Pattern: Elsinore Shawl

Remember yesterday when I mentioned a photo shoot for a new pattern? Well, I can show you the results now!

The Elsinore shawl is now available to buy from Ravelry which is why I can now show you some of the amazing photos we shot in Copenhagen.

I had long wanted to shoot some photos in Denmark as I gather so much of my inspiration from my old homeland. Elsinore proved the perfect pattern: I designed it with a persistent idea of 'flatness' in mind: the stitch patterns are quite pared down in order to showcase the fabulous colour of the yarn. Flat and pared down .. all are words that I could use to describe Nordic light, especially during the winter months.

That is not to say that I think Elsinore is a minimal shawl. I started out wanted to capture 'flatness' but the simple lines turned out to be really flattering once draped over a person.

I was really lucky that my old friend Kirsten Marie agreed to model for me. She sings, she knits, she reads, she translates, she sews - and now she models too. And Kirsten Marie introduced me to a photographer who was interested in the challenge of shooting lace shawls in the depth of winter. Win-win.

The original sample is knitted in OMA superwash merino 4ply in "strange rock'n'rollers". It took roughly 390 yards to knit the sample but I recommend 400 yards in the pattern just to be on the safe side. And as always I recommend using a 4mm (US 6) needle to give the shawl a good deal of drape. The yarn was phenomenal to work with and the colourway was very interesting: it kept changing colour dependent upon where and when I was working on it.

And the last chapter in this story belongs to my poor test knitter, S. She kindly offered to testknit the pattern whilst I was gallivanting in Denmark. Unfortunately this meant she actually testknitted most of my next pattern. Amazingly the wrong chart worked really well with the Elsinore charts and she did not suspect a thing. I felt horribly guilty when I realised what had happened - but it's intriguing that the chart worked!

Elsinore was such a joy to design and knit. It came together very quickly and proved a really relaxing knit for me. I hope you'll enjoy it too.

Denmark 2012: A Bit of History & A Lot of Knitting (part 3)

Denmark was not just us larking about Viking settlements or eating six types of pork for lunch (true fact!). Denmark was also about knitting. I had a photo shoot! I am about to release a new pattern - Elsinore - and we had the photo shoot in the middle of the Kastellet fortifications in northern Copenhagen.

It was an incredible cold day, so whenever there was a break in the shoot, I rushed forth to wrap a warm cardigan around the brave model. The photos turned out amazing. Stay tuned!

I also met up with Signest, aka Signe Simonsen who has been published in Knitty, Twist Collective and Petite Purls among other places. She is one of my favourite designers for innovative, colourful and bold childrenswear (check out the Nova dress and the Viola hat!) but Signe has several, several strings to her bow as you are sure to find out in months to come. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at a design she is currently working on for Danish yarn company Filcolana.

And Signe's also the genius behind my current favourite attire, the I YARN CPH tee. Sorry about the photo - it is not the most flattering one of me but it is the only one I have of me wearing the tee.

Yes, I rather liked Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book. Why do you ask?

Oh, and there was yarn. Nothing really, really fascinating because I only had a few hours to spare so I could not explore new yarns, but I did buy a vast amount of yarn: mainly laceweight - which shocks no one - and mainly of the North Atlantic variety - which should shock absolutely no one either.

My usual Snældan yarn pusher had shut down since my last visit to Copenhagen, so I 'settled' for some more Navia Uno from Jorun Garn in Frederiksberg. They have similar fiber content (though the Navia introduces some merino into the blend) but the construction is slightly different. The Snældan is a slightly overspun  single ply whereas Navia Uno is plied with a tightly spun 'thread' around a soft wool core. Navia Uno works up slightly softer than Snældan but has a smidgen less stitch definition. In other words, I should not be writing about 'settling' for anything as the two yarns are so similar and so beautiful. I am just concerned about minutiae.

And then I visited a charity shop where I uncovered a pile of Alt om Håndarbejde (eng: All About Crafts) magazines from the 1970s.

Alt om was really instrumental in kickstarting my lifelong love of all things crafty and I remember trying out loads of their easy kids' projects when I was a kid. I even think the first garment I ever made for myself (a pair of shorts!) was from an Alt om pattern.

Some of the projects are just outlandish seen with today's eyes but others transcend their time period with aplomb. I only took some of the magazines with me (the rest are staying with my mum until further notice) but I picked a few with fantastic sewing patterns for dresses and skirts. I don't think I shall ever outgrow my 1970s dress sense..

There are also quite a few big knitting projects that I can admire knowing I will never ever knit them. Just look at that coat. It is absolutely stunning. I have instructed my grandmother to snap up any old Alt Om that she might come across as the tutorials are worth their weight in gold.

I tried finding Alt Om's modern incarnation - the rather splendid Symagasinet which is all about sewing - but the local shops let me down. Earlier this year I also contacted the publisher about a possible subscription but the shipping costs were ridiculous, so I dropped that idea. Oh, Scandinavia, why do you taunt me so?

Anyway. To come: a brand-new pattern release, news about other patterns, some FOs and so forth. My life's really busy right now!

Denmark 2012: A Bit of History & A Lot of Knitting (part 1)

Denmark is a small country which is probably the reason I can get away with describing somewhere one hour away from its capital as "rural" and "remote". I grew up in rural and remote north-west Zealand, not far from this lake. Tissø means 'the lake of Tyr' - Tyr being one of the Norse warrior gods. The photo was taken just in front of an excavated Viking settlement on the banks of Tissø (where these pieces of jewellery were uncovered amongst other things) but the area has been populated since Mesolithic times. Important Neolithic and Bronze Age sites are in neighbouring fields and are just waiting to be excavated. Walking across the Viking site towards Tissø felt like walking across History itself - especially because it was a frosty, foggy day. It was easy to imagine my ancestors making the same walk and feeling the inherent magic of the place.

