Northern Norway Knit Photos

Posted on August 15, 2020 by Linda Marveng

I promised to show you some knitting photos from Northern Norway; here they are. I brought my Aife pullover with my so that we could photograph it at the Blåisvannet/Blue Lake in Lyngen, outside of Tromsø. Here I am photographed by Michael wearing my hiking trousers and mountain boots with my design Aife knitted in Dye Dye Done Pure Sport. I believed I would need it during our hike to the Blue Lake, but since the weather cleared and it got warmer, I had it in my backpack. The Aife pattern is available on Ravelry and on Love Crafts.

Aife was the Queen of the Isle of Shadow according to Celtic mythology. This elaborate cabled pullover with a slightly fitted waist, is made for a female warrior. A large cable panel, created by Devorgilla, is mirrored with two small cables at the center. The sweater ends in a generous turtle neck in ribbing. To show off the stunning hand dyed Pure Sport yarn by Dye Dye Done, the sleeves are in stockinette stitch with only two small centered cables. Aife is knitted in pieces for the ultimate fit.

The next knit design I wanted to show you is the Autumn Symphony that Grete Jenssen, aka ma9 on Ravelry, knitted for herself – and not as a sample for me – photographed by Michael at smooth rock surface at Tungeneset with that view to the Okshornan/Ox horn cliffs at the island of Senja outside of Tromsø. You can see my photo of Michael at the same spot in this blogpost: Postcard from Northern Norway. Read about alpine climbing these cliffs here: Okshornan på Senja.

My introduction to the pattern, available on Ravelry and on Love Crafts, follows: 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.

Last but not least is Grete on the beach outside their house in Markenes, Storsteinnes outside of Tromsø, close to midnight late in July, wearing her stunning Mohair Poncho. One she knitted for herself from my Norwegian book, but now also available in English on Ravelry and Love Crafts.

A poncho not reminiscent of the -70s but fashionable in addition to being warm, was my aim. It is easy to knit in 3 identical rectangular pieces but an intermediate challenge to sew together. The yarn I have chosen is a mixture of alpaca and mohair with a little acrylic from Texere Yarns.

We were waiting for the midnight sun to disappear behind the mountains. The sky went more red by the minute, see the best photo here: Postcard from Northern Norway.

I also want to share a selection of Michael’s amazing architectural photos from Tromsø in a later blogpost!

Autumn Symphony Accessories in På Pinnen 4/2018

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Linda Marveng

Happy New Year, I hope it will be a healthy, prosperous and creative year for all of you! 2018 ended with a bang, at least that is what it felt like to me, since one; I again – for the second time – had a design on the cover of the Norwegian Knitting Association’s digital magazine “På Pinnen”/On the Needle and two; I hit number one of Interweave’s Top 5 most knitted patterns of 2018 with my Prescott Pullover. On the cover of “På Pinnen” is the accessories to my Autumn Symphony design. The brilliant photo is taken by Eivind Røhne showing Emma Ross with hair & makeup by Sissel Fylling, photographed at Bøler Church last autumn. The initial plan was to have a design by Norwegian designer Sigrun Gilje Hindal on the cover and include the pattern. I know this, because I am the editorial team (read: all of it), assisting editor Tove Fevang. This time I also had the job of interviewing Sigrun, who is Design Manager at the webshop Garnius – that specialise in yarn kits – and acknowledged for her brilliant use of bright colours, see Malou. All the rights to her patterns are with Garnius, hence Tove asked if I had an accessory pattern we could use and my design ended on the cover. I loved the idea and Tove picked this one from a small selection I sent her. Both the accessories (cowl and tweed belt) and the jacket is knitted in the lovely Ask from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk using 3.5 mm/US 4 and 3 mm/US 2 for the bands on the Tweed Cowl. My Autumn Symphony pattern is available in English and Norwegian on Ravelry and Loveknitting.

