There were actually 3 different yarn shops all walking distance from our hotel in Stockholm but the only one I purchased from and the one I liked best was Makeri 14 in Gamla Stan.
Here is the shop owner with a colorful selection of Brooklyn Tweed behind her, who like most Swedes, was very friendly and completely fluent in English.
She designed this excellent pin!
Below is my awesome penpal, Hanna, from Helsinki in front of the shop. The 3 hanks I purchased were from Yarns & Barns (of Middle Sweden) along with one of their traditional mitt kits. Even the though the pattern is in Swedish, the shop owner generously offered to translate it to English.
Then after less than 48 hrs back in the States, we were already back on a plane headed to DC for the NAPEX stamp show. I spent a couple days at the show and then headed down to my old stomping grounds in RVA. There was an Urban Girl Yarns trunk show going on at Dances With Wool in Midlothian when I stopped in. Although I clearly do not need to buy any more yarn, I couldn't resist picking up just one little hank of hand-dyed SWM sock yarn.
And in the process of all of these yarn filled travels, I (finally) finished the pillows I started working on for Etienne back in April. I used Little Doolally's Geometric Cushion crochet pattern. It's a delightful pattern, super easy to follow and a pattern I would highly recommend to anyone interested in trying their hand at Intarsia crochet.
As you can see, the pillow (cover) looks pretty darn funky before it's blocked and filled with a cushion.
But the finished product is really quite impressive!
The 16" x 16" pillow to the left is the first attempt I made at the pattern with worsted acrylic yarn. The 14" x 14" pillows I made for Etienne are crocheted with much lighter hand-spun, hand-dyed, double-plied SWM yarn I purchased direct from the farm where the sheep reside in Freedom, NY back in 2017.
The stitch definition of this alternating chevron pattern is just mesmerizing!
Then, just last night, after goodness knows how many interruptions and distractions, I finally finished the socks I started with the yarn I bought at the Kindred Red trunk show back in April.
This yarn was such a dream to work with and the variety of speckles is just magical.
I used the same "Not So Crazy" sock pattern I always use with size 1 needles.
I have enough yarn leftover from these socks that I plan to knit a pair of matching leg warmers for Xena.
So now that we're home and not traveling for a few weeks, I can refocus on the rest of my WIP's. Here's to hoping I'll finish something very soon!
