Red Carpet Knitting

I had the pleasure of taking Susanna Hansson's Bohus knitting class this past Saturday. My buddy Stephannie predicted that the first thing we would learn is how to pronounce Bohus and sure enough - we discovered it's Bow (rhymes with low) Hoose (rhymes with goose). The seminar takes you through the history of these designs which would be considered artisan garments by any standards. The Shetland stranded knitting was all about warmth and production speed while Bohus was all about detail, luxury and the rich and famous.

I was intrigued to learn that amongst those women who owned these sweaters were both Princess Grace and Ingrid Bergman. What girl wouldn't want to be like those two classic beauties? They personify the Bohus "Euro-elegance" perfectly. Seeing these garments up close was such a treat. As Steph and I hovered over one particularly beautiful article analyzing the construction I looked at her and said "Do you think someday knitters will be looking at our stuff like this?" I'm guessing that in my case the answer is no but it does make me more inclined to correct those mistakes instead of bashing on through. I'd hate to be the slide on a presentation down the road marked "lazy novice knitter".

I have Wild Apple stashed and part of my objective on Saturday was to gain perspective that would allow me to truly do this project justice. I had a chance to see Steph's Grey Mist up close and it just GLOWS. The workshop includes materials and pattern to make a pair of wristlets in the Blue Shimmer pattern. My next Bohus will likely be a cardigan version of the Blue Shimmer. The main body is done in a pale blue - very sophistocated.

We both fell hard for this lovely design called Lemon. The main colour is a beautiful greeny-yellow with a collar including golds, pinks, creams and sage green. Steph and I both really liked the colour and it really suits her.

Here's a close up of The Swan - a new design just released by Solveig Gustafsson. She's the master dyer behind these kits. This older swatch used browns and greys but I think the recently released version uses blacks too.

This swatch in blue and green caught my eye too. The blue is quite electric. I'm told the design was called "Blue Light"...not blue light special or Blue Lite as in the FAB (festive adult beverage).

In my stashing quest for quality over quanitity - these sweaters fit the bill. I will probably take liberties with the shaping to make it more contemporary as other knitters have by adding waist shaping and a hemmed bottom but that glowing collar will definitely stay untouched.

I will also feel like a princess.