Erna

Erna was originally knitted in another yarn, now long gone, but I find it so pretty I really think it deserves a longer life.

So I have re-knitted it in my lovely Hempathy yarn, cool and pleasant with the look and drape of linen but composed of cotton, hemp and viscose making it less hard on the hands. Actually it knits up quite easily. An added bonus is the number of colors available, you’re bound to find one that works for you.

I love the ease of the block pattern and the way it contrasts with the delicate, waviness of the lace pattern. Garter lines are integrated in both patterns, so working the edgings in garter was a natural choice.

I also chose to complemet the sweater with a lace pattern shawl, worked in two sections from the ends towards the middle and grafted together invisibly and with ease thanks to the garter ridges.

The different elements all come together to create a thoroughly wearable garment, suitable for everyday wear as well as for more festive occasions.

Since we already had beautiful photos of lovely Nina, we just did a quickie on me for the Hempathy version. I hope you like it.

Pattern available at https://www.ravelry.com/designers/elsebeth-lavold

Photo as always by Anders Rydell.

Dagny

This particular Viking Pattern seems to be a favorite of mine. I’ve used it in several designs in my . It lends itself to both panels and placed motifs and is so very graphic. Also the cable pattern is symmetrical which makes the pattern extra easy to learn and knit.

Here, I’ve combined it with k2, p2 ribbing in a sleeveless V-neck top. It is self-edged which makes for very little finishing and, if you are careful, the seams at the sides will be next to invisible.

The yarn is my lovely Hempathy, a blend of hemp, cotton and viscose, which creates a fabric that feels like linen but knits like a dream (in my experience linen yarns are difficult and hurt like hell to knit with).

We brought our model, the lovely Sofie, to Stora Ryttarne, a medieval church ruin for the photo session.

Photo by Anders Rydell

Summer knits

Here are two designs for summer, one completely new and one as good as new.

Ellinore

Ellinore combines the graphic lines of k2, p2 ribbing with a small scale, delicate lace pattern. This creates a garment that is feminine without being girly. A sweet and cool top for all kinds of summer adventures.

The ribbing is worked around, and then, the work is divided for armholes and worked back and forth. The shoulders are joined with a three-needle bind-off for perfect pattern match. The edgings are worked in stockinette and folded and attached on the wrong side, with a garter ridge marking the transition from lace to stockinette.

Effortless knitting and easy wearability rolled into one garment shown by lovely Milka.

Agatha

Agatha was originally designed for my first cotton yarn, way back when, but has continued to be a personal favorite. So recently I decided to rework it in another favorite, Hempathy, my lovely cool hemp/cotton/modal blend yarn. A compatible combination. Add a vivacious sap green color, and it is ready for any summer adventure.

We photographed it on beautiful Kisanet at the Görväln Castle, a local cultural center.

The patterns are available from my pattern store www.ravelry.com/stores/elsebeth-lavold-designs

Photos by Anders Rydell

Lina

Lina, rhymes with Tina.

I don’t design for children very often but here’s one where both model and design are too cute for words.

This is just pure cardigan sweetness; two simple lace patterns and stockinette play against each other. The yarn is Hempathy, which is lovely to knit with and creates a pleasant drape in the cardigan. The edgings are narrow eyelet rows framed in garter and the eyelets also double as buttonholes at the front. This is really a case of the result being greater than the sum of the parts.

You’ll find the pattern at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lina-11

Photo by Anders Rydell

Aisha

Aisha was originally developed a couple of years ago when my husband and I went on a “cultural trip” to Turkey. We had received a prospectus about travels to Cappadocia in Turkey and when I saw the photos of the landscape I just knew that we had to go. Here are some of Anders’ photos from the trip.

Some of the odd aspects; mountains that looked like whipped cream and others that looked like fairy tale dwellings.

Multi-storey dwellings carved out of the mountains with constructed, more conventional buildings or sections of buildings, attached. People actually lived in these dewllings well into the 20^th century. Now they are mostly used as summer houses.

In one photo you can even see a solar panel and a satellite dish attached to a “cave dwelling”. This was early spring and the almond trees were in full bloom and not much else. Cappadocia must be among the most wondrous landscapes in the world and I am immensely grateful that I got to see it in real life (even on a bus tour).

Anyway, Aisha was my knitting project for the trip, though I knitted the first version in my, sadly discontinued, Eucool. I was so happy with the result, I had my fabulous knitter, Helena Norén, knit another one in Hempathy. We photographed it on our lovely model Sanna Wranå.

The knitting is mostly very easy. The lace part of the pattern is somewhat demanding but only in that you need to pay attention, it is basically very easy knitting.

The sweater on the other hand is beautiful and versatile. Perfect for cool summer days or air conditioned offices.

You’ll find the pattern at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/aisha-2

Photos by Anders Rydell

More summer

More summer

Hempathy has been a long-standing summer favorite. This season we introduced a print version of, Hempathy Prints. Ten different color combinations were selected to match solid colors in the Hempathy line. You’ll find the print colors here

https://knittingfever.com/elsebeth-lavold/yarn/E-HEMPP

The fiber content and length/weight is the same as for the solid colors but the Prints are available in 100 g balls.