Behind the Scenes: Photoshoot at Bøler Church

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Linda Marveng

Our photoshoot day, last Wednesday, had a grey start but it cleared and the sun came out in the afternoon. Michael and I picked up the gorgeous model Emma Ross – Em for short – at her hotel in Oslo, before we drove to Bøler suburb and the church. Em flew in from Manchester in the United Kingdom the day before and we were excited to meet her. Bøler Kirke is a community church by HBA Arkitekter completed in 2011. See more photos here: www.bygg.no. Photographer Eivind Røhne came as we were unpacking the car and meet the parish priest Dag Auli. We were given not only one room for lunch and our luggage but also a separate one for makeup with even larger windows towards the forest. We were given access to every part of the church, except for the Church Hall during the funeral at midday and given a tour of the church. Eivind and I did go all 121 steps to the top of the Bell Tower and had a lovely view of the nearby lake Østensjøvannet, but the platform at the top was tiny and the long drop to the ground made us both dizzy. The makeup & hair artist Sissel Fylling with her assistant Nora arrived and were introduced to Em. Yes, she needed a haircut (read: as we have come to expect) and we did not need to convince Em to accept. While Sissel and Nora set to work on Em’s hair and then makeup, I prepared the rail with the clothes and went on another tour with Eivind & Michael to locate locations. There were 3 backdrops we immediately wanted: The entrance area to the Church hall with its light concrete walls, the rusty cor-ten wall panel and the chapel courtyard. Michael has taken all these wonderful photos. Above is the entrance area and you see Sissel and me at work, while Em is checking out the biblical text written about the entrance to the Church Hall. She is wearing 1 of the 7 new designs, a long cardigan made in the lovely Di Gilpin’s Lalland Lambswool yarn with a unique twist.

Jewellery designer Kaja Gjedebo who lives at Bøler, came on her bicycle with a large selection for me to choose from. Yes, I did pick some of her new statement pieces and some old favourites. Kaja knows this community church well and could tell us about some of the events that take place here. It is one of the few churches with a licence to serve alcohol in connection with the concerts and other events organised at the church. Above you see Em covered in a felted wooly blanket (see Røros Tweed) to keep warm, as Eivind is checking the light and his flash. Yes, we have several of those blankets. Under she is wearing 1 of 3 designs that needed new photos: Autumn Symphony knitted in Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Ask-Hifa 2. On our agenda was to photograph a total of 10 garments during the day.Here you see Eivind in action photographing 1 of the 4 new designs for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk in the courtyard next to the chapel. Yes, it was a cold day so Em did want that blanket. We started by photographing here as the funeral was going ahead in the Church Hall. After photographing the 4 garments made for Hillesvåg, we needed to get warm and decided to have lunch. I had checked catering but since we were only 7, we bought lunch from a coffee shop in the city center and brought a selections of drinks & fruit with us. As always we had plenty of fun and discussed postures for Em to test out. Both Sissel and I popped into a number of Eivind’s shoots to correct or adjust her hair, makeup or outfit. I love this shoot of Eivind explaining. Em is wearing the Bowery Tunic, one of the designs returned from Interweave, I had to photograph again before I can release it with new photos after the rights have reverted to me. The design was made for knit.wear Spring/Summer 2017. The high ceiling, the light concrete and the full height windows gave this entrance area a sacral light. The impressive lighting is even found in the corridor at the side of the Church Hall as well as inside the Hall itself.

I also wanted to show you half of the church seen from the car park towards the chapel and the courtyard behind it. The tower is the Light Tower and not the Bell Tower which is at the opposite end. We are standing in front of the opposite rusty cor-ten wall panel with the name carved into it. This is also were we ended our photoshoot. The priest came in and asked how it was going on all our locations. We had a brilliant day! Thank you! Now, I am trying to choose photos from Eivind’s selection and trying to finish those patterns…

Kofteboken

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Linda Marveng

What is a Kofte? The word comes from Kaftan and can be open only in the neck or as a cardigan, it is worked in stranded knitting usually in two colors in traditional Kofte-patterns often with classic pewter buttons attached. A Norwegian Kofte is usually worked in the round without any shaping and steeked open at the front. Sturdy Norwegian wool is preferred by the majority. Freelance journalist Liv Sandvik Jacobsen started the large Kofte hunt/Den store koftejakten more than a year ago with the idea of gathering old traditional kofter (plural of kofte), and spreading the knowledge of these patterns as well as their history. A Facebook group was set up, initiated by Tone Loeng later assisted by Gitte Bettina Lauridsen, now with more than 26 000 members, magazine articles have been written, television programs have been made, exhibitions have been curated and now what everyone has been waiting for – the book is launched. The selected patterns have been checked, adjusted in size, color and yarn, in addition to new ones designed, with the expertise of Danish designer Lene Holme Samsøe, see hvem-er-lene-og-liv/who is Lene and Liv. All the samples have been knitted on a dugnad/orchestrated community work announced on the Facebook group, with knitters name & garment listed in the book. Many have been waiting for months for this book with their yarn ready to begin one or more of these projects. It was an incredible popular launch at Husfliden in Oslo on Saturday.

