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Nordic News and Notes, December 2023

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Upcoming Webinar Featuring Norwegian Knitters Arne & Carlos

“Healing Trauma through Craft.” World Hope Forum. December 17, 2023, 9 am-11 am CST. Register for free. 

Recent events continue to challenge our sense of humanity on an international scale and so the next edition of World Hope Forum has gathered speakers who practice mending, caring, and giving; a hopeful attempt before the Holidays to knit society back together. Among the featured guests are well-known authors Arne & Carlos: “Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrisson are highly regarded fashion designers, textile artists, YouTubers, and authors. Their work is highly influenced by their Scandinavian background and everyday life in rural Norway. They work under their artist name ARNE & CARLOS, established in 2001.  Today, the duo designs for and works closely with Rowan and Regia yarns. They have also written ten books.”

Upcoming Webinar on Norwegian Knitting History

“The History of Norwegian Sweaters.” Presentation by Laurann Gilbertson, Chief Curator, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. Thursday, January 4, 2024, 6:30 pm CST. Sponsored by the Sons of Norway, Nidaros Lodge #1-001, Minneapolis, MN. Click here to register.   (Trouble registering, or accessing the Zoom event?  Email Carolyn at cjtownsen@comcast.net.)

Learn about the history of different types and styles of Norwegian sweaters, including Setesdal, Fana, Marius, and Olympic.  Laurann Gilbertson will also talk about the symbolism behind some of the patterns and colors on sweaters made today. Those attending are invited to wear their sweaters! If you do, make sure to have your camera on!!

Upcoming Webinar on Norse Textiles

“Norse Textiles and Women in the North Atlantic: Iceland and Greenland from the 8th Century to the 15th Century. Sunday, December 10, 1 pm EST. Free. Register here. 

The International Hajji Baba Society (Washington DC) will host a Zoom webinar by Dr. Michèle Hayeur Smith. The webinar is free of charge, but preregistration is required. 

Dr. Hayeur Smith is an experienced anthropological archaeologist who has done extensive field work, primarily in Iceland and Greenland, to examine a large number of textile fragments from the Viking era up to the 15th century. She has also examined trade records from the period, which show that the textiles were not only critical to survival in a cold climate, but also key to the economy of these North Atlantic cultures. She looks at the evolution of the weaving structures to corroborate hypotheses regarding developments of the woven products to different clothing requirements between the two islands, to their use in local and international trade, and in response to the advent of increasing cold during the Little Ice Age.

Sihren Dahle: Tapestry and Concrete are a Winning Combination

Norske Kunsthåndverkeres Årsutstilling 2023 [The Annual Craft Exhibition 2023], sponsored by the Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts, is the largest display of contemporary crafts in Norway. 63 works by 56 artists are on display at the new Nasjonalmuseet through the end of December. Many textile works are included each year; this year, 17. The full catalog is linked here.

This year the winner of the Artisan Prize for the most significant work in the exhibit went to Sihren Dahle for Concrete Life (Gladengveien 14), 2022.

The jury wrote about her work: “The contrast between the soft tapestry and the hard concrete tapestry frame evokes a sense of unease that corresponds to changes in the urban space. The uneasiness is heightened by the unclear state of the building; it may be in the process of being built up or torn down. The motif gave the jury immediate associations with a tendency in today’s Oslo, where existing buildings are demolished and new ones are built without thinking about the importance of architecture in telling the city’s history. Among other things, the dismantling of the Y block comes to mind. While parts of the city’s heritage are quickly disappearing, it takes a lot of time to hand-weave jacquard.”

See more of Sihren Dahle’s work at her website.

Take an Online Fiber Arts Class: Vesterheim Folk School

Cozy up at home this winter and learn traditional fiber arts from Vesterheim Folk Arts School. Each instructor is an expert in their craft and skilled at instructing people of all levels online from anywhere in the world. Find out more and register today.

Knit a Norwegian-Inspired Hat with Kate Running, January 6, 2024.
Knitting Selbu Mittens with Jane Addams, January 7, 2024.
Exploring Hardanger Embroidery with Shan Rayray, February 6, 2024.
Introduction to Tapestry Weaving: Level 2 with Laura Berlage, February 8, 2024.

Take an Online Fiber Arts Class: American-Swedish Institute

The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, offers in-person and virtual Nordic handcraft classes. These virtual fiber arts classes are coming up.
Wet Felted Soaps with Kayla Ann. December 10, 2023.
Felted Folk Ornaments with Kayla Ann, December 13, 2023.
Needle Felted Gnome with Laura Berlage, December 15, 2023.
Stamped Tea Towels with Kayla Ann, January 18, 2024.

Reproducing a Patterned Silk Fabric takes Strength

Åse Eriksen is known for her research into Viking-era textiles. She described a new project from a different time period in a Facebook post on September 16. Be sure to watch the video she made – it take muscles to weave the silk fabric! She wrote, “Project: Making a pull loom to replicate a patterned silk fabric woven in Italy in the 13th century. In Norway, a few fragments of this material are preserved in churches, and now in museum magazines. A “pull-loom” in the Middle Ages was handled by several people. A project to study the weavers of the past, how they worked and produced the most incredible fabrics with completely different tools than we have. It has taken time to collect equipment and materials for the project, and a lot of trial and error to find good solutions. The most important equipment is a harness board (inherited by Sissel C.) and metal heddles with 10 gr weights, which enables me to pull/pull the pattern which is around 8 kg (thanks for help Julie H.). If I manage to attach a small film, you will see that I both push the harness warp for the pattern weft and pull the same warp for the bottom weft, [in the past] this work was shared by a “draw-boy” and a weaver. It was fun to weave as I found the rhythm of the work and became friends with the thin silk threads.”

Happy holidays, and thank you to everyone who helps support the Norwegian Textile Letter with donations to cover expenses. Your financial support is crucial and very much appreciated. Thank you for being a subscriber! 

Robbie LaFleur

Here is the easy-to-use link to donate:

Nordic News and Notes (November 2023): Bunads

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Webinar from Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

Making Folk Costumes w/ Barbro Storlien: History of Craftsmanship, Patience & the Love of Traditions  (via the Vesterheim YouTube channel) November, 2023.

