Glittertind

 

This jumper was in my ravelry queue for ages until I finally found the time and energy to tackle it (as a principle I never knit what's in my queue; and if I do it's for sure not the pattern that's on top). Also as a principle I don't use the correct yarn gauge which results most of the time in a wild guess concerning the size. But "Glittertind" made it!

For those who like the pattern it's by Erika Guselius ("Deathcuckoo" on ravelry or "Dödergök" on her blog) and, also as usual, I found inspiration on Clara's blog who knitted a cardigan for her daughter. I saw some other jumpers in the yellow-white colour combination that I liked a lot, for example the "Saffran" cardigan. I wouldn't usually have chosen it because I thought the contrast would be to weak but actually the pattern still stands out enough and is really pretty.

Nothing special to say about the knitting process, except that I have the impression the sleeves are set in a bit too low. But this might also be my fault in skipping the short rows to speed up the process. For now the jumper is still too big so I cannot tell how it will fit in practice.

*****
Pattern: "Glittertind Version 2" by Erika Guselius
Yarn: Some reclaimed Cygnet DK (yellow) and leftover Rowan Pure Wool Worsted (white)

England & Wales 2018

  

Even though this was not really a well-planned holiday it ended up being quite a roadtrip. The idea was to visit two good friends from Uni (who know each other but are not close friends) and who both had babies on Christmas Day - is that a coincidence or what? Anyways, the idea was to have a "get to know the babies" visit since we were all busy with our own new family additions.

This was extended to a cross-country roadtrip from Dover via Essex, London, Hampshire, and the Cotswolds to South Wales. From there we also visited Bristol and then back to Dover via Oxford. I feel quite accomplished, doing all this with a 5 months old baby! And it was actually less stressful than expected, we're lucky to have a baby that sleeps well in the car most of the time. 

We visited many places that were new to me, too. I really liked Cardiff and Bristol, I almost wished I had studied there because they seem to be very vibrant student cities while not being too big at the same time. Of course we also enjoyed the phenomenal weather at the Essex seaside and Wales was the perfect destination to cool down a little bit while still having more sunshine than usual in this part of the world. London was great as usual (even though we had quite some rain but thank God for museums!) and I must say I forgot how pretty Oxford was. 

Now we're back and we have filled up on takeaway curry, egg & cress sandwiches, fish & chips, and Fentiman's lemonades for a while. But since it was so easy to get there by car this was definitely not the last time we drive to the UK, unless of course BREXIT spoils the fun next year.

 

Surprisingly, I also managed to do a fair bit of knitting. I have now perfected the art of knitting in the car (as a passenger, obviously) to use my freetime as efficiently as possible. So far it works quite well, even though I have to recover the occasional dropped needle or an unravelled skein from under the seat. Above you can see the early stages of another "Branches & Buds" jumper which is actually almost complete by the time I'm typing this. I'm still debating whether I should make it into a cardigan again, as I did with my first version of this pattern. 

More knitting updates to come soon!

Tweed "Marigold"

As with most patterns I like I tend to knit them again (and again, if I really like them). It just makes sense to go back to something that fits well and worked out the first time around, although in some cases I do the second knit because I learned from my mistakes. I also like it because for most patterns you can make sooooo many variations by only including small changes that it would take a long time to get bored of it.

In the case of "Marigold" it was mainly because it fit well and I ended up wearing my first cardi a lot over the last winter.  But because the alpaca yarn is extremely warm I also wanted one that I could wear in slightly warmer weather (i.e. above freezing point) and I still had this lovely light blue tweed in my stash. To make the tweed structure stand out even more I omitted the lace panel in the back, I didn't want to distract from the beautiful yarn and I also wanted to keep the cardigan as neutral as possible to match my other clothes.

Apart from the lace panel I also made the sleeves full-length and increased the button band (or however you call this if it doesn't have buttons) to 10 stitches in garter stitch. In the first version that I knitted according to the pattern the band keeps on flipping itself around so I wanted to make it a bit heavier. Not sure yet if that issue is solved though because the band is turning by design to make the transition in the neck.

Still a great pattern and I just realized that I now also fulfilled my self-imposed obligation to knit at least three pieces from the "Making" magazine to make it worth the shipping from the US. Score! And I'm especially proud to finish this project because I knitted it during my maternity leave and believe me, it was not easy to find the time with a screaming baby around.

***
Pattern: "Marigold" by Cecily Glowik MacDonald, published in "Making" Magazine, issue 1 "Flora"
Yarn:  Rowan Fine Tweed, colourway 380 "Nappa"

Paris

I've been to Paris many, many times. The first time I went was ca. 1998 on a school trip - it was also the first time I went to such a big city from our sleepy little town in Germany where I grew up. So it was exciting, that's for sure! I also have vivid memories of eating disgusting fries in the "Flunch" fast-food restaurant near Les Halles where the sparrows were flying in and out of the restaurant and sitting on the tables! That and our French teacher at the time telling us to avoid eye contact with "Arab men" on the metro "or else you wake up in a harem in Morocco" (don't get me wrong, she was a great teacher, but in retrospective maybe not exactly what you would call politically correct...).

But I survived the horrible food and was not abducted to Morocco and here I am, 20 years later, discovering a whole new side of Paris! As you can see from the photos, this new side is mainly green. I blame it on the baby but my main activity that week was walking. Walking, walking, walking through the entire city from park to park. We were super lucky because we had a hotel in the centre and the weather was excellent, not too hot and not too cold. Besides the obvious tourist attractions that I passed on my way (the Louvre, Notre Dame, the  Eiffel Tower, etc.) I also discovered some new neighbourhoods and places that I liked a lot.

Those were my favourite spots and I'm sure I'll go back at some point:

1) Coulée Verte (between Bastille and Gare de Lyon) - Paris' answer to NYC's High Line, this is an old railway viaduct turned into a beautiful green walk and leading to a park. Just be aware that there is no accessible entrance right at Bastille but you have to walk a few hundred metres further down where you can find a lift (useful information if you have a pram).

2) Jardin des Rosiers Joseph Migneret (10, Rue des Rosiers, Paris 4e) - The Marais itself is already a lovely break from Paris' general craziness but this park is like an oasis of calm and green in the city. The entrance is a bit hidden but I entered via Rue des Rosiers. Grab some picnic lunch for example at the Monoprix supermarket in Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie and enjoy!

3) Champs du Mars (7e, Metro "Ecole Militaire") - Not exactly a secret as this is one of the most touristy spots of the whole of Paris BUT still totally worth it for the view of the Eiffel Tower! I got my bread and cheese on the way had a lovely lunch with Baby S. lying on his blanket in the grass. Surprisingly, if you dodge the groups of Spanish teenagers being loaded off the coaches you can find very nice spots in the shade - just be aware of dog poop!

Finally, I also managed to do a bit of knitting - my first project since baby arrived. It's going slowly but I'm progressing so by autumn it should be done for sure. It's another "Marigold" cardigan from the "Making" magazine that I knit once before. I bought the tweed yarn last summer in Estonia (the amazing wonderland that is Karnaluks!) and  I'm glad I found a suitable project for it.