But I sort of feel wordless now since she took so much of my time and energy and concentration. Although I must admit that I'm more pleased with her than what I dared to think beforehand. And am happy that I pushed through those days of frustration and boredom.
She has been on the needles since September 12th. Katariina is twined knit with 3 mm needles with z-plied wool from Firma Krokmaskan. The colors were numbers 230 and 205. The design is my own. 
The embroidery is influenced by an embroidery that can be found in "Embroidery" by Pepinpress (ISBN 90 5768 038 6). The wool for the embroidery is from Renaissance Dyeing.
Somehow I hope that I won't be diving into another everlasting sweater but there are two colors that talk to me in Krokmaskan's color chart...But not just yet because there is a demand for lace now. Really, I have to knit a lace shawl next, I have been asked for.Tina will be back with her Finnish and she will try to answer the questions then. She is happy to have something to think about since the hunting season is over and the days are cold and dark and the nights even colder and darker and there really is not that much for a little dog to do.
89 comments:
wow, what a beauty! i always love your embroidery touches, but this one is even more special. enjoy it!
Lovely, your embroidery is exquisite
Lene, that is an absolutly stunnuing work of art! You are such an inspiration, thanks to you I have taken up embroidery again.
Ann
I feel the same way as Ann. Katariina is beautiful and I am thinking more about using embroidery to embelish, especially on my felted bowls and baskets.
Your sweater is beautiful and your embroidery is the perfect finishing touch, just gorgeous! The background scenery is beautiful, too. Your work is always inspiring.
That is absolutely gorgeous!
Katariina is lovely! Graceful, lively and practical as well. This inspires me to make my own wearable art. Thanks for sharing!
That is perfect! The colour combination and embroidery are just so beautiful.
Just a wonderful "piece" of knitting!!!!
Greetings from Germany
Andrea
That is an outstanding sweater. But before you cast on for the lace--don't you think Katarina deserves a matching hat? With embroidery around it? It seems to cry out for a matching hat to me!! (And since I don't have to make it, words are quick, aren't they?)
this is simply beautiful, the embroidery really makes it special.
What a beautiful sweater -- the design, the colors, the knitting, the embroidery. Exquisite.
Oooooh, you leave me wordless. It's just so beautiful in all respects...
I love it! Very beautiful knitting and pattern.
beautiful, the embroidery is special.
I still think you should be illustrating books,
Beautiful! Many congratulations!
The embroidered flower on back is the perfect finishing touch. I agree with Marlyce about a hat.
I'm curious about the background knitting under the embroidery. Did you use smaller needles?
Katariina is lovely. The embroidery and the square neckline are so beautiful, but also the colour combinations are excellent.
Simply beautiful! The embroidery is perfect for it.
she looks lovely in the u. how does she feel?
oh lene, that is stunning work. just beautiful.
ohhh, she is breathtakingly beautiful and so elegant! Congratulations and thank you for sharing!
janeen >^..^<
That is utterly exquisite - and the embroidery is incredible.
Lene, Lene, Lene, Katariina is absolutely 'full of wonder', and I'm with Fiberjoy on her comments, and question. I so agree on the hat...
Lene, so well done!
Words escape me to convey the beauty of Katarinna! You did a wonderful bit of knitting and embroidery! I await your lace knitting! Give Tina a little scratch for me! Does she sit at your feet as you knit?
I find her so simple and beautiful, I'm a bit speechless now.
You're a gifted one!
Thank you for posting and inspiring us.
As Sophie wrote: I feel speechless - not able to find the right word, just sitting here with open mouth...
Wonderful!
Franziska
When you delurk do you have to say something amazing? Because I am speechless. Miss Katariina is truly lovely. And you are so quick. I need to make a twined something...
It's truly beautiful, Lene. Congratulations!
This sweater is gorgious! I really should try the twined knitting some day.
And I love your embroidery.
