New Design: Cable Round Sweater

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Linda Marveng

This sweater is not new, since it was published in Norwegian in issue 2/2014 of Made By Me, but I would like to share my ideas behind it, and the photos my husband took of me wearing Cable Round Sweater. Here is my introduction to it: The light denim blue colour in the stunning Norsk Pelsull/Norwegian Pelt Yarn from Hifa, captivated me. I chose a round cable with a band on. By framing the cables with a rib, the sweater became figure hugging and a perfect accompany to your favourite jeans or trouser. It ends with a square narrow neckband so that you can choose if you want to add the matching cowl. This is my idea of a simple pattern; The Sweater, both the sleeves and the body are worked in the round to the armhole and then worked back and forth in rows, using 3.5 mm/US 4 needles. The cowl is worked in the round as a long tube, and then the ends are joined together with mattress stitches but you could easily use a temporary cast-on method and graft the ends together. The English pattern will be test knitted in my Ravelry group later this month, and I know to my delight that a few of you are waiting eagerly for it.

Here is another photo this time with the cowl hanging loose making the sweater looking more dressy. The cowl is half cable half rib so that you can see both stitch patterns. There is no shaping on the body of the sweater since the ribbing holds it in and make it appear shaped.

View from the back. I have a long back and long arms as you can see but both lengths can easily be adjusted to your preference. The neck band is picked up and knitted afterwards in stockinette stitch, with a bit of shaping and a folding line so that you attach it on the wrong side at the end. I co-operated with brilliant Re-design stylist Kristin Elise Halkjelsvik for Made By Me, and she suggested styling it with a pair of tight black studded trousers, a white mens shirt, an orange chiffon scarf with matching clutch plus we both agreed that Monica Stålvang Carmen boots in Petrol were perfect with it. Kristin also suggested beautiful orange cuff links by Siri Berrefjord. Below is a stunning picture from the photo shoot of Pia Cecilie/Team Models, hair and make up styled by Janne Skarpeid Hermansen, taken by Eivind Røhne.

New Design: Lyre Bolero

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Linda Marveng

Fairly new that is, since it was recently published in the Norwegian magazine, Made By Me in their autumn issue 2/2014. But I am keen to show a few more views of it and how the cummerbund works with the bolero. I fell for the lace and cable stitch pattern when I was designing the wrist warmers and cowl for the book submission to “Strikkesidas Favoritter“. Hence I wanted to design a larger garment with it using the bouncy Embla- Hifa 3, a pure wool, in a dark blue purple and a 4 mm/US 6 needle; Delicate lyres made by lace and cables stitches used in panels surrounded by stocking stitch makes this bolero perfect to use on top of a wide dress or skirt on a cold day. Lyre Bolero is fitted and begins just above the waist with increases to the bust. Worked in parts to add stabilizing seams, but with long sleeves worked in the round. A stunning cummerbund made of tucks adds length and elegance. Test knit of the English pattern will take place in my Ravelry Group, date to be confirmed, before it will be released in my Ravelry store.

The bolero is worked flat in pieces, while the sleeves are worked in the round. Discontinue the Lyre Pattern and continue in stockinette stitch when decreasing. The cummerbund can easily be adjusted to your waist measurement by adding or detracting stitches to the numbers given; the tucks are made to meet but not overlap. The ties are added on the width of the last hem.

I decided to only add an I-cord bind off around the neck since I wanted to leave space for a shirt collar and possibly a silk scarf commonly used with national costumes here in Norway. While I picked up stitches along each front to make an identical hem. No buttonholes were made since I imagined using either a shawl pin or a magnificent brooch or two to hold it together.

As you can see the cummerbund changes the bolero into a jacket seen from the back especially. My idea was to wear it with the bolero on one occasion and without it on others when you prefer to use a leather or woven belt instead.

