This last weekend I went to a Madrona Summer Workshop with Susanna Hansson on Rovaniemi Mittens. This continues my study of Baltic and Scandinavian knitting techniques. This Finnish Lapland technique class combines intarsia knitting and weaving. The Sami are mainly weavers, but some knitting is incorporated into their native costuming. Here's a picture of the Sami people of Rovaniemi.
This type of colorwork is like nothing else I've ever done in my 35 years of knitting. First, there are bobbins, just like intarsia, and each color (besides the main color) is held on a long needle above your work. You work in the round in the main color, and add the bobbins as you need them, in a particular order determined by the colors you choose and the color pattern. In the photograph on the left, you see my work in progress and the bobbins being held above the work on a long, straight needle.
This method echoes the back strap weaving of the Sami people. Here is a photograph of a Guatemalan woman weaving backstrap method. I did not find a photo of a Sami weaver.
Here is a picture of Susanna at the workshop. She's a fantastic instructor and very passionate about her work.
We learned how to add braids to our knitting. Here are some examples. On the left, is my sample swatch. Middle and left are swatches Susannah completed.
We learned how to finger weave a cord. It's much more substantial that I-cord and I like the look better.
Here are some examples of finished mittens and wrist cuffs.
The gauge of the mitts we made were 8.5 - 9 sts per inch. Here's an example of gage that was correct and gage too large.
If you're interested in learning about these knitting techniques, I'm going to do a demonstration in October. The demonstration will be on Rovaniemi and Bohus techniques. Susanna gave me permission to hold a demonstration at StitchCraft. More information about the upcoming demonstration will be posted in our October newsletter. Please go here to add yourself to the newsletter email list.
