Tag Archives: Charlotte Kaae

Strikkehelgen in Stavanger

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dscn0626For the third time, the knitting weekend in Stavanger was organised and I was invited to hold a workshop. The organisers Strikk og Drikk/Knit and Drink (yes – it all began in a pub) wanted a knitting design workshop and I was happy to oblige. Just as last time I stayed with Anja Smith, one of the volunteers who was in charge of not only photographing but also proof reading all the patterns with projects selected after a competition was held. Above you see the calendar and some of the projects exhibited on the top floor of the Thon Hotel Maritim. You will  find more photos here: Strikkekalender-2017. I flew from Oslo to Stavanger on Friday afternoon, just in time for a dinner with Anja before she headed to a workshop in beading and I to teach at Stasjonsstrikk/Station knit, both held at the heart of Stavanger at the Library. Station knitting follows the principles of speed dating really, with 15 minutes at each station for a group of up to 4 people to learn a knitting technique. I was teaching I-cord bind-off this year, while designer & author Tove Fevang was teaching 3-needle bind-off and Danish designer & television judge Vithard Villumsen was teaching wrap and turn in addition to 2 stations manned by volunteers.

dscn0623I had spotted Vithard at Strik Bornholm but did not have the opportunity to meet him until last Friday. Just like a number of knitters, I first saw him on the television show “Den Store Strikkedyst“/The Great Knit Off, where he is a judge together with Christel Seyfarth. The series is into its third season, now. It is addictive viewing, and you will find a few episodes with English subtitles at youtube and all of them at Tv Syd. I can confirm that he is both as nice and knowledgeable as he looks on television. The first part of Friday night was spent knitting in the library. And yes, I had to confirm there was a knitting festival in the city for those sitting around me. The last part of Friday night was spent with Anja and her family in their newly refurbished house by the water in Sandnes.

dscn0625My workshop Strikkedesign/Knitting design was held at the conference center at Thon Hotel Maritim. The Stavangerfjord conference room had comfortable director chairs and a beautiful view of the lake Breiavannet in the city center of Stavanger. I had a fully booked workshop, but struggled with a cold all weekend. Thankfully, I had a wonderful group of knitters on my workshop! We had a 2 hour break for lunch so that we had enough time to visit the market hall at Folkets Hus. There I met up with Swedish designer Anita Grahn, left in the photo below looking at porcelain buttons by Birthe Sahl. I also found Danish designer Charlotte Kaae, who had signed on for the speed knitting contest and came 4th. The winner knitted more than 600 stitches in 10 minutes. Above is Charlotte’s exhibit. I would not have come that high, and was too busy eating lunch as well as chatting to Norwegian designer Helle Slente as well as friends, test knitters and Facebook friends.

dscn0613Below is a view of half the market hall. I was good this time and did not buy any yarn at all. After the workshop on Saturday, a group of us sat knitting in the reception at the hotel before we walked over to the De Røde Sjøhus/The Red Sea Houses for the  knitting party. We made a designer table and exchanged experiences while we ate tapas from the buffet. Charlotte Kaae held an brief talk on how to use Instagram and encouraged us all to photograph with the hashtag #strikkehelgstavanger.

dscn0620Below is Maskepigen Garn with stunning hand-dyed yarns. They were tempting, I must admit. During the workshop we were visited by a personal trainer Marte Haga, who helped us with tension in our shoulders and hands by giving us all exercises to do. You will find a couple of videos on Instagram, even from the pub Cardinalen (read: Strikk og Drikk’s home). They have become used to invasion by knitters by now and everything they tend to do…

dscn0617For lunch on Sunday I met editor of the largest handicraft blog in Norway, Tusenideer.no, Mary-Ann Astrup, who was house hunting in Stavanger and had flown in from Copenhagen.  It was the weekend to be in Stavanger, that is for certain!  Thank you to Strikk og Drikk, and to all the friends, designers & knitters I met!

