Thursday, June 19, 2014

bressay


my bags are not packed, but i'm ready to go...
































my first knitted dress! this is bressay, done and done, and ready for it's journey to scotland and the shetland islands (again, deepest apologies for repeating myself, unless you are new here, welcome!) and again standing by the theory that the longer an item takes to make, the more photographs it gets, hee hee. this truly was an outstanding pattern, easily accomplished by even an ambitious beginning knitter. it's top down, a teeny bit of fair isle, sleeves in the round and lots and lots of stockinette stitch (i omitted the pockets). what makes this dress so soft and light (and cozy!) to wear is the loft wool it's made with. one of my favorite yarns ever, there is something magical about the delicate, yet sturdy fabric it becomes. my hap shawl, hansel, joined in the photo shoot, and completes my shetland outfit, plenty layered knitted warmth now  :)

bressay 


 these are my travel journals. in the foreground is a brand new blank book (waiting to be filled!) and materials, to give it a personalized cover...


 trying something a bit different, embroidery, crossing fingers it will work!


only thirty three more sleeps ;)

xxx lori

80 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness Lori, it is gorgeous and looks just wonderful one you. Beautiful job!

    I love your travel journals, what a lovely idea, and so nicely organized. You are going to have such a wonderful trip, looking forward to seeing the cover for your newest journal :)

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    1. thank you so much kim! i hope the embroidered cover works! i love keeping these :)

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  2. oh how lovely! excellent job you did! the photos are wonderful, and i'm jealous! ♥

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    1. thank you very much! my husband is so sweet to help me with photos :)

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  3. Oh I love your dress so much!!! I love all the photos! Take me with you!!!!!

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  4. you are amazing! I just love that dress but my eyes get tired thinking of those rounds...and rounds...and rounds!!! wonderful pics Lori, just lovely and filled with excitement pending

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    1. thank you mim :) ah but one row and then another, eventually make a finished project. it helped to pick this up and put it down also. and then there was the loft wool, it's really lovely!

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  5. Can't wait to see your new journal cover. I make my own journals, and making the cover is always such fun ..those little tags are are great idea too. Any chance we could see some pictures of teh other covers... please.
    Travelling to Iceland.. I can only dream. Have you read Burial Rites by Hannah Kent a very young Australian who lives in my home state of South Australia? A very powerful and moving novel set in Iceland in the 1800's and there are refereces to processing wool and knitting! Look forward to reading about your trael adventures.

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    1. hi keryl, thank you for your comment! i love that you make your own journals, that makes them even more special, more personal! i will take a photo of the covers, they are all a bit different, but nothing embroidered like i'm attempting with this one. thank you for the book recommendation, i will definitely look for it, sounds good!

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  6. Dear Lori, I love this. xoxo Leigh

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  7. what an excellent set of photos for this dress and upcoming trip. Love it all! And, what is this age-appropriate nonsense you speak of??

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    1. hee hee. there was some mentioning of it perhaps being too 'young' for a certain age. i know i know! nosuchthing (all one word!)

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  8. Beautiful! It seems like you were just barely over half way through when we saw you! I can't wait to see your embroidered cover!!! ~Amy

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    1. thank you sweetie! we should have a stitching day with the girls! xxx

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  9. I'm blown away (yet) again at the amazing projects that come off your needles! It's beautiful, Lori!

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    1. aw thank you so much! i so appreciate your very kind words!

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  10. Hello Lori, when are you coming??? Will you come into London before travelling to Scotland?? Could we meet? I would love to invite you to afternoon tea at Libertys. Does your itinerary allow???
    Best wishes
    Claire Pengelly xxxx Sussex, England

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    1. hello claire! chuck and i were just talking about how this will be the first time ever to pass through london so quickly, both coming and going!! i will only have a 2-3 hour layover sadly, or how exciting it would have been to meet! maybe next year, our plans should have us there again (hopefully with a nice long stopover)!
      thank you so much for the kind offer and i hope to take you up on it next year! xxx

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    2. Hi Lori, I would really like to meet you and Chuck, I really want to put my foot right up Chuck's ass. And does Chuck have a last name? We can tell stories all about ourselves, this could be so interesting

