Away but returning

I was away from computers for a while, finally visiting the red center.
Will be back home in two days, and will resume blogging and knitting!

Melbourne

We arrived well, and are now the hottest part of the journey, when no time was available for anything, as too many things were happening.
In a couple of days we are off for holiday, and I won't have any internet till the end of the month.

I made it, I subscribe to sp14 and I'm now partecipating! How cool is that? As soon as I get home I will keep the blog updated.

Knitting has continued very slowly, I made a neckwarmer, here it is winter and cold.
No photos from here for the moment.

ready to leave

We are about to leave to Melbourne! I will not post for a little while, these days have been really hectic, but I did manage to prepare everything, finish all my commitments, and managed to sleep a little bit in between (but definitely not enough).

mohair scarves

Lately I have been producing scarves using a nice mohair wool I found long ago at the market. In principle I'm not a big fan of mohair, it is too fuzzy and hairy for me, but I have noticed that people usually like it. I prefer natural fibers, also because I'm sometimes allergic (especially to garment etiquettes, which I cut regularly).

Anyhow I jus finished two scarves, to be gifted to friends.

One is a stripy scarf

I simply cast on 27 stitches on 9mm needles and went on till the skeins lasted.

The second one is a yellow scarf, pattern from 1 skein wonders - 101 yarn-shop favorites, a book series I have enjoyed. The pattern is Razor Shell Lace Scarf by Arlene Graham. I'm pleased with the result, and think it will suit perfectly for the person I have in mind....

My first lace project

Here it is, my first lace project! I knitted this scarf a couple of years ago (or so I seem to remember).

I really prefer the picture of it unblocked, even though the scarf was prettier when blocked. At the very beginning I thought it would be hard, but then, once I got the hang of it, it was smooth sailing, and the beginning of my fondness for lace!

linden tree

Yesterday night I was driving when, from the car window, a fanastic parfume hit me: linden trees are in blossom, and during the night their fantastic smell drifts around, surrounding everybody. It surrounds you with happyness and brings good dreams. Nature can be so soothing!

This morning, cycling to work, I was again inhebriated by the intense parfume, while passing through a road lined with linden trees. What a good way to start a day at the office, I opened my office door with a smile (but then, soon, reality brought me back on earth).

This was also an occasion to discover the english name of the Tilia, and see that they are also called lime trees.

favourite designers

I like to change projects all the time, so I keep my interest up, learn new things and produce lots of different presents to distribute when needed. And I love challanges.

When I subscribed to Ravelry a new fantastic world opened to me: lots of patterns and groups that are ideal for me! Moreover I had the chance of discovering designers I like, like woolly wormhead, a fantastic hat designer, who produces always new challenging designes, or ysolda, and my beloved elisabeth. And hundreds of other people who post about thei hats!

Moreover there exist groups organising monthly KALS, and so you can benefit of the joy of knitting something toghether with ther people, sharing the problems, progresses and joys of it all! How much fun.

cooking

Lately I have decided that I shuld try to improve our diet, and try to cook something new. I spend little time at home, so cooking is always a fast business, thus being done on the automatic gear. I often prepare the same things, using the same ingredients.

Anyhow, this is a project I will resume soon: we are now leaving for a month, going to Australia for work and a small holiday, so the present challange is to empty the fridge and leave the house in a good state until our return.

Cooking is now a matter of recycling at the best all the leftovers in the fridge. 

And this is why this "cake" was born, I prepared a thick "bechamelle", then incorporated a lot of cheese, some bacon and diced tomatoes, and finally three eggs. I cooked it in the oven at 180°C for about 40 minutes. 

It is quite good, and I have almost emptied my fridge!

Elisabeth Zimmermann

When I started knitting, thanks to the many bolgs on the internet, I discovered Elisabeth Zmmermann, and fell in love with her. 

I own many of her books, and love her way of writing about knitting and life, her attitude about knitting and her "open" patterns (or rather recipes), the fact that she encourages to modify things and experiment, but also the fact that she gives clear instructions to practice on things before being confident enough to go by yourself.

I have been spending hours dreaming while reading her books, planning things to knit, calculating things. It was reading the knitters' almanac that I decided to knit my first stole, a Pi are, even though it looked like a too large project. And instead I completed it, learned to make the ribbing, spent many  enjoyable hours completing it, and finally had the pleasure to see the smile of my mum when I gave it to her! What beautiful moments...