WIP

*^v^*

Opal anklets finished!

It's official - I've finished knitting my Opal anklets and I haven't got one centimeter of that yarn left. *^v^*

It was a ball of Opal sock yarn I won several months ago in a Bag Me KAL and I've made a pair of proper socks first, and then decided to use what was left for a pair of anklets. With my ankles I shouldn't wear these but rather cover them with longer socks, but I soooo love short anklets that I decided I won't be bothered by this fact!

They are knitted toe-up and in fact, at the end of a sock #2 I ran out of yarn... I found some lime green wool of the similar thickness in my stash and finished the left anklet with this! *^v^*

I had some elasticity issues with the previous toe-up socks so in this pair I chose to finish the cuff with a small ruffle - at the last but one row I just did kfb all around and the result is a comfortably elastic top. If I had more yarn, I would knit two rows with kfb, it would give even a nicer ruffle.

Did I say I love the pattern on my socks? ^^ Guys, if you have a spare ball of Opal sock yarn let's make a swap or something, I believe I desperately need more of these and I cannot buy this yarn here in Poland. *^v^*

Knitting again. And finishing!

Yes, it's true. I may have some knitting FOs very very soon. *^v^*

Last night I finished the first of the Mamluke Socks for my friend (proper pictures next week when he comes to get them). I still have about 12 cms of the other one to knit, and the most important thing - I am sure now that I won't run out of yarn (I was afraid it might be the case). More thoughts on this project next week.
(do you like my clever use of Winter brushes for Gimp? ^^ I thought that snowflakes correspond well with the thick woolen sock!)

Last night I had some difficult and unpleasant things to think through, so I engaged my hands into some mindless knitting and I almost finished my Opal anklets - I really need only a few rows, so I may finish them today, in between cooking dinner and washing up. ^^

I've recently joined a new knitting community, namely The Knitting Daily, issued by the people from the Interweave Press. I really liked the tone of the first few emails I received from the editor, Sandi Wiseheart, and the website kicked off on Friday, 15th June, with lots of free knitting patterns and knitting tips & techniques.
My point is, I started to consider subscribing to the Interweave Knits magazine and I'd like to ask you if it's worth it? I believe I've read many blogs with enthusiastic opinions about the IK patterns, can you recommend it to me?

Now I'm off to my sewing project, but I'll leave you with some frugality advice:
- because money is always an issue in our household, Green Minded Witch says: "You can save some money on electricity bills."
How?
Here are some tips of mine:
- change the light bulbs from the traditional ones to the energy saving ones wherever you can around the house
- before you turn on the tv/radio think whether you are really going to watch it/listen to it - I had a silly habit of turning the tv on with the moment I entered the flat and it was on all afternoon and evening when I was doing different things even in another room; my parents sometimes have two tvs and a radio on in three different rooms!..., you don't really need this costly "background noise",
- the same goes for the light - switch it on when you're in the room but remember to switch it off while going out, don't leave all the lights on in the whole flat/house all the time, it's your money burning out!
- turn the appliances like a washing machine, ect off right after they finished their job, when they are on "standby" they do use some electricity, and as we know, even the smallest bits count

I need red pumps!

I had a dream last night that I was running along the snow-covered lawns wearing a pair of beautiful red high heels. When I woke up I felt I desperately need such shoes - I need to put them on and have a walk outside, and see what happens next. *^v^*

Here are some of my favourite models:

New Knitty

New Summer Knitty is out!
Only one project for me has the "wow" factor, socks called Breeze (socks again, like in the Spring issue of Knitty). The rest is okay, but nothing very exciting that I would like to grab some yarn and start knitting right away. But that's just my opinion.

Breeze - cute anklets, my favourites from this issue!
Coachella - an interesting top, in fact it may be the first time I ever consider to knit something for the Summer.
Coupling - socks with an intricate lace design.
Unmentionables - kinky! ^^
Grrr - funky washclothes.

I've been shopping today and I bought some cute fabrics that you'll see soon incorporated into my new sewing project for the folk gallery. ^^


This one is a real find - cuteness of the lambs... ^^


I also bought this shirt (brand new!) in a second hand store, just for its fabric, but tried it on at home and I'm not sure I want to cut it into pieces... It fits perfectly and I love the pattern! It may stay with me. *^v^*

Back from Prague

We came back home yesterday safe and sound and we really, really enjoyed our trip, on many levels.

We stayed at our friends' who went there from Poland to work, and of course many conversations tackled the job subject, which in the near future may or may not result in some decisions made by Robert and the consequences of his decisions.

I'm not writing anything more about it at this stage, not because I'm superstitious (I'm not!), but because there isn't much more to say, but I'll keep you posted if the situation changes in any way.

Suffice to say, the climate is warmer in Prague, beer is cheap and tasty, pubs and cafes are countless, architecture is beautiful and inspiring, and all the Poles we know who went there and found the jobs in IT business lead very happy, relaxed, dignified lives, and we are really tired of everyday financial struggle here (not to mention the stupidity and incompetence of Polish politicians...).

