Tag Archives: Kaja Kvernbakken

Norsk Strikkedesign – Book Club Presentation

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Above is the new cover of the upcoming Norwegian book: “Norsk Strikkedesign“, featuring model Emma Ross wearing a pullover designed by Arne & Carlos. The editor is Iselin Hafseld and she is also a participating designer together with Arne & Carlos, Kari Hestnes, Bente Presterud, Birger Berge and me. The book will be launched before the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, where Norway is the Guest of Honour this year. We all hope that this will increase the possibility of it being sold by the Cappelen Damm Agency to foreign publishers, hence translated. The Book club, called Hobbyklubben, have sent out their magazine where the book is the main book for October. Below you see the cover they choose, a stranded colour work dress made by Bente worn by model Kaja Kvernbakken. The photographer, you will recognize I believe, is Eivind Røhne.

Gorgeous garments from six of our most popular knitwear designers. 30 knitting patterns. On the second page mittens by Arne & Carlos and the heading saying “Godt norsk” as in “Good Norwegian”.

“The interest for the Norwegian knitting tradition has had a surge during the last years. In the book “Norsk Strikkedesign” designer Iselin Hafseld has persuaded 5 other active Norwegian designers to join in. It has turned into a book filled with unique designs, with small and large garments for everyday use and party, for both women and men.”

Above is four garments named with designer name.

“Knit your favourite. The best of Norwegian design. Here you will find more than 30 gorgeous garments from six of our most popular knitwear designers.”

The book club editor writes that this includes the best from some of the best and that she has looked forward to flickering through this. The advantages of having a real book (read: printed book) in your hands and being able to flick forward and back. How easy it is to find  a pattern she wants to try out, evaluate what colour to use and suddenly she is back with her head into her yarn basket and just have to start.

 Next is Iselin’s introduction to the book: “The idea behind this book was to gather a group of designers active in the field today and who have made their mark on Norwegian Knitwear design. Six designers were invited to join with their unique designs for women and men. We, who have contributed hope that this will become your new inspirational book. A book that makes you want to create even more with needles and balls of yarn.” Then follows a few sentences from each one of us about our inspiration and information about the yarn used.

The book is on schedule and has been sent to print. I have also received all the photos of my garments taken so I will be sharing those soon.

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Photoshoot at Oslofjord Museum: Mulberry Silk Jacket

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The next set of photos I will show your from our base at the Oslofjord Museum at Vollen in Asker, outside of Oslo at the end of May, is the Mulberry Silk Jacket . This is an old pattern that was first published in my Norwegian book “To rett, en vrang. Designstrikk” by Cappelen Damm in 2012. Here is Kaja Kvernbakken wearing my Mulberry Silk Jacket with a pair of pirate trousers, with make-up & hair by Sissel Fylling and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design, plus ankel boots by Monica Stålvang, brilliantly photographed next to the corten steel wall by Eivind Røhne.

A short sleeve jacket for summer, made in silk, hence lovely to wear. The divine lace weight Jaipur Silk Fino from BC Garn in a moss color is my choice. The lucina shell pattern gives a delicate expression perfect for the silk yarn. The cardigan is knitted in pieces and seamed for the best fit. The frontband has both a garter stitch part and a stockinette stitch part which is left to roll.

The Mulberry Silk Jacket was photographed again since I am releasing the pattern as an individual pattern and because I wanted to sell the Norwegian pattern for reuse to the magazine Familien. I have received several requests for the pattern in English, but knew I had to revise the pattern and have my technical editor to check it as well draw a schematic drawing for it, hence it has taken a lot longer than anticipated.

The jacket is knitted in  BC Garn, Jaipur Silk Fino made of 100% mulberry silk that comes on 50 gram skeins with 300 meters/ yards. The sample is knitted in Moss 41 using a 3 mm/US 2.5 needle and a 2.5 mm/US 1.5 needle for the front band. The gauge is 24 stitches and 36 rows in stockinette stitch using a 3 mm/US 2.5 needle measuring 10 cm/4″ square.

The sample has a 99 cm/39” bust circumference and is worn with + 13 cm/5” ease on the model. I have added a size extra large and done a few adjustments to the pattern as well as rewriting the pattern into my current pattern writing style. I loved seeing this jacket on Kaja! I am so proud to have such a fabulous team to work with! Thank you!

