Yes, I drove 6 hours (total, round trip) to see sweaters. None of my non-knitting peeps can fathom why anyone would do such a thing, but you — my people — will understand completely. These were not just any sweaters. These were Elsebeth Lavold’s knitwear collection at the Vesterheim Gallery — Knitting Along the Viking Trail. Special knitting friend Kathy accompanied me. We met Friday a.m. at 7 am and arrived at the Vesterheim, in total anticipation before 10:00. The exhibit did not disappoint:
We felt like kids in a candy store! It was breathtaking and wonderful and overwhelming all at once. I had brought along my copy of Viking Patterns for Knitting so we could see which designs were represented. Most were there. From the cover:
There were so many gorgeous sweaters, it is hard to pick favorites, but here are some that I really liked or recognized:
There were many more, but I have made this a long post already. I must give a shout out to a wonderful knitting store in Decorah, Iowa: the Blue Heron Knittery. It is located just a few blocks down from The Vesterheim. It is a beautiful shop, filled with gorgeous yarns and friendly people. We felt right at home and were made to feel very welcome.
After lunch and yarn shopping , we made one more pass through the gallery. I was so thrilled to be able to see these works of art in person and be immersed in the joy that is knitting. I left exhilarated, inspired and exhausted. And a special thank you to Kathy for being my companion on the journey — we laughed, we cried, we ate. What a great day!!!
Sigh. You’ve shown yet another reason I wish I lived in the Midwest. Thank you for sharing.
Comment by Nancy — October 3, 2009 @ 8:07 pm
I wish I could have gone! I see several I like. And I love that grey pillbox hat.
Comment by surly — October 3, 2009 @ 10:53 pm
This book arrived here via Amazon just this week! Must have been amazing to see them ‘in the wool’. Once Christmas knitting is done I’m diving into the stash and into this book – for me (so, Christmas day then)!
Comment by LOWL — October 4, 2009 @ 5:30 am
You were right~! TOTALLY understand! The sweaters are gorgeous… thank you for sharing.
Comment by Michelle — October 4, 2009 @ 8:38 am
ps…… so how many are now in your queue?!
Comment by Michelle — October 4, 2009 @ 8:39 am
I can totally relate. I’ve always said I’d drive 3 hours to a great yarn shop, so I know that if that exhibit had been within 3 hours drive for me I would have gone. Thank you so much for sharing. I’m glad you had such a wonderful day.
Comment by Nancy — October 4, 2009 @ 8:45 am
Your photos are great. I love her work. She and Anders came to my house for brunch after setting up the exhibit and she was wearing a newly designed sweater. More good designs are in the works!
Comment by Jane — October 4, 2009 @ 9:30 am
GORGEOUS! Needless to say, I entirely get it. And I felt compelled to reference my own copy while looking at your post. Thanks!
Comment by twinsetjan — October 4, 2009 @ 12:08 pm
thank you for sharing! I was wondering if you knew the name of the sweater in your 4 & 5 pictures down. the white shawl collar button down? I love that and want to knit it.
Comment by Kim — October 4, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
Lovely post, as always. This one has special meaning for me as our son attended Luther College for 4 years graduating with a Liberal Arts degree w/ a concentration in music education. This meant many, many trips up to Luther for concerts and a seasonal favorite called Yuletide. The Vesterheim is a wonderful museum and if you are ever in the area, try to visit. Downtown Decorah, IA is so quaint and a very special place in it’s own right. Susan, you are so correct in stating how nice the knittery is.
It is really, really neat to see this post!!! The Lavold show looks like one that I would HATE to miss!!!
Susan
Comment by Susan — October 4, 2009 @ 6:31 pm
I would have driven that far . . . what a special treat!! The sweaters are beautiful. Very inspiring. Thanks for sharing!
Comment by Pixie — October 4, 2009 @ 8:48 pm
looks like you all had a great time. I really love the red sweater and hat combo in the first pic. I hope we get an exhibit like that here some time soon.
Comment by Eryka Jackson — October 4, 2009 @ 9:18 pm
Brave of you to go down for Homecoming weekend at LC! How long is the exhibit running?
Comment by Angie — October 5, 2009 @ 12:54 am
What a lovely day indeed! Thank you so much for “taking us along” so to speak!
Comment by Marie — October 5, 2009 @ 10:18 am
I was just looking at the third Viking Knits collection book last week. Masterful work.
Its not at all strange to go that far to see them. I’m thinking a couple days…Sigh. Its just a wee bit too far. I shall have to content myself with books.
Comment by Needles — October 5, 2009 @ 10:46 am
I would have driven 3 hours to see that too! Thanks for posting the pictures. If you make another post with more pictures, I won’t mind! 😉
Comment by Jewel — October 5, 2009 @ 12:30 pm
Six hours is nothing when you’re pursuing a passion. . . and in the company of a friend? Why, it doesn’t get much better! Thanks for sharing these lovely sweaters with us. I’m just drooling over most of them!
Comment by Kym — October 5, 2009 @ 1:34 pm
Is six hours long? Not for what you saw. Wonderful. Sweaters always look so much better in ‘real’ than the flat photo from a book might indicate.
Comment by Brenda — October 5, 2009 @ 1:40 pm
What’s six hours when you get to see such a wonderful display? I wish I could see those sweaters. I have the book and it might make it easier to decide which to make…I really love most of them.
Comment by Doris — October 5, 2009 @ 2:28 pm
lucky you! i purchased that book when it was first published, and have long admired Lavold’s body of work. i would drive that far to see her sweaters in real life. i love that orange one with the hat.
Comment by dana — October 5, 2009 @ 3:48 pm
Awesome, just awesome!
Comment by twinsetellen — October 6, 2009 @ 12:17 am
Wow. Such gorgeousness.
Comment by AlisonH — October 6, 2009 @ 2:35 pm
Thanks for “taking us” with you to the exhibit! Loved all the photos!
Comment by Lori on Little Traverse Bay — October 6, 2009 @ 7:15 pm
Holy Crap! I can’t believe this exhibit has been there since July and I didn’t even know about it. I need to try and make it down to Decorah this weekend (only 80 miles for me)! I have that book too since it first came out and still haven’t tried any of the patterns. Maybe seeing them in person would inspire me to decide which one I want to try first.
Comment by RuthieJ — October 9, 2009 @ 8:46 am
Your pics of the sweaters are really lovely and completly capture the spirit of the exhibit. Was the “Sampler” of all the tension squares included as a wall hanging?
I’ve seen the exhibit twice, once in Minneapolis and this past Spring in Seattle. Both times I wished there was a post card or booklet of the “Sampler” which is also a work of art.
Comment by Cherilyn — October 9, 2009 @ 7:42 pm
Beautiful exhibit, beautiful pictures!! Thanks so much!!
Comment by Dolores — October 20, 2009 @ 3:21 pm
The exhibit is now in Philadelphia until early July 2011.
It was indeed very cool to see the patterns from the book in person!
As I live in NH now, it was an 8 hour drive for me. My non-knitting mom came with me, but she appreciates the beauty of the fiber arts.
It was totally worth the time on the road to see the beautiful sweaters.
Although the trip would have been better if I’d managed to take the train so I could knit instead of drive. (It was Memorial Day weekend so the train schedules going home did not mesh with my needs.)
Comment by TravelingAnn — May 30, 2011 @ 10:19 am