Istanbul - 1

Once in a while a good girly adventure is what we all need. Six years ago I went with some friends to Barcelona, then three years later we went to London. This year we decided on Istanbul, something we'd been discussing for a while and finally went ahead with it. I'm so glad we went during winter, it felt like a totally different city this time. Not so crowded, not so many tourists (we only queued for the Galata Tower). The city felt more modern, more organized, it's been six years since I went there with A. so it was wonderful to return to this beautiful city, one of my favorites in the world.

:: drinking çay and reading a book at the nice coffee shop by the Istanbul Archeological Museum

:: street painting exhibition

:: beautiful embroidery on display at one of the souvenir shops

:: the famous chocolate vendor at Istiklal Caddesi. I bought a couple of the dark chocolate bars and now deeply regret not having bought more - they were delicious.

:: taking the Tunel tram

:: breathtaking view from top of the Galata Tower at sunset

:: Galata Tower

:: Istanbul skyline from the ferry pier

:: view of Beyoglu from Eminonu

:: cute hat shop near our apartment in Sultanahmet. I got the green frog hat for S.

:: The Blue Mosque in all its glory

:: Sultanahmet by night

Ripples

This was finished last month, so I'm way behind posting about it. This is another design I've had on my queue for a long time, ever since I fell in love with the sleeve detail.
See what I mean ?

Unfortunately I can't say it turned out exactly as I had hoped. The sleeves look great, but they're actually a bit too heavy with this yarn, and don't exactly feel right when you're wearing it (I would probably go down one needle size for the sleeves if I was to knit this again). Maybe I'm just being too picky ...

Pattern: Low Tide Ripples, by suvi sumola
Yarn: Cascade Yarn 220 Heathers (5.5 skeins), shade 7811
Needles: 4.0 and 4.5 mm
Changes: added a couple more decreases and increases, and a couple of inches to the body length.
Ravelry project page

Convento do Espinheiro

new dress

Last week I finally finished sewing a dress I had cut up 4 years ago (pattern is from Machiko Kayaki's Sewing Talk book). As a friend remarked, the good news is that at least it seems I still wear the same dress size.
I think the reason why it took me so long is that it's a lined dress. Which really shouldn't be an excuse, because when I finally sewed everything together it was quite easy. The only change I made was to add darts to the front and back, because generally speaking Japanese patterns tend to not be very fitted.

Smokey shawl

A shawl the color of smoke. Knit with Malabrigo Silky Merino, which is as soft as the name suggests, but didn't become a favorite of mine. The pattern is quick and simple, and the shawl is just the right size for me.
Pattern: Chandra, by Caryl Pierre
Yarn: Malabrigo silky Merino  (1.7 skeins). This yarn bleeds a little when washed and does stretch quite a bit when wet blocked.
Needles: 5.0 mm
Size: S
Ravely project page