my Helsinki

This trip was mostly about catching up with old friends and catch up we did!

{my street}

no, seriously.

{random cute guy whose style I rather liked}

{if only I was a converse-wearing girl...}

In Helsinki, I popped into the Moomin shop. A store filled with all things Moomin - I was a happy beaver!

A section of this department store was dedicated to Finnish design. 

Having it all under one roof was quite the treat. 

In fact, my favourite stores were those dedicated to Finnish designs and as Helsinki is the current World Design Capital there was much to see. 

Wishing you a good weekend whatever you get up to.

yarn crawl, Finnish edition

My time in Finland with friends from university was lovely. I hadn't seen them since graduation 12 years ago and so catching up was lots of fun but that's for another day. 

I flew into Helsinki but did not have the time nor the inclination to visit yarn stores there - too excited! Instead, all 5 of us whipped out our "must do" lists and paired up accordingly. This way we all got to do things we each wanted to, meeting up for meals and to touch base and switch partners. Then we  bade the others farewell and Iscah and I headed north to Jyväskylä, where she presently resides. This is where my holiday really began. It's also the place I had time to visit yarn shops and get up to crafty things.

Our first stop on the yarn crawl was Poppeli

This store carried, among other things, a wide selection of no-nonsense yarns, accessories, roving for spinning and (soap) felting. The lady here gave us the low-down on the knitting scene in the area.

Next was Pikkulinna

 A yarn, fabric, needlework and so much more store.

with friendly and helpful staff.

Our third and final stop on the yarn crawl was TitiTyy 

{with Milja, knitwear designer extraordinaire}

I must confess, I was very partial to this shop; the yarns were right up my street. Unfortunately, it's the one store I didn't buy anything from. We got there half an hour before closing time, Iscah and I were both famished and I couldn't settle on what to buy :-( Sadly, going back there anytime over the next 3 days was not an option as the store was closed for Juhannus, Finland's midsummer celebrations (more on this later).

Our next (and final) stop for the day was

where I was rather excited to see this poster (dunno why) announcing that Veera's knits and pictures of her knits will be displayed in the museum from this autumn until July 2013.

A couple of other pieces of interest included the wall of second-hand dish cloths

and these

The thing I enjoyed most about the day has got to be my non-knitting friend's comments and responses to the colours, textures and layout in all three yarn shops. She was an excellent companion and a lovely crawl guide! 

Later that evening we got to play with some of the day's purchases. Soap felting is the PERFECT craft to teach newbies: quick and simple with guaranteed results.

It was a good day.

getting ready mode

Preparations are underway for my trip to Finland where I'll spend time with dear friends, especially Iscah, my uni BFF. She moved back home to Singapore after graduation and though we send emails, letters and care packages back and forth, we haven't seen each other in 12 years! Today I am in "getting ready" mode. This trip will be different, it will be my first international trip without S since 2005! It will also be my first time in a country where I haven't learnt (or at least tried to learn) the language: I simply haven't had time :( 

To kick off my preparations, I did what any sensible knitter would do: I asked Finnish Ravellers for their recommendations on things to see + do and places to go to while in their homeland. Among other useful info (thanks Pirvonen!), I was warned that the weather can be unpredictable at this time of year. I thought, "Meh, it can't possibly be any worse than the weather at home." 

So today I am buying euros, shopping for a tankini + shorts set (I've been promised sauna sessions and boat rides!) and various bits to finish (did you...never mind, too juvenile.) my travel journal: 

I don't really know what to expect of Finland but having visited one other Scandinavian country, I suspect it's gonna be ACE! I'm most excited about Marimekko! I'm also looking forward to seeing other Scandinavian style, the midnight sun (I'll be there for summer solstice), folk art and crafts, going boating, discovering Finnish wool should be fun and of course I'll squeeze in a yarn store or two. I can't help but hope for good weather. 

I'll leave you with an excerpt from Iscah's email:

I want to tell you that the lakes here are now free of ice, and that there is a teeny little island (actually there are 3 in total!) in the middle of the lake just 5mins' walk from where I live..OK 10mins if you're not excited to get there, hehe..Anyway, this island has sauna and toilet facilities on it, and we can go there by boat and swim in the lake + BBQ + enjoy sauna while you are here! How does that sound??!

Have I shown you this pic before?? 

(Taken in late March while the lake was frozen..and I was standing on it while taking the photo)

I can't wait!!! =D


Not long now, dear friend.

abe's key

Hello again! I'm back with that FREE cross stitch pattern I promised. I spent a chunk of this weekend tidying, prettifying and, most importantly, adding all the relevant details. And so without further ado I give you: 

{click the image and follow instructions to download}

named after my 13 year old nephew who I taught to cross stitch last weekend. He took to it like a duck to water and went on to stitch several rows on my second key (and I didn't even have to unpick and redo them!). 

I truly hope you enjoy stitching this key. I would LOVE to see your interpretation so please feel free to send me a link to your finished key via email or in the comments. 

We're halfway through a four-day weekend here, unfortunately the weather isn't playing ball. It's been rather nippy and wet out but this isn't all bad: I am blazing through my very long to-do list. Pity about the yard work though :-)

Have a good one folks!

more jewels

Last Friday on the way to a spectacular weekend with family in mid-Wales, I paid a flying visit to

Although I am not knitting these days, I couldn't well be in the vicinity of a yarn shop without calling by - that would be preposterous!

I had a clue what to expect because minniemoll had visited (and blogged about her visit) that same week yet I was unprepared for the burst of colour on walking through the door

It was indescribably nice to see and feel the full range of colours and textures. And knitting or not, there was no way I was walking out without yarn so here are my jewels

The eagle-eyed among you may think this yarn somewhat familiar and you'd be correct. It IS a colour way I've used before but as those socks now adorn the feet of boy BFF all the way in the antipodes, I thought it only fair to get myself more jewels! Yes, I was tempted by so many other colours but this is by far my favourite.

This is a 4-day weekend here in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. I am so excited I could make bunting! 

I wish you a fabulous weekend: what will you get up to?