Tag Archives: Ravna

Strikk & Chill at Lilleborg in Oslo

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I spent last Saturday at Lilleborg (named after the first soap “boilery” from 1833), next to Akerselva, in Oslo having a stand at the Strikk/Knit & Chill event organised by Værbitt – the yarn shop & yarn dyer. Værbitt moved to Lilleborg earlier this summer from smaller premises at Grünerløkka, also in Oslo. For the first time I had a stand at a knitting event as I had printed pattern with Ravelry download codes, copies of the Norwegian book “Norsk strikkedesign. Strikk din favoritt” and a selection of design samples for sale. I was invited to take part by owner and yarn dyer of Værbitt Laila Henriksen, a week earlier when I visited her new shop. Above you see my stand next to the entrance to Værbitt talking to Tuva Hoen of Norne Yarn, a friend, and Lotte Holmboe aka osloknitter.

Michael spent nearly a week printing patterns, making labels and signs for me. By the time we arrived Saturday morning, the sun was shining and it looked like we would have a perfect summer’s day. Above you see the announcement Værbitt posted on Instagram earlier in August, listing some of the participating vendors.

I was wearing my design Ravna, first published in the final issue of the Norwegian magazine Bladet garn, knitted in Lille Persille/Little Parsley hand dyed by Værbitt on Sølje pelt yarn by Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, see the top photo. Above you see a photo Michael took of me talking to Tuva of Norne Yarn, who sponsored yarn for my design Milana and the upcoming Varun. Tuva told me that she had been busying dying a large order for Woollinn in Dublin, hence she had not had the time to dye for this event.

There were a lot of knitters queuing to get into the Værbitt shop during the day and only six were allowed at one time due to the Corona restrictions.  I was glad that I brought a hat as I was baking in the sunshine in the late afternoon.

 Above is a photo Michael took from inside the shop. You can see the shelves filled with Hillesvåg yarns and Værbitt’s own hand dyed colours!

There were many knitters sitting outside knitting in the sunshine and Michael captured the stylish Tuva in action. I spent the day speaking to knitters, designer Kristin Wiola Ødegård, Spinnvilt (the spinning shop next door) friends of Michael including the property developer – and former neighbour of ours Bekkelaget – Per-Johan Placht in charge of the commercial premises at Lilleborg! I had a fabulous day with some sales and even some time to knit too!

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Behind the Scenes: Photoshoot at Bøler Church May 2020

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Last Friday, I had a photoshoot at Bøler Church in Oslo with my brilliant team: Photographer Eivind Røhne, Model Olivia Lindtein, Hair & Make-up Artist Sissel Fylling, Jewellery Designer Kaja Gjedebo and Michael. It was a beautiful day that started out quite cool. Bøler Church in Oslo wished us welcome even during the Corona virus, as long as we used only the rooms we were allocated and made sure to clean all surfaces afterwards. We were met by the manager and the priest Dag Auli, who remembered us from last time we photographed in the church back in October 2017. He wanted to know how many garments we were photographing and where we had photographed since last time. The plan was to photograph seven new designs; four for Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk plus Leylak; Skyla and Milana, and four old designs; Ravna – see above – Sculpted Frost, Aran Cuffs and Folded Cardigan. In the photo above you see Eivind securing the sun screen with sand bags and Sissel holding it while texting on her mobile.

Above is a photo I took in the morning when Michael and I were walking around the church looking for backdrops. You can spot me in the window taking the photo. We used this corner for two of the new designs: Skyla and Milana.

 Here we are testing out my Monies statement jewellery, while waiting for Kaja, and Sissel is adjusting Olivia’s pony tail. The bracelet looked way too heavy on her slim wrist, in fact so heavy that it looked like the weight would topple her, Sissel joked. Olivia is wearing Skyla, knitted in Dye Dye Done, Pure Sport while I am wearing my Regal Purple Jacket. I loved seeing my new designs worn by Olivia, as she gave them new life.

