Monday, November 05, 2007

wip

I wish all weeks could've been like last week, just three days of work and four to do whatever I wanted (which was mostly reading and knitting)

I did finish "World without end" on Friday, I lay down on the couch for hours and didn't leave until I was done. Which means the book is good. Not amazingly good, I still think Pillars was better, but good enough to make me forget anything else for several hours. Sometimes the plot, or the characters, would remind me strongly of Pillars but both stories are quite independent. One thing I like about Follett's historical novels is that he makes them seem so real. He describes the day to day life quite vividly, the good parts and especially the bad ones (why would I be surprised that in that age and time a man could legally trade his daughter for a cow ?). There's war, the plague, the usual politics and intrigues, and so many twists and turns that kept me entertained until the end.

I also read a young adult fantasy novel by Sharon Shinn, "The truth teller's tale". Cute, reminded me a bit of Summers at Castle Auburn (a favorite) in a fairy tale kind of way.

The knitting also progressed immensely (it helped that I had so many series and movies recorded to watch on dvd).

I started the lace portion of Juliet, and so far it's looking quite good



I finished the foliage hat, but forgot to take a picture so I'll show you that later

I've turned the heel on the sock, and am now knitting the instep (a first one for me, so I'm entitled to some gloating). Sock knitting may become my most recent obsession from now on.



And started yet another project, just because I couldn't resist this beautiful yarn (notice how the yarn itself is already 'knitted'). It's the my so called scarf pattern. Teresa is also making a beautiful one here.





I discovered last Friday that one of my favorite yarn stores is closing down by the end of the year (nº 5C na Rua Acácio Paiva, em Alvalade). It makes me sad, because it's one of those traditional shops that unfortunately tend to exist less and less here in Lisbon. The ladies there were always a bit grumpy but once they started knowing me better they would give me good advice, and I usually buy my Katia yarn there (love their merino wool). Business is bad, is what they told me. Anyway, it seems I might have to start buying my yarn online as well - does anyone have good suggestions of online yarn stores ? KnitPicks doesn't ship to Portugal, but handpainteyarn is very tempting, and I recently discovered that etsy also has some interesting offers.

16 comments:

flanthrower said...

Wow...the yarn you used for the scarf is sooooo cool! What kind is it?

As for online store recommendations, I've always been happy with the Knitting Garden. It's sorta like one stop shopping for me because they carry just about anything I'd want. Also, it looks like they ship internationally.

gunter said...

Your Juliet is looking lovely!

Anonymous said...

Is the knitted yarn the new Adrienne Vittadini 'bianca'? That is also a knitted yarn. I just bought it last week thinking I'd use it for a baby raglan sweater, but while knitting up the swatch, it seems that it makes too stiff of a fabric for a project like that. That scarf. on the other hand, looks just perfect for it!

Anonymous said...

Yes, yes. Please tell us what the yarn you're using for the scarf is. It's lovely stuff.

griséu said...

olá Tânia, adorei o cachecol, mas não percebi as instruções ;( Parabéns pelo trabalho. lucia

Navel Gazer said...

The scarf is so lovely.

I live in Singapore and the yarn stores here are very limited. I use, Laughing Hens in the UK, purlsoho and Jimmybean in the US. All of them are fast. efficient anf friendly - if you need to ask anything they get back really quickly.

hope this helps

Oiyi said...

That yarn for the scarf is gorgeous!!

I love Fearless Fibers yarns. The colors are even better in real life.

Viola said...

The yarn is fantastic!!
Ciao
Viola from Italy

fantasma said...

Adorei o cachecol! Lindo! :)

AnaGF said...

These are lovely projects. I especially like the scarf, with that amazing yarn.
And I've been wanting to ask you: with so many knitting projects, you surely end up with a lot of yarn leftovers. What do you do with them? Do you have any special "leftover knitting projects"?

Tallulah said...

Hi Tânia, I've bought from Get Knitted and Jannette's Rare Yarns on Ebay (where there are many more stores that you can check out ), both were excellent. I also have bookmarked Colourmart (for mill-remainders of casmhere), and Loop in London. If you are ever interested in placing a joint order to save on p&p (I also live in Lisbon), please drop me an e-mail.

Anonymous said...

Sugestão para conseguires boas compras de lãs: ebay, do Reino Unido! Sem dúvida, a maior oferta, variedade e preço - pode tornar-se viciante! Se gostas de comprar "ao vivo" - eu gosto, sentir a lã, comparar as cores... - recomendo a Maça Riscada, em Palmela. Não é por ser na minha terra mas lá encontras a marca portuguesa Rosários4, que é muito boa, e ainda outras preciosidades (lãs tingidas com pigmentos naturais, etc.). Em Lisboa, qualquer uma das lojas da Rua da Conceição tem coisas interessantes mas não tenho nenhuma recomendação especial.

Bluejustin said...

Eu conheço a:

www.elann.com

e

www.readicut.co.uk

Se bem que o último site tem pouca oferta pk se dedica tb a outras áreas.

Bons trabalhos!

isabel said...

Está lindo o teu cachecol. Tb estou a fazer o meu com o Fashion trend stripe, da Gedifra. Mas vou experimentar com uma parecido com o teu, pq deve ficar bem (Chandra da Gedifra.
Tens uma lojaonline em Portugal com muita variedade de lãs, que está sempre a receber coisas novas.
Se puderes visita em www.napontadagulha.com

Glaucia said...

Olá!
Novidade boa, abriu uma loja de lãs, a Spa-Tricot, bem pertinho da 5C da Acácio Paiva. Fica no Centro Comercial ACSantos. É bem pequenina mas tem lãs de excelente qualidade (Gedifra, Debbie Bliss, Noro, Mission Falls) e é bem moderninha. Lisboa estava precisando de algo assim.
Vale a pena conferir!
Visito sempre seu blog e, já agora, parabéns pelos seus trabalhos. Caprichados e de excelente bom gosto, coisa rara de se ver.
Beijinhos
Glaucia

Anonymous said...

delighted to find ur blog.i bought Terra yarn in Loule while on holiday and have started a jacket.I am using 6.5needles but realise i should use 9mm.I can find no info on the company or find any patterns.I am using Garnstudio pattern also Jannettes rare yarns on ebay is great fo yarn.Happy knitting Alma