Tag Archives: Varun

Varun Pattern Released

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I am thrilled to announce that the Varun pattern has been released after a successful test knitting in my Ravelry group. My test knitters did a wonderful job and I look forward to sharing some of their result here later. The sample pullover and cowl is worked in the divine hand dyed Norne Yarn DK – Merino/Silk/Yak. Above you see it worn by the gorgeous Aksa Mortensen, with make-up & hair by Nina Hjertaas Bull and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design, captured by Eivind Røhne at Hvalstrand Bad back in May. The English and Norwegian pattern is available on Ravelry and will shortly be available on LoveCrafts too.

Varun is an A-line pullover with a cable panel that travels across the front and the back like a sash, that signifies a position not necessarily a royal one but a secret one. Varun is Norse for secret keeper. The cable sash meets on top of the left shoulder and at the right hip, like a sash. To highlight this the right sleeve has a cable cuff, while the left sleeve has two small cables running along it next to stockinette stitches. Garter stitches play along the seams on all the parts. Varun ends in an I-cord bind off neck but can be dressed up with a cable cowl, both are knitted in the divine hand dyed Norne Yarn DK – Merino/Silk/Yak.

Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL) (2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL)
Cowl in one size.
Shown in size Small.

Finished measurements:
Bust: 82 (90, 98, 106, 114) (126, 138, 150, 162) cm/32.5 (35.5, 38.5, 41.75, 45) (49.5, 54.25, 59, 63.75)“
Hip: 94 (102, 110, 118, 126) (136, 150, 162, 174) cm/37 (40, 43.5, 46.5, 49.5) (53.5, 59, 63.75, 68.5)”
Length: 62 (63, 64, 65, 66) (67, 68, 69, 70) cm/24.5 (24.75, 25.25, 25.5, 26) (26.5, 26.75, 27.25, 27.5)“
Sleeve length: 48 (49, 49, 49, 50) (50, 50, 50, 50) cm/19 (19.25, 19.25, 19.25, 19.75) (19.75, 19.75, 19.75, 19.75)”
Cowl: Height: 13 cm/5”. Width: 56 cm/22”
Intended ease: + 5-7 cm/2-2.75”. Sample shown is 90 cm/35.5” and worn with + 7 cm/2.75” ease on model.

Yarn: Norne Yarn, DK – Merino/Silk/Yak (60% Superwash Merino, 20% Silk, 20% Yak, 100 g, 212 m/232 yds). Sample is knitted in Fimbulwinter:
Pullover: 5 (6, 6, 6, 7) (7, 8, 9, 9) skeins; 1030 (1114, 1198, 1282, 1366) (1492, 1618, 1744, 1870) m/1126 (1218, 1310, 1402, 1494) (1632, 1769, 1907, 2045) yds.
Cowl: 1 skein; 117 m/128 yds.
https://www.norneyarn.com/yarns
https://knitwithattitude.com/norne-yarn-merino-silk-yak-d…

Needles: 4 mm/US 6 straight needles.
4 mm/US 6 circular needle (60 cm/24”) for neckband.
4 mm/US 6 circular needle (80 cm/32”) for bottomband.
Adjust needle size as needed to match gauge.

Notions: Stitch markers (removable), stitch holders and yarn needle.

Gauge: 20 sts and 30 rows in st st using 4 mm/US 6 needle measures 10 cm/4” square after blocking.
16-sts Body cable measures 5.5 cm/2.25” wide after blocking.
4-sts Back/Front cable measures 1.5 cm/0.5” wide after blocking.

Notes: The pullover is worked back and forth in separate pieces and seamed. The cable move is worked at the same time as the A-line shaping and the armhole shaping. The cable cowl is knitted back and forth and grafted together.

Shortening note: If you want to shorten the sweater with 5 cm/2”, work either 8 more cable moves on every 2nd row and 8 fewer every 4th row. Or work 8 of the cable moves on a WS row in addition to the RS row ones and 8 fewer on every 2nd row. If necessary, to get the cable to the final position, you can also work 2 fewer rows after the Gather cable row.

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Photoshoot at Hvalstrand Bad: Varun

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My new design Varun looked fantastic on model Aksa Mortensen, with make-up & hair by Nina Hjertaas Bull and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design. Photographer Eivind Røhne took these brilliant shots of her wearing Varun both with and without the cowl, at Hvalstrand Bad back in May. I asked her to hold her hands together so that you notice the different sleeves.

I choose to style Varun with cream coloured silk trousers and had brought a silk scarf for Nina to drape around Aksa’s neck and hair.

Varun is an A-line pullover with a cable panel that travels across the front and the back like a sash, that signifies a position not necessarily a royal one but a secret one. Varun is Norse for secret keeper. The cable sash meets on top of the left shoulder and at the right hip, like a sash. To highlight this the right sleeve has a cable cuff, while the left sleeve has two small cables running along it next to stockinette stitches. Garter stitches play along the seams on all the parts. Varun ends in an I-cord bind off neck but can be dressed up with a cable cowl, both are knitted in the divine hand dyed Norne Yarn DK – Merino/Silk/Yak.

Aksa is wearing size S with 7 cm/2.75″ positive ease. I have graded the pullover in sizes XS to 5XL, with a bust circumference of 82 to 162 cm/32.5 to 63.75″. The cowl is in one size.

The pullover is worked back and forth in separate pieces and seamed. The cable move is worked at the same time as the A-line shaping and the armhole shaping. The cable cowl is knitted back and forth and grafted together. Both are knitted using a 4 mm/US 6 needle and a 20 stitches and 30 rows in stockinette stitch gauge.

The test knit of the Varun will begin on the 18th of October in my Ravelry group. Both the English and the Norwegian pattern will be released after at the end of November.

