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2013: Steven Be & Stephen West in Iceland

admin — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:31:35 +0000

If you are the kind of knitter who appreciates male knitting rock stars with names that start with an S, this might just be the tour for you!

Join us for a colorful and superduper inspiring knitting tour that features two of our all time favorite knitting boys, Stephen West and Steven Be. We will stay at lovely Hótel Óðinsvé, conveniently located in down town Reykjavík just a few steps from the Handknitting Association of Iceland.

Reykjavík is awesome in August, this we know! This tour will center around the Reykjavík city life but of course we’ll also take you out of town on two of our top sightseeing tours, The Woolen West and The Woolen Circle. We’ll include inspirational classes with the featured instructors and let’s not forget to mention that the amazing Reykjavík Pride Festival, that draws around half of the Icelandic nation down town to celebrate diversity and equal rights, happens to be scheduled for Saturday August 10th.

At a glance
Dates: August 8. – 13. 2013
Accommodation: Hótel Óðinsvé, a four star boutique hotel located in the cozy and trendy 101 area, just a stone’s throw from the main Reykjavík shopping area.
Instructors: Ragga Eiríksdóttir, Stephen West and Steven Be.
Included: accommodation in a shared room for 5 nights, delicious local meals (5 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 3 dinners), 8 hours of knitting classes/lectures, sightseeing, your very own knitting guides, discount at local yarn shops and Lopi for an Icelandic Lopi sweater in your size!

Price: 3300 USD*

Click here to access our sign up form

*Note that price does not include airfare to and from Iceland.

If you prefer, our travel agent/partner LT Travel can find you the best flight rates available.
For those who want to book their own flights we recommend checking:
www.dohop.com – search engine

2013: Ysolda, lambs and Lopi

admin — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:16:23 +0000

Join us for the lambing season in Iceland with instructors Ysolda Teague and Ragga Eiríksdóttir. The tour combines the best of Reykjavík while staying at the super trendy Kex hostel and few days out of town in a cozy guest house on the enchanted Snæfellsnes peninsula. We’ll meet sheep, lambs, farmers, dyers, spinners, designers and artisans. May is wonderful in Iceland, the days keep getting longer and longer and nature is getting greener by each day that passes. We’re very excited to welcome Ysolda again as an instructor on a Knitting Iceland tour – she LOVES Iceland and so will you!

At a glance (note the change in dates and tour price from our previous announcement)
Dates: May 24 – 29, 2013
Accommodation: The super trendy and awesome hang out Kex hostel and Guest House Langaholt on the beautiful Snæfellsnes peninsula.
Instructors: Ysolda Teague and Ragga Eiriksdottir
Included: accommodation in shared room for 5 nights, delicious local meals (4 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 3 dinners), 12 hours of knitting classes and lectures, class materials, bus transport within Iceland, a visit to botanist/dyer Hespa, sightseeing, discount at local yarn shops… and more

Price: 2990 USD*
Book and pay for your tour before December 22nd 2012 to receive a 10% early bird discount.

Click here to access our sign up form

*Note that price does not include airfare to and from Iceland.

If you prefer, our travel agent/partner LT Travel can find you the best flight rates available.
For those who want to book their own flights we recommend checking:
www.dohop.com – search engine

Iceland tours in 2013

admin — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:35:24 +0000

We are superduperknitalicously excited to announce our tour schedule for 2013. We’re also overly excited about the guest teachers we’ll feature on the tours. Here are the names and dates:

May 23. – 30.
Ysolda lambs and lopi
Featuring Ysolda Teague
Theme: Flattering sweaters, improving shape

July 10. – 17.
Knit with Cat in Iceland
Featuring Cat Bordhi
Theme: Innovative knitting and exciting new methods

June 26. – July 2.
Ukulele under the midnight sun
Featuring Amy Singer
Theme: alternative fibers, getting published, ukulele under the midnight sun

July 28. – August 4.
Nordic traditions
Featuring Beth Brown-Reinsel
Theme: Nordic Traditions

August 8. – 13.
Stephen West and Steven Be in Iceland
Featuring Stephen West, Ragga and Steven Be
Theme: go nuts with knits

September 2.-9.
Featuring Anne Hanson
Theme: Inspiration, bring nature into your knits

Of course Knitting Iceland’s own Ragga will be on all of the tours as your bona fide Icelandic knitting tour guide and all the tours will include her popular Lopi knitting classes.

