About
About us… well, that really means me – and all the wonderful people who help me along the way.
I’m from Enebakk, Norway, and I live on a small farm that I first renovated from top to bottom. Somewhere along the way, “I” became “we”, and we added an extension. The house is now twice the size – and takes twice as long to clean. But I absolutely love this place.
I work night shifts and have done so since 2011 – which, coincidentally, is also how long I’ve owned the farm.
I’ve always loved being creative, and I’ve been surrounded by creative people my entire life. It seems to run in the family, especially on my mother’s side. My mum, grandmother, great-grandmother and the generations before them have all been creative women – knitting, sewing, painting, weaving and making all sorts of things.
I also grew up with a very firm belief that every new craft or hobby that appeared simply had to be tried. Maybe that was a ’90s thing? You know – salt dough, plaster figures, decoupage, bead embroidery, felting, jewellery making… We tried everything.
I learned to knit in 2016. Before that I crocheted a little, and before that I sewed – mostly making things up as I went along.
It didn’t take long before knitting from patterns started to feel more like production than creativity to me. I needed to start making my own things to satisfy that creative part of my brain. New patterns, new garments, new ideas. Getting inspired and getting annoyed in roughly equal measure.
Because it definitely isn’t always smooth sailing. There’s plenty of head-scratching and ripping back mixed in with all the happiness and excitement.
With mottos like “Whatever I don’t know how to do, I can probably learn” and “Every idea must be made, no matter how ridiculously time-consuming it turns out to be”, there aren’t exactly many empty or boring minutes around here.
And it’s still just as much fun – and slightly surreal – to see an idea that started here at home on my little farm suddenly appearing on knitting needles all around Norway, and even in other countries. That feeling never stops being a little bit magical.
So here I am, with patterns in Norwegian and English, designing for Dote.no, and with a creative brain that apparently has no intention of taking a break.
Time to introduce the helpers
There’s my good friend and photographer, Karoline. I’m so grateful whenever you have the time to come along and take the coolest photos every now and then.
There’s my daughter, Julie, who provides honest feedback and a suitably critical eye on everything I come up with – a very important job. She also kindly steps in as a model when, and if, she has to.
Then there’s Madelen, who is always happy to model. A job I’m very pleased to be able to delegate!
There’s my partner, who has endless patience and understanding for “I just need to finish this round” and for getting “21, 22, 23…” as his only answer when he asks me something while I’m counting stitches.
He also does most of the driving whenever we go somewhere, so I can knit.
Luckily, he loves knitted sweaters and traditional Norwegian cardigans, and he’s always very happy when he gets to benefit from some of the creativity around here. He also helps demonstrate that several of my designs work just as well for men as they do for women – although I’m fairly certain modelling is not his favourite part of the arrangement.
And then there’s Ola, our dog and my faithful knitting companion. Always available for conversations both deep and decidedly not-so-deep, and always good company. Even if he sheds all over my knitting, steals my yarn, and has an uncanny talent for lying down exactly where I’m trying to walk.
And finally, there’s the entire cheering squad.
Knitting Instagram. Friends. Family. Test knitters.
None of this would have become what it is without you.
Please know how incredibly grateful I am for every bit of support and every word of encouragement. Some of you buy every pattern simply to have it and to support what I do. Some like, save and comment on everything – every single time. Some quietly cheer from the sidelines. Some test knit absolutely everything, while others join in whenever they can.
Whoever you are, you are an important part of this little business of mine. I’m incredibly grateful that you’re here, and for everything you do.
Thank you so much for stopping by my little corner of the internet. I hope you found something you like, and you’re always very welcome back.
Big hug,
Marte