Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I was so happy to see you all here. I thought that
since I was away for such a long time, no one would find me anymore, but here
you are! This is wonderful! I am aiming to write once a week, it would be great
to be here more often but once a week is good and I should be able to manage it.
It is often enough not to drop off writing and updating. (I do need a new computer, I have
needed it for a while, and now there is a good reason to update this old
companion. Would you believe if I told you that I have had this one for 9 years, almost 10…
and it still works, it is just a little bit slow these days.)
The crafting journey has had many twists and turns this past
week, and I must write about that, but at first the update on the furry children
and the weather.
This is Piisku. She turned one year on August 20th
and is first grader now. She is slowly learning not to eat everything and knows
a whole lot already, she is a good listener, concentrates well and pays
attention to what is being said. She is calm and gentle (mostly), a real joy
every day.
Here, the girls were contemplating on moving to Sweden when my girl
was packing and was ready to fly back and they hated to see her take out her
suitcase… farewells are never easy. Piki is in the middle of hunting season and
quite busy every day and Väinö (the cat) is taking shorter and shorter trips
outside since the weather gets cooler every day and nights are cold already. (He
just made a remark that he is busy hunting every single day…) There was frost
on the roofs in the morning. The sun rises and sets at seven, but from now on,
we will loose more than half an hour of daylight every single week until
Christmas.
Since last week, I cast on for a new shawl; ExplorationStation by Stephen West but I think … I will rip this.
There is something that
is not right, I don’t like how it is turning out. I changed the needle size to
a smaller one and now I think the shawl will be too small… I have thought of
making the wedge part bigger by adding two wedge repeats and thus save the
shawl, but I am not sure. Stephen will have a mystery shawl along soon, starting October 4th and I am
thinking of taking part in it… but am not sure. His patterns are fun to
make and I enjoyed last year’s mystery a lot, but I will think it over.
I was on Ravelry looking for something else and for a
long time I have admired crochet shawls by Elena Fedotova. I am going to make one of hers at some point, but I am
not sure which one and when. She has many nice projects. I love her style
and her projects are beautiful and sophisticated.
This is my new crochet sweater… and there is something odd there too, but I am not going to rip this. I think it is
the color. The combination is stuffy somehow; adding white would have made it
more fresh, but I did not want to add white, because it would have taken the
center stage and added gray instead of it. The sweater can breathe now, but I am not completely happy with
my color choices. I should start all over again, but I don’t want to… I will
continue and see if I can make it better somehow. It will be a challenge… I have had a few comments of the way the fabric feels and seems in
my other two crocheted sweaters, and some have asked me if the sweater has been
felted. The yarn (Maisa Tikkanen Finnish wool - not all Finnsheep wool, discontinued)
blooms beautifully when washed and it does appear little bit felted, but it is not and probably I could rip it if needed. I have lots of this yarn
left and you will see it many, many more times in the future. It resembles
Shetland wool. It is good, rustic woolly wool.
Fall and darkness, candles and frost, fires and
shadows always sparkle up my imagination and I just had to try, if knitting
creatures would feel right.
I finished knitting a bear that has been on the needles
for a long time and cast on for a new one.
I tweaked the ears and I like the
new more rounded look of them, but I still must wait for the right kind of
mindset to continue them. I need to find the warm and fuzzy place to feel
comfortable making them. I know it is there somewhere, I just have not found it
yet.
And finally, I sewed a little bit. Hopefully this will
be a grandmother’s flower garden quilt at some point. The petals are quite big,
one side is almost 4” and I have pieced the fabric using the improvisational
technique, where you don’t stop and think but just sew random pieces together.
I
don’t have the capacity to plan, I just grab a piece, find a match to it, place
them right sides together, sew and then trim the seam to a quarter of an inch. Iron
and keep adding pieces. Once the piece is big enough, I cut the piece into the
measurements or the shape. I love this kind of quilting. Very liberating and a
lot of fun.
