I decided to write about Telespinn last week because I used one of their yarns for a very special pattern: meet the Rosenhoff mittens (or Rosenhoff Votter), my contribution to the magazine for this year’s Oslo Strikkefestival. The festival is only in its second year this year, but it sounds like last year was a flying success and I can’t wait to head down to Oslo this November and check it out for myself (yes! I’m coming to the festival!). I had the chance back in February to meet Katie, who runs the festival (and also works at Grünerløkka yarn store Pickles) and I was thrilled when she asked if I’d be willing to contribute a pattern for the magazine. Two other patterns are included: the beautiful and intriguing Gokstad Hat by Julie Knits in Paris, and the Oslo Skirt by Maja Karlsson, which features a interesting construction details and lovely stranded colorwork at the waistline. All three patterns are available for free in the Oslo Strikkefestival magazine, found here on their website if you weren’t able to get one at the launch party. Currenly the written instructions are in Norwegian only, but the whole mitten is charted after the ribbing and I’m hoping to put together the English translation soon.

I had a lot of fun working up the charts for these mittens and I’m very pleased with how they turned out. They’re knit up in fingering-weight Symre (for the sample the main color is Sjøgrønn and the contrast is Lysgrå). A primarily mohair yarn is not the most traditional choice for what are otherwise rather traditional Norwegian mittens, but I felt like the spirit of Telespinn as a company is very Norwegian and that it would be a good fit for both this design and the festival itself. The resulting fabric created when the mohair-wool blend is worked stranded is a bit airier than wool would be, but it’s also very warm. I took these mittens on a test run at an outdoor music festival in Tromsø this past weekend – the high temp the day I wore them was 8ºC / 46ºF and they kept my hands quite warm!

I decided to name the pattern after the area where I lived two summers ago while attending the International Summer School at the University of Oslo. Rosenhoff is on the east side of Oslo just north of Carl Berners plass, and aside from my personal connection to the area, the floral connotations of the name felt like a good fit for the two main flowery motifs on the back of the hand. It’s a really lovely part of town that I’ll probably always have a fondness for – that summer was like something out of a picture book.

I should also mention that if you’re planning to attend the festival and you knit one of the three official patterns from this year’s magazine (these mittens included), you can be entered to win a 500 NOK gift card to be used in the marketplace! And if you start a project but haven’t finished by the time of the festival, no biggie – just upload a photo of your WIP or FO to Instagram with the hashtag #oslostrikkefestival and you’ll be entered. More info about the competition can be found on the Oslo Strikkefestival website here. And the Rosenhoff Votter can be found on Ravelry here.

If you’re planning to attend the festival I look forward to seeing you there!