I knitted the ANKESTRiCK Holsten jumper through the summer in anticipation of winter (typically), and I knitted it from some Panache baby Alpaca/merino that I had in my stash.
I originally bought this wool for a vintage striped jumper that I was going to knit and I had one ball of blue and one ball of red and just a few balls of cream. I thought I could squeeze this jumper out of the existing wool and I did! I put the blue round the neck and cuffs and tied it in with the red by adding a small stripe at the bottom of the red.
My sizing turned out to be perfect (it doesn’t always!) and this is the softest, warmest jumper I’ve knitted for a while. I brought it on my holiday with me and here it is in Vancouver. In the photo above I’m standing on the map of Canada looking at Australia. This is in the Portal Park, which has a beautiful pavilion and gorgeous Japanese maples.
One of the things I’ve loved about our visit is the blossom everywhere. The Rhododendrons have been simply amazing. This one is near to the entrance of Granville Island Markets, and, although it clashes nicely with my jumper, I had to include it.
This jumper is an easy knit, but a couple of things I notice with all ANKESTRiCK’s patterns are that the necks are quite wide and the sleeves are pretty long. The sleeves were an easy fix, I just measured myself and knocked off a few centimetres, but the neck was a more interesting problem. I considered casting on fewer stitches as the jumper is knitted top down and I figured I could just do a few extra rows, but in the end I cast on with smaller needles and did four rows with them before switching back to the correct needles. This did bring the neck in a bit, but if I make this jumper again, I’m going to go down the fewer stitches and extra rows route. Standing awkwardly with hand in back pocket tells me that I was over posing for photos, but couldn’t resist putting this one in because of the view.
I was attracted by the stripe going through the body and one sleeve, and I think this is a lovely design feature – much nicer than if it was knitted through both sleeves.
I have a few layers on under this jumper – a silk long sleeved t-shirt, and a merino ruched neck top, which I’ve clearly never blogged as I can’t find it. I’m also wearing some jeggings, which followers on Instagram will have seen recently as part of my Fashion Revolution posts, knitted socks and Birkenstocks. Trust me, I was warm and comfortable!
I also wore the jumper to visit Capilano Park, and I conquered all the walks twice! Here I am crossing the suspension bridge, which is a bit scarier than it looks here
and some cheesy tourist shots, but I do love totems, so had to include these
Finally, an aww! moment. A random stranger insisted we sit in this photo frame and have our photo taken, so here it is! We have noticed how friendly people are in Vancouver. Every day we are helped and given advice from complete strangers, it is marvellous.
Love the pics. Your jumper is cute and looks perfect next to the totems! My favorite picture though is the one of you and Mark – the perfect picture for a frame!xx
Awww, thanks Tania. Having a ball here!!
Lovely sweater. I agree that having only one stripe makes this piece so interesting. So glad you’re enjoying B.C. Western Canada has much to offer for sightseeing. In some parts of western Canada, spring can’t make up it’s mind if it’s staying or if it’s returning to wintry weather.
I am quite enjoying this weather as I can use my wintery clothes. Such a beautiful part of the world.
Interesting jumper and I like the sleeve band it works really well. You certainly have found more in Vancouver than we did and love the photo of you and Mark.
Vancouver is a great city. I’ve been a few times so find something new every time.
So lovely pictures! Can you believe that I first didn’t remark that the stripe doesn’t go over one sleeve? This feature surely makes the sweater interesting!
Bon voyage!
Thank you SaSa, I am loving this jumper/sweater!
Lovely jumper – love the stripes . Interestedin the top down aspect, I’m a very novice knitter and I’m trying to “get” it. Jumpers are well beyond me.
Looks like Vancouver is wonderful
You have to knit in the round which means no seams but it’s probably slightly trickier than flat knitting. Keep practicing you’ll get there!
I’ve done a neck warmer on a circular needle & Gary’s hat on 4 but I think making a jumper is rather out of my league
Just the same only bigger!
Very nice! Stripes look so nice and fresh right now, and the asymmetry of this is wonderful.
Thanks Roxane, I do love stripes!
How I love this superb jumper on your slim figure! (Makes me want to shed some kilos now!) It seems that you are making the most of your visit and ‘m glad you find Canadians friendly.
We are loving it here. Using local transport to get about and talking to strangers. You do not need to shed kilos!
You look great especially with the totem poles. I have done this sweater too. It’s a lovely thing to wear. Very simple with the little band of colour across the bust and one arm. I love t.
I love that the stripe only goes through one arm – it doesn’t chop you up as much as if it went through your whole body – if that makes any sense. Lovely photos of Vancouver. It usually rains more over there than here so I am glad you are having good photo weather during your holiday. That shot of you looking up the bridge stairs makes me dizzy already. I don’t know if I could do it! And yes that was an AWW shot – very cute photo of both of you! Enjoy the rest of your holiday. I enjoyed our lunch!
Thank you Linda. You would feel marvellous if you did it. Maybe don’t look up either!! We have had great weather and a great time. We leave on Monday so a bit more to do. I also very much enjoyed our lunch, my turn to pay next time!
😂 Have fun! Safe travels!
Such great pictures, thank you for sharing! I wish you a lovely time in Canada! 🙂 I really like that sweater, having the stripes on only one sleeve makes it look very interesting and expensive! 🙂
Have a great time!
Thank you Katharina. We are now heading up into the Rocky Mountains.
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
THE POSITION AND WIDTH OF DARK RED HORIZONTAL STRIPE IS COOL. DE-EMPHASIZES…AND YET IS REALLY DISTINCTIVE AND ATTRACTIVE! 🙂
GREAT DESIGN!
Lovely sweater, and I’m sure it has been very welcome in Canada. Your photos are lovely (yes, particularly the one of you both together!)
Aw, thank you Kim. I love this jumper (and my husband!)