I had a new black Sweater

It traveled the ocean several times

You all know how much I love and appreciate hand knitted sweaters.

I appreciate hand knitted sweaters because the girls in our family always knitted, crocheted, sewed and embroidered. My Sister Brigitta used to sew her Husband's business suits.  She is also an expert Lace Maker and has written 5 books on the subject. 

http://ginaceramics.blogspot.com/2011/01/do-you-like-sweaters.html

We mostly knitted sweaters in the Tyrolean style.

I bought this sweater many years ago somewhere in Austria and embroidered it on the airplane on our way home. 


I learned how to knit and embroider from my Mother.  It was also mandatory in school to learn how to do all different forms of hand work.  My Spinster School teacher taught us how to knit socks... without knots.   She said it would not do well if our soldiers had to march many hours with knots making blisters on their feet. 

No soldiers were marching, the war was  long over. 

 The black sweater on the left was my newest sweater that I brought back last October from my favorite shop in Dobbiaco, Italy. 

http://ginaceramics.blogspot.com/2011/10/there-is-place.html





When I returned home I noticed that it had quite a large hole on the right front of the sweater.  There were some other issues and I realized that I could not keep the sweater. 

The shop owner of the Trachten Stueberle in Dobbiaco would take it back.  Then the owner, Frau Konstanze Hofinger, of the "Wolkenstricker" company in Bavaria said that she would send me a new sweater. How generous was that!

To make a long story short, I now have a new sweater.

And if you would like to own one of the
 "Wolkenstricker Sweaters",
they can be purchased from Gorsuch of Aspen Colorado. 

Here is their catalog,

https://www.gorsuch.com/search.do?query=wolkenstricker+sweaters&cx=0&sortby=ourPicksAscend&pp=15&page=2

You will find my new "Biedermeier" sweater towards the bottom of the page.

The problem with perusing the Gorsuch Catalogue is that there is always something new to entice. 

 

Have a great week my dear
Blogging Friends.

Gina

There is a place

Tucked away in the most northeastern corner of Italy

A special place called Südtirol

Where the cows go to green pastures and come home every evening to be in their cozy barn, where each cow has a hand painted name plate and her own window to look out from.

This is also the place where I buy my hand knit sweaters.
(The black sweater on the left is my newest acquisition).

From a special shop by the name of Trachten Stueberle

Where every balcony is  adorned with the most impossible and

luxurious flowers.

And where an elderly gentleman, of nobility, lives behind these towering walls.

He lives there, by himself, hidden.

In this enormous castle.

And every year I ask the locals: 'what do you hear from the old Gentleman' ? 

And always, a shrug of the shoulders follows.

And every year, I am hoping, that the elderly Gentleman will see me from his window, and send his manservant to invite me to have tea with him. 

And then I will sit quietly and listen.

Where is this magic place, you ask?

It is called Toblach/Dobbiaco in the Südtirol, where both Italian and German is spoken.

Each year I discover a little more and one day I will know everything.

Gina