Yarn Harlot Auctioning Shawl for Charity

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and her family have been training for the Friends for Live Bike Rally, a six-day, 600 kilometer (that’s almost 373 miles!) journey from Toronto to Montreal in support of people living with AIDS. The ride is only a few days away, and Stephanie has been busing raising funds for the cause on her blog by giving away what she calls “karmic balancing gifts” to some of the people who have donated, as well as hosting auctions of knit items.

Today it’s the gorgeous Omelet shawl (which she allows to be spelled in the American way even though she’s Canadian), described on the pattern at Knitty as a half-circle shawl with a garter stitch border knit from the center back to the bottom, with yarn overs used for shaping. It was designed by Joyce Fassbender and knit by the Yarn Harlot herself.

Stephanie is taking bids until sometime tomorrow, with the highest bidder getting the shawl. She’s been asking through this process that people not bid on items they could realistically make themselves, but I’m sure there are a lot of us who get a little antsy at the thought of that much laceweight and that many charts.

This is a wonderful shawl and a wonderful cause, so go bid if you are able, and donate anyway if it moves you. Best of luck on your trip, Stephanie!

[Photo by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee via Yarn Harlot.]

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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.

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