Most of all, I'm jealous of your weather. It'll be my dream forever to more to northern scandinavia, hopefully one day ...
Kudos to Tina!!
Looks fabulous, and we can only take your word on the time it has taken, you seem to have knit it so fast!
Just gorgeous, and I assume you are pleased with the way she fits you too! What a treat to have her for the cold winter.
~bonnie
Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! Good thing really that you kept on going, even when it got boring.
Katariina is so beautiful! And Tina's Finnish is very very cute. :)
As a break from doing report cards, I came over here to see if you've updated and--wow. Your sweater is lovely, and the best part is the embroidery at the back of the neck. I too think it calls for a hat.
You are amazing. The sweater and the embroideries are absolutely breathtaking. And to think that a sweater begun on the 12th of december is a long project- I really couldn't agree less. Well I suppose that depends on how much of each day you spend knitting, but still I think you have been very quick.
Lovely photos- would be even lovelier with a live model ;-)
correction: not december, I mean september. I am a little sleepy... :-)
Congratulations! Katariina is magnificent and it's an amazing feat that you finished it in less than two months.
Katariina is stunning! It was worth all the wait. The embroidery details are beautiful. Thank you for showing us this work of art!
Elegant and stunning all at once! Wonderful job!
Your sweater is just stunning. It must feel and fit as perfect as it looks.
Katariina is so beautiful! Thank you for the inspiration. I admire your tenacity to complete her. She is a work of art!
Wow. oh, Wow
that is absolutely gorgeous. and i am completely taken by that divine little flower on the back of the neckline.
i am only repeating what other bloggers have already said - but it is an exquisite piece of work
It's is beautiful Lene. You are such an inspiration, I love reading your blog. The scenery is looking beautiful too.
Katariina is gorgeous! I am awestruck! Having been on the sidelines watching the progress it has seemed to be done in a small amount of time. Oh, words elude me....you have done such beautiful work.
Congratulations. A very fine job, with the emboidery needle, the knitting needles and the designing pen. Truly an achievement of which to be proud.
One little question: May we please see how it looks on a person? (Lengthwise, its hard to judge on a legless tailor's form.)
Thanks for sharing this lovely work with us.
Beautiful.
Great photos
Attention to detail...a real labour of love.
And by the way, I loved Tina's Finnish lesson too.
wow! you must be very proud,it is just beautiul :)
pippi
that little flower on the back just about takes the cake!
it is gorgeous, as is the whole sweater, and so quickly done!
i love your blog.! your desciptions of the changing seasons captivate.
the photos of your lake are stunning!
i write from canada and find this world of blogs such a wondrous thing. to learn about peoples lives far away in other lands is such a lovely thing. i teach at a school whose school song is
sibelius' " song of peace"! every time we sing it i think of you!
I can't add much to all the nice things that the previous commenters have left about your sweater except to echo everything they have said! Your knitting is wonderful and your embroidery is inspiring. I just love the lone flower on the back of your sweater!
I haven't embroidered in years but seeing all the lovely work you do has got me thinking about it again.
(ps - I recently found your blog during a google search for Rovaniemi mittens while researching a class I'm going to take. I've been thoroughly enjoying reading your archives)
The embroidery is incredible. The sweater is very beautiful.
oh lene! katarina is really, really good! she is simply majestic—and you are right to be proud of her.
That's amazing! I've been dying to see the finished result and it's absolutely breathtaking!
So beautiful! The embroidery is 'piste iin päällä'.
Beautiful; certainly worth all the hours of work.
That really is one of the most gorgeous sweaters I've seen in a long time. The embroidery is divine and simply perfect for the design. I hope it gives you many years of pleasure.
It's immaculate and the embroidery is absolutely beautiful, such a pretty name too, befitting the sweater. The tunic length makes it extra special too.
Lene, This is stunning. It was definitely worth the wait.
The sweater is just beautiful!
Gorgeous! Wow, and it didn't seem to take that long, but maybe it is just me.
