Through this blog and through the web knitting community, I have met some wonderful Finns, among many other people all over the world.  I have learned more about Finland through blogs, posts, and photographs.  I already wanted to travel to Finland, but I have to say that after actually meeting a wonderful Finn, and learning even more about Finnish culture and textiles, I am ready to pack my bags!

The Nordic Knitting Conference was absolutely great.  Taking classes with Tuulia?  even greater!

Lucky Lolly had a full day with this knitter/designer extraordinaire.  Friday started with a long bus ride and my own personal tour-by-bus through Seattle on my way up to the Nordic Heritage Museum.  Once I got to building, I registered and peeked around looking for my classroom.  Tuulia and I talked a few times before class, and we read each others’ blogs (she is in Project Spectrum!) but this was our first time meeting.  I walked into the auditorium and there was Tuulia!  …and she was wearing this!  and I gasped! (yes, all of the drama is completely warranted!)

Seriously people. Get a load of that.  She knit it in a week specifically for this conference.  The stranding at the bottom is based off of two traditional Finnish mitten patterns with the added braids.  So she did that and just kept knitting until she had a beautiful skirt.  She sure can churn out the amazingness (check out her “Northern Lights” shawl!).  She designed even more things – like the two class projects!

The first class, Finnish Mitten Design, went so well.  Tuulia shared a table full of beautiful mittens in traditional patterns, and then unveiled the special mitten pattern for our class.  The patterning on the cuff is based on an embroidery design from the region of Karelia.  She framed this piece with vikkel braids in two colors, and then moved into the simple traditional stranded pattern for the main mitten piece.  Take a look at this beauty:

Tuulia’s class sample and my humble beginnings on the double pointed needles – knit in three colors of Knit Picks Palette yarn.

My classmate, Karen, knitting her mitten.  This was her first foray into stranded colorwork and she just jumped right in and had great results!

Oh vikkel braid.  I have read about you in Nancy Bush’s books – it is an Estonian and Finnish technique – and I had no idea how to do it until Tuulia showed me in class.  Now I want to try it all the time!

The mittens will take me a little while because I have several other projects on the needles.  I teased that this is more likely to become a knitted oven mitt since I am unlikely to knit two full mittens.  However, they are so beautiful that a pair really would be nice (but almost too pretty to wear!)

The afternoon class, Finnish Textile Traditions,  was more of a history and storytelling session about Finland, some elements of the culture, and lots of information about traditional textiles.  Tuulia talked about the sheep breeds in Finland, handspinning and the equipment used, weaving, embroidery and needle arts, ryas, and about knitting and crochet.  Like so many countries with early textile traditions, things were created for a function and a purpose, and it was not until much later that items took on a more decorative element.  Lace, stranded colorwork, special embroidery additions:  all of these things are known in Finland’s traditional textiles. My favorite part of Tuulia’s presentation was on her research of the Saami, the indigenous people in northern Finland and through Scandinavia.  She shared some of her experiences of working with the Saami as a historian.  It was so fascinating.  I hope we have the chance to sit together again, I want to hear more stories!

[Full Conference Photo Set Here]

One of my classmates brought in a handwoven textile heirloom for analysis.  Her family was Finnish and she wanted Tuulia’s opinion on origins.

Although I have not started on the class project for this class (alas, no picture!) Tuulia adapted a well-known Finnish pattern to a pair of ladies stockings.  She put together the pattern and I am looking forward to starting it in the beautiful green yarn I showed last time.  The lace stitching looks similar to dragon scales, so I think the lightly variegated green will be perfect!  You can see the finished socks on Tuulia’s blog.

What a wonderful day!  I felt so inspired after seeing her work and learning more about Finland.  Thank you Tuulia!  let’s meet again (stop by DC en route to Finland!)

During the lunch break, I walked through some of the galleries at the museum:

In the process of peeking, I spied a certain Ms. Nancy Bush   That was a nice surprise, and I talked to her and thanked her personally for the great interview I got back in 2006. I hear her classes went quite well – she did a series of Estonian lace classes on two days of the conference.

The Nordic Heritage Museum was a wonderful place, and they are planning to continue the Nordic Knitting Conference in the future.  There was some talk about moving the dates to the fall.  Either way, I would love to go again and learn more about this region of the world and the beautiful textiles that come from it.  As you know, I was already a fan of yoked sweaters and stranded colorwork – so I have plenty of inspiration to knit more and more of these Nordic patterns now!