Below is the jacket, styled with re-design shirt and table cloth as skirt by Kristin Elise Halkjelsvik, aka Makeløs/Remarkable worn by model Pia Cecilie/Team Models, hair & make up by Janne Skarpeid Hermansen and photographed by Eivind Røhne for Made by Me. Do notice how cleverly Kristin styled the belt around the neck. It fits so well with my love of using accessories how you like them best!

My Ystad

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Linda Marveng

I wanted to share some of my photos from Ystad in southern Sweden, where we stayed for a night before we took the ferry to the Danish island of Bornholm. Just as Police Inspector Kurt Wallander, in Henning Mankell’s crime books and the televised series called Wallander, I wanted to walk along the beach, but did not use the guide you can download to walk “In the footsteps of Wallander”. Above is one of my many photos of the long glorious beach on the outskirts of the town. Below is another facing the other side of the pier. All along it behind the first row of trees is a popular walk- and bicycle path. It helps to explain the overwhelming number of bicycles parked outside the train station at all times. My husband had initially planned to have his photo taken outside the police station, often shown in the Swedish television series, but was content just walking about, after the 6 hours drive south from Oslo.

We stayed at the Hotel Continental, the former Hótel Du Sud from 1829, which still had some of its former glory in tact, and offered a delicious breakfast buffet. The County Council of Skåne had booked a table for their breakfast meeting, I noticed and could not help nodding in approval of their choice. The hotel has featured in several of the episodes of Wallander, so we did feel like walking onto the set.

Whether you have seen the series or read the crime books, it is a lovely town to stroll about in, with so many historic buildings, due to a settlement dating back to the 11th century, and well kept flower beds.

We used all the time we had in Ystad before our ferry departure to Rønne at Bornholm. I did find a yarn shop but managed not to spend any money on yarn. Well aware it would change as soon as we reached the small town of Allinge and Strik Bornholm. I was right, you know. Below is the Monastery from 1267 where the church is used for temporary exhibitions (as well as services), we passed during our stroll in Ystad.

Below from the main square with the old town hall in front and the St. Mary’s Church, the oldest building in the town, in the background. Read about Ystad’s history in a nutshell here: Ystad. As you can see the weather was beautiful at the beginning of September. Next time I would like to go for a swim…

Strikkesidas Favoritter

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Linda Marveng

Hot off the press, is this book with 60 patterns made by members of the Facebook group Strikkesida/Knittingpage and selected by a jury, consisting of its founder and moderators: Aase Lynne, Kari-Anne Dal-Pedersen and Torill Strand, in addition to designer Sidsel J. Høivik and crafts editor at Gyldendal; Ann Kristin Nås Gjerde. The whole group, currently with 66 142 members, have been waiting for this book to be available in print, months after the submission details where posted in February this year. Initially, I had not planned to submit but Ann Kristin convinced me to do so since parts of the funds will go to Røde Kors/Red Cross, Kirkens Bymisjon/The Church City Mission and Frelsesarmeen/Salvation Army, plus that I will keep the publication rights to the pattern. Just before the initial deadline of 1st of March, I was in the middle of designing one series of designs for Made By Me so I opted for a set of wrist warmers and a cowl. The Cardigan on the cover is designed by Kristin Wiola Ødegård. See my review of her first book here: Strikk Med Raske Pinner.

The color I chose was Terracotta Red in the lovely yarn Embla-Hifa 3 – a pure wool. The set is knitted on a 4 mm/US 6 in the round, I chose a stitch pattern which resembles a lyre with both lace and cables. My design is one of the ones featured on the back cover, see above. The book contains a large variety of patterns for mittens; scarves; hats and headband; wrist warmers; socks and slippers; cushions; children’s dresses; sweaters for children, women and men; kitchen towels and cloths; blanket; dog sweater; trousers; vests, pouff cover; cardigan; boots cosy; briquettes cosy; skirt; plastic bag holder cosy; down mat cosy. See more inside the book here: Gyldendal.

