Broomstick!

My (hopefully) future mother-in-law taught me to broomstick crocheting a couple of years back. I have used it to make a large triangle scarf for my mum, but that’s it.

I happened to have a ball of bamboo silk sock yarn, hand-dyed by Handu, and knitting socks out of it didn’t inspire me one bit. Oh well, I thought, mum will surely appreciate another scarf for her birthday late this month…

I am using a 5 mm hook and one knitting needle, size 20 mm. 40 stitches across. It is very airy and somehow subtle, like cherry flowers or something.

Easter greetings

Never mind chocolates, I have been spoiled with five new skeins of Wollmeise.

Single Malt and Honigtöpfchen – the honey pot.

Sonne.

Rhabarber.

Frosch – Frog.

Here they are, posing together.

I love how the Rhabarber goes with Okzident, which is from the sock club March shipment.

A pair of mitts (for me!) and a hint

I finished a pair of fingerless mitts for myself – it will be quite cold here for a couple of months still and I want to take pictures outside. Thus new photographing mitts.

Mittens
Pattern: Does not exist, really, I just improvized.
Yarn: Indie Dyer 100 % Fingering Merino, from a Finnish sock yarn club
Needles: 2,25 mm KnitPicks Harmony

The colour sort of reminds me of orchids or some other exotic flowers. Stunning turquoises and vivid rainforest greens plus the strong pink blooming throughout the canopy. Jenna, once again – fantastic job!

I practiced a bit with the camera’s remote, but as you see, the results are a bit funny. Maybe you’ll be able to focus on the gloves even though the pictures always don’t…

 

 

I am very happy with these.

And then the hint I mentioned in the title. I am one pathetic addict and my drug is Etsy, so that’s what this is all about.

As I’ve said: Buy handmade when you can (and support the economy too). Buy recycled. Buy from ethical producers. I stumbled upon one seller who meets all these ’requirements’: The June Bride. She sells many things from vintage buttons to fabulous animal-eared baby hats. My favorites are her felted flower brooches made from old sweaters. Not only that she buys much of her materials from charity shops, she also donates 100 % of the profits to charities. Check out her profile for more info.

glovemitts

We got a new camera. I am so happy!

It arrived within 12 hours after I finished these fingerless gloves for my man.

Pattern: Manly Fingerless Gloves
Yarn: Indie Dyer 100% Superwash Fingering Merino, 2 skeins.
Needles: KnitPicks Harmony, 2,25 mm

The yarn was just enough, I had less than 2 grams left when I was finished.

I modified the pattern a great deal and finally added the hoods for the fingers. Knitting was surprisingly difficult - I had to rip a lot as I am too lazy to make him try them on every 5 minutes.

The end result is fitting and very personal, thanks to the fantastic yarn. Thanks for dying a great colorway, Jenna!

Brr!

It was really cold this morning, - 18 degrees Celsius. Still one could easily see that the spring is coming - I was on my way to work at 9.25 am and actually saw the sun! Well, only at the horizon, but still, I was outside at the same time as the sun! I usually only see it through the office window.

Had to take a picture - I saw the sun! It is nearly spring!

It was beautiful, sniff.

I have finished a bunch of things, but here is the next project:

It was on sale too, only € 3.50 per skein.

Salad is healthy - eat your greens

...and your pinks, yellows and purples. I got a new salad bowl for Christmas. Look at it now:

Wollmeise!

The second Wollmeise package was delivered last week. If yu haven't got yours yet, do not scroll down! :)

I still haven't knit anything from my Wollmeise yarn. I am too stingy - having seen their price on eBay and such I just can't open the packages. It's not like I plan to sell them or anything, no, but I need to have a SUPER plan before I cast on with Wollmeise :)

The pictures will follow shortly...

Here they are. You have been warned.

This is where they dwell. In a large glass bowl on top of a dining room cupboard. Five skeins is all the bowl can hold, so before the next package I need to knit some of them.

On the left is a skein of La Digitessa, the others are from the sock club. The December package contained the third skein ("Saami") and the fourth skein ("Jultomte")

The theme was childhood memories. These memories have to do with Christmas and of Lapland - the native people in the Lapland of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia are the Sami people, hence the name Saami. As a Finn this made me very happy.

We also got small cookie cutters, some candy and a yarn sample. I was absolutely thrilled.

Not all the members seem to be in love with Saami as it is rather striking, but I love it.

Be warned! Wollmeise!

If you are part of the first-ever Wollmeise Sock Club and have not seen the first package yet, go away NOW. There are some pictures involved here. :)

I knew that the package had arrived while we were enjoying our annual trip to Krakow. Because it didn't arrive before the trip, I checked the spoiler thread from Ravelry before I left for the airport. I just knew I couldn't take eight more days of suspension.

When we came back, I was not able to go to sleep and get the parcel the next day as I had planned. Instead I put my clothes back on and ran out the door to get it from the post office - and boy, it was worth it!

The theme was home land and Claudia's home land is Bavaria in Germany. The wonderful, deep colours of the yarn represented Bavaria- Elderberry bush and box wreath. Attached were a wonderful sock pattern, fabulous DPNs and a piece of chocolate.

My problem is this: I can't bring myself to unwrap the yarn from it's plastic shelter. I have three skeins of Wollmeise sock yarn now and I have never actually touched the stuff. Eh?

The smallest garment and other stuff

Iih, I've got some new yarn!

This is what I got from the Secret Wool sock club (It's a Finnish yarn store, so I won't link it here). It is Indie Dyer yarn! If you don't know Indie Dyer, she is Jenna, the daughter of the Cherry Tree Hill yarns' Cheryl. The yarn I got is basically the same as CTH Supersock Merino, but of course dyed by Jenna. And I love CHT yarns!



I finished a cloth I'll take to the shower with me. It is linen stitch, a new pal of mine. Looks nice, on both sides. Basic cotton, crocheted edges.



And what's this? The yarn is super cheap but ok Finnish 50/50% blend of cotton and acryl. But... it doesn't look like anything...



Ok, now I get it - it's a baby hoodie for my cousin's baby, who is due in March. I think I'll have to make it a bit longer, though. I have no idea how big babies are and I am aiming for a size that fits a baby 2 to 3 months old.



And just a glimpse from our home. Here's how I store my favorite sock yarns: