, because I never wear blue even if it is this soft. I bought a skein in red for me...













The next shawl was actually the first one I made from the same book, and I knitted Langsjal ad vestan in between, but I gave that away BC (before camera). This is Thríhyrna, the cover design. I had the right yarn, Icelandic kambgarn, but different colours, so the stripes have been changed. I got a big bag of this yarn from my aunt who had been using it for weaving, but most of it is small amounts of many, very different colours. I also used the same needles, which was a huge mistake. Since this was my first real lace project I didn't know that my knitting was too firm and the resulting shawl was blocked to 130 x 65cm instead of 150 x 75cm. Before blocking I thought it would be even smaller, so it has spent over a year in a box before I gave it the proper treatment.










Finally, here is my daughter under our apple tree. I think the size is perfect on her, but she is only about 110cm tall. Some of the snow you could see behind the blue shawl, photgraphed yesterday, has melted away, but it is still cold.