Yet another lopapeysa

All the same knitting pattern, but it looks completely different in different colors...!

This pattern comes from a Finnish knitting book for Icelandic patterns. I bought the book in February 2023.

The book states that the pattern is "easy to knit", and I actually find it wonderfully simple and it develops so naturally that all I need to do is look at the pattern in the book once at the beginning of each row and the rest of the row then practically follows itself.

So this is still my current favorite pattern!

I find it incredibly quick to knit - which is why I've knitted it several times and I'm still so thrilled. All the sweaters and jackets are made of Léttlopi wool, which is a medium-thickness Icelandic wool.

I think I have now knitted the pattern in 7 different variations:

First, I knitted the pattern as a cardigan for myself, with a hood for maximum everyday usability, in a really beautiful, fresh gritz green with yellow, red, and purple.

And because my sister liked the jacket so much, I knitted her the same pattern as a jacket – basic color black with brown, yellow, and green.

Later my husband got the same pattern as a classic lopapeysa (= sweater), in Icelandic colors - main color blue with red and white.

A dear friend then got the pattern as a sweater in purple, gray and white - to match the purple lupins here.

And for another dear friend, I knitted the pattern as a turtleneck sweater in turquoise, light green, and pink. It was a surprise gift for her move, and somehow those were just the colors I immediately associate with her. This time, I knitted the Lopapeysa with a matching hat with lovely, plush pompoms.

And because child 4 has somehow grown and outgrown his previous lopapeysa with a Viking pattern, he also received a new sweater at the beginning of the year – with an open collar that can be turned up, at the request of the knitter. He picked out the colors himself in the store, choosing "Hafblár" (= "Sea Blue") as the base color, along with "Vertrarbraut" (= "Star Nebula") and "Bleik samkemba" (= "Pink Symphony"). Oh, yes – in this photo, my husband is wearing our youngest's new lopapeysa.

I knitted this current version for a dear relative at the beginning of summer. I had asked her beforehand what her favorite colors were. The answer was: orange, dark red, purple, black, and a vibrant green. Well, just how vibrant the green is is a matter of opinion, but overall, I think I was able to pull off the colors quite well. And I knitted the Lopapeysa with a hood - because I know how much she loves hoodies. I feel the same way!

I'm still a bit handicapped after my accident on the patio in July. Unfortunately, my left shoulder is still not quite right, and I can't knit the way I'd like to yet—I really miss that! But I hope I'll get better... I still have two unfinished knitting projects here, and I've already bought yarn for the next one!

[Translated from here.]

Ég prjónaði húfu

I knitted a hat - a special hat for a special friend

We have a dear friend whom we met five years ago in the hot tub at the Borg swimming pool, and who has since become something like our "Icelandic father." Someone we can truly rely on whenever we have a problem. He also usually takes us to the airport when we're in Iceland.

When he dropped us off at the airport in April 2024, we were relatively early – and he insisted on driving us a bit toward the Blue Lagoon on the newly built and recently opened road over the fresh lava. I wasn't entirely convinced, and the signs along the road saying "Do not stop under any circumstances, the lava is still hot!" or something similar weren't just for fun; they were meant seriously. And there was still steam rising from the asphalt on both sides...

I was relieved when he turned around and we drove back towards Reykjanesbraut and the airport - but it was definitely a special experience!

And here, on another trip to the airport in August 2024, he wanted to give us a last farewell view of the volcanic eruption from a small hill north of Reykjanesbraut...

It's become a bit of a running joke between us that he regularly asks me on the way to the airport if he should include a little detour somewhere...?!? But there's currently no active volcano on Reykjanes, so it's "safe."

But with our special volcano tours with him in mind, I've knitted him this hat - I hope he likes it!

Kær kveðja, best regards!

[Translated from here.]

Knitting pattern "Strawberries"

"You guys really live it up with strawberries!"

At least, that was the comment of a friend who saw this promotional photo of us with our new book – the strawberry book with its beautiful retro cover, which my husband made, me with my strawberry jacket, and my husband with his inconspicuous pink shirt covered in strawberries. Next to me, by the way, is our strawberry plant, and I haven't even shown the new strawberry vase in the kitchen yet. In that sense – yes, we're really living it up with strawberries!

The idea for our new strawberry book actually came from a birthday present for a special friend who has been working in a strawberry greenhouse in Iceland for years. As a food blogger, what could be more natural for me than to create a photo book with some Icelandic strawberry recipes for her birthday?

I knitted her a strawberry hat to go with the photo book, and we gave her our presents at the birthday party.

And because I liked the strawberry hat so much, I immediately knitted myself one . Here we are, at Þingvallavatn, overlooking the mountains, the blue lake in front of us, and the blue sky above us.

And because I liked my hat so much, I also knitted myself a cardigan with a strawberry pattern to go with it.

Now I can drive around Iceland with my strawberry jacket and it keeps me nice and warm!