All of us who were chosen to take part were asked to write a brief introduction, and include a portrait photo. The technical editor wanted to change from my use of a red box for the repeat to brackets outside which are more common in Norway, and I received a pdf of my pages for approval. None of the models used in the book are professional but all the pictures are taken by photographer Ann Sissel Holthe, aka Fat Monkey.

If you read Norwegian, you can take part in the draw of a yarn kit for the cardigan on the cover ,and the Flagglue by subscribing to the publisher’s craft blog: Puff and post & share a comment on Facebook about it, see Puff.

Autumn Symphony Knitted by Synnøve Alet Kristiansen

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Linda Marveng

I am so pleased to present this series of stunning photos of the Autumn Symphony Jacket, wrap and belt, Synnøve Alet Kristiansen knitted for her friend Brit-Elin Ladehaug (read: the model) taken by brilliant photographer Tim Øsleby, aka MaritimTIM. Synnøve, aka sykris on Ravlery, took part in the test knit of the English pattern of the Autumn Symphony Jacket and chose to knit the wrap and the belt as well in Blue, Jade and Turquoise Rauma Finull – shades carefully selected by Brit-Elin. The photos are taken at the spectacular Hennebygda, by the Innvik Fjord on the West Coast of Norway, see Nordfjord panorama. You will also find more photos and details on Synnøve’s blog: Sykris. Thank you so much, Synnøve! The Norwegian pattern has just been published in Familien issue no 20 (see previous post), while the English pattern is available on Ravelry.

Yet another version, I had not considered, is wearing the Tweed belt on top of the jacket. But I early figured out that the wrap works well as a wide belt making the jacket longer, while the tweed belt can also be worn as a cowl. I love the sharp blue top that matches the wrap so well. The tweed belt comes in the same sizes as the jacket: Size S to 3XL while the wrap comes in one size. Both can easily be adjusted by adding pattern repeats.

The jacket here worn on its own, with some of the buttons undone and that stunning landscape in the background. Lastly, I want to share a detailed photo of the lace pattern on the jacket and the tweed belt.

Autumn Symphony Jacket in Familien

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Linda Marveng

The Norwegian pattern of my Autumn Symphony Jacket with Cowl and Tweed Belt is just out in Familien, I am very pleased to announce. This issue which came out on Monday 22nd September has more than 40 pages of knitting patterns and all the Norwegian designers are briefly presented. A small photo of the cowl is on the side of the cover – see above – and there are 3 larger photos on the contents page, as well as the 4 page pattern spread. The set is beautifully photographed by in-house photographer Petter Berg and stunningly modeled by Trine Foon Karlsen in all the different wearing options. The A-line jacket with a side panel knitted in stockinette stitch, the lace cowl plus the tweed belt are all knitted in the fabulous Ask-Hifa 2 in 3 different melange colors, using 3.5 mm/US 4 and is available in sizes S to 3XL. I chose Farmred, Dark Terracotta and Orange but there were numerous divine selections shown during test knitting of the English pattern, see Ravelry.

In the editorial, Ingvild Hagen writes about the “Koftefeber” – the current knitting trend or fever in Norway is for traditional color work cardigans and sweaters with pewter buttons often updated in brighter colors, than the more classical ones. My Autumn Symphony can not be described as a “Kofte” since it has a lace stitch pattern but look at the cover and on the contents page above and you see examples of the ongoing trend. The traditional Fana Sweater in the top right corner is one of the popular patterns. Mix and match is the headline for my set.

The brief introduction to me says that I “worked as a Design Consultant for Rowan Yarns in London. She has published the book “To rette, en rang. Designstrikk” which was published by Cappelen Damm in 2012. Now, she lives in Oslo and designs for Familien, Made By Me and the American magazine Clotheshorse, holds workshops, proof reads and translates knitting patterns to and from English.” Then follows all the pattern information including the construction under notes: “The body is knitted in one piece to armholes, with a fake seam st in rev st st, then separated into three parts. The sleeves are knitted in the round. The leaf pattern is discontinued where the bind-off interferes with it on the sleeves and the fronts. The wrap is worked in the round and can easily be adjusted by adding or removing pattern repeats. The belt is worked flat, adjust width and length by adding pattern repeats. If you prefer to lengthen the belt to a skirt, consider whether to include elastic band at the waist.”

