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Book Review: Viking Knits

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Beautiful people and beautiful sweaters combine in Lasse L. Matberg’s Viking Knits. The book includes more than 40 Scandinavian inspired knits for men, women and children featuring textured stitches and colorwork.

Matberg is known as The Viking and has worked as a chef, naval officer, fitness instructor and model, as well as being on a couple of reality TV shows. He comes from a long line of makers and his book was first published in Norwegian in 2021 and has since come out in an English version.

The book is divided into sections including everyday sweaters, knits for the great outdoors, stylish knitwear, Norse sweaters and accessories. Some of the patterns use the same designs in different versions for men, women and children. I counted seven projects rated for beginners, 19 for intermediate knitters and 17 for experienced knitters. The more difficult patterns tend to have allover colorwork or stitch patterning.

The pattern stitches and colorwork are shown in charts, with a little bit of text to tell you how to make the garment. Most of the book is sweaters, but there are also hats (sometimes coordinating with sweaters), scarves and a couple of sitting mats.

You can check out all the patterns on Ravelry. Some of my favorites are the more basic ones, such as the Power Sweater, a close-fitting (sized for men) ribbed sweater; the Heart Sweater, a raglan with allover lice stitch; and the Midsummer Sweater, with textured stripes and a henley neckline. I also like the Breeze designs (there are versions for men, women and children) that have colorwork diamonds on them.

Sizing on the garments varies, but there are six sizes for the men’s patterns (noted as small through XXL and then Lasse sized), six for women (XS to XL) and three for children (age 2-4, 6-8 and 10-12).

The yarns used in the book aren’t available in the United States but you can find suppliers here if you want to use the same yarns. Otherwise the book gives a lot of details about yarn content and gauge so you should be able to find good substitutes wherever you live.

If you have Norwegian or Scandinavian heritage or just like the look of cozy textured or colorful sweaters, this book is a lot of fun, and the eye candy is pretty great, too.

About the book: 192 pages, hardcover, 43 patterns. Published in English in 2023 by Search Press. Suggested retail price $29.95.

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Democratic Republic of the Congo for Kids

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is not the same as the Republic of the Congo. These are both nations in central Africa (and we’ll cover Republic of the Congo next time) and DRC is the second-largest country in Africa. Let’s learn about it!

Democratic Republic of the Congo Facts

  • The first thing to know is that this country goes by a lot of different names. Like DRC, as I just mentioned, but also DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa (Kinshasa is also the capital), Big Congo and confusingly also Congo. Its border by Republic of the Congo (which is also sometimes just called Congo) as well as Angola (which it looks like I skipped when I was in the As, so we’ll have to get that one, too!), South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia. 
  • Most of the country is rainforest, and there are also mountains. 
  • The country is the 11th largest in the world by area, at 905,567 square miles, or 2,345,409 square kilometers.
  • The country is named for the Congo River, which was named after the Kingdom of Kongo and is thought to mean something like a public gathering of people.
  • At the time of its independence from Belgium in 1960, it was named  the Republic of the Congo-Léopoldville to distinguish it from neighboring Congo. In 1964, the president renamed it Zaire (which the river was called in the 16th and 17th centuries). The name changed to Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997. 
  • Nearly 113 million people live in DRC, and Kinshasa is both the capital and largest city. 
  • It has a president and a prime minister and a parliament with two houses. 
  • The official language is French, though other national languages are recognized. 

Democratic Republic of the Congo National Symbols

The flag of Big Congo has a bright blue background, with a red stripe on the diagonal through the center, and smaller gold stripes on either side of the red stripe. There’s a large, gold, five-point star in the upper left hand corner. The flag was adopted in 2006.

The national anthem on DRC is “Debout Congolais” or “Arise, Congolese,” which was originally adopted in 1960 but replaced when the country was called Zaire. It became the anthem again in 1997.

The leopard is the national animal, and is shown on its national emblem, which also has an elephant tusk and a spear along with the national motto in French (justice, peace, work). 

DRC Activities for Kids

Learn more about leopards from National Geographic Kids, and make a fun leopard craft from Learn Create Love. If you want a more involved craft, try painting leopard spots like in this craft from No Time for Flash Cards.

There’s a nice selection of country study information, clip art, fact sheets and more at Teachers Pay Teachers. Peanut Butter Fish Lessons also has a free DR Congo unit study with printables. 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, with about 70 percent of the world’s supply. Learn more about what cobalt is and how it’s used (and maybe make some art with the bright blue color that gets its name from this metal). 

Lake Tanganyika, the world’s longest and second deepest freshwater lake, is shared with Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia, and Zambia Tourism has a good page about it. DRC also has the world’s second largest rainforest in the Congo Basin, which you can read more about at the World Wildlife Fund website. 

The volcano Nyiragongo last erupted in  2002 and experiences ongoing volcanic activity. It’s a thread to Goma, a city of half a million people. The country is also home to Nyamuragira, considered Africa’s most active volcano, which last erupted in 2010. You can learn more in this video from Naked Science.

Moambe chicken is considered the national dish of DRC. It’s a chicken stew often made with peanut butter and palm oil, which give it its red color. Grab the recipe from Low Carb Africa and try it for yourself.