Monthly Archives: May 2017

Behind the Scenes: Photoshoot at Ingierstrand Bad

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On Monday I had a photoshoot at Ingierstrand Bad, just outside of Oslo, with an amazing crew. The weather was perfect; warm and sunny. The restaurant, open for private parties during the weekdays and for the public at the weekends, is a popular spot for weddings due to its location next to one of the most popular beaches with a diving tower in Oslo. In fact jewellery designer Kaja Gjedebo, who came to join us, had her wedding party here 11 years ago and this was the first time she was back. You can find a video she made at Instagram. While Jens J. Wiker worked on gorgeous model Alexandria Eissinger‘s hair & make up, photographer Eivind Røhne, second photographer/roadie/technical manager Michael Marveng-Puckett looked at possible back drops. As always it was a day filled with laughter and breath taking results. Eivind always gives everything, above you see how him delivering on his promise to make Alex taller. Jens, next to him is checking his mobile.

Here you see Kaja and Eivind sharing Instagram tips. It was marvellous to have the whole place to ourselves. On the to do list was taking photographs of a total of 10 designs where 5 are new designs; 4 for yarn kits for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk and 1 secret design; 3 designs returned from Interweave Knits and knit.wear in the US and 2 designs only photographed by the Norwegian magazine Familien previously. Judith Bech had as usual sent me a selection of dresses and skirts to choose from. One day I hope she will be able to fly from Northern Norway to join us. I find her dresses magical, hence I am spellbound and ask for more than I need so that I can see how they look together with the knitted garments. Just as with my ideas, some work better in my head than in real life. I ended up using only 2 of those.

Eivind and I are talking strategy, while Alex with Jens’ assistance is ready for action. We speak partly in Norwegian and partly in English all day, even though Alex speaks Danish and Michael Norwegian, they both prefer English. But Alex knows me very well and know that I want front, back and side photographed. Eivind is living in the hope that I will not demand full length photos of all designs, but I rarely give in. Alex is ready for photography of the back of Kathe Cardigan, made for Interweave Knits Fall 2016.

Alex heard a double set of camera clicks as Michael joined Eivind and photographed as well. Thankfully, neither Eivind nor Alex had any issues with that and knew that the Eivind was indeed the photographer of the day. Even Alex joined in and took a selfie, here she is, captured by Michael. Above she is wearing Aki, a new pullover designed for Hillesvåg and below wearing an old design Patent Poncho. Despite the heat, Alex managed to look incredibly cool and only suffered for a brief time when I added 3 cowls on top of each other. Yes, that would only be useful on a very cold day and not on a hot day, with women in bikinis nearby. Kaja wished that she had brought her swimwear.

Unlike me, Alex is always in control of her face when she is being photographed and do enjoy pulling some faces. I have reached the age where I tend to do so unwillingly so much of the time. That is why the back of my head as well as the side feature so much in the photos Michael take of me.

Take a look at the photo above and you understand the tone we have during the day as well as the fun! It took a few second before I saw her face! Alex is wearing Wa, a shawl vest as well as Kaja’s Abelia earring with pearls and Abelia necklace. I saw a number of Eivind’s photos during the day and know it will as usual be extremely difficult to choose photos from the hundreds of magical moments he has captured. Yet, I cannot wait to see them all!

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Nordic Architecture. Elements and Details by Takashi Koizumi

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A few days ago, this fascinating Japanese book arrived in our mail box. No, I do not read Japanese, but Professor Takashi Koizumi himself sent it to us, as a token since we allowed him to use a couple of our photos from the Bornholm Art Museum in his book: Nordic Architecture. Elements and Details. It started several months back when the Professor in the Department of Housing and Interior Design, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning at Kyusan Snagyo University wrote a comment on my blog after seeing our photos from Bornholm Art Museum by Danish architects Fogh & Følner, see my blogpost here. We promptly sent him a selection of photos for him to choose from just in case he wanted to use any of them and told him our about our backgrounds in architecture and architectural history. He choose one I took of the water well running down the staircase, with a sacral lighting more reminiscent of churches than art museums, and the one Michael took of me sitting in the alcove on the museum street.

