Patent Poncho in Familien 04/19

Posted on by

For the second time around, the Patent Poncho has been featured in the Norwegian bi-weekly magazine Familien, I am pleased to say. The first time was in the special issue Familien Strikkebok that came out in August in 2013, then with photos taken by their in-house photographer Esten Borgos. These new photos were taken at Ingierstrand Bad, just outside of Oslo in May in 2017 by Eivind Røhne. Alexandria Eissinger, with hair & makeup by Jens J. Wiker and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design, looks stunning in it. Check out the selfie posture, in this blogpost: Behind the Scenes Photoshoot at Ingierstrand Bad.

Inspired by all the Fisherman’s rib patterns in fashion, I have designed a poncho in an oversized sweater style with longs splits in the side. The poncho is knitted in parts to create a contrast between the unstructured cable and the linear rib, called patent in Norwegian. The large splits on the sides make the poncho less voluminous. The sleeves are knitted long, to keep you warm on cold days. The poncho is knitted in a beautiful Camel Brown Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Ask, a pure wool with plenty of bounce, using a 3 mm/US 2.5 knitting needles.

The poncho is one size with a 150 cm/59”  bust circumference. The side and back view are also shown next to the pattern on the following two pages. Both the English and the Norwegian pattern is available from both Ravelry and from Loveknitting.

Share

Irpa Knitted by Siret

Posted on by

I wanted to share this gorgeous version of Irpa knitted by Siret in Brooklyn Tweed Loft. Siret test knitted the jacket for me in size medium, and made it for her daughter, who wears the jacket in these photos. The Brooklyn Tweed Loft is finer than the original yarn Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk Tinde, and Siret had a 23 stitch gauge instead of a 21 stitch gauge. The photographs are taken in the largest bog of Saaremaa (Estonian island in the Baltic Sea) – Koigi bog. “The bog is an important place of nesting and passing through for birds”, writes Siret on her project page.

“My daughter wanted a warm and big cardigan. It should be yellow! And Linda Marveng’s Irpa was the right one. Irpa is gorgeous cabled cardigan with v-neck. Linda designed Irpa to be oversized. She used an amazing Pine cable pattern which cover the center of the back. One pattern repeat is on the front panel and sleeves. Another wonderful knit from Linda Marveng!” You can find Siret as kollane on Ravelry and as siretsini on Instagram.

“Only 18 grams of yarn remained of the 8 skeins because my gauge was not the same as in pattern.” Siret had to adjust the needle size down to 2.75 mm/US 2 and 3 mm/US 2.5 to match the yarn thickness. I am so thrilled that she test knitted this for me, and took all these wonderful photos using her mobile phone. Thank you so much, Siret!

The pattern, in both English and Norwegian, is available on Ravelry and on Loveknitting.  My  introduction to it is: Irpa is Norse for dark brown and suited this long oversized cardigan with a v-neck and a slight shaping for waist. Pine cable cover the center back, while only one pattern repeat adorns the fronts and sleeve. A wide rib makes this casual jacket a perfect extra layer to the Sigyn dress.

Share

Photoshoot at Vigeland Museum: Aibell

Posted on by

The next set of photos I am going to show you is the Aibell, the dress I made for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, knitted in the divine Tinde pelt wool yarn. This was actually the first garment we photographed at the Vigeland Museum at our photoshoot in November. So while Sissel Fylling was working on Emma Ross’ hair and makeup, Eivind Røhne and I looked at the different halls and what we wanted as the backdrop to the different designs. We were awestruck by the large plaster sculptures in the Monolitt Hall and decided to start there. I styled the dress with boots from Monica Stålvang and statement jewellery from Kaja Gjedebo Design. Em did look magnificent in the dress. First I wanted to show you how I prefer the dress, simply hanging down and with the cowl worn as a collar.

I did have a hard time choosing photos, especially for this dress since I also wanted to show off the different ways it can be worn. Here is my introduction to the dress: Named after the Celtic Goddess of Munster who had a magical harp in her possession is this ballon shaped dress where the shaping is done by the cables. The a-line created by the cables is mirrored on the body. The fronthas Right cables beginning at hip one at a time, while the back has Left cables. A cowl make a high cabled collar or a belt. Wear it loose hanging down, slightly pulled up or as a tunic with the rib turned.

