Embodiment – the shawl for the full moon

Oh, the beautiful, wondrous full moon! There are endless images that go with the moon shining bright at its fullest from the scary to the wonderful. To me, the full moon is a time to soak in its energies and see what it wants to highlight in my life. The journey from the new moon to the full has been about outward action, and next, with the receding light, we travel inwards and take stock.

With this in mind, and the full moon as my inspiration, I designed the Embodiment shawl. This shawl was first published in my first book, A Little Book of Moon-Inspired Shawls and is now available as an individual downloadable pattern as well.

It is a full pi shawl, so you are working it in the round. With DK-weight yarn, this large shawl grows quickly and in no time, you can envelope yourself in a cosy hug from our nightly guardian.

There is a spiral of popcorn stitch bobbles which are worked all on the right side of the shawl, so there’s no turning the work back and forth. The bobble spiral goes across stockinette and seed stitch rings, creating the feeling of pulsating vibrancy – and a path that carries your manifestations out in to the world.

You can now find Embodiment in my Ravelry store. If you would like to have the full collection of 9 moon-inspired shawls and the accompanying texts, Laine Publishing still has the ebook in stock (and a few copies of the Finnish soft cover book)!

Beltane – the perfect shawl to knit this spring!

The Beltane shawl is both lightweight and fierce. The dynamic triangle shape meets airy lace, and the result is striking. The stitch patterns are simple to knit but impactful – making this shawl a joy to make and wear.

Beltane marks the peak of spring, when nature regains its full strength in leaps and bounds. The landscape seems to change daily with new growth appearing overnight, the air is filled with bird songs and the world feels truly alive. Celebrated on the first of May, is one of the four fire festivals, the cross-quarter days, that make up the wheel of the year together with the equinoxes and solstices.

This time of the year is linked to love, passion and fertility. Love is often seen as delicate, but at its root it is strong and fiery. The Beltane shawl celebrates this duality: the giddy lightness of spring days and the fierce strength of blooming life. It is filled with joy and softness and passion – just like the season.

You’ll 792 yds / 726 m of fingering-weight yarn for the shawl. I used Xolla Pastoreta in Cirera (yarn received from Xolla for the sample).

Ready to knit your own Beltane shawl? Find the pattern here.

Soothing Stitch: Knits for a Quiet Mind

It feels a little surreal to write the following words: My second knitting book is here!

Soothing Stitches: Knits for a Quiet Mind (and its Finnish version, Lempeitä silmukoita & mielenrauhaa) is filled with 12 meditative knitting patterns. You can find both garments and accessories in it – all inspired by different crystals.

This book has so much of me in it. It started as a simple idea… and turned into something truly special! When creating a shawl book based on the phases of the moon (A Little Book of Moon-Inspired Shawls, published in 2023), I opened the door to being inspired by the more mystical realms. So, I think it was just a matter of time before crystals, which have been a part of my personal toolkit for years, decided to serve as my muses for knitting patterns. They help me to focus on what I want to bring into my life or work through different emotions. To me, the stones are all about slowing down and grounding myself and I often combine them with meditation. With the help of the crystals, I wanted to create a collection that helps you pause and ground yourself, that gives you a sense of calm and peace. It’s been an incredible journey from sketching out the first designs to seeing them come to life. 

Inspired by the quiet energy of crystals, Soothing Stitches: Knits for a Quiet Mind contains 12 knitting patterns that encourage you to slow down. The collection, featuring both garments and accessories, explores simple yet beautiful constructions and stitch patterns, keeping your hands busy while your mind finds stillness. Woven among the pages are gentle words that echo the rhythm of knitting — poetic reflections and a touch of mindful meditation. 
 
Pick up your needles, take a deep breath, and cast on.

Meet the Ostara shawl

Spring is here! The wheel has continued to turn, the energy has shifted and the brighter days and evenings are here again. The blanket of snow has lifted to reveal the earth once again. The sun is shining and bringing warmth. Everything is getting ready for another season of growth and colour. During the Spring Equinox, which is celebrated today on March 20, 2025, the day and night are of equal length. There’s a balance. And plenty of excitement gathering for the things to come.

