Spring 2020 was different and meaningful for many of us, the Corona pandemic changed our perception of everyday life and made us spend more time at home. Suddenly we were in a situation where we thought about what we would do with all our free time. The three of us sat at a round table and together we pondered the world over a cup of coffee. We found ourselves discussing weaving and yarns, while Marilla sawed the needles.
We wanted to find ecological and ethical, definitely domestic yarns for ourselves, because huge amounts of Finnish sheep's wool go to waste every year. Well, since we are demanding when it comes to quality in yarns as well, we found that we absolutely have to dye yarns. So get to work! And it was wonderful, creative, relaxing and nice work. And what wonderful colors we achieved!
We couldn't just leave these to ourselves to weave, we had to share them with you all, because they are such deliciously sweet colors and wonderfully soft, high-quality yarns. Welcome to admire the yarns in our online store, all you knitting fanatics! <3
Our selection is growing and we are just at the beginning.
In the future, in this blog, we will tell you more about ourselves; news, tips and ideas. Stay tuned and tell your friends about us crazy wool ladies aka Tapiottar!
We Tapiottare dye the threads by hand in Pirkanmaa, Lempäälä. Since the beginning of time, the history of the name Lempäälä tells about the Lemmo pit in the village, which was avoided and feared. In the olden days, deformed children and executed criminals were thrown there, maybe Villainas too? According to legend, the pit was left under the railroad (perhaps partly on purpose, because the old scary pagan place was wanted to be destroyed). On the other hand, maps from the 19th century still mention a deep sand pit near the Lempäälä church.
It is also possible that the crater could have been created by a small meteorite. That way it would fit well into the Lempo myth. There is one more side plot connected to Lemmo's riddle. Lempäälä church is dedicated to Saint Birgitta. Birgitta is the same name as Brigitte, which according to 57 Kustaa Vilkuna is originally a Celtic name and means fire goddess. Birgitta, the maid of the Lempoinen Tarika house, who saves four images of saints from the burning church, also appears in the carnival-style poem about the fire in the Aimala church in Lempäälä.
In any case, fire and mythical female characters seem to be strongly associated with Lempäälä, which is why we have named our yarns based on mythology. So Lempo would have been the "fiery woman" of the ancient Finns, and that's why we call ourselves Tapiottari - Tapiotari is called the owner and queen of the forest in Finnish fairy tales and stories.
A surprising connection between Lemmes and Birgita can be found in the world of insects. In Häme and Etelä-Savo, the ladybug is called pirko or läppäpirko. If you caught it, you could make wishes - just like when you see a shooting star.
The ladybug is also a farmer's friend, eating aphids that cause havoc. The children's nursery rhyme says "Fly fly alder pirkko" and the poem continues either "to the foot of the big rock" or "to the foot of the big church". It is also possible that ladybugs have been used in Finland to make red dye. We have also tested dyeing with mushrooms and plants, as well as with other different natural materials. We have also developed our own WoolWomen sock model, you will hear more about this later in the form of a blog story.
We hope that our yarns and stories bring a lot of joy and warmth to you too!
So welcome to shopping in our online store!
Tapiottes; Mari, Taru and Henriikka
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