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  11. Dear Lori, your pictures are so amazing! I love them all. I wish you very happy waiting for a trip:-)) Me and my Yarn sister:-) we are going to Amsterdam (which is as I noticed included in you amazing diaries:-)) - in two weeks - and she says that the waiting is the best. I look forward so much. SO Happy time!!! Katerina

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    1. dear katerina, thank you so much! how exciting! amsterdam! i do love it there and wish i were going with you and your yarn sister!! i found a small shop there that was just closing, it was late, they very kindly let me peek in and i quickly chose some rowan (that has now been discontinued) i still haven't made anything with it now that i think of it! have a wonderful time!

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  12. Love the dress, the photos, the journals - as always a beautiful slice of your life which you are so generous as to share with us - will look forward to some evocative photo memories of your trip :)
    (Terdotty on rav)

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    1. hello! thank you so much for coming here and leaving such a kind message, i'm so touched. i hope (crossing fingers) to come home with lots of lovely images from shetland!

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  13. You have done a wonderful dress. Looks good and suits you well!

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  14. Dear Lori, stunning pictures!
    You have inspired me with all your talk about the shetland isles, so much that I just purcased a book called: " the magic of Shetland Lace Knitting" for the gift cards given to me from the parents of my kindergardenkids this year, ther was also enough money to buy some yarn, to make a lace piece! When I get back to blogging I will post about it! Have a wonderful, wonderful trip! We are heading in the other direction to sunny Italy, at first, but then of course as every year Sweden! Happy Midsummers day to you today!

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    1. thank you karin-ida! oh how awesome, i can't wait to see what you make! i have that book too, though i haven't made anything in it yet. so sweet of your students and parents, that is a lovely gift! your little bird gauge should arrive any day now!

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  15. Hello Lori:

    What a wonderful dress and what a splendid sequence of images to go with it. And with only little more than a month to go before you set off, you must be feeling very excited. Let us hope that the weather is kind to you.

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    1. thank you dear jane and lance! you are right! it's getting more difficult to concentrate here, at my job and at home. it's a good problem to have though ;)

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  16. Absolutely perfect photos and knitting! You are a genius, Lori :) I wish you a lot of fun on your trip and the best of luck. Did you already come to Iceland? Must let me know if you ever do! And I must take up your beautiful habit of keeping travel journals - love it.

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    1. thank you so much, i so appreciate your kind message and wishes! i hope you will give journaling a try, it can become a lifelong pleasure. oh iceland. not yet, but it's been on my sights since i was in highschool, when i had a penpal from Reykjavik (still have all the letters, so long ago now). then there is my favorite band, sigur ros, and of course knitting. i will be there soon and will hope to meet you (at the shop!?) when i get there!

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  17. lovely dress and of course you need lots of photos :)

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  18. The dress is just perfect and it looks gorgeous on you!

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  19. The dress is gorgeous! And the landscape is just like something out of a Brontë novel (I believe - how would I know, being Swedish?). I hope you will have a wonderful trip!
    Tomorrow I'm off to Amsterdam, and then to Loire. Wine will be drunk. Sights will be seen. A lovely time will be had! :-)

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    1. thank you irene! and yes, the fog rolled in as if on cue. (i'd kind of been waiting for a foggy day). oh! i will travel vicariously with you, remember me when you take lots (and LOTS of photos)?! have a wonderful time!

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  20. gorgeous dress! you will have such a wonderful time on your trip. looking forward to hearing all about it ♥
    have a wonderful weekend xo

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    1. thank you so much deb! i hope you have a wonderful weekend too :)

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  21. So pretty!! I couldn't imagine putting on wool right now, it's 98 degrees here today!
    Have a super summer weekend.

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    1. thank you tracey! i'm hoping the dress will be just right for scotland and shetland. but our coast is a bit cooler than yours and a shawl is always a good idea to have on hand!

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  22. Wow, what a lovely dress! You must be so excited for your trip. Not long to go now :-) x

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  23. bressay turned out beautifully!!!!! so excited for your trip! (hee, hee----I recognize that travel book!!! enjoy!)

