Dear Martina! Love the hat, love your spring inspiration and love your thoughts on wool, intentionality, pricing, industry and sustainability/ fair trade. Many of us cannot afford to always buy the truly sustainable yarns. It’s a great pity, but it’s our system. I thank you for keeping the discussion going, that’s what’s important. My favorite takeaway from this episode (besides being smitten with your hat 😊) is the giving love and care to something that has not had that along the way. Martina, that is such a beautiful and inspiring thought. Thank you. We can apply this philosophy to all areas of life. Big hug to you!
Yesterday, my son. came over in his old beat-up truck. Besides, my joy at seeing him, as he left I saw a hat I had made him on the dash. So happy! Love your channel! Thank you for articulating what so many of us feel!
A lovely episode! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for being honest. If only all the people were sensitive and kind like you are, Martina!!! Also, your buttons are just amazing! All the spring in a button!!!
Don’t let pursuit of the perfect negate the good. You are raising awareness, being intentional, making your best effort. Don’t discount the value of that!
Best practice is to buy the best one can afford to spend money on so if I can afford it I will buy the best quality and most ethically produced yarns, which won’t be for every project by any means. I love your style and projects and your inspirational energy.
I think that we sometimes forget that not everyone has the resources to knit with yarns that are more ethical, humane, or to support indie dyers and makers since they are more expensive, sometimes prohibitively so... I think we all knit out of love, love of the craft and love of making things with our own hands and love of the people we knit for! So you, and anyone else should never has to apologize for the yarns and materials that you can afford to knit with, such as acrylics, or yarn from companies we would not normally choose to support
I’m so proud of you and how far you’ve come. You’re so confident and wise. I smile each time I watch you. And you’re right about sensuality. It’s not always sexual but it is personal. Walking on fresh grass can be so sensual or sitting in a frothy hot tub, many, many things. Things that ignite our senses. ♥️✨
I use Drops yarns quite a lot. I knit maybe 1-2 bigger projects a month plus a few smaller things/gifts and I simply can't afford to spend a hundred Euro or more on each project. I'm quite eco-conscious (
Thank you for sharing your experience/thoughts shopping ethically vs shopping economically. I love it when those two things coincide, but they don’t always go together, so I appreciate you sharing your thought process when deciding how to shop in different stages of life. Much love 💜 Those buttons are beautiful!
Let’s be honest here; no one is supporting criminal gangs,drug dealers or people trafficking: we buy what we can afford to bring us joy with our beautiful craft. Let’s enjoy knitting without judging others. Your buttons are beautiful as is your knitting. Enjoy ❤x
You look beautiful in your pink hat!!! love it! love the buttons, wanna make some!!! love the pasquali wool colour. I have one of that wool never used it. You are such a great inspiration! Hope spring is going to bring you much of joy! Sending you much love, Tatiana
Thank you always for you honesty and sharing your shame. We have so much shame for what we do and it is so difficult to get good balance. I am ALWAYS so inspired by your videos and projects, I want to knit a oslo hat and the agnete cardigan and and and... haha, you are the sweetest 🥰🥰🥰
Knowing the ethics of yarn is a really difficult one - unless you produce it yourself or have intimate knowledge of the exact process the product has gone through you can never be sure it is 'eco friendly' or 'sustainable' or 'ethical' or any of the other words banded about. Merino sheep can be very badly looked after, indie dyers may not source yarn produced local to them or use planet friendly dyes for example. Part of the challenge is thinking about the issues and making an informed choice. It's good to hear you voicing your opinion but also, and just as importantly, thinking about yourself, the joy that it brings to create something and the process of creating. Love the buttons too!