From the Vesterheim website: Barbro Tronhuus Storlien grew up in a community strongly influenced by folk art and has made a living out of folk costumes and cultural intangible heritage. She is a certified maker of folk costumes, a writer, and the chairperson of Norges Husflidslag, the Norwegian Association of Arts and Crafts. In 2019 she published her first book, Barbro broderer [Embroidery by Barbro], and she will publish her second book this year. Storlien has her own studio and teaches the art of embroidery and the making of folk costumes.

Barbro Storlien had a large audience for this webinar and the Q & A and chat boxes were continuously scrolling with comments and questions. Obviously there is wide interest in traditional Norwegian costume.

Storlien is passionate about the value of bunad traditions and preserving knowledge of the handcrafts necessary to make them. “In a time when we spend too much time on our phones and our computers and still manage to complain about lack of time, we need to take a deep bow to generations before us and pick up our tools, especially our needles, in their honor.”

Norwegians wear their bunads for special occasions such as weddings, christenings, and school graduations. “And sometimes at your father’s 80th birthday party,” she noted. Every folk costume has two stories: the one we can see, and the one that has to be told. The one you can see immediately is the style and embroidery, the place it was made. There are over 450 varieties. Equally important are the stories that are not evident — who made it? Who used it before you? So the costumes are both beautiful and practical; Barbro noted, “As long as the bunad is clean and well-fitting, you always have something to wear and something to talk about.”

In the last century bunads have been used primarily for festive occasions, but some costumes based on folk dress were used as everyday clothing up to more recent times. The Hallingdal bunad was worn up to the 1970s. The shirts underneath might be a patterned fabric for everyday; white shirts were for formal wear. Barbro heard that many patterned shirts were made from fabric sent by American relatives after the war. “There was even a Micky Mouse shirt, I was told. Sadly, I haven’t seen it.”

In the 1970s Barbro knew she wanted to do something practical that would occupy her hands and her mind; an office job seemed unappealing. She discovered that she could get a diploma in the handcraft art of making bunads, combining her love of history and tradition. “There is so much feeling and history in these costumes,” Barbro explained.

Will the bunad tradition continue? If you ask a woman over 60 where her bunad was made, she could likely tell you who made all the various portions. This was a time when bunad-making skills were passed down through families. These days, when manufactured bunads are purchased and not made at home, the bunad has less meaning as a form of community and connection.

Yet, Barbro is optimistic. When she began teaching embroidery and bunad-making skills around 2007, her students were primarily grandmothers working on costumes for their families; now she is seeing more mothers, and even young people in their 20s who are making their own bunads. Barbro related that today at least 80% of adult Norwegian women own a bunad, and 20% of men, and the tradition is getting stronger for men. “It’s about belonging. It’s a love affair with the bunad.”

BBC Culture Article on Gender-neutral Folk Costumes

Tyril Skaar retained a woman’s blouse in their gender-neutral bunad. Photo: Tyril Skaar

“The Scandinavian Folk Clothing Right for Now,” by Matilda Welin. BBC,  January 23, 3023

The article profiles Norwegian and Swedish attempts to find non-binary forms of folk costume that both honor tradition and are more inclusive of gender-fluid wearers. In Norway, Tyril Skaar, who is non-binary and transmasculine, had a woman’s bunad since confirmation, but it sat unused in their closet. Skaar developed a new bunad that incorporated portions of their old bunad, with a more masculine presentation. They were worried that traditionalists might be critical of change, but received positive feedback.

In Sweden, Fredy Clue collaborated with artist Ida Björs to develop the Bäckadräkten unisex folk dress. They researched historical clothing, traveled to culturally-rich areas in Sweden, and held focus groups with five young, non-binary people.

The article includes much more. The title seems appropriate, “The Scandinavian Folk Clothing Right for Now.” It struck me that nothing seemed radical. All of the new variants of meaningful costume are beautifully tailored and thoughtful — both in the incorporation of a regional and national expression, and in skillful construction and quality of the materials.

Traveling Exhibit from the Nasjonalmuseet

Márjá Karlsen. Screenshot from the Nasjonalmuseet YouTube video about her project.

Skakke Folkedrakt [Queer Costume]. Oslo, Nasjonalmuseet. In various locations. 

From the website:” Many Norwegians feel a close attachment to folk costumes like the bunad and the kofte. These traditional garments can generate a strong sense of belonging, but also of alienation. They carry messages about where the wearer comes from and what they stand for, but they can also be worn in the quest for acceptance and inclusion.”

Six artists are participating in the multi-year project. One artist of Sami descent, Márjá Karlsen, is deeply researching kommagband patterns. The designs in the bands used in Sami gáktis (the traditional Sami dress) reveal the region and family of the wearer. But how can she reclaim the patterns for her family, who moved from Sweden to Norway generations ago, abandoning their ties to traditional Sami dress?  In her project “Láigecála” [yarn script], she is using handcraft as a personal and political tool to reclaim the culture of her origins.

Read about all the artists, and watch short videos about their projects, here.

One More Article about Bunads

Marthe Mølstre, who also owns a traditional bunad, in a festdrakt of her own design. Photo: Marthe Mølstre

“Folk er positive til festdrakter: – Det som er artig, er at det er ingen regler.” [People are positive towards festive-costumes, and the fun part is that there are no rules.] NRK Nordland, May 9, 2022. In Norwegian.

This article was published shortly before Syttende Mai in 2022, when Norwegian were looking forward to gathering for the annual National Day celebration after two years of covid isolation. According to a survey by NORSTAT, four of ten women planned to wear a bunad, and one in ten men. Others were planning to wear festdrakt – festive, creative costume that didn’t follow the traditional, formal, geographically-based rules of traditional Norwegian bunads. Interest in creating festive-costumes with a personal touch is becoming more popular, often inspired by the fantasy-bundads from Eva Lie Design. 

Is this a problem? A threat to the strong bunad tradition in Norway? Perhaps not. Barbara Tronhus Storlien, Chair of Norsk Husfliden [Norwegian Handcraft Association], commented, “Some people think it is wonderful to have a bunad that reveals where you are from. And then there are some who would like festive dress that expresses them personally, a dress in which they can put their own creativity and fantasy.” Bunads continue to be important, Storlien said, and many people value bunads passed on through generations. She stressed that when bunads are used, attention should be paid to using the proper accessories.

In the survey, 69% of respondents said they didn’t think the new creative festive-costumes would water down the bunad tradition. 23% answered that they were worried. 

