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.