Above are the pages from Bornholms Art Museum, and you see our photos at the bottom of the right page. Our names are found in the photo credit at the back. I also discovered that the Professor had visited Mortensrud Church by Norwegian architects Jensen & Skodvin, where Michael and I got married, as well as the National Museum – Architecture, where I held my last photoshoot, in the summer of 2015.  He would like to visit Oslo again and we would love to meet him. The ISBN number is: 978-4-7615-3232 and here is the link to the Japanese publisher Gakugei and amazon.co.jp.  Both the Professor and his wife are also interested in my knitwear design, to my delight. Now I wonder what he will think of my choice for the next photoshoot venue of Ingierstrand Bad by Norwegian architects Ole Lind Schistad and Eyvind Moestue.

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May in Ørje

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After a very cold April and some snow even into May, spring has finally arrived in my new home town of Ørje. The rain has stopped at least for now. Above is our view from the front terrace towards the lake: Rødenesjøen. Yes, it is another of Michael’s brilliant photos. Below is the view from the other side of our house.

Norway’s National Day 17th of May was celebrated watching the parade in Ørje, and below you see the start of it. I surprised me that included both schools with all their grades and all the kindergartens in the area. Unlike in Oslo were a selection of grades and no kindergartens take part.

Take an extra look at the pedestrian crossing sign as well. It is an illegal, but very popular, sign that makes people do the Monty Pyton Silly Walk. Check out this video: www.youtube.com. It was made by the Swedish art collective Kreativiteket as an art project and delights everyone. You can read more here: This-silly-walk-sign-at-a-crosswalk-in-norway-is-the-future-of-traffic-management.

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Tau Again

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It is about time I show you the photos Michael took of me wearing Tau, the scarf I designed especially for the Vienna Wool & Design Festival. You have already seen it photographed on a handsome young man by the team behind the festival magazine “Wool 2 go”, but I thought you should see it worn by me too. Tau was photographed in our old garden, a day before it was sent off to Vienna back in the beginning of March. Above you see the wrong side out.

Here is my introduction to the pattern. I was instantly captivated by this teal coloured luscious Yak yarn by Lang Yarns, especially chosen and designed for the Vienna Wool & Design Fesitval. A rope like cable worked over rib stitches gives it a sculptural feel. Naturally, I named it Tau meaning rope in Norwegian, and human being in an Eskimo language.

The pattern is only available in the printed magazine in both English and in German. The magazine also contains 11 other designs by 9 designers who all participated in Vienna Wool & Design Festival. You can order the magazine from this webpage: viennawooldesignfestival.com.

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Harding Cardigan Pattern Released

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Today is 17th May and all of Norway is celebrating its Constitution Day. It is in short our National Day! To all of you Norwegians out there, and to anyone else who wants to join our celebration: Gratulerer med dagen/Happy Birthday! Michael and I will be watching the parade in our new home town of Ørje.

The Harding Cardigan was first published in the American magazine Interweave Knits Summer 2016. The pattern rights have now reverted back to me and the English pattern is available in my Ravelry store and on Loveknitting. The Norwegian pattern will be published in the magazine Familien at a later date. Brilliant photographer Eivind Røhne captured the beautiful model Silje Andresen/Team Models, with hair & make up by Sissel Fylling and Ivy hanging earrings by Kaja Gjedebo Design, at the National Museum – Architecture in November last year. Here is my introduction to the pattern: An allover telescope lattice gives this long, straight cardigan a textural feel. A cabled rib-cord collar adds a modern look to the Harding Cardigan. Wear it open or close it with a shawl pin or belt.

Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL)

Finished measurements:
Bust: 85 (90, 96.5, 105.5, 114, 123) cm/33.5 (35.5, 38, 41.5, 45, 48.5)”
Length: 70 (70.5, 72, 72.5, 73.5, 75) cm/27.5 (27.75, 28.25, 28.5, 29, 29.5)”
Sleeve length: 45 (46, 47, 47.5, 48, 48) cm/17.75 (18, 18.5, 18.75, 19, 19)”

Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed, Shelter (100% wool, 50 g, 128 m/140 yards)
https://www.brooklyntweed.com/shop/shelter/
Sample is knitted in Foothills.
10 (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) skeins; 1203 (1306, 1410, 1541, 1673, 1834) m/1315 (1428, 1542, 1685, 1830, 2005) yds.

