Dear Ann,
It’s a sheep-off! I’m beginning to think that sheep are taking up cinematography as a profession. After I posted on Monday about Visit Norway’s charming sheep-centric tourism campaign, several people wrote to tell me about what’s going on in the Faroe Islands. (In case I’m not the only one who can’t keep their mental geography straight, the Faroe Islands are an archipelago of 18 islands, population 49,000, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located in the sea sort of near Iceland and Norway and Scotland–way over there in the Stranded Colorwork Time Zone.)
In an effort to get the Faroe Islands mapped on Google Street View, a young woman named Durita, who works for the Faroese tourist bureau, has put 360-degree cameras on solar-panel harnesses, on sheep. The sheep then go about their normal business, and also film the Faroes in all their splendor. (Unfortunately, we are not told the names or hobbies of these sheep, as in the Norwegian campaign. But it’s a beautiful thing.)
One amusing thing is that commenters to Durita’s blog have pointed out that there are other ways to get on Google Street View besides an elaborate petition process involving sheep. These people evidently do not understand that putting cameras on sheep is the whole point here. Cameras on sheep! What don’t you get about that, people?
Here’s Durita, putting the first camera on the first sheep:
BUT WAIT JUST A MINUTE. I am totally burying the lede here. What’s up with Durita’s sweater?
Isn’t it lovely? Reader Tamara S. wrote me days ago, when I was still watching Norway’s camera-sheep, to ask about Durita’s sweater: “Any thoughts about whether a pattern exists, or someone who might be willing to create/adapt one, or who might make a better guess about the yarn, or type of construction? It looks so simple and elegant!”
So I put that out there. My opinion: it looks like bulky Icelandic (or Faroese) wool, such as Léttlopi or perhaps even Alafoss, knit to a loose gauge (as we did when banging out our Mary Jane Mucklestone Stopover sweaters back in February). It looks like raglan seams at the shoulders, not yoke construction as used in Icelandic sweaters. It’s stockinette stripes in widths from 3-7 rows or so, with a row of purl at the color changes. Somebody find it! Or knit it, or something. It’s awfully stylish on Durita. I think you could get a similar look using a generic top-down raglan pattern, or Stopover, for that matter (if the raglans aren’t the key thing for you), and just striping it in these colors.
Thank you, dear readers, for telling me about the Faroese sheep-cams, and also thank you Knittyblog, for blogging about them in the first place.
Happy weekend, all!
Love,
Kay
P.S. Let’s not forget about Google Sheep View, searching for sheep on Google Street View, a project by ding and mike.
I love when Durita asks “How do we get the camera back?” and there is dead silence. LOL
By focusing on the sweater, I think you’re missing the whole point: the colorway! Charcoal black, cream, slate grey, soft teal, with that brilliant pop of scarlet red? That’s a PERFECT Fort Tryon Wrap right there.
Thank you for this and the Norway video. I have new fun things to watch now 🙂 Also, that sweater is beautiful. We need to figure it out!
Sheep! No better way to start my day, though it’s going to be breaking a 60 year old record here today, in the 100s again, and wool is not in the foreseeable future.
Stranded Colorwork Time Zone–good laugh to start the day. Thanks.
I think you nailed the sweater pattern, although there may be some waist shaping in there too. And the colors! Also liking the inventor guy’s hat, that may need to be charted out as well.
Gosh! I am “Tamara S” and I now feel famous! Love the sweater and all these sheep and their beautiful views, and I will always appreciate people with a sense of humor – they’re sprinkled all over! Thanks for the tips on the sweater construction too – but I do love a good pattern. I’m hoping someone creates one. With all the incredible and talented designers out there it would be for someone a no-brainer, it’s just that the someone isn’t me. Thanks for the follow-up blog post and for everything else I appreciate but regularly fail to specifically mention.
Stranded Colorwork Time Zone. Hahahahaha! You cracked me up! I haven’t even had more than a few sips of coffee but that still got through my mental haze!!!
Me too! So funny!
Same here, except for “coffee” read “tea”!
Love those colors. The yarn looks halo-y and soft. dreaming of autumn.
“The Sweater” also appears to have something of a flat (not rolled), wide, almost boat-neck collar — you can see her brown t-shirt peeking out from underneath a few times. I’ll leave the inventor’s hat to the folks who are still set on “Stranded Colorwork Time”, but a pattern for his sweater could also be useful. Let’s see…DK wool or finer, ribbed mock-turtleneck collar, negative ease, set-in sleeves….
If the Faroe Islands are in the Stranded Colorwork Time Zone, which zone or zones are us North Americans in? “Granny Square Afghan”?
There is a very good view of her sweater if you click the Faroe Islands tab on her blog. Very clear and close up if anyone wants to see.
A visit to the Faroe Islands is on my bucket list (along with Shetland Wool Week and Estonian Craft Camp). This is marvelous. Thanks, Kay and Tamara!
My first thought was that the sweater is crocheted. What do you think?
My first thought was that it seems entirely possible that the sweater is one by Guðrun & Guðrun; it’s very similar to this one on their website: https://www.gudrungudrun.com/vasi-black/white.aspx
(Also, that would be an appropriate wardrobe choice to make if you’re working for the Faroese tourist bureau)
It looks like it’s got a bit of mohair haze like the one in the link when I view the full size image – mohair’s super popular in Norway as well!
And thank you for “Stranded Colorwork Time Zone” !
I think there’s a purl row at the color changes in the striping. Love the sweater, the hat, and especially the sheep. Yay sheep!