She is beautiful, Lene! Many congratulations on finishing her, and I hope she keeps you warm up there in ultima thule!
Wow. No, really -- wow. That's just stunning.
Though I am a bit jealous of your speed. I've socks that have spent longer on the needles than your Katariina….
Lene, it's incredible! Just beautiful.
And you've got me trying embroidery now too!
I hope to be able to make such a fine garment some day! Your sweater design is exquisite. I love the embriodery too and the edging. There is so so so much more I want to learn :-)
I'm a longtime reader and admirer commenting for the first time. Katariina is absolutely stunning and a true piece of wearable art! Your embroidery is truly exquisite and shows many years of study and practice. I love your needlework, writing and pictures. Thank you for sharing with us.
Oh, beautiful! And the finishing details are exquisite. I am in awe of your artistry and also your ability to see a complex project through to completion in such a short time. (It's a houseful of UFO's on my end.) Rather than a hat to complement Katariina, I see embroidered leggings. But I think all these suggestions are evidence of how you inspire us with your fiber art, rather than things YOU should feel inspired to do.
I love the Finnish lessons too, and have managed to find an old, dog-earred (sorry, Tina), Berlitz book, but no tape or CD. Barnes and Noble doesn't have any Finnish materials--the clerk suggested I take up Danish! I would love to get a suggestion of where to get a useful book and CD.
Thank you again for sharing Katariina.
You should sell that pattern Lene, in fact you should do a book of your fabulous knits for children maybe?
Beautiful knitting and embroidery. I've just found your blog through Knitwise. Tina is alo a beauty.
That is positively stunning -- the color, the style, the embroidery! Beautiful, beautiful, and wearable forever.
Katariina jest piękna polska księżna!
"Katariina is a Beautiful Polish Princess"
Looking at Katariina in the snow and ice background, she does not look cold at all, but warm and happy!
kaunis villapaita Lene!
p.s. How do you say embroidery in Finnish?
Job well done! A sweater is such a commitment and I have enjoyed watching your progress -
Just beautiful!
Lene - its absolutely breathtaking. Really, a triumph. And against its backdrop ... pure poetry, no words needed.
WOW !
Wow,wow,wow !
You are a most incredible knitter. So talented and such an accomplished knitter. Really beautiful work.
Lene, you've made a wonderful garment. Not only is the knitting and embroidery so fine, your finishing details leave me in awe. Wonderful to see.
Breathtaking. Katariina speaks for herself, but your words as always are eloquent. What a lovely, lovely piece.
!! I'm speechless.
Congratulations! It looks fantastic.
You finished! :-) I would love to see how it looks on you... hint, hint, hint! :-)
Lace will be so refreshing after all that dense, twined knitting. I cab't wait to see what pattern you choose.
what a stunning piece of work/art/craft. I'm so impressed!
Lene, that is a stunningly beautiful sweater. I am in awe.
Oh, it's *beautiful*! ::happy sigh::
Katariina is so beautiful! The combination of warm and well-fitting is irrisistible, usually warm means bulky and frumpy...And the embroidery...words fail me.
The hunting season is not over in my family, my husband's group got an extra moose from the "bank". Should a father spend a Father`s day ( next Sunday in Finland) with his children, or should he be allowed to do what he likes best himself...? Besides, our freezer is full already!
Simply outstanding! Enjoy!
I saw your post over at the Red Sweater KAL and thought your sweater was just beautiful! The embroidery touches were really nice.
Thanks for sharing!
It's stunning. I love the embroidered bits, too. Glad you put that one at the back of the neck. Nice touch.
She is so beautiful! What an accomplishment - well done :) All of a sudden my twined knitted mittens doesn't look too interesting anymore...
Absolutely *stunning*. You did a beautiful job on her!
Thank you so much for sharing your Katariina journey with us -- it is absolutely inspiring, both because Katariina is so beautiful, and because it took so much skill and patience to create.
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