Back home

I'm finally back home in Finland and pretty glad about that, too! I mean of course it was great being in Beijing but for me coming back home is always ten times more fun. Especially if you are gone for long, as I was. While in China, I didn't do as much knitting as I do at home, but it certainly attracted more attention. I knit in my dorm, a shared room with a Canadian girl, and in class. I showed my Raverly page to my roommate and she wanted to know if I was famous for my knitting. Sadly I had to admit that I wasn't... ^^ In class, I think I got a little too much attention from my Chinese classmates as they found me knitting pretty inscrutable. But the classes were so long (three hours!), I would definitely fallen asleep if I hadn't had my knitting. I finished one pair of socks while in Beijing, they were Cookie A.'s Pomatomus which is her first published pattern and thus a perfect start for me knitting her socks (and I plan to knit many). Below a picture of my finished socks in the new shoes I got from Beijing.

Since I've been back, I have started knitting a striped skirt from Finnish yarn maker Novita's Autumn collection. It is so pretty and perfect for the coming season. The pattern is online for free, but only in Finnish, sorry! Here's a link anyhow: pattern for striped skirt

In China, I also finished a third sock, also by Cookie A., this time called Clandestine. I named them Seaweed socks as I am knitting them from green multicolour yarn (check a few posts down). But knitting the other sock back here in Finland I noticed that something had happened to me that I don't think ever happened before: the two balls of yarn were from a different dye lot! I had checked them while buying - of course - but next to the black printed lot number there was another number printed in light grey which actually signified the dye lot! Noticing this only after I had almost finished sock number two I was so so upset! Now I have to go back to that yarn store and try to find a new ball of yarn with the colours of the first sock as that is much prettier. Next to that, the other one looks like it's been bleached. I can't believe I didn't notice it before as the difference is pretty huge... Ah, I get all worked up just thinking about it.

Although this has nothing to do with knitting I just want to share with you this video I took from my dorm window one Saturday when it was raining in Beijing. You might have read about the floods in Beijing, this video doesn't really do justice to the news of devastation, more just looks pretty. The sirens you hear in the background are anti theft alarm systems that went off simply because of the rain.

Oh and I did also start knitting the vintage turban but it isn't finished yet. I am also a bit worried whether or not I'll have enough yarn but will just have to hope for best...