The picture text is my introduction to the pattern: “Autum Leaves cover this A-lined jacket knitted in one piece with a false seam in a middle of the stocking stitch panel. The sleeves are knitted in the round with leaves up to the shaping where the lace pattern is changed to reverse stocking stitch. A belt in autumn coloured tweed lengthens the jacket and introduces the orange wrap. Or why not wear the wrap as a belt and opposite. Choose your three favorite colours, then make your outfit.” I will soon share one of the test knitters brilliant result.

Marilla in Clotheshorse Magazine

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Linda Marveng

The latest, and unfortunately the final, issue of the digital Clotheshorse Magazine is out. It is with a heavy heart that editor and designer Mindy Gayle announces it, but she and co-editor designer Heather Dixon will both continue to design. I am very grateful that my designs have been selected to be part of this fashion forward knitting and crochet magazine. New friendships have been made, new lessons have been learnt, so thank you very much, Clotheshorse for your approval of my design submissions and excellent co-operation through the last few years! My last design for Clotheshorse is Marilla. Inspired by their Underwater Love mood board and blue shades into lime, yellows, gold and silver, I choose a hand-dyed silk with petit glass beads; Beaded Lace from Tilli Tomas in Jade. This is how I introduced the pattern in my submission: “A divine, generous lace top with a draped front and a shorter back to let the folds at the front rule. Knitted in a divine silk with beads attached from Tilli Tomas in an easy reversible lace pattern without any bands”. Brilliantly photographed by Heather Dixon and beautifully worn by Mindy Gayle.

The top is available in four sizes with these finished measurements: Chest 31.25 (40, 45, 48.5)”/79.5 (101.5, 114.5, 123) cm. Construction notes: It is worked in two parts, from bottom and up. The front has a triangular shape with a wider bottom to make the draped front, while the back is straight and shorter than the front to allow the front to hang. To avoid the holes growing too large, since silk grows during blocking, I choose to use a 2.5 mm/US 1.5 needle.

Tilli Tomas Beaded Lace is made of 100% silk has 150 m/168 yards on it. The stitch pattern I chose is from Lynne Barr’s excellent book: Reversible Knitting. Under notes in the pattern you will find this information: “This pattern will open up when blocked, so make sure to knit a gauge swatch to ensure correct sizing. The center stitch of the front is marked to correctly place the increases and pattern on the front; this marked stitch is referred to in the pattern as the center stitch. You may find it easier to place the center increases and pattern by moving the locking marker up every few rows. The front is wider than the back, and there may be a gap near the bottom of the armholes. If desired, when the top is complete, try it on and mark any gap. Sew a small dart, tapering to a point away from the armhole edge.”

I was so delighted with all the photos in the magazine, including the close-up of the stitch pattern, and the stunning beach location. Especially the last photo below which seem to draw you in.

You will find more pattern information on Ravelry, and do take a look at this magic last issue of Clotheshorse.

Bornholm Explored

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Linda Marveng

I was way too busy with Strik Bornholm to do any serious sightseeing, but I did have Sunday afternoon off, after participating in one of Norah Gaughan’s workshops. While I was holding my workshops, my husband had been sightseeing, and keeping me informed about what he thought was worth seeing. On top of that list was Hammershus Castle. On my list was Jons Kapel; that turned out not to be a seaside chapel, but a cliff (named after a hermit sent to Bornholm to bring Christianity to the islanders according to the legend) and it was quite a hike to get there too. The short drive from Rønne, one of the larger towns on the island where the ferry from Ystad arrives, to Allinge took less than an hour and provided us with a 180 degree view of the sea. The roads on Bornholm are perfect for cyclists, since they seem taken only by a few cars (tourists) and tractors. I had booked sea view from our holiday flat at Hotel Klintely and the morning sunrise was spectacular, see above. The island you can glimpse is Christiansø, the easternmost point of Denmark. Below is the day view from our terrace.

