Another blog entry…two in two days! I love weekends because no work mean more time to write stories! So some more about the June blanket:
Despite the heat, I finished the June blanket just a few days later then envisage.
I was so close to put the blanket in the WIP’s pile …as I didn’t consider the possibility that Scotland could get hot too, but I loved the yarn and the pattern I designed for the blanket so much that I persevered regardless of the temperature.
So now it still needs a very simple border of some sort of type but I have run out of yarn and while I am waiting for it I started my July new adventure.
I might postpone the border to September I see how things go.
I was on the Ayrshire coast last weekend with my daughter Olympia and three of her friends, so I took a few pictures of the blanket and the lovely coast.
The blanket is beautiful both sides! I still cant make up my mind which one I like the best…
The original idea for the pattern was to emulate the colors of Bifröst, the burning rainbow bridge that reaches between Asgard and Midgard, a tribute to yet another of the books I love and I mentioned before: ‘the Prose Edda’.
I thought I was going to make some sort of stepping stones like large pebbles, colorful paving stones for the bridge, but as always happens with things that are made as you go, the ‘pebbles ‘ looked more like a starfish then anything else!
more so when I photographed the blanket on the Beach…
So yeah…no paving stones, sorry Heimdallr,
On the matters of lore, traditions, and stories I was going to mention elves and trolls and more so some really amusing little books written by a blogger and journalist called Alda Sigmundsdóttir. She has written several “Little Book” . they are a series of short essays that tell the story of the Icelanders, now and in the past, some of the how they live, how they eat, how they deal with the beautiful but challenging Icelandic landscape.
Some of the topics include early superstitions, cultural anecdotes, and stories of the elves. (Do modern Icelanders really believe in elves? The answer may surprise you!)
Back to the blanket. I gave it a new name is called Odinella. you will find out why …
I realized that looks more like a coterie of starfish, but as they are technically not fish… I am calling them sea stars.
While looking at images of sea star to use for this blog entry I stumbled on this beauty…is called Odinella and belongs to the family of the Brisingids.
The sea star’s family is named after the Brisingamen, Old Norse for “glowing jewellery”, ‘fire torc’ , the most beautiful necklace worn by the goddess Freyja so we still have after all a Norse mythology connection, and Heimdallr is back too, as in the Prose of Edda, Loki steals the necklace, to avoid been found he disguises himself into a seal. Heimdallr turns into a seal as well and fights Loki. Heimdallr wins and returns Brísingamen to Freyja….great fun indeed.
Now this might be a bit controversial, as the Prose of Edda is a phenomenal extraordinary scholarly book, but…if you have no time to read it or you want something ‘lighter’ to share with your children you should have a look at Neil Gaiman’s book :’Norse Mythology’. I found it witty and very enjoyable, for me the added bonus, is that it is available on Audible too, and the reader is Neil Gaiman himself!
back to the blankets some lovely shots of Turnberry’s lighthouse…( I walked over the golf course, not with a set of clubs but with a basket, a blanket, and a camera..and few puzzled looks)
the details of the pattern are still in a jumble in my scrapbook. I will ( don’t I always say that?! …) write it down, but ,as I have been asked for the yarn I used, here is the list of the colors:
The yarn is LETT-LOPI , a DK weight 100% wool. it comes on a 50 grams ball,100metres.
0867/9427/9426/9423/9421/1404/9418/9419/9432
/1414/9417/9431/9429/9428/9414/9434/1408.
I used 2 balls of all the above, besides 1408 (light red heather) which I used just 1 ball as it is a very powerful hue.
the joining was done with 6 ( so far ) balls of 0058 (dark gray heather) I am saying so far because I haven’t finished the border yet. I reckon I will need probably another 4..I am not sure.
More warnings…they yarn is FABULOUS BUT….if you are accustomed to the feel of acrylic, cotton, or merino please note that this is different. Lopi Lettlopi Wool is a breathable and water-repellent Aran weight roving yarn.
I love it and it is my favorite 100% wool yarn! it is the best for garments for the Scottish weather as it is rustic but so warm you will be pleasantly surprised! also, it is handwash only.
my advice? if you want to make the blanket before embarking in buying the full amount yarn just try a ball and see how you feel about it…
that is all for today,
happy crocheting,
lucia xxx
