Seneca

Seneca pullover by Jared Flood is coming on slowly but surely. Love that soft angora Classic Elite Yarns Lush yarn, so fluffy, light, and warm. The sweater is knitter down up, then sleeves are joined in and the whole thing is finished off with lovely cabled yoke. So far I am all done up to that assembly point!

3 years

I've got a discretionary leave to remain and work here! it is not a permanent one but I guess with taking so much time off 9-8 years ago being sick it is fair. My love affair with UK continues but it will not take me another 3 years to settle here. In my heart however I am fully settled and love this country with all its rain, drafts and humidity but also with fantastic science community and opportunities. Being allowed to do what you love the most is what counts in the end ;)

Truly this month is getting worse... Dear mum, I know you are reading it, please get better soon... hopefully you will be able to go home in couple of weeks... what a huge scare those two last day were...

Meanwhile here is a bit of knitting I ve been trying to focus on. I am currently battling with sleeves of Thorington as original pattern is just not working, so I am trying to do them using my favorite set-in-short row model aligning stripes.

Black

Loosing three people you love in as many weeks is incredibly sad... particularly when it is so incredibly random... just still feels surreal... Rest in peace H, N and G, you will not be easily forgotten




"I know somewhere you'll have a beautiful life,
I know you'll be a sun in somebody else's sky"
PJ

Old and New

I have finally submitted my thesis (well a month ago now) with the viva set in December I finally have time to look for jobs, knit and simply relax. So nice not to be at work for up to 18hrs a day.

Here are some of my old and new favorites

Hair, face and nail care

Make up: new mascara and prep mascara from MAC in detail

Tall Sundae finished

Yep, finished a week back now but just now finally photographed. Well it is still not washed and framed but that would have to wait. Now I am stitching a new chart: Venice kit from Lanarte. It is beautiful but unfortunately presorted thread is so annoyingly short.

What? A CC?

Yep, I am in the CC mood again, no knitting done around here, instead I've picked up my "Tall Sundae" (last stitched back in June, khe-khe)and it is going pretty fast I should say.

All about shoes

Just wanted to share more picture of my currently favourite shoes to cheer me up on a rainy dark Thursday afternoon in a basement ;) Sometimes work is just not fun.

Fhómhar

My final project of 2009 is finally blocked and ready to show. It is yet another shawl, in the colourway I like, triangular, only this time it is a gift.
Fhómhar shawl in colour Pumpkin Spice, more pics on Ravelry

New Year resolutions

This year resolutions are same as last year:
1. keep loosing more weight and get fitter
2. not work too much, try 9-7 with weekends off
3. work to the schedule, not random hours, in the end I get too tired and loose productivity
4. find more motivation to get out and train more often

New ones:
5. run my first half-marathon in March
6. train enough to start marathon distances
7. improve sleeping pattern (probably through more counselling)

I will also try to post much more often and not just on knitting but also on my running training

Happy New Year!!!

Wish you all a great year full of love, laughter and happiness!


PS: It is not snowing now but was last week, I am off to London to see my dad!

Christmas present to myself Part I

Coloumar Cashmerino cobweb yarn, originally uploaded by bb03aav.

new cobweb yarn from Colourmart

Winning another battle

I have been knitting a sweater for my DB for the past two years. The pattern is not that difficult but there are just way too many problems with it. To start I've decided to knit it in the original yarn which have been discontinued for a very long time... Why, because I've done another sweater in it and really like it, so I went ahead and bought enough on the e-bay... Well, I though that it would be enough based on the yardage suggested, little did I know that it was oh so wrong and I would eventually run out of yarn twice!!! Fist time happened last year just when it is been in the making for nearly a whole year, I was lucky and bought 2 more balls on Ravelry (just to be on the safe side).
The sweater was supposed to be a birthday present, so this October I've picked it up... and run out of yarn yet again! Now after over a month of searching I have enough to complete... And what happens.. sleeve caps are completely wrong: they are massive, enormous, gigantic!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not like to assemble sweaters, even less I like to recalculate sleeve caps, this time however, I was forced to do just that... one sleeve is in now, the second is waiting, then the collar... Oh the struggle continues but I will not be defeated by some wool

Merry Chrismas!

I hope you are all having a great festive day with your loved ones...

German Christmas Market 2009

Every year Birmingham hosts the largest German Christmas market outside Germany. There is plenty of traditional food, souvenirs and glintwine! Here in England it's been a cold and snowy weekend, so we had had an amazing Christmas experience despite me being sick... and a national traffic gridlock. Here are some of the pictures I'd like to share

FO: Eskimo hat

Another FO: a very quick knit (one hour of work actually) done from recycled yarn. It is bulky, big and very warm. The hat was done two weeks ago and worn extensively. In fact it got so popular among friends and colleagues I was asked to knit them a copy and since replicated it in 3 other colours! Here is my one with my new birthday coat and shoes...

FO: CheChe

Another finished FO, something I never though I would make and from the yarn I wasn't particularity keen on... In the end I think it was destined to become a CheChe, a lovely shawl I actually do feel like wearing those days ;)

Small things

that make life brighter ;)


There are no new pictures of knitting today, they are all in a complete UFO state and not yet to be seen. Instead are some lovely vintage things I have recently purchased to spice up my wardrobe. The shoes are absolutely stunning and should go very well with some of my vintage bags and hats form the early 50-s, late 40s period. All purchased at etsy And photos are courtesy to sellers

FO: Peacock Tail and Leaf Scarf

Finally a proper FO! A spontaneous project knitted on a whim of inspiration. I love Nancy Bush designes and so her recent book Knitted lace of Estonia isn't an exception. This scarf is my second project from it and I have to say it is most definitely not the last. I fell in love with this scarf from the start but did not have any green coloured yarn in my stash, so one day last month I was looking at one of the blogs I am often reading and there I saw the yarn! It was a beautiful shade of green, beautiful yarn, so I quickly went to etsy shop got the desired skew in colour Marigold. And not only it is simply stunning it is also entirely organic!
So the yarn came in two weeks ago and very quickly I could not knit anything else. I guess there is no need to say I LOVE the end result and have been wearing it daily through last week. More pictures of the scarf are on my Ravelry page

April FO: Roza Socks

This is the last pair of sock I have knitted, they are also the last item I have completed in a long time. Finished in April during my water fasting experiment are Roza Socks by Grumperina from IK Spring 2007.



I have shamefully taken the yarn and colour idea from Navi (I really like your version much more than the original). More info on Ravelry