why buy when you can make? shapely boyfriend cardigan

Done, my first knitted cardigan is officially finished!


Can you tell I’m excited? I absolutely loved knitting this, it was a great evening project to have on hand while watching a series (soo hooked on Game of Thrones).
Started in late December it took just two months to complete. I’d been meaning to knit a cardigan for years but considered it beyond my skills. Why do we always let fear keep us from just jumping in? The Shapely Boyfriend cardigan turned out to be a very easy, straighforward pattern and an enjoyable knit. Not to mention I love the result!
My Ravelry Project page.


I knit the size 34 on Drops Nepal yarn in this lovely butterscotch yellow colorway. My knitting got looser after starting on the body and I worried the cardigan would turn out to be too big. My stokinette back and forth knitting is also much more uneven than when I knit on DPNs. Thankfully both issues were improved by washing and blocking and while it is a tiny bit big I’m completely in love with it!

I’m now a sweater knitting convert, I had so much fun making this that I can’t wait to start my next cardigan or sweater. I’ve been browsing patterns on Ravelry for days, trying to decide on my next project.
Buying natural clothing has been my goal for years. Cotton, silk or viscose shirts are not hard to find, but real wool sweaters is another matter. Wool is not only a natural fiber it also keeps warmer than synthetic fibers, important for me as I get cold so easily in winter. Finding that I can just knit my own is such a revelation!

The only changes I made to the pattern was to shorten it by about 10 rounds and to space the buttonholes more evenly between the ribbing (as a result it has only 6 buttons instead of 7)

Worn with my handmade half-circle skirt. The necklace is by Native Clutter on Etsy.

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up and down

The weather is tricky this year. Warm and humid one day, cold and rainy and full of autumn feel the next.

This, one of the warm days.

blackout

I’m 26 and scared of the dark. It’s silly and childish but I don’t like it when it’s dark. Which probably played a role in my becoming a photographer, who constantly looks for and works with light and sees light in many different ways. For me there is never ‘just’ light, it can have so many different colors and forms and feelings.
But back to the dark. We had a power outage the other night that lasted for about 40 minutes.
The kitties and I were home alone because my boyfriend was out with the guys.

The whole block was out of power. It’s funny to see how people react to power outages in the city. There is the stage of confusion, the searching for the fuse box, the going out on the street to see if others have the same problem, the talking excitedly with neighbours. Then, when it becomes obvious that the power will be gone a while, everyone settles down. Candles are lit.

You’re suddenly out of things to do and wander aimlessly about the rooms (or in my case, start listening to every sound in case an axe murderer is trying to break in).

I sat down on the couch and watched the candle and when the light went back on all of a sudden it was glaring and startling and harsh.
While I am very thankful for electricity, I do wonder what life was like when the day was defined by sun light or lack of it. Our evenings sure would be a lot different, a lot calmer and a lot less hectic, by candle light.
We have candles in every nook and corner, but I simply forget to light them. I resolved to remind myself more often.

outdoor weather

We’ve been having very warm and sunshiny weather for the last two weeks and it really feels like summer already, so we had a few friends over for May punch with sweet woodruff and strawberries and to have the first barbecue of the year.
The May punch (I know it’s not May yet, but the timing was good this weekend for everyone so we were a week early) turned out really nice. I have sweet woodruff growing on my balcony and froze the leaves for two hours before letting them sit in white wine for another 1-2 hours. The strawberries add sweetness and the punch smelled deliciously of the sweet woodruff.
Everybody brought along something and we had lots of salad, tomatoes with mozarella cheese and mizuna leaves from our balcony, feta quiche and garlic butter.

Grilled feta cheese with pepper puree and dried tomatoes (soo delicious).

It was warm enough to sit outside and talk long after dark.

I do hope spring makes a comeback, but I quite liked this summer preview as well.

trips to the country

So much better than rubbing shoulders with half the city doing the christmas shopping in stuffy shops.



And so much better to get into the quieter, cosier mood of the christmas season.

Warming up inside with hot tea and a hearty meal after a day of thrift store shopping and adventuring.


Life doesn’t get any better than that.

Straight off the farm, meat from happy pigs. Had I stayed for dinner, I might actually, probably have eaten that:

one last summer day

Unexpectedly: bright strong sunshine, 25°C, summer in the air. Very probably for the last time this year.




A day very much needed to brace me for the week.

it’s that time of the year again

The heating is not yet on, but the cats are getting cozy and snuggly again.

At nearly 3 years they still get on famously, sleeping close and then getting up to act out rough playfights like little boys, tufts of hair flying everywhere (it’s hard to watch sometimes, even knowing they are just playing).
Afterwards, some pretensions to be starving and then back to sleep with a full belly.

more mittens

Some more mittens made with my lovely alpaca yarn from Canada! These turned out better than the last pair and are so comfy and warm that I have been wearing them constantly. I won’t even take them off indoors (I like to think I’m making a fashion statement but really it’s probably just silly) ;). I really love the vintagey red buttons with them.
I have enough yarn left for a nice big cowl to go with them, so that will be my next knitting project (and I’ll hopefully get it finished before winter’s over!).