What inspires you?

Do you ever get inspired to knit by everyday objects? Whether it's a pattern or texture you see that you'd like to recreate, or simply colors you fall in love with that you'd like to incorporate in your knitting or crocheting?

This past weekend we drove to Helsinki to meet my parents who were arriving from the states for a week's visit. We had a wonderful time, and even though there was much to love about the city (food, sights, design, people, shops, restaurants, markets, etc) I was most inspired by the colors. I found myself thinking about yarn the whole time!

Here are some of my favorite shots from my weekend in Helsinki, and the yarns they brought to mind:

"Golden Girl" posing on the Esplanade

Yarns: Crystal in Gold, Minnow Merino in Green Grass, and  
Vintage in Sunny and Blush
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The corner of Heleninkatu (means Helen's street, so of course we had to take a picture of Helen with the sign!) with its beautifully colored old buildings

Yarns: Baby Cashmerino in Gold, Apricot and Medium Grey
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A block away from our hotel, on Fabianinkatu

Yarns: Baby Cashmerino in Yellow and Dusty Pink, 
Luna in Sunset and Silver Mist, and 
Ultra Alpaca in Salt and Pepper
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Gorgeous buildings we passed on the way to the Design Museum

Yarns: Plymouth Encore in Living Coral, Soft White, 
Golden Glow and Cocoa
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Window boxes full of purple and green foliage along the Esplanade

Yarns: Manos Wool Clasica in Uranium and 
Manos Serena in Mulled Wine and Boysenberry
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A beautiful door at the sea fortress of Suomenlinna

Yarns: Manos Wool Classica in Medium Naturals, 
Manos Rittenhouse in Goldenrod, and 
Manos Maxima in Beehive and Key Lime
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Fish, rice, fruit and vegetables at the Kauppatori, Helsinki's outside market. 
Doesn't this look delicious? (It was!)

Yarns: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Grapefruit Mix, Grove Mix 
and Cardinal, and Berroco Link in Earthen
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Our first view of the Helsinki Cathedral

Yarns: Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino in Splash, Vanilla, 
Marmite, Carrots and Froggie
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A scrumptious lunch of peas, strawberries and salmon. Okay, we were food obsessed!

Yarns: Jil Eaton Cottontail in Orangini, Poppy, 
Lime, Daisy and Spring

Don't rush through life. Stop for a minute and look around you. Take it all in. Let what you see inspire you in your creations!

Color is a wonderful thing

I know, I know. We're total geeks. Just painting the shop bathroom that fun color of green (Sweet Vibrations) had us smiling for days. Smiling so much, that our main upstairs office is now the same color! And with a couple of new window shades, we feel like we're in a brand new place! (I watch too many DIY home shows, I know.)

Then, because the other upstairs rooms are white, they started to look pretty boring. Not that I have anything against white. But you'd step into the office, and WOW, perk right up. And then step into the classroom, or shipping, and BLAH, sink back down. Had to fix that. I mean, we're around color all day and it invigorates us. So white walls? Gotta go.

So my good friend Benji Moore and I decided to spread some more color love around the building. The classroom/receiving room/photo studio is now Goldfinch, and it's awesome. Just need to touch up the window trim and get a new rug.And shipping, since it's a room filled with hustle and bustle, needs a little calming color. So we've chosen Florida Keys Blue... My guess is we'll be fighting to get into that room when it's done.