If I walk about a mile or two from my house, I can look out over the North Sea. The next land I would reach, if I set off in a boat and didn’t drown, would be Norway.
I was lucky enough to visit Norway in March 2023 and see the other side of this sea.
We travelled up the coast of Helgoland, across to Lofoten and into the arctic city of Tromsø. which has three cathedrals. Firstly, the Lutheran cathedral or Domkirke, which is made of wood.
Secondly, the Roman Catholic cathedral, which is also wooden and being a couple of blocks north of the Domkirke boasts the title of most northerly cathedral in the world. Thirdly, the Arctic Cathedral, which is not a cathedral at all, but a modern parish church, and is a lovely landmark across the bridge linking Tromsø island to the mainland.
Tromsø also has at least three yarn shops. And it just so happened that I walked past one of them, in the main street of the city centre. Inside the window was some beautiful yarn which
called to me with its siren song. It came in all the colours of the sea, and I went in and bought some. Of course I did.
So this is the wrap made of all the colours of the sea, in 8 shades of Norwegian yarn from the Pelssau sheep. This is a Norwegian breed of sheep which comes in mixed greys, making a depth
of colour in the dyed yarn which is just gorgeous. The yarn is made by a family business not far from Bergen on historic machinery. You can of course make this in any yarn you choose.

This wrap is essentially a large rectangle with a longitudinal slit so that it fits nicely round the shoulders, leaving the arms free to put the kettle on and drink tea. Starting with a garter stitch border at the cast-on edge, a simple lace pattern is worked
back and forth in a semi-random stripe sequence. The pattern is a variation on the traditional Feather and Fan, and represents the waves on the sea. After working the back, a small section in the middle is cast off, and the left and right fronts are worked separately. The edges are finished with a simple slipped stitch border which is worked as you go.
Fairly firm blocking opens up the lace. There are, unfortunately, a lot of ends to sew in, but if you award yourself 5 pence, cents, or a Krone for each end you sew in, you will have enough to buy another skein of yarn!
Skill Level - intermediate. Techniques include knit, purl, yarn over, k2tog, ssk, slipped stitches, picking up stitches, casting on and binding off.
Finished measurements (after blocking) - Overall length 160 cm (63 in), width at cast-on edge 127cm (50 in), width of each front
60cm (23.5 in), length of back section 70cm (27.5 in), length of front sections 90cm (35.5 in).
Gauge: One pattern repeat measures 13.5cm in width, after blocking. Six pattern repeats measure 10cm in length after blocking.