Monthly Archives: May 2013

Super Sweet Blogger Award

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I have been nominated for the Super Sweet Blogger Award by Mary Jo of whatzitknitz and I am thrilled! Thank you! All I have to do to accept it, is to nominate 12 other Super Sweet Blogs and answer 5 simple questions about myself. This is my second award, and I enjoy answering questions that I would not have considered asking anyone, in any other context. So lets start with the questions:

1. Cookies or cake? Very easy indeed, I would chose a cake any day! Despite the fact that I love crisp bread, especially a home made version, I prefer a cake to a cookie. One of my favourites is the Lemon Cake from Ottolenghi, drizzled with pistachio nuts – photo above, website here: ottolenghi.

2. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla, since I have a milk intolerance I have never been a great fan of chocolate.

3. Favorite sweet treat? That would be licorice sweet or occasionally salmiakk/sal ammoniac which is popular in the Nordic countries. In Sweden they have even larger containers of salmiakk lakris than we do in Norway, I discovered to my delight as a child! The size of large jam jar in plastic, oh what a treasure it was!

4. When do you get hit with cravings? I have some licorice as a treat every Saturday evening, keeping a good tradition from my childhood days alive and kicking! Otherwise after any nice restaurant dinner.

5. Sweet Nickname? Not particularly sweet nor a nickname, but I had a primary school teacher who would add an hyphen and pronounce my name as Lin-da, which most of my friends found hilarious, except me. I grew to like my name more with traveling and realized how easy it was to have a name that could be pronounced so easily.

Now, for my 12 nominations, to talented bloggers I enjoy reading:

1. My Retiring Life

2. Knit Away-One

3. Gnist-By-Gitte

4. Holly Klein

5. Marias Garnhandelser

6. Jean Moss Handknits

7. Syl Tynn

8. The Knitting Blog by Mr Puffy the Dog

9. Knit So Facto

10. Carolyn Kern Knits

11. By Randi

12. Fiber And Art

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Inside The Thief

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We have a surprise for you, Siri of the Thief wrote as a comment on my blogpost – the-thief-in-oslo – on the fabulous hotel and indeed, it was! I went along, with husband in tow, to receive what I believed to be a goodie bag with their carefully selected toiletries. You can imagine my surprise, when I was invited to stay for a night and asked to select a suitable date. Well, how about our 10th wedding anniversary? So here I am, inside The Thief – thethief – and this is my report!

One of the hotel’s most popular art pieces is the world’s first knitting clock by Siren Elise Wilhelmsen. The Grandfather Clock usually stands in the Library and knits a mesh in half an hour, creating a long scarf, before the ball of wool is changed after several months. The clock is not interactive in any way, but a lot of guests seem to think so, hence it is away for repairs at the moment. How could I have missed it, I thought to myself after reading about it on The Thief’s website? The answer is I did not, and need to come back to see it. Read more about it and the artist at: thethief.

The rooms have a luxurious feeling, with oak floors, leather covered wardrobes that light up when you open them, a drawer stuffed with in-room shopping, Norwegian wool rugs, art books on artists represented at the hotel, large television with installation art, a balcony with views of the fjord and a bathroom to die for. Its rainforest shower is the closest I have ever come to a rainforest (read: yes, I want one at home). For the computer addict is has a desk with a B&B leather office chair as well as free wireless internet access, and for the knitting addict equally fundamental; two comfortable armchairs designed by Antonio Citterio as well as a generous divine bed with proper reading lights. The bed had a total of 9 cushions but still offered another in the wardrobe incase “you are feeling extravagant”. I can also confirm that I have tested the toiletries from Ila, Beyond Organic and wholeheartedly approve of their choice, see: ila-spa! The Thief has designed their own gorgeous wool blankets from Røros Tweed – acknowledged for their design – as well as robe and wool slippers. All found to be extremely comfortable!

Breakfast at the restaurant Fru K/Mrs K, named after the Kitchen Chef, was a proper treat with homemade juices, crisp bread, selections of yoghurts and fruits as well as the more filling egg and bacon dishes, cold cuts just to mention a small selection of the food on offer. Sitting in divine armchairs, having my breakfast and then reading the newspaper, was an excellent start for the day! See: fru-k.

The Roof Terrace is the place to be to sip cocktails, chat and knit – obviously – except on our selected date the weather did not permit it. But with a view of the Astrup Fearnley Museum (see above), the fjord and the wharf I would need to come back on a sunny and warm day to enjoy it fully. The Spa is under construction, and I am more than happy to review it when it is finished! Thank you, The Thief!

