Book Review: Happy Nordic Knits

Most of us who knit know that knitting is good for our mental health. Norwegian designer Une Cecilie Oksvold pairs knitting patterns with the story of her mental health journey and the ways that being in nature has helped her in the book Happy Nordic Knits.

Many of the knits in this collection come with a story of her struggles with anxiety and depression, things she tried that didn’t help and how embracing outdoor living did. Of course, if you’re going to be outside a lot in Norway, you need the right gear, so the book is full of cozy sweaters, felted items and accessories perfect for wearing when it’s cold outside.

The 23 patterns include 11 sweaters, all with some kind of colorwork, 3 pairs of mittens, a pair of slippers, a balaclava, headband, sitting pad, socks, hat, insoles and a neck warmer.

Most of the patterns include colorwork and several of them are also felted for extra warmth. The sweaters are often shown in multiple color options or sizes (10 sizes are offered for each pattern, and some are shown on both men and women) so you can get a sense of how they might look using your yarn.

I like the Leif Sweater, which has a large scale diamond pattern that’s vaguely southwestern and inspired by the interior of the author’s camper van and the Frostbite Sweater, which has most of its colorwork situated at the bottom of the body and sleeves. Despite my preference for projects that aren’t allover colorwork, the bold, graphic and colorful designs found here are a lot of fun, too.

A lot of the accessories are simple, such as the Bitter Cold set of balaclava, neckwarmer, headband and mittens, all worked in a single color and felted (there are felting instructions, as well as some other techniques, at the back of the book).

In addition to these projects to keep you super warm, there’s a section of “zero waste” projects made with yarn leftovers. These projects include stripey sweaters, a single color hat and neckwarmer, and felted insoles made out of a knit and felted rectangle cut to fit in your shoes.

The projects are colorful, fun to knit and to wear, and certain to keep you warm wherever your adventures take you. And if you like reading about how others have overcome hardship in their lives, the stories are good, too, but you can also skip them if you’re just here for the patterns.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback. Published 2025 by Quarry Books. Suggested retail price $26.99.

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

Have you read?