So much inspiration for me in this video!!! The colors you are working with right now 😍 that pink cardigan is like candy for my eyes! I think you spoke very very well about the Drops yarn. Sadly, the responsibility of sustainability has fallen on the consumers when the issue is with production and big companies. We do our best as humans but we also have to take care of ourselves. And if that means buying the affordable products more than the sustainably produced ones then so be it ❤ I completely understand what you were saying and I feel like I struggle heavily in this area of my life in general. Thank you for being vulnerable and honest!! (Also. I am OBSESSED with your epoxy buttons 😭👌🏼)
Your words are always filled with kindness and wisdom, I hope you're aware of what you bring to this world with your being and actions🤎 That pink color is making me so happyyyy💕 And those buttons, when I make more I'll send you some💕🤎
Hey sweet Martina, thanks for this sweet moment….ignore these persons that hide themselves behind a comment. You and we all do what we want and what we can. This is about knitting and yarn, about sharing and listening to each other. If one wants to leave a nasty anonymous comment, then may be such person could consider going on a forum dealing with topics that might be worth the aggravation with potential good reason to be angry. You’re still a great woman …i wish i could still be a patreon….will do again at better times 😊. Please keep on going, sharing your feelings, your doubts, your crushes on the (Drops) yarn 🧶, ….Sending you much love and hugs to you and Mik’🥰😘❤
It is interesting how our preferences in color can flow in and out. I feel like it is based on our own personal growth and life journey. It can be fun and feel very rewarding. ❤
Beautiful "desobedient cardigan" and beautiful buttons ! Thank you for your honesty. I don't think you should feel guilty, you do what you can depending on your means. I think you do a lot living sustainibly and knitting mindfully.
Happy Spring Martina...I am a spring & fall girl. I'm with you about Merino yarn, it's just too soft and I don't like spinning it either, it's always better mixed with other fibers for giving it structure. Your authentic comments about using "Drops" yarn again for your skirt and summer projects is balanced. I'm with you, we have to use products we like, but also products we can afford. Of course we would prefer using hand-spun, hand-dyed yarns, and yes support businesses that are paying a fair wage, etc. but sometimes we have to do what our pocketbook allows, and that is honorable. Thank you for your authenticity & your kind & humble ways. I'm glad you're trying other colors, you are someone who can wear a lot of variety, you look good in so many different shades and colors. Beautiful pink sweater made from Flora & Mohair, gorgeous, it sounds like it will be tunic length (my favorite)! Your buttons are cool, love them, pearl everlasting is beautiful! I planted yarrow, chamomile, hollyhocks, calendula, peas, and enjoyed myself while digging in the dirt this beautiful spring that we are having here in California. So nice to come inside sit down & turn on youtube and there you are. Perfect day ~ take care of yourself Martina.
Love the ‘disobedient cardigan’ with your handmade buttons, too cute. No judgement here re yarn choice, we are all doing the best we can. I love your honesty ❤❤❤
I love to see you embracing all the new colours! That raspberry pink cardigan has super delicious colour! 🤩 I actually have the exact same colours of Drops Belle and Bomull Lin in my stash as you show here, I bought them last summer but the projects didn't succeed. I wish I knew so ww could've made a yarn swap! My yarns are still waiting for the suitable project.
Martina bella, catching up after a while of non yt and non knitting and being more inwards and also a bit rough difficult moments on my journey...but also I realise that when I want to read a lot and be more reflective it just does not seem to fit in with all the rest!...I stopped knitting for some weeks without really deciding it for a series of things and then wanted to read and realised that it has been good, also for taking a step back and re-evaluating some things, like sometimes having a sort of frenzie with all the knitting patterns and yarns etc etc...and having bought way too much yarn (oh the hoarded stash...but I want to learn from you, and what you said so beautifully, transforming shame into joy...I just need to focus and create from my beautiful and bountiful stash)...so on to your lovely podcasts, always such a joy...you are so sweet and fresh and passionate and soulful...and your puppies are growing!! sooo cute! and seeing all 4 of you are heartwarming. I am still learning so much about life, and I am still learning about how to find a middle way between my ideals, aspirations, as an intense passionate person, how to really honour them and be aware of them and responsible for my choices, while at the same time honouring my limits, my possibilities, my change of heart, my humanity in all its richness and how it humbles me and putting it al together, this for many things on my path...it has happened on my eating journey, and I am still on a path there...but I totally agree that as much as we want to aspire for THE best, we can always only reach for OUR best AT THAT TIME, (someone speaks about best, better, good or something like that) making the best possible choice we can with what we have at the moment, and also I agree with what someone said that this is "just" yarn, and to put things into perspective 🙏Sinceramente, I already have a lot of questions about life all the time in my work, in my personal life, in so many things, that for the time being when I knit I just want to be carefree and zone out, I am sincere with myself about not looking too much into all that is around it actively, but I love to learn and be more aware of certain things, from people like you, it is not at the forefront for me at the moment but information is gathered and it does inform my choices... also, as you, it is lovely to support indie yarns, but I do love drops, it is affordable, some of the yarn is really nice, the colours are fun and for those of us that knit a lot, I find it is great..ti ho scritto un romanzo un abbraccio e una carezza ai cagnetti favolosi! 💚
che tonta, completely forgot to say I LOVE your buttons!! so cute! and also all your projects, the hat...and especially the new ribbed sweater, I am really thinking about possibly knitting one, it looks lovely, I really like the large rib and I think it is fab when you gift yourself with such a luscious choice of yarns with all the time we spend knitting, and it is especially nice because it is such a unique combination you put into it! I love how creative you always are with your knitting! 💚
I found your thoughts about the yarn so interesting! I agree with you completely when you said that we can give love to something that was lacking it during production. Even though I do my best to only use natural, local, rustic yarns (or something that is at least ethical) I still use regular sock yarn because I don't like any alternatives I've used except for handspun yarn.
