Born to knit

A Well Trained Husband

Mr B went to Riga in Latvia a few weeks ago and all I got was a lousy pair of mittens...

Just kidding.

The mittens were marvellous – as most mittens from the Baltic countries are.

But to make sure he would get a really perfect pair he asked around for a good craft shop.

He was directed to this shop on a street called Terbatas iela.

Mr B took plenty of photos of all the mittens he didn´t buy, because he knew I´d be interested to see more of what there was.

I particularly love the look of the red and white mitten with the star pattern.

It seems as if Latvian knitting patterns have quite a few rows with three colours. Latvian knitters must be very patient.

All the mittens are probably all knit on needles size 1,5-2 mm.

There was also a basket full of socks.

Mr B was very tempted to buy himself a pair of socks, but he didn´t have time to try them on. And he has fairly big feet so he couldn´t just grab a pair.

Before he left Riga he asked how to google "folk mittens" and "folk socks" in Latvian.

Latvian mittens on the net.

And Latvian socks.

I was pretty impressed with his performance I must admit. So impressed that I decided to knit him a pair of socks.

They are not as neat as the Latvian socks, but I think I found a pattern that really suited my clever husband.

And I made them big enough to fit a foot, size 45.

The owls were originally an old cross stitch pattern, but well suited for knitting.

And this is how happy mr B looked when I gave him the socks.

You can´t tell from this photo, but he´s wearing his new socks right now.

 

A Night at the Museum

The Nordiska museum here in Stockholm has made me disappointed before.

The textile department has so few knitted garments on exhibition that it is a disgrace.

A mitten...

Or two.

Some examples of twined knitting.

Nothing too exciting. But maybe it´s just me.

This is as good as it gets. And I´ve seen better.

But all of a sudden there´s been a wind of change.

There are knit cafés at the museum on Wednesday evenings once a month. And they are good! Last Wednesday the girl in charge, called Kia, brought out a basket full of old swatches.

Some dating back to the 18th century:

It was like when Santa comes on Christmas Eve and opens his sack of gifts. Only better.

These socks were made on such tiny needles that they looked machine knit.

And this is an amazing Bohus mitten. What a lot of work with all those colours.

Don´t miss the next knit café on December, 1!

I hope they will keep this up next year. And if Santa is reading this I would also like to wish for a proper exhibition of some of the old knitted garments they have in their archives.

Ska vi inte starta ett upprop? 

When it comes to my own knitting I´m still struggling with the same old, same old...

Ständigt dessa tummar.

 

 

A Fun Fair

So many people, so much yarn and so much fun! Syfestivalen in Stockholm left me exhausted but exhilarated. I had three workshops every day.

I´m probably talking about thumb gussets – one of my favourite subjects...

It was the first time I held a workshop and I must say that it was an uplifting experience to spend the whole day talking about knitting – while people listened with interest. No one had that glazed look that family and some friends sometimes get when the subject is approached.

Comparing two knitting patterns with carnations.

On Friday there was a record breaking number of visitors. The big hall was packed. Busloads of women arrived, bought stuff like mad and went home carrying numerous bags. They made the Sex and the City ladies look like shopping amateurs...

Good thing I had a helper – my daughter Elise.

The workshop was about how to draw your own mitten pattern. Where do you find inspiration and how do you start?

Pen and paper is a good start, for instance.

There was a basket full of stranded knitting for those who wanted to try.

A few new mitten patterns were created during those three days.

A young girl called Maja showed real talent.

My friend Eva-Lotta, who already makes her own mitten designs came along and drew a new pattern.

Wearing her beautiful Mary Tudor – a Starmore design.

You will probably be able to see Eva-Lotta´s new mitten pattern on her blog.

Comments on my designs varied a lot. Someone exclaimed how lovely it was to see such traditional patterns. Someone else asked if I didn´t have any traditional patterns.

Giving a workshop was a lot of fun in more ways than one.

Men en sak borde man verkligen ändra på Syfestivalen.

Det borde heta Stickfestivalen. Jamenellerhur!

 

 

A New Name

Thank you for all the great name suggestions! Mette-Marit came close. But I think that a hat called Mette-Marit should maybe have a pattern of royal crowns.

And it was another name that went straight to the top of my list. Liv – suggested by Pinneguri. 

So this is my new pattern: Liv Ullmössa

It´s a really simple and fast knit because I made it in Debbbie Bliss Rialto DK. This yarn is quite a lot thicker than what I usually use and it knits up very smooth.

There is an even simpler version without the star on top and made in only two colours.

I´ll keep all the other names in mind for future patterns. After all a lot of my inspiration comes from our great neighbour country Norway.