Thursday 19 December 2013

Oddity mittens

I haven't been doing much writing lately, my schedule has been even more busy than ordinary and at the same time the flu decided to stop by for a while.


Saturday 30 November 2013

Some embroidery

A little bit after I started the knitting lessons, a client that frequents at the patisserie where the lessons take place, asked me to mend and embroider some blouses. After some pondering and playing with different colors and shapes, here is what I came up with:


Monday 25 November 2013

Uzu!

These are my most favorites to date! I like the construction, the color, the fit! But this didn't come without some frogging in the process...


Thursday 21 November 2013

Wednesday 13 November 2013

A new pattern edition and new layouts!

For the needs of my knitting classes I recently translated one of my patterns in Greek! And a bit after, I decided to update the layout of the English version for the same pattern, as well as for another, and for that reason, I took brand new lovely pictures!

Thursday 7 November 2013

Inspired by Iceland

During my stay in Iceland I got the idea of a new design, that would depict all the colors, landscapes and beauty I experienced there. The idea came early, and I took quite a few inspiration pictures. Truth to be told, I have already created the sample charts! xD


Tuesday 5 November 2013

Iceland in film

Of course with such kind of a trip I didn't miss the chance to get some film with me. I took with me two cameras, my Balda, and a newly found vintage Nikon. Why two of them? Just in case something happens to one of them, like last time, and I am left without camera.

Ein Hut fuer Sommer the second edition

I made a new version of the pattern Ein Hut fuer Sommer, and this time not in cotton yarn.



Monday 4 November 2013

Swatch

Just more than a week ago, Helene Magnusson released a new cardigan pattern, Lopi Affection, and with it, a free Swatch pattern, to practice new techniques as well as an opportunity to participate in the Ravelry KAL, where the two projects with the most favs will win a sweaters worth of yarn for the Lopi Affection cardigan.


Sunday 3 November 2013

Thursday 31 October 2013

Last days in Iceland

During buffer day, and after having split up into two teams (5 and 4 people each) we enjoyed completely different things.


Saturday 19 October 2013

Random knitting

I have been finishing some random pieces of knitting lately. Firstly, I finally got the chance to finish my long legwarmers, which hopefully only took 1 skein of each color. ^^


Saturday 12 October 2013

Templeton Wrap Winners!

The giveaway is over, thank you all for participating and for your lovely comments!
I used a random number generator (in this case, randi of MATLAB xD) to draw the winners,
and...

drum roll....

Congratulations to StaceyKnitsIt, kmb34me, Doreen, Meghan Ballog, Michele Ploessel-Campbell, Vicki Beck!


Winners check your messages and email inbox. For the rest I have good news, you will receive shortly a coupon for a 20% discount. ^^

Happy knitting! 
 

Thursday 10 October 2013

Hiking and bathing in the Highlands, the Golden Circle

After our first encounter with the warm and comfort of hotspots, we couldn't help ourselves but continue the practice on camping area situated around a famous hotspot, Hveravellir, in the Highlands.



Wednesday 9 October 2013

The Aftur socks

That sweater really left me with much yarn! after making the pair of gloves, and then completing a pair of socks, I still have enough for more!



Tuesday 8 October 2013

Templeton Wrap pattern release and a giveaway!

I am very happy to announce the release of the Templeton Wrap pattern! It has been some time since it it's creation, but I am glad that I eventually found time to write it up properly.

I had three wonderful and very helpful testers [SamPixieDot, sanita60 and bobnlin on Ravelry] for a working process that lasted almost a month. 

Since the design was originally created for the Knitty Templeton Competition, it’s main purpose is to highlight the Templeton square and it’s knitted qualities. It's worked in seven different parts, either in the round or flat, but features no seams: everything is knitted on the go, by picking up stitches. 
The main body features variations of the main Templeton motif in order to accommodate the shaping of the garment. And there is a small crochet detail - the border all around the piece.

Full details are available on the Ravelry page and it is also available in my shop.
[instructions in English]

And now for the fun part, to celebrate the pattern release, I am hosting a pattern giveaway starting today until Friday 11th of October 12am (UTC +2)!

Participation is both active on the blog and my facebook page. You can participate in both to double your chances of winning!

All you need to do is:
- comment on this post [don't forget to include your email address! or other contact info]
- like and share this on facebook. [it only counts for that particular post!]

There will be 3 winners from each source, making it to total 6 freebies!

Good luck!



Monday 7 October 2013

Stitch Marker mania

It's been two months and I almost can't remember how I came up with the idea of creating stitch markers. But one thing is for sure, it's a new love, and I wonder what kinds I can create more! ^^


Monday 23 September 2013

Geothermal spots, bathing and the city of the North

We stayed a bit more in the same area, and visited Myvatn lake and the geothermal spots at Hverarond, before we continued to visit the biggest city of the North, Akureyri.


Thursday 19 September 2013

Summer knitting [and crochet]

And for a small break from the road trip story, the past month I have been doing some relax knitting - and that before I found a new obsession, which I will reveal soon!

Saturday 14 September 2013

More Highlands and whale watching

We were now in the North-East of Iceland and moving through lands that looked like rocky deserts. We had the most fascinating driving - it really felt like we were in some kind of James Bond movie, hiked in the snow, crossed at least 3 big rivers, met fellow travellers that faced the harsh nature as we did.


Zitat des Tages

 
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An expert is someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgments 
simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore.
Edward de Bono 

Wednesday 4 September 2013

A wasteland, a glacier and the Highlands

Moving on through flat lands, slowly melting ice caps and greenish pointy mountain tops, our way through Iceland continued to change radically every few km.



