Chocolate à chuva

last night ....

2009-11-30T11:52:00.003Z

... an unforgettable concert ...

(even better than 3 years ago)

(not exactly a) Cloud

2009-11-30T10:00:00.000Z

Another hoodie for my collection, it seems I cannot get enough of them. I really like this pattern, especially the puff sleeves and the i-cord bindoffs. It is a lot of stockinette stitch but it goes quickly, even in small needles.

At the very end I decided not to do the Cloud pocket, but maybe I'll change my mind someday (I'm keeping some of the yarn on stash, just in case). The front seemed a little empty without it, so I opted for some flowery embroidery instead.

Pattern: (Get off my) Cloud, by Kate Davies
Yarn: Wensleydale Longwool Sheepshop 4 ply (brown - 5.5 skeins, fennel - 1 skein)
Needles: 3.25/3.5 mm

Changes: added a bit more waist shaping, and slightly changed the sleeve decreases (I made a more gradual decrease than just the final k2tog).
Finally, I didn't like the way my hood hem turned out, so I sewed in a little bit of a lace ribbon to hide it:

reading corner (new prints)

2009-11-27T09:00:00.000Z

A while ago I decided it was time to re-decorate our reading corner of the living room a little bit. The wall just seemed too empty, so when I saw these prints on sale at Hidden Eloise I couldn't resist the opportunity.

And that envelope, just too pretty ... I had to keep it, obviously.

All the prints turned out to be just as lovely when I saw them live, and with the right framing (IKEA, of course) I think they really look perfect on that wall.

Have a great weekend, everyone (and although we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, I've always liked the meaning and symbolism of that particular holiday, so if you're out there celebrating it, then Happy Thanksgiving to you !)

Hoodie Vest

2009-11-24T20:00:00.001Z

I really liked this pattern when I first saw it (give me cables and a hood and it's always going to win me over) but the smallest size in the magazine - a 35" bust - seemed a bit large to me. So I'd already decided to adapt and knit this by going down one size in needles when I spotted the perfect yarn in Tallinn which would give me a slightly tighter gauge than I had planned. So I got the yarn and ended up knitting one size up to get a vest for my actual size, and it turned out to be a perfect fit.

The yarn was also also quite pleasant to knit with (and it hasn't pilled .. so far), and I have two skeins left so I think a matching hat will come soon.

Other changes: added slight side shaping (about 4 or 5 decreases and increases), body was knit in one piece till armholes, added some length (a couple of inches), shortened hood length by an inch and a half and only made 4 buttonholes instead of 5.

Pattern: Heather Hoodie Vest, from Knitscene Fall 09
Yarn: Online Linie 157 Tessa (8 skeins)
Needles: 4.5 mm
Size: 38" (to get a 32")

crafty weekend

2009-11-23T09:00:00.000Z

:: finally caved in and bought myself some interchangeable needles ... haven't tried them yet but I love the multi-colored look.

::almost finished with this one

::testing out something for Christmas

::cut out two new dresses for winter

::and thinking of the possibilities for these new alpaca yarns ...

to do list

2009-11-17T18:00:00.000Z

Today I realized that all the knitting magazine winter issues are coming out and I haven't even tackled half of my project list for Fall. For the past weeks I've been working relentlessly on both my Cloud and Heather Hoodie Vest, but got distracted when I decided it was time to start on some Christmas gifts. Nevertheless, I'm just this close to finishing them (ironically I'm missing half a hood on both) so next comes the difficult decision on what to start next.

Now, my knitting queue is probably 100 projects long (and I won't even bring up my sewing queue), so here's what's most likely to happen:

:: Vivian, because I happen to love hoodies and cables, and this combination is just perfect ! Plus, it looks so intricate and I love a good challenge. I already have the yarn for this one, so it's probably the next one on my needles.

:: Coraline (also by Ysolda Teague, I just love her designs), which is actually a work in progress since last year but has been hibernating for several months. I would really like to finish it, but I'm lacking the patience for what seems to be an infinity of stockinette stitch in tiny, tiny needles. Maybe during the holidays, I'm hoping...

