"Kloobok" is a Russian word for a ball of yarn. In Russian fairy tales it often guides a wanderer through inhospitable land, and helps him reach his goal.
This hat is a birthday present for my son. He wanted something without "frills", and I honestly started with grey wool. The project grew, the colors kept coming, bringing along patterns inspired by Russian North. All colors of the wool are natural, so nothing will "run" during washing!
I had to post these after a recent visit to Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ancient Roman Glasswork is amazing in its "contemporary flare". These objects date I - II c A. D. The top two are ancient whorls (parts of spindles), the bottom one - a small jar.
This pattern comes from Priscilla Gibson-Robert's book "Ethnic Socks and Stockings". I enjoyed knitting them, however made a few changes in the original pattern.
I wanted to knit these sock (aka jorabs) for a while, but only managed now. It is so sad that we have two legs, though: a bit boring to knit something again. Same is true for mittens!
Just finished this first one from the pair. The pattern is from Priscilla Gibson Roberts excellent book Ethnic Socks and Stockings. I changed the pattern somewhat: made them shorter. The top of the sock is crocheted using Bosnian Crochet stitch. To learn more about Jorabs, please visit this Wikipedia page. My friend and I wrote it, and will be happy for any contribution of text or images!
My husband gave me this Orenburg shawl as a Birthday present. It is really a work of art. The "ring test": Orenburg gossamer shawl called "pautinka" is supposed to pass through a wedding ring. Mine does! Here is some information on Orenburg shawls history.
This one was a pure joy to knit: very fast and relaxing. The pattern was easy to follow, and I like the yarn color. Conclusion: a very satisfying project. The irony of it: I am learning to knit Orenburg style shawls, and one such shawl supposedly takes at least a month to complete (I know, it will take more). At the same time, this Rowan top took only a couple of weeks... Almost instant gratification!
This summer we traveled to various Greek islands including Crete. We were fortunate to visit a small Folk Crafts museum in Agios Georgios village in Lassithi Plateau. These images reminded me of Russian or even Scandinavian traditional embroidery. The figure of a woman represents life-giving forces of the Earth. The rug comes from Agios Konstantinos village in Lassithi. The rich imagery includes animals and plants familiar to weavers.
Here is a small collection of various rugs in a local textile shop.
We also stopped at Lasinthos Eco Park in Lassithi, where visitors can see various craft demonstrations.
Cyprus has its own tradition of embroidery and lace making: Lefkara lace. It comes from Lefkara village, and has a very distinct look. We saw these samples in Larnaca airport on our way back home. There are plenty of machine-made imitations, but once you saw the original hand-made lace, there is now substitute. It is amazing!
In one of the villages near Akamas on Cyprus we saw some interesting examples of local weaving. Some of the motifs resemble designs from Northern Russia and even Scandinavia.
This top was inspired by the hot summer days on Santorini. The picture is done on Crete, but the Santorini was the island where the top took its shape. I used Rowan Milk Cotton yarn to crochet it.
