Monthly Archives: December 2021

Happy Knitmas & Holidays, Merry Christmas 2021

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Christmas 2021, unfortunately another Christmas with Corona restrictions in place, but knitting will keep me sane during Knitmas. The holidays always seem to sneak up on me and suddenly it is Tiny Little Christmas Eve; 22nd of December. Despite the fact that I have worked with Christmas patterns for the Norwegian magazine Familien since July, so I received my first Christmas greeting from the handicraft editor back then. No wonder I loose track, really. Just like the previous years Michael and I will be celebrating Christmas Eve with my brother and his family, as well as his in-laws and my mum, but this time keeping the required Corona distance in between us.

I will take some time off to relax between knitting and pattern writing, before my next pattern release coming soon.

Above is the Hallgrimskirkja, photographed by Michael during our holiday in Reykjavik, Iceland back in October 2011. In front of the church is a sculpture of Leif Erikson by Alexander Stirling Calder which predates its construction.

The church was commissioned in 1937 but not completed until 1986. The state architect was Guðjón Samúelsson and he designed it to resemble the trap rocks, mountains and glaciers of Iceland’s landscape.

You can see more photos from our trip to Iceland here: 101 Reykjavik and Blue Lagoon and – of course – Knitting Iceland.

Stay well and safe! I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Knitmas and Holidays!

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Join the Patreon Party

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Join my party at Patreon to see all the new designs we photographed at our photoshoot on Friday 4th of December in the 28 minute long Behind the Scenes Video from the shoot, with more details in the monthly newsletter including an update of the organising of the shoot as well as other jobs I have done this month, and depending on the level you choose; a Monthly Video – the one above is 1 hour and 20 minutes long – together with a free pattern of your choice from my Ravelry Store. Both of these cover photos show the photographer Wenche Hoel-Knai, make-up & hair stylist Nina Hjertaas Bull, model Olivia Lindtein and myself in action at Sentralen in Oslo.

My Patreon Party also offers Sneak Peeks of new designs, 30% discount on all my self published patterns, 10% discount on yarns directly from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, test knit invitations, technical videos and more.

What you need to do is to join with a monthly subscription, do take a look at my Patreon page for more details about the different levels and join us. Thank you ever so much to all of you that have already done so!

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Behind the Scenes: Photoshoot at Sentralen 2021

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Last Friday I had another photoshoot, this time at Sentralen – the former Christiania Bank HQ, now a meeting place for culture and innovation – in Oslo city centre. The oldest of the two buildings date from 1901 and is by architect Henrik Nissen. A fascinating fact about it is that railway tracks were stacked into the walls to keep the robbers from digging their way into the building. But I digress. I was there for the photoshoot of six new designs and four old ones, that needed new photos for different reasons. My initial plan was to rent the Marble Hall, but that proved way too expensive. In the end I rented a meeting room the team could use a base camp and received a permission to photograph in the public spaces at Sentralen. The team booked was photographer Wenche Hoel-Knai, make-up & hair stylist Nina Hjertaas Bull, model Olivia Lindtein and hobby photographer & technician Michael Marveng-Puckett. Above you see us preparing to photograph the first garment the Adeline’s Cardigan, first published in Interweave Knits Winter 2021.

PhotographerEivind Røhne cancelled the day before due to a cold which meant he had to be tested for Covid-19 to be certain. His test was negative, we heard later. First I contacted a photographer Eivind recommended but she was not available, then I rang Wenche Hoel-Knai, who was recommended by former editor Mary-Ann Astrup. Wenche could step in on a short notice, I am pleased to say. Above you see the new jacket & trouser set I have designed in Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 5 Ply. If you are wondering what I am wearing, I can tell that it is Helka. Below you see me hanging up the clothes in the meeting room I had booked.

I had pre-ordered pizzas for lunch at 1 PM, giving us time to photograph a number of garments before hand, as we started at 9 AM. On my previous visit to Sentralen I had identified three possible backdrops I wanted us to use: The Marble Hallway & Stairs, the concrete staircase with orange railings and The Golden Bar.

Our first venue was The Golden Bar – that did not have a bar, just seating – named after the    monumental sculpture called “Growing Gold” made in textiles by Hanne Friis. Inspired by the history of the building and the future cultural building containing values of a different kind. In short not all that glitters is gold. Olivia is wearing the Cable Round Sweater in the photo above. We photographed five of the designs in the bar, using every minute until our lunch break at 1 PM. A delicious lunch later we started again, this time in another room.