:: Selbu Modern hat. I think I'll probably start this one at the same time as other projects, since I actually want to make it in a couple of different colors. The same goes for the Veyla mittens. These are my must have accessories for this winter !

:: Low Tide Ripples. I don't have a yarn choice for this one yet, and it's been difficult to find a suitable substitute online. Nothing I have on stash seems right, so I'm waiting to see what I can find on one of my next trips early next year.

:: Herringbone Pullover. I love herringbone designs, so this sweater really appealed to me when I first saw it. I want to knit the exact same colorway, it's just so pretty. I'm already picturing this with a pair of brown tweed pants for winter (which I still have to make, but that's another story)

:: Carnaby Street Pullover. Not exactly sure what it is I like about this one, but I just do. I'll probably make it full sleeved though. I'm thinking maybe dark blue or deep red with brown buttons ?

Finally, can I say how much I love this cardigan from the new Interweave ? And I just happen to have a bunch of icelandic yarn on stash, so I think this might jump to the front of the queue after all.

Enough to keep me busy ? I definitely think so ...

wardrobe considerations ....

2009-11-13T19:46:00.000Z

Remember this blue dress ? At the time I confess I wasn't that in love with it as I am now. I don't know, maybe actually wearing it with Fall accessories makes it look so much nicer. I think I'll end up cutting the Lecien fabric for this pattern after all, but that's a project for next Spring, at the earliest.

In the meantime, I've been thinking about new dresses for this Fall/Winter season. A while ago I ordered a bunch of vintage patterns from this site, and lately I've been playing with possible fabric matches on my mind. Also, I have enough tweed and wool fabrics on stash to make quite a few pieces. A couple of trousers are my main goal, and I think I'll also start with a few simpler Japanese sewing patterns (dresses, of course !) before tackling these which seem more difficult (but so pretty, really)...

the traveling scarf

2009-11-11T09:00:00.000Z

More or less about a year ago I signed up for the Traveling scarves group at Ravelry. The idea was that each member would start a scarf and mail it to the next person on the list, who would knit another piece and post it to the next person, and so on, until it eventually got back to the original owner. This means I knit eleven scarf pieces throughout the year, and almost a year later, I got my completed scarf back.

Since we could specify certain requirements (like colors, gauge, patterns, yarns, etc) I only asked that mine be knit in somewhat darker colors (purple, dark blue, brown, ...). It turned out really nice, I think, but what I like the most is that each section was knit by a different person in a different place. This scarf in particular traveled to Spain, France, Germany, Poland, UK and Finland, and is now back in Portugal where it started. The other good thing was that I got to know all these incredible knitters, chat with them and be a part of their lives at least for a year, and it's these memories I'll be thinking of when I finally get to wear my fabulous new scarf.

lahemaa - day 8

2009-11-06T08:00:00.003Z

For our last days in the Baltics we chose to stay in the Lahemaa National Park, which is conveniently located about one hour from Tallinn. We chose to stay in the coastal village of Kasmu, at the highly recommended Merekalda Guesthouse with outstanding views into the bay. We stayed in one of the lovely cabins, which was perfect because we could enjoy more privacy.

Kasmu doesn't offer any shopping facilities, so we had to go into the nearby village of Vosu to get food for our breakfast the next morning. Like Kasmu, this is another quiet and very picturesque place (at least during low season, as I would imagine it's quite crowded during the summer). We took a stroll towards the beach, I had to try out the swings, and sat in the sand while watching a beautiful sunset.

For dinner our guide heartily recommended a local tavern in the village of Altja, so off we went in search of it. Right at the entrance of the village, it's located in this charming old thatched roof house, and the food was as good as described. I had the best salmon pie ever, and dessert didn't disappoint either.

More photos:
Merekalda
Vosu
Altja

lahemaa - day 9

2009-11-09T09:00:00.002Z

The next day we started by visiting Palmse manor, considered to be the most beautiful restored manor in Estonia. The grounds are somewhat extensive, but perfectly explorable under a couple of hours. We got there early and in rainy weather, so it was really quiet and peaceful. My favorite part was the lake and the building below (the bathing house, if I'm not mistaken).