The strawberry jacket, however, is unique. I based it on the pattern for a Léttlopi sweater, knitting it top down, but I knitted the sweater open as a jacket. I started with 108 stitches at a wide neckline and then increased according to the pattern, knitting in a total of 12 strawberries. I knitted the waistband and the solid-colored pieces with needle size 5.0, and the pattern with needle size 5.5. Then I sewed on a red two-way zipper (length 65 cm).

If anyone wants to try it, in one form or another, this is the (homemade and adapted) strawberry pattern I used as a template.

By the way, I think the strawberry jacket also looked great on my husband when he was putting the finishing touches to the book and the great cover here in our Iceland house!

With that in mind—we live strawberries! Knitted, too!

[Translated from here.]

þetta er bara tímabil

It's all just a phase

If I'm not working on a knitting project, I sit on the couch in the evening, my hands are idle, and I'm not happy. I really feel like something's missing.

But most of the time I have several knitting projects going on at the same time, at least in my head, and then the wool for the next project is already here, while I still have to finish knitting the one before that.

I've definitely been having a pink phase lately - I've been stitching one pink little lopapeysa after another.

By the way, these two sweaters have the same pattern , but in different sizes, so they look a bit different. And the different colors and color contrasts make each one look completely different!

I finished the first little pink Lopapeysa before Easter.

I'm still working on the second little pink Lopapeysa, but the sleeves are still missing.

Unfortunately, I'm not making that much progress. I'm knitting much faster these days than I did when I first knitted my first lopapeysa in 2020 after a decades-long break. Back then, it took me several months to complete a project. Now, in my daily routine, I manage about one lopapeysa per month, and in good months with less daily activity, I can even manage two.

But sometimes I can even sit outside on the terrace and the wind doesn't steal my ball of wool... that's really nice!

But the next project will be less pink! But maybe something with purple again...? Somehow, I always have ideas in my head...

[Translated from here.]

A new Lopapeysa Icelandic sweater for my youngest

Icelandic sweater / Lopapeysa

Since we got our Icelandic house, I have (re-)discovered knitting with great enthusiasm and have been knitting for my entire family and other very special people for about five years now - primarily with Icelandic wool and with Icelandic-inspired patterns with round yokes.

In March 2023, I knitted a Viking-inspired lopapeysa for my youngest (child no. 4). I had seen the pattern for the round yoke in a knitting book; it was modeled after a classic Viking longship, with dragon heads on the bow and round shields on the side planks. I immediately fell in love with the pattern...!

Didn't he look cute, my little "Wickie"?!?

However, my youngest has definitely grown in the last 1.5 years – when he wanted to wear his lopapeysa on New Year's Eve, it was clearly too short in the arms and was already starting to show a bit of a belly. So, it's no longer the ideal fit, at least not for a warm sweater!

Then, in January, we went to the store in Reykjavík to buy new Léttlopi wool for our upcoming knitting project, and my youngest chose the colors for his new Lopapeysa himself.

He chose 9419 – "Hafblár," or "Sea Blue" – as his base color. He also selected 1702 ("Vetrarbraut" – "Starry Nebula") and 1412 ("Bleik samkemba" – "Pink Symphony") for the pattern.

And then I started knitting...

At the beginning of February, the new Lopapeysa for Child 4 was finally finished – he'd already put on his new sweater, but there hadn't been a presentable photo of Child 4 in his new Lopapeysa yet. We've now made up for that...!

So, child 4 is now back with an Icelandic sweater. He's happy – and so am I. The new Lopapeysa should fit for a while now!

[Translated from here.]

Lífið er litríkt

Life is colorful

“Colorful” means “litríkur” in Icelandic. Sounds good, right?

I think it's nice when life is colorful, happy and varied - and I also like to bring more color into my everyday life, especially on gray days. So I also like to knit beautifully colorful things!

Somehow it spontaneously happened after New Year's Eve that I knitted a leftover sweater from the Léttlopi wool leftovers that have accumulated in our Iceland house over the last few years. At first I thought I would just knit another hat, but after I started I changed my mind.

My leftover sweater is of course with a round yoke, like typical Icelandic sweaters, but without a pattern and completely ribbed. I think it feels particularly soft and fluffy and is really warm!

As a precaution, I jotted down how I knitted the sweater in bullet points in case I wanted to do something similar again. Maybe next time as a cardigan...? I just hope I'll still know what I meant with my embroidery points here..!

I used up all the Léttlopi wool that I had left somewhere in the house, only some white wool was left...

When the sweater was finished, we did a “photo shoot” in the snow. We were driving around Selfoss anyway and then I stood in front of a big pile of snow on the side of the road with my colorful sweater and my colorful self-knitted bobble hat. My husband took a photo of me.

I thought, against a background like this, the color stands out even more and clearly shows exactly what I'm about - more cheerful, colorful color even for gray days! In the photo here I brightened the colors a bit so you can see better how colorful my sweater actually is.

We definitely had fun taking photos!