Aibell is knitted in Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Tinde pelt wool yarn made of 100% pelt wool with 260 meters/284 yards per 100 grams using 3.5 mm/US 4 and 3 mm/US 2.5 for the bottom rib. The gauge is 21 stitches and 30 rows in stockinette stitch measures 10 cm/4″ square.

The dress is knitted in pieces and seamed. The cables shape the dress, by adding one cable at a time. Add elastic to the bottom if you prefer to wear it higher up. Adjust the length in the stocking stitch area, depending on how you prefer to wear it. The cowl can easily be adjusted to your preferred height by adding cable repeats or purl stitches in between the cables.

Next view is the rib pulled up. Em is wearing size Small with a bust circumference of 92 cm/36.25 but the pattern has been graded from size XS to 2XL: 86 to 122 cm/33.75 to 48″.

Here is how it looks slightly pulled up from the back.

My last option was to pull the rib inside out and using it as interfacing for a tunic. Here you can see it without the cowl. The neck has an I-cord bind off.

 A close up photo with the cowl, showing the dress worn as a tunic from the back.

Just before Em went to put on trousers for the photos with the dress worn as a tunic, Sissel had an idea. It was a revelation really. She suggested using the cowl as a belt. So we had a go at helping Em putting on the cowl.

It is not a look that will suit everyone but I did love seeing this trendy young look, so thank you Sissel for that idea! You can easily adjust the cowl or belt to your own preference.

Here is the final photo I will show you of Aibell and it is just in time for the test knit which begins on Monday in my Ravelry group. The English pattern will be released after the test knit is completed with the Norwegian pattern and yarn kits will be launched by Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk at “Fagstrikk” in Oslo in April. I am so thrilled with all these photos! Thank you to my amazing team!

Share

Irpa Pattern Released

Posted on by

The test knit of the long oversized Irpa cardigan finished in January and the pattern in English, in addition to the Norwegian one, is now available from Ravelry and Loveknitting. My test knitters did a fantastic job making their own versions and you can see their results on the pattern page on Ravelry. Above is the gorgeous Emma Ross, with hair & makeup by Sissel Fylling, jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design, wearing Irpa knitted in Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Tinde, brilliantly captured by Eivind Røhne at the end of May last year at Villa Malla.

Irpa is Norse for dark brown and suited this long oversized cardigan with a v-neck and a slight shaping for waist. Pine cable cover the center back, while only one pattern repeat adorns the fronts and sleeve. A wide rib makes this casual jacket a perfect extra layer to the Sigyn dress.

Sizes: S (M, L, XL, 2XL)

Finished measurements:
Bust: 110 (118, 130, 142, 154) cm/43.25 (46.5, 51.25, 56, 60.75)“
Bottom width: 116 (124, 136, 148, 160) cm/45.75 (48.75, 53.5, 58.25, 63)”
Length: 78 (79, 80, 81, 82) cm/30.75 (31, 31.5, 32, 32.25)“
Sleeve length: 46 (46, 47, 47) cm/18 (18, 18.5, 18.5)”

Yarn: Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Tinde Pelsull (100% pelt wool, 260 m/284 yds, 100 g). The sample is knitted in Light Brown 2102; 7 (7, 8, 8, 9) skeins; 1638 (1820, 2002, 2184, 2366) m/1791 (1990, 2189, 2478) yds.
https://www.ull.no/produktkategori/garn/ullgarn/norsk-pel…

Alternative Yarns: Berroco, Ultra Alpaca Light (50% alpaca, 50% wool, 50 g, 133 m/144 yds). http://www.berroco.com/yarns/berroco-ultra-alpaca-light
Jamieson’s, Double Knitting (100% wool, 25 g, 75 m/82 yds).
http://www.jamiesonsofshetland.co.uk/spindrift-and-double…
Rowan, Tweed (100% wool, 50 g, 118 m/129 yds).
http://www.knitrowan.com/yarns/rowan-tweed
Malabrigo, Arroyo, (100% superwash merino, 100 g, 306 m/335 yds).
http://www.malabrigoyarn.com/subyarn.php?id=29
Or another DK/8 ply yarn.

