Andor and Ovedine in Familien Vinterstrikk 2021

The next special knitting issue magazine by the Norwegian magazine Familien is out, it is called “Vinterstrikk/Winter Knits” and I am so fortunate to have two designs in the magazine. Both are knitted in the pelt wool yarn from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk; The poncho Andor in the thicker Tinde and the shawl Ovedine in Sølje in two hand dyed shades by Værbitt. On the cover is “Snøfall” by Kari Hestnes.

Andor comes in one size with bust circumference of 212 cm/83.5” and a length of 72 cm/28.25″. Above you see it worn by the gorgeous Alexandria Eissinger captured by Eivind Røhne at Villa Malla by the Oslo Fjord, back in June 2016. The pattern in English, Japanese and Norwegian is available on Ravelry and in English on LoveCrafts.

A trendy oversized poncho defined by its pairs of ornamental cables on each wide shoulder part. The stockinette center part is crowned by a high neck collar. The poncho has side bands that can be closed with buttons. It is knitted flat in two parts with shoulder and neck shaping. Andor is the Norse element for Eagle and its wingspan appropriate for this poncho.

Ovedine comes in one size with a wingspan of 162 cm/64″, a widest point width of 42 cm/16.5″ and a narrowest point width of 12 cm/4.75″. Above you see it worn by the beautiful Olivia Lindtein, with hair & make up by Erica Poppe and jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design, brilliantly photographed by Eivind Røhne at Mortensrud Church in November last year.

The shawl/wrap/scarf is knitted in two colours: Drageegg, Værbitt hand dyed on Sølje pelsull by Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk (100% pelt wool, 100 g, 350 m/383 yds): 2 skeins: 497 m/544 yds and Lillebror, Værbitt hand dyed on Sølje pelsull: 1 skein; 315 m/344 yds.

Named after an old female name from Norway is this shawl with tucks, short rows and garter stitch stripes in two colors. The hem and one tuck made on the wrong side, in addition to the double I-cord bind off, make the shawl two-sided. Choose if you want to wear it as a shawl, or a wrap around your body or as a shawl collar. Ovedine is knitted in two gorgeous hand dyed shades by Værbitt on the pelt wool Sølje from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk.

Ovedine is available in English and Norwegian on Ravelry and on LoveCrafts. The “Familien Vinterstrikk” magazine is available from selected grocery stores and newsagents but can also be ordered in Norway by sending an SMS with VS21 to 2205.

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Andor Pattern in Japanese

  A dream has come true, I can offer a pattern of mine translated into Japanese. Actually, Andor is the first of three patterns translated, it was designed for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk and knitted in their divine Tinde Pelsull/Pelt wool. This Japanese story began two years ago, when I met Nancy Marchant for the first time at the airport in Vienna, where we met up to attend the Vienna Wool & Design Festival. Nancy had just been to Japan to meet with her publisher and translator of her last book: Leafy Brioche. Her translator is Tomoko Nishimura, and now she is also my translator. Tomoku also translates patterns for Marianne & Helga Isager and interprets for Arne & Carlos whenever they tour Japan. So I am in the very best company!

Tomoku went to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival last year and the first knitter she met was no other than my sample knitter Kristin Nygård, aka Quiltefeen on Ravelry. The world can seem awfully small at times. Above you see them both inside the EYF. Tomoku is wearing a pullover that her mother made for her a long time ago, since she is no longer around, Tomoku thought it was nice to wear it at EYF. Kristin is wearing a very popular traditional Norwegian sweater called Marius knitted in Drops Baby Merino and a Mad Blood Shawl by Mary-Anne Mace, aka The Lace Eater knitted in The Plucky Knitter Single, with an awful lot of beads attached. Thank you Kristin for the photo, and Tomoku for the translation!

We did several rounds of proof reading and tested out different fonts before Tomoku gave the all clear signal. So here it is the Japanese introduction to my pattern:

両サイドの肩の幅広い部分に装飾性の高いケー ブル模様をあしらった流行りのオーバーサイズ ポンチョです。中央のメリヤス編みからはハイネックの襟が続きます。またサイドバンドはボ タンで閉じることもできます。全体を2つのパ ーツに分けて編み、肩下がりと襟ぐりを編みます。Andor は北欧で鷲を意味する言葉であり、このポンチョはその翼長を彷彿させます。

And here is the text in English: A trendy oversized poncho defined by its pairs of ornamental cables on each wide shoulder part. The stockinette center part is crowned by a high neck collar. The poncho has side bands that can be closed with buttons. It is knitted flat in two parts with shoulder and neck shaping. Andor is the Norse element for Eagle and its wingspan appropriate for this poncho.