From Palmse we decided to drive all the way to Rakvere, outside of the National Park. I'd read the castle was worth visiting, and indeed it was a really fun and entertaining experience. Inside there are many activities you can try (from archery, to coin minting, pottery making, etc), there's a somewhat scary torture chamber and nice exhibitions to visit.

For lunch we tried the Art Café, located in central Rakvere. It's a modern and cosy small café/restaurant, and the food was quite reasonable.

One of the main reasons for going to Lahemaa was to visit the Viru Bog, something that A. was really keen to see. We did the 3.5 km nature trail on the wooden walkway and then returned to the car park using another hiking route through the woods. Total hiking duration was probably a couple of hours, and the landscape was definitely unlike anything I'd seen.

Last on our plans for that day was to see the erratic boulders by the sea near Kasmu bay. From previous photos I'd seen I thought they would be more impressive, so I was a bit disappointed. Still, it was a beautiful sunset and a lovely way to finish our last evening in Estonia.

More photos:
Palmse Manor
Rakvere
Viru Bog
Kasmu

cesis - days 7 and 8

2009-11-03T08:30:00.000Z

Halfway between Vilnius and Tallinn we spent a night near the lovely town of Cesis, located by the Gauja National Park.

While researching accommodation in the area I found the Karlamuiza, a beautifully restored 18th century manor that now serves as a guesthouse. It is the perfect place to stay, especially if you enjoy being in the countryside and quiet surroundings.

Needless to say, we loved it here. We stayed in the Elisabeth room, which is quite large and even has a small kitchenette. Outside the Autumn colors were starting to show, and at the back there was an apple bursting orchard.

And we met the neighbours' cat, who couldn't stop purring for us ....

Just before sunset we decided to drive into Cesis for dinner. We headed towards the castle first and slowly made our way down to the gardens below.

It was a beautiful evening and the light was just about perfect. The gardens, as you can see, were quite outstanding.

We still had time for a quick peek at the local church, and then had dinner at one of the local restaurants in the main square (nothing out of the ordinary, if I recall correctly).

The next morning we still had time for a quick visit to a couple of local attractions. This area has actually a lot to see and do, and we could've easily found enough to distract us for a week or so. This time we chose to visit the Araisi windmill.

The windmill is quite interesting, and we made the acquaintance of yet another friendly kitty ....

We had also planned to visit the Araisi Archeological Open Air Museum but when we got there we realized a) we didn't have any Latvian currency left and b) we still had a long drive ahead of us, so we just took a quick look from the outside.

A bit further on, still in Latvian countryside, we stopped for a walk in the woods. It happened to be wild mushroom season in the Baltics, so everywhere we passed by we'd see cars stopped by the roadside (with their occupants busy picking mushrooms somewhere out there in the woods) and several people selling them as well.

Now, we know nothing about mushrooms so we didn't risk picking any, but some of them sure looked quite appetizing ....

More photos:
Cesis
Karlamuiza

vilnius - day 7

2009-11-02T08:00:00.001Z

We arrived in Vilnius later than I'd planned so we didn't have any time for sightseeing that evening. However we did go into Old Town for a nice meal at the Stikliai Aludé Tavern, and were lucky enough to grab a table outside (the last one, as it happens). This tavern serves traditional Lithuanian food at a reasonable price (far less than the restaurant inside) and everything we ordered was quite good.

The next day it was raining really hard, so much in fact that I thought twice before leaving the hotel. But considering this might be the only time we'd have the chance to visit Vilnius, we grabbed our raincoats and decided to brave the pouring rain.

Not sure if we can blame the bad weather and the gloomy day, but Vilnius didn't strike me as impressive as the other places we'd been to before. We wandered around old Town for the rest of the morning, stopping by some of the monuments and checking out some of the linen and crafts shops.

Still, there were charming corners to be found ... I especially liked these two streets below.

