Lillehammer
Dale of Norway has been designing the sweaters for the Norwegian National Ski Team in the Winter Olympics since 1956. When Norway hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, the company outdid itself -- it went beyond the standard snowflake and reindeer designs and back into the Ancient Myths of the People.
Well, as ancient as they could get.
My cousin Liv, who lives on the Oslo fjord, hates the sweater they came up with. She did it once and vowed never to do it again -- you can't work it, after you get to the yoke, without following the chart every row, since it's pictorial rather than geometric. She'd rather be able to memorize the pattern and knit without thinking much -- she knits constantly, enough so that if all her American cousins show up in midsummer without their heavy woolen sweaters, she can help them out so they don't die from exposure, and she doesn't have time for any fol-de-rol. (One of the Texas cousins had been SO excited about the trip that she'd gone and bought several new pairs of shorts for the occasion, none of which she wore in Norway. And we're from the south of Norway. We were grateful for Liv's humongous collection of handknits.)
I appreciate designs I can knit without thinking -- good for meetings and traffic jams -- but I like to have a piece on the needles that I have to think about -- and for a while, "Lillehammer" was mine.
Comfortable sweater, fun to knit:
Here's what the English translation in the "Lillehammer" booklet says about the designs on the yoke (since you might not have the brochure lying around, I quote it in its entirety -- I think it's worth it):
First, there's Froya, the most famous of the goddesses. She's the Goddess of Love and Fertility, and she possesses the magic power to look into both the future and the past. She also maintains associations with the underworld and can draw upon their dark powers. Then there's Hugin and Munin, Odin's two ravens which represent thought and memory. Legend says they fly around the world every day and report to Odin what they've seen. You'll also see Odin and Sleipner. Odin is the King of all the gods. He's the God of War, Death, Wisdom and Mysticism, and he's the ruler of Vahall -- The Empire of Death. Odin rides the eight-legged Sleipner which is said to be the world's fastest horse. Yggdrasil, the world's everlasting green tree, represents the world's center as it connects both humans, the powers in heaven and in the underworld, Yggdrasil symbolizes justice, knowledge, and wisdom; and all the gods held their lawcourt here.
Be very worried if I'm wearing it for your final exam.
Well, as ancient as they could get.
My cousin Liv, who lives on the Oslo fjord, hates the sweater they came up with. She did it once and vowed never to do it again -- you can't work it, after you get to the yoke, without following the chart every row, since it's pictorial rather than geometric. She'd rather be able to memorize the pattern and knit without thinking much -- she knits constantly, enough so that if all her American cousins show up in midsummer without their heavy woolen sweaters, she can help them out so they don't die from exposure, and she doesn't have time for any fol-de-rol. (One of the Texas cousins had been SO excited about the trip that she'd gone and bought several new pairs of shorts for the occasion, none of which she wore in Norway. And we're from the south of Norway. We were grateful for Liv's humongous collection of handknits.)
I appreciate designs I can knit without thinking -- good for meetings and traffic jams -- but I like to have a piece on the needles that I have to think about -- and for a while, "Lillehammer" was mine.
Comfortable sweater, fun to knit:
Here's what the English translation in the "Lillehammer" booklet says about the designs on the yoke (since you might not have the brochure lying around, I quote it in its entirety -- I think it's worth it):
First, there's Froya, the most famous of the goddesses. She's the Goddess of Love and Fertility, and she possesses the magic power to look into both the future and the past. She also maintains associations with the underworld and can draw upon their dark powers. Then there's Hugin and Munin, Odin's two ravens which represent thought and memory. Legend says they fly around the world every day and report to Odin what they've seen. You'll also see Odin and Sleipner. Odin is the King of all the gods. He's the God of War, Death, Wisdom and Mysticism, and he's the ruler of Vahall -- The Empire of Death. Odin rides the eight-legged Sleipner which is said to be the world's fastest horse. Yggdrasil, the world's everlasting green tree, represents the world's center as it connects both humans, the powers in heaven and in the underworld, Yggdrasil symbolizes justice, knowledge, and wisdom; and all the gods held their lawcourt here.
Be very worried if I'm wearing it for your final exam.
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