Andor is also available in Norwegian, you can download all three languages from my Ravelry store.

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The Complete Andor Poncho Gang

I proudly present the complete Andor Poncho gang with all 7 knitters – all colleagues at Jotun – photographed in Sandefjord this glorious summer. My Andor design was made for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk and part of the first collection. The pattern is available in Norwegian and English to download from Ravelry and in yarn kits online from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk’s website: www.ull.no and in selected yarn stores. It was Nina Hove Myhre, aka FiberAndArt (far right) that wanted to knit the poncho and told her colleagues at their lunch table. I was so thrilled to hear that 6 of them wanted to join in. All knitted the poncho in the original Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Tinde Pelsull choosing different colours.

I love seeing their results and so honoured that they all wanted to knit it! Thank you so much to the gang! I first met Nina 5 years ago, when she organised a book presentation for me at Larvik Husflidslag/Handcraft association, see my blogpost. If you follow my blog you have seen several of the astonishing total of 22 of my designs Nina has knitted. She is showing off a number of them in this blogpost: www.FiberAndArt.no. Nina is also one of my group moderators at Ravelry. You can see the Andor Poncho Gang in London with a pregnant Nina here. This summer, Nina with her husband and little Olav – now 8 months old – came to visit us in Ørje. I can reveal that Olav likes to look at knitting charts and is especially fond of my colour coding. In other words, Nina is working on yet another of my designs, I am delighted to say!

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The Andor Poncho Gang

Look at this amazing group of friends that went to London, all wearing their Andor poncho, all knitted in the original Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Tinde Pelsull! Nina Hove Myhre, aka FiberAndArt, had decided to knit the poncho and told her colleagues at their lunch table. The result was that they all wanted to join in and ordered Andor yarn kits online. Here are five of the seven knitters, photographed at Marble Arch. Nina, to the right, was pregnant at that time but you can see her son Olav on her project page in his Fana jacket, here on Ravelry. I met Nina 5 years ago, when she organised a book presentation for me at Larvik Husflidslag/Handcraft association, see my blogpost. If you follow my blog you have seen several of the astonishing total of 22 of my designs Nina has knitted. She is showing off a number of them in this blogpost: www.FiberAndArt.no. I love Nina’s description of me: “She is no longer a Norwegian knitwear designer living in London, now she is an international knitwear designer living in Norway! Thank you so much, Nina!

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Andor Poncho Knitted by Katja

I did promise to show you another of Katja’s projects and here it is; Andor Poncho or as she calls it “We own the night“. Very fitting indeed, when you look at these photos, I think! The poncho was designed for a Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk yarn kit with Tinde pelt wool yarn, but Katja, aka ekatja on Ravelry, test knitted the English pattern using the Norwegian yarn Gjestal Silja Superwash. As she wrote in her project notes it is a stash buster, with its large circumference and one size. Katja modified it to have a turtle neck, joined the sides and worked the resulting armhole bands with short rows. The turquoise poncho is photographed north of the Lofoten islands in Northern Norway where Katja lives. They are often listed as Best things to do in Norway. You might remember the stunning photos she took of her other project on my blog here: Check Cable Cardigan. I had to include one more photo, see below. Thank you so much, Katja!

The Norwegian pattern is only available as part of yarn kit from selected yarn stores in Norway or online directly from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk‘s website: www.ull.no, while the English pattern is available digitally on Ravelry and on Loveknitting (where it is on special offer during Indie June). Next up is another new design for – yes – Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, because their pelt yarn is wonderful to knit with and to wear!

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Ravelry Group 4th Year Anniversary

My Ravelry group is now 4 years old! There are now more than 1400 members and my fear that only a few would join was needless. I am so pleased to have attracted so many knitters! It has been another thrilling year with many test knits of my English patterns, showing off of finished garments, discussions of different knitting techniques, chatting and bi-monthly free pattern pdf draws just to mention a few of the topics in this lovely group. I am delighted to have met so many new knitters. So it is time to celebrate that four years has passed! How can I best do this? By organizing a draw in my group with 9 exciting prizes like yarn kits, e-books and pdf patterns from my Ravelry store.