Alternative yarns:
Dale Garn, Pure ECO Wool (70% ecological wool, 30% alpaca, 50 g, 112 m/122 yds)
http://dalegarn.no/garn/pure-eco-wool/?sf_paged=3
BC Garn, Loch Lomond (100% wool, 50 g, 155 m/170 yds)
http://www.bcgarn.dk/pi/LOCH_LOMOND_3861_8.aspx
The Fibre Company, Acadia (60% merino wool, 20% silk, 20% alpaca, 50 g, 133 m/145 yds)
http://www.thefibreco.com/product/acadia/
Tahki Stacy Charles, Scotland (100% merino wool, 50 g, 160 m/174 yds)
http://tahkistacycharles.com/product/yarns/scotland/

Needles: 4.5 mm/US 7 circular needle (80 cm/32”)
4.5 mm/US 7 DPNs.
Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

Notions: Cable needle (cn), stitch holder, stitch markers, waste yarn, 4.5 mm/US 7 crochet hook and yarn needle.

Gauge: 22 sts and 27 rows in Telescope lattice measures 10 cm/4” square.
20 sts and 25 rows in st st measures 10 cm/4” square.
26 sts and 18 rows in Cabled Rib Cord measures 10 cm/4” square.

Notes: The back, fronts, and collar are worked back and forth in separate pieces, the sleeves are worked in the round, and the garment is seamed together. During shaping, if there are not enough stitches to work a complete cable crossing, work the stitches of the partial cable as they appear.

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Oydis Knitted by Suzanne Chartrand

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I was so delighted to see Suzanne Chartrand, aka rejean on Ravelry, test knit version of the Oydis Sweater. This striking photo showing how the claret coloured pullover matches her hair, blew me away. Suzanne knitted size XL in Patons Classic Wool DK Superwash, and used a smaller needle size, 3.5 mm/US 2.5, after the a-line decreases to make the top part smaller and a better fit for her. It was the first of many test knit Suzanne has done for me. She is a retired teacher, which makes her ideal as a test knitter in addition to 50 years of knitting experience, living in Val-des-Monts, Quebec, Canada.

Here is another photo of the front of the pullover with the curved hem more clearly. You can find Suzanne’s notes on her project page where she writes: “When I saw the picture of the pattern it was love at first sight. Test knit for Linda. Great pattern. Easy to follow.
Linda includes many links to videos on techniques used in the pattern”. Thank you so much, Suzanne!

Finally, here is a photo of the back. You will find the Oydis Sweater pattern in Norwegian, German and in English for sale on Ravelry (as an individual pattern but also in an Norwegian & English e-book: Norse Goddess Collection), Loveknitting and Woolspire. It is available in sizes XS to 2XL and I have many more gorgeous versions of it to show you, later.

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Idunn Pattern Released

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The next pattern I have released in my Ravelry store in English is Idunn, made for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk’s yarn kits. The pattern has been test knitted and I am thrilled to see all the finished projects on Ravelry. Idunn was brilliantly photographed by Eivind Røhne, worn by the stunning model Alexandria Eissinger/Nordic Model Agency, with hair & make up by Jens J. Wiker and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design, at Villa Malla in June last year. The pattern is also available in English at Loveknitting and in Norwegian together with the original yarn in your own colour choice from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk.

Named after the Norse goddess of spring and immortality is this straight sweater with a Henley neck with center cables. Ribs frame the cables in each side and make the sweater figure hugging. One center cable adds texture to the sleeve. The sweater is worked in the round to the underarm in the lustrous pelt yarn with a mohair feel, Tinde Pelsull from Hifa.

Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL)

Finished measurements:
Bust: 88 (94.5, 101, 109, 119, 129) cm/34.75 (37.25, 39.75, 43, 46.75, 50.75)”
Length: 60 (61, 62, 63, 64, 65) cm/23.5 (24, 24.5, 24.75, 25.25, 25.5)”
Sleeve length: 49 (50, 50, 51, 51, 52) cm/19.25 (19.75, 19.75, 20, 20, 20.5)”

Yarn: Hillesvåg, Tinde Pelsull (100% pelt wool, 260 m/284 yds, 100 g). Sample is knitted in Petrol 1105:
4 (4.5, 5, 5.5, 6.5, 7.5) skeins; 952 (1092, 1232, 1419, 1653, 1887) m/1041 (1194, 1347, 1552, 1808, 2064) yds.
http://www.ull.no/garn/ullgarn/norsk-pelsull

Alternative Yarns: Berroco, Ultra Alpaca Light (50% alpaca, 50% wool, 50 g, 133 m/144 yds). http://www.berroco.com/yarns/berroco-ultra-alpaca-light
Jamieson’s, Double Knitting (100% wool, 25 g, 75 m/82 yds).
http://www.jamiesonsofshetland.co.uk/spindrift-and-double…
Rowan, Tweed (100% wool, 50 g, 118 m/129 yds).
http://www.knitrowan.com/yarns/rowan-tweed
Malabrigo, Arroyo, (100% superwash merino, 100 g, 306 m/335 yds).
http://www.malabrigoyarn.com/subyarn.php?id=29
Or another DK/8 ply yarn.