Now, let's have some strawberries and some great Czech beer (*^v^*), and let me show you some photos from the trip.

We left early morning on Friday and 120 kms from Warsaw we stopped at the picturesque restaurant for breakfast. Not only did it look stunning, the food was delicious and fairly low priced! If you're ever going to travel along route nr 8 from Warsaw to Wrocław I highly recommend this place, it's called "Zniwny Lan" which can be translated as "Harvest Corn-field", and it's in Gomulin, between Piotrków Trybunalski and Bełchatów. ^^
There is even a cat visit on your lap included in the meal ^^.


Prague by night - photo from the Charles Bridge.


Here are the photos of a beautiful Prague architecture - just a small bunch because wherever you turn there is something pretty to see so I could just upload and upload the photos endlessly. ^^






We even spotted some fellow Goth tourists! ^^


Look, a sheep! *^v^* (in fact, it's the restaurant "The Red Sheep").


I visited the MarLen yarn & fabric shop at Karolina Svetle 12, but unfortunately it was closed on Saturday.



Of course I didn't forget to celebrate the World Wide Knit In Public Day with some knitting in public (in an Afghan restaurant, in fact! ^^). Can you tell what I'm knitting? These are my Opal anklets, still haven't finished them though...


What I brought from Prague apart from photos and memories?
Well, because it's a high tourists season all the souvenirs were ridiculously expensive, so we just bought some crates of good Czech beer ^^ and some crafty bits - two inkle looms (one for my friend Kate) and a drop spindle (a gift for somebody, but I cannot tell you the details because this person may read my blog and she will know... ^^).


I came from Prague enchanted and inspired, and I'm already thinking about new craft challenges, but let's leave it for later, because this week I have some past projects to finish and some new projects to start and finish quickly (before the owner of the on-line gallery LudowoMi goes on holiday in the middle of June, yikes!...)

Now, for something different - specially for Totoro, who asked me about the good yarn shops in Warsaw: the biggest choice you will find at two big Shopping Malls, Galeria Mokotow (Mokotow district, Woloska street), and The Blue City (Ochota district, Jerozolimskie Avenue). There you will find both traditional wools and cottons as well as lots of novelty yarns. You may be surprised with the prices lower than you expected, because we generally have less expensive yarns here. ^^
I hope you'll have w great time in Warsaw! ^^

Papa's got a brand new...MuVo!

We've been preparing our car for tomorrow's travel to Czech Rep today and also done some shopping - I can finally have my music with me all the time! *^v^*

(well, as long as the battery goes, but it's supposed to play for 18 hours, wow! ^^)

My MuVo is loaded with Larc En Ciel, The Corrs, some good old Polish cabaret songs, some best bellydancing hits and I'm still waiting for Robert to decide what he wants to listen to in the car. It suddenly seems like 1 GB is not that much... ^^
We are packed and ready (thank you, guys, for the compliments, my new tote is sooooo heavy I may reconsider repacking some things to the big traveling bag...), Robert's just spoke to our friend in Praga and there is a crate of yummy Czech beer waiting for us already!

And I may still sew a MuVo cozy this evening, who knows? *^=^*

Have a great weekend, guys, as I intend to do! See you on Monday!

WWKIN Day on Saturday!

Do you remember that Saturday, 9th of June is the World Wide Knit In Public Day?

If you would like to meet me and knit a few rows together, this Saturday I'll be... knitting somewhere in Prague, in Czech Republic! *^v^*

Yes, if all goes well, we are leaving for Prague on Friday morning and staying there till Sunday at our friend's. And I won't be coming home empty handed, because I ordered another loom from the Czech shop carring Ashford products - this time it's the Inkle Loom for my medieval tablet and heddle bands. ^^

(Not to mention that I intend to visit the yarn shop Marlen found by All Tangled Up, but it may be "for my eyes only", because I really have no budget for yarn this month...).


Yesterday I decided I desperately need a new traveling handbag, so I took apart a pair of old jeans that didn't fit me (I'm not buying this "one-day-I-will-get-slim-enough-to-fit-in" crap, it just never works and it only makes me unhappy...), and I turned them into this monster shoulder bag (definitely not a handbag...^^). It's really roomy, with many pockets, I stuffed it already with two knitting projects, a book, a small umbrella, and some other things necessary while traveling, and it's awfully heavy...

If you need a huge tote and you have a pair of jeans with some funky pockets, you can really play with the bag design. ^^ I didn't have a plan, just added things here and there as I went with it.


And let's have something nice Straight From The Cauldron for the end of this post - a plate of freshly caught fried fish! *^v^*

This was our diner on Friday night, paired with some fresh bread, cold beer and Japanese comedy "Udon", which I highly recommend! Robert's friend discovered a place in our district where they sell fresh fish brought every Thursday from the Great Lakes region Mazury. This fish is called "sielawa" and you just put some salt on each of them, toss them in flour and put them on a hot pan for about 2 minutes each side. And voila!
Smacznego! *^v^*