Needles: 3 mm/US 2.5 circular needle for rib and buttonband (2 sets of 80 cm/32 or 100 cm/38”)
3.5 mm/US 4 straight needle.
Adjust needle size as needed to match gauge

Notions: 11 buttons 20 mm/0.78”. Stitch markers (removable), cable needle and yarn needle.

Gauge: 21 sts and 30 rows in st st using 3.5 mmm/US 4 needle measures 10 cm/4” square, after blocking.
28-sts Pine Cable measures 10 cm/4” across.

Notes: The cardigan is knitted in pieces and seamed. The second part of the v-neck decreases on the fronts moves to the opposite side of the cable in order for the cable to continue to the shoulder.

Share

Photoshoot at Vigeland Museum: Tweed Jacket and Dewdrop Cowl

Posted on by

I am delighted to show you the fantastic new photos of my old design Tweed Jacket and Dewdrop Cowl, both from my Norwegian knitting book that was published in 2012: “To rett, en vrang. Designstrikk” (only translated into Finnish). I do love the old photos of ballerina Cristiane Sá, but she is wearing a tutu so I thought some new ones would be good and I had room for one more garment in our photoshoot at the Vigeland Museum in November. Gorgeous model Emma Ross looks stunning in the jacket with the Dewdrop Cowl, worn together with Judith Bech’s stunning skirt. Em’s make up and hair is by Sissel Fylling and jewellery is by Kaja Gjedebo Design. Em is captured by Eivind Røhne in front of the impressive cast iron dragon, a sample for the Vigeland Park Gates.

Eivind and I agreed that the dragon added the drama we wanted to the photos. The Tweed Jacket is inspired by Christopher Kane’s elegant tweed version. Mine has sleeves in stranded colour work in stockinette stitch as a contrast to the tweed pattern, made with slipped stitches on the body and a fitted waist. The tweed jacket has been given a vintage look by using the fine lace weight Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk Alv combed yarn held double.

The Dewdrop Cowl is made of left over yarn from the jacket and I also choose to make a larger Cowl, which can be worn on top of each other and with wrist warmers, in the fingering Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Huldra in a beautiful dark rose red colour. I wanted to add some colour to the outfit and thought this was a magnificent solution. I love the way Sissel knotted Em’s hair in some of these photos!

Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk Alv is a laceweight yarn made in 100% combed wool on a 200 gram cone with 1400 meters/1532 yards, which I held double for a machine knitted effect.  The gauge is 30 stitches and 31 rounds/rows in the sleeve pattern in stranded colourwork in stockinette stitch and 27 stitches and 60 rows in Tweed pattern, both with 2 strands held together using 3 mm/US 2.5 needles. The tweed pattern takes 3 colours: 2 greys and 1 black, while the stranded colour work is done in the darkest grey and black.

The body of the jacket is worked in parts and sewed together, while the sleeves are knitted in in the round up to the armholes. The double hems are worked in 2.5 mm/US 1.5 needle, while the other parts are made in 3 mm/US 2.5 needles.

Em is wearing size small with a bust and hip circumference of 90 cm/35.5″, but I have revised the English pattern, made the sleeves wider at the top and added an XL size with these measurements: 106 cm/43″. I also sent the revised pattern to my technical editor Barbara Khouri. It will be added to Ravelry and Loveknitting shortly, together with the Dewdrop Cowl pattern.

The Norwegian pattern will be printed in the magazine Familien at a later date. I am ever so thrilled with these new photos, so thank you to my amazing team!

Share

Nordic Living Fair at Lillestrøm January 2019

Posted on by

Oslo Design Fair is now only once a year in August, while the fair in January is re-named “Nordic Living” with more focus on Interiors, but both are taking place at Norway Trade Fairs at Lillestrøm (outside of Oslo). Hence Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk did not have a stand at this trade fair. Michael and I went on Wednesday, the opening and press day. As you can see in these photos there were less people than usual visiting the fair.

