I am delighted to show you the professional photos of Maith taken by brilliant photographer Eivind Røhne of the gorgeous model Alexandria Eissinger with hair & make up by Sissel Fylling as well as jewelry by Kaja Gjedebo Design. I was hoping that the color would be a shade of gold and not green, but I have grown fond of the pale green color named Hush. Instead of showing it off over a wedding gown, I opted for a silk top in cream and taupe silk trouser. Eivind suggested a neutral but stark background as the staircase on the side of the restaurant could offer. The Norwegian pattern of Maith will be released on Ravelry very soon, while the English pattern will be test knitted in my Ravelry group before it is published. Here is my introduction to the pattern: Divine silk and gracious cables give this shrug a feeling of goodness just as the old Irish word ”maith”. The shrug is worked from one sleeve cuff, across the back to the opposite sleeve cuff. Knit a cowl and use it as a collar on the shrug. Rowan Truesilk gives you a luxcurious feeling and makes it perfect even for evening wear.

Rowan Truesilk is made of 100% mulberry silk and is a chainette yarn – in other words the strand looks like it is knitted already, just like a narrow I-cord – with 150 meters/164 yards on each 50 g ball. Unlike other pure silks due to its construction it does not grow with blocking. The shrug and cowl is knitted using a 4 mm/US 6 with a gauge of 23 stitches and 30 rounds in stockinette stitch. The yarn was generously sponsored by Permin, Rowan’s Scandinavian agent. While I was busy knitting up designs for upcoming Interweave Knits, Grete Jenssen, aka ma9 on Ravelry assisted and knitted up this sample for me. As usual in a speed I can only dream about, especially with all the cables with give the set a lovely texture.

The shrug is worked from cuff to cuff in one piece. The cuff and sleeve are worked in the round, then worked flat across the back to the opposite sleeve where it is worked in the round to the final bind off at the cuff. The increases on the sleeve is first worked into the purl stitches between the cables in reverse stocking stitch, then in garter stitch at each end of round. Only the width varies between the different sizes, not the length. Adjust the length by removing or adding pattern repeats to each sleeve if desired. The cowl, with the same width as the back, is knitted lengthwise as a scarf with a provisional cast-on so that the ends can be grafted together. As you might have noticed, I like wearing shrugs like these over dresses in the summer but also over tops with decorative backs like the one in the photo above. Next up is Saqqara worn over a gobsmacking wedding gown by Judith Bech. So be prepared…