Gifts and catkins

Catkins, green woolen socks made for me by one lovely soul, Easter time, Japanese white chocolate (so good!),  beautiful stay at the oldest part of our city and the music played there by my son at the music festival for kids, soft Malabrigo Arroyo, blooming tea in my new glass tea pot - these are my recent delights and blessings. So much to be grateful for.

A Month of giving - and my little gift for you

My dear, dear  friend Vibeke is celebrating her 40th birthday by hosting a Month of giving at her soul warming and beautiful blog a Butterfly in my hair. Every day there will be given a new gift at her blog and introduced the maker of it through answering some questions. Feel free to join, it is open to everybody and the gifts will be sent worldwide.
You can discover my little gift at the 14th of March. I am so honored to be a part of this celebration. Congratulations Vibeke!

 

About my gift:
I wanted to make something that would remind me of our generous host of this lovely Month of giving. I know that Vibeke is a  friend of birds so I knitted a pair of Sweet Robin wrist-ees (pattern: tiny owl knits by Stephanie Dosen). I used Jamieson's Shetland spindrift, 100% wool, in pretty colors. On the left hand wrist warmer there is a nest with tiny eggs and on the right one a bird, a robin. These wrist-ees are the perfect thing to wear when feeding little birds. As Stephanie Dosen wrote to the pattern "when feeding birds  you can simply point to your wrists and explain that you are a friend" .
I also arm knitted a huge scarf and then felted it and shaped it to a collar/neckwarmer. The yarn is 100 % wool.






with love, Anu

Lately I have enjoyed a little crochet adventure with my favorite crochet book called Crochet Workshop - learn how to crochet with 20 inspiring projects by Erika Knight. This pattern from the book  uses the v-double crochet stitch with the puff stitch (my book is in finnish so I hope I got those names right in english...) and I love how it looks. The structure is simply beautiful. I just finished a spring snood for a dear friend and am already planning to use the stitch for something else, too.
I bought the first narcissus for this spring, baked a simple chocolate cake to surprise my husband and son and opened a lovely parcel full of yarn.
I hope you also have a lovely day out there.

- Anu

A Coat for these early spring days - for autumn too

Hi! I am so happy. I finally finished my coat. Do you know those projects that you think will never be finished? The ones that lie on your basket for months and months and you just do not find it in yourself to continue. Well, this was just like that. First I thought I would knit a cardigan and actually began my project with that thought (some old Novita pattern from a Finnish knitting magazine) but then I changed my mind and wanted to have a coat instead and just improvised. Yes - I wanted to have a  woolen, informal, oversize coat I could wrap myself into and feel perfectly cozy and warm.
I am going to wear the coat during my walks in the forest on these early spring days when the wind is still cold and it is too chilly to wear only dresses. I think the coat goes well together with my dusky pink  linen dress I sew last summer and with some of my other favorites too. Of course I am already dreaming about wearing this during the early autumn. It is just as perfect for October walks with a huge scarf and a pair of wellies. Simple pleasures.
Today we had a lovely bicycle trip alongside the river. I found my first catkins this year and brought some branches home. Catkins are my all time favorite sign of the spring season.

I am wishing you a lovely Sunday and inspiring moments for a new oncoming week.

- Anu

Today

Not so many words today but bright and beautiful light, softness too.
Wishing you a happy Friday!

- Anu

A Nest

 

 

 

We spent a few days at Aland island. The wind was cold but our hearts and souls so warm. We explored the nature, swam in a freezing pool can you imagine (!), laughed and loved both each other and the place. I also got to visit the local yarn shop and found some treasures for spring time.

Before our vacation I knitted a pair of Sweet Robin Wrist-ees. I used Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift in lovely colors and enjoyed both the yarn and the pattern very much. I especially like the nest on the left wrist warmer.

We all need a safe place, a cosy nest. Some place to call a home. I am planning to brighten up my nest with light,  happy toughts, kindness and fresh flowers this week. Small things but so important.

Have a happy week!

- Anu

Knitting dreams

 

This week I found a pretty little cissus from our local flower shop. Ever since I bought it  I have been thinking about spring and summer season, warm evenings and light. Oh, how I miss sunlight. We have had quite grey days here in Finland lately - well actually since November. I remember one sunny December day but otherwise it has been grey and cloudy. But guess what? Grey is one of my favorite colors so I am trying to make the best out of these days too.
One day my son came to me and asked if I would knit him a grey cardigan or hoodie. Yes! Yes I really would like that, I answered. He is very fiber sensitive and can not stand wools that tickle him (at all) so we begun testing what kind of a yarn would be something he would like. He choose Pickles Summer wool (I have it in my stash in soft pink) and we ordered it in grey  right away. It arrived this week and I am very happy about the color. It is a grey with a green touch, I think. I think it is so lovely that my son nowadays asks me to knit something for him, like a cardigan or this fox scarf I did earlier. I did not have any pattern but just experimented and had fun with the project. Now I finally found buttons for eyes and he has been wearing it even inside the house today (Can you see those cheeks? Like red apples. I took the picture after  a two hours time playing outside) Just now I found the creature on his bed with all of his stuffed animals. This all makes me so happy.
I have many knitting goals this year. Actually they are more like dreams because I do not want to think about knitting as something that will stress me and a word 'goal' has a little stressful meaning for me. My knitting time is mostly in the evenings after my son has gone to bed and after house work is all done. I rarely have a possibility to knit during daytime. One dream is to find days that would offer me an occasional, even a little moment with my needles during daytime. Another dream is to knit this hoodie I mentioned and then I have a list of garments I would love to try. One of them is this Viuhka.   This one is on my needles right now but I have not made any progress lately. And then I would just love to knit something from the new oncoming Madder anthology 2 book by Carrie Bostick Hoge. This Leigh Tee is so to my taste and  Rowan Cocoon..... I found a tiny little Cocoon swatch I once knitted and now I am so hungry for that yarn.
Mainly my dream for this year's knitting projects is to knit with fibers and  yarns that are kind of "yarn love" to me. It doesn't matter how much I actually get done but the journey with lovely fibers and time with my needles is something I am looking forward to. I have so much to learn and I am enjoying every new project whether it is small one or something bigger.
Oh yes and I finished my grey Bas Relief Hat. I like it so much!

Anu

Today

Today; grey wool,  trellis pattern, soft white snow, dreams about next knitting projects, child's laughter, baking and one absolutely delicious pecan butter mocca muffin with a  cup of cranberry tea.
I hope your days was a good one too.

hugs,
Anu

Slow living

A New year has begun. I have spent my day cherishing everything that I am grateful for in my life. And there is so much that it makes me cry! One thing I am so grateful for is that last year I had the courage to change some elementary elements in my life. First when pondering the possibility for change I thought that I was going to have to settle down for something that I need to work hard to accept but actually I was so wrong. After making up my mind about changing the course of my career and my life, our family's life has grown to a whole different level of well-being. I am so grateful and happy. This year my goal is to continue to seek slow living and well-being for myself and for my loved ones, finding us rest in everyday life. I wish that my dreams come true and that  all your dreams come true as well.

hugs,
Anu

ps. In these pictures you can find some of the things I am so grateful for: moments with my loved ones (new year celebration with family), small knitting projects of mine (hat and a scarf a knitted early autumn), friends (mittens, tea, card and a coaster from lovely friends) and nature (pine cones my son gave me to make me happy), tea times!