Everything Old Is New Again

Phew! Here she is - Dalarna!

She's been sewn together and blocked, and awaits her crocheted border and buttons before she can make her debut. In my mind, she's done! DONE!

What: "Red and White" cardigan from page 164 of "Poetry in Stitches". Christened "Dalarna" by Wendy of Wendyknits!

Yarn: Hifa 2 yarn - yarn for this project was purchased from Nordic Fibre Arts, who supply all the yarn packs specifically for "Poetry In Stitches" and "Norsk Strikkedesign". I have A LOT of yarn left over, I'll probably be able to make a matching pair of mittens with what I have left over. I have teeny hands...

Needles: 2.5mm for the red upper portion, and 3.5mm for the stranded design.

How I Blocked Her (Finally): Eucalan, 1/4 cup of sea salt, and a sink full of hypothermia inducing ice cold water. I could barely stand to plunge my hands in the water! Instead, I used an old wooden spoon. A friend at work recommended the ice cold water - a non-knitter at that too! And not a DROP of the dye came out of place.

PITA Factor: Very low. I specifically chose this design as my first Norwegian design as it had everything I wanted to try out - specifically a new way of steeking. I did not find the knitting part difficult (let's not speak of the numerous attempts starting up the second sleeve, 'k?), however I did find that there was a lot more finishing involved than I'm used to with Fair Isle. The front bands alone took me a weekend to complete - probably 8 hours total. Not bad when you're picking up and knitting 150 stitches per side on 2.5mm needles, and knitting for 18 rows per side! The facings on the front bands and the upper sleeves were stitched down in place as well. This is something that I don't do with Fair Isle.

The steeks did not prove to be a problem, thanks to Lorraine and her sewing machine. She had come by awhile back and stitched them up for me.

I've never been one to swoon and faint at the cutting of steeks - it's never rattled me. Just cut. And trust that a few thousand + knitters can't be wrong! So - no issues there, and they worked out just fine. No unraveling at all. I did add a few more stitches to the front steek, probably the Fair Isle knitter in me thinking it would make a difference. But, it was completely unnecessary.

So, I'm very pleased! I was thinking as I was blocking it that it would have made a great pullover. But, I wanted the experience of Norwegian steeks.

What do you think!?!? I will post a modelled shot later in the week, once it's dry! Yay me!!!

"Guys, really - it's done! I saw it for myself. Are you as pooped as I am from the whole process?" - Little Miss Mae