Macrame Jar Cover No1

I designed and made an easy & simple macrame jar cover. It is a variation of a common and universal jar cover design. 

I used Lankava's Minimop yarn that is made of recycled cotton (80%) and polyester (20%) (700g = 490m).

Because the yarn includes 20% polyester, it may get too hot easier than 100% cotton. Always follow the fire safety with the candles. I use led-candle inside this jar to avoid it all get too hot.

AAW Fair Isle Socks No9

I designed another pair of Fair Isle Socks made of our own ethic produced angora yarn AAW (50% our own ethic produced arctic angora wool, 40% ethic produced FinnSheep wool, 10% nylon) (100g = 238m) and Novita's Moomin (75 % wool, 25% polyamide) (100g = 225m) yarn.

These socks are designed and especially made for my childhood friend with whom we've celebrated our 50th birthday in November day after another. The apple green is factory produced Novita 7 veljestä yarn. The other shades are AAW that I've plant dyed. These are long and warm and she needs them when riding horses in the arctic climate. (This year was the 1st time I ever visited Moomin World.)

SilverScarf

I designed and crocheted a very simple & soft scarf. It is not for me. It is made of DROPS Brushed Alpaca Silk yarn (77% alpaca, 23% silk) (25g = 140m). If you are allergic to lanolin (sheep wool has it a lot) or itch easily, alpaca and silk are perfect options for you. 

PolarBears AAW

Look what I've done! It is Norwegian Linka Neumann design from her book Villmarksgensere 2. She is a very talented designer and her style touches my soul. After a long-long-long and even longer time I have knit something according to someone else than my own design. I just can't resist her style.

I have 3 books from Linka and have dreamed for a long time to have a change (=freetime) to knit some of her designs. It has taken almost 12 months to complete this; to be able to find the spare moment to knit just something only for myself. 

It has been a long-term plan to make this jumper. I have used AAW from our 1st collection for this design. It is a very special yarn (50% our own ethic produced arctic angora wool, 40% ethic produced FinnSheep wool, 10% nylon) (100g = 238m). In June 2023 I finally found some time every now and then to start to plant dye our AAW yarn.

It all is knit by Fair Isle style. Except the polar bears. The polar bears were at first knit by the basic color of AAW. After finishing the jumper I used duplicate stitching and Novita 7 veljestä yarn (blanco and nature white) to make the polar bears thicker and whiter. I could have used white yarn at first but because I wanted them to be thicker and get a bit variegated fur I first used the basic color and then duplicate stitching with another shade. At front I have 2 blanco white polar bears...

...and at back side they all 3 are nature white. I wanted to do it in this way because of the climate change and the fact that all the polar bears are not the same white shade. There are many shades in white, like in the life itself too. It is not always just black or white, but far too often we speak about the shades of grey. There are shades of white too.

This brand new jumper we can call FashionNOW design despite it is a brand new piece of cloth. I have produced 50% of the material by myself (the angora wool), 40% of the material (FinnSheep) is produced at a home hobby farm by someone I know. All the colors (except the white ones) I plant dyed at home using 90% the plants from my local area, collected by my self by respecting the nature and diversity. The white ones are left over materials from the projects years back. Instead of throwing the white ones away I saved them for the further use = this.

This jumper is my own gift for 50 yrs old me. And the brooch I am using with it is a birthday gift from my childhood friend with whom we turn to 50 yrs day after another.  It is Inarin Hopea design Solar Bear. On the jumper where it walks with me, it reminds about my Sámi culture, roots and ideology. Its shiny silver blink drives away the evil, dark and all the bad that might be hiding on the path I am walking.

Paulat

I realized you have not seen these traditional rigid heddle bands as finished. They are very beautiful and important part of Sámi culture. They are called "paula" (1) / "paulat" (more than 1).

This is traditional design from my Forest Sámi region. These are part of men's costume but it is possible for a woman wear them in the need.

The Reading Challenge No11

 The Reading Challenge 2024 is here!

On 2024 I encourage you to read books in different genres. No other rules but the genre. The meaning is to introduce different kind of literature and authors to yourself. But, you can still choose your favorite one if the genre is familiar to you. Notice, you can always drop out the book if you dislike it. It is highly recommended to use second hand books, borrowed books and your local library collection. If possible, read in all the languages you can. Also, don't be afraid of to pick up a book you have already read in the past. The second round at different age may bring you new experiences. 

November 2024 theme is SATIRE!

Satire comes out in many forms. I am sure it is already familiar to you. This month theme is to read satire. Also in literary you can find it in many forms: speech, comedy, comics, drama etc. It is up to you how you want to get on this and which theme of satire to choose. 

Literary Criticism

In 2024 I encourage you to read specific genres of literature. October 2024 theme is literary criticism. I usually never read it. It is important to understand what it is. It is professional or non-professional information about a book. It may include personal opinion or objective description. It can be anonymous or signed so you either know or don't who wrote it. Before letting it influence on you, you should ask at least two questions: who wrote it and why?

In this challenge I randomly seek literary criticism articles on magazines, newspapers and internet. I didn't read them all but seek one about a book I am interested about and have already read or want to read. I experienced this a good way to find a book I've never heard about but now add it on my "want-to-read" list.