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New Design: Varun

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I am thrilled to show you my new design called Varun – Norse for secret keeper – an A-line pullover with a cowl knitted in the gorgeous Norwegian Norne Yarn, DK – Merino/Silk/Yak in Fimbulwinter in size Small. The sample is beautifully knitted by Grete Jenssen, aka ma9 on Ravelry. My idea began with having a cable as a sash – signifying a position not necessarily royal but a secret one of your own choosing. Instead of a crown, make and wear a cowl. One sleeve has a cable cuff to match the sash, like an honorary bangle, while the second one has two small cables running along the sleeve. I am happy with the result and here you see me wearing size Small with only 2 cm/0.75″ of positive ease, photographed by my husband in our back garden early in April.

Varun will be graded into sizes XS to 5XL with a bust circumference of 82 til 164 cm/32.5 to 64.5″. Yes, I do have a number of calculations to make first and that is the reason why this pattern will probably be the last of the seven new patterns I have designed to be finished.

The sample is knitted using a 4 mm/US 6 needle and a 20 stitches and 30 rows in stockinette stitch gauge. Varun is worked back and forth in separate pieces and seamed.

While I am wearing it with a brown pleated skirt in these photos, I choose cream coloured silk trousers for new model Aksa Mortensen. I also brought a silk scarf to match the colour which she wore around her hair and it looked stunning on her! I look forward to show you the photos that Eivind Røhne took at Hvalstrand Bad at the end of May.

Both the English and the Norwegian pattern will be released after at the end of November as the test knitting begins on 18th of October.

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Behind the Scenes: Photoshoot at Hvalstrand Bad 2021

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What a difference a day makes; we went from what felt like a green winter to a hot summer over night. Hence I did not dress for a party at the Polar Base Camp, instead I should really have brought my bikini to cool down in the summer heat or worn a cocktail dress to fit in with the wedding that took place on the beach while we where at Hvalstrand Bad in Asker (about 20 minutes west of Oslo) on last Friday (28th of May). But since I was there for our photoshoot I needed to wear something a bit more practical and opted for a pair of summer trouser with my Maith shrug on top in addition to two more jackets (making sure I would not freeze – fat chance!).

At the top you see Hair and Make up Stylist Nina Hjertaas Bull is covering for the sun on Aksa’s hair and you can spot her standing high up in the diving tower. You can barely spot model Aksa Mortensen standing at the bottom of the stairs. Photographer Eivind Røhne is adjusting the reflector, while Michael had to hold it in place as soon as we started. Above you see us trying out different spots at the diving tower. Michael has taken a number of these photos, but not all of them, as I was able to capture a few too.

This is the second time we are photographing at Hvalstrand Bad, as we were there back in 2014 with the then editor Mary Ann Astrup of the magazine Made by Me in charge. This time I wanted us to photograph the diving tower – as it was pouring down the last time. It was not a lot easier this time with a blue sky without any clouds for a bit of shadow. Hence we only photographed one garment outside and went inside instead. Above you can see Aksa wearing another of the four new designs for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk.

Just as last time we wanted to use the Art Deco wall painting inside. Photographer Eivind Røhne remembered it well. Above you see us preparing to photograph the last three garments after a lovely lunch. Aksa is wearing one of my new designs, an a-line pullover called Varun. I had also booked modell Olivia Lindtein, but unfortunately she had to go into a waiting quarantine (a friend of hers had been exposed to an infected person, hence she had to wait for the result – it was negative).

We had a total of nine garments to photograph this time; 7 new ones and 2 old ones. Above is the old Mistale worn by Aksa and I am holding onto the cowl plus a silk scarf for hear to wear on her head.

Above you see both Nina and me in action. Aksa is wearing another of my old designs, this time the Syrin Shrug from my book. As always we had a lot of fun and also had to help the ice cream delivery man to find the delivery entrance downstairs. Eivind did tell him that we would be happy to eat some of it, if he wanted just to deliver it to us. He chose to deliver it downstairs instead. We also spotted a wedding outside on the beach in addition to several school classes coming to relax.

It was a treat in these Corona days to have lunch together at the restaurant – we had it all to ourselves – as we had rented the space for the day.  Just before lunch we had two visitors: designer Tove Fevang and photographer Geir Arnesen, who recommended Aksa to me. Michael and I were lucky to stay with them after the photoshoot so we did not have to drive the long way back to Ørje. It was a great way to end the perfect photoshoot day!

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Patreon Fan Club

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First, I want to reveal that my next photoshoot is coming up on Friday 28th of May. The location this time will be Hvalstrand Bad Restaurant, where I had my second photoshoot with photographer Eivind Røhne organised by editor, of the former magazine Made by Me, Mary Ann Astrup back in 2014. I have seven new designs; 4 made for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk and 3 individual patterns I will release myself. Above is a detail of Varun, photographed by my husband in our back garden.

Second, I would like to invite you to become a member of my Patreon Fan Club – if you like my designs – and would like to see sneak peeks of my new designs, a monthly newsletter, bimonthly tips and techniques videos, behind the scenes on the photoshoot videos and discounts for my patterns as well as for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk yarns on all membership levels. Furthermore on the next levels you will receive one or two free patterns every month, early test knit invitations and a monthly video usually about an hour long, just to mention some of the rewards.

Third, I will of course reveal more about the photoshoot and my new designs, to a smaller depth here and my other social media platforms such as Ravelry and Instagram. I will leave you with the cover of my latest two Patreon videos, that reveal a photo of two of the new designs. Thank you to all of you who have joined my Patreon Fan Club! Until next time I wish you happy knitting and hope you stay well!

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