Charmed, I'm sure

My mother always told me it is polite to introduce oneself when meeting new people, and mothers are always right, so here goes.

I'm Salla, a 26-year-old Taurus (rising Leo, moon in Pisces). I live in Espoo, Finland, where I was born and bred. In fact, I live about 20 minutes away from the very hospital where I was born. Incidentally, I have since lived most of my life elsewhere, including three countries other than Finland. But life works in cycles, and here I am again.

I am engaged to be married to an Australian fella next summer. Our little family also includes our furry baby Kerri, an 18-month-old ocicat. Sometimes I wonder if she is not a dog in a cat suit since she occasionally barks, and likes to fetch the ball. Kerri always watches my knitting very intently. Mostly she's a good girl (we've had "The Talk" about yarn and her rights to paw at it - or the lack thereof), but sometimes she will try and put a paw down on a skein very very slowly. I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of Kerri, she loves getting photographed. And lying on my projects.

I was originally taught to knit by my mother I believe, this was when I was perhaps 4 or 5. No projects from this period remain, and it is probably just as well! (My mother is not a very good knitter - or a very good knitting teacher - sorry mum!) I was taught properly at school at the age of 11-ish, when I completed a pair of socks and a pair of mittens. I also attempted to knit a sweater and failed miserably. I still have the Easter chick yellow acrylic yarn stashed away somewhere...

For years, I didn't knit a thing. I lie, I knitted a pair of mittens for a boyfriend in senior secondary school. But mostly, not a thing. I saw the light again while attending a university exchange program in Canada in 2005. The local yarn shop was too divine to resist! When I was living in London, England from 2006 up until 2008, I had to endure a one-and-a-quarter-of-an-hour-each-way commute every day. So I started knitting socks, much to the amazement of my fellow commuters. I branched out into scarves, hats and other little things. I had to import all my yarn from Finland, however, as there was not one (not ONE) decent yarn shop in London.

My knitting has really kicked up a notch since moving back to Finland last year - I blame this on the best yarn shop in Finland which just happens to be a five-minute walk from the home we bought a few months ago. (Yes, this was a factor in us buying it, although I didn't disclose this to my fiancé.) I am venturing into bigger, better things now, which is not to say there's anything wrong with socks. Perhaps I'll finish a sweater one day. No, not the yellow acrylic one...

When I'm not knitting, I am usually translating. I have a one-woman band of a translation business that keeps me occupied most days (and especially nights, them being my creative time). Working from a home office is brilliant, particularly as the work tends to come in randomly; sometimes I'm working 20-hour days, sometimes I just sit there and knit with one eye on my inbox. I also study part time at the university (or should I say universities since I attend two) towards two Master's degrees, the first of which I am hoping to finish next year.

I can be found on Ravelry under the name Iseult, please do add me if you're a regular reader or think you may become one!