I was delighted to meet Lene again, so shortly after we met at the Strikkehelgen/Knitting weekend in Stavanger, where we both held talks and workshops. It was a great pleasure to also meet Liv who started this amazing Kofte-trend that is sweeping the country. They had brought with them a large selection of the kofter in the book which were displayed on a rail next to them and I enjoyed seeing them up and close. I convinced Makeløs/Remarkable stylist Kristin Elise Halkjelsvik, who styled my latest designs with redesign in the Autumn issue of Made by Me to join me. The photo above, taken by designer Ellen Andresen (read: so much clearer than any of mine), shows Liv on the left, and Lene on the right, with stylist Kristin Elise behind Lene, and me next to her. I am wearing my Shawl Sleeves, pinned together with the cowl from Autumn Symphony. Husfliden Shop Manager wanted all four of us in the photo. If you are in Norway, you can order the book from this page: kofteboken.no or in a number of book or yarn stores around the country or if you are abroad from the yarn shop Sommerfuglen in Copenhagen: sommerfuglen.dk.

Here is a close up of my outfit for the day, and since it was a cold day (just above 0 degrees celsius), I used the black shawl pin to hold the two ends of the Shawl Sleeves together, folding the upper layer in addition to closing the gap under my arm. One additional safety pin was needed to close the gap lower down and a second one holding them together on the right side. As you can see I choose to pin the Autumn Symphony cowl together too, all in the name of keeping warm. The last photo is taken by my husband with his new camera on our terrace on the beautiful day just before the book launch.

Autumn Symphony Knitted by Tone Cecilie Nystrøm

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Linda Marveng

Tone Cecilie Nystrøm, aka ToneCecilie on Ravelry, test knitted this gorgeous version of my Autumn Symphony Jacket with the wrap, and a self composed hat in March. These fabulous photos are taken by her daughter, Sara aged 12. I was taken back by her bold combination of colors; Melange clear apple green and melange purple in the stunning Ask-Hifa 2. Tone Cecilie chose size M, and did not do any alterations to it. She is a great test knitter since she can easily spot any mathematical errors straight away, and improved the pattern together, with the other test knitters. The lace pattern, called Chinese Lace, is one of those that are hard to learn by heart even for knitters who usually memorize patterns instantly, just as Tone Cecilie does. I was so fortunate to meet her in person last month when she attended two of my workshops for Strikk og Drikk/Knit and Drink in Stavanger, on the South-West coast of Norway, and study her jacket in detail. Thank you, Tone Cecilie!

Above is the back view of the a-line jacket. The Norwegian pattern with sizes from S to 3XL, bust measurements from 92 cm/36.25″ to 137 cm/54″ was published in the magazine Familien issue 20/2014, while the English pattern is available as a downloadable pdf from Ravelry.

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.

Autumn Symphony Pattern Released

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Linda Marveng

I am delighted to release the Autumn Symphony pattern after the test knit has been completed, with so many beautiful versions. The cover pictures are taken by Familien’s in-house photographer Petter Berg. The Norwegian pattern will be published later this autumn. The English pattern has been released in my Ravelry Store with helpful video links, schematics and charts. Here is the essential pattern info: 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.

Sizes: S (M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL)

Finished measurements: Jacket: Bust: 92 (97, 104, 115, 124, 137) cm/36.25 (38.25, 41, 45.25, 48.75, 54)” Hip: 112 (117, 124, 135, 144, 157) cm/44 (46, 48.75, 53.25, 56.75, 61.75)” Length: 67.5 (68.5, 69.5, 70.5, 71.5, 72.5) cm/26.5 (27, 27.25, 27.75, 28.25, 28.5)” Sleeve length: 50 cm/19.75″ Belt: Bottom: 90 (100, 110, 120, 130, 140) cm/35.5 (39.25, 43.25, 47.25, 51.25, 55)” Top: 78 (88, 98, 108, 118, 128) cm/ 30.75 (34.75, 38.5, 42.5, 46.5, 50.5)” Height: 30 cm/11.75″ Wrap: Height: 46 cm/18″, circumference 90 cm/35.5″

Yarn: Hifa, Ask – Hifa 2 (100% wool, 100 g, 315 m/345 yds). See ull.no. Col 1: Melange farm red 6513, Col 2: Melange dark terracotta 6503, Col 3: Melange orange 6570.

