"Don’t tie knots, don’t weave in the ends – just let it hang"

On Monday evening, nearly 300 participants gathered in the Main Hall for a mega workshop organised by the student associations Medicinerstrik, Politologisk Strikkeforening, Molekylær Biologisk Cellskab and Kreative Jurister. And it wasn't just experienced knitters who showed up for the mega workshop. There was at least one beginner present at the beginning of the workshop, namely Mayor of Aarhus Anders Winnerskjold, who took the stage and declared the workshop open.

“It’s wonderful to see such a strong sense of community. It's important – especially as a student. There’s always more to read, written work to improve, and grades and deadlines that are pressing," he told the knitting enthusiasts in the auditorium. 

As some students may remember, the mayor swam across Unisøen during last year's Kapsejlads when he was about to give his first opening speech. To cast on stitches in front of an audience with a large proportion of experienced knitters scares him more, he said. 

With the help of two volunteers from the knitting associations, Anders Winnerskjold fumbled around with the knitting needles and yarn and actually cast on a few stitches in the auditorium. 

"I don't dare look at the one and only Lærke Bagger," he said nervously.

"You are witnessing Anders knitting his first stitch," Sidsel Hein Ingerslev said. 

"Now all beginners can join in," the mayor admitted after his first knitting lesson.

With a Ceres beer in hand, Lærke Bagger ordered those present to follow her seven commandments: You must let go of control, let go of responsibility, let go of self-criticism, don't fasten up loose ends, do everything I say, step out of your comfort zone and trust me. Cheers.

Mathematics student Iben Kønig had been looking forward to experiencing Lærke Bagger's unconventional approach to knitting.

“I knit myself, and I just think Lærke Bagger is super cool. She’s just spontaneous, down to earth and Jutlandic," Iben Kønig said.

"I knit very strictly, so I'm hoping that Lærke can teach me to knit something a little crazier," she said. 

 The participants blindly followed Lærke Bagger's instructions when they first started knitting their patches, which will subsequently be sewn together into blankets to be donated to shelters.

"You'll have to take all of your yarn out where you can see it," she said firmly.

The laps of the knitting enthusiasts were quickly filled with yarn in all colours. 

Lærke Bagger spent about two and a half hours talking about her journey into knitting, which began when she was eight years old, and how her passion for knitting has helped her through life's ups and downs. Especially when she lost her father, she knitted a lot. 

Along the way, Lærke Bagger exclaimed, "Stop and cut!" thus interrupting the flow of the knitters. 

"You good?" she asked a participant in the front row who seemed to be struggling a bit with stopping in the middle of the row.

Every time Lærke Bagger asked the audience to stop what they were doing and cut, they became more and more dissatisfied. She also threw in a few twists. For example, they had to use the ugliest yarn they could find.

"You need to find some nasty yarn," she said. 

"It's enough to make you sick," a woman in the audience said. 

Fellow students Freya Bennedsen, Emilie Kühne and Matilde Geertsen, who are all studying for a bachelor's degree in biotechnology, were among those who complained a little about being constantly interrupted. 

"However, I appreciate that she encourages us to knit in multiple colours," Freya Bennedsen said.

But there was no mercy from Lærke Bagger. 

"Make work," she said. 

"Don’t tie knots, don’t fasten off – just let it hang," said Lærke Bagger. 

It’s a valuable lesson for us that everything doesn’t have to be perfect. We'll have to leave things hanging. We have an impulse to do something about things that are hanging. Sometimes things just hang. It’s the same with our emotional and professional lives, and that's just the way it is," said Lærke Bagger when Omnibus caught her during the break.

For Lærke Bagger, knitting and emotions are closely linked. Especially the part about starting something chaotic and a bit messy, and watching it fall into place. Lærke Bagger told the audience that she is finishing up her third book, but at the same time, as recently as Monday, she started working on a new recipe that she wants to include.

"I really like the unpredictability of not knowing how things will end. I work with unpredictability as a methodical approach," she told the audience.

"We all end up where we are meant to be. I have had to change course several times myself. One of my best friends is 63 years old, and she doesn't have a clue," said Lærke Bagger, referring to her closest colleague, Christine Feldthaus. 

"Stop!" exclaimed Lærke Bagger as the clock approached 9:30 p.m. and the event had been going on for almost three hours. 

"Stand up and hold your notes up in the air so that everyone can see them," she said.

"Wouldn't it be boring if they were all the same?" she asked a unanimous audience before leaving the stage.

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Lisa Enevoldsen.