Later in the morning we decided to visit the Three Crosses monument which is located at the top of a hill near the center, and offers nice views of the city.

So that was Vilnius for us, somewhat disappointing but I think we were unlucky with the weather and didn't have that much time to explore it properly. After Vilnius we started to drive back to Tallinn, where we'd be catching our flight home, but before that we spent a few days in some seriously beautiful countryside (coming up on the next posts).

More photos of Vilnius here

paper dolls

2009-10-26T08:00:00.000Z

I know I've said this before about other knits, but truly this is now my favorite sweater. I'm sure I'll have a hard time beating this, because it just happens to be perfect for me in so many ways.

First of all, it's gray, brown and dark red, probably three of the colors I use the most so this blends right into my wardrobe (my inspiration comes from this wonderful version, I just changed the dark gray for brown since it was more appealing to me that way). Then it's this pattern, of which I loved every detail. I mean, it has paper dolls in it, how could I not like it ? And the yarns I used were very, very nice, especially after blocking when they bloomed to perfection.

It was the first time for me for a lot of the techniques used here. It was my first colorwork project, my first time with corrugated ribbing (love that detail) and even my first time with i-cord cast-on. I was a bit daunted by the colorwork and the many mistakes that could happen, but in the end it turned out not that bad. I stranded the yarns when they were more than 7 stitches long and tried really hard to keep my tension even but most likely I didn't. So before blocking it seemed like the doll design was a bit crunched and tight in some areas but afterwards it was almost flat. It's a miracle what a good soak and pin drying can do.

Changes:

The only intentional change was to add some hair to the dolls, as I'd seen on previous versions on Ravelry. But my main change was actually not planned. I'm a bad knitter in the sense that I hate swatching and therefore rarely do it. Besides, it seems that even when I do swatch the actual knitted piece always turns out at a slightly different gauge from the swatch itself so it's actually not a big help (I knit more loosely on the round, or when I'm distracted, for example). So I only swatch when I want to make sure of a certain texture, or fabric weight or drape.

That said, my usual size is 32'' for bust, so that's what I invariably cast on for. This time it was no exception, even when I discovered I only had 3.25 mm needles and not the 3 mm the pattern asks for. After the ribbing I knitted a couple of rounds of the stockinette portion and quickly realized it would probably turn out too large if I didn't make any changes. So I switched to 2.75 mm needles and added a couple more decreases and less spacing between them.

So I don't swatch but I always try my garments on at every stage possible to make sure they're going to be exactly as I want them. About 2/3 into the body I saw that even with those changes the bust and yoke would come out too large, so decided to make less increases in order to match the 30'' size instead, which is what I also cast on for the sleeves. In the end, as I said, it turned out perfect.

Pattern: Paper dolls, by Kate Davies
Yarn: Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4 Ply (6 skeins in Grey mist), Wensleydale Longwool Sheepshop 4 ply (0.5 skein in pomegranate and 1 skein in brown)
Needles: 2.75 mm, 3.25 mm, 3.5 mm (for cast-on)
Size: 30/32

It seems, though, that I'm not the only one who is enjoying this sweater ...

trakai - day 6

2009-10-23T10:42:00.000+01:00

Lithuania, being the farthest from our departure point, was the country where we spent less time. I knew we wouldn't be able to include the Curonian Spit in our itinerary and go check out the famous sand dunes, so we settled for a stop in Vilnius and squeezed in a brief visit to Trakai.

Undeniably postcard pretty and romantic, this castle and its surroundings are located about 20 km from Vilnius and are quite a popular tourist destination. Luckily for us we got there sometime before sunset so the crowds had gone home already and we could visit at our leisure.

The village itself is also very quaint and colorful.

We walked towards the castle across the waterfront, stopping at a few souvenir stalls along the way. In one of them we spotted a few kittens and their lovely owner ...

Inside, the castle is very well preserved and we were able to see several exhibitions regarding the history of Trakai.

It was almost time for dinner when we left but we decided to go back to Vilnius first and then decide where to eat. It's a pity I never got to taste the famous kibinai pastries, which means we'll just have to come back someday.

