Tallinn Old Town

My two years in London have finally drawn to a close. My visa expired yesterday so I flew back to Halifax last week. I'm glad to be home for the summer to spend time with family and friends. There is a lot of knitting to be done and new designs to be created over the next few weeks so I think this summer will fly by. I'm still reminiscing about my time traveling through Europe only a few weeks ago. I'm hoping to head back to England or Europe eventually so those adventures are definitely not over yet. In the meantime, I'm already planning a few adventures to have right here in the Maritimes.

These shots are from two afternoons exploring Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. We spent a weekend between Muhu and Saaremaa. Both are islands just off Estonia in the Baltic Sea. I promise to post more about these islands soon. We took our time when we arrived in Tallinn to explore the Old Town. I fell in love with the medieval-esque doors and windows in the area. Many of them are brightly painted with intricate designs and against faded, cracked and peeling pastel walls. 

I couldn't pass through Old Town without picking up a few souvenirs for myself. I settled on these mittens which have been hand embroidered. I also picked out a few colours of yarn and wool embroidery threads. The Estonian Folk Art and Craft Union was the perfect place to find amazing examples of traditional craft. I would love to find the time to embroider more. After this trip I definitely feel inspired to do so since I saw many amazing examples. I'm hoping to combine it with my knitting more frequently. I also loved the small boutiques which featured modern craft by local Estonian artisans. I bought a few gifts from Oma Asi for friends. Of course I was so excited to give them away I forgot to photograph them. 

On our way back through Tallinn we had the afternoon again before catching the ferry to Helsinki. We stopped for lunch at Vegan Restoran V in the heart of Old Town. I had the beetroot ravioli with cashew cheese and for a main, the spicy peanut butter tofu with vegetable quinoa and tomato coconut sauce. Both dishes tasted like vegan heaven. I was thrilled with the variety of beetroot dishes I saw on various menus during our stay in Estonia since it is one of my favourite root vegetables. 

Stockholm

I can't believe that it was already two weeks ago today when we spent a day in Stockholm. Eero and I left Helsinki on Monday night by cruise ship. We woke up to many islands and Swedish summer cottages passing by our window before arriving in Stockholm. It was a gorgeous day with absolutely clear blue skies. We walked from the ship, along the harbour and through a few of the islands that make up Stockholm. 

I only had one stop on my list while we were in Stockholm for the day and that was Makeri 14. I only knew that Makeri 14 stocked Pom Pom Quarterly so I thought I would at least check out one yarn shop while I was in Sweden. Makeri 14 is tucked in behind the Swedish Royal Palace along a narrow cobble stone street. It may be a small shop in size but I was excited to see they stocked many of my favourite yarns to work with. I was pleased to see companies such as Toft and Socks Yeah! alongside copies of Pom Pom Quarterly. 

As for books, I came across Penguin by Anna Maltz, and was happy to reunite my project bag with it for a brief time. This was my first purchase from the Edinburgh Yarn Festival earlier this year. It has accompanied me during my recent travels through Finland, Sweden and Estonia. Another happy find was Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey on the shelves as well. It is really touching to see there has been interest in this book all over the world. It was a pleasure to meet Stephanie, the owner of Makeri 14, and sign the remaining copies she had.

 I indulged in a few skeins of Holst Garn's 100% Supersoft Wool 2ply which was a new yarn for me. I picked out a few colours that will remind me of the Swedish architecture. 

Photo Credit: @makeri14  

For the rest of the day we continued to wonder through Stockholm and headed to Södermalm to check out that area. We came across a beautiful little bistro called Woodstockholm for lunch. I don't normally post pictures of what I'm eating but some of the meals on this trip were too gorgeous and delicious to forget. There's also a slight chance some future blog posts may be more food related than knitting, so I do apologize in advance. This meal at Woodstockholm consisted of amazing fresh fish topped with an Asian style salad, black sesame seeds and kimchi mayo. I know I'm not doing this meal justice in my description but it definitely was one of  my top five meals during the whole trip. ƒf

We finished our day in Stockholm with tea and coffee at Kaffe and a pint elsewhere in Södermalm before heading back to the ship. 

Suomenlinna

For the past two weeks I have been traveling around Finland and a few of its neighbouring countries. I had the chance to visit my boyfriend in his home town of Helsinki to see where he grew up and to meet his family. I had not explored much of Europe since moving to the UK two years ago. Now that my visa is nearly up, I feel pleased with myself for finally getting out of London for more than just a weekend to experience a few unexpected places. Plus, having a local tour guide always helps! This trip was a very much needed vacation after what feels like two non stop years in London. However, I rarely turn my brain off from working, so I was able to take in these fantastic sights, hoping to refuel my inspiration for new projects in the near future. 

I flew into Helsinki where I spent most of my two weeks. On my first full day, we took the ferry from the city's Market Square to visit Suomenlinna, a historic sea fortress located in the harbour, just a few minutes from the city centre. The moody weather complimented the old and overgrown landscape of these islands. 

Construction for Suomenlinna started in 1748 when the country was under Swedish rule and was originally known as Sveaborg. The military base stretches across six closely situated islands and was to protect the country against the growing Russian naval power in the Baltic Sea.

