Finding joy in the every-day

We had a lovely, sunny, warm summer. It was followed by mellow and glorious fall. But then, when November rolled around, it was like a bag was pulled over one’s head, suddenly it was dark, wet, dreary, without any sighting of sun. 

I walked every day along the gray roads while the mist was hovering over my head. I think I got wet every single day, even though it was not raining.

But it all was and is bearable because of my companions, the dogs. We share the everyday, the good and the bad. No matter how sad the weather looks from inside the house, it is never that bad once I am outside. With the appropriate clothing and company, all is well.

I crocheted this dog and had it mounted on a different background, but it did not feel right. So, I detached it, crocheted the background and then appliqued it again to another cloth and now I think it is how it should be. This picture tells about our November walks.

It is not yet finished, it needs few quilting stitches and then the binding, but I realized that November is almost gone and soon the world will be white, and this picture will not feel right any more. I will try to finish it soon and move on to something else.

But what would you call this picture… It is not just crochet, or freeform crochet, and it is not typical quilt either… woolwork? Could it be woolart?

Piisku has kept me very, very busy. She is cute and lovable, but oh! so full of mischief and teeth and she is not yet house trained. She notices every single little thing, that I did not see and is very puppylike in all her behavior. Piisku is the same as Ruusu, Swedish Vallhund.

I have also been trying to work out a knitted bear and it has been quite difficult. I don’t know how many times I have worked the face and tweaked the body, but I think I am quite happy with the look now.

I combined brushed alpaca with fingering weight Finnwool and I truly love the halo and the softness.

When I made the kittens, it was easy, probably because I know cats, but bears are much more unfamiliar to me. Also, the bear in Finnish mythology is a sacred being and one is not supposed to even say its name out loud, so maybe I really have not dared to think through the appearance, as if I was making one with eyes closed.

December is just around the corner and I thought that I would post every day as an advent calendar, but I am sorry, I just cannot commit to that this year, it would just be too much. You can blame the puppy, but can you really…

she is so cute and I want to enjoy taking care of her and spending all my extra time with her and Ruusu and Piki and of course, Väinö too.

Hope you all are well and have plenty of time for crafting!

Wool with you,

Lene

PS. Sorry for getting this so late, but there was a question about the Texture Time Shawl. I knitted it exactly as written, did not make any modifications, it is a huge shawl.

Piisku