My first project was this simple basic sweater in the Bear in Mind colorway. I edged it with cast-on + 1 row using the matching solid green.

Then came Bea

Bea is an airy top, straight with a boat neck and short sleeves. The pattern is placed in a V-formation that comes naturally with this pattern. It is placed mostly above the bra line so its transparency is not an issue.

The name of the lace pattern happens to be Bumble Bee because of its resemblance to my favorite pollinator and the name Bea was chosen because it is homonymous with said insect.

I figured that the pattern is distinct enough to be highly visible in the print version of Hempathy, so I chose the New Orange colorway, and I was right. Here shape, pattern color and yarn co-operate to create a true summer favorite. And it’s fairly quick and easy knitting too.

Bea is available for download at my Ravelry store

http://www.ravelry.com/stores/elsebeth-lavold-designs

Photo as always Anders Rydell

Ghita and Tinalee

My two summer tops this year.

 

Ghita is a versatile and relaxed top. Easy to knit, easy to wear, a very “summery” garment, and Hempathy is the perfect yarn for it.

For a long time I’ve been wanting to knit a project across, instead of bottom-up. My issue has been that I haven’t been able to find the combination of pattern and shape that will work together so that the drape of the garment is to my satisfaction. Then I stumbled on this openwork basketweave pattern and something clicked in my brain. Combining it with cable panels knitted across might solve my dilemma.

Using the cable panels as a yoke gives the top a stability and then the basketweave pattern can flow freely from there. The fact that it is knitted from the yoke down has the added bonus of making it easy to adjust the length to your preferred proportions.

Tinalee combines easy elegance with a touch of romance.

I’ve been wanting to use this lovely lace panel for quite some time, especially using the arrow-shaped beginning. Here the lace panel is worked on a stockinette background and placed on the upper part of the front only. The rest of the top is worked in a simple knit and purl textured pattern.

There’s no shaping at the sides, and no shaping for armholes, instead a drawstring at the waist supplies shaping possibilities when you wear the top. The lovely Hempathy yarn is supple and cool. Crocheted picot edgings add to the romantic feel.

I enjoyed making them and wearing them, I hope that you will too.

Both are now available for download at my Ravelry store

http://www.ravelry.com/stores/elsebeth-lavold-designs

Photo by Anders Rydell

A new kitchen

A new kitchen dictated a need for new potholders.

Since potholders are basically smallish squares with a loop for hanging, potholders can be used for experimenting with new techniques. Now, I wasn’t really in that place, too much going on in my life. What I needed was zen knitting.

And this is what I came up with; using garter stitch and modular knitting it became fun and I ended up with a new (at least to me) way of picking up stitches along garter stitch edges that makes the fabric more reversible. Here it is:

A more reversible method of picking up stitches along garter stitch edges

Insert a double-pointed needle (I used a circular) into the little knotsat the edge, created by the garter stitches, 1 stitch to each garter ridge. You may have to add the last stitch in the form of a loop.

Pull the needle through so you can start knitting from the correct end of the work.

Knit (you’ll need to knit into the back loop of the stitch on the first row)!

That’s all there is to it.

My Hempathy yarn is very suitable for kitchen duty; sturdy, washable and slightly antibacterial (in a natural, non-aggressive way) thanks to the hemp content, but too thin. So after a couple of trials I decided to use three strands held together. The potholders are somewhat slippery until they’ve been washed.

This is he first pair of potholders knitted to match my new kitchen. I will post more versions later on (I ended up knitting several for friends and family). This is a perfect gift and the design works for many styles from ultra modern to more traditional.

Here’s the recipe:

Potholders / Hot pad

Knitted with 3 strands of Hempathy on US size 8 / 5 mm needles to a gauge of approximately 18 stitches and 36 rows to 4 x 4 inches / 10 x 10 cm. Note that this means the same number of stitches and rows. The gauge isn’t important; a lloser gauge will make the potholders larger and a tighter gauge will make them smaller. What is important is that they are thick and firm enough to isolate the heat.

Each potholder is 32 sts x 32 garter ridges (64 rows). The cast-on row is counted as row 1 and you’ll bind off on row 32.

I’ve used 2–3 colors and each potholder weighs just under 50 g, so 3 balls of Hempathy would make a matching set of 2 potholders and a hot pad. This is also a perfect way to use odds and ends.

Cast on 18–22 sts and work 62 rows of garter st (31 ridges). Bind off but do not break the yarn. Pick up 1 st in each garter ridge (see above) until you have 32 sts.

Now work 20–28 rows of garter st (10–14 ridges).

The total number of stitches + rows should be the same in each direction, in this case 32.

Bind off all sts but do not break the yarn (except for the hot pad). Now crochet 15 single crochet. Pull yarn through and fasten to make a loop.

I hope you’ll have fun playing around with colors, striping, and different widths on the different sections.

Photos as always, Anders Rydell