More photos here

hill of crosses - day 6

2009-10-23T09:00:00.002+01:00

From Riga we drove to Vilnius, which is about a 3 or 4 hours journey on a direct route. I had planned, however, to make a detour near Siauliai, so it took us most of the day to get there. Above is a photo of our lunch that day - I think it's cepelinai, only of course they were fried. The filling was made of seasonal wild mushrooms, very, very yummy.

The reason for that detour was to visit the Hill of Crosses (Kryzių Kalnas), located about 12 km N of Siauliai. It's sort of a national pilgrimage site, containing hundreds of thousands of crosses of all sizes. During World War II the site was repeatedly destroyed but the crosses would always be replaced by the local people and pilgrims. It's certainly an impressive site and quite worth the detour we had to make.

Later for tea we stopped at this really nice coffee place by the road and lake side, a perfect spot to rest for a while. I wish I'd taken note of its exact location, because when we returned from Vilnius we couldn't find it anymore, but I think it's somewhere on the main road between Panevėžys and Vilnius.

More photos here

riga - day 5 - victorian era fashion exhibit

2009-10-21T20:00:00.000+01:00

When we passed by the Museum of Decorative Arts (located in the oldest surviving stone building in Riga) I noticed this poster at the entrance door, squealed with delight and decided to go in, really hoping it hadn't closed for the day yet.

Luckily we still had time for a visit and there were actually quite a few people arriving at that time and later on. What can I say ? I love vintage fashion exhibits and this one was just perfect. I probably wooo'd and haaaaa'd over every dress on display and was ecstatic that they would let us take photos.

The exhibit contains about 50 costumes and over 100 accessories (women's and men's) from the period between 1830 - 1900 and are part of the vast collection of Alexandre Vassiliev. More details of the exhibition here.

The blue one above was one of my favorites (by the House of Worth, if I'm not mistaken).

These floral ones were quite, quite lovely ... just look at the details.

And on our way out, I noticed this nice display of hand knitted items by the exit door. Just perfect !

More photos from the exhibit here

riga - day 5

2009-10-21T08:00:00.000+01:00

If Tallinn is clearly medieval themed, then Riga is the city of art nouveau. We barely spent a day there and I wish we could've had more time.

After leaving Tallinn we stopped for lunch in a small village off the main road called Haademeeste. We hadn't passed by any roadside restaurants in a while so decided to stop here before reaching the border. We found the local café and had a delicious lunch outside. Save one particular day we didn't have any problems finding a nice place to eat while driving around, and found the roads to be quite safe and reasonably maintained.

We stopped at this beach on the way ... Although it was sunny and warm it was quite deserted except for some kite surfers out there.

We drove into Riga in the afternoon and had a bit of difficulty finding our hotel. Riga is not so small but eventually we made our way into the city center. Our hotel was a bit outside of the main historical area, but quite close to the most famous art nouveau buildings.

the Town Hall Square

House of Blackheads and the statue of Saint Roland

So after checking in we decided to walk around the center for a while. It's another great city to just walk, there's lots to see and seemed to be totally safe.

the Freedom monument, honoring soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence (1918-1920)

We didn't visit the castle, but stopped in St. Peter's church, just before they closed the admission to the tower. From the top there's a 360º view of Riga, and quite worth paying the entrance fee for.

We didn't visit any other monuments, because we spent some time visiting an exhibition in the Museum of Decorative Arts (which was so good it deserves a separate post. And I have photos, lots and lots of photos !).

more woolly items ... this lady was knitting a sock :)

But I loved the vibrant feel of this city. Everyone seemed to be out in the streets or enjoying the sun in a nearby café or esplanade.

We loved the Cat House, of course...

Fittingly, we also found this kitty asleep on a garden nearby

Because it was my birthday we wanted to go somewhere special for dinner. According to my research one of the best places in town was Bergs, and since it wasn't far from the center we decided to go there, even with no reservation. It's located in a busy courtyard, next to the hotel with the same name and another popular restaurant.