Kris and I are off to Seattle to see an amazing lady, learn about Finnish knitting techniques (well, that is just me… Kris will be at the aquarium), and snap lots of photographs of the beautiful northwestern city!

I will be there for the Nordic Knitting Conference, sponsored by the Nordic Heritage Museum.  On Friday, I am signed up for two workshops with the amazingly talented Tuulia Samela:  Finnish Mitten Design and Finnish Textile Tradition.  Descriptions of the classes get me all excited:

Finnish Mittens: Finnish mittens are full of tradition and inspiration for modern knitters! Learn about materials and techniques and examine samples of mitten patterns. Students will begin a pair of traditional mittens in stranded knitting while learning about the stitch patterns, colors and symbols in traditional mittens.

Finnish Textiles: What makes Finnish textiles different from all the others? Learn all about Finnish handicrafts – the history, the influences, the materials, the traditions. While examining samples of traditional needlework, the class will discuss Finnish traditional nålbinding, weaving, embroidery, ryas, crochet, knitting and more.

Both classes have knitting projects – the mitten class is pretty obvious, but the second class has a surprise project involving a light sport-weight yarn and size 3 needles…

I chose to use the Sanguine Gryphon Little Traveler yarn that I picked up at last year’s Homespun Yarn Party (I will miss this year’s party – which is about 3 miles from my house, no less! – since I will be in Seattle… have fun everyone!)  I thought the green was quite appropriate for Project Spectrum, and Tuulia says that the 2-ply should work just fine   I love a good surprise!

Jenna has some fun stuff planned – yarn shop tours, yummy vegan dinners, and lots of photo ops! She knows me well!  …and you can be assured that I will share the details with you all upon return!

Once I get a new warp on the loom, I can zoom right along.  It’s just getting that new warp on… the process takes a steady hand and a dedicated attention span – threading all of the heddles, sleying the reed, beaming.  Once I am in that zone, I quite enjoy the process of it.  Especially with a good audiobook* playing.

Silk Stripes Scarf 
Warp: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed in Linen (2 skeins)
Weft: Noro Silk Garden in 249 (1 skein) & 269 (1 skein)

[more photos of the Silk Stripes Scarf here]

Each skein of the Silk Garden yielded three bobbins (to put in the boat shuttle) each, so with six bobbins, I alternated the striping patterns between the earthy colors of the 249 colorway and the cream variegations of the 269.  Each bobbin gave me between 7 and nine inches of woven fabric.  The deep colors of the 249 colorway appear to be three different skeins of yarn – but that is the true beauty of Noro!  Every time I work with Noro, I fall a *little* more in love with it.  (Sad side story:  Remember my Shinano cowl?  Totally loved that thing.  Well, I seem to have lost it somewhere en route to Nova Scotia.  I think it must have been at Dulles Airport somewhere…  I am thinking around the security check when I was hurrying to put my shoes back on… ack.  I loved that thing.  And now I want more Shinano to compensate!)

I am brimming with weaving inspiration right now – so many great ideas and designs out there!  Many thanks to Barbara at The Lumpy Sweater for sending a weaving book she found at a sale.  It is about Finnish weaving techniques.  I look forward to trying some… once I get a little better!

…

I had a nice holiday with the family.  We planned to go down to see the fireworks in DC, but the thunder and lightning kept us at home.  We played a few card games and Scattergories whilst munching on my leftover Friendship bread!  It was a fun night.  My sister Sarah and I made plans to get together the next day to check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.  The weather forecast didn’t look particularly pleasant, but it ended up being quite nice once we got to the National Mall.

The themes this year were Bhutan, Texas, and NASA.  Very disparate themes, but a good mix for a day of learning.  The SFF seems to always include a rich textiles display, and that offers some amazing photo opportunities.  So full of color!