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Bell Jacket Pattern Released

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I have released both the Norwegian and the English version of the Bell Jacket, an old pattern that was first published in my Norwegian book “To rett, en vrang. Designstrikk” by Cappelen Damm in 2012, on Ravelry. The pattern has been revised and checked by my technical editor Barbara Khouri, who also made a schematic drawing for it. I choose to have new pictures taken for the pattern release during my last photoshoot in May, where I had two models: Emma Ross and Kaja Kvernbakken. The multi talented Kaja is a former editor, designer, novelist and one of the few Norwegian technical editors. In addition she has been modelling for years and years, ever since she was working as a designer for the Norwegian yarn company Du Store Alpakka. Kaja is wearing my Bell Jacket with a pair of pirate trousers, with make-up & hair by Sissel Fylling and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design, brilliantly photographed next to the corten steel wall by Eivind Røhne.

The Canterbury Bells stitch pattern cover this straight jacket with v-neck shaping and short sleeves. A number of extra stitches are cast on and then decreased to create the bells with their voluminous shadows. Hence the stitch pattern is stretchy and knitted loose to create a sculptural effect. A wide frontband in stockinette stitch frames the fronts and is made to hang loose. The Bell Jacket is knitted in the lovely silk like Tencel 8/2 by Valley Yarns in two colors to make a melange shade with one strand of each held together throughout.

Sizes S (M, L, XL)
Shown in size Small.
Skill level: Experienced

Finished measurements
Bust (with frontbands): 96 (104, 112, 120) cm/37.75 (41, 44, 47)“
Length: 53 (53, 56, 56) cm/21 (21, 22, 22)”
Sleeve length: 22 cm/8.5”

Yarn: Valley Yarns Tencel 8/2 (100% Lyocell, 454 g/1 lb, 3072 m/3360 yds). Sample is knitted in Sienna and Pompeii with 1 strand of each color held together throughout.
Sienna: 1 (1, 1, 1) cone; 1576 (1725, 1880, 2029) m/1724 (1886, 2219) yds.
Pompeii: 1 (1, 1, 1) cone; 1576 (1725, 1880, 2029) m/1724 (1886, 2219) yds.
Or in one color: 3152 (3450, 3760, 4058) m/3447 (3773, 4112, 4438) yds.
Note: Jacket is knitted with 2 strands held together throughout pattern.
https://www.yarn.com/products/valley-yarns-8-2-tencel
Or another light 4-ply/fingering yarn held single and half the meterage/yardage.

Needles: 3 mm/US 2.5 straight needles.
2 sets of 2.5 mm/US 1.5 circular needle (80 cm/32”) for the frontband.
Or size needed to obtain gauge.

Notions: Stitch holders and yarn needle.

Gauge: 29 sts and 38 rows in st st using 3 mm/US 2.5 needle and 2 strands of yarn held together measures 10 cm/4” square.
31 sts and 40 rows in st st using 2.5 mm/US 1.5 needle and 2 strands of yarn held together measure 10 cm/4” square.
23 sts and 32 rows in Canterbury Bells using 3 mm/US 2.5 needle and 2 strands of yarn held together measures 10 cm/4” square.

Notes: The jacket is knitted in pieces and seamed for the ultimate fit. The front band is knitted in three parts before they are all joined, to even out the v-neck shaping.

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Photoshoot at Oslofjord Museum: Bell Jacket

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I am ready to begin to show you the photos we took from our base at the Oslofjord Museum at Vollen in Asker, outside of Oslo at the end of May. First out the Bell Jacket, this is an old pattern that was first published in my Norwegian book “To rett, en vrang. Designstrikk” by Cappelen Damm in 2012. I want to present a new model, chosen for the occasion since I had so many designs to photograph this time I choose to book both Emma Ross and Kaja Kvernbakken. The multi talented Kaja is a former editor, designer, novelist and one of the few Norwegian technical editors. In addition she has been modelling for years and years, ever since she was working as a designer for the Norwegian yarn company Du Store Alpakka. You will find her face on several Norwegian knitting books and magazines. So here she is wearing my Bell Jacket with a pair of pirate trousers, with make-up & hair by Sissel Fylling and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design, plus ankel boots by Monica Stålvang, brilliantly photographed next to the corten steel wall by Eivind Røhne.

The Bell Jacket was photographed again since I am releasing the pattern as an individual pattern and because I wanted to sell the Norwegian pattern for reuse to the magazine Familien. I have received several requests for the pattern in English, but knew I had to revise the pattern and have my technical editor to check it as well draw a schematic drawing for it, hence it has taken a lot longer than anticipated.

