In episode 169, we’re taking you to Norway, loved for it’s incredible mountainous landscapes and classic Norwegian sweaters! Andrea recently made a trip over there to scout out the area of Telemark, known as the heart of Norwegian folk culture. She also took the opportunity to interview well-known Norwegian knitwear designer Irene Haugland and the owner of Telespinn, a Norwegian Mohair goat farm and spinning mill. On top of that, we’re excited to announce our new Norway Knitting Retreats 2027 with Linda Marveng, Sidsel Høivik and Annemor Sundbø!
Melanie Berg joins us in New Releases to present her latest design “Wheatheart.” And finally, Madeleine and I have our own projects to share with you in Bring & Brag and Under Construction.
Telemark, Norway
The Heart of Norwegian Folk Culture
Earlier this year, a very lovely Norwegian knitter, Aasne, joined one of our retreats, and she encouraged us to consider the village of Dalen, Telemark which lies in the south of Norway as a potential retreat location. The province of Telemark is often called the heart of Norwegian folk culture. With its mountains, valleys and remote communities, many areas remained fairly isolated for generations, which helped preserve traditional music, dance, storytelling, crafts and traditional costumes. It’s also the home of the Norwegian Setesdal sweaters.
We were intrigued by this rich cultural heritage, so last month, I flew to Telemark to explore possible activities for the retreat and check out the beautiful Dalen Hotel. Of course, I took this opportunity to interview some of the locals while I was there, including well-known Norwegian knitwear designer Irene Haugland who has an exhibition at the Vest-Telemark museum showcasing her life’s work. Irene is known for her distinctive use of colour, traditional Norwegian motifs, embroidery and mixed textile techniques.
I also met and interviewed Håkon Solheim, the second generation owner of the family run Telespinn Mohair goat farm farm and mini mill. Håkon shares how the local agricultural techniques have remained very traditional using very few pesticides or artificial fertilizers resulting in a rich biodiversity of grasses, flowers, insects and birds.
His mother, first introduced mohair goats to the family farm to help cultivate the lanscape by eating leaves and trees but also for their use in textile production. Mohair fiber is very shiny and ranges from 22 to 40 microns. Spinning 100% mohair is extremely difficult, so Telespinn always blends it with Norwegian sheep wool. We will be visiting Telespinn next year as part of our Norway Knitting Retreat program!
Norway Knitting Retreats Aug-Sep 2027
The journey will take us along one of Norway’s most distinctive waterways, passing through historic locks, narrow stretches where the landscape rises around us, and finally out onto the open waters of Lake Bandak and to our destination the historic, luxury and fairytale Dalen Hotel. Built in the romantic Norwegian dragon style, with towers, spires and dragon heads, the Dalen Hotel opened in 1894 during the height of fjord tourism. It is one of Norway’s largest wooden buildings and retains its original 19th-century architecture, including the grand hall and original stained-glass ceiling.
The Vest-Telemark Museum Eidsborg will also enchant us with it’s collection of regional folk art and even a temporary exhibition featuring Irene Haugland’s life’s work. On top of that, we will visit the Mohair goat farm & mini mill Telespinn, where we’ll learn about the region’s unique agricultural heritage, meet the goats and browse their in-house yarn shop.
At both retreats, we will enjoy a day of presentations by esteemed researcher Annemor Sundbø who has authored multiple books on Norwegian knitting traditions and received many awards for her contributions to Norwegian culture. Annemor will bring along many of her original samples of traditional Norwegian knitwear for us to look at.
- See Annemor’s books on Norwegian knitting here: annemor.com/english/books
- Watch Annemor’s interview with Arne & Carlos on Sedesdal Sweaters
During our first retreat (29 Aug – 3 Sep 2027) Norwegian knitwear designer Linda Marveng will teach a masterclass on cables including how to add them to necklines and shoulders, how to correct a wrong cable crossing, knit reversible and i-cord cables and even add colourwork to your cables.
For our second retreat (5-10Sep 2027), we will be joined by Sidsel Høivik. She will teach us her special buttonband technique, which combines knitting and crochet to create a stable, neat finish. We’ll also learn how to embroider our knitwear and enhance it with crocheted details, including ridges, rows of eyelet holes, edgings, and other decorative touches.
More details here
- Lectures with Annemor Sundbø
- Workshops with Linda Marveng
- Workshops with Sidsel Høivik
- Accommodation: Dalen Hotel
- Activities
- Schedule
Pomegranate - Bring & Brag
I completed my Pomegranate sweater which Norah Gaughan designed in our Fruity Knitting Sport yarn range for our Austrian Alps Knitting Retreat in June. I’m thrilled with it! I modified mine slightly, by cropping it at the bottom. I was actually quite nervous about disturbing the beautiful symmetry of Norah’s design by shortening it, especially since my sweater was an extra sample for the participants to look at. I also didn’t want Norah to think I’d butchered her beautiful cable work! Happily, Norah was very relaxed about it and actually liked my version.