I also wanted to share this photo Michael took inside the church hall showing the divine light. The church hall is just inside the window in the two photos above. Bøler Kirke is a community church by HBA Arkitekter completed in 2011. See more photos here: www.bygg.no.

Michael took this photo of us while we were preparing to photograph the Folded Cardigan. Kaja is carrying a tray with the jewellery we had selected for the design. It was convenient that Kaja, who lives at Bøler, could join us on the photoshoot, as it meant I did not have to travel in to Oslo merely to visit her and borrow the jewellery, this time. After photographing this, we had lunch. I was relieved to find that Eckers was open and that they could deliver lunch with juices and smoothies to us. As planned it was delivered at 11 o’clock in good time for our lunch. After lunch we only had three more Hillesvåg designs to photograph. Below you see us planning the first of those; Caravay in Tinde pelt wool.

Michael has made a behind the scenes video including drone footage, which is available for all my patrons, only on Patreon. So if you are interested in learning more about my life as a designer and want to support me, choose your level based on the rewards – such as monthly newsletter, sneak peeks of new designs, Hillesvåg yarn discount, pattern discount, free monthly pattern and monthly video – here: www.patreon.com/lindamarveng.

We had a wonderful day and enjoyed being able to chat face-to-face again. It was yet another magnificent photoshoot! Thanks to my brilliant team! I look forward to showing you the new designs – I still need to finish off those patterns – as well as selecting from Eivind’s photos!

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Ravna Pattern Released

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My Ravna was designed for the Norwegian magazine Bladet garn issue number 10/2019. I knitted the pullover in Sølje, pelt wool from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk hand dyed by Værbitt, aka Laila Henriksen. Now, the test knit of the English pattern has come to an end and both the Norwegian and the English pattern have been released in my Ravelry store and very soon on Love Crafts. Since it was the last ever magazine, the rights returned to me at the beginning of the year, and I were fortunate enough to be able to use the photos that co-editor Solveig Jensen Engevold took of Ravna. My test knitters have made some brilliant versions and I will show you those at a later time. You can see a number of pullovers on the pattern page on Ravelry.

Ravna is an historic name from northern Norway, her charisma is given to this a-line pullover with a longer flowing shirt tail back. A cable medallion adorns the spine which is crowned by a high garter stitch collar. All the sides are marked by a strong garter stitch edge presence. Ravna is knitted in a divine hand dyed shade from Værbitt called Little Parsley based on a childrens’ rhyme on Sølje Pelsull from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk.

Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL)
Shown in size Medium
Skill level: Experienced

Finished measurements:
Bust: 82 (90, 98, 106, 116, 126, 136, 146, 156) cm/32.25 (35.5, 38.5, 41.75, 45.75, 49.5, 53.5, 57.5, 61.5)“
Front bottom: 53 (57, 61, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90) cm/20.75 (22.5, 24, 25.5, 27.5, 29.5, 31.5, 33.5, 35.5)”
(incl 5 cm/2” cable flare, 12 cm/4.75” cable)
Front length: 61 (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69) cm/24 (24.5, 24.75, 25.5, 26, 26.5, 26.75, 27.25, 27.5)“
Back length: 78 (79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86) cm/27.5 (28, 28.25, 27.75, 32.25, 32.75, 33, 33.5, 33.75)”
Sleeve length: 48 (49, 50, 50, 50, 51, 51, 51, 51) cm/19 (19.25, 19.75, 19.75, 19.75, 20, 20, 20, 20)“

Yarn: Værbitt, Lille Persille hand dyed on Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Sølje Pelsull (100% pelt wool, 350 m/383 yds, 100 g); 3 (4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7) skeins; 1050 (1190, 1330, 1470, 1645, 1820, 1995, 2170, 2345) m/1148 (1301, 1454, 1608, 1799, 1990, 2182, 2373, 2565) yds.
https://www.varbitt.no/product-page/lille-persille-på-hil…
https://www.ull.no/produktkategori/garn/solje-pelsullgarn/

Yarn alternatives: Cascade 220 Sport (100% wool, 50 g, 150 m/164 yds).
http://www.cascadeyarns.com/cascade-Cascade220Sport.htm
Tosh Sock (100% wool, 100 g, 361 m/394 yds).
http://madelinetosh.com/tosh-sock/
Berroco Cosma (60% alpaca, 30% wool, 10% silk, 50 g, 150 m/164 yds).
http://www.berroco.com/yarns/berroco-cosma
Or another Sport/5 ply or Fingering 4/ply yarn.

