Shawls! – Knitting

I love shawls, they’re so… I don’t know, lacy I guess. And pretty. And soooo not me. If a shawl were to be useful to me it would have to be made from heavy yarn (aran styling comes to mind) with none of the little holes that make it lacy and pretty. This is my lifestyle, when I’m outside and needing a shawl it’s to keep warm, not to keep the delicate spring/summer breezes off of my tender skin!

Not to say that if you wear shawls, you’re delicate, not at all, it’s just not for me, but I do love to look at them. They are pretty, especially with beads – I do like the bling factor.

Here’s one that caught my eye (I like pink, salmon and similar colors…). It’s from Maia Spins, here: http://maiaspins.typepad.com/maiaspins/2009/05/aeolian-finished.html

So if I were going to make a shawl for myself just for decorative purposes it would be something similar. It would be long and lacy and the pink is pretty too. Also beads. Yeah, gotta have the bling!

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Beautiful people and beautiful sweaters combine in Lasse L. Matberg’s Viking Knits. The book includes more than 40 Scandinavian inspired knits for men, women and children featuring textured stitches and colorwork.

Matberg is known as The Viking and has worked as a chef, naval officer, fitness instructor and model, as well as being on a couple of reality TV shows. He comes from a long line of makers and his book was first published in Norwegian in 2021 and has since come out in an English version.

The book is divided into sections including everyday sweaters, knits for the great outdoors, stylish knitwear, Norse sweaters and accessories. Some of the patterns use the same designs in different versions for men, women and children. I counted seven projects rated for beginners, 19 for intermediate knitters and 17 for experienced knitters. The more difficult patterns tend to have allover colorwork or stitch patterning.

The pattern stitches and colorwork are shown in charts, with a little bit of text to tell you how to make the garment. Most of the book is sweaters, but there are also hats (sometimes coordinating with sweaters), scarves and a couple of sitting mats.

You can check out all the patterns on Ravelry. Some of my favorites are the more basic ones, such as the Power Sweater, a close-fitting (sized for men) ribbed sweater; the Heart Sweater, a raglan with allover lice stitch; and the Midsummer Sweater, with textured stripes and a henley neckline. I also like the Breeze designs (there are versions for men, women and children) that have colorwork diamonds on them.

Sizing on the garments varies, but there are six sizes for the men’s patterns (noted as small through XXL and then Lasse sized), six for women (XS to XL) and three for children (age 2-4, 6-8 and 10-12).

The yarns used in the book aren’t available in the United States but you can find suppliers here if you want to use the same yarns. Otherwise the book gives a lot of details about yarn content and gauge so you should be able to find good substitutes wherever you live.

If you have Norwegian or Scandinavian heritage or just like the look of cozy textured or colorful sweaters, this book is a lot of fun, and the eye candy is pretty great, too.

About the book: 192 pages, hardcover, 43 patterns. Published in English in 2023 by Search Press. Suggested retail price $29.95.

Comments

Joy says
May 24, 2009 at 7:57 am
I am a shawl ADDICT. I haven’t done a huge, full-sized shawl yet, but the little scarf-shawlettes like Swallowtail are perfect for me. When there’s just a little chill in the air, I throw it on to keep me warm and stylish. Plus, shawlettes get bound off just about the time I’m getting bored with the project 😉 I can’t stand 500-stitch rows.

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