My First Dyed Yarns

They really managed to surprise me. See what I mean.

Kiri shawl

It is finally done. I do not suggest knitting KIRI in such fine yarn (it is 2-ply almost or maybe entirely cobweb weight lambswool) with 2,75 mm needels. It is a suicide. It took me near 1,5 months to complete it, of course I didn't knit it with one breath... I took a lot of breaths between, a lot without needles in my hands. But I am very satisfied. You can find the pattern here.
But oh it's so pretty and it goes for my awesome mother-in-law. I will do lace more.

I dyed some yarn

I dyed some yarn with local colors that I managed to find from the city (that was an adventure).

Conclusions:

This was the first and last time... with these colors.

Nothing has changed in 20 years.

The colors are cool, but to get them it takes too much mess and scrubbing and boiling and mixing.

I will buy next colors from abroad and try again.

Estonian wool is really great! It gets softer as you boil it. Good pre-washing is essential - it not only gets softer and cleaner but it also goes nicely white.

The colors in this picture are too bright and strong, but I couldn't help it, my camera didn't take the red-orange tones well. Who notices that there are 2 oranges used? Exactly my point, even though I can't show them to you well, I am still very satisfied of the colors and will use these yarns in the near-future projects. BTW Violet really sucked, my sink still has lilac tonality to it.

Shortest nights of the year

It is the time of the shortest nights of the year, the sun sets close to 11 PM and rises around 4 AM, and it never gets entirely dark.
On the shortest night the sun sets at 22:34 and raises at 4:05 and then we celebrate it with building big fires all around the country, it keeps away bad spirits and jumping over it brings luck. It is our Midsummer's Eve.

This year I went to visit my great-aunt in Southern Estonia and this gives me a chance to introduce some of my greatgrandmothers needlework. She was a very talented embroiderer, coming up with her own ideas and doing needlework until she was in her eighties and couldn't continue for her eyes and hands were poor. Here is a selection of her stitched work, she also did a lot crocheting, all the soviet time dull towels have very elaborate crocheted laces attached. I don't remember her knitting, but I think she did it as well - just to dress the family. I think my handicraft interest comes from that line of family, I am just slightly sad that when she was still with us I was young and hot headed and wasn't interested much. I could use her advice now every so often.




My great-aunt gave me some really brightly colored 100% wool from old times and since I had a lot of time on my hands I nearly finished the Kiri shawl. Yeay!

"Princess's Pink Dream"

Princess's Pink Dream
Yarn: Steinbach Wolle Capri Ombrè, 100% cotton
Needles: 2,25 mm
Amount: ~280 gr
Pattern: My Own
Some white silk ribbon.

Knitted top-down.

I went to the city....

Guess what happens when Ingrid goes to town?

HA! Of course she buys yarn!!!

So today I bought:

BBB Kid Mohair (mohair-polyammide) for lacy scarf

Match Strumpf und Sportwolle (superwash-polyamid) - the stripy one for socks

and some Estonian natural colour wool. I will try to find some dyes tomorrow and dye something before weekend. If I am successful, knitting will be a B-priority for my vacation time. By the way how much wool can one dye during 3 weeks (hopefully we will have warm and sunny weather)?

Never come home empty-handed

From WWKIP gathering in Tallinnn, I had to leave rather early to go to a small Southern Estonian town called Viljandi. The town was having a Hanseatic Days festival so I wanted to check out the handicraft fair. I met an old aquiantance, who surprise-surprise had taken on handicrafts for a living. It seems just a few years ago, when she was a graduate from law staying home with children and saying that she got a job in designing furniture. Life is weird, isn't it?
Of course I couldn't leave without buying some yarn. The nice merry girls at the yarn booth.. and... and.. and... oh I don't know what made me buy it, I've made tons of promises not to, but I bought SteinbachWolle Capri Ombrè and some extra Katia Jamaica for a project in mind, which hopefully will turn out to be my first pattern... or a messy pile in the corner of the closet.
Anyways, I got the yarn straight away on needles, and the Pink Dream was this far in the early hours of the morning.

Since in one Estonian handicraft forum people are thinking about organizing a little Christmas-gift exchange action, I think I did a good thing purchasing following books:

These are Estonian mittens' patternbook, upper ones are also in English, with written instructions and schematics, bottom one is a black-and-white thin booklet of patterns. The cutouts are from the books on top.

WWKIP day in Tallinn

10th of June in Tammsaare park in Estonia. I have to admit we attracted quite a few japanese to taking photos while we enjoyed eachothers company peacefully knitting the time away on the WorldWide Knitting in Public day. There were 16 of us at the hottest moment which is more than I expected at first, since pictures tell more than words, there are some photo memories in flickr.

Ready!

Finally! Here it is, nicely shaped. And in my garndmother's garden some tulips are the same colour.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cathay (50% cotton, 35% viscose-microfiber, 15% silk), colour: 10
Needles: 4 mm
Amount: ca 200 gr
Pattern: Leaf t-shirt

Yarn Shops in Milano

Allrighty, AnnaK, these are the shops I have visited:
Canetta (Shops of the magazine Mani di Fata) - You can find amazing quality yarn there, but no fun-fancy-special yarns. But the quality is amazing, the softness of most yarns and they have wide selection of colors in back-room, so don't hesitate to ask. The only shop where I know the sales lady DOES speak English is conveniently in the very historic center on via Dante (The street that leads from Duomo to the Castle Sforza) - Via Dante 2. On the window they have baby clothes and embroidered stuff, laces... so check in, they don't keep yarn on the window usually. And they have good choice of magazines and design sheets. Shops of Canetta are located:

• 2 Via Solferino angolo Via Pontaccio (in Brera)
• 7 Via Vettabbia (near San Lorezo church and Roman pillars)
• 22 Via Mazzini (between Duomo and Missouri tube stop)
• 2 Via Dante
  

The magazine of Mani di Fata is my favourite, because they have very sexy-modern knit designs, it is not entirely knitting magazine, for it also has laces, embroidery, crocheting designs in it.

Okay there are 2 more I know in the central area, both of them I have been unfortunate to just pass by (for instance at lunchtime they are closed).
One is in near Corso Buenos Aires (anyways a must when visiting MIlano, for it is a big shopping street, huge I'd say) - It is called La Bottega della Lana (The Wool Shop) - address Via Pergolesi 1 (from Monday to Sturday 9:30-12:30 and 15:30 til 19:30, closed Sunday and Monday morning), near Red Line tube stop Loreto. When walking on Corso Buenos Aires, coming from the tube stop, walk on right side of the street and it is on your right. Just a few step after the shop is also a great icecream shop. SO if it is hot outside and you are hot-headed about yarn - icecream will cool you down.

I just recently discovered another promising yarn-store in the area of the Central Railstation (Stazione Centrale), I have not visited it, for I have been unluckywith the time again (I passed by with bike one Sunday).
Nera Toffoli Idee & Filati - Pay attention, they also sell underwear next door so their windows are rather crowded. You can find them from Piazza San Materno 16, corner of Via Accademia. Closest tube stop on Red Line (Linea Rossa or Line nr 1) is Pasteur, just one stop after Loreto. Again remember, they close for lunch - from around 12 to 15.

That's it folks, 2 others are so out of center, that I know their location but since I have no car I haven't tried looking them up.