hanne falkenberg wonders

the marvelous danish knit designer HANNE FALKENBERG has put me in awe since i rediscovered knitting. her most recent style, the mermaid, is currently sitting happily in my lap in this colorway for my mother. I am nearing the centerline of the back and am surprised at how quickly i managed this. the 25/50 gauge was a bit intimidating for a jacket this size. [i had to use 2 mm needles to achieve this gauge although 3 mm were recommended (does that mean i'm a loose knitter??)- amended, see "oh my, what a mess..." ]

i also have the mermaid kit in this colorway for myself, and a dacopo kit in this colorway for my mum again. ^^*

for those interested in this (and her other projects) these are some points of interest/aide i can give you

: hanne falkenberg does not sell individual patterns, all of her designs come in kits with enough wool (we'll see about that when i've finished this medium mermaid) to supposedly complete a large. the wool is shetland, and the kits include instructions for sizes s, m & l.

: the instructions are translated from danish to english. since the danes don't babysit knitters, you should read ahead and know enough about knitting to fill in the blanks.

:the patterns use garter stitch predominantly, which produces a nice thickness to the fabric. the mermaid pattern uses i-cord and short rows extensively to make the flattering shape.

:i bought mine online (the cheapest i could find) but some lys do supply them, generally at a higher fee. if you need the hands on support or are not confident about getting through her kits alone, i would suggest you support a local retailer. as an intermediate knitter, so far i'm doing alright. reading well ahead and visualizing the concepts has saved me from having to frog more than one row.

more on the mermaid to come (read>> needs to get a digital camera)!