We hesitated a bit before going in. It seemed just too sophisticated (and we dressed in our casual travel attire) and it appeared empty except for a few people in the tables outside. We decided to go in anyway and opted to seat outside as well. To say it was one of the best meals in my life is probably an understatement (althoug a dinner we just had in the Pyrenees comes quite close). I ordered my favorite - duck - and it was divine. Cooked so tender it melted in my mouth. The starters (and amouse bouche) were also very good, but the cherry on top of the cake was the dessert. The best chocolate gateau I've ever had. Period.

The next morning it was cloudy again and we went to visit the art nouveau district, around Elisabetes iela, Strelnieku iela and Albert iela.

This was definitely my favorite one .... amazing, isn't it ?

Back at the hotel, there was time for a (wise) cup of tea before leaving for Vilnius ....

More photos here

lazy sunday ...

2009-10-19T09:00:00.000+01:00

Well, not exactly lazy. We actually went bike riding in the morning and managed but 20 km (the things we do for a a bagel down at Deli Delux) but this is how the rest of the day went by ....

:: banana and chocolate muffins

:: reading a very good book cuddled on the couch. I started it before breakfast and the bike ride, and finished it after lunch. It's unputdownable.

:: another type of reading. Alice Starmore's book on Fair Isle knitting was out of print for several years so when a new edition came out recently I had to get a copy. Plus one of my favorite magazines to browse every every month and a knitting magazine I bought because I actually liked 3 patterns on it.

:: hanging some new prints in the living room

:: a new wip

:: and an old one, recently restarted

a new skirt

2009-10-18T17:00:00.001+01:00

I finally had the courage to cut up this blue fabric (Fiona Tossed Flowers by Anna Griffin) and made my first skirt in a long time. The pattern is nr. 9 from Machiko Kayaki's Simple Chic book. It was probably the first Japanese pattern sewing book I ever bought and still continues to be my favorite. I'm not surprised if I end up making all the patterns in this book someday.

Anyway, it's surprisingly simple to assemble and think the whole project took me about 2 to 3 hours. And half of that time was assembling the zipper, which I had never done on a fully lined skirt (now that it's done it's obviously easy, but it took me a while to get there).

I love the final result, and will probably make another again soon, in Fall colors (maybe that brown fabric from the same post ? Humm, yes, that will probably work ...)

tallinn - day 4

2009-10-16T09:00:00.001+01:00

Tallinn has a magical light.

The first day we were there it was cloudy and a bit rainy so I didn't notice it. We stayed at the Baltic Imperial (very convenient location, nice room, good breakfast and not as expensive as it would be expected) and were quickly in the center of Old Town. I have to say we played the 100% tourist route this time and didn't leave Old Town to explore the rest of the city. That's because we didn't have much time (just 2 days in all) and Old Town, despite being so touristic, is quite charming on its own.

at the Baltic Imperial hotel

We mainly walked during the whole day, stopping to check the crafts and artisans' shops, and sitting in several of the best cafés I've ever seen. Also, I couldn't stop photographing the doors ...

After taking the requisite tour of the main square we decided to go up to Toompea Hill.

We peeked at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the (remains of the) castle.

We stopped by Helena Tilk's shop and the crafty Bogapott

Rainy days are good for shopping and I had a whole list of places to stop by. Also, I did my research and knew exactly where to go for the best hot chocolate in town.

So we headed to Pierre Chocolaterie, located in a quiet little courtyard off Vene and treated ourselves to this ...

The café itself is cozy and quite quirky (as most in Tallinn, actually) and this was definitely one of my favorites.

After that we stopped at St. Catherine’s Passage (Katariina käik) where there was a celebration going on inside the church. We sneaked in and found out it was a celebration in honor of the first day of school.

This passage connects Vene and Müürivahe streets and it's lined with crafty shops. I was tempted by beautiful patchwork quilts in one of them, and leather bound journals in the one next door but managed to resist temptation.

However, when reaching Müürivahe and looking at all those woolen knits for sale at the stalls near the city wall I couldn't help myself. Estonia has a great tradition in knitting, of course. I'd heard of the famous Estonian lace but I'm (still) not that much into lace so decided on some of the traditional mittens, scarves and hats for gifts and a few for myself.