Needles: 3 mm/US 2.5 straight needles.
3 mm/US 2.5 circular needle for collar (40 cm/16”).
Adjust needle size as needed to match gauge.

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

Gauge: 24 sts and 32 rows in st st using 3 mm/US 2.5 needle measures 10 cm/4” square.
40-sts cable panel using 3 mm/US 2.5 measures 12 cm/4.75” wide.
40 rows cable panel using 3 mm/US 2.5 measures 12.5 cm/5” high.

Notes: The pullover is worked in pieces and seamed. The back has one more cable repeat and the center garter stitch band is twice as high as front garter stitch band. The side seam ends in the narrow part of the garter stich band. The collar is worked in the round and ends with an I-cord bind off.

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Ravna in Bladet garn 10/2019

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Co-editor of Bladet garn Solveig Jensen Engevold asked me at the Oslo Strikkefestival in September if I wanted to contribute with a design to their last ever issue. How could I refuse, especially since I had said a couple of years back that I would? I had also just spotted several gorgeous hand dyed shades by Værbitt, aka Laila Henriksen, on Sølje, pelt wool from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk. Solveig said yes to this colour, Laila offered to hand dye on sponsored yarn from Hillesvåg for the magazine. So it was my turn to make design something special with the yarn and I thought I could easily do it in time for the deadline by mid-October. Solveig did grant me an extra week and I did make Ravna on time, despite knitting the bottom of the back several times. The brilliant photos are taken by Solveig and the one above fills the first page you see when you open the magazine next to the leader by Solveig and co-editor Unni Cathrine Eiken. It is after all a celebratory issue!

The four year old magazine goes out with a bang and presents seven new designs, as well as a pattern cavalcade; eleven designs printed in previous issues. On the cover is “Øst Genser” by Marte Nilssen knitted in a thicker version of the pelt wool called Blåne from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk. I wish to thank the editors for the inspiration and good luck on their future paths!

Ravna is an historic name from northern Norway, her charisma is given to this a-line pullover with a longer flowing shirt tail back. A cable medallion adorns the spine which is crowned by a high garter stitch collar. All the sides are marked by a strong garter stitch edge presence. Ravna is knitted in a divine hand dyed shade from Værbitt called Little Parsley, based on a childrens’ rhyme, on Sølje, pelt wool from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk.

I love this cable medallion that I found in Norah Gaughan’s inspiring Knitted Cable Sourcebook. I placed one at the center on the front and the back. The sleeves have a rib panel in the center because it shows off the colours in this hand dyed green so well and because the cable was too wide to fit.

My plan was to knit size Small but I calculated wrong and it turned into size Medium with a bust circumference of 98 cm/38.5″. I then decided to grade this pullover all the way from size XS to 5XL for the magazine. The bust circumference goes from 82 cm to 156 cm/32.25 to 61.5″. Ravna is knitted using 3 mm/US 2.5 needle with a gauge of 24 stitches and 32 rows in stockinette stitch measures 10 cm/4″ square after blocking.

The pullover is worked in pieces and seamed. The back has one more cable repeat and the center garter stitch band is twice as high as front garter stitch band. The side seam ends in the narrow part of the garter stich band. The collar is worked in the round and ends with an I-cord bind off.

The Norwegian magazine can be ordered directly from Bladet garn’s website in a digital format or in both a digital format and in print. Only a few of their stockists have this issue in stock. You can see all the patterns in the magazine on Ravelry.

Ravna will be available in English as a digital download, in my Ravelry store and on LoveCrafts, after the test knitting, beginning in early January, has been completed by mid-February.

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