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  24. the dress turned out amazing! and how exciting, your trip is just around the corner!!! woohoo

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  25. It rather impossible to think a knit could be as lovely as you are, but I think that dress may have come very close. Both knits are so fantastic. I think we are all counting down the days with you love. So exciting.

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    1. dear andi, thank you. gosh. what a lovely kind comment. thank you.

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  26. Gorgeous dress and you can really tell that you love it. I want to go too, have knit with and love Shetland wool. One day I will. Have you got an empty case for the wool buying? Beautiful post, loved all your photographs, you look so comfortable and cosy and it is such a beautiful garment.

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    1. thank you so much! i have a bag with lots of room, it's not a carry on, but that's okay!

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  27. Such a beautiful dress, Lori! :) X

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  28. Lori, I can really sense your building excitement and enthusiasm for the fabulous upcoming trip. Yes, not many sleeps 'til take off time!

    The sequence of the photographs really make a wonderful story. Bravo to Chuck's very fine camera work, and of course, also to you, dear Lori for being a beautiful model of your latest creations. May I add that the setting, that long, long road with the tire prints, is rather spectacular, too.

    I do love the loft wool, too. Seeing those little bundles of Bernat crewel wool really took me way back to my earliest knitting days. I am pretty sure that I used Bernat yarn. A local department store used to have semi-annual sales of that yarn, and I would save my pennies up to truly indulge. Happy memories there.

    Gosh, let me close this comment. I've got to start the final edging on that Halligarth shawl. Gudrun's instructions are fabulous.

    xo

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    1. dear frances, thank you! this is one of my favorite places in our town, the fog graciously appeared for the photos, really happy about that! i can't wait to see your halligarth, i'm sure it will be stunning. mine has a few rows and is stalled (for now!). xo

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  29. You look absolutely beautiful in your new dress Lori! When I look at the lovely things you make, I wish I had more time :-). Great photo's too, with compliments to your husband!!

    In a month's time the girls and I will be in England as well. Unfortunately not as northerly as you, otherwise I would have loved to meet! Enjoy the pre holiday preparations.

    Happy week!

    Madelief x

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    1. thank you madelief! this project really was wonderful for picking up and putting down, easy to keep ones place. how exciting you have a trip planned with the girls, i can't wait to do that with mine too! xo

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  30. Lori,Look at your beautiful self. Wonderful dress. xoxo

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  31. So, so, so excited for you!!!! Your new dress is just beautiful, and the blank journal such a promise of things to come!!!! Can't wait til you post all about your trip!!! Scotland is the best!

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  32. thank you so much heather! i have heard so many wonderful things, everyone loves it there, i just know i will too!

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  33. Amazingly beautiful - you, the dress, the photo's!
    Sweet dreams...

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  34. love the dress, your boots, your hair, the setting....
    just ALL!
    and the other day i saw a fox
    while walking the dog
    and had to think of you ;^))

    x

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    1. i love that! thank you so much patrice, such kind words. :)

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  35. Wow -- that's just gorgeous and it' looks beautiful on you! Please, oh please blog every little bit of your trip -- Shetland is at the top of my visit wish list!

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    1. i hope you will get the chance to go! i will try my best to share, i've got lots of film and memory cards! thank you very much for your sweet comment :)

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  36. Oh I'm so excited to follow your adventures in Shetland!
    You dress is fabulous Lori! Go, go Shetland!

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  37. What an awesome knit to bring on a knitting retreat! I've never knit a dress, but you're making me want to. It's like the comfiest sweater ever, especially with rubber boots! These photographs would make a great cover for an album of your trip. Have a wonderful time!

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  38. Amazing photo story! Love the dress and photos, thanks to Gudrun who shares your blog on FB, now I have one new blog to follow back :)

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  39. Amazing dress!! Love the simplicity of it, and it suits you very well.

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  40. Wow again ...amazing dress and shawl...I'm so excited for you. I cannot travel around the world like you do ( at least not yet) but I absolutely love your pictures and everything I see through your blog. Lovely, lovely, adorable dress.

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  41. What a beautiful dress, my favorite kind! So impressed that you made it yourself. You look gorgeous!

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xoxo lori