And that means it's also time to meet the Ostara shawl! Ostara is a fully reversible half-pi shawl so it’s super easy to wear – and fun to knit as the increases are only done on dedicated increase rows! It captures the essence of the season: balance, the light from the sun, the awakening earth and the abundance to come. Easy to knit and reversible, with an opportunity to play with colours, it’s the perfect spring knit – both to have on your needles and to wear!

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Ostara is the fourth shawl in the Knitted Wheel of the Year – a seasonal series of eight shawls inspired by the nature-based festivals. The pattern is now available in my Ravelry store along with the previously released Samhain, Yule and Imbolc.

Imbolc is here!

The Imbolc shawl, the third pattern in the Knitted Wheel of the Year, is out now! The two previous shawls, Samhain and Yule were released in October and December last year. 

Imbolc, as a seasonal festival, bridges the gap between winter and spring. It feels lighter and brighter than the coldest months of the year and you can feel that in the shawl as well, yet it is still very cosy and comforting. The cable pattern was inspired by candle flames – those little fires that remind us of the brighter and warmer seasons that are just around the corner.

The Imbolc shawl is worked in two different yarn weights: sport and DK. This allows for cosy and relatively quick-to-knit shawl yet still gives room for intricate cables. Best of both worlds, I would say!

Are you wondering how to combine different yarn weights in a pattern? The main thing to account for is the different gauges the yarns have. This particular shawl shawl begins with the sport-weight cable section and after that the stitches are decreased for a simple textured pattern worked in DK-weight yarns. What then are the benefits of combining yarn weights? In this shawl, working the cables in a lighter weight meant there were more stitches to work with. This allowed for a more cables across the shawl width and more intricate looking cables in general.

The different weights and blocks in the shawl also offer the perfect opportunity for coming up with your own colour combinations. I chose colours that I felt represented the season well, but the shape and textures work for a variety of colour schemes. For the sport-weight yarn, I recommend choosing a solid colour, becuase then the cable pattern shows up the best.

You can watch a video of the shawl in my YouTube channel!

Welcome

I thought I would introduce myself here in honor of the website redesign and starting this journal. I’m Pauliina, also known as Lina, and I’m the designer behind Lina Knits. I have been knitting pretty much my whole life. Back in 2017 I decided to start designing my own patterns and my little business was born.

I had knitted accessories and even sweaters without a pattern a lot earlier, but at that point, I wanted to see if I could put my ideas on paper in a way that other people would be able to follow them, too. And once I started, I haven’t been able to stop! My head is always full of ideas that are just looking for the opportunity to get onto my needles.

Lately, what inspires me, on and off the needles, is nature – the seasons, the colours, the textures, smells and sounds, the way nature makes me feel. The things that can be found deep within myself that I may not even know are there, and the vastness of the universe. All of the subtle energies around us. Slowing down. Adventures. The night sky and the moon and the light that can be found in the dark. The cyclicality of life. The things that are but cannot be explained. The ordinary and extra-ordinary magic in this world. After publishing a book about the moon and starting a shawl series inspired by and named after pagan holidays, I think it’s already quite obvious. Nevertheless, maybe worth writing down.

To me knitting is very much about slowing down, soothing my soul, having a moment for myself to just be. Letting my mind work through its issues and then finding calmness. Feeling the yarn flow through my fingers, watching the finished knit emerge stitch by stitch. This is what I hope you will find, too, when working from my patterns. They are written from my heart to your heart, from my soul to your soul.

If any of this resonates with you, stick around! You can follow me on Instagram and YouTube, where I post videos about my designs, updates on Lina Knits and more general videos about knitting. And you can sign up for my newsletter to stay up-to-date. I write a letter about once a month with all of the latest news.

Much love,

Pauliina