Ore Tradition - Sampler in Twined Knitting

 (This is a repost from my Ravelry account)
 During one week in July 2010 my husband and I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop for twined knitters in Dalecarlia, Sweden. The event took place at Näsets Bystuga, Furudal and we were 14 knitters that shared four intense days focused on twined knitting. Since Dalecarlia in many ways can be regarded as the very center of the twined knitting tradition in Sweden this was a rare chance for us to learn more about the local tradition and patterns.

We spent the days knitting away until lunch, and in the afternoon we made visits to collections and exhibitions of twined knitting and old crafts. Thanks to the organiser´s many local contacts we were able not only to visit museums, but also got to see collections usually not available for viewing.
The Ore tradition is old and, as in all of Dalecarlia, the old traditions are honored. We saw amazing things during the week and I charted some patterns from the old pieces that we got the chance to view. 

Sometimes we were even allowed to touch and study the old mittens, stockings and wrist warmers and I can say that it is quite an experience (YES I am a nerd!) to touch something that was knitted more than a hundred years ago. The craftsmanship was truly amazing and if I ever doubted the saying that twined knitting can never be too densely knit I am now proven wrong. The materials were so dense that it was sometimes hard to understand that they were knitted. Gauge at 50 stitches to 10 cm was common (12.5 stitches per inch) sometimes more.

The visit was rewarding in so many ways and I really got smitten with the “feel of Dalecarlia”. The nature and views are spectacular and a lot of it reminds me of Lapland (in the north of Sweden) where I grew up.  

On the last evening of the workshop I was sitting by the open bedroom window late at night. I was knitting on a sampler of some of the patterns that I had encountered during the week. All of a sudden I heard wolves howling. That eerie sound going through the centuries made me shiver. I listened to it for more than an hour, fascinated. It was so typical for Dalecarlia: a place where old times are ever present and part of daily life.

Byzantium - hat in twined knitting

We are happy to own a copy of "Knitted stockings from Turkish villages" by Prof. Kenan Özbel. It is a fantastic book - full of wonderful patterns. I have used one of the patterns to design a hat in twined knitting. 

I had to adapt it so that I would be able to make decreases without having to charter every row. Keep knitting simple when possible!

I am usually not a "colourful" knitter - but I have some yarns from Wålstedt´s that just beg to be used for projects like this. Highest quality wool, z-plied and wonderful colours. 

It feels as if the colours will add to the warmth of this hat. I started with traditional twined knitting patterns from Dalecarlia to get a stable and warm beginning.

One of the many benefits of twined knitting - a neat inside, no floats!

Crocheted hats

I never thought that I would crochet a hat. I associated crochet with doilies and lace and could not muster a real interest for the technique. But when I was crocheting granny squares last month I decided to make a hat. 

Initially I had to frog quite often due to my mistakes. But after a while I got the hang of it. I started with a simple beanie to learn how  to shape a hat.

 After that I decided to try crocheting with two colours in the stitch pattern. 

I chose colours and pattern to get a traditional feeling.

Meet my Granny Grey

In the middle of February I went through my yarn stash to get it sorted and to remind me of what is in it. I found more than a kilo of 2-ply wool that I bought about ten years ago when we had just moved into the house. 

Since then I have learned to spin and I have also learned  a lot about wool and yarn - and that has changed the way I look at yarn.This yarn just was not up to standard for investing time knitting mittens or hats - it is not strong enough. But it was  100% wool, and it was in grey, and I am very fond of grey colours. So, I decided to make granny squares. 

I do not consider myself a crocheter - I only have rudimentary skills. But I can manage a granny square. All in all I made 77 squares and used about 1150 grams of yarn. 

I added a red yarn for contrast and used it for a couple of squares and for joining the squares. 

It is a colour combo often found in old knitted items and one of which I am very fond. I finished off with washing it (I actually washed in the machine on cold, it was far to big to be hand washed) and pinned it out while drying. 

Finished measurements: 230 x 140 centimetres (about 92 x 56 inches). 

This is the time of year when shawls come visiting

I have knitted a number of shawls that have been gifted within our family. Each time I give a shawl away I promise to wash and block it whenever that is needed. Why? Because I really like the shawls to be used, and most people does not dare (or can´t be trusted) to wash and block a lace shawl. This is the time of year when the owners look at their shawls and realise that the shawls do not look as fresh, sharp and in shape as they did in the autumn. So they send them to me.

This is Hyacinth (pattern by Evelyn C. Clark) getting a long soak. It really shows on a shawl how much (and how) it has been used during the winter. This one was dirty and out of shape.

After rinsing and a quick spin this is the result. Much cleaner but still not back to its old shape. Now is the time for a real stretching exercise.

This is when I consult my project book (you do keep one, don´t you?) to see the proper measurements for the shawl.

After been given a couple of days to dry (important if you want it to keep its shape), this is the result. So now it is ready for use and I send it back to its owner.

Some of my knitting friends think that I am crazy to do this. The truth is I appreciate to see the shawls again and it gives me joy knowing that they are used and treasured. I think it is really sad if I put time and effort into a shawl and it ends up not being used. I also get a lot of information regarding the yarn I have used and also about how a particular person uses a shawl. Valuable information that is of help to me the next time I choose yarn for a shawl, or knit for that person.