Here is the link for signing up! We can’t wait to see you in Iceland…

The Clara Parkes Iceland fiber experience

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:17:52 +0000

… or the Clara Parkes fiber and chocolate extravaganza… or the fantastically awesome woolly, chocolaty Clara tour!

Yes we love her! And she’s coming to Iceland – why of course!! After all it’s the most fiberly and knittiest island in the North Atlantic.

You can join us for a tour that will contain a hefty dose of fiber, unforgettable sheep chasing and wrestling, Clara’s classes, world class chocolate tasting, all the Lopi from your wildest dreams and of course the usual; spectacular nature, delicious meals from the best local ingredients and excellent company of knitters from near and far.

Here is the full itinerary

And here is the sign up form

The tour at a glance

Dates: September 18-25 2012
Accommodation: Grettisborg Apartments located in down town Reykjavík and Langaholt on the beautiful Snæfellsnes peninsula.
Instructors: Clara Parkes and Ragga Eiriksdottir
Included: accommodation in shared room for 7 nights, meals, knitting classes, transport within Iceland, delicious local meals (as stated in program), Lopi for your very own Lopi sweater, sightseeing – for details see program.
Price: 3760 USD*

Early bird price – valid until March 30th – 3360 USD

*Notice that price does not include airfare to and from Iceland.

If you like, our travel agent/partner LT Travel can find you the best flight rates available.

For those who want to book their own flights we recommend checking:

www.dohop.com – search engine
www.icelandair.com – airline
www.icelandexpress.com – airline

Gudrun & Mary Jane in Iceland 2012

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:40:32 +0000

Happy times!

We are delighted to present two of our favorite knitting designers, Gudrun Johnston and Mary Jane Mucklestone as guest tutors on a 2012 tour. Presenting: West fjords, Knitting and Culture.

The tour will combine the phenomenal Icelandic West fjords, Reykjavík Culture Night and Marathon and of course a healthy dose of knitting, nature, delicious meals and fun company of knitters.

See the full itinerary

Here is the sign up form

The tour at a glance
Dates: August 12-19 2012
Accommodation: Grettisborg Apartments located in down town Reykjavík and Hof, a peaceful place on the beautiful West fjords.
Featured guest instructors: Gudrun Johnston and Mary Jane Muclestone
Included: accommodation in shared room for 7 nights, knitting classes, transport within Iceland (including domestic flight), delicious local meals (as stated in program), Lopi for your very own Lopi sweater, sightseeing, pool entry fee – for details see program.

Full price: 4200 USD*
Early bird price – valid until February 20 2012 – 3900 USD

*Notice that price does not include airfare to and from Iceland.

If you like our travel agent/partner LT Travel can find you the best flight rates available.
For those who want to book their own flights we recommend checking:
www.dohop.com – search engine
www.icelandair.com – airline
www.icelandexpress.com – airline

Testimonials

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:57:39 +0000

People talk! And we’re super happy that our guests talk A LOT after they come on tours and help us spread the word so we can introduce the fabulous Icelandic knitting atmosphere to more knitters. At this point we have a group of happy customers in all corners of the world, including USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, Holland, England, Sweden and more… We have collected some tour testimonials in a little article. Read it here.

Classes in USA

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:37:47 +0000

Icelandic knitting classes in USA
So Ragga is returning to the States in 2012 for teaching her popular classes on Icelandic knitting techniques. In January you can meet her for classes in New York and Pennsylvania, in February it’s time for California and in April she’ll will be giving classes in the Midwest.

USA class schedule:
January 16th (6-9 PM): Brooklyn General Store (NY). Class: Steeking without fear. BGS has a Ravelry group:http://www.ravelry.com/groups/brooklyn-general-store-grou…

January 17th (11 AM – 6 PM): The Tangled Web, Philadelphia (PA). Class: The little Lopapeysa, that’s the classic Icelandic yoke sweater… but hey you knew that already! Here is their Rav group:http://www.ravelry.com/groups/tangled-websters

January 18th (1-3 PM): Conversational Threads, Emmaus (PA). Class: Speed Steeking. A 2 hour version (for busy knitters) of one of Ragga’s most popular classes in the States.

