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Elsebeth Lavold Spring and Summer 2012

January 27, 2012 in Elsebeth Lavold, Elsebeth Lavold, Inspiration

Dear knitters,

The other day, I noticed that a lot of trees are no longer in their grey winter stage; birches whose branches had turned purple and willow crowns with a yellow sheen. Are they announcing the approach of spring?

Otherwise, my new book The Sugar & Spice Collection could possibly do just that. It is brimming with projects for the upcoming warm season, projects for women, children and the home.

I have used one of my all-time favorites, Hempathy, for the majority of projects; some really sweet, like Saffron, a girl’s dress and Christening Gown (with matching cap and socks) and Oregano, a shawl that can double as a table runner.

Saffron Christening Gown

Saffron can be a Christening gown

Others are more on the spicy side, like Cardamom, a knitted hat, and Allspice, tote bag, bottle carrier and placemats in easy striping and with very spicy colors, both using the yarn held double.

Allspice

The Allspice tote would make a great project bag.

But most of the projects could fit in both categories, such as Chili, a girl’s vest with a cute heart fringe, and depending on version and how it’s worn, a dress named Paprika, and a lace top, Mint, that can be transformed into a shopping net with a pull of a string.

Mint top and bag

Mint can be a top or a net bag.

There are also designs in Visilk, my cool, elegant viscose and silk blend; where Anise would be more on the sweet side with its feminine collar and Olive more towards the spicy end of the spectrum.

Tank version of Anise

Tank version of Anise

Finally, two designs in Cool Wool, my wool and cotton blend which feels like cotton but knits like wool. Nigella, a vest which is both sweet and spicy, and Ginger, a cardigan with a classical shape, which is less spicy and just barely sweet.

As usual, the skill requirements range from easy to advanced, with most of the designs in the intermediate range.

The book offers inspiration to sweeten the wait and a slew of designs to spice up the warm season – all in all, plenty of projects to keep your needles warm.

Happy Knitting!

Elsebeth Lavold

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End of Summer and the Beginning of a New Season

September 29, 2011 in Elsebeth Lavold, Elsebeth Lavold

I’m proud to present a new book of designs and a lovely new yarn for this season.

Bolene sweater

The Bolene sweater is in SensuAL color #4

The yarn was an instant love affair. I named it SensuAl because it certainly is that – sensual. It is made of soft-as-a-cloud Baby Alpaca with just a teeny bit of Polyamide to create the hint of a bouclé effect which keeps it from behaving like your usual alpaca yarn; it is not drapey and heavy, it is light and soft as a cloud.

Ed Sweater

Ed is the sweater. The hat is Neve.

Even with the bouclé effect, many surface patterns have quite good definition, as evidenced by Bolene and the Ed/Edina designs. The softness of the yarn made it natural to include designs for men (they’re so sensitive) and for babies (they deserve the best).

I named the new collection Come Closer, because the SensuAl yarn is, in itself, an invitation to come closer. We also chose to photograph the designs from and even closer distance than we usually do. And I’m more than happy with the way the photographs turned out; Anders is such a brilliant photographer.

Karita sweater

Karita is knit in Favorite Wool.

Altogether, the collection contains some 20 designs (depending on how you count), half of them in Sensual, the rest in Favorite Wool, Silky Wool, Silky Wool XL and Silky Flammé, ranging from easy to experienced in terms of knitting skills required. There are designs for small projects, suitable to take along or to knit for gifts, there are lovely sweaters to knit in front of the TV or while chatting with friends, and there are designs that present quite a challenge.

Neve woman hat

The Neve woman hat uses 2 balls of SensuAL

Come closer – I’m sure you will find something to knit among my offerings.

Happy Knitting!
Elsebeth Lavold

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Elsebeth Lavold Spring/Summer 2011

March 17, 2011 in Elsebeth Lavold, Elsebeth Lavold

Lazy Days cover

18 projects for the hotter seasons.

A new season, a new book and a new yarn!

The Lazy Days Collection is a collection of easy summer knits, mostly the kind that does not demand constant attention, although there are a few of those, too.

The designs are mostly classical with a twist, many of them on the feminine side. For a lot of them, the main part of the knitting is very straightforward, but with a more demanding detail, i.e. the neck edging of the design Dee, the neck treatment and cap sleeves of Mae and Jenna, the unique shell pattern on Shelley and Sheila or the rounded hemline of Glenda.

Once you’re done with the beautiful and unusual lace pattern, the rest of Dinah knits up quickly and Norah offers the choice of a regular symmetrical pattern or adding your own creative touch in the placement of the little bars of holes. All of these designs are displayed at both this website and our own, www.ingenkonst.se.

Jenna sweater

The neck and sleeve caps on Jenna demand attention, but the body is smooth knitting.

ViSilk

My new yarn was an instant love affair.

ViSilk is, as the name indicates, a blend of viscose and silk, where the viscose provides softness, drape and sheen, and the silk adds character in the form of raw silk slubs. This makes for a yarn that is lovely to knit with (just don’t knit too loosely) and creates a cool, elegant and sensual fabric.

I’ve chosen a color range of naturals, classicals and a few tangy pastels.

In addition to ViSilk, the book also features designs in Hempathy, Cool Wool, Bambool and Silky Wool.

Now, to me, lazy days are not necessarily days of doing nothing, but rather days of doing what I feel like doing, instead of what I ought to do. And what I nearly always feel like doing is – knit.

I’m looking forward to having a wonderful knitting spring and summer. I certainly hope you will too.

Happy Knitting!

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Elsebeth Lavold Fall/Winter 2010

November 16, 2010 in Elsebeth Lavold, Elsebeth Lavold

Fall is the time for drawing back, slowing down and preparing for winter hibernation, especially for me living so far north (actually at the same latitude as Skagway, Alaska). It’s getting dark earlier and the nights are longer. What can be nicer than settling down in the couch with a cup of hot tea and good knitting.

This season’s book, The City(e)scapes Collection, is larger than usual. Here are 16 extra pages of urban dressing with the comfort of country clothes.

Melbourne cardigan

Melbourne is knit in Silky Wool XL

In this book I’m happy to introduce a new member of my yarn family; Silky Wool XL. This is an aran weight wool/silk blend with the same kind of look as Silky Wool and with beautiful knitting properties. A yarn with enough character for both women’s and men’s garments. There are also designs in my tried and true Silky Wool, my Favorite Wool, and my gorgeous Silky Flammé.

Pretoria sweater

Pretoria, the cover sweater, is also in Silky Wool XL

As the title suggests, the collection includes sporty garments, suitable for a walk in the woods, as well as dressier garments, like the cover sweater, that would work well for the office or a dinner on the town. You will also find a couple of designs for men as well as a children’s sweater and a cute one for the pooch. There are also a number of caps, scarves, shawls and wristwarmers, and even a few bags.

Amsterdam dog sweater

Amsterdam will keep your 4-legged friend warm.

As always, most of my designs are at the intermediate skill level, but, as always, I’ve tried to make knitting the garment as easy as possible at that level. There are also a few easy pieces, as well as a couple of more challenging designs.

So I hope that you will find something that takes your fancy so that you too can look forward to a fall full of wonderful knitting.

Happy Knitting!

Elsebeth Lavold

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