I've finally started the Danish nattrøje by Beth Brown-Reinsel from Interweave Magazine Winter 2004 . I'm doing in Rowan's 4 ply cotton in a shade called monsoon. The yarn is from my stash, bought about 2 years ago and is the most gorgeous shade from greeny blue. Every year, I seem to make a green sweater for myself, so why break with tradition?
Given that I have a tendency to blog about projects then make no move at all to do them, perhaps seeing nearly a ball of yarn knitted up speaks volumes. I want this sweater. I even looked up how many days it too one of the fastest knitters to knit Kinsale so that I can have a benchmark. I'm not as fast, and far more fickle, so the likelihood of me getting this done by early May is .. slim...
I so love this sweater but only had interest in it after seeing it on Jody. The model is wearing the second size, but looks so blooming swamped, that it just wasn't flattering at all.
The details on this design are superb but with small needles, multiple charts and lots of stitches, it can be slow going. See that slightly crinkled yarn? That was due to me ripping 8 rows (nearly 2400 stitches) because I forgot a few choice purls.
Surprisely for such a soft yarn, the stitch definition is pretty good.
The original design was made in 5 ply guernsey wool. I just don't think that I would be able to wear such a tickly yarn against my skin, so it had to be cotton.
* the title is the winning Eurovision song in 2000 sung by the Olsen Brothers, representing Denmark. My Nattrøje is a continuing love of all things originating from Scandanavia...
Posted by atu at April 8, 2006 11:54 PM | TrackBackNow I'm all inspired again! I don't have the IK but was trying from "Knitting in the Old Way" - the alpaca I was using was NOT the right choice. Must have cotton! :-)
Posted by: Theresa at January 28, 2007 10:24 AMAs others I have been surprised to see the much better presentation of the Nattrøje in blogs around blogland and here, the photo in IK never looked really inspiring, too boxy and looooose. But once again I'll put it on my list of Things I Might Do If I Live To Be 100. And cotton seems like a great choice, I've fallen in love with cotton knitting after I recently finished Rowans' Martha.
As Helle I can only say: Nice to see a bit of Denmark here... :o)
Hi polly -- thanks so much for the nice compliment. :) I think you have a great blog, and I always love seeing what you do!
Posted by: Jenifer at April 11, 2006 08:23 PMJ'aime aussi beaucoup ce modèle. Mais la finesse des aiguilles m'a un peu découragé...
Mais maintenant que je le vois sur ton blog, il me tente de plus en plus !
So that's where the song comes from! I used to keep hearing it at my gym and really liked it. Lovely gansey you have going there.
Posted by: Anne at April 11, 2006 02:05 PMWhat a monster project, P, but I like the yarn. I was wearing my "Martha" today in 4 ply cotton and it was just right, and prettier than I remembered it from last summer.
Posted by: Sam at April 10, 2006 09:09 PMI just wanted to thank you for visiting my blog the other day, I was delighted to see your comments as I have been avidly (if shyly) reading your blog for the last 8 months or so, in fact ever since discovering the beautiful Kiri which was the start of my love affair with lace knitting.
I will be watching the progress of this beautiful sweater with interest and I bet I'll be amazed, as ever, at the incredible speed with which you seem to work.
Posted by: Rebecca at April 10, 2006 08:32 PMHi Polly. Love your colour choice for the sweater. It's also on my (ever growing) to knit list! I think you'll have this finished in no time at all.
Posted by: Ling at April 10, 2006 05:23 PMA favourite designer of mine, though I've only knitted two designs. My gansey took forever to finish!
Posted by: dawn at April 10, 2006 01:36 PMWow! It's gorgeous. I like your color so much better than the one in the magazine photo. I sometimes find it hard to get past the color of something I see . . .
Posted by: Wendy at April 10, 2006 12:35 PMYour sweater is going to be lovely, Polly - what frightens me is that you know the title of the winning song in the 2000 Eurovision!
Posted by: Belinda at April 10, 2006 09:04 AMlovely colour! don't you have a few days off for easter? surely you'll finish it before the end of the month! ;-)
Posted by: kris at April 10, 2006 08:58 AMI forgot to say that I had never even considered using cotton but it obviously works well. Yours looks lovely and the stitch definition is great! Maybe you'll get me motivated to dig mine out.
Posted by: Janet at April 10, 2006 03:06 AMI started the Nanttroje last year but have been sidetracked by other things. I'm using the Guernsey wool that I got from Frangipani in the Claret color. I really love the yarn. I do have a high tolerance for the itch factor though. There is also another blogger, Cassie of TooMuchWool who was knitting it in a fingering weight soft wool.
Posted by: Janet at April 10, 2006 03:04 AMI love the color as well! It think you've flown through the first skein pretty quickly, so If you keep up the pace, it'll be finished in no time!
Posted by: Wendi at April 10, 2006 02:43 AMLovely colour. All the details make for an interesting and beautiful project. Can't wait to see how it turns out.
Posted by: brooke at April 10, 2006 02:30 AMYippee! I love Nattroje and it's fabulous that you're knitting it, too! Have a good time. I love the color you chose.
Posted by: Jody at April 10, 2006 01:31 AMFabulous color! I did not care for the sweater in the mag, then I read your blog and went to Jody's blog. Now I need to make this sweater.
Posted by: Jennifer at April 10, 2006 12:01 AMWhat a GOREGEOUS color! I love it! Can't wait to see it finished!
Posted by: Marsha at April 9, 2006 11:43 PMWhat a GOREGEOUS color! I love it! Can't wait to see it finished!
Posted by: Marsha at April 9, 2006 11:42 PMThis is gonna be one gorgeous sweater Polly! Great color choice!
Posted by: Debi at April 9, 2006 10:52 PMIt looks promising, and I really like the colour you chose. From the photographs I would never have guessed that it is a cotton yarn.
Hope you enjoy the knittting so much that it flies off the needles before June is here!
Posted by: Charlotte at April 9, 2006 04:42 PMOh WOW, Polly! This is going to be a really fun project to watch. I've admired that sweater in the magazine, and like you, I was skeptical about the guernsey yarn--wouldn't it turn out stiff as a board?, etc. Using cotton was a clever idea.
Posted by: Beth S. at April 9, 2006 03:50 PMGosh I never looked at this one twice - so bad was the photo in the mag ( in my opinion ) until now. It looks so good on Jody - and such an interesting knit. Beautiful colourway you have chosen - I have some too in my stash just waiting for the right project!
Posted by: carol at April 9, 2006 03:00 PMThis one has been on my list of one's I'd like to make ever since I first saw it. I'll be taking a close interest in your progress. I love the stitch definition you are getting with the cotton, I'd been thinking about using one of my cones of lambswool/cashmere but now I'm wondering how much of the 6ply Italian cotton I've got left in a single colour - perhaps today will be spent playing in the cones cupboard!
Posted by: Yvonne at April 9, 2006 10:45 AMNice to see at bit of Denmark in your blog! Will you believe it, I didn't even know there was a thing as the Danish Nattrøjer before I saw it in IK....
Greetings from Helle, Denmark
Posted by: Helle at April 9, 2006 07:14 AMI liked that sweater when I first got the magazine ... but then the super boxy style put me off. But the stitch pattern is surely beautiful. I would be watching your progress closely ... wishing you would get it done soon. :)
Posted by: Agnes at April 9, 2006 03:57 AM