Needles: 3.5 mm/US 4 circular needle (80 cm/32” and 40 cm/16”).
3.5 mm/US 4 DPNs.
Adjust needle size as needed to match gauge.

Notions: Stitch markers, stitch holders, cable needle and yarn needle.

Gauge: 21 sts and 30 rows in st st measures 10 cm/4” square.
1 cable (18-sts) measures 5.5 cm/2.25” across.

Notes: The sweater, both the sleeves and the body are worked in the round to the armhole and then worked back and forth in rows.

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Report Two: Vienna Wool & Design Festival

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It has taken awhile to mentally land after attending Vienna Wool & Design Festival. I look forward to seeing the official photos taken with all of us teaching present on the stage. In the meantime I can show you one with four of us, taken Sunday afternoon before my last workshop: Italian designer Valentina Cosciani, standing next to me, in front of her American designer – living in the Netherlands – Nancy Marchant and Polish designer Hanna Maciejewska. Photographing are Daniel, Hanna’s husband and my husband with extra cameras. Valentina has her own YouTube Channel and she has made an excellent video from the festival where she walks through the workshop rooms and all the 23 stalls in the market hall. Yes, it is in Italian but it does make you feel like you are there: youtube.com.

I also wanted to share my haul from the festival: Gorgeous mini-skeins and a full skein of British Gotland 4ply in addition to their two magazines called Sticka, all given to me by The Little Grey Sheep so I can play with their yarns. Take a look at the previous blog post to see how I am holding onto the skeins as if my life depended on it. 5 lovely balls of Lalland Lambswool by Di Gilpin, I could not decide which colour I wanted to test and when Sheila – Di’s assistant talked about how to work with two or three strands at a time, my mind exploded. I did not really want to let go of any of the colours and Di let me keep them all to test. My friend, test knitter and organiser Uschi, was so kind and ordered the two German magazines “Neu Strick Mode” for me – they are German versions of the two latest American knit.wear magazines. Uschi also gave me the rest of her Doulton Flock Border Leicester Yarn DK she used to knit my design Helka for me to try out. Suncica gave me a copy of the festival magazine: wool 2 go – a large glossy magazine with 12 patterns in English and German from 9 participating designers, including yours truly. The pink flyer at the back is the floor plan of the market hall.

Susanne, aka shannara13 on Ravelry, assisted at Suncica’s first stand, Wollsalon and showed off her test knitted version of my design Idunn sweater, knitted in String Theory Hand Dyed Yarn Merino DK in a pale grey called Pewter. Thank you, Susanne! I was so happy to meet knitters, test knitters and designers, some I had only meet online before, in person!

On Saturday evening there was a Galla Dinner, so I brought a long silk skirt and a silk top. I claimed a large part of Michael’s suitcase in addition to the one I had already filled with workshop materials and my designs to show off before we left. Michael was hoping that the suitcases would be lighter coming back, but he was wrong. Yes, I did give away a lot of workshop papers but with the extra yarn and magazines, we traveled home with even heavier suitcases. But I digress. Seven of us met in the reception and walked to the Italian Restaurant, Trattoria Martinelli at the Palais Harrach: British designer Anna Maltz led the way – assisted by Michael – for German designer Isabell Kraemer, Nancy Marchant, Hanna & Daniel Maciejewska and me. When I realised I was the only one of the designers who had not brought my knitting, everyone stopped abruptly – knowing the scale of this disaster – and offered to go back. I decided that I could manage without it, but loved the shared feeling & laughter as we walked on. Of course we arrived late, but it was a very pleasant stroll through the streets of Vienna.