And this, I think is all today. This sums up my whole
week of crafting. There are no finished objects, just lots of this and that.
It
is Yarndale this weekend. I wish I was going. I will, someday.
I hope you have a good week! Thank you so much for
reading, xx.
Wool with you,
Lene
Love reading your updates; your posts are totally HYGGE!
ReplyDeleteThank you Michelle...it seems like nothing really happens up here in my world, just hygge day in, day out...love having you here!
DeleteI appreciate the update on your furry family!
ReplyDeleteI think the little bears look very promising, and your quilt will be so lovely. I enjoy reading your blog always.
Furry ones are so dear! Thank you for reading!
DeleteI am enjoying having you back! The Countess of Carnarvon wore a black dress embellished with crocheted circle motifs (I won't call them doilies) on a Downton Abbey movie preview.
ReplyDeleteHave to see that movie, loved the series. I heard that most of the old cast will be in the movie. I know, I hesitated a bit calling the sweater Doilies...
DeleteI love the idea of the kind of quilting you describe - very freeing indeed. You have lots of beautiful projects on the go. I do think if the shawl doesn't seem quite right then go ahead and knit something else with the yarn. Life is too short to knit on something that doesn't quite suit you. Or let it sit a little and make a decision on another day. And you are right, farewells are never easy. Take good care.
ReplyDeleteYou too, be well Jane! This impro quilting is freeing and what I love most, is the fact that I can use so much of the old stash and those old bits and pieces seem to fit in so well.
DeleteEnjoy hearing/seeing your world. Interesting idea for the 'granny 6-sided' pieces. Has some structure (6 sides) but randomness in the piecing. :)
ReplyDeleteRandom and easy piecing and a bit of a challenge putting the hexies together, very interesting! Thank you for being here!
DeleteYour pups are adorable! Furry family members are simply the best! And, I am hoping that your knitting settles itself soon!
ReplyDeleteFurry ones are the best! Knitting will be fine, and there is always ripping... take out the needles, and just in a few minutes, the frustration is gone and yarn is again full of new possibilites! (I try to be brave and think this way!!)
DeleteOH Iam so glad you are back! Thank you for blogging.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being here! Thank you for reading!
DeleteYour quilt will be so lovely. Gorgeous fabrics in it. Nice to have the updates on your animals!! I so much enjoyed the little cats you made...now I'm anxious to see a bear!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I do like the little bears but have not yet found the same kind of frenzy as I had when knitting the cats. I wonder if I will ever find it, I would love to, everything is so easy when the calling is present.
DeleteI too like the rounded bear ears. I look forward to seeing them when they're complete.
ReplyDeleteI am happier with the head now, and I think the body is just about right too. I just need to find the bear knitting passion again!
DeleteLove seeing what you are working on, inside and outside :-).
ReplyDeleteThank you! Mother Nature is working hard outside at the moment, she is sweeping away the leaves from the trees, the wind is quite strong... I should clean as vigorously inside too!
DeleteGlad to have you back.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your posts.
Thank you!
Thank you so much Andrea!
DeleteI love Elena's designs she s so talented. As for the crochet sweater I think some types of yarns make it more of a dense fabric. the drape of knitting is different than crochet. But I still love both!
ReplyDeleteShe is talented! You are so right about finding the right yarn... my next crochet sweater will be out of thinner yarn, out of something soft and beautiful. I know, both of the crafts have their place! I love crochet more by the project, the more I learn, the more I can see its possibilities!
DeleteSo very excited to see you back again! You bring peace and reason and such great pleasure in the details of our crafting and inner lives. Thank you again for sharing and writing such compelling verse. I am even inspired to try some of the free form quilting you are doing. I love that the fabrics of each hexagon are related. Sending peace and love and warm fires.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words! I am glad you are here reading! Free form quilting inspired me to quilt again, it is so easy, no planning, no fretting, just simple sewing.
DeleteSo nice to see you back with us!
ReplyDeleteThank you for being here!
Delete