The article ended by quoting Marthe Mølstre, who had sewn a festive-costume with silk from Thailand. She also owns a traditional bunad from Sunnhordland, and plans to keep wearing it. “It’s the finest clothing I own. But it’s also fun that I can mix it up.”

November 2023. Happy holidays!

Thank you to everyone who helps support the Norwegian Textile Letter with donations to cover expenses. Your financial support is crucial and very much appreciated. Thank you for being a subscriber! 

Robbie LaFleur

Here is the easy-to-use link to donate:

 

Tales of Magical Weavers Keep a Medieval Tapestry Tradition Alive

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By Marianne Vedeler, Professor, Cultural History Museum, University of Oslo (UiO), and Lars Mytting, Author

This article was published in Forskersonen.no on November 23, 2022, and translated by Katherine Larson.

A battle is fought in a pictorial tapestry from Oseberg, 9th century. Drawing Stig Saxegaard.

A battle is fought in a pictorial tapestry from Oseberg, 9th century. Drawing Stig Saxegaard.

For over 300 years, stories about the Hekne sisters have been an important part of oral tradition, but no one has found tangible evidence that they actually existed.

In the beginning of the 18th century, a priest named Stockfleth wrote in the Dovre church records that two conjoined sisters from a place called Hekne gave the church a tapestry that they themselves had woven. He called them a monster. Since that time the legend has lived on in Gudbrandsdalen.

The story of the Hekne sisters is connected to a very special form of weaving. Through their textile pictures, local artists brought forth central stories from the Bible as well as chivalric ballads. This manner of telling stories had deep roots in the oral traditions of the Middle Ages. 

A Special Tapestry Tradition in Gudbrandsdal

A special form of tapestry weaving flourished in 17th century Gudbrandsdalen and certain other areas of southern Norway. These were tapestries woven in a technique that likely came from Flanders, but one that developed its own style in Gudbrandsdalen.

The characteristic manner in which figures and patterns were combined, as well as the use of color, make these textiles distinctive and easily recognizable. But it is not only the stories told by these pictorial textiles that make them a living and treasured expression of art.

In the past when stories were to be told in halls and dwelling places, pictorial textiles were well suited to evoke emotions. They showed highlights of the shared stories that everyone knew, and they also served as “memory cues” for the story teller. 

A line runs from the pictorial textiles of the Viking Age Oseberg grave through the Middle Ages and forth to the Renaissance textiles from Gudbrandsdalen. Medieval sagas suggest that pictorial tapestries had a very special role in the story-telling tradition.

In the Lay of Gudrun from the Poetic Edda, Gudrun weaves all of her sorrows into the bloody story of Sigurd the Dragonslayer. In the Orkneyinga Saga, there is a scene in which two skalds compete over who can create the best descriptive verse from the stories depicted in the hall’s tapestries. In this case the weaver and the skald go hand in hand.

Weavers with Unusual Capabilities

In stories from the Middle Ages, weavers are not simply visual story tellers. They often have magical capabilities that can change the course of history. They can see into the future, but also cause ill fortune and sickness, rob people of their wits and strength, open mountains and gravemounds, and even commit murder.

After the Reformation it seems that the connection between magic and tapestry weaving remained. Written records from the end of the 16th century indicate that at least two of the women burned as witches during that time were associated with tapestry weaving.  On the other hand, the Hekne sisters gave their fantastic tapestry to the church so that God would arrange their deaths to be at the same time. And God did in fact do this, writes Stockfleth. Even so there are several hints in the Hekne sisters’ legend that they had almost magical capabilities.

The Hekne Sisters Embodied a Warning

When the priest of Dovre church wrote down the story of the Hekne sisters, he devoted most of his narrative to describing the sisters’ unusual appearance. They each had a head, he says, but only one hand and one foot each. That he called them a monster [et monstrum] is a very important detail, since at that time the word had another meaning. It is derived from monere, which means to warn.

The birth of a malformed child was considered a warning from God, a message that should be meticulously interpreted and decoded. This was part of a common European notion. In early modern Europe, monstrous births found their way into everything from illustrative prints to books about miracles to medical works.  These were extreme creatures, lying at the intersection between human and animal, between man and woman, between one and several. This points back to a pre-Christian symbolism of natural omens that was now interpreted in a new early modern understanding of the world.

The Stories That Kept Each Other Alive

For over 300 years stories of the Hekne sisters were an important part of the oral tradition in Gudbrandsdalen, despite the fact – or perhaps precisely because of the fact – that no one had managed to find tangible evidence that they ever lived. It is striking that many officials of the 18th and 19th centuries, among them Gerhard Schøning, found space to describe the Hekne sisters in otherwise succinct accounts of the Dovre area.

The textile is described in several old records, locally called the Hekne weaving or Hekne decoration. It is not an exaggeration to call this Gudbrandsdalen’s most legendary weaving. It eventually disappeared from the church and became – especially following the travels of antique dealers in the 19th century – an object shrouded by myth.

The description of the subject varies, as does that of the textile’s fate. It may have been sold abroad, perhaps purchased and brought back, possibly switched, or falsified or kept in secret. The stories about the sisters would never have been so enduring if they were not tied to a weaving that had disappeared, just as fascination with the weaving would never have been so strong if it had been made by a person with an ordinary life story. 

What Was the Motif of the Hekne Tapestry?

The oldest sources give us no indication of the motif in the Hekne tapestry, but one of the most influential families of weavers in the area was convinced that it depicted the Biblical story of the Three Wise Men. Women in this family made two weavings with this motif, one in 1860 and another around 1931. This was long after the time when this special tapestry-weaving tradition flourished.

Tapestry from Gudbrandsdalen, 17th century, with the Three Wise Men motif. Photo: National Museum. Full record here.

The “new” tapestries are almost identical, and both are described by the weavers in family records as copies of the Hekne weaving, and with descriptions of the Hekne sisters. Thus the legend of the Hekne sisters lived on through new weavings.

Collective Wonder

The stories of the fantastic weavers from Hekne bring forth actors that otherwise are often silent or rarely seen in the sources. They give a glimpse of skilled craftswomen’s contribution to setting the stage for collective storytelling, and in that way incorporating a continental trend into a local tradition. In this context it makes little difference whether the incredible stories are “true.”

The legend of the Hekne sisters and the surviving tapestries from Gudbrandsdalen are sources of both wonder and new knowledge about the past. They are our common cultural heritage. What is more natural then to bring them forth in the light and look at them from several angles at the same time? Searching out the sources and discussing them with curiosity can provide an opening for both stories and research.

