knitting | making

new project on my needles: the april blouse from sandnes garn

May 22, 2023

Do you love this pattern as much as I do?

photo @sandnesgarn

I stumbled upon the APRIL BLOUSE from Sandnes Garn the other day while scrolling Instagram and I immediately knew I wanted one. I loved the light brown color, the loose fit, and all that texture!

I think this blouse will be a nice addition to my closet for when the weather gets hot. And seeing that it most likely won’t be hot in Marin until at least August or September, (I’m still wearing sweaters!) I should have plenty of time to knit mine before the summer ends.

photo @sandnesgarn

Of course, this project will require my full attention, as this doesn’t look like an easy knit – just look at those details!

But, I’m up for it.

Sandnes Garn is a Norwegian brand that I haven’t been able to find locally. So, I was thrilled to find out that I could purchase this yarn and the patterns online in the U.S. through motherknitter.com.

This pattern is part of the SOMMER DAME Collection / 2305. You can get the brochure with all the patterns (available in English) when you buy enough yarn for one of the projects on the Mother Knitter website.

photo @sandnesgarn

There are some other retailers sprinkled around California that carry this yarn, but I’m not sure you can buy just the brochure from any of them.

I ordered all the materials to make the APRIL BLOUSE a few days ago and over the weekend I enjoyed looking through all the pretty patterns and photos.

photos @sandnesgarn

This blouse is worked in the round from the hem up using 100% cotton yarn called Mandarin Petite. I chose the same color as the one in the photos, but there are over 40 colors to choose from!

Unfortunately, I realized I needed some #2 needles before I could get started. Finding a 2.5mm needle in Marin was not easy (I guess it’s not a very popular size), so I spent most of Saturday trying to find one. I found a 24” “Addi” circular needle (metal) that is working fine, so far. I rarely use metal needles, so I’m glad I only need these for the ribbing, although they are growing on me. But I love bamboo.

Another pattern from this collection I want to try is called DAWN SINGLET.
This looks a little easier. So, if things get a bit too difficult with the APRIL BLOUSE, I might have to cast this one on sooner than later.

photo @sandnesgarn

I’ll post my progress soon. In the meantime, may you have a beautiful week knitting up something beautiful. Let me know what you think and what you’re working on in the comments!