I went to Gotland and bought yarn, even though i had said I wouldn't.
Maybe I need help?
Just so you know, the brown and pink skeins are from Mejeriet and the undyed is Gotlands Spinneri. I don't really have anything else to say to my defense.
Next time I will blog about something I'm actually knitting or crocheting.
I went to Helsinki for a few days. There were sales everywhere and I found an interesting book about Karelian bobbin lace on sale.
I don't know how to make bobbin lace and I don't really have any plans to learn it either, but I do have family ties to Karelia so this was an valuable book in that sense.
I also stocked up on my favourite Finnish yarn, Pirkanmaa, in grey and turquoise for a future crochet project. See the swatch to the left here.
Back home I noticed someone in my neighbourhood is practising crochet graffiti...!
Spent most of last week and the Midsummer holiday on Gotland, but...
Gasp.
However, I did finish my Japanese triangle shawl, which is waiting to be blocked. I also crocheted some pattern swatches for my course in October and continued on the Chevron blanket.
So, all in all, it was a very productive stay in the countryside.
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.
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.
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.
So I was in Helsinki last weekend for the annual Night of the Arts, which is part of the Helsinki Festival. A great time was had by all and of course I made some yarn related finds!
Firstly, there was the essential travel knitting. I wanted something on circular needles (for the airplane) and what better project than a circular shawl from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac? The shawl is featured for the month of July, which is close enough. (August calls for knitted Christmas ornaments...)
I'm knitting it in Jamieson's Ultra laceweight wool, colour Sholmit. It is very soft and comfortable to work in. I've already finished the last but one pattern, as seen on the cover.
Next, books! If you ever visit Helsinki I heartily recommend the bookshop Hobboks on Korkeavuorenkatu. It is a haven for knitters and handicrafters. They're really quick on importing the latest releases, which is usually not the case for Swedish bookstores.
This time I made a great find of two volumes with Estonian mitten patterns. I found Kirikindad 1 and 2, but apparently it's a series of 10 booklets. They were immensely popular and I bought the two last ones that had only come in the day before. During the Nights of the Arts I also thrifted an old knitting book (in Finnish) with patterns for different accessories. (Make sure to visit Hagbergs antiquarian bookshop on Frederikinkatu. They speak Swedish, btw.)
I've been away on a short trip to the Swedish countryside. We went to Kinnekulle, at the south of lake Vänern. We visited Lidköping and Mariestad, but I forgot to look up any interesting yarn addresses so we missed Färgkraft's place. I did spend a short time in Acrylic Hell, at a yarn store in Lidköping. So I was glad to have a wonderful lace knitting to cure the rashes afterwards...
I've begun a sample shawl from the Victorian Lace Today book. The yarn is lace weight Hempton, a hemp/cotton blend from Hemp For Knitting (found at Kpixie). A wonderful knit with just enough complexity to keep you interested, but still simple enough for knitting while riding in a car. Which is what I did, mostly. I only copied 3 pattern repeats, so this is how far I got in about 3 days.
We also stayed in Karlstad for one night. The local handicraft club has an excellent shop with a little exhibition area. They were celebrating 10 years, I think. Here are some very nice crocheted bracelets by designer Theresa Widjeskog. They were squishy and soft, felt very nice around the wrist.
But of course I have also finished something in all this time of blogging silence! It's the amazing Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave Knits. I knit it with about 1,5 skein of Katinka flaxen yarn. I thoroughly enjoyed this knit, it took just over a month to complete.
I went, I saw, I shopped...
Here is the loot! As mentioned in my previous post I bought cashmere and mohair from i knit. When I was there I also got a 10% discount off any Rowan or Jaeger yarn, so naturally I went to John Lewis the following day...
I also bought The Yarn Harlot's latest book, which even made my husband laugh! And of course we visited The Cook Book Shop in Notting Hill, where I found an interesting book on "sweet miniatures". The cupcake book is from Waterstones.
I should also mention that bringing a knitting along on a London plane was fine in both directions. I made sure to use circular rosewood needles and had an almost finished shawl on them, so you could tell I was a real knitter. Haha. I really do not enjoy flying, so having an intricate lace pattern to concentrate on helps. That and a large drink does the trick. Nah, just joking! I find listening to music on my iPod soothing, because it keeps the airplane sounds away. I've also begun practising some breathing techniques to help me relax.
Lots of pictures in my Flickr, btw.