This is the main exhibition in Hall C, presenting the topic of this fair: Embracing Change. One of the quotes on the wall read: “Embracing change in all aspects of life, gives room to humanly development.” The fair’s website reveals that: “Nordic Living is directed towards lifestyle and retail. First and foremost it is a buyers’ fair with exhibitors in focus, but it will also offer a program and inspiration”.

I was intrigued by the new Swedish designer who is taking over after Solveig Hisdal, who is retiring, at Oleana (and do notice where they photographed their Autumn/Winter 2018 collection). She has a very different style to Hisdal but the knitwear and the fabrics are still all made in Norway. The black dress in the background is woven in a Wool and Linen mixture, resulting in a jeans like fabric.

Now, in Hall B there were still a number of yarn producers: Rauma, House of Yarn, Sandnes, Permin (Danish), Cewec (Danish) and Viking Garn among others. I spoke to some of the exhibitors and find it useful to hear their take on the latest trends and their best sellers. Mohair yarn and especially thick mohair yarn knitted up into straight sweater with a bit of lace or cable and wide sleeves seemed to be The trend. To me this is a return to the 80’s and best suited for teenagers or skinny women (or in the past…).

Above are some of the new designs made for House of Yarn. As usual I met up with designer and author Tove Fevang, handicraft editor for the magazine “Familien” Åse Myhrvold Egeland and designer Bente Presterud Røvik. For the first time I also met Trine Lise Høyseth, another freelance designer working a lot for House of Yarn. We all had lunch and talked about designing and the social media pressure.

Even the product exhibition in the street with the entrance to all the halls was smaller than usual and only in one part and on one side of it. Michael and I also had a second coffee with Åse later in the afternoon before we headed off to the train station to meet friends visiting from London. I must admit that I enjoyed the fair and the opportunity to meet people I work with.

Share

Photoshoot at Vigeland Museum: White Mountain Ruana

Posted on by

Next out is the White Mountain Ruana, worn by the gorgeous model Emma Ross, with Hair & Make up by Sissel Fylling and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design, brilliantly captured by Eivind Røhne at the Vigeland Museum. The Ruana was an accepted design submission to Interweave Knits Winter 2018, knitted in the divine Shibui Knits Maai; a chainette yarn made of 70% superbaby alpaca, 30% fine merino, with 160 meters/175 yards on each 50 gram skein. I chose to style it with black pencil trousers, a black top and black sculptural shoes by Amanda Skovgaard so the lovely brick colour would stand out.

Voluptuous, luxurious, and enveloping, the White Mountain Ruana is a chic layer perfect for winter wanderings. The overlapping fronts can be worn loose or closed with snap fasteners and an I-cord tie. An easy-to-knit allover ripple rib pattern gives this ruana an elegant texture; garter stitch on the collar offers contrast to the body. I love the contrast in texture and colour to the plaster sculptures in the Monolith Hall. You can see Em in front of the finished granite Monolith sculpture in the Vigeland Park in this blogpost: Behind the Scenes: Photoshoot at Vigeland Museum.

The Ruana is worked back and forth in pieces and seamed. A provisional cast on is replaced by an I-cord bind off, at the end. Stitches are cast-on for the width of the sleeve parts. The sleeve parts are identical for all sizes but the larger sizes end in a shorter rib that are picked up and knitted at the end. Two I-cords are made for a tie; one part is attached to the collar and the other to the inside seam. Three snap fasteners are sewed on along seam under arm on Right Front with the corresponding parts on the inside of the collar.

I chose this second side photo since it shows the ruana closed and the first one since you can see the snap fasteners. The White Mountain Ruana is knitted with a 25 stitch and 32 rows in Ripple Rib gauge measuring 10 cm/4” square using a 4 mm/US 6 needle. It was the first time I tried a Shibui Knits yarn and definitely not the last, since they have an impressive selection of luxurious yarns.

Em is wearing size Extra Small/Small, but the pattern is also available in sizes M/L and XL/2XL with a bust measurement (including sleeveparts) of 217 (234, 250) cm/85.5 (92.25, 98.5)” and a lower circumference: 151 (167.5, 184) cm/59.5 (66, 72.5)”. The English pattern is available on Ravelry and on Loveknitting. The Norwegian pattern will be printed in the magazine Familien at a later date. These photos convey the casual stylish look I was aiming for! So thank you to my fabulous team!