My next knitting project will be a classic lopapeysa, a typical Icelandic sweater with a round yoke... My youngest offspring has outgrown his lopapeysa, he clearly needs a new one! We bought the wool in Reykjavík and my youngest picked out the colors himself. So I'm taken care of again and can relax and relax in front of the TV in the evenings and wind down...

[Translated from here.]

Endurlit 2024

Looking back at my Iceland year 2024

Now January is already half over and I'm just now getting to my annual review of last year! Somehow there's too much going on again...

Beginning of 2024

Our year 2024 began in Iceland, in our little house here, cozy with husband and child.

Shortly after New Year's Day, child no. 3 and his girlfriend came to visit for an "Iceland in Winter" impression. Unfortunately, child no. 3 had already been sick in Germany before New Year's Eve, with fever and a cold. He was feeling much better again, so they flew to Iceland to visit us as planned at the beginning of January. Unfortunately, he felt really dirty after the flight. He spent the next day in bed but got progressively worse and after he coughed up more and more blood we took him to the emergency room at the hospital in Selfoss. Diagnosis: pneumonia. Well, that's how we met an Icelandic bráðamóttaka (= emergency room)...

When we returned in February there was another volcanic eruption on Reykjanes, and this time the lava hit the infrastructure. The hot water pipe was destroyed. So no heating in the houses - and that in the middle of winter. All public facilities were closed. People were asked to save electricity by only having one electric oven per household so that the network was not overloaded. There was then a defect in the cold water pipe, and due to the pressure drop there was sometimes no cold water.

Because we flew with Play, departing at 6 a.m., we had booked a room in a guesthouse in Keflavík the night before the flight. Luckily, that worked, even though there was no hot water and the electric ovens couldn't be used for hours in the evening, because otherwise - if everyone was cooking more or less at the same time - there would have been another power outage. But everything went well and what I remember most is how we snuggled up comfortably in our beds in the evening...

During the Easter holidays we visited our grandchild in Iceland for the first time - we particularly enjoyed that!

Iceland summer

Our summer in Iceland was again full of very different experiences - both culturally (from the church concert in Sólheimar with Páll Óskar to the mud tractor event in Flúðir to a visit to the house of Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness and the Pride Parade in Reykjavík)...

... as well as culinary. The very special highlights for me were the food tour with Sabrina from Bitesized Iceland at the Old Port of Reykjavík and of course the invitation to eat with Fröken Selfoss for an Icelandic menu that really contains almost everything that one associates with Icelandic cuisine. It was just an absolutely amazing culinary experience!

Northern lights in autumn

Autumn surprised us with wonderful northern lights, the likes of which we had never seen before.

We were also able to experience the increased geothermal activity in the high-temperature area of ​​Haukadalur, around the geyser, and a very atmospheric Halloween evening with lots of happy, singing children roaming the streets in Reykjavík.

Also, on October 22nd, the second day Grindavík reopened to the public, we were in the city for a short, very impressive and oppressive stay.

In November, Linava's Minnisspil about Ísland was published, a language learning memo game about Iceland, with 36 typically Icelandic terms and the Icelandic vocabulary. It was originally released in 2022 as a Sweden memo game and now in November 2024 Anne von Linava has released further versions (after Swedish now Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Scandinavian with all 5 languages). I was able to be the inspiration for the Island version, which was a lot of fun and I just love the game so much!

End of the year

The year 2024 ended for us where it began - in winter in our Iceland house. Here we are in the hot pot, wonderfully relaxing in the hot water, there was snow everywhere and the sun was setting, bathing everything in a very special, golden light... A nice end to the year with my loved ones!

And another annual review of some of my knitting projects from last year:

For Christmas there were bobble hats, first one for child no. 2's girlfriend, then - because the knitting went so surprisingly quickly - another one in pink for child no. 1 and finally one in black for myself.

In the spring I knitted the gray cat slá ("axlarslá") as a shoulder warmer as a birthday present for a friend. For Easter I knitted the yellow Slá with the purple bunnies.

In the summer, even more slár as a shoulder warmer on cool Icelandic summer evenings - here I have photos of the dachshund Slá for a very special colleague of mine, of two petrol-colored shoulder warmers with plant motifs on the edge and of my sheep Slá from the thin Plötulopi -Wool.

In the fall I started knitting a few Christmas presents - the thick red and white Lopapeysa as Álafosslopi, i.e. the thick Icelandic wool, in the colors of his football club for child no. 2, a Christmas Slá in Christmas colors with green and red for my sister and Lopapeysa in petrol green with a light green and pink pattern for a friend who has lived here in Iceland for years, but still had no lopapeysa! There was also a bobble hat with pink bobbles in the same colors...

With this in mind - I'm looking forward to many new knitting projects in the new year! I've already finished the first sweater of the new year and I bought the wool for the next Lopapeysa in Reykjavík this week... after child no. 4 has successfully grown out his Lopapeysa, I think he needs a new one!

[Translated from here.]