Sunday, September 08, 2013

...swedish inspiration





I'm going to delete my older blog soon, (Mary Lena's Blog) which I don't use anymore.

That's why I'm going to re-post a few of the most viewed posts !
This blog post is about two knit patterns inspired by a visit to Sweden


houses in Ronneby






Not only is Sweden a very attractive society to live in, 
there is also something everybody loves about the Swedish style.


A certain “je ne sais quoi”
the architecture, the traditional patterns, the colours...


300 years of Swedish textile design




Some 40 years ago my mom bought me this Dala horse when she visited Sweden 




a very old fashioned Dala



In the older days the Dala horse was mostly a toy,
but nowadays it is a symbol for the kingdom of Sweden.
The earliest reference of wooden horses for sale is from 1624 !
The pattern reflects a style of painting known as 'Kurbits". In the 19th century, Sticka-Eric Hansson from Mora introduced the technique of painting with two colors in the same brush. Today it is still a handicraft article, made of pine.






So I designed this beanie with these colours in mind 
Blue, white, red, green, yellow and brown 
and of course the Dala horse, the snowflakes...









I used the fantastic Organic Poll Dorset yarn
"Troubadour" from Renaissance Dyeing 
located in the French Pyrenees
Fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi) 
Ecru, Puivert, Troubadour , Miraval , Narbonne , Os.

I really love this yarn !








Ingrid's Beanie is available as a knitting pattern and as a kit, 
more info here

A big thank you to the model, Ingrid Anna
photos taken at the winter beach
De Haan - Belgium

but one could easily imagine oneself
on the famous Island of Sandhamn
in the Stockholm Archipelago 


Strindbergs house on Sandhamn


To go with the matching beanie:

Ingrid's Mitts
I designed these mitts with the same colours:
Blue, white, red, green, yellow and brown
Organic Poll Dorset yarn "Troubadour" from Renaissance Dyeing
Fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi)
Ecru, Puivert, Troubadour , Miraval , Narbonne , Os.














these mitts are available as a pattern and as a kit -
more info here

...




Sweden is a wonderful country with lots of nature,
beautiful houses and very friendly people.


I hope I will visit it again soon !




:)




6 comments:

  1. I have been away from blogging for a while (moving house), so may be I missed something, but why are you going to delete your blog?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Radka, I'm going to delete my older blog "Mary Lena's Blog" which I don't use any more!
      So I can focus more on this blog, ...shades of lynx...
      I've been away from blogging too for a while but with fall coming soon I intend to post here more often :)

      Delete
  2. Your designs are fabulous :) Beautiful photos from Sweden, I have always loved the Swedish red cottages in the countryside.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Hilde, you're always so nice !

      Delete
  3. I like your design and bougt both the patterns at once. God for using my plant dyed wool,
    I often habe only few meters of every colour and can use ist in such pattern.

    Thanks for re post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well thank you Anne!
      I can't wait to see your version of Ingrid's Beanie and Mitts :)

      Delete