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Strik Bornholm 2016

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XT1B4221I was delighted to be invited back to Strik Bornholm, 2 years after the first knitting festival on the divine sunshine island in the Baltic Sea. Just as last time my husband wanted to join me and take on the long drive from Oslo to Ystad, Southern Sweden – 6 hours but since we needed several breaks it took us close to 7 hours. We stayed one night at Hotel Continental from and were thrilled to find it upgraded to pure luxury. The next day, Thursday 1. September we were ready for the ferry – an Australian catamaran – from Ystad to Rønne, which takes only 1 hour and 20 minutes. Strik Bornholm was held in the small town of Allinge, approximately 20 minutes drive from the largest town Rønne at Bornholm. Above is the Woolspire stand with designer Charlotte Kaae talking to Diana Belea and Ann Vindelev from Woolspire. Ann, the Woolspire intern, learnt to knit while at Strik Bornholm, have a look at the photos in this blogpost: woolspire.com

XT1B4106Some of the 16 workshop holders – in charge of the 53 workshops – met up on Thursday evening just before the first of two evening knit cafés. Charlotte held a short talk and demonstration on the different cast-on methods. Yes, she does have her own YouTube channel in Danish. Above you can see me demonstrating how my Quamara jacket can be worn in 3 different ways depending on how you fold the long attached loop collar. Next to me is Mary-Ann Astrup, editor of the largest handicraft blog in Norway www.tusenideer.no and now also part of the Woolspire crew. I was so happy to be able to look at all the Brooklyn Tweed yarns and colors displayed at their stand. Of course I had to order some that will arrive in my mailbox very soon.

DSCN0509Strikkehjornet is the local knitting shop from Allinge which I discovered last time I visited. Owner Jette Jensen has for the first time made her own yarn, pelt wool from Bornholm, displayed at the front in three natural colors. Yes, it was one that had to follow me home. I was holding four workshop this time, all in Norwegian. Design your own sweater in part 1 and 2 as well as Japanese Patterns twice in one day. An extra Japanese Pattern workshop was added due to popular demand, while my Lace workshop was cancelled of the opposite reason. I was happy to meet several of the participants from the previous Strik Bornholm and even got to see some completed projects based on my workshops I held in 2014. Pure bliss! This time I was not teaching at Allinge Røgeri/Smokehouse on the beach but we were tempted and had to go there the first night for a portion on fish and chips.

DSCN0513Instead I was teaching at the old schoolhouse now called “Kærnehuset” but still marked as “Borgerskolen” on Friday and at Høiers Iscafe on the Saturday. As you can imagine the old school was perfect for a workshop while the Iscafé was a bit busy with ice-eating customers on the Saturday afternoon. Above is another photo from the large sportshall, Nordlandshallen where the sales area was offering a total of 24 shops. The yarn on offer is the locally hand dyed Fredsmindegarn. This year a number of German knitters visited the event together with a few Norwegians, a large number of Swedes and Danes. A total of        1750 visitors came by the sales hall during those three days.

XT1B4215Here is another photo of me and Mary-Ann, taken on the Saturday since I am wearing Oydis sweater with the cowl. I was so happy that Mary-Ann was coming and that I had the opportunity to meet the Woolspire crew myself since I now have a number of my patterns for sale in both Norwegian (on their Danish and Norwegian site) and English (on their English site).

DSCN0524This year the evening knit cafés and the party dinner on Saturday was held in a party tent at Storløkken Feriesenter. On Friday evening, Michael and I stayed in the same apartment hotel as last time, Klintely, with a lovely sea view as you can see from above. Unlike last time we did not have the opportunity to have breakfast with Norah Gaughan. And she was sorely missed by many of us. The star attraction this time was the Danish designer Vithard Villumsen, also known as the Prince of Knitting and as one of the judge on the Danish television series “Den Store Strikkedyst/The Great Knitting Challenge”. You will find a few episodes with English subtitles here on YouTube. He offered four different workshops, but the only one I had the opportunity to attend was an introduction to English knitting terms and that is one that I do not need. But to sum up the knitting festival: I had a great time! Thank you to all of you who I met, and to the organizers Team Bornholm!

DSCN0500I had some time on Thursday when we arrived and also on the Sunday to do a spot of sightseeing together with my husband. Here is one of the many lovely beaches on Bornholm, on the southern coast. But what really left a lasting impression was the Bornholm Art Museum, and it is coming next.