All you have to do is join my group if you have not already done so, and answer one of these questions: “What design – with an available pattern – would you love to wear but never knit in a million years and why? Or if that is too difficult or impossible to imagine what have you knitted and never worn (or only once)?” in my Ravelry group. I have had numerous fascinating answers already. I anticipated a couple of the answers to the first question – like my design Halli, designs by Di Gilpin; designs from the book: Norwegian Knitting Designs; designs from the book Tudor Roses and designs from Christel Seyfarth (simply because those would have been my answers too) – while others have introduced amazing new patterns and designs to us. I will use Random org to pick winners based on the number matching the response/posting on Friday 9th. June. Here are the top two prizes, and a good reason to join, see ravelry.com/groups/linda-marveng, in my opinion:

1. and 2. Prize: Choose one of these yarn kits from Hillesvåg and choose which size & colour you want (includes pattern in English as well as Norwegian): Andor or Idunn or Halli or Elfa. The yarn kits have been generously sponsored by Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk. See kits, Tinde colours for Andor and Idunn, Sølje colours for Halli and Elfa

Or Elfa, the English pattern is currently being test knitted. These four designs all made for yarn kits for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk were brilliantly photographed by Eivind Røhne at Villa Malla in June last year. The gorgeous model is Alexandria Eissinger and her hair & make up are by Jens J. Wiker, while her jewellery are by Kaja Gjedebo Design.

Good luck!

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Andor Pattern Released

The first of four designs I made for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk; the poncho Andor has been test knitted and released in English. You can see some of the finished versions here: Andor. The Norwegian pattern is only available in a yarn kit from selected yarn stores and online at Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk. The poncho was brilliantly photographed by Eivind Røhne at Villa Malla in June last year, worn by gorgeous model Alexandria Eissinger/Nordic Model Agency with hair and makeup by Jens J. Wiker, jewellery by Kaja Gjedebo Design. Here is my introduction: A trendy oversized poncho defined by its pairs of ornamental cables on each wide shoulder part. The stockinette center part is crowned by a high neck collar. The poncho has sidebands that can be closed with buttons. It is knitted flat in two parts with shoulder and neck shaping. Andor is the Norse element for Eagle and its wingspan appropriate for this poncho.

Size: One Size

Finished Measurements: Bust: 212 cm/83.5″. Length: 72 cm/28.25″

Yarn: Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Tinde Pelsullgarn (100% pelt yarn, 260 m/284 yds, 100 g). Sample is knitted in Beige 1101. 8 skeins; 1898 m/2076 yds. http://www.ull.no/produktkategori/garn/ullgarn/norsk-pelsull/

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-knitting-1-c.asp             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: 3.5 mm/US 4 circular needle (120 cm/48″). 4 mm/US 6 circular needle (60 cm/26″) for collar. Adjust needle size as needed to match gauge.

Notions: 4 buttons (20 mm/0.78″), stitch markers, stitch holders, cable needle and yarn needle.

Gauge: 20 sts and 28 rows in st st measures 10 cm/4″ square. 66-sts in Ornamental Cable Panel measures 25 cm/9.75″ across.

Notes: The poncho is knitted in two parts, back and forth. The large collar is picked up and knitted at the end, just as the sidebands. The shoulder is shaped with short-rows and then joined using a 3-needle bind-off. Each sideband has two buttonholes.

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Hillesvåg Stand at Oslo Design Fair

_dsc1858-1920x1200_72Yes, I know it was back in the beginning of September, but I am trying to catch up with all the knitting related events that has happened during the last two months so far. Oslo Design Fair, opened Thursday 1. September and closed on Sunday 4. September, while I was at Strik Bornholm. The yarn producer Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk had a stand and launched the yarn kits for 4 of my designs see Hillesvåg Eksklusiv: Andor, Idunn, Halli and Elfa. All the designs are made in the wonderful Norwegian pelt wool/Pelsull, the last two are made in the new finer Hifa Sølje, while the first two are made in the re-named Hifa Tinde yarn. The lustrous yarn has a mohair feel and a melange colour due to its natural greyish base. The new yarn Hifa Sølje with 350 meters/383 yards on each 100 g skein is to die for, so do try it when it is ready in all the 30 divine colours. Closest in the photo above is Halli. Designer Tove Fevang and her husband photographer Geir Arnesen went to the fair, and Geir took these brilliant photos, as you might have guessed! Thank you!