I will never understand why people shame others for using yarns that are within their means. Using more ethical yarns tends to be more expensive and its a privilege to be able to use them, let alone to be able to knit. So please don't feel shame for using what you can or going back on what you said. Situations change and thats perfectly okay! As long as we are mindful of our consumption of these things and use them I don't see an issue. Also I love those hot pink yarns! I've never knitted with anything in that color but I may have to! Those resin buttons are beautiful too, the whiter ones already on the cardigan are my faves but I love the contrast the green gives, I think any of them would be beautiful 💛
I think your awareness and bringing those little important details to the awareness of others is one of the most influential things you can do. Change starts with information and creating the awareness. Once that happens, then one action at a time creates the ripple of change. You don't have to stop buying from in this case a very main stream brand completely to create the change, I think bringing the issues to light alongside the action of trying to find alternatives where you can is where change begins. Be encouraged, I think your honesty and openness about not being perfect is part of what makes you so beautiful. 😊 Some people will choose to not see what you are saying, that's a choice they made, you gave the opportunity to see a choice, and that is you doing your best on your part.💚💚💚
Omg Hannah your thoughtful comment made my eyes watered 😭🤍(not sure if what I just said is grammatically correct but I hope you got it)🤍 thank you so much, your heart is truly so big.🤎
You are honestly such a lovely person and it is so nice to watch your calm videos and all the beautiful things you create. The intro in this video was especially wholesome :) Thank you!
Oh wow Martina those buttons are exquisite !! I love the pink and purples, my absolute favorite colour is purple. Love your projects as always. We are in autumn now and I just want to start all the wintery garments but is still clinging to my summer knits too, what projects to knit, leave for later, put in hibernation aaaahhhh 🤷🏻♀️. The struggle is real 🤣 Looking forward to catching up with you last episode of the Silky Way. 💜💜💜
These buttons are absolutely GORGEOUS! 🌼I would love to try creating ones! And I totally agree with you about the yarn. Life is already so tough and sometimes if a little ball of yarn can be used to create joy and a precious garment for ourself or for our loved ones, I mean, it's already a good thing. Even though it's important to do our best to only use natural and local yarns. And I totally get you when you talked about vibrant colors ahah! I think spring is arousing our radiant self! Take care 🌷
I’m somewhat surprised about your talking about Drops. A lot of their yarns are done with ecological standards, they also have a lot of non superwash yarns. And they are affordable for many people with not much money while using natural materials
It was so lovely to catch up with you and your Spring knits! I love the colors you’re choosing. I feel like you’re inspired by nature so much. Those beautiful Spring colors are the colors of flowers 🌸 🌺
I have had a similar feeling of discomfort with Drops. And tonight at Craft meet my friend opposite was making a lovely top down jumper with a v-shaped cable detail from the front neckline pointing downwards . . . Yup, it was a Drops pattern. I understand that Drops 'steal' patterns and publish them, free of charge, when the original designers charge for that pattern. But l have also read that that is sometimes done by agreement, releasing an old pattern in order to promote the designer . . . That bothers me more than the yarn processes . . . But when it comes to the yarn it is entry level costs, or lower income knitter costs . . . So l suppose it is a matter of choosing better when we/l can. Sometimes we can approach a project with ethics at the forefront ' this yarn is from a local producer, this pattern was bought from a designer to support them . . . And sometimes we make a project to be 'cheap and cheerful' Or a project 'to explore new techniques' Or to 'destash or use thrifted yarn' It's up to the knitter and perhaps up to each project! I found a bag of about 14 balls of bargain acrylic yarn (Micke will undersrand, 5kr each from Rusta about 3 years ago!) And my snobbish knitter heart when "Ugh, acrylic" but my practical knitter heart went "nice stitch definition, Spring green, 14 balls!" So l think that is going on the needles this week!