Allinge only has 1675 inhabitants, and was so idyllic with its old traditional building style. Several small harbors were scattered along the coastline, in between the long beach lines that provided kilometers of beach walks. The spectacular dome below, photographed by my husband who sneaked in during Norah Gaughan’s workshop, is located between Norlandshallen where the Exhibitors Hall was and Allinge Røgeri/Smokehouse on the beach.

This dome is built by Boligselskabernes Landsforening/Denmark Public Housing and called the “Peoples Meeting Dome” according to the architects; Bureau Detours: “BL, Denmark Public Housing participated in this year’s Peoples Meeting on  Bornholm, in order to generate debate on the future of housing. According to BL a standard  exhibition tent would not do justice to a debate of such importance. Instead they wanted a  space that stuck out, inspired and invited inside.  In addition to creating the physical space for this debate, it was important for us that the  space also became an independent contribution. We wish to stick out, but in the right way.  We have the ambition that architecture is to be as site-specific as possible, that architecture is influenced by the local surroundings; the view, the landscape, the wind and the sun. And the features it offers.  On the drawing board was a sketch model that has been a long time underway, but had been  missing the right circumstances, sentiments and audience. A model of a deconstructed ”Dome”, a construction iconized by the hippies in the 70s.” Continues with a lot more photos on Bureau Detours.

Inside was a workshop held by Norah Gaughan in progress. Despite its fantastic interior, it did not contain the most comfortable benches to sit on during a 6 hours workshop, hence a number of knitters had moved outside when time came for individual work.

“The rocky cliffs of Jons Kapel, which give a panoramic view of the west coast of the island, are reached from the car park on Jons Kapelvej by descending a steep path beside a little stream called Askebækken. Jons Kapel can be seen from the beach, north of the point where the path reaches the coast. The cliffs consist of Vang granite, named after the fishing village of Vang, just to the north. The cliff has several caves. Jon’s Cave is high above the sea. North of the cave, there is an almost vertical rockface known as Hvidkleven (White Cliff). The caves to the south are known as Jons Sovekammer (Jon’s Bedroom), Jons Sakristi, Jons Spisestue (Jon’s Dining Room) and Jons Madkælder (Jon’s Food Cellar)”. More on Wikipedia. It provided us with the exercise for the day.

A short drive away is Hammershus “the largest castle ruin in Northern Europe and the most popular attraction on Bornholm. The oldest part of the fortress was probably built in the early 12th century to consolidate control of the island by the Archbishop of Lund (which was then part of Denmark), which he had acquired through a treaty with King Svend III Grathe of Denmark. For the next 500 years Hammershus was the stronghold of the island’s various rulers. Hammershus was rebuilt and extended on several occasions.” See more on: Bornholm Info. You could easily imagine how glorious the Castle must have looked in its heyday, and it was hard not think of Shakespeare’s Hamlet while walking around. See the setting above, photographed by my husband.

The sea view was spectacular. No wonder that a number of people had decided to have their picnic at the castle. We were lucky enough to spot the café shop and some cake. Above I framed my husband with my camera lens.

We bumped into designer Maria Gustafson, designer Kerstin Lindh, aka Alalindh and Christina at the Castle. Until next time we said, and caught them on camera waving goodbye.