At the palace we talked and Suncica introduced the team behind the magazine; graphic designer, stylist and photographer. You can spot the top of my head, behind Isabell Kraemer, talking to Di Gilpin. We had champagne and canapés before we went inside and had another 4 amazing courses. I sat next to Di’s husband and across from Hanna at the end of second table. The six of us at the end of the table had not finished talking at 23.00 when most of the party had left and decided to have a last drink in the bar at the hotel. It was a marvellous evening and late one before I went to bed!

On Monday, our last day in Vienna, we said goodbye to Nancy, had a late breakfast with Hanna & Daniel pluss Isabella and her partner. That was yet another highlight from Vienna and all for this time.  Thank you to everyone I met in Vienna!

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Report One: Vienna Wool & Design Festival

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My first highlight of the Vienna Wool & Design Festival was that I met up with Nancy Marchant at the airport in Vienna on Friday afternoon. She landed half an hour before Michael and I so, Suncica suggested booking a taxi for the three of us, knowing that we would have a lot of luggage with us. It gave me a wonderful chance to get to know the Queen of Brioche Knitting. The festival had already began by the time we arrived; the first set of workshops started in the afternoon. Several of the stands were set-up, ready for the influx of knitters on Saturday, in the Market Hall  (read: the Ballroom) at the Arc Hotel Wimberger. While I was busy looking down at all the yarns on all the 23 stands, Michael looked up and captured the banners with my design Tau, published in the: Vienna Wool & Design Festival Magazine: wool 2 to go 01. Mail order is open from today.

Suncica, one of the two organisers, had three different stands: The first for her current yarnshop: Wollsalon with the wonderful yarns like: Artyarns, Hedgehog Fibres, Lorna’s Laces, Malabrigo and Shibui. The second for her new brands called Pop-Up Store with: The Uncommon Thread, Biscotti Yarns and Doulton Flock. The third for her new yak yarn: Myak. I must admit seeing all those brands made me craving yarn. I am sure that sound familiar to many of you! I was way too busy talking to knitters I had meet in Vienna in 2015, test knitters from my Ravelry group and friends to take photographs, so most of these are taken by my husband!

Uschi, the other organiser, told me that they early figured out that they needed a photo wall, and where better to place it than on the stage. We took advantage of it and asked Susanne, aka shannara13 on Ravelry, to join us. On the Friday we were all wearing the same bluebell shade of blue and all my designs: Uschi, aka Grinsekatz on Ravelry, is wearing Ronette, Susanne is wearing Irina Pullover, both have made adjustments to the pattern to make them their own and  I am wearing Kori.

I was looking forward to seeing Scottish designer Di Gilpin again. I met her first time at the Rowan Yarns’ stand at the Knitting and Stitching Show in London several years ago, while I was still working for Rowan and she was launching her first book with Rowan yarns. Now, she has her own yarn brand: Lalland Lambswool, sell finished garments and designs both for hand knitters and for haute couture. In the photo above you see Sheila, who trains all their sample knitters and assists Di. Her eye for design and especially intricate cable work stand out, just take a look at her website here: digilpin.com. And yes, I have several balls of her yarn to play with now. To be continued.

All the beautiful colours and yarns on the British The Little Grey Sheep stand blew me away. Here I am lost in colours. All you can see of me is the back of my design Helka. I first spoke their shepherdess Susie (you can see her in action in the picture hanging above the mini skeins in the photo below), before I spoke to dyer & manager Emma.

Invited to this festival was also the Polish designer Hanna Maciejewska, aka Hada Knits, who I met up with during the festival. We enjoy each others company a lot! Suncica, aka Sunce5555 on Ravelry, stopped us in our tracks asking for more autographs for the magazines. We obliged, enjoying the lime light for a short period of time.

Hanna’s husband Daniel was walking around with his camera just as Michael was. Another designer who also brought her man was Isabell Kraemer, but due to our workshop schedules I was not able to talk to her until Monday morning when the six of us had a late breakfast. I am very proud of the fact that I did not buy any yarn, but I was given several skeins and balls to play with so I do not feel deprived in any way.

None of my workshops were fully booked and the small groups made them extra enjoyable since it gave us more time to get acquainted! Among the participants I spoke Norwegian to three of them to my surprise; two of them were living in Austria while the third had worked as an au-pair in Norway. The rest of the time, I spoke English and several of the Austrian participants where surprised how quickly they could recall their English vocabulary that not been used for awhile. More photos and stories are coming up next so stay tuned.

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