Share

Book Launch at Cappelen Damm: Inspirerende norske strikkemønstre

Posted on by

Last week I went to a book launch at Cappelen Damm together with designer Eline Oftedal. The new book is by Wenche Roald, while her inspiration and the first Norwegian stitch pattern book, included inside, is by Annichen Sibbern Bøhn. The turnout was astonishing, I cannot remember last time there were so many people there. The number of designers present was equally impressive and I had the chance to meet some designers who I have worked with or know on Facebook, but not met in real life: Kristin Holte, Tori Seierstad and Lene Tøsti. In addition Annemor Sundbø together with stylist Kristin Elise Halkjelsvik came. And Annichen Sibbern Bøhn was presented by researcher and author, Ingun Grimstad Klepp and co-author and journalist Tone Skårdal Tobiasson, see below. An evening highlight for me was to meet Marianne Skatten again, after first meeting her at the knitting festival in Fredrikstad, this time she was wearing her Prescott dress version, modified from my  Prescott Pullover. Everywhere I turned, there were familiar faces, of knitters I have met previously. It was definitely the place to be for knitters on Thursday evening in Oslo.

All Norwegian knitters with an interest in our knitting history know the name Annichen Sibbern Bøhn, since she made the first stitch pattern book in Norwegian, published in 1929. The book has been reprinted several times, the last one in 1947 and yet it has been out of print for several decades. Wenche discovered a tired looking issue at her local library and has used it as a starting point for her book. In addition Font Forlag – an imprint of Cappelen Damm – decided to make another reprint of Sibbern Bøhn’s book in its original edition which is a booklet size and included in Wenche’s book. Now, I am sure you understand the huge turnout. Eline and I was sitting on the back row as you can see part of in the photo below. Wenche used yarn from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk and they had a stand selling yarn kits, that was very popular. Here is link to my favourite design from Wenche’s book: Favorittgenseren for dame.

Wenche has re-worked some of Sibbern Bøhn’s patterns but also designed new garments with the stitch patterns in the book and talked us through her process. There are a total of 34 patterns in Wenche’s book, garments, accessories for women, men and children. Just as Sibbern Bøhn did, Wenche wants to inspire us to use her patterns or play with the stitch patterns. After the presentations, there was a prize draw for yarn kits, then Wenche took her chair in the book shop and started signing books. I congratulated her on my way out, after this inspirational evening! The Norwegian book can be ordered from Cappelen Damm, you can see inside it here at issuu.com. Follow Wenche for update on an English translation and other news on her blog: knitnetty, Ravelry and on Instagram.

Share

Photoshoot at Vigeland Museum: Rørbye Cardigan

Posted on by

The Rørbye Cardigan looks stunning on model Emma Ross, thanks to Hair & Makeup Stylist Sissel Fylling and Photographer Eivind Røhne who captured these brilliant photos at the Vigeland Museum last November. The jewellery that match the stitch patterns in the jacket was on loan from Kaja Gjedebo Design. The cardigan was made for knit.wear Fall/Winter 2017 and knitted in the lovely Dale Eco Wool using 4 mm/US 6 needles. Hence this is the second set of photographs taken of it. The colour fitted into the grey plinths to the plaster sculptures in the Monolith Hall. You can see Em in front of the finished granite Monolith sculpture in the Vigeland Park in this blogpost: Behind the Scenes: Photoshoot at Vigeland Museum. “The Monolith (Monolitten), implying the totem to be fabricated from one (mono) solid piece of stone (lith)”, see Wikimedia link.

A classy and sophisticated knitted cardigan in a contemporary style. The waterfall bottom is created by knitting a sideways cable panel. To offset the cables, the body is all in stockinette stitch, with the exception of the cuff. Each sleeve begins in a sideways knitted cable panel. Leave it open, or pin the cardigan together at the front or in the side, if you prefer to wrap it all around you.

