to do list

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 ....

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

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 9

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

lahemaa - day 8

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

cesis - days 7 and 8

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

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