Cheating on Crochet

So here is a little story how and why I started to crochet. I moved from the beautiful City of Vienna where I was born and raised to the northern part of Sweden about 10 years ago. From the big city to the countryside. I started to learn the language and tried to find new, more constructive ways to spend my time. That was the time when I started to knit. There was a wonderful yarn shop in the little town I was living and the owner guided me through the world of yarn and knitting techniques.

So I became a knitter. A little later I did some kind of internship at a place for elderly people where they could spend thei daytime and have a healthy way of employment. It was a wonderful place where people with mental issues could have a good time without the pressure of being productive. A free, safe space where the stuff always encouraged the healthy, the well functioning side of each and every individual.

One day I was sitting in a corner during my lunch break, knitting a very simple and easy scarf. An older woman came to me and started to laugh out loud, saying :” Martin, what is that? Why are you knitting? You will never be a good knitter…” I first thought that she was referring to my gender, but then she continued: “Crochet! It is very clear to me that you are a crocheter! And if you want to, I am going to show you how it works….”

And that was the beginning of a wonderful teacher – learner relationship which ended with a full size granny square blanket we crocheted together.

And then they lived happily ever …. stop, stop, stop!

The Story is not over yet . Because even if the woman was totally right and I really got addicted to crochet. Now almost 9 years later, I have a new agenda. I am going to prove this lady wrong. I picked up my knitting needles again and really trained a lot to get my stitch accuracy straight. And now I think I am ready to explore this wonderful craft even more….

As you might have guessed I am going to use Scheepjes Merino Soft and Scheepjes Metropolis for my next little project. I still have to figure out the perfect gauge to get the sizes straight but I think I am on the right track.

So many colours. So many possibilities. Let´s see where this will take us…

Those of you who follow my blog know that I have a cooperation with the wonderful people of Scheepjes. For a long time I thought that Scheepjes is a very new brand. Their color ranges and yarns have in my opinion a very modern touch. But actually Scheepjes is a very old family company based in the Netherlands with a very long tradition of producing yarn.

This year the company is celebrating their 165th anniversary. They decided to produce a very limited edition mug and lucky me got one! I really have to admit that I do not only hoard yarn but I became also a die hard Scheepjes mug collector.

You will find your local Scheepjes dealer HERE. And if you do not have the possibility to buy your favorite yarn near by, you will also find some very good online stores there.

If you use my patterns and post pictures in social medias it would be nice to link or refer to my blog  martinupnorth.com and use #martinupnorth . Feedback is more than welcome!

More from up north coming soon….