_dsc1854-1920x1200_72Here are three displayed on mannequins and one hanging, with the yarn kits and the brochure made for retailers below: Halli, Andor, Idunn and Elfa. Here is my introduction to Halli: A sideways cardigan with a reverse textural pattern, and deep waterfall fronts. Each front and sleeve has two tucks at the end; one in reverse stockinette stitch and one in stockinette stitch. Choose if you prefer to leave the fronts hanging loose, pinned loosely together or draped across each other. Halli, comes from Old Norse and means rock. Perfect for the stitch pattern and symbolicly for becoming the rock in your wardrobe.

_dsc1873-1920x1200_72Above is Anette Toft from Hillesvåg, who used her time well, knitting. Here is the introduction to the most popular of the four designs the poncho Andor: A trendy oversized poncho defined by its pairs of ornamental cables on each wide shoulder part. The stockinette center part is crowned by a high neck collar. The poncho has sidebands that can be closed with buttons. It is knitted flat in two parts with shoulder and neck shaping. Andor is the Norse element for Eagle and its wingspan appropriate for this poncho.

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Idunn is the pullover knitted in Hifa Tinde in Petrol. Named after the Norse goddess of spring and immortality is this straight sweater with a Henley neck with center cables. Ribs frame the cables in each side and make the sweater figure hugging. One center cable adds texture to the sleeve. The sweater is worked in the round to the underarm in the lustrous pelt yarn with a mohair feel, Tinde from Hifa.

Last is Elfa: Elfa is an a-line long jacket with central cables along all parts. Tucks divide the different patterns giving a slight flair and a softer touch to the jacket. A large shawl collar crowns the garment, hence the given name Elfa – after the Norse king and warrior. The body is worked in pieces while the sleeves are worked in the round to the underarm. It is knitted in the in the lustrous pelt yarn with a mohair feel, Sølje from Hifa.

They also launched eleven kits by London based designer Michelle Lowe-Holder. Michelle makes sensational designs that experiment with the mixture of vintage, antique and recycled materials. See the two photos at the back in the photo above. Here are more details: Hillesvag Eksklusiv Gjestedesign/Michelle Lowe Holder.

I am delighted that a number of knitters and shop owners have ordered the kits, and I look forward to hearing as well as seeing the results!

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New Design: Andor

MMP-1180I am proud to announce that I have made 4 designs for yarn kits for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk which will be launched at Oslo Design Fair in the beginning of September. Then, you will find them on this webpage: Hillesvåg Eksklusiv Gjestedesign. I suggested a trendy oversized poncho, an a-line long jacket, a straight sweater and a sideways jacket with a waterfall front. First out is the poncho, Andor beautifully knitted by Airin Hansen, in Hifa Norsk Pelsull (100% pelt yarn with a mohair feel, 260 meters/284 yards on each 100 g skein) using a 3.5 mm/US 4 needle (and 4 mm/US 6 for collar). I was delighted that Airin, aka Teodor on Ravelry, could help me knit the sample as I was knitting two other samples at the time. Natural grey (undyed hence natural and what I would describe as light grey) or beige was my choice and Hillesvåg opted for beige.

MMP-1171A trendy oversized poncho defined by its pairs of ornamental cables on each wide shoulder part. The stockinette center part is crowned by a high neck collar. The poncho has sidebands that can be closed with buttons. It is knitted flat in two parts with shoulder and neck shaping. Andor is the Norse element for Eagle and its wingspan appropriate for this poncho. It comes in one size, with a bust measurement of 212 cm/83.5″; each front and back has a width of 106 cm/41.75 and it is 72 cm/28.25″ long.

MMP-1187The poncho is knitted in two parts, back and forth. The large collar is picked up and knitted at the end, just as the sidebands. The shoulder is shaped with short-rows and then joined using a 3-needle bind-off. Each sideband has two buttonholes. The photos above are taken by my husband in the bright sunlight and as you can see we had the sun in the wrong direction in the top two photos. The Norwegian pattern will only be available in the yarn kit while the English pattern will be test knitted in my Ravelry group before its release. I loved seeing it on my model Alexandria Eissinger and I can reveal that it was her favorite of all the 11 garments we photographed at Villa Malla.

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