Kainuun lapaset

The mittens are finished! I've also worn them a couple of times and they are so perfect for my hands. The other mittens I finished for myself earlier, Vega, don't fit my hands well at all, they are always sliding down, not staying put. But these do, and they are extremely warm, too, as they are sport weight and stranded. I couldn't be more pleased!

If you want to make your own, the pattern is available for free here. It's in Finnish but there's a chart. Get your nine colors ready and knit!

Winter is Coming... So Stack Up on Christmas Cards and Warm Mittens!

I just love making cards! I made a couple new Christmas cards this past weekend. I love how when making cards you can always combine materials from all different sources. Take these cards below for example: the canvas I stitched on was made by my grandmother in the 60's for a shirt of a Finnish national costume (I'm using the leftover pieces, and I have the dress, too!), the thread I used was bought when we lived in China in 2003-2005 because DMC was just so cheap there and then the rest of the materials, backing papers, cardboard, glitter glue are all new. The pattern is from Stitch the Halls, a new Christmas themed book by What Delilah Did, the same designer who by the lovely owl I presented before was.

I have also been knitting some warm mittens for the coming winter. These are a traditional pattern from the Kainuu region in Finland. That is actually in the middle part of Finland in the north-south axis but to me, being the Southerner I am, it seems to be way up North. Anyway, they have a beautiful mitten pattern with nine colors! I had all of these in my stash, some new skeins bought specifically for something, others just leftovers. I have finished one mitten and I totally love it.