[All photos from Festival here]

 We saw several demonstrations, heard a few discussions (a particularly interesting one on the environmental sensibilities of the Bhutanese people and their Gross National Happiness) and in the Texas “Opry” pavillion, I got to dance.  The band was playing some polka music, and this older gentleman came up and held his hand out to me.  I hesitated and pointed at my sister, but he pointed right at me.  So, I polka-ed with this man (who didn’t speak any English… I believe he was actually Polish) in front of a large audience.  Even though we lived in Texas for a short while when I was young, I guess I didn’t realize that polka was so “big” there.  The band was pretty good, and my dance partner was getting quite into it.  He kept on saying things to help lead me in the dance (but I did not understand!) and I just stepped around in a square figure.  He even twirled me around a few times!  what a charmer!  (…but Kris should have no cause for concern…)

*I listened to The Man Who Loved China whilst weaving my scarf.  Fascinating and engaging story!  (Psst – anyone else on Goodreads?)

ancient fiber :: modern style

The flax plant has been cultivated and used for food and fiber for thousands of years. The flax plant is native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia, explaining the fiber history of linen, spun from the fibers of the flax plant. Some of the oldest known textiles are linens that have been preserved by the arid climate of the region – of particular note are the handspun linen strips that were used in ancient Egypt to wrap the mummified remains of pharaohs and the elite.

Knowing the detailed past of this fiber, I looked forward to working with it. The modern linen industry seems to be centered in Europe now, and many of the well-known commercial fibers come from mills there.

I am using the linen to make a summer pullover – the Mottled Summer Sweater from Rebecca #36. Linen is the quintessential summer fabric, known for its coolness and its wickability. With the hot summer ahead, this is definitely something I need to consider. I chose to modify the pattern by taking out the cables. I loved them as a design feature, but with the mottled yarn, the cables looked strange and lumpy with no definition. I chose stockinette, and it is simple and beautiful. The wide v-neck was what attracted me to the pattern, and that will definitely stay in tact.

I bought this linen, Louet’s Euroflax Chunky, at this year’s Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. The Parsley colorway and the haze of the fiber (as well as its easy care instructions) drew me to it. Enough to splurge a little, as linen is not exactly a cheap fiber. I don’t regret my decision. This yarn in knitting up beautifully, and quite quickly too, as I am using size 11 needles to knit. I can see this one becoming a three-season staple for years to come.

After I took up weaving, I began to see some of the items in my yarn stash in a new light. Things that I bought for specific knitterly purposes seemed somehow better suited for weaving. While I haven’t been too hasty and warped and cut my yarns up yet, I know that I will have many decisions to make in coming days… cast on or warp up?

Brooke at The Daily Purl has made some fabulous stoles and scarves with Habu warp and weft yarns, so those are definitely tempting me. But, then so are Olga and Vanessa’s Habu knit creations…

With the help and advice of some weaving friends I met through Ravelry and Flickr, I decided to add a few specific weaving yarns to my stash – just to avoid some of the tension problems I have experienced of late. I am hoping to warp up this linen soon and began work on the denim rag rug!

There is no doubt about the strength of this yarn: 100% linen! It should make a great rug warp, and I liked the natural undyed color to go with the simple indigo of the jean rags. I picked this up from WEBS, along with a few other weaving yarn goodies.

Valley Yarns CotLin 8/2 cones

I really liked the springy combination of these colorways, and the three of them came with a dishtowel drafting pattern for the loom. If I can find the patience and wherewithal, I will attempt the plaid dishcloth! With 3000 yards each, I can afford to experiment a little and play around on the loom.

And as I learn more about my loom and its capabilities, I am also looking at my sock yarn stash in a new way. After seeing some fun store samples woven up at The Mannings, I think it would be a blast to experiment with the colors of sock yarns. After a winter sock “drought” – my last pair being the Autumnal Equinox socks for Socktoberfest – I finally cast on for a pair of socks yesterday after feeling the urge to see how this yarn would knit up. Definitely wanted to knit with this one – there was no thought of using it for weaving.

The feminine companion to the other GGH socks I made for Kris… another thanks to Debi for sending these (now discontinued) yarns in a trade almost two years ago!

After seeing a parade of beautiful socks by Chawne, I felt the time was right to finally cast on for some socks. I was waiting to finish my sister’s sweater, but I thought: why delay happiness? These socks are making me pretty happy! I started them on the train while I was traveling downtown to see Amber, who was in DC for work. We had a yummy Ethiopian dinner. And while we did not knit or take photos of our outing, we had a great time

So, as I look over my stash, I am thinking about all of the possibilities and all of the fabrics – both knit and woven – that can be created. It excites me. It’s like a newfound spirit of adventure: seeing my stash with both weaver and knitter eyes!