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Regal Purple

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I knew straight away that I had to design in this regal purple, which is slightly darker in real life, and could not wait to receive it. It is another divine mercerized cotton called Perle 12/6 (yes – it does means pearl) from Hifa, another old favorite I used years ago in a cardigan that looks new even today, it comes on a handy 200 g/7 oz cone with 670 m/732 yds of 100% mercerized cotton with a pearl twist, which gives the yarn an extra color richness and a superb stitch definition. I am using a 3 mm/US 2.5 and have found a stitch pattern that captures the color, see below! My initial idea is to make a lace jacket with a short sleeve with a slight A-line shape, but we will see if the design agrees! I will keep you posted. There are so many divine colors so I am bound to come back for more; see ull.

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Group on Ravelry & Our Independence Day

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I did it! I have set up a group on Ravelry and one of the responses was “Finally!”. Oh, I must admit I am enjoying this! To call the group “Linda Marveng Fans” was way over the top for me so I chose just to stick with my name without “Fans”. I am delighted to have Nina Hove Myhre and Jane Brindley with me as moderators (read: + moral support)! The group was set up on 16. May, the day before our Independence Day so I have been celebrating for days now – see photo above taken by my husband. From the introduction to the group: “Welcome! This is a group for all those who love Linda Marveng’s beautiful knitwear designs from her book “To rett en vrang. Designstrikk” and other designs. We will have test knits and KAL’s you can take part in. We hope to inspire by enjoying each others pictures, comments and friendly discussions. As well as supporting each other and ask questions regarding any of Linda’s patterns.

Just as in the introduction to her book, this group want to share this intention on a lager scale:
“I hope the book will inspire you to knit one, preferably more, garment and that you will enjoy the photos. Create your own personal expression by choosing color or make your own melange color in double yarn. Follow the pattern laboriously or make the adjustments you find necessary, if you prefer. I love long sleeves but you are welcome to make them shorter, for instance. Do check all measurements and gauge before you start knitting even though it is time consuming, it is worth it and will make the garment fit as it should. You will become a knitting expert quicker that way and develop your potential as well as your own creative abilities. Enjoy the photos, be inspired, knit the patterns and use the garments you have knitted with pride and pleasure.”

Please come and join us if you have not already done so! Our first test knit will start on Monday. Here is the link: ravelry.com/groups/linda-marveng. The banner is made by my Creative Director aka Photographer aka Husband!

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New Favourite Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Metalico

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I have just discovered an incredibly gorgeous yarn. “Luxury as nature intended! Naturally occurring shades of baby alpaca blended with mulberry silk create an undyed shimmering palette of gleaming whites to silvery grays and flecked golds” well said and done by Blue Sky Alpacas. The shade platinum photographed below is a divine grey-brown. It comes in 50 g skeins with approximately 134 m/147 yds, consisting of 50% alpaca and 50% mulberry silk, recommended knitting needles are 3.25 to 3.75 mm/US 3 to 5. I love how it feels on my hand, like stroking a tiny kitten. I can not show you what I am knitting at the moment, but it will be revealed this autumn. See more shades and list of stockists blueskyalpacas.

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Milanese Lace Shawl by Jane Brindley

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I am so delighted to show you Janie’s Milanese Shawl, designed for my book, knitted in the original yarn Wollmeise Lace in Sabrina, a stunning teal shade photo-graphed on her mother. Janie ordered the yarn from Loop in London by telephone (details here: loopknitting) after checking their Wollmeise updates in their Ravelry group. The demand for this marvelous lush hand dyed yarn is greater than the supply, see: wollmeise-one-of-my-favourite-yarns. The shawl requires nearly a full 300 g skein (1591 m/1740 yds) of Wollmeise Lace (rohrspatzundwollmeise) or Malabrigo Sock (malabrigoyarn) or Anzula Cloud (anzula) or Kauni Effekt Garn (kauni) or Rauma Lamullgarn (raumaull). Thank you, Janie!

 

The shawl is rectangular with buttons on one side of each end so that it can be buttoned up into a shrug or a vest and therefore easier to use than a triangular shawl in my opinion. Holes in the pattern are used instead of made buttonholes. The lace is framed by garter stitches on all sides and has a ruffled bell border on each end. Hence it is cast on with a temporary method which is unpicked at the end and the border knitted on. The shawl, measuring 46 cm/18″ wide and 150 cm/59″ long, is knitted using a 3 mm/US 2.5.

