Twisted friends
Back in July I met two great guys and wonderful knitters: Ivar (a.k.a. Asplund on Flickr and Ravelry), a Swedish knitter who at the time was living in Israel, and Doug (a.k.a. DougLaughlin), the friend he was visiting in Los Angeles. They came over for a knitterly afternoon on the 4th of July and I had the most pleasant and relaxed time with them.
Ivar brought a beautiful sweater he was knitting with the twined technique. If it weren't that I have some serious UFOs to get out of the way and that LA weather is not really right for twined knitting, I would take it up in no time.
His Flickr pages are worth a visit just for the outstanding and flawless gussets. And you can see more of his work in this video of a recent exhibition. The video shows off some of his beautiful sweaters.
Doug was very gracious in putting up with Kelvin's lap requirements on such a hot day and managed to keep knitting despite the frequent tail interferences. Talk about being a good sport…
Some details of Ivar's twined sweater.
I wish I had remembered to take pictures sooner in the day, because I missed Doug's socks and vest and other sweaters.
But I may get another chance… the lads are coming back tomorrow. :)
On top of having a great time, I received a large skein of yarn that Ivar brought from an island off the coast of Sweden and green-headed matches in a box graced by a Linneus botanical illustration.
The yarn is a deep red with the slightest heather effect and subtle variations in color. Soon after their visit I started a scarf with the Melon Scarf motif from Victorian Lace Today. Not much progress so far, but I think tomorrow will inspire me to get back to it.
Maybe fluffbuff is back…
Comments
That sweater .... wow!
Posted by: Punkin | October 10, 2008 3:26 PM
Ouf !!!! (In French )
Finally !!!!! ( in English )
Danièle
Posted by: Danièle | October 11, 2008 1:11 AM
That is some interesting sweater. I've never seen that technique before. And the yarn looks great. No wonder you want to cast it on. I also used a kitchen item (meat tenderizer ;D) to wind a ball of yarn before.
Posted by: Angelika | October 11, 2008 2:01 AM
Stunning sweater! And that red yarn is gorgeous! Hope you make something equally stunning with it :)
Posted by: fleegle | October 11, 2008 3:36 AM
Hooray for Fluffbuff :) And I'm in awe of that twined knitting.
Posted by: rosie | October 11, 2008 9:53 AM
Is twining a sweater similar to 2-ended Scandinavian knitting? Because from the pictures, it sure looks like it.
Absolutely magnificent!
Posted by: Laura | October 11, 2008 9:50 PM
Ivar's knitting is truly amazing, now I have to go find more about this twined knitting technique.
Welcome back and please stay with us :)
Posted by: Rachel | October 12, 2008 11:48 AM
That sweater is fabulous! I think I would have figured out a way to keep it.
And your nostepinne just cracks me up. That red is my absolute favorite color.
Posted by: Lorette | October 13, 2008 12:53 PM
Missed you! Very fun to see you posting about yarn again. I love your book reviews too!
Posted by: Claudine | October 13, 2008 1:39 PM
Yikes! That sweater is amazing! Ooh, and I love that red yarn---juicy!
Posted by: Lydia | October 13, 2008 10:16 PM
It would be so nice to have Fluffbuff back as well. (BTW I could use a twisted friend or two like yours!)
Posted by: Bobbi | October 14, 2008 5:26 AM
Hey, you're back! Is that red yarn from Gotland by any chance?
Posted by: Peggy | October 15, 2008 1:23 PM
Peggy, the red yarn is not from Gotland. It's from another island off the coast of Sweden but I can't remember the name.
Posted by: Francesca | October 15, 2008 1:28 PM