Stitching update

I've been quite busy lately. Visiting people, having visitors, meeting new people, all sorts of events, our wedding anniversary and just loads and loads of fun stuff. It's nice to be busy with nice things for a change! Although I haven't had much time for blogging, I have managed to stitch and knit a bit. And here's what I stitched last week.

First, the autumn needleroll. It's not much, but it's a start!



And then the SAL with Nicki.

In the kitchen

Yesterday we had quite a thunderstorm here. The sky went completely dark, it was like night. And the lightnings were constantly flashing down from the sky. The rain continued for hours after the storm calmed down. It was pretty scary, but also beautiful! And I thought it was just the perfect weather to be puttering around in the kitchen.



I made a small jar of mustard, a batch of granola (this is really good, I make it all the time!) and several trays full of korvapuusti. They are a traditional Finnish treat, a bun with cinnamon and sugar.

And I had these lovely little "suns" to cheer me up and light the kitchen. The color really is so bright they seem to emit light!

Stitching update

This is how my Titania looks after stitching on her last week. And below you see my progress on Winter's Eve. Still on part 4, but I've already gotten some of the speciality stitches done.



Here you can see where I was last week. This week, I'm starting an autumn needleroll that's part of a series (I've already got spring and summer done). It'll also be my autumn piece for the new seasonal SAL I've joined :)

Ballet camisole

I finished the yellow top on Saturday (and wore it on Sunday).

The pattern is from MagKnits. I didn't do the gathering at the neckline. I tried to, several times, but I couldn't get it to look nice. I used Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere and really liked the yarn (I used about 5 and a half balls). It's a bit softer than 100% cotton and it's also surprisingly warm. I think I'll wear it in fall and winter too with a shirt underneath.

Fall knitting

This week I got the newest Rowan magazine in the mail. And I love it! I'm so glad I ordered it, because it has so many patterns I want to make.

It also got me thinking about my fall knitting. I went through all the mags and books I have and chose the ones I most want to make, keeping in mind also the current fashions. And I compiled a list. From the new Rowan mag this dress got on it:



And also this thing, called Helsinki Hat Scarf. How can I resist a pattern like that? :) In addition to the great name, it looks very interesting, pretty and warm. The name already tells you it's a mix between a hat and a scarf, but I'd also add a vest in there too! Hope I have the time to make it!



Among the patterns that I wish to get to one day is this absolutely gorgeous long coat:



One of the collections was called "Highlander" (the dress and coat are from it), and the photographs were so beautiful! I really have to get to Scotland some day.

Stitching

Here is where I was with Winter's Eve. And here's where I am now:



Usually when I stitch I have the TV on, but yesterday I just in the quiet living room and it was actually really nice. It gives you a lot of time to think. And sometimes that is just what I need.

So, moving on in my new rotation. Here's Titania:



Starting from today, I'll be working on her until next Monday.

Rotation thoughts

I love flowers and I love taking pictures of them :) DH's parents came for a visit yesterday, so I bought these to decorate the table.



Today I have been thinking about my stitching. It really bothers me that I have lots of supplies and patterns and even WIPs, and I do stitch, but yet we have bare walls in our apartment. And those seasonal series with only one part finished aren't making me happy either.

So, today I decided to do something about it. I took out all of my charts and WIPs and went through them putting them into piles according to which room they are meant to be in. Then I put them in the order of how badly I want to do them. Those that I did not wish to stitch that badly or didn't know where I would put them once done went into a pile of their own and I will have to go through it later to see which ones I'm ready to sell/give away. I'll also have to go through my wish list with the same scrutinizing eye :) Having that done and knowing what I had and what I would do, already made me feel much better.



When I started stitching, I had large rotation (up to 10 WIPs), but now, especially with my knitting, it just feels too much. So, I decided to have a two-week rotation with three pieces. On Mondays I'll continue to do the SAL with Nicki and then for the rest of the week I will stitch on something else. On Monday it's the SAL again and then the rest of that week will be a third project. I'll start with Titania and an autumn needleroll. If I feel like I've made good progress or deem it otherwise necessary, I can occasionally do smaller items outside my list (like Christmas ornies!).

Let's see how I'll manage :)

Home improvements

I think seeing all those beautiful things on our trip made as want to have beautiful things around us at home too. I don't know, but for the past week we have really been doing a lot of stuff here.



It all started when DH finally put up the board for this valance. We've had it for six months I think! And I finally sewed the valance (I've had the fabric for it since I did the curtains. It's the same fabric as I put on the bottom of them.



The I decided to finish the window treatments for the living room window as well instead of just picturing it there in my mind. I went fabric shopping and after browsing my decorating magazines, came up with this. After taking this picture I added tassels to the very ends. I know the picture is really bad, but I hope you get an idea of what it looks like. The sun was shining really brightly today as you can see from both of these pictures! Which was lovely, of course, but not very good for photographing curtains..



Now I'm lenghtening the curtains we've had up in our living room for about a year. Why haven't I done this before? That's a really good question.



DH has been doing things too! We got the small table on the left in Germany from a small antiques/repair shop somewhere (we were just driving through some villages and I saw the sign). It has beautiful legs and was in excellent condition, except for the top, which was in two pieces and had burn marks and the varnish peeling off. So DH sanded it and glued it together and put on fresh varnish. The other table is from my childhood home. It didn't suit my parents decor anymore when they last moved and they gave it to us. The top was again in bad shape, with ring marks (from flowerpots, I guess) and the varnish was strangely a lot lighter than the rest of the table, so he sanded and varnished it too.



Despite being busy with the apartment, we've still had time to enjoy the beautiful summer weather we've been having lately. Here's small posy I gathered from a nearby meadow today.

More about the trip

Okay, I think I’ve now caught up on every blog on my Favourites folder. If I haven’t left a comment, I apologise, but there was a lot to read! Everyone’s been really busy and productive this past month!

During our trip, I didn’t get to do much crafting. I didn’t take any stitching with me (I know, gasp!, but I can’t stitch in a moving car without getting carsick). I did take two knitting projects with me anticipating to get a lot of knitting done during all that driving from one place to another, but surprisingly I was too engrossed in the landscapes to dig my needles out. I only got a small start on this top (most of what you see here has been done during the few days we’ve been home):



But I did not forget my dear hobbies! I knew there was a Zweigart factory oulet somewhere in Germany and before we left I emailed them for directions and opening times (it’s near Stuttgart in a town called Sindelfingen). And then, one morning we were there! And it was wonderful! One wall was lined up with all the possible colors of linen and Lugana… Truly a lovely sight to see (why didn’t I take a picture??) and just anything and everything that Zweigart does. What I found the most interesting though, were the discount baskets (and there were lots of those too) and as you can see from the picture, I took a bundle of them home :)



I was surprised to see that they also sold knitting yarn there and I picked up there 100% alpaca balls for a bargain price of 1.50€ each (why oh why didn’t I buy more?). I also got some dinner napkins (I think they are cotton or cotton-linen) for 1€/each, which I thought was a good price.

It was a wonderful experience visiting that store, and my dear husband didn’t once complain that I was taking too long (or buying too much!). :)

I didn’t see any (other) cross stitch stores on our trip, but I did see quite a lot of yarn stores. The sad thing is, I only saw them when they were closed. But the good thing (?) is that most of what I saw through the windows were yarns that I can get here as well. It made me quite happy to realize that even if we are the worst country in the world when it comes to stitching supplies (I might be exaggerating here a bit, but not much), we have it pretty good in terms of knitting supplies (except American yarn, which is virtually non-existent here).