On our last day together as a group, we started the day by prioritizing one of the most important things: pastries. We grabbed rolls with ham and cheese and massive sweet rolls before hitting the road back south by a new route. At a local gas station off route 1 we finally saw a large group of tourists after many days of feeling very uncrowded, and I bought a green juice, trying to make up for the dirth of vegetables I had consumed over the previous seven days. Seeing all of those other tourists somehow made me so grateful for our knowledgeable guide and all of the experience and perspective she brought to our journey.
Our first step of the day was the Textile Museum in Blondous about an hour's drive from the northern city we had spent the last few nights. The museum sits on the coast of the fjord and is directly adjacent to the first women's college in Iceland, and which now serves as the lodging and workspaces for visiting artists in residence for the Textile Museum. While small, the museum was richly detailed, and I was shocked that the staff encouraged us to put on gloves and handle some of the pieces in the museum directly, getting to handle the intricate lace shawls, mittens, and more that were on display. After hearing all week about lace patterns, traditional shapes, and the fine history of Icelandic handknitting it was so exciting to see it all in person. After studying and creating spider lace, eyelet patterning, eight-point flowers, and natural gradients, it was inspiring to see these elements throughout all of Iceland's knitting history. The mittens were some of my absolute favorites, and I look forward to recreating some someday for my own everyday use.
In Blondous, we also visited the first step in the process of wool becoming yarn. Istex, the company that produces 90% of all of Icelandic yarn in the country, operates different pieces of the process of making wool into yarn throughout the western regions in Iceland. Our first step on this journey was the intake of all of the raw wool that will transform over many stages, hours, and machines to be suitable for knitting. Giant bales of raw wool filled the processing center where the fleeces are sorted by color and grade, washed, scoured, and dried. Naturally-colored wool is becoming increasingly rare in Iceland, as Istex dyes all of its wool for its own specific colors and drives a demand in the market for predominantly white wool from farmers. Helene shared that she would love to expand the palette of naturally-colored wool in her own yarn lines someday and work to rebuild the market for it in Iceland.
We waved from our window to Hotel Hrausnef and the elves that guard its entrance on our way to Borgarnes, about 40 minutes outside of Reykjavik. Here, we also got to have our first experience shopping for yarn in a grocery store and to say I was overwhelmed would probably be an understatement. :)
The epicenter of all yarn-making in Iceland is the Istex mill outside of Reykjavik, where freshly-washed wool becomes yarn in a hundred colors. The people who work here have so much knowledge and experience in yarnmaking and honing their process and craft. They were really generous to share it all with us and answer all of our questions.
The final step in the yarn's journey to become a finished object led us to Helene's own studio in a cozy neighborhood inside the city. A light-filled mid-century studio full of knitted garments and modern interpretations of Icelandic wool blew us all away and was so inspiring. Spending time there I also began to realize a sense of nostalgia in our group, knowing that this would be our last stop in our journey together before parting ways, back to our homes across the globe after a life-changing week. We lingered long, wanting to absorb everything, and not wanting it to all come to an end.
All good things do come to an end, however, and almost a year later I cannot believe that I had the chance to go on this amazing trip, to experience this journey in myself and within this beautiful group of women who believe in the magic of two sticks turning wool into something warm. I cannot say enough good things about Helene's knitting workshops and would be happy to share any more information about my experience traveling to Iceland or about this retreat specifically. Now that I am finally caught up on sharing about this amazing trip, I'm also excited to share about the yarn I brought home, and the garments I've been knitting with Icelandic wool. Coming soon!