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!

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