Marianne Vedeler holds a position as Professor in Archaeology at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo. Her primary area of research is the Viking Age and late medieval periods in Scandinavia.
Translated in April, 2023, by Katherine Larson, Affiliate Assistant Professor,
Department of Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington, Seattle

Editor’s note: Lars Mytting wove the story of the Hekne sisters into his novel, The Bell in the Lake. Listen to a Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum bokprat [book talk] with the author and Dr. Maren Johnson, Luther College’s Associate Professor of Nordic Studies and Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies Director. View on YouTube. 

For a more detailed investigation of Norwegian historical tapestry, storytelling, and the legend of the Hekne sisters, see Marianne Vedeler’s article: Gudbrandsdalen Tapestries and the Story of the Hekne Sisters.

October 2023; originally published October, 2022

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

 

Nordic News and Notes: October 2023

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A Finnish Weaver in Michigan Inspires her Granddaughter to Study Rya in Finland

“Studying Rya Rug Weaving at Omnia, Espoo Adult Education Centre.” A blog post from Omnia, the Joint Authority of Education in the Espoo region, Finland. October 2, 2023.

Lisa Wiitala from the very Finnish-American town of Hancock, Michigan, studied rya rug weaving at Espoo Adult Education Centre’s weaving studio in the summer of 2023, with support from the American Scandinavian Foundation. Her grandmother was a weaver of rag rugs, but never passed on her skills to her granddaughter. Now Lisa has learned to weave and traveled to Finland to expand for expertise and inspiration.

From the post: “At the start of August I arrived in Tapiola to begin my studies at Omnia, Espoo Adult Education Centre, using a Finnish-made Toika loom generously lent to me by the Weaving Studio. For three weeks I studied with Ulla Karsikas, learning different ways to create a design template, how to choose yarns and color combinations that blend well and achieve the right density, and how to properly finish a rug after being removed from the loom. I also learned to weave a rya in a shape other than rectangular, and how to use different lengths of yarn to create a transitioning of height along the surface. During my time at Omnia, I wove a total of three ryas – I tied a lot of knots in a short amount of time!”

A Norwegian Cat in Love with Knitting

Perhaps you have owned a cat who likes to bring rewards to your doorstep, a baby mouse, perhaps – but probably not hand-knit mittens. The story of Siri, the kleptomaniac cat, was described in the Norwegian media earlier this summer, in Aftenposten and NRK. You can meet Siri in this one-minute video (Scroll down a bit in the article.) It is in Norwegian. You could largely get the point even without a translation, but here are the titles that appear, in English translation.

Meet: Kleptokatt Siri. Tone Lund, cat owner. “She is especially interested in wool clothing. She came home first with a Selbu mitten. I didn’t know it was her who showed up with it. But then another one came. Then it was like they came one after the other. And I didn’t know where she got them.” Siri has built up a large collection of mittens. “In all there are 12 mittens, a knitting project with knitting needles, and two hot pad holders. I am sitting with them and wonder who is missing them. It’s begun to be embarassing. I’ve begun to feel like a thief myself, having these things I don’t own.” Where do the mittens come from? “No, unfortunately I haven’t found the owner, But I really hope the owner turns up. Then she will get back all the beautiful things she knitted. If there is anyone out there who has knitted Selbu mittens and can’t find them, there are here in my house.”

An American Weaver Helps Save an Old Swedish Loom

tape loom

Judy Larson also helped restore an old Swedish tape loom

“Swedish Loom Restoration at Gammelgården.” Lisa-Anne Bauch. Scandinavian Weavers Study Group Blog, July 7, 2023. 

From the post: “Scandia, Minnesota is the site of the first Swedish settlement in Minnesota. Gammelgården Museum in Scandia helps preserve this history … while celebrating the stories of all immigrants and their communities. On the second floor of the Välkommen Hus, there is an old floor loom. The loom was made in Sweden by a father with the intention that it would go to America with his daughter and her husband who would leave shortly after their wedding. The year 1879 is painted on the loom.”

Judy Larson, from the Weavers Guild of Minnesota Scandinavian Weavers Study Group, brought the loom to working order and taught the museum volunteers how to help visitors try out the loom.  She said, “I reset the worm gear rotation wheel to engage correctly, and then got the treadle cords and heddle cords to pull evenly and adjusted the reed height to get a better shed. The loom was now functional, and weaving could happen.”

The Scandinavian Weavers Study Group Experiments with Telemarksteppe Technique

telemarksteppe

Telemarksteppe by Melba Granlund

“Telemarksteppe Project.” Lisa-Anne Bauch. Scandinavian Weavers Study Group Blog, July 4, 2023. 

The Scandinavian Weavers Study Group of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota warped a Glimakra loom for a group project. It was the group’s first warp set up in the new home of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota, the Open Book building in Minneapolis. It was a joy to work in this bright space and also have the opportunity to demonstrate weaving Telemarksteppe to visiting students, guests, and Guild members. People were especially interested in the loops left on the edges of the pieces, which is traditional to this Norwegian technique.

Pop-up Exhibit of the Scandinavian Weavers Study Group in Minnesota

Jan Mostrom pillow

Swedish Art Weaves pillow by Jan Mostrom

“Scandinavian Showcase” at Weavers Guild of Minnesota.” Scandinavian Weavers Study Group Blog, July 2, 2023. 

In connection with a Scandinavian weaving workshop at the Weavers guild of Minnesota, the Scandinavian Weavers Study Group held an open house. The wide range of weaving brought by members for a pop-up display was remarkable, and visitors were very interested in several demonstrations underway. See more photos of the pop-up exhibit in the post.

 

Exhibit in Norway

Alt Henger Sammen: Billedvev [Everything Hangs Together: Tapestry] Nelly Aasberg. Veien Kulturminnepark, Hønefoss, Norway. October 1-.

The artist statement: “Everything together” is an exhibition that holds experiences and impressions from nature. It’s everything from forests, mountains, plains, marshes, trees, plants and even small seeds and soil.
Everything has a connection, a reason, and an end that in turn gives life. People, animal life, insects, nature – Everything has a connection. The loom is connected with warp and weft – warp and yarn… I am a tapestry weaver and painter; one does not exclude the other. Nelly Aasberg.” Nelly Aasberg Instagram: @nellyaasberg. Nelly Aasberg Art Facebook: Nelly Aasberg Art.