Norah Gaughan at Strik Bornholm

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Linda Marveng

I was so excited to be invited to hold workshops at Strik Bornholm, and could hardly believe my eyes when I discovered that the American designer and former Creative Director of Berroco; Norah Gaughan would be the star attraction. Well, since I was holding 2 workshops, I wondered whether they both would go ahead with enough participants. For once I had the chance to take part in one of Norah’s workshops, and for awhile I considered whether I could participate in two if my second workshop was cancelled. Just as some knitters signed on for all her workshops; Day 1: Modern Cable Design. Day 2: Designing Modern Sweaters. Day 3 (only half-day): Pattern Stitch Development and Design Possibilities. I took part in the latter one, together with designer Bente Geil (above in the centre), designer Maria Gustafsson, yarn dyer Lene Nielsen of Fredsminde Unika Design (above right) and five experienced knitters. Of course I had to wear one of Norah’s designs I have knitted; the popular Cabled Bolero that was on the cover of Vogue Knitting winter 2006/07. Below is a photo Maria took of me at the workshop, and I captured her in pink in the second photo below. The bolero, or Capecho as Norah called it, is made from several connected pentagons and is a pattern you either adored like me, or needed help to crack the code, see Capecho Workshop.

I had already met Norah at the breakfast at Hotel Klintely, where we and several other designer & knitters stayed. So I was already star struck before I joined her workshop. To my surprise I was the only one wearing one of her designs, despite the Indian Summer heat we experienced. After seeing her slide show at the Party Dinner, the excitement grew even further. The brief introduction to the workshop – Pattern Stitch Development and Design Possibilities states: “One thought leads to another when it comes to making up pattern stitches. Norah will share some insights about her design process and show the progression of charts and swatches that lead to final products. Then, once you have a pattern stitch, how do you explore what to do with it?” The workshop started with a slide show, where Norah talked about her designs, and how they came into life.

Our first exercise was to match a series of inspiration photos with Norah’s designs. It seemed fairly obvious, until we started noticing that there were several alternative solutions. The second exercise was to select a ball of yarn from Norah’s collection – all in different fibers and structures – then knit a given lace swatch, a stitch pattern she had found studying a Donna Karan sweater. In a way we were helping her on the next step of the design. We knitted, changed needles, and then started thinking about how we could improve the swatch. I borrowed larger needles since I had brought too small needles, and discovered that due to the two slipped stitches with yarn in front of work, the yarn overs were covered hence a row need to be purled instead of knitted. The minor change I choose made a difference to the pattern, and the visibility of the holes created by the yarn overs. My swatch is second from left.

Above is the result of our knitting and experimentation; proof that we took part in the workshop. The task demonstrated how different a stitch pattern looks in a variety of yarns and fibers. We agreed that the grey ribbon yarn was totally unsuited for this stitch pattern, while the cream colored linen worked the best, followed by the two lighter blue cotton mixes. We learnt the importance of matching yarn and stitch pattern for a perfect combination. Our third and final exercise was to consider what kind of a garment two stitch patterns in a yoked pullover could easily be transferred into. There were lot of suggestions but none of us made the obvious connection to a hat. Other topics covered were her sources of inspiration: Ready to wear collections, nature (see my blogpost on her book: Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan), science, other arts and herself. Norah uses Barbara Walker’s stitch dictionaries, and is introducing her at Vogue Knitting Live event in Chicago in October. Norah will often change a stitch pattern to simplify, or enlarge the scale of it, or make recombinations and changing the scale. Hence she has built up her own vocabulary of stitches and motifs.

Above is a selection of swatches Norah showed us. We studied the swatches in awe for ages. The large swatches are from the days when she sold swatches to agencies – they demanded large swatches or the whole front of a sweater – to sell on to the high end fashion houses such as Ralph Lauren. These are the ones, Norah could not bear to send off, but wanted to use herself. Her advice to us where to: “Swatch & swatch again; be open to surprises; be one step removed from copying; think of something, then make it easier, be determined, but not in a hurry.” Thank you so much, Norah for a superb workshop! And also to Strik Bornholm for making it possible for me to join this amazing class! My head was spinning for days afterwards. This month she is holding a 4 day workshop called “Cable School” where you are part of her design team, near her studio in Harrisville, New Hampshire. I would love to be there, but if you go, do let me know. Here are more details: Four day workshop modern cable design.

