Exactly two years and one day after Aase Lynne (pictured right below) started the Facebook group: Strikkesida/Knitting page, 70 out of more than 29 000 members, met in Oslo for a knitting gathering on Sunday 16. July. Designer Denise Samson (pictured left below) convinced Aase that Frognerparken, a public park, might not be the best place due to the unreliable Norwegian summer weather, and hence found a great location for our gathering, next to the police HQ in Oslo. A small fee, paid for lunch: a delicious wrap and free supply of drinks, fruit as well as biscuits during the day. We received raffle tickets at the door, a small gift for all of us from the Hobbyklubben/Hobby Book Club which contained three handy small knitting zipped bags, needle gauge and a bracelet. I grabbed a chair, took out my knitting and chatted just like everyone else did! For once we did not have to ask if we could knit!

Denise welcomed us and introduced Aase who started this extremely popular Knitting group, with approximately 3 postings a minute! We had lunch before Denise gave a short talk about her entry into designing, how she turned her hobby into her living. I love the story about her company name Andre Boller/Other Buns a term which means: this is something else. The post box signs in her block of flats says Baker Samson and above it Andre Boller.

Stella Marie Tveter aka Stella Charming gave her presentation in auditorium, showed us a few of her designs available as kits at Strikkenett, an online shop, as well as how to adjust a garment to fit you perfectly. Based on the number of knitters photographing the screen at regular intervals I would say it was a very successful presentation! And, yes she is charming!

I on the other hand, showed a small selection of garments from my book and how you can wear them in different ways even upside down. I talked about my change of career and how my book came into being, before I demonstrated how to make hems and tucks with 2 sets of circular needles. If you missed it, see my video here: knitting-techniques-videos.

Raffle excitement grew, as Denise with the assistance of the youngest member present, aged 7, drew the winners. There were numerous books to be won, several translated into Norwegian by Denise, latest issue of the magazine MbyM and most popular of all: 6 yarn kits from Rowan Yarns, Bergere de France, Sandnes Garn, Viking Garn and Du Store Alpakka. Above are all the happy winners! One of the kits is for Denise’s latest design and available in this week’s issue (no 13) of Familen/The Family in Norwegian – the pink pullover you can glimpse in the photo to the left. We had a fabulous day! Thank you Aase and Denise for organizing, and to everyone who came!