Who's spinning here

As an enthusiastic reader of craft-related blogs, I finally decided to start my own. I hope that this blog will give you joy and inspiration, such as other people's blogs have given me.

The idea for the name of the blog comes from the famous French cheese, "La vache qui rit". I'm a cow who knits.

The cow has always been one of my favourite animals. In a former life I've probably been a cow somewhere in Africa, since I like African rhythms and the sound of drums (a sound that a child in Finland very rarely can hear). And I like to ruminate (i.e. dwell on old things). I've done a lot of ruminating recently, since I've been on a long sick leave. First burnout, then depression, well, you know how the story goes. But now I feel I'm getting a little bit better.

I think the main reason for my recovery is that I took up knitting and crocheting again some time last autumn. I've known the techniques since the age of 6, but now I got interested in working with unspun wool which has a lovely touch and smells of real sheep. Pirtin Kehräämö has a wide selection of (mainly?) Finnish wool and yarns in beautiful colours.

The wool of the Finnish sheep (Finn sheep) felts very easily. Here are some slippers I made:



Suomenlampaan villasta tehtyjä huopatossuja (suurimmat tehty norjalaisesta Fritidsgarnista)
Slippers made of Finn wool (the big ones of Norwegian Fritidsgarn)
Pantoufles feutrées faites de la laine du mouton finlandais (et du Fritidsgarn norvégien)


My grandma, who tought me to knit, had a spinning wheel. I'd really like to learn to spin and make my own yarns, too. I hope that some day I'll find an old spinning wheel that I could buy. I know it's hard, because most people have burnt or otherwise destroyed their old spinning wheels or just use them as ornaments. On the other hand, those people who appreciate old traditions don't want to sell their precious wheels, especially not to strangers. But I keep on trying....