My new purple Lopapeysa

My new Lopapeysa

I love these typical Icelandic sweaters, in Icelandic "lopapeysa" - hand-knitted sweaters made of Icelandic sheep's wool, traditionally knitted in one piece with a long, thick circular needle, so that the pattern extends as a uniform round neckline across the front and back and the sleeves of the sweater.

I had already bought my first lopapeysa (short for " lopi "), and my second one too, and I especially like wearing my red cardigan with the typical Icelandic pattern and hood - here, for example, the day before at the Faxi waterfall.

At some point I started trying knitting myself - I've already knitted quite a few models and am slowly getting closer to what I've imagined.

Whenever I have the time, I enjoy stopping by the Álafoss factory outlet in Mosfellsbær to buy some new yarn for my next attempt at lopi. We were there shortly after Christmas, and the Christmas decorations were still hanging on the balcony, and the lights were still on. (Oh yes—I love Christmas decorations, too!)

I've often heard that sales of Icelandic wool have increased during the coronavirus pandemic because many people have rediscovered knitting. Indeed, the selection in wool shops wasn't as extensive as in previous years. However, in case of doubt, the wool shorn from last season hadn't yet been fully processed, dyed, and returned to stock.

I then spontaneously grabbed two of the large yarn packages you can see in the foreground and happily set off with them – one pack of gray balls and one pack of purple yarn. Both are definitely my favorite colors – I'll figure out what the Lopapeysa would look like...

Álafoss clothing is the best -

The inscription on the old building here already knows that

After shopping in the lovely wool shop, we took a short walk - actually just behind the house.

Directly behind the house is the Varmá River, which flows through Mosfellsbær, with the Álafoss waterfall. The energy from this waterfall has been used to power the wool factory of the same name since 1896. The river and waterfall are now protected nature reserves.

As for my gray and purple yarn, I finally decided on this two-tone pattern. After buying the yarn in January, it took a while before I started knitting—and then it took another two months to finish knitting my new Lopi.

And when I was finished and I still had some wool left, I also knitted a matching hat to go with the Lopi.

Isn't this a chic going-out outfit for cool days?!?

And here you can see me in my new purple lopi with the purple lupins in front of our Icelandic house. With that in mind, greetings from Iceland!

[Translated from here.]