Diva?

| | Comments (28)

I met up with Kristy on Saturday. It was great to meet another knitter who lives nearby and have a *real* conversation about knitting.

After having our fill of strangers talking to us (seriously, what is it with people thinking it's OK to inject themselves into your conversations when you're knitting?), we took a walk down to Pins and Needles.

They had a Hanne Falkenberg trunk show going on, and I finally got to see Diva in person.

I've envied this sweater for a while now but always dismissed it, thinking the yarn would be super-scratchy and the garter stitch would be inflexible.

I was wrong.

The yarn is somewhat-scratchy -- it's no merino, but it's not the scratchiest stuff out there either. And the drape -- there's serious drape! From what I could tell the gauge is slightly larger than what you'd expect for the yarn, so it created a nice drape. The collar was sculpted and lovely.

I'm still concerned that I would grow bored of all that garter stitch. It's A LOT of garter stitch.

Have you knit a Hanne Falkenberg sweater? What do you think? Am I taking on the apparel version of the knitted blanket? And even if I am, will I be able to stop myself?

28 Comments

diana said:

Go out and purchase this kit immediately!

beth said:

I MADE this sweater - was SO much fun - but - here's the part you may not want to hear:
it GREW so much I cant wear it - and I am large! and it is incredibly short- as in REALLY short and I had lengthened it.
BUT - that said - was a fun knit and you will not get tired of garter - SO much shaping and the short row collar is FUN.
I plan to make another of her sweaters SOMETIME.
I made 3 of her STELLA beret pattern.
If you love it - GO FOR IT. Remember - make a size smaller than you think you need and lengthen if you have any doubts re:length.
Have any questions, let me know!
Back to lurking.... Beth

kim said:

i'm in pins and needles at least twice a month and i was surprised last time i was there to see the falkenberg kits and some other new additions. i really need a job that's not within walking distance of a yarn store!

Maud said:

I haven't knit any Hanne Falkenberg designs, but this one looks lovely! I have had bad luck with garter stitch growing in the past (look for Charm by Kim H in my blog), and I would swatch very carefully, and think a lot about Beth's comment too.

Karma said:

Oh my goodness. That is the cutest thing. I love the collar. The whole design is such a meld of old (is the collar shaping 1940s-ish?) and new (mod styling, no?). Love it.

Debi Leshin said:

I hate to be the voice of reason but I've yet to see a Celtic Dreams. Weren't *we* knitting from stash until MDS&W? :)

Ronni said:

I've made the Tokyo and am working on the Mermaid. Beautiful sweaters and beautiful construction.
Tokyo got done because I gave myself a timetable to finish.
Have to do that with Mermaid now.
You can get the Falkenberg kits for a much more reasonable price at Cucumberpatch or Sommerfuglen (not sure of spelling now but email if you cant find them).
Go for it! You'll be glad you did.
Ronni

Eva said:

I have a danish coworker whose DIL knits her any Hanne Falkenberg she wants. The DIL loves to knit but not for herself... so I regularly get to see the items up close and personal. I haven't made up my mind yet which one I want to knit for myself though :)

Cheers Eva

Yep, I've knit one for my Mum -can't remember the name of the apttern, but also mainly garter stitch, and she still wears it lots and gets masses of compliiments.

Perhaos being careful to do a sizeable swatch and washing and abusing it first? Not that I did - just lucky, I think!

colleen said:

I can understand why you would want to see this design before knitting it. I love those cuffs.

stacey said:

that is one amazing sweater - the lines, the fit...love it!

kate said:

I've been thinking about making that. or mermaid. you know, in all my spare time.

Kathleen said:

I have Studio in my stash. I wear Granny's La Strada all of the time. It is not itchy at all. Granny said the construction was fun and likened it to eating peanuts.

Lolly said:

Okay, that is seriously gorgeous. You should totally make it, J. I love it ;)

Kristy said:

This is a hard question to ask on a blog-- of course everyone wants you to make it. It's free to watch :)

It *is* a lovely sweater!

lola said:

Mermaid is pretty and it kind of sparked my interest, but this one is gorgeous! Go for it.

MJ said:

Ooh. I posted recently about this gorgeous thing, because I want to knit it! I even found the best price, and where to buy the yarn if you want to make another one:

http://yummyyarn.indus3ous.com/archives/2007_03.html#000472

I say go for it!

Eileen said:

You should definitely make Diva. I made Pagode about two years ago, and it IS an awful lot of garter stitch. But the color changes and the construction keep you interested and the end product is fabulous. I am certain you will be as pleased with Diva as I am with Pagode. I'll be watching for your progress!

Chris said:

I have a Mermaid kit waiting for me to get up the nerve to knit it. Make sure you check out Cucumber Patch in the UK for great prices.

kris said:

go for it! i love diva.

Pioggia said:

I have no comments on Diva but I do wish you luck if you choose to try it. I love how your socks turned out.

maureen said:

Once I got over my intial "$250 is highway robbery!" reaction, I could admit it is indeed a lovely sweater. Making it would be an investment of time and money, so I think you need to ask yourself, Do you love it? Do you covet it? In reading your entry, it looks like the answers are "yes."

kelp! said:

I've had my eye on that pattern, too - I love the olive and purple colorway. A friend made the Mermaid pattern, and it turned out really gorgeous! Mermaid also had a ton of short-row shaping, and she seemed to complete it fairly quickly. discount.

I´ve made Diva, Mermaid and I´m knitting Ballerina right now.
It´s so much fun knittng Hannes models. You go for it!

Sarah said:

It looks like a really beautiful sweater. I've never made a Hanne sweater but it sounds like everyone else liked them!

Jen L said:

There is a Hanne Falkenberg KAL at http://hannealong.blogspot.com/

I'm with you on Diva. I love it in the photos, and I even tried one on at my LYS. But for some reason, I haven't taken the plunge. I'll be interested to see if you go for it! I vote, "yes!"

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HCJames said:

Whats up ! Love your blog thanks for sharing it with me

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This page contains a single entry by published on April 3, 2007 8:02 PM.

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