If you look closely at the cables just before the ribbing at the hem, you’ll see two large circles, or O’s, with a crossover cable inside each one, creating an elongated X. In Norah’s version, there’s an extra semicircle at the bottom, which perfectly mirrors the semicircle at the top of each O. On my version, I left out that bottom semicircle, so it’s no longer an exact mirror image.
The idea was that our retreat participants could either knit this design exactly as written in the pattern, or replace Norah’s cables with their own cable design. Norah taught everyone how to do this in one of her workshops. Clare, our Knitter of the World in Ep. 166, joined us on this retreat and created her own, beautiful version of the Pomegranate sweater! It’s fitted and slightly cropped with an intricate centre panel. Well done Clare!
Patron Discount - Pomegranate by Norah Gaughan
Norah Gaughan is kindly offering Fruity Knitting Patrons a 25% discount on the Pomegranate Sweater. When you look for the Pomegranate kits on our website, artisanfibres.com, you will also see two links to purchase the pattern in the description, taking you directly to Norah’s Ravelry store and her Webshop. A big thank you to Norah for both the gorgeous design and discount! Our patrons can find all discount details here.
Support Fruity Knitting
Support the Fruity Knitting Podcast by making a small monthly donation as a Hebridean, Merino, or Shetland patron!
Over the past 10 years, we’ve brought out 169 episodes of the Fruity Knitting podcast, amassing hundreds of interviews with top knitwear designers, fibre farmers, spinning mills and fibre artists from around the world. We continue to pour a great deal of time and care into producing every new episode.
At the moment, only a small percentage of our viewers actually take that step to become a patron and support the show financially. But without our patrons, this show could not exist. So, if you enjoy our content and find yourself returning to our channel, we kindly ask for your support by making a small monthly donation starting at only 5USD. Thank you very much for your support!
New Releases: Wheatheart by Melanie Berg
In New Releases, German knitwear designer Melanie Berg presents her gorgeous Wheatheart top. The name is, of course, a fun twist on the word “sweetheart.” Wheatheart uses our Fruity Knitting Sport yarn range in the colourway White Opal. It’s a modern throw-over style shirt that brings together relaxed comfort and elegance. It’s covered in a subtle bobble pattern resembling shafts of wheat and features a twisted rib along the hem and sides. The latter are held together by buttons.
The construction is simple: You work the front and back separately (flat) before sewing them together along the shoulders. Then you pick up stitches along the sides to knit the edging including some button holes. Finally, you work the twisted rib neckline.
Finding Melanie Berg
- Website: mairlynd.de
- Ravelry: Mairlynd
- Instagram: @mairlynd
Patron Discount - Wheatheart by Melanie Berg
Melanie Berg is generously offering Fruity Knitting Patrons a 25% discount on her Wheatheart design, both on Ravelry and her Webshop mairlynd.de. This top was designed for our Fruity Knitting Sport yarn range and you can find the matching kits here. Thank you very much to Melanie! Fruity Knitting patrons can find all discount details here.
Wheatheart - Under Construction
When Melanie showed us her beautiful Wheatheart top, which she designed using our Fruity Knitting Sport yarns, Madeleine immediately wanted to make one herself. Its side buttons and oversized fit make it perfect for layering over a pregnancy bump and for continuing to wear after the baby arrives!
White Opal is a great colour choice for this design, as lighter colours show off the delicate bobble pattern better than darker yarns. However, Madeleine had just finished her Alcoves sweater by Unwind Knitwear in White Opal and wanted to try something new. So, she’s making hers in our Billabong instead.
Madeleine wanted a size somewhere between sizes 1 and 2, and found it very easy to adjust the width of the top thanks to its simple construction. She explains how she did this in detail during the episode.
What we are wearing
Andrea is wearing her Pomegranate by Norah Gaughan. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the pattern name of the top Madeleine is wearing.
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
- Lord MacDonald’s Reel by the Métis Fiddler Quartet, ℗ 2012 Métis Fiddler Quartet Productions, Provided to YouTube by CDBaby
- Lokk by Eli Storbekken, from the album Det Syng! Ballader På Vandring, ℗ 1997 Grappa Musikkforlag A/S, Provided to YouTube by Virgin Music Group
- Mjukt Som I Gråt / Nattergalen by Eli Storbekken and Anne Marit Jacobsen, from the album Det Syng! Ballader På Vandring, ℗ 1997 Grappa Musikkforlag A/S, Provided to YouTube by Virgin Music Group
