off the needles

so I needed some instant gratification knitting wise, and decided to cast on for Shalom a couple of weekends ago. And using one of my favorite colors, too.

Mostly I followed the changes made by Ishi (this is why I love Ravelry so much) and made it shorter since I wanted a sort of cropped cardi. It took me exactly one week, and I love the result, so I might make at least another one sometime soon.




Pattern: Shalom, by Meghan McFarlane
Yarn: Brancal Manchester (the same I used here)
Needles: 6.5 mm

on the needles

This has actually been on the needles for a while now ... the body part is very fast to knit, took me about a week or so, but then I got lazy and couldn't get myself to start the sleeves, so I started another project instead (I'll show you that next).

But apparently this gets Maggie's approval nonetheless ...

Lago di Como - part II

The next day was foggy and cold, and we set off to explore Bellagio.





We then took the boat to Varenna ...









... and visited two other gardens there: Villa Muonastero, which is more like a botanical garden







and Villa Cippresi, which is actually a hotel (there was a wedding going on, but we sneaked in anyway)






Finally, we took the boat to the opposite shore and visited Mennagio and the fabulous Villa Carlota at nearby Cenobbio. This one was another favorite, it's just amazing.










More photos at Flickr:
Villa Cippresi
Villa Muonastero
Villa Carlota
Varenna

Lago di Como - part I

On our first trip to Italy back in '01 we visited Lago Maggiore and Lago d'Orta and that's probably when I fell in love with the Italian lakes.

So I had high expectations for our visit to Lago di Como and I have to say I wasn't disappointed.



We arrived in Como at lunch time and stopped briefly there before heading towards Bellagio, our destination for the next days. It's a nice city for a short stop, and I highly recommend getting a gelato at the place near the Lyceo.



In Bellagio we stayed at this fantastic place called Villa Aureggio. It's a fully equipped apartment located just outside Bellagio, with a lovely garden and within walking distance of the center.





During the afternoon we visited one my favorite places of this whole trip: the gardens of Villa Melzi. What can I say ... I think the photos speak for themselves.



























More photos at Flickr:
Como
Villa Melzi
Bellagio
Villa Aureggio