Exhibit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Karin Larsson: Let the Hand Be Seen. American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 19, 2023 – February 2, 2024. 

The American Swedish Historical Museum is honored to debut the artistic work of Karin Larsson for the first time in America! Immersed in the world of the Swedish countryside, Karin Larsson’s work in the textile arts, furniture construction, and interior design reflect her artistic training, curiosity, innovation, and openness to the emerging trends facing life in the late 1800s. Karin’s contributions to the prevailing art movements like Art Nouveau, the Arts and Crafts style, and regional folk techniques, are distinguished by her boldness, simplicity, and taste for abstraction. Karin embraced new methods while embroidering, weaving, knitting, crocheting, making lace, sewing clothes, and producing tapestries for the home she shared with her children and husband, the celebrated painter Carl Larsson.  Read more…

Exhibit in Red Wing, Minnesota

Click on the image for a pdf version

Domestic to Decorative: The Evolution of Nordic Weaving. Red Wing Arts Depot Gallery, 418 Levee St., Red Wing, Minnesota. October 27 – December 24, 2023.

Woven textiles from Nordic countries evolved over the centuries into an acclaimed decorative art, both in the home countries of Norway, Sweden, and Finland and wherever immigrants traveled. The Scandinavian Weavers Study Group of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota traces this journey in the curated exhibition “Domestic to Decorative: The Evolution of Nordic Weaving,” as each of the twenty weavers present a personal take on the theme. Some are inspired by treasured family heirlooms and traditional techniques, others by the possibilities of modern looms and materials. The exhibit will include demonstrations of weaving and spinning.

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

A Weaver’s Dream: The Weaving House in Tingsryd

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By Nancy Gossell

Traveling to the Tingsryd Vävstugan [Tyngsryd Weaving Studio] fulfilled a long-held dream of mine to weave in Sweden. I was interested and hopeful to find a place I could experience various Nordic weaving techniques for a short period of time. More hours than I care to admit with online search engines identified several intriguing possibilities. Formal classes lasting a month or more was not what I was seeking. My elementary level of the Swedish language allowed me to read enough about a Vävstugan in Tingsryd, Sweden, to catch my interest.

Föreningen Vävstugan [The Weaving Association] is in southern Småland, between Växjö and Karlshamn. The Association was created in the 1980s from the efforts of artists Kerstin Jonsdotter, Folke Samuelsson, and the Tingsryd community to continue the craft of weaving.

Kerstin was a weaving instructor, and Folke a furniture maker and designer, when they met while teaching at the renowned craft school, Capellagården on Öland. In 1964 they moved to Tingsryd. They created a weaving workshop, offered courses, and wove commissioned work identified by their business name JonSa.

Vävstugan is a welcoming and unique community. The community offers weaving opportunities one can not find in many places. An individual can arrange to weave here without becoming a member. It is unique because the Association has a full-time employee who keeps all the looms in order and can help visitors as well as the members. The Association has 23 looms, many enhanced with Folke’s talents to design and build additions to the loom.

I arrived in May, 2022, for three weeks of weaving. In my correspondence with the Association, I requested to weave smaller pieces that I could easily transport back to the United States in my one suitcase.

What an experience it was to walk into the weaving room with 23 warped looms, seeing an example placed on each of the loom of its weave structure and warp.

That May, I wove many hand towels, on three looms: an 8-shaft Dräll with vertical stripes using 16/2 cotton warp with 16/1 linen weft.

A 4-shaft Korndräll [a type of diamond twill] 16/2 cotton warp with 16/1 linen weft;

On the immense draw loom I wove with with 1,254 60/2 linen threads in the 23 cm wide warp, a 6-shaft satin damask utilizing 17 upper pulls plus additional draws on each side to be placed on hooks. The weft was 16/1 linen.

I also came home with rosepath placemats woven on a 4-shaft warp of unbleached cottolin, weft in the same cottolin and 8/1 tow linen. The fifth loom provided another draw loom experience weaving korskypert [broken twill] on a 4-shaft 16/2 cotton warp inserting harness blocks using 8/1 tow linen.

My time in Tingsryd provided full days for weaving as well as getting to meet, watch and learn from many of the members of the Association. A question was asked of me how I liked visiting Tingsryd’s Vävstugan. My answer? “I feel like a 5-year-old in an immense candy store.”

In May of 2023 I returned to weave two two-meter wool rugs on the large linen warp rug loom.

The week I arrived, a young woman from the Netherlands had reserved the large rug loom to weave a 184 cm x 2.5 m (app. 6′ x 8′)  rag rug from denim she had prepped and brought with her. I used that time to wind all my rug wool yarn into balls and requested time on a loom warped with 8/2 cotton to weave some hand towels.

Then it was my turn and under the watchful eye and timely instructions from Rosmarie, the Association’s employee, I focused on each throw or pick with multiple arches, or in Swedish båger, in the shed before I closed the shed and brought the beater forward.

There is a daily fee to weave at a loom. In addition, each loom has the per meter cost of the warp listed and one is charged by how much of the warp you have woven. An individual can bring their own weft or purchase weft from the Association to be used for your weaving project.

Many Swedish hand towels are woven with a linen weft on a cotton warp. The Association has buckets of wound spools of bleached, semi-bleached and unbleached 16/1 linen available, thanks to volunteer members who come in to wind these bobbins. Talk about a weaver’s dream. The bucket is weighed before you begin your towel(s) and then weighed after you are finished to determine the amount/cost. Colored linen, all Cottolin and Cotton can be obtained from the Association but must be wound on spools by the weaver.

Tingsryd Vävstugan web site provides much information in English and Swedish, including details and pictures of the type of warp on each of the 23 looms. When a warp not used for rugs (often 50 meters long) is finished, the Association discusses what the next pattern should be for that loom so there can be a replaced warp from what was reflected in the pictures.

Their web site is: www.vavstugan.com.
The Association can be contacted by email: vavstugantingsryd@gmail.com

Lodging can be found at the Tingsryd Resort where housekeeping cabins are available. The surrounding area has rentals via Air B&B listed.

October 2023

Nancy Gossell, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is not letting grass grow underneath her as she takes full advantage of an open calendar and her long held interest in Swedish weaving.  She has strong Nordic roots, learning and working in Norway as a young adult.  From her 30s on she and her family visited many of her mother’s cousins in southern Sweden where she saw the magic in community based Vävstugor.

