We have two special guests in Ep. 165! We’re very excited to welcome back the German designer Melanie Berg who’s recently released her new book Shawl Love. On top of that, we’re featuring a short Maker’s interview with Eleanor from Eleanor Jane Studio who applies her whimsical paintings to letter sets and other utilities adding beauty and fun to everyday items. Finally, we have two projects to share with you in Under Construction!
Melanie Berg
We are thrilled to welcome German knitwear designer Melanie Berg back to the podcast for the third time! Melanie recently released her new book, Shawl Love, featuring 14 new shawl designs with both English and German instructions and commentary. Melanie breaks down some of her designs for us and explains the special Road Maps included for each pattern.
Road maps are like a ‘knitting GPS’ for reading patterns. Melanie developed this concept together with her co-author Chad Lewis after experiencing the need for mental clarity herself during her cancer treatment. It helps knitters who might be experiencing brain fog, ADHD or just plain cognitive fatigue to follow complex patterns more easily without feeling overwhelmed or forgetting where they left off.
Melanie also introduces us to one of her more recent projects: Knit Class, a series of online classes for beginner and intermediate knitters to (re-)familiarise themselves with our favourite craft, receiving step-by-step guidance through progressively more challenging and interesting projects, learning handy tricks along the way like how to seamlessly pick up stitches along a seam or even out your tension between knit & purl stitches. And we receive a little sneak peek as Melanie demonstrates some of this during our interview.
Melanie is also developing a new sweater design in our White Opal for our upcoming Austrian Alps Knitting Retreat 18-23 October 2026! You can find all details about the retreat below.
Melanie started by swatching out some basic stst and ribbing to get a feel for how our yarn, Fruity Knitting Sport, behaves. Then, she tried out different bobbles and finally came up with the idea of created vertical stripes of twisted knit stitches and bobbles along those stripes, reminding the viewer of wheat fields. We love this stitch pattern and can’t wait to see the end result when it’s ready!
Finding Melanie Berg (Mairlynd)
- Website: mairlynd.de/en
- Shawl Love (book)
- Melanie’s Knit Class: www.knitclass.com
- Ravelry: Melanie Berg
- Instagram: @mairlynd
Austrian Alps Knitting Retreat with Melanie Berg
18-23 October 2026
The German knitwear designer Melanie Berg (Mairlynd), renowned for her eye-catching shawls and modern use of colour and texture is joining us for another knitting retreat in the Austrian Alps this 18-23 October 2026!
We will be staying at the family-run Rieser Resort and Spa, surrounded by mountains glowing red and orange from the autumn foliage, just a short stroll from Lake Achen. Along with workshops and relaxed knitting time, we’ll enjoy hiking, a boat ride and a day trip to Innsbruck exploring the old town and finishing with a lively evening of traditional Tyrolean music and dance!
Eleanor Jane Studio - Vendor Interview
Finding Eleanor Jane Studio
- Buy Eleanor’s cards: folksy.com/shops/EleanorJaneStudio
- Instagram: @eleanorjanestudio
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Under Construction
Pomegranate by Norah Gaughan
As you can see, Pomegranate has large, beautiful, and striking cables, and I want to show you how I work them without using a cable needle. It’s a technique I learned about 15 years ago, and it completely changed how quickly and efficiently I can knit cables.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with knitting slowly. But if a technique feels too slow or cumbersome, you’re less likely to use it, and that would be a shame.
Once you get the hang of cabling without a cable needle, it hardly interrupts your flow, and you can comfortably knit even complex-looking cable patterns. So, I also include a short tutorial showing you how I’ve worked these cables with out a cable needle.
Alcoves by Unwind Knitwear
Madeleine is still working on her Alcoves sweater by Unwind Knitwear which was designed specifically for our yarn range, Fruity Knitting Sport! The pattern was recently released and we are offering the matching kits on our website artisanfibres.com.
Madeleine is knitting everything without a cable needle. Each panel is framed by two simple four-stitch cables that twist in opposite directions. They’re easy to knit without a cable needle since you only cross two stitches over two stitches at a time. Further in, are these slightly wider six-stitch cables, but these are also easy because, again, you’re only crossing two over two stitches at a time.
What stands out is how, every few rows, these cables come together to form an eye-catching 7 stitch cable in the cente. When they meet, you cross the first 2 stitches over the last 5 stitches, which is slightly trickier without a cable needle.
What are we wearing?
Andrea is wearing her Insight by Kim Hargreaves during the Melanie Berg interview and her Low Tide by Unwind Knitwear on the couch. Madeleine is wearing her Good Grandpa Cardigan by Caidree during the Makers interview and Celestial by Martin Storey on the couch.
Credits
- J. S. Bach, The Well Tempered Klavier, Prelude No. 3 in C-Sharp major, BWV 848, performed by Kimiko Ishizaka, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
- Alright, Okay, You Win by Peggy Lee, from the album “Things are Swingin,” released on 03.11.1958, ℗ 1959 Capitol Records, LLC, provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group