Em is wearing size Small, but the pattern is available in sizes XS to 2XL with a bust circumference of 87.5 to 129.5 cm/34.5 to 51″ closed. I choose to style the cardigan with some black pencil pants and sky high sculptural shoes by Camilla Skovgaard. I wanted to show you how you can pin the cardigan together in the side and also how the interfacing on the collar looks like. To pin it I used one of Kaja Gjedebo’s divine brooches.

I wanted to show you how you can pin the cardigan together in the side and also how the interfacing on the collar looks like. To pin it I used one of Kaja Gjedebo’s divine brooches.

The contract I had signed for photographing at the museum, listed a number of conditions, such as have a security clearance of 0.5 meter/5.4 yards to any of the sculptures or their plinths. We did our best to comply with all the conditions. The last but certainly not least condition stated that any eventual damages to the sculptures, the plinths or of any constructional type must be compensated by responsible Marveng-Puckett. Eivind joked that all he had to do was to forget to secure his huge flash light (read: it did however have three legs) so it would fall over and cause havoc, since he would not need to pay for that. We all laughed and I told him that he would need to pay too.

The English pattern is now available on Ravelry and on Loveknitting in addition to inside the knit.wear Fall/Winter 2017 digital magazine, while the Norwegian pattern will be printed in Familien at a later date. Thank you to my fantastic team for these fantastic photos!

Share

Photoshoot at Vigeland Museum: Eira Pullover

Posted on by

I have been looking forward to showing you more of the photos Eivind Røhne took at the Vigeland Museum in November last year. Out next is Eira Pullover, made for knit.wear Fall/Winter 2017, knitted in the divine The Fibre Co. Cumbria. Just like Nemetona, due to its light colour, I wanted to photograph this in Hall 9 with the huge plaster sculptures for the bridge in the Vigeland Park made by Gustav Vigeland in the background. Here is the gorgeous model Emma Ross, with hair & makeup by Sissel Fylling and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design wearing the Eira Pullover. You can see the full sculpture in Michael’s photo in the Behind the Scenes: Photoshoot at Vigeland Museum blogpost.

Here is my introduction to the Eira Pullover: A visually striking center cable named Kanik – Eskimo for snowflake – adorns the center front and back of this straight pullover. Kanik is framed by a staghorn cable on each side, while Moss stitch fills the background in the sides to allow the cables to shine. A saddle shoulder allows the staghorn sleeve cable to continue all the way to the neck.

Em is wearing size XS, but the sweater is available in sizes XS to 2XL with a bust circumference of 81 to 123 cm/32 to 48.5″. I chose to style it with tan wide silk trouser after consulting with Sissel, whether to choose cream coloured ones or Judith Bech’s cream coloured skirt.

Eira Pullover is knitted in pieces in the divine The Fibre Co. Cumbria using 4 mm/US 6 needles with a gauge of 20 stitches and 28 rows in stockinette stitch measures 10 cm/4″ square. The Cumbria yarn is made of 60% merino wool, 30% brown masham wool, 10% mohair, on each 100 gram skein and has 218 meters/238 yards. I knitted the sample is in Scafell Pike and it takes 6 skeins of 100 grams to make size XS or about 1107 meters/1210 yards in a worsted or heavy DK weight yarn. I love how Em is studying the sculpture as well as how well you can see the cable on the sleeve in the photo above. Eivind and I also found this particular sculpture with the scales of the dragon such a fitting contrast to the cables.

Last of the Eira Pullover photos is this one of the back. The English pattern is now available on Ravelry and on Loveknitting, as well as in the knit.wear magazine. This was the last one we photographed in Hall 9 at the Vigeland Museum, the remaining eight we photographed in the popular Monolith Hall. But I am sure we would have photographed some of those in the Fountain Hall, had it not been for the current exhibition of a contemporary artist showing an art piece we were not allowed to include in our photos, according to our contract. However, there were plenty of fantastic angles to use in the Monolith Hall. In my next blogpost from the Vigeland Museum Photoshoot I will tell you about another clause in our contract that Eivind liked to joke about. Thank you to my fantastic team! Next out is the Rørbye Cardigan.

Share