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk!

Rölakan Rug Weaving in Sweden

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Teacher and mentor Ulla Parkdal with the author.

By Christine Novotny

In the spring of 2022, I visited Scandinavia to meet and work with master artisans and explore handweaving in these cultures. One stop was the Stockholm archipelago, where I had a studio visit with the incredible Ulla Parkdal. Ulla is an 82 year-old weaver with an extensive career in designing and weaving rölakan rugs. We spent the afternoon together, and I was enlivened by Ulla’s spirit and her vast knowledge of both technical and industrial skills for creating these beautiful traditional rugs.

After I met Ulla, I knew I wanted to come back and work with her. She talked of hard work and grit, protecting and preserving your body as a career weaver, and had an incredible amount of beautiful hand-drawn designs and woven work. I wrote and received a grant from the American Scandinavian Foundation to design, weave and finish a rug with Ulla at her home studio in the Stockholm archipelago. This June, I traveled to Sweden to make that a reality.

Rölakan is a well-practiced Scandinavian weaving technique for creating tapestry and hard-wearing carpets. The pattern is laid in completely by hand (not with a shuttle), and the weft covers the warp. It is woven in plain weave. What began as decorative wall and chair coverings with thin wool yarn and folk tapestry imagery developed into thicker carpets with a more geometric style. The style of rug that Ulla weaves is woven with linen warp and a wool rug yarn (mattgarn) that is typically held together in bundles of five strands of varying colors. This combination of colors creates nuance and visual texture in these rugs.

There are many cultures that weave tapestry in this way, with the difference being the actual way the patterns are held together – whether the wefts lock around each other, or create slits and move at regular intervals to bind sections together.  In rölakan, the weft bundles all move in the same direction, and color changes in the pattern are wrapped around the same warp end, rather than creating a slit. Like many folk traditions, the way it is practiced in Sweden and Norway varies by geographic region, with a lot of influence coming from kilims from oriental traders.

I arrived in Stockholm just before Midsommar, and Ulla and I settled into learning about one another and bestowing craft knowledge. Her home is peppered with Swedish craft ephemera and a stunning collection of her own handwoven rugs and wall textiles. Jetlagged, I quickly designed multiple rugs on the first day, and Ulla helped me fill out one design and we set to work from there.

The days were filled with many fika breaks (a mid-morning and mid-afternoon break that typically involves coffee and cookies), and we’d move around the garden to follow the shade in the six different tables she’d placed. I appreciated her aptitude for taking breaks and noticing the world around her, while also working diligently and smartly in the studio, accepting the importance of focus, and meeting deadlines.

I remember when I first met Ulla, the other weaver I was with mentioned a “flow” state of creativity. Ulla’s face immediately changed and she vehemently exclaimed that she did not believe in “flow.” She believed in showing up at the studio every day, not waiting for inspiration but creating it through steady and constant work and diligence. It made me think of one of the rules from Sister Corita Kent’s rules for artists and teachers: “The only rule is work.” This may make Ulla sound particularly rigid, but I actually found her to be a lot looser than other Swedish weavers I’d worked with. She moved quickly through each step, wasn’t particularly fussy with tension on the loom, didn’t care about the names of weave structures. She just did what she wanted, and laughed at how young weavers were so concerned with techniques. Ulla prized experimentation and innovation, not complication. 

My rug is a testament to the hard work and playfulness I experienced while in her studio. We both lovingly called the rug Little Dots, referring to the small dots of color that I wove in at random throughout the repeating diamond pattern. They were playful and dynamic, the diamonds pattern repetitive and structured. I love to play the “what if” game when I’m viewing art and design. Imagining “what if the dots weren’t there?” gives me a very different rug.

To create even more dynamism, each solid section of the rug is a woven with alternating combinations and ratios of the colors. The poppy red of the background is woven with three different combinations of colors. Each color consists of 5 strands of rug yarn – so one combo would be one red, two orange, one coral, one mauve. Another might be two red, two coral, one orange. As I wove the background, I would irregularly change out the combinations I was weaving with, to avoid regular stripes in the work. Each green/blue diamond is a different combination of greens, blues and periwinkles. This slight shift through the rug is subtle but it’s the way we really see color and pattern in the world. Nothing is just one color, nothing repeats perfectly. I have incorporated this tenet into my own design and weaving practice, trying to move past my type A tendencies as a weaver and embrace the shifts within.

My experience with Ulla really shaped the way I view the longevity of my work, and the ways that I express myself through non loom-controlled design. It’s also a beautiful thing to leave a new country with a wise and loving friend. I look forward to teaching this technique at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School in Decorah, Iowa, and North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN. Keep your eye out for classes in the future!

Christine Novotny, October 2023

Christine Ann Novotny is a Minnesota-based handweaver, educator, and designer who runs the textile studio CAN Goods. She seeks to bring a vibrant, colorful energy to handweaving that invites people to reconsider the textiles in their life, and to evolve the practice of handweaving through contemporary handwoven goods and craft education. 

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk!

A Visit to the Icelandic Textile Museum 

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By Nancy Ebner

This past summer my husband and I traveled to Iceland for a 12-day self-guided tour around the famous Ring Road. We were drawn to Iceland by its amazing waterfalls, geo-thermal areas, mountains, surrounding seas, crater lakes, glaciers, and glacial lagoons. Its natural beauty did not disappoint! We also took in some of its cultural sites by visiting the Skógar Folk Museum, Skógasafn, along the southern coast, the Herring Era Museum in Siglufjörõur, the Iceland Textile Museum in Blönduós, northwestern Iceland and the Snorrastofa Cultural Center in Reykholt.

The Skógar Folk Museum was a treasure of artifacts, some of which included lovely examples of pieces from the 1800s woven in monk’s belt and glit techniques . (See this previous article on the Icelandic glit technique.)

Saddle blanket made by Sigridur Jónsdóttir in Svartinúpur in the year 1859.

The Iceland Textile Museum (next to the Icelandic Textile Center) houses several permanent exhibits: Icelandic national costume; embroidery (primarily white on white); the role of wool in Iceland from early settlers to the present day; and a section based on the life and work of Halldóra Bjarnadóttir (1873-1981). Halldóra Bjarnadóttir was a teacher and was active in writing and speaking about women’s rights. She promoted women’s unions based on the work women did in their homes to produce wool into clothing.  In 1946 she founded a wool and textile college and ran the school for nine years.