The pattern is not only available in Norwegian and Finnish in my book, but also in English as a downloadable pdf from my Ravelry store here: ravelry. Below is the beautiful Anna Pfeiffer wearing it in the colour I chose for the book: Petit Poison No 5 dark, photographed by Kim Müller.

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New Design: Summer Leaves Sweater

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A deep rich wine red shade was a perfect choice for a leaf vines stitch pattern in lace, which makes up the sleeves of this summer sweater. The A-shape is created by the frame to the lace pattern and worked in twisted rib, while the rest of the body is made up of stocking stitch. The bottom hem is knitted double and folded while the v-shaped neckline is single and rolls up to the purl row. The sweater is knitted in a pure mercerized Egyptian cotton called Luxor, available in more than 60 stunning shades from Hifa, here: ull. The pattern has been bought by the Norwegian magazine Familien/The Family and will be photographed professionally and published this summer.

The sweater pattern is made in size small to extra large, with bust measurements from 90 cm/ 35½” to 114/45″ cm while the hip measurements are from 110 cm/43¼” to 134 cm/52¾” and length from  74 cm/29¼” to 77 cm/30¼”. To knit it requires from 600 grams to 800 grams of Luxor (100 % mercerized Egyptian cotton, 100 g, 253 m/277 yds). Both the body and the sleeves are knitted using a 3 mm/US 2.5 and worked in the round to the armholes, then flat. The lace pattern is demanding but the shapes guide you through it after a few repeats. Hence I found it satisfying to knit both sleeves at once using magic loop, see my post magic-loop-two-sleeves-at-a-time. I also preferred a simpler body stitch pattern to highlight the intricate sleeves. That also means that the body is quick to knit, and a nice rest after working the sleeves. The neckline needed a bit of pondering and I ended up with a different solution than I had planned. As most designs it had a life of its own and did not want a double neckline but a softer simpler one. But if you do decide to knit it, make the neckline you want and do the adjustments you prefer. I look forward to seeing it photographed professionally and will keep you posted when it will be published in Norwegian in Familien and later when it will be published in English on Ravelry.

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Our Neighborhood

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Spring is finally here and the last of the snow has melted. Our neighborhood is busy again and our neighbors can be spotted in their gardens. We still need to do some gardening, but have been to IKEA to buy a few comfortable garden chairs for our terrace. Above is the view from our closest tram stop and I also wanted to share some of the old, amazing timber houses in our area of Bekkelaget at Nordstrand in Oslo.

We do not know JB nor the family living here but it is one of the poshest houses in the area, though not located at Solveien/The Sun Road which is one of the most expensive addresses in Oslo since the early 1900 century even though it is east of the city centre. Many of the old houses which used to house only one family now houses several, and numerous plots of land have been divided into smaller ones. Read more and see more photos at this great blog: mylittlenorway.

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Mulberry Silk Jacket by Nina Hove Myhre

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My friend Nina has finished her 3. project from my book, and I am thrilled to show you the spectacular photos taken of her with gorgeous company at an alpaca farm, called Alpakka enghaugen here in Norway, close to Fredrikstad to be more precise. The jacket is knitted in the original fabulous silk yarn in a stunning indigo shade; Jaipur Silk Fino from BC Garn, 100% mulberry silk on 50 g spools with 300 m/328 yds, available from Loop in London (order online here: loop), Nøstet Mitt in Oslo (more details here: nostetmitt) and others, see their website: bcgarn. Nina bought an extra spool and modified it by making the size medium longer to fit her perfectly! The pattern is included in my knitting book and available only in Norwegian and Finnish for the time being.

I was lucky enough to see the finishing process, since I was teaching a weekend workshop on Professional Finishing and Fairisle organised by Larvik Husflidslag/Craft association –  larvikhusflidslag – and Nina took part. At home her cat, Tussi was inspecting the ongoing work and assisting, see below. For more details and to keep updated on everything Nina is doing follow her blog on: fiberandart (read: I do and I am in awe of her neverending skills!) Thank you, Nina!

The stitch pattern chosen for the Mulberry Silk Jacket/Morbærsilkejakken is the Lucina Shell pattern with edges and shaping done in garter stitch – to avoid decreasing inside the lace pattern – finished off by a rolling stocking stitch edge around the front opening. The jacket is knitted using a 3 mm/US 2.5 while the front band is knitted using a 2.5 mm/US 1.5. I adored the olive shade which I chose for the sample in the book. See the beautiful dancer Francesca Golfetto wearing size small, photographed by Kim Müller for my book below. I will show you more of Nina’s projects and my latest lace project, shortly. I hope you will enjoy Nina’s photos as much as I do!

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