Strik Bornholm Report

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Linda Marveng

My husband and I are just back from the idyllic island of Bornholm. Not only did I enjoy every second of the knitting event, I also loved every minute of my stay on the island. There were more than 450 knitters signed on in advance to the event, and a huge number that turned up to see the exhibitors hall as well as the all the knitting action during the weekend. Above is a photo from my first workshop on Friday in Japanske Mønstre/Japanese Patterns at Allinge Røgeri/Smokehouse located on the beach. I had an amazing group including the acknowledged designer Vivian Høxbro of Domino Knitting fame (read: with 2 books published in Japan), and they did not want to sit inside in the wonderful warm weather. We tested both the front terrace of the restaurant in the morning, and the beach at the back in the afternoon when we were joined by the ever colorful Danish designer Charlotte Kaae and her group in the background.

In the evening of our arrival, I received my name badge, list of participants on my workshops, and finally met Swedish designer Maria Gustafsson, initiative takers Heidi Beckmann and designer Bente Geil plus organizer Mikkel from Team Bornholm, in person, in addition to a number of other participating designers. Later on the knitters joined us and the knitting café. Apparently, it was Heidi that convinced Mikkel that knitters would come, he admitted during the party dinner on Saturday night (see photo above), that they had their doubts about organizing a knitting festival. But even the party dinner was so popular it was moved to a larger venue, and still the waiting list kept growing. Now, they are thoroughly convinced. The star attraction was American designer and former Creative Director of Berroco; Norah Gaughan whose love of cables leave knitters breathless, and addicted to her designs for life. Some knitters had booked all three of her workshops, while I was thrilled to take part in merely one on the day I was not teaching called: Pattern Stitch Development and Design Possibilities. My head is still spinning from all the knowledge she shared, and a separate blog post will come.

How was I supposed to restrict my buying of yarn and new books, was a common topic, as you can imagine. The temptations in the exhibitors hall was overwhelming, and hugely in-demand was the local hand-dyed yarn from Fredsminde Unika Design. I had already discovered the local yarn shop in Allinge called Strikkehjørnet who also with a stand in the hall, and spent more than I planned. A well known problem for us knitters. Here is the list of exhibitors at Strik Bornholm.

There were a total of 4 Norwegian knitters present at the Festival, 3 from the Stavanger Strikk & Drikk/Knit & Drink group and me, a few Swedish knitters and designers with the majority of participants from Denmark. The highlight of the party dinner was a presentation with slides by Norah Gaughan on her background and design. She was brilliantly translated by Heidi into Danish, giving us time to digest and admire each design. Editor Inga Walløe from the Danish magazine “Hendes Verden“/Her World, had a difficult act to follow but made an impressive attempt. Next, was a quiz filled with Danish questions my Swedish friends, and I found hard to answer hence we came second to last but still received a prize consisting of knitting magazines and hand-made buttons. Between the courses there was plenty of knitting to be spotted, I am happy to report. My husband was never given a choice whether he wanted to join the dinner or not – unlike a few others – I just told him to accompany me, and it would be worth it merely listening to Norah Gaughan’s presentation.

My second workshop on Saturday on Montering/Finishing only had 3 knitters signed on, and took place in the exhibitors hall. It was an ideal place to show off my book, Hifa yarn and a few selected garments. Curious knitters also wanted to know what the workshop was about. After the workshop, I made another tour in the exhibitors hall to make sure I did not miss anything. On the last day of the festival, Sunday, I was ready for Norah Gaughan’s workshop followed by a bit of sightseeing on the island. This was the first Strik Bornholm, but hopefully only the first of many. Thank you so much to Heidi, Bente and Team Bornholm for the invitation to take part! I would love to come back.