Patterns

I'm sure there must be many psychological theories that try to explain the mental pattern-making we all engage in to make sense of our world. At one extreme, I guess this pattern-making results in elaborate conspiracy theories and hypotheses about the power of aliens in our world. My own mental pattern-making is at the mild end of the spectrum, and mostly exhibits itself in pleasurably observing the way apparently unrelated incidents come together to make patterns.

I've had a bit of a Scandinavian pattern happening lately. (Immediately I wrote this sentence I felt rather self-conscious. Do people from the various countries that make up the entity I think of as 'Scandinavia' resent being lumped together under this label? I'm sufficiently aware of some of the cultural, historical and language differences between Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland to feel some discomfort with this over-arching category. I'd be interested in any comments).

When I participated in the backtack 4 swap last year I had a Danish partner, Anne. I enjoyed her Ravelry site and her blog and found her knitting delightful - frequently using Danish patterns with a style that is quite distinctive. From my interest in Anne's work I started reading (or rather, sometimes just looking at the pictures) on other Danish and Finnish blogs. Some of the Danish knitters were knitting enviable designs by Helga Isager from Amimono,



so I've purchased some of these patterns and am working up courage and energy to knit in the rather fine yarns they require.

In the meantime I've been knitting from time to time on Baktus, a most pleasurable garter-stitch project that's a free, simple pattern from Strikkelise, a Norwegian knitter.



I've blogged about my captivation by Swedish crime fiction, and , more recently, my pleasure in reading Icelandic author Ardaldur Idridason, so I'm often imaginatively engaged with Scandinavian landscapes.

But I think the Scandinavian pattern really began about six months ago when I bought a small cabinet for my living room.



It's a very simple cabinet by Danish designer Hans Wegner made in the 1960s for the Ry Mobler workshop in Denmark. It's made of oak and the interior is finished in beech. If one can fall in love with an object, I've fallen in love with my Danish cabinet.