Zitat des Tages

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True wisdom comes to each of us 
when we realize how little we understand 
about life, ourselves, & the world around us.
Socrates


Thursday 29 August 2013

Hitting the road

After leaving Reykjavik we took the east road and followed the coast, stopping every now and then for any attractive thing we came across. This when Icelandic nature hit us on the face with it's beauty. And it was just the beginning!


Icelandic fingerless gloves

In the first few days of the trip in Iceland it became apparent that the weather would be a lot more chilly than expected. So I ditched the socks that I had just started making with leftover wool from the Aftur sweater, and started these babies:



Zitat des Tages

 
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The fact that you are willing to say, 'I do not understand, and it is fine,' 
is the greatest understanding you could exhibit.
 
Wayne Dyer


Friday 23 August 2013

I C E L A N D

Iceland is the land of Ice and Fire, of imaginative fairy tales, of kind people, of unexpected events and rapid weather changes. A land that resembles no other, but sometimes places of our imagination or even other planets!

So it's no wonder that during our trip we saw and experienced things we wouldn't have anticipated. Because no matter what you read, or what kind of pictures you look at, living the Icelandic landscapes is something unique and unreplicable!

Zitat des Tages

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 The more clearly you understand yourself and your emotions, 
the more you become a lover of what is.
 
Baruch Spinoza


Monday 12 August 2013

Düsseldorf

And so the story of the trip begins! But not with a place in Iceland, with Dusseldorf! My first day of travelling included a day-long stopover in this beautiful German city, so I took advantage of it and payed it a quick visit.


Zitat des Tages

 
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Whatever difficulty you face, 
there are time-tried ways you can listen your way through. 
Because listening is the doorway to everything that matters. 
It enlivens the heart the way breathing enlivens the lungs. 
We listen to awaken our heart. 
We do this to stay vital and alive.
 
Mark Nepo


Monday 5 August 2013

Aftur!

Have I mentioned that I am a Lopi fan? I should, because Lopi yarn (and designs) are amazingly awesome!

During the June exams and while being stressed, depressed, running from one thing to another and multitasking, I managed to finish my Aftur just in time before the trip to Iceland. And I LOVE IT.



Zitat des Tages

 
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Your true traveler finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. 
It is the symbol of his liberty -- his excessive freedom. 
He accepts his boredom, when it comes, 
not merely philosophically, 
but almost with pleasure.
 
Aldous Huxley


Sunday 4 August 2013

Crochet motifs and macrame

Other pre-trip knitting I got to do involve crochet and macrame instead: I was commissioned to make 20 crochet cotton motifs and two macrame bracelets.



Zitat des Tages

 
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If you want things to be different, 
perhaps the answer is to become different yourself.
 
Norman Vincent Peale


Thursday 1 August 2013

Bikini tops & frilly yarn experiment #3


So I am back from Iceland! And there is so much to tell from that amazing trip, I don't know where to start from! We took amazing pictures, had awesome time, and I learned a thing or two about Icelandic knitting, if not got inspired for new projects and designs!!

But before I move on describing what happened in July, I have lots to present from June. It was exam period (pretty hard one,.. again) and I didn't have enough time to prepare new posts: I also had my two part time jobs as well as several made to order items.


Zitat des Tages

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Peace in ourselves, peace in the world.
Thich Nhat Hanh


Sunday 30 June 2013

New equipment

For the upcoming trip to Iceland I needed a pair of hiking boots (since we will be hiking on rough terrain) so I was searching into various options and in the end got a pair in Slovakia!


Zitat des Tages

 
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The friend is the man who knows all about you, 
and still likes you.

Elbert Hubbard


Monday 17 June 2013

Baking

I am not much of a cook. In fact I don't know if I even have covered the basics of cooking. But I now one thing for sure, I go crazy for pancakes. The American type.


Zitat des Tages

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 Your ambition should be to get as much life out of living as you possibly can, as much enjoyment, as much interest, as much experience, as much understanding. 
Not simply be what is generally called a "success."
 
Eleanor Roosevelt


Friday 31 May 2013

Frilly yarn Experiment #2

The second experiment is done - I finished it during my recent travelling, but it didn't last long before I actually ripped it. But I did manage to take some pictures to show you how it turned out.


Zitat des Tages

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 Not everything that is faced can be changed. 
But nothing can be changed until it is faced.
 
 James Baldwin



Monday 27 May 2013

Still knitting at a patisserie

And the updates(and pictures!) I promised of the knitting lessons!

We are now having lessons three times a week, and it's pretty enjoyful, although sometimes very tiring. But it's nice to be around other knitters and there is always something new to learn!


Zitat des Tages

 
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I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, 
not to scorn human actions, but to understand them.
 
Baruch Spinoza



Saturday 25 May 2013

NextStop: Iceland

So, the big news are: this summer we are going to ICELAND! And by we, I mean myself and some friends from our last trip to Scandinavia.


Zitat des Tages

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 We have to understand that the world 
can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. 
The hand is more important than the eye. 
The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.
 
Jacob Bronowski


Wednesday 22 May 2013

Moar Yarn!

I have not been posting much lately - and there are several reasons for this: I have been very busy with work, some school projects, travelling and some other stuff I will soon talk about. And also exams are coming up in one week. How cool. xD

But for now I will try to post something, however small, and right now I can show you my new indulges in yarn. :)


Zitat des Tages

 
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Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. 
Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections 
but instantly set about remedying them -- every day begin the task anew.

Saint Francis de Sales