Fanø Strikkefestival

Lene Maries hus, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Last weekend I went to Denmark to teach twined knitting at Fanø Strikkefestival. Fortunately, the participants understood my homemade Danish! I stayed at Lene Maries hus in a charming village called Sønderho. I had a great time and met lots of lovely people, and was especially happy to meet Ann - it was thanks to her that I was invited there.

brioche experiment

I'm happily experimenting with brioche knitting, right now working on a hat knitted from the centre. My first attempt to the left was not a success. I got the shape right, but it was not a very good idea starting with yellow: it looks like a gigantic pimple! ("The Plague Hat"?) So, I started with blue instead and changed the background colour just for fun and I think it looks a lot better.

And this is where I held my workshops:

Sønderho skole

 Hold kæft, hvad flot!

A finishing touch

finishing an unfinished object, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

A knitter friend and I have been joking about setting fire to projects we're unhappy with, and last night I had an irresistible urge to try it. Lo and behold: this improvised hat project never looked better than it did ablaze - and I must confess there was something deliciously pagan about this little purgatorial rite in the garden!

The very same friend (Entill) gave me this notebook from her trip to Shetland. Love it!

Cabbage cowl

Cowl in progress, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

I hardy ever buy self-striping yarn (too much of a control freak) but couldn't resist this wool from Östergötlands ullspinneri, thinking it would be fun to brioche knit. (I've had a crush on the greyish brown wool for quite a while, and am happy with the combination.) I wanted to make a cowl similar to the Camel cowl I made recently but with two colours. It suddenly reminded me of cabbage leaves, so I'll call it Cabbage cowl. Can you tell I'm addicted to brioche knitting?

Edited to add
I do like it when things match, so this was a nice (but slightly uncanny) discovery:

matchmaking

It reminds me of three sweaters I've made that matched different walls at work.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...

Brioche shawl: casting off, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Actually, I like the bubbly effect, so I'll try not to block it too hard once it's finished. (Unless I change my mind, that is.) Two thirds done!

It is rather monotonous work, though, so I add a few rows to Alice Starmore's Henry VIII for variation now and then. I love everything about this design!

Brioche shawl: casting off

Brioche shawl: casting off, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

One third done - and then all the loose ends to take care of... Still, it's worth the trouble to make it look the way I have in mind. Hopefully, there is enough yarn left, but I think so!