The last project of 2015

I am always surprised how fast December passes by. This, combined with neglecting the last years promises of starting preparations for Christmas in due time, resulted in a stressful month… But now the Christmas cakes are eaten, the presents opened and the family gatherings done. And in-between there have been some time for knitting and finishing the last project of 2015; my kofte. Well, here it is! It is lined with a latvian twist and can be closed with clasps in pewter.
I have written details about the start of it before, you can find it here and about my more traditional one here. And a few more lessons learned when knitting without any pattern… such as:

-prepare and plan well (the body is a bit too slim and too long)

-keep an eye on the gauge (I accidentally used a higher needle number on the body compared to the sleeves…grrrr)

-always use stitch markers (the middle of the front ended up a few stitches aside from where I started off…)

-be sure to have enough yarn (I needed to undo some of the swatches I made to have enough).

Patterns inspired by Norwegian nature

All edges are lined by latvian twist.

The lining is covered by a woven band.

Well, all that said, it still turned out pretty nice I think! It was inspired from the yarn colours from the small Norwegian spinnery Telespinn. I rarely knit with such stark colours, but these I could not resist. I first thought of the contrast between fjord, mountains and green grass, but I named the pattern (which I doubt I never manage to write down!) Aurora; I grew up in the Northern parts of Norway where the winter sky frequently would be painted by the fabulous Aurora Borealis phenomenon.

The kofte turned out to be a bit small for me, but one of my daughters is fond of strong colours and immediately fell in love with it; it is the best when knitting wear is loved & used!