FO: Olive

Oh, ugh, I am so disappointed with this little pullover.  It just looked so adorable and casual and wearable on the model, I jumped right on it with needles and yarn.

I mean, it made the model look like this:


(c Helen Isager)

But me?  It had quite a different effect on me:

Ugh, really??  I even added waist shaping to try to pull in the sack a bit.  This just doesn't fit me at all, and I have no idea how my neckline ended up being a gaping maw of terror.

See?  The cute little scoop neck just splays out across my shoulders and I'm tugging at it constantly to re-shape it into a scoop.  I got gauge, I made the smallest size knowing it would be billowy and I'm not exactly willowy, but still.  I wanted it to fit and I was really thrilled with the colors I chose.    

It had cute details though- the yoke and the sleeves are in garter stitch, and the rutching at the neck and waist added interest to the sack.   I was in love with the shiny Danish packaging of this pattern and didn't see the reality of the situation before it was too late.

And I loved the yarn I used- Sanguine Gryphon Bugga in Tulip-Tree Beauty, with some assorted scraps for the garter bands.  I like the fit and drape of garments made in sock or sport weight yarn best, and because most of the knitting was fairly mindless I didn't take me all that long.  However, being handyed, there is more purple in the top half of the body than the lower half.  I didn't alternate skeins. I can live with that- it's not the worst thing about this pullover.

So I'm gifting this, which is just as well as I'll never wear something that I have to fidget with constantly and even wearing a sack around the house is just a bad idea.  I'm still searching for a lightweight casual sweater.  I've been having fit issues all over the place this year, which seems to be a phase that I can't get out of.  Maybe it's a time to make some socks for a bit.

Pattern is Olive from the Amimono collection.

Falling in love with all things Danish

Hello! Here are some more pictures from Copenhagen (so. old. news.) before I launch into new adventures...

The impressive gourmet Torvehallerne Market. It wasn't cheap, but it had some beautiful and quality mostly food items.

There was a vendor there selling products exclusively from Bornholm, an island a bit further north up the coast. She had the most amazing Gotland lamb fleece. I am a convert: I spent the rest of my time there coveting all things Gotland. It was so soft and silky. The Gotland I've touched in the US feels like carpet wool in comparison, but I totally see what the big deal is now.

A first:

At Rosenborg castle, they made me PAY to have the option to take pictures inside. Seriously.

Kind of worth it? I guess? Indulge me.

A lot of the artwork was very french-inspired.

Mostly, I was in love with the gardens here.

Mermaidens

Two museums that I hit that I would recommend (both free!): The National Museum and the David Collection. No pictures allowed at the David, but it was a really amazing collection of Islamic art that was mesmerizing. It made the rest of the collection of Danish and European artist look amateurish.

The National Museum was huge. Denmark has a policy that all artifacts from the past can not leave the country, so they have a wealth of artifacts reaching back to the stone age. There were well-organized rooms full of creepy peat-bog sacrifices and Viking artifacts.

Awesome Rune stones, and lovely plundered treasures abounded.

Mostly though, I just loved walking around. It's a very pretty city. There is a ton of construction to get around as they are extending the metro, but there were plenty of places to see otherwise.

The lovely old stock exchange:

The vibrant, picturesque and touristific Nyhaven.

It was mobbed, with tourist spilling out of the cafes and people getting go-cups to sit on the pier with.

Amalie Garden, next to the marble church.

You wouldn't have guessed it from all the tourist shops slinging figurines and postcards, but yes, there is a mermaid chilling out in the harbor.

Even though there were signs saying not to climb the statue, plenty of people, ahem, men, were gamely climbing the rocks so they could have their picture taken giving the bronze a nice grope, proving that tourist can be dicks all over the world.

There's no pictures allowed in Christiania, and for good reason. It's an old military base taken over by squatters and made into a community of hippies (or hippie-minded) and tourist coming to buy pot, and quite a few prudes rubbernecking and looking around nervously at the whole thing. It was really unique- there is a "pusher street" filled with hash and pot stands, all covered up with military camouflage (a joke- the government wanted the dealers to be "less visible", so they now hang out under camo canopies).

There are rules posted: Absolutely no pictures, no weapons, no biker gangs, no body armor, no fireworks, no hard drugs, no running (it creates panic), no cars and no selling of stolen goods. Cannabis is not legal in Denmark, but somewhat tolerated in this one area, and they are trying hard to have their idealistic self-governing hippie utopia. It's really a unique place. I'm sure it has the ability to scare some people off, but there was some really unique homemade architecture and art works all over the place and it's totally worth a look even if you aren't buying.