Making a matching greeting card and the next shawl

I was thinking about how to make a nice greeting card that would go together with the Harebell Fichu.

The first thing I knew was that the card HAD to have some knitting. Until now I had made cards using cross stitch and bobbin lace but never with a knitted piece.

I made the cross stitch motif based on a traditional Mapuche (native culture from the south of Chile) pattern called Pichikemenküe and külpe ñimin.

I have talked about this one before but I never mentioned it was meat to be a wedding greeting card :)

The color choice was really easy, I used the leftovers of the einband I had from the Fichu. So, the only thing left to think about was the pattern.

I went for a very simple Lilly of the Valley pattern. I really like the simplicity and beauty of the Lilly of the Valley. The amount of yarn and time I used to make this was minimum. In a blink of an eye I had a cute greeting card that matched perfectly the Fichu.

So, first is first: knit the piece. Then cut the paper and use some glue.

The card is very simple. 

The final result is far from being perfect but I guess that is part of the charm of handmade things. 

Now that the Aeolian is done it is time make a new shawl.  I must admit that after knitting the Aeolian (which turned out to be much more beautiful than what I was expecting) and making Eva's lopapeysa I was a little bit uninspired... It took me a while to find what to do next. I started to look at my books and Ravelry and nothing seemed to catch my attention!

Until I found the problem. I needed to have someone to knit for! Things are so much easy when you have someone to knit for... then it is possible to think about patterns and colors that the person you're knitting for might like.

So, I began thinking about what could be the best for her.

First I thought that blue would have been a good color option for her so I got some Einband in a very nice light blue. The color looked great on the ball but once I knitted a swatch my opinion changed completely!! I really didn't like it for a shawl. I thought it would look great for ababy blanket or so.

The pattern didn't convinced me either. I even made some mistakes on the swatch... shame on me!

I needed to find a better color. I went to the wool store again and this time I found the perfect color! It is a very, very nice light green. It looks very organic and natural.

The pattern I am making is taken from The Haapsalu Shawl book. It is leaves and nupps. What I like abput this pattern is the asymmetric position of the leaves and the movement it has bewteen each pattern repeat.  I also think that the color looks great in this pattern.

Leaves and nupps

I am planning to make an edge at the end that will be sewn to the body.

Now I am also starting to think about the next lopapeysa. On Ravelry there is a group called the Spanish Swap and we've been talking about making a Lopi KAL in September. I have already chosen the colors and today I was working on designing a pattern for the yoke using some ideas from the book Íslensk sjónabók.

More details about the lopapeysa soon!

I already have developed the films from my trip to the east. I will be sharing with you some of my favorite shots :)

This was one of my favourite spot. This is Mjóifjörður (The narrow fjord). The road was terrible but the place is a paradise.

One of MANY waterfalls everywhere.

In Mjóifjörður there used to be a whale station. At the beginning of the 20th century there were up to 200 people living there. Today there is not whale station and only 30 people live there.

Mjóifjörður. It was so quite. No wind and fog. 

A very decorated front yard in a cute little house in Eskifjörður.

On the way to Vopnafjörður there is a gravel road that is the highest road in Iceland. This is the view from that road of Héraðssandur. 

The cutest house in Borgarfjörður eystri. 

Well, that is all for now!

Steeking and pictures from the trip!!

Well, well. This week was devoted to steeking. This was the first time a did it myself (with lots of help from Gummi, whose first time was also this!).

Before steeking the lopapeysa, I made a little exercise.

Harebell Fichu

Remember the Harebell fichu that I knitted a few weeks ago? As soon as I finished it and bloked it I had the impression that it had turned put to be TOO big to be held around any woman's shoulders. I actually tried it on several friends and yes... it is too big to tie it in front. So, I decided to cut the bands so it can be used wrapped around the neck and shoulders and maybe held with a brooch if desired.


This was the perfect moment to try to cut a knitted piece as a practice before cutting the big project: Eva's hoodie lopapeysa.

The first step: Using a sewing machine back and forth:

After that the place to cut is secured and ready for the action:

Now... scissors:

And voilà, the band is gone!:

After cutting I made a single crochet edge to make it look better:

And now it is REALLY ready to be used!!

So, after the little training we were ready to take the big task: Cutting the lopapeysa.

The steps are the same:

Sewing to secure the edges.

Back and forth on each purling.

Let the action begin!

Be careful with the blade of the scissor that you don't see... I almost cut the back of the cardigan!

Getting to the yoke.

Almost there!

And done!

Then the crochet edge:

Now it is ready to get the zipper!

I must admit that the idea of cutting the knitting sounds TERRIBLE and SCARY but it is not! The important thing, in the case of a cardigan, is to make the "path" where the sewing will go. In this case I made a colums made up of two purled stitches. Then the sewing machine dies it all! In this case I also made a double sewing on both edges so I could cut between them.

So, don't be scared of doing this! I think it is very difficult to mess it all.

Today I am going to visit my friend (who is a seamstress) to put the zipper... I think that dointg that goes a lot over my sewing skills... that are very little in fact :)

Finally, as I promised here are some pictures of my last trip to the East Fjords!

Alex gave the idea of making a clip... which was brilliant! Other wise I would have had to upload TONS of pictures! The only problem with the clip is that the resolution of pictures is lost a little bit... but I guess it looks alright :)

I hope you enjoy it!