The second backdrop was the Marble Hallway and in the end we photographed the remaining five designs in this room choosing different angles. All the four Hillesvåg designs made in the yarn Ask were photographed here, above you see the oversized pullover called Jari.

In the large room next door to this, a film was being made. Hence all the extra plants and furniture were moved around. Michael took most of these photos, above is one of the few I captured of the paparazzi Michael, planning to capture model Olivia in action. For the last two designs we moved down to the bottom staircase. As always it was a day filled with laughter and fun, while working hard to make it all work. Olivia had to stretch her neck, pretending to be a puppet, while keeping her chin low. My team did a wonderful job and I had an amazing day!

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Varun Pattern Released

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I am thrilled to announce that the Varun pattern has been released after a successful test knitting in my Ravelry group. My test knitters did a wonderful job and I look forward to sharing some of their result here later. The sample pullover and cowl is worked in the divine hand dyed Norne Yarn DK – Merino/Silk/Yak. Above you see it worn by the gorgeous Aksa Mortensen, with make-up & hair by Nina Hjertaas Bull and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design, captured by Eivind Røhne at Hvalstrand Bad back in May. The English and Norwegian pattern is available on Ravelry and will shortly be available on LoveCrafts too.

Varun is an A-line pullover with a cable panel that travels across the front and the back like a sash, that signifies a position not necessarily a royal one but a secret one. Varun is Norse for secret keeper. The cable sash meets on top of the left shoulder and at the right hip, like a sash. To highlight this the right sleeve has a cable cuff, while the left sleeve has two small cables running along it next to stockinette stitches. Garter stitches play along the seams on all the parts. Varun ends in an I-cord bind off neck but can be dressed up with a cable cowl, both are knitted in the divine hand dyed Norne Yarn DK – Merino/Silk/Yak.

Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL) (2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL)
Cowl in one size.
Shown in size Small.

Finished measurements:
Bust: 82 (90, 98, 106, 114) (126, 138, 150, 162) cm/32.5 (35.5, 38.5, 41.75, 45) (49.5, 54.25, 59, 63.75)“
Hip: 94 (102, 110, 118, 126) (136, 150, 162, 174) cm/37 (40, 43.5, 46.5, 49.5) (53.5, 59, 63.75, 68.5)”
Length: 62 (63, 64, 65, 66) (67, 68, 69, 70) cm/24.5 (24.75, 25.25, 25.5, 26) (26.5, 26.75, 27.25, 27.5)“
Sleeve length: 48 (49, 49, 49, 50) (50, 50, 50, 50) cm/19 (19.25, 19.25, 19.25, 19.75) (19.75, 19.75, 19.75, 19.75)”
Cowl: Height: 13 cm/5”. Width: 56 cm/22”
Intended ease: + 5-7 cm/2-2.75”. Sample shown is 90 cm/35.5” and worn with + 7 cm/2.75” ease on model.

Yarn: Norne Yarn, DK – Merino/Silk/Yak (60% Superwash Merino, 20% Silk, 20% Yak, 100 g, 212 m/232 yds). Sample is knitted in Fimbulwinter:
Pullover: 5 (6, 6, 6, 7) (7, 8, 9, 9) skeins; 1030 (1114, 1198, 1282, 1366) (1492, 1618, 1744, 1870) m/1126 (1218, 1310, 1402, 1494) (1632, 1769, 1907, 2045) yds.
Cowl: 1 skein; 117 m/128 yds.
https://www.norneyarn.com/yarns
https://knitwithattitude.com/norne-yarn-merino-silk-yak-d…

Needles: 4 mm/US 6 straight needles.
4 mm/US 6 circular needle (60 cm/24”) for neckband.
4 mm/US 6 circular needle (80 cm/32”) for bottomband.
Adjust needle size as needed to match gauge.

Notions: Stitch markers (removable), stitch holders and yarn needle.

Gauge: 20 sts and 30 rows in st st using 4 mm/US 6 needle measures 10 cm/4” square after blocking.
16-sts Body cable measures 5.5 cm/2.25” wide after blocking.
4-sts Back/Front cable measures 1.5 cm/0.5” wide after blocking.

Notes: The pullover is worked back and forth in separate pieces and seamed. The cable move is worked at the same time as the A-line shaping and the armhole shaping. The cable cowl is knitted back and forth and grafted together.

Shortening note: If you want to shorten the sweater with 5 cm/2”, work either 8 more cable moves on every 2nd row and 8 fewer every 4th row. Or work 8 of the cable moves on a WS row in addition to the RS row ones and 8 fewer on every 2nd row. If necessary, to get the cable to the final position, you can also work 2 fewer rows after the Gather cable row.

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