I’ve been knitting since 2006 and primarily Icelandic wool sweaters. At the beginning of this year I crashed and went through a burnout. Knitting got me through the toughest times until I had a hard time choosing what pattern to knit. So I started designing my own patterns.

It surprised me a lot how good reaction my first two sweaters got so it gave me the confidence to continue.

The hardest thing about this process was to choose a name for my patterns, so I thought, what can I design that would just be called what it is? And that’s where the Zodiac sign theme idea came from. I thought that was a perfect series to start with and it exceeded my wildest expectations!

 

I grew up on a farm in South Iceland and have worked in tourism since 2016. I love Iceland and love to help people enjoy and explore the best parts of Iceland. One of the things that I feel like is essential when exploring the Icelandic nature is the traditional Icelandic wool sweater. It’s so perfect because you can wear it all year round.

 

The Instagram account knitterfromiceland was originally supposed to be a platform where I shared my knitting and maybe a place where I could sell my sweaters but it quickly developed into me designing my own patterns. I wanted to have it in English so that I could reach a broader audience than just Iceland, and I do not regret that as I’ve connected with so many people all over the world and that is something I never expected but has been the best part about this journey!

 

My patterns are available in English and Icelandic and because I’ve connected with all these amazing people, they will be coming in German and Dutch soon as well!

 

Even though this burnout has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through, then I like to believe that everything happens for a reason and something good comes after something bad. I would never have started to design my patterns had that not happen and I have so many more patterns coming soon that I’m so excited to share.

 

Never in a million years would I have dreamed that I’d be a knitting pattern designer, but here I am doing it! I remember where I was standing in my living room when I got a text from Icewear Garn, my favourite yarn store in Reykjavík, asking if I’d be interested in a collaboration with them! I got the amazing opportunity to be their designer of the month of November this year and you can find some of my patterns at their yarn store. I’m so thankful for this opportunity and look forward to see what the future holds.