White on white embroidery display.

Each year the museum hosts special exhibitions by Icelandic textile artists and designers. I was able to view the work of Philippe Ricart, (1952-2021) who specialized in tablet weaving. He became a teacher at The Icelandic Handicraft School where he taught tablet weaving, tapestry, leather stitching and Haddock bone carving.

At the Icelandic Textile Museum, I purchased the Second Edition of Halldóra Bjarnadóttir’s  book, Vefnadur [Textile], her 1966 fundamental book about weaving in Iceland. The preface and forward are in English, but the rest of the book is in Icelandic. 

To finish, here are some of the beautiful works donning the walls of the museum. You should visit!

Detail of an Icelandic glit weaving.

October 2023

Nancy Ebner is a newly retired pharmacist from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, who learned to weave in earnest in 2017. She likes the process, the finished product and the math needed to operate the computer precursor: the loom. She has her next six projects planned, two of which include a skillbragd and a rutevev. There is a rich tradition of Scandinavian weaving in Minnesota, and she is drawn to its traditional designs and art weaves.

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk!

Bergen Husflidslag: Finding the Pleasure in Weaving

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By Lisa-Anne Bauch

In May 2023, a group of Minnesota weavers made the trek to Bergen, Norway, to study weaving at Bergen Husflidslag [Handcraft Association], taught by renowned instructor Ingebjørg Monsen. 

Ingebjørg Monsen at the loom

Ingebjørg Monsen at the loom. Photo: Mary Matter.

It was a busy week in Bergen, crowned with rare sunshine. (Bergen is the rainiest city in all of Europe, but it only rained for half our stay.) We arrived toward the end of Sytennde Mai, the Norwegian national holiday, a celebration that goes on several days. On Sunday, May 21, many young Norwegians celebrated their rite of Confirmation in local churches, accompanied by family members, most wearing their bunader [national costumes]. 

Women wearing bunader [national costumes]. The gentleman in the church doorway made sure to tell everyone how beautiful his wife looked! Photo: Mary Mateer.

In addition, the local football team Bergen Brann (“Heja, Brann!”) became the champions of Norway, and ten thousand fans thronged the streets to celebrate. The Bergen International Festival, Norway’s largest music and theater festival, was in full swing, and to cap the week, King Harald V visited the city to christen a new cruise ship. Perhaps best of all, the flowers and flowering trees were in full bloom, and university students sprawled in the grass soaking up the warm sunshine. 

The Botanical Gardens at the University of Bergen provided color inspiration. Photo: Lisa-Anne Bauch.

Likewise, Bergen Husflidslag was a warm and welcoming space painted a sunny yellow. Our teacher was equally welcoming. After working as an engineer, Ingebjørg is enjoying a second career in textiles. Ingebjørg teaches classes in both weaving and sewing and specializes in constructing men’s bunader. She is a familiar face to those who have taken Textile Study Tours presented by Vesterheim.

Photo: Lisa-Anne Bauch.

“People ask me if I miss engineering,” Ingebjørg said. “I tell them I’m doing engineering [in weaving] all the time.” Proper technique is crucial, and something as basic as winding a bobbin can affect the quality of the final weave. Despite her meticulous approach, Ingebjørg stressed the joy of weaving, encouraging students to “feel the pleasure first,” rather than focus on perfect technique. 

It was indeed a joy to work on the sturdy looms with beautiful Norwegian wool and linen yarn in a rainbow of colors. (Another hint from Ingebjørg: “If there is a color you hate, pair it with a color you love.”) The looms were warped and ready to go, so students were able to weave samples of traditional Norwegian structures, including dreiel, tavlebragd, skillbragd, krokbragd, and a twill pledd (blanket). Those new to Scandinavian-style weaving were introduced to the ease of weaving on a countermarch loom, the technique of creating good selvedges without the use of a temple, and clever knots for repairing broken warp threads. In turn, American visitors introduced Ingebjørg to the joy of peanut butter and banana sandwiches during our many coffee parties.

Nancy Ebner at the loom, along with a close-up of her skillbragd weaving.

During the week, students visited Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, a Norwegian spinning mill founded in 1898 and run by four generations of the Myhr family. One of the few working mills still open in Norway, the factory produces weaving and knitting yarn and carded wool for spinning and felting. Some of the original machines are still in good working order, and visitors are encouraged to visit the factory floor to learn about the qualities of Norwegian wool and the process of sorting, cleaning, carding, dyeing, and spinning. Needless to say, the yarn shop is a weaver’s dream.

Photos: Lisa-Anne Bauch.

Students left Bergen with a new appreciation for Norwegian weaving tradition and a final bit of advice from Ingebjørg, delivered with her typical dry humor: “There is a new law-giving in Norway,” she explained. “If someone disturbs a weaver while she is warping her loom, she is allowed to murder them. This is especially true of husbands!”

October 2023

Lisa-Anne Bauch is a Minnesota-based weaver whose work explores traditional Nordic techniques in a contemporary color palette. She is an active member of the Scandinavian Weavers Study Group of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota and also writes about Scandinavian textiles and textile history.

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk!

Burning the Midnight Oil in Bergen

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By Peg Hansen 

I happily studied weaving at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls, in the 1980s. I had no idea what a long interruption my fiber work would have as I started my career as a Red Wing High School art instructor. I took a refresher warping class in 2012,  but still my weaving stood still. In the meantime I sewed a Beltestakk bunad and started to explore band weaving. Frankly,  I was surprised I was so rusty.

Peg Hanson’s bunad pieces.

Peg Hansen’s handwoven hairpiece.

During Covid isolation I joined the Weavers Guild of Minnesota Scandinavian Weavers Study Group. What an amazing group (even if my first meetings were only on zoom)! The conversations were familiar, but my skills weren’t  there anymore. When group member Melba Granlund planned a post-pandemic trip to Norway for a week of study in Bergen with Ingebjørg Mønsen this year, I cast my doubts aside and signed up. What a great decision!

