The Hills are Alive

The Hills are Alive Shawl by Susanne Sommer

What is Being Made

The Hills are Alive is a generous knitted shawl designed by Susanne Sommer, inspired by the natural beauty of hand-dyed yarn and the rolling hills and valleys of Lower Austria. This intermediate-level knitting project creates a sophisticated accessory using three skeins of fingering weight yarn, resulting in a substantial shawl suitable for everyday wear or special occasions.

Design Inspiration and Materials

The design draws its inspiration directly from Nature's Luxury's Sheep en Soie hand-dyed yarn, a silky-soft blend that combines the comfort of wool with the luxurious sheen of silk. Each skein provides 500 meters of yarn, allowing crafters to create a generous shawl with three skeins total. The silk content in this light fingering weight base yarn creates a beautiful luminous quality that enhances the color variations and feels exceptionally soft against the skin.

Knitting Techniques

This shawl employs a sophisticated sideways-on-the-bias construction method, which creates an elegant drape and allows for creative color work throughout the piece. The main body features a combination of brioche and garter stitch techniques worked in two main colors. The two colors are initially worked separately at the very beginning and end of the main section, then blended together in the center portion to create a seamless gradient effect that mirrors the natural color transitions found in the landscape that inspired the design.

Stitches and Border Details

• Brioche Stitch: Used as a primary stitch in both one-color and two-color variations throughout the main body, creating texture and visual interest
• Garter Stitch: Worked alongside brioche stitch to add structure and contrast to the shawl's fabric
• Contrasting Brioche Border: A distinctive design element that begins at one top corner and is knitted onto the bind-off edge, adding a refined finishing detail to the completed shawl

Yarn and Needle Requirements

This project is worked with 3-ply and 4-ply yarn weights in the fingering weight category. The specific yarn used is Nature's Luxury's Sheep en Soie, a hand-dyed fiber blend that combines wool and silk. Crafters will need appropriate knitting needles suitable for fingering weight yarn, though specific needle sizes should be confirmed in the complete pattern instructions.

Skill Level

Rated as an intermediate knitting project, The Hills are Alive requires familiarity with fundamental knitting techniques and the ability to work more advanced stitch patterns such as brioche and two-color knitting. The sideways construction and gradient color blending add complexity that makes this design suitable for experienced knitters looking to expand their technical skills.