This ebook contains 2 sister patterns, Chiarore scarf and Chiarore socks.

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In Italy, the pines grow mostly on the coastal areas. The pinetas, pine forests follow the coastline allowing shade before one reaches the beach. The pines are not as tall as up north, and they have the famous umbrella-like shape. The pinecones are huge, bigger than my fist.

Costiera, the coast in Italian. Italy is a country in the middle of the sea. Most of the regions have a coastline. The coast is often rocky and wild, even if Italy is known for its beaches.

Imagine the Umbrian plains between the Apennine Mountains. You stop on the road facing a breath-taking scene: the plains of fields full of flowers in different colors. Green, red, purple and yellow, all in harmony, but at the same time like each wants to show as the strongest of the colors. The vast fields seem never-ending, framed by the majes...

It’s a burning hot day in Sicily. I get off the train at Marsala. There’s a strong smell of fermenting grapes in the air, the famous golden colored Marsala sweet wine takes its name from this town where it’s produced.

When June arrives, it usually brings the heat and ruthless sunshine. The fields turn to burnt yellow, the hay dies. The colors slowly fade to straw. But there’s one plant that still resists. It has a hard stem, almost impossible to break by hand. The leaves are small but in the mornings the plant is full of sky-blue flowers. When the sun rises ...

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While in Finland there’s still winter, in Italy we feel the first gentle wind of spring, and we see the nature come alive again. Plum trees are something that do survive and even make fruit in Southern Finland, but not where I lived. Here it’s one of the first trees that bloom in spring. The flowers come out while the leaves are still hiding an...

Susino means plum tree in Italian. In spring the branches fill with white flowers, while in August, the small fruits start to gain color, and slowly turn to yellow or dark purple. The taste is rather sour but they make such a delicous marmalade. If I pick a mature fruit in the afternoon, it’s juicy and warmed by the sun.

Alloro, bay laurel is a common plant here in Italy. It’s used often in gardens as a hedge. In spring, it blooms with tiny yellowish flowers, and later the black, oval berries fill the branches. In the front yard, we have a huge bay laurel, and right next to it a rose, rosa canina. Its berries are oval and tiny, not like the huge rosehips I was ...

I love the sea. This scarf reflects the waves in their never-ending color changes, and the reflections of the sunlight on the water.

This pattern was born in early December when the village was preparing for Christmas. There are paintings as high as a person placed in front of the houses. In these paintings there are a soldier, a dancer and a mouse; characters from the Nutcracker. The shawl takes inspiration from the statues and images of the Nutcracker soldier.

In Italy, there are a lot less forests than in Finland. The most of the landscape seems to be fields. As the seasons change earlier here, the cereals and hay are cut and harvested in the beginning of summer. In May – June the fields start to turn yellow. The spikes move slowly under the burning sun.

There is a small countryside road near to our house. Both sides of the road grow full of different trees and bushes. There is an evergreen bush, higher than my head, which in spring is full of beautiful, small, white flowers. When the winter approaches, the branches start to bend under the weight of its blue berries.

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See matching hat here. Use this link to get the set of hat and mittens with 15 euros!

See matching fingerless mitts here. Use this link to get the set of hat and mittens with 15 euros!

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The Neapolitans claim that they have the best coffee in the world, and who am I to disagree? Boiling hot, short and strong, served in tiny cups, it’s a shot of that energy for which Naples is known.

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For a pairing hat check Vigneto hat here. Using this link get both patterns with 15 euros!

For pairing mittens check Vigneto mittens here. Using this link get both patterns with 15 euros!

“The comfortable life is not for us

Where I come from, the pines are high and thin. Their trunks are reddish and in certain light seems golden. The ground under the trees is full of lichen, moss and twigs. I love all the forest, but standing under the pines and listening to the wind in their branches is particularly calming.

When I started designing this hat, I wanted something simple that would leave the main role to this lovely yarn.

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A hot day in the Roman Empire, the air trembles with the heat. Mostly there is no shade, only here and there the Mediterranean pines give a bit of relief for the traveler.

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It’s the hour before lunch. Join with me on a stroll in one of the old towns in Tuscany. All the narrow cobblestone alleys take you towards the piazza. Once you enter the piazza under the arch framed by the Roman columns, you face the most authentic Italy. The Italians sit in the shade, sipping the traditional aperitivo, the Spritz.

The Sorrento region, and particularly the peninsula, has breathtaking views to Vesuvius, the city of Naples and the island of Capri. The panoramic road bends on the coastal cliffs and passes amongst olive groves and lemon trees.

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Imagine yourself on Piazza San Marco in Venice, tasting a glass of Bellini cocktail. The color of this cocktail comes from the peach puree, which is added to the sparkling wine. In this wrap you can see the cupolas of the San Marco Cathedral, and the gondolas slowly moving on the canals.

Check also the ebook which contains 2 sister patterns, Chiarore scarf and Chiarore socks.

’Nduja top is a sleeveless top knit top down seamlessly. First, both upper pieces are worked flat, then they are joined and the body is worked in the round. Armhole ribbing and straps are then added. The top is reversible, the lace can be worn in back or in front. The knitter can choose to work one side of the top in plain stockinette stitch, o...