As you may remember during British Wool Week I started knitting a shawl in British Suffolk wool. By the end of the week I had only completed a bit of it, but because the wool was chunky and the needles large it was soon finished. It is great for wearing around the house, especially when sitting still… as I am now, writing this post. However, I realised that I needed a pin to hold it in place… something that I didn’t have.
As you know, I like to support small producers, so I hunted around the internet, but just couldn’t find anything that appealed. Eventually, however, a friend recommended a company in Portugal who sell via etsy and who will make items to order, so I contacted Pedro and Cris at Artis Ignis. What a lovely experience – they told me that they had been thinking of making shawl pins for a while, so my request had given them a nudge. Then, they sent me some sketches, asked me which I liked and offered to make up a couple of pins, photograph them and I could choose – with no obligation to buy if I didn’t like them.
Artis Ignis shawl pin – designed for me
When I received the photographs, I was delighted… I had asked for a pin with leaves and was given the choice of a vine theme or ivy leaves. For me it had to be the latter to fit in with my British wool – ivy is characteristic of British winters (think of the Christmas carol ‘The Holly and The Ivy’) so seemed the perfect companion to my cosy shawl. In total from first request to the pin arriving it took just over three weeks, including me spending a few days making a decision about designs!
I have been waiting until I had a pin to photograph the shawl , but here it is:
British Suffolk Wool Shawl and Portuguese Alder Wood Pin
The Snail of Happiness 
metan
/ November 22, 2013Beautiful! Both the shawl (well done) and the pin too. 😀
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The Snail of Happiness
/ November 22, 2013I’m really pleased with both of them
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davidprosser
/ November 22, 2013Both beautiful pieces. x
xxx Cwtch xxx
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The Snail of Happiness
/ November 22, 2013And practical too!
xxx
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Megan S
/ November 22, 2013That looks great, I love both the shawl and the pin.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ November 22, 2013Of course the sun has just come out , so I don’t need them at the moment!
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katechiconi
/ November 22, 2013That’s beautiful. Isn’t it amazing how much extra beauty you get when something is carefully crafted by hand, compared with machine-made perfection. That shawl looks super-cozy, too.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ November 22, 2013I keep looking at the detail on the pin and being astonished. Such simple materials – wood and beeswax – to create such a lovely object.
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katechiconi
/ November 22, 2013And then you should look at your shawl and be astonished that you created such beauty and utility with some balls of wool and knitting needles! Knitting and lacemaking are two skills I’d love to acquire. I can sew, quilt, crochet and felt, but not knit. Mind you, where I live, woollies are not exactly necessary…
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Pedro and Cris from ArtisIgnis
/ November 22, 2013What a wonderful surprise and a great blog post!
Thank you so much for letting us know about this. We are thrilled that you like your shawl pin so much and it was a real pleasure working with you to make it! It looks beautiful with that wonderfully cosy-looking shawl you made. It really is a perfect combination!
We’re looking forward to exploring your blog some more… 🙂
Hugs,
Cris and Pedro
The ArtisIgnis team
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The Snail of Happiness
/ November 22, 2013I’m delighted to let others know about your lovely products. Thanks for the Facebook share too!
xx
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Gina Gaines
/ November 22, 2013Absolutely beautiful!!! You do wonderful work, and the pin is the perfect compliment!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ November 22, 2013The shawl was so easy to knit… amazingly effective, though!
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Teresa @ The Fat Cactus
/ November 22, 2013The pin is beautiful and just perfect for your shawl – love them both (and wish I was wearing them right now as it is freeeeeezzzzing!!)
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The Snail of Happiness
/ November 22, 2013For some days now, Mr Snail-of-happiness has been eyeing up my fingerless gloves for the very same reason, so I’ve just cast on a pair for him, even though the next project I was planning as an amigurumi dragon!!
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Arin
/ November 23, 2013That knitting is beautiful and the pin is perfect! Great job.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ November 23, 2013Thank you – I’m very pleased with both.
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Candy Blackham
/ December 12, 2013Pretty and feminine
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The Snail of Happiness
/ December 12, 2013I love it… and it’s useful too!
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