LOVEED THIS!!! THE DUALITY OR MULTIPLICITY OF OUR CRAFT! thank you so much for sharing and please let me know how it goes with those fun green balls of yarns, I'd love to know if you enjoy them and the finished fabric as much as I enjoy my "disobedient" cardigan 🤎
I feel the same way about merino! It's not very warm, it's not durable and I just don't think it has much character compared to other breeds. I don't mind it in a blend but I'd rather have some BFL for a soft yarn.
I love your videos so much! Your projects are always so beautiful and I always enjoy your musings on yarn and making. I’m also riding the pink wave right now 😊💗 happy spring!!!
You look so good in pink! 🌷 I appreciate your honesty. No one is perfect. I do believe that we as consumers have power tho, but it really should be more up to the big companies. It’s rediculous what they get away with because they have capital. But the fact that you bring this up and talk about it also makes a difference.
Thank you so much for taking the time and write such a thoughtful comment. I agree, the responsibility lies in both consumers and companies but the latter is the one that actually makes a difference so yeah💜
Hi I love the Skirt you are making, I would love to make one. If you find some Olive Green I would love to know where. My brother wants a sweater in that color, I haven’t been able to find it
I love your partly knitted pinky coral cardigan with the two buttons that was a test knit. but, is it the same Corran Cardigan as the one that Rebecca has released? I don't want to do mine as a mesh fabric, I'd rather just do it in stocking stitch too. can you let me know if that's what you did, knitted it in stocking stitch and not the mesh because if so, I'll go and buy it now and cast on hahahahaha
No, thay pinky coral cardigan is my own design, whereas the other rose work in progress is the test knit and it's a skirt🌷 The Corran Cardigan was just released and I don't know how you could modify it and knit it in stockinette 🤷♀️
I think it is nice to support small companies but I see no shame in buying from commercial companies either. And I do not know exactly what is so unethical about drops? ❤🙋🏻♀️btw buttons are supercute
There have been some concerns about the unclear sourcing of some of their fibers and the yarns are so cheap but of good quality that it feels strange that down the production line everyone was paid fairly or the animals treated kindly 🙏🏼
This is an expensive hobby. We can’t always afford to just knit with indie dyers. As much as we all want to make ethical purchases it’s just not realistic sometimes. We know you have a good heart ❤
Allo ! Thank you very much for all your videos, I really really like. I did some buttons like yours, but the flowers are changing colors. For examples, I took blue flowers, and the turned out yellow beige…deceiving… how do you keep the beautiful colors ?
Oh so exciting you're doing that too👐 I usually put my flowers to dry inside the pages of a thick book, in the way the colors stay more or less the same because there will be no water content left🌸
its funny because when you spoke about not buying from drops and how bad they are the ones feeling shame wasnt you but your viewers who like and use drops but in reality when people dont send you free hand dyed yarn you end up buying drops..hypocritical indeed.
I spoke about it and I clearly said I wasn't shaming anyone and wanted to just raise a bit of awareness without being harsh. And yes, sporadically some people are kind enough to send me some yarns and I always make sure to say how grateful I am for that. You absolutely don't need to remark anything because I'm very aware of my privilege and I'm quite honest about all my practices. Anyway, I'm sorry you felt shame, it wasn't my intention at all.
I am one of her viewers who uses Drops yarns and never felt shamed in the slightest by what Martina said. I understand her point of view and even agree with her.
I feel Martina was very careful when she spoke of her decision to not support Drops for ethical reasons. She was very clear about not shaming people who should make their own choices. And now she is making different choices, and being open and honest about those.