In 1808, the fortress had to surrender to the Russia, where it remained a Russian naval base for the next 110 years. Eventually when Finland became independent in 1917, the fortress was returned to the country and renamed Suomenlinna, which means Castle of Finland. In 1991, UNESCO added Suomenlinna as World Heritage Site because of it's "unique monument to military architecture" and long history of importance since it served as defence to three different powers, Swedish, Russian and Finnish. 

Today, Suomenlinna is home to nearly 900 residents who live there all year round. Many of the old garrison building have been converted into residential homes and properties. There's a number of cafe, restaurants, museums and galleries spread throughout the islands. 

There were many textures and colours that I loved about this place. The first few photos of the overgrown military bunkers next to the sea reminded me very much of home and of the bases along the Nova Scotian coast. As we wondered through the town these colours of faded reds and pinks on many of the buildings caught my eye too. It was a perfect first day in Helsinki. I was able to learn a little about the city's past and begin to soak up some of these inspirational colours and views.  

Alpaca Tweed at Loop

Summer is slowly starting to creep into London. We've had a few incredibly nice days lately, even though the temperature still drops and becomes quite chilly at night. I know around this time most knitters change the yarn preferences to cotton and linen and cast summer projects onto their needles. I fear I am the opposite. As much as I would love to knit some linen tops for myself, the urge is never strong enough. Instead, I am always counting down the weeks until autumn's first frost. I tend to work with heavier and warmer blends all year round. So when I heard the news that Loop would be carrying The Border Mill's Alpaca Tweed, I was ecstatic!

Photo Credit: @looplondonloves

Photo Credit: @looplondonloves

Alpaca Tweed has been one of my favourite yarn discoveries since moving to London. If you've flipped through Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting, you've probably read about how much I love this yarn since finding their stand at Edinburgh Yarn Festival in 2015. At this year's festival, they were number one on my list of businesses to visit. I was pleased to see the new yarns they've been developing since last year too. Loop in London, is stocking their Alpaca Tweed in a special range of colours for the shop. Now that this yarn is within arms reach, this is very, very dangerous for me. 

Photo Credit: Sophie Scott for Loop Knit Lounge Blog

To anticipate the arrival of the twelve new shades, I collaborated with Loop's owner, Susan Cropper, to design a fun floral themed bunting for the shop. I'm so thrilled to see that the bunting pattern is now available as a free PDF download. You can find Blossom Bunting on Loop's blog here. Loop's resident blogger, Sophie Scott, transformed the shop's window to display the new colours and bunting. I also knit up my Chester Basin set from Take Heart for the shop which you can now see in person when you stop by to visit. I used Hydrangea Dream for the main colour and Where Breezes Begin as the accent. I love this new combination and how different it feels from the original Night Sky and Distressed Oatmeal used in the book. Also, just a friendly reminder, there has been an errata posted on Pom Pom's Errata Page about this pattern. If you're purchasing Alpaca Tweed from Loop or The Border Mill directly, you'll need two skeins of the main colour if you're planning to knit the larger set. One skein of each colour is still sufficient to make the small or medium set. I hope you love it as much as I do! 

Lace Trim Tutorial for Lunenburg Harbour

If you've already completed sewing down the picot trim then you're ready for this post where I'll be detailing how to pick up the stitches around the cuff of the sock to start the lace trim. You can find my post about the picot trim here. At this point, I still have the lace yarn (Yarn B) threaded around the circumference of the cuff. You'll need your knitting needles again. I'll be picking up the stitches with the same circular needle I used to knit this pair. You'll also need a darning needle and scissors. 

1. Start by giving the cuff a little stretch. This should make Yarn B fairly easy to see. 

2. Start at the seam where you left Yarn B. Pick up the working yarn and begin to work in an anticlockwise direction. Insert the needle under Yarn B, as if to knit (in-between the stitches you used to sew down the picot hem). 

3. Wrap yarn around the knitting needle to knit that first stitch onto the needle. 

4. Insert knitting needle underneath Yarn B in the next section. Wrap yarn around needle again and knit that stitch. 

5. Continue to repeat Steps 3 - 4 to pick up all the stitches around the circumference of the cuff. 

6. Once you've worked all the way around, there should be 64 (72) stitches on your needles. 

7. Using the Backwards Loop Method, cast on 4 stitches onto Left Hand needle. This is the third errata in the pattern. It should read LH needle instead of RH needle.  

8. Ignore 'turn work'. You should already be set up to start  Row 1 of the lace repeat.

9. Now begin Row 1 of lace repeat. 

10. Once you finish Row 1, turn work. 

12. Now you'll be ready to start Row 2 of lace repeat. 

13. Continue to work Rows 1 - 4 until there is one cuff stitch remaining. Work Rows 1 - 3 once more. 

14. Cast off the remaining 6 stitches. 

15. With the end of Yarn B, sew up the beginning and end of the lace trim for a nearly seamless finish. 

16. Finish by weaving in the rest of your ends. 

17. Turn sock right side out again and voila! You should have a double layer of picot and lace trim.

Now the lace trim should be finished! Move on to completing your sock with an after-thought heel. Repeat pattern for second sock. If desired, once after washing the socks, the lace trim can be slightly stretched out and pinned to block as the sock dries. 

Once again the erratas for the rest of this sock can be found in my first tutorial here, or on the Pom Pom's Errata page. Also many thanks to Otto Django Masters for the photography help!