Jacket: Col 1: 3.5 (4, 4.5, 4.5, 4.5, 5) skeins. 1008 (1134, 1292, 1339, 1389, 1459) m/1102 (1240, 1413, 1464, 1595) yds

Belt: Col 1: 1 (1, 1, 1.5, 1.5, 1.5) skeins. 252 (284, 315, 347, 378, 410) m/276 (311, 345, 379, 413, 448) yds. Col 2 and Col 3: 0.5 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1) skein of each Col. 160 (189, 221, 252, 284, 315) m/175 (207, 242, 276, 311, 345) yds

Wrap: Col 3: 2 skeins. 504 m/551 yds

Alternative yarns: Cascade 220 Sport (100% wool, 50 g, 150 m/164 yds). http://www.cascadeyarns.com/cascade-220Sport.asp Madeline Tosh, Pashmina (75% superwash merino, 15% silk, 10% cashmere, 100 g, 329 m/360 yds). http://madelinetosh.com/store/index.php/yarns/pashmina.html Or another sport weight/5 ply yarn.

Needles 3.5 mm/US 4 (80 cm/32″) circular needle for jacket wrap and belt, 3.5 mm/US 4 DPNs or circular needle for magic loop method and 3 mm/US 2.5 (80 cm/32″) circular needle for button band. Adjust needle sizes as needed to match gauge.

Notions: 10 buttons for jacket and 7 buttons for belt (15 mm/0.62″), 6 stitch markers, stitch holders and yarn needle.

Gauge 20 sts and 28 rows in stockinette stitch measures 10 cm/4″ square. 19 sts and 30 rows in Leaf Pattern measures 10 cm/4″ square. 18 sts (1 pattern repeat) in Lacy Rib measures 9 cm/3.5″ square. 22 sts and 50 rows in Tweed measures 10 cm/4″ square.

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. If your k3tog on the wrap is loose work k2tog and move resulting stitch back to left needle and pass next stitch over. The belt is worked flat.

Professionally Photographed: Autumn Symphony

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Linda Marveng

I am delighted to show you my Autumn Symphony Jacket with Wrap and Tweed Belt professionally photographed by Petter Berg, the in-house photographer at the magazine Familien. Especially so, since it shows the set worn in different ways. Here is my introduction to the pattern: 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 colors in Ask – Hifa 2, then make your outfit using a 3.5 mm/US 4 knitting needle. I choose three beautiful melange colors but there are many more to choose from here: Ask. The Norwegian pattern will be published in Familien, probably in late September. The English pattern has been test knitted, in stunning color combinations; grey tones with apple green; blue tones; natural tones, lilac plus lime just to mention a few and will be released shortly in my Ravelry Store.

The Jacket and Tweed Belt is available in sizes S (M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL) while the wrap is one size but can easily be adjusted by adding or removing pattern repeats. A few of the test knitters preferred to lengthen the Tweed Belt into a skirt by adding extra length, while others continued to extend their outfit with a hat, wrist warmers and a narrow belt to go with the skirt. I am ever so pleased when I can inspire knitters to make their own modifications and continue with their own designs!

I knitted the body in one piece to the armholes, with a fake seam stitch in reverse stockinette stitch, then separated it into three parts. The sleeves on the other hand 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 and shaped.

The Lacy Rib pattern on the wrap is easy to memorize unlike the Leaf pattern on the jacket. During test knitting it was discovered that the k3tog is loose and larger than the k3tog tbl, which can be fixed by working k2tog, then move the resulting stitch back to left needle and pass the next stitch over. Or if you prefer, you can choose to adjust the size of the increase by working the second yarn over twice, and then letting the second one off your needle on the next round. You can study my knitted sample in detail above.

For those of you who choose to make the outfit when the pattern is available, I hope you will enjoy doing it as much as I did!

Linda Marveng

Knit wear designer and author

Tag Archives: Autumn Symphony