All of the participants seemed to already know so much. I was open to learning whatever I could, so I went with the flow. I did a dreiel sample and really enjoyed it. But then, it appeared that nobody wanted to weave on the blanket warp so Ingebjørg assigned me. This would be totally new to me and I assumed I would weave a sample and be on to another loom. Ingebjørg had other ideas. Periodically I would say I was ready to move on, but each day she would say, “Weave more.” On Wednesday I wove until 10 at night and thought surely that one meter was enough. Oh, no…I ended up returning to the hotel at 2 AM! Ingebjørg stayed with me until I had a complete blanket – in just 4 days – complete with unweaving many times.

My finished Norwegian wool (Ask) twill blanket is 157×135 cm plus a beautiful fringe.

I think that Ingebjørg could sense that, as an eager learner, I had pulled many all-nighters in the past with art projects I found irresistible. I am incredibly happy that I can wrap up in my wonderful Norwegian experience on this side of the Atlantic.

Peg Hansen, October 2023

Peg Hansen, From Red Wing, Minnesota, has been working with fiber for over fifty years. She learned to sew on her own in the eighth grade, in order to make clothing to fit her tall frame. Her first degree was in Home Economics. Since retiring from teaching in 2010, Peg has concentrated on fiber pursuits, with increasing attention to Norwegian textiles. She is happy to be at her loom again, after a hiatus since her study in the 1980s, and enjoys projects with colleagues through the Weavers Guild of Minnesota Scandinavian Weavers Study Group. 

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk!

From England to Norway: The 2023 Vesterheim Textile Study Tour

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By Edi Thorstensson and Karen Weiberg 

Our 2023 Vesterheim Textile Tour began in London on May 8, two days after the coronation of King Charles III, while the city was filled with celebration. There we visited Marble Arch and enjoyed a stroll along Oxford Street, with its iconic Selfridges Department Store.

The second day brought us to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where we were guided through historical displays of fashion worn in the United Kingdom and elsewhere and had time to explore other exhibits, among them one devoted to William Morris, legendary textile designer associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement.

Next, we were welcomed to the atelier of Hand & Lock, custom embroiderers to the Royal Family, England’s military, and fashion houses.

Traveling on to Yorkshire, we arrived in the lovely, ancient city of York, where we visited magnificent York Minster Cathedral, one of Europe’s oldest and largest cathedrals, and were given an excellent hands-on introduction to the cathedral’s textiles by members of the York Minster Broderers, skilled volunteers who embroider cloth and make vestments for use in worship and for display.

Reserved chapel seating and a detail from an embroidered panel.

The following day, master designer and knitter Angharad Thomas, who has specialized in the Scottish Sanquhar knitted glove, and her colleague from the Knitting and Crochet Guild, Barbara Smith, gave a most interesting and entertaining trunk show of pieces from the Guild’s more than 2,000 items. Once again, we were welcomed to touch and examine vintage pieces, ask questions, and learn from delightful, knowledgeable women.

Above, Angharad Thomas and Barbara Smith. Below: Sanquhar gloves.

On May 12 we boarded a plane in Manchester and flew to Trondheim to begin the Norwegian leg of our journey.  Trøndelag, with Trondheim as its center, is known for its rich agriculture, traditions, and distinctive textile arts. First, we visited Berit Bjerkem’s studio at Henning, where Nord Trøndelag bunader from the 1750s to 1830s are documented, displayed, and re-created for sale. Bjerkem has been recognized by King Harald for her work.

Berit Bjerkem’s modern reproductions of traditional Nord Trøndelag’s bunader.

The next day, May 14, we met Anne Bårdsgård, who has collected, registered, and graphed traditional local knitting patterns for her book, Selbu Mittens (Trafalgar Square, 2019, available from the Vesterheim Norwegian-American store). Anne’s presentation was a valuable introduction to what we were about to witness, the overwhelming number and quality of vintage and modern examples of beautiful Selbu knitting on display in the Selbu Bygdemuseum.

Leaving Trondheim May 15, we traveled by bus to Sandane, Nordfjord, and settled into our grand old hotel, Gloppen.

In Sandane we visited the Nordfjord Folkemuseum and enjoyed an introduction to textile production in local coastal and inland communities. Museum staff had prepared fine displays for us to enjoy, among them local traditional clothing from earlier eras.

Man’s bunad with multiple handwoven and knitted garments.

Also displayed was a colorful assortment of vintage bukseseler, men’s suspenders, one of which served as the model for the tour group’s embroidery project.

Left: Buksesele in the Nordford Folkemuseum collection. Right: Tammy Barclay’s finished project.

Along the way from Sandane to Bergen, we stopped at the home of beloved Norwegian artist Nikolai Astrup (1880-1928) and his wife Engel. Perched above the fjord, this homestead, Astruptunet, in Jølster, has been preserved as a cultural site and museum.

astruptunet

Kitchen interior and view to the water at Astruptunet.

From Jølster our bus took us through the beautiful, dramatic mountains to Lom, then down to Sognefjord, and on to Bergen, where Syttende Mai, Norway’s Constitution Day, is celebrated with enthusiasm! And bunads!

We wrapped up on May 18 with a visit to Bergen Husflidslag’s studio, where artist Åse Eriksen gave an illustrated presentation on samitum, a weft-patterned twill used in historic textiles. We enjoyed, as well, a talk about Norwegian bunad jewelry from Sylvsmidja’s Anne Kari Salbu.

How precarious it felt, for some of us, to venture overseas after the pandemic, to take a chance that all would be safe and good. Vesterheim’s Laurann Gilbertson and Andrew Ellingsen and Norwegian tour guide Ingebjørg Monsen took us on a wonderful adventure, opening our minds and providing us with access to rich textile resources. Enjoying the sights, sounds, and, above all people in England and Norway was an affirmation of what good textile study tours are all about: Camaraderie, learning, and inspiration.

Karen Weiberg and Edi Thorstensson, 2023

Edi Thorstensson is a retired librarian and archivist who has appreciated the history and creation of Scandinavian textiles since her first visit to Europe in 1961. She is a member of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota Scandinavian Weavers Study Group and the Pioneer Spinners and Fiber Artists guild.  She lives in St. Peter, Minnesota, with her husband Roland and Icelandic sheep dog Ára.
Karen Weiberg has been a member of Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum for many years; this was her fifth Vesterheim Textile Tour.  She had a career in textiles, including owning a yarn shop, and now enjoys traveling, often with textiles as a theme. Karen teaches a variety of classes at the Textile Center of Minnesota, and volunteers in the Textile Center Library. She participates in three knitting groups, including one at Norway House and another she has been part of for over 30 years.

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk!