knits by toveb

a quickie

I went to Syfestivalen (handicraft fair) today. But I didn't stay long. The son didn't seem to appreciate the crowded space and endless queues...

 
I bought lots of fabrics at the first booth by the entrance, basically. Jerseys and cottons, then three crochet hooks with comfortable handles from Stäkets handarbete. Oh, and I also got a quick demonstration of the overlock machine that I bought a few months ago and still haven't used. I have lots of nice ideas, but no time it seems. One of these days...

go east

I went on a 48-hour cruise to Helsinki this weekend. There was promise of rain, but we had lovely weather all day. For once I didn't buy any yarn, just focused on books and magazines.

 
I always go to Hobboks on Korkeavuorenkatu. This time I found two cookbooks: Piri piri starfish by Tessa Kiros and Cook in Boots by Ravinder Brogal.

At Akateeminen Kirjakauppa I found Interweave Knits and Novita's knitting magazine. The latter contained some really nice models knitted up in Novita yarn. Here is a retro style children's hoodie and a comfortable looking shrug.

 

summertime

 
I've been abroad! Hah, no, not quite. I went to Gotland, which can sometimes feel like a different country to the rest of Sweden. It was a long time ago since I had the pleasure of visiting and this time I made it to the very south of the island.

In Hemse you can find the wonderful Gotlands Spinneri shop with wool in different weights and beautiful colours. This is a 2ply called Leilu in a strange green jade-ish shade. I also found a short piece of Vamlingbolaget's pretty jersey fabric. (You can also visit their farm and wool factory north of Hemse in Fardhem for a more hands-on experience in yarnmaking.)

 
I also managed to get to Ronehamn where Huskroken has their dyeing facility and shop. Here is some of their beautiful hand-dyed cotton. I was also lucky enough to be able to take a sneak peak into their dyeing workshop where a course was taking place. Very interesting! (I wish I could have a little shed like this at home!)

 

In other news, the Ten Stitch Blanket is coming along nicely. Another ball of yarn finished.

more yarn!

 
Is it possible to buy more yarn, when you already have a lot?

YES!

If you go to Syfestivalen (the fibre fair) at Kistamässan you will find (among others) Karin Öberg's linen yarn and Solkusten's wool, as well as some KnitPicks needles.

So there.

bye then

 
Recently, two local yarns stores have closed. First it was Nysta, who are closing the shop but remaining in business as a wholesaler (for Debbie Bliss in Sweden) and for the occasional café/workshop. The other one is Knitlab, a shop I never really visited that much even though they had some lovely yarn. They were the only ones in Stockholm who had Blue Sky Alpaca and Habu. Their last day is tomorrow, Saturday.

I went there and scored some allhemp3 from Hemp for Knitting. 8 skeins, actually... Looking through Ravelry for inspiration I couldn't find much, but I'm hoping it will work for a Flowerbasket style shawl. Otherwise, I'll have a whole lot of dish cloths on my hands.

shopping

 
I went to Syfestivalen on Friday. This is my loot: quilting fabrics for doll clothes (and maybe soft toys?) and a skein of lovely Färgkraft laceweight yarn in a grey colourway called Noname.

göteborg!

I spent a few days in Göteborg and this is my wonderful loot. Believe it or not, but I did visit Strikk without buying anything! Instead, I found these cotton yarns at Broderi o Garn. They were hand dyed by local artist Mia Persson. I also found the Amigurumi book in the museum shop of Göteborg Konsthall.

love

Maria was a little anxious that I wouldn't like the Addi lace needles I bought today. You see, I knew I probably needed more of them, but she thought it was better that I went home and tried them first.

Hah.

I love them. So now I need to stock up on endless varieties of Addi lace needles...

Maria also thought I needed more yarn. Nah, just joking! She had just gotten a shipment of new colours in extra thin linen. They were loitering lusciously in a bowl on the table. Since the lovely Mediterranean sea blue colour had already been "adopted" by her, I opted for this deep pink.

As if I needed more yarn! But really, who can resist such wonderful colours? I should have photographed the whole lot and you would understand.   

oooh!

Just a short note to tell you that I collected my yarn for the Mystery lace project today. It is silk and cashmere (two different yarns) dyed in a lovely pink colour from the outstanding superduper extra fabulous shop Anntorps Väv. I can't begin to express my admiration of Ann, the proprietor of the said shop. Just wow. 

I forgot

I went to the knitting café at Marias Garn yesterday, but I forgot to take a picture. Instead, I tried in vain to fix Maria's computer that was acting up and bought some yarn...

But I forgot to take a picture of them too, so I'll just show you what I'm working on at the moment. To the left a blanket in Lucca "super soft merino wool". It will be stripey in three shades of grey. To the right Elspeth bolero from Rowan Magazine 37 in a pink shade of Calmer. I also started on the Cloud Bolero by Ysolda in Manu, a bulky 100% baby alpaca.