At some point when we were in Finland, I had ordered a bag of hollowfiber stuffing from amazon. I honestly don't remember what sort of project I wanted to do at that point, and the bag was laying unopened for a few months. When Kirill had left for Gran Canaria in the beginning of June, I suddenly had an urge to finally use it for this little critter that later proved to be an excellent breakfast companion — not very talkative, but who is in the morning?
"I don't know how it is, Christopher Robin, but what with all this snow and one thing and another, not to mention icicles and such-like, it isn't so Hot in my field about three o'clock in the morning as some people think it is. It isn't Close, if you know what I mean — not so as to be uncomfortable. It isn't Stuffy. In fact, Christopher Robin," he went on in a loud whisper, "quite-between-ourselves-and-don't-tell-anybody, it's Cold."
"Oh, Eeyore!"
When we were coming to Finland for a winter, it was pretty clear that we will need some warm clothes. Warmer than ones we had in Canaries for sure; warmer than ones we used in the UK. But, while I like to shop, I hate to waste money on something that possibly will serve one season.
So, soon after moving over, we discovered a few second-hand shops that we started to comb methodically. The problem we encountered is that you can find quite interesting brick-a-brack there, but not so much clothes — it appears the Finns tend to get the full money worth out of theirs before finally throwing them away or trying to sell them on. No matter, eventually I found this heavy canvas padded coat (which reminds me in general idea of телогрейка, "bodywarmer", except that telogreikas usually came in "one size doesn't fit anybody", while this one fit me rather snugly. Thick leather belt was soon found for it, and I could have stopped here I suppose.
Except I wanted something a bit more interesting. My original idea was simply to paint something bright, possibly floral, in acrylic over the canvas:
During our Gran Canarian Christmas holidays, we spent two nights in Ingenio. Our first day, I've noticed this shop: Mercería Loli. Naturally I had to get in.
There were two types of yarn that I felt a sudden urge to possess: the variegated felting wool and very thick Italian yarn. I decided to sleep on it, since we still had another day (the Christmas Eve) in Ingenio.
Next morning, the choice was made. The thick yarn won. (I took the last 200 g skein they had.) The thick yarn required the thick needles — the label said 13 to 15 mm. Unfortunately, the largest size of circular needles they had was 12, and I needed circular needles for the project I had in mind. So I bought size 15 straight needles and size 12 circular. Armed with this gear, I could start on my holiday project: an extra thick snood for me.