Not sure when I'm likely to wear this (certainly it's never cold enough in Lisbon) but we're planning a trip to Lapland soon so this might come in handy.

For lunch we went to Vanaema Juures (Grandma's place), which serves traditional Estonian food. It was ok, but not the best we had in Estonia.

Next we visited the Town Hall pharmacy, one of the oldest still functioning in Europe

We also went to the Tallinn Flower Festival that was being held outside the Old Town's walls.

The afternoon was spent shopping. Naturally I had to buy some yarn, but that deserves a separate post. Besides some fabulous yarn shops, Tallinn has a lot of other crafty shops, especially regarding amber and linen. I love linen, and couldn't resist a few small items, but my favorite items were the wooden handmade sheep we bought from a souvenir shop in Pik Jaalg. We found these in a few of the shops and at this particular shop the owner was quite friendly and explained to us that they only sell handmade items from Estonian artisans (she even showed us where they were from on a map she had displayed). These sheep are made by a young artisan called Vello Kaasen and we got a couple of the smaller ones.

We badly needed a cup of tea so we stopped by Tristan & Isold, located just beneath the church arcade, and sat for a while, watching the people go by in the main square. The weather was starting to get better and the sun was coming out, so when we it was dusk the light was indeed magical like I said.

That night we had dinner at Olde Hansa, which is probably the most touristic spot in town, but also a very fun experience and we couldn't help ourselves.

Since it was only the two of us we couldn't order any of the feasts on the menu, but ended up eating way too much anyway. The food is good actually, but the atmosphere is what makes this special.

the main square at night

The next morning the city was awash in sunlight, and since we had missed the viewpoints overlooking the city the day before, we went back up to Toompea for a second view. It's actually easily reached by going up the staircase next to our hotel and I'm glad we did it since the views are spectacular.

And on the main square there was a market going on ...

After that we went to pick up our rental car and drove to Riga, which was another nice surprise.

Addresses:
Vanaema Juures (Grandma's Place), Rataskaevu 10/12
Olde Hansa, Vana Turg 1
The Pierre Chocolaterie, Vene 6

More photos at Flickr

yarn shopping in tallinn

2009-10-16T11:00:00.001+01:00

the Filati yarn shop at Muurivahe 20

Yarn shopping in Tallinn has a lot of options and it's best to come with at least one empty suitcase (and thank god yarn is not heavy or I'd have paid a hefty fine).

Jolleri, at Muurivahe 18

I didn't feel like dragging A. outside Old Town in search of the best yarn shops (like Liann-Lõngad, Lõngapood or Veimevakk, all recommendations I got from the Estonian forum at Ravelry) and we didn't have much time anyway so I decided to visit just the ones available there.

First we went to the crafts store Eesti Käsitöö (right next to our hotel, on Pikk) but I didn't find any yarn there (lovely souvenirs though, and I ended up getting another pair of mittens). On Müürivahe street we were looking at the window of the yarn shop on number 18 (which sells Evilla and other Estonian yarns) when we were greeted by the owner of another yarn shop across the street. He sells mostly Italian yarn and although I liked a certain yarn on display for my Heather Hoodie Vest there were not enough skeins available. So then he took us to the warehouse upstairs where I was allowed to rummage the yarn boxes at my pleasure, and I finally found enough skeins in a gray tone I liked.

After that I still went into the other shop, and got a couple of variegated Evilla yarns in red, and on our last day in Tallinn a week later I found some more on sale in another shop in Old Town, this time in blue and beige tones.

Still on Müürivahe street (right in front of the stalls) there's a small shop that sells linen and some yarn. I got these red/black skeins, not even sure if they're 100% wool or what I'll do with them but they were so cheap it was impossible not to bring some home.

And below my stash of knitted items from Tallinn.

I wish I'd gotten more socks (since I haven't been able to knit more pairs myself) and I absolutely love these light gray gloves. We're planning a brief stop in this beautiful city next February so I'll probably need to wear all of these then ...

today

2009-10-14T19:29:00.002+01:00

I'm going to finish a sweater ....