Tissø is part of a marshy landscape known as Åmosen (literally: the Creek Marsh) which stretches across most of my childhood landscape.

Åmosen is dotted with megalithic tombs - they are so common that my parents have two passage graves in the back garden(!). The one shown is a dolmen surrounded by standing stones. It dates to approx. 3500-3200BC. Åmosen is also known for the plethora of Neolithic settlements - the majority of the finds exhibited in the National Museum have been found in this marshy land. No wonder I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was growing up - it is difficult not to be enchanted when you can find arrow heads everywhere and explore ancient tombs in your back garden!

One of my favourite artefacts was not found anywhere near my home, but I think this stone dagger is just so amazing.

It is the Hindsgavl Dagger and can actually be seen on Danish bank notes.

The skill exhibited in shaping the stone is just outstanding and although the National Museum holds many equally intricate daggers from the same period, the combination of craftsmanship and the natural beauty of the stone is breathtaking.

We didn't get a proper photo of it for some reason, but I just want to mention The Sun Chariot that was found just a bit north of where I grew up. It shows the sun being drawn across the sky by a divine horse. Note the wheels: I want to knit a jumper that uses the wheel motif. It is one of my favourite motifs. Every time I see the Sun Chariot I get quite emotional. It epitomises my cultural heritage, I guess.

The pins in the photo belong to the same period as the Chariot and were found nearby. I love the swirling circles - all symbols indicative of the sun worship prevalent in the Bronze Age.

If you live in the UK, you will be familiar with the Danish butter brand, Lurpak. Did you know that a lur is actually a Bronze Age musical instrument used in religious ceremonies - and probably connected with human sacrifices? Did that put you off your sandwich!?

Home Again

Came back from a week in Denmark today. Minor case of culture shock.

A Realist Look At Knitting

Earlier today I posted the following  on social media websites: I have just gone through my wardrobe. I really, really NEED a warm black or grey jumper/cardigan. I have NO spare knitting time. Would buying one make me less of a knitter? Will I be kicked out of the knitting fellowship?

The response was really interesting. It was an unanimous don't be silly from everybody who replied to me. Selected responses:

Bells said: "I buy at least one a winter. I am a realist." (I like the realism bit)

Katherine admitted to wearing a shop-bought cardigan to her knitting group: "They told me off for being embarrassed that I hadn't knit it when they complimented it"

Catrin was succinct: "NO!"

And Christina pointed out: "Would you want to be part of a fellowship who would kick you out for doing that?" (she is always to the point - it's a gift she has).

So, I won't be a bad knitter if I buy a shop-bought item. It is strange, though, how making things automatically makes me think I should be making everything. It is also strange how guilty I feel at the thought of buying a non-knitted cardigan or jumper.

In an ideal world I would be adding the following staples to my wardrobe. In reality I have no idea when I'd have the time to start just one of these:

• Acer Cardigan
• Dark & Stormy Cardigan
• Metropolitan
• Aidez

How do you combine your knitterly ambitions with your wardrobe needs, time constraints, and your budget?

Recent Events & Works in Progress

And another thing happened. The day before my birthday - Friday - I called to see my doctor as I was concerned about something. As a rule I am not fond of doctors, so I had waited a couple of weeks before actually making the call. The young doctor gulped, prescribed strong antibiotics (which meant I was being arty in Edinburgh whilst combating awful nausea) and made another appointment for me Monday morning. And so by Monday afternoon I was admitted to hospital awaiting emergency surgery.

I am very thankful for the British National Health Service. They were quick and efficient: I had my operation and I was discharged again by 6.30pm. If you live in the UK or are a British citizen, please consider signing this petition urging the British Government to rethink its Health and Social Care bill.

Whilst waiting around, I managed to do a lot of work on my crochet shrug.

The pattern is Fifi from the new Rowan Holiday Crochet booklet. The stitch pattern looks quite complex, but is actually a relatively easy two-row repeat worked with double trebles (US: trebles) which makes progress very quick. Apart from still needing to check how to turn, I have memorised the pattern - and I am very pleased by how much I have managed to do on just a few days.

And the colour is gorgeous - I cannot seem to get away from mossy greens. I actually picked up some Liberty needle cord earlier this month which has an accent of mossy green - I wonder if I'll actually manage to whip up a skirt or if my nerves will betray me once I face cutting into Liberty needle cord.

Later this year I am going to a wedding celebrating my wonderful friends Elaine and Steve. I was going to make my own dress, but then I found a silk dress in John Lewis reduced from £150 down to £10. How could I resist!? However, I have not forgotten my pledge to wear handmade to the occasion. I am going to design and knit a delicate shrug - and I am going to make my own fascinator.

Fascinators are so utterly British. I think the rest of the world noticed them last year when tuning into the royal wedding. Not being British, I have never had the chance to wear these flippant hair pieces before, so I am actually rather excited about the prospect.

I bookmarked a few tutorials and pinned a couple of pictures to Pinterest before having my first go last night. I used this tutorial to make the piece in the photo.

It was fairly easy, actually. I used some silk flowers I had found ultra cheap on Ebay and added a few beads I had lying about.

The flowers are not the right colour for the dress (a radical departure from the usual Ms Bookish uniform of green and/or red!) and I'll be wanting to add different beads to the actual fascinator/hairpiece - but I am still satisfied with the outcome. I'll be trying to reverse-engineer this hairpiece next, though, as I am not sure I'm a Big Floral Thing On My Head person.

Which reminds me: do say hello on Pinterest.