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Strik Bornholm 2016

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DSC_2140I was delighted to be invited to teach at the next Strik Bornholm for a second time around. The festival is from Thursday 1st to Sunday 4th of September 2016, at the idyllic Danish holiday island. The program with more than 50 workshops has been revealed, and it is already possible to book workshops and a full Festival package with a hotel stay included. Last time in September 2014, Norah Gaughan was teaching and speaking at the event while this time it is the prince of knitting Vithard Villumsen who is the big name, hence all workshops will be in one of the Scandinavian languages: Danish, Swedish or Norwegian. I have only seen Vithard on television as one of the judges in “Den Store Strikkedyst”/The Big Knitting Joust, you can find it here on Tv Syd, so I am looking forward to seeing him live! Above is a photo of me teaching Japanese Patterns on the beach part of Allinge Røgeri in the amazing warm weather in September 2014. This time I am teaching a shorter version of the same course as well as Design. The colorful Danish Designer Charlotte Kaae, in a yellow top above, is also back together with a number of other returning designers. Here is a link to the workshops information and catalogue: teambornholm.dk/strik/workshops. I cannot wait to go back, and hope to see some of you there…

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Strikkehelgen/Knitting Weekend in Stavanger

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DSCN0359Yes, I have had yet another superb weekend in Stavanger, in south west Norway. I have spent most of the time teaching two workshops; Japanese Patterns and Lace Knitting at the Stavanger Bibliotek/library – the very heart of the city. I flew in on Friday afternoon and was met by my knitting friend and host Anja Præsttun Smith – yes, her husband is English too – at the airport. After a quick sushi dinner we ran to take part in the Stasjonsstrikk/Station Knit event at the library, where seven of us taught a knitting technique to seven moving groups of four knitters. I explained and taught tucks, while Anja taught the magic loop method, designer Charlotte Kaae taught Intarsia and Tone Cecilie Nystrøm taught I-cord bind off – wearing my design the Lyre Bolero – just to mention a few. The 10 minutes at each station went quickly and left us with sweaty hands and hot knitting needles. Afterwards there were talks and I was keen to meet as well as to hear Kari-Helene Rane talk about her design background and co-ownership of Purl Alpaca Designs in the UK, where she lives. Above you see her explaining about the alpaca hairs. Next on the program was Read & Knit with author Eskil Aasmul, then the knit café where a new hat was made for the real estate developer Olav Thon well known for his orange knitted hat. Here is a link to the full program: strikkehelgstavanger.

DSCN0360You can see Anja knitting, third from the right, and be impressed by her speed if watch the brief video interview with her and Gunnhild Marie Hagen, who taught the entrelac method of knitting. See their grinning faces – so characteristic of them both – below, and watch the video here: aftenbladet.no.

@ Anders Minge/Stavanger Aftenblad

@ Anders Minge/Stavanger Aftenblad

Saturday night there was a knitting party at the Røde Sjøhus/Red Seahouse. I was so happy to be seated next to the Danish designers: Charlotte Kaae, Lene Holme Samsøe, (wearing a traditional kofte), Bente Geil and the Swedish designer Anita Grahn (wearing a pink shawl). Bente has her own yarn company, Geilsk, and know a lot about our desperate need for more yarn, she revealed and gave us new ideas for how to bring it into our already well stocked yarn stash: Leave it in the car for a day, then it becomes old yarn and can easily be moved into the house. You can see her talking below. We had tapas but chatted, laughed, and knitted more than we ate. A band played while we knitted – some where even smart enough to bring their headlamps so that they could see properly! The winners of the lottery was drawn, and they were all very happy knitters indeed.

DSCN0363My lace knitting workshop, the day after, was held in the Glasshuset/Glasshouse which was more like a glass cage, since there were only 4 signed on and we could just squeeze in. The Strikk & Drikk/Knit & Drink organizer Monica Haga selected us as one the television crew from Tv Vest could film, so below you can see the top of my head in the front.

Tv Vest

@ Tv Vest

Even if you do not understand Norwegian the video from Tv Vest gives you a good impression of the event itself: tvvest.no/eldorado-for-strikkere. If you know my designs well, you might have spotted that Bodhild Peerstøe (in white) is wearing the Jacket in Cross from my book. Instead of using the original Valley Yarns Tencel she choose a thin crochet cotton yarn and sewed on a button at the end of the tie to close it at the back instead of tying it at the front. See the photo I took of her below. I was thrilled to see it and how well it suited Bodhild! Thank you!

DSCN0366With little time not knitting nor teaching, I had a magnificent time in Stavanger just as I did last year! Thank you to all the organizers and to Anja for letting me stay with her and her lovely family again!

