Laventeli Sweater

Last week went by in a sort of haze: I travelled back from VKL - Vogue Knitting Live in New York, released the last pattern for the month of January and tried my best to settle down to Finland time. Changing timezones can be a bit hard on your body and mind, I certainly felt it after coming back!

But let’s just start with saying out loud that VKL was amazing! I met so many lovely and wonderful people, I had full workshops each day (and full days of teaching too), I met so many old and new friends and simply had the best time. I can hardly recommend the event enough! And to top of all the amazing things over the weekend, I got to attend the gala dinner and hear the key note speech by Aimée from La Bien Aimée. Oh my, it was wonderful! So inspiring and so heartfelt. It made me want to focus on my creative side more and I am now determined and put in all the work.

But today I mainly wanted to talk a little bit about the newly released sweater pattern of mine: Laventeli Sweater.

This gorgeous fluffy dream sweater was started already last Spring in a way, because that’s when I bought the first skeins for it from Säie Wool. At that point I was thinking about a cardigan, and holding only one strand of Mohair but pairing it with a fingering weight yarn. However, during the Spring and Summer months I was starting to lean heavily into a double stranded Silk-Mohair sweater! And so by the time I had cleared some space on my needles, it was already October and I needed a travel project for my lovely Portugal week with my dear friend Maria G.

I had this idea of a simple sweater with some easy texture, settled for 3 x 1 rib, made a swatch and casted on. Little did I kniw how long it would take me to actually finish my sweater! For some reason, I felt like double stranded Silk-Mohair just doesn’t grow. No matter how much you keep working on it! So I just keep going and going, trying to stay clear from other cast-on’s (a very difficult task for me!). And finally! It was finished.

Luckily the project was a hit from the start, I knew I would love it and knew this fit is something I will always be drawn to: relaxed and with just the right amount of positive ease. Lucky, because I was not feeling like ripping back or frogging this thing! I know some say that freezing you mohair-projects might make them easier to frog, but I’m glad I didn’t need to!

What I love most about this is the feather-like feel of it when you wear your Laventeli Sweater and the finishing touches: tubular bind-off’s at hem and cuffs. And that folded neckline! Oh so lovely and pretty! Also I can’t help but to love this lilac color to the moon and back. I’m ready to knit most of my things from now on in this very same color, Blackberry Yoghurt by Säie Wool. Previously my definite color crush was their Oh So Pretty (that sweet blush pink), but I think I have a new favorite!

I also love the knitting process of this sweater a lot. You start with a square back, then pick up stitches for the shoulders and shape them with short rows. Then join the shoulders for the front and finally back front for the lower body. Stitches are then picked up for the sleeves and lastly for the neck ribbing. And once that is finished and bound-off to the WS, you’ll be done with the sweater!

I hope I have encouraged you to start your own Laventeli, because I do think this is one of those sweaters that you will love and wear forever. And maybe there’s still a cold spell coming and we can all use this warm and light layering piece when it comes!