Elsa’s Héla-lopapeysa and my first baby surprise jacket

Hi. I haven’t been around here much lately. We’ve been spending nearly all our leisure time working in the apartment, into which we’ll be moving in less than a week. However, in January, before this work started, I had finished a couple of sweaters for two cute little girls, Elsa Edda and the newborn niece of Böðvar.

Elsa Edda, my friend’s daughter, got a late Christmas gift, a ‘lopapeysa’ with a yoke pattern taken from one of Védís Jónsdóttir’s patterns, Héla.

Bangsi dressed up in lopapeysa

Hjalti was dressed up to pose in the newly washed lopi and wouldn’t take it off again. I heard that Elsa Edda wouldn’t take it off either, so I guess it was a success

Hjalti wearing Elsa's lopapeysa

The baby surprise jacket for miss Kjartansdóttir was knit from Rowan tapestry, a blend of mohair and soya protein fibres. I really love the colours and think they’re excellent for this project. I heard that the little miss and the jakcket payed a visit to the president the other day and that he commented on that ‘beautiful jacket’. Of course, I was very pleased to hear it:-) Very pleased indeed!

Baby surprise jacket in Rowan Tapestry

back of bsj

I’ll be moving in about a week, so there won’t be any time for knitting for about 2 weeks. But I will get back to you as soon as I can. Until then…

Thesis: 99 pages Lopavesti: Done

Yesterday, I got back in the right mood and decided to send a draft of the thesis to my supervisors. This ended in staying at work until more than 0400 AM this morning, since I also had to prepare for a visit to a primary school at 0810 to tell 10 year olds about earthquakes in SW-Iceland, or more precicely Suðurlandsskjálftar.

Yebb, the thesis counts all in all 99 pages, including a front page, bibliography, appendices etc.But it’s not done yet. I still haven’t finished some stuff and need to work hard to make it before next graduation deadline. The problem is that I have another deadline in January (another paper). And I need to finish Hjalti’s Christmas clothes, preferably before the 24th!

I finished my létt-lopi vest more than a month ago, and I’m wearing it constantly. Like the colours, the lenth, but it’s a little to wide though:

lopavesti for me

Since this one was off the needles it was time to finish some old stuff. Do you remember the Rowan Bruce cable sweater? Anyway, I cast on for Bruce in December 2006. It has taken waaaay too long time to finish it. I guess I laid it aside because of the new baby, then I wanted to knit for the new baby (Hjalti, for those who might not now); then I wanted to to something for myself for a change. And I certainly did. But, as it is soon Christmas, I dug in and finished the piece. Here he is, Bruce, made of Lana Grossa Mille on 7 mm needles, 6 mm for cuffs:

Bruce for Böðvar

The financial crisis is taking it’s toll. And even we poor knitters suffer, for imported stuff like needles and yarn is getting sooo expensive. Two yarn stores are even out of needles in some sizes. I needed one more skein to finish the cable monster, but the owner of the store told me that the yarn I needed would’nt be available for some time, since the gray color was sold out. Ohhh. But then she offered me to take the knitted sample hanging in the store. And that did the trick. It saved the piece. Oh, lucky lucky me! Now I just have to wrap it up and buy something surprising to add to the present:

Since Bruce has been off the needles, I’ve knitted a pair of knee-high Christmas socks for Hjalti, and started on a tasselled, traditional Icelandic hat for him. The plan is to finish a pair of trousers and a vest too, so he will wear a sort of a Icelandic costume at Christmas. With the thesis, paper, crisis and all, we’ll see how it goes;-) One last, my lovely boy, helping mom to clean the floor…