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Strikkehelgen/Knitting Weekend in Stavanger

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By AnjaI had a marvelous weekend in Stavanger, and was way too busy enjoying myself to take lots of photos, thanks to organizers Stavanger Strikk og Drikk/Knit and Drink who have done a splendid job. A  large number of the city landmarks were marked by the knitting event; at the airport was a large armchair with yarn & needles provided ready to use, the library was invaded by knitters, and had prepared by exhibiting all their knitting books; exhibitions; as well as providing yarn for charity knitting and presentations by all participating designers, the ferry terminal had first declined the offer from Strikk og Drikk but did not take long to regret their decision… A small trade hall was located at Bekkefaret Bydelshus/Community House with offerings of tempting yarns, patterns, buttons and books together with a coffee shop plus workshop premises, with more located at Eiganes Kolonihagehus/Allotment Community House; where the Saturday party was held. My weekend workshop in Knitting Design was at Gosen Skole, see above. The knitting community in Stavanger was starstruck by the famous Danish designers that participated: Lene Holme Samsøe, Bente Geil aka Geilsk and Charlotte Kaae. Taking part with their respective fans were also acknowledged Swedish designer Anita Grahn, Tove Fevang and Ann Myhre aka Pinneguri/The Needle Lady (read about her workshop here: aftenbladet). I met Bente, Charlotte and Anita at Strik Bornholm but was delighted to finally meet Lene in person as well as some of my Ravelry friends. Read in Norwegian: Se opp for strikk i rogalandsavis, Hele byen strikker i aftenbladet.

DSCN2073We were 3 Norwegian designer present at the weekend who all gave a talk on Friday evening at the Library; Tove Fevang, myself and Ann Myhre who you can see in action above. While Tove was talking about her inspiration and work, I presented my design experience and book, and Ann defended top-down knitting as well as the fact that women should celebrate the fact that we do have shapely figures. The 3 Danish designers and Anita held talks on Saturday to even larger crowds. See the complete program here: strikkehelgstavanger. After the talk both Tove and I were told to come with initiative taker Monica Haga for safe keeping until we would be collected by our hostesses who were both taking part in Charlotte’s workshop: Krydret Strik/Spicy Knitting (read: this relates to Charlotte’s bold use of vivid colors). We were duly collected a few hours later, after a delicious dinner in Bente’s & Monica’s company.

DSCN2077My friend Anja Præsttun Smith and I had to chat a bit even after we arrived at her house by the fjord in Sandnes so well into the night I crashed into bed. Do take a look at her family’s exciting Iceland expedition plans here – yes, Anja’s husband Neil is English – see: ice2015.no. Anja was one of the many volunteers that had helped by baking cakes for the coffee shop, Tone Cecilie Nystrøm was another volunteer in charge of the premises for my weekend workshop and hence moved it to the school were she teaches; Gosen Skole, while Monica’s husband was the dedicated driver who brought us lunch, to our pleasure, with plenty of fruit, chocolate, fizzy drinks and raffle tickets. Excellent service in other words. I had an overbooked workshop but still managed to lead everyone through the planned agenda. It is ever so exciting to see what inspires others, and the abundance of creativity that exists all around us! Numerous swatches later and after the workshop on Saturday, Anja and I had a quick look in the Trade Hall before closing time. I can reveal that Anja bought several skeins of yarn, while I collected business cards, cuddled hand-dyed luxurious Lotus Yarns from Ullrommet and yarns from Nøstebarn before we headed home to change for the party at Eiganes Kolonihage. Above is a photo from the party with the Danish Designers at the front table accompanied by Monica in a sleeveless white dress.

DSCN2080Tone Cecilie dazzled in her orange skirt plus matching tie and recently finished test knitting her bright turquoise Lattice Back Jacket which is much brighter in real life than in the poor quality photo above.  Anyway, I so wanted to show you her fabulous outfit! Instead of the planned zip, Tone Cecilie’s jacket had three small coin buttons attached with snap fasteners. You can read more about her difficult zip search in the test knit thread in my group on Ravelry. We had delicious food, music, cakes & coffee and chatted while we all knitted. The sound level, as you can imagine, was out of this world. I flew back to Oslo on Sunday evening after my workshop and managed a quick goodbye to Charlotte and Lene Holme at the airport before my departure. It was wonderful to meet so many knitters and designers at Strikkehelgen in Stavanger, a big thank you to all volunteers and Strikk og Drikk for a magnificent event!

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Strik Bornholm Report

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DSC_2140My 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.

DSCN1156 croppedIn 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.

DSCN1151How 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.

DSC_2157My 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.

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