The jacket is knitted in Valley Yarns, Tencel 8/2 made of 100% Lyocell that comes on 454 gram/1 pound cones with 3072 meters/3360 yards. The sample is knitted in Sienna and Pompeii with 1 strand of each color held together throughout using a 3 mm/US 2.5 needle and a 2.5 mm/US 1.5 needle for the front band. The gauge is 29 stitches and 38 rows in stockinette stitch using a 3 mm/US 2.5 needle with 2 strands held together measuring 10 cm/4″ square.

Kaja is wearing the smallest size with a 96 cm/37.75″ bust circumference. I have added a size extra large and done a few adjustments to the pattern as well as rewriting the pattern into my current pattern writing style. I loved seeing this jacket on Kaja! I am so proud to have such a fabulous team to work with! Thank you!

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Behind the Scenes: Photoshoot at Oslofjord Museum

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Monday morning was cold with grey skies when model Emma Ross, Michael and I set off from our house in Ørje, driving to Vollen, Asker for the photoshoot at the Oslofjord Museum. We were early but photographer Eivind Røhne had already arrived and so had the second model I had booked for the day, multi talented Kaja Kvernbakken. Kaja is also a designer herself in addition to a novelist, translator and former book editor at Cappelen Damm. This time I had thirteen garments plus accessories to photograph hence I thought a second model would be essential. Some of these designs are secret so you will not see these photos until late this autumn. Fortunately, Kaja was available to model that day. Below you see me talking to Kaja, as I am planning the jewellery borrowed from Kaja Gjedebo Design. I am wearing my Brewster Cardigan first published in knit.wear Wool Studio Vol. I.

Our base was the lecture hall at the Oslofjord Museum, where we had plenty of space. I began by hanging all the garments to photograph including the clothes to wear beneath, then unpacking the shoes, assisted by both Em and Kaja before makeup & hair artist Sissel Fylling arrived. When that was done, Eivind and I walk around in the area and found five different backdrops. Above is the last one we picked. In the meantime, Sissel arrived and we updated her on our plan as well as on the colours of my designs. We decided that both models should have their hair up due to the many collars and cowls, plus extra makeup around the eyes. Below you see her styling Em’s hair.

We began photographing the series of new designs for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikkull, next to a small black wooden building, one of the museum buildings. The colour of the building matched the designs perfectly. I wanted one photo of the models together since I have a jacket and a pullover with same cable, so that was the first shoots that Eivind did. Below you see us finishing off that first series, just before we moved to the second location, the corten wall outside along the museum.

After photographing half of the second series, we decided to break for lunch. It was noon and we all had an early start. Just as at the Vigeland Museum, I had ordered catering from Eckers at Frogner in Oslo. The food and smoothies had arrived even before we did so our contact person Anita had taken those in for us. I have taken even less photos than I usually do, since my hands were full (read: with knitted accessories, belts and shoes). Michael was assisting Eivind with the reflector at times, hence he did not photograph all the designs.

I wanted to show this photo of Eivind in action, photographing Kaja. He was alternating between his two cameras and had both hanging from his camera belt when they were not in use. At this point we were just in front of Anita’s office window. Luckily, she was in a meeting and not sitting at her desk while we were outside. Kaja has a large shoe size but managed to squeeze into my red shoes, below worn together with the O-Chem Tunic published in Interweave Knits Winter 2019. The design was returned to me from the US a few months back, hence needs new photos before I can release it after one year. Sissel is fantastic on hair & makeup styling and does her magic all the time. As a former model she is also very quick to spot and correct any flaws. I imagined her giving Kaja a spell – not that she needed it – but take a look at Sissel’s hand movements!

Designer and author Tove Fevang, who lives near by, popped down to say hello so we had a quick chat before we continued to our last backdrop and photographed the last designs, all in much shorter time than I had anticipated!

Michael made a behind the scenes video which will be available for all my patrons on Patreon only, after he has edited it. While Eivind used his drone to make a video, and below you can see him instructing Em. The drone video will also only be available for all my patrons. So if you are interested in learning more about my life as a designer and want to support me, choose your level based on the rewards here: www.patreon.com/lindamarveng.

We had a fun day and it was a magnificent photoshoot! Thanks to my brilliant team! I look forward to showing you the new designs – I still need to finish off those patterns – as well as selecting from Eivind’s photos!

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