Yarn in Helsinki - 2 Hours and 50 Euros

This weekend just gone found me and the husband flying to Helsinki, for a little business and a little pleasure. Our business (which was acutally very pleasurable) was to attend a book launch:

Aino Penttila is a former co-worker of my husband's, and indeed he was involved in the writing of this book on the history of the Finlayson textile mills in the Forssa area of Finland. The mills produced these kinds of beautiful textiles:



and later, when we accompanied Aino and her family to dinner, we saw that the restaurant used Finalyson textiles for it's napkins, and on our Finnair flight home, that they also used them for some of their custom made duty free items.

But before we travelled up to Forssa for the launch, we had a morning in Helsinki, and I had 50 Euros burning a hole in my pocket (given to me as a gift some time ago, and I had been waiting for my next stint in a Eurozone economy to spend it). Thanks to the research done by our hosts (friends and work colleagues), I visited three places in Helsinki for yarn, and bought something at each one.

First was upstairs at the Covered Market - wonderful counters of fresh and smoked fish and seafood downstairs, with non-food related items upstairs. At the yarn stall there I bought a skein of German sock yarn and some beautiful Edelholz needles in my favourite size (3.5mm - hard to get in the UK).

Next stop was the little tourist market on the harbour. At the yarn stall there (which sells Finnish grown, spun and dyed yarn) I bought a Nordic mitten kit - very exciting - in a Tree of Life pattern.

You can see the kits in this photo in the brown cardboard boxes.

Lastly, and nearby, we stopped into a Finnish design store which also sold yarn (Tauto):

They were having a good sale, but I bought yet more sock yarn (Helsinki in winter is the kind of place that makes you think of socks)!

This picture was taken while we walked on sea ice - say no more!

I also saw many wonderful knitted items in and around Helsinki. There were felted slippers in Tauto:

Hand knitted mittens at the local grocery store (knitted by the owner's grandmother):

and several examples of traditional Nordic sweaters being worn by men of all ages:

The Nordic sweater is viewed from the back, in dark blue and white fair isle, with red detailing, in the centre of this photo, taken in a trendy Helsinki cafe. The husband took a liking, so a couple of these have gone onto my Ravelry queue already.