January 19th (1-5 PM): Conversational Threads, Emmaus (PA). Class: Iceland upside down. The Little Lopapeysa knit from the top. Such fun!

January 20th (1-5 PM): Conversational Threads, Emmaus (PA). Class: The little Lopapeysa.
Here is the CT Rav group: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/conversational-threads

February 24th-26th: Stitches West, Santa Clara, CA. Classes: Steeking without fear, Iceland upside down, The joy of top down knitting and Tunisian crochet reinvented. Note that all classes except the Tunisian crochet are sold out but there are still some pretty amazing classes available with a very impressive list of teachers.

April 13th-15th: Midwest Masters Weekend Retreat, Neenah, WI, hosted by Yarns by Design. Classes: Steeking and knitting in the round, Icelandic chevron mittens, Iceland upside down, Tunisian Crochet and North Icelandic Rose Mittens. There you’ll also be able to attend classes with this fabulous trio: Lucy Neatby, Gwen Bortner andBarbara Brown-Reinsel

The classes at the Knitting Iceland workspace in Reykjavík will of course continue – so if you are passing by, please check out our class schedule. The classes are often mixed language so don’t worry if your Icelandic needs some improvement

Mystery

admin — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:56:36 +0000

Ragga found this lovely shawl at a local thrift store this summer. We have been ripping our hair out trying to figure out how to knit up this pattern. Do you recognize it? Is it handknit or possibly machine knit…?

A similar shawl is stored in the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle – their theory is that it’s probably machine knit

If you recognize the stitch pattern or if you have seen something similar, we would LOVE to hear from you (ragga@knittingiceland.is).

Anna’s shawls

admin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:56:15 +0000

Anna Dalvi is one of the lovely knitwear designers we have been admiring for long. Her website and her popular knitalongs have earned her a reputation as one of today’s knitting world’s most interesting shawl designers. Anna’s fans have been waiting eagerly for her first published book – Shaping shawls (Cooperative press, 2011) – and now it’s out!

We love the book – and decided to interview Anna about her designs and in particular her mathematical thinking and approach to shawl designs.

Anna has kindly given us an electronic copy of the book – we will be drawing a winner from our mailing list on the last day of September – so make sure you are on the list!

Anna, when did you start knitting?

I first learned how to knit when I was a child. Not sure what age exactly, but perhaps around 8. I can’t actually remember who taught me, but it was either my grandmother or mother – most likely a combination of both. Later we had to learn how to knit in school, but since I already knew how, I got to knit socks while the others were knitting potholders. My socks were knit in a thick wool yarn that was bright orange and hot pink (need I say this was in the 80s?). When I finished my ribbed socks, with a fancy heel and stockinette feet I was very proud and wore them once. Then they got washed in the washing machine and shrunk, and I was devastated. And then I figured out that I could hang them on my wall and admire them a bit longer.

And when did you do your first design (and what was it)?
I had a thing for Fair Isle in my teens, and particularly the Nordic star motifs. My first design that I can remember was a pouch, perhaps 30×30 cm with a large Nordic star in white on a dark blue background. At the time I was in scouts, and I used pouches like this to pack various items in my gigantic backpack for hikes (shirts in one, socks and underwear in another, etc) so I could easily find what I was looking for.

How did you end up designing lace shawls?
I knit my first lace shawl in 2007, when a friend suggested I join a Mystery KAL (knitalong) hosted by Pink Lemon Twist. This turned out to be the Swan Lake Stole. I had a lot of fun during the KAL, and loved the format. When the KAL ended, I looked around for another one, but couldn’t find anything, so I decided to design my own and offer it as a mystery KAL. I thought I might be able to get 20 knitters or so that would be interested in a KAL by a complete unknown designer. That was Mystic Waters, and before I knew it, 1,400+ knitters worldwide had signed up to knit my lace shawl. The rest is history.

How much of a math geek are you?
Ha ha. I do confess that I have always loved math. It’s so neat and structured, and there is always a right answer (or perhaps several). I have a BS in Computer Science with a concentration in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, and I do like the applied math. Knitting, and in particular design work is very much applied math as well, and I really like that.

Does your background in programming affect your way of looking at lace knitting?
Well… yes. Or perhaps it’s that I ventured in to programming for the same reasons that I ventured into lace knitting – it’s all very logical, and also applied math. I think it all comes back to the math for me. Both programming and lace knitting also have a creative aspect, so really they have a lot in common.

Is lace knitting only for people who really, really like math?
No. We all think about things differently, and we can arrive at the same place by travelling many different paths. Math is an integral part of my design work, but I don’t expect every knitter to think about the math behind the design. And I don’t suppose that every designer out there structures their designs the same way as I do. To some extent, we do all use math while knitting (counting, calculating gauge, etc), but as soon as you mention “math” some people really shy away from whatever it is that you may be talking about. Math is not something to be afraid of, merely one tool (of many) that can come in handy while knitting and designing.

Can anyone become a lace knitter?
I think that anyone can become a lace knitter, as long as they have the desire to knit lace. Lace knitting is really no harder than anything else, as long as you take it one stitch at a time. There are knits and purls, yarn overs and a few different decreases. Occasionally some other stitches appear, but really, nothing is particularly difficult.

Are your designs influenced mostly by your Swedish roots or by your current environment in Canada?
Hard to say. All of my experiences have helped make me the person I am today, and that, in turn, influences my design work. I do tend to draw a lot of design inspiration from nature, and both Sweden and Canada play a big part in that. At the same time, I also love a lot of literature, such as fairy tales, sagas and mythology, and since I’m an avid reader, there’s a wide assortment of stories to draw upon there.

Who is your target knitter (who do you want to buy the book)?
Lace knitters are eager to create something beautiful and unique, and many lace knitters like to customize their shawls – as a step towards designing their own. Taking that step to creating your own design seems to be hampered by a lack of understanding on how to shape the shawls, and the relationship between the lace pattern and the shape of the shawl. Shaping Shawls takes the adventurous knitter through the construction of triangular, rectangular and square lace shawls. It explains how the various shapes are constructed and provide a sample pattern to illustrate each type of construction. It also discusses some ways to expand on the basic construction to create visually interesting shawls that are different from many of the lace shawls available.
Since the book also contains a number of patterns used to illustrate the various constructions, it would also appeal to any lace knitter. But it will be of particular interest to those who wish to use the concepts learned to create their own designs.

If given a HUGE budget and helpers of your choice what would your next knitting related project be?
I would love to design a couple of large afghans. But I would have to have a lot of knitting help, and of course the cost of yarn for all the samples would be a lot higher than the yarn for the shawls and fingerless mittens I’ve been publishing of late.

What’s next in real life?

I’m working on another book for Cooperative Press. It will be published in the summer of 2012. I’m also adding the last few patterns to my Seven Fingerless Mittens collection. And I’m designing a number of different items with Zen Yarn Garden, that will be released sometime in 2012. Lots of different things.

You say recycling…

admin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:42:51 +0000

This week I am going to be teaching my first spinning class ever (hope to see you Thursday evening!). It has me thinking about all the different details there are to keep in mind. Top whorl? Bottom whorl!? Wool preparation, staple length, twists per inch, s vs z, and so much more. But this is only the beginning.

Once the creative juices get flowing, I start thinking about all the different ways you can make a spindle. There are cultures that spin with just a rock, using it as a weight to hold the wool down and twist it around. But it can get so much more elaborate! The recycling bin is the perfect place to scrounge up spindle materials.

…I say spinning-waiting-to-happen

To get you going on making your own, check out some of the ones Ragga and I have been putting together! Old CDs work well, as do chop sticks, bottle lids, rubber bands, hanging hooks and more. The most important part of any spindle is the balance- you want to be able to keep it going. Make a few and see how you like them!

Left to right: CD drop spindle, traditional spindle, chop stick and jar lid spindle, another traditional spindle