3000 km later ...

2009-10-10T15:00:00.000+01:00

... and this is all I have to show for it. Actually, I knitted most of the way there and back (A. and my friend C. were the drivers so I had a lot of time to fill) and got to 2/3 of my current project, which on such small needles was actually an accomplishment for me.

So we are exhausted, but in a good way. We hiked for 4 full days, with 2 shorter hikes in between. The areas we visited were the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park in Catalunya, Gavarnie in the Pyrenees National Park and the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park in Aragón. All quite outstanding in their own way, so it's hard to pick a favorite.

More on that soon, but I'll continue with the Baltics trip report first (and try and finish that sweater too)

daisy

2009-09-30T23:49:00.007+01:00

Interrupting the trip reports to show you the only finished piece I've knitted all summer.

It's Daisy, a pattern by Kim Hargreaves and featured on her recent book Breeze. I particularly love the pocket details and the horizontal rib effect. The yarn was also quite nice to knit with (I don't enjoy knitting with cotton that much) and I added a trim on the inside of the button band to give it more stability.

Pattern: Daisy, by Kim Hargreaves
Size: XS
Needles: 3.25 mm
Yarn: Rosários 4 For Nature, color 25 (5 skeins)

And I even managed some outside photos this time ...

I'll try to post about the rest of our Baltics trip soon, but we're leaving tomorrow for a week of hiking in the Pyrenees so unless we find wi-fi access up there I'll get back to it at the end of next week. And now I better get some sleep because we have a 12 hour drive starting *very*early* tomorrow morning ...

st petersburg - day 3

2009-09-30T09:02:00.001+01:00

Our third and final day in St. Petersburg started with glorious weather, much unlike the day before. We had saved this day to visit some of the main attractions nearer the center, so following a walking itinerary suggested by Natalia we left early to explore more of the city. We passed by the Mikhailovsky Theater, and the small garden in front with Catherine the Great's monument. Crossing Nevsky Prospekt we admired the Yeliseev building, which once housed a specialty grocery store.

From there we quickly reached the Mikhailovsky Castle (Engineer's Castle) and crossed into the Mikhailovsky Gardens, which were quiet and peaceful at that time of the morning. From there we exited in front of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, the first attraction we had planned to visit that day. The name comes from tsar Alexander II, who was mortally wounded on this site in 1881.

The outside is breathtaking, but the interiors are just plain stunning. When we first entered, all I could think of was .. Wow ...
I wasn't quite expecting that, and was totally blown away.

Right in front of the church there's a quite popular souvenirs' fair, which I'd been told was a good place to get matryoshkas and such. I'm a lousy bargainer so no doubt I paid twice what I could have, but still I thought the prices were quite reasonable.

Our next stop was the Peter and Paul Fortress, which is the oldest building in the city, founded by Peter the Great in 1703. The walk from the Church of Spilled Blood to the fortress took us about 30 minutes, crossing the Neva river via the Troitskaya bridge.

The fortress contains several historical buildings, but we just visited the cathedral, which is the burial place of all Russian tsars from Peter I to Alexander III. The remains of the Romanovs are also located here, in the more recent St. Catherine's chapel.

From the fortress we walked all the way back to the center, but this time crossing the Dvortsovyy bridge instead. It was almost lunchtime by then, and I really wanted to try a special restaurant for our last meal in St. Petersburg so we walked all the way to the Mariinsky Theatre (which sadly didn't have any events going on during our stay).

On our way there we stopped briefly at St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Bronze Horseman statue nearby.

At Sadko we had an amazing meal (and not expensive at all), and I particularly loved the detail of the bill in the matryoshka doll.

It was almost time to leave for the airport so we rushed back to the B&B, said our goodbyes to Natalia, promising to come back next time in the winter, and headed off to catch the mini-bus.

We came back with a lot